Black Iron Magician

As Haru chanted her magic, a jet-black cross appeared from the ground. The cross restrained the limbs of the target golem, tightening the steel body.

「…… Shishō, I can’t think of any way to use this magic!」

「It’s a magic with a lot of restrictions after all. It is good to be able to bind the enemy from a blind spot, but it is ineffective against those with limited size and has no limbs.」

This magic, Dark Cross, has a name that sounded cool, but there are too many restrictions to use it. At best, it’s up to the size of a Gryphon, and it won’t have any effect against those who have no limbs, such as a slime. Even if it is a target that can be restrained, it won’t have much of an effect on formidable enemies. The advantage is that it appears behind the enemy in the form of a surprise attack, and when it restrains the enemy, it also shows an illusion. It’s more of a torture magic than a battle magic.

「Ah, how about pulling out this cross and using it as a weapon while hanging the enemy? Like, beating them to death.」

「Haru, you’re on a roll today, huh.」

「Is that so? Ehehe~」

I’m amazed by her creativity. If the cross is used to hit the enemy, maybe it will give an additional illusion effect?

「Well, it looks like mental attacks won’t do much good against these monsters, so try it out next time when you’re dealing with people. Still, if you just want to hit them, there’s nothing better than the Doggan Staff. Let’s move to the next one.」

「Okay!」

「Next is level 80, huh. Maybe we can do it smoothly――」

――――Ping Pong Ping Pong ♪

From somewhere in the scrap yard, a sound effect that seemed to be the beginning of a school broadcast could be heard. I don’t know why, but I have a very bad feeling about this.

「Shishō, I have a good feeling about this!」

「Haru’s words have just confirmed that things are about to take a turn for the worse. Thank you.」

『Fuhahahaha! Deris-dono and Haruna-dono, how are you!?』

The next thing that came was Zex’s excited voice. He must be peeking from somewhere.

『Well, you’re right! I’ve been checking the activities of the two of you from the camera installed at the scrap yard!』

Please don’t read my mind. Well, everyone probably would end up thinking that way, so I guess he’s talking based on some rules.

『It was truly splendid! Even if I were to prepare the best golems under my command, they wouldn’t be able to clean up that quickly! For example, it’s like cleaning up when I and Zeta teamed up. It was such an efficient cleaning!』

「Shishō, we’re praised by the Great Eight Demons!」

「Haru, this pattern is where he will drop you after praising you. I’m sure he will impose an unreasonable demand after this.」

「Eh? Wouldn’t that be a blessing in disguise?」

「…… Are you sure you want to move from cleaning to studying math?」

「Zex-san! Please not that!」

Haru is desperate. Yeah, it’s not just about fighting strong enemies. Well, I don’t think we’ll be studying math, though. Still, what if Zex asked to clean up this scrap yard until it’s shiny like new? Haru probably will accept it, but I will just end this training and go to beat Zex.

『Indeed, I’m going to impose a little unreasonable demand. But I believe that Deris-dono and Haruna-dono can clean the scrap yard until it’s shiny!』

「Okay, I’m going to beat you now, so wait for me.」

It’s sad that I have to cancel the training, but right now I want to dent that full-body armor. The moment I thought so, there was a sudden change to the situation.

「Hmm?」

「Haru, what’s wrong?」

「Well, I feel like something is approaching….」

「Ooh, you noticed it even though you don’t have the Skill to detect the presence, huh.」

「If I sharpen my five senses, I can do it somehow!」

Setting aside Haru’s reliable words, it’s true that something is approaching this scrap yard. Look, the ceiling is opened again.

「It seems that something’s coming down.」

「Yes, something is coming down.」

It will be troublesome if it falls on us, so we quickly moved away from the landing point. After securing our safety, we stared at the hatch. As expected, something big was dropped there.

――――BAM

!

Apparently, it was not a group of scraps with a mixture of big and small ones like before. The total amount may be the same, but it was a complete individual.

「Is that the rumored combat golem?」

「If so, I think it would have been easier to clean. But I think it’s not that simple. That damn Zex has sent us something ridiculous.」

The dust could that the big thing created when it landed gradually subsided. The silhouette, which could only be recognized as a huge figure, gradually became more detailed.

There is a monster called Arachne, which is a spider with a humanoid upper body on it. This one’s shape is exactly like that. It is about ten meters tall. It’s smaller than the Giant Giant Findo we saw in the snowy mountains, but it’s still tall enough that we have to look up. It has four legs that resemble those of a spider, but the most distinctive feature is its long, strong tail that rises to the sky. At the end of the tail is a blade with a vicious shape. The tail is made up of layers of frames, so it’s probably a stretchable weapon.

「…… Is that a crab?」

「No, that’s a scorpion. I mean, it has that tail.」

In addition, the big guy has two scissors-shaped pressing machines on both arms. They are thick and clearly sturdy. They could be used not only as a means of attack, but also as shields. If you don’t have a Doggan Staff, it’s going to be tough to go head-on against that thing.

『I’ll introduce it to you! That golem is one of my bodies, and it’s a relatively old model number! The model was based on a scorpion!』

As expected, it’s a scorpion. And as expected, the bad news came down. My head hurts.

「Model number?」

「It means that the production lot is old. Haru, do you still remember the Great Eight Demons lecture that even muscle-brains can understand that I showed at the wedding reception? In the immortality section, where was Zex placed?」

「Um… I think he was in a fairly high position among the Great Eight Demons.」

「To be exact, it’s the third place after Vakala and Maria. In short, he is in the top three of the world’s ranking of immortality. The reason for his high immortality is that he has several bodies, and all of them have his will. Even if one body is destroyed, it won’t hurt him.」

Unlike Maria, who’s hard to kill, his immortality is similar to Aralkar, who created several clones.

『No, it will hurt me if it’s destroyed! My bodies are special items among special items! How much do you think they cost!?』

「Like hell I know.」

Zex raised his voice in dissatisfaction. If money is enough to change the body, it would be cheap enough. I’m the one who wants to complain. How many bodies Zex has in total is a great mystery that even the other Great Eight Demons don’t know. Of course, I don’t know either. There’s a possibility that this city itself is Zex. Zeta maybe knows the truth… no, maybe not.

「So, what do you want? You’re not going to help with the cleaning, are you?」

『Fuhaha, that sounds interesting, but it’s a different matter. I just dropped something at the scrap yard. Since it’s a good opportunity, I hope you can clean it up as well.』