Chapter 72

I don’t know what the Arrow of God is, but we can’t let Ebelheid run wild .

I left Ortem on the spot and ran after Everhide .

Mea and Maizen followed after me .

I stopped and turned around .

“…… Mea should stay here . It’s probably not safe . ”

Maizen is working out, so he’ll be able to move reasonably well, but I don’t think we can expect that from Mea .

I don’t know what’s ahead .

We’ve seen the inside of the ruins all over, and I don’t think it’s likely that a magic beast will appear again, or anything like that .

It’s safer to stay here .

“But I’m anxious and…… . . If Abel is going to go, then Mea too…… . . ”

Mea winces and lets her head drop .

“It’s okay . I’ll be right back . ”

“I, it’s true, isn’t it? Mea, I’ll go after you on the count of five hundred, okay?”

“Well, it’s going to take twice that long . ”

Is Ebelheid a cup of noodles or something .

I suddenly thought about riding the golem to get around…… but beyond this place where the golem is lined up . There was a narrow passage ahead .

If you have your back bent, you might be able to get over it somehow, but I’m not going to let that golem move that fine .

If you lean your center of gravity forward, you’ll struggle to balance . If you’re careful about tipping over, you’ll waste a lot of time .

I only know how to handle it for free, and I only half know how to handle it .

I’ll give up on using the golem .

The wall at the entrance of the passage has portraits of fire, elves, and chimera, and it has a very unusual atmosphere .

It’s a strange picture, and that’s why it’s so flavorful .

Ahead, is where Ebelheid is .

If we take too long, there is a chance that Ebelheid will have the Arrow of God or something like that in his hands .

We must hurry .

I rushed ahead with Maizen .

“I’m afraid you’ve messed with the wrong thing . You won’t listen to me, even though I tell you to back off, so I have no choice . I’m the leader for now after all . Helping my subordinate and cleaning up his messes is just part of the job description . I will do what I can to help as a leader…… Huh, Abel? Don’t we need to run faster, or it will be bad?”

After a short run into the aisle, I stopped .

Maizen followed me to a halt .

“…… sorry, I’m out of energy . ”　”

I said, breathing hard and putting my hands on my knees .

“Eh”

It was a good start .

Even if it was just a combination of fatigue from the analysis of the ruins, and the special potion was out .

I knew that this would happen if I ran with a strange sense of caution .

“Um…… I really feel bad…… but I’ll be waiting here for you . So do something to stop Ebelheid . ”

We can’t leave Ebelheid alone .

If those words are true, Ebelheid will use the arrows of God to start a war on earth .

We have to stop him from doing it here at all costs .

“Wait, wait a minute!? Isn’t that the end of the line!? There’s no way I could stop that thing!?”

“No, but we can’t overlook it . You see, a leader has to clean up his subordinates’ messes and… . ”

“Surely I said it, and I apologize for it so can I take it back!? Eh, you’re kidding, right? You don’t really mean it when you come up here, do you?”

Maizen grabs me by both shoulders and shakes me .

I can’t blame him for saying that, because it’s impossible to do something like that .

I gently look away .

“Abellll!?”

“No, no, look at my feet . I’m feeling really flat, you know . You can touch them if you want . I’d rather have you admire me for running this far . ”

I say, touching my foot myself .

“Until here…… look back . You’ll see Mea still watching over you with concern . ”

I glanced back .

I’d say it’s about fifty meters or less .

Come to think of it, since I was born, I’ve never made a full-on dash for that long a distance before .

But as expected of Maizen, he has been training .

He hadn’t even caught his breath after such a long run .

“As expected, shall we just go home? It’s too much for us…”

“That’s right! Maizen, take me on your back and go after Ebelheid!”

“Eh, Ehhh…… Ah, Ahhh, yeah, I get it, but…… Sure, that might work, but…… . . ”

I got on Maizen’s back .

Maizen kept a straight face while we ran down the aisle .

I’m honestly embarrassed too, but you can’t replace your back .

I’m sure Ebelheid didn’t expect that we’ll chase him in a piggybacked state, either .

When I passed through the aisle, I found myself in a large space .

At the corners of the four corners, there are huge pillars carved with intricate technical formulas .

They must have had some kind of role when the fortress was in motion .

There was a flamboyantly decorated door at the back .

Perhaps the Arrow of God was just beyond that .

In the middle of the room, there was a beast-shaped golem that was nearly four meters tall .

The motif was probably around a dog or a wolf .

Somehow the ears and tail features seem to resemble a hound .

“Goooooooooooh!”

The golem got up and turned its head .

It had magic stones embedded throughout its body, giving it a rugged impression .

Obviously, the number of magic stones is more than the other golems .

There must also be some that are assembled inside . It must mean it’s a higher rank than the others .

“…… Looks like Ebelheid has activated it”

It may have been set up to protect the depths of the fortress .

This is the last difficulty .

Ebelheid himself should be able to be neutralized without that much trouble .

“Hiiiiii! What are you gonna do, Abel? You can’t even bring a golem over here! Can we turn back? Can we turn back now!?”

Meizen shouts as he looks back at me .

“That … maybe if we turn back, they’ll follow us back . ”

He’s taller than the other golems, but due to his crawling posture from the start, he’s going to be able to get through the passage .

“That-, That’s right! Can’t you just reconfigure that thing, hey!?”

“I don’t think so . Most golems like that are designed to deploy wards while they’re activated to prevent such things . A sensitive interference type will be played first . ”

“…… Isn’t that a dead end? H-, hey? Hey, Abel?”

Maizen calls out to me uneasily .

“Don’t worry . This place is wide, so it won’t be a problem if I shoot my magic at it rather hard . ”

“N-no, you can’t do that! That’s a different story! It’s a full-blown weapon! I’m sure you think you’re strong, but you don’t have enough sense of danger!”

“No, but … the basics are probably the same as before, and with that one, as long as you can cut down its mobility, you can do whatever you want…”

“Gooooooooooooh!”

The beast-shaped golem howled, then rushed towards us .

“D-damn it!”

Maizen shakes me off .

I’m slammed to the ground according to gravity .

Wha-, what, what’s wrong?

Did he give up on me?

Oh no… no, but the golem is more important than that right now .

Wands, where are my wand . If I don’t pick it up quickly, I will fall prey to the golem .

I crawl on the ground, looking for the wand I dropped .

There, The wand touches my hand . I look back at the golem as I hug my wand .

“What are you doing! You must run like hell! I’ll distract it! I’ll make buy you some time for thirty seconds!”

Maizen was running around the golem and into the depths of the ruins .

Perhaps the golem was under orders to protect the depths of the fortress .

The golem’s eyes were locking on to Maizen as it seemed to have stepped on Maizen’s higher priority .

“W-wait! You don’t need to put your life on hold! Maizen! Come back here!”

“Don’t be stupid, you run! I’m the leader, you know!”

When I can get that far away from them, my options are limited to making a clean kill with a single blow .

I don’t know the strength of the golem that accurately, either .

This is about as much as I can handle .

If the thrust is off and I can’t beat it, the golem will crush Maizen to death first .

“Come back here! If you get close enough to me, I can do it!”

“I’d love to die protecting people! When an adventurer saved me when I was little, I decided to use this life to help others! If It’s determination, I’m already determined long ago!”

Maizen flees from the golem with tears in his eyes .

However, the gap between them is closing in . It’s like a cheetah and a rabbit chasing each other .

“Your voice is trembling, don’t push it! Really, please, please come back!”

“I, I, I’m not shaking! Look, you’re gonna let me go down as a hero . So get yourself back home safe and sound!! Quickly, you’re leaving me to die for nothing!”

No, he’s saying some nice lines .

It’s impossible to convince Maizen at this last-minute now .

………it’s such a wide area, so it won’t collapse even if I put some effort into it .

These ruins are not that weak either . This is a fortress that has existed for two thousand years .

It won’t break down with a little effort, probably .

Anything else would cost Maizen his life .

“Refine”

I point my wand into the air .

If you combine airborne components, spirits, and magical power, a metal called Hydeem Magi-Metal will be created .

This metal has the property of being strongly affected by the magic power of its creator .

However, it cannot be used as a material for anything because its magic power breaks down and disperses quickly . ………

A silvery-white metal floats in the air . One after another, the metal sticks to it as if it were clinging to it .

In the blink of an eye, a metal ball the size of a golem’s head is created .

If it’s this big and dense, there’s no way it would be unharmed .

“There!”

I waved my wand and a chunk of Hydeem Magi-Metal shot straight out .

“Goooooooooooh!”

The golem stopped and looked back at me .

A chunk of metal bounced off its left shoulder .

A blinding sound rang out from the golem and it blew away like a puppy and stuck to the wall .

“…… Kuhn . ”

Whether it was a squeal or a stop, I can’t tell .

“Okay, somehow … Ah”

The metal ball that had flown to the opposite side of the hall had gouged one of the pillars in the corner of the hall .

The fallen metal ball shook the area wide open . It had dug into the floor and made a crack .

“…… thank you, Abel . I see you’ve been saved . ”

Maizen was staring at the golem stuck to the wall with an expression that didn’t seem to add up .

Its limbs were still twitching and moving . However, it wouldn’t be of any use anymore .

“Ah, ahhh, yes . ”

Somehow, it’s awkward .

“…… maybe I was a burden?”

“T-thanks for jumping out . Look, err, I was happy too, so…”

“I now have a question that I can answer with a yes or no…”

…… But I’ve loudly destroyed the ruins .

No, maybe it’s okay now…… but this might become the lord’s property later, right?

If I had damaged it so much, wouldn’t I be charged for something?

Even in Japan, if we carved “Abel surrender” on the pillar of the ruins, it would be picked up by the news and it would be a big deal .

And then a metal ball, goes boom, boom, and waves it around .

I just hope is someone you can talk to…… I’m sorry for saying this, but I can’t trust him from the point that I discovered Wegener,

………Can’t we somehow blame it on Ebelheid?

that, At least that much is ok, right?

“Well, I should say I’m glad it was only this much . If the ruins had collapsed, we’d all be buried alive…”

I grumbled to myself, and at the same time the ruins began to shake violently .

Rubble began to fall from the top of the collapsed pillars .

Couldn’t it be that it was starting to collapse around there?

“H, hey Abel, is this okay? Isn’t that kind of bad?”

“…… that pillar, it could have been a bad one to collapse . ”

I don’t know what its role was, but there was some kind of complex formula carved into it .

It might have been something related to the maintenance of the fortress .

“I didn’t expect the ruins to collapse…””

“Wai-, wait! Now take me on your back and go to that back door… . ”

“Y-, you’re going in the back? Wouldn’t it be better to run away this time!?”

“No, if we don’t, Ebelheid will… . ”

Maizen raises an eyebrow .

“Leave that thing alone! He had it coming! Sorry to say it, but you should be glad you didn’t have to fight! Did you think of bringing him back alive!”

“B-, but…”

Even though he’s a person like that, we’ve talked to each other about magic and respected each other during our investigations .

Ebelheid may have seen me as nothing more than a tool .

But when I rejected his invitation, he seemed a little sad . That’s how I feel .

Maybe that’s just how I like to think of it .

If Ebelheid hadn’t been trapped in the blood of his ancestors, there wouldn’t have been any confrontation .

If we had met somewhere, for example, in a magic tool shop in the city, I’m sure……

“…… . . The people from the investigation team are still unconscious . It’s going to take a long time to even get them out of here . Are you just going to let them die? And even if Ebelheid made it out alive, he wouldn’t escape the death penalty if the case came to light now . ”

I look at the back door .

If you’re going to die with the ruins, holding the treasure you’ve been seeking all along, there may be some relief rather than being executed in the city .