Chapter 18: Jesters’ Chains and Destructive Witch

Chapter 18:
Jesters’ Chains and Destructive Witch

 

GOL ADVANCED on the enemy.

“The shrine golem is moving!”

The front row of spellcasters simultaneously stood ready with tense faces. Meanwhile, Ginem Bari didn’t move at all, keeping that smile on his face. “Looks like they’re finally ready. Great. If you didn’t get into it, it’d be boring.”

As if Ginem’s words were the signal, the four jester golems scattered forward.

“Now then, Mr. Wielder of the Red-Eyed Golem. I wonder if you’re really as strong as the rumors say. Don’t go disappointing me, okay?”

The four jester golems fanned out to face Gol, while the spellcaster group remained in the back, and Ginem Bari assumed his lonely position farthest away.

Since there were multiple enemies to watch, Gol didn’t start the fight with a one-on-one frontal assault. She continued to stalk forward in a menacing way that kept all her enemies on high alert.

Unfortunately, Gol also kept glancing back. I exchanged something like, I don’t know, a hundred glances with my anxious partner.

You’re oozing regret, aren’t you? What the heck happened to all that resolve three seconds ago?!

In any case, for now, a good distance separated me from the spellcasters, and I’d been thinking about that. Once, Master Speria had shot a Fire attack spell at a large monkey to teach me a lesson, but he’d needed the monkey to come relatively close—and right now, we stood farther apart than he had stood from the monkey.

At that time, Master Speria had been in danger of a counterattack, although I was sure he had cast his spell from the safest distance possible. Also, the strength of the spell hadn’t mattered, as none could have defeated the monkey, and furthermore, since he was an amazing person who could use ten different attributes, he would have had plenty of choices.

Given all that, I suspected the Fire spell he used at that moment had been chosen not for power but for range—
possibly, it had possessed a longer range than most attack spells, possibly even the longest.

If I assumed most spells fell into a sort of mid-range between Master Speria’s Fire spell and direct contact, then the enemies’ battle formation made perfect sense. So long as we maintained this distance, neither of us could hit each other with spells. For now, the battle would be a fistfight between our golems, with our spells acting in support. Once one side’s golem(s) had fallen, the last golem standing would charge the enemy spellcasters. That moment would determine the outcome of the fight—and who got to live.

If our enemy hadn’t had a golem wielder with them, I might have been able to trample them in a one-sided massacre while I remained at a comfortable distance. This supported the claim in Introduction to Spellcrafting that golem wielders had a distinct advantage in spellcaster vs. spellcaster battles.

However, my brilliant deduction had one huge hole in it: that surprise fireball someone had shot at me in the beginning. That shot had come flying out from the mist from somewhere far away. If one of the spellcasters fired another one from where they were currently standing, it would definitely reach me.

That was the only thing I couldn’t explain. It was our enemies’ trump card. That one shot seemed to have had almost twice the range of Master Speria’s Fire spell. But if that was true, the enemy’s formation made no sense. However, I had been shot at…

Suffice to say, this situation was impossible to explain. That fireball from the mist was the one piece that didn’t fit the puzzle, an irregular phenomenon that subverted my otherwise sound thesis. Which meant I couldn’t see the full picture.

“Hey, mister, can our spells reach each other from this distance?” I whispered to Mr. Chotos, only mildly ashamed that my inner kindergartener was showing.

“Normally, no. We’re twice the distance away from the maximum range of any attack spell.”

“Yeah, I thought so. But, then again, that one Fire spell came flying at us from quite far away.”

Mr. Chotos threw a glance at the buxom spellcaster in the front line. “Look at that woman.”

“You mean that one whose outfit is needlessly lewd?”

“Yeah. See how she’s the only spellcaster holding a long staff?”

“Yes, I do.” I was actually pretty interested in her uniquely shaped crimson staff. It was terribly flashy and totally befitting of a spellcaster. But, unexpectedly, she was the only one in the group holding anything like it.

“That staff’s a mana tool. It extends the range of specific spells. Still, there are limits to the range of attack-type spells, and the mana consumption of that tool is magnitudes higher than just casting the spell on its own. If you cast an advanced-level spell with it, you’ll have to rest for quite a while.”

“So in other words, it’s a weapon designed to end combat in a single surprise attack…?”

“Correct.”

I see… So that red staff was their linchpin. Was it like a sniper rifle?

Moreover, this mini-lecture was just the sort of thing I’d come to expect from the owner of a mana tool shop. He was truly knowledgeable. Because of him, the mystery had been solved.

In any case, even if there was a mana tool that could extend the range of a spell, it couldn’t be relied on forever. I also no longer really needed to worry about the possibility that the ambush party would cast an attack spell. Even if they fired arrows that managed to reach me, I was confident in my ability to deflect that kind of attack with the sorcery-controlled Earth Battle-Axe.

In other words, if I left the destruction of most of the enemy group to Gol, I just needed to focus on protecting the three beside me from 1) the possibility that the female spellcaster still had enough mana left to fire another long-range attack, and 2) the possibility that the mysterious heavy-class golem in the ambush party would attack our flank.

If the female spellcaster shot another giant fireball, I could attempt to intercept it with the axe. According to a description in Introduction to Spellcasting, two opposing spells of the same power negated each other. While I didn’t know if my Earth Battle-Axe would completely extinguish her flame, it would at least dampen some of its power. This was, in fact, one of the reasons I had created the battle-axe. I’d never performed such a maneuver, however, and if possible, I didn’t want to try it without proof that it actually worked.

On the other hand, if the heavy-class golem attacked, I would be compelled to do something to hold it off until Gol returned. I worried I might end up accidentally revealing my sorcery, but my criminal record was nothing against the importance of children and the elderly.

All right. I had my reason to fight and I had my strategy.

While I considered the movements of the enemy group, Gol slowly closed the distance on the enemy’s front line. At last, she stepped into the range of the enemies’ spells.

The first ones to move were the enemy spellcasters. They held out their hands toward Gol and began to chant in unison.

“BLAZING FLAME BULLET.”

“PIERCING WIND BULLET.”

Fire and Wind particles gathered in their extended hands, then a volley of blazing fire bullets and balls of swirling whirlwinds shot forward. They flew toward Gol and hit her one after the other.

What explosive flames! Did the combination of the Fire and Wind spells increase their destructive power?

I was worried for my partner, but I soon realized there was nothing to fear. Gol remained nonchalant, not bothering to dodge or block any of the attacks. She paid no mind to the fact that her body was bathed in fire and wind, ignoring the absurd flood as she inexorably advanced.

Even the Japan Self-Defense Forces tanks helplessly firing volleys at an SFX monster in a kaiju movie felt more effective than the spellcasters’ efforts here. Right before each spell hit Gol, it diffused and disappeared. I had witnessed this phenomenon during Master Speria’s demonstration with the large monkey.

This was a golem’s classic defense against spells: the secondary effect of the mana circulation flowing inside their body. From what I could tell, Gol’s defenses far surpassed the monkeys’. When that monkey had been hit with the Fire spell, residual flames had left a heat haze in its surroundings, but Gol left no such trail. The spells that hit her were completely nullified.

It reminded me of when she took the brunt of the fireball from the initial surprise attack. It had felt strange that she wasn’t remotely warm afterward. No doubt the same phenomenon was at work here.

But that was weird, right? Unlike an amateur golem wielder like myself, Ginem and the rest of the spellcasters had to know attack spells wouldn’t work against a golem. So why were they firing off a wave of such useless attacks?

“I-It’s taken a full volley of rapid-fire advanced-level Wind spells, yet its movements haven’t even slowed…!”

“I don’t believe it. What’s with this golem? The amount of mana it’s circulating must be stupid huge.”

“To think our attacks couldn’t stop a light-class golem… I-I’ve lost my confidence as a spellcaster…”

Ah, the spellcasters all moaned with pale faces. Was the revelation that their spells had been so ineffective so unexpected…?

Hm? Wait a sec. Was that whirlwind just now an advanced-level Wind spell?!

I believed the Wind spell Master Speria had cast against the ancient Earth Dragon to save me had been called Storm Cannon, and it had been far more impressive than what these guys were throwing. Power, scope, you name it—it topped them by every measure. Honestly, I was sure even Gol would be blown away if she took a direct hit from such a powerful spell. It was probably the strongest of all the advanced-level options. Master Speria really was amazing. As expected of my master…

Uninterested in my fantasies of a master-disciple relationship, the spellcasters continued to attack. Although they were ineffective against Gol, it was kind of intense to watch the explosive flames of the Fire spells, fanned by the Wind spells, being continually repelled. In particular, the flame bullets shot by that female spellcaster were conspicuously fierce.

“I guess we should watch her carefully.” I kept my eye on her. For the time being, she didn’t show any signs of using her staff-shaped mana tool, instead letting it hang by her waist as she held her hand out toward Gol and cast Fire spells.

Still, this kind of woman was definitely supposed to be an ally—or even harem member—of the protagonist in an isekai story. She was beautiful and busty, and her outfit showed a ton of skin. Why did she have to be an enemy? This was painful.

I couldn’t believe I kept encountering such scummy people in this world: punks, criminals, rotten staff members of an evil company, even this beauty. Why did it have to be like this? The gods were too cruel.

Actually, the more I looked at the female spellcaster, the more excessively huge her bosom seemed. What exactly did she eat to make it so bombastic? Every time she fired a spell, those two large balloons jiggled and shook.

Ah, I-I feel that this might be a bit too obscene…

In my negligence, I ended up unconsciously eyeballing the rocking fruits of the female spellcaster. I was a simple human. I couldn’t help it. Worse, this extremely frank and brief expression slipped out of my mouth: “H-huge…”

At that moment, Gol, who had been cautiously advancing towards the enemy, suddenly rushed recklessly forward for some reason.

“Huh?!”

What’s happening? What’s wrong, partner?!

Even though moments ago she had been glancing over her shoulder and behaving so cautiously, now she acted like all the blood had rushed to her head. I was taken aback by her sudden change in strategies. However, her inexplicable rush was thwarted before she could reach the enemy.

In unison, the four jester golems commenced their attack. In fact, it seemed they had darted about, hiding within the barrage of spells, and had been carefully surrounding Gol for some time already.

I realized now that this was probably the spellcasters’ true objective. The relentless ineffective attacks were a camouflage for the jester golems.

As the jesters circled Gol at high speed, they suddenly produced stone daggers in their hands and began to pummel Gol in a storm of slashes. Pale sparks flew with each flash of the sharp blades.

Thanks to my heightened spatial awareness, I had already detected these hidden daggers. Of course, that meant Gol knew about them as well.

Each of the jester golems was cleverly outfitted with four daggers on their back. However, since this information hadn’t been recorded in the illustrated guidebook, they were probably additional equipment Ginem Bari had given them. If they faced an opponent who was unaware of their daggers, they could probably abruptly decapitate their enemy and quickly end the battle.

Gol, however, was unharmed. She dodged the jester golems’ flurry of attacks without getting hit.

So, about her dodging… I had noticed something back when she fought the shrine golems. The busty ladies’ naginatas had been much stronger power-wise than the clowns’ daggers, but Gol had stopped their initial swings with her neck. Yet she didn’t stoically take every attack they threw at her, either. Some she would dodge, and some she would withstand.

By what criteria did she decide to defend or evade? I didn’t think it was determined based on target location. She had taken attacks to her head and chest, which were her vitals and, of course, always came out unscathed. Even so, just watching her take those blows made me break out into a cold sweat.

In any case, there was no doubt that Gol boasted an absurdly high defensive capability compared to a normal light-class golem. I didn’t miss Ginem Bari’s momentary frozen look when Gol brushed off a direct hit from the clowns’ daggers.

However, these clowns were also terribly quick and horrifically strong. I mean, Gol was actually having trouble attacking them. I feared it was partly that they didn’t have her full concentration because she kept checking on me, but nevertheless, these were dangerous enemies.

The clown brigade leapt in all directions at high speeds. Whenever Gol attempted to punch one, the remaining three simultaneously threw themselves at her, which forced her to dodge. This effectively circumvented her ability to unleash her sure-fire killer punch.

It really did feel like each golem was a dexterous, clever finger on the same giant hand. Ginem Bari sure was skilled at the golem-fighting game. He was like a professional gamer who had dropped in at an arcade to challenge me, the trash beginner.

While Gol struggled to best the clowns’ fierce strategy, I probed the situation in the forest. Though the battle had begun and Gol had left my side, the heavy-class golem still didn’t show any signs of approaching. Were they backup, or were they actually just observers?

I only became more suspicious, but Ginem Bari was having the time of his life. “Your golem is phenomenal. Its strength is undeniable, and its mobility surpasses anything I’ve seen. To think I would encounter someone who could hold off my golems for so long.”

Ginem’s narrow eyes narrowed even further, as if he were trying to understand something about me. “Moreover, its defenses are abnormally high, given its apparent base. Did you concentrate its mana circulation to create a physical barrier? I’ve heard stories, but I’ve never actually seen it done.”

“Hm…? Hmph, well, now you have.” I pretended I knew what he was talking about. My partner was doing her best to fend off her fellow golems, so I couldn’t cower and lose this debate with their owner. I needed to stand tall as a golem wielder, lest I embarrass my partner.

“Hmm, I see. You didn’t equip it with any armor as a show of confidence in its abilities… I suppose that would make sense if you had such trust in the fortitude of the barrier you devised,” Ginem said.

“Hmph, of course,” I said with a triumphant look, perhaps a dash of arrogance as well. I didn’t exactly know what he meant, but I knew this delightful man was complimenting my adorable partner. Like a simpleton, I let Ginem Bari score some affection points.

Then he said something quite unexpected. “To tell you the truth, I planned to have one of my jesters slip through an opening and dispose of you… But your golem doesn’t have any openings at all, eh?”

He was going to make such an underhanded move? How scary! Affection points rescinded!

I realized then that this was probably what made a multiple golem wielder so fearsome. Unlike me, who only had Gol to rely on, Ginem had a much wider range of options. Having more tools at your disposal inevitably expands your tactical repertoire.

However, it did seem like Gol was keeping the enemy at bay, preventing them from reaching me. This compelled me to praise her—I had to, as her owner. “Hmph, well, my very good girl, Gol, would never give you any such openings.”

“G-good girl…?” Ginem Bari looked confused, but he soon resumed his usual smirk. “Well, whatever. I wonder how long you can last. The moment that barrier you trust so much breaks will be your last.”

The delicate blue-haired man and I glared at each other.

A second later, the stalemate fractured. At last, Gol held one of the clown’s heads in her fearsome clawhold.

At first my vulnerability had distracted Gol, but it seemed the clowns’ persistence had finally irritated her enough to focus up. By and large, she was a kind and patient girl, but for some reason, she could be quite short-tempered when dealing with anyone but me.

“Tsk,” Ginem Bari clicked his tongue. As he did, the three remaining clowns charged Gol in an attempt to tear their captured comrade away.

In response, Gol unleashed a controlled roundhouse kick. The outrageous force of her lashing white leg created a whirlwind, and her enemies were pushed back by the tremendous wind pressure surrounding her. She eyed them calmly, then ripped through the captured clown’s neck with all her might, tearing its head from its body as easily as I could tear paper.

“Wha—?” Ginem Bari’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Head gone, the clown’s body ceased functioning and fell limp. The beautiful elf goddess with burning eyes tossed the clown’s head to the ground as if discarding a broken toy. She was once again the white witch of destruction.

Next, Gol cracked the armor from the clown’s body, which separated neatly in two. It appeared their stone armor was composed of both a chest piece and backplate. But what exactly was she planning to do with that dismantled armor?

Gol hurled each armor plate and the clown’s body one after the other. The body and armor careened forward at a frightful speed until three purple hunks of stone crashed into the dense crowd of spellcasters, knocking them all down in one go like bowling pins.

The female spellcaster tumbled dramatically away and her red staff snapped. The impact of the spellcasters’ landing covered the battlefield in a plume of dust. The force of Gol’s natural power partially accounted for that giant cloud, but the rest was due to the profound weight of the stone armor.

When the dust cleared, there were no other words to describe the scene but “a clean sweep.” The spellcasters buried in the dirt lay bloodied, motionless, annihilated. Pained groans and cries rose up from the mass. Every one of them was severely injured, but a majority were still conscious. However, it was probably safe to say that the spellcasters meant to support the golems had been rendered powerless.

You see, in order to cast a spell, you don’t just have to chant the proper incantation—you have to construct a mental image. It takes a great deal of concentration. This is likely easier for some people than others, but I doubted it was possible for anyone to effectively cast spells while suffering from such grievous injuries and outlandish amounts of pain, especially when dealing with things like broken bones.

Honestly, the outcome of this situation reminded me of nothing more than a hand-to-hand fight. Maybe in a game you can fight at full strength right up to the moment your hit points have been exhausted, but in real life, humans are steadily weakened by the harm they endure. As a weak man myself, I would certainly be useless the moment I was hurt.

Ginem Bari stood staring at the decimated gang of spellcasters. The purple-robed golem wielder had been just out of range of Gol’s barrage, and his expression was stiff with fear.

At that moment, Gol seemed to realize she had missed Ginem. She scooped up the clown head she had tossed aside and chucked it with full force.

But instead of hitting Ginem, the clown’s head slammed into the busty spellcaster, who was groaning on the ground. Blood sprayed from her nose as she fainted.

Wait, her?! Why?! Why did you aim for Tits McGee, Gol? What’s your strategy here?

True, that woman had the staff mana tool, and of all the spellcasters, she was likely the most dangerous. But she was already on the verge of death, and her staff had been broken. If Gol had pitched at Ginem Bari instead, we could’ve ended the game!

No, wait… Now that I thought about it, it was possible, even likely, that Ginem Bari had a countermeasure against being targeted in just such a way. That had to be rule number one for a proper golem wielder. Maybe I was missing something, but I didn’t think that explained attacking a dying busty lady.

Ginem Bari was stuck in a daze as he stared between his obliterated gang and the remains of his jester golem. “H-how? How could this have happened…? No one’s ever suspended my golem’s basic functions—not since I was a novice.”

It seemed this man hadn’t experienced loss for a long time. I guessed he really was the kind of gamer who preyed on beginners in arcades.

“Hmph. In this case, you should thank me for showing you how much you still have to learn,” I said nonchalantly. Ginem Bari, mend your ways and enjoy training with gamers on your level. Ah, wait, before that, I need you to be judged by the law and pay for your crimes behind bars. You can return to the arcade once you’re discharged.

“Pfft, he he… You’re really an interesting fellow.” Ginem Bari put his hand to his forehead and began to laugh. “How amusing. Truly amusing! To tell you the truth, I wasn’t really interested in taking this job, but I’m glad I did. Now I get to fight a real battle!”

Ginem Bari laughed and laughed. For a moment, his narrow eyes opened wide. “No holding back. Now that it’s come to this, I can’t be lazy, either. Well, shall we finally settle this? Wielder of the Red-Eyed Golem?”

The remaining three jester golems charged Gol. As usual, the clowns’ dexterity with their daggers was thrilling to see. I had thought losing one of their own would leave a gaping hole in their formation and cripple their efficacy, but that wasn’t the case at all. How can I put it? It felt like their movements had grown immaculately sharp. In no way did their fighting strength diminish without their fourth.

However, Gol had already learned the clowns’ maneuvers. When one got too close, Gol instantly countered with a lightning-quick fist. She grazed her opponent’s shoulder, but with the force of a cannonball. A dull sound echoed as it passed by, leaving a gaping crater in the clown’s shoulder. Cracks fractured out from the wound and part of its body shattered, flinging purple fragments into the air.

Then Gol got serious. It wouldn’t take much longer for this fight to end.

Ginem’s clowns walked a tightrope as they deployed their trivial diversions while barely managing to avoid Gol’s attacks. In contrast, Gol’s monstrous punches packed such power that she only ever needed to hit any of them once. One hit, instant death.

If another clown fell, their coordination advantage would vanish. I was sure of it. Then Gol’s attacks would connect unhampered. It would mark the beginning of a massacre.

Just then, the three clowns leapt back out of range and two of them threw their stone daggers at Gol.

Four daggers flew so swiftly you could hear them slicing through the air. Gol twisted her upper body, dodging the first, second, and third shots. The final fourth shot, she slapped away with the palm of her hand. Amazing! She was just like a martial arts master.

Of the three enemies, two were now empty-handed. Nevertheless, this didn’t much impact the situation. Each clown had four daggers strapped to their backs, which meant each of them had at least two more daggers remaining.

Had they meant to launch a surprise attack, thinking we wouldn’t expect a projectile assault and we’d be caught off guard? I warily watched the clowns and noticed a strange movement in their arms. It was faint, but the joints in their forearms shifted. If I hadn’t activated my sorcery, I probably wouldn’t have seen it at all.

Moreover, something was rattling inside their limbs, almost like some kind of machine.

“What’s up with them? Their arms are moving strangely…”

Mr. Chotos heard me and was startled. “What? Their arms?! N-no good!”

Oh, yeah, you’ve been next to me this whole time, mister. You haven’t been talking and your presence is so meek that I forgot all about you. Ah, but I did tell you that if you didn’t want to die, you would need to stay still. Sorry for calling you meek, mister.

“Nemaki, that’s probably the jester golems’ trick arms at work!”

“Trick arms?” I remembered something like those being described in the illustrated guidebook. A trick arm… What exactly did that mean? Ah, right. A jester golem’s arm could detach. I had been under the impression it was a whimsical sort of weapon, but given Mr. Chotos’s terror, it seemed to be genuinely dangerous.

Well, that wasn’t good. I had to warn Gol. “Hey, Gol, be careful! Their arms—”

I realized then that I hadn’t yet called out to Gol during this long battle. I had only spoken to Ginem Bari, and I had more or less ignored my partner. Gol was working so hard all by herself, fighting to the bitter end without any support. I was sure she felt lonely, thinking I had forgotten about her.

I had been negligent in my professional duty.

When I called her name, Gol turned in delight to look at me, her long ears fluttering and her gem-like eyes glittering, as if she had been waiting for this for ages.

Ah, wait, no, not that! Face forward! Forward!

Just as I feared, the moment Gol carelessly glanced away, the mechanism in the two jester golems’ arms activated. Their forearms detached at the elbow joint and launched like a rocket punch. Each forearm flew through the air, connected to the main body by a sort of long chain.

Four arms and four chains whirled around Gol as she turned. In the blink of an eye, Gol’s entire body was entangled.

H-how could this be? Because of me, we’re suddenly in a real bind…