Power clashed with power.
A moment of fierce impact.
The biscuit was crushed.
Crunch.
A savory texture crumbled in his mouth.
A sweetly crisp crunch that beckoned.
It was right in the middle of munching the biscuit with such delight that Aged Kimchi suddenly stopped.
And he muttered to himself.
"...Hold on, I need to head downstairs."
"Hm?"
Reivaj tilted his head in confusion.
What did Aged Kimchi just say?
He asked again, puzzled.
"Downstairs? You mean the storage room?"
"Yes. The storage room."
"What business do you have down there?"
"Something seems to have happened."
Aged Kimchi rose to his feet.
A hint of alarm spread across Reivaj's face.
"What do you mean, something happened? Then are you saying I should guard this place alone?"
"It won't be much of a problem as long as it's only for a short while."
With a tilt of his chin, Aged Kimchi gestured toward the merchant Richmond, who lay unconscious and tightly bound beside the young master.
"He's tied up anyway, so you should be able to handle him alone. And since this is the merchant's own bedroom, no one would expect him to be detained here."
"But… Lord Kim Jangcheol specifically told us to guard this man thoroughly…"
"He might be in danger."
"What? You mean Lord Kim Jangcheol?"
Aged Kimchi didn't reply.
Even now, an ominous sensation and a killing intent were creeping in.
Along with a distant rumble echoing faintly from below.
Leaving behind the flustered Reivaj, Aged Kimchi turned away. Then, he opened a bookshelf on one side of Richmond's bedroom.
Behind it was a secret passage known only to Richmond, leading to the underground cold storage.
"I'll be back soon."
Leaving behind just that one brief line, Aged Kimchi disappeared down the passage.
***
Power clashed with power.
A moment of violent charge.
…Thwack!
A shockwave burst out in all directions.
The giant fist of the battle golem was smashed in a single blow.
Its entire arm went flying.
Even its massive upper body staggered backward.
And Kim Jangcheol?
"…Hooo."
He exhaled deeply.
He shook out his tingling wrist.
Then quickly reached up with his other hand to feel his forehead and scalp.
'Good. The horn didn't pop out.'
He had taken the Elixir of Transformation.
Thanks to it, the horn on his head was hidden—he was in disguise.
But just now?
He had blocked the golem's punch with his own fist.
The immense rebound force had swept through his entire body.
It had worried him for a moment.
'What if the impact breaks the disguise?'
Fortunately, it didn't.
Probably because it was a direct clash of fists.
Since it wasn't considered being "hit" by someone else, the transformation held.
"Anyway, are you okay?"
Relieved that his disguise hadn't been broken, he glanced back.
There stood the young woman and her child who had nearly been killed by the golem.
Her face was deathly pale.
She didn't speak.
She just trembled as she clutched her child tightly.
"Go. Hurry and run. Quickly."
He urged her.
Meanwhile, he kept an eye on the battle golem.
The thing had already recovered from its stumble and was regaining balance.
"..."
Its eyes glowed red.
Its frame looked at least ten times larger than an average golem.
Where the hell had this thing come from?
'Tch. That bastard Richmond must have prepared it in case the storage room was ever raided.'
That seemed likely.
But there was no time to think more.
Whooom—!
The balanced battle golem raised one massive leg.
And then slammed it down.
Boom!
"...!"
He dodged just before being crushed.
Cradling the woman and her child.
Perhaps it was because of that resounding crash.
The woman, who had been trembling in a daze, flinched and widened her eyes.
Focus finally returned to her previously unfocused gaze.
The other civilians, who had been frozen in fear, reacted similarly.
"A-Aaaagh!"
Someone let out a scream.
That cry became the signal.
A wave of panic swept through the civilians.
Instinctive reactions rippled through the crowd.
Everyone grew frantic.
Some stumbled in haste, others fell and scrambled to their feet.
They began to move.
They ran—away from the battle golem, toward the storage room exit.
"Zephyros! Baal!"
Realizing the urgency, Kim Jangcheol shouted.
"Guide the people and keep order! Don't let them swarm the exit all at once! We can't have anyone getting trampled or crushed!"
The danger was real.
The threat of the battle golem?
That wasn't the only issue.
Hundreds of people had instantly fallen into terror.
And they were rushing toward an exit barely wide enough for a couple of carts.
They were in a panic.
Chaotic, mindless.
The perfect setup for a deadly stampede.
"Move! Quickly! Dyoll, you too if you can!"
Zephyros, Baal, and the servant Dyoll ran toward the crowd.
They all raised their voices to calm the chaos and guide the people into a safe, orderly evacuation.
'These are people who came here because of me.'
Clench—!
His fist tightened.
A crushing weight pressed down on his shoulders.
'I'm the one who spread the word, who shouted for attention, who drew them here. So…'
Not a single one of them can die.
Not even one can be allowed to be hurt.
He firmed his resolve and raised his head.
The battle golem, which had just missed stomping on him, was glaring down.
Their eyes met.
In that moment, he pushed off the ground and leapt.
Toward the golem's knee.
'Start here. One hit!'
Huuuup—!
He inhaled.
Pulled back his fist.
The body of Demon King Credos infused with power.
And the Mana Seed he had awakened pulsed in his chest.
Power mixing with power.
A coiling stance.
A roaring surge.
An explosion of strength.
Thwack—!
A crack split across the golem's knee.
It widened and split apart.
One leg collapsed.
—...!
A shattered knee.
There was no way the golem could support its multi-ton weight in that condition.
...…!
The battle golem toppled.
Bags of grain and crates of fruit were crushed beneath its nineteen-meter body, reduced to powder.
"..."
Oh no, all that good food…
Panting from having pushed his Mana Seed to its limit, Kim Jangcheol nearly burst into tears at the sight.
But that wasn't important right now.
'Alright. The leg is disabled.'
Now it couldn't easily approach the civilians.
That meant he had bought them time to evacuate safely.
At least, that was what he thought.
Rumble… rumble rumble…!
A strange sound began to echo from the fallen golem.
And then—its shattered fist and knee… began to regenerate!
'…What?'
At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
But no.
'Crazy.'
It was real.
Absolutely real.
That was why the golem had already stood back up and was glaring down at him again.
It clenched the same fist that had been destroyed earlier.
And was ready to bring it crashing down again.
Whoosh—!
The golem's punch came down even more viciously than before!
"....!"
He dodged it.
Thwack!
Cracks split the ground.
Fragments exploded in all directions.
Kim Jangcheol carefully avoided the debris, mindful not to break his disguise.
He studied the battle golem's condition.
'Its movements aren't awkward. It's fully restored.'
It really was.
Side effects from self-recovery?
There were none.
But Kim Jangcheol didn't panic.
On the contrary, he cooled his head and began analyzing.
'It's a golem, not even a living creature, and yet it self-recovers like that... Usually, in these cases, there's a core component or some kind of nucleus inside the body.'
This one seemed the same.
'The hidden core is most often... in the head or the center of the torso!'
The moment he made that judgment, he moved.
Thud!
He leapt.
And sprinted.
He ran up the golem's leg, over its waist, charging across its back and chest, then finally kicked off its shoulder, launching himself above the golem's head.
Fwoosh—!
Liberated from gravity.
The battle golem's head reacted quickly, tilting up to track him. Its palm rose to meet him.
A narrow gap appeared between the fingers.
Thupat—!
He kicked off the ceiling of the storage room.
He passed through the gap between the golem's fingers.
He rushed downward—toward the golem's head, like lightning striking judgment on the earth.
A sharp inhale.
The Mana Seed in his chest screamed.
A rush of explosive amplification.
He poured all that power into it.
And struck down without hesitation.
....!
With a massive boom, the golem's head exploded from the crown.
At that moment, Kim Jangcheol saw it.
...Crack!
The golem's head shattered in real time, revealing a half-meter wide blue sphere hidden inside.
He watched as the core broke apart from the impact.
'Got it.'
He did it.
Thud...!
Deprived of the core in its head, the golem's massive body collapsed like a rotten tree.
"Huff...! Huff!"
Kim Jangcheol wiped away the sweat pouring down his face as he caught his breath.
The Mana Seed he had gained from his battle with the 2nd Star Master roared, amplifying his body's abilities even further.
'That's all well and good...'
But after using it, the exhaustion was immense.
He'd released all that amplified power in a single burst, and now a wave of fatigue washed over him.
'Still...'
He had done it.
He looked at the fallen battle golem with pride.
He could feel the eyes of the civilians shifting toward him and the golem.
Everyone stared, wide-eyed, in shock and awe.
'Ha, no need to look at me like that. Man, this is a bit much.'
He was out of breath, but his pride swelled even more.
Was this what being a superstar felt like?
…He was just about to ask if everyone was alright now that it was safe.
…Thud!
The fallen battle golem moved.
A hallucination?
No.
Thud!
The golem placed both hands on the ground.
Its upper body jerked upright.
And its head and core—
Were already more than halfway restored!
'...What the hell?'
He was speechless.
It was unbelievable.
And yet, he had no choice but to believe it.
'It restored the core…?'
Not just any part, but the core?
Was that even possible?
Rumble rumble rumble…!
The battle golem, now fully restored, looked down at him once more.
Was it some kind of zombie golem?
Could it even be completely destroyed?
'.....'
He was overwhelmed.
But he couldn't let that fluster get the best of him.
He had to stop it.
Until the people, who had come here because of him, finished evacuating—at the very least until then—he had to hold it back.
So…
'Jangcheol, don't panic. Stay calm. Start by properly analyzing it again, step by step.'
He steadied himself.
Locked eyes with the golem and forced them to stay open.
He tried not to blink.
It was to activate the most accurate way to analyze an enemy—
The Bloodshot Eyes skill.
But it wasn't easy.
Thud—!
"...!"
The battle golem moved.
A relentless barrage of enraged destruction.
Roars echoed.
It rampaged in a frenzy, pouring down attacks.
Every second was dangerous.
Every moment was a close call.
It was worse because of the flying debris and dust.
"Ghh!"
Could he really avoid blinking in this situation?
His eyes grew sore in real time.
He wanted to shut them.
Each time the golem's massive fists and kicks came rushing in like dump trucks, his eyelids instinctively tried to squeeze shut.
But he endured it.
Even as dust flew into his eyes.
Even as attacks grazed past like boulders.
Even as his eyes grew so dry and hot it felt like they were being plucked out.
'If I retreat now... the people I called here will get hurt or die. Endure. Hold on. You can do it. You can do it!'
He held onto the very end.
He dodged.
He countered.
He did whatever it took to keep the golem from reaching the civilians.
He fought tooth and nail.
And finally, he did it.
Ding-dong!
A notification sound, more welcome than ever.
And a crisp message followed.
[You have stared at a specific target without blinking for 200 seconds.]
[The activation condition for Bloodshot Eyes has been fulfilled.]
[Bloodshot Eyes Skill (Lv.1) is now active.]
[Target: Arcana Second Generation Combat-type Golem]
'Come on, quickly!'
With urgency in his heart, he focused on the message.
And soon, he uncovered the secret behind the golem's astonishing self-recovery ability.
[The Arcana Second Generation Combat-Type Golem you observed finds your attacks fierce, but considers them survivable. This is due to a trait stemming from the Arcana Second Generation's advantage—'Double Core.']
[With one core in the head and another in the torso, the Arcana Second Generation Combat-Type Golem is notoriously difficult to destroy.]
[The method to destroy this golem is as follows:]
[You must strike both cores simultaneously, with exactly the same power, from exactly the same angle, with absolutely zero margin of error.]
[Only when this exact method is performed will the two cores be destroyed at once, making mutual restoration impossible, and leading to the golem's complete and unrecoverable destruction.]
"......"
He had found out.
And it felt hopeless.
'Both cores... at the same time? Same power, same angle...?'
The secret he had finally uncovered.
The golem's destruction method.
He recalled it and lifted his gaze.
He looked back and forth between the golem's head and torso as it unleashed a flurry of attacks on him.
There was a gap of at least five meters between the two.
"......"
This is impossible.
Not alone.
Then could someone else help?
Zephyros?
Impossible.
Baal?
As a member of the Four Heavenly Kings, he might fight well, but could he truly match Kim Jangcheol's sense, timing, power, and angle as if they were one body?
No.
Absolutely not.
'Then… what do I do?'
He had finally discovered the golem's weakness—
But its impossibility crushed his chest.
He despaired.
And that's why it was so strange.
Even though the situation was hopeless.
Even though darkness clouded his vision.
Why…
Why was that guy, Aged Kimchi, coming to mind?
[T/L: I am not getting any support from webnovel platform, so please support me and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]