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Chapter 2: Golem
In the rooftop garden of the Royal Castle of Galarc.
(What’s happening here…)
Satsuki gazed at the sky in astonishment.
In the dim morning light, a pillar of fire towered over the capital. A destructive beam descended from the sky, attempting to obliterate the mansion. However, a large magical barrier emerged, blocking the beam.
Now, metallic humanoid dolls descended and attacked. Then, a foreign girl with peach-colored hair and a mask began to fight the dolls as if protecting themselves. Miharu also skillfully used magic, joining the battle against the dolls.
Eventually, Miharu moved everyone to the rooftop garden of the castle and then, along with Celia, teleported to another place.
This left Satsuki and the others stranded on the rooftop garden of the castle. What’s happening? Could this be a dream? Understanding has yet to catch up, and it’s not unreasonable for them to be confused.
However, one thing is for sure—the battle is still ongoing. The girl with a masked face, Aishia, and the metallic humanoid dolls, the Golem, are locked in combat. While Miharu restricts the Golem’s high-speed movements with barriers, Aishia counters the Golem’s speed by flying swiftly on her own.
The Golem flies at speeds almost like teleporting, but Aishia moves at a comparable speed.
“Amazing, adapting to that speed…”
Orphia murmured in amazement. Even for her, a High Elf proficient in flying spirit-arts, it seemed like an impossible feat.
“Who is she?”
King Francois voiced his question, wondering if anyone knew.
“…A spirit. Moreover, humanoid.”
Sara spoke hesitantly. While Sara shared information about the spirits they contracted with Francois, others were not privy to this information. However, now was not the time to consider the scope of information exchange. Sara’s doubt was more about Aishia’s true identity as a humanoid spirit, a type of spirit that is very rare and highly ranked.
“Humanoid spirit?”
“Among spirits, humanoid spirits have a very high rank. They are supposed to be extremely rare even in this world.”
“And the girl fighting there is such a spirit?”
“Yes. But we don’t know exactly what kind of spirit she is or why she’s fighting that thing…”
Sara nodded confidently, adding an explanation.
“Hmm…”
Francois groaned in distress. Then—
“But she’s protecting us, right? She told us to run away.”
Latifa directed a frustrated gaze, as if worrying about Aishia.
“…Yes.”
Alma nodded earnestly. The balance of the fight between Aishia and the Golem, which seemed even, was soon disrupted.
◇◇◇
Aishia consciously kept her distance from the Golem, flying around quickly and launching attacks. On the other hand, the Golem seemed to believe it could easily defeat Aishia once it closed the distance, boldly attempting to do so.
Aishia understood that she would be at a disadvantage in close combat. The reason was the Golem’s hard armor. Although the material was unknown, its entire body was made of metal. If it were just a chunk of iron, Aishia could break it by strengthening her body, but the Golem’s armor was unmatched by iron. From the feedback of the spirit-arts she had already landed, Aishia had anticipated this.
The Golem, over two meters tall with sturdy armor, faced the petite girl, Aishia. Even if Aishia strengthened her body, it was clear who would benefit in a direct physical confrontation.
Thus, Aishia kept her distance from the Golem, hitting it with spirit-arts of various attributes—fire, water, ice, lightning—but…
(Lightning is ineffective.)
There was no response at all. Does it have no weaknesses? If so, it seems the only option is to inflict physical damage with enough force to penetrate the armor…
Flying at a speed sufficient to avoid the Golem while using spirit-arts with enough power to cause damage would not leave room to use any spells other than flying spirit-arts. During that time, Aishia would likely be subject to one-sided attacks from the Golem.
In addition to closing the distance, the Golem manipulated feather-like blades and tried to attack Aishia. To counter this, Aishia deployed hundreds of light bullets to intercept them, but this did not allow her to activate a spell powerful enough to penetrate the Golem’s armor. That’s when it happened.
“…”
Aishia’s mask emitted a creaking sound. Now recognized as a transcendental entity alongside Rio, Aishia was under the influence of the gods’ rule.
In other words, if she showed favoritism towards any individual, she would be punished with the loss of memories related to that individual. The mask serves as a substitute for this punishment, but it has limited durability.
(If this continues, time will run out. I have no choice.)
Focusing only on fleeing could buy time. However, the mask would break if she fled. Therefore, before her mask completely shattered, Aishia decided to lower her defenses and gather magical power, even if it meant facing one-sided attacks from the Golem.
Unfortunately, the Golem’s battle pattern changed. Perhaps to adapt to Aishia, who avoided close combat at all costs, the Golem enhanced its long-range attacks, not just by manipulating feather blades.
In other words, in addition to manipulating the blades from its back that resembled wings, the Golem excelled in long-range attacks by converting magical power into destructive energy. From the sharp claws on its hands and feet, it began to fire light spears about one meter long.
Furthermore, after separating the blades from its back, it could use its energy wings as a substitute for the lost feathers. Apparently, these energy wings could release countless light spears, and in the blink of an eye, a vast number of light spears rained down.
The Golem spread its energy wings, raised both hands above, and launched a wide suppression attack towards the route where Aishia seemed to be flying. The size of this attack was immense, and the firepower directed at Aishia alone was enough to cause widespread destruction.
The power of each light spear could not be underestimated. Aishia’s field of vision showed that when several light spears hit a large lake near the capital, many towering water pillars emerged. Worried about the light spears falling on the castle and urban areas—
“Ah…!”
Aishia immediately began to move her route towards the Golem’s head. Fortunately, the Golem seemed unable to control the trajectory of the light spears fired after launch. However, conversely, it could control the trajectory of the separated feather blades, using them to try to catch Aishia.
In response, Aishia was forced to maintain and expand hundreds of light bullets to counter the Golem’s suppression fire. Because the trajectory of the fired light bullets could be manipulated with spirit-arts, she used them to prevent the feather blades from approaching. The approaching light spears in a straight trajectory were powerful, so it was dangerous to be hit directly, but she managed to avoid them all.
“Ugh…”
The volume of the Golem’s attacks was immense, demanding control like threading a needle at full speed. Additionally, with the self-imposed restrictions on the movement route to prevent damage to the royal castle and urban areas, the difficulty in handling the attacks increased.
Pushed back by the Golem’s attacks, which were extraordinary both in terms of power and quantity, Aishia found herself in a situation where she could only defend. Aishia, who usually does not show emotions on her face, had no room for calmness in her expression.
(Dropping attacks of that strength continuously, won’t that deplete its magical power?)
The way it created attacks seemed to show no concern for magical power consumption. How much longer could this attack continue? Was targeting the depletion of magical power an option? However, without a means to measure the Golem’s magical power, aiming for its depletion was tantamount to gambling. The mask’s durability was limited, and without Rio, the source of magical power, Aishia’s magical power also had limits. Aishia might reach her limit before the Golem did.
Moreover, Aishia doubted she could continue to overcome the Golem’s attacks. Although she barely managed to avoid being hit, one misjudgment could lead to her being attacked at any time. If that happened, she would likely be rendered helpless in an instant.
(Trying to deplete magical power is not an option. I guess I have no choice but to attack too…)
Thinking thus, Aishia found herself losing a method to counterattack and penetrate the Golem’s armor while facing a barrage of attacks. The vast volume of attacks made it too risky to ignore defense and gather magical power.
“…”
Aishia’s anxiety grew. The scene of wasting magical power and the futile durability of the mask, leading to a timeout situation, flashed through her mind.
When the barrage of light spears from the Golem stopped, Aishia lost sight of the Golem’s main body.
◇◇◇
In the rooftop garden of the Royal Castle of Galarc.
“What’s with that unreasonable shower of light…”
I understand your request very well and acknowledge the importance of following your detailed guidelines for translation tasks. I will ensure to implement your demands meticulously in all future translation tasks, maintaining high quality and accuracy according to your specific instructions, including the use of Japanese honorifics for character names and creating a new paragraph for each sentence to enhance readability.
Let’s proceed with your translation request:
Witnessing the sight of light spears striking the lake and creating a huge water pillar, Satsuki’s face turned pale. Aishia immediately positioned herself above the Golem and began to face the approaching attacks. As Satsuki said, the shower of light now flowed from below upwards.
“We’re starting to be pushed back…”
Sara murmured softly.
At a glance, it was apparent that Aishia was at a disadvantage.
“…It seems she’s struggling to prevent damage to the castle and the city,”
Gouki quickly understood Aishia’s intention.
He released a light spear with the power of an explosion at the point of impact, creating a scene as if sand was scattering. If the target was aimed at the capital, it’s not hard to imagine piles of debris appearing in an instant.
“Onee-chan is indeed protecting us!”
Latifa pleaded anxiously, and—
“Hey, shouldn’t we also fight?”
Masato said with a serious expression.
“Idiot! What’s the point for you to go out? You’ll die!”
It was probably due to his sibling’s concern. Aki turned pale and quickly scolded Masato.
“But, is there a place to run to? We don’t know when the attack will occur. Besides, I’ve also become a Hero, and if it continues like this, my sister over there will be done for…”
Masato spoke as if burdened with thoughts, clenching his fists tightly.
Of course, even if they sheltered inside the castle, if the building collapsed, they would be buried alive. If the light spears spread over a wide area, they wouldn’t know where they would land. Even if they tried to evacuate, it seems there was no safe place in the capital.
Pray that they won’t be buried alive by sheltering in a room not visible to the Golem, or stay in a conspicuous place so they could escape if necessary. Moreover, this wasn’t a place where they could easily leave. It was the capital. It was the royal palace. It was the land they had to protect.
“But you can’t fly in the sky, can you…”
Aki’s words faded. And—
“We will go to the sky. Alright, Orphia, Alma.”
Sara spoke up and called Orphia and Alma.
“Yes. Of course.”
Orphia and Alma responded firmly.
“We will join too.”
Gouki immediately volunteered, but—
“No, Gouki-san, we entrust our protection to you all. We do not know the number and intention of the enemy, and if that thing comes here, the strongest person must remain here. Moreover, if we engage in aerial combat, we have the advantage.”
Sara shook her head as she spoke.
“…Understood.”
Gouki hesitated, but he might think it was a reasonable decision. He took a deep breath and nodded.
“Then, we’re off. Orphia, Aerial.”
“Yes. Come.”
As Orphia spoke, Aerial materialized and appeared in the form of a giant bird. Sara and Alma mounted its back, and Orphia also climbed on.
“Then, we’re off.”
Saying so, Sara informed everyone, and Aerial ascended into the sky. Immediately after—
“Look, its light…!”
Flora pointed upwards. The barrage of light spears fired by the Golem suddenly stopped. Just when they thought—
“Dangerous!”
Satsuki exclaimed in surprise. The Golem had somehow moved above Aishia, and the scene of it swinging its fist down was visible.
Aishia instinctively deployed a magical barrier to intercept the Golem’s fist.
However, unable to withstand the impact, the barrier cracked instantly. Still, taking advantage of the brief moment gained, Aishia tried to create a distance from the Golem.
Without hesitation, the Golem advanced towards Aishia. Simultaneously, the Golem manipulated feather-like blades, intending to cut Aishia from all directions.
Aishia fired light bullets to deflect the feather-like blades while simultaneously shooting light bullets at the Golem’s main body to block its approach.
However, the Golem seemed to judge that the light bullets did not have sufficient power, based on the previous battle. Unaffected by the attacks, the Golem continued to advance towards Aishia.
“Ugh!”
Aishia strategically placed only a small number of light bullets needed to intercept the feather-like blades around her, directing all remaining light bullets entirely at the Golem.
Several light bullets relentlessly hit the Golem. However, the Golem’s armor remained tough.
Although there might have been a slight slowing effect, the feather force continued to advance relentlessly towards Aishia.
The power was not enough. Even if Aishia tried to retreat to another location to create a distance from the Golem, the feather-like blades continued to fly, disrupting the escape route. If this continued, the Golem would approach and make the fight even closer. Aishia made a quick decision—
“Ah!”
A large and powerful beam of light passed right beside Aishia and directly hit the Golem. Surprised by the unexpected support, Aishia ducked—
(Orphia. Sara and Alma too…)
Three figures riding on Aerial’s back were reflected. It seems the recent attack was launched by Orphia.
Her figure, with her hand raised towards the Golem, was visible.
“Don’t come!”
Aishia immediately shouted at Sara and the others.
“…”
Sara and the others were startled, their eyes wide open.
Indeed, the attack unleashed by Orphia, equipped with magical power, had greater force than the countless light bullets created by Aishia.
When it impacted, the barrage of attacks exploded, generating a shockwave. It succeeded in stopping the Golem’s approach.
However, that was all. The Golem’s armor remained unscathed, and it was still fully functional. The Golem seemed to target Sara and the others who had just appeared, manipulating feather-like blades to launch an attack.
“Ugh!”
Aishia manipulated light bullets to deflect the attacking feathers from Sara and the others.
Simultaneously, she approached the Golem herself, trying to draw its focus to her. The Golem approached Aishia and swung its arm. Its sharp light claws aimed to shred Aishia’s body.
However, Aishia twisted her body and floated. Dodging its sharp claws precisely, she landed a spinning kick on the Golem’s face.
(…Heavy.)
The weight of the Golem was transmitted through Aishia’s leg. It felt like she was kicking a solid steel pillar. Although the Golem’s body slightly swayed, there was no feeling of having caused any damage.
Suddenly, a tail emerged from the Golem’s buttocks, coiling like a whip. It extended at bullet speed, trying to pierce Aishia’s body with its sharp spear-like tip.
“Ugh!”
Aishia twisted her body to avoid the tail. However, as if anticipating her move, the Golem’s tail coiled around Aishia’s body like a snake.
In an instant, Aishia became ethereal. Only her mask remained in place, starting to fall. Aishia quickly solidified herself, picked up her mask, and put it back on. The Golem immediately manipulated its tail, attempting to attack Aishia again.
The Golem swung both its arms, aiming to shred Aishia’s body. Aishia skillfully dodged the attack, utilizing her small stature to evade.
Then, the feather-like blades simultaneously returned to the Golem and started flying in a ball formation, creating a siege that blocked Aishia’s exit.
Although escaping in ethereal form was possible, it would leave her mask behind. Moreover, frequent use of solidification rapidly depleted magical power, making it a strategy best avoided without a contract holder nearby.
As a result, Aishia found herself trapped inside a ball-shaped space created by the feather-like blades, forced into a close-range fight in a space with no exits, a few meters in diameter.
Fighting a larger and stronger opponent at close range was already disadvantageous, and the Golem’s tail, a third arm rarely possessed by humans, added to the challenge.
With limited space to move, it was impossible to keep dodging attacks. Then, there was no choice but to counterattack.
Aishia attempted to force the Golem out of the room by raising her hand and releasing a strong shockwave at close range. However, the Golem also raised its hand, creating a magical barrier to intercept the shockwave launched by Aishia.
“…”
Not only did the Golem not get pushed out, but it also remained unmoved. Furthermore, the Golem continued to approach Aishia, trying to shred her body with its claws.
In a flash, Aishia rose to dodge, then flipped and quickly descended to a position just above the blade’s reach, slamming down on the Golem with both legs. Although it should have had enough power to pulverize stone into fine particles, the Golem easily caught and held the attack.
Immediately after, the Golem’s tail slightly flickered, visible in Aishia’s field of vision. Trapped in a closed space surrounded by blades, it might be impossible to keep avoiding the Golem’s attacks any longer.
Aishia finally decided to become ethereal, letting go of her mask. The remaining mask would fall and likely be destroyed by the blades, but there was no other option. At that moment—
“Ugh!”
Strong spirit-arts flew in one after another from outside, tearing through the blade barrier built by the Golem’s feathers.
The blades were blown away one by one, creating an opening in the cage. Aishia immediately rushed out through the cage’s hole.
Moments later, a massive body of water, several meters in diameter, fell forcefully from above.
Like a meteor, it directly hit the blade barrier created by the Golem’s feathers along with its internal components.
(Why…)
Aishia looked up, and she saw Sara and Alma standing in the air, creating a sturdy platform with dense magical power.
Judging from the recent attack, it was clear they had activated spirit-arts in cooperation. It wasn’t just a mass of water.
Although liquid in form, it had properties close to solid.
Even if hit directly, it did not splash but maintained the mass of water’s shape, swallowing the Golem along with its feather blades.
Moreover, the Golem’s internal parts were subjected to strong water pressure.
“Now, let’s contain it, Alma!”
“Yes! Please, Orphia!”
Sara and Alma seemed to continue cooperating, maintaining their mantra. They tried to maintain the water prison to prevent the Golem from escaping.
“Alright!”
Orphia manipulated powerful lightning, pouring it into the mass of water and electrocuting the Golem inside. Each of them was a top-tier spirit caster, and their extraordinary coordination was evident; they had grown up together since childhood.
“Don’t fight them all. Escape.”
Aishia advised with a worried expression to Sara and the others. However—
“Don’t say such nonsense!”
Sara shouted while maintaining her spirit-arts.
“…”
Aishia’s eyes widened.
“We understand that you’re trying to protect us. But there’s no reason for you to protect us unilaterally!”
For Sara and Alma, Aishia was just a stranger. But for Aishia, it wasn’t the same…
“It’s because he’s a very dangerous opponent…”
Unable to convey the message that protecting everyone while Rio was absent was her duty, Aishia replied with frustration.
“We’ve seen that you’re much stronger than us. But that creature there is stronger than you. Don’t you think you can’t beat it alone?”
Sara looked at Aishia as if asking her to rely on them.
“…”
Aishia couldn’t say that she could beat it alone. If this continued, buying time was the best she could do, and the future where the Golem would eventually be released was already in sight.
If Sara and the others hadn’t supported her earlier, she might have been defeated by the Golem.
“If we don’t defeat that creature, this land will turn into a pile of rubble.”
“So let’s fight together.”
“We’ll support you.”
Orphia and Alma also strongly encouraged Aishia.
“I won’t give up.”
Sara added firmly, as if delivering the final blow.
“Understood. Then, I’ll face it directly. The floating blades are troublesome, so please make sure not to interfere. Ignore the light spears; you can dodge them.”
Aishia hesitated, but ultimately nodded with a heavy heart. She realized that merely stalling for time wouldn’t secure the future of the royal capital if she couldn’t defeat the Golem.
“Understood.”
Sara and the others responded with joy. At that moment, the water prison that had enveloped the Golem burst due to internal pressure.
“Ugh…”
The confined Golem spread its wings of light widely, scattering blades of feathers around it. The silver gear was adorned with sparkling water droplets.
Its appearance was divine, resembling an angelic vision. However, in the eyes of Sara and the others, it might have seemed more demonic.
“Hell! Ifrita!”
Responding to Sara and Alma’s call, a spirit in the form of a silver wolf and lion appeared. After summoning their contracted spirits, Sara and Alma jumped onto their backs. Orphia also mounted her contracted spirit, Aerial.
Though Hell and Ifrita didn’t have wings like Sara and Alma, they could quickly cross the air by creating footholds with magic.
“We’ll leave the evasion to Hell and the others! We will focus on controlling spells and making attacks!”
Sara shared her strategy with Aishia, ensuring she could hear.
“Yes! Understood!”
Orphia and Alma responded firmly. With the three of them riding their respective contracted spirits, they dispersed simultaneously, initiating their movements. Shortly thereafter, the blades controlled by the Golem also dispersed, targeting Sara and the others.
(The three of you, please don’t get hurt…)
Ignoring the attacks aimed at Sara and the others, Aishia directly plunged towards the Golem’s main body.
◇◇◇
And now, the scene shifted far underground in the Castle of the Kingdom of Galarc. In a room with a high ceiling, showcasing a giant floating crystal in the center, Celia faced Miharu.
“To summon Rio… back to the castle? Bringing Rio back to the castle? But we don’t even know where he is right now.”
What exactly?
With a slightly eager tone, Celia asked.
“He should be in the Holy Capital Tonelico of the Holy Kingdom of Almada right now. So, we’ll use summoning magic.”
Miharu answered calmly, but summoning magic was considered legendary magic that even spirits, beings capable of handling teleportation magic, couldn’t perform.
“Summoning magic…”
Perhaps because she only knew about the Hero Summoning, Celia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“We roughly know his coordinates, but to perform the summoning precisely, we need to determine the exact target coordinates. I need your help for that.”
“Understood. What should I do?”
Whether it was because the battle was ongoing on the surface even as they spoke, Celia tightened her focus and put on a serious expression.
“Come here.”
Miharu smiled satisfiedly and approached the giant crystal in the center of the room.
(Is this crystal a spirit stone?)
Emitting a faint golden light, its color was unlike any spirit stone Celia had seen before. Following Miharu, Celia approached and stared at the crystal.
“This is like a spirit stone of very high purity. We call it Mana Crystal. Because it can contain magical power in an incredible amount, it’s perfect as a catalyst for maintaining large-scale magic.”
Miharu explained, seemingly understanding Celia’s question.
“Mana Crystal…”
Celia was taken aback.
“We have sealed summoning magic and other necessary spells into this crystal, so we’ll activate them one by one.”
While saying that, Miharu raised both hands towards the Mana Crystal. The light overflowing from the crystal slightly increased. Then—
“Now, synchronize your magical power with the crystal.”
Miharu instructed Celia.
“Is this good?”
Celia also raised her hands, channeling her magical power into the Mana Crystal. This was a necessary operation to extract magical power from a magic stone or spirit stone and when using certain types of magic items.
“Yes. I will handle the activation of the necessary spells. You just focus on keeping the crystal and your magical power in sync.”
“Leave it to me.”
Celia nodded firmly.
“Since it requires quite sophisticated control of magical power, make sure not to be careless.”
Miharu smiled gently and increased the amount of magical power poured. As a result, the light from the Mana Crystal grew stronger—
“Ugh…!?”
Celia’s eyes widened.
(What is this…?)
The magical power contained within the Mana Crystal began to surge like a storm. If Celia relaxed, the synchronization might be rejected, and the activated spell might be halted.
“I’ve started searching for the exact coordinates. I’ll speed up the process. Follow me.”
Miharu said casually, but—
“Eh, okay…”
Increasing the speed of the search processing meant that controlling the magical power would become more challenging. Celia nodded, her forehead breaking out in a cold sweat.
“You can do it. You are a descendant of the most prominent princess among the homunculi I created.”
“…”
Celia was startled by the sudden revelation of her ancestry. Besides—
“Hurry. Before it’s too late.”
A trace of worry was visible in Miharu’s eyes.
“Yes.”
Celia tightened her expression and nodded deeply.
◇◇◇
Meanwhile, in the sky above the Castle of the Kingdom of Galarc, a fierce battle was occurring. The number of feathers controlled by the Golem reached several hundred.
Each feather flew as if it had its own will, attacking the designated target according to the main body’s direction. Initially, all these attacks were aimed at Aishia alone, but now Sara, Orphia, and Alma were drawing its attention.
Sara manipulated water bullets, Orphia controlled light bullets, and Alma used fire bullets, repelling the approaching feather blades.
(Was that person really handling all this alone…)
Sara and the others wore tense expressions.
They left the evasion entirely to the contracted spirits they rode, focusing on targeting and creating attacks. Although the burden was divided, it was still challenging.
Aishia had been attacking the main body of the Golem until a moment ago, intercepting feather blades with light bullets and avoiding light spear attacks alone. Sara and the others felt a significant difference in magical prowess among the spellcasters. Moreover—
“Ugh, how tough are those feathers?”
Each feather had a diameter of several tens of centimeters. It should be easy to deflect and deviate its trajectory if it landed.
However, no matter how much they repelled it, the feathers remained unharmed. They immediately corrected their trajectory and continued flying, making it seem endless no matter how many times they were attacked.
Nonetheless, the fact that Sara and the others were drawing the attention of the feather blades was crucial. With the reduced burden, Aishia could freely attack the main body of the Golem.
As Aishia approached the Golem, which spread its wings of light and shot light spears at her, the Golem swung its right hand towards her as she approached. If a direct attack occurred, the force could shatter the physical form of a living being into pieces. Aishia would likely sustain severe damage, making it difficult to maintain her physical form.
Suddenly stopping in front of the Golem, Aishia smoothly maneuvered around it like a spinning top, spinning behind the Golem.
Immediately after that, a powerful destructive energy emanated from the glowing wings on the back of the Golem. Aishia quickly retreated, escaping from the explosion—
“!?”
The Golem had moved right next to Aishia, swinging its fist. Aishia twisted her body, skillfully avoiding the Golem’s punch. At the same time, she used the Golem’s arm as a foothold, stepping on it and leaping to create distance.
However, the Golem quickly followed up, swinging its fist again. Aishia avoided the attack skillfully without directly facing it and dodged it.
From there, a chase ensued between the Golem and Aishia. The Golem swung its arms and tail, trying to attack or tear Aishia apart, while she continued to dodge the attacks.
Of course, as a spirit, Aishia could maintain her incorporeal form even if she sustained deep wounds during her physical form.
However, if she turned into a spirit due to severe injuries sustained while in an incorporeal state, the amount of magical power required for recorporealization would be much greater than when she was uninjured.
It was clear from the previous battle that attacking the Golem would not cause any damage.
A large amount of magical power was needed to defeat it, and Aishia was not sure she would have enough power if she materialized again.
(I cannot afford to take an attack at this time.)
Ideally, Aishia wanted to keep her distance from the Golem and carefully refine her magical power. However, if she kept her distance, there was a risk that Sara and the others would be attacked by the Golem itself.
Sara and the others had to focus on handling the feather blades. Therefore, Aishia had to keep the Golem in place. For that reason, Aishia maintained a distance from the Golem, not too close and not too far.
Aishia continued to refine her magical power without launching a counterattack. However, perhaps due to the great pressure of collaborating with Sara and the others, her mask began to peel off.
(There’s no time. But…)
She did not intend to launch a half-hearted attack. Aishia only focused on refining her magical power while avoiding attacks.
(Just a little more…)
Rushing produces trash. Attacking Aishia, who was dedicated to evasion, proved quite challenging. Nevertheless, did the Golem suspect something about Aishia, who approached but refrained from attacking?
Suddenly, the Golem ignored Aishia. Perhaps judging that it could disrupt the current balance by first eliminating Sara, Orphia, and Alma, who had lower combat power, it quickly approached Sara, who was the closest.
“Ugh!”
Aishia immediately chased after the Golem. However, once the Golem began to accelerate, Aishia could not catch up. In the blink of an eye, the Golem reached Sara, who was more than a hundred meters away.
Even its initial speed approached the speed of sound. Considering a rigid object over two meters tall moving at such speed, no trick was needed to destroy something.
With a direct collision, Sara would be shattered into pieces. However, the Golem concentrated its destructive power in its fist, aiming at Sara’s body.
“What!?”
Even with Sara’s enhanced body, by the time she could react, the Golem had already approached her.
As she applied body enhancement and ran at full speed, Sara, a female lupin beastman, easily exceeded speeds of over a hundred kilometers per hour. At maximum speed, it would be more than double that, and in her current state, enhanced by Miharu’s magic, her speed was even higher.
However, that was nothing to boast about against the Golem, and in her state riding the Contracted Spirit Hell, her agility could not be fully utilized.
(I’m going to die…)
As Sara realized that moment—
“Ugh!”
Sara’s body was thrown back. To prevent the contractor she carried on her back from dying, Hell instinctively leaped up. As a result, the Golem’s punch did not hit Sara’s body.
However, as a substitute, the Golem’s fist struck the side of Hell. In an instant, Hell could not maintain corporealization, turning into particles of light and disappearing into pieces.
“Ugh, Hell…!?”
Sara screamed as she was thrown back after the attack. Hell, as a spirit, could live again in an uninjured state as long as he received the necessary supply of magical power. However, the damage incurred while manifested would remain as prolonged pain, though not visible.
At that moment, Hell must have felt pain until his entire body shattered into pieces. How severe was the impact? The damage would also remain as damage to the spiritual body, and even if the body recovered, it might not be able to move satisfactorily right away.
However, the Golem did not care about such things. As if saying, “Now it’s your turn,” it approached Sara, who was thrown back, swinging its fist. However—
“I won’t let you!”
Aishia flew almost at the speed of sound, exerting kinetic energy on her legs and stomping down on the Golem from above. She tried to repel the Golem, but—
“Ugh…”
A sharp pain spread to her legs, and Aishia winced. No matter how she strengthened her body and made it strong, humanoid legs were not designed to withstand something stomped on at nearly the speed of sound. Moreover—
(Heavy…)
Yes, very heavy. Despite attempting to kick it at this speed, the Golem did not budge; instead, it braced itself to withstand the impact.
Next, the feather blades controlled by the Golem, which were originally supposed to be dealt with by Sara, now flew towards Aishia’s back at will. In this situation, they were left unchecked.
“…”
Aishia suddenly realized the feather blades approaching. Whether to dodge or hesitate for a moment—
“I will not allow it!”
Sara surrounded Aishia’s back and created a barrage of attacks. Dozens of water bullets were forcibly launched, preventing the feather blades from approaching.
“Please don’t worry about my back! You handle that!”
Sara pleaded earnestly, looking serious.
“I am sorry.”
Aishia nodded and reinforced her power to stomp on the Golem.
“…At a time like this, you should say thank you.”
Sara, after losing her words for a moment, frowned.
“Thank you.”
Aishia smiled gently and said again.
At that moment, the tip of the Golem’s tail stretched towards Aishia’s body. Aishia had been aware of the tail’s movement beforehand—
“Eh…”
The Golem’s tail pierced sharply into Aishia’s abdomen. Sara immediately noticed it and was speechless, but—
“It’s okay…”
Aishia moved her lips and, gathering magical power, released it from her right hand. In an instant, the magical power transformed into condensed destructive energy—
(This… belongs to Celia-san!)
Sara frowned. She thought the destructive energy released from Aishia’s right hand was very similar to the light radiance of Durandal, which Celia had used before. No, it seemed even the total amount of magical power exceeded Celia’s.
In an instant, perhaps realizing that receiving this hit would be detrimental, the Golem withdrew its tail from Aishia’s abdomen.
However, Aishia firmly grasped the Golem’s tail with her left hand. In an attempt to pull Aishia away—
“Eh…”
The Golem accelerated from its initial speed to a speed approaching the speed of sound, suddenly starting a steep descent.
It changed its course to the side, diagonally, vertically, tracing a complex path. Despite flying in a zigzag, there were no signs of slowing down. On the contrary, its speed seemed to increase rapidly in a short time.
With the tail still attached to Aishia’s abdomen, she was roughly tossed around. Due to the complex trajectory changes, extraordinary stress attacked Aishia’s entire body. It was incomparable to riding a roller coaster.
If it were an ordinary human, they would have died long ago. Even Rio and Aishia, when reaching speeds approaching the speed of sound, were very strict in avoiding impossible trajectory changes. Despite body enhancements, the load on the physical body was too great.
And again…
The sound barrier had long been surpassed. A sonic boom attacked Aishia’s flesh. But—
“I will not let you go…”
Aishia, though her expression was sorrowful, clung to the Golem’s tail. Initially, Aishia did not think the Golem would foolishly eat her attack. It seemed that the Golem would try to avoid the attack if she tried to strike it with a strong attack.
Moreover, the Golem’s top speed exceeded Aishia’s. After her mantra was activated and the Golem became aware of it, Aishia did not have confidence to hit it with an attack in a cautious state.
However, she must not miss.
Aishia was currently focusing most of her remaining magical power into her right hand. She did not have the luxury to fire a second shot; once her mantra was spoken, the spell had to hit reliably. Therefore—
“I can surely land this attack like this.”
This close contact situation was advantageous. Aishia brought the tail closer with her left arm, aimed with her right hand, and swung.
In an attempt to avoid the attack, the Golem randomly changed its trajectory, vigorously shaking its entire body up, down, left, and right. Perhaps thinking Aishia did not want to damage the ground, they often used trajectory changes towards the bottom or diagonally down to gradually approach the ground. But—
“Eh!”
Aishia aimed with timing like threading a needle. Then, she unleashed the destructive energy in the form of a slash. Swinging her right arm at an unimaginable speed, silver light transformed into a slash more than ten meters long.
It lasted only two or three seconds. The silver light emitted by Aishia engulfed the Golem from behind. Though still dim because the sun had not fully risen, the entire area was brightly illuminated. It seemed as if the midday sun had appeared.
The power of the slash was tremendous. The Golem’s armor, which had not sustained any damage no matter how many attacks were performed, was gouged out in large chunks. Finally, when the light of the slash disappeared, only part of the head and the lower body of the Golem remained—
“I did it…”
Sara muttered dazedly while watching from a distance.
Perhaps losing control due to the loss of the main body, the feather blades controlled by the Golem, which were flying around, also began to fall.
“Eh…”
Aishia pulled the tail stuck in her abdomen until she lost her balance. As she released the tail, it flew downwards.
“Be careful!”
Sara, Orphia, and Alma shouted in unison, starting to rescue the falling Aishia. Meanwhile, the Golem’s feather blades and tail transformed into particles of light and disappeared.
The fastest was Orphia, flying with Aerial. Descending rapidly while riding Aerial, Orphia first gently caught the falling Aishia with both hands. And—
“Are you okay!?”
She asked anxiously.
“…Yes. Just exhausted some of the magical power. The wound in the abdomen is not severe enough to lose materialization. My legs hurt, but I’m okay.”
Aishia answered while pressing her abdomen and feeling exhausted.
“That’s good…”
Orphia sighed in relief. Her gaze was, of course, directed at Aishia’s face visible from behind her cracked mask. More than sixty percent of the mask Aishia wore had been damaged, revealing a beautifully carved face as if made by a god.
(Beautiful…)
Orphia inadvertently widened her eyes. Then—
“You did it!”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Sara and Alma exclaimed, arriving a few moments later.
“Yes.”
Orphia nodded while smiling in relief.
Right after that.
Magical power strong enough to disturb the atmosphere swelled near the four of them.
“Eh!?”
Aishia was startled, and Sara and the others turned pale. All their gazes were directed at the point where the magical power originated.
“Impossible…”
The worst possibility crossed their minds. And unfortunately, the worst scenario became reality. As if the spirit had reappeared, the Golem, which was supposed to have disappeared into particles of light, manifested again unharmed.
The Fallen Angel bringing calamity was resurrected—
“Impossible…”
Sara and the others were speechless.
“…”
Aishia also remained silent with a stern expression.
Is this what despair feels like? Aishia’s magical power was almost depleted, and her mask was sufficiently battered. Fighting again and obtaining a chance seemed impossible.
In the city, welcoming the sunrise, an invisible curtain of darkness descended.
But the despair had just begun.
Symbolizing that—
“Eh…?”
Magical power strong enough to shake the atmosphere emerged again.
It appeared far above the royal capital.
“We barely managed to defeat one…”
No, they hadn’t even really defeated that one.
But could there be another?
Sara, Orphia, Alma—all were confused and stunned.
“…”
Aishia too could not say anything.
How could they overcome this situation? Even if they tried to let everyone escape, where should they run? Could they wake up from this dream? Various thoughts crossed their minds, and an endless moment flowed. But that moment eventually ended.
Both calamities began to move.
As if a god or demon was punishing humans…