Master and Slaves

Quono and Thomas gave the signal and headed straight for the Golem.

On the way, Thomas stopped, raised his metal staff, and began chanting.

"Brighter than light, hotter than flame, become a thunderbolt that paralyzes—"

"Thunderball!"

A glowing electric sphere appeared in Thomas’s hand with his shout.

He hurled it at the sluggish Golem.

The sphere struck perfectly, sending up a thick cloud of smoke.

"Done it!"

Cathy cheered, but Thomas’s face stayed grim.

There had been no noticeable impact.

Indeed, once the smoke cleared, the spot where the sphere had hit was only lightly scorched—no visible wounds at all.

"Hmph. Not enough yet."

Thomas began the next chant.

While he chanted, the Golem’s speed gradually increased. Its massive arm swung toward Quono.

Quono did not try to attack; he calmly assessed and dodged.

He even struck the Golem’s arm several times, yet not a single scratch appeared.

"Flash, blaze, it is the thunderbolt of wrath. I release it. Darken, scorch, and annihilate my enemy."

"Lightning Impact!"

The moment Thomas finished the chant, blinding light flooded the area. A thunderous boom shook the ground; fine sand grains rained down from the ceiling like tiny meteors.

"Thomas! This is inside a ruin! You can’t use that kind of big magic!"

"Ha, ha... but I can’t take it down otherwise. Ha, ha..."

Even while panting, Thomas argued with Quono’s warning.

It had clearly been a powerful high-level spell.

The entire area was soon enveloped in smoke. The loud boom had temporarily dulled Quono’s hearing, so all that could be heard was a faint ringing in the ears. No, the earlier exchange between Quono and Thomas had still been faintly audible, so the place was simply quiet.

The smoke slowly thinned, and Quono’s back began to appear.

"!!"

Quono suddenly leaped backward.

A whooshing sound cut through the air, and something metallic and gleaming crashed down exactly where Quono had been standing.

The ground shook violently from the impact.

"Ugh, still moving?"

Quono cursed.

It was the Golem’s severed arm.

The smoke cleared, revealing the Golem covered in black scorch marks and thick smoke, yet it showed no signs of having been badly damaged.

"Ha, ha... what the heck is this thing? Ha, ha... this was my full-power strike! Ha, ha..."

Thomas was still panting heavily.

"Thomas, can you fire one more shot?"

Quono dodged the Golem’s swinging arm and asked.

"Not right now. Ha, ha... if we’re going to do it, give me a little more time. Ha, ha..."

Thomas replied.

"Got it."

Quono answered while dodging the Golem’s arm once more.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Muriel stood right in front of me.

It seemed she had positioned herself to protect me if something happened.

Beside me, Sophia was also there.

She was there to provide magical support for Muriel.

Although she could still lend support, she had been told by Quono and Thomas to conserve her mana in case Muriel had to fight on her own, so she hadn’t been using her magic.

Cathy was behind me and Sophia.

Since she couldn’t fight, she stayed in the center of the party.

At the very back were Tiria and Lilli.

Tiria and the others had their backs turned, prepared for any surprise attack from behind.

Everyone was in their proper position, performing their roles perfectly.

It was all for my protection.

But Thomas was taking too long to prepare his shots and Quono could only dodge.

Without a clear way to break the deadlock, we would slowly be worn down.

"Sofia, is there any way to take it down?"

"...It’s difficult to defeat a metal Golem. Lightning magic does work, but I can’t use anything more powerful than that. ...It’s tough."

"What about you, Muriel?"

"I’m a sword user too, so I don’t have a good match-up with it."

"Then what kind of weapon would suit it?"

"Striking weapons... I suppose."

Like a mace, flail, or war hammer.

But no one was using those weapons as the "target."

I was the same.

And there was no target in the first place.

We were completely cornered.

...Wait.

I remembered something.

"Muriel. I’m going."

"No! It’s no good. Hiroyuki-sama is under a curse."

"I know. But if I don’t go, this situation won’t be resolved."

"If you go, it will be the same. A sword can’t beat it."

"I know that. But I can create an opening. Just watch."

I lightly patted Muriel on the head and ran forward.

"Hiroyuki-sama!" "Hiroyuki!" "Master!"

The slaves ignored the calls and rushed straight at the Golem.

"Hiroyuki! Why are you here?!"

"Quono, act as bait for a moment. I’ll stab it with this. Tell Thomas to cast his magic at it!"

"...Understood."

Quono answered after a short pause.

He must have realized that without my plan he wouldn’t have found a way to break the deadlock either.

And he understood that my suggestion had a real chance of working.

Exactly. The plan was to use this unbreakable fire sword as a lightning rod to damage the Golem from inside.

I sprinted to the left side, opposite where Quono had just run.

The Golem’s right arm was roaring and swinging toward me.

I knew my body felt heavy, so I dodged with a slight lead.

As expected, even though I had plenty of space, the Golem’s arm still just scraped by.

While sweating coldly, I stopped, drew Shiranui from my left hip, and swung it upward.

This was the classic iaijutsu draw.

Shiranui flashed with sparks as it sliced clean through the Golem’s arm.

After swinging it all the way up, the severed metal arm flew away with momentum and slammed into the wall.

Because the arm was gone, the Golem lost its balance and toppled right there.

For a split second I froze at what I had just done, but I immediately rushed to the Golem’s head and drove Shiranui straight into the top of its skull.

Yet Shiranui kept slicing downward, cutting the head diagonally.

So this sword can cut metal?

I had cut through metal armor and iron bars before, hadn’t I?

I raised Shiranui one more time and literally beheaded the Golem.

The Golem’s eyes flickered once, then slowly dimmed.

Even its twitching limbs gradually slowed and eventually stopped moving completely.

"Haha... hehe..."

I confirmed the Golem had gone still, turned around with a big smile.

"It’s finished!"

I lifted the severed Golem head with both hands.

It was heavy because it was metal, but I forced myself to raise it above my head and looked around.

The faces of the stunned onlookers appeared.

...

"Hiroyuki-sama! Please stop this reckless behavior!"

Cathy was crying as she scolded me.

Tiria said nothing, but she was glaring at me through tears.

"Ah, sorry."

I pulled both women into a hug with both arms.

They both rubbed their cheeks against my chest.

"I see, this is the way."

"What are you talking about, Thomas? But Hiroyuki-sama is amazing! You actually defeated that Golem."

Quono had just charged in and spoke to me.

"Y-yes. It’s not easy to beat. Yeah, yeah."

Muriel, who had been watching us with envious eyes, snapped back to herself and continued.

"No, the sword was perfect. It’s an item with magic power attached."

"Oh? A single-edged sword. It resembles a broadsword, but it’s narrower and the blade curves slightly. The curvature is less than that of a scimitar. It’s similar to a cavalry saber, but the grip is long. ...A very unusual sword."

Quono compared it with the swords he knew while staring at the sword I held—Shiranui.

"Why did you think you could stab the Golem with this?"

I asked Quono.

At the time I had faced the Golem, Quono had nodded at my words.

Normally no one would expect a sword to pierce metal.

"That’s because I thought the sword had magic power attached. Besides, I couldn’t do anything at the time."

I see.

"A beautiful sword."

When I turned, Muriel was also staring at Shiranui as if drawn to it.

"Hiroyuki, come here. I’ll dispel the curse."

Sophia called me from the edge of the room where the Golem lay in the center.

I sheathed Shiranui and ran to Sophia.

The slaves and Quono also came closer.

"How is it? Can it be done?"

"Yes. It’s fine."

Sophia peered into the crystal orb embedded in the wall.

"Hiroyuki, put your hand here."

"Ah, like this?"

When I placed my left hand on the crystal orb, a cool, icy sensation flowed into my palm.

"Repeat what I say while channeling your mana into it."

"Yes, understood."

I poured mana into my hand and sent it toward the crystal.

"I am a friend of the gods. I am not an enemy of the gods. You are not an enemy of the gods. Therefore, entering and leaving this place is free. Acknowledge me. Lift the brand of sin."

The words Sophia spoke were in Japanese.

I continued in the same tone right behind her.

The crystal began to glow, and the light flowed through my arm, bathing my entire body.

""Master!" "Hiroyuki-sama!" "Hiroyuki!" "Hiroyuki!""

Everyone called out anxiously, so I raised my right hand that wasn’t touching the crystal to reassure them.

After a while the light gathered in my left arm.

Then it was sucked into the crystal.

"How is it?"

Sophia looked into my eyes.

"Ah, it’s good. Yes."

My body felt lighter than it had at any point.

It was like having the stiffness worked out of my shoulders—my entire body felt as if the weights on my arms and legs had been removed.

"Master!"

Cathy and Tiria hugged me tightly.

"I’m so glad. Really, I’m so glad."

"You worried us."

I gently stroked the heads of Cathy and Tiria, who were tearing up again.

"Well, our job is finished."

"Ah, yeah. We didn’t do much."

"Right. The target was rescued for us."

Quono and Thomas let out strained smiles.

"Thank you. ...Hey, what about Lilli?"

"Kya—aaaah!!"

"!!"

Quono and Thomas shook hands and started looking for Lilli.

With a sudden scream, Lilli came flying straight toward me.

I caught her.

Lilli was spitting blood from her mouth, eyes rolled white, and her body was twitching uncontrollably.

When I looked back at where she had come from, the Golem’s headless body was still swinging its remaining arm.

"Damn it!" "Ugh!"

Quono and Muriel stepped forward to shield us, while Thomas and Sophia began chanting magic behind them.

"Tiria, Cathy, Lilli—leave it to you two!"

"Yes!"

Cathy took Lilli into her arms and started casting restorative magic.

I left Lilli with them and ran toward the Golem.

"Guh!"

From the corner of my eye I saw Muriel get blown away by the Golem’s swinging arm.

I quickly corrected my direction and caught her.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yes. I’m fine. T-thank you."

Muriel spoke hesitantly.

Her face was flushed red, perhaps because a cold had come back on?

"I’ll finish it."

I told Muriel that, then dodged the Golem’s arm with ease.

Dodging it was no problem.

I then sliced off the arm.

Even with both arms gone, the Golem still swung its body and tried to kick with its feet.

I cut the Golem straight down the middle from the front.

It split into two halves and toppled over in opposite directions.

This time, it truly stopped moving completely.

"Hah."

I sheathed Shiranui while keeping an eye out.

"From earlier, Hiroyuki must have used mana on the crystal and it came to life."

Sophia walked up beside me and said casually.

"Whoa, you should have said that sooner."

"I only figured it out now."

"...Hah."

I felt tired all of a sudden.

Oh, right.

"What about Lilli?"

I turned around and asked Cathy and Tiria.

Everyone else came running up.

"The wound is healed thanks to Tiria. She seems to be sleeping now."

"I see."

I peeked into Lilli’s face.

Her eyes opened and she looked directly at me.

"!!"

I saw Lilli’s right hand flying toward my cheek, so I instinctively grabbed it.

"...Huh? Hiroyuki? What’s wrong?"

Lilli tilted her head and asked me.

...Was she still half-asleep?

"Hah, are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"Eh? Ah, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine..."

"I see. Tiria healed it. Say thank you."

"Yeah. Thanks. Big Sis Tiria."

Lilli smiled brightly and thanked Tiria.

We were safe for now.

"Now, let’s get out of here before it starts moving again."

With my words as the signal, we left the room.

...

Yeah, the air felt good.

My body felt light. Nice.

I was holding back from skipping, yet still walked lightly at the front.

When I looked back, everyone was smiling wryly at me.

It made me feel embarrassed.

"N, nothing?"

"Nothing at all. But I’m happy too that Master’s curse is gone."

Cathy answered with a bright smile.

Tiria beside her was also smiling, nodding happily.

"Well, it’s nice for us that the client is happy we achieved our goal."

"Yeah."

Quono and Thomas also spoke with happy expressions.

"I just want to have fun."

Everyone laughed at Lilli’s words.

"Hm? What’s wrong, Sophia? Muriel too."

"Eh? N-nothing."

"Um, nothing. Nothing at all."

Sophia and Muriel answered with serious faces.

They couldn’t have nothing to say.

Just as I was about to ask something, we reached the entrance to the ruins.

"Then I’ll leave it here."