Chapter 21 Golems and Unusual Phenomenon

DOOOOGGGGGUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNN!!!!!!

The two golems fell from the ceiling. The whole place shook and they left behind two craters where they landed, thus ruining the once-beautiful magic seal on the floor.

"F-For real? What kind of a room is this?!" I said while holding the sword in front of me.

The little girl hides from my back. I have to make sure she will not get hurt.

I looked at her over my shoulder.

"...Hey, you, would you go to a safe corner? If this goes on, both of us would be killed..."

The little girl only nodded, and she immediately ran towards a safe place on this room. I also distanced myself even more from her so that the attention of the golems would divert to me.

I looked at the golems again. They didn't move since the time the fell from the ceiling, so it will be a good opportunity to esca...

No, they sensed my intentions. The two of them only paid attention to whatever I will do from now on, as if they're planning their next move depending on my movements. Those guys...they do have some sort of a brain inside them, I think?

While thinking of that their cores suddenly glowed and they both charged towards me with breakneck speeds.

"H-Huh...?!--WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

CRASH!!!

The two golems slammed themselves on the wall, but I managed to get out of their way. I'll be flattened up like a pancake if I got caught between them!

This is bad. They're too nimble contrary to their size.

The two golems looked at me who's standing behind them a few meter away, and charged again. This time, their fists are raised as if to crush me, and their fists hit the ground, leaving another pair of craters.

"GHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

I gasped my breath as I dashed backwards away just in time before impact. Their attacks caused the dust and dirt from the ground to scatter around the air, making my vision a bit blurred and my breathing difficult.

"B-BIG BROTHEEEERRRRR!!!!!"

Even though I managed to evade I still got blown away due to the shock of the blow. Meanwhile the little girl screamed when she saw me almost got killed by the two golems.

Damn, what the hell is going on here?!

"Y-You...Get out of here while I keep them at bay! Go!!!" I shouted at the girl.

When she heard that, she raised out a flat objection.

"...N-No way! I'll never leave you behind, big brother!"

"Tch! You want to die here?!"

"...I'll never leave you behind! Never!" She insisted.

Stupid girl!

Can't she realize that our lives will be put to greater risk here with that stubborn attitude of hers? Why can't she stop thinking of me as her big brother and make a way for herself to escape? Why...why is she acting like that?

I averted my gaze from her as I prepared my sword for the counteroffensive, and I ran towards them. It might be a futile attack, but who knows what will happen, right?

I realized immediately that before they attack, their cores will glow. I'll use the opportunity to attack when their cores aren't glowing. If I timed it well, the time it takes before the cores to glow again would take about fifteen seconds per interval. Depending on the current situation, that time frame would either be too long or too short for me to utilize.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

With a shout I closed my distance with a golem, and slashed his right leg with my sword. Small cracks only formed on the cut part.

"Too tough...!!!" I muttered in shock. "Maybe if I attack faster my damage output would be--"

I planned to cut again his leg but I noticed it too late that his core glowed suddenly. I tried to get away, but I got hit with a swing of his large arm.

"AAAAHHHHHHHGGGKKKK!!!"

I got blown away again due to the blow, and my body crashed on the wall beside the little girl, who only stood at the corner of the room.

"BIG BROOTHEEEERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!"

She screamed as she rushed towards me. I saw her tears stream down from her blue eyes.

"...Big brother...are you okay?" She said to me in worry.

"O-Ouch...I'm okay. Luckily I survived that attack, but my legs are crushed..."

"...N-No way..."

I let out a faint groan. "Use this opportunity to escape. I'm telling you, I won't certainly last long...maybe there's no use on still calling me 'big brother'."

At that point, she shouted at me with a very loud voice.

"I SAID I WON'T LEAVE YOU BEHIND, BIG BROTHER!!!!!"

"W-Wha--" I got dumbstruck with her words.

Thinking of it, the more I say the words 'go away' to her, the more she desire to be closer to me. Even with the current situation, her mindset's still unchanged. For the first time in my life...someone said those words to me.

This fifteen seconds interval, and that one second out of that fifteen became something that is memorable to me, something that I'll never witness again should my life ends here.

"...If you wan't me to escape alone then I'd rather die with you here, big brother!" She said as she helped me stand up.

The little girl tried to tend to my wounds, but the golems charged towards us after their fifteen second attack back-swing ended.

"MOVE AWAY!!!"

I hurriedly pushed her away from me so that she would not get caught on their charge.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" She screamed as she stumbled on the ground.

"RUUUUUNNNNN...!!!!!" I shouted at her.

My legs are broken and there are many wounds on my body, that's why I can't get out of their attack. I only held my sword in front of me to defend myself, but I think that I will still be killed by them no matter what.

"...Looks like, I finally managed to save someone, huh..."

I only closed my eyes as I waited for my end to come. Come to think of it, it reminded me of my life motto.

'I'll die smiling', is what I promised to myself a long time ago.

Being able to keep smiling in this difficult and unfair world (or worlds), I think that's the greatest achievement one would ever achieve in his or her life. Everything that humanity has made and done so far shared once common purpose: to become happy. At least, when death comes everyone doesn't have any regrets to bring with them to the afterlife.

That's why, I'll accept my fate with a smile on my lips. I'll never regret dying at this rate, as long as I could see the survival of that stubborn little girl who's currently crying for me.

I kept my eyes closed for a while, but I realized that the golems still doesn't give me the killing blow. When I opened my eyes...

"...What is...happening...?"

In front of me, the sword I'm holding has black smoke coming from it, and the golems took a step backwards when they saw that.

"W-W-What is going on...?" I asked to myself in wonder.

After a few seconds the black smoke burst into flames, and burned through the sword with a blackish-blue blaze.

"Awawawawawawawa!!! The sword is burning!" I screamed in surprise. The girl, on the other hand, just knelt on the floor quietly while having the same reaction as mine.

The sword was finally consumed by the black and blue flames, leaving none, and the flames then spread on to the wounds on my body.

"Ehh?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! I'M BURNING, I'M BURNING!!!"

Even though I said that, the flames didn't really burn me but simply covered my injuries. Then, all my injuries were gradually healed as the flames continue to weaken.

"This flames...what is going on? My legs, they can move again!" I exclaimed.

I stood again slowly while checking the condition of my body. A very warm and refreshing feeling, it felt like I'm being born again.

When the flames on my body was gone, the two golems immediately regained their senses and charged again towards me. The glow on their cores became brighter.

"W-Wait, no, no, AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

I put my arms in front of me to block my face. With no sword in hand, I don't have anything to defend myself with.

The two golems tried to crush me, but a black wave of energy instantly emanate from my body. Both of them staggered their movement for a while when they were hit by the wave.

"W-W-What is going on again?!" I asked myself again, still surprised from the series of unexpected things that's happening right now.

The two of them charged at me again for the nth time. This time, their killing intent grew more intense in direct proportion with the intensity of their cores' glow.

"S-Stay away from me!!!"

I swayed my arms as if shoving someone aside in panic. At that instant, a more massive black wave of energy is released from my hand and it hit the body of the golems.

"H-Huh...?"

At first I was just surprised, but what happened next rendered me speechless.

At the time the black wave made contact with the golems' bodies, cracks begin to form on their cores and after a few seconds, the golems themselves shattered with a loud, cracking noise like breaking a stack of porcelain plates. The glow on their cores then slowly disappeared after that.

My body went stiff for a moment while looking at the fragment remains of the two golems.

"Awawawawawawa..."

I then looked at my hands in astonishment. Did I just...created that wave just now?

When I looked at the little girl standing at a corner of this room, her eyes show also a surprised expression. Her mouth also flapped like a fish gasping for air as she looked at me.

"B-Big brother...just now, did you just used the power of an [Arcana]?!"

She exclaimed as she rushed towards me.