Divine Iron Armored Golem (2)

While Jigoro and Usuba waged a furious battle with booming laughter, the three of us continued fighting steadily. The foundation of our tactics was Sebastian's defense.

Since he wielded a different-sized shield in each hand, his switching between them and the way he used each one were exquisite. Thanks to that, Akane in particular and I were free to attack however we pleased. Naturally, that drew the enemy's attention to us, but he handled the adjustment perfectly as well. Why is this man a butler?

"Spell Adjustment, Compression...! Sebastian!"

"I am aware."

When I used Compression from 【Spacetime Magic】, I compressed the Divine Iron Armored Golem's left arm along with its shield. Its left arm was crushed, and, just as I had expected, a tremendous blast of freezing air came rushing forth.

It seemed the shield and left arm had been damaged more than I thought, so I accidentally destroyed a body part I had been careful not to damage. Sebastian did not change his tone of voice even slightly as he responded and blocked the freezing blast. His reaction speed and precision were astonishing.

"Hmm... Something's strange."

"What do you mean by strange?"

Akane landed silently beside me, tilted her head, and muttered. I had not noticed anything unusual, but she seemed to have sensed something strange after actually crossing weapons with it. I could not ignore an opinion from someone who was probably on par with Jigoro and Genshiro, so I reflexively asked her about it.

"Swordsmanship, shield arts, and magic. It's highly capable with all of them and uses them skillfully. But that's it. It has no standout strength."

"It has no standout strength... You mean that's not fitting for a special boss?"

She nodded at my question. In my opinion, it was plenty strong, but it did indeed seem somewhat underwhelming for something called a special boss. If so, there was a high chance that it still had multiple forms remaining.

However, we were in the middle of a battle. The situation would continue changing while I was lost in thought, and spacing out would only burden Sebastian. I decided to continue fighting while keeping the matter in the back of my mind.

"Break already!"

"Heh heh... Even the scratches in its armor heal? But you're consuming something, aren't you?"

Jigoro shouted as he kicked and warped the Divine Iron Armored Golem's head, while Usuba continued slicing its armor apart. The distortions and wounds were repaired just like destroyed parts, but that consumed some kind of resource. As a result, the two of them seemed to have changed their tactics to focus on inflicting wounds rather than destroying parts.

Bwoooom...

As we continued wearing them down, the cores of all three Divine Iron Armored Golems began glowing simultaneously. The one fighting Jigoro shone red, the one fighting Usuba shone green, and the one fighting us shone blue.

The colors clearly corresponded to the elements each one possessed. More importantly, the moment they began glowing, our attacks stopped working. Was this what people called a forced event?

With no other choice, we used that time to recover as well. I reapplied 【Enchantment】 and 【Soul Arts】 to everyone, while the others busily prepared by gulping down potions and changing their equipment.

"What?!"

"What the hell?!"

The Divine Iron Armored Golems continued growing brighter, and the instant their radiance reached its peak, all three of them came apart. We were shocked and confused, but could do nothing except watch as events unfolded.

The separated parts floated in the air, drifting near the ceiling. At first, they merely hung there, but then the three cores floating in the center of the ceiling gathered together, and a change occurred. The other parts began moving in circles around the cores.

They moved slowly at first, but gradually picked up speed. When they reached a speed that could only be described as a metal storm, the circle contracted, and the parts assembled all at once into a single shape.

What appeared was a Divine Iron Armored Golem roughly twice as tall as before. However, three cores were embedded in its chest, and it wielded one sword in each hand. The sword in its left hand was the same as before, but the sword in its right hand seemed to be two swords fused together. It had become a thicker, longer greatsword.

I thought it might be specialized for offense, but two shields were floating around it, apparently defending it automatically. Its appearance truly embodied both offense and defense.

Furthermore, the armor's surface, which had previously been polished like a mirror, was now covered in incredibly intricate and beautiful decorations. I felt something akin to the divine majesty of a perfected work of art, but I knew this was extremely dangerous. In FSW, decorations on weapons and armor were not merely ornamental; they granted some kind of effect.

"The third form is a fusion?"

"Can't say it's not cliché."

I had thought they would be unhappy that their prey had become a single opponent, but Jigoro and Usuba joined us with cheerful laughter. The excitement of fighting a powerful enemy had apparently outweighed their disappointment at no longer being able to fight one-on-one.

The Divine Iron Armored Golem remained enveloped in that radiance during the fusion, but the radiance gradually weakened. By the time it landed lightly, the glow had disappeared completely. It was safe to interpret that as meaning our attacks would work again.

"Here I go!"

"Heh heh heh heh."

At that moment, Jigoro and Usuba shot forward like bullets. They attacked it from both sides as if they had planned it in advance: Jigoro delivered a low kick aimed at its legs, while Usuba thrust at the gap between its neck and torso. However, the two floating shields cut in between them and blocked the attacks before charging toward us instead.

"I shall defend... Ngh."

"Sebastian?! Astral Magic Circle, Spell Adjustment, Dark Lance!"

The greatsword's powerful blow was apparently strong enough to shake Sebastian's ironclad defense. He caught it on his shield and lost his balance for an instant, but he braced himself and endured the impact.

I could not force him to handle it alone, so I reflexively cast a spell to support him. However, it was blocked by a third shield. It was incredibly irritating that, since the shields were floating, they could cut in from any direction no matter where we attacked.

However, we had succeeded in forcing it to use the third shield. In that opening, Akane slipped into its range, and her sword reached for a core. But the sword in its left hand knocked hers aside.

None of us had landed a decisive blow, but the same was true for the enemy. It leaped high to avoid the attacks from Jigoro and Usuba, who had run around the floating shields to join the fight, and then put some distance between us.

"Its reactions are fast. This might be a little troublesome."

"Should destroying the shields be our top priority? Heh heh, that sounds interesting in its own way."

"Hmm... I need to thrust faster..."

We were almost back to the same state as immediately after the fusion, but the three people who loved fighting had seen a glimpse of the enemy's strength and were delighted. Jigoro was grinning despite his words, while Usuba analyzed the situation with an eerie laugh from beneath his mask.

Akane looked dissatisfied at first glance, but apparently she was not dissatisfied with the battle itself—only with her own movements. After stepping back, she slowly practiced her swings as mental training. How stoic, I thought admiringly.

"Sebastian, can you keep going?"

"I apologize for showing such an unsightly display. I will revise my defensive method, so I believe there will be no problem."

I had asked out of concern, but Sebastian answered in his usual formal manner. I did not think it had looked unsightly at all. If anything, I wanted to praise him for bracing himself and blocking the blow completely.

Sebastian said there was no problem. I was completely unfamiliar with defending with shields, but I knew from our battles so far that his skill was first-rate. If he said he was fine, then he was probably fine.

"There may be objections, but from here on, let's aim squarely for the cores. However, the cores are well protected. So Jigoro, Usuba, and I will break through the defense."

"Nice. This should be fun."

"Heh heh heh, an important role indeed."

"Sebastian, I want you to block the greatsword. Akane, target the core when we open a gap."

"Very good."

"Okay."

The plan was set. The three of us would keep the three shields and the sword that could apparently also be used defensively at bay, while Sebastian took on the attacks and Akane destroyed the cores. We would have to prepare ourselves for a long battle, plant our feet firmly, and take it on!

◆◇◆◇◆◇

We fought for about five more minutes, but there was one thing I had to say. We did not have enough hands! Above all, we were desperately short on ways to attack!

"Mmm!"

"Daaagh! Damn it! Sorry! It slipped past me!"

As expected, even when Akane stepped into its range, a shield or sword would cut in and prevent her from dealing lethal damage to the core. Damage was accumulating on its other parts instead, but at this rate, our health and magic would run out first.

If five people were having such a hard time, I wanted to call servants with 【Summoning】, but summoning weaklings that would be kicked aside immediately would be useless. Besides, the fact that summoning reduced our maximum magic power was another problem. Was there only one solution left...?

"Usuba, Akane, Sebastian. Please keep what you're about to see secret. Tamed Monster Summoning!"

"Grr? Grrr..."

With 【Summoning】, I summoned not a servant but my tamed monster, Kal. Kal rose from the magic circle that appeared on the floor, apparently having been napping, and raised his sleepy head to look around.

I had been slightly worried about whether I could summon him in the boss area, but it seemed to have worked. Kal himself did not seem to understand the situation and nuzzled against me affectionately. It was cute, but this was no time for that. I needed him to join the battle!

"Kal, I need your strength to fight that enemy. You understand, don't you?"

"Grrr? ...GRAAAAAAAAAH!"

When I said that while looking into his eyes, Kal steeled his expression and let out a roar. Then he flew up to the ceiling and slammed his tail toward the Divine Iron Armored Golem.

Naturally, the shield blocked his tail. But that was when Jigoro, Usuba, and I attacked. My magic and Jigoro's fists were blocked by the shields, while Usuba's sword was knocked aside by a sword. However, there was now nothing to stop Akane.

"Here!"

"I shall block it."

Her sword pierced the blue core, leaving a scar that was clearly visible even from where I stood. The fact that its core was being targeted was evidently a serious problem, because the Divine Iron Armored Golem swung its greatsword in an attempt to hack her down. However, Sebastian cut in between them and deflected the attack using both his round shield and tower shield.

"Welcome, Kal!"

"I must admit, that surprised me. I never imagined you had a Dragon under your command."

"Cool. Keep it a secret, and let me ride later."

"I cannot keep secrets from the Young Master. However, I shall tell no one but the Young Master."

...Sebastian, you really are an honest one. Well, fine. If they might become our allies, giving them that much information should be acceptable. Now that we have gained a new ally, it is time to begin our counterattack!