Into Battle

Mixing in with the other adventurers, Azu and Elza walked out beyond the city walls.

The sound of snow crunching underfoot was barely audible; everything else was drowned out by the blizzard.

The torches held by several adventurers were the only guide.

"Elza-san."

"What is it?"

She moved closer to Elza and called out.

Despite the extreme cold, Elza responded with her usual smile.

"Even with wind this strong and all this snow, the torches don't go out."

It was puzzling.

She remembered that torches she'd used long ago would go out even in light rain.

"Hehe. Those are soaked in tree sap, so they don't go out easily."

"Tree sap…?"

"Have you ever cut into a tree and seen sticky liquid come out?"

"Ah, yes. They made us collect it during the cold season."

"When you soak cloth in that, it won't go out easily. It probably wouldn't go out even if you dunked it in water."

"That's hard to believe. But I'm glad they won't go out easily."

The moonlight was the only illumination, but the blizzard made visibility poor.

Without the torches, they'd probably get separated and lost.

As they walked, the ground's vibrations drew steadily closer.

The sound grew louder too.

"There it is!"

An adventurer with binoculars shouted.

He threw a bag he was holding, and it burst open, scattering light.

When it did, the enemy's form was clearly illuminated in the dark blizzard.

A mass of ice was moving.

That was the only way to describe it.

"Draw its attention and stop it in its tracks so the magic can hit! Coordinate so you don't get stepped on!"

The armed guild master amplified his voice using a magical tool in his hand.

"… It's big."

"It is～ But better than the Water Elemental, maybe?"

"About half the size of that one?"

What came to mind as a comparison was the water giant they'd encountered in the Imperial city of Aquarius.

Back then, it had been retaliation from the Water Elemental against a nobleman who had incurred its wrath. It resolved without becoming hostile to Azu's group, but the impact from that time hadn't been forgotten.

Compared to the water giant that seemed to reach the heavens, this Ice Golem was smaller.

Even so, if stepped on, a human would instantly be flattened, and above all, it looked incredibly hard.

"If we trust Alexia-chan and the others, we'll be fine. I'll heal you if you get hurt, so let's do our best."

"Yes. We can't put Master in danger either."

"Right, right. May the Creator King's blessing be with you, Azu-chan."

Azu drank the hot drink.

Heat returned to her body that had been chilling despite the winter clothes, and her hands and feet moved as she wanted.

She drew her sword and looked at the enemy.

She couldn't see anything like a core. This didn't seem like an opponent she could defeat with a sword.

"First shot incoming!"

The moment the guild master's voice rang out, a massive fire arrow came flying from the direction of the city walls.

The Ice Golem raised its massive right hand toward the fire arrow with sluggish movements, catching it.

The fire arrow struck the Ice Golem's arm, and an explosion echoed.

The shockwave rippled through the air, briefly stopping the blizzard.

"What incredible magic."

An adventurer nearby said that.

The smoke was blown away by the wind, revealing the Ice Golem's form.

The end of its right hand had been blown off.

Moreover, the tip had melted, and water was dripping down.

"It's working!"

Using that spell as the signal, the other adventurers shifted into combat mode.

After receiving Elza's blessing, Azu dashed out first.

The Ice Golem turned toward where the magic had come from and started walking in that direction.

They had to defeat it before it reached the walls.

First, she channeled mana into the Sealed Sword Grungaus and slashed at its foot.

A grating sound accompanied ice being scraped away, but the golem showed no sign of caring, as though it had no sense of pain.

The other adventurers also latched onto the golem nearby and scraped at its legs, but the effect was minimal.

Judging that this wasn't working, Azu hooked her foot into the wound she'd made on the Ice Golem and began climbing.

The surface had slight irregularities, and with difficulty, she managed to reach its shoulder.

(No eyes… Is the head just for show?)

The Ice Golem had neither eyes nor mouth. It had a human-like shape, but it was probably just mimicking the form.

She tried driving her sword into its neck.

It was harder than the foot, but the sword's effect forcibly carved through.

Then the Ice Golem tried to swat Azu with its damaged hand.

She jumped to avoid it.

The golem's hand struck its own body with a loud crash, and surface ice shattered and flew.

Some of that ice hit Azu's face and melted.

She spun in the air, spread her legs, and landed.

She'd successfully absorbed the impact.

The force had been tremendous. The spot where the hand had hit was slightly scraped.

Perhaps because it had no sense of pain, there was no restraint in its movements.

A living creature would fear hurting itself and wouldn't do that.

Monsters without pain were a bit troublesome, she thought.

It reminded her of the Sun God statue she'd once fought.

No matter how much damage she dealt, it wouldn't slow down until completely destroyed.

Up until now, the monsters she'd encountered had paid some attention to her sword.

That was what created the mind games.

But this Ice Golem showed no such concern.

Even the attack on Azu just now had felt like it was just brushing off something stuck to it.

Most likely, this monster wouldn't stop until completely destroyed.

She glanced at the Ice Golem's feet.

Thanks to the other adventurers' efforts, they were slightly worn, but it wouldn't affect its walking.

"Second shot incoming! Get clear!"

The mage unit led by Alexia had apparently fired another spell.

From the direction of the city walls, red light spread, and this time a massive fireball came flying.

If that hit directly, it would carve away a significant portion. If things went well, they might knock it down.

The Ice Golem picked up a fragment of itself that had fallen to the ground with its intact hand.

It hurled that at the fireball.

A boulder-sized chunk of ice crashed into the fireball.

The fireball blew away the ice boulder and continued forward, but its trajectory had shifted slightly.

Because of that, what could have been a killing blow only gouged out its shoulder.

"The arm! Those who can, aim for its intact arm!"

They changed their target from the feet to the arm so it couldn't intercept the next shot.

Azu stood before the Ice Golem again and gripped her sword tightly.

White breath escaped with every exhale, freezing as it went.