Damon, who had been riding Zikrate and cutting down liches without hesitation, turned his gaze toward the sky.
“I should help them first.”
Seeing the Death Knights plummeting, Damon immediately leaped down to the earth. Without using magic, he landed lightly with a breakfall, then issued an order to Zikrate without hesitation.
“Fly up and join forces with them. We have to split Berkis’s attention if we’re going to win.”
Kwarurururu.
Zikrate let out a roar as if to say he understood, then soared upward. Damon did not even watch him go before casting Blink. He had sensed Berkis’s attack coming.
Kwarrrrung.
In the blink of an eye, that place became a sea of fire. Damon reappeared a short distance away and rolled without a second thought. It was to avoid the Fire Wall that had suddenly bloomed where he had appeared.
Hwarrrr.
His clothes badly scorched, Damon sprang to his feet and immediately launched himself forward. Because he had cast Haste, his running figure could barely even be discerned. All sorts of offensive spells flew in and exploded, but Damon’s speed was so great that not a single one struck him.
High up in the distant sky, Berkis was venting his fury without end.
“That bastard is a loach soaked in oil.”
He poured out attack spells continuously, yet the man kept slipping away by the narrowest margins, as if to spite him. Such movements were something one could barely expect from a well-trained knight. It was unimaginable that a high-ranking mage who had reached the 9th Circle master level could move like that. Enraged to the tips of his hair, Berkis cast detection magic on Damon without hesitation.
“You wretch! I’ll burn you without leaving a trace.”
But it was in vain. While Damon allowed every offensive spell to come at him, there was one thing he stubbornly prevented: being caught by detection magic. The moment he was detected would be the moment his life ended, so Damon had no choice but to be desperate. Watching Damon somehow slip free just when he seemed about to be caught left Berkis dumbfounded.
“If only it weren’t for that bastard…”
The fact that the White Dragon had given him time had been the root of all trouble. As Berkis continued pouring out attacks as if to vent his anger, he saw the Death Knights escaping their crisis. Two of the Death Knights had already landed lightly on the back of the bone dragon.
Zikrate was gliding in the direction the remaining Death Knights were falling, trying to rescue them as well.
“I’ll have to deal with those things first.”
Berkis ground his teeth and turned. In the current situation, dealing first with opponents who could pose even the slightest threat was an extremely natural decision. No matter what happened, Damon’s 9th Circle magical attacks could not pierce his shield. Unless it was the Aura Blade of a Sword Master, there was absolutely nothing that could harm him.
Kwakwakwakwa.
At the Energy Cannon that suddenly came flying in, Helbertron and Salamis paled and threw themselves aside. An Energy Cannon of that power could not be blocked even by the anti-magic armor they wore. If it struck them, even Death Knights would undoubtedly be annihilated on the spot. Immediately after the Death Knights flung themselves away, the Energy Cannon flew serenely onward and struck Zikrate squarely in the back.
Kwakwang!
Zikrate’s massive body staggered. The impact was powerful enough to momentarily scatter his anti-magic barrier. Fortunately, he had not suffered serious damage, but it seemed difficult for him to continue gliding. Unless he increased his speed and constantly changed direction, evading the attacks would be impossible.
Kroarara!
Having instinctively realized that fact, Zikrate sharply increased his speed, leaving Reindelph and Primberg, who were falling endlessly, as they were. The Death Knights who had been dangling beneath Zikrate’s body quickly launched themselves and landed on his back. Helbertron glanced at his falling comrades, then turned away as if there was nothing to be done.
“Sorry, but we have no choice. The most urgent task before us right now is to split Berkis’s attention. Only if Damon is safe can we survive as well…”
Thinking that as long as Damon survived, they could be revived later, the Death Knights gave up on saving their comrades and poured dark mana into their swords to the utmost. With two Death Knights on his back, Zikrate continued changing direction as he attempted to approach Berkis.
Catroi was spewing Breath like a madman.
Kwakwakwakwa.
There was only one thought in his mind: smash the Iron Golem to pieces. Spewing Ice Breath was the solution Catroi had come up with after long deliberation. A short while earlier, after driving the Iron Golem into a pit, Catroi had struck it endlessly with his tail.
Kwang, kwang, kwang, kwang.
His powerful tail attacks hammered the Iron Golem’s body without pause. Since magical attacks did not work on it, Catroi had no choice but to pour out purely physical attacks. However, the Iron Golem’s body was so solid that he could not achieve much. Because its lower body was buried and it could not move, the Iron Golem had curled up tightly, covering its upper body with its shield to minimize the impact. When pain began to travel back through his tail instead, Catroi was ultimately forced to look for another solution.
“I’ll freeze you solid, you bastard.”
Recalling that metal became easier to shatter when cooled, Catroi immediately breathed out. His plan was to cool the Iron Golem to the extreme, then smash it. As if determined to expel every last bit of cold from within his body, Catroi continued spewing Breath without rest. Quite some time had already passed that way. Then a sharp cry reached his ears.
“You idiot! If you’re going to help, then help properly! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Damon? You’re still alive?”
Arriving beside Catroi in an instant, Damon glared fiercely.
“Stop tussling with some useless golem scrap and fly up right now.”
“Why should I?”
Damon glared at Catroi, who asked back stupidly, as if he might devour him.
“What a blockheaded dragon. If we’re going to deal with Berkis, we have to keep the Death Knights alive somehow. If not for you, those two can’t be saved.”
Catroi turned his head and saw the two Death Knights falling. He nodded as if he understood. Leaving the Iron Golem where it was, he immediately launched himself into the air.
“I don’t feel like it, but I’ll do as you say. In return, you owe me a drink later.”
“You damned bastard. At a time like this…”
Listening to Damon’s curses, Catroi flew up and shot in a straight line toward the falling Reindelph and Primberg. They were on the verge of being smashed into the earth. But as if to prove how agile he was, Catroi snatched the two Death Knights up by a hair’s breadth.
Whiyuuung.
Because their falling momentum was considerable, Catroi’s body lurched violently after catching the Death Knights. But he regained his balance without much difficulty and began to soar. The Death Knights, having escaped the fate of colliding with the earth and being crushed flat, hurriedly launched themselves and jumped onto Catroi’s back. Reindelph and Primberg silently expressed their gratitude.
“Thank you, White Dragon.”
“You brats… Though I did get done in by you once, dragons are never creatures to be taken lightly. Got it?”
Listening to Catroi boast, the Death Knights quietly prepared to attack. Despite their repeated falls, their longswords were still firmly gripped in their hands.
“To think the situation has deteriorated this badly…”
Berkis felt as if he were going mad. The overwhelmingly advantageous situation had long since been overturned. His plan to quickly dispose of the Crown Prince and Damon, then return, had completely gone up in smoke. Without even eliminating the one he had aimed for, he was now the one driven into a corner.
His trusted subordinate Gedenheid had already been annihilated. Not a single lich under his command had survived either. Of course, as long as their Life Force Vessels remained intact, it would be possible to revive them later, but it was obvious that they could not serve as fighting strength in the current situation.
The terrifying Bronze Golem corps was also on the verge of destruction. Surrounded by countless human knights, they had fought desperately again and again, but they had been unable to overcome the overwhelming numerical disadvantage and were being destroyed one by one. Three or four Bronze Golems were still fighting hard, but their destruction was only a matter of time.
“The united strength of humans really is frightening.”
Berkis shook his head as if dumbfounded. The brief delay caused by their fierce resistance had brought about such a disastrous result. On top of that, he himself was in danger.
Two dragons were charging toward him, each carrying two Death Knights. The only difference was that one was a living dragon, while the other was already dead. Seeing that sight, Berkis made up his mind.
“There’s nothing else I can do now. I’ll dispose of that one man, Damon, as planned, then leave this place.”
Berkis dispersed the mana he had gathered in abundance, closed his eyes, and began to concentrate. He paid no mind to Zikrate and Catroi flying up toward him, nor to the Death Knights riding on their backs. The mana he had drawn together for magical attacks began rearranging itself into a completely different form.
“The only thing that can suppress his movements is mental magic.”
If he had used this method earlier, he might not have suffered such losses. However, there had been one thing that made Berkis reluctant, and so he had not cast mental magic.
“He has already escaped once from mental magic I cast. There is a chance, however small, that it may not catch him.”
That was precisely why Berkis had not used mental magic. He had been confident that he could kill him with offensive magic alone. But now he had no choice but to hope that his mental magic would succeed. Recalling that fact, Berkis cast the mental spell with all his might.
“Hrk!”
Damon suddenly clutched his head and collapsed on the spot. Something was fiercely burrowing into his mind. Realizing that it was Berkis’s mental magic, Damon’s eyes flew open. If he was caught by mental magic, everything would be over, so he desperately gathered his mind.
“As if I, a master of dark arts, would fall to mere mental magic like this!”
But despite his desperate efforts, his consciousness grew distant. Realizing that, Damon immediately cast a dark art upon himself. It was a desperate effort not to be caught by the mental magic.
“Uuuugh.”
Two opposing forces waged a fierce battle inside his head. However, in terms of power, Berkis’s mental magic was bound to be far superior to Damon’s dark art. As if determined not to repeat his previous failure, Berkis continued attacking Damon’s mental world. His intent was to completely subdue him and order him to kill himself, or if that failed, to at least drive him mad.
Thud.
Damon’s knees gave way. Clutching his head, Damon clenched his teeth as if to crush them. The barrier protecting his mental world was gradually crumbling. Feeling the dark art he had cast on himself slowly unravel, Damon cried out in despair.
“N-no!”
Having broken through the dark art, Berkis’s mental magic tried to burrow into Damon’s mental world as if nothing could stop it. At that moment, an anomaly occurred. The Sevenfold Severance Prohibition Art, the restrictive art that had bound Damon until now so he could not commit murder, activated.
The Sevenfold Severance Prohibition Art, which activated just before his mental world collapsed and turned him into a madman, soon began a fierce battle against Berkis’s mental magic. This ancient prohibition art, which grew together with the self of the one it was cast upon, did not fall behind the mental magic of a dragon in the slightest.
Just as Damon had come this far by overcoming desperate adversity, the Sevenfold Severance Prohibition Art, which could be called a part of him, had also made tremendous progress. The Sevenfold Severance Prohibition Art placed upon Damon had grown so powerful that it could not even be compared to what it had been at the beginning.
Against the mental magic that attacked his mental world without pause, the Sevenfold Severance Prohibition Art, as though it would not yield,
He devoted himself to defense. Damon’s body, now a battlefield for two opposing energies, trembled as though he had come down with the ague.
“So there was something to him after all.”
When his opponent did not easily fall under his mental magic, Verkis grew impatient. If this standoff continued, the one at a disadvantage would be him. While maintaining his mental magic, he had no choice but to leave himself utterly defenseless against the attacks of the bone dragon and the Death Knights. Yet abandoning the man and fleeing was something his pride would not allow.
Anxious, Verkis sought an ally nearby. He intended to use the remaining Guardians to eliminate the defenseless Damon. Fortunately, two Bronze Golems responded to his command. Judging by the situation, it seemed they were the only ones left.
Kyaooooo.
The two Bronze Golems, their entire bodies battered and broken as they fought, turned without hesitation. By coincidence, one of them had its life stone pierced at the very moment it turned and collapsed on the spot, but the remaining Bronze Golem launched itself forward without the slightest pause. Knights swarmed toward it like bees, but the Bronze Golem paid them no heed and began an unstoppable charge.
“S-stop it!”
Shouts rang out from all directions, but there was no one capable of stopping the Bronze Golem’s charge. In the midst of fierce combat, attacks aimed at openings had been possible, but there was simply no way to halt a Bronze Golem charging at such speed. A massive Bronze Golem was, in a word, like a tank on the battlefield. A tank that moved far faster than running infantry, at that.
Thanks to its uniquely swift movements, the Bronze Golem shook off the knights without difficulty and rushed straight toward Damon. Its speed was so great that Damon’s body looked as though it would be trampled and crushed beneath the golem’s feet at any moment.
Crack.
The charging Bronze Golem kicked aside or trampled any knights that got in its way. By coincidence, along the path of the Bronze Golem’s charge, several princesses who had barely survived the Meteor Swarm were hiding. Unable to move because of injuries, terror, and other reasons, the princesses saw the Bronze Golem rushing toward them and screamed all at once.
“Kyaaaak!”
“S-save us!”
But there was no one who could rescue them from danger. The Bronze Golem seemed about to come running and crush them beneath its feet, and they were completely seized by fear. Just then, a thunderous shout burst out from the side.
“Did you think I would let you pass like this?”
The one who shouted was Mitchell. Even among the knights, Mitchell had been displaying an especially outstanding performance, and the moment the Bronze Golem charged out, he immediately grasped its intent. Of course, there was no need to explain that he hurled himself forward without hesitation to protect Damon. To Mitchell, Damon was someone he had to protect even at the cost of his life if necessary.
Because he ran with all his might, Mitchell was able to block the path in front of the princesses just before the Bronze Golem arrived. Of course, the only thought in Mitchell’s head was that he had to protect Damon. The princesses, naturally, did not think so.
Kwaooo.
When a single human blocked its way, the charging Bronze Golem lifted its foot as if finding him laughable and tried to kick Mitchell away. But Mitchell was on an entirely different level from the human knights it had faced until now. Narrowly avoiding the attack, Mitchell swung his sword and struck the Bronze Golem’s ankle without mercy.
It was the opposite ankle from the one on which the golem had put its weight. He had already poured every last bit of mana he could draw into his sword.
Slice.
The Bronze Golem’s ankle was cut clean off. For a golem that had been charging fiercely, it was a blow that inevitably made it lose its balance. The Bronze Golem’s massive body crashed to the ground with a tremendous roar.
Thud.
By coincidence, the golem fell flat on its back right in front of the trembling princesses. As the Bronze Golem flailed in an attempt to rise, someone lightly leapt onto its chest.
“Your life stone must be in either your head or your neck. This time will be easy, won’t it?”
Having realized that there were only two parts of the golem’s body that had not yet been dug into, Mitchell’s eyes shone with delight. Every other likely location for the life stone had already been riddled like a beehive by the knights’ surrounding attacks. Without hesitation, Mitchell drove his longsword into the Bronze Golem’s torso.
Pshuk.
Mitchell’s sword slid neatly into the point where the Bronze Golem’s neck met its chest. But Mitchell’s first attack ended in failure.
Whoooong.
A huge longsword came flying toward Mitchell’s body. Since its life had not yet been severed, the Bronze Golem’s counterattack had begun.
“Damn it!”
Mitchell immediately leapt. The enormous longsword, large enough to shatter a human body outright rather than merely cut it in two if it struck, swept past his feet with terrifying force. Having avoided the attack, Mitchell flattened himself without even needing to think.
Whiiiiiing.
This time, a massive fist with a shield attached grazed just over his back. It was the Bronze Golem’s second attack, one of incomparable power. Straightening himself, Mitchell concentrated mana into his longsword to the utmost.
Patzztztz.
The Aura Blade formed on his sword was emitting a vivid light. Mitchell swung his sword like a bolt of lightning.
“I’ll finish you off!”
The edge of the helmet with the long horn was sliced clean away. With his next swing, the remaining horn, along with half the helmet, was severed from the Bronze Golem’s body.
“Is the life stone still intact?”
Holding his longsword in a reverse grip, Mitchell drove it without hesitation into the center of the Bronze Golem’s head, of which only about half remained. The Bronze Golem’s outstretched hand was reaching toward him, but he paid it no mind.
Pshuk.
Mitchell’s attack struck true this time. The life stone inside its head shattered without resistance. The Bronze Golem, which had been flailing to rise, stopped moving where it was. The hand that had been trying to grab Mitchell also froze in midair. With its life stone destroyed, it had returned to being an ordinary lump of bronze.
“Whew. It’s over now.”
Mitchell raised a hand and wiped away the sweat flowing beneath his helmet. Standing firm like an iron tower on the sprawled Bronze Golem’s chest, Mitchell looked every bit worthy of being called a hero. He bent down and picked up a piece of the severed horn.
“It should make a decent souvenir.”
When Mitchell turned his head, he found himself meeting the reverent gazes of the princesses staring at him. Though they were still terrified, a dreamy haze lingered in their eyes.
‘A knight so brave as that… He’s truly wonderful.’
‘He risked danger and threw himself in to save me.’
Every one of the princesses had an expression touched with deep emotion. Feeling awkward, Mitchell made an uncomfortable face.
“This place is extremely dangerous. Please evacuate at once.”
Turning his head, Mitchell noticed the knights who had arrived behind him and gave an order without hesitation.
“You men, escort these ladies to a safe place immediately. I will assist our mage.”
“Understood.”
The knights answered at once. Though he was not their superior, the feats he had shown thus far had already deeply captivated them. Mitchell’s exploits, marked by indomitable fighting spirit and courage that gave no thought at all to his own safety, had been engraved deeply into the knights’ minds.
After confirming that the knights were supporting the princesses and withdrawing, Mitchell immediately threw himself toward Damon. But the instant he looked that way, an urgent scream burst from his mouth.
“N-no! Damon!”
Completely defenseless, Damon was now in an extremely dangerous situation.
The moment the last Bronze Golem’s life vanished, Verkis immediately put his second plan into action. Though Katroi and Zikreite had almost reached him, he did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.
Rumble.
The Iron Golem, which had been stuck in the pit and frozen solid, slowly raised its massive body. Half of its body was still buried in the ground, but this time it was able to pull itself free without difficulty. Because of the Ice Breath Katroi had exhaled, the ground had frozen solid, and when the Iron Golem moved, the rock pressing down on it crumbled helplessly. Freed, the Iron Golem began walking very slowly toward Damon.
Crack, crack.
Cracks continued to spread across the Iron Golem’s body. Because of the Ice Breath Katroi had mercilessly poured onto it, the Iron Golem’s body was in an extremely cooled state. Moving in such a condition, there was no way the steel that made up its body could endure.
Rattle, rattle.
As the Iron Golem walked, broken pieces of steel continued to fall from its body. Even so, the Iron Golem did not hesitate in the slightest and kept approaching Damon.
Since Damon had been near the pit when he was struck in the first place, the Iron Golem was able to arrive at its intended location before long. That was the scene Mitchell witnessed.
“D-Damon!”
Mitchell kept shouting as he sprinted. Kasim, Gerald, and the remaining members had also seen the scene and were already throwing themselves forward. But because the distance was too great, it did not seem they could arrive before the Iron Golem attacked. Even so, they did not stop running, repeatedly crying out Damon’s name.
Although it had barely managed to reach Damon, the Iron Golem could no longer move. Because it had forced itself to move while in an extremely cooled state, the life stone had unfortunately shattered. In the blink of an eye, the Iron Golem became a lifeless lump of steel. Its enormous body remained frozen in place like an iron tower standing before Damon. It was a hollow end for the Iron Golem, one unfitting for its terrifying might. Yet when Verkis saw it, he cried out in triumph instead.
“Good.”
Withdrawing the mental magic he had been casting, Verkis opened his maw wide. From it, the flame breath unique to Red Dragons erupted fiercely.
Fwooooosh.
Though the Iron Golem blocked the breath, preventing it from reaching Damon, Verkis had something else in mind.
“When metal that has been cooled to an extreme is suddenly subjected to intense heat, it shatters. Sharp metal fragments will be more than enough to tear his body to pieces. Though I have withdrawn my mental magic, he will not regain his senses for a while. This time, I can finish him for certain.”
After breathing out his flames, Verkis attempted a sharp turn in midair. It was to avoid the attacks of the bone dragon and Death Knights rushing at him. But because he had allowed them to get too close, Verkis had no choice but to take the Death Knights’ attack. Four Death Knights who had hurled themselves from high in the sky were descending bodily, becoming one with their swords.
Pshut.
Four longswords tore mercilessly through Verkis’s scales and flesh before emerging. But it was an attack difficult to inflict a fatal wound on the enormous Verkis.
“So this is what pain is?”
A slicing pain came from his side and thigh, but Verkis did not twitch an eyebrow. Having accomplished his goal, there was no longer any need to remain here.
Sssssss.
The Red Dragon’s enormous body was erased from the air. He had escaped the place using Blink.
“Where did he go?”
The four Death Knights burning with vengeance swept their glowing eyes in all directions, but Verkis’s figure appeared nowhere. Katroi and Zikreite lightly caught their endlessly falling bodies, but their gazes continued to search the air.
The breath Verkis had unleashed struck the Iron Golem squarely in the back.
Kwa-rurururu.
Cracks spread across the Iron Golem’s body, and it began to burst apart. When heat was applied while it was in an extremely cooled state, the molecular structure making up the metal could no longer withstand it. The Iron Golem’s body soon transformed into countless sharp metal fragments and began scattering in every direction. There was no way Damon, crouched right in front of it, could avoid the shower of fragments.
Papapapak.
Sharp metal fragments flew in around Damon, who had been unable to come to his senses from the aftereffects of mental magic,
and buried themselves in the ground. Since Damon was not wearing armor, it seemed his body would soon
be shredded to pieces.
Rrrrrumble.
Just then, the completely shattered body of the Iron Golem collapsed like a sandcastle,
and Damon’s body was quickly buried entirely beneath the metal fragments. Amid the earth-shaking roar,
the anguished voices of the Cassim Mercenary Corps members, who had arrived there by a hair’s breadth, rang out.
“Da, Damon!”
Their cries became hollow echoes, scattering into the empty air.