Volume 4 Chapter 99 The Princess’s Temptation, and the Result
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The coup had seemed certain to succeed under Hiiragi and the other heroes who had sided with the Noble Faction.
But then Yamada, the hero besotted with the princess, unleashed his magic. A massive gray giant—a golem—rose up. The outcome of the battle was far from decided.
We were in the Royal Castle Garden. Normally, it would have been a place of grandeur, of elegance. Now it was nothing but a battlefield. And since the summoning of the golem, Yamada himself had disappeared from sight. He had to be close by, controlling it.
”He’s inside the golem,” Lifia whispered after sensing him.
So he was hidden within, like a pilot in a giant robot. That meant we couldn’t target him directly—we had to break through the shell.
What should we do?
Strictly speaking, none of this concerned us. I didn’t feel any obligation to fight.
If anything, I wanted Hiiragi and the Noble Faction to win. If they did, Iberigo and Lady Arcona—our allies—would gain power, and the war with the Demon Kingdom might finally end. That would suit me just fine.
Helping them wouldn’t be out of the question. But the last thing I wanted was to reveal more of myself to the world. Too many already knew who I was. I could no longer stay entirely hidden, but there was no reason to broadcast my presence either.
So I chose to watch from the shadows of the castle wall. If they won without me, so much the better.
The battle began.
”Geeeet out of the waaay!!”
A muffled roar shook the golem’s chest.
The next moment, the earth trembled. A massive stone fist slammed down, cracking the ground open. Soldiers caught in the shockwave screamed as they were thrown aside.
”Everyone, fall back!”
Hiiragi shouted the order, driving the soldiers away. He must have realized they’d only get in the way. Faces twisted in frustration, they obeyed, retreating in silence, crushed by their own uselessness.
Hiiragi raised his sword, wrapping it in light, and slashed. His sorcerers finished their chants, unleashing flame, ice, and lightning all at once. Light swallowed the giant, smoke exploding across the garden.
But when the haze cleared, the golem stood unharmed. Only a few chips of stone had flaked from its body.
”I will… protect… the princess!”
The words rumbled from its throat, like stone grinding against stone. The unnatural sound made even the heroes take a step back.
Something was wrong.
I remembered Yamada’s golem before—how we blasted it apart with a magic cannon. But this one was different. Stronger. Harder. Not just more durable—something else.
”Master… it’s getting bigger,” Kéa muttered.
She was right. With every step, the golem grew, already towering higher than the castle walls—thirty meters, at least. It was absorbing the flagstones and rubble around it, weaving them into its body.
Why hadn’t he used this power last time? Maybe because we destroyed him before he had the chance.
”Master, it’s consuming his life,” Lifia said, her face pale.
Rozmiaque added, “It reeks of forbidden sorcery. A curse that burns the soul itself for power, leaving nothing but ruin in its wake.”
A forbidden art.
Heroes carried immense potential, but unleashing all of it was never easy. Most lacked the talent or the will. Had Yamada managed it… at the cost of his own life?
And for what? For a princess?
”Why would he go that far?” I muttered.
Yes, she was beautiful—but enough to throw away your soul?
”Maybe he’s been brainwashed?” I asked.
Lifia shook her head. “No. There’s no trace of compulsion. He’s simply in love.”
So that was it. Just a virgin’s blind devotion. A girl was kind to him, and he was willing to burn his life away for it.
”How extreme…” I sighed.
While we talked, the battle worsened. The golem swelled larger with every stride, shaking the ground so hard the heroes stumbled back.
”Damn it! We can’t stop it!” Hiiragi cursed.
His swordplay was sharp. His allies were coordinated. But the damage they dealt was nothing compared to the rate of the golem’s growth. Each step pressed them down harder, forcing them further back.
Then, with a roar, the giant swung its massive arm in a wide arc. The air split with a deafening crack. Shields shattered. The heroes were hurled aside, slammed into the earth, their groans echoing across the field.
The next blow ripped a chunk out of the castle wall. Stone cascaded like rain. Beyond that wall lay the castle town.
”Kill… destroy… everything…”
Red light glowed in the golem’s eyes, fixed on the town.
”He’s lost his mind,” Lifia whispered.
He no longer remembered his princess. He no longer thought at all. Only destruction remained. If left unchecked, he’d reduce the Royal Capital itself to rubble.
Hiiragi and the others tried to rise, but their bodies shook, swords slipping from their hands. They were finished.
That left us.
If it was just heroes or soldiers dying, I could have let it go. But not innocent civilians.
”Taro,” Yomi said softly as she saw my hand on my sword, “you’re going to fight.”
”Yeah… but you don’t have to—”
Killing Yamada might be the only way. He’d once been her classmate. I couldn’t force her to take part.
But Yomi only smiled and shook her head. “I’ll help. It’s too late to back out now.”
”Thanks.”
I took a breath. “Alright. Let’s go!”
”Yes!”
”Understood. Ssloualbo, Tree Bind!“
Rozmiaque’s chant split the earth. Vines burst forth, coiling around the golem’s legs, rooting it in place.
”Air Torment!“
Lifia’s spell followed. A compressed gale fired like a cannon shot, tearing a hole in the monster’s chest.
”Aaaarghhhhhh!!”
It screamed, but still stood.
”Altair Ray!“
Yomi’s silver-white beam pierced the hole, aiming for the core where the caster had to be. The blast thundered, the giant staggering, crumbling…
But not falling.
”It didn’t break through!” Yomi shouted.
The rubble shifted. The fallen mass moved.
And then the pieces split apart. Smaller shapes rose, each the size of a man—dozens of them. Their eyes glowed as they turned toward us.
”More trouble…” I muttered.
The stone army charged.
”Tch! Out of my way!” Kéa’s twin blades flashed, felling them one after another.
”There’s too many!” Korukona cried, her dancer’s garb swirling as she flung her chakram.
I cut them down too, but there was no end. Worse, the ones we destroyed still twitched on the ground. They’d rise again. We had to kill the caster.
”Master, to the right!” Lifia shouted.
I turned. There—one different from the rest.
A knight-shaped golem, clad in black stone armor. Human-sized, but radiating suffocating pressure.
So he was in there. Wearing the golem like armor.
Yomi’s beam lashed out, but the black armor reflected it, scorching rubble all around. The knight’s arm stretched, pulling stones into itself, forming a massive sword.
It charged.
Spells wouldn’t make it in time. Kéa was too far. Korukona wasn’t suited for this. That left me.
I raised my blade. Silver steel gleamed with faint blue light—the magic sword forged from the bones of a dungeon’s sea serpent by Beckus the smith and Nokiroul the forgemaster. A blade said to pierce even dragon scales.
The black knight roared, swinging its colossal sword down at my head.
”Haahhh!”
Steel met stone with a crash. Sparks burst, fragments flew. My legs went numb, but I held.
Then I struck back. My blade cut deep, cleaving its arm clean off.
It worked. This sword could cut it.
The knight howled, stone flowing to regrow its weapon.
Not this time.
I stepped in. Too slow to block. As we passed one another, I swung with everything I had.
Stone. Flesh. Bone. All split beneath my strike.
The black knight’s head flew, tumbling into the rubble. The body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
The other golems froze. Then, as if their strings were cut too, they crumbled into sand.
The battlefield fell silent.
And so the coup in the Kingdom of Nakuos ended—with the Noble Faction’s victory, thanks to our intervention.
But the princess… she had vanished without a trace.
Notes:
• Rozmiaque – High-ranking elf investigating large-scale Spirit Magic usage. Condescending, believes a High Elf is involved. Uses 6-letter Spirit Magic to trap targets. Displays contempt for half-elves and humans. Aggressive interrogator, possibly capable of sensing hidden information.
• Korukona – A cat-eared girl with amber eyes. She is brave but vulnerable, showing honesty and gratitude. Taro rescues her from the pirate and plans to send her to her village.
• Kingdom of Nakuos – The nation where the protagonist and companions were summoned as heroes.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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