The Awakened Giant God
"Hey!!"
Bursting through the ruins, Harun rushed toward the source of the voice.
"Ugh... ughhh..."
The fallen mage groaned incessantly, and Harun hurriedly pulled out a potion, forcing it into his mouth.
"Cough, cough."
After coughing repeatedly a few times, the mage finally regained his senses.
"Th-thank you."
"What happened here?"
Adel asked while scrutinizing the man's appearance. His robes were scorched and tattered everywhere, but from their shape, he seemed to be a mid-tier mage from the Ivory Tower.
"There was a sudden explosion during the research. The entire basement collapsed, and the upper levels of the lab came crashing down..."
"Did this happen inside the research facility? I know this is an Ivory Tower outpost... Was Julian Pader here by any chance?"
At the mention of the master's name, the mage looked startled, his face a mix of surprise and wariness.
"...How do you know Grand Master?"
"No ulterior motives. We're from the desert. We came here after hearing my brother visited this North Sea lab."
Adel quickly answered to ease his guard.
"Ah... If you're from the desert, it must be that man. Yes, someone visited about a month ago. I remember."
A month already... Time has passed. I hope Bin is okay.
Adel glanced worriedly at the massive snow-capped gorge behind the lab. The canyon, where snow never melted even after 365 days of harsh cold, was a death sentence for anyone venturing in alone.
"What now? Chase after Bin right away?"
Kasla asked. Truth be told, even with the lab in this state, they had no real obligation to care. They had no ties to the Magic Association anyway.
"...Grand Master is currently away."
The mage said cautiously, gauging Adel's reaction.
"Is that so?"
Adel narrowed his eyes slightly at the words.
Originally, the White Night catastrophe stemmed from Julian pushing the golem research too far here.
But according to the mage, this accident was unrelated to Julian.
Then who...?
Adel instinctively sensed this incident was entirely different from what he remembered.
"An accident from human experimentation?"
...Flinch!
The mage's shoulders trembled. Adel didn't miss the reaction.
"I know you're trying to recreate the ancient golem from one of the Ancients' spellbooks by making a golem core."
"..."
"But interpreting the spellbook isn't easy. And I know you're bridging that gap with illegal experiments."
Grip—
Adel seized the mage by the collar.
"So from now on, don't change a single word. Tell the truth only. Otherwise, I'll spread what you've been doing not just to the rest of the Magic Association, but across the entire continent."
"L-let go!!"
He shouted in a trembling voice. But his legs buckled; he couldn't even think of fleeing, just shuddered in place.
He was terrified. Of what, exactly?
Tsk tsk. From the mana, he's about 5th class... Yet he shakes like a leaf at one word. Looks like the Ivory Tower's just a den of cowards.
But Adel knew it wasn't his warning that scared the man.
He was already in a panic before that.
He figured it was the aftermath of the accident, but he wondered if mages obsessed with new knowledge would break this badly from a mere explosion.
"If you want to live, talk. How did the accident happen? Who ran the experiment without Julian Pader?"
"...It-it wasn't an experiment."
The mage swallowed dryly at Adel's question, his body shaking.
"Then?"
"It came looking for us..."
"Came looking?"
"The monster."
"What do you mean by that monster..."
Adel scowled and pressed harder.
"Ugh... ughhh..."
"Cough, cough."
That was when it happened. As time passed, groans echoed from various spots. Quite a few mages buried in the debris seemed to be survivors, slowly coming to one by one.
"Come now, this gentleman's been through a lot and must be quite disoriented. Here, have some of this to calm down."
At that moment, Makullan Hun wedged between them with a friendly smile. He'd brewed it sometime earlier—a hot tea spiked with a bit of liquor—which he handed to the mage while sitting right next to him.
"Down it in one go. You'll feel better."
Makullan soothed him and asked,
"Magic research is full of variables and secrets, right? We're not here to blame you for that. As you see, we're just looking for someone."
He kept talking.
"We should help each other out, don't you think? Take that gentleman over there—he's the desert conqueror, the strongest of the Eight Armies! The White Ghost's eighth son."
"Cut the nonsense, Makullan."
Adel scolded him with an expression that said he hated wasting time, but Makullan just motioned to stay quiet, finger to lips and waving his hand.
"You can trust us. See that sword? It's a gift from the North Sea's Secret Palace lord."
"R-really?"
"No worries. The Ivory Tower's prestigious, sure, but we're on good terms with the Secret Palace too. We'll turn a blind eye to what happened here in the North Sea."
True to his con artist nature, his nonstop chatter softened the mage up. Unlike with Adel, he let out a low sigh and nodded.
"...There were human experiments."
All eyes focused on him at those words.
"B-but after repeated failures, we were actually planning to halt the research!"
"And?"
Adel prompted.
"Then... after Juwan Regian arrived, everything about the experiment changed."
Did the kid find out? I did hint about the experiments... But his personality isn't the reckless type to destroy the lab.
"How so?"
"In building the golem core, we kept failing. But when Juwan saw the formula for that part, he fixed it perfectly."
The mage, forgetting his fear, spoke to Adel with an awestruck face.
"Not only that—he reinforced the formula and even taught us how to solidify the golem core."
"If the Ivory Tower's genius helped, isn't that a good thing? Why..."
"Yes, the experiment succeeded. But the problem arose when the golem core activated."
The mage said with a pale face.
"The real golem appeared."
"What does that mean?"
"The ancient golem. The true Giant God we'd only seen in the spellbooks."
He let out a low sigh.
"I never dreamed it really existed. Maybe it reacted to the mana flowing from our artificial core... The Giant God raided the lab and took the core."
Adel couldn't believe it.
An ancient golem awakened? Bin's journal confirmed a golem's existence, but no one ever found it... How...?
But more important than the golem awakening was something else.
"Brother."
If it hadn't just reacted to the core but awakened because of Bin, he could be in danger right now.
"If it was a golem raid, what about the others?"
"Juwan cast an emergency teleport to evacuate us. But not everyone escaped."
These must be the ones left behind.
"Where did he go?"
"After the golem..."
Adel stood without hesitation.
"Let's go."
At his command, the others moved in perfect unison.
"No matter how great your research achievement, what you've done with human lives can't be forgiven."
He said to the fallen mage just before heading to the gorge.
"The Ivory Tower will have to answer for this."
Killing intent seeped from his steps.
"How do we find him?"
Kasla asked as they headed toward the gorge.
"If it's Juwan, he left markers."
At his words, she began scanning the surroundings. Even as a Gal Black Crow member, she couldn't spot the markers he mentioned easily.
"I'll take point."
Unlike her, Adel dashed up the gorge without pause. Traces of mana lingered everywhere.
Not marker magic—just smeared raw mana. It won't last long... He must've been in a real hurry.
Even the Ivory Tower genius had no leeway—that meant it was no easy foe.
No info on ancient golems even in my past life.
This was truly a first-time enemy, completely different from anything before.
Please be safe...
He trusted the genius Juwan's skills, but the boy was still an unpolished gem. Facing an ancient golem was uncertain.
To prevent the White Night catastrophe, he'd tipped him off—only for it to complete the core and awaken the ancient golem.
My responsibility.
So Adel felt obligated to make it right. Save them, no matter what.
Kwaaaaang---!!!!
That was when it happened. Before reaching the summit of Titan's Anvil, a massive roar echoed from the gorge entrance.
That way?
At Adel's gesture, the three scattered in unison.
"B-brother! What about me?"
"Hide."
"Y-yes sir!"
As the others vanished, a frantic Makullan, calling out "brother," dove into a rock crevice at Adel's signal, peeking out with just his face.
"I have to stop it...!!!"
The familiar voice after the roar was definitely Juwan's.
He's alive!
Adel felt a flicker of relief and accelerated.
Kwaduduk...!!!
He drew his bow with all his might.
"Down there!!"
Harun's shout rang out, and Adel hurled himself off the cliff without hesitation.
[Kugrrr...!!]
Turning his head, he saw Juwan and the mages facing off against a massive rock golem at the gorge bottom—easily three times his size.
Did the ancient golem really revive?
Pak-!!
Shuuuuk...!!!
Adel released the string mid-air. The sharp arrow whistled straight ahead. In his urgency, he'd poured so much power that the Galrae Bow's string trembled nonstop even after firing.
Thud-!!
That force translated fully into impact. His arrow cleanly pierced the golem's head, shattering the brick-like cranium in a cascade.
Kugrrr...
The headless golem toppled forward.
Hmph. So much for an ancient golem. Nothing special.
Kalderet scoffed, standing atop the fallen golem's back.
"B-be careful!!!"
But Juwan yelled instead.
What the—?!
Bam---!!!
A massive fist emerged from nowhere, smashing into Kalderet.
[...Guh!!]
Kalderet groaned and flew off.
Bam!
Kwang!!
Kagagagak...!!
Bouncing across the ground, he slid uncontrollably until slamming into the gorge wall.
"Th-the golem's not just one?"
Turning to where Kalderet flew, dozens of golems stood there.
"What the hell...?"
"No way..."
Harun and Kasla were dumbfounded by the scene.
Thud-!
Thud-!
Thud--!!
The golems, like a massive wall, closed in slowly, surrounding them.
These aren't ancient golems.
The familiar shapes told Adel these were the artificial golems from the lab.
"Damn..."
Even amid his comrades' shock, he knew the deeper horror they implied.
The real one's still out there.
Grip— Adel tightened his grip on the bow.