The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 139

Aden had seen numerous types of golems throughout his life.

Ice golems and stone golems that naturally formed in nature, magical circuit golems made in the Magic Tower, and irregular golems found occasionally in ruins like the guardians of the labyrinth.

But he had never encountered something like this.

“A golem using holy power…”

A golem, neither a priest nor even a living creature, using holy power—did this make any sense?

But it had actually happened.

The labyrinth’s guardian, in the form of the first saintess, assumed a martial arts stance.

A terrifying red aura surged and flared from the statue’s body.

The overwhelming pressure was palpable.

Seeing this, Aden instinctively knew.

The difficulty now would be completely different from when it was in the knight’s form earlier.

The labyrinth’s guardian took a step forward.

Crash!

As the floor shattered around its feet, the guardian lunged at Aden.

‘Fast!’

Startled, Aden quickly raised Baalzebul’s broad side as a shield.

The guardian’s holy power-infused fist collided with Baalzebul’s blade.

Boom!

A fierce explosion and a thunderous sound erupted from the clash between Aden’s blue aura blade and the guardian’s red holy power.

The guardian’s physical strength, now using holy power, was on a completely different level from before.

Aden was overpowered and flung backward.

Crash!

Aden smashed into the stone wall at the back, causing the entire room to reverberate with the impact.

“Ugh!”

The shock made Aden gasp, his eyes widening.

Pain shot up his spine and spread through his back and head.

At that moment, he saw the guardian’s leg about to strike his face.

The red holy power-coated leg was drawing a half-circle, aiming for Aden’s head.

“…!”

Aden rolled to the side just in time to avoid the roundhouse kick.

Rolling across the dusty floor was hardly dignified for a master.

But it was a wise choice.

The guardian’s kick struck the wall where Aden had been.

Crash!

Cracks spread across the stone wall like a spider web, and a hole more than two meters in diameter was punched through it.

Had he not dodged, Aden’s head would have been at the center of that hole.

Aden quickly got to his feet.

“Ugh…”

He tasted blood in his mouth.

It seemed he had sustained some internal injuries.

One exchange.

In just one exchange, Aden had suffered internal injuries from the guardian.

‘They said the knight form was the strongest…’

It seemed the information was severely wrong.

Behind the guardian, red holy power shimmered, forming the shape of wings.

‘That movement and those wing-like shapes… It’s definitely Blood Wings.’

Blood Heaven.

Blood Heaven, meaning to cover the sky with blood, was a unique martial art of the Slaughter Cult, passed down only to the top saintess.

The labyrinth’s guardian was replicating that martial art.

It seemed the guardian had indeed copied the form of the first saintess.

Although the exact conditions were unknown, it probably transformed into this form under certain circumstances.

– Al, Tair, Seka.

The guardian attacked Aden again.

The guardian’s fists, infused with the essence of Blood Heaven and red holy power, rained down on Aden.

Aden narrowly dodged the attacks, trying to buy time.

‘According to legend, the first saintess of the Slaughter Cult reached the transcendental stage.’

Transcendental stage, Grandmaster.

The final destination that a superhuman, who had surpassed humanity, could reach.

Legend said the first saintess’s martial prowess was strong enough to annihilate giants.

‘Of course, that doesn’t mean this thing is that strong…’

The guardian’s form was merely imitating recorded movements.

It likely fell far short of the actual prowess of the first saintess.

If it were as strong as the original, the underground space itself would have collapsed.

Such was the transcendental stage.

In other words, it was best to think of it as a degraded version of the first saintess.

‘The problem is that even the degraded version can’t be ignored.’

The guardian, using holy power and Blood Heaven, exhibited martial prowess almost equal to the Iron-Blooded Saintess at her peak in Aden’s past life.

‘Damn it, does it make sense for a golem to be at a master level?’

But Aden had no time to dwell on this fact.

Whoosh!

The guardian’s attack whizzed past Aden’s ear.

Had he been 0.1 seconds slower, half his head would have been blown off.

‘If it weren’t for Aura Vision, I’d be in trouble.’

Using Aura Vision, Aden predicted the guardian’s martial arts movements and dodged them.

The fact that the guardian was using Blood Heaven also helped.

Having seen the Iron-Blooded Saintess use it countless times in his past life, Aden was familiar with the martial art and its techniques.

This allowed him to at least dodge the guardian’s attacks.

But that meant he could only dodge.

If this continued, the guardian would eventually seize the initiative and defeat him.

‘I have no choice.’

Aden decided to use all his hidden techniques.

– Using the ‘Ring of Swiftness’.

A ring of swiftness that could double his speed for 10 seconds, three times a day.

He thought there would be almost no need to use it, now that he had reached the level of a superhuman.

However, to catch up with the speed of the labyrinth guardian, who had taken on the form of the first saint and become extremely fast, the use of the ring of swiftness was necessary.

Aden’s movements became even more agile and distinctly faster.

Whoooosh!

The labyrinth guardian’s fist flew towards Aden’s solar plexus.

It was at that moment.

Kaaang!

With a metallic sound, the labyrinth guardian’s punch was blocked.

-…!

The labyrinth guardian’s eyes twitched as he looked at the object that had blocked his attack.

-“Summon Banshee’s Spirit Shield.”

In one of Aden’s hands, a shield of silver brilliance, Banshee’s Spirit Shield, was blocking the guardian’s fist.

-“Use ‘Berserk Ability.’ All of the user’s stats increase by 300%.”

Kwaaang!

With brute force, he pushed the labyrinth guardian’s body back.

The sudden surge of immense strength left the labyrinth guardian no choice but to be pushed back.

Aden’s entire body overflowed with power, and his mana surged wildly.

However, the intensity was severe.

“Grr.”

A sound escaped from Aden’s tightly clenched teeth.

He bit so hard that his mouth bled slightly.

-“Due to the penalty of ‘Berserk Ability,’ you fall into a state of ‘Frenzy.'”

-“Your strong mental power suppresses the frenzy.”

-“Warning! The penalty has increased due to the rise in realm grade!”

-“The degree of the ‘Frenzy’ status abnormality increases!”

Berserk Ability.

A berserk power created with the Banshee’s grudge and madness.

In fact, it was a double-edged sword.

Using the shield while in a berserk state meant he had to control the boiling fighting spirit and madness.

‘It wasn’t this bad before.’

When his aura realm was lower than his mental enlightenment, he could suppress the frenzy with mental power.

But now Aden’s aura grade was at the level of a superhuman.

The price for gaining strength beyond mental enlightenment was a heightened state of frenzy.

In the middle of battle, especially in a crucial moment like this, losing control to madness would surely lead to defeat.

But it was only a brief moment, and Aden soon felt his mind stabilize.

-“Florence’s Pendant stabilizes the user’s mind.”

-“Status abnormality, ‘Frenzy,’ is lifted.”

It was thanks to Florence’s Pendant, an artifact of the ancient Florence royal family, that stabilized Aden’s mind.

He had kept wearing it since it was a cursed item that couldn’t be taken off once worn.

‘I didn’t expect this kind of help, but it’s fortunate.’

Aden began his next move, easily blocking and deflecting the labyrinth guardian’s attacks with his shield.

On his back, a semi-transparent blue, crystal-like ice cloak appeared and fluttered.

-“Summon ‘Frozen Winter Cloak.'”

The spirit armament left behind by the Banshee Queen, the Winter Queen, when she perished: the Frozen Winter Cloak.

As the pale cloak, imbued with the deep cold of winter, fluttered…

Sssssst!

An icy chill that penetrated to the bone flowed from Aden.

It was the unique ability of the Banshee Queen’s spirit armament, the Frozen Winter Cloak, being used for the first time.

-“Use ‘Sanctuary of Frost.'”

Sanctuary of Frost.

A technique that instantly froze and filled an area within a 15-meter radius with frost.

The frost, nurtured by the Winter Queen over hundreds of years, surged towards the labyrinth guardian.

Creeeeeak!

Frost formed on the surface, climbing up from the ankles with a chilling cold.

In an instant, the lower body of the guardian was covered in ice.

-…!

The surprised labyrinth guardian summoned his holy power to break the ice and melt the frost on his surface.

However, no matter how much he melted and broke, the frost kept binding him, slowing the labyrinth guardian’s movements.

It was persistent and heavy, as if frozen people in winter had reached out and clung to his legs.

Aden did not miss that moment.

‘That creature has no core in its body.’

After confirming with his aura vision, it was clear.

No, to be precise, the creature itself was the core.

The core that Aden had shattered.

It had merged with the liquid mineral forming the labyrinth guardian’s body, and to defeat such a creature, there was only one method.

‘If the being itself is a core, then completely destroy it.’

Whoooosh!

Aden moved into the labyrinth guardian’s blind spot, whose movements had slowed.

The labyrinth guardian tried to respond, but he was a step too late.

Aden felt the sensation of the guardian’s punch grazing him as he moved in closer.

Grrrrr…

Baalzebul glowed red and growled.

Fwoooosh!

Aden’s blue aura blade and red flames flared up wildly.

Dragon Slayer Swordsmanship, Scale Slash.

Thwack!

The slash struck the center of the labyrinth guardian’s chest.

Fwoooosh!

The flames that cleaved dragon scales engulfed the labyrinth guardian.

The labyrinth guardian, now extremely cold and hard due to the extreme mana chill, faced a powerful strike.

In such a situation, the fiery aura would cause a rapid expansion of heat throughout the guardian’s body.

Now, what would happen?

The labyrinth guardian showed the answer.

Crack.

From the chest pierced by Baalzebul, cracks spread like a spider web.

– Ah, dnlfql… ve… ke…

The labyrinth guardian’s voice crackled.

Cracks spread from its torso to its limbs, past its neck, and finally to its head.

Paaaat!

It shattered.

Like a ceramic pot breaking, the guardian’s entire body shattered into pieces.

The fragments of the labyrinth guardian scattered like crystals in all directions.

– You have defeated the Guardian ‘Protector of the Labyrinth’.

This time, a proper system message appeared.

It was a statement confirming the complete destruction of the Protector of the Labyrinth.

“Huff, huff…”

Aden exhaled heavily.

The Protector of the Labyrinth, an ancient weapon of the Slaughter Cult.

The performance of this damned golem was such that even a Sword Master couldn’t ignore it.

– ‘Banshee’s Spirit Shield’ is being unsummoned.

– ‘Mantle of the Frozen Winter’ is being unsummoned.

With the battle over, Aden deactivated the spirit armaments.

The ice mantle and spirit shield that had wrapped around his body quietly disappeared and reverted to their emblems.

Then, the cold air that had frozen the entire room of the Protector of the Labyrinth also subsided.

However, as the whole room was still completely frozen, white breaths escaped with Aden’s exhalations.

Despite his victory, Aden could not rejoice.

“Damn it…”

The Ring of Swiftness, the shield, the mantle.

All of these were originally meant to be reserved for facing Spica.

‘But to use up my strength here for such a matter, damn it, truly.’

But this was not the time to conserve his strength.

If he held back thinking of the future and ended up dying, that would be even more ridiculous.

He had to use all the strength he could muster.

At that moment,

Aden felt his vision blur.

– As a penalty for using ‘Berserk Ability’, your stats are temporarily halved!

– As a penalty for ‘Sanctuary of Frost’, your body is affected by the cold!

The spirit armaments left by the Banshee after its exorcism were, strictly speaking, cursed equipment.

Using two such items simultaneously.

As much as it provided immense power at once, it also came with significant risks.

The side effects of using the Berserk Ability caused his entire muscles to scream in pain as an enormous fatigue swept over him.

This alone was unpleasant, but the real problem was the Sanctuary of Frost.

‘The penalty is stronger than I thought…’

Due to the side effects of the Sanctuary of Frost, the chilling cold seeped deep into his bones, trying to freeze him from the inside out.

Aden’s aura resisted, but it wasn’t easy to manage due to the fatigue.

Aden struggled to overcome the overwhelming exhaustion.

– Dragon Slayer, are you alright?

‘It’s nothing to worry about.’

It was only a temporary condition.

Even if his body was damaged by the cold, the mana of regeneration would heal him.

‘I need to rest for a while.’

With that thought, Aden collapsed on the spot.

Seeing this, Unknown, who had been trembling while watching the fierce battle from behind a stone door, hurriedly approached Aden, startled.

Then, Unknown shook Aden’s fallen body vigorously.

“Eek! Hey! Are you dying? Master, get a hold of yourself!”

“Hah, what’s this? Are you worried?”

“No, if you’re going to die, at least tell me how to get out of here first! If you die, how am I supposed to get out?”

“You damned…”

Aden uttered those words and then lost consciousness.