East Zone
At the top of the mountain, two entities were gathered, holding small fragments that emitted a faint glow—almost lifeless. They carried them toward a broken portal that gave off a weak light.
"Hurry!" shouted the first one, his voice filled with desperation. "The Master won't be pleased at all!"
The second one sighed deeply, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
"Damn it! I know, but do you have any idea how heavy this is?!"
"Hey, you two."
They jumped in fright at the sound of someone calling them. It was their superior.
"Who gave you permission to complain about the Master's orders? You should be grateful you're not being decapitated right here and now!" he growled, gripping the hilt of his sword and emanating an oppressive aura.
"Y-yes, sir!!" they replied in unison, nodding frantically in fear.
"Then get back to work!"
"Understood!"
As they returned to their task, the superior picked up one of the fragments and muttered to himself:
"Now that I think about it… they're right. This thing really is heavy!"
***
Succubus Bar
Inside room 57, Erick sat facing the girl in front of him.
"And that's what happened…" he finished, sweating coldly.
The girl remained silent for a moment, pondering his words.
"I see… and now you want me to go with you?"
"Y-yes, that's right—!"
"I refuse."
She crossed her arms and turned her face away sharply, her expression serious.
"Huh? Why?!" Erick asked, frowning in confusion. "I already told you everything, so why?"
"I have my reasons. Besides, I don't trust you, human!"
"Stop being so stubborn!"
"I already said no. Hmph!" she huffed, turning her face away again, clearly irritated.
Erick widened his eyes in disbelief, but then sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Looks like she's not leaving me any choice… I'll have to do it the hard way."
Without hesitation, he walked to the door and left, leaving the girl relieved.
"Finally… some peace—"
Suddenly, Erick returned and swiftly threw a sack over her.
"H-hey! What do you think you're doing?! Let me go right now!" she growled, struggling to break free.
"Sorry, but I don't have any other option!"
"You…!!"
She tore the sack apart with her sharp claws and leaped at him. Erick fought to defend himself as she attacked him fiercely.
The commotion inside the room drew the attention of people in the hallway. Customers gathered in front of door 57, curious and alarmed.
"What's going on?" someone in the crowd asked.
Louis and Lilithy ran up the stairs, startled by the noise.
"It's Onee-sama's room!" Lilithy exclaimed.
"We have to get in there now!"
Before they could advance, a huge wolf-man blocked their path, lazily holding a glass of wine.
"Where do you think you're going? Can't you see a man is working in there?" he said mockingly.
"Hey!"
They pushed past the wolf-man and rushed to the room. When they opened the door, they saw Erick being held by the neck by the girl, who looked ready to kill him.
"Louis, help me! Tie her up with that rope!" Erick shouted in agony.
"Lilithy, stop him! Beat this brat up!" the girl shouted back.
"This is all a misunderstanding!"
Both of them yelled at the same time.
The girl raised an eyebrow and released Erick, who fell unconscious to the floor.
"Hm?"
After a lot of struggling, the situation finally calmed down. Louis explained everything that had happened. Again.
"And that's what happened…"
The girl sighed, crossing her arms.
"I understand… but even so, I can't go with you."
"But, Rose nee-sama, why?" Lilith asked, frowning.
"You know we can't trust humans, Lilith. Especially this one," Rose shot a fierce glare at Erick.
"I already apologized for that…" Erick muttered.
"Hmph. Besides… we can't leave this village."
The mood grew tense. Rose looked uncomfortable, her face starting to pale. Erick noticed she was hiding something but chose not to press her.
"If you have nothing else to say, please leave…" she suggested, her voice heavy with bitterness, her ears flattened.
Lilith placed a hand over her chest.
"Nee-sama…"
Erick stayed silent for a moment, lost in thought. He couldn't take his eyes off her, noticing the lack of a tail and other feline traits. That's when an idea struck him.
"So you really won't come with us… In that case, I think I've found the solution!"
Erick stood up and ran toward the door.
"Hey, Nii, where are you going?!—"
The door slammed shut.
"What's gotten into him?..."
"I'd like to know too…" Louis muttered, facepalming.
***
While Louis and Lilithy waited, worried about Erick's delay, a loud crash echoed from outside. The bar's wall was destroyed, and Erick emerged carrying the old Gur, who was tied up.
"Ah, hi."
Rose and Lilith's eyes widened in shock.
"W-what are you doing, human?!" Rose shouted in disbelief, instinctively stepping back.
"I thought that if I brought him here, you'd come with us. With his permission, you can leave, right?"
Rose was stunned, but before she could respond, a suffocating aura filled the room.
"How dare you, brat?!" Gur roared, his voice reverberating like thunder.
The pressure was so intense that everyone could barely breathe. Erick froze instantly as the ground shook violently.
"W-what is this pressure?!… I can't breathe…"
"You idiot! Did you really think I'd let you take them away just like that…? Never! I would never let these two failures leave this village."
"B-but you even gave us their room numbers! So you were lying the whole time?!" Erick said, his face filled with rage.
Stones began to vibrate on the ground around him.
At first, they were just small tremors. Rock fragments slid across the dry earth as if pulled by an invisible force. Then, one after another, huge stones slowly rose into the air.
"What's happening?!"
The mana around Gur exploded violently.
"Golem Creation: Murahura!"
The suspended stones began to merge.
First, a colossal arm appeared. Then the torso. Next, the monstrous head took shape, with eyes glowing like embers in the cracks of the rock.
The ground trembled the moment the creature finished rising, casting a suffocating shadow over everyone.
Louis felt his body freeze for a brief moment. He tried to react, but it was too late.
With a brutal motion, the golem raised its massive hand and slammed it down like a meteor.
"Louis, watch out!"
Fortunately, Erick pushed him out of the way at the last second, but was thrown far away himself, landing among the trees.
Louis ran to Erick, eyes wide.
"Nii! Are you okay?!"
"Yeah… it didn't hurt that much…"
Just as Louis helped Erick up, the heavy sound of footsteps caught their attention. He turned quickly and saw the golem advancing toward them.
Louis instinctively stepped in front of Erick, even though he had no idea how to fight it.
"Please! Stop! Don't hurt them!" Lilith shouted, her eyes shining with a mix of fear and courage.
Gur abruptly halted the golem and looked at her with contempt.
"Shut your mouth, you abomination," he said with cutting coldness.
Those words hit Lilith like a blade to the soul. She lowered her head, visibly shaken.
"Don't talk to her like that!" Rose advanced with uncontrollable anger, ready to confront Gur.
Gur raised an eyebrow, finding the situation pathetic. But before he could reply, she leaped forward, attacking him with all her strength. Gur summoned a smaller golem to face her.
Louis and Erick watched the scene in awe as the girl fought fiercely against the village leader.
"What strength…" Erick murmured, his eyes shining with admiration.
"Nii, can you move? We need to help her!" Louis grabbed his brother's arm. Erick nodded with effort.
The giant golem advanced on them.
"Why does this old man have to be so strong?!" Erick shouted, panting.
The battle had only just begun, and the field had already become the stage for an intense and merciless fight.
***
Inside the Paths' base, Cosmo sat calmly, staring at the horizon without showing any concern.
"Captain… are you sure they'll be okay?" Wally asked, visibly worried.
Cosmo gave a carefree smile, still looking at the horizon.
"Don't worry, Wally. As long as they don't piss off that old Gur, everything will be fine. And I trust Erick; he wouldn't do anything reckless!"
Wally sighed deeply and shook his head.
"You're right, Captain. All we can do is trust Erick!"
Meanwhile…
Erick could barely hold back Gur's advance.
"Damn it, I can't even get close to him…"
The enormous golem continued its devastating attacks while Erick and Louis defended themselves as best they could.
"You've become quite skilled, but you chose to hide it for so long. Why?" Gur said as his smaller golem relentlessly attacked Rose.
Rose, clearly exhausted, tried to dodge the attacks. Her breathing was heavy, but the fury in her eyes hadn't diminished.
"Tch! You're going to pay for everything you did to me and Lilith!" she declared, consumed by rage.
The smaller golem struck her hard, sending her flying violently into several trees.
"Rose-nee!" Lilith screamed, running to her.
Rose struggled to get up when the smaller golem grabbed her. Gur approached and held her chin with contempt.
"You should be grateful I spared you and your sister. Putting you in that bar was a favor. Otherwise, you two would still be locked in that hole, never seeing the light of day again…"
"You… damn old man…"
The golem began to crush her slowly, and screams of pain echoed across the field.
"Nee-sama!" Lilith cried, tears streaming down her face.
Suddenly, a blast of energy was launched at Gur, who barely managed to dodge it at the last moment.
"Let her go!" Erick growled, his clothes in tatters but his determination intact.
"What?! How did you get past Murahura?!" Gur asked, incredulous.
"It was tough, but we managed. Right, Louis?"
Louis appeared behind the smaller golem and successfully freed Rose.
"Your biggest mistake was making such a huge golem, old man. Like they say: the bigger…"
With impressive speed, Erick attacked Gur, hurling him into several trees.
"…the harder the fall!"
Lilith ran to Rose, who was in Louis's arms.
"Nee…"
"Don't worry, she just passed out," Louis reassured her.
The ground began to shake violently. Erick stayed alert as Gur stood up, his aura growing even more intense.
"I am Gur Herwolfys, leader of this village. Do you really think I'll lose to a mere human?!" His voice echoed through the forest with arrogance and fury.
Then, Gur slowly raised his hands to the sky. The mana around him began to stir violently.
"Golem Transformation: Albion!"
At that moment, the rocks scattered across the ground started trembling.
Stones broke free from the earth and rushed toward Gur's body, covering his arms first, then his chest and legs. Layer after layer of rock accumulated over him, making his presence increasingly oppressive.
The sound of colliding stones echoed nonstop.
His body grew.
And kept growing.
Entire trees looked small compared to the monstrous form taking shape in the center of the forest.
Erick swallowed hard.
"W-What a huge…"
The giant attacked, creating a massive crater in the ground around them. Erick quickly checked on his allies—there were no serious injuries, but the fear was palpable. Erick clenched his fists, his strength beginning to fade.
"Damn it… why did the captain send us on such a difficult mission?!"
Erick finally made a decision.
"Louis, take Rose and Lilith away from here. Now."
"No! I can't leave you alone again!" Louis protested, his voice heavy with painful memories.
"I know… but this time I need all of you to stay safe."
"Lilith, go with him…" Rose said, waking up groggy.
"Rose-nee, what about you?" Lilith frowned, distressed.
"I have some scores to settle with this old man…"
Reluctantly, Louis and Lilith began to retreat.
"Don't die this time, Nii," Louis said, his eyes watery, before disappearing into the forest.
"I'll try…"
Now, only Erick and Rose remained against Gur.
"Hey, Rose… I wanted to apologize for trying to kidnap you earlier. Sorry. After this… can we be friends?"
Rose rolled her eyes and pushed away the hand Erick extended.
"Hmph. I still hate you, human."
"Ahh…" he sighed.
Without another word, the two charged at Gur, dodging his devastating attacks. Rose used her feline agility to climb up the giant golem's arm.
"Get off my arm!"
Gur raised his massive hand, destroying trees and rocks around him. But Rose didn't stop. With agile steps, she ran across the steep surface without hesitation.
Several mini golems emerged from the arm where Rose was and began attacking her. She fought back as more and more mini golems appeared.
"Tch, damn it…"
Rose saw another arm coming toward her, ready to crush her. With a nimble move, she jumped onto that arm and, without losing momentum, kept running, skillfully dodging the attacks. Her movements were precise until she finally reached the top of the golem's head.
"So this is where you are."
She broke part of the golem's head, revealing Gur inside.
"You…!"
Gur emerged from the golem and began fighting Rose directly.
"You think only my golems are strong?!"
Gur unleashed a series of heavy blows on Rose, who struggled to dodge. Her movements were fast and precise, but she had trouble keeping up with Gur's speed and power.
"He's too strong!"
Rose was hit hard and thrown onto the golem's shoulder. Dazed, she tried to recover while Gur stared at her with hatred, fury overflowing.
"After I kill you, I'll kill your little sister too."
Rose smiled.
Gur raised an eyebrow.
"Hm? What's so funny?"
"Don't you think you're forgetting someone?"
Gur felt a massive wave of energy and looked up quickly, seeing Erick with his hand pointed at him.
"Full power!"
A huge electrical discharge struck Gur from above, enveloping him in blinding light. The impact was so powerful that Gur fell unconscious, while his colossal golem began to crumble, collapsing into pieces around them.
"We did it!" Rose said excitedly.
However, her happiness vanished when she saw Erick falling unconscious.
"Human!" Rose exclaimed, rushing quickly to him.
***
A few minutes later, Erick slowly opened his eyes, still dizzy from extreme exhaustion. Louis and the others sighed in relief upon seeing him wake up.
"Nii!" Louis hugged him tightly.
"Did we… win?"
Rose crossed her arms.
"Hmph, of course we did, you idiot."
"Well…" Erick stood up slowly, still feeling the exhaustion in his muscles. "Now that we defeated him… have you changed your mind about coming with us?" he asked hopefully.
Rose was about to refuse, but Lilith firmly held her hand, determined to support whatever decision she made.
"Ah… fine… we'll go…"
Erick, unable to contain his joy, jumped happily and hugged her, making her blush instantly.
"You…!!"
***
After Gur's "defeat," Erick, Louis, and their new companions headed back to the Paths' base. Upon arrival, they found Cosmo sitting calmly, drinking tea with the others.
"Ah! Young Erick, I see you completed the mission… hmm?" Cosmo frowned in confusion upon noticing Erick's condition: clothes in tatters and his face covered in claw marks. "What happened to you, kid?"
"It's a long story, Captain…"
"Hmph!"
Rose crossed her arms while Louis and Lilith exchanged quiet giggles.
Meanwhile…
In the forest, after Gur regained consciousness, he found himself facing a hooded man sitting atop a tree.
"Who… are you?" Gur asked cautiously.
"…You're going to tell me everything you know about Cosmo."
"…And if I refuse?...—"
In the blink of an eye, his foot was severed, and Gur fell to the ground, groaning in pain as blood gushed out.
"I'll tell you! I swear!" he begged.
"Good…"
Some time later, as a woman from the village passed through the forest, she stopped in horror upon hearing a strange noise. She found the village leader, Gur, lifeless, his body mutilated and scattered among the trees. The scene was dark and sinister…
The woman screamed in horror, but before she could react, her head was brutally torn off, blood spraying as her lifeless body fell to the ground.
"I'm coming, Cosmo…"
Like a shadow in the wind, the hooded man disappeared without a trace.