Fernan learned the truth: demons were beings not even permitted to leave behind a corpse in the Middle Realm.
He learned it in a way he had never wanted to.
"..."
How much would it have been worth, if that massive serpent's corpse could have been dismantled?
The black scales, though ominous, were so hard that only the aura-forged blades of Aint and Ruina could so much as scratch them.
Its once-glittering golden eyes and blood would surely have been priceless reagents that mages would kill for.
Its fangs were sharper than most legendary swords, and its bones strong enough to make superior armor.
And the flesh—though tainted with demonic energy—could perhaps be purified and sold as a tonic. After all, who wouldn't crave serpent stew made from a demon's own familiar?
But the real treasure was the heart.
All that overwhelming strength and vast demonic power had stemmed from it. The heart could rival a dragon heart—an elixir, a power source beyond compare.
If I could have purified that and used it to strengthen Uden's core…
It wouldn't have been easy, but Uden might have advanced another step forward.
A corpse that could have been stripped down to the marrow.
And yet, all of it—dreams, riches—vanished in an instant.
After all that struggle, nothing was gained.
"Ah…"
Fernaan's legs gave way, and he sank down without realizing it.
"We did it! We won! We really won!"
Aint's jubilant voice rang from afar.
"We defeated the demon!"
Ruina's excited shout came from right in front of him.
"It's thanks to you, Fernaan! Without your golem, this wouldn't have been possible—huh?"
Achievement, relief, excitement, rapture, gratitude, joy, happiness.
All those emotions mingled across her flushed face.
"Did you cry?"
"I did not."
"Are you badly hurt? I don't see any wounds on the outside…"
"…You don't know a damn thing, Ruina."
"What's that supposed to mean all of a sudden?"
Fernaan didn't bother to explain. Even if he did, she wouldn't understand.
"Senior!"
A quick shadow grasped his hand—Aint.
"We won! Thanks to you, Senior!"
"It's not thanks to me, but to you. It was your sword that severed the demon's neck."
"No! Without your golem, we never could've driven it to the end!"
"Fine, I get it. But let go of my hand now."
And stop pushing your face so close.
"What exactly happened to the demon?"
"It's dead. Since demons don't belong to the Middle Realm, its corpse turned to dust and vanished."
But not all of it.
The others didn't notice, but part of the demon had been absorbed into Aint's sword.
— It's one of the sword's abilities. It absorbs a fragment of demonic power to strengthen its wielder.
A warrior who grows stronger with every demon he slays. That was the First Emperor.
— Tell no one. You never know when word might leak. Knights are taught to hide at least a tenth of their power, even from close friends.
That was what Gardener had explained.
"And the barrier is slowly fading."
"Barrier?"
"Yes. The moment the demon was summoned, a barrier cut this area off from the outside."
That explained why no one had come despite the uproar.
So even in the original future, that must've been the case.
Perhaps Andromalius had erected the barrier after Aint and Ruina arrived.
"Then this is where the real trouble begins."
After such chaos, the Academy would soon learn of demons.
A storm was coming, and Fernaan, Ruina, Aint, and the other five present would face intense scrutiny.
"Then just tell them what happened here. Don't mention that you knew about demon spawns beforehand."
"Yes."
"We know."
No excuse could make that fact work in their favor.
They discussed a few more details to align their stories. Fortunately, both agreed readily with Fernaan's suggestions.
That Ruina followed wasn't surprising—trust had grown between them—but that Aint so easily complied was unexpected.
So the fight against the demon tightened our bond a little more.
Not bad.
"But I've been wanting to ask… what is that?"
When the discussion was wrapping up, Ruina pointed at his shoulder.
Something about ten centimeters long was squirming there.
"That's Uden."
A small, doll-sized black knight.
"Uden?"
"What is that… wait, don't tell me?"
"Yes. That's the massive golem you were so thankful for."
— Hehh?
Uden tilted his tiny head and waved its hand.
"…You're saying a massive golem can just shrink down like that?"
"…And it's not even linked to you right now, Senior?"
"I told you before. It's an Ego Golem."
"Ego? You mean it really has its own consciousness?"
"Of course it does. Uden, hand."
— Hehh!
Uden stretched out its tiny hand. Ruina and Aint once again recoiled in shock.
"…I've never seen a golem like this before."
"That's because there's never been one before, and there never will be again."
"No, seriously? You're not secretly linking to it behind our backs and just pretending, are you, Senior?"
"That's not it, Aint."
The reply came from somewhere else entirely.
"Senior, give me a potion too. I think I'm dying."
It was Aria, with a small hole in her side.
"You only showed up now that it's over, after resting somewhere?"
"I fainted after fighting with all I had—resting, really?!"
Fernaan tossed her a potion.
"Aria, is that true? Do you know about this golem?"
"Of course. I was the one who put the ego inside it."
"You did that?"
"Yep."
Aria nodded.
"It's a spirit."
A short while earlier.
After being freed from demonic energy by the Saint and examining the corrupted World Tree with Fernaan—
"Are you good with spirit arts?"
"That's like asking a monkey if it knows how to climb a tree."
"If you help me, I'll introduce you to someone else."
"Who?"
Aria's eyes lit up with keen curiosity.
Fernaan pulled something out of subspace.
A brilliant gem, the size of a human head.
But it wasn't just any gem.
"…A core?"
The dozens, no, hundreds of engravings carved upon its surface were so complex that even Aria couldn't fully comprehend them.
"What is this? Who made it, and what's it made from? I've never seen anything like this…! I can even feel the aura of the Mother Tree. Don't tell me—that shard you took! You used it here?"
"That's right."
"My gods, what exactly are you trying to do with this?"
She was a mage too, and her thirst for the unknown welled up uncontrollably.
She couldn't understand the core entirely, but she could glimpse some part of its greatness.
"It's a golem core."
"…A golem? You're going to use this high-dimensional core for a mere golem? That's—wasting it, isn't it…?"
"What did you say?"
"Am I wrong? Using something like this just as a golem core is horrendously inefficient."
That was the natural perception—golems still had too many limitations.
But Fernaan's golem was different.
"Which is why you'll make it efficient."
"…Me? How exactly?"
Aria's face went blank.
"Spirits."
Beings of pure soul.
"I'm going to place a spirit inside and make an Ego Golem."
"Are you insane?!"
Aria shouted without even a second of hesitation.
"Insane?"
"Since when is it normal to tell an elf to imprison a spirit? And there are even obedience inscriptions carved in here! The kind used to subjugate familiars!"
"…A little strange, I suppose."
"Of course it is! Spirits are free beings. They are never bound. That's impossible. Wait—can a soul even be housed in there?"
"It can. It's made of mithril. Mithril can hold not only mana, but souls as well."
Gardener was living proof of that, so there was no room for doubt.
"…Mithril? You used that rare metal?"
Muttering blankly, Aria heard Fernaan's offer:
"If I told you I'd introduce you to someone from the Elector family you desire so much, would you still refuse?"
"…That's…"
"And not just anyone—one of the direct line, a likely heir."
"…Fine. But only as a mediator."
Reluctantly, Aria began to draw a magic circle.
"Mediator?"
"Yes. Convincing the spirit to enter is your job. I'll never agree to forcibly imprisoning one against its will."
"Of course."
And one more thing—Aria added a condition.
"The Five Elemental Spirits are off-limits. The Kings won't sit idly by."
"Then?"
"Use a spirit of the Middle Realm. They aren't bound to any King, so it'll actually be better for you. Assuming this even works."
"The other spirits are all bound to the Kings?"
"Think of them as retainers of the Kings."
Then Aria was clearly right.
Fernaan wanted a golem that obeyed only him, not some pawn that might suddenly shift control elsewhere.
"And luckily, there are suitable spirits. Normally, with your spirit affinity, it would be impossible. But thanks to mixing in the branch of the Mother Tree…"
The World Tree was the mother of all trees. Which meant—
— Ku'ing?
That meant the forest spirits were going wild with excitement.
A small, green-glowing spirit appeared, its bright eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Well then, the rest is up to you, Senior."
"Good."
Fernaan said nothing more. Instead, he opened his subspace.
"…That's the golem?"
Aria's jaw dropped at the colossal figure that abruptly rose up amidst the trees.
It wasn't just her—the forest spirit too circled around the giant, marveling at the form it had never seen before.
"If you enter, this body will become yours."
— Wing?
The curious forest spirit slowly approached, locking eyes with Fernaan.
"You've never had a proper body, have you, being a spirit. But if you make a contract with me, you could."
"You think it'll agree to that? You've even carved obedience seals into it."
"Silence. Forest spirit, think about it. That massive body could be yours, moving as you will."
— Kkuing! Kkung….
"It says just imagining it is overwhelming. But it also hates confinement, and it hates even more becoming someone's servant. I knew this would happen."
Fernaan wasn't deterred.
"Think carefully, spirit. Yes, there are obedience seals engraved here. But that is no more than a fleeting moment."
— Kkung?
"How long do humans live? A hundred years at most. Even with mana extending life, perhaps two hundred. Compared to the eternal existence of spirits, that's nothing."
Just endure that fleeting span—
"When I die, you'll be free. No one will command you again, and that body will be entirely yours."
— Kkuiiing?!
The spirit's eyes widened.
"Not only that—it can adjust its size. You can be as small as you like whenever you wish."
That was the clincher.
The forest spirit hurled itself at the golem's core. But it didn't go in.
"Aria!"
"…Why isn't it working…?"
"Mediate the contract."
"…Wait, think again. This is a prison!"
— Kkuing!
"What, two hundred years is nothing? No, still…"
"Don't interfere in a fair bargain, Aria."
"…Fine, fine."
With Aria's mediation, Fernaan made the contract. The spirit entered the core.
Fernaan opened the golem's breastplate and set the core in place.
Uuuuuung—
A red light flickered in its eyes.
Kugugugu—
The colossal golem rose to its feet of its own will.
Once, twice—it clenched and unclenched its fists, then began moving its limbs, testing its body.
"Congratulations on gaining a true body, Uden."
— Kkuing?
Perhaps because of the contract, translation was no longer necessary.
"Uden? That's your name from today. Nothing special behind it—just because you're a forest spirit."
And so, the colossal Ego Golem, Uden, was born.
"…So, there's a forest spirit inside that thing."
"So basically, Aria, you sold out a spirit for the sake of your connections."
— That's what it comes down to.
— This is what passes for a pointy-ear?
Aint's expression twisted with disgust.
"…Are you really an elf?"
"I only mediated! It was clearly the spirit's own choice!"
Aria protested her innocence, but no one believed her.
After that brief commotion, a lull settled.
"…By the way, where's Berian?"
A little while later, they found Berian unconscious in a corner of the battlefield.
Not long after, the barrier completely disappeared.