WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 115: Triple Fusion
──────
The Obelisk Giant, a golem!
And Chugota, the three-headed wyvern.
She wasn't blue-eyed, nor was she a dragon, but if I had to give Chugota an Epithet, it would probably be ‘Ultimate Green-Eyed White Wyvern.’
The battle between the golem and Chugota was a massive event.
The problem was that I wasn't watching from somewhere safe. I was caught between them alongside Wyvern Mom.
‘It's still just a golem!’
I pointed out the important part.
It had the impressive name Obelisk Giant, but it was still only a golem.
It even looked much smaller than Chugota.
Meanwhile, weren't both wyverns monsters worthy of being called boss monsters?
Seleta was also a Named Monster. She was surely stronger than Akims, the Silverback Chimpanzee.
Yet Chugota completely overwhelmed even Seleta.
Could a mere golem stop Chugota?
-This thing...! Do you have any idea how incredible my golem is?
Pelerian spoke as though the very idea were absurd.
They weren't someone who would underestimate the danger of a Named Monster. Was that golem really that strong?
‘The guard golems I saw before weren't much, though...’
-Those golems were all broken.
Pelerian's golems had taught me magic.
The golems guarding the Dungeon had been half-destroyed and had lost most of their functions, but they must have been quite strong in their original state.
‘Come to think of it, they did have Destruction Beam.’
They were formidable golems that could even use Advanced Elemental Magic.
‘Still, they were way too stupid.’
Raw strength alone didn't make someone strong.
A buffalo was much stronger and larger than a lion, but an experienced lion could overwhelm a herd of buffaloes by itself.
Those stupid golems stopped moving when their eyes were covered.
Even if those strong but foolish golems had been intact, I thought I could beat them now.
-It is true that golems are stupid.
I expected Pelerian to shout, ‘You little idiot!’ but they were unexpectedly calm.
-But overwhelming output can overcome even that.
I soon learned what they meant by “output.”
The golem leaped down to the ground and pulled a spear from the floor.
A spear had emerged from an empty stone floor, so there was no other way to describe it.
Since I knew magic, I realized right away.
-Advanced Elemental Magic, specifically ‘Earth Spear.’
As long as it kept its feet on the ground, it could probably create an endless supply of spears.
The spear's extraordinary strength was immediately obvious.
The hole in the ground was far larger than the spear it had produced.
The golem pulled its arm far back like an experienced javelin thrower.
‘Oh.’
It was definitely different from the golem I had met in the Dungeon.
Its stone body interlocked and stretched like the muscles of a living creature.
-Dodge.
‘Of course I will!’
Thankfully, the golem was aiming for Chugota, who had fired the Beam.
When I pulled on the vines, Wyvern Mom twisted her body.
Then the golem threw the spear.
Calling it a throw was only my guess.
I hadn't seen the actual process of the golem throwing it.
There was the posture just before it threw the spear, and the posture after it had thrown it.
Everything in between seemed to have been cut out.
It felt as though someone had cut the middle from a strip of film and joined the two ends together.
A dizzying sound of air splitting apart.
That alone proved the golem had thrown the spear.
Kiiiiing-
The sound came afterward.
Not a whoosh, not a thud, but a kiiing.
The thrown spear had surpassed the speed of sound in an instant.
The gale created by its shock wave spread a moment later.
I had no choice but to cling tightly to Wyvern Mom's back so I wouldn't fall.
-Huhu, ahahahahahaha-!
Pelerian burst into loud laughter.
‘What was that? How did it do that?’
I'd survived long enough in this harsh world to gain some experience.
There had been formidable opponents among those I had fought and encountered.
The Named Monsters of the Great Forest were like that, as were heroes like Gunter.
Extraordinary physical abilities could sometimes produce feats that looked like magic.
But this was too much.
‘Can raw strength really do that?’
I couldn't even see the thrown spear.
This didn't seem like a simple matter of strength.
-Stacking Acceleration magic. It contains the essence of my golemcraft.
It sounded incredibly impressive.
So what result had that terrifying yet beautiful throw produced?
The spear had pierced Chugota after all.
“Guuuuu-!”
A cry that could have been a scream or a roar echoed through the air.
The spear should have pierced even a powerful skull and thick hide.
‘Ah...’
But it had only made a hole in Chugota's wing.
‘...Huh?’
Chugota hadn't even fallen.
The three-headed wyvern's wings were enormous, and they were already covered in scars and holes like medals of honor.
“Guuooh!”
The golem's merciless attack had passed through her wing like a bullet and only destroyed a few innocent stone pillars.
‘Come on, what was that!’
-Damn it. The fine calibration is still...
The golem that had displayed such tremendous speed now began moving slowly again.
‘Why did it slow down again?’
-It needs time to recover.
Pelerian was once again on the verge of losing my trust.
Still, they sounded as confident as some eccentric professor always saying, ‘If only you gave me more time and budget...’
-Don't worry. This is only the first stage of the Defensive Formation. Once it reaches Stage 3, no, just Stage 2, it should be able to catch that three-headed bastard.
What did it take to enter Stage 2?
Apparently, it needed this much commotion.
Wyvern Mom and Chugota became entangled in battle, fulfilling the condition.
“Kuooooo!”
“Guuuh!”
The roars from four mouths made heaven and earth tremble.
The two wyvern queens stopped firing Beams at one another and finally collided.
Boom!
They bit, clawed, and struck each other.
Their massive bodies were so heavy that simply swinging their necks dealt powerful blows.
Go, no, Chu, staggered after Seleta struck them with her head.
At the same time, Ta tore into Seleta's shoulder.
Thud, crash!
Whenever they slammed into stone pillars, the pillars crumbled instead.
I searched for a way to help Wyvern Mom.
‘Hellfire is dangerous for all of us, and Heavenly Thunder Decree is the same.’
Hanging from Wyvern Mom's back, the sky and ground switched places three times every ten seconds.
Just holding on made me want to throw up, so landing a precise attack was naturally difficult.
Should I jump onto Chugota?
It might be easier to fight her that way.
While I was considering it, Pelerian shouted.
-Stage 2!
I turned my head and saw that something had indeed changed.
Two more golems crawled out of the obelisk.
-Stage 2 of the Defensive Formation begins when all three emerge.
Would those two also throw spears?
“Kuoooh!”
Wyvern Mom let out a cry of pain.
One of Chugota's heads had torn into her chest.
Blood sprayed out as she began to fall.
“Saaak!”
I got my revenge.
The dagger Dawn shot forward and lodged in Go's eye socket.
A chilling scream followed.
Yet she wasn't looking at us as we fell. She was looking at the newly appeared golems.
She seemed to regard the golems as the greatest threat.
Chugota responded without fear.
Of course, she couldn't have become the queen of the Demonic Realm if a hole in her wing membrane frightened her.
Her three heads gathered together and unleashed a triple Destruction Beam.
At maximum output, without hesitation.
Whoom!
Lines of light burned through the air.
At a point in midair, the Destruction Beams were stopped by the invisible shield as before.
This time, though, Chugota seemed determined.
The Beams continued without stopping.
Wyvern Mom and I crashed down to the ground in the meantime.
Crash!
The impact was violent.
Wyvern Mom landed on her belly so I wouldn't be crushed beneath her.
Even so, stars flashed before my eyes.
The rising cloud of dust obscured everything.
Still, the ground was better than the dizzying sky.
As I staggered and tried to steady myself, I saw something through the dust.
First, all the golems had gathered and were reaching their hands into the air.
They looked like they were pouring power into the shield.
What caught my attention was beyond them.
Something was moving on the other side of the gathered golems.
It was strange for another wyvern to be crawling along the ground, and strange for termites to be walking on two legs.
They were people.
No, dwarves? Could they be from Gray Hammer Village?
They appeared to be trying to enter the stone tower while the golems were distracted.
The view of those close to the ground was limited.
Before I knew it, I had lost sight of them.
‘Hey, old man.’
I was about to tell Pelerian what I had seen, but they were distracted, staring only at the sky.
-As expected, an exceptional monster. Even her reserves of Mana run so deep.
Amazingly, Chugota was still firing Destruction Beams.
How was that even possible?
Even with just Beam, I ran out of Mana in an instant if I kept it going for long.
Chugota was still maintaining Destruction Beams from three heads at once, even though they consumed far more Mana.
Her Mana was just as incredible as her appearance.
-The shield...
‘...It's melting!’
An invisible wall had been blocking the Destruction Beams.
But it apparently wasn't infinite.
The air where the Beams struck began to glow red and melt.
Crack!
With the sound of shattering glass, the golems holding their arms aloft all fell over at once.
Chugota had clearly won the struggle.
“Guguk, gukuk.”
That was definitely a laugh of mockery.
After knocking over the golems, Chugota lowered her heads and looked down.
She was obviously planning to finish off Wyvern Mom and me.
The moment our eyes met.
“Gugugu-”
“Kiieeeeeek!”
“Kyaaah!”
All three heads roared as if enraged.
Why was she suddenly throwing a tantrum?
‘You went on about the Obelisk Giant, but it really was just some worthless golem!’
-It is not a mere golem. It is a Giant...!
I couldn't believe they were still acting so proud in this situation.
Then the fallen golems slowly rose.
-The shield has broken. That is the condition for entering the third stage of the Defensive Formation.
‘What happens in Stage 3?’
-The golems work together and actively repel intruders.
‘That doesn't sound much different from before!’
-I said ‘work together’ and ‘actively.’
The golems that had risen began to run.
But they weren't very fast.
And what were they going to do after running over here?
Chugota suddenly turned all her hostility toward us.
Foam poured from her mouths as she screeched.
Was this wyvern insane?
-J-Just wait a little longer!
The insane wyvern was diving straight toward us.
There was no choice.
If I fled alone, Wyvern Mom would be completely crushed.
‘Isil!’
I prepared to settle this once and for all with the Superheated Hell Sword.
-They are merging!
‘What?!’
It was an urgent situation, but Pelerian's voice forced me to turn toward the golems.
They weren't lying.
The three golems ran together and merged into one.
They transformed into another enormous golem.
Then its red eyes flashed as it used Acceleration.
Crack!
Boom!
The thunderous impact and the sound of bones breaking came almost at the same time.
The charging golem had already passed Wyvern Mom and me.
And Chugota had been diving toward us.
-I told you. It would stop her easily.
This time, I could allow Pelerian to boast.
One of her necks had been completely snapped.
She was no longer Chugota, but Chugo. Or maybe just Go...
Either way, serves her right!
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
