Chapter 70 - Guardian (3)

The rock that shot up without warning struck me square in the stomach, sending me flying. As I hurtled through the air, time seemed to slow.

'What...?'

For a moment, I couldn't understand. Why would a rock shoot out of the guardian's back?

No. Maybe I'd simply been careless. Hadn't it already made the cave floor erupt and exposed the core in its chest? Reshaping its back would be child's play.

'More importantly... how did it know where I...?'

CRASH! THUD, CRASH!

The thought went unfinished, cut short by the agony in my back. That rock had sent me flying a long way. Front and back, there wasn't a part of me that didn't hurt.

"Gah... hhh...!"

I did my best to get my stubborn breathing under control. Gaping like a goldfish wasn't doing me any good.

The one silver lining was that it hadn't hit my solar plexus. If it had, it would probably have knocked me out on the spot.

THOOM! THUD!

The ground shook. I barely managed to raise my head and look at the guardian. I'd definitely cut off its leg, yet it had been restored as though nothing had happened.

Could it manipulate not just its immediate surroundings, but perhaps this entire orichalcum cave at will? It seemed able to repair its body in no time, no matter how often it was damaged.

'So it's basically playing on home turf...'

Even as I thought, I worked on steadying my breathing. It was like I could breathe in, but not out. That hit had really done a number on me.

WHACK!

"Gah!"

Then someone smacked me hard on the back. A searing jolt shot across it, and at the same time, air burst from my mouth. Finally, I could breathe again.

I looked behind me to see who'd hit me. It was the speed-sloth. Just like with the saber-toothed tiger, this little guy was always a huge help.

"... Thanks."

"..."

Instead of answering—not that it could talk anyway—the speed-sloth climbed onto my back. It seemed to be telling me to get it together and focus on the fight.

I suppressed the pain in my stomach as best I could and stood. Maybe because I'd poured all my mana into my body just before the blow landed, I had no trouble moving.

"Cough! Cough!"

A coughing fit erupted without warning. I hastily covered my mouth with the back of my hand, only to find it drenched in blood. I might look fine on the outside, but apparently my insides weren't.

Of course I couldn't be fine after taking a hit like that.

Keeping an eye on the guardian, I hurriedly took out the Elixir and drank a mouthful. Perhaps thanks to its painkilling properties, I felt much better than before.

THOOM! THUD!

'Something about this just doesn't add up.'

The guardian hadn't attacked at all while I drank the Elixir. It merely walked slowly toward me, refusing to make the first move.

And it was still ignoring Roundfur's attacks. That bothered me most of all. It knew I was here, but not Roundfur. Why?

As I brought my breathing under control, I circulated the mana in my body. My stomach still hurt a little, but the Elixir's painkilling effect made it bearable.

[GRRRRK—]

The instant I circulated my mana, the guardian made that bizarre noise again. Judging by its slowly rising arms, it was about to attack again.

'First, I have to dodge this.'

I'd been thrown too far away to close in easily. Dodging was my only option for now.

I circled sideways, keeping my eyes on the guardian. It tracked my position in real time, twisting its waist at an unnatural angle.

KRA-KABOOM!!!

The instant its arms slammed down, a mass of spikes surged toward me. As I'd said before, I could dodge those by sight. And now I had plenty of distance, too.

Before it could follow up, I charged... or rather, I didn't. I waited quietly.

'Is it... sensing mana?'

The orichalcum guardian's pattern went something like this: if I did nothing, it simply walked toward me without doing anything else. But the instant I circulated my mana, it started attacking.

If it hadn't ignored Roundfur, I would never have noticed.

'Then that means...'

I even held my breath as I stilled the mana inside me. Sure enough, the guardian froze just as it was about to launch its next attack.

After staring at me for a moment, it slowly moved its massive body forward. Perhaps its sensitivity to mana let it pinpoint my location, but that was as far as it went.

'Just as I thought.'

Not using mana—that was the key to beating it. But figuring out the strategy meant nothing if I couldn't actually pull it off.

'I'll need mana to cut through that thing.'

Heavenly Demon's sword could do almost anything, but not absolutely everything. Even overpowered gear couldn't perform properly without the ability to back it up.

I'd only just learned a cultivation method. I was as green as green could be. With the option of infusing my sword with mana taken away, I had no choice but to brute-force it.

'Guess I'll have to get the timing right...'

I watched the guardian approach, then began creeping forward. Perhaps it wasn't attacking simply because I was out of range. I needed to find out how close I could get before it reacted.

[GRRRRK—]

When we were about twenty meters apart, the guardian reacted. The moment it lifted one leg, showing signs of attacking, I hastily backed away.

[GRRK—]

Then it quietly lowered its raised leg and strode toward me.

That settled it. It was detecting presences through mana. The guardian was probably also the reason there were no dangerous beasts in this cave.

'In that case...'

I inched backward, staying outside its detection range. There would be plenty of openings, but among all those opportunities, I could only seize one.

If I took another direct hit to the stomach like that, even Elixir might struggle to heal it. Hell, Elixir or not, I'd pass out first. I might end up needing the speed-sloth's help again.

'Take it slow.'

I moved back and forth, testing its range. Before long, I found the optimal distance and drew a deep breath.

"Whew..."

[GRRRRK—]

The guardian reacted violently the moment I exhaled. I flinched, but thankfully it did nothing more. Apparently it could sense breathing too, since that also caused changes in mana.

'... Now!'

I circulated my mana and charged forward. The guardian raised one foot, but it was already too late. Just like before, I was between its legs.

Could I do this?

The doubt flickered through my mind, but I pushed it aside in an instant and focused every nerve in my body on the sword. If I failed, I would die. I couldn't die here.

I was going to make it out of this hellhole alive. I hadn't survived just to die.

SHICK!

Without using aura, I cut off its leg through physical strength alone. The massive orichalcum body crumpled forward onto its knees.

I was circulating my mana more fiercely than ever.

SHICK! SHICK!

To stop it from countering like before, I cut off not just a leg, but all its limbs. Spikes shot up now and then, nearly putting me in serious danger, but I managed to block them with my shield.

At last, only the guardian's torso remained. One stab through the core, and it would be over.

KABOOM!

The instant I climbed onto its back, a rock erupted. I barely dodged it. A last desperate struggle, perhaps, but it was too late. All that remained was for Heavenly Demon's sword to pierce its core.

"Hup!"

I drove Heavenly Demon's sword hard toward the core. The blade slid in smoothly. All I had to do was stab the core...

RUMBLE!

...but nothing in life ever came easy. The guardian's severed limbs began moving as though they were alive. While I stared in bewilderment, something else happened.

WHOOOOSH!

"Ghh?!"

A strange weakness swept through my entire body—a languor like I'd just stepped out of a hot bath. The inexplicable lethargy baffled me, but I quickly realized its cause.

'Th-this bastard's taking my mana...!'

The guardian was absorbing my mana through Heavenly Demon's sword, which was still embedded in its back. Panicking, I tried to pull the sword free, but it wouldn't budge.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

To make matters worse, the guardian's severed limbs began attacking, writhing like live worms.

CLAAANG!

I dodged a kick, but couldn't avoid the punch that followed. I just barely blocked it with my shield, but it had already sent me flying.

The bigger problem was that I'd lost my grip on Heavenly Demon's sword.

CRASH!

"Urrgh...!"

I managed to break my fall after being flung away, but I couldn't relax. Given the weakness washing through my whole body, it would definitely follow up with another attack.

GRRRRRK—

Slow to attack, quick to regenerate? The guardian's limbs were already restored. The whole cave was orichalcum, so it must have used that.

But I couldn't dwell on the thought. The guardian's chest opened.

VMMMMM—

That laser it had fired earlier was aimed straight at me. I hastily scrambled to my feet the instant I saw it, but there was another problem.

My head swam.

"?!"

Was it because my mana had been drained? I couldn't muster any strength. Dizziness stabbed through my head, forcing me to my knees.

'N-no...!'

Dizzy or not, I had to think. I glared at the guardian, which had me squarely in its sights. Even with all my mana drained, it could still pinpoint me.

Before I could even wonder why, it happened.

A flicker.

My surroundings suddenly flickered, then brightened again, like a failing lightbulb.

The moment it happened, I craned my head up. I winced at the glare, barely managing to open my eyes.

'... Light?'

The crystal orb King Leor had given me. The Light spell inside it.

Casting a spell inevitably required mana.

The instant I realized that, I pulled the crystal orb from my bag without hesitation. Then I wrung out every scrap of mana I could and poured it into the orb.

Light blazed out. The instant I infused the mana, everything around me brightened, bathing the entire cave in brilliant light.

Ignoring the glare, I hurled the crystal orb behind the guardian.

SKRRRRK!

Success. I'd pulled its aggro perfectly. The guardian twisted nearly 180 degrees at the waist to follow the crystal orb.

That brought Heavenly Demon's sword into view, embedded in its back like a Hero's sword. I scraped together every last bit of strength and sprang to my feet.

"Aaaaaaah!"

With a battle cry, I charged the guardian. I had only one target: Heavenly Demon's sword. It couldn't hear anyway, so I yelled to my heart's content.

VMMMMM!

An eerie sound came from its core. I timed my move for the shot. As the light grew far brighter than before, I covered my entire left arm with the shield.

Braced for a body slam, I kept running and leaped.

KABOOOOM!!

The instant I jumped, the core fired its laser. No matter how massive it was, it couldn't ignore recoil. Just as I'd expected, its body was pushed backward, if only slightly.

That recoil was a tremendous help to me.

CLANG!!

My shield collided with the butt of Heavenly Demon's sword with a deafening crash. The sword, which had already reached the core, sank even deeper.

The entire blade had gone in. It had to have pierced clean through the core.

THUD!

I'd body-slammed it with my shield, and leaped to do it. Naturally, what came next was a fall. Hitting the ground hurt a little—no, a lot.

Still, just in case, I rolled ignominiously away from the guardian. Go ahead, call me pathetic. Staying alive came first.

GRRRRK— GRK— GRRRK—

Perhaps because I'd properly pierced its core, the guardian malfunctioned. Its arms and legs kept falling off and reattaching while its entire body twisted as though it were dancing.

Was this what a broken robot would look like?

THOOM!

Before long, its arms drooped and it toppled forward. It still rattled very faintly, but even that soon subsided. The blue glow of its core went out completely.

The only light left in the cave was the single Light spell floating overhead. Somehow, it had survived the laser blast unscathed.

"Oh, man..."

I'd nearly died. If I hadn't figured out its weakness, I wouldn't have stood a chance.

Were all guardians like this? How the hell did Sword Masta beat things like that so easily?

With my mana drained as well, I had no strength left. I'd have to lie here for a while.

Something sidled up to me. At first, I thought it was the speed-sloth. But then I saw the round eyes and beak and realized otherwise.

It was Roundfur, the star contributor to my victory over the guardian.

"Kyuu?"

Roundfur tilted his head as he looked at me lying on the ground. I stared blankly back, then let out a hollow chuckle.

"Roundfur."

"Kyu?"

"Want some honey later?"

"Kyuu!"

That was a yes.