Death March — Fixed

“Tek here, while my parents were technically poor, and we were homeless once--living in an RV, as caretakers on a farm, I’ve never been hungry. But when I see the slaves and poor people here, who are starving, I have no idea what they are experiencing.”

The purple aura gushing out of the Mage not only wraps around the women and the golems, but also me.

I check the log, it seems that I resisted whatever that skill was--I didn’t get a Skill for it, and he spoke about his god, so it was most likely a Unique Skill.

“Well then, I’m expecting a desperate struggle.” While saying so, the Mage runs his fingers on the Maze Core operation machine that looks like an Ethereal piano.

Walls come out to separate the throne from the hall in the Master Room.

From the map, it doesn’t seem like they are simple walls, but other blocks from the maze which have been moved here.

Moving instinctively, I tilt my neck and avoid a Magic Arrow aiming straight for my face. I look to where the arrow originated from, the former beautiful women have turned into demonic figures; their hair and eyes are blood red, their Magic Circles taking on a blackish hue--the golems which are coming here while seemingly berserkly swinging their arms have the same atmosphere; their metal turning pitch-black, a flaming aura of Magic is rising from them, the words on their foreheads glowing with a sickening reddish-black light.

I could kill them instantly, but I’d use the golem to understand how the Mage’s Unique Skill works.

As I dodge one, another is coming.

While maintaining a distance, I concentrate firing the rapid-fire Magic SMG on one of the golems legs--the metal dented and shrieked with every hit, finally being crushed and useless by the tenth shot.

While I was observing my weapon’s effects on one golem, while dodging another, the third managed to sneak up and get a body blow on me. My HP only decreases by about three or four--it seems to be of a similar strength to the four-armed Demon.

It’s still level 30, but it seems to have strength that is equal to around double its level. I defeated the golem in the large room with a single hit back then, so I can’t compare it to these ones--I should have fought it properly.

Still, if the Unique Skill only strengthens its recipients to double their level, then there’s nothing to worry about.

I ward off the next blow that the third golem swings at me, making it hit the second instead. The second golem’s head is destroyed, but the third golem’s fist is also crushed and shattered.

I see, ‘Limit Break’ is just as it says--it allows someone to break their limits, but they still end up destroying themselves with the excess power.

Using this opportunity, the formerly beautiful women are unleashing Magic Arrows in rapid succession--the Magic Arrows are being fired from Magic Circles that appear in front of their foreheads.

I move slightly from side to side, dodging the Magic Arrows, but it seems that they have the ability to home in on the target. I know I probably can’t avoid them forever, not that I need to dodge--so I unequip my robe and shirt, allowing the arrows to hit me; and they shatter harmlessly against my skin.

The five of them have fired a lot--they sure seem to have quite the MP to keep it up.

As I am distracted, the second golem, the one that got its head destroyed, is still able to move; it points both its open hands at me.

Don’t tell me.

Slightly different from my expectations, the golem fires all ten of its fingers like missiles--I can dodge these, but when they get near me, they explode like missiles; putting aside the lack of physical damage to my body, even my pants are fairly tattered--but still decent.

There are even more Magic Arrows fired at me from the former beautiful women. The golem matches its timing with the arrows attack, approaching me with a fist--the first to reach me is the fist.

I jump onto the golem’s fist, using it as a foothold, slamming a kick into its shoulder and making it lose an arm.

Landing behind the golem, I look at the beautiful women, who’s states are strange. Their movement now is closer to those of Zombies instead of Demons--they keep uttering agonized moans and groans as they shoot their Magic Arrows.

Without thinking, I dash towards them, smacking them carefully on the back of the neck to knock them out before something happens.

“You ignore the Monsters to save the innocent women--I greatly admire you for that.” The Mage’s pleased voice rings out.

I carefully place the girls next to each other, out of the way of the fight--their HP is down to between 3% - 5%, but it slowly begins to rise--they should survive as long as I quickly kill the golems.

I bend down and pick up some of the fragments of the second golem, throwing them at high speed at it, completely pulverizing it. Since the next two golems are approaching me, I quickly shift position, so that the unconscious Homunculi won’t get hit.

I take some random rocks I had sitting in storage and threw it at the last two golems, shattering them.

After all the enemies have been eliminated, the hall becomes reconnected to the throne of the Master Room.

I set the Hero title to be visible.

***

The Mage’s applause is echoing through the hall.

“That was splendid--you even saved the damsels in distress. Welcome new Hero.” As he speaks, he uses his shadow to give the Holy Sword Gjallarhorn to me.

I can’t see the Mage’s face, because of the rainbow-coloured light emitting from both the Maze Core and the strings that go to his control device.

“Is your purpose to find a hero?” I ask the Mage.

“Indeed.”

“Then couldn’t you just go to the Saga Empire without doing this roundabout charade?” I am starting to get quite irritated with him--especially how he was willing to sacrifice his constructs, the Homunculi especially, which seemed sentient.

“Heh, Parion’s hero, eh? When I went there, the hero had already been sent back home.”

“Don’t you know that there’s a next generation?”

“Ahh, so it’s already that season, eh? However, the time isn’t right.”

“What do you mean?”

“You wouldn’t understand, even if I try to explain.”

It seems that he won’t answer.

While we are talking, I try to analyze the Mage.

“Hey Mage, do you really want to die?”

“The right answer to that question should be no.”

“I don’t want to discuss philosophy, I want the truth.”

Hearing my answer, the Mage begins to laugh like a madman--I see two purple lights inside his hood.

“Hahaha--I see, so you’re a comrade who has also come from another world!”

“I don’t know of such a place.”

“It’s useless to put on such a front--what did you pray, wish for--desire, from the ruthless god?”

“I didn’t hope for anything,” I haven’t even met one--Well, I did kill one in the Dragon Valley, but I didn’t get to talk to it, “if there was one, I probably would have wished for a rest, I guess?”

I had wished for that, many, many times.

“Hahaha, such selflessness, truly worthy to be a hero.”

How is it selfless?

Is it not the height of selfishness and indulgence to laze around?

“What did you wish for?”

Yes, how come you aren’t human.

“Don’t you already know? Didn’t you see? Yes, I am the King of Night, an immortal existence--what I wished from the omnipotent god was a body that won’t die, a life without starvation, and the power to strike back at unreasonable violence.”

“So that’s why you were born with that body--”

The Mage shakes his head, spreading his arms, “You’re reading too far into it--the god let me reincarnate into the body of a healthy baby, and arranged for me to be raised by good parents who I could love and respect, and met a pure lovely spouse who was much more than I deserved.”

Then, why?

“I became too accustomed to my new life--even though I was robbed of my life by unreasonable violence in my previous life, in this life--it was done differently.”

The Mage took his hood off.

“I was imprisoned by a noble, one who fell in love with my wife; then, he had me executed under false charges. The first thing I saw when I was resurrected was the heads of all the members of my family, starting with my parents, lined up in front of the castle. And, underneath them was the broken-doll like corpse of my wife--”

Purple lights are raging in his eye sockets--and lines of liquid flame runs down his bone cheeks, allowing him to cry, to let out a little of his pain, his rage.

“Your pity is unnecessary. I changed the corpses of my whole family into undead, and along with the corpses of the people who suffered the same injustices as I, we bared our fangs toward the noble--we completely destroyed everything--a flood of undead, drowning a kingdom, leaving only ruin and a wasted earth.”

“I, who had completed my revenge, intended to depart to the next world--where I chose to believe my wife is waiting. However, the blessings from the god cannot allow that--even with the purification spell Turn Undead, or with the Holy Sword that I managed to acquire with much hardship--I wasn’t able to die.” He laughed again, “Truly a god’s blessing (curse)”

“Come now, hero. I’ve said all that need to be said. Stab me, bring my end! Slay the Monster before you!” He suddenly hunches a little, “At least--kill me before even my heart is turned into that of a Demon Lord.”

The Mage, Zen--no, Immortal King Zen, said so; his arms raised, his body completely defenseless.

Accepting his request, I raise the Holy Sword Gjallarhorn.

It’s a curious sword, with a drill-shaped blade.

I raise the sword for a second, before stabbing straight through Zen’s chest.

“Hahaha--Ena, my other half, my clipped wing--I’m going to you now--” Zen’s body is destroyed, crumbling to dust.

The robe falls, spreading out on the ground.

I faintly heard two words, seeming receding a great distance--words, that I partially expected.

“Thank you,”

 

>>Title: No-Life King Slayer Acquired.

>>Title: Maze Traveler Acquired.

>>Title: Merciful Acquired.