Divine Sword (1)
Divine Sword (1)
The golem army that had risen from the ground began to march.
Their target was the Monster King.
Swinging their stone fists, dozens—then hundreds—of golems advanced toward the beast.
Boom!
At the sight of the golems, the battered beast let out a roar.
It was so powerful that it made the very air tremble.
But the golems did not stop.
Nor did the Monster King stand idly by.
Thud.
A massive foot came crashing down on the approaching golems.
They were shattered as easily as ants beneath a human foot.
Even so, the golems pressed forward.
Like honeybees swarming a hornet, they kept closing in on the Monster King, even as they were broken and shattered.
Eventually, the golems that reached the Monster King's feet grabbed onto its legs and began to climb.
Some pounded on its exposed muscles, while others clung to its feet, pinning it in place.
The beast shook its legs and swung its fists to crush them, but the golems gradually climbed higher up its body.
Although the Monster King was surrounded by a sturdy mana barrier, the golems' relentless attacks tore right through it.
Thump!
Holes were punched through its body, and its muscles were severed. Its entrails spilled out once more, and its skin was ripped away.
But, as expected, that wasn't enough to finish it off.
The beast's body regenerated faster than it could be broken and torn apart.
The beast was torn apart beneath the mass of golems, while the golems themselves were shattered one after another.
It looked as though an endless battle would unfold.
But the golems couldn't keep emerging forever.
As time passed, the number rising from the ground noticeably dwindled.
"If I can't defeat it, I can at least drive it away."
After stepping back to recover my mana, I moved again.
I hadn't fully recovered, but I couldn't let this opportunity slip away.
This time, instead of rushing out alone, I matched my pace to the golems'.
Hiding among the marching golem army, I approached the Monster King.
This time, I managed to reach the beast without being detected.
Looking up, I saw the massive creature tearing the golems clinging to its body away.
As I stared at its body, covered in golems, I tried to picture what it must have looked like when it was whole.
A bear-like body, sharp claws, a helmeted head, and powerful regenerative abilities.
It was hard to imagine how strong this beast must have been in perfect condition.
The Monster Kings were the Demon King's direct subordinates, the ones who led the monsters.
Even now, they refused to leave this seal ground, all to protect the sealed Demon King.
"To kill this monster, I'll have to land an attack that surpasses its regenerative power."
If its head were exposed, I could try to smash it, but it was encased in a massive helmet that looked worn yet incredibly sturdy.
It must have known its weakness and protected it in advance.
If I wasn't going to kill it, there was another method worth trying.
Grabbing onto the golems clinging to its body, I leaped upward.
Past its legs, over its waist, and straight to its chest.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
From deep inside, I could hear the sound of a heartbeat.
I plunged my sword into the chest where the heartbeat resonated.
The 'Ignore Defense' ability activated once again.
The mana barrier was pierced in an instant, and my sword embedded itself deep in the beast's chest.
At that moment, I transformed my mana.
Through the 'Mana Materialization' ability, the transformed mana surged into the Divine Sword.
The Invisible Sword Aura stretched out and pierced through the heart.
Growl.
The beast suddenly froze.
It seemed to have realized that a sword had pierced its heart.
I felt the beast's arm moving. There was no time.
This time, I changed my mana cultivation technique and channeled the transformed mana into my sword.
It was the mana cultivation technique I had stolen and learned from the Pisen Marquisate.
An ability modified to use 'Ignore Defense' against humans.
It was a method of using mana to attack an opponent's insides.
Though it had been modified for use against humans, there was no reason I couldn't use it on a monster.
The mana passed through the sword, traveled along the sword aura, and burrowed into the heart.
I detonated it.
Rumble.
Its chest bulged outward.
Then, swollen to an absurd degree, its chest finally exploded.
It simply couldn't withstand the internal pressure.
Blood poured from the newly formed hole.
Boom!
The beast let out a bizarre shriek and thrashed its body.
It seemed that even a beast with endless regenerative abilities could still feel pain.
I leaped downward, dodging its approaching hand.
Having spent all the mana I'd barely managed to gather, I found it difficult to launch any further attacks.
Through the hole in its chest, I could see its ruptured heart.
To keep moving so normally even as blood gushed from its heart—it truly deserved to be called an invincible monster.
But I had no intention of stopping at merely putting a hole in its heart.
"Now, get in there!"
There was no need to give a specific command.
Before my shout had even faded, the golems clinging to its chest crawled into the hole.
Fighting against the gushing blood, the golems burrowed through the hole in its chest and straight into its heart.
The beast hurriedly swept its hand across its chest, but it was too late.
The hole was already half-filled.
Though the hole was gradually closing, the Monster King continued to writhe in agony.
It was clear that the golems that had entered its heart were running amok.
With bugs crawling inside its body, there was no way it could be all right.
The beast beat its chest frantically, then stared down at where I stood.
I could feel the gaze from within its helmet fixed directly on me.
Fearing it might attack, I scraped together whatever mana remained in my body, but the beast simply turned around.
Thud.
Still beating its chest, the beast began to walk away.
It grew more and more distant.
Smashing through the trees in its path, it disappeared into the forest.
Thud.
The sound of its footsteps gradually faded away.
Listening to the fading sound, I sank to the ground.
The Monster King had retreated.
I hadn't defeated it, but I had at least forced the Monster King to flee first.
"Haha, I didn't die."
As the tension drained away, a laugh escaped my lips.
I'd thought I'd die nine times out of ten, yet here I was, alive.
Memories of dying and repeating everything over and over flashed through my mind.
Of all the opponents who had killed me so far, none had been as strong as the beast I'd just faced.
Though I'd had help from the golems, I'd survived without dying all the same.
Had I grown that much? Or was it thanks to my relentless efforts and refusal to give up?
Whatever the reason, the thought that I had succeeded filled my mind.
I forced myself to my feet.
The Monster King had retreated, but I couldn't just rest here.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Gripping my sword, I stood up and saw the golems returning.
The golems that had clung to the beast, along with those that had fought while roaming around the clearing, were all returning to the ruins.
Not many golems were returning.
Not even a tenth of those that had emerged remained.
And not many of the returning golems were intact.
They were cracked and broken; I could even see some crawling back on a single leg.
The golems passed by me and headed toward the ruined site.
Then they began to enter the holes they had dug themselves.
After watching them for a moment, I made my way toward the rest of the group.
At the edge of the forest, overlooking the clearing, the rest of the group lay on the ground, hidden by the bushes.
Only the two princesses, Princess Aisha and Grand Archduchess Frida, stood unharmed, tending to the others.
I had already seen that Princess Aisha was fine, but the Grand Archduchess was also in better shape than I'd expected.
Perhaps because she'd used her artifact to block the attacks, she seemed to be in decent condition, aside from being low on mana.
As I approached, the two princesses brightened up.
"We won!"
"You did a wonderful job."
The Princess rejoiced that we'd defeated the Monster King, while the Grand Archduchess smiled at me.
But as the Grand Archduchess spoke, she fidgeted with her fingers.
It seemed she had something she wanted to ask.
"You were amazing as well, Princess. I was deeply impressed by how you moved to protect everyone until the very end."
After praising the Princess, I looked at the Grand Archduchess.
"No... well..."
The Princess tried to reply to my words, but the Grand Archduchess spoke first.
"I know this isn't the right time to ask, but... why did the golems appear?"
Since she'd seen everything, I couldn't hide it any longer.
I couldn't tell her everything, but I intended to share what I could.
"I have become the master of this sword. It seems the sword moved the golems to protect its master from danger."
Actually, it wasn't just that it seemed to have moved them; I was certain it had.
Perhaps because I had become its master, I could sense what the sword was doing.
"Then that means you also have the ability to control golems."
"I suppose so."
Watching the dwindling number of golems, she asked again.
"Are they returning to be repaired? Will they come back out once the repairs are finished?"
Unfortunately, that wasn't the reason.
"They are returning to their home. The golems will go back home and fall asleep."
Although they had rushed out when they saw I was in danger, the golems no longer had the strength to move any farther.
Just as the Holy Knight had said, this was a ruin where the mana was hitting rock bottom.
Since the ruins had been sustained by the mana of this sword instead of the depleted ambient mana, the golems could no longer move once I took the sword away.
As I explained, the Grand Archduchess looked deeply disappointed.
Though it might be possible to awaken them again someday, for now, they had no choice but to sleep for a long time alongside the Holy Knight.
"More importantly, is everyone alright?"
Fortunately, no one seemed to be in danger of dying. It appeared that the Princess and the Grand Archduchess had given them potions.
Balea looked fine on the outside.
She looked as if she were simply asleep.
But the shock she had received must have been substantial.
Moving those trees had been far beyond her abilities.
On top of that, because the trees had been smashed by the beast, she must have suffered a backlash, leaving her internal condition in disarray.
Still, it was nothing compared to Katrin and the two knights.
They were covered in countless wounds.
They were the ones who had swung their swords against such a colossal beast.
Even a mere graze from the beast's attack would inevitably have caused severe injuries.
It was a miracle their limbs were still intact.
"We all survived thanks to Katrin. If Katrin hadn't distracted the monster, we would have all died."
As I looked down at the unconscious Katrin, the Princess approached and spoke.
According to the Princess, Katrin had been the first to lure the beast around before the Princess herself stepped forward.
What I had witnessed earlier was the Princess drawing its attention after Katrin had collapsed.
It seemed the Princess felt guilty about receiving all the praise herself.
"Both you and Katrin did a wonderful job, Princess."
When I said that, the Princess turned her head slightly away. She seemed embarrassed.
"But what should we do? Although we gave them potions, they won't be able to move for quite a while."
The Grand Archduchess said this while looking at the resting group.
Just as she'd said, these were wounds that potions alone couldn't easily heal.
Although we'd brought plenty in our backpacks, we couldn't simply wait here indefinitely for them to recover.
"Ah, that's right. When you were blown away into the forest by that attack, I thought you were dead."
At the Grand Archduchess's words, the Princess nodded vigorously.
"How were you able to remain completely unharmed?"
In response to the Grand Archduchess's question, I showed her the sword.
"It's thanks to the Holy Knight's sword. It has the ability to heal its master."
No, wait. It might not be limited to healing only its master.
I drew the sword and brought it close to Katrin's face.
The princesses gasped in surprise, but I waved a hand to reassure them and channeled my mana into the sword.