Chapter 99

Ethan didn't answer right away.

He let a beat of silence hang between them—the kind meant to gauge what the other person was really thinking—before he spoke.

"What's going through your head?"

Mikhail trailed off into a faint hum and glanced down at his inner pocket.

The World Tree sapling, nestled inside his coat.

The hardened bark encasing the branch could only be split by a weapon forged from the same material. A sword like the one Ethan had inherited from his master, for example.

But he couldn't exactly say that out loud.

Mikhail tilted his head to one side and scratched his cheek.

"Thinking about the terrifying monster that's about to show up. And how if we can't beat it, we'll be trapped in here for good."

"…What?"

"Which means Han and Ul will be stuck out there waiting for me forever. And those meatballs we promised to go eat together? Gone. Never happening. This is basically a death flag at this point— Oh!"

Mikhail stopped short and spun around. He flashed a crooked grin at Ethan, who stood rooted in place with a baffled expression.

"Hey—do you even know what a death flag is? Want me to explain?"

"Huh?"

Ethan's eyebrows twitched in bewilderment, but he swallowed whatever reaction had surfaced and shook his head.

"…No, forget it."

He cast his gaze off at an angle and pushed his bangs back. After a moment, his tone shifted to something more serious.

"Fine. I promise. When the time comes, I won't hesitate to draw my real sword."

Mikhail let a light laugh serve as his reply and turned forward again.

His footsteps crunching through the grass carried a shade more bounce than before as he laid out what came next for Ethan behind him, the words flowing easy and natural.

"About ten more minutes of walking and we'll reach an open ruin site. There'll be a red golem sleeping there—the thing we need to fight. The Red Sun Metal is what we get after we take it down."

"……"

"Don't worry. We're making it home. That much I can promise."

---

Pssshh.

The last two-toned Crystal Wisp crumbled to dust and vanished.

Mikhail watched the wings scatter into freedom after fulfilling their purpose, then pressed forward.

"So this is the ruin site you mentioned."

Ethan drew up beside him and asked. Mikhail confirmed with a nod and took in the scene before them.

Whoooosh—

A ruin site buried under faded, weather-worn relics.

The circular floor was paved with rows of marble blocks, and two distinct formulas had been carved into the inner walls.

Mikhail stretched a hand toward the heap of crimson rock piled on the left side of the ruins and spoke.

"That mound of crimson rock—that's the Scarlet Golem. And the golem's core is the Red Sun Metal."

"So in other words, we have to defeat the Scarlet Golem to obtain our target."

"Yeah."

Ethan paused with a thoughtful sound, then asked.

"Golems are powerful ancient artificial lifeforms, from what I know. Wouldn't we be at a disadvantage in a straightforward fight?"

"You'd be right. A head-on collision isn't a fight we'd win. But—"

Mikhail pointed at the floor of the ruin site. Traces of geometric shapes and straight lines still marked the surface of the marble tiles.

"If we use the formula tiles the ancients used to control the golem, we can bring it down without breaking too much of a sweat."

Ethan let out a soft sound of admiration and began studying the blocks on the floor, one by one.

Then he checked the formulas on the ruin walls and the crimson crystal mound once more.

"Mikhail. Separate question—something I've been curious about."

Ethan's roaming gaze came to rest on Mikhail's face.

Mikhail stood facing him directly.

Those ash-gray eyes—which had blown cold practically every other day—sat quiet and still.

"Go ahead."

"This zone. The method for obtaining the Red Sun Metal. How did you know all of it?"

Mikhail let a wisp of a sound trail off, but soon tugged the corner of his mouth into a crooked half-smile.

He had no intention of butting heads with Ethan over this—not now, not ever. But the thought of revealing what he truly was ranked even lower than that.

Playing it off with casual distance was the best move.

"Hmm. I don't really see why I'd need to tell you tha—"

But it hit him mid-sentence. Mikhail swallowed the rest of the words back down his throat.

Just moments ago. The space where old memories had been laid bare.

The voices from the past he'd overheard in that corridor surged back to the surface of his mind.

[—He keeps asking for armloads of books from the archives, and the diagrams, the numbers… do you have any idea how much he's scrawled? Pages and pages, all covered in ink!]

[—Though at least when the young lord's reading, he's a touch quieter. I suppose we should count that as a blessing.]

Those murmured voices dropped like beads of ink onto the faded pages in his mind.

They settled into vivid new entries on worn, threadbare paper.

Mikhail watched the words etch themselves in one by one, then gathered the sentence that surfaced onto the tip of his tongue and spoke it aloud.

"Because I read every book I could get my hands on. In that suffocating estate, it was the only thing that ever held my interest."

A deep silence settled between them.

Ethan didn't press further. He pulled back from the direct gaze he'd been holding and offered only a single, careful word.

"I see."

He let a moment linger. Then he lifted his tone and changed the subject.

"Tell me how to take the golem down."

Mikhail blinked once in a slow nod of agreement and pointed toward the crimson crystal mound.

"The golem will enter attack mode the instant we get close. When that happens, you need to activate the blue formulas that appear on the floor to block its strikes."

"How do I activate the formulas?"

"Get to them before the golem attacks and channel your mana in."

Mikhail slapped his palm flat against the ground as he spoke. Ethan mirrored the gesture a beat later.

Mikhail pulled his hand back and continued.

"Once the golem's attack phase ends, you switch to activating the red formulas as fast as you can. We need to land a hit before the golem shifts into its defensive stance. The faster you get the formulas running, the harder the blow lands."

"Then what about—"

Ethan jerked his chin toward the red and blue formulas inscribed on the inner walls of the ruin site.

"Are those the same function as the ones on the marble floor?"

Mikhail fell silent for a moment, then answered in an even tone.

"No. Those aren't something we can use right now. Don't worry about them."

He pulled his gaze from the ruins and set the bag he'd carried the Crystal Wisps in down beside him.

"That's all you need to know. Let's move. What I've told you should be more than enough to take that thing down."

Mikhail stepped forward with full confidence, and Ethan followed without objection.

"Oh."

That was when Mikhail let out a small sound and stopped, turning back around.

The sudden halt brought Ethan to a standstill as well.

Mikhail stared straight at Ethan's questioning face, then broke into a grin.

"One more thing I should mention."

"?"

"The formula work from the back line—that's all on you this time. I'm the only one attacking."

---

Mikhail had just set foot inside the ruin site.

RUMMMBLE….

The deep crimson crystals that had been scattered across the white marble floor began to tremble.

The golem's remains shuddered violently—as though deeply offended by the uninvited guests—then interlocked into the shape of a giant and heaved itself upright.

"……"

Mikhail, expression blank, stared at the center of the golem's chest as it rose to full height.

Embedded in the crimson torso, a single shard of red metal sat connected at three knots.

Mikhail stood perfectly still, murmuring like someone lost in recollection.

"Right. That's what the Red Sun Metal looked like."

In that instant, the golem's arm moved.

Its left arm blazed red-hot as it shot skyward, then dropped like an executioner's blade.

WHOOOM!

The arm hammered the ground, and the erupting shockwave surged toward Mikhail like a tidal wave.

His body turned fragile as a shack before a raging storm in a single heartbeat.

In that same moment, a brilliant blue barrier erupted from beneath his feet.

CLAAANG!

The searing blast and the blue barrier collided and canceled each other out.

Hair whipping in every direction, Mikhail turned his head back with a lazy smile.

"Not bad, Ethan."

Ethan didn't so much as respond.

But when the golem's opposite arm came crashing down right after, the blue light surged from beneath Mikhail's feet right on time.

CLANG!

The golem's attack was neutralized once again.

Satisfied that Ethan was pulling his weight, Mikhail fixed his gaze on the golem ahead, eyes sharp and cutting.

THOOM!

The golem slammed both hands together, apparently trying to crush Mikhail beneath them—

But another blue barrier materialized and stopped the blow cold.

RUMMBLE….

The golem's body shuddered with what could only be frustration. But then lights began to flicker across its frame as both arms slowly pulled back.

The signal that it was shifting from attack mode to defense mode.

Mikhail seized the moment and thrust his hand forward.

The instant dark blue mana gathered at his outstretched fingertips, a red formula blazed to life beneath his feet.

BOOM!

Mikhail's mana sphere detonated.

The blast struck the golem's core dead-center and severed the left knot connecting it.

Two left.

Mikhail shifted his aim to the right without missing a beat.

A crimson flash erupted from below.

CRASH!

Another deafening blast. Mikhail confirmed the right knot had been severed and adjusted his target.

The last connection point—the line running above the core.

Destroy that, and the golem would lose all contact with its core and grind to a halt.

But before that.

Mikhail whipped his head to the side and shouted at Ethan.

"Ethan—this time, you attack! With the sword you're holding!"

Ethan, mid-motion to activate a red formula, flinched and froze.

A look that screamed what now? flashed across his face.

But Ethan was the type to prioritize the right moment over wasting time on questions.

Instead of arguing, he leapt high and swung his sword at the golem.

SKREEE!

The blade collided with crimson crystal and shrieked—a sharp, splintering sound—before the edge buckled and warped.

"…!"

Ethan clicked his tongue in frustration and pulled the damaged blade back—

A dark blue sphere streaked past, inches from his face.

BOOM!

A thunderous impact, and the final knot connecting the golem's core snapped apart.

Mikhail shrugged at Ethan, who was glaring at him with a twisted expression.

"Now you know. How hard it actually is."

"You are unbelievable…!"

Ethan's face crumpled with outrage, and he was about to let loose—

When a deep, grinding fracture began to echo from the golem's body.

CRACK. CRA-CRACK.

The golem, stripped of every point of contact with its core, buckled and began to collapse.

Crimson crystals lost their cohesion and broke away one by one, raining down in a slow, glittering cascade.