Chapter 64

That.

It was something colossal.

That.

It was a knight of solid steel.

A Black Knight whose armor, dyed pitch black, made it even more imposing.

Vmmmmmmmm…

From within the massive visor, an intense red light shone.

— What… is that? A golem?

“…What is this…?”

“A golem…?”

“…What the hell is that?”

Aint, Luina, and Verian—who was still sprawled in a corner of the battlefield—stared dumbfounded at the towering figure of the golem. It wasn’t that they had never seen one before, but never one nearly ten meters tall.

“This is Witgungen.”

Fernan took a deep breath.

From up there, everything looked like tiny toys.

Aint, Luina.

“Even that damned demon.”

And also Andromalius.

“You think you can defeat me just because you built that piece of trash?”

“Nothing is impossible.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy. But if there truly hadn’t been any chance, Fernan never would have poured so much effort and time into creating that golem.

“Let’s go, Wooden.”

Fernan stroked the golem.

“Show that damned demon what you’re made of.”

That was the signal.

The golem’s eyes glowed more intensely. Its massive body began to move.

Slow, heavy, in accordance with its size.

Or so it seemed.

In an instant, the golem’s immense sword was already before Andromalius’s face.

“…!”

Clang!

But the sword didn’t hit its target. Something enormous interposed itself between the golem and Andromalius.

Shhhhhh!

The serpent, which had been coiled around the demon’s right arm, stretched out nearly 30 meters, transforming into a gigantic beast.

“Handle it. Destroy him.”

Ssssshha!!

At Andromalius’s command, the serpent sprang forward like a released spring.

“He’s coming, Wooden!”

The golem braced itself, barely bending its knees and extending its sword.

Hissssss!

The serpent’s head twisted in the air, barely dodging the slash—or so it seemed, for the blade’s trajectory shifted at the last second and followed it immediately.

Boom!

The impact between blade and scales caused an explosion. The serpent’s massive body was sent flying.

“…Can a golem move like that?”

“It’s unbelievably fast…!”

Both knights were bewildered. They might not have known much about golems, but they knew none they had ever seen could do that.

“…Not as much trash as I thought.”

Even Andromalius seemed surprised; his eyes opened slightly wider.

“Of course. Do you know how much money I poured into this?”

Money is power.

At least in the field of golem research, that maxim always held true.

The golem, after sending the serpent flying, didn’t stop. It closed the distance in the blink of an eye and swung its sword as though it meant to split the world in two.

Just before it reached Andromalius, the earth caved in.

The sword fell vertically, dragging the demon dozens of meters underground.

Wham!

And in the next instant, as if a meteor had struck, a shockwave shook the ground.

The sword didn’t manage to cut Andromalius completely. The demon crossed both arms, dark as pitch, and blocked the blow.

Even so, the shattered fragments of demonic energy, the spilled blood, and his trembling gaze proved it had been an effective strike.

It worked. The money hadn’t failed.

Fernan’s face filled with savage euphoria.

“…How dare you?! A mere human injuring me?!”

And with that rage, Andromalius erupted.

Black magic burst from his entire body, twisting like serpents, lunging at the golem.

It managed to cut some down with its sword, but there were hundreds. It couldn’t block them all.

Although, in truth, it wasn’t necessary.

Fwoosh!

The golem’s body emitted a faint glow. A semi-transparent defensive shield enveloped it.

“Cheap trick!”

But the true strike came afterward—a punch.

A compact mass of dark magic.

Clang!

The shield shattered like paper. Even so, the fist didn’t dissipate. It slammed straight into the golem’s chest.

Its torso plating caved in. The massive body was hurled out of the crater.

Tap. Andromalius exhaled heavily as he rose to the surface.

“…How dare you wound me…?”

Crack.

He raked his hair violently with one hand. Only one—the other dangled, half broken.

“You won’t have an easy death.”

“In the overworld, there’s a well-known saying: those who speak boldly are usually one of two things.”

The golem took stance again. Its dented armor had already regenerated.

“Either an idiot, or a swindler. Which one are you?”

“Malrius!”

Andromalius roared.

“How much longer must I endure the ravings of an insect?”

At that moment, something enormous crashed down onto the golem.

It was so fast and massive that it couldn’t dodge. So it didn’t.

Fernan raised an earthen barrier, creating a wall that bought only a brief instant.

The golem, absorbing mana even from its master, activated its core and reinforced its sword with aura.

Its legs sank into the ground.

And then.

Slash!

An emerald thrust sliced the serpent in two.

***

“…God…”

“…What exactly am I looking at…?”

— That’s a golem?

Aint stared at the golem, stunned.

It was the first time he had seen a ten-meter golem, and even so, he found it hard to believe what he was seeing, even with it right before his eyes.

Could that demon, who seemed impossible to defeat, really be cornered so relentlessly?

Had it truly just cleaved that giant serpent in two?

— How much has golem technology advanced in the thousand years I was asleep?

— If they’re this strong, there’d be no need to follow the Emperor’s plans. Just build golems and we could wipe out the demons with ease.

“…No, not all golems are like this…”

If they had been, this world wouldn’t have been plagued by wars between humans, nor humans against monsters, but battles between golems.

“…That’s so typical of Fernan.”

Luina wasn’t much different from Aint.

In fact, having been ready to lay down her life, the impact on her was even greater.

“…We can win.”

It was no longer a gamble with minuscule odds, but a real hope for victory.

“Fernan!”

She called his name without realizing it. And Fernan answered.

“No need to shout. I hear you perfectly.”

He didn’t look particularly well, but his eyes were still brimming with life. He tossed a potion to Luina and another to Aint.

“Luina, Aint. The rest is in your hands.”

“What do you mean?”

“Huh? Why suddenly…?”

“Wooden can’t fight anymore.”

Flash!

A blue light enveloped the golem. When they opened their eyes after the flash, there wasn’t a trace of it left.

“That last strike consumed the core’s entire energy.”

It wouldn’t be able to move for quite a while.

“I’m the same.”

Fernan had pushed his mana to the limit, fusing it with the core to unleash a final attack.

His mana heart was completely drained and throbbed painfully.

“But…”

— No, they can still do it. Your watering can already did enough.

Gardner whispered.

— Look closely at that bastard’s state. His arm is broken.

Though it was regenerating slowly, it was still a serious wound.

— And best of all—that damned serpent is gone!

The combined effort of Aint and Luina was clearly coordinated and well-matched. They could wound Andromalius.

What had prevented them from landing a decisive blow before was simply that they were only two.

That black serpent, with scales so tough no ordinary aura could damage them.

They couldn’t strike recklessly. Luina had been willing to stake her life on one desperate gamble.

Until Fernan disrupted her plan, that is.

But now things had improved.

“Understood.”

Luina downed the potion in one gulp.

“I don’t think you’d entrust me with something impossible. I’ll trust you.”

During that semester together, between her and Fernan, a trust had formed that couldn’t be explained with words.

Some might say it was one-sided trust on Luina’s part—but to her, if Fernan said it was possible, then it was.

“Aint.”

Seeing that determined gaze, his own expression shifted.

“Yes, senior Luina.”

“Can you stand?”

“Of course.”

Aint swallowed the potion and gripped his sword tightly. Everything hurt. His bones were cracked all over.

And still, he had to fight. Because at stake was his life, and the life of the entire continent.

Besides—this was a unique chance, where victory finally seemed within reach.

The two knights moved once more.

***

“…Malrius?”

Among all those on the battlefield, the one most shaken by the serpent’s death was not Aint or Luina.

It was Andromalius. The master of the dead serpent.

“…This makes no sense…! How could trash like that…?!”

The black serpent, Malrius, was not a mere creature. It was his double, a part of his very being.

The death of Malrius was not just the loss of a separate entity, but the disappearance of a part of Andromalius himself.

“……!”

But there was no time for mourning. The situation was far from over. The demon could not endure this humiliation. He could not accept it.

“…Very well! I will kill you all! Every last one of you!”

He faced the two knights, who were already closing in with swords raised.

The demon clenched his fist. Aint and Luina lowered their stances.

An instant later, both knights propelled themselves off the ground.

A pure white light and a blue flash traced two different paths, both aimed at the same target.

Black magic met them.

Booom!

Countless wounds ripped into the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Fragments flew in all directions, and the shockwave swept through everything in its path. Andromalius’s demonic magic writhed like a living serpent, searching for openings in the knights’ defenses.

But they were not alone. They covered each other, their swords crossing in a flawless dance.

It was a dance. A sacred dance of extermination, meant to seal and execute the demon.

─!

The wounds on the demon’s body multiplied. His skin, once impenetrable, was no longer firm. His broken arm was now a glaring blind spot.

─!

The power of the demons’ natural enemies devoured his energy like fish in water.

“Damn Armian descendants!”

The brighter the light shone, the more the darkness faded. With each cut of their swords, the demonic magic unraveled.

And still, the demon did not fall.

“Do you think I will lose?!”

His blood turned into poison, and the fragments of magic still obeyed his will.

“I am Andromalius! Count of Hell! Commander of the eleven infernal armies!”

He roared as he stood, glaring with contempt at the humans.

“I am the herald of the infernal invasion that will conquer the middle world!”

His magic raged wilder, fiercer, more violent.

“And what of it?”

But the one before him was no mere human.

“Then I am that Armian you so despise.”

The natural enemy of demons.

“The heir of the First Emperor, whose name alone makes you tremble.”

The scourge of hell.

— Go, Aint! That’s only his final roar before death!

The cause that shattered all the demons’ dreams.

The First Emperor’s sword blazed.

The white light that grew by devouring demonic magic now shone greater than ever.

────!

Light and darkness clashed.

“Ah…”

Andromalius clutched his chest. An instant later, a fountain of blood burst from his torn torso.

Crack. Then, another sword pierced his heart.

“I… I…!”

His eyes dimmed rapidly.

“Don’t think I am the last! This is only the beginning! In the end, the middle world will be ours…!”

— Classic third-rate villain line.

And so it ended.

Andromalius lost all life and collapsed. In that moment, his corpse disintegrated into dust.

“…This…”

— Demons do not belong to the middle world. That is why they are not even allowed to leave behind a body.

Thus the demon died. A miracle forged in a desperate situation.

But not everyone was satisfied with the outcome.

“…No way. He just disintegrates? After everything we suffered and there’s nothing left?”

A merchant, who had dreamed of making products using the serpent’s body, collapsed in despair.