Chapter 37

#37 Episode: The Tin Knight and the Mysterious Underground Labyrinth (6)

The Tin Knight was merrily celebrating the appearance of a new boss, blissfully unaware that this battle was one they could have easily avoided.

Why? Because the Wood Golem—the guardian of this Underground Labyrinth—had been given the following orders:

“Maintain the seal so that the sinner does not awaken, and continuously drain their power.”

“If a legitimate being manages to reach your location through proper procedure, assist them in slaying the monster.”

“However, if someone who has not followed proper procedure forces their way through, defeat them. Do not let them come into contact with the sinner.”

If the Tin Knight and his party hadn’t tried to cheat their way through with the “Key of Opium,” the Wood Golem and its minions would have probably stood aside and become a reliable ally instead.

But, at the same time, this was pointless speculation.

Given the Tin Knight’s nature and Dorothea’s disposition, they were the type of people who would rather break through haphazardly and fight again than take the time to visit the Adventurer’s Guild to find the “correct tactic” for the labyrinth. And one of them wasn’t even human, either in body or mind.

Sure, Adelheid might have been the one suited for that proper route, but unfortunately, she didn’t hold much sway in conversations.

Thus, the Wood Golem charged in without hesitation.

To fulfill the last command left behind by its master.

To crush this tiny doll that dared to challenge it alone.

Boom! Thud! Smash!

The Golem stomped forward, pressing the Tin Knight into a corner.

With a height difference so great that the Tin Knight’s head barely reached its belly button, a simple stomp was all it would take to finish him off.

There would be no chance for him to rise again; it was determined to thoroughly crush him.

Right foot.

The Tin Knight dashed to the left to evade.

Left foot.

The Tin Knight dashed to the right to evade.

Using every part of his body to dodge, the Tin Knight rolled down in the opposite direction of the Golem’s fall.

Crunch!

The blade swung by the Tin Knight severed a part of the Golem’s body, but the Golem didn’t care.

The Golem felt no pain, and the wound, red like blood, began to regenerate immediately.

Though he was dodging skillfully, that tactic wouldn’t last forever. The Golem moved on to its next technique.

Whomp! Rumble!

With a massive right arm, the Golem slammed down onto the ground, then swung its arm sideways, burying it halfway into the earth.

The ground erupted, sending countless fragments flying around.

Just brushing against its arm would result in a critical hit. Even if the Tin Knight managed to dodge the arm, he would still be hit by the debris.

The Tin Knight’s feet danced with agility.

How he did it was a mystery, but he managed to retreat just as fast as his advance, narrowly escaping the attack range. In the brief moment before the Golem’s right arm returned, he thrust in a strike.

Crunch!

The Tin Knight’s blade nearly cleaved off the Golem’s forearm, but the vines wrapped around its body acted like bandages, tightly securing the wound.

It felt a bit unpleasant, but the Golem dismissed it as trivial.

The difference in specs between the Golem and the tiny knight was still overwhelming. The Golem prepared for its next move.

Squeek, squeek, squeek.

With a creaking noise, the Golem’s body twisted like a ball, and then it began to spin violently.

It aimed to roll over and crush the opponent faster than they could dodge.

The chamber built for the labyrinth’s guardian was wide and tall enough for such an attack without any issue.

The Golem charged forward.

The Tin Knight raised his shield in front of him.

That shield was a tiny thing compared to the size of the Golem.

Laughing at the pathetic struggle, the Golem barreled into him.

The Tin Knight could hardly withstand the shock and was sent tumbling backward.

And in the next moment, he charged forward again to swing his sword at the Golem.

Crunch!

Yet another part of the Golem was severed, but it ignored the wound and lunged again.

The Tin Knight caught that attack with his shield and was knocked back once more.

Immediately after, he charged ahead as if nothing had happened, slashing at the Golem again.

After a series of counterattacks, the Golem attempted to rise back up, but the Tin Knight had already occupied its rear, swinging his sword.

No matter how many times he was thrown away, not a single mark was on his body.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

The Tin Knight slashed at the Golem.

He dodged and sliced, blocked with his shield and slashed again, continually weaving through the Golem’s blind spots.

At last, the Golem realized its misjudgment.

The disparities in physique and specs—that all amounted to nothing.

Just as the Golem thought it could crush the doll, that doll viewed the Golem as nothing more than a big target in need of a good slashing.

The Golem—or more accurately, the fairy implanted within the Golem’s core—felt fear for the first time in centuries.

Its seemingly boundless regenerative abilities were failing to keep up with the relentless slashes, and its sturdy body was being reduced to a tattered mess.

The fairy quickly scanned its surroundings.

It was in search of help from its brethren.

While the fairy fought the doll, its kin must have been facing two humans.

If they could dispatch those weaklings quickly and then assist in taking down this monster—

Aaaahhhh!

That was the sound of a shriek.

It was the voice of its kin.

The laughter of its comrades had turned into horrifying screams.

Every time the witch sprinkled some powder, the air thickened, and the natural magical power was tainted with curses.

The fairies unleashed blades of wind or called forth illusions, but all of that was being sucked towards the staff held by the black-haired human.

Although the magic employed by the human in black was not strong enough to inflict mortal wounds upon the fairies, it was sufficient to slow their movements.

And those sluggish fairies were mercilessly slain by the blonde-haired human.

Every time the blonde human heard their screams, they flinched and trembled with guilt, yet the movements bore no hesitation whatsoever.

It was as if their body acted before their mind could even register the action.

The fairy controlling the Golem felt anxious.

The enemies were powerful, and its kin were not offering any support.

The fairy decided to use its trump card.

The thorn vines scattered across the ground connected with the Golem’s body.

Initially, this was a device meant to continuously drain the sinner’s power to prevent their awakening, serving as a power source for the labyrinth. However, it could also be utilized to enhance the Golem.

The Golem’s body turned a vivid red.

The Golem charged at the Tin Knight.

It was moving nearly three times faster than before.

Crunch!

And the Tin Knight, using the momentum of that charge against it, sliced the Golem’s head in two.

The fairy in the same position was also cleaved in half.

Even in that moment facing death, the fairy did not comprehend its defeat.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that it doesn’t matter how fast the pattern is if the tactics remain the same!]

Unfortunately, the fairy could not hear the Knight’s words, nor the will he conveyed as a “voice.”

The guardian’s end was far more anticlimactic than the centuries of waiting suggested.

***

“Is this what it feels like to slice a fairy? A weird mix of animal and bug, honestly kind of gross.”

After the battle, Adelheid pouted in complaint.

Dorothea secretly muttered, “Well, considering how well you were slicing them, you might not be so far off.”

To be fair, the Tin Knight had been showing them various rabbits and giant insects to cut up on a daily basis, so that could explain it.

“The fairies from the books were supposed to be made of water or emit a soft light; they were supposed to be beautifully mystical.”

Adel, seemingly awakened from a dream, sulked a bit more, causing Dorothea to bluntly reply, “Not all fairies are like that.”

Adel’s face lit up. “Really?”

“The ecology of fairies tends to change depending on their habitat. The ones adapted to this kind of environment probably look like that. Fairies living in lakes with pure magical waters or spots where spirits dwell would definitely take on a ‘fancier’ appearance.”

‘But they’d still mostly be mischievous and cruel,’ Dorothea restrained herself from adding.

She had no intention of coddling Adel, but she also had no desire to trample on someone’s dreams.

Clink. Clink.

As the two conversed, the Tin Knight approached them.

“Oh, good job, Sir Knight! You were amazing! I heard Golems are usually unbeatable by standard soldiers, and that even knights trained in swordplay need several of them to take one down! But you took it down all by yourself without a scratch!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims it was easier than fighting a monkey!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ also praises both of you for fighting well!]

Adel bowed her head shyly.

On one hand, Dorothea thought she was quite a simple girl while her gaze was fixed on the Tin Knight.

There was no doubt about his incredible combat prowess.

To effortlessly slice through an opponent many times larger, and to absorb impacts several times without getting hurt—his expertise was commendable even to someone like Dorothea, who wasn’t deeply versed in martial arts.

However, there was one issue.

‘Looks like he’s running low on magical energy.’

The magic the Tin Knight had filled himself with just before the fight had dwindled to nearly 90% gone without her realizing it.

Of course, it was understandable.

To chop down a Golem with such immense power and size, he must have increased the output of his swordsmanship significantly.

In fact, following Adel’s point, if he managed to defeat a Golem that normally required several knights to take down all alone, the price of merely running out of energy wouldn’t be so bad.

But Dorothea’s expression didn’t ease.

While this time he had somehow managed to drop the opponent before his magical energy ran out, there was no guarantee that would happen next time.

‘There are bound to be other competitors aside from Franka. The 4th Grade Witches might even join the fray… I need to deal with this energy issue. The Empire has that Doll Workshop, so I’ll find some way to repair or upgrade it.’

When it came to magical energy, Dorothea was overflowing with it.

If she could supply it remotely—not just by hand like now—it would significantly boost the Tin Knight’s combat ability.

– Retrieve the eight treasures, finish the King’s errand, and graduate safely under my Master.

Adding the item “Resolve the Tin Knight’s magical energy issue” to the top of her mental goal checklist, Dorothea spoke up.

“Now then, let’s move on. We should find out what these guys have been hiding so tightly.”

The Tin Knight and Adel nodded in agreement.

After making sure they were well-prepared in case of any unexpected battles, the party advanced.

Finally, they reached the very heart of the labyrinth.

What unfolded before them widened their eyes in shock.

Tall columns.

Thorn vines growing around those columns.

And, hanging from those vines, was a woman bound to a column.

From her skin pierced by thorns, blood continuously trickled down, and the vines greedily drank up the blood, deepening their own red hue.

The party recalled the words etched on the tombstone.

“Punish. Reprimand. Hang as an example. As quickly, as brutally as possible, condemn that sin.”

This was no metaphor.

The sinner was trapped here, continuously facing punishment.

For hundreds of years since the ancient times.

“How tragic…”

Adel gasped with her palms clasped over her mouth.

Tears even gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Dorothea frowned slightly.

However, while Adel’s expression contorted with pure sympathy, Dorothea felt questions and confusion rising within her.

Indeed, this scene was horrific.

But, upon reflection, there were oddities that stood out.

Could a person survive in a place that had been sealed for over a century?

With thorn vines filling an entire floor of the labyrinth, did it even make sense for someone to be spilling blood enough to color those vines red and to still survive?

If she were a living person, that should have been impossible.

But Dorothea also realized that what lay before her was not merely a corpse.

There couldn’t be confusion about whether it was a necromancer or any other magician that could not distinguish between whether a soul had left the body or not.

The woman was not a living being.

But she certainly contained a soul.

Dorothea had learned about such beings through her Master long ago.

“Vampire.”

At Dorothea’s words, the woman’s eyes snapped wide open.

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