Sol chuckled at the look of pure and unadulterated fear the dwarf was giving off in each and every one of his actions. It was hilarious to imagine that these two beings were the ones who actively participated in the chaos that had wrought unimaginable destruction and unrest in the capital of his very own kingdom not long ago and that he had a hard time fighting even against one of their weakest members back then.
Now, deleting these people would only amount to an afterthought for him. But this wasn't why he was here right now. He could now understand why Fate showed him that this would be an important milestone for both Setsuna and Lilin.
Acht was the one who fought against Lilin and Nuwa back then. Despite their best efforts, the fight merely ended up in something that could neither be called a loss nor a victory- a draw of sorts, in the end. But, all things considered, they would have died if Camelia hadn't activated the barrier back then so it could only be counted as a loss on their part.
Meanwhile, the blue wolf that was looking at him with wariness but still a desire to fight seemed to be Setsuna's instructor and guardian in the past. During that night, Setsuna had been absolutely bested on all levels by her teacher.
He wondered what would be the result now.
"Before we start, why don't we finish some things first."
Sol pointed at the door and, walking past them, he entered the last and largest room of the dwarven labyrinth. It was a wonder how something like this could exist so far underground. The room felt more like a giant stadium with even the ceiling being several meters above their head.
But in the end, all eyes could only lock at the end of the room, which was the most eye-catching spot in the room as well.
A colossus, a giant golem that seemed to be more than 6 meters tall in height was standing there... immobile. It had a completely humanoid shape though from the proportions they were able to see it seemed more akin to a dwarven robot than your typical human. It made sense since the inventor of this robot was a dwarf, after all. Every creator would always try to make their best creation in their own image.
[Beep! Detecting challengers]
A red light flashed from the depths of the immobile machine and the dwarven golem churned to life with radio noises and a warning delivered in the most mechanical of tones. Rumble-!
The ground started to shake as the golem stood up from its previous position and Sol was forced to look up even more to be able to take in the full majesty of this gargantuan creation of steel and magic.
[Beep! Combat mode activated!]
"Hahaha."
Ignoring the two members of the Wings of Freedom, Sol strode forward with a large smile on his face.
Robots and cars were a man's romance and this was really something Sol never thought he would see in this medieval world; far away from the civilization of the modern world.
'The Dwarf King of that period should be a Reincarnator or at the very least, related to one.'
[Beep! Challenger, do you want the treasure of our King? He hides it somewhere here. I congratulate you for coming this far.]
'One Pie...? Yep definitely a Reincarnator.'
There was no other way to explain all of this and the cringy dialogue that was added at the end. But all of that did not matter to him right now. He could just slowly learn everything about this new senior of his later on.
What mattered now though was rather simple and straightforward,
"Let's warm up a little, shall we?"
Sol took off his shirt, exposing his chiseled musculature, and rushed in toward the giant golem. He did not fill his body with Mana. But simply went at it with no protection at all... bareback was how you do it when you were a real man.
It was a fight of epic proportion for the onlookers, but for him, it was nothing more than a way to waste his time pummelling mediocre opponents in the Mortal Realm. He would simply use this opportunity to channel his raw and animalistic passion and use the robot as a recipient for all of that energy and frustration he had stored during the days of his governance.
BOOM-!
Acht's eye twitched slightly when he felt the giant shockwave born from the prince receiving the full brunt of a hit of that Golem with its giant hammer.
The Golem was showing a power far superior to all the previous creations they had faced combined. This was without a doubt an aura that was close to what a top-level Duke should be capable of. As if that wasn't enough, it seemed that, unlike the earlier ones, this one was completely able to manipulate and use Mana at will to the cladding part at the very least. Even though it lacked a domain, this simple fact made the golem innumerable times stronger than any other creation of this realm.
Acht knew one thing though... If he had faced this golem, even with his full power, the only result would have been an embarrassing defeat or even possible death.
But...
"What the fuck?"
"Hahahah!! Hit me more! You are barely tickling me!"
"What the hell I am looking at?"
"More! More! Don't disappoint me!"
Acht could scarcely believe the fight that was preceding in front of him. In fact, could this even be called a fight?
The hammer's swings were mighty, and the power packed in the hulking frame of the robot was immense and unfathomable.
Crack-
The hammer began to crack. "Fuck."
Acht cursed again in a low voice. At the sight of the hammer slowly breaking down each time it hit the prince's body.
Even though the hammer was probably made from Adamantium and Orichalcum as well as other precious and sturdy metals, it seemed like it was unable to go through the perverse defense of this prince.
The boy was not even using mana, this was the result of the pure reaction force the hammer had to support each time it hit against the sturdy body of the boy.
'Just how strong is his body?'
If he had any idea about fleeing while the prince was busy, now all those ideas had vanished from his mind altogether.
'Still, why is it another battle freak?'
The way the prince was laughing and even holding back in order to better enjoy the fight made him think of Zwei- that crazy Oni.
He didn't know where she was currently but he was sure that only chaos followed this woman wherever she went.
A few minutes later, as well as many, many explosions in between, Acht and Neun approached the wreckage of what had once been a mighty golem.
Sitting on the pile of scrapes was none other than the prince who was showing a disappointed look on his immaculate face.
"I should have been more careful with my punches."
Sol ignored them as he looked at the robot before finally sighing, This had been quite an enjoyable fight. Without a doubt, he would ask Theresa to help him restore it. Perhaps even add things like transformation mode or super beam. He didn't know if it was possible but it was worth trying.
"Well. Now that I had my moment of fun, I believe it's time to have a discussion with you two."
He finally looked down at the two of them. From their perspective, all they could see was a cold and menacing gaze that seemed to have absolutely no regard for even their existence.
"I will be honest. I simply wanna kill you now and be done with it or torture you guys to wash the affront you caused to my Kingdom. But as a magnanimous King, I will give you two a choice."
He lifted a finger and a large insidious smile filled his face,
"One. Each of you will fight someone that I will designate to you. If you win, then I will just imprison you. There will be no torture involved. I promise this on my name and title as the future king of Lustburg."
He then lifted another finger,
"Or two... Die right here and now. Either way, I have a necromancer in my group. So we can ask any questions we have directly to your soul."
Acht clicked his tongue. He did not bother asking stupid questions like, why should we trust you? The situation was clear for all to see and in reality, there was no other way.
"I accept."
Sol shrugged and looked at the blue wolf, "What about you?"
Neun, unlike Acht, was not intimidated. She did not fear death. Never did, never will.
"Who will I fight and why? I would rather die than be a source of your entertainment."
"You will fight Setsuna and serve as her stepping stone."
The blue wolf closed her eyes before going to the ground on one knee and bowing to Setsuna while speaking in a clear and concise tone. "I accept." Her life belonged to her king and her princess. Her goal may have changed, but this reality would never change.
(AN: Man, rereading this chap, I realize my mind must have been wandering somewhere pretty unholy. Haha. Anyways arc approaching its last leg. Hadn't been easy honestly, but let's see it to the end. Hopefully, it will make everything better.)
