The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– Golem (3)

I focused my gaze on the quarry’s interior.

I wasn’t alone.

Everyone felt the tremor emanating from within, and fixed their eyes on the source.

After what felt like an eternity of watching,

more than ten golems emerged from the shadows.

Golems that required at least aurorite-level skill to face.

To find that many more…

It was beyond disconcerting.

Still, first things first.

“Rednil… I’ll need more swords.”

A request for the tools necessary to address the present circumstances.

Ten golems.

I possessed three swords.

Assuming one sword per golem, I needed seven more.

Rednil, understanding the gravity of the situation, hastily procured seven more swords.

Keeping one for myself, I hurled the rest into the fray.

Simultaneously, I moved towards the golems.

“Asia, Lily, protect the rescue team.”

Dealing with this number of golems was beyond their capabilities.

As I charged deeper into the old quarry,

the burning sensation I’d felt earlier intensified.

And there, amidst the golems…

I spotted an anomaly.

A figure in black robes.

His face was obscured.

But there was no doubt: he was the one behind all of this.

I plunged my aura-imbued blade into the core of the golem directly in front of me.

The core shattered instantly, and the golem collapsed into pieces.

I quickly grabbed a sword I’d thrown nearby, ready to deal with the next golem, when…

I sensed something hurtling towards me.

The direction pointed towards the man in the black robes.

It was a transparent bottle.

Inside, a dark liquid swirled.

I was about to simply deflect the incoming bottle when…

The bottle met my blade and exploded.

With the burst, a cloud of dark smoke billowed forth.

And where the smoke touched, the blade began to corrode.

I hastily put some distance between myself and that miasma.

“Alchemy…?”

Knowing the lost art of golem crafting, the man in the black robes must surely have honed his alchemical skills.

I stared down the cloaked figure.

He gazed back, a triumphant smirk on his face, shaking another bottle in his hand.

As if to say the previous one was not the end of it.

And then –.

The corrosion spread like wildfire across the blade, and it shattered.

Simultaneously, the man in black robes gestured, and the golems surged forward as one.

I gripped a fresh blade and plunged it into the core of the closest golem.

And so –.

One by one, I dealt with them, but –.

*Fssssh* –.

The man in black robes flung bottles at the swords he had planted earlier, rendering them useless.

“Hmm… seems like someone’s made an assumption?”

Five golems remained, but I was left without a blade.

However, the man in black robes was making one critical misjudgment.

That I *needed* to wield a sword at all.

My reason for using a blade.

It was simply because its length made dispatching golems easier.

Golems were not living beings in the first place.

So, even a barehanded, aura-infused strike wouldn’t result in a bloody mess.

I had no compelling reason to stick with a sword.

Remembering this, I finished off the remaining golems.

All the while keeping an eye on the man in black robes.

Though his face was obscured, he seemed somewhat taken aback.

He occasionally hurled another bottle my way, but if they didn’t connect, they were utterly useless.

I dodged them all, finally eliminating the last golem.

Now, only one enemy remained –.

“Just what *are* you?”

I asked, approaching the man in black robes.

I was consumed by curiosity.

Why did this man’s presence make the area near my shoulder blades burn?

Was he a man somehow connected to me?

“…My luck truly fails me. To meet a powerhouse like you of all places.”

“Spare the chatter. What are you?”

The man in the black robe cast it back.

Revealing a face.

A plain human face.

Somewhat gaunt.

“But I find it rather amusing.”

“What’s so amusing?”

“Humans always seek to protect others, don’t they.”

The man in the black robe gestured toward one side.

Simultaneously, my gaze followed his.

And what I witnessed was.

Two golems, appearing out of nowhere, attacking Lily and Asia.

Lily lay collapsed, and Asia struggled to fend them off alone.

The dwarf rescue team was already near death.

I hastily attempted to deal with the man in the black robe.

If this man, who appeared to be the golems’ master, were to die, the golems would stop.

However—.

As if sensing my thoughts, the man in the black robe offered a taunting smile.

“Even if you kill me, golems once commanded do not cease.”

With no choice, I abandoned the man in the black robe and bolted toward Asia and Lily.

However—.

It seemed the golem’s fist would land on Asia an instant sooner.

I didn’t stop running, but I kept thinking.

‘How can I save them?’

I wrestled with the question, pondered and pondered.

A fleeting moment felt like an eternity.

The conclusion I reached was singular.

The feat of unleashing aura.

Such a feat was reserved for Sword Masters alone.

Impossible for me, who wasn’t one.

However—.

If I forced it, perhaps it could be done.

‘It might cause internal injuries…’

Conversely, I could ascend to Sword Master by sheer luck.

And so, I unleashed aura with all my might.

A gamble, close to a reckless maneuver.

Fortunately, the aura remained intact as it hurtled forth.

Holding a faint, golden hue.

The hurled aura bifurcated, striking the cores of the two golems targeting Asia with pinpoint accuracy.

“Haa… Thank goodness.”

It was sincere.

If Asia had suffered a serious injury, he wouldn’t have been able to face the old man.

Relieved, he turned his gaze back toward the figure in the black robes.

But there was no one there.

“He escaped.”

Not a trace of movement could be felt.

Only a fleeting surge of mana had registered.

He must have used some method to perform a teleportation of sorts.

‘A shame.’

He’d missed the opportunity to capture him and to learn the secret behind the sensation in his wing area.

But more importantly.

“Are you alright?”

Fortunately, he had managed to protect Asia and the others.

*

“Hoo…, fortunate that the lie worked.”

If he were to die, the golems would halt.

Even golems given an order will cease functioning upon their master’s demise.

A lie bordering on a desperate gamble for survival.

Thankfully, Arthurs had bought Belgith’s deception.

And so, Belgith escaped.

Using a trump card he had kept carefully hidden.

A teleportation scroll.

The last resort given to him by the Demon King when he came here.

“Tch, I’m ruined.”

Now Belgith was left with nothing.

Mana stones.

Rare mithril.

Even the golems.

The entire plan had gone awry.

All because of some black-haired human, not even a hero.

“Where did such a monster come from?”

Belgith imagined.

If the hero and that man were to meet.

The battle between the Demon King and the hero that would occur in five years.

That battle would undoubtedly unfold in a most unfavorable way for the Demon King.

“Even so, if I deliver this information, it will be a worthwhile achievement of sorts.”

And so, Belgith consoled himself.

Information on a human who posed a considerable threat.

That was his accomplishment, or so it seemed.

But—

There was a woman watching Belzith with a keen eye.

“Belzith…”

“Hm? Ameri? What brings you here? What of your mission? No, better yet, it’s just as well. I have a tale to deliver to the Demon Lord.”

Ameri had black hair that reached her waist, eyes of a deep violet, and wore a black robe, much like Belzith.

“…”

Ameri showed no particular reaction to Belzith’s words.

Belzith responded in turn.

“Why so silent, Ameri?”

A feeling of unease suddenly washed over Belzith.

“You… could it be?”

Before Belzith could finish his thought,

A magic circle materialized in Ameri’s hand.

And at that very instant—

“Uwaaaggh!!!”

Belzith was engulfed in black flames, crying out in agony before being utterly consumed.

Leaving not even ashes behind, Belzith was gone.

Ameri, confirming his end, murmured,

“The confidential mission Father bestowed upon me. Death to those who fail.”

Having spoken those words, Ameri moved on once more.

To the external mission she had been assigned.

The search for the Hero.

*

The old quarry,

It was connected to the collapsed worksite.

Likely, the man in the black robe had made the passage.

And thankfully, the laborers inside had only sustained minor injuries.

The three golems that had been guarding them had apparently collapsed without warning.

As a result,

Everyone was safe and the incident ended without further harm.

And then—

“Truly, thank you.”

Rednil offered me his heartfelt gratitude.

Perhaps as a reward—

“Upon examining the collapsed golems, I found that they were powered by Mythril cores. So, to repay this debt, I wish to forge a sword for you, using this Mythril.”

Even before I had a chance to request it myself,

Rednil offered the reward that I desired most.

Thanks to him, I was spared the awkwardness of asking myself, which could have made the atmosphere a little strange.

And so, Rednil returned to the workshop to forge my sword, and Asia’s.

And I –

“Just what was that, anyway?”

I looked at the mole on my wing bone,

pondering for a long while.

Why did that suddenly happen?

What connection could there possibly be between that man and me?

But there was no way to know.

Even after agonizing over it for ages.

And so, I,

roughly drew a conclusion and ceased my worrying.

Coincidence.

I decided to write it off as simply coincidence.

It was easier to think that way, after all.