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Translator: Hidamarisou
Editor: Silavin
He or she moved their sword with a speed too fast for anyone to keep up with.
The amalgam golem couldn’t dodge, and ate their attack head on.
“Guaaaaah!!!???”
The amalgam golem let out its first shriek.
But it wasn’t just a cut, it was a series of slashes that shaved away the golem’s skin.
The golem couldn’t deal with that person’s attacks and kept getting hit, there was no room for even a counter-blow.
“No… Not yet!”
““Hmm…?””
The amalgam golem was shifting its body like a slime. It started absorbing the parts that had fallen off, and regenerating back to its original form.
“Guooooh…oaaa!!!!!”
“Hm…? It’s back to how it was… But that’s not all…?”
The amalgam golem screamed, and Tianna realized something was different about its body. There were needle-like protrusions all over it.
It almost resembled a porcupine.
““Tianna, defend with Sem!””
He(?) screamed instructions, and immediately after, Tianna re-cast her ice shield.
Sem hurried behind the shield, and the protrusions shot out of the amalgam golem’s body like bullets.
“Uwawah!? What is this!?”
The ice wall was being whittled down, but suddenly, the attack stopped.
““Take this…!””
That person had fire around his(?) body, and after melting the bullet-like needles from the amalgam golem, he(?) pushed back.
The amalgam golem took a step back as if it were afraid of the intense heat. Surely it was because it realized it was only residual heat.
The heat concentrated on the sword, and that person held the sword just like Karan when she performed the Fire Dragon Slash.
But, the shine coming from that person was brighter than the flames.
It was like the sun, and aggressively painted its surroundings white.
“There is a core in the amalgam golem that dictates its movements. It moves around its liquid metal body, so it is hard to pinpoint where to attack, but…”
Explained the Sword of Bonds, but before it could finish talking, the sword was swung down alongside its immense heat.
“Guahhhhh!!!!????”
The immense heat tore through the amalgam golem’s entire body.
It was pointless to try to hide the core from this tremendous attack, and the amalgam golem continued shrieking.
“Well, it would have been quicker to overpower it rather than unleashing such a transcendental technique but…”
And then, the golem was gone. All that was left of its liquid metal body were some vestiges stuck to the ground and walls, and a ball the size of a fist where the golem stood.
It was probably the core.
Tianna looked on with blank amazement of the golem’s defeat, but she realized what she had to do and stood up.
“W-Wait…! Are you Nick…? Or Karan…?”
Tianna ran towards that person, but he(?) responded with a smile.
““Tianna, Sem, it’s alright… 《Separate》.””
He(?) said quietly. There was another flash of light, and he(?) was gone.
“Nick, Karan…?”
Where he(?) stood, sat Nick and Karan.
◆
“I’m so tired…”
“Yeah… I’m hungry…”
Nick and Karan gasped for air as they laid on the ground of the Labyrinth of Bonds.
“Yes yes. It was your first time experiencing my union function, so just the fact that you are still conscious is very good.”
“So this is what you meant by union… I guess we really have to be on the same wavelength. Otherwise, our bodies would be in pieces.”
《Union》 was magic only spoken about in legends.
According to the Sword of Bonds, it was magic from a time when the line separating gods, demon gods, and people were blurry… A time well before the ancient civilization. Uniting body and spirit and shifting to a higher plane of existence and yada yada. Everyone but Tianna gave up on trying to understand the explanation when it became technical.
“Anyway, Karan and I became one and got really strong. That’s all that matters right?”
“That is a gross oversimplification… But it is correct. Your skill and agility, and Karan’s power and divine protection from the fire dragon were all on a different level were they not?”
“Yes, that’s true. It was more than I imagined…”
“So my power will be helpful, correct?”
Said the Sword of Bonds, almost like it was smirking.
“You sound very pleased with yourself.”
“Of course! Well, you people are not so bad either. My power does depend on the abilities of the people wielding me, and not a lot are capable of using union successfully. You should feel proud.
“Yes yes, thank you.”
Nick got up while sighing.
He finally recovered enough stamina to move his body.
“We should take a vote on whether to take the Sword of Bonds back to the guild like we promised, or keep it. Will that be alright?”
“Yes… If it’s this strong we can count on it.”
“Yes. It could also be a trump card for when we really need it.”
Karan and Sem seemed to be on board, but Tianna frowned.
“Is it really alright…?”
“What?”
Asked Nick.
“The objective of this labyrinth exploration was to find the Sword of Bonds. If we just keep it and not tell the guild, won’t it be a breach of contract?”
“You’re right. This is pretty important to the guild, so if they find out we swiped it, we’ll be lucky if we only get a demotion in rank…”
Said Nick looking sullen.
“What do we do?”
“We’ll start thinking about it now. Raise your hand if you have something to say.”
“Ahh… Nick, you’re really haphazard sometimes.”
Trianna shrugged her shoulders.
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That “he(?)” and “He or she” stuff is incredibly awkward and very annoying. The good thing is that English has a built in work-around: “they” is perfect for this person. Hell, you even got halfway there by using the possessive form “their” initially before making a bad switch to “his(?)” for no discernible reason. Just use “they” it’s not that hard.
I’m a staunch proponent of singular they, but in this case it isn’t even necessary: they are two people in one body, so the gender neutral “they” is a perfect fit even if you don’t like singular they.