The forest stretched quiet as Sasaki and the Sorcerer King strode side by side, the mansion not far behind them. The sky had gone gray, and lightning cracked through the clouds. Sasaki had gone over a few details during his walk with the Sorcerer King, telling him about a one-eyed golem made out of stone and flesh that guarded a cave deep in the forest.
Once Sasaki finished his explanation, Daigo seemed confused about how it connected to their walk in the forest. But before Sasaki could explain further, human screams and cries rose from behind the trees. Both men ran toward the sound. Daigo drew his seven-toothed sword and slashed through the last layer of leaves blocking their path.
That was when they saw the golem, with boys and girls between the ages of ten and fifteen protruding from its skin. Tears spilled from their eyes as their screams pierced the forest air like cries of agony. The golem stood nearly twenty feet tall and it was as wide as the entrance it protected.
Sorcerer King Daigo gritted his teeth in anger.
"What is the meaning of this!"
Sasaki kept his gaze fixed on the golem, his expression hard as stone.
"You know about my First Law, right? 'The Law of Human Sanctity'? Well, it states : Death shall not raise his hand against mankind, no matter how far they fall."
The Sorcerer King flicked his head toward Sasaki.
"So you would have me cut down children instead? All because your First Law won't allow you to kill humans? Is that right? Have you no shame!"
Sasaki sighed.
"This golem… or rather, the Guardian, was the handiwork of my little sister, the Horseman of War. She gave it to Pestilence, the second oldest of the Horsemen, as a gift. For the past hundred years, it has guarded this cave and the altar within. However, over that time, the Guardian must have developed a hunger for children, even taking the lives of the adults who tried to save them."
He paused, eyes flat.
"Now, I hate to say this, but you must kill the Guardian with a single strike. Its core sits in it's eye. Hit anywhere else and you will only cause pain to the children protruding from it."
Sorcerer King Daigo grabbed him by the collar and hurled him at a tree. The speed at which Sasaki was moving was almost unstoppable as he closed in on the trunk. However, right as he was about to hit the tree, he twisted his body midair and dodged it, landing on the grass and gasping for air as sweat streaked down his brow.
He then raised his seven toothed sword at Sasaki's throat
"I am a king, not some child murderer. You must take me for a fool to think I would agree to this. Is there no other way to kill this golem and save those children? Tell me now!"
Sasaki got up adjusting his black suit and simply said:
"No…"
Once Sorcerer King Daigo heard those words, he lowered his stylized sword and walked straight to the golem, staring up at its face as the cries and screams of children poured from its body. Gritting his teeth, he tightened his grip on his sword and settled into a combat stance.
Sasaki called out to him.
"The Guardian is built to regenerate from every wound except its weak point."
Daigo started chanting some incantation as his seven toothed sword started to burn blue flames. The hulking one eye-golem sensing the flames started its movement as the ground started to shake each step it took. Then, in a blink of an eye the sorcerer king jumped up to meet the giant golem's face with his flaming sword at hand.
But the Guardian swung its massive arm up, boulders grinding against one another as it raised the children protruding from its flesh to use as human shields. Daigo's eyes widened in shock. Then pulled back his sword with incredible speed, falling on the ground. His fist slammed into the dirt, rage flaring across his face.
"This golem is pure evil!"
Sasaki, standing right behind him with his hands in his pockets, spoke out.
"The Guardian will use anything to preserve itself. Even children."
Daigo glanced back, fury burning in his eyes.
"Shut up! I don't need your commentary. Let me handle this."
Sasaki put his hands up as he moved to the left of the golem, a grin tugging at his face."Alright, I'll let you handle this for me, my great king."
The Guardian roared and swung its fist, the stone knuckles covered with the children trapped inside its flesh. Daigo slipped to the side, his speed carrying him clear of the crushing blow.
The ground split apart where the fist landed. A sickening crunch followed, the children within its fist crushed under the weight. Their cries ended in an instant, swallowed by the sound of breaking bone.
Daigo's face twisted in anger. His voice thundered through the forest.
"You monster! How dare you kill children in my presence!!"
However, the Guardian kept pressing forward, then let out a roar so fierce it blasted the Sorcerer King off his feet. The wind ripped through the forest, yanking nearby trees straight from their roots.
The impact hurled the Sorcerer King into a nearby lake, water spraying high as his white ponytail came undone. Fingers tightened around his sword once more, a whisper slipping out under his breath.
"I'm not sure if this will work, but I need to try this old incantation."
The one-eyed golem stomped into the lake, towering over him, its massive fist rising. Daigo whispered the incantation he had never dared use before, one taught to him in his youth. It was a spell made for war, meant to cut human flesh without causing pain, used to amputate ruined limbs of wounded soldiers.
His seven-toothed sword flared a brilliant white. The golem's massive fist came down, but Daigo slipped aside, and the strike vaporized the lake in an instant.
Sorcerer King Daigo steadied himself, then raised his sword high. With a single swing, a massive white slash tore from the blade. The golem tried to block with the children fused to its arms, but it was no use, both arms were severed, children and all.
A screech ripped from the golem as its limbs twisted and reformed from stone. Daigo charged at full speed and leaped high, driving straight for its single eye. Inside, a child slept, clutching a yellow necklace. Without hesitation, Daigo drove his sword into the eye, blue fire bursting as the blade split it open, and in that same motion, with flawless precision. He reached in and pulled the child free.
The Guardian convulsed, boulders splitting apart as a roar shook the forest. Stone slabs crashed into the earth, and the children's cries fell silent as the light left their eyes.
Daigo dropped to the ground and slid his sword across his back. He held the sleeping child in his arms, drenched in the slimy liquid of the golem's eye. The boy wore a ragged brown cloth for both shirt and pants, the same attire as the villagers not far from the woods. But the yellow necklace around his neck was something he had never seen before.
He gently slipped it from the child's grasp, then turned to look for Death.
"Death? Hello? Where are you?!"