Chapter 405

Chapter 405

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 405: Yandel Stands On The Earth (3)

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The black giant golem, mounted on top of the twin-headed giant, swung its fists wildly.

Each time it struck the twin heads with both hands, the ground rumbled dully as if an earthquake had occurred.

The giant’s heads, which were so thick they didn’t seem to bend, slowly began to tilt backward. Even after the backs of their heads hit the ground, they continued to do so.

Even I thought this was no joke. Who would have thought I’d understand the meaning of how great power can become an authority in itself like this?

“Become my dowry obediently!”

I shouted, putting even more strength into the fist I was swinging. An action that would have had no significant difference on my main body, other than requiring a bit more effort.

This golem connected to me should have been the same…

Whoosh.

The light emanating from the red lines etched all over its body grew brighter, and a slight burning sensation began to spread through me.

At the same time, the punching became even faster and more powerful. The blessing of the Clashing Steel was driving the twin-headed giant into a corner.

It was truly a one-sided beating.

If this continued, the head that had been smashed into the ground would be completely torn off the giant’s body.

Of course, that was only if it continued to take the hits. An Evil God wasn’t a pushover weakling that would just obediently die from being beaten.

-Have you finally decided to get serious?! You too will soon become one with us!

-Hahaha! Better than before!

The guy was actually pleased that I, who had only been running away until now, was fighting back. Then, it raised an arm that hadn’t moved until now.

It wasn’t trying to put up a guard. It was simply trying to grab my fist.

However, the power of the golem and the twin-headed giant was on par. No, considering the power of the blessing, I might be slightly stronger.

Since I was already in a mount position, it was even more advantageous for me to exert more force, so in the end, although it grabbed my fist, it couldn’t completely block it.

Thwack!

The two heads were struck by the back of the giant’s hand, which had wrapped around my fist. They couldn’t have not known this would happen… so what is this?

While raising my vigilance, my arm mechanically lifted my fist. Tried to lift it.

“Oh dear.”

It was true that when I slammed my fist down, my strength was greater and the giant couldn’t block it. But preventing a stopped fist from being lifted was something well within its capabilities.

-Finally caught you.

-I’ll never let go!

The twin-headed giant grinned with a face that was half-destroyed from the hits but rapidly regenerating.

Feeling uneasy, I quickly tried to rise and shake off its grasp… but I was a little too late. Both heads opened their mouths simultaneously.

“Tch.”

I didn’t know what would come out of there, but whatever it was, it wouldn’t be pleasant. I hastily completed the magic I had prepared for times like this.

“[Light Saber!]”1

A streak of light crossed the air. The light sword, with overwhelmingly enhanced output and range, sliced through the twin-headed giant’s elbow area.

Its power was slightly insufficient to cut it off completely, but it had enough cutting force to tear through the flesh to the point where bone was visible.

The giant’s arm was instantly tattered. With such an arm, it couldn’t completely offset the golem’s power.

Crack.

With the sound of something snapping, the giant’s arm was severed near the elbow. Just as I was about to pull my body away, different authorities unfolded from the two open mouths.

-Krooooooar!!

What came from the Reckless Roar’s mouth was a typical war cry. Since an Evil God performed it directly, its power was not ordinary.

In an instant, the twin-headed giant’s entire body was enveloped in a red aura. At the same time, its already thick muscles bulged even further, and then it swung its knee, aiming for my side.

If it were my unprotected body that felt pain, it would be a somewhat insufficient attack to push away the golem, which blocked pain above a certain level.

It should have been.

Thump!

“What the…?!”

A sensation of my body floating into the air for a moment. Just how much was it amplified? Beyond simply pushing me away, this giant golem was slightly knocked sideways.

It must have converted the damage it had unilaterally received from me until just now into rage and unleashed that rage all at once.

Still, only the outer armor of the waist was slightly dented; there was no major damage. The real problem was the authority of the God of Tainted Unity that followed.

Crunch!

With the sound of a beast’s jaws closing, the outer armor of one arm was crushed as if it had been bitten off.

Void Devour.

The foundation and everything of the God of Tainted Unity’s authority, invisible teeth, had pierced through the tough alchemical steel.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Wasn’t this a bit less durable than dragon scales? In fact, it had flawlessly withstood attacks during simple hand-to-hand combat.

Well, when I think about it, even real dragons were driven to the brink of extinction during the War of Gods, so it’s not entirely unbelievable.

Anyway, I was lucky to have blocked it even once. It would be difficult to withstand it twice in the same spot.

Maintaining the forcibly created distance, I drew up my magic power again.

“[Fire.]”

The fireball that appeared in mid-air incinerated both arms of the giant that were still holding onto my hand.

Perhaps because it was a basic spell with insufficient firepower, or because the giant’s body was too sturdy, it didn’t completely turn to ashes.

Still, it burned them to the point where reattaching them to its body would be impossible.

The giant, watching this, snorted and tried to support itself on the ground with its severed arm. Then, its size slightly decreased, and a new arm instantly sprouted from the cross-section.

Was something like that even possible?

Well, in the first place, that body itself was made by clumping together the flesh of other beings. Still, since its overall size had decreased, the total amount of its power should have also decreased. Thinking that, the exchange of blows a moment ago wasn’t too bad.

What to do next? I realized anew from the previous exchange that fighting normally put me at a disadvantage.

So I had to somehow create variables with magic, but the mana consumption to maintain the golem and the mana devoured by the spells I cast while riding it were both too high.

Here, I should first use Grease to break its stance again… no, there’s no way it would fall for the same trick twice.

Should I try the electric type this time? It’s sturdy and has good regeneration, but its structure itself doesn’t deviate from the basic structure of a living organism, so paralysis through electric shock should be quite effective.

“Tch.”

Shooting from afar would only result in the magic being devoured by the God of Tainted Unity’s authority, so I had to get as close as possible and strike directly…

While keeping a stance ready to charge at any moment, I briefly ran various plans through my head.

Whoosh.

Steam was released from my entire body, following the blessing. Beyond that white cloud, I could see the twin-headed giant calmly watching me.

It had completely stood up, yet it wasn’t charging…?

Perhaps not intending to resolve my unease, but coincidentally at the right time, the creature whose eyes met mine opened its mouth.

-That taste from a moment ago… Yandel, you weren’t a half-dragon, but a young dragon.

-Among the races I’ve seen since coming to this world, it was the most admirable. Now I understand.

It was surprising enough that it knew, even though it hadn’t eaten my main body but only the outer armor, but more than that, the fact that the Reckless Roar’s way of speaking had changed to a normal one bothered me.

That guy was a god swallowed by his own divine power. An Evil God, who swung his fists as he was swayed by the intense emotion of rage. That was the Reckless Roar. That was also why he sometimes seemed like a simpleton.

Isn’t that what rage is in the first place? Fire doesn’t discriminate when it burns people. That’s why no one can truly own rage.

If you could control rage, it would no longer be rage.

…That’s just the story of ordinary rage, though.

Don’t they say there’s also a cold rage in the world? The Reckless Roar starting to speak normally meant that the type of rage had changed.

Since the temperature of its rage had lowered, its physical enhancement would weaken slightly. But as reason returned, its fighting technique would improve.

In H&A, it was implemented in a way that attack and defense decreased, but the pattern was greatly increased. Simply put, it was the second phase.

I didn’t know what I had done to make it enter the second phase already, but for me, it was rather a good sign.

Usually, an opponent with a complex pattern, even if their stats were slightly lower, was more threatening than a stat monster’s mindless charge…

But for me, who had memorized all those complex patterns, it was just a self-inflicted debuff.

I tensed up, focusing intently on how it would attack, but this time too, what came back wasn’t a fist but words.

-Since ancient times, dragons have had a habit of fixating on one thing, whatever it may be. In your case, is it a woman?

-A dragon whose reverse scale2 is touched always goes berserk in rage. And rage is my domain.

No. It wasn’t a conversation, it was picking a fight.

The four eyes that had been glancing around simultaneously focused on the city wall. More precisely, towards my women who were struggling to block the aftermath of the battle in front of it.

“These bastards…”

The Grotesque Proliferation and the Boiling Silence were the same, but why did Evil Gods, whose purpose was to kill me, always target the people around me?

I knew the reason. A person with many things to protect has that many more weaknesses, and striking those weaknesses is the very basics of combat.

If I were to get worked up and angry here, it would be no different from handing my weakness over to the Reckless Roar.

Just by sensing where my anger was directed, it would be able to figure out where and how to attack next.

Thump.

The Dragon Heart, which had been overworked to control the golem, began to beat in a slightly different way than usual.

As if whispering not to forgive those who coveted my treasure.

The dragon’s instinct, its obsession, began to burn through my mind like wildfire.

I myself knew that this was sudden and forced anger. The Reckless Roar was probably inciting my rage with its authority.

Forced berserk state was one of the most difficult patterns in the Reckless Roar’s second phase.

But isn’t anger something you can’t stop even if you know it? That’s why it’s also called fire.

As if sensing my state, the golem’s form began to change little by little.

Its sleek muscles began to bulge as if filled with immense power, and accordingly, the armor that had seamlessly covered its entire body opened up, sharpening its edges.

Lastly, the helmet, which should have been infinitely similar to a human head but had covered even the chin to avoid exposing unnecessary weaknesses, trembled.

Crack.

It began to open as if forcibly torn apart. The sharp cross-sections, resembling teeth, glinted menacingly.

Whoosh!

The blessing of the Clashing Steel. The geometric red lines drawn all over its body began to burn. Not figuratively, but literally caught fire.

The heat was incomparable to the heat from before, and even more so than the fire that had been burning my reason, the intense flames jolted me awake.

“Whew… that was almost a big one.”

Things usually don’t end well when mecha go berserk.

Footnotes:

1: Translator’s note: Likely a magical sword made of light. ↩️

2: Translator’s note: A dragon’s most sensitive spot, touching it is said to enrage them ↩️