Chapter 558: The Dolls Left Behind

Tauro and the members of Black-Gold Wings decided to enter the large building that had been guarded by the Guardian Stone Golem ahead of the others.

The entrance was large enough for a Guardian Stone Golem to pass through—about five meters high and roughly three meters wide.

Remaining wary of traps or the sudden appearance of a third golem, they stepped inside.

Because Guardian Stone Golems weren’t living beings, Tauro’s [Presence Detection] couldn’t detect them, which made them especially troublesome.

Once inside, the room was illuminated by what appeared to be light fixtures shining in several places, unlike the ancient ruins where the entire ceiling glowed to illuminate the ground. However, some areas remained dark, likely due to a malfunction.

Looking around the spacious chamber, Tauro saw that it resembled a large mausoleum, with deep recesses carved into both walls.

Inside them were multiple Guardian Stone Golems—motionless.

“Tauro! If all of these start moving, we’re in serious trouble!”

Aeris placed a hand on his back and warned him.

“…Look closely. See the stone above the head of that one on the left blinking? I think that means it’s preparing to activate next. Probably channeling magical power—or some kind of energy—to serve as its power source.”

“That’s bad news, Leader!”

Ankh reacted in alarm to Tauro’s deduction.

“…Yeah. That’s why I’m going to stop it.”

Tauro ran to the feet of the Guardian Stone Golem that seemed about to activate.

“Give me a foothold!”

He called to Ragune.

“G-got it!”

Ragune readied her magic spear and chanted a spell, causing the earth on the ground where Tauro was standing to rise up, forming a platform high enough to reach the golem’s abdomen.

“[Creation Magic]!”

Tauro placed his hand on the golem’s abdomen and invoked [Creation Magic]. A small hole opened in its abdomen for an instant, and a small stone resembling a magic stone rolled into his hand.

The blinking stone above the golem’s head immediately lost its light.

“…Did it stop?” Ragune asked Tauro.

“No, maybe—”

Before Tauro could finish answering, two more stones above the other golems began blinking.

“…Just as I thought. They’ve implemented proper breakdown-response measures. Ragune, can you make platforms in front of the others too?”

“R-right!”

Understanding what Tauro wanted to do, Ragune hurried to create footholds, prioritizing the golems whose stones were blinking.

Tauro quickly ran up each platform and, just as before, used [Creation Magic] to remove the stone that seemed to serve as each Guardian Stone Golem’s power source—or perhaps the core that controlled its operation.

He repeated this process for all sixteen Guardian Stone Golems standing throughout the vast chamber.

By this point, Tauro had nearly exhausted his magical power several times and had already downed several magic-restoration potions.

“…That should… take care of it…”

After removing the stone from the final golem, Tauro wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered.

At that moment, he once again heard the Voice of the World in his mind:

“One of the activation conditions for the special skill [&%$#] has been confirmed: <One Who Acquired the Guardians’ Cores Unharmed>. [Puppet Manipulation] has been acquired. …The existence of [Doll’s Heart] has been confirmed. …The two abilities will now be integrated. …Integration complete: [Puppeteer]. —[Puppeteer] has been acquired.”

“Ooh?”

Tauro couldn’t help but voice his surprise at his new ability.

“Man, I was on edge the whole time, thinking they might start moving,” Ankh muttered, still keeping watch.

“Oh, I think we’re safe now. —Hey! Before the others arrive, maybe I should collect a few of these Guardian Stone Golems.”

If his new ability [Puppeteer] worked as he imagined, he might be able to control the Guardian Stone Golems himself.

“They’re not moving anymore, right? Wouldn’t collecting them be pointless?” Aeris asked reasonably.

“Well… I might be able to make them move.”

Tauro answered vaguely.

“…Don’t tell me, have you learned some other ability?”

Aeris, sharp as ever, guessed correctly.

“Yeah. It’s called [Puppeteer], so I think I can control them.”

With a wry smile, Tauro nodded and began storing five Guardian Stone Golems in [Magic Storage].

“Tauro-sama’s [Magic Storage] really does seem limitless when you see it like this,” Zion remarked, impressed as the four-meter-tall golems disappeared one after another.

“If you can collect them, shouldn’t you take all of them? If they’re left here, they might fall into the hands of someone who would misuse them,” Ragune suggested.

“…You’re right. Maybe we should collect the one near the entrance too. The one in the plaza probably belongs to Blue Thunder Beast as the original discoverers. But the ones here are undamaged, and leaving them where someone else might take them feels dangerous.”

With that decision, Tauro collected all sixteen intact Guardian Stone Golems.

Afterward, they thoroughly searched the building to confirm it was safe.

What they learned was that this place appeared to be a mausoleum of the ruins, and the Guardian Stone Golems had been protecting it.

What was especially interesting was that many of the facilities inside showed signs of deliberate destruction rather than simple weathering or decay.

“The golems were active to prevent this place from being disturbed. So the fact that so many of the facilities have been destroyed… does that mean that the administrator at the time destroyed them themselves? Otherwise, the golems would’ve eliminated the intruders,” Tauro speculated.

“That makes sense. For some reason, the people who left this place probably destroyed everything except the systems maintaining the Guardian Stone Golems,” Aeris agreed.

“I wonder where the people who possessed a civilization this advanced ended up,” Ankh mused, thinking about the distant past.

“I think it’s safer to assume they’ve been wiped out.”

Ankh gave a wry laugh at Zion’s unexpectedly realistic answer.

“More importantly, let’s head back and report to the others,” Aeris suggested.

With that, Tauro and his companions returned to Jack and the others waiting in the plaza.