Chapter 19:
Jesters’ Chains and Immobile Ambush
“HE HE. HEE HEE… I won!” Ginem Bari raised his fist in the air, overjoyed. “I won. I beat you!”
The chains unleashed by the jester golems had restrained Gol’s entire body. They bound the youthful elf’s slim form like slithering snakes, causing her, um, lovely breasts to swell.
Outlining the smooth curves of her hips.
Accenting her white, seductive thighs.
Each time she weakly struggled, the chains slowly, alluringly, and lewdly tightened as if licking the fair skin of a helpless maiden.
This is absolutely, positively, an utterly depraved sight. I definitely don’t think this is appropriate viewing for children.
“H-hey, mister. Teru—”
“I-I’m already on it…” Mr. Chotos had covered Teru’s eyes with his hands.
Nice job, mister! This has to be the best work you’ve done all day!
“Papa, what is it? Aw, Teru wants to see, too!”
I’m sorry, Teru. This fierce battle is far too provocative for you.
Unfortunately, while I was concerned about both Gol’s modesty and the state of children’s education, I still had to keep an eye out for any signs of the ambush waiting in the forest to my right.
Even though this was the perfect chance to attack now that Gol was ensnared, the heavy-class golem hadn’t moved.
I could kind of see why. I suspected the ambush had realized I was aware of them. The heavy-class golem and its wielder had been moving slowly until they suddenly stopped at some point and simply…held their breath.
Moreover, they’d paused after I had Mr. Chotos and the others move to my left. I didn’t think they had made any suspicious moves since. Rather, although I thought I had directed everyone to move naturally, the ambush had sensed my intentions from the simple fact that we changed positions. This unidentified enemy had fantastic intuition.
Yet even though they had lost the advantage of a surprise attack, I couldn’t identify their exact location unless they revealed themselves. In any case, they didn’t seem to be planning to withdraw or hide.
Well, that was to be expected. They had no idea just what me and my spatial awareness were capable of. They might have assumed I detected the possibility of an ambush from the lingering remains of the mist-like anti-detection spell, rather than my seeing through it. As such, they thought they could stay still and assume I was unable to pinpoint their location.
But did they intend to continue to stay, or were they just waiting for the opportune moment? I really didn’t think they would get a better chance than this one.
In that case, did they really intend to hide until the very end? If I could, I would very much like to avoid having any confrontation with a heavy-class golem, so in my heart, I really hoped they would cleave to the “remain hidden” tactic.
Seemingly unaware of the behind-the-scenes mind games between me and the ambush party, Ginem Bari grinned in triumph. “Not even a military-grade shield golem can break the ‘jester chain’! You let your guard down, shrine golem wielder.”
“Ehhh?! Those chains are that terrifying?” I exclaimed.
The clowns’ chains didn’t look all that tough. Moreover, because the restrained Gol kept bashfully glancing at me, I couldn’t shake the impression that they were a certain kind of, ah, indecent chain.
Wh-what should I do?
On top of the damn mind games with the ambush, I was growing increasingly concerned for Gol.
“Well, it’s about time,” Ginem Bari said. As he did, the chains began to tighten and constrict, squeezing Gol ever more. This jester chain was far stronger and more brutal than its appearance suggested. Ginem Bari grinned even more broadly. “You’ve caused quite a lot of trouble for us. This is the end, red-eyed shrine golem!”
With this shout, one jester golem brandished its dagger and dove through the air like a bird of prey at the immobile, defenseless Gol. It was the one that had held back from the dagger-throwing and chain-shooting, and this attack was the reason why. This guy would deliver the final blow.
“Gol!” I screamed.
As if in response to my cry, Gol lurched and took a heavy step forward, her body still bound in chains. With her tremendous power, she dragged the jester golems attached to them.
“Ha! Unbelievable, phenomenal! But there’s no point!” Ginem howled.
The jester golem in the air drove both daggers down nigh simultaneously, but with the slightest time differential. One blade aimed to hit Gol’s flank, the other, the pattern on her forehead.
I had a terrible feeling. The clown’s subtle, focused movements and Ginem Bari’s confident leer, certain of his victory… Could these blades actually pierce Gol’s skin?
The corners of Ginem’s mouth curled up as I gasped. The jester golem’s stone daggers hit Gol’s body.
At that moment, Gol violently brandished her head. Her monstrous headbutt smashed forward, and her adamantine forehead sunk into the clown’s skull, shattering it to pieces in a single blow.
Head destroyed, the clown’s body crashed to the earth with the remaining momentum, bouncing off the ground and tumbling as it scattered shards.
“Wh-wh-what…?!” Ginem Bari stared in surprise, speechless. That expression was soon colored with further shock.
Gol spread her arms, shoving away the chains that bound her. Her brute strength rivaled that of her bindings. She paused for a moment, then flung her arms out with all her might, shattering the chains with both arms. Broken fragments danced through the air.
Wh-what gorilla-like strength…!
Splinters of broken chain glittered around Gol like some kind of special effect, making her look exactly like a divine, glowing angel.
With their chains suddenly snapped, the two remaining jester golems lost their balance and staggered. Gol didn’t overlook the chance. Her two white arms swiped for them simultaneously, and each hand grasped one of the two clowns. She lifted her captives in twin clawholds.
This was the same move she had used against the shrine golems. It was a move to demonstrate she had the leeway to be extravagant, and that she surpassed her enemy in every imaginable way. The clowns, lifted by their clutched heads, looked like pitiful prisoners waiting to be hung by the neck until dead.
Gol threw her two enemies into the ground. An explosion of destruction resounded through the meadow. Their purple bodies burst into shards, their heads completely demolished, and their bodies absolutely motionless.
Gol slowly stood. The pristine elf goddess calmly surveyed the battlefield. The headless remains of three clowns lay in pieces at her feet. Never showing anything but the greatest restraint, Gol had slaughtered three enemies at practically the same time. As usual, her strength defied sense.
She glanced at the remains before turning to face Ginem Bari behind her. The defeat of a golem determined the outcome of its wielder.
In one smooth motion, Gol charged the paralyzed Ginem Bari. Her fearsome speed turned the white goddess into a bullet. Her crimson eyes burned as if she were high on bloodlust, and she swung her right arm. The moment of her victory was assured.
Yet the look on Ginem’s face filled me with an indescribable discomfort. His wide eyes were directed not at Gol’s terrifying approach, but, for some reason, at me.
These were not the eyes of defeat.
Why? Did this man think he hadn’t lost? Did he possibly have some way to defeat Gol? No, it couldn’t be.
Every detail of every movement was available to me through my heightened senses. Gol’s high-speed fist was already on course. Ginem Bari had no time to dodge, guard, or even cast a spell.
So why did Ginem Bari look like he had won?
Or was he feeling something different?
Then it dawned on me. This was the look of a man who had met his equal: frustration mixed with a kind of resignation, and a strange sense of full satisfaction.
It felt like he was saying I would get my comeuppance. Like he was saying…yes…like he thought this was a draw. He thought we had reached a tie. But if that was true…
Ginem Bari’s defeat was inevitable, but he didn’t think our draw equaled Gol’s defeat. No, the one he thought would meet a defeat equal to his own was me.
The memory of the ambush party flashed like lightning in my head.
The moment I believed my victory complete was my most thoughtless. Gol and I had never been further apart than we now were. Was this what Ginem Bari had been aiming for?
But I had never once taken my eyes off the ambush. Even now, the heavy-class golem hadn’t taken a single step forward—
At that moment, I sensed an enormous object being shot from my right.