Chapter 403: Yandel Stands on the Earth
Chapter 403: Yandel Stands on the Earth
—You damn gnat…!
—Face us fairly and fight!!
The two heads of the giant shouted, each in a different voice. It wasn't just noise. It was something closer to physical violence—a mixture of sheer volume produced by that overwhelming mass and a massive amount of divine power.
Of course, to me, currently layered with all sorts of resistances and the effects of the God Killer title—which granted massive bonuses specifically against evil gods—it was nothing more than a loud nuisance.
I jeered at the two heads, which were possessed by Confused Unity and Reckless Roar, though I had no idea how they’d managed that.
"I’d rather not. Why should I?"
I was holding out just fine; there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
Well… for two evil gods who were impatient and loved direct confrontation, this situation must have been infuriating.
—Do you think you can reject the Unity forever?!
—I will kill you!
The two-headed giant’s eyes burned with a murderous light.
Even though there were two consciousnesses in one body, I couldn't fathom how they moved so cohesively.
I sighed inwardly as I watched a fist fly toward me.
It was massive, roughly the size of a small building. If I took a direct hit from something like that, even with my body strengthened by Dragonification, I’d be in critical condition instantly. Blocking it with a shield wouldn't make much of a difference either.
The only answer was to dodge, but for some reason, every time the giant’s fist traced a bizarre trajectory, the surrounding air would swirl like a vortex and suck my body in.
Because of that, no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't completely evade it, and there were several times I came close to being grazed. Fortunately, each time, Helena’s barrier absorbed the impact, or Iris and Iona’s magic struck my body to knock me out of harm's way.
This was a completely different style of combat compared to Ugly Prosperity, who had created her own domain and fired beams from a distance.
Perhaps because they were martial-type evil gods, they were damn good at fighting.
But this was the end of that. I’d almost been caught several times already; did they really think I’d fall for the same trick again?
I glared at the rapidly approaching fist and the whirlwind surrounding it, concentrating my mind on my wings.
The wind reached me before the fist did. Sensing the flow of the "reverse whirlwind"—which pulled things in rather than blowing them away like a normal one—I surged my mana.
This wind was a simple phenomenon caused by technique and divine power; the two evil gods didn't have the ability to directly manipulate the wind itself.
In that case, I could bring it under my control.
Vrrr—
My wings trembled, fulfilling their role as mana organs.
As I focused, time seemed to slow down, and my senses expanded. The moment I touched the wind—
"Hup!"
I instantly reversed the flow and widened the distance.
—What!
—You bastard…!
The two-headed giant roared in frustration as I suddenly pulled away. I intentionally flashed a punchable, arrogant smirk at them.
"Hmm… is that all?"
—You arrogant brat!
—I won't let you die easily!
Infuriated, the two-headed giant began to run wild. Perhaps due to the Authority of Reckless Roar, the angrier they got, the stronger they became, but their patterns became simpler and easier to dodge.
…However, I wasn't just facing Reckless Roar.
—Try dodging this too!
It was the confident voice of Confused Unity. This time, I reversed the flow even more carefully, but—
"You've got to be kidding me."
Somehow, the moment I reversed it, Confused Unity flipped the direction of the whirlwind back to its original state.
Finding myself being pulled toward the fist by my own momentum, I desperately surged my mana.
Crash!
With the sound of shattering glass, the shield in front of me was instantly obliterated.
Even though it was just a graze, a massive shock ran through my entire body as if I’d been hit by a truck.
My vision blurred, and my mind reeled. Not missing the opening I’d shown, the two-headed giant followed up with another attack.
Whoosh—
An elbow coming down from above and a knee surging up from below. At this rate, I’d be crushed like a bug.
But I wasn't fighting alone.
Suddenly, a white light enveloped my body. Thanks to my mind and body being instantly restored, I managed to cast the pre-prepared Blink just in time.
"Tsk."
I’d managed to dodge, but I’d used up all my pre-prepared Blinks.
Since it was considered advanced magic, it required a long chanting time even for me until I became fully accustomed to it.
Thanks to the System correction, I could chant while fighting… but I couldn't help the fact that I couldn't actively use other magic during that time.
And the opponent was an entity that couldn't be handled with simple physical movements alone.
In other words, I had no more "lives" left.
I needed to stay sharp and focus more on evasion, but… for how much longer?
The two-headed giant had awakened at dusk, just as Helena and Solari had predicted. And now, the dark night had passed, and it was almost the dim light of dawn.
The sun should be rising soon—is Fay still not ready?
I was barely suppressing my racing heart and sharpening my focus once more when a message spell reached my ears, piercing through the chaotic storm of divine power.
[Master! Miss Fay is ready! We can hold them off for a moment, so hurry!]
"Ha."
The timing was perfect.
I curled one side of my mouth into a smirk and gave the two-headed giant the middle finger.
"See you in a bit."
—Yandel, you coward! Are you running away?!
—I’ll kill every last one of you!!
The giant charged, letting out a monstrous scream of rage. However, I was faster at retreating behind the fortress walls.
BOOM!!!
The massive body slammed into Helena’s barrier. The white veil flickered, and even the walls trembled from the aftershock for a moment.
After confirming that the barrier had successfully, if barely, blocked the giant’s charge, I turned my head.
Right next to the Lord's Castle. Above the workshop building with its roof torn off, a giant helmet with a sharp design peeked out.
I flew across the sky at full speed toward Fay, who was waving at me from beside it.
*
"Get in the golem, Yandel…!"
"What’s with that weird line all of a sudden?"
Fay shouted solemnly the moment I landed beside her. I wondered what had gotten into her, but looking closely, her face was noticeably flushed; she was quite excited.
Wondering just how well it had been made, I looked down to inspect the golem’s entire body.
"…Whoa."
It had a sleek, agile frame. Sharp, black armor covered its entire body, and red lines formed geometric patterns across it.
But above all, the greatest merit of this golem was its sheer size.
I knew well, having just fought the two-headed giant. At this size, it definitely wouldn't be pushed around by that monster.
"Wait. I feel divinity? Even Helena gave it a blessing… No, this isn't Solari’s divine power…?"
"Lord Clashing Steel personally bestowed a blessing upon the completed golem! It was just granted, so I don't know the exact effects, but it will definitely help in the fight against that giant!"
"My god."
Clashing Steel was a god famous for only bestowing blessings upon masterpieces that would leave a mark on history.
Usually, it was a blessing reserved for national treasure-grade equipment… and he gave it to this?
I wasn't sure what the specific effects were, as they varied by item, but it was certain that it would drastically boost performance.
Of course, since this was a critical situation involving two evil gods, Clashing Steel might have lent his strength.
However, the amount of divinity I felt was substantial. This meant Clashing Steel had bestowed this blessing at a considerable sacrifice of his own.
With this, we could definitely take down those two evil gods…!
Suppressing my pounding heart, I asked Fay.
"Where… where do I go to board it?!"
"Where the heart is. If you pour your mana into it there, the hatch will open automatically."
"Any other precautions or explanations?"
"There’s no separate power source; it uses your mana instead, so don't panic if your mana is suddenly drained. Instead, it’s a system that perfectly synchronizes with you, so just move it as if it were your own body!"
"Got it! We’re short on time, so I’m heading in!"
I gave a quick nod and jumped down. Then, just as Fay said, I stopped at the golem’s chest and placed my hand on the outer armor.
In that moment, I saw Lokan looking up at me from below.
For some reason, his graying hair had turned black again. I tilted my head at his appearance, which looked twenty years younger, but only for a moment.
He waved his hand as if telling me to hurry, so I gave him a nod and surged my mana.
Vrrr—
The golem vibrated slightly as if resonating with my mana, and the chest armor opened, revealing the interior.
It looked like a hollow sphere. Once I stepped inside, the chest closed automatically, and the surroundings were plunged into darkness.
I was momentarily startled, but soon the circular walls began to glow faintly, illuminating the space.
Then, a rectangular plate slowly rose from the floor.
Fay hadn't explained this, but the moment I saw the plate, I instinctively knew how to use it.
Gulping, I carefully placed one hand on it.
Vrrr—
Mana was instantly sucked out through my hand. It was a fair amount, but it was nothing to me…
In fact, I was thinking that the efficiency was almost too good for moving such a massive golem.
Suddenly, as if the rectangular plate had finished its job, it lowered back down, and the lights on the walls went out completely. And then—
"Urgh?!"
My body floated into the air, and the mana inside me began to drain at an insane rate.
No, it wasn't just mana that was being drained.
Along with the mana, my senses were being pulled outward as if being dragged by something. The moment my perception expanded beyond my own body and spread throughout the entire golem—
Thump—
With a sound resembling the beat of a Dragon Heart, the dark surroundings brightened instantly. To be more precise, the outside scenery was projected through the circular walls.
The moment I realized that this was the view from the golem’s head—
"Ah."
I felt the sensation of my feet, which had been dangling in the air, firmly treading upon the earth.
Just like the towering golem.