Chapter 69 - Guardian (2)

I stared in bewilderment at the guardian standing tall before me. It looked like the sort of golem you would see in a fantasy story: almost human in shape, but several times larger. According to Starlight Lady, it was a being inhabited by a spirit.

'Why did that thing suddenly...?'

The more pressing problem, though, was that a guardian had appeared out of nowhere. No, "woken up" would be more accurate. What had been nothing but a pile of rocks moments ago had snapped together and risen to its feet.

WHIRRRR

The orichalcum guardian looked straight at me. It had no eyes, but the slight downward tilt of its head made that clear.

'Wait, what's that...?'

As I inched backward, I looked at the center of its chest. Something far bluer than the rest of it was embedded there. It looked rather like a ball. Whatever it was, it stood out.

'Is that its core?'

I vaguely remembered encountering a guardian after killing the mad dogs. Sword Masta had mentioned aiming for the core in its chest. To do that, I would need to cut off its legs first. Its sheer size gave me an advantage there.

'If it comes to it, I can go straight for that core...'

CLANK! CLANK!

... Or so I hoped, but when was anything ever that easy? More orichalcum covered the guardian's chest, as though it were putting on armor. Its body was now much thicker than before. What was this, a bulking routine?

I was already feeling overwhelmed, but I barely managed to pull myself together.

'No. I can do this. I beat the saber-toothed tiger, didn't I?'

The guardian didn't seem to have classified me as an enemy yet. Still, it was ready to attack at any moment. The way it had bundled up its previously exposed core had to mean it was on guard.

"Kyuuu..."

Roundfur's fur bristled warily too. Apparently, he knew this was dangerous. He had trembled all over when the chicks chased him, yet now he was acting like a predator again. Had he decided he stood a chance because there was only one enemy?

Still, avoiding a fight was the best option, so I tried to back away a little at a time. Just then—

[GRRRRIND]

THUD!

With a mechanical grinding noise, it took a step forward. At the same time, the surrounding orichalcum clung to it as though magnetized. Apparently, the core acted like a magnet, drawing in the orichalcum around it.

BOOM! THUD! THUD!

The orichalcum guardian strode toward me. Its eye level alone was far higher than the tiger's, so I couldn't help feeling a little nervous. I watched every detail of its strange behavior and steadied my breathing. As my breathing settled, the mana inside me began circulating smoothly too.

[GRRIND]

The moment I circulated my mana, it made that bizarre noise. Then it lifted a massive leg and stomped down.

BOOM!

The impact sent tremors through the ground. But what happened next left me aghast.

CRRACK!

The floor rose into spikes that rushed at me. They weren't particularly fast, but the shock left me frozen for a moment.

"W-what the hell?!"

I forced my rigid body to move and dodged. A spike narrowly brushed past me. The guardian even had ranged attacks? This was different from fighting the saber-toothed tiger. It looked like this would be a tough fight.

'I have to get close either way.'

I tightened my grip on my sword and shield. First, I would try Sword Masta's advice. Walking upright was both a strength and a weakness for humanoid monsters. Losing just one leg would drastically reduce its mobility.

"Kyaaa!"

While I was briefly gathering my thoughts, Roundfur charged valiantly. Given the difference in size, though, this wasn't valor. It was recklessness. Startled, I reached out, but his attack landed before I could stop him.

THUMP!

It was an utterly adorable body slam. The guardian didn't even feel it. My heart lurched at the sight, but its reaction was strange. It simply kept walking toward me in silence, as though Roundfur weren't worth its notice.

'Does it refuse to fight weak opponents?'

I couldn't be sure, but it didn't seem interested in attacking Roundfur. Each blow was powerful, but it moved so slowly that he wasn't going to get stepped on either.

GRRRRIND

As it plodded steadily toward me, the guardian slowly raised both arms. Sensing danger, I hurried to the right.

GRRIND

But there was something strange about the way it followed me. Its waist twisted to a grotesque angle. By the time it swung its arms down, it had turned almost 180 degrees.

CRASH!

Both massive arms slammed into the ground. As before, the floor erupted into spikes that surged at me. Its movements were slow, but once the attack was triggered, it was incredibly fast. I couldn't let my guard down.

'Now!'

Again, the creature itself moved slowly. My window of opportunity lasted right up until it unleashed its attack.

HUMMM

Mana rose from Heavenly Demon's sword like a heat haze. I would sever the guardian's leg with a single strike. That would throw it off balance and make it easier to take down.

GRRRIND

A sound like rocks grinding together struck my ears. The guardian was starting to lift its massive leg.

"Kyuuu?!"

Roundfur, who had been busy attacking that leg, clung to it in alarm. The guardian still seemed oblivious to him. I decided to attack its other leg before the raised one came stomping down. Thanks to its sluggish movements, reaching the planted leg wasn't difficult.

'It's even bigger up close.'

My head barely reached its crotch. But the larger it was, the more openings it had. I circulated the mana inside me faster. The aura rising from Heavenly Demon's sword grew much stronger. All I had to do now was slice through that leg.

Just before the foot with Roundfur clinging to it came down, I swung my sword. Following what I'd read on the forum, I slashed from the inside outward to put my full strength behind it.

'Good. It wor—!'

WHOOOOSH!

Just as I was about to smile in triumph, something completely unexpected happened. The aura billowing like a heat haze was sucked into the guardian's leg. Like water touching a sponge, every last trace vanished in an instant.

THUNK!

Worse still, even Heavenly Demon's sword failed to sever the leg. It lodged halfway through. The aura might have vanished, but this was a peerless blade that sliced through solid wood like tofu.

'Right, orichalcum absorbs mana...!'

There was no other explanation. One of orichalcum's properties was that absorbing mana temporarily hardened it. I'd overlooked that because I thought it was only "temporary," and therefore irrelevant to me. I'd focused so hard on strengthening the sword that I'd forgotten a crucial detail. That oversight had led to an unexpected setback—and a crisis.

BOOM!!

The guardian stamped its foot hard against the ground. The moment I saw it, I raised my shield to brace for the next attack, quickly retrieving Heavenly Demon's sword as I did.

CRASH!

The ground erupted around its foot, accompanied by a tremendous shock wave. Thank goodness I'd thrust my shield toward its foot. Otherwise, I would have been in serious trouble.

"Aargh!"

That didn't mean I'd absorbed all the damage, though. The impact transmitted through the shield sent me flying backward. Even as I flew, I kept my neck raised so I wouldn't hit my head. Sword Masta had explained it in a post: even if breaking my fall was difficult, I had to keep my head up, no matter what. That would minimize any secondary injuries.

THUP!

Just before I hit the ground, I felt someone gently catch my head. A moment later, intense pain shot through my back, but with my head unharmed, it was at least bearable.

"Ugh... Thanks."

"..."

None other than the speed-sloth had supported my head. It answered with its usual blank expression. I tried to steady my breathing, which remained ragged after landing on my back.

'Roundfur? Where's Roundfur?'

I searched for him as I got up. That had been a powerful attack. Please let him be all right.

"Kyuuu! Kyu-kyu!"

I soon found him. I didn't know when he'd climbed up there, but he was perched on top of the guardian's head. He was unleashing some very cute claw attacks, yet the guardian didn't budge. It seemed completely unaware of him.

'What the hell is going on?'

Weak or not, it was odd that the guardian couldn't even notice something clinging to its head. As I tilted my head in puzzlement, it turned toward me.

GRRRIND

Its chest opened, revealing the bright blue core. I was wondering why it would do the equivalent of exposing its heart when—

HUMMMMM

The core began to glow even brighter. At the sight, I felt my blood run cold. I had to dodge. If I didn't, I would die. I scrambled to my feet and flung myself aside.

HUMMMMM!

The core's glow grew more intense than the Light spell floating overhead, and then—

WHOOOOSH!

It fired a laser straight out of a comic.

KABOOM!!

The laser narrowly missed me. Its destructive power was plain to see: it had gouged out the floor as though an artillery shell had exploded there. Apparently, even orichalcum couldn't absorb something that destructive.

"Hah... Hah..."

Panting, I stared blankly at the crater in the floor. There was absolutely no surviving a direct hit from that.

CLANK! CLANK!

The guardian's core was covered again, as though it had put on armor. Apparently, it couldn't just fire those shots indiscriminately.

'Did it just fire back the mana it absorbed from me?'

That was the only hypothesis I could come up with for now. With a groan, I rose to my feet. This was the first time I'd faced a restriction on my mana use. The one saving grace was that it had only absorbed mana I released outside my body.

'So all I can do is enhance my body...'

Still, I had Heavenly Demon's sword. I had plenty of chances left. If I took my time fighting it, a weakness would reveal itself.

"Speedy, can you cut through that?"

"..."

Speedy shook its head. Even though its claws could slice effortlessly through an iron drum, orichalcum was apparently too much. Given the guardian's thickness, trying might only damage the speed-sloth's claws.

[GRRRRIND]

BOOM! THUD!

Making that bizarre noise again, it advanced toward me. How did it know exactly where I was when it didn't even have eyes? Yet it seemed completely unable to detect Roundfur clinging to its head. It felt as though it was "sensing" me rather than seeing me with eyes like a person would.

'I'm not sure yet.'

I'd have to fight it a little longer to find out. I quietly regulated my breathing. Then the guardian slowly lifted its arms. This was my chance, while it prepared an attack like the last one.

'No aura. Just Heavenly Demon's sword...!'

I reached the space between its legs just before its arms came down. Then, with all my strength, I swung Heavenly Demon's sword from the inside outward, aiming for its right leg. Perhaps because I'd accelerated my mana, I could vividly feel every movement of my muscles.

SHIIK!

The guardian's leg came clean off. Heavenly Demon's sword lived up to its reputation. With one leg gone, its balance collapsed completely.

BOOM!

The guardian toppled forward as soon as it lost its leg, startling Roundfur on its head. But this wasn't enough. Until I destroyed the core embedded in the center of its chest, it wouldn't stop moving. Luckily, it was on its knees now, making its back easy to climb onto.

TAP-TAP!

I leaped high and landed easily on its back. Immediately, I took a reverse grip on my sword and raised it overhead. Driving the blade through to the core would finish everything. Aura might keep it from piercing through, so I only accelerated the mana inside my body.

"Hyaaah!"

With a mighty shout, I drove my sword down—

BAM!!

And a rock erupting from the guardian's back struck me square in the abdomen.

'... Huh?'