Chapter 557: Another Crisis

At the suggestion of the leader of Blue Thunder Beast, who was commanding this quest, everyone agreed not to approach the entrance of the building guarded by the Guardian Stone Golem until the injured had been treated.

This decision served not only to prevent anyone from rushing ahead on their own, but also to prepare thoroughly in case of traps or the appearance of new enemies.

With three frontline members of the A-minus team—the core force of this quest—injured, caution was only natural.

Aeris and Zion treated the critically wounded Longa and Akku, as well as the severely injured Jack, until their conditions were stable, then handed further care over to Fores, the forest priest responsible for healing in Blue Thunder Beast, and Budar, the ranger and pharmacist of Silver Twin Mages.

“Good work, you two. Are the three of them going to be all right?”

Tauro thanked Aeris and Zion and confirmed their condition.

“Akku-san suffered some internal-organ damage and was in critical condition, but I treated him until he was stable. Still… that Guardian Stone Golem was strong. I was even considering using my trump-card spell.”

Aeris answered without boasting about her healing skill, though she hinted that she had an ace up her sleeve.

“If you’re going to use your trump card, please only do it when it’s just our team. With other teams around, it could cause friendly-fire accidents.”

Tauro lightly cautioned her.

“Hey! I wouldn’t make a mistake like that and drag everyone into it… probably. …But I’ll be careful.”

Aeris was offended by Tauro’s words and started to protest but held back and accepted Tauro’s point.

For a brief moment, a sweet atmosphere passed between them, but it quickly subsided.

Ever since publicly declaring their relationship, Tauro and Aeris had made it a rule not to display affection while with the team. The two seemed to have discussed it and decided not to show their closeness in front of everyone.

“…Sheesh. You two are still young. This old man wouldn’t mind if you flirted a little, you know?”

Sensing the mood, Ankh teased them.

“During quests and adventures, you never know what might happen. Those two understand that well.”

Ragune pointed this out, considering their personalities.

“Complacency is the enemy, Ankh-san.”

Zion gently admonished him.

“I was thinking about them, you know? …Well, yeah, you’re right.”

Given the situation, Ankh decided to drop the teasing.

“Constructs like the Guardian Stone Golem don’t register on [Presence Detection], so there’s no harm in being extremely careful.”

Tauro added the warning partly as self-reflection and partly for Ankh’s benefit.

“True. Looks like treatment will still take some time. Let’s keep watch on the surroundings.”

As Ankh said this, everyone spread out in a circle from where they were treating the injured and stood guard around the area.

They paid special attention to corners, wary of anything emerging from behind buildings.

That was when it happened—

Bwoom! …Thud, thud—

A faint sound leaked from inside the building the Guardian Stone Golem had been guarding.

Tauro happened to be closest.

“Stay alert! Aeris, Ragune, Zion—defensive magic, on me!”

Noticing something approaching from within the large structure, Tauro rushed toward the entrance while calling for backup from his allies.

The members of Blue Thunder Beast and Silver Twin Mages turned around, wondering what Tauro was shouting about.

But the members of Black-Gold Wings didn’t waste even a second reacting; they had already finished chanting and cast their spells on Tauro.

In addition to his natural agility, Ankh used wind magic to increase his speed and dashed toward Tauro.

From the building’s wide entrance, another Guardian Stone Golem—identical to the one they had just defeated—slowly emerged.

Unshaken, Tauro had already nocked an arrow to the Bow of Artemis.

The arrow radiated the same immense magical power as the one that had killed the previous golem: a maximum-power [Aurora Arrow].

As the Guardian Stone Golem stepped out of the building and saw Tauro standing before it with his bow drawn, it judged him an enemy and attacked.

“—I already know your weak point.”

Murmuring that, Tauro fired the arrow without making any attempt to dodge the attack.

At the same time, the golem’s fist was repelled by the defensive magic his companions had cast on Tauro, while the arrow pierced deep into its abdomen where the core lay.

The Guardian Stone Golem stopped functioning, but because it had been in the middle of attacking Tauro, it collapsed forward as though to crush him.

Ankh arrived just in time, grabbing Tauro by the waist and leaping aside, preventing disaster.

“Phew… that was close.”

Ankh helped Tauro up after they fell together and lightly patted him on the back.

“Thanks, Ankh. The weakness of this technique is the stiffness after using it.”

Tauro stood up with a wry smile and held out his hand to help Ankh up as well.

At that moment, Tauro heard the Voice of the World in his mind.

“One of the activation conditions for the special skill [&%$#] has been confirmed: <One Who Pierced the Core of an Ancient Civilization’s Guardian with a Single Arrow>. [Doll’s Heart] has been acquired.”

That startled me… But [Doll’s Heart]?

Unable to understand the sudden Voice of the World or the meaning of his newly acquired ability, Tauro could only wonder what it meant.

“Are you two all right?”

Ragune, who had been closest, hurried over, followed by Zion and Aeris.

“Tauro, are you okay?! —Oh… thank goodness, you’re unharmed. But there are more Guardian Stone Golems… I wonder if there are still some inside?”

After Aeris confirmed that Tauro was safe and felt a deep sense of relief, she immediately grew wary of what might come next.

“If we wait for everyone to recover, another one might appear,” Zion stated the obvious possibility.

“Jack! As you can see, given the situation, may we go ahead and check inside first, just to be on the safe side?”

Tauro asked while taking a magic-restoration potion from [Magic Storage] and drinking it all.

“A-All right! We’ll head in as soon as those two wake up. Be careful!”

Even knowing its weak point, Jack was still stunned that Tauro had defeated in an instant the Guardian Stone Golem that had given them so much trouble earlier, and he found himself accepting the offer without hesitation.

Ideally, his team would have preferred to be the first to step inside, but after seeing Tauro’s ability, Jack judged it safer to let Black-Gold Wings scout ahead before another Guardian Stone Golem emerged.

“—Then we’ll go check inside!”

With that, Tauro entered the building alongside Aeris and the others.