Chapter 69

Guardian (2)

I stared dumbfounded at the Guardian standing proudly before me.

Its form resembled the kind of golem you would commonly see in fantasy stories.

It was extremely similar to a human in shape, except its body was several times larger.

According to Starlight Princess, a Guardian was a being inhabited by a spirit.

Why did that suddenly…?

But the bigger problem was that the Guardian had appeared out of nowhere.

No.

Rather than saying it had appeared, it felt more accurate to say it had awakened from sleep.

The pile of rocks that had been lying there moments ago had snapped together piece by piece and risen to its feet.

Whiiiiine—

The Guardian made of Orichalcum stared directly at me.

It didn’t even have eyes, but the way it slightly lowered its head made it obvious.

More importantly, that thing…

As I slowly backed away, I looked toward the center of the Guardian’s chest.

Embedded there was something much bluer than the rest of its body.

It looked vaguely spherical.

Whatever it was, it stood out.

A core?

I vaguely remembered something.

When I had encountered a Guardian after defeating Mad Dog, SwordMaster had mentioned that I should aim for the core in its chest.

To do that, I would probably have to cut off its legs first.

Its huge size actually gave me an advantage.

If things go well, I could attack that core directly…

Clank! Clank!

That would have been nice, but when was anything ever that easy?

As though putting on armor, the Guardian’s chest became covered in another layer of Orichalcum.

Its body was now much thicker than before.

What was this, some kind of bulk-up?

The sight alone made my head spin, but I somehow regained my composure.

No. I can do this. I beat the saber-toothed tiger too.

The Guardian didn’t seem to have designated me as an enemy yet.

However, it was clearly preparing itself so it could attack at any moment.

The fact that it had completely covered the core it had openly exposed before meant it was probably wary of me.

“Kkyuuuu…”

Wonmo raised all his fur and became alert as well.

Apparently, he understood that it was dangerous.

He had trembled like a leaf while being chased by those chicks, yet now he was showing the instincts of a predator again.

Maybe he thought one opponent was manageable.

Still, avoiding a fight would be preferable if possible, so I slowly tried to back away.

At that moment—

[Kiiiiiiik—]

Thud!

The creature stepped forward with a noise like grinding machinery.

At the same time, the surrounding Orichalcum pieces attached themselves to it like magnets.

Apparently, the core acted like a magnet and drew nearby Orichalcum toward itself.

Thoom! Thud! Thud!

The Orichalcum Guardian strode toward me.

Even judging purely by eye level, it was much larger than the tiger, so I couldn’t help feeling tense.

I carefully observed every one of its strange movements while steadying my breathing.

As my breathing stabilized, the mana inside my body began circulating more smoothly as well.

[Kiiik—]

The instant I circulated my mana, the creature made a bizarre noise.

Then it raised one massive leg and slammed it down.

BOOM!

The impact sent vibrations through the ground.

But what happened next shocked me.

CRACK!

The ground erupted upward in the shape of spikes and rushed toward me.

It wasn’t particularly fast, but I was so startled that my body froze for a brief moment.

“W-What the hell?!”

I forced my stiff body to move and dodged.

The spikes narrowly brushed past me.

So the Guardian even had a ranged attack.

This was completely different from fighting the saber-toothed tiger.

This wasn’t going to be easy.

Either way, I have to get close.

I tightened my grip on my sword and shield.

For now, I planned to follow the advice SwordMaster had given me.

Walking upright was both the strength and weakness of humanoid monsters.

If I could sever even one of its legs, its mobility would drop drastically.

“Kkyuaaa!”

While I was organizing my thoughts, Wonmo courageously charged forward.

But considering the difference in size, that wasn’t courage.

It was recklessness.

I flinched and reached out to stop him, but Wonmo’s attack landed first.

Thump!

An utterly adorable body slam.

It didn’t even make the Guardian flinch.

The sight made my blood run cold, but the Guardian’s reaction was strange.

It simply continued walking toward me in silence, as though Wonmo wasn’t even worth acknowledging.

Does it not bother fighting things weaker than itself?

I couldn’t be sure, but it didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking Wonmo.

And although each of its attacks was immensely powerful, its movements were so sluggish that there was little chance of Wonmo getting stepped on.

Grrrrrrind—

The Guardian, which had been steadily advancing toward me, slowly raised both arms.

Sensing danger, I hurriedly moved to the right.

Kiiik—

But the way it followed me was strange.

Its waist twisted at an unnatural angle.

By the time it brought both arms down, its torso had rotated nearly 180 degrees.

BOOOOM!

Its massive arms slammed into the ground.

At the same time, just like before, the ground erupted into spikes that surged toward me.

The Guardian itself moved slowly, but once its attack activated, the attack was extremely fast.

I couldn’t let my guard down.

Now!

Again, the creature’s actual movements were sluggish.

The moment right before it launched an attack was exactly when I could strike.

Hummm—

Mana rose from the Heavenly Demon’s sword like shimmering heat haze.

I would sever the Guardian’s leg in a single strike.

If I succeeded, it would lose its balance, making the rest of the fight much easier.

Grrrrrrind—

The sound of stone grinding against stone filled my ears.

The Guardian was beginning to lift one of its massive legs.

“Kkyuuu?!”

Wonmo, who had been busily attacking that leg, panicked and clung to it.

The Guardian still didn’t seem to recognize him at all.

I decided to target the other leg before the raised one came crashing down.

Thanks to the Guardian’s sluggish movements, reaching the leg planted firmly on the ground wasn’t difficult.

Damn, it looks even bigger up close.

My head barely reached the Guardian’s groin.

But the larger something was, the more openings it had.

I circulated the mana inside my body even faster.

The aura rising from the Heavenly Demon’s sword grew far more intense.

Now all I had to do was cut through its leg.

Just before the Guardian’s foot—with Wonmo still clinging to it—came crashing down, I swung my sword.

To put as much power into the strike as possible, I followed what I had read in the Gallery and slashed from the inside outward.

Good. It worked—

Shwoooosh!

Just as I was about to smile in satisfaction, something completely unexpected happened.

The aura that had been shimmering around the blade was instantly absorbed into the Guardian’s leg.

Like water touching a sponge, it vanished in an instant.

CLANG!

To make matters worse, even the Heavenly Demon’s sword failed to cut through the Guardian’s leg.

The blade sank about halfway in and got stuck.

Even without the aura, this was a renowned sword capable of slicing through solid wood as easily as tofu.

Right. Orichalcum absorbs mana…!

There was no other explanation.

One of Orichalcum’s characteristics was that it temporarily hardened after absorbing mana.

I had overlooked it because I had thought, temporarily, and assumed it had nothing to do with me.

I had been so focused on strengthening my sword that I had forgotten something crucial.

It was an unexpected mistake.

And a dangerous one.

BOOM!!

The Guardian slammed its foot into the ground.

The moment I saw it happen, I raised my shield and prepared for the next attack.

At the same time, I hurriedly pulled the Heavenly Demon’s sword free.

BOOOOM!

The ground around the Guardian’s foot erupted upward, accompanied by a massive shockwave.

It was fortunate that I had thrust my shield toward its foot.

Otherwise, I would have been in serious trouble.

“Ghk!”

That didn’t mean the shield absorbed all the damage.

The impact transmitted through it sent my body flying backward.

Even while airborne, I lifted my head to keep it from striking the ground.

SwordMaster had explained it in one of his posts.

Even if performing a proper breakfall was impossible, always keep your head raised.

That way, you could minimize secondary injuries.

Tap!

Just before I hit the ground, I felt someone gently catch my head.

A moment later, fierce pain exploded across my back, but at least my head was fine.

That alone made it bearable.

“Ugh… thanks.”

The one who had supported my head was none other than Namu-Ppareumbo.

He responded with his usual expressionless face.

I had struck my back hard enough that my breathing refused to settle, so I forced myself to calm it.

Wonmo. Where’s Wonmo?

I searched for him as I got back up.

That had been a powerful attack.

I desperately hoped he was okay.

“Kkyuuu! Kkyukkyu!”

Before long, I found him.

I had no idea when he’d gotten up there, but Wonmo was perched right on top of the Guardian’s head.

He repeatedly struck it with his adorably tiny claws.

The Guardian didn’t react in the slightest.

It genuinely seemed unable to perceive him at all.

What the hell is going on?

Even if Wonmo was weak, not noticing something attached directly to its head was strange.

As I tilted my head in confusion, the Guardian turned toward me.

Grrrrrrind—

Its chest opened, revealing the vivid blue core within.

It was essentially exposing its heart.

I was just beginning to wonder why when—

Huuuuuum—

The core’s glow intensified.

The instant I saw it, I felt the blood in my entire body turn cold.

I had to dodge.

If I didn’t, I would die.

I hurriedly sprang to my feet and threw myself aside.

HUUUUUM!

The core shone even brighter than the Light spell floating overhead.

Then—

BWAAAAAAM!

It unleashed what looked exactly like a laser straight out of a comic.

BOOOOOM!!

The beam narrowly missed me.

The devastation it left behind was obvious.

The ground had been gouged out as though an artillery shell had exploded there.

Apparently, even Orichalcum couldn’t absorb something with that much destructive power.

“Haa… haa…”

Panting heavily, I stared blankly at the cratered ground.

There was no way I would survive a direct hit from that.

Clank! Clank!

Armor-like plates covered the Guardian’s core again.

Apparently, it couldn’t fire that attack endlessly.

Did it just release the mana it absorbed from me?

That was the only hypothesis I could come up with.

I groaned softly as I stood.

This was the first time I had ever been restricted from using mana.

At least it only seemed capable of absorbing mana once it was released outside my body.

So all I can use is physical enhancement…

Even so, I still had the Heavenly Demon’s sword.

I had plenty of chances left.

If I kept fighting carefully, I would eventually find an opening.

“Ppareumbo. Can you cut that thing?”

“……”

Ppareumbo shook his head at my question.

Even though his claws could slice through a steel container without effort, Orichalcum was apparently beyond him.

Considering how thick the Guardian was, trying might only damage his claws.

[Kiiiiiiik—]

BOOM! THUD!

The creature once again approached me with those bizarre noises.

It didn’t seem to have eyes, so how did it know exactly where I was?

Meanwhile, it still appeared completely unable to sense Wonmo hanging from its head.

Rather than seeing like a person, it seemed to be detecting me through some kind of sense.

I’m not certain yet.

I needed to engage it a little longer to find out.

I quietly steadied my breathing.

The Guardian slowly raised its arms.

It was about to launch the same attack as before.

This was my chance.

No aura this time. Just the Heavenly Demon’s sword…!

I slipped between the Guardian’s legs just before it brought its arms down.

Then I swung the Heavenly Demon’s sword from the inside outward with all my strength.

My target was its right leg.

Perhaps because I had accelerated the mana within my body, I could vividly feel every movement of my muscles.

Shhk!

The Guardian’s leg was severed cleanly.

As expected of the Heavenly Demon’s sword.

The moment it lost one leg, the Guardian completely lost its balance.

BOOM!

It toppled forward.

Wonmo, who had been clinging to its head, jumped in surprise.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Unless I destroyed the core embedded in the center of its chest, the Guardian would not stop moving.

Fortunately, it had fallen into a kneeling position, making it easy to climb onto its back.

Tap!

I leaped high and landed lightly on its back.

I immediately reversed my grip on the sword and raised it overhead.

If I drove the blade through the area where the core was located, this should be over.

Using aura might prevent the sword from penetrating, so I only accelerated the mana inside my body.

“Hraaaah!”

With a forceful shout, I drove the sword downward—

BAAAM!!

—and a rock suddenly erupted from the Guardian’s back and slammed directly into my abdomen.

“Huh?”