Chapter 165

“Uwaaaagh!”

“ It’s coming in!”

“ Fa-Fall back! ”

We hurriedly retreated.

The Black Golem, bending slightly, to enter through the shattered gate.

Seeing it up close, its pressure was no joke.

I could sense the impenetrable toughness from its entire body, something that would make any blade bounce off harmlessly.

“Run! ”

I blocked their way and shouted.

“ Now! ”

Godwin also roared, standing firm.

Even he, a giant from a human perspective, seemed like a child before the Black Golem.

“I-I can’t! I’ll support you! ”

Annette’s voice rang out.

“We’ll hold it off together! The President is coming soon!”

Camian exclaimed, standing beside us.

“Th-That’s right! Miss Regina will definitely handle this!”

Dolph shouted.

Right, that’s true.

But each second felt like an hour.

“ It’s coming! ”

I yelled, as soon as I saw the Black Golem’s shoulder twitch.

The golem’s fist, as large as a boulder, was immediately swung at us.

Whoosh!

The strike carried such monstrous force that it sounded like the wind was being ripped apart.

We couldn’t dodge.

I knew the comrades behind us would be exposed to the attack.

It seemed that both Godwin and Camian understood as well.

They tried to block the Black Golem’s attack head-on.

“ We’ll block it no matter what! ”

Godwin, roaring like a lion, gripped tightly the executioner sword that had taken countless lives.

Thud!

An immense force, unleashed along with a powerful stomp.

The original executioner’s strike, tearing through the air.

“We have to somehow…! ”

Thump!

I also stomped on the ground with a yell.

I unleashed the executioner’s enhanced strike.

It was the only technique that could clash with that terrifying attack, at least somewhat.

“ Hyaa! ”

Camian also unleashed his strongest strike.

Three swords collided with the Black Golem’s fist.

Clang!

An ear-splitting, metallic clang echoed.

And…

We were thrown back.

“ Ugh. ”

My hand holding the sword tingled with pain.

My arm was shaking.

Monstrous strength.

I wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for all the rigorous training I’d gone through.

Thud!

I managed to maintain my balance and landed on the ground.

“ Did this bastard only lift weights after every meal or something? ”

Godwin, joking even in this kind of atmosphere.

Not bad.

It meant he still had some room to spare.

He’s built like a tank, he was able to withstand that single blow.

However…

“Ugh.”

Camian’s face was pale.

I soon saw the reason.

His sword had broken from the impact.

That’s the problem with cheap swords.

His lack of mastery of swordsmanship must have also contributed.

He’s learning the Illusion Sword from Dan, after becoming our comrade, but Godwin didn’t seem willing to teach his technique yet.

“ You, fall back! ”

“ Bu-But…”

“ You’re just in the way. Now! ”

Camian grudgingly retreated at my shout.

Dan filled the empty spot.

Back to three.

But can we block another blow from that thing?

I was skeptical.

But we didn’t have a choice.

Whoosh!

The Black Golem launched its fist again.

“ Come at us! ”

I summoned all my remaining strength, preparing to clash swords again, when…

“ I’ll handle this. ”

A figure landed in front of us.

It was Regina.

She immediately swung her sword.

Screeeech!

A different sound from before.

The sound of something being deflected…not a clash of forces.

“ What? She blocked that by herself? ”

Godwin’s surprised voice rang out.

“…I-Is this real?”

Dan muttered, looking dumbfounded.

Their reactions were natural.

Regina blocked the Black Golem’s attack far too effortlessly.

And she did it without taking even a single step back.

Because she was strong?

No, absolutely not.

No matter how strong Regina was, she couldn’t overpower the Black Golem in terms of strength.

That was deflection.

Near-perfect deflection.

An eye precise enough to instantly grasp the movement of force and the skill to embody it with the body without error.

That’s what enables her to pull off such an incredible feat.

“A-As expected of President!”

“ Miss…I knew you’d do it! ”

Annette and Dolph were almost in tears.

I fully understood how they felt. A savior had appeared in a dire situation.

Honestly, my heart was pounding as well.

It’s unfair that my fiancee can pull off something this cool.

“You’re late.”

“ Things happen.”

I chuckled at her reply.

Something I’ve realized after being possessed by Max.

I had thought she was cold as ice, but she actually enjoys making jokes.

“ I guess it’s impossible to get anything out of that thing.”

Regina said, looking up at the Black Golem’s head.

“ Of course.”

There’s no way a golem would speak or understand human language.

“Then I’ll just crush it.”

Regina made her move.

Swish! Whizz!

Regina slashed at the Black Golem’s legs.

Clang! Clang!

But the Black Golem remained unfazed.

Perhaps this golem was made of a special material, impervious even to the renowned Hanbing Sword.

I narrowed my eyes, thinking.

Boom!

Boom!

The Black Golem, though unaffected, was probably enraged. It rained blows onto Regina relentlessly.

It was futile, of course.

Anyway, it worked in our favor.

The Black Golem’s attention was completely focused on her.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“ She’s a strong lass. But her attacks aren’t working. You sure she’s okay?”

Godwin said, frowning with concern.

“ Of course, she’ll be fine.”

I grinned.

“ She’s the legendary student council president of our academy.”

“ Academy president…Is that such a powerful title?”

Godwin asked, tilting his head.

As if to answer his question, Regina finally revealed her true skills.

“ I guess it won’t cut if it’s this tough.”

A faint blue energy enveloped Regina’s sword as she muttered.

Sword energy.

But it was very different from the sword energy that an angry Slane had unleashed back in the mock battle.

Slane’s sword energy was simply raw power.

On the other hand, Regina’s sword energy looked delicate, but it was highly refined.

Those who didn’t know better would think the former is stronger, but the reality was completely opposite.

The refined sword energy is far more potent.

That difference in level was the gap between Regina and Slane right now.

A gap that seemed as thin as a sheet of paper, yet impossible to bridge.

“ Sword energy…? No…it’s different.”

Godwin seemed clueless about sword energy.

But he seemed to intuitively understand from his experience.

That the power contained within it was out of the ordinary.

“ Hold on. Is that…sword energy? ”

Dan, quick-witted as he was, seemed to have recognized it.

At that moment…

Regina leaped.

The blue sword energy flashed.

Swoosh!

The sound of something being severed.

Thud!

The Black Golem’s right arm fell, detaching limply.

“ Sh-She cut it! ”

“ It worked! ”

Dan and Godwin’s eyes widened.

“ Sh-She actually cut through that…”

“…Nothing short of amazing. ”

Annette and Camian let out gasps of admiration.

I really wanted to brag.

To tell them that that incredible woman is my fiancee.

But I held myself back.

…I can’t ruin my cool image by acting like a lovesick fool.

Swoosh! Thump!

Meanwhile, the Black Golem’s left arm was also severed.

Regina, now having removed the most threatening parts, aimed for its legs.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Both legs were quickly detached, and the torso crashed to the ground.

Thud!

The Black Golem was finally at our eye level.

Regina chopped off its head without mercy.

Swoosh!

The Black Golem’s head flew off.

It still twitched, but it didn’t matter.

The Black Golem, now in pieces, was no more than a pile of scrap metal.

“ That was satisfying.”

I grinned.

Regina nodded, then asked,

“ What about him?”

“ Ah, leave that guy alone. It’s more profitable to keep him alive. Besides, he deserves to have his neck sliced off in a public execution, while being mocked by the crowd. But before that …”

I said with a sneer.

“ …I’m going to give him a good beating first.”

* * *

An old, small castle.

But it was surprisingly clean and comfortable inside.

The bandits must have decorated it with all their ill-gotten gains.

Starting with the carpets, which were clearly expensive.

“ This chair is nice, huh? Soft and yet, it supports my back well…it would be perfect for studying.”

I muttered, sitting on a chair that the bandits had brought in.

“Take it if you want.”

Regina said.

“I can’t. It might be looted goods, you know? ”

I grinned and continued.

“By the way, how did you know how to find this place? ”

I’d been curious about this from the start.

This place is in the Wasteland.

No one should ever come here.

“I arrived at the meeting point a little early. So I followed you guys because I was curious about something.”

Regina replied casually.

Her reply meant…

“You trailed us? ”

“Is there a problem? ”

“No, not really…But wouldn’t it have been better to just join us normally?”

“I couldn’t.”

“Hmm? ”

“You had your reasons for planning this extermination thing in the first place, didn’t you?”

“…I guess so. Thanks for being considerate.”

I expressed my gratitude, understanding Regina’s intentions.

She already knew the reason behind my campaign.

That’s probably why she chose to intervene only when the situation became critical, after secretly observing everything.

The reason she went through the trouble of following us was probably because she was worried about me, not just out of curiosity.

That’s how we managed to overcome this life-threatening crisis.

I felt indebted to her in many ways.

Just then…

I heard several footsteps approaching.

“It seems the cleanup is done.”

My comrades entered before I could even finish my sentence.

Godwin, walking at the front with confidence, tossed something he was holding onto the floor.

“Here you go, delivery.”

Thump!

“Ugh!”

A human groan.

Of course, it was a human.

Ibrahim, the bandit gang leader.

“I’ve done all the first aid I could, Senior. He won’t die, at least.”

Annette said.

The sole healer of our party.

She’s helpful in many ways.

I smiled in gratitude.

“Good job, thank you.”

“So, can I beat him up now? ”

Godwin cracked his knuckles menacingly.

Ibrahim flinched.

I waved my hand.

“No, there’s something I need to ask him first. ”

I got up from my chair…

…And strode towards Ibrahim, who was lying helplessly on the ground, his severed legs making him look like a caterpillar.

“I won’t repeat myself. Answer my questions quickly and honestly. If you don’t…”

I stared at him coldly.

“…I’ll break every single bone in your body.”

“Umm…”

“Answer me.”

“…”

Silence. He was trying to test me.

But I wasn’t going to tolerate that.

Crack!

“Aaaaaaaaack!”

Ibrahim screamed in agony.

I mercilessly broke his pinky.

“Answer.”

“O-Okay!”

Ibrahim blurted out.

Crack!

“Uhh!”

But I broke another one of his fingers.

“Wh-Why…?”

Ibrahim looked both pained and baffled.

“Why?”

Crack!

“Aaaghh!”

Another finger broken.

This time, Ibrahim didn’t dare to make a confused expression.

“I’m the one asking questions. You just answer them. ”

“Ye-Yes! ”

His response was finally prompt.

I guess you have to put some trash in its place before it understands its standing.

“Then I’ll ask. How did you summon the Black Golem?”

I got straight to the point.

* * *

“There’s a place like *this*…in the castle’s basement?”

Annette looked around, her face curious.

The other comrades also had similar expressions.

It was a strange place.

Full of coffins.

A graveyard?

No, there’s no way they’d build a graveyard in the castle’s basement.

Decomposing corpses are a breeding ground for all kinds of diseases.

It’s common sense to keep them far from the places where people live.

Then what is this place?

“You’re saying he found the Black Golem’s scroll here? ”

I rested my chin on my hand, lost in thought.

It seems like a trivial matter, because even Regina, a master swordswoman, easily destroyed the golem, but it was actually a dangerous item.

It’s something capable of turning multiple villages into a bloodbath.

And such a dangerous item was here?

This couldn’t be a simple coincidence.

There must be a reason.

I turned my gaze toward one side of the wall, when…

“Huh?”

As if it had been waiting, something strange started happening.

The wall started melting, emitting a crimson light, like blood.

Like an ice cream melting under the sun.

And I knew.

That this castle holds some serious secret.