Chapter 252

After the grueling battle inside the ruins, our brief rest came to an end.

At first, Mari seemed downcast, as if something sad had happened, but soon she was energetically eating her meal as usual.

The others also seemed satisfied with the Beef Mushroom Nutritional Porridge I made.

Most of the group didn’t have high expectations for the porridge, thinking it was just a health meal for the sick, but after tasting it, they couldn’t hide their admiration and eagerly emptied their bowls.

Despite preparing plenty of ingredients, the pot was almost empty by the end.

After finishing the meal, we dismantled the temporary resting place and began preparing to explore deeper into the ruins.

While everyone was cleaning up or reorganizing the resting area, I noticed Mari alone, gathering the golems in one place.

“What are you doing over there?”

“I’m making a grave for the golems. Of course, there’s no soft soil here, so I can’t make a proper grave…”

“A grave?”

“Yes. At first, I hated these golems for threatening us and injuring Karina… But while eating, I thought about it again. These golems were just fulfilling their duty to protect the ruins. They didn’t act out of malice. Thinking about it, I felt sorry for them. They’ve been sleeping for over a thousand years, just to guard this ancient ruin, and we defeated them…”

Mari continued speaking, her voice growing less confident, as if she knew others might see her actions as foolish.

“…I see. That’s very like you.”

“Haha… It’s silly, right? These golems hurt Karina and Aila… They’re not even human, yet I’m making a grave for them…”

“No. It’s not bad.”

After replying, I approached the grave Mari had made.

It was indeed a humble sight, hardly a proper grave.

The golems were simply gathered in one place, neatly laid out.

I walked up to one of the golems and adjusted its hands, which held a sword and shield, placing them neatly on its chest.

It looked like a knight raising a sword in honor.

Mari seemed unable to hate the golems, even though they had cornered her and her companions, because she knew their actions weren’t born of malice.

Perhaps it was her nature to not easily hate others.

Some might call her nature weak, but I didn’t dislike that about her.

Even after fierce battles, where we sometimes nearly died or had to kill our opponents, we did so only to survive or because it was necessary.

After the battle, we respected our opponents without holding grudges…

It reminded me of hunters who, no matter how fierce the hunt, always paid respect to their prey afterward.

As Mari and I finished arranging the fallen golems, the rest of the group gathered around, and we soon moved on to the next area.

—

Leading the group, I remained vigilant for any threats as we entered the secret location Seiri had discovered.

After walking for a while, I saw something unbelievable and immediately heightened my guard.

“This is…! Everyone, be careful!”

Before us stood several golems, far more powerful than the ones we had just defeated. According to the warning message, they were called Andelia’s Divine Soldiers.

Several of these golems stood silently, far more than we had faced before.

They stood like knights guarding the path to an emperor, waiting for us.

Three spots were empty, likely where the golems we had defeated had stood before being dispatched.

Including the three we had defeated, there were a total of twelve golems here.

We had barely managed to defeat three. Facing nine more would be impossible.

I prepared for battle, ready to buy time for the group to escape.

But as I readied myself, I noticed something strange.

The golems weren’t moving.

“…What’s going on?”

“They’re not… moving?”

Despite our proximity, the golems remained completely still.

We cautiously checked their condition while staying on guard…

After examining them, Seiri, who had extensive knowledge of archaeology, concluded:

“These golems are too old. They no longer have any power.”

“Meaning…?”

“Yes. They’ve deteriorated over time.”

Hearing this, I finally understood and relaxed my combat stance.

Indeed…

If there were so many golems here, there was no reason only three would have been dispatched earlier.

Even if only three were sent, the others should have moved when those three were destroyed.

But these golems remained still because…

They couldn’t move, not because they wouldn’t.

Finally, we could calmly examine the golems lined up along the walls.

Like the three we had faced, these golems were equipped with various weapons—twin swords, gauntlets, bows, and more.

“Including the three we defeated, there are twelve in total…”

“If all these golems were fully functional, it would have been terrifying.”

Realizing the golems were completely powerless, the group relaxed and began to look around as if visiting a museum.

…Wait.

If nine of the twelve golems had deteriorated over time…

“Could it be that the three we fought weren’t at full strength either?”

“…What?”

“What are you saying…?”

“No way… They were so strong, they couldn’t have been weakened…”

The group hesitated, denying my words, but their reactions only confirmed that my theory had some merit.

Seiri nodded quietly.

“Indeed… It’s plausible. Looking at the arrangement, the golems we fought didn’t seem special compared to the others here. If the others have deteriorated to the point of being immobile, it’s possible the ones we fought were also weakened by time…”

“So that’s what happened…”

“Those terrifying golems were actually just old and worn out…!?”

Yes.

I had thought the sword-and-shield golem was superior to the other two, perhaps a higher-tier model.

But looking at the arrangement, the three empty spots weren’t special positions.

The golems were simply lined up along the path, with three random spots missing.

The sword-and-shield golem wasn’t stronger—the other two were just more deteriorated.

And perhaps the weapons they wielded were also degraded artifacts that once matched the sword-and-shield golem’s power.

In fact, all the golems here, including the ones we fought, might have been of similar strength originally.

No, perhaps even the sword-and-shield golem was once far more powerful.

If so, their original strength might have been beyond what we could handle.

The thought sent chills down my spine.

I knew the Ancient Empire was powerful, but to this extent?

Just how incredible was the Ancient Empire?

And what kind of monsters could have brought it down in a single day?

The stories I had only vaguely known began to feel real, and I started to grasp the magnitude of the secrets we were uncovering.

The others, too, stopped marveling at the golems and began to look around the ruins with tense expressions.

“…We’ve seen enough here. Let’s move on.”

“…Yes. Understood.”

Though we were startled to encounter more golems like the ones we had just defeated, they were too old and broken to move.

There was no need to linger here.

These golems, frozen like statues, wouldn’t come back to life.

Leaving the motionless golems behind, we continued deeper into the ruins.