Chapter 25

Chapter 25 : Cerulean Golem #2

When the energy of the stars reached its peak, a boss appeared in the valley.

It was a Crystal Golem that looked twice as large as the Cerulean Golems they had been facing until now.

[Ancient Cerulean Golem]

｢It is a powerful guardian of the gorge and a Boss Monster!! Please be careful!｣

When the Golem, covered in moss and rocks, roared, the gorge rang loudly.

Its entire body and two eyes, which gave off an eerie radiance, emitted an overwhelming pressure that seemed as though it would freeze everything around it.

When its immense presence covered the gorge, everyone stopped moving and turned to look at the Ancient Cerulean Golem.

Everyone except one person.

Doran.

‘Where are you…?’

You will reveal yourself now, will you not?

Doran lowered his posture and scanned the gorge with sharp eyes.

His gaze was chasing the Adventurers.

To be precise, he was searching for an Adventurer who reacted differently from the others.

Just then, a party wearing distinctive magic armor near the entrance of the gorge caught his eye.

They were the group who had massacred Cerulean Golems from the beginning, knew the Golems’ weaknesses strangely well, and had suddenly stopped hunting around the time the energy of the stars bloomed fully throughout the gorge.

“…Hey, Malton.”

“I am listening.”

“You know how to read lips, right? Eavesdrop on those people’s conversation over there.”

“…You say that as though it is only natural. I have never said that I possess such a skill.”

“So, you cannot?”

“…….”

Malton grumbled, then recited exactly what he had spied through the telescope.

─It has appeared. Let us withdraw now.

─A rather strong-looking one appeared. Are we not going to hunt it?

─That boss is not one that can be hunted. Our business in this valley is finished, so we are withdrawing.

“…That is what they said.”

“Thanks.”

With this, it was certain.

‘I finally found one…!’

A Reincarnator.

The leader of that party was undoubtedly someone from Earth, like me.

After all, there was no way he could have immediately seen through that Golem’s identity otherwise.

‘But… even among former Velheim users, there should not be many people who know this much….’

Was he a former Ranker like me? If so, he might be someone I knew by sight.

For an instant, several questions surfaced in his mind, such as how that person had been dragged into this world, how long he had lived here, and whether he had also encountered the Goddess, but Doran had no choice but to set his questions aside for the moment.

Because a mage had cast powerful fire magic at the Boss Golem.

Radi opened his mouth slightly when he saw crimson flames shaped like a serpent melting rocks as they surged forward.

“Oh, if it has that much power, then no matter how high its Magic Resistance is….”

“It is useless.”

“What?”

“Magic does not work on that thing at all. It might be different for ordinary Golems.”

Even if the mages of the Magic Tower attacked it in droves with spells, it was uncertain whether they would have any effect.

Sure enough, the fire magic scattered without causing any damage to the Golem.

No, it was not only magic.

“Wh-What?! Blunt weapons do not work on this Golem!!”

“Th-There must be a weakness somewhere! Aim for the abdomen like with the other Golems! Or the joints!!”

“N-No good…! Spells and physical attacks do not work!!”

“What kind of─?! Khaaaagh!!”

When the Golem swept across the ground, the upper bodies of the Adventurers burst apart and rolled across the floor of the gorge.

Seeing that sight, Doran placed his hand on Radi’s shoulder and said,

“Kid, it would be better to move a little farther away.”

“What? The Golem is that far away, so why….”

Before Radi could even finish speaking, huge crystal masses formed in the sky and poured down.

When Doran grabbed the nape of his hood and pulled him away by a hair’s breadth, Radi murmured with a pale face.

“Th-Thank you….”

“Do not let your guard down until the end.”

“Doran, that giant Golem is blocking the gorge exit. Is there any way to escape safely?”

“No. If we try to escape carelessly right now, we will draw its attention. In the current situation, running is impossible.”

“If we cannot flee… Aha! Then you know how to defeat that giant Golem, do you?!”

“No? How would I know that?”

Radi stared at him with his mouth wide open and an absurd look in his eyes, but Doran lightly ignored him.

‘I am also encountering the boss itself for the first time.’

Even in the records of the advance party from the past, it had been written that many expedition members survived the battle against the Golems, but most of them were wiped out by the boss that appeared afterward.

In other words, that Boss Golem was a Monster whose strategy was unknown.

That was probably why the magic armor party presumed to be led by a Reincarnator had retreated without lingering regrets.

“Then why are you saying that so calmly?! At this rate, we are all going to die!!”

“It is fine. I do not know the exact strategy, but I can roughly predict it.”

Velheim was terribly unreasonable, but it did not throw out tasks that were completely impossible to solve.

There were exceptions like [Raid on the Mary Celeste], but that was truly a rare case….

‘…The Ancient Cerulean Golem had magic immunity, and physical attacks did not even budge it.’

Even so, it was still a Monster that appeared on only the First Layer of the dungeon.

Usually, there was a way to easily defeat enemies like this.

“What is that method?”

“We have to infer it from the clues we have obtained so far.”

There were several common points between the Cerulean Golems and that Boss Golem.

1. They only appeared during a specific period when the comet’s power grew stronger.
2. Their bodies were made of transparent crystal that absorbed magic.
3. As Golems, they absolutely required a power source in order to move their bodies.

“But how can you infer that giant Golem’s weakness from only those things?”

“Think carefully. Why do you think those things suddenly woke up?”

“Well… If Golems that had been sleeping all this time started operating, that must mean power was supplied to them… and if they only wake during the Week of the Blue-Tailed Star….”

“They are moving by using the comet’s energy as their power source! Their bodies being made of translucent crystal material must also be so that they can absorb starlight well.”

“The power source that moves them…! In other words, if we block the starlight, we can stop them from operating!”

Radi shouted with a bright expression, but he soon grew dispirited and lowered his shoulders.

“But how do we block the light…? We cannot tear off all the glowing moss on the dungeon ceiling….”

“It is fine. With the size of that Boss Golem, it cannot secure sufficient power just by absorbing starlight through its body. In other words, there must be a core hidden somewhere that transmits power to it.”

And since it would be troublesome for it if the core were destroyed, it would not have cast magic near that area.

“Conveniently, I saw the crystal that was about to fall this way disappear unnaturally… Ah! It is over there!”

Where Doran pointed, a single ancient tree stood tall, the only intact thing in the devastated valley.

Coincidentally, it was the very tree Doran and Malton had thrown Radi up into earlier.

Not long after they dug beneath the ancient tree, a blue light began leaking out from between the soil.

“Th-There really was a core hidden here! They say it is darkest under the lamp, and….”

“Good. This much digging should be enough. I am counting on you, Malton.”

“Leave it to me.”

CRACK─!!

When Malton brought his Mace down forcefully, the lump of crystal shattered to pieces in an instant.

Radi looked down at the smashed core, then turned toward the giant Golem with anticipation, but soon furrowed his brow.

“Wait… the Golem is still moving?”

“Of course. There is no way it would stop immediately just because we destroyed one external core.”

“What?! That is different from everything you said until now!! You idiot…!”

“Calm down. Still, it should have weakened a great deal because of this. It probably will not be able to use that troublesome magic anymore either.”

And if it had come to this, I could defeat it with my own power.

Of course, not just as I was. I would have to use my ability a little.

When I declared it confidently, Radi looked up at me with a doubtful gaze.

“You are going to face it…? No matter how weakened it is, against such a powerful Boss Golem?”

“Yes. …Malton, can you hold onto my clothes for a while?”

“Hmm… Are you perhaps going to bring out that secret technique?”

“Yes. Last time, my clothes turned to rags. This time, I will simply take them off in advance. But the problem is….”

When Doran and Malton simultaneously turned to glance at him, Radi flinched.

“Wh-Why…? Do you need something from me… W-Wait! Why are you suddenly taking off your clothes?!”

“Malton, do you know any secrets about this kid or anything like that?”

“Are you thinking of finding a weakness to keep him quiet?”

“Yes. What if he reports me to the Temple?”

“…….”

Malton touched his chin and admired, “Hooh… As expected, a believer of an Evil God has different ideas from the start….”

Whether he did or not, Doran continued unfastening his belt and lowered his pants.

‘Ah, but if they find out I have black hair, that would be bad, so should I leave at least one robe on…?’

Ding─!

｢You have removed your equipment and become bare-bodied! You are extremely vulnerable to Monster attacks!｣

｢Party member Radi is appalled after seeing your bizarre conduct! Due to the [Chaos] skill, Strength temporarily increases by 3!｣

｢Agility has temporarily increased by 2!｣

｢Luck temporarily increases by 1....｣

‘…What is this?’

The stats being drawn from the kid were no joke.

For merely taking off my clothes, the amount they increased was frighteningly high.

‘He is making quite a fuss.’

In any case, it was good for me.

Radi came forward as though about to kick me in the shin, but then shrieked and backed away.

“Thanks, kid.”

“What nonsense are you suddenly spouting?! You were just a madman all along!”

“Do not be too harsh. I have my reasons.”

As I stretched and loosened up my body, Malton burst into hearty laughter and said,

“I will explain it to Radi, so do not worry and go. I shall follow soon and support you as well.”

“Right. Thanks.”

“No, stop laughing and explain the situation…!!”

Radi, who had been bristling at the incomprehensible conversation, suddenly froze.

A bizarre sight was reflected in her blue eyes.

A human body became wrapped in black mist, then rotted away in an instant.

Bones stretching out from the darkness firmly stepped on the ground, and an eerie Cutlass split the mist.

White jawbones clattered as they released laughter, and a red glow rose from inside empty eye sockets.

It was a sight impossible to believe even after witnessing it with one’s own eyes.

It felt as though she had been toyed with from head to toe by a clown.

“Wh-What in the world is….”

“I wish you fortune in battle.”

─Kahaha! Thanks, knife-eared mortal!

Doran, transformed into a Skeleton Warrior, laughed bizarrely and leaped into the darkness.