Episode 617
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The energy-infused Levatein pierced through the temple’s protective barrier, hurtling toward Heracles.
In response, Heracles dropped to one knee, lowering the lion-headed helmet he wore.
The eyes of the helmet flashed, and suddenly, an orichalcum gate materialized right in front of him.
Levatein collided with the summoned gate.
Crash!
A massive shockwave rippled outward.
As the dust settled, Heracles stood firm, unshaken.
Zeke’s thrown Levatein was embedded in the orichalcum gate Heracles had summoned.
Though the gate was nearly shredded by the weapon’s power, the orichalcum’s formidable strength had withstood the attack.
Nabu gaped in disbelief.
“How on earth did he block that?”
Heracles, having deflected Zeke’s attack, prepared to counter.
He raised his longbow, aiming at Zeke and his companions.
This time, however, there was a difference.
Click!
A compartment on Heracles’ thigh opened, revealing an orichalcum arrow.
As he placed the arrow on the bowstring, a string of light formed.
Heracles drew the bow with all his might, aiming skyward.
Rumble!
The drawn orichalcum arrow vibrated with a low hum.
Then, Heracles released it into the sky.
Whoosh!
The arrow shot up at an invisible speed.
Nigel, sensing something amiss, shouted urgently.
“Zeke! Nabu! Raise a barrier!”
Reacting instinctively to Nigel’s command, Nabu chanted a defensive spell, while Zeke summoned his Shadow Armor.
Nigel also fortified the barrier with his own energy.
Soon, something began to rain down from the sky.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Thin metal spikes poured down like rain.
The orichalcum arrow Heracles had fired had dispersed, showering them from all directions.
Nabu, seeing the orichalcum rain, reinforced the barrier in panic.
“Damn it! Hold on!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The orichalcum spikes pelted the protective shield Zeke and his team had erected.
Though thin, their descent from the sky gave them the force of a natural disaster.
Nabu’s frontmost barrier disintegrated as a few spikes pierced through.
“Ugh!”
The spikes even penetrated Zeke’s Shadow Armor.
The real problem was that Heracles was preparing to fire a second arrow.
Zeke turned to Nabu and Nigel.
“We can’t just sit here and take this. We don’t know how many orichalcum arrows he has.”
He glanced toward Heracles.
“Draw his attention. I’ll flank him and strike from behind.”
Nigel questioned him.
“Are you sure you can handle it alone?”
“I have a plan. If you create an opening, I can take him down.”
Nigel nodded at Zeke’s confidence.
She turned to Nabu.
“Nabu, we’re dropping the shield. You and I will split up and distract him.”
Nabu grumbled in response.
“Ugh, my luck. Zeke, make it quick! I don’t want to meet my end here!”
Zeke nodded, slowly dismantling his Shadow Armor.
Meanwhile, the second arrow was released, and the orichalcum spikes rained down on them again.
At that moment, Nabu and Nigel darted in opposite directions.
Nigel, quick on her feet, deflected the incoming spikes with her sword, drawing Heracles’ attention.
Simultaneously, Nabu soared into the air on his magic carpet.
He opened a book and shouted.
“Let the arrows of our foes be caught in a reverse wind and return to them!”
A wind blew backward at his command.
Normally, the wind would have sent the arrows back, but it lacked the strength to reverse the heavy orichalcum arrows.
It only managed to slow their descent slightly.
“Ugh! That’s not enough. Let’s try something else…”
Just then—
Whoosh!
Nigel, on the ground, caught a slowly falling orichalcum arrow with her sword and hurled it back toward Heracles.
The spike, charged with energy, pierced the temple’s barrier and landed at Heracles’ feet.
Nabu grinned at the sight.
“Ha, so it’s not completely useless! Alright, let’s try that again!”
While Nigel and Nabu kept Heracles occupied, Zeke stealthily moved to the rear of the battlefield.
He had already reconfigured the barrier with his power, slipping inside.
Heracles remained focused on Nabu and Nigel, firing arrows without pause.
Hidden in the shadows, Zeke spoke to the system.
“System, connect to that golem.”
If he could gain control of Heracles’ management system, he could turn the formidable golem into an ally.
But the system returned an unexpected warning.
[Unable to find a connection point to the entity.]
[The entity appears to operate independently of the management system.]
[Direct contact with the core is required for access.]
It seemed the golem was designed to function autonomously, separate from the city’s management system.
“In that case, I’ll have to strike directly and access the core.”
Zeke drew Ascalon.
A sword made of the same orichalcum should be able to damage Heracles’ core.
“Kiyaaah!”
Outside the barrier, Nabu was making a ruckus to keep Heracles distracted, while Nigel continued to deflect the spikes.
Zeke crept closer to Heracles, aiming to seize control by directly accessing the core.
But then, he sensed something strange from the side.
“What is that?”
A swarm of black insects was approaching from the sky.
Zeke focused his vision to examine the incoming swarm.
“What are those?”
The insects, in various grotesque forms, seemed to be controlling the beasts they clung to, using them as hosts.
Chitter!
These horrific creatures were a fusion of Baron’s summoned insects and the beasts of Atlantis.
The hybrid monsters descended, screeching, toward where Nigel and Nabu were.
Screech!
They opened their mouths wide, spitting venomous stingers at them.
Nabu, startled by the sudden attack, sharply veered his carpet.
Though he dodged quickly, a stinger grazed the edge of his carpet.
Sizzle—
Even a slight touch caused the carpet to rapidly disintegrate.
“Argh! What is this?”
With one corner nearly melted away, the carpet lost its power and plummeted to the ground.
Nabu quickly opened his book, summoning a cloud with a spell.
Whoosh!
The cloud rose just in time to catch him safely, dissipating into mist as he stood up.
“Ouch, my back.”
Rubbing his sore back, Nabu looked up to identify his attackers. Hundreds of monsters were swarming in the sky.
“Damn it!”
Nabu summoned arrows of light, firing them at the approaching creatures.
Elsewhere, Nigel was slashing at the oncoming monsters with her sword.
Sizzle!
The acidic fluid from the wounded creatures emitted green smoke.
The area quickly filled with the noxious fumes, and Nigel felt a wave of dizziness.
“This poison is potent.”
Restricting her breathing to avoid the fumes weakened her attacks.
Watching from behind, Zeke clenched his teeth.
“Baron… you anticipated our move and waited for the right moment.”
Zeke expanded his senses, searching for Baron, who was likely hiding nearby.
Meanwhile, Heracles, still holding his bow, began to move differently.
Zeke watched Heracles, weighing his options.
With Baron lurking, a hasty move could lead to an ambush. If he were alone, the decision would be easier, but with Nabu and Nigel involved, he had to consider their safety.
As Zeke deliberated, Heracles set down his bow and donned his lion helmet again. He stood firm, forming a triangle with his hands and bringing them to his chest.
Vroooom!
The entire body of Hercules, crafted from orichalcum, began to vibrate, focusing the energy into his hands, which were shaped into a triangle over his chest.
In an instant, he unleashed the concentrated vibrations straight ahead.
Screeeeeech—
The wave of vibrations from Hercules crashed into the monsters charging at Nabu and Nigel.
Astonishingly, the beasts, fused with insects summoned by Baron, couldn’t withstand the attack and began to plummet to the ground.
Screeeeech!
The creatures writhed in agony, expelling all their bodily fluids, and the insects that had merged with them started to separate.
As the fluids drained from the dying beasts, the detached insects spread their wings and soared into the air.
This time, the lion’s mouth on Hercules’s helmet opened wide.
Whoooosh!
A blaze erupted from the lion’s mouth, unleashing a fiery storm upon the airborne insects.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The insects caught in the fiery storm were instantly reduced to ashes, scattering in the wind.
Nabu and Nigel’s eyes widened in disbelief as they watched Hercules effortlessly dispatch hundreds of monsters.
“Wow… that’s insane. With a golem like that, who needs a Highlander?”
Even Nigel, who rarely agreed with Nabu, found himself nodding in agreement this time.
Having swiftly dealt with the beasts, Hercules picked up his longbow once more.
Nabu and Nigel, who had been watching in awe, snapped back to reality and retreated in alarm.
“Damn it! Is it still not over?”
Just as Hercules was about to notch another orichalcum arrow, a powerful impact struck him from the side, sending his massive form sprawling.
Zeke, wielding Ascalon, had used the elemental sword’s gravity field to knock Hercules off balance.
‘Finish this as quickly as possible.’
With Baron potentially launching a surprise attack at any moment, Zeke needed to make contact with Hercules’s core without delay.
Zeke charged at the fallen Hercules, raising Ascalon high and bringing it down on the golem’s chest plate.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Each clash between Ascalon and Hercules’s body sent shockwaves rippling through the air.
As Zeke’s relentless assault continued, the light in Hercules’s eyes shifted.
Bzzz!
In a flash, Hercules released the longbow and grabbed a club hanging at his side.
Vroooom!
A subtle vibration emanated from the massive orichalcum club Hercules wielded.
Without hesitation, Hercules swung the club at Zeke.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Sensing the incoming strike, Zeke pivoted and swung his sword to meet it.
Crash!
The collision of sword and club echoed like an explosion, reverberating through the air.
Zeke winced at the shock resonating through his palm.
‘Is this really just a golem’s strength?’
The power behind the club felt akin to that of a seasoned knight, not merely a mechanical swing but imbued with the finesse of swordsmanship.
As Zeke pondered this, vibrations began to ripple through Hercules’s entire body.
Vroooom!
Zeke felt the resonating force seep into him, recalling a similar power.
‘This is… wave resonance?’
Hercules was using a force akin to the demonic martial art of wave resonance that Arataso had taught Zeke.
Hercules prepared to swing the club at Zeke once more, charged with vibrational energy.
Sensing the danger, Zeke sprang back, distancing himself from the golem.
Thud!
Hercules rose again, glaring at Zeke with the club poised.
Zeke, holding Ascalon, steadied his breath and returned Hercules’s gaze.
Then, he spoke to the golem.
“You’re not just a golem, are you?”