Black Iron Magician

Chinatsu breathed a sigh of relief as she dropped the last lion’s head. Even though it was impromptu, they were able to combine their strengths. I guess she was relieved that it worked well. Anyway, they have passed the first trial. Well, next is the last one.

「………」

As usual, the giant stays still despite its impressive physique. It didn’t move at all even when the lion-shaped golems were fighting. I feel as if it’s programmed to assess the intruder’s abilities rather than to win the battle. Actually, there are quite a few dungeon trials like this. Especially in front of the treasure room, it’s really common.

There are many theories about dungeons, such as that they are the legacy of an ancient civilization that died out, or that the combination of multiple monster nests accidentally formed a food chain circle. There’s no clear delimitation, so even the nest of ash kobolds that Haru eradicated before can be said a dungeon. Well, let’s put aside the difficult story of the formation of the dungeon. Putting it simply, dungeons are full of monsters and full of treasures, and for adventurers, they are wonderful places for getting rich quickly. There’s a good chance you’ll die without being able to realize your dreams, though.

「… It’s not coming at us.」

「Is it not going to attack unless we attack it first? It’s also possible that it will attack as soon as we enter its attack range desuwa.」

「Either way, we’ll have to stay alert.」

The girls faced the stone giant for several tens of seconds. The girls, who were keeping vigilant and occasionally talked about the strategy, made their move. With Therese at the front, Haru and Chinatsu gathered the defeated lion golems in one place behind her. Ahh, even I can understand the development that will unfold.

「Alright, we’re all set now.」

Haru wipes her both hands and nods several times with satisfaction. In front of Haru, there’s a pile of stone made by the wreckage of lion golems, which are almost intact except for the destroyed heads.

「It was heavy … Therese-san, any change there?」

「There is no change at the moment desuwa. I’m sure that if we don’t cross the boundary set by that golem, it won’t move even if we did something to the other golems. I’m grateful that it gives us the time to prepare desuwa.」

「Yes. Thanks to that, we can move with some leeway. Then, here I go!」

「Got it!」

「You can start anytime!」

Haru grabs a convenient leg from the pile of golems and pulls out the whole body. Then, of course――

「Sei!」

――she throws it. The lion released from the overhand throw flies in a straight line toward the stone giant. It’s not an arc or anything like that. It’s really a straight line fastball. The stone giant, which had been silent, senses that this is an attack and starts to move. It pushed out its left arm forward as if trying to catch it.

However, it seems that the stone giant was not that dexterous. The outstretched left arm collided head-on with the flying lion without killing its power. It seems that the left arm was simply to defend it.

「Haruna, she’s now can throw something with that size and weight without problem, huh.」

「Yeah, her future nickname is more and more likely to become 『Throwing Magician』.」

In the long history of this dungeon since it was created, there may have been those who tried to attack this immobile stone giant with magic or bows at first. However, I’m sure that no one had tried to throw the golems at it. This is almost like a siege weapon in terms of the image when throwing it.

「And the result is?」

「Doubtful, I guess.」

The left arm of the stone giant was exposed as the dust cloud from the collision faded away. It was the thrown lion golem that became rubble and fell. It seems that it was shattered when collided with the left arm. Its body was scattered that it would be a disastrous scene if it was living flesh.

The stone giant’s arm, on the other hand, has some cracks on the surface but not in serious condition. I thought the lion was quite strong, but the stone giant seems to be even stronger.

「Oh, it’s so sturdy…!」

「It’s not the time to be impressed! Prepare the next one!」

「Aye sir!」

There are nine remaining lion cannonballs. If it runs out, will she use her iron balls? Still, the stone giant won’t just stand still after being attacked. It finally began to move forward, making the ground rumbling. Because its height is about 15 meters, each step is a tremendous stride. Also, it’s fast.

The pressure of the huge body that’s approaching vigorously is tremendous. By the time Haru had thrown her second and third golems, the stone giant was mostly in front of them. Chinatsu is also trying to attack the damaged part with a spear of light, but the damage is still shallow. Meanwhile, the stone giant raises its arms in a large swing. The one being targeted is Haru, who was the first to attack.

「Hey, are you really going to ignore me!?」

「………!」

When Therese shouted while beating her shield, the stone giant’s arm began to change direction. The target has changed, the target of the attack has clearly shifted from Haru to Therese.

「Ohh. It also works on the higher rank ones, huh?」

「If you don’t steel yourself beforehand, you may turn around unconsciously, huh… Ah, by the way, I don’t even know if she has unique skills or not. What I know is to the extent that you can see by the Sacred Stone.」

Therese is still at a low level, so it’s the pattern where she has a unique skill by birth. It’s a very enviable story. No, it’s not that I want to have a skill that draws attention, though.

――――Bam!

When I was lost in my thoughts, the stone giant’s huge arm collided with Therese’s shield. After a strong roaring sound, there was some kind of unpleasant sound from the shield. Just before Therese defended with her shield, Haru and Chinatsu attacked the arm with the black staff and light katana from left and right, but it seems that the power didn’t drop that much.

「This is――」

Unable to withstand the power, Therese is blown backward with her shield in her arms. Ah, this is not good. It will be a direct hit to the wall. It’s simply not good. Chinatsu cast Regen and Reflect on Therese before she was blown away, but it won’t end well with this speed.

「Gobuo!」

「Gobbu!」

Perhaps sensing the intention of my voice, Gobuo throws out the water bottle he was holding and jumps. Then, he spreads his arms between the wall and Therese. Immediately after that, he catches Therese and risking his life to be a cushion. However, in terms of durability, Gobuo is more fragile than Therese. At this rate, he will die. However, this Gobuo is not the usual Gobuo. He’s the new Gobuo that I’ve tuned.

「Gooobu!」

From Gobuo’s back, the wings of fire spread out―― no, it’s a vortex of fire created by the magic of Diary. The vigorously released crimson fire reduces the momentum of being blown away and it continues until it reaches the wall. As the wall began to rumble and charred, Gobou and Therese landed on the ground.

「T-Thank you very much, Goblin-san! To think that you can grow wings of fire, it’s an amazing magic! You are like a phoenix desuwa!」

「Gobu~」

Well, it’s not wrong in the sense of zombie-like vitality.

(TLn : the kanji for phoenix is kanji for undead/immortal + kanji for bird)

「Even so, that strength… I’m burning desuwa! The flame of my heart is also burning! Giant Golem-san, I’m still alive and well!」

She just passed through the borderline between life and death, but she’s still enthusiastic like this. It seems that she hasn’t been swallowed by the fear that plague shield-bearers who face a powerful enemy. But hey, if you shouted like that, we will get involved, you know?

「………!」

「Gobu!?」

See? The stone giant is coming this way.