Perhaps because Bak Osu’s crimes had come to light, the atmosphere was not bad.
After placing the corpse in the box, we went down the stairs.
An ordinary staircase leading underground.
Perhaps because it was made of solid metal, the stairs were still sturdy.
Ten meters, twenty meters...
The stairs continued on longer than expected.
I worried they might stretch on endlessly like the previous ruins, but fortunately, that was not the case.
After descending about a hundred meters, the stairs ended.
Below the stairs was a short passage, and at the end of the passage stood a large metal door that looked solid.
A mud giant stood in front of the door.
It looked very different from the mud dolls we had seen so far.
It was at least a meter taller, and looked far sturdier.
“If it’s standing in front of the door, is it like the final boss?”
“Wouldn’t it be a mid-boss?”
“It’d be a problem if it were a mid-boss.”
Perhaps because they had faced similar mud dolls before, Carlo and Magreta seemed relaxed.
I wasn’t too worried either.
I still had plenty of dark energy left, and this time, it wasn’t one-on-one.
With Soph’s magic, we should be able to bring it down easily.
[...So this one was still here.]
However, upon seeing the newly appeared mud giant, the mage let out a groan.
It was unexpected. I immediately asked.
[You know that thing?]
At my question, he spoke in a troubled voice.
[Unlike the others, it’s a guardian that obtains energy from the black stone inside its body. I thought it would have stopped by now... Did we make it too well?]
It obtained energy from within?
But what was the problem with that?
At that moment, one hypothesis suddenly came to mind.
The mage was troubled.
If so, it had to be because of magic.
[Don’t tell me Soph’s magic won’t work on it?]
It was a question that might wound the mage’s pride, but I had to confirm this quickly.
Fortunately, Soph wasn’t offended. Rather, his voice became calmer.
[Dispel magic is a spell that prevents energy from being absorbed midway. Since the black stone is inside it, that spell won’t work at all. Other direct magic likely won’t work well either.]
My bad premonition was not wrong this time either.
The enemy we suddenly had to face had become enormously stronger.
If Soph’s magic didn’t work, we would have to fight an enemy that kept reviving, just like when Hanna and Sergeant An fought.
But we didn’t have much time. The enemy also looked stronger, so retreating wouldn’t be easy.
Rather than being worried, Soph seemed proud that magic wouldn’t work well against it.
[Don’t tell me... You made this one too, Soph?]
[I didn’t make all of it, exactly...]
As expected, it was something he had a hand in.
[Still, after all this time, it should have weakened considerably. Even if dispel magic doesn’t work, it’s using an old black stone, so if you keep striking it, it will eventually break.]
That was not comforting.
It was too late to retreat.
The moment we stepped down onto the floor, the mud giant that had been standing still began to move.
Giiiiing.
Had it been hardened in place for too long?
The sound of metal grinding came from its earthen body.
At first, the mud giant moved with creaks and jerks, but from the moment it took one step, it looked like a living person.
[An outsider has intruded into an important security facility. Eliminating the enemy.]
The mud giant’s voice rang out again. This time, there was no warning.
“Dodge!”
The moment I heard the voice, I shouted loudly.
Kwaaang!
Its massive body shot forward.
“Damn it!”
Fortunately, all three of us managed to avoid the mud giant’s charge.
All three of us rolled across the floor in an unsightly manner, but no one was hurt.
I was the first to get up and checked the mud giant that had passed beside us.
The mud giant stopped before crashing into the stairs.
It turned its body.
The thing blocked the way to the stairs.
[It looks like it deliberately stopped there.]
[She was the one who designed the guardian’s ego, after all. Blocking the escape route first... As expected, she was skilled.]
At my words, Soph praised the person who had made the mud giant.
Even if it was someone he knew, praising an enemy?
Because of Soph, I felt like I was going to develop a prejudice that mages weren’t normal.
“It’s incredibly fast. I’ll try to restrain it, so I’ll leave the rest to you two!”
“Leave it to us!”
Magreta and Carlo, who didn’t know the circumstances, moved quickly.
A rope unfurled from Magreta’s hand.
Chwaaaak!
The rope, strengthened by mixing in the tendons of the ant monster, shot toward the mud giant.
The rope moved like a living snake and wrapped around the mud giant.
“Amigo, support me!”
Carlo ran forward.
[Electric magic won’t work either, right?]
[It’s not metal, and it’s not alive, so it probably won’t have much effect.]
After confirming with Soph one last time, I took a deep breath and pulled my arm back.
The mud giant was caught on the tip of the spear I had drawn back.
Just because I couldn’t use magic didn’t mean I could do nothing.
The path of retreat was blocked, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t fight.
As Soph said, if we kept breaking it, the black stone’s energy would eventually run out.
The thought that it had already lasted tens of thousands of years crossed my mind, but I immediately erased it.
Useless thoughts would only get in the way of the operation.
The moment Carlo thrust his spear into the mud giant, I threw mine as well.
Shwaaak!
With the sound of cutting through the wind, the spear lodged in the giant’s head.
Thud!
Unfortunately, it did not pierce through its head.
Only the spearhead had embedded itself, leaving the spear dangling.
Still, thanks to Magreta and me, Carlo could swing his spear to his heart’s content.
The mud giant was wrapped in rope, and with a spear stuck in its head, it had difficulty moving.
Countless cracks were carved into its body.
Both arms were half severed, and several deep lines appeared across its waist and chest.
They were wounds that looked like its waist would snap in two if touched.
Movements difficult for the eye to follow.
Carlo had used his ability freely in battle.
“Hah. Hah. With this, the first phase should be over, right?”
Carlo stepped back, panting.
The previous mud dolls had all turned into lumps of earth with this much damage.
This time, that lump of earth would revive again, but even so, we should have a moment to rest.
Magreta called her rope back, and I called Soph.
Even if he couldn’t use other magic, there was still magic he could use.
It wasted a lot of energy, but it was a spell we needed right now.
[Soph!]
[To think you’d make me use gravity-type magic like this...]
Though he grumbled, Soph cast the spell.
[Attraction Enhancement.]
With Soph’s words, the spear lodged in the giant’s head slipped out.
The spear returned to me at high speed.
Magreta and Carlo stared at the flying spear with startled eyes.
“I’ll explain later.”
After snatching the spear out of the air, I spoke to the two of them.
Of course, I had no intention of explaining properly.
There were plenty of excuses.
I could say I had awakened a new ability, or I could use the relic as an excuse.
Officially, my spear was a relic I had found among junk too.
“More importantly, that thing is the problem.”
Even after suffering grievous wounds, the mud giant did not collapse.
Instead, it began repairing its wounds right there.
The surrounding dirt moved and covered its injuries.
The wounds on its body vanished one by one.
It was absurd. If it was like that, there would be no time to rest.
[You said it had weakened!]
At my protest, Soph made an excuse.
[Since it uses the energy inside its body, its recovery speed is bound to be fast. That is weakened. It seems to have less than a quarter of its former power... Still, it has more strength left than I expected.]
That was one quarter?
How strong had it been originally?
Thud. Thud.
The mud giant, which had recovered in an instant, began to move.
This time, it seemed the thing would attack first.
“Hah, hah. At least give me a chance to catch my breath.”
Perhaps he had gone all out, because Carlo even struggled to dodge.
Magreta tried throwing the rope again, but—
Crack!
When the mud giant put strength into its body, all of it snapped.
“Ah!”
The impact sent Magreta tumbling backward as well.
[This has become troublesome. Until I find a way, you’ll have to buy some time.]
He was telling me to move around desperately and draw the mud giant’s attention.
Even in my eyes, that was the only way to save the two of them right now.
The problem was that I was weak in close combat.
If I drew its attention alone, it would quickly close in on me.
If it got close, there was a good chance I would be caught, and after that, my body would be torn apart in every direction.
There was no answer if things went like this.
A situation where both front and back were blocked.
At times like this, one had to leap into danger.
Just as I had in other operations.
‘If I’m bound to get caught, I might as well take a gamble, right?’
I immediately asked Soph, and received his answer.
[It’s madness.]
That meant it was entirely possible.
“Look over here!”
Holding my spear, I charged at the mud giant.
“It’s dangerous!”
Startled, Magreta pushed herself up and shouted, but I did not stop.
“When I give the signal, help me right away!”
Instead, I shouted to her and swung my spear at the giant.
My body moved better than expected.
I could also see its movements better than before.
Whether it swung its arm wide at me or kicked at me, I could avoid it all.
Thanks to my strengthened senses, my reflexes had improved greatly.
At this level, I didn’t think I had to focus solely on dodging.
I felt like I could fight one-on-one in close combat even against the special forces soldiers I had previously avoided.
However, the enemy I was facing was not ordinary either.
“Damn it! I’m caught.”
I swung my spear and threw myself around, but I couldn’t last even a minute.
It wasn’t as if I had only been dodging during that minute.
Throughout that time, I had been using my senses to observe it.
The thing was different from the other mud dolls.
From the first moment I saw it, I could feel the energy flowing through its body.
The energy started from deep in its chest, circulated through its entire body, then returned to the place where it began.
It was like seeing blood inside a human body.
[It’s a magic circle modeled after the movement of human blood.]
Soph explained it properly to me later, but right now, that was not what mattered.
What mattered was that I could see the place where the energy began.
After hearing Soph’s words, I was certain.
The black stone was at the starting point of the energy I had seen.
If I knew where the black stone was, there was only one thing to do.
Drive the spear into the black stone.
[If you can reach the black stone, I can cut off its energy. But if you throw the spear, it won’t reach the black stone.]
If throwing it wouldn’t work, I would have to stab it directly.
If landing a close-range attack was difficult, then the target and I just had to be fixed in place.
[You madman.]
At Soph’s words, I was certain.
This was a plan that could work.
However, I had not properly accounted for the pain I would feel when I was caught.
“Ghhhk!”
It hurt like hell.
My senses wavered so badly that I could no longer see the black stone’s location.
Magreta and Carlo’s shouts came from far away.
I lifted my spear.
The mud giant had grabbed one of my arms and my waist, but I had managed to keep the arm holding the spear free.
I had to hurry.
Before my body was torn apart, I had to thrust the spear in.
“Now! Don’t try to save me, attack it!”
I didn’t know whether they would follow my words, but now was not the time to think about that.
I let the pain flow past me and pushed the energy inside my body into the spear.
Wooooong.
Soph silently accepted the energy.
The spear shone brightly.
I thrust the spear in with all my strength.
Puuuk.
The spear sank deep into its chest.
[It’s still not enough!]
At Soph’s words, I gritted my teeth and pushed the spear farther in.
I felt the rope move beside me.
I thought I could hear Carlo’s breathing as well.
I ignored all those sounds and did my utmost to push the spear in.
The pain grew even worse, and I felt dizzy.
‘Am I just a little short...?’
That was what I thought as my vision blurred.
[It touched!]
Soph’s shout rang out.
[Cohesion Release!]
My blurred eyes brightened again.
Sounds reached me.
“It stopped!”
“It’s collapsing!”
The pain lessened.
The mud arms that had been holding me were breaking apart.
The mud giant collapsed.
Together with the crumbling lumps of earth, I rolled across the floor.
“Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Magreta and Carlo ran over.
At her startled words, I checked my body.
Fortunately, both my arm and waist were fine.
There were scrapes and bruises, but at this level, they might as well not exist.
[Take the black stone first.]
Only after I had barely managed to move my body did Soph speak.
For some reason, Soph seemed to be in a hurry.
Forcing my body to move, I retrieved the black stone buried in the heap of dirt.
“That’s the black stone that was moving this mud doll? It’s incredibly big.”
“What a waste. If it were intact, it would have had many uses.”
As Carlo said, the black stone was cracked and its light had faded.
It was probably cracked because I had stabbed it with the spear, and its light had faded because too much time had passed.
I didn’t know the reason, but after taking the black stone as Soph said, I got to my feet.
“What do we do now?”
“If this were a movie, the door should open now.”
The moment those words ended—
Grgrgrng.
The large metal door began to open left and right.
Magreta and I looked at Carlo.
“See? Just like a movie.”
As he shrugged, I moved first.
[Go in first.]
It was because of Soph’s words.
The moment I crossed the threshold—
Grgrgrng.
The door that had been opening closed again.
“Huh, why is the door—?”
“Hyeon!”
Thud.
Leaving the two shouting behind me, the door closed.
As I stood there dumbfounded, Soph spoke.
[I closed it. I did not want to show what is inside here to anyone else.]
His calm words contained many emotions.
Because of the raging torrent of emotion, I had to move forward in silence.
Inside the door was a huge underground plaza.
A vast plaza large enough to fit an entire gymnasium.
There was a reason this place was a hundred meters underground.
At the center of that plaza sat a gigantic transparent dome made of something like glass.
It was a dome filled with countless plants.
A large glass dome like a botanical garden.
I walked toward the dome.
As I approached, I saw something other than plants inside the dome.
At the center of the dome.
There was a single bed.
On top of the bed lay a woman dressed in white.
A botanical garden inside the dome, like a painting.
Lying there with a peaceful face, she looked like Sleeping Beauty.
Soph was silent for a long while.
Then he opened his mouth.
[She is my old colleague, and a friend who learned magic from me. She is the director of the terraforming research institute that has allowed life to survive on this planet until now.]