Chapter 23 of the Weapon Replicator of the Academy

Chapter 6: Golem (4)

The throwing distance of the dagger made by weaving increased.

The situation was too urgent, so I threw it first, and fortunately, it reached the ‘reality’ of the creature.

If I had left the training room a bit earlier, I could have tried it more safely.

‘Still, what is that?’

The figure boasting a massive build and clad in metal armor is undoubtedly a Metal Golem.

I looked at Edwin.

From a distance, it seemed like Edwin was the owner of the golem.

“...Senior Edwin.”

“Frontier.”

The voice calling my name was dry, as if it carried all the world's resentment.

“Is it you again?”

“...It’s the second time we meet.”

I approached Elin with some caution while keeping an eye on Edwin.

I knelt down and examined her condition. She had a deep wound on her side.

“Did Senior Edwin do this?”

Elin blinked her drowsy eyes a few times.

I couldn’t tell if she was sleepy or tired.

“...The golem did it.”

“Isn’t that golem being controlled by Senior Edwin?”

“...Yeah. Sorry.”

What are you sorry for?

I stood up.

Edwin’s anger still burned, directed solely at me, as if I were the last piece of a puzzle he had put together on his own.

‘...No, surely not.’

Edwin’s surroundings turned purple, and a mist rose from his body.

I knew what that was.

In Etius, where there are few special privileges for players, this is one of the few things that differentiate them.

The purple mist visible only to players.

Evidence that a character has ‘fallen.’

‘This, damn it.’

Why has Edwin ‘fallen’?

He was a character who had never done such a thing.

During the countless times I played the game, he always stood up and restored the honor and glory of his family.

That golem, he could have made it with his own skills if he had just waited two more years.

Edwin’s current appearance is too unfamiliar to me.

If I had to guess the reason, there is only one.

‘...Is it me?’

A character that doesn’t exist no matter how many times I play.

Frontier.

Does the existence of Frontier de Roach cause Edwin von Behertio to fall?

“Frontier. That golem isn’t Edwin’s. Edwin is being controlled by the golem.”

“I understand, so just rest for a moment.”

The pained voice was hard to listen to.

‘Being controlled by the golem.’ That means the golem’s movements are not Edwin’s will.

“Senior Edwin.”

“...Why?”

“Can you control that golem?”

“Of course.”

As if to prove his answer, the Metal Golem moved.

The golem indeed seemed to be faithfully following Edwin’s commands, or rather, his will.

I didn’t know why they were fighting, but I had just intervened.

However, the golem’s spear was deflected, and my weapon disappeared in that instant.

The golem, unable to understand why its spear was blocked, continued to advance.

Until now, the golem had been hit several times in the face by the daggers made by weaving, but golems have no learning ability.

So,

Clang!

Clang!

I threw daggers at the golem’s face.

If it can’t learn, then keep hitting it until it’s nothing but rags.

But the golem gradually advanced.

Since I can only weave one weapon at a time, it closes the distance during the gaps.

‘I should have practiced weaving two weapons.’

Regret always comes too late.

* * *

Elin checked her wounded abdomen. The bleeding had stopped, and the pain had lessened.

Her trained body and accumulated mana were steadily healing her.

With a bit of leeway, she watched Frontier’s battle.

‘I need to give him a chance to escape...’

Why is Frontier helping? He doesn’t know me.

Even if he did, there’s no reason for him to risk his life for me.

She had heard a little about Frontier from her younger brother, Aster.

He was said to be much more diligent and decent than his reputation as a ‘human sloth.’

But from Elin’s perspective, it wasn’t a very trustworthy statement.

Aster felt indebted to Frontier because of the Mistilteinn incident.

She knew nothing about his combat skills.

If the rumors were true that he slept all the time in class and tried to avoid practical and outdoor lessons, he probably wasn’t good at fighting.

Even now, Frontier’s movements against the golem lacked structure.

Yet, why?

‘How is he blocking it?’

Frontier was unarmed, but every time he swung his hands, the golem’s spear was deflected, and its head wobbled.

At first, she thought it might be ‘Invisibility,’ a technique to hide one’s weapon with magic. It’s a difficult skill, but it would be worth it.

‘...But then, how did he save me?’

He threw something to block the spear aimed at her.

Probably a throwing dagger?

But he kept throwing them without pause, as if there was no limit to the number.

Then, it seemed he was holding something in both hands and swinging it to block the golem’s spear.

Sometimes he inflicted wounds on the golem’s waist or legs at close range.

A dagger? A spear? A greatsword?

Even though she couldn’t see it, it was frustrating, and she couldn’t understand the length of the weapon.

‘...I’m worried.’

Still, Elin expected Frontier to lose.

At first glance, it seemed like Frontier was attacking one-sidedly, but none of his attacks were meaningful to the golem.

If he repeated such actions hundreds of thousands of times, the golem might fall, but Frontier’s stamina would run out first.

If he had learned ‘Aura,’ he might have had a chance to bring down the golem.

‘...Sigh.’

Elin took a deep breath. Frontier was buying her time.

She needed to recover quickly to give Frontier a chance to escape. If possible, she would escape with him.

From the situation, it didn’t seem like Frontier would suddenly be overwhelmed.

“...That spear technique.”

At that moment, she heard Frontier muttering.

Elin, sensing something ominous in his voice, looked up at the golem.

The golem stopped its blind offensive and assumed a stance.

It slowly swung its spear.

It looked slow at first glance, but it was full of power and followed a subtle trajectory that made it hard to be pierced.

‘...Ajtie’s spear technique.’

Elin bit her lip.

Sure enough, the golem was mimicking Ajtie’s spear technique.

Frontier’s hand moved again, and an invisible throwing weapon appeared.

Clang, but this time it was blocked by the golem’s spear.

The golem didn’t see Frontier’s weapon; it was just that the trajectory of the moving spear didn’t allow the dagger to penetrate.

There might be a way to attack by aiming at the gaps in the trajectory, but stopping the golem was now impossible.

“Frontier! Die quietly!”

Edwin’s shout rang out.

Elin took a slow breath in and out, pouring her fragmentary strength into each breath.

* * *

Edwin’s murderous intent toward me is clearly real.

It’s strange. Everything else seems like a mistake, but his intent toward me is only murderous.

Did my actions provoke such anger?

‘Moreover.’

The purple mist of Edwin’s ‘fallen’ state has been looking strange.

Was it something I couldn’t see in the game, or something I couldn’t see because it was a game?

The purple mist seemed to have a form, almost human-like, something resembling a human.

I felt as if someone was behind Edwin.

Whish!

I narrowly avoided the spear tip and stepped back.

If it were really Ajtie, I would be dead here.

This golem is mimicking Ajtie’s spear technique, but it’s still inconsistent. If it were a game, it would be like under-coded behavior, using techniques based on conditions that are still simple.

“Frontier!!”

I heard Edwin’s voice.

It was still filled with passion.

“I’ve already killed someone! Once I’ve killed once, adding one more won’t make a difference!”

His voice was like a confession of despair.

Meanwhile, the golem continued to swing its spear at me.

If he was trying to distract me with his voice, it was a brilliant combination.

“Did you come here with the half-hearted resolve that you might not die...!”

Ah, shut up. I’m already busy to death.

“Shut up! No one has died yet!!”

Clang!

I shouted and swung the greatsword I had woven.

Deflecting the golem’s spear was becoming increasingly difficult. Continuously consuming mana was also risky.

“What, what?”

Edwin seemed quite flustered by my shout, stuttering.

“Did you confirm that?”

“I know without confirming!”

What happened? Why are Elin and Edwin fighting? Why does Edwin think he killed someone?

I don’t know any of it.

But I do know one thing.

“You couldn’t have killed anyone!”

I know Edwin von Behertio.

The purple mist is evidence of his fall.

After falling, there’s no choice.

But the mist only started rising just now. That means Edwin hadn’t fallen until then.

A fallen Edwin wouldn’t kill anyone.

“...What do you know...!”

What do I know?

How can I explain this?

The days I spent countless times as Aster, challenging Etius with you.

The lives I spent watching you countless times.

Would explaining all of that make you understand?

No matter what he did with the golem,

Whether he was being controlled by the golem or not,

My thoughts remain unchanged.

Edwin, even for a moment, could never have the heart to kill someone.

That unchangeable gentleness is Edwin’s weakness, which has plagued him until now,

And it is also the dignity that will one day elevate the Behertio family to brilliance.

“...No! I ran away without confirming if those people were dead, I’m a coward...!”

Edwin seemed confused. In contrast, the golem’s attacks became even more fierce.

That contradictory appearance would probably start to feel strange to Elin as well.

I can see it. The purple mist surrounding Edwin is gradually moving to the golem.

Now I understand the nature of that ‘fallen’ state.

I have seen a god.

The small boy with black wings who tried to make my death look like a suicide.

Thanatos.

The same atmosphere I feel from that ‘fallen’ state.

I don’t know who it is.

But behind Edwin, there exists a ‘god.’