Proof (4)
They arrived at the third trial site.
The first thing that entered their view was a circular arena made by firmly packed earth. Around it stood several enormous iron pillars.
They were as thick as ancient trees that had lived for centuries, their bases rooted deep into the ground.
'Are they structures meant to support the ceiling?'
But that didn't seem quite right.
In the previous two trial areas they had passed through, there had been no such structures. Moreover, the surfaces of the iron pillars were covered with suspicious rune-like characters.
The mages were also examining them closely.
"Master, I think I feel a strange aura from these pillars. Almost like artifacts…"
"That does seem to be the case."
The mages were about to begin discussing the purpose of the pillars when—
Clank!
The ceiling and the ground split open simultaneously.
Then a massive object descended from the ceiling.
It was none other than…
"…An hourglass?"
A giant hourglass as large as a human torso floated leisurely in the air.
At the same time, something rose from beneath the ground.
Thud! Thoom!
Heavy footsteps approached.
A massive unknown creature stepped onto the ground one slow step at a time as it climbed up from below.
Soon, it revealed itself.
A metal bull.
Its head, made of steel, was shaped like a helmet. Two horns curved in savage arcs. Its body was unbelievably huge.
'It's even bigger than the battle rhinoceroses of the Gnoll tribe…'
This was no ordinary opponent.
Its presence alone made it seem capable of tearing apart most magical beasts with ease.
Duran muttered with a sigh.
"The Steel Bull of Phalaris…"
"You know what that is?"
"A type of magic doll mentioned in old legends. A war weapon created by a great mage of the ancient empire."
A magic puppet recorded in ancient legends.
But the Steel Bull had never actually been discovered before.
Because of that, the academic world had long considered it a fictional invention.
Shhk, scratch—
Golden letters appeared.
—Survive.
The hourglass flipped over.
At the same moment, the Steel Bull's eyes turned crimson.
Duran shouted.
"Spread out!"
Against something like that, formation meant nothing.
If the Steel Bull charged straight through them, they would all be smashed together.
Woojin's party scattered widely.
Duran personally stepped forward to buy time.
Hummm—
Red particles of light flickered around the Master of the Magic Tower.
They gathered together, quickly forming multiple sharp arrow shapes.
Duran stretched out his hand.
Responding to the gesture, the magic arrows shot toward the enemy.
Clang! Clang—!
The sound of metal echoed repeatedly.
The arrows struck the Steel Bull relentlessly.
But they didn't seem to do much damage.
Perhaps irritated, the bull snorted violently and pointed its horns at Duran.
Thud, thud, thud!
Its hooves slammed into the ground.
The Steel Bull charged toward the Master of the Magic Tower, accelerating rapidly.
The distance closed quickly.
Bang!
Duran struck the ground with his staff.
The earth rippled like waves.
Riding that ripple, Duran slid far away as if carried by the current.
That was how it appeared from the bull's perspective.
But in reality, Duran had not moved at all.
'Another strange trick.'
Space-manipulating magic.
The bull kept charging toward its target, but its position remained fixed.
It was like running endlessly on a treadmill.
With such a cheat-like ability, it seemed the enemy could be dealt with easily…
Crack, crack—
But cracks began appearing on Duran's staff.
During the recent battle between Woojin and the Master of the Magic Tower, the staff had been overloaded with spells, weakening its durability.
And the Steel Bull was enormous and incredibly heavy.
It was a monster difficult to restrain with spatial magic.
"Damn it, the spell is about to break!"
Duran shouted urgently.
Hearing that, Claire and Fabian hurriedly began chanting spells.
Rune characters and diagrams emerged from their books and rearranged themselves in the air, gradually forming a large magic circle.
Casting at such speed increased the chance of failure…
But—
'No need to worry about that.'
Their control was stable.
Claire and Fabian were not inexperienced enough to make such mistakes.
Soon, their spells were completed.
"Fulgar, Resonant!"
Resonating Lightning.
Blue lightning burst from the magic circle.
It was a high-level spell that had previously annihilated the Living Armors in a single strike.
The lightning slammed into the Steel Bull.
Crack!! Crackle—!!
Fierce sparks tore at the air.
The bull was violently struck by the lightning.
Divided strands of electricity crawled across its body without pause, like a swarm of relentless snakes biting into massive prey.
The spell had succeeded.
Seeing that, the Master of the Magic Tower let out a relieved sigh.
"Thankfully, that handled it."
"Is it over?"
"Yes. It's still a type of magic puppet. It won't be able to withstand a lightning spell."
Resonating Lightning was a high-level spell specialized in destroying magical circuits.
Even now, the lightning continued to divide endlessly, striking the bull repeatedly.
At one point, the bull looked completely wrapped in a cocoon of blue threads.
They thought the enemy was finished.
The mages were certain of it.
But—
BOOOOM!!
A thunderous explosion struck their ears.
The cocoon of lightning surrounding the bull burst apart.
From the center of that explosion, the bull walked out.
It shook its body like an animal shaking off rainwater.
The remaining sparks of lightning were thrown off effortlessly.
"W-what is that?!"
Duran looked like he might faint from shock.
It was an absurd sight.
A high-level lightning spell had struck the puppet directly, yet it hadn't suffered any significant damage.
Pssshhh—!
White steam burst out from various parts of the bull's body.
It looked like a machine powered by steam engines.
The Steel Bull turned its head.
Its glowing red eyes locked onto Fabian.
Scrrrk, scrrrk.
Its steel hooves scraped against the ground.
Then the bull charged straight toward Fabian.
Seeing that, Fabian screamed in terror.
"W-waaaah—!"
Fabian abruptly turned and started running. But the bull charged far faster than he could run.
I guess I should go help.
Woojin, who had been guarding the Tower Master, ran toward Fabian. But before he could get there, Claire, who was nearby, drew out a spell.
"Arde!"
A blazing sphere.
Three or four crimson orbs of light appeared. They circled around Claire like moons orbiting the earth, then soon shot toward the bull in formation.
Boom! Boom!
The spheres of light exploded one after another. The bull, struck by them, glared at Claire with furious eyes.
Claire looked slightly flustered.
"Uh… sorry?"
"Gwoooaaagh!!"
"Kyaaah!"
Of course, the apology didn't work. Claire hurriedly ran away to avoid the bull. With the mages being attacked, the situation became even more tangled.
Someone had to draw its attention. Theodore filled his shield with divine power and threw it.
Clang!!
The shield struck the bull's flank. The impact was so powerful that its body dented inward.
Perhaps irritated by the attack, the bull roared again and twisted its direction. It charged straight toward Theodore.
Now it was the paladin's turn to run. Theodore hurriedly sprinted away.
I have to stall for time.
Theodore kept changing directions as he ran. The bull chased after him, turning its head repeatedly.
But the creature's body was so heavy that it couldn't change direction easily, and the paladin skillfully used the surrounding terrain.
Iron pillars jutted out here and there. Theodore used them as cover to buy time.
…But he couldn't run forever.
It's catching up.
Theodore ran with clenched teeth, but before he knew it, the bull was right behind him.
He had to change direction again. The paladin quickly turned his body—but perhaps because he was mentally cornered, his ankle twisted for a moment.
Crash!!
Theodore tumbled onto the dirt ground. The bull charged toward the fallen paladin.
…This is the end.
He couldn't die like a coward.
Hoping for Asella's guidance, Theodore stared at the approaching death.
Thud!
The bull suddenly stopped in place. It kept kicking uselessly and scraping the ground with its hooves—like running on a treadmill.
It was a familiar sight.
Spatial magic.
The Tower Master had saved him with a spell. Just as Theodore began to feel relieved…
Rumble—!
The bull was dragged backward.
The bull struggled wildly. It tried to stop itself by digging its four hooves into the ground, but it was helplessly pulled backward.
It had no choice.
Because Woojin was personally pulling the bull's tail.
Whoa… this thing's pretty heavy.
Perhaps because it was made of steel, it was both powerful and heavy. Woojin clenched his teeth and pulled the tail with all his strength.
Like a tug-of-war.
Rumble—!
The bull was dragged again. Theodore, who finally noticed the scene, looked utterly shocked.
W-what is… this…?
It hadn't been stopped by magic. Someone had simply grabbed the bull from behind and pulled it.
It was strength that completely defied common sense. Theodore stared this way with a stunned expression. Seeing that gaze, Woojin clicked his tongue inwardly.
This is going to make the cleanup a bit troublesome.
He had intended to avoid showing excessive strength since there were many witnesses. But the Bull of Phalaris was a more troublesome opponent than he had expected.
Snort!
The bull blew out a heavy breath through its nose and glared at him. It looked thoroughly enraged.
Just in time—there was something Woojin had wanted to try. He took off his leather coat and waved it.
Like a matador showing a red cloth before a bull.
"Come on. Charge at me."
"Gwoooaaagh!!"
The bull charged.
The others weren't idle either. While Woojin was essentially bullfighting with the steel bull, the mages examined the iron pillars.
There was no such thing as a structure without purpose. There had to be some hidden gimmick in these iron pillars.
Their prediction was correct.
"There's a gem embedded at the bottom of the pillar!"
Claire shouted. Fabian and Duran also examined the pillars they were in charge of. Just as she said, there were gems embedded near the base.
Gems about the size of an adult's palm. They protruded as if inviting someone to press them, and the colors of the gems were clearly different on each pillar.
Duran called out to confirm.
"This one is red! What about yours?"
"Blue!"
"This one is blue too!"
Claire and Fabian had found gems of the same color. Immediately afterward, as if they had made a prior agreement, the two of them pressed their gems firmly.
An instinctive action. In response, the runic letters on the iron pillars began to glow.
Shhaaaaa—
Roughly swirling particles of light. Then a blue curtain connected the two pillars.
A glowing wall was created.
A wall made of the same barrier spell as the entrance to the test site. In its center, the number 1 was written.
A barrier that only one person can pass through.
Its meaning was clear.
…It's a device to hinder the bull's pursuit.
The steel bull had a tendency to chase the last person who attacked it.
One person runs around avoiding the bull, while the others switch places at the right moment—or create walls to help the one running escape.
To summarize…
It's a test to check teamwork.
Until the sand in the hourglass runs out.
A test where they must stall for time together with their companions.
They finally understood the secret of this trial. Now what they needed was strategy. Claire opened her mouth to share the information with the others.
"Jin! I figured something out—"
Thwack!!
Woojin punched the bull with full force. It was an uppercut that rose upward. After taking the blow, the bull staggered and was driven back into the wall.
Then Woojin stomped the ground and leaped forward. He delivered a kick to the bull's body as it leaned against the wall.
Boom!!
The bull crumpled like a crushed tin can. After that, Woojin turned his head.
"Claire. What were you saying?"
"…Just keep doing what you were doing."
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