Chapter 535 - Beta (1)
BLockeer, Serlo Broden, a former Obsidian-rank adventurer, commissioned the Adventurer's Guild to hire a high-ranking adventurer and take on the request of searching for a natural golem.
But for months, there had been no news.
To be honest, it had nothing to do with the adventurer's level of skill.
Natural golems were an abnormal species so rare that they occasionally occurred even in uninhabited places, so encountering one was always difficult...
It wasn't that one could never discover them in a lifetime, but if you wanted to find one quickly, it was less about effort and more about luck.
And luck had taken effect.
"Here, on the summit of a mountain, we succeeded in identifying a rock golem at a small lake. It seems to react the instant it touches the water, so we assume its core is located at the lake's center. Of course, we took precautions so that it wouldn't be subjugated, so if you go immediately, no one will interfere."
Serlo pointed to a location on the central continent's map as he gave his detailed report.
At the same time, Verden, having finished calculating the spatial coordinates, nodded.
"It was the right choice to entrust this to you."
"Thank you."
At a single word of praise, Serlo cautiously, and deeply, bowed his head. The more results he produced, the greater his chances of survival seemed to become.
The sin of displeasing a Transcendent by playing tricks during a competition after accepting a request from the Southern Alliance was gradually being erased.
To grow old meant to have survived, and to have survived meant to be strong.
In many ways, Serlo was a strong man.
"Is there anything else you require of me?"
"As a matter of fact, there is. I urgently need to send a message to a Mithril-rank adventurer, how long would it take at the shortest?"
"Mithril rank… assuming they're not already occupied with a request or in hiding, if we route it through the Adventurer's Guild headquarters, even at the longest it would reach anywhere on the continent within a week. It must be something urgent."
Urgent, yes, and important, yes.
Because it concerned Gluttony.
***
Locke, who had faced Gluttony together in the Principality of Riviant, and was the disciple of Elder Ren Balhagne of the Ark.
Verden recalled the conversation they had when they reunited at the Ark under the pretext of the exchange tournament.
───I heard Gluttony appeared in the western continent.
───Ah, yes, that's right. The ones in the eastern and central continents all flocked to the west. We'd expected it, but after investigating, we found them laying hands on the bodies of the dead.
───On the bodies...?
───I'm sure you know already that the Bohemirn Magic Tower and the Black Hour are at war. Within that conflict, Gluttony has been secretly stealing corpses of mages and scattered body parts.
Locke had taken Theon, a former assassin of Gluttony, with him and was carrying out a mission to investigate the Gluttony that had appeared in the western continent.
───Would Bohemirn or Black Hour have noticed?
───They probably don't know the exact nature, but they're somewhat aware. Still, neither seems inclined to investigate. Black Hour doesn't have the capacity since it's fighting against multiple towers, and Bohemirn Tower doesn't appear to care much about corpses. All they do is collect the magic items Gluttony leaves behind while taking the bodies.
From this, they judged that both Black Hour and Bohemirn Tower had become at least partially aware of Gluttony's existence, but for their own reasons were leaving it be.
'A correct deduction.'
At that time, Black Hour was entirely focused on the all-out war against the four magic towers, and couldn't care less about some corpse thief.
Moreover, even the alliance of towers in the western continent had only stirred in the early stages of the war, and no real disturbances had happened afterward.
Verden, having inherited Dahit's memories intact, could say this for certain.
But.
'I will not exclude Gluttony.'
One way or another, they had intervened in the western continent's magic war, and right now, Verden was the leader of Black Hour fighting in that war.
Complacency was forbidden.
With the long-awaited Bohemirn Magic Tower right before him… if unexpected external interference occurred while facing the second-strongest tower in martial might, it could lead to disastrous results.
Verden always considered the maximum number of variables and prepared countermeasures.
And so it was now.
'Then first, meet with Locke and Theon and gather information.'
But there was one big problem, he had no way to make personal contact. From this side, there was no means to directly contact the Ark.
For good reason, Verden had become a candidate of the Ark under conditions.
───If you overcome this ancient trial, even if you do not enter the Ark, we will exceptionally bestow upon you a trial, along with its rewards.
───In that case, you will not be able to use the Ark's information network or its members. Other than the trial itself, you will not be able to access anything. Instead, you will be free of the Ark's obligations.
This was the agreement he had reached with the Ark's Listener before leaving the Principality of Riviant.
'Still, it doesn't mean there's no way at all… if I cannot, then I'll go through another.'
The right answer Verden chose was none other than the Crimson Blade, Leira.
As a legitimate Ark candidate and someone personally acquainted with Locke, she could resolve this matter with ease.
Verden pulled out a sealed letter.
"Send this to the Mithril-rank adventurer, Crimson Blade, Leira. At all costs."
The contents inside were short.
In summary, two sentences.
First, regarding the matter they had agreed upon before (information on the Demon's Curse), he had made progress, and once sufficient data was gathered, he would inform her immediately.
Second, due to the monsters pursuing consumption (Gluttony), convey to Locke to come to the Ownerless Land.
In case someone opened the letter, he refrained from using proper nouns.
'If they don't know the Ark or Gluttony, they won't understand it at all.'
Besides, this wasn't a one-sided request.
This was a perfectly balanced exchange—collecting information on demons for Leira, in return for receiving her help.
"Crimson Blade, Leira. Understood."
Serlo carefully placed the letter in his bosom and accepted the commission. Then he returned eastward, to the Ownerless Land.
Back to the main issue.
Confirming no one was nearby, Alpha deactivated
[Your Majesty Verden, time is of the essence. I advise immediate movement.]
Alpha was urging him to hurry and secure the natural golem.
***
Without delay, Verden immediately moved to the coordinates Serlo had mentioned. Crossing twisted space, he surveyed the area.
There lay a lake ahead.
A pool atop the mountain was frozen solid in the low temperatures. At its center, a massive boulder stood tall.
"The core… is it under the lakebed?"
From beneath the surface, he could sense the dense magic power forming the foundation of the natural golem.
As Verden stepped onto the frozen lake, the golem, recognizing contact, reacted. Cracks split across the silent rock.
Cr-r-r-r-r-rack!
With debris falling away, the golem that had lain hidden revealed itself, raising its massive body.
Quite a large frame.
Unable to withstand its own weight, the surrounding ice shattered into pieces, sending ripples across the lake. A fierce spray of water surged.
[...Scan complete. Suitable target.]
"Good, that means we won't need to search for another natural golem."
Just as Verden and Alpha were taking it easy.
───!
A massive rock forming the creature's arm fell, crashing straight down toward his head. It was the golem's instinct, to attack any lifeform that came within a certain distance of its core.
Craack.
Blocking the blow with a spatial force field, Verden cleaved space itself.
The massive body was split in half without resistance.
It tried to regenerate, but destruction was far swifter. In an instant, the golem split into hundreds of fragments and collapsed.
"Alpha, how much of the golem's body needs to remain?"
[This—much.]
Alpha spread both arms wide.
That amounted to about two spans of a human hand, so Verden adjusted his strength accordingly.
Black flames engulfed the rocks that were trying to return to their original form. Normally, it was common knowledge that unless the core was destroyed, a golem could not be killed.
But that truth applied only in ordinary cases.
When the only resistance was nothing more than stubbornly hard, jagged rocks, how could they endure the concept of annihilation?
...!!
The rocks forming its body gradually vanished, and the golem's height shrank down to two meters. Its bulk was also reduced considerably.
With its feet no longer touching the lake, the creature began to sink into the water instead.
[That will suffice.]
Alpha gave its approval.
Immediately, Verden withdrew the black flames and used an intermediate magic stone as a consumable to inscribe the binding magic circle, Detain.
Chains of magic bound the temporarily weakened natural golem, suspending it in midair.
The body had been secured at a manageable size, so next was the core.
Splash.
Wrapped in a water barrier, Verden quickly dove to the bottom of the lake. Amidst sunlight pouring down from the surface, he found a lone magic stone protruding.
It resembled coral at the bottom of the sea.
'Its shape is deformed. It looks like a high-grade magic stone… but the magic power inside rivals one of even higher rank. Other than that, nothing remarkable.'
Of course, even with just that, it would fetch a price equivalent to a top-grade stone, making it a windfall for any ordinary adventurer.
But regrettably, Verden was not a common adventurer chasing profit.
Crack.
He easily pried the magic stone from the rock and shot up into the sky.
As soon as he left the lake, he seized space itself, forcibly moving the golem he had restrained earlier.
Landing in a clearing nearby, Alpha examined it with a surge of energy from its single eye.
[Scanning... no issues detected. Natural golem. Capture complete. Long live His Majesty Verden.]
With a mechanical voice that spared no praise, it continued.
[Now, it is my turn.]
Verden and Alpha returned to the first Demon King's golem laboratory.
***
Alpha, back as the chief overseer of the golem laboratory instead of a mini golem, laid out three materials in his personal research chamber.
Beta's core.
The natural golem's core.
The shrunken body of the still-bound natural golem.
[Structure analysis and comparison, 27 items of research required. Estimated time until completion, 210 hours. Final repair possibility of Beta, 87%... 100%.]
Alpha displayed firm resolve to repair Beta at all costs. As the older creation, it was his devotion to his younger brother.
"Anything I can do to help?"
[No issue.]
Alpha firmly rejected Verden's aid and set to work.
The single eye brimming with magic flared brightly.
[Research. Begin.]
***
Somewhere in a western continent city.
Locke and Theon were secretly observing the streets from the top floor of an inn.
"...Good thing we seem to have shaken the pursuit."
"Still, we can't relax. If it's those implant bastards, they'll find our trail and drift into this city before long."
The reason for their grim conversation was simple.
They had been discovered by Gluttony.
Their mission was to discern Gluttony's ultimate goal within the war between the Bohemirn Tower Alliance and Black Hour…
But just recently, Black Hour had abruptly disappeared entirely from the front lines, making Gluttony's tracks nearly impossible to follow.
So they overextended and got caught. In short, they were screwed.
"What do we do?"
"Run, of course. Hurry and contact the Ark."
"Ah, but, you see… two days ago, when I fought that implant with three heads, my means of contacting the Ark got wrecked. Ha ha."
Locke laughed as he spoke.
Theon's face hardened.
"Why didn't you say that sooner───"
Just then.
Knock, knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
Instantly, Theon drew a dagger and Locke clenched his fist. In the tense silence filled only by pounding heartbeats, the doorknob slowly turned.
At last, the door opened.
"There you are."
It wasn't Gluttony's implant, but a Listener of the Ark, greeting them warmly. The two, tense and alert, widened their eyes.
"Huh, what are you doing here…?"
"I've come with something to tell you."
The Listener recited word-for-word what had been conveyed from Leira.
"Lord Asher has summoned you to the Ownerless Land. Concerning the matter of Gluttony. Will you go now?"
A lifeline appeared in their isolated state, with no way to contact the Ark.
"Send us!"
"Right away!"