Rudra, who quickly sensed the enemy’s attack, only had to ask Galdan, the golem bodyguard, for the enemy’s direction of approach before he burst out of the mansion wielding his beloved war hammer and large shield.
“Ha! The kids from Spada were completely weak, so this time I’m going to have some fun!”
Since taking on this quest, Galdan had been simmering with dissatisfaction over the lack of challenging foes, and he hurried down the path, hoping that this opportunity would finally allow him to fight a worthy opponent.
The red one-eyed golem, with heavy footsteps echoing, raced through the pitch-black night path, surprisingly fast for its appearance.
Generally, golems are a simple race with a barrel-like body and limbs sprouting, resembling magical creatures like fairies and skeletons more than pure biological beings like humans or beastmen.
However, a golem made of stone or metal is indeed heavy and sluggish by appearance, and seeing Galdan run nimbly suggests that his body is made of either a very lightweight material or possesses extraordinary physical abilities.
“Ah, right! To approach the mansion from the back, I have to cross this suspension bridge, then—”
Emerging from the dark forest path, he encountered a suspension bridge spanning a cliff over a stream flowing dozens of meters below.
If he wanted to go around to the back of the mansion, crossing this suspension bridge was unavoidable. Of course, the discussion would be different if he could fly through the sky like a Pegasus.
“—I just have to wait here!”
With a cheerful shout, seemingly a brilliant plan.
For Galdan, who was simply oblivious to skills not directly related to combat, the fact that there was a guaranteed location to encounter the enemy was an advantage that could be called a geographical benefit.
Kicking off the ground, Galdan landed heavily on the suspension bridge, which creaked and swayed under his weight, making it clear that his body was indeed composed of the same heavy metal as a typical golem.
That dull silver sheen was not a mere plating; he appeared to be an iron golem made of steel all the way through.
Although the suspension bridge was wooden, it seemed to manage to endure Galdan’s immense weight, indicating it was sturdier than it looked. However, there likely wouldn’t be anyone foolish enough to cross with him.
Having successfully crossed the swaying suspension bridge with his massive steel body, Galdan decided to sit down and await the enemy’s approach.
If he remained poised without moving, his massive appearance would surely be intimidating, but perhaps he was not good at sitting in silence, fiddling with the mace and shield in his hands, displaying an anxious demeanor.
Fortunately, such dull moments soon came to an end.
“Heh, they’re here!”
The large one-eyed golem, radiating a bright red glow, trembled with excitement.
Galdan’s lamp-like eyes spotted two figures rushing across the dark night road like a gust of wind.
The figures were accompanied by what seemed to be a bouncing new kind of flame, and even though there was a bit of distance, they were not hard to spot.
Now, the distance between them was closing to just a few dozen meters, enough for even a human without night vision to recognize their forms, especially for Galdan, whose eyes had some degree of night vision.
“I don’t know who you are, but I don’t care—come on! The great Galdan, the strongest golem and knight of Spada, will take you on! Bring it on—”
Galdan shouted as loud as he could, but even before he finished his line, he sensed an attack’s presence and instinctively raised his large shield.
“Whaaaaaaah!?”
In the moment he attempted to brace himself, the enemy’s assault struck hard against his steel body.
However, Galdan did not fall.
He couldn’t tell if the attack was a spell or a weapon, but he recognized that it involved countless small, hard particles shot at him.
And he understood that this attack couldn’t pierce or shatter his body.
“You jerk! Don’t attack while I’m announcing myself!!”
From a position leaning back, he pushed himself up with his feet while shouting that angry retort.
At that moment, the two figures had already advanced close enough for him to see their faces.
Upon closer inspection, the opponents were a duo of humans—a man and a woman—though upon looking more intently, he realized that the bouncing new source of light he first thought was a sphere was actually a small girl.
The man wore armor and bore black hair and mismatched dark red eyes, while the woman seemed to be a witch in a rare appearance, both clearly human.
At first glance, they looked like a balanced combination of a front-line martial artist and a rear-line magic user, but the existence of this young girl in a one-piece outfit made absolutely no sense.
Despite his anger, Galdan’s head was filled with question marks, surmising they were a family party with a child, and he took up a combat-ready stance.
“You’re surprisingly tough.”
“A natural heavy cavalry, it seems.”
“What a bothersome opponent.”
In front of the fully combat-ready Galdan, the trio exchanged relaxed observations, prompting Galdan to erupt in anger.
“Hey! Don’t ignore me!! What are you two doing chatting happily like a family?!”
Galdan yelled, swinging his mace.
However, his echoing cries were swallowed by the silence of the night, leaving only the quiet stillness behind.
After a few seconds of silence,
“I see, I can see how it wouldn’t look that way.”
“Eh, Chrono, does that mean I—”
“Ah, ah! No, Fiona, don’t say anything more! I’ll forgive the wake-up potion, but that’s all I won’t allow!!”
It became clear that the man’s name was Chrono and the witch’s name was Fiona, but to Galdan, it didn’t matter. In fact, with his mind burning with anger, there was no way he could keep such details in his notoriously poor memory.
“Y-you’re kidding me! Get serious about this fight!!”
“Sorry, but we’re in a hurry—”
But in the next moment, just as Chrono returned a clear response, Galdan noticed an unfamiliar weapon grasped in his hand.
At first glance, it appeared to be a crossbow, lacking the bow parts to pull back the string, consisting only of two iron tubes with holes.
Judging from its shape, Galdan speculated it might be a magical tool that launches attack magic from the tubes.
(Hah, do they really think they can do something to me with such a toy?)
He didn’t feel particularly wary.
“—Let me pass quickly.”
Immediately afterward, he would come to regret that arrogance.
Boom!
The loud explosive sound was generated as the attack magic was unleashed from the tube.
However, Galdan couldn’t determine if it was fire or lightning; he only felt a hard impact against his torso.
“Ughhhh!!”
Before he knew it, his proud massive figure had been blown away.
Galdan crashed onto the suspension bridge with a clatter, almost dropping his mace and shield but somehow managing to hold on.
(Wh-what was that… my steel body…)
Looking down, he saw a round crack running through his iron chestplate as if it had been struck with a hammer—no, more accurately, as if a hammer had driven a nail into him.
As a trait of his golem race, he didn’t feel pain like a human but experienced a strong tingling sensation indicating clear damage to his body.
(Damn, this one’s a bit dangerous; if I take multiple hits, even I could get shattered.)
However, it was not a mortal wound.
Considering the tremendous power of such an attack, Galdan doubted it could be used repeatedly, and he steeled himself, declaring his victory was still assured.
“Ha! That one really hurt, human!! But to think you could take me down with just this—huh?”
As he shouted and rose on the suspension bridge, he found that the three figures who should have been there had suddenly vanished.
“Wh-where did they go!?”
Looking left and right, no shadows were in sight, as if they had been nothing but illusions.
Feeling as if he had been tricked by a fox monster known for its illusion magic, Galdan suddenly noticed a sparkle above his field of vision.
“Are they flying!?”
Looking up, he saw a girl with rainbow-colored wings, carrying both the armored man and the witch, leisurely flying above him.
The revelation seemed simple, but Galdan could hardly have predicted it.
(What is that? Is that the girl from earlier? A fairy? I’ve never heard of such a big fairy—no, more importantly, why did she suddenly grow up?)
Caught off guard by the unexpected maneuvers of his opponents and unable to reach them with his weapons, Galdan could only stare dumbfounded at the three in the sky.
However, such negligence would prove fatal; Galdan should not have forgotten that there was a witch among the enemies, meaning there was someone capable of casting magic for long-range attacks.
“When flames pierce the spear—fire spear.”
By the time Galdan grasped Fiona’s intentions, it was far too late.
A bright red, raging flame tornado surged toward him, and all Galdan could do was raise his large shield in a panic.
As the scorching storm unleashed by the witch raged, Galdan, known for his sturdiness, somehow managed to hold on.
The iron golem, which boasted an impenetrable defense, was able to endure a single upper-level attack magic due to his fortunate resilience.
However, despite its durability, the suspension bridge was ultimately made of wood and rope, and there was no way it could maintain its function under the onslaught of the fire vortex.
In short, the bridge collapsed.
“Oh—”
The ropes supporting the bridge snapped easily, and as a silly sound slipped from Galdan’s lips, he experienced a moment of weightlessness before—
“Ahhhhhh!!!”
He plummeted downwards along with the flaming wreckage of the bridge into the stream below.
To the trio watching from above, it must have appeared as if a sinner was falling into hell.
Galdan, with his red single eye, gazed at the fairy light shining like stars in the night sky as he was swallowed up by the dark stream.
The steel guardian (lol).