– Volume 2: Chapter 60
"Golden Fist, Golden Fool"
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Smoke rose from the battlefield like mist from a volcano.
The eastern front of the Drifter Fortress lay in ruins—dozens of demonic corpses piled across the hills, ashes swept away by the wind. In the center of it all stood a lone figure…
Ruke.
His shirt was torn. Blood leaked from his shoulder. Thunder crackled faintly around his boots.
> "Tch… 40 more…" he muttered, wiping his lip. "How many of them are there…?"
Behind him, the black fog of the Demon Army advanced relentlessly.
And yet… he didn't retreat.
> Boom!
He punched one Arcane Demon in the jaw, sent another flying with a high kick, then blasted a third with a Dragon Lightning Seal from his left palm.
But his breathing was uneven.
His legs trembled.
He was nearly at his limit.
And then—
> CRASH!
A golden light exploded in the sky. It was so bright it lit up the battlefield for miles.
From above, like a meteor, something crashed to the ground with a loud, ridiculous voice:
> "DON'T WORRY, SHEN!! I'M HEEEEEEREEE!!"
A crater erupted ten meters wide.
Dirt exploded.
Ruke stared, confused.
From the dust, a tall man in shining gold armor emerged, hair wild, grin massive, eyes totally clueless.
Nolan.
The Golden Mage. The legend who vanished after Volume 1. A war hero feared by demons. Revered by soldiers.
…And a total idiot.
> "Whew! That took forever to find you!" Nolan shouted, pointing at Ruke.
Ruke blinked. "…What?"
> "You okay, Shen? You look kinda taller. And where's your twin swords? Are you using lightning now?! Whoa! That's awesome! I didn't know you could do that!"
Ruke stood silently as a bead of sweat dropped down the side of his face.
> "I'm Ruke."
Nolan tilted his head.
> "...Ohhhhhh."
Long pause.
> "So… not Shen?"
Ruke pointed at his silver hair.
> "Different hair."
> "Ah…"
> "Different weapon."
> "Ohhh…"
> "Different face."
> "Right…"
> "I'M NOT SHEN, YOU MORON!!"
> "AAAAAH! Sorry, sorry! I've been flying through clouds all day! My brain's all fried!" Nolan scratched the back of his head, laughing.
Behind them, a demon charged.
Ruke raised his hand to block, but—
> WHAM!
Nolan casually backhanded the demon into the sky. It flew 300 meters before vanishing into a dot.
"…He's strong," Ruke muttered, blinking.
> "So where is Shen?" Nolan asked, pulling out a weird, golden donut from his coat and taking a bite. "Last I saw him, he was punching a mountain."
Ruke sighed, pointing west.
> "He's with Kenya and Eliz on the main line. This front is collapsing. I was trying to hold it."
> "Ah, no worries!" Nolan said, stretching. "Now that I'm here, let's clean up!"
He charged forward.
And chaos followed.
Nolan began destroying demon after demon—but in the most ridiculous ways possible.
One demon rushed him. He dodged by slipping on a banana peel (he summoned it accidentally), and the demon ran into a spike wall Nolan didn't mean to create.
Another tried to bite him. Nolan stuffed a magical dumpling into its mouth. It exploded.
He accidentally cast Golden Storm Fist, the move that broke a mountain last time—this time hitting the sky and causing it to rain golden sparkles instead of fire.
> "Oops! That was supposed to be serious magic!" Nolan said, rubbing his head.
Ruke watched, speechless.
> "...This guy's a disaster."
But somehow—
He was turning the tide.
As the front stabilized, Ruke dropped to one knee, breathing deeply.
> "You're… actually helpful."
Nolan walked over and gave him a huge thumbs-up.
> "That's me! Nolan the Awesome! Strongest Golden Mage in history!"
Ruke sighed again, half-exhausted.
> "Please don't ever confuse me for Shen again."
> "Oh, right!" Nolan said, nodding. "Shen has… red hair!"
Ruke: "…No. It's black."
Nolan blinked.
Long pause.
Then he laughed.
> "Haha! Close enough!"
Ruke facepalmed.
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