I Am a Villain, So What?-Chapter 113: The Boss Fight [2]

"What the hell is he doing?!" Alicia shrieked, clutching her staff.

She watched in horror as Lucien sprinted vertically up the Golem’s shin, defying gravity with sheer momentum and Agility stats.

But the Gatekeeper wasn’t just a pile of rocks. It was a machine designed to kill intruders.

WIRRRRR.

The mana vents located on the Golem’s chest and shoulders suddenly glowed blindingly bright.

"Lucien! Get back!" Alicia screamed.

[Defensive Protocol: Mana Venting.]

HISSSSSS!

Superheated steam infused with raw mana erupted from the Golem’s armor plates. It was an omnidirectional blast designed to fry anything clinging to its body.

"Tch!"

Lucien clicked his tongue. He couldn’t tank that. Even with the Rune, his skin would melt off before it could heal.

He kicked off the Golem’s thigh, launching himself backward into the air just as the steam exploded where he had been standing a millisecond ago.

He landed in a roll, skidding across the stone floor.

"Alicia! Don’t just watch!" Lucien roared, racking the bolt of his shotgun as he stood up. "I can’t get close while it’s venting! Disrupt its balance!"

Alicia jolted. The fear in her eyes was replaced by the instinct of a warrior who had been given a direct order.

"Disrupt... right! I just have to knock it over!"

She gripped White Edge.

She channeled her mana. The rapier didn’t just glow; it ignited. A wreath of swirling crimson fire spiraled around the blade.

[Magic Swordsmanship: Flame Waltz]

Alicia didn’t run; she glided. She dashed to the right, flanking the Golem while its attention was fixed on Lucien.

The Golem saw her. It raised its massive foot again to crush the annoying fly.

STOMP!

Alicia didn’t stop. She slid under the falling foot, the stone crashing inches behind her heels.

"HAAHH!"

She sprang up, slashing at the back of the Golem’s knee joint—the only spot where the adamantite plating was thin to allow movement.

CLANG! BOOM!

The fire-infused blade bit into the joint. An explosion of magical energy detonated inside the knee mechanism.

CREAK... SNAP.

The massive stone leg buckled.

The twenty-foot giant stumbled. Its center of gravity shifted violently. It flailed its arms, trying to stay upright, abandoning its defensive venting protocol.

"Nice assist!"

Lucien didn’t waste the opening.

[Skill: Adrenaline Surge – Active]

The world slowed down.

Lucien sprinted. He didn’t aim for the legs this time. He aimed for the weapon.

The Golem, unbalanced, tried to swing its massive stone greatsword to clear the area.

Lucien jumped onto the flat of the falling blade.

He ran up the sword, sprinting along the length of the stone weapon like a bridge.

The Golem’s ruby eyes flashed frantically. It raised its free hand to swat him.

"Too late."

Lucien leaped from the hilt of the sword, soaring through the air.

He collided with the Golem’s chest.

He didn’t stick the landing gracefully. He slammed into the stone, grabbing onto a protruding armor plate with one hand.

The Golem roared, its chest glowing blue as it prepared to fire a beam from its core.

"Alicia! Cover fire!"

"[Fireball]!"

From below, three spheres of concentrated flame slammed into the Golem’s face, blinding its sensors for a crucial second.

Lucien pulled himself up. He was inches from the Core. The translucent blue barrier hummed with energy.

He raised his left hand. The black, oily mist of [Mana Corrosion] swirled violently.

"Open wide."

He slammed his palm onto the barrier.

ZZZZZRT!

The sound of magic screaming filled the room. The corruption spread instantly, turning the blue shield grey, then black.

CRACK.

The barrier shattered like glass.

The raw, pulsating blue Mana Core was exposed.

The Golem shrieked—a mechanical sound of terror. It tried to grab Lucien.

Lucien didn’t move. He released his grip on the armor with his left hand and swung his right hand forward.

He jammed the barrel of the Benelli M4 directly against the glowing crystal surface of the Core.

"Game over."

He pulled the trigger.

BOOM! Click-Clack. BOOM! Click-Clack. BOOM!

Three shots. Point blank. Tungsten slugs designed to pierce armor.

The Core didn’t just crack. It exploded.

A shockwave of blue mana blasted outward, throwing Lucien off the Golem’s chest. He flipped in the air, landing on his feet (and stumbling slightly) next to Alicia.

Rumble...

The light in the Golem’s eyes died instantly.

The massive titan froze. Then, slowly, painfully, it tipped backward.

KABOOOOOOM!

The giant crashed to the floor, shaking the entire dungeon. A cloud of dust rose up, settling over the silence.

"..."

Alicia stood there, panting, her rapier lowered. Her hair was messy, her dress singed, and her face covered in soot.

She looked at the pile of rubble.

She looked at Lucien.

"We... we did it?"

Lucien dusted off his shoulder, checking his ribs. They were already healing.

"I told you," he grinned, though he was sweating profusely. "Easy."

[Ding!]

A bright blue holographic screen appeared in the air, floating above the wreckage.

[CONGRATULATIONS!]

[You have defeated the Area Guardian: Ancient Combat Golem!] [You have conquered the ’Prismatic Plains’ (Hidden Boss Room)!]

[Calculating Rewards...]

[Contribution Analysis]

Lucien Ashborne: 65% (Tactical Command, Core Destruction)Alicia Valemont: 35% (Support, Limb Disablement)

[Rewards Acquired]

[Titan’s Heart (Rank: A)]

Type: Crafting Material / Mana Source.

Description: The pristine core of an Ancient Golem. Contains immense earth-attribute mana. Can be used to craft High-Tier artifacts or upgrade golems.

[Skill Book: Iron Skin (Passive)]

Rank: C+

Effect: Increases physical defense by 15%. Skin becomes tougher against blunt force trauma.

Lucien whistled, swiping the screen.

"An A-Rank Core and a C-Rank Skill Book? Not bad for a day’s work. The drop rates in reality are much more generous than the game."

He walked over to the rubble, kicking aside a chunk of basalt, and picked up the glowing blue Titan’s Heart. It was heavy, warm, and pulsed with a rhythmic thrum against his palm.

"This will be useful later," he muttered, stashing it in his inventory.

Then, he picked up the leather-bound Skill Book. He didn’t use it. Instead, he tossed it through the air.

"Catch."

"Huh?"

Alicia fumbled, barely catching the book before it hit the ground. She looked at the cover: [Iron Skin].

"Me? But... Boss, you did the dangerous part. You tanked the hits."

"You broke the leg. Without that, I would have been fly-swatted into a stain on the wall," Lucien said, dusting off his hands. "Besides, I don’t need something like that. My [Rune] handles my survival."

He walked past her toward the exit.

"You, on the other hand, are squishy. I can’t have my butler breaking a bone every time she gets hit. Learn it."

Alicia looked at the book, then at his back. A complicated expression crossed her face, but she clutched the book tightly.

"Thank you... Master."

She hurried to catch up.

"Oh! The vibrations... they’re calming down, aren’t they?"

As she said, the terrifying tremors that had been shaking the dungeon’s foundation were subsiding. The dust settled, and the ominous roaring from the deep earth faded into a hum.

Alicia let out a breath of relief.

"We really did catch the Area Guardian, just the two of us. Thanks to that, it seems the disaster has been resolved cleanly."

"Resolved... I wonder."

"Pardon?"

Lucien stopped at the doorway. He smirked, checking his watch.

"As I have been saying all along, Alicia. The Prismatic Plains was merely the ’place’ where the quest occurred. Hunting the Field Boss here had nothing to do with the ’clear’ of that quest."

"Then... why did we kill it?"

"To act as a Trigger."

Lucien’s eyes glinted in the dim mana light.

Earlier, he wasn’t sure if the Hidden Event would trigger properly, given how much the timeline had shifted. But the moment the Golem fell and the vibrations ceased, he knew.

The gears had locked into place.

"Rather," Lucien said, opening the door to the staircase, "you should see this as the beginning."

*****

’You were a child born to hear the voice of the world.’

It was a faded memory, worn thin by time and resentment. The scene was unclear—a warm room, the smell of old paper—but the voice within it was still clearly engraved in her mind.

The voice of her father. The man she had trusted. The man who abandoned her.

’So... if the world ever needs you. Please, lend it your ear.’

From the moment she heard those words, her life had ended.

Her ’curse’ had begun.

Darien’s world was always filled with noise.

It wasn’t sound. It was thoughts. Desires. Greed. Fear. Lust.

Being able to read others’ minds just by closing the distance meant that quiet rest had no place in her life. Walking through a crowd was like walking through a screaming storm. Sleeping in a city was impossible without heavy sedatives.

Some in the Church called her ability proof of Sainthood. A divine gift to guide the lost lambs.

’...My ass.’

She gritted her teeth, twisting the massive mana valve in front of her.

She didn’t particularly want to tear apart the doctrines of the Silent Vigil. They were the only family she had left.