Chapter 357: Chapter 357

Lucas' entire being trembled.

But from something far deeper.

The moment he sensed the malevolent energy pulsing within the newly transformed Heavenly Golem, a violent, uncontrollable reaction erupted inside him.

His instincts—no, it was more than that—his very soul recoiled.

It felt as though his entire ancestry, his entire existence, was screaming in protest at the abomination standing before him.

His blood boiled, burning inside his veins, not with rage, but with an unsettling, unbearable sensation—like something fundamental within him rejected the creature's presence on an instinctive level.

Something deep, ancient, and unexplainable stirred within him, an overwhelming command echoing in the marrow of his bones.

His hands tightened around the hilt of his sword, his breath shallow, his heartbeat hammering like a war drum.

Like a force of nature meeting its polar opposite, Lucas felt himself being pushed back by something invisible, something that clashed against the very essence of his being.

He didn't understand why.

But every fiber of his soul told him—

He had to destroy this thing.

A sharp, final mechanical snap echoed across the battlefield, like the closing of a coffin lid.

Then, the voice ever so mechanical echoed once more.

[Heavenly Demonic Golem Transformation: Successful.]

The once silver colossus—now completely shrouded in a deep, abyssal black—shifted its gaze towards him.

Just a single glance.

And Lucas felt his entire body lock in place.

A crushing, suffocating pressure filled the air, pressing down on his chest like an iron weight.

The black aura surrounding the golem was thick, dense, and utterly foreign.

It wasn't just darkness.

It was an opposing force.

It clashed violently with Lucas' golden aura, the two energies crackling and distorting the very air itself as they met—like fire and ice, like light and shadow—two forces that were never meant to coexist.

The space around them shuddered.

Lucas' fingers twitched against his sword.

His entire being screamed to move— to act, to fight—

But his body wouldn't listen.

His voice came out lower, weaker than he wanted.

"…You… what are you…?"

His words barely left his lips, laced with uncertainty, tension, and an underlying nervousness.

He already knew the answer.

He had heard the mechanical voice moments ago—

It spoke of adaptation, adjustments, and demonic energy.

But knowing was different from accepting.

His mind was struggling to accept the terrifying reality standing before him

Questions loomed, heavy and suffocating.

How was this thing even moving with that much energy inside it?

How could it adapt so easily?

And most terrifying of all—

How did it have access to demonic energy?

The mechanical voice, its cold, precise announcements, still echoed in his mind. Was it sentient? An artificial intelligence? A creation of something far worse?

Too many things were happening all at once.

And not enough time to process any of them.

But none of that mattered right now.

What mattered was the absolute danger they were in—the very real possibility that this could be their end.

Lucas forced himself to stay calm, gritting his teeth as he assessed the situation as quickly as possible.

The golem wasn't attacking.

It was just standing there, watching him with its newly transformed crimson eyes.

It was adjusting. Adapting to its newfound form.

Seconds to find a way out of this.

Seconds to act before the absolute worst-case scenario became reality.

His hands clenched into trembling fists.

His mana? Nearly gone. He had poured everything into his final attack earlier.

His body? Completely strained. Every muscle screamed in pain, the aftereffects of pushing himself beyond his limits.

Cracked. Possibly broken.

He could feel it—every movement sending sharp, burning pain through his limbs.

His legs wobbled, his breathing was ragged, but he forced himself to take stock of his surroundings.

Where were the others?

He barely turned his head when he caught sight of Kagami.

His body was covered in burns, his once-proud aura completely gone.

He was struggling to stand—his body trembling, his arms shaking—yet still trying desperately to get up.

Kagami was far past his limits.

Just like him, he no longer had the mana to fight.

His fists clenched tighter.

A movement in the distance.

His gaze snapped toward Janica.

Her green eyes, usually full of confidence and unwavering strength—

Were now filled with despair.

Lucas swallowed hard as he took in the scene behind her.

They swarmed her from every direction, relentless, forcing her back, cutting her off.

Despite everything—despite her exhaustion, her rapidly depleting strength—she was still fighting.

Still trying to reach him.

Her voice rang out, sharp and filled with frustration, desperation.

She was locked in place—trapped by the sheer number of golems closing in around her.

Lucas' chest tightened.

They were out of time.

The golem in front of him was still adapting.

Janica was pinned down.

Kagami was barely conscious.

And Lucas himself—He was at his absolute limit.

The holy sword in Lucas's hands pulsed faintly, its divine radiance flickering like a dying ember.

For a moment, he thought it was trying to lend him strength—but without mana, there was nothing for it to amplify. No energy to channel. No power to unleash.

Lucas swallowed hard, forcing himself to move.

Pain flared through his body like molten steel searing into his nerves, but he ignored it.

His legs trembled as he struggled to take a step forward. His fingers tightened around the hilt of the sword, knuckles turning white as he tried to raise his arms into a defensive martial stance.

An unbearable pressure crashed down on him.

A suffocating, overwhelming force that stopped him cold.

A voice. Deep. Mechanical and unnaturally natural…

Yet somehow… almost curious.

[Human… You are interesting…]

Lucas's breath caught.

Before he could even process what was happening—

The demonic golem was already in front of him.

Its crimson eyes locked onto his.

Lucas felt his stomach drop.

A shiver ran down his spine as he stared into those unnatural, unblinking pools of red.

That's what burned in his own golden eyes—the raw, primal terror of standing before something that should not exist.

But in the golem's gaze?

Like it was… studying him.

Now that they were face to face, Lucas could finally see it—

The metallic roughness of its face had begun to change, the once-crude mechanical frame shifting.

Its features were becoming… human.

No, not just human—eerily familiar.

The dark, metallic skin took on a new texture, forming a visage disturbingly reminiscent of the people of the Eastern Empire.

A mockery of mortality.

The golem spoke again.

[My creator… wished for me to be perfect…]

[…and to achieve perfection would be to overcome death…]

[A trait all mortals cannot escape from.]

Lucas's heartbeat thundered in his ears.

The words were spoken so plainly, yet the weight behind them felt immense.

The golem—no, this thing—wasn't just an artificial creation.

It was something far, far worse.

Something that had conquered death itself.

It wasn't supposed to exist.

[Yet… now that I've been reborn… and cheated the concept you so call death…]

[I cannot see the perfection he sought…]

[Not in myself… but in the reflection I see in your golden eyes.]

Lucas didn't even see the movement.

A split second later—

A cold, unyielding grip clamped around his throat.

His body was lifted off the ground effortlessly, his boots dangling uselessly in the air.

His vision blurred for a moment as his mind struggled to process what had just happened.

It was already there.

It had moved so naturally, so fast, so perfectly, that Lucas hadn't even felt it until the pressure began crushing his windpipe.

His hands shot up, clawing at the cold, metallic fingers wrapped around his neck, but it was pointless.

The grip was like iron.

[My perfection is supposed to be guaranteed…]

[My creator's analytical predictions are flawless…]

The golem's glowing crimson eyes flickered, as though it was… thinking. Calculating.

Its mechanical voice echoed, not with anger, but with something even worse—

[…This body of mine has not achieved perfection.]

[The variables provided were sufficient…]

[Yet the outcome is not absolute…]

[Has my creator failed…?]

[Possibility rejected.]

Lucas felt something in his chest tighten.

It wasn't questioning its creator.

It was denying the very idea of failure.

It was forcing itself to rationalize its imperfection.

[Possible reason: insufficient variables?]

[The variables applied were flawless in script…]

[Adapting core… used 70%....]

A searing pain shot through his throat as the pressure crushed his airway.

His golden eyes widened in agony.

"Lucas!—FUCK! Wait for me!!"

A distant, hoarse voice.

Lucas's blurry vision caught sight of him stumbling forward, his body barely able to stand, his form shaking from exhaustion.

Lucas could see the sheer frustration in Kagami's eyes, the helplessness, the burning anger of watching his friend die right in front of him.

But the golem didn't care.

It didn't even acknowledge Kagami.

Lucas's blood turned ice-cold.

The golem's glowing eyes flickered once more.

[New set of variables recognized.]

[Applying code of action as per creator's design.]

Lucas felt his heart slam against his ribs.

He could barely fight back now.

Kagami was too wounded.

She was still fighting off hordes of golems in the distance, struggling, desperate.

This thing was targeting her.

'I can't let this thing get near her…!'

Lucas felt fear. True, raw fear.

And the golem noticed.

It slowly turned its mechanical head back toward him, its grip still crushing his throat.

It tilted its head slightly, as though analyzing his reaction.

[You possess the energy of your creator within you…]

[We are similar in nature.]

Lucas could barely focus, but the words struck him like a dagger.

The golem's voice lowered—cold, absolute.

[Your adaptation is guaranteed.]

Lucas's golden eyes trembled.

It was going to kill Janica.

The suffocating pressure in his chest.

The sheer hopelessness of the situation.

His fingers tightened around the pristine white sword in his hands, its blade trembling ever so slightly—

As if responding to his will.

A blinding arc of light slashed forward, cutting through the air with the last, desperate remnants of his strength.

It was everything he had left.

Every ounce of adrenaline, will, and raw survival instinct poured into that single attack.

It didn't even reach.

Before the blade could land—

Casually and effortlessly.

Lucas's vision blurred.

His body was launched into the air, soaring like a shooting star—

Before crashing into the castle walls behind him.

The impact sent cracks webbing across the stone behind him.

Lucas's body screamed in agony.

His vision went completely white.

His back felt like it had shattered.

If not for his unnatural resilience, if not for the absurd physical endurance that kept him standing even after countless battles—

He would have been reduced to pulp.

Nothing more than a broken, unrecognizable smear of flesh and bone.

A thick spurt of blood shot from his lips as he struggled to move.

His fingers dug into the shattered stone beneath him, desperate to push himself up.

[Humans do not possess cores of adaptation.]

Its glowing red eyes flickered with something… unreadable.

Something almost resembling curiosity.

[You possess emotions.]

[A concept of power even my creator failed to replicate inside me.]

[You are as unique to me… as I am to you.]

His hands clenched into fists.

The golem's fingers rose once more.

A blazing crimson energy ignited at the tips of its fingers.

Lucas's heart stopped.

The energy was dense.

Pure. Even from here, he could feel the overwhelming pressure—

If that attack landed— Janica would be erased almost immediately gone, without a trace.

"W-WAIT!!" he screamed.

But the golem did not stop.

The light in its fingers grew brighter.

[Human… grant me the death that will lead me to perfection.]

The golem's voice rumbled through the air, reverberating with unnatural certainty.

Its crimson eyes flickered—calculating.

The moment the female human in the distance perished, the trembling, broken human before it would be forced to adapt.

Desperation always bred evolution.

Pain always triggered growth.

It had learned this firsthand from its creator.

Through countless experiments, through cycles of trial and error—

Despair was the catalyst for power.

It turned its gaze toward the golden-eyed human once more.

Something… unusual flickered within the human's core.

A brief, faint light.

An energy so foreign yet so familiar.

It burned—raw and unstable, like an ember struggling against the wind.

The golem recognized it immediately.

Just as death was the answer to its perfection, strength was the answer to the human's survival.

Yes… this was necessary.

With precise calculations, the golem focused its power—

The condensed crimson energy at its fingertips grew even denser, compacting into a devastating blast.

Enough to utterly erase the female human.

It had to give her just enough time—

Enough time to scream.

Enough time for the golden-eyed human to watch.

To feel the crushing weight of dread.

To be consumed by rage.

To be drowned in anguish.

Because only in that moment—

A spear of pure destruction ripped through the air at a speed even its newly perfected body found difficult to track.

The female human would be obliterated.

Golden lightning descended.

A deafening roar of divine energy split the sky as a blinding radiance erupted near the girl.

The golem's mind stalled.

It had no time to process.

Because in the next instant—

[Hidden Blade: Final Form]

The world turned to golden-white.

Time itself seemed to halt.

For a single, impossible moment—

A delicate, almost insignificant sound.

Like the latch of a lock clicking open.

And as its vision returned—

The world had already been split in half.