Metal arms sprouted from the ground, caked in dirt.
The fingers opened and closed stiffly.
It was as though something was being tested.
Eventually the elbow bent, and a palm pressed against the earth.
A short distance away, the ground exploded once more.
What emerged was the other arm.
It, too, went through similar trial movements before planting itself on the ground.
Both arms tensed, and the cracked earth collapsed inward.
From the midpoint between them, a hemispherical mass of metal burst forth.
It was large enough to engulf an entire castle.
Near the center of the hemisphere ran a horizontal slit, and through it, two blue lights peered out.
I could somehow feel a gaze.
Apparently the blue lights served the role of eyes.
In other words, this hemisphere was the head.
(No way — that's...)
While I stood there in shock, both arms planted on the ground extended outward.
What was dragged from beneath the earth was a body of steel.
Its shape was essentially cylindrical, with only the chest area built somewhat thicker.
Scattered across the torso were what looked like lids.
They were all closed now, but they likely opened up as part of some mechanism.
Judging by the flow of magic, the power system was concentrated in the torso.
Following that, the left and right legs were slowly pulled free from the ground.
The feet crushed ruined buildings underfoot.
Along with the clouds of rising dust, masses of soil and debris clinging to both legs fell away.
Perhaps for the sake of stability, both legs were considerably thick.
They supported the torso firmly.
Every now and then, white steam hissed from various points.
Rising with ponderous movements was an incomprehensibly colossal golem.
Just how long was it?
Even while standing, you'd have to crane your neck painfully upward before you could see its head.
From the golem's perspective, we would be no different from gnats.
(That giant golem — it must be the Arcanation's ultimate weapon.)
I continued observing, focusing on the torso that housed the power system.
I could sense a dense concentration of great spirit energy.
It seemed a spirit stone was embedded within.
The spirit stone was likely serving as the power source.
By now I didn't even need to use detection to tell.
Activating the golem must have dispelled the concealment spell.
I analyzed the countless arcane formulae inscribed on the golem.
I hadn't examined them in detail, but I could see that numerous critical flaws existed in its structure.
I couldn't understand how it was moving so calmly.
On top of that, its energy consumption was abysmal.
Granted, this was only possible because of a great spirit stone. Any other magical catalyst wouldn't have been enough to move even a single arm properly.
By having its flaws interlock with one another, the golem had accidentally achieved an optimal state.
The power provided by the spirit stone was amplified dozens of times over, making operation possible.
(I can't believe it. This is absurd.)
I felt like I was going to get dizzy.
Could something like this truly exist?
It was right in front of my eyes, so I couldn't deny it — yet I still couldn't simply accept it.
It was nothing less than an aggregate of miracles.
In that moment, I understood.
The completion of this giant golem involved the will of the world.
The rough plans and designs surely came from John's knowledge.
But that alone would have made it impossible.
The parts that couldn't be helped — those were supplemented by the will of the world.
It was the same as the previous hero awakenings.
A rule that applied only in cases of annihilating the Demon Lord.
That said, I had no time to waste running from reality.
I had to face this instrument of slaughter.
"How's that! You're surprised, aren't you? This is the giant robot that's going to kill you!"
John's triumphant voice boomed and echoed around me.
His presence was near the spirit stone.
He wasn't remote-controlling it — it seemed he was hiding inside the golem itself.
Judging by the arcane formulae arrayed around him, it was likely a pseudo-possession through mental magic.
He was piloting the golem as though it were his own body.
Its precision far surpassed conventional operation methods.
The design difficulty was a flaw, but that hardly warranted discussion.
The will of the world must have taken care of it.
There was no point nitpicking the fine details.
And I didn't feel any anger about it, either.
Being forced into disadvantageous positions — I was already used to that by now.
I was fighting with full knowledge of every possible interference.
And there was one more reason I could stay calm.
It was that the will of the world was not absolute either.
Both the Hero and the Saintess had been defeated by the current Demon Lord.
I had already proven that one could defy fate.
So all I had to do was win this time, too.
"Not going to charge? Fine, then I'll come to you."
John snorted, and the golem began advancing.
With each step, the capital was destroyed.
The steam-belching metal giant moved its legs without a care.
(This is ridiculous.)
I glanced at the crumbling cityscape and leaped back to put distance between us.
In the process, I also used magic to pull Logan closer.
It felt as though an endless wall was bearing down on me.
While checking my distance from the golem, I addressed Logan.
"This place is dangerous. Stay away."
Without waiting for a reply, I teleported him away.
His destination was the Demon Lord's army.
I simply didn't have the confidence to fight while protecting him — not against an opponent this far beyond the norm.
Next, I sent a telepathic message to Grom.
"Can you hear me?"
"Yes, Demon Lord! I hear you loud and clear!"
Grom's eager voice rang out.
Even without seeing his face, I could tell he was standing ramrod straight.
I relayed only the bare essentials.
"I've found John Dou and the spirit stone, but I've been forced into a fight against the golem he's piloting."
"I sensed an enormous body of magic power and wondered what had appeared — so that's what it is... Are you all right, Demon Lord?"
"I'm fine. Pull the Demon Lord's army back from the capital's center. Prioritize the safety of our forces."
"Understood! May fortune favor you!"
Once Grom acknowledged, I ended the transmission and sent similar messages to Luciana and Henry.
That should take care of the army for now.
"Done chatting? You'd better start focusing."
John's warning reached me.
The golem's shoulders split open, and something rose up from within.
What emerged were arcane cannons.
Dozens of barrels lined up on each shoulder.
"Take this!"
The golem's arcane cannons all fired simultaneously.
Roaring projectiles surged toward me.
I dodged with short-range teleportation and launched a counter-spell.
Lightning rained down from above, detonating against the golem's head.
Dazzling light erupted, and a thunderous roar hammered the air.
The strike carried enough power to annihilate an army in a few hits.
But the golem was unscathed.
A defensive barrier was layered over the surface of its head.
That was what had blocked the lightning.
The spirit stone's overwhelming output provided defenses that exceeded even my magic.
"...Hmm? Was that supposed to do something?"
John spoke with deliberate flippancy.
The golem he controlled scratched at its head in a mocking gesture.
A grating sound of metal on metal rang out.
Hovering in midair, I watched it calmly.
I refused to take the bait, devoting all my attention to analysis instead.
(I see...)
John was getting awfully cocky, but his power was real.
He was amplifying the already formidable spirit stone's effects by tens of times.
In raw power alone, he might even surpass me.
This was a domain that human technology should never have reached.
The giant golem was the exception among exceptions — sheer absurdity given form.
(But none of that matters.)
I was an immortal Demon Lord.
The pinnacle of evil that had declared war on humanity.
I could not afford to stumble in a place like this.
The opponent was simply large. Fundamentally, it was nothing more than a golem.
There were countless ways to bring it down.
Since all the pieces I needed were finally in place, I would face this with everything I had.