For two whole days, all sorts of monsters and Demon Beasts stuck their heads in. The gathered creatures drooled, wanting delicious meat and blood.
Though they were Eroded, the blood of those living on this land was still red. There were no seriously injured people, but he saw blood flowing from the scraped knee of a child who'd fallen in surprise.
Even while falling, the words "Demonic Knight" burst from the child's mouth.
To Enkrid, it sounded exactly like a plea to be saved.
How bewitching the scent of that red blood, that blood smell was to monsters needed no explanation.
So many had swarmed.
And if he had to pick the most troublesome one among them, he'd choose the magical creature whose entire body was wrapped in metal.
Commonly called a giant iron puppet—an Iron Golem.
A troublesome creature because its steel-like body deflected ordinary sword strikes.
If you weren't a Knight, you'd typically just scratch it until your strength ran out.
So how dangerous an enemy was it?
An opponent where arrows and swords didn't work, and the most reasonable tactic was to smash it with blunt weapons while finding the core.
Also, this wasn't different even for Knights. Just because you could cut steel didn't mean you could really cut chunks of metal like radishes or straw.
Of course, even considering all this, it wasn't a Knight's match. It would just take time, and there'd be no lack of skill, strength, or tactics to kill it.
Anyway, did this magical creature that had stepped forward also have an appetite? Or would it only have the desire to destroy something?
Enkrid's thoughts flew away with the creature's footstep sounds.
Thoom!
The ground shook with its single step. The weight itself would be several times heavier than the rhinoceros that had charged earlier.
The ground seemed to cave in deeply. Each step generated momentum. Intimidation arose and pressed down on the surroundings.
'About the same level as the bull swordsman.'
That's how Enkrid saw it.
A monster twice as dangerous as a normal-level Iron Golem.
Since it had no mouth, it didn't let out a roar. The creature substituted a roar with the elongated iron bar in its hand.
Boom!
It was a club resembling a sledgehammer with a blunt end bunched together.
When it struck the ground with that club, a tremendous sound came with a tingling vibration felt through the feet.
They said if an Iron Golem survived a long time, it made part of its body into a weapon? That also meant it was no different from an imprinted weapon.
In minstrels' tales, they were expressed as dull forms guarding ruins, but when actually faced, they were never easy opponents.
Still, someone had to block it, so Ragna, who was closest, stood before it. Looking at the Golem with half-opened eyes naturally made his head tilt up. A bulk hard to take in at one glance from bottom to top.
'It's big.'
It looked three heads taller than even the bear beastman religionist. Looking up close, the sense of perspective was so messed up.
He thought he'd heard somewhere while traveling about the reason golems, or magical puppets, were born on this land, but he couldn't remember now.
A series of simple thoughts. Nothing would change just because it was big, and nothing would change even if he couldn't recall the origin of magical puppets' birth.
Scraaape.
The iron bar resembling a sledgehammer scraped the ground.
Ragna watched it with half-open eyes and thought.
He could do it now. Do what? A sword strike one step further.
He was impressed and stimulated by what Enkrid had shown, and as if answering that, he'd produced his own answer.
'Will Transformation.'
If Zaun focused on controlling Will, he himself focused on change. He released Will to fix the form of materialized Will.
Molding will, molding again, filling it, and wishing.
He filled it abundantly with the will to cut whatever stood in front and breathed it into the materialized Will.
'That form is a blade.'
A blade emitting a pale red light overlaid atop Sunrise, which radiated heat.
'Wrapping the entire sword is difficult.'
Ragna recognized the phenomenon of Will breaking midway and fixed the form. A sword where red light dwelled only on one edge.
It looked like he'd molded bright red flames as they were into a blade.
When the Golem swung the chunk of metal, Ragna drew his sword diagonally upward at an angle.
It wasn't particularly great technique or strength used. His toes were light and the speed was moderate.
He didn't squeeze his muscles, and in a way it looked like a light swing as if feinting, but the result that sword strike created wasn't like that.
Swooooosh, crackle crackle.
The treasured sword Sunrise passed through the chunk of metal like cutting tofu. Flames followed where the blade passed.
The bar resembling a sledgehammer broke in two, and a mark of flames also remained diagonally across the middle of the Iron Golem's body.
Ragna straightened the sword as it was and swung vertically once more, splitting the Golem's head and body.
All those movements looked truly easy.
Couldn't a Knight eliminate a Golem? They could. Of course. But they couldn't do it like that.
They could swing multiple times, gather strength to smash and break, then find the core to kill it, but they couldn't cut it so cleanly in two sword strikes.
Killing a Golem with its core exposed was easy. Ragna stabbed with his sword tip the round sphere that pulsated like a human heart from inside the split body.
Crack— With that sound, the core shattered and water that glittered like a fingertip flowed out from within.
The Golem that fell to the ground with a thud scattered into finely broken chunks of metal, and viscous liquid flowed between them.
Everyone saw it even in the midst of fighting. There wasn't a person who saw Ragna's sword strike who wasn't surprised.
As soon as the battle was roughly settled. Rem suddenly spoke.
"What did you do?"
Though the question was directed at him, Ragna didn't even look at him and spat out a simple answer.
"Sword strike."
Even if he demanded a more detailed explanation, no proper answer would come.
"Is that an explanation?"
Rem criticized, but Ragna ignored it.
Enkrid also saw that sword strike just the same. Should he say as expected?
Genius bastards definitely did absurd things.
Making a blade with Will? This crazy bastard.
It was also difficult to grasp that structure at a glance.
How did he do it?
He wrapped materialized Will around the blade and swung, so it became a sword that split everything it touched.
"Flame Blade?"
Teresa muttered. It reminded her of words from the sanctuary that the War god wielded a blade made of fire that cut anything.
"No. Sister."
Audin denied it. That wasn't in the realm of divinity but technique. A technique that went beyond handling Will meticulously to implement it in a new form.
Audin knew he could use a technique to protect his body by wrapping it in divinity.
He'd seen the same thing, so his thoughts flowed and naturally extended.
'If I gather the Holy Light Armor in blade form, could I do that?'
Though the process would be arduous, it would be possible.
'Not just blade form but other things would be possible too. O Lord Father, is this a gift You've given me? Are You showing me through that lazy one?'
The moment he saw it, he felt his technique of handling divinity developing. Since he'd seen it, he'd be able to do it. Audin's talent was also foremost among all War god apostles throughout history.
Rem's lips opened and closed several times. Enkrid knew it was because he wanted to spit out a ton of curses but had nothing to say.
"Feel like you lost?"
"Shut up. I can do that much too."
It was because he was stimulated after seeing Ragna's sword strike. Enkrid knew too.
Ragna knew what he'd done. A new path, a new world, a new method that no one had ever achieved until now.
After a long time, omnipotence came along with superiority.
Thus, he lifted his chin slightly and captured everyone in his view.
Called the Madman Knight Company for killing monsters and Demon Beasts.
The commander was in the center. Then there was only one thing for him to say now.
"I'm the vice-commander."
At those words, everyone held their breath and struck back.
"What nonsense is that?"
"That position requires seniority."
"Did you strain yourself and hurt your head? Lazy brother?"
"If you're going to do the same thing as that barbarian, wouldn't it be right for you two to play together?"
It was Rem, Shinar, Audin, Jaxen in order. It almost sounded like they spoke simultaneously.
Especially Jaxen's last words cut like a savage blade.
It was when Rem had once shot a projectile with the Lingering technique, destroyed Audin's room, and bested Enkrid. Jaxen's words meant that Rem from when he was in the middle of preaching right after getting one step ahead and Ragna now weren't much different.
"Want to taste it? The Flame Blade?"
Ragna heard what Teresa muttered and roughly attached a name to it. Naturally directed at Jaxen.
"If you can't hit with it, doesn't it lose meaning?"
When Jaxen struck back, a fierce aura passed between the two.
It was like watching two snarling beasts. Though neither bared fangs outwardly, it was still a scene that gave enough fear to those watching.
"It's fine. They won't fight to the death."
Lawford soothed the Demonic Realm residents who were poking their faces out one by one.
Pel opened his eyes wide and muttered 'What's that now?' then repeated countless times alone that talent wasn't needed. He'd reach it through effort. Training was the only answer. Pel renewed his resolve that way.
"If you don't give up, you'll reach it. Isn't someone who proved that right there?"
Luagarne spoke, having heard Pel's mutterings.
Enkrid didn't seem to hear those words, nor did he react to the vice-commander talk.
Was he shocked after seeing a genius's single step?
"This is maddening."
Enkrid muttered. It wasn't difficult to read the emotion in that tone. Enkrid wasn't a Fairy, after all.
Moreover, the emotion he showed at times like this was like throwing not a stone but a boulder into a lake to create ripples—it shot up like a fountain and spread wide and dense.
As dense as the mountain scent called spirit energy fragrance spreading in the middle of a forest.
If he attached a word to his emotion now, it would be ecstasy or joy.
The corners of his mouth rose as he smiled. The moment she saw that smile, Shinar opened her mouth.
"Should we just have three children?"
At some point, Shinar's jokes had far crossed the line. Yet Enkrid seemed not to hear even that.
"Yeah, I've fallen for him all over again."
Luagarne felt the same. If you didn't fall for him seeing that, what would you fall for?
Not in a romantic sense. The charm the person himself showed was extraordinary.
And the Eroded residents watched that and grew even more terrified.
Why, after killing all the monsters and talking among themselves, did the one standing in the center smile, and seeing that, did the Fairy talk about bearing children, and did Frog say things about falling for him all over again?
Even Balrog, the demon said to fight from morning to night, wouldn't enjoy fighting to that extent.
Though they served the Demon-Lord, these people were human.
Moreover, they were people who'd lived trapped here like Frogs in a well.
Situations far beyond their cognitive range occurred consecutively. It was all too natural for them to be terrified.
And so, they all knelt and bowed their heads to the ground toward Enkrid.
And it took another two days to clean up all of this.
Though they'd cleared away all the monster and Demon Beast corpses, there was still a foul smell, but now no other monsters or Demon Beasts came charging.
It made sense.
Besides the Iron Golem and Harpies, there were several unique individual Demon Beasts.
Such as Gremlins faster than arrows, and a bear-form monster called Armored Bear whose fur had changed to be like metal.
Jaxen killed the Gremlins, and Teresa crushed the Armored Bear's head with her shield.
The residents who saw all of that retreated in a frightened state. Many were trembling.
Enkrid regarded their attitude as insignificant.
Would anything change by treating them kindly here? Nothing would.
Rather than that.
"So what will you do now? You probably have no thoughts. You're the type who just does what you feel like doing anyway."
Roman seemed to have just asked Rem what they'd do now. Rem was the one Roman at least had some familiarity with.
"I have thoughts."
Enkrid, who heard that, said.
Ragna wasn't interested, and Audin asked if the Lord had given an oracle.
Luagarne rolled her big eyes round and round, then said.
"What kind?"