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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The Demon World, 1000 years ago.
Wyverns soared through the purple sky, their eyes gleaming like eagles searching for prey.
Below them, a massive metal structure rose towards the heavens.
Countless orcs toiled, hauling Adamantium and steel beams.
“This is the damn Demon World. Goblins giggle, zombies moan, orcs squeal. Welcome to the damn Demon World, overflowing with death.”
An imp hummed a tune, his lips in a pout.
Mundelph, the dwarf, endured his apprentice’s grumbling. It had been 30 years since he had been kidnapped and brought to the Demon World.
Mundelph, renowned as the greatest craftsman among dwarves, was forced to develop golems.
‘Create golems to guard the entrance to the Demon World.’
That was the decree of the seven Demon Kings. Mundelph was indignant. Forced to create golems against his will?
‘Surely even the greatest dwarven craftsman, capable of forging weapons and building fortresses, can build a golem?’
Dantalion’s words, the 71st ranked demon general, had provoked him.
Dantalion was known for his cunning and manipulative nature.
Mundelph knew it was a trick, but he took the bait.
‘Aside from being in the Demon World, life isn’t so bad.’
They provided him with money, food, clothing, and resources for his research. It wasn’t a bad life, aside from the fact that escape was impossible.
The problem was, the Demon World was a harsh and unforgiving land, ruled by the law of the jungle.
“Master, is it finished?”
His stout imp apprentice asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He looked up at the golem they had created.
“This is the largest golem I’ve ever seen.”
“Indeed. Perhaps it’s the first of its kind.”
Mundelph chuckled, placing a hand on his forehead.
“Hahaha! The dwarves are the greatest craftsmen in the world!”
“Master, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Shouldn’t we seal the entrance to its… insides?”
Mundelph clicked his tongue. His foolish apprentice was missing the bigger picture.
“How are we supposed to repair it if we seal the entrance?”
“But Master, you said it would guard the entrance until the end of the Demon World.”
He had said that. But there were always unforeseen circumstances.
“The day this giant falls is the day the Demon World ends.”
“I see.”
The imp, ever the naive one, nodded readily.
“We should give it a name. What should we call it?”
“How about Glass Gibney?”
“What kind of name is that? We’ll call it the Colossus of the Demon World.”
And so, the Colossus, designed to annihilate invaders, was complete. Mundelph often looked at the giant and muttered, “This is a man’s dream.”
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Inside the Colossus.
Countless gears turned and whirred. It was a marvel of engineering, still functioning after a thousand years, a testament to the dwarven craftsman’s skill.
The Colossus’s demise in the original story had been anticlimactic.
Sonny, having entered the giant’s interior, had gone on a rampage with his clones. He had destroyed the gears and mechanisms, causing the giant to collapse.
‘I have no idea where I am.’
I started walking. I could tell up from down thanks to the stairs. But I had no idea where the core was.
And the giant was still moving. I was thrown around as I walked down the stairs.
‘Should I extend my mana?’
Thump!
A loud crash. I grabbed the railing, my heart pounding. I had almost been thrown into the gears.
I carefully made my way down the stairs.
“Runtar!”
I summoned Runtar. I was relieved that I could summon spirits inside the giant.
―I didn’t expect you to enter the Colossus, Master.
I shrugged. If my plan failed, I could always have Runtar blow up the interior and escape.
Escaping from an exploding giant robot would be a pretty cool scene.
―Master, what are you planning? If you’re going to set the interior on fire, then now is the time…
“Don’t you have any sense of romance?”
Runtar tilted his head, puzzled. He followed me.
“Giant robots are a man’s dream.”
Men had two dreams: giant robots and transforming robots.
―Giant robots…?
Runtar didn’t understand. I rephrased.
“I’m saying giant golems are a man’s dream.”
Runtar remained silent. I couldn’t explain it any better.
I took a deep breath and extended my mana outwards.
I remembered the comment I had made when I first learned that the dungeon boss was a giant robot.
gmrdn: Author-nim! So Arthur is going to pilot the giant robot now, right? Stomping around and crushing everything?
Of course, my hopes and dreams had been crushed in the next chapter. Sonny had entered the giant’s interior and destroyed it.
‘That damn Sun Wukong. He could have at least treated the thousand-year-old artifact with some respect…’
My mana returned. The area was filled with demonic energy, but there was one spot where the concentration was particularly high.
I walked towards it.
A large, red orb. It was smooth and polished, like a giant crystal ball or an egg.
The Colossus’s core.
Sonny had destroyed it with his axe, but I had other plans.
A wave of demonic energy washed over me, making me slightly dizzy. I sheathed my sword and assumed a fighting stance.
―As expected of Master. You’re going to destroy the core with a single blow and disable the Colossus.
He seemed to think I didn’t need to use fire.
“That’s not what I’m planning.”
I channeled my mana, preparing to use the Linchester Swordsmanship, Sixth Form: Shattering Sword.
Or rather, Shattering Fist. It wasn’t a sword technique, after all.
The Sixth Form was designed to dispel mana or demonic energy from weapons and armor, then shatter the weapon, disarming the opponent.
I wondered if I could adapt it.
I took a deep breath and calmed my racing heart, then thrust my palm forward.
Fwoosh—!
My blue mana pushed back the red demonic energy, filling the crystal orb like ink spreading through water.
―Wait, Master… what are you doing…?
The orb was as tall as I was. I could only dispel and replace a limited amount of demonic energy with each strike.
“That’s right. I’m going to replace all the demonic energy with my own mana.”
An ordinary mage wouldn’t even consider such a thing. Controlling a giant golem with your own mana? It was absurd.
But…
What if your mana capacity was a hundred times the average? Would it still be impossible?
My intuition told me it was possible. My mana pool was even larger than it had been when Professor Cassia measured it.
I struck again.
My blue mana pushed back the red demonic energy. I grinned. I would keep doing this until it was done.
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The purple sky of the demon world stretched beyond the Colossus.
Arthur, gasping for breath, looked up at the giant. It was tireless, relentless, and overwhelming.
“Ethan…”
He muttered, worried. But he couldn’t afford to be distracted.
A pillar, struck by the giant’s fist, collapsed.
It slammed into the giant’s leg.
But the giant simply stood back up. Reus was luring the giant, and Arthur was toppling pillars.
They were using Ethan’s strategy to damage the giant.
“We’re running out of pillars.”
Reus was right. Only seven pillars remained. He was also exhausted.
‘Can we really defeat it with just seven pillars?’
The giant had withstood dozens of pillar impacts already. It wasn’t likely to fall now.
‘I’ll have to use my golden mana…’
His hand tightened around his sword. But he was worried about Ethan.
What if Ethan was caught in the blast?
He would never forgive himself. Ethan was his closest friend at the academy.
“Reus, one more time!”
“How long are we going to keep doing this?”
“Until he comes out.”
Reus clicked his tongue, but he continued to lure the giant.
“Over here, you stupid, overgrown oaf!”
The giant, though mindless, pursued him relentlessly. Reus ran towards Arthur.
Arthur, as if on cue, toppled another pillar. It slammed into the giant with a deafening roar.
The giant stumbled and fell to one knee.
“Is it… working?”
Arthur stared at the giant. Its eyes were fixed on him.
“Grooo… grrr…”
It growled, its voice low and menacing. It seemed tired. The light in its eyes flickered.
It shook its head, as if trying to clear its thoughts.
Then it stood up, its massive arm swinging towards Reus.
Bam!
Reus blocked the attack with his shield, but the force of the blow sent him flying. He rolled across the ground, his body aching.
It felt like his insides had been twisted. He spat on the ground.
“Damn it. It’s all brute force.”
He used his spear as a crutch and struggled to his feet, catching his breath. He looked up at the giant.
He couldn’t continue like this.
His legs were trembling. He had to end this, even if it meant stabbing the giant in the eye.
“Reus—!”
Arthur rushed over to him, his body enveloped in a golden aura.
‘I’ll have to cut off its legs…’
The golden mana surprised Reus. He had never seen anything like it.
“Arthur… what is that?”
Arthur didn’t answer. He focused on the task at hand. His sword glowed with golden mana.
He prayed that his attack wouldn’t cause the giant to explode.
He was about to strike when the giant suddenly stopped moving.
“Huh?”
Its mouth opened, and a figure emerged. It was Ethan, looking exhausted.
“Ha… I’m beat. Did you guys wait long, Arthur, Reus?”
Ethan grinned at them. Arthur and Reus stared at him, dumbfounded.
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