Magic Doesn't Work
Beatrice showed a rare moment of panic—the first time she’d ever experienced something like this.
“…Beatrice.”
“……”
Why isn’t it working? Why is my mana being devoured?
That single thought consumed her mind.
“Beatrice!”
“H-huh! Ah, Isaac.”
If Isaac hadn’t shouted, Beatrice might never have noticed until the moment she died.
“How much mana do you have left?”
“A-about half… but my magic…”
“It’s fine.”
Isaac wasn’t even looking at her anymore. His gaze was fixed on the golem, as if entranced. Unlike Beatrice, who was still reeling from the sudden wall blocking her magic, he was already thinking ahead.
That realization left her feeling strangely dazed.
“Gather as much as you can until I give the signal. I’ll break it.”
“…Got it.”
Beatrice barely managed a nod at his command.
Isaac slowly rose to his feet and turned toward the golem. The movement revealed his back—torn student uniform streaked with fresh blood. All because of Beatrice. Because of her.
Yet he hadn’t uttered a single word of blame. He was only thinking about how to break through this situation.
…Isaac.
Maybe it was because they were fighting together—her heart gave a small flutter. She knew better than anyone that now wasn’t the time for such feelings, so she pushed them down.
“Beatrice. Get ready.”
With those words, Isaac sprinted forward.
A massive golem loomed before him. It was easily the size of five grown men standing shoulder to shoulder, yet Isaac charged without so much as blinking.
A fist the size of a person came crashing down. Isaac dodged by a hair’s breadth, ran up the arm, and leapt off.
BOOM! The opposite fist slammed into the arm where he’d just been standing. If he hadn’t moved, it would’ve been him crushed instead of the golem’s left arm.
“Tch!”
He ran again. Standing still meant getting caught and killed.
“…This isn’t the time for that.”
Isaac hadn’t left her behind just to spectate. Prepare your magic. I’ll signal you—then fire.
The lightning spell she’d used before. It was mid-tier magic, but it wasn’t her strongest. She could make lightning look like nothing more than ordinary thunderbolts.
A spell so powerful the Magic Tower had banned it. Slowly, she began to cast it.
She gathered her mana. From fingertips to toes—every last drop, without wasting a single fragment. She poured everything into this one shot.
What if the mana gets devoured again? What if this is all pointless?
Those doubts meant nothing to Beatrice. Isaac had told her to do it. She trusted him. That was the only reason she moved now—the sole driving force behind her actions.
BOOOOOOM!
Fighting the enormous golem, one thing became painfully clear.
That thing is insanely fast!
He couldn’t even begin to grasp how it moved like that. He was barely dodging by the skin of his teeth—more acrobatics than skill. At this rate, he’d lose on stamina alone.
“Ghh!”
He misstepped while dodging and tumbled in a full roll. The moment he regained his footing, he launched forward again.
BOOOOOOM! Even a moment’s hesitation meant death. His lungs burned. The fear of dying seized his entire body.
“Hup!”
He used his dagger to deflect attacks, sliding past them. Good thing I brought this. But even that didn’t last long.
Clang!
“Damn it.”
He was screwed. The dagger shattered. He flung the broken pieces at the golem’s face.
Ting.
“Its defense is ridiculous too.”
Both offense and defense maxed out. Who the hell made this thing?
BOOOOOOM!
He was slammed into the ground again.
“Hup.”
He leapt lightly onto the fist and sprinted at full speed. Knock the golem down with its own fist? Not happening. Not unless he dragged some legendary fist king out of myth.
He’d never planned to win alone. His goal was singular.
“Time to break that magic!”
A glowing black point near the golem’s chest.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Dodging the fists one after another, he closed in. With a final leap, he stretched out his hand.
“Got—”
At that moment, the golem’s form vanished. Only the cratered floor remained. Time seemed to slow as he slowly looked up.
Simultaneously—
BOOOOOOOM! Both of the golem’s hands came crashing down on him.
“Guh—!”
He couldn’t breathe. The impact narrowed his vision, then it slowly widened again. He pounded his chest with a fist to force his lungs back into action.
“Hah!”
The moment his breathing returned, he kicked off the ground. BOOM! The golem withdrew its foot and shook off the dust, then stared down at him in silence. A brief lull.
Drip.
His vision turned red. He roughly wiped it away with one hand—his uniform stained crimson.
“Hoo.”
It was overwhelming. Why put something like this at the start? Even if it differed from the original, he couldn’t help resenting the creator.
Is this the end?
The word “give up” surfaced in his mind for the first time. It hurt. It was terrifying. It was exhausting.
Isn’t this enough? I tried. I gave it my all. I’m just accepting reality. That’d be easier.
Slap!
“You think… I don’t know that?”
He plugged one nostril and blew—red blood splattered out. He’d hit himself too hard. His cheek stung from the slap. His own way of banishing the demon in his head. Even this had a long tradition stretching back to Earth.
Give up? The word “give up” only existed for counting cabbages as far as he was concerned.
“If a man draws a sword, he’d better cut something—even if it’s just a radish.”
“……”
“Ah, was that sexist?”
He grinned at the golem. The situation was still dire. Isaac’s body was better than he’d expected, but the golem was faster, stronger, and tougher.
“Doesn’t mean I can’t win, though!”
Techniques weren’t made for the strong to beat the weak. They were made for the weak to struggle against the strong.
“Let’s fight man-to-man—fist against fist.”
Taking hits passively wasn’t his style. If he was going to die either way, he might as well do everything he could until the very end.
Whoosh!
He dodged the stone and threw a punch.
Crack!
His fist sank in, sending stone dust flying. He leaned back sharply again.
Whoosh!
The golem’s hand passed right in front of his face. If it had connected, he’d have been sent flying—maybe with something broken.
Using the momentum, he snapped back and headbutted it.
Crunch!
“Kgh…!”
His forehead throbbed like it was splitting, but the dent in the golem was even bigger. Attacks weren’t completely ineffective—the golem just had absurd durability.
Dodge. Strike. One hit from the golem would leave him on the brink of death. An endless, razor-thin exchange whose end he couldn’t see.
He kept searching for the smallest opening. The only way he could win. Just once. He only needed to touch it once. The magic that nullified magic. If he erased that, they’d have a chance. Not a guaranteed win, but the best odds.
“Hoo… hup!”
How pitiful yet beautiful it is to struggle desperately because you don’t want to die.
That was what the final boss had once said. He hadn’t understood it at the time, but now he did. Fear. And the madness that transcended it.
A crazed smile formed. He forgot his fear. He erased everything unnecessary from his mind.
Dodge.
Strike.
Seize the opening.
Break it.
His vision narrowed and widened at the same time. Not just the fists—the entire golem came into focus. Nothing else existed. He dodged like a machine, then attacked when the chance came. A fierce, desperate exchange. If no opening appeared, it was one-sided.
Denying the predetermined outcome, he threw his fist.
Crack.
A hole formed in the golem’s arm after countless strikes. But that was all. Being a golem, it felt no fear, no terror, no pain. It only followed its orders to guard this place.
“Ah…”
He slipped on the stone dust. His balance shattered as a fist came flying. Time slowed, just like when he’d been slammed down earlier. The fist approached frame by frame. Memories flashed by—his life on Earth. A life-flashing-before-his-eyes moment. First time experiencing it, and it wasn’t pleasant.
Am I going to die like this?
His body moved before his freezing mind could. Instead of the slipping foot, the opposite one planted on the ground. His body lifted into the air, spun once, and he kicked.
A spinning back kick. The memory of learning taekwondo had just extended his life.
Crunch!
Legs were two to four times stronger than fists. Even without perfect form, the spinning kick’s effect was tremendous. It targeted the hole he’d made with dozens of punches and nearly severed the arm.
The golem stumbled back, clutching its dangling limb. Now. This was the only chance he’d get. He kicked off the ground and sprinted.
BOOM! BOOM! He dodged the fists lightly. When he reached the golem—
“Hup!”
He used the most lethal attack he knew. A jumping back kick. Against an unprotected person, it was practically murder.
Reach!
Maybe even the gods heard his wish. His body floated lightly—high enough to reach the second floor of an apartment building.
CRRRRRACK!
He destroyed the black point near the golem’s chest.
BANG!
In that instant, he knew. The magic was gone.
Even as he fell, he steadied himself and shouted with all his strength.
“Now!”
“May the heavens bring down divine punishment…”
Beatrice, who had been preparing, thrust her hand toward the ceiling. She clenched her fist and cried out.
“Thunder from the sky!”
Zzzzzzt——
A ringing in his ears accompanied a blinding flash of light. Lightning powerful enough to engulf the entire golem—Beatrice’s full strength. He quickly moved away and assessed the situation.
The golem’s movements had visibly slowed. The lightning continued, severing its joints one by one.
It’s really over now.
The moment he exhaled in relief—
Clang!
The golem’s head, which had been fixed on him, turned. Its target was—
“…Beatrice.”
The instant he realized, he kicked off the ground. Beatrice couldn’t move right now. The moment she did, the magic she’d prepared would collapse. She stood frozen, eyes squeezed shut.
Please. Please!
This wasn’t a game. This was reality. There were no respawns. If Beatrice took that attack…
No.
“Beatrice!!!”
Grinding his teeth, he threw himself forward. Thanks to the golem’s slowed movements, he arrived just in time. Thud! He shoved her aside. Beatrice stared at him with wide, startled eyes. He smiled back.
A shadow fell over the ground.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
“Isaac! Isaac!!!”
Her desperate voice calling his name was the last thing he heard before his vision went black.