Chapter of Midsummer, Episode 12: “Demon Arms” Kartina

Third floor of the ancient labyrinth, central control room—

In the dim room, the dull light of the terminal illuminated its surroundings.

A woman with an unhealthy complexion was sitting in a chair, muttering to herself as she stared at the screen.

Their group had been trapped in this room, and several days had passed since their food supply was cut off. Before, they would have relied on the hero candidate’s support and stolen rations from enemy soldiers, but that was no longer an option. Zarish had gone missing, and now that there were only elite fighters being sent in, there weren’t any opportunities to take their supplies. Thus, they were withering away by the day.

“Damn it, this one’s in the way. If we can crush her early...” The dingy woman muttered to herself as she navigated the terminal, playing some bits of footage over and over. They were the battle logs from the past week or so, and she had already grown accustomed to the controls.

She was so focused on her analysis that she didn’t realize someone was at the entrance. When a voice called to her, Kartina shuddered as if she had been shocked with an electric current.

“Working hard, I see. Did you figure anything out?”

“Ah?! Apologies for not noticing you, Captain.” The former knight moved to salute out of old habits, but the captain with the stubbly beard stopped her. He then wordlessly gestured for her to report her analysis. The woman cleared her throat, then pointed at the footage.

“Yes, I was just going over the enemy’s strategy...or rather, their tactics. This elf is the one that caught my attention. Please take a look.” The captain peered into the terminal, and a young elven sorceress appeared on screen. Despite her beautiful appearance, it was clear from the footage that she was the key to the battle.

She was a Spirit Sorceress, an extremely rare class that could modify the terrain and reveal soldiers in hiding if left alone.

The scariest part about her was her seemingly endless reserves of magic and the fact that she could set up a defensive line to prepare to wipe out her opponents. Once it got to that point, there was nothing that could be done. While their forces tried to tear down those defenses, her team’s powerful offense broke through and caused catastrophic damage.

“Hm, if we can take out that girl, their entire team falls apart. But the monsters can’t follow such specific orders. That is, unless there’s a powerful unit among them to lead the group.”

“Yes, that’s why I find this so frustrating.”

The captain rubbed his chin, deep in thought. He had already noticed this some time ago. However, the powerful patrol-type monsters had already left the field, and he couldn’t think of any way around their issues. But was that all there was to it? Was this floor so easy that a single elf in their party allowed them to waltz right through it? He had no reason to think so, but he couldn’t help but wonder if something more terrible was lurking among them.

Setting the thought aside, he decided to propose a plan to deal with the elf. And so, he spoke to the former knight.

“Come with me. I have a lead for you.”

“Huh? Y-Yes, sir!” The woman watched as the captain walked away, his boots clicking against the floor, then followed him in a hurry. She hadn’t noticed the change in her surroundings because she had been so focused on her analysis. Kartina didn’t find it odd that the room had become completely silent and that there wasn’t another soul to be found.

They passed by the room next door, where her former colleagues lay on the ground. Their bodies convulsed, their eyes darting around frantically. It appeared they had been dosed with some kind of toxic muscle relaxant.

A well-built man was also lying among them on the ground. The man who had abused Kartina gritted his teeth as he growled at her.

“That...bastard...!” The screams of resentment from the others also reverberated in the dim room. As they cried wordlessly, the dark sorcerer approached them from behind with a syringe in hand.

There was nothing to worry about.

They were only taking one step closer to being a monster.

The sound of heels clicking against the floor echoed through the labyrinth.

The relief carvings on the walls weren’t just there for decoration. They contained magic related to death and could kill intruders by inflicting a curse upon them. The traps, monsters, and layout of the labyrinth all existed to kill intruders. Kartina looked up at them uneasily.

“Why do you look so afraid? They won’t attack us.”

“Y-Yes, but they look so eerie. It’s as if they’re watching us.” The captain let out a sigh of disappointment at her pathetic comment. The woman still looked around anxiously, then spoke up as if to distract herself.

“So, why don’t they attack us? I of course know that we have monster blood within us. But I haven’t heard too much of the details.”

“Hm? Right, I’m sure you haven’t. Only a select few know the details, even within Gedovar. I understand why you’re afraid of this labyrinth too.”

“I-I’m not afraid...! It’s just that I don’t like this feeling of being cornered.”

Cornered. That word perfectly described their motherland, the country of Gedovar’s history. That single word sent a ripple through the man’s heart. The captain slowed his pace slightly, then opened his mouth after a pause.

“We were once called monsters. Back then, our ancestors toiled for the coming Age of Demons and Age of Night. The remnants from those days were passed down to us through our blood...” His resonant voice and the bizarre surroundings made him sound like some sort of prophet.

The young woman had fallen silent, strange emotions whirling about inside her. The captain, who usually didn’t speak much, was unraveling the past for her alone. As they walked, she felt the presence of others less and less around her.

“Having been defeated and with their land stripped from them, our ancestors suffered as their bloodline grew weaker over time. But they left us a powerful weapon for the future generations.” Something slowly came into view ahead of them. It looked like some sort of metallic demonic figure that had been split down the middle. That was why she thought the black objects scattered across the ground were entrails.

It was hard to make out the details with it being hunched over, but it was about two meters in height. Something about it was different from the monsters and statues she had seen until now. Seeing it sitting there in the middle of the room, Kartina felt a strong sense that something was wrong with the picture.

“Is this the weapon you mentioned earlier?”

“No... I was talking about you lot, Kartina. Flesh and blood.” Kartina didn’t understand. But the captain’s voice had turned cold as ice, sending a shiver down her spine. It was as if she was being drawn into a witch’s forest. Her face grew stiff at the thought of the nightmare awaiting her.

His hand closed around her wrist, and she shuddered at how cold it was. Fear. Pure fear surged through her as her instincts set off alarm bells and her knees began to shake, violently, and without shame.

Yes, she was afraid.

Something unknown awaited her, and she feared that she would be changed forever.

In fact, her movements were bound by a powerful curse. Kartina just stood there, fearing her impending fate like a helpless sheep as her clothing and armor were ripped off, and then she realized she only felt sensation from the neck up.

“Haah! Haah! Haah! Haah!” She breathed heavily, her eyes darting about frantically.

Her breasts were exposed to the cold air, along with her stomach and buttocks, and yet she couldn’t move an inch. Like a deer in headlights, she was frozen in place. Her legs trembled. Just moments before her death, she managed to squeeze out the words.

“C-C-Captain, w-wa... Please, wait...”

The pair of honey-colored eyes stared at her curiously. However, it wasn’t that he was complying with her request, but he placed his finger over her eyelid, as if searching for something behind her eyeball. It felt as if it was some sort of ritual that went beyond humans and demons, and Kartina was so petrified that she didn’t notice something warm was running down her leg from her crotch.

“Pulse is abnormal, magic levels in the blood are as according to reports. Good. Hm, now that you’ve been exposed like this, I see you have quite the healthy body. In a different time, I’m sure you would have left strong children for the next generation. However...”

The last word came out in a faint whisper. His lips moved closer to her trembling neck, then spoke softly into her ear.

“Luckily for you, an opportunity for you to be useful has just presented itself.” His icy hand grasped her neck, and her legs began walking against her will. She walked forward with her bare feet, and then the metal demonic figure from earlier was placed before her.

“Now, Kartina, sit here. Fulfill your duty to your motherland as a former knight.” She absolutely didn’t want to sit on that thing. Despite thinking so, her knees bent of their own accord, and she felt the cold metal against her rear. She shivered, but the horror was just beginning.

A finger against her forehead pressed her down deeper, and a sudden shock ran through her. Something cold pierced into a piece of her spine, and she felt the chill of some sort of fluid flowing into her.

“Ah! Ah! Ahhh! What... What is this?! What just stabbed me?!”

“They’re known as Demon Arms, weapons that have been prepared since ancient times. Now, sit all the way down. If it doesn’t go in properly, you just might regret it forever.” There was something hauntingly convincing about his tone, and the warm fluid she thought she had depleted ran down her thigh again.

She wanted it to stop. It would have been better to lose consciousness rather than live through such terror. Despite her wishes, she still had plenty of bones in her spine left. A horrible ripping sound could be heard as something stabbed into one after another, injecting them with some sort of fluid and inflicting dread on her heart. She didn’t expect such a thing to happen in her wildest dreams just a few minutes ago, and she couldn’t understand why it was happening now.

“Agh, ah... Aaarghhh!” Something cold wrapped around her thigh, and her femur was injected next. Kartina’s bare body buckled back as the infestation progressed, and she convulsed with her toes splayed out as far as they would go. Eventually, her body was left in a terribly cruel state.

“Ah, congratulations. It seems to like you.”

“What?” Kartina realized her vision was obscured, and her eyes went wide with a different kind of horror this time. The metallic “thing” was trying to swallow her entire body. She desperately struggled and cried for help, but the statement from the captain she had admired so much didn’t make any sense.

“Yes, your analysis from earlier was correct. Your first duty, ‘Demon Arms’ Kartina, is to eliminate that elf.” He gave an encouraging wave, and Kartina’s vision was completely blocked off. She let out one last shriek as everything went dark.

§

The elf girl was the first to notice that something was wrong.

Her purple eyes widened, focused on the miniature tower ahead. The tower had the ability to detect enemies in the area, which was why she was able to notice quicker than everyone else. She grabbed the boy next to her by his hand and began to sprint.

“Huh? What’s wrong, Marie?”

“I’ll explain later! I need to report to Doula, now!” she said with a panicked expression, running through the other party members that were pressing forward with their invasion. They were far smaller than those around them, but they finally managed to find the person they were searching for. The red-haired woman, Doula, was surprised to see the two run up to her out of breath.

“What’s wrong, Marie? Did something happen?”

“Yes, it’s suspicious that there are so few monsters on the third floor,” Marie replied, then pointed her staff at the Magic Tool in Doula’s hand. This gesture imparted her Prison Keeper’s ability to Doula, and points of light appeared on her map.

“Oh no...!” Doula turned pale. The map showed that there were absolutely no monsters in their vicinity. And farther beyond, there was a massive horde of monsters taking the long route around the raid team.

“Unless I’m mistaken...it looks like the monsters are moving like an organized unit. They’re not just waiting for us to approach.” Even Zera couldn’t hide his surprise. The monsters they had seen until now were feral, and they attacked anyone who came into view. But their movement was much more systematic now, and it was completely different from their previous behavior.

After giving it some thought, Doula turned her heel.

“Zera, you keep brainstorming with these two and figure out how to deal with this. I’ll stop the advance and call Team Diamond back from the vanguard,” she said, demonstrating her ability to adapt to any given situation. But with so few situational clues to work with, Doula figured it would be better to rely on Zera’s animalistic instincts. This couple had a tendency to facilitate growth in one another by being together. That was how they had climbed to become the center of the raid team despite being relatively low level compared to the others.

“All units, halt!” Doula ordered, and dozens of boots stomped to a halt at once. Zera watched the display of control and order, then rubbed his chin in thought.

“Hm, the monsters are taking another route to avoid getting found. Something’s fishy for sure. And according to Eve’s report, there’s a big, open hall up ahead.”

The boy replied, “Yeah, judging by their movements, they could be trying to pin us from both sides. Which means...”

“They could be setting up an ambush in the hall ahead,” Marie said. Zera’s finger tapped the hilt of his sword as he listened. There was no other route they could use to bypass the hall, so going straight through was their only option. Although they were making decent progress, Zera had the feeling they were only about halfway through the third floor.

Their pace was quite good thanks to having a small but efficient team, but their composition wasn’t without its drawbacks. Since they were few in numbers, it would take them that much longer to fully explore the area. But despite that disadvantage, Zera could feel the raid team’s heightened morale.

The sense of unity here was palpable. Each soldier was putting their all into this mission, and the reservations and boundaries that once divided them were dissolving away. Things were looking good so far, but since their forces couldn’t be replaced, incurring casualties could bring about catastrophic results.

Yet in Zera’s mind, he knew they couldn’t retreat now. They had to find out what traps lay ahead eventually, so there would be no point in turning back. In fact, that would only have given the enemy more time to prepare, so they had to press forward despite the risk.

“Hmm, I’m starting to get the hang of the patterns here, but once we enter that hall, we should assume we won’t be able to leave until the battle ends.”

“I agree. It seems the enemy is acting with that in mind too.”

“Say, how about we move toward the hall entrance? Then I can scan the area and assess the situation better,” Marie suggested, but Zera and Kazuhiho asked her to wait. They wanted to avoid getting attacked from both sides if the enemy approached from behind. Realizing just how tense the situation was, a drop of cold sweat ran down the elf girl’s forehead.

“Sounds like you’re having a fun little chat here. Mind if I join?”

“Gaston, what have you been up to until now?” Kazuhiho asked, and the graying man shot him a glare that was unexpectedly intimidating for his age. For some reason, he seemed to dislike the younger man since the incident from the other day. After all, food-related grudges ran quite deep. There was a tension in the air, but when they explained the situation, the old man flashed an undaunted grin.

“Hmm, this third floor’s pretty...how do you put it...human. Your average shit-for-brains monster wouldn’t ever think to strategize against us and concentrate their manpower into one point.”

“Now that you mention it, this is kind of human-like behavior...” the young boy replied, and he and Mariabelle groaned as they became absorbed in their thoughts. They wouldn’t budge until they reached a conclusion once they got like this, so the others left them to their thoughts and regrouped with Team Diamond to come up with a game plan. Though, all they could do was reconnaissance in force, so they decided to continue their march while on maximum alert. The clash between the Arilai elite forces and Gedovar’s sabotage team was about to begin.

§

Fsssh...

Marie’s Prison Keeper emerged from the ground at a spot immediately in front of the hall entrance. The stone pavement clacked together as they turned over one after another, and a tower as thick as a log appeared. Its number of floors increased over time, extending its search range at the same time. Another floor was added every thirty seconds, and the number of lights indicating the enemies on the map increased...

Crack! The tower was destroyed by a powerful ranged attack. The elf had tried setting up a tower from a safe position, but it seemed the enemy was learning. They now understood that they would suffer the consequences if they let Mariabelle do what she wanted.

“I wanted to set up the tower at the entrance because it’s not nearly as effective from the outside, but this isn’t working.”

“The enemy’s on high alert. Looks like they’re afraid of what you’re capable of,” I said lightheartedly, but then let out an uneasy sigh. I couldn’t help but feel cautious about the fact that the enemy was now beginning to interfere with our search operations. With the monsters’ strange movement patterns and now this, I had a feeling someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.

“Rumors say the rebels in hiding have the ability to conceal their entire group,” I said.

“I was thinking the same thing. The monsters’ movements have been strange too. They’re too well coordinated,” Marie replied.

“Yeah, something’s fishy. I feel like a piece of the puzzle just fit into place.”

Monsters weren’t capable of thinking enough to make such strategic moves. There must have been someone giving them directions...somewhere in the depths of this pitch-black room.

The other soldiers sensed the threat in the air as well. And soon, they would be forced to fight without the enemy positions being revealed. Many could die as a result.

But as proud elite fighters, none of them feared facing death. We of Team Amethyst always had a way out, but I didn’t want others to die unnecessarily. I cracked my neck and looked to my side to see Wridra clad in armor and Shirley, the blonde woman, looking at me.

“What is it? You do not seem as excited as usual.”

“I may not seem like it, but I do know how to read the room. More importantly, I was hoping you could keep Marie and Shirley safe today.”

She let out an amused “Hmph,” which I took to mean it would be a piece of cake for her. I was relieved. There weren’t many beings out there who were a match for Wridra, and if such an opponent was around, we probably would have been aware of it by now. That was one less thing to worry about.

It meant that it was probably better for me to relax and focus on swinging my sword. In other words, just do what I usually do.

“All right, don’t forget to adjust the settings for Mind Link Chat... Oh wait, Shirley can’t talk. Well, I’ll just keep an eye on your gestures.” Shirley smiled, then clenched a fist to show she would be fine. I still hadn’t had a chance to see her display her powers, but I had a feeling she didn’t really need any protecting at all. It was strange how reliable she seemed, despite her complete lack of weapons or armor.

Just then, I heard a voice through Mind Link Chat.

“Get ready to move, everyone. Since we don’t know what the enemy is planning, expect to be on the defensive side at first. You only need to keep two things in mind: keep an ear open for my orders at all times, and don’t give into fear and flee from battle.”

As Doula finished her statement, her Team Andalusite began chanting their hymn at once. It began with a low-pitched “Ahhh,” which reverberated in the ears of everyone gathered in the corridor. Their voices gradually increased in volume, then began to introduce a melody into the mix.

The sound was like fire burning upon a log. It seemed to heighten their very heartbeats, awakening the warrior’s blood inside of them. The Paladin looked around, and then her high-pitched voice resounded across the room.

“May our souls find their way to Eden! Team Bloodstone! Formations!”

“Rahhh!” Military boots could be heard stamping the ground as the soldiers moved into formation, and their intensity was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

Team Bloodstone was chosen to take the vanguard due to their high adaptability. They were Doula’s most useful unit, as they could freely switch between offensive and defensive roles. The man at the lead grinned maniacally, not a shred of fear in his expression.

“Aha, you’re gonna fall for me all over again, Doula! Let’s make kids when we get back!”

“I-I wouldn’t mind that.”

Oof, they just flirted over Mind Link Chat with everyone listening in. But this raid team wasn’t the type that would let such a small thing affect them. I laughed with the red-faced Marie, and the vanguard unit finally began their charge.

They advanced through the door with organized, military steps, and Marie’s light spirits wove into the opening. The spirits shined brightly, illuminating the vast hall before them.

The ceiling was too high to see, and there was a black, viscous luster to the walls, like some sort of ink had been applied to them. The monsters awaiting us here were quite shocking to see. Dozens of big, metal shields were placed side by side, countless pairs of demonic eyes glinting in the spaces between them. A giant, stout figure could be seen farther in the back.

The figure was about four meters in height. On its shoulders were strange attachments that looked like caterpillar heads, and its skin was unsightly and dense, like partially melted iron. Judging by the haze in the air around it, it must have been emitting quite a lot of heat. Thanks to my studies in the ancient languages, I could barely make out the name, Borlax Doudou.

The creature tore at its cheeks and screamed.

The grating noise was enough to make the average person claw at their own head.

The very air trembled, but the warriors didn’t halt their march. It wasn’t that they didn’t feel fear. They simply knew that if they gave into fear and lost their will to fight, the shame would be unbearable. Doing so would make them undeserving of entering Eden.

I had a feeling someone else was watching us too. It could have been my imagination, but it felt like someone was after a certain elf girl next to me rather than myself. I glanced around but couldn’t find the source, which only made me more uneasy. Despite the eerie, ominous air in the room, the raid team continued advancing forward.

Once everyone stepped foot inside and the two forces faced each other like pieces on a chessboard, the door would close completely. But no one here was afraid of losing their way out. The row of enemies wielding large shields ahead showed that they were the enemy to be defeated. That meant there was no need to turn around until they were all completely wiped out.

Team Andalusite’s hymn continued on with its mixture of high- and low-pitched tones. Not only did they bolster their forces’ morale, but their muscles became visibly swollen as they listened. As long as their song continued, they would fight on as indomitable warriors.

The raid consisted of four teams with a total of forty-four members. On the other end, the monsters outnumbered us by multiples, with shielded monsters positioned as if they were going to war and reserve soldiers hiding in the back.

The towering upper body of Borlax Doudou was visible beyond the seemingly unbreakable shield wall. The extra heads on his shoulders groaned ominously, and pale blue embers could be seen floating around behind his irregular set of teeth.

“That one looks strong. It may be a mid boss, but it might even be over level 100.”

Wridra’s obsidian eyes turned to me, but I smiled, assuring her I wasn’t asking for advice. As usual, Wridra wasn’t set as a member of our party, due to her level being far too high for us. The Arkdragon was also careful not to give us too much help or advice so we could grow and learn of our own accord.

The same went for Shirley. In fact, neither of them even had the bracelet needed to open up their status menu, so they couldn’t join our party in the first place. Mind Link Chat was also a party feature, but according to the great Arkdragon, analyzing and breaking into the chat was quite easy for her to do.

Our team was positioned right next to Team Andalusite, led by Doula. We were at the safest, centermost position, where we could also get orders from the leader directly. This was likely because she wanted to keep Mariabelle nearby for her tactical abilities and Spirit Sorcery.

“Man, the third floor has been chilly, but it’s kind of hot in here with so much energy in the air.” The fervor and excitement all around us was a bit stifling. I noticed Marie was looking a bit nervous as I was flapping my collar and decided to speak to her.

“This is gonna be a lot of work, facing so many of them at once, huh? Wanna help me figure out a way to deal with them easily?”

“Easily...? But we don’t even know what their abilities or numbers are. I don’t even know where we can set up a defensive perimeter with stone spirits at this point.” Marie had been glancing around anxiously, and she looked a bit pale as she replied. Judging by her expression, she must have been worried about the potential casualties. It was understandable, considering we had practically become closer friends after working together for so many days.

But getting too worked up or nervous would have the opposite effect for us. I thought back to previous battles. We had always overcome challenges through creativity and inspiration. It was better if we could relax and try to enjoy the fight. Even if a fearsome enemy awaited us, we had to focus on enjoying the moment and overwhelming the opponent.

And so, I flashed my usual, relaxed smile.

“Remember what you said before, Marie? In this world, you can test out your powers to your heart’s content as long as you have me and Wridra with you.”

“Yes, but this time, our enemy seems to be countering my tactics.” She had been casting her Prison Keeper for a while now, but it didn’t seem to be working by the look on her face and the fact that the tower wasn’t emerging from the ground. There may have been a spellcaster among the enemies that could interfere with her magic. Since we couldn’t know what was going on for sure yet, it was best to give up on scanning the enemies for now.

I took Marie by the hand and looked into her purple eyes.

“Why don’t we try changing our mindset? If they were an army instead of a horde of monsters, how should we deal with a shield wall like that?”

“Oh, fine. I’ll play along. There you go, leading me on like that as usual. So, let’s see. Since their defenses are so tight at the front, I’d want to hit them from the flank or rear.” Shirley watched our conversation with a curious expression, her outfit more suited for a noble’s manor rather than a battlefield. She tilted her head, and Wridra chuckled merrily beside her.

“Hah, hah, this is simply how they are. They come up with outlandish ideas like children to tear down sandcastles the enemy builds up with as little effort as possible. For their opponents, nothing can be more frustrating.” Shirley seemed rather impressed, her sky blue eyes widening as she listened. It may have seemed strange in their eyes, but we humans had to use our heads to survive. I had to do what I could to come up with a way to succeed.

Marie had been lost in thought for some time, but then she put a finger to her chin and spoke up.

“Is that even possible? Can we arrange a formation that protects our frontline while attacking their flank?”

“Hmm, even if we could, it would take a lot of time to set up if the scale is too big. Maybe if we narrow it down, like in an ‘L’ shape, it would be possible.”

“Ah, if we used the corners of the hall, we wouldn’t need to cover such a wide area. But I don’t like how that would leave us completely cornered. What if we used height to our advantage, like a building?” The fact that we were coming up with one idea after another was a good sign. As we brought up ideas on how to tackle our problem and how to cover the areas where we were lacking, Marie began to visibly relax.

It seemed Doula had been listening as we came up with our defensive strategy. Her red hair swayed as she turned around and showed us a spirited smile.

“I like that idea. Hope you don’t mind if we join in on your fun. We’ll start by bolstering our forces on the right corner and clearing enough space to set up a defensive perimeter.” It seemed everyone had finished entering the room, and we heard the door slowly moving shut. Doula shouted her orders, and the troops immediately moved in a diagonal formation.

The door was moments away from closing all the way.

Doula continued giving out her orders in order.

“Kazuhiho, Gaston, Eve—you three assess the situation and attack as you see fit. But keep in mind to always follow my orders. And Team Diamond, don’t make any drastic moves until I give the green light.” Each unit responded in the affirmative, and then the sound of the door closing rang out in the hall. Marie’s long ears trembled, but there was considerably less fear in her expression now. The fact that we had come up with a plan seemed to have reassured her somewhat.

This time, I had many more tasks to complete than usual. I had sensed someone targeting Marie earlier, which meant it was likely that the enemy knew a lot about our strategies. That meant I had to keep an eye out for any strange movements, try to find the spellcaster interfering with Marie’s magic, and be cautious about Borlax Doudou in the far back of the room.

The thought made me smile.

It was exciting having so many things to do. I would have hated it if they were tasks at work, but this was a fantasy world where I could have as much fun as I wanted.

Feeling myself getting worked up, I tightened the grip on my sword.

Just then, the battle music began to play.

Suddenly, some extremely high-pitched voices rang out. They sounded like women crying, layering onto each other to pierce into the listeners’ eardrums even as they were covered up. The silence just moments before was shattered by the women’s terrifying voices, which gradually began to form a rhythm. The sound of drums joined in, creating a sort of hysterical music.

The enemy troops began to move along to the rhythm. The shields at their front line moved diagonally to match our formation, looking like a solid iron wall closing in on us.

“Our battle begins! Team Bloodstone, draw your swords!”

Steel swords were brandished between the row of shields in response to the shouted order. The enemy’s wall shield units stepped forward at the exact same time, marking the start of their death march to the music.

They moved slowly, emphasizing just how heavy their units were. But seeing the wall closing in from the front was stiflingly oppressive, and I had a feeling those were no ordinary shields. But Doula raised her sword without fear and shouted her order.

“Secure a defensive perimeter! Dead slow ahead!” Team Bloodstone’s boots rang out, scraping the ground as they moved toward the enemy at a set pace. The space between the two forces gradually decreased along with the rhythm. Eventually, a row of black spears emerged from between the monsters’ shields. A black, tar-like fluid had been applied to the spear points, and I realized it was the same color as the walls in the room.

I looked away from the monster army and their black flag and glanced toward the back. There was a small space that had opened up in the far back corner after their forces had moved forward. I watched Marie begin to control her stone spirits after casting her incantation, confirmed that Wridra and Shirley were watching over her, then decided to make my move.

“I guess I’ll go check things out on that side then. I’m curious what’s going on beyond those shields.”

“Understood. But could you keep talking into Mind Link Chat like this? I want to keep hearing your voice.” It warmed my heart to hear her say that. It made me happy to know she relied on me, and I wanted to hear Marie’s pretty voice too. But it seemed she had a different intention.

“I mean, your voice just sounds so carefree. I’ve come to realize that it’s just the right amount of energy for me.”

Wait, carefree? But I’m being serious here. I told her I would be right back and teleported to the wall near the enemy’s flank. My view changed immediately, and I quickly stuck out my sword to impale the wall. I noted the black material on the enemies’ spears also coated this wall.

Hanging from the sword I had stabbed the wall with, I looked directly below me.

I couldn’t see them with their wall shields in the way, but they were definitely monsters. They had a stout build just like the mid boss, and their thick arms were long enough to reach the ground.

The way the enemy forces were gathered together and moving collectively made it look like they were a single creature. I noticed one of their units was carrying something big, and there were magic users casting an incantation around it, then felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Whoa, that’s bad news. That ogre’s a suicide bomber, right?” I felt my heart skip a beat. I turned to face the gruff voice that had come from right beside me. Gaston was lurking in the shadows, staring with a glint in his eyes that was unbefitting his age.

“Y-Yes... How long have you been there, Gaston?”

“Huh? The hell are you talkin’ about? You’re the one that came to me. Anyway, time to take that one out, Eve.” I was taken by surprise for a second time. I didn’t even realize someone had landed on the sword I had stuck into the wall and crouched down. I liked to think I had a well-trained intuition to keep myself from being caught off guard, but it didn’t seem to have an effect on these two.

“Sure thing. We’re the makeshift mobile attack team, right? Kazu, Gramps, let’s show up everyone who’s been calling us stupid idiots all this time,” Eve said.

“Ha ha, don’t lump me in with you two,” Gaston replied. With that, the old man released his hand without hesitation. I also kicked off of the wall, landing in the cluster of enemies the next moment. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but then I was shocked for a third time when I realized the other two were already there with me. I didn’t know how they did it, but they were as fast as my teleporting skill was.

But I had to show these two I was no slouch either.

Right after landing, Gaston and I swung our weapons to chop off the heads of the monsters on either side of us, and they finally raised their voices in alarm.

As the mobile attack unit, Doula expected us to disrupt the enemy as efficiently as possible, rather than just attack haphazardly. They were counting on us for our mobility, offensive capabilities, and insight, so it was our role to take out the suicide bombers before they could reach their targets.

I sliced up the monster with curses written all over its body, then immediately started moving to the next target. Meanwhile, Eve seemed to be troubled by something for a moment, then slid up behind me. Despite being taller than me in this state, she hid completely out of the enemy’s view by crouching like a cat.

“I’m going this way. You and Eve handle the other side,” Gaston called out.

“Hmm, this is my first time teaming up with you like this, Kazu. How exciting.”

It seemed things were moving along without my input. I mentally shrugged it off, ignoring the ax swinging toward my head and teleporting forward while piercing an enemy’s neck in one motion. Our surroundings reeked of monster stench, and black monster blood sprayed onto the ground. Another ogre approached from behind, but its vision was obscured by a set of tanned thighs before it ate a powerful kick from below.

I was impressed. Her legs had moved in a perfect arc, leaving a dazed ogre before me. I swiftly cut out its windpipe, and then Eve’s dagger cut the tendons of the monster’s massive arm that was swinging at me from the left.

Oh, I see. She had been backing me up. I was surprised by the deftness of her movements, but she had always seemed adept at martial arts. I thought about what a competent ninja she was as I cut through the ogre’s neck.

Now, I had ended up joining in on this offense, but I disliked being in the middle of a fray like this. It really was a pain having enemies blocking my view in every direction. There was so little room that I could only teleport a step or two away, and they could prevent me from teleporting completely if they surrounded me all the way around.

But we could attack quickly thanks to Eve’s support, and the enemy was encumbered by the explosives. Plus, they were grouped up, but they didn’t want to catch their own in the explosions, so we had several advantages on our side.

I memorized the most optimal attack and evasion patterns with Overload as we made our way through the confined space. Then, just like with Reprise, I began to require less and less concentration to maintain it. All I had to do was stand in the optional positions, and my body went through the attack pattern automatically.

“Well, this is nice and easy.”

“Isn’t it? You and I make a good team. Why don’t you just join Team Diamond already? We have some crazy tricks up our sleeve. We even have a member that can cast skill enchantments.” So they had someone who could grant skills to others. Those were a bit different from buffs that temporarily increased one’s stats. I had to admit I was curious, but we had to deal with the suicide bombers for now.

Then, it hit me. What if I memorized Eve’s attack patterns too? After all, my skill had been upgraded, and the number of move slots had been increased too. From the looks of it, Eve was extremely adept at hitting her enemies right on the chin and knocking them out. I decided to give it a try, and our teamwork became more and more refined as I memorized various attack patterns.

It reminded me of something...pounding mochi as a pair. What we were doing now was basically a sped up version of pounding mochi with a mallet.

Immediately after Eve’s kick smacked a monster on the chin, my sword impaled it through the throat. She then turned on her heel to deliver a spin kick into an ogre’s back, and I followed up with the finishing blow in the next instant. As we fell into the groove of killing off the enemies, Eve looked rather elated.

“Whoa! This is crazy, Kazu! We’re, like, pretty much unstoppable!” Beads of sweat poured down from Eve’s head as she spoke.

I couldn’t blame her for feeling good about it. The moment she stunned the enemy with a strike from her palm, knee, or foot, he died. Her movements sped up over time, turning into a raging storm that couldn’t be stopped by the sluggish bombers.

Starting to get carried away, Eve leaped forward and knocked down her enemies in seconds, laughing cheerfully the entire time. The monsters around her looked a bit terrified, and even I was beginning to feel sorry for them.

Before I knew it, we had taken out the suicide bomb squad, and the enemies still standing were the heavily armored kind.

I wiped the sweat off of my forehead and called out to the dark elf.

“I think that should do it for now. Eve, we should head back.”

“Whaaat? Just a little longer. Come on, let’s keep going.”

So, she’s gonna be difficult. But I didn’t have time to deal with this, so I held her by her slender waist and teleported toward the wall.

“Kyaaa!”

We left her scream behind as we reappeared at the new location, and I embedded my sword into the wall. My teleportation had restrictive weight limits on it before, but I had a wider variety of movement options after upgrading to Overload. I wondered what Gaston was doing, when I heard a loud sound from below.

The sound of charging feet and clashing weapons. It had begun. The frontlines of the two sides had clashed. We had taken out those suicide bombers, so I didn’t have to worry about that for now. I watched the situation directly below us, waiting to see how the battle played out.

I first heard a loud popping sound.

Then the sound of something breaking.

The enemy spears broke one after another, like countless wooden chopsticks.

The row of the demon army had collided with Team Bloodstone and Team Andalusite.

Immediately after they came in contact, I saw barriers being put up in addition to the buffs from the hymn. Ogres possessed inhuman strength, but their spears broke against our powerful defenses, sending broken shards flying everywhere. Some people got stabbed in the shoulder and suffered other minor wounds, but Team Bloodstone stepped forward mostly unscathed.

They marched in unison, and as they reached the enemy shield wall, a dull thud rang out in the battlefield.

The shields were two meters in height, and they were too tall for even an adult to jump over. The sight of the seemingly unbreakable wall looming over them must have been quite intimidating. And yet, they didn’t falter. The soldiers shouted their war cries, and they actually seemed to be overwhelming the enemy with their own intensity.

“Go! Drive them back! Show them that Arilai doesn’t back down!” Their voices carried over the sound of clashing iron on iron. The fire in their hearts burned stronger as they shouted, and the enemy shields began to creak.

Despite most of their spears having been broken, the demon army must have accounted for this, as they replenished their offenses. The monsters raised more spears and brought them down to pierce through the barrier from above.

“Team Andalusite! Shields! Forward!”

“Rahhh!!!”

Team Andalusite immediately raised shields above the unit from behind. They still had the defensive barrier too. They had effectively turned into a makeshift fortress, and it was hard to believe they had adapted to the enemy’s attacks without discussing this beforehand. Their teamwork was perfect. Maybe it was because their leaders would be getting married... No, those two had always been in sync.

The men pressed forward to break through the enemy shields, and their backup provided powerful support from the rear. Our raid team’s tight-knit coordination was one thing, but the fact that we had gone in to disrupt the enemy’s back line may have helped with pushing back the shield wall.

The power struggle between the humans and ogres was practically even, but when the men were able to push forward a step, they increased their ferocity even further.

One of the big shields tipped over, and Zera took that moment to slide in and stab through the opening. He attacked the darkness beyond with savage thrusts, and black blood pooled onto the floor. A bestial scream filled the air, and a demonic figure crumbled on the other side. But unfortunately, the hole in their defenses was immediately filled, and the chance was gone.

The back-and-forth exchanges were just beginning, and it would be an endless war of attrition from here.

I was still hanging from my sword in the wall, staring in wonder at the scene unfolding beneath me.

It had been a while since I’d seen two armies clashing like this. Even though it seemed like it was just a game of numbers and brute strength, there was a lot of thought and intent behind their formations. I was completely drawn in by the dramatic battle.

“Man, this is intense. You can’t find this kind of action even in movies.”

“I wish I could see it too. The enemy in the back hasn’t moved yet, right?” Marie’s cute voice spoke into my ear. I stared into the distance to check, and the giant monster was still there. An infernal aura flickered in and out around Borax Doudou, seemingly in sync with its breathing, but it hadn’t moved a step from its original position.

“I don’t know why, but he still seems calm for now. Oh, and the monsters have spellcasters among them, and they look like they might be making a move soon.”

“What? How do you know that?” Eve said, butting into our conversation via Chat. She was in a different party from ours, but I had said the last part out loud, so she had responded to my voice.

“I may not look like it, but I’ve fought in a war before. I’ve spent a whole day watching one with some bento too. Let’s see...” It could be difficult to grasp the situation on a chaotic battlefield. In these cases, it was better to get a blurry-eyed look at the entire picture, then further break down their movements from there.

“That group is supporting their advance from the back. Can you see that they’re providing backup whenever their defenses start to fall, and those guys near the center are preparing to fill in the gaps?”

“I dunno... I guess it kinda looks that way when you point it out. Maybe I should have learned this stuff too,” Eve replied.

“I don’t know too much either. It’s just stuff I kinda picked up... Hm?”

My eyes were drawn to some sort of fluid that began to drip down to my fingers. The wall glistened with the black coating, seemingly from an unidentified viscous material. I rubbed it between my fingers and sniffed it.

“Smells acrid... What is this? Kind of smells like tar... Oh, Eve, you shouldn’t lick that!”

“Don’t worry, only the strongest of poisons will have any effect on me. I can tell by the smell that it’s not that bad.” With that, Eve spit to the side.

“Hm? This isn’t poison or oil. No idea what it is.”

“Hm, I wonder. I haven’t seen anything like this on the third floor so far.”

“Hah, hah, those are magic elements known as demon matter. You could even call it a relic of negativity that has been passed down from ancient times.”

A voice entered our Chat out of the blue, and Eve and I looked at each other in surprise. Could Wridra even enter Eve’s Mind Link Chat too? Though, if she could break into ours, it would stand to reason that she could do the same thing to others.

“I think you mentioned something about that before. Something about the collapse of demon matter from ancient times.”

“Yes, though it is rare to see it so defiled in such an enclosed space like this. It has no immediate negative effects on the human body, but you may end up being something other than human if you spend a week or so in here.” We groaned, and Eve spit a few more times. We obviously had no plans to stay here long term, so that was probably her way of putting our minds at ease. But it seemed Wridra had trouble understanding why we found the stuff psychologically repulsive.

This demon matter seemed to be dripping down from above. Judging from Wridra’s earlier comment, it didn’t seem to be something that organically appeared in nature. So then, who could have coated the walls with this stuff? And why?

I heard what sounded like snapping trees and snapped back to reality. The clash between the front lines had advanced a step further. The raid team had repelled the spears coming down on them from above with multiple barriers and destroyed them at the same time.

“We’re driving the pile through! Puseri of Team Diamond, charge down the center!” Doula shouted the order the instant the enemy’s heavy infantry took a step back. Our defensive squad was already waiting for the order, and they split off to either side to make room for soldiers to charge forth from the center.

Clad in twilight armor, a puff of icy air was expelled from Puseri’s mouth as she led the charge. Her helmet had what looked like a ponytail sticking out of the back, and she was equipped with a full-body shield and a large spear in hand. Those who had seen her usual demeanor were taken aback by the sight. She usually seemed like a high-maintenance yet magnanimous noble woman, but she had the aura of a battle-hardened warrior on the battlefield.

Her spear could strike fear into the hearts of any man or monster. Her very presence was different from the others. One could instinctually tell that those who stood in her path would perish. There was a primal fear that came with that knowledge.

A shadowy horse emerged from the ground, and as the twilight woman mounted it, the air of death surrounding her grew ever more potent. The sharp scent of that death filled the air, and the horse’s hoof lit a spark as it dashed forward.

The enemies stacked two, then three shields as the horse’s thunderous gallops grew closer. But the effort was akin to standing before a dump truck. The deceptively powerful charge bent the thick iron shields, and black blood sprayed into the air.

*Crash!!!*

The charge violently broke through the demon army’s second and third layers of defenses, and a nearby group of spellcasters preparing a spell also ended up getting wiped out. The ogres gathered up with weapons in hand in order to stop the black horse, but countless arrows came flying to pierce them through their heads.

It was Cassey Pilaw. She was a member of Team Diamond with peach-colored hair and eyes, and ears with characteristics of some sort of variant species. She clung to the wall with the claws of her feet, unleashing waves of arrows from her heavy bow with unbelievable speed. It was almost as if she could read into the future. They landed into the monsters’ heads as if drawn there by magnets, eliminating the threats to Puseri before they could even reach her.

“We have an opening! Cut them down, men!” Doula wasn’t one to miss such an opportunity. She made her way into the wide opening with Team Diamond’s fearsome offensive line. They spread out to either side, cutting down the immobile shield wall from their flanks.

We were still clinging to the wall, watching the show from above. I would have clapped if one of my hands wasn’t full.

“Wow, that was really well done. They drove back that wall that looked nearly invincible,” I said.

“Yeah, even we can’t stop Puseri once she gets in ass-kicking mode. Wait, is that one getting closer to Puseri? The one with the different-colored fur...” Maybe Eve was getting used to assessing the battlefield too. I looked to see what she was talking about and knew immediately that this was bad.

The creature was lanky in contrast to the ogres, and it hunched forward as it wove through the battlefield like an assassin. There were spikes growing out of its body, and it cut down any speeding arrows with the blades in each hand. It also used other monsters as shields to evade attacks as it advanced, and I realized there were several of them creeping up like shadows. The black horse had ended up completely surrounded, turning in place as it pounded the ground with its hooves, leaving an open spot in the middle of the enemy’s army.

“Marie, I’m going in to help Puseri. How are your preparations going?”

“I have two structures ready to go. I was thinking of preparing a third one while we had the advantage, but it looks like we won’t have time for that. I’ll secure an escape route first.” She knew what I was going to ask her before I even said it. I let out a sigh of relief knowing she was staying levelheaded, then pulled my Astroblade out of the wall covered in demon matter.

But just as all eyes were back on the battle, a strange splashing sound caught my attention. It had come from directly behind Marie, out of the pitch black wall. Who could have noticed that sound, like a small fish hopping out of the water?

The figure emerged from the wall, and its eyes gradually opened.

It was “Demon Arms” Kartina. She slowly awakened within the room that had been prepared just for her.

§

The black material dripping down the walls was known as demon matter.

It had existed since ancient times and was a remnant of powerful magic that was used back then. Due to the hint of magic stored within, it completely blocked off magical detection within the room, and it gave Kartina the ability to travel freely through the matter.

The ancient armor known as Demon Arms granted its wearer unfathomable power. It increased Kartina’s level by more than twice the original number and turned her into something more than a monster by fusing with her very bones.

At the same time, her human emotions had all but vanished. However, her humanity was merely a byproduct of having spent time in distant lands after being banished from here. It didn’t take long for her to realize it was unneeded.

After all, she could now tear through steel with her bare hands and move as fast as the speed of sound. All she had to think about now was fulfilling her duty.

Her mission was to eradicate the intruders. As her first step toward accomplishing her goal, she had chosen the elven Spirit Sorceress as her target.

Now was the perfect opportunity, with everyone’s attention focused on the battlefield.

The man in the control room watched them, thinking that they were running around like fools even though the entire battle had been set up to serve as a distraction. He then gave the order. He already knew the result that would follow.

“Now, Kartina.” Kartina received the order through Mind Link Chat and rose out of the wall. Her nails extended into sharp blades, and her eyes lit up with a platinum glow.

She would execute the mission perfectly. It wasn’t that she was too confident in herself; it was merely a fact. Perhaps destiny would have been a better way to describe it.

The sound like a fish splashing in water may have been too subtle to mark the end of a life. Upon emerging from the wall, Kartina immediately accelerated to breakneck speed. Her target wouldn’t even hear her coming.

*Thud, slam!* The next second, a powerful impact shot through Kartina’s body.

She should have no longer felt any pain, yet the blow was so forceful that it made her spit demon matter out of her mouth. All she could remember was her mind going completely blank.

A gust blew by, and the elf’s white hair danced in the wind. She had been fully focused on channeling her magic a moment ago, but she opened her amethyst eyes and turned around. There, Kartina was crawling with her hands on the ground.

Kartina’s target was right there in front of her. But she couldn’t move an inch. With her perceptual domain expanded to its limit, she had come to realize what had happened.

That black-haired woman had punched her.

The realization made her vision blur. How could that woman have touched her when she was moving so quickly? In fact, her arm should have been blown away just from the impact.

But the black-haired woman just smiled unconcernedly. Her beauty sent a chill down Kartina’s spine. How could she smile as if she was simply greeting a guest? The woman parted her lips and made a nonsensical comment.

“Have you heard this phrase before? ‘He who rules with his left rules the world.’”

“Huh?”

It really made no sense. According to the memories left by her perception signals, that woman had hit her with her right fist. More importantly, how could that have been a punch? She looked down at herself to find black fluid leaking out of the cracks in her Demon Arms. It was hard to believe such damage could have been dealt with a bare fist.

Kartina felt a primal fear at the sound of wind swishing nearby. She flinched, then rose to a half-sitting position to find the black-haired beauty swinging her fists to the left and right, her grin widening.

“I have been quite into so-called ‘foreign martial arts’ lately. Hm, you will do just fine as a training dummy. Not too hard, not too soft... Perfect for punching. I have also been feeling a bit stressed as of late. I suppose this will be a good opportunity to fulfill my role as a tank.”

But that was far from what a tank would do. No tank would lash out their arms like whips, hitting their seemingly out-of-reach target with brutal force.

Kartina couldn’t believe her eyes as her armor chipped away from the impact of every heavy punch into her sides. Alarms went off in her mind like agonized screams, and she staggered backward. Her strong sense of duty kept her from fleeing. In addition, she couldn’t let that horrifying ritual she had endured be for nothing. But as a fist sank into her face and blood spurted from her nose, she felt like she would break out into a sweat despite her sweat glands no longer being functional.

What is this woman? Who the hell does she think she is, fighting me unarmed like this?!

Kartina endured the flurry of blows and put up her guard to forcefully close the distance between her and her opponent. Normally, she would have leaped at the woman from outside of her attack range and sliced her with razor-sharp claws.

She should have had a massive power advantage. So why was she the only one getting her skull hammered in by those fists like battering rams? Why was her head getting rocked by those relentless punches?

“Ah, that one landed. It seems to have dazed you.”

Kartina gritted her teeth as the elf woman turned her attention back to the battlefield, as if the black-haired woman had this situation covered. That look on her face said she wasn’t the least bit concerned for her safety, and Kartina’s vision went red with rage.

The same went for that blonde woman with her eyes covered. Not only was she unafraid, but she brought out some sort of picture book and began drawing with a pen. However, Kartina had an inexplicably ominous feeling about this. Just like when she had gained the Demon Arms, she felt the fear of permanent change being forced upon her.

Despite having lost the ability to sweat, cold sweat erupted from Kartina’s pores as she howled in terror.

*Boooooom!*

If she had been asked when the worst day of her life was, she absolutely would have said today. It was truly awful in every way. The more she struggled, the more fatal wounds she endured, and the cracks finally reached her core. Her eyes had turned blazing red as she released her full power, but it was futile.

What level is this woman?! And why aren’t you using your left hook? It’s supposed to rule the world, right? When are you going to use it?! Just as her confusion reached its peak, a voice spoke into her mind through Chat.

“Enough. Retreat, Kartina. Repair your damages.” That woman was insufferable. Even as Kartina took to the air to flee, she simply turned her attention back to the battle. “Demon Arms” Kartina disappeared into the wall covered in demon matter, her murderous rage smoldering inside her.

At that moment, a big change was happening on the battlefield.

§

“G...ggr... GROAAAAAARRR!”

The sudden, ground-shaking scream came from Borlax Doudou, which had been silently waiting in the center until now. Something dark and sharp sprang up and pierced the creature from below, draining blood into the ground.

The monster clawed at its head and writhed in pain. Cracks formed from the tip of its right arm, then shattered up from the elbow. I watched with wide eyes as magma-like blood sprayed everywhere, incinerating the ogres that were near its feet.

“Looks like it’s getting its life force drained,” I muttered as I watched from afar, but I couldn’t just stay idle for long. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. The assassin-like monsters in front of me were probably around level 75, and I had already memorized most of their attack patterns. I could automatically dodge a majority of their attacks thanks to my skill, so I decided to keep an eye on the mid boss while taking care of the assassins after Puseri.

The two blades spun around in circles, but they merely served as distractions, so I didn’t pay them much mind. The monster was wearing a hood deep over its eyes with its dirty teeth bared. With its long arms and skillful handling of its sabers, it would take me a long time to defeat this one.

“Not that I’ve beaten you quite yet!” I swung my blade down toward the monster’s shoulder, and the assassin attempted to block it with its own weapon. The opponent was about the same level as me, but my weapon was far more powerful. My sword dug into the creature’s shoulder, and it screamed out in pain.

“Hehe, I’ll take that!”

Please, help yourself. Eve leaped forth from behind me, slid across my sword and flashed her dagger. She cut clean through the monster’s neck, spraying black blood into the air.

“All right, got a tough one! Been a while since I leveled up!”

“Then you can have this one too.”

“Really? You sure? I feel kinda bad, like I made you give it up. But if you insist...”

The final assassin already had its tendons cut, and it was sweating profusely as it pictured its own terrible fate. But unfortunately, both the monster’s and my predictions ended up being wrong. A black horse suddenly appeared from the assassin’s flank and trampled its head, crushing it like a melon. It all happened in an instant, and Eve was left frozen in place.

“Heeey!”

“There is no need to be so dramatic, Eve. We are in the same party, so our experience is shared evenly.” The rider opened the cover of their helm, revealing Puseri’s sweat-soaked face. It seemed she’d succeeded in breaking through the monsters that had surrounded her. Relieved, I looked to the distance to see Gaston cutting the remaining two enemies in half. That old man was a level 120 beast himself, after all. Though, he didn’t even seem close to his limit so far.

“Hello, Puseri. I was able to avoid getting surrounded thanks to you wreaking havoc on your horse.”

“No, I am the one who was saved by you. This was far too much to be considered repayment for a night’s lodging and a meal. Oh, this corpse...” Puseri said from atop her horse, and I followed her gaze to the corpse and was taken aback.

The monster’s corpse gradually shrank as black fluid oozed out from it.

“Wait, could they be...”

“The rebels we heard about in the reports?” Eve finished. Could these monsters be what had become of those rebels? If the fluid leaking out of them was demon matter, their very beings could have been transformed the way Wridra had mentioned.

The changes sweeping over the battlefield were just beginning.

“Grrrooooooaaarrr!!!” Borlax Doudou unleashed a titanic roar, breaking the floor underfoot with a single stomp.

Standing on its head was an unfamiliar figure. Clad in black plating, the tall figure of a monster had a somewhat feminine air to it. The monster’s two eyes glowed with a murderous, infernal flame. A black tube connected the two monsters together. It seemed to me that the feminine one was absorbing life force from Borlax Doudou to repair itself.

Then came another unexpected change.

Wet, grotesque noises could be heard as something rose from the ground. It was the assassin monster from earlier. The three of us watched, dumbfounded. But it didn’t end there. The corpses scattered across the battlefield began to rise, one by one. We watched blankly as they moved unnaturally to return to the battlefield, despite the fact that many of them were missing limbs.

When I looked more closely, I noticed the demon matter dripping from the walls was spreading across the floor. Judging by the way it was flowing into the dead bodies, it seemed the matter was what was controlling the corpses. I was standing there in shock when I heard Wridra’s voice in my mind.

“I hear they call her ‘Demon Arms’ Kartina. She is the one leading the monsters. I shall go pay a visit to the one who put on this distasteful show. I leave the rest to you, Shirley.” Could Shirley really guard Marie in Wridra’s stead? I was a bit surprised that the Arkdragon entrusted the task to her. Furthermore, I had to wonder what she meant about “the one who put on this distasteful show.”

As I remained bewildered, an order was shouted across the field.

“All units! Retreat! Run back to the defense point!” I didn’t have time to ask Wridra for details in the middle of this retreat. We sprinted across the battlefield along with Puseri and her horse, heading toward the defensive perimeter that Marie had set up.

If those rebels had turned completely into monsters, maybe that Kartina woman also... I turned around with that thought in mind, then saw her spread her black wings.

What could have happened to make her eyes burn with such hatred?

§

“Impossible! We far outclass them in levels!” Angry shouting could be heard in the dim room, followed by the sound of a fist slamming against a desk.

The visibly irate man rubbed his stubble, then exhaled slowly in an attempt to calm down.

“Yes, it’s time for a different approach. Instead of going after the elf, I’ll force them to retreat by eliminating half of their soldiers.” That meant he had to give out the orders and create a new army. He couldn’t afford to panic. It was hard to believe what he had seen in the footage earlier, but it was time to change directions to a method that was sure to succeed. The man muttered as if to reassure himself.

No matter how many times he replayed it in his mind, he still couldn’t believe what he had seen in the video.

He had assumed the intruders would be completely wiped out by the ancient Demon Arms he had obtained. It was the whole reason he had rebuilt the hall and monsters and had set up a trap for his enemies. But the results had been completely different from his expectations. Kartina had only ended up suffering heavy damage from punches and was forced to retreat. He had ordered her to quickly repair the damages, but it was unlikely that her core would be fully repaired.

Just who was that black-haired woman in the footage? A feeling of dread crept up inside of him when he saw that she was staring directly at him.

“She must have noticed the Magic Tool for surveillance. Hmph. She’s a sharp one, I’ll give her that.” She was beautiful and enticing as well. Strangely, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. But what was that gesture she was doing? The woman raised her hand into the air, as if reaching straight for him.

He rubbed his eyebrows as he stared.

It wasn’t that she was waving or provoking him. Her fingertip appeared blurry in the footage, with it being out of focus.

The man’s fingers were still on his eyebrows when they froze in place. There was something wrong with the footage. It looked as if a blot of darkness was seeping out from the woman’s finger and spreading out from the monitor.

“What the...?” The man touched the terminal for no particular reason. His brows furrowed when he realized it was viscous to the touch.

“I don’t remember it being this dirty... Wait, that smell...” The odor irritated the back of his nose. It smelled like the tar that was produced when burning charcoal.

The man’s eyes suddenly shot wide open, and he shouted.

“D-Demon matter!!!” Then, it appeared. A mass of demon matter in the same shape as the woman’s finger extended out of the display.

The man stood up instinctively, knocking his chair over in the process. He swallowed his fearful scream, then swiftly drew his sword and slashed his target in one motion.

*Cling!* The sound of shattered steel rang out loud and clear. It was the sound one would hear if someone had grabbed the blade between their fingers without moving an inch. A shock ran through the man’s hands, as if he had swung his sword at an unmoving boulder. His sword had been broken in half.

Arms extended from the display and grabbed on to either side of it, and then a body pushed itself out all the way. It was as if something had been born from tar. Even after witnessing such an unbelievable event, he still couldn’t take his eyes off of the woman.

“Uncanny witch. What sort of beast are you?”

“Oh? But I would ask you the same question. You are the one who has transformed your allies into monsters.” She plopped down onto the table. Sure enough, it was the black-haired woman from earlier. The demon matter all over her body had slid right off, and she looked exactly as she had in the footage from before.

The man had a spare weapon on him, but he figured it would be useless. Seeing her face-to-face like this, he realized this woman was on a completely different level.

She smiled bewitchingly, but the ice in her eyes sent a shiver down his spine.

“I can see you are a descendant of the keepers of old, but oh, how I despise you. You have damned your own comrades and turned them into monsters while you sit here safely, surviving without a care in the world.”

“No, I have no intention of doing something so foolish. It would be pointless for me to survive alone.” The man was slightly shaken by the mention of the keepers, but reached into his inside pocket. What he brought out wasn’t a weapon, but a syringe. It was full of some sort of silver, glowing fluid, but the Arkdragon was capable of identifying its contents.

It was highly purified demon matter.

It was likely extracted from a fiend-class monster, and one drop of it was enough to kill the average human. One’s very soul and consciousness would be engulfed, turning them into a wild, uncontrollable monster.

It was far more dangerous than the material that had been put into Kartina, and the man should have perished upon injecting it into his own neck, but he endured it with his willpower of steel. It would have been far easier to give in to death.

He tore through his clothes as his body swelled up, but he managed to keep it under control while unleashing the demonic power to its full potential. Had it been a different time, he would have carved his name into history.

His arms glowed like morions, and they cracked the floor with a heavy thud. Wridra watched with pity as countless tails grew out of the man’s back and pierced through the terminals in the room.

There was no going back for him now. This applied to that Kartina woman too.

Wridra sat and waited until the man got his transformation fully under control, then quietly parted her crimson lips.

“What is your name, descendant of keepers?”

“I need not pass down my name. I’m nothing but a vestige of a man who dreamed of ancient days.” He cracked his neck, and the fight had begun.

The woman’s foot kicked off of the ground.

Her heavily armored dress had been tattered, revealing a sliver of beautiful skin on her thighs. Wridra held the hem of her dress to keep it out of the way as she walked through the door and went outside.

It would have been disrespectful to turn around. The man had put his body and soul into the battle, and she only had to gaze upon his dying face but once.

“The vestige of a man who dreamed of ancient days... Then I suppose he would know not of the Arkdragon who had remained neutral through those times.” There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but it faded away without reaching anyone’s ears.

A large hole had been left in the room, and only the man’s upper half was left next to the window.

§

*Fsssh...*

The ground rumbled in a wide area as Mariabelle’s three-dimensional structure was constructed. The L-shaped fortress she had positioned in the corner of the room was attempting to extend about three stories high.

At the same time, square-shaped obstacles rose up from the ground while leaving an open path along the raid team’s escape route. It was about one meter in height and didn’t seem like it would be very effective in stopping pursuers. I watched this all unfold as I ran.

It would have been much easier to just teleport instead of running, but with Puseri riding her horse and Eve sprinting along, I couldn’t bring myself to just say “See ya!” and leave them behind. This was probably the salaryman in me speaking. Though, I had no problem going home before my colleagues after work hours.

“So this is what you meant by securing an escape route earlier. Would I be right to assume it explodes too?”

“Of course. Hehe, I used Double Incantation, and its power is amplified further by trapping them in between. I’m using some grumpy Fire Lizards too, so whatever you do, make sure you don’t kick them.” She didn’t have to tell me twice. It must have been something else if Marie was boasting about it.

I turned around to see the enemy had split into two parties. One was running at full speed to chase after the retreating raid party, while the other was slowly going into a defensive formation.

“Huh, I thought they would be too angry to care about defense.” Large, shadowy shields were created from the demon matter, and the massive ogres picked them up one by one. It seemed they were replenishing weapons like spears too.

I had thought they would come at us in full force, but they were surprisingly calm. Considering the enemy was bolstering their defenses, perhaps that monster known as “Demon Arms” Kartina still needed time to recover. I wondered if the cracks all over her body had been inflicted by our tank Wridra.

Such thoughts occupied my mind as I continued running toward the exit that opened before me.

As the horde of ogres entered the perimeter Mariabelle had set up, things became...messy. We had baited them about halfway in when a firestorm erupted to take them all out at once.

The impact and deafening sounds of explosions behind us sent us into a near panic.

“Ahhh! Puseri, Puseri! Lemme on your horse too! No, no, no, don’t leave meee!” Eve shouted.

“Whoa, this is just like a war movie! Maybe watching them with her wasn’t such a good idea!” The heat blast from behind singed my skin, but I had no intention of turning around. I couldn’t see the monsters getting caught in the explosion, which made their screams all the more terrifying as my mind filled in the blanks.

Our own allies were also running around screaming with their heads in their hands. This may have been the scariest moment during this fight so far.

Puseri, Eve, and I screamed our lungs out as we ran into the three-dimensional structure Marie had built. Luckily, no one on our side got injured.

§

Doula’s heels clicked against the floor as she took long strides down the dark, narrow corridor.

Her red hair billowed like fire, and those who were resting there quickly gave way when they saw the intensity on her face.

Mariabelle’s structure was a massive, three-story building. Yet, there were almost fifty people inside at once, and with some of them firing off arrows and magic at the enemies, it was quite hectic, as one might imagine.

Doula didn’t give the men a word of encouragement as she passed by. In fact, she didn’t even seem to notice them as she continued walking with an austere expression. Those who were on break couldn’t help but stare at her intimidating appearance. They wondered why she wore such a severe expression when they had hardly experienced any casualties so far.

Indeed, the casualties for this battle, and on the third floor in general, had been at a record low. The raid team consisting of four different teams was powerful, but the low number of casualties was the most impressive part of this entire ordeal.

One of the reasons for this was the change in Doula’s Team Andalusite. Their team had nearly gotten wiped out in the past. They had learned from that experience and trained their holy powers to prepare themselves against monsters in the future. They would protect their allies with multiple barriers and heal the wounded to keep their casualties to a minimum. Doula had been training and learning how to efficiently lead her troops, and things were finally clicking into place during their time on the third floor.

Then it happened.

They had arrived at a somewhat spacious room, and Doula’s rage reached a boiling point when she saw what awaited her. Her red hair faintly stood on end, and her wide eyes scanned the room.

She gulped audibly, unable to process what she was seeing.

There were about five injured on the ground. Their teammates desperately tried to heal their wounds, but the agonized groans of the injured filled the room. Black blood flowed from their wounds, and even their veins were black and bulging from their skin, as if the infection was worsening before her eyes.

“Captain! It’s no good, the wound won’t close...” Those in critical condition thrashed about, and it was clear to see they didn’t have much time left. They very well could end up with more than one casualty. Zera, who had been talking to the other team members until now, gestured for Doula to join him.

“Look, that black stuff is even in their eyes. If we don’t do something, they could end up turning into monsters.”

“Hold them down for me, I’ll channel my life force into them so they can fight back.”

It was a powerful poison... No, something worse. The only explanation she could think of was that they had been stabbed with those black spears during that clash earlier. She’d had a bad feeling about them, but she didn’t realize just how dangerous those weapons were.

Feeling frustrated and angry, she placed a hand on an injured man’s muscular chest. The man gripped her wrist with his own pale hand.

“No... Please don’t. I-It’s too late for me. You can’t afford to waste energy on me when the battle’s not over.”

“Be quiet and sleep, Loki. I won’t let you turn into a monster.”

“Then, I ask that you cut my neck with your sword. Please...” Doula’s anger grew further.

Having been inflicted with a fatal disease, Loki’s suggestion was a sensible one. A holy woman couldn’t do much to combat unknown illnesses. The man would likely meet a terrible end before having a chance to heal.

But even as his warrior’s body was defiled, his burning spirit compelled him to keep fighting. And so, Doula let her frustration get the better of her and lashed out upon noticing the people who entered the room.

“Mariabelle, Shirley, stand back! This could be contagious!” The elf girl was visibly shaken and instinctively squeezed the other woman’s hand. Doula’s voice reverberated in the confined space, making her all the more intimidating. Shirley seemed troubled and looked back and forth between the other two. She then moved her lips closer to Marie’s ear and whispered something.

Despite being clearly scared, Marie looked at Doula with her purple eyes.

“This disease is supposedly caused by something called demon matter in the victim’s body. If you try to heal them, it will affect the demon matter and speed up their infestation.”

“Ah?! Everyone, stop your healing! How do you know that?” Mariabelle and Shirley looked at each other, as though they were unsure how to answer. After a moment passed, the elf girl nodded. It was as if she was telling the other girl it was all right to reveal some sort of secret.

And so, Shirley slowly stepped forward.

Shirley was an ancient being that knew demons very well. As she removed her embroidered blindfold, the soldiers who had been prepared to accept their death looked up at her, their eyes wide.

Shirley had changed her appearance a bit. The outline of her body was slightly blurred, and her sky blue eyes framed by long eyelashes were now fully bared. Doula moved out of her way without thinking, and Shirley touched the fallen soldier’s wound with the tip of her pale finger.

Mariabelle had heard that Shirley’s role was to facilitate the cycle of life and death. That was why the second-floor hall had been reborn into a verdant landscape. But this was the moment Marie truly understood what that meant. She stared in shock as Shirley pressed her lightly colored lips against the dark, tainted wound.

Blood poured out of the wound, but Shirley didn’t seem to mind. Demon matter, the source of the tainted blood, soon flowed into Shirley’s mouth as if it was being purified. She gulped it down her pale throat, leaving only a fresh, red wound.

“How is this possible...?! She didn’t even use the power of the gods!”

That wasn’t entirely accurate. Shirley was basically a goddess-in-training herself. Having been released from the ancient labyrinth that bound her, one could at least say that she was a being opposite of demons now. Yet, no one here seemed to realize that.

Everyone, including Doula, stared in disbelief at the fantastic sight before them. But the healed man felt the power of her presence most intensely, and tears fell down his face as he was overwhelmed with an inexplicable emotion.

What is this? he thought.

He couldn’t put a finger on the feeling that continued to well up inside of him.

The sensation of her lips pressing against his chest without regard for getting tainted was one he would never forget. It was warm like sunlight, and it felt as though golden life force was flowing into his body. There was a refreshing sensation to it, like looking up into the skies of Arilai under a tree’s shade. Perhaps it was her sky blue eyes.

The sensation sank deep into the soldier’s chest, and she mouthed, “Get well,” after draining the impurities that were once thought to be incurable. He wanted to get to know her. He wanted to be close to her. If possible, he wanted to pledge his fealty to her and serve her with undying loyalty as if she was a queen.

“Lady...Shirley...” Shirley’s brows furrowed to form an adorable, confused expression, but there were many other seriously sick people to tend to. The soldier tried to give Shirley a respectful kiss to the back of her hand, but Doula stopped him with a punch.

Five lives were saved that day. The men who were saved would later start the strange custom of serving Shirley as her personal guards, but that wouldn’t happen until a later date.

§

I couldn’t help but let out a “Whoa” in surprise. The structure Marie had made this time was on a much larger scale than usual. It seemed the extra time she had taken on it had paid off. There was now an L-shaped, three-dimensional structure in the room, and a stone staircase had been placed inside right next to the entrance.

The first floor simply served as a layer of protection. Just like with castles, it was much more effective to defend a spot from a higher position. Marie must have decided on this design after analyzing the enemy’s size and features.

The ceiling was low, and it was narrow enough that we had to avoid running into other members when multiple people were inside. It had clearly been made with durability over habitability in mind.

“There are three floors of this? You really get better and better by the day, Marie.”

“I’m impressed that she managed to make something of this size all by herself. Our sorcerers are still having issues trying to figure out how she possesses so much magical energy,” Puseri said as she removed her helmet and turned around. Her twilight hair cascaded down, a few beads of sweat glistening on her face. She wiped them away with her hand, then smiled.

I couldn’t really tell her that Marie was being supported by an Arkdragon that could generate magic just by breathing. But the good thing about Marie was that she always tried to use her head to find the most efficient solutions without relying on magical prowess alone.

“However, the ability to rest within enemy territory is extremely useful. Team Diamond would gladly welcome another sorceress in our ranks.” It seemed her passionate recruitment was still ongoing. I just wanted to have fun without any responsibilities weighing me down, so I had no intention of joining another team. Besides, if we were to merge teams, we would need to change our residence to Arilai too. Though, come to think of it, I wouldn’t be so opposed to moving there now compared to how I had felt before.

I thought about the reason for this as I climbed the stairs.

I realized it was because I had a lot more friends now compared to a few months ago. I had been traveling alone for nearly twenty years, but my life had changed drastically since meeting Marie. I was close with many more people in both worlds, and my environment was changing at a rapid pace. Strangely, I found this quite comforting. But now wasn’t exactly the best time to think about this, so I decided to save it for later.

I told her we would think about her offer, and Puseri and Eve waved goodbye and left. Team Diamond then noticed the two returning, and embraced Puseri while saying things like “Lady Puseri!” and “That was a beautiful charge!”

I had been worried about them before, but it seemed they got along just fine now. It was kind of a relief to see.

I started climbing the stairs after Puseri and the others, then noticed a girl descending the stairs one step at a time. She was holding the hem of her robe and slowly came into view...

“Ka-zu-hi-ro-san.” The adorable voice came from Mariabelle, who was holding a plastic bottle. Shirley was with her as well.

Marie hopped off of the last step, and the lovable elf girl filled my vision.

I instinctively caught the drink she passed me, noticing how cold it was. I then noticed the jellyfish floating next to her.

“Looks like the ice spirit is putting in work in this world too. I didn’t think I’d get to have some chilled juice in a place like this. Actually, I think our very own Ms. Elf deserves the most credit.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I was just waiting here while you all did the work. I was getting worried that all of the enemies would be defeated before this stronghold would get any use.” I had actually been worried about that too. Though, even if that did happen, it would have been fun to see Marie puff out her cheeks and sulk.

I removed the lid of the bottle and poured the clear liquid down my throat. There was a gentle peach flavor to it, and I narrowed my eyes at its moderate sweetness. It seemed my grip strength was weak from that short battle, so I was grateful to get some rest here.

“Whew, cold and tasty. But man, I need to work on my stamina a bit.”

“Hm? You’re just now realizing this?” I turned to the source of the gruff voice to see an old man with graying hair coming down the stairs. Marie turned too, then hid behind me. She would have been fine with Gaston normally, but there was a murderous aura still lingering over him due to the fight not too long ago.

Seeing him up close like this, I saw that he was just as tall as Zera, but he was more toned in build. Although his hairline was beginning to slightly recede, he still seemed to be in the prime of his physical abilities. Gaston raised an eyebrow and shot me a look.

“Your lack of stamina is a problem, but so is your lack of consideration. You dive into trouble headfirst, so you had me sweating just watching you. I was worried you’d get yourself killed sooner or later.” I couldn’t tell him that I did, in fact, die rather often.

After a moment passed with no reply from my side, Gaston made a face, then climbed up the stairs and told me to follow. I looked at Marie and the others in confusion, then decided to go up the stairs after him.

The corridor was narrow, and it was rather hot from all the arrows and magic being fired off from here. But we had our trusty jellyfish cooling the air, so it didn’t really bother us. It floated in the air ahead of us, and Gaston poked the ice spirit with a fingertip, seeming to enjoy the refreshing coolness.

“So. If you want, I could whip you into shape. This goes for that Puseri girl too, but it’s hard to watch you lot nearly kill yourselves in front of my eyes.”

“You seem pretty reckless yourself in my eyes... N-Never mind!” I took back my words when he shot me a glare. He was strangely intimidating for someone his age. But he seemed rather kind considering he was worried about us. As I thought about it, Gaston placed his hand on the stone wall and turned around.

“You’re the one who defeated Zarish, aren’t you?”

“Nngk...” I choked a bit.

“Heh,” he chuckled, seemingly satisfied that my reaction had confirmed his suspicion. The wrinkles in the corners of his eyes deepened and he looked at me.

“I heard he’s captured at the castle. I was glad about it at first, thinking he’d finally shown his true colors. But something doesn’t feel right. He’s not the type to go out and confess his wrongdoings.”

“Well, I suppose you’re right,” I said noncommittally as I slowly climbed the stairs.

“So when I saw you fight, it made me think. Maybe you could take on Zarish. There aren’t a lot of people who could beat him other than me.” A bead of cold sweat ran down my face. Maybe it was the wisdom of his years, or maybe he was just very perceptive in general.

“I’m surprised. You’re quite sharp, Gaston.”

“Ha ha, well, anyone could put two and two together when they see that you’re close with Eve after being enemies. Everyone around you seems to be pretty thickheaded though.” He grinned. Gaston now knew that I was the one who defeated Zarish. I figured he wouldn’t go around telling everyone, though it wasn’t as if I would mind if he did.

It seemed that was all he wanted to say, and the rather quirky old man walked away.

When I arrived at the upper floor, I saw that the other soldiers were there.

They were firing off arrows and magic through the small windows there, and when I peeked out, I saw that the enemy forces were marching toward us with shield walls up.

Many of the ogres were dark in appearance, and they had formed circles to advance toward us. But with our L-shaped building and projectiles raining on them from above, they had to deal with attacks from the flank as they moved closer to our position.

“Meanwhile, our forces get to take turns resting. Looks like we have those ogres under control.” If it came down to it, Marie could use her magic to set off her spirits like land mines. She could basically farm experience without any risk at all.

That meant we just had to deal with that so-called Demon Arms. She seemed to be absorbing life force from that giant for now, but we had no idea when she would make her move. It was probably better for us to move quickly.

“That ‘Demon Arms’ Kartina, was it? How did that monster get so damaged? Was it Wridra?”

“Yes, I was too preoccupied to watch for long, but Wridra was punching her to a pulp. You should tell her later that that isn’t the tank’s role.”

Wait, did she really give the boss a beatdown with her bare fists? I thought with wide eyes, and I saw Shirley making punching gestures behind Marie’s back. It seemed Wridra really did have a fist fight, and the thought made me dizzy.

So, even she wasn’t impervious to Japan’s bad influences. But she did protect Marie just as she said she would, so I had nothing to complain about.

Speaking of Wridra, she said she would “pay a visit to the one who put on this distasteful show” and hadn’t returned since. Shirley had been watching over Marie in her stead, so I figured she would be safe.

“Hmm, I see. Then maybe I’ll try making a move. It’s been a while since I fought a strong enemy, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“Goodness, you always get like this. I don’t mind if you go, but...” Marie looked around to make sure the other soldiers weren’t listening, then whispered into my ear. Her pretty voice spoke through her smooth lips, tickling my ears.

“It would be a pain to deal with if someone sees you die here. So be sure to come back, even if you get badly injured. I’m sure Shirley and Doula will patch you up.”

“Will do.” I didn’t realize Shirley could heal people too. Though, she controlled the cycle of life and death, so it made sense.

“Also, you’ll be off for Obon starting today, right? We’ll need to celebrate and make some boxed meals once we get back. Let’s go shopping at the supermarket together.”

“Okay, got it.”

Marie furrowed her brows, then whispered some more.

“And this is important, but I hear there’s another typhoon coming. Do you think the Banana Wani Park in Izu will be okay in the rain? The alligators there won’t go home if they get wet, will they?”

“I think it’ll be okay. Wridra said we’ll be fine too.”

“Are you sure?” Marie asked with her eyes, and I gave her a reassuring look back. She was in a good mood after that, so it seemed I was good to go to face off with Kartina.

I brought out a turquoise Magic Stone from my inner pocket and tossed it out the window. The creature that emerged with a loud whirring noise was a strange, winged monster called Roon.

“Now I can fly right over the enemy army. Okay, I’ll be going now.”

“Take care!” And so, I set out to the battlefield again with a rather lighthearted attitude.

I would soon get to know the cursed Magic Tool left by the ancients.

How exciting.

I flew across the room on Roon’s back and felt a murderous aura that seemed to shake the very air as I progressed forward. It was obviously coming from that “Demon Arms” Kartina. The monster was clad in black armor, but I was pretty sure it was a woman seeing it from a distance. Despite being about two meters tall, there was a femininity to her bone structure.

Faced with her murderous rage, I felt like I was in the middle of an icy field. I was only about a hundred meters away, but Roon’s flight speed was much slower than usual. It must have been afraid of the monsters that clearly outranked it.

I felt myself tremble with excitement. No, maybe half of it was from fear. I exhaled quietly, realizing it was the first time I had felt this way in a long time.

The enormous creature at her feet was far bigger than the ogres and was likely the original boss here. But now, its upper half had mostly crumbled away. Its very existence would be consumed by Kartina, leaving nothing behind.

As I observed the target, Roon made a noise to alert me.

Roon, roon.

“Yeah, she noticed us. I wonder how close we can get before... Whoa!” My footing shook and my vision spun around. I felt like I was going down a roller coaster moving in a spiral, then hurriedly looked to the side to see Roon was missing one of its wings entirely. I glanced back to where Kartina was and saw that she had disappeared.

“What?! We’re being attacked already? So fast!” I didn’t want the Magic Stone to be shattered completely. I placed both feet on Roon as we spun around and ordered it to return just as I teleported. The stone pavement that was about ten meters away appeared right in front of me.

I had teleported to a new location, but I wasn’t in the clear yet. The momentum from the spin still applied to my body, so I softened the impact of the landing using my body like a spring and rolled on the ground, then stood up.

Oh, I can’t drop the Magic Stone. I chopped off an approaching ogre’s head, then cut cleanly through another and caught the turquoise stone in my hand.

“Ah... There’s a crack in it. I’ll have to bring it to Mewi later.” Mewi the Neko was our go-to whenever we needed help with Magic Stones.

As I put the stone in my inner pocket, my enemy was already behind my back.

Something black and inhuman, emitting such intimidating pressure that I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.

My heart beat frantically in my chest.

But to be honest, I loved these moments.

“It’s kind of like when someone invites you to meet them behind the school building. Your heart’s beating because you don’t know who’s waiting for you. What about you, ‘Demon Arms’ Kartina? How do you feel right now?”

I shouldn’t have turned around. There were cracks extending from her chest that split her right down the middle, and the expression on her was separated to the right and left sides, making her look deformed.

She was about two meters in height, which was about average for a monster. The armor covering her entire body glinted sharply like morion, and even someone as dull as me felt fear as she glared at me with those wings growing out of her back. Afterimages appeared on either side of her, and a moment later, sparks flew from my Astroblade. I had to admit, I was pretty proud of how quickly I had drawn my sword.

And yet, I wasn’t quite fast enough.

I didn’t even have time to click my tongue in frustration as I was sent spinning backward from the impact.

The muscles in my upper arms made disturbing noises as they bulged and strained. If my feet hadn’t luckily touched the ground to let me teleport away, I likely would have died right then and there. I heard an odd Vwooosh! in my ear, then I disappeared and reappeared somewhere out of the enemy blade’s reach.

I could only land in places within my field of view. I landed on a wall on the far side, then Kartina slowly turned to me from a distance. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, and I could hear strange gurgling noises coming from her mouth.

I let myself descend from the wall, keeping my eyes on my opponent the entire time.

One blink, and I could end up dead. I felt a rush throughout my body. They say the body will desperately fight to survive when it senses imminent death. Even though this was a dream—no, another world, my body knew. I had to live through this. I had to fight to survive.

My eyes shot open, and by some miracle, I managed to dodge the attack coming for me a moment before I landed. My Acceleration was fully active, but Kartina was still so fast that she appeared to be a blur.

Remember those sharp claws. Replay that moment in your mind. Carve it into your memory. This trajectory, this power, speed, the movements of her muscles. Remember them perfectly, down to every minute detail. My brain was on overdrive as I focused to my maximum capacity, and my first slot was filled.

My Overload skill could parallel process multiple things at a time. It was once called Reprise, but it had evolved by merging with Over the Road.

If I could utilize it to its full potential...

An ominous noise made my hair stand on end. My opponent arched back like a willow tree, then swung forward with claws like five swords, causing blood to splatter from my cheek.

The wall behind me was sliced up like tofu, but I had no time to pay it much mind. I had to memorize this terrifying attack as soon as possible if I hoped to move forward. The enemy was far stronger than me, but I had to win somehow.

A powerful kick was driven deep into my stomach. I activated Acceleration at the moment of impact, memorizing the speed and power of this attack into my second slot. I had reduced the damage by leaping backward as I was hit, but it was strong enough to take a good chunk out of my health.

I grounded both of my feet as I was sent flying backward, skidding to a halt across several dozen meters. The monster seemed to realize something was off and decided not to follow up with another attack.

It seemed she had noticed. If I was her, I would have been creeped out too. I stared with my sleepy-looking eyes, observing. Slowly but surely, I was adapting to her offense.

“Hey there. Can you hear me, Kartina? Then why don’t we talk for a bit? Otherwise, one of us could die in a few more minutes.” That may have come out more provocative than I intended. I had meant to say that I could be the one who would end up dead.

“I may look weak in your eyes, but I’m level 77. What level are you?”

Kartina wasn’t having it. She extended her wings backward and leaped at me to attack even faster than before. If she had been turned into a monster against her will, I wanted to see if there was any way to save her. Still, it was possible that she was listening to what I had to say. Perhaps it was possible to talk my way out of this.

I really didn’t have much time to think about it.

She was so fast I could barely see her.

The moment I thought she had disappeared, she broke the sound barrier and made the upper half of my body vanish. The attack was too fast for me to memorize with Overload. After all, I couldn’t even see it.

“Hm?!” But it was Kartina who ended up being shocked. She did a double take at the sight of my lower half also vanishing like mist.

I watched her reaction from behind, relieved to find that the illusion I had created with Phantom Image was effective for dodging her attacks.

“My appearance and level may not be all that impressive, but I can hold my own.”

I swung my blade at her side from behind to see how she would respond, but she turned around with superhuman reactions, sparks flying from her claws as she blocked the blow in a split second. But I wasn’t going to let that deter me.

The black sword in my hand glimmered like a shooting star and made a whirring sound. Kartina immediately changed her stance, slouching forward slightly and shifting the trajectory of my blade with the back of her hand.

The Demon Arms was terrifyingly fast indeed. But as far as I could tell, it needed to charge up slightly before going off. There was no stopping her charge if I gave her a moment to breathe. I mean, I did manage to stop her earlier, but I thought that maybe I could turn the tables if I kept fighting her at an extremely close range.

*Clang! Clash! Crack!*

I swung Astroblade in a flurry of blows, pale blue sparks flying into the air each time we collided. It seemed like the demon matter was burning up, but there was no telling for certain. I didn’t have the time to check. My vision changed completely with each second that ticked by.

My attacks were fairly straightforward swings of the sword. I executed the motion immediately after teleporting clockwise around her. I repeated this move with less than a second of an interval between each hit. I left an afterimage behind as I continued my assault, and Kartina crouched down further as she raised her claws to fend off my attacks. She looked pretty cramped in that position, but her reflexes were still insanely quick. She blocked, parried, dodged, and read my attacks, then cut my cheek with her sharp claw.

I hadn’t expected to come out of this unscathed. Things weren’t exactly going as planned either. My usual game plan was to switch to more complicated attack patterns once the enemy got used to my simple ones. But Kartina was adapting to my attacks far quicker than I had imagined.

I was able to dodge her claws as they came for my forehead, but my counterattack ended up being a complete failure. Kartina spun around like a top, ducked under my swing, then kicked me right on the side of my head. My attacks came to a halt. My breathing was disrupted.

The way I had run out of patience really showed how much I still had to learn. Haste makes waste, as they say. As I was sent spinning toward the ground, a black leg covered in what looked like morion came crashing into me. I managed to put my sword in front of my stomach to block, but the impact was driven into my body, and I was sent flying upward at an angle.

“Gah!” My body slammed into a stone pillar, and I got the wind knocked out of me. Just as I was about to go into free fall, I saw Demon Arms flying toward me. This was bad. I was beaten with a flurry of blows, not even allowed to land on the ground. It seemed she knew that I couldn’t teleport unless I touched the ground with both feet.

I tried to use my sword to dodge the incoming attacks as I was embedded into the stone pillar, but I knew I wouldn’t last much longer. Every hit landed with a heavy thud, and the faint light of hope began to disappear when I realized the enemy wasn’t even out of breath.

*Boooooom!*

Well, that was loud. Broken shards of stone dug into my body, and I could no longer tell if I was evading or getting hit by her attacks. The noises around me were so loud that my hearing had gone numb. I still struggled desperately, but could see in my dim vision that Kartina’s fist had now formed a knife hand. She was preparing to deal the finishing blow.

I’m sorry, Marie. I know I promised I wouldn’t die. I’m about to lose, but I hope you can distract everyone away from me somehow. Then I’ll go right back to sleep and come back.

As the thought ran through my mind, the last thing I expected was for a shield to appear from the ground and protect me. I heard something hard clash against something, and saw that Kartina’s claws had stopped a few centimeters away from me. Her hand had penetrated the shield about halfway through, but failed to finish me off.

“Ngh?!”

No, no. That wasn’t my skill.

The unfamiliar sight—or rather, maybe it was because her killing blow was interrupted—anyway, Kartina was sent into a blind rage and started pummeling the egg-white shield. But that wasn’t the only shield. More appeared from the ground, one after another. I watched blankly as they began pushing her away from me.

“Is this...?” I slid down and hit the ground, but I didn’t even have the energy to teleport away. I couldn’t move as I breathed heavily, then noticed someone gently holding on to my shoulders. It was a woman’s hand, and I was surprised by the scent of a flowery, elegant fragrance.

“Is that...Shirley?” I must have gotten a cut on my forehead, because my vision was filled with blood. I was having trouble moving, but it seemed my guess was correct. As my body slid down, I was placed in a position so my head rested on her lap. Right before me were those sky blue eyes. Her bright colored hair danced before my face, and her serene expression appeared upside down in my eyes.

Her lips mouthed, “Are you okay?” but honestly, I wasn’t. The shields from earlier were getting chipped away, but I didn’t even have the vitality to run.

Shirley tilted her head as if to say, “Well, this is troubling,” but all I could do was agree. She then gestured as if to say, “Please stay still.” Her slender finger touched my chin, and I was drawn in... After that, I felt myself overlapping with her thighs.

I didn’t understand what had happened, but it was like I had become half-buried inside of her. She then exhaled warm air over me from directly above.

In that moment, I felt a splendid, almost golden wave of life force flowing into me.

Somehow, it reminded me of a vacation. It was like a moment in time where you could just enjoy yourself without having to worry about reality.

It was as though I was walking under the refreshing blue sky, and then I’d touched the golden ear of a rice plant with my fingertip. I felt the blessing with all five of my senses, and I closed my eyes dreamily and let myself take in the sensation.

And when I opened my eyes, I was surprised to find that my wounds had all healed. I sat straight up, but Shirley wrapped her arms delicately around me as if to say, “Just a little longer,” and put me back down onto her lap.

She was her usual self as she put a finger to my lips with a shushing gesture. She was so gentle and calm that I nearly forgot we were in the middle of a battle.

It sure was strange being coddled like this on a battlefield. Just then, I realized something. As I laid there, I felt warmth spreading through me, down to my fingertips.

I almost wanted to rub my cheeks against the smooth thighs supporting my head. A soft, comfortable feeling came over me, and my eyelids grew heavy. I mean, I wasn’t going to fall asleep or anything. Kartina was still going berserk right next to us, angrily whaling at the shields impeding her path.

But somehow, the space around me felt serene. It must have been because of Shirley’s distinct charm. The gentle air around us smelled faintly of flowers, and I felt like I was resting in our room on the second floor.

Meanwhile, Shirley stroked my hair, which was making me feel ticklish. It seemed she wanted to tell me that my wounds were healed, but I still had to recover my energy. I could feel her heartbeat, and my body gradually regained its strength.

“Well, I’ve definitely never been healed like this before. Thanks, Shirley. I’d love to get treated by you again some time.” I looked up at the upside-down Shirley and gave her my honest thanks. Her hand stopped in the middle of patting my head, and her sky blue eyes widened. She then turned away slightly and laughed.

It was hard to believe she was the second-floor master. She was simply a goddess, I thought to myself like an idiot. But she looked at me again as if she was itching for another compliment, and I reconsidered, thinking maybe she was an angel rather than a goddess.

“I’ve never seen anyone heal so quickly before. And you didn’t even have to speak an incantation. I’m proud to be the leader of Team Amethyst with someone as skilled as you with us.” Shirley shook her head side to side as if she was embarrassed, but she must have been quite flattered, because she started rubbing my shoulders.

Whoa, that feels really good.

As she worked the knots out of my shoulders, I felt my body getting gradually warmer. The mental scale in my mind was going back and forth between goddess and angel. It leaned toward goddess, then her cuteness favored the angel side, and the pointless evaluation went on.

“Oh, that’s right. If you’re here, does that mean Wridra is back safely?” It seemed she was. Shirley nodded, then pointed at the stronghold in the distance. I couldn’t actually see it from here, but I was relieved by Shirley’s response. I was worried about Wridra after she had left us without much explanation. Though, the Arkdragon probably would have scoffed if I told her so. Or maybe she would have smiled. I wasn’t sure.

“Then I can’t just sit here and do nothing. So, Shirley, what’s your preferred method of fighting? Could you tell me what other abilities you have?” I glanced to the side to see that her shields had nearly been broken. Although, they were clearly no ordinary shields, considering they held off Kartina’s attacks for so long.

Come to think of it, those shields looked somewhat familiar. As I tried to recall, Shirley undid the string around her book. I felt like a child having a bedtime story read to me, but I decided not to put too much thought into it.

It seemed the pictures had been drawn with colored pencils or something. The book was full of colorful drawings, most of which were hand drawn by Shirley. Meanwhile, some pages just had names written in the ancient language. My eyes were drawn to a particular entry.

“Wait, is that...an ogre?” Right after I asked, a white monster emerged from the ground. Seeing the muscular creature stand there with a large shield in hand, it finally clicked for me.

“Oh, I get it. You can turn the enemies you defeat into your allies. I thought you’d been drawing in your picture diary or something...”

Shirley cocked her head as if to say, “What’s the difference?”

It occurred to me that maybe the reason the enemies hadn’t been respawning was thanks to her. That explained why things had been going so smoothly on this floor. It was drastically easier to handle when we didn’t have to worry about enemies sneaking up on us from behind.

Shirley touched her book, and then something hopped up onto her finger. It looked like a white lizard, and it shot me a mean look. Shirley’s finger then pointed at the word “Egriny” spelled in the ancient language.

“Oh, I remember you, Egriny. This party is a bit loud, but I’ll at least guarantee good food. Looking forward to working with you.” I moved my finger closer, and Egriny seemed to think for a moment before play-biting it as a form of greeting. He then turned around and hopped back into the book.

“That’s impressive. I’m really curious to know how it works. I’ve never seen such a wondrous book before. I guess Monster Book is kind of an apt name for it after all.” Shirley then hugged her book like it was a precious treasure and smiled, making me smile along with her. I considered myself pretty mild mannered, but I was no match for Shirley.

Now, it was time for me to get back into action. I stood up, and Shirley swatted at the dirt on my back and butt for me. Just then, Kartina broke through the ogre’s defenses.

“Rrroooaaaaaarrr!”

Having fulfilled its duty, the ogre broke down into particles and withdrew back into the book. My view then cleared up, revealing the raging “Demon Arms” Kartina standing before us. She seemed surprised by the fact that my wounds had been healed, but I was taken aback by the sudden change in temperature myself. It was as if winter had suddenly arrived.

“Hmm, would you prefer a one-on-one instead? We can stop if you want. What do you say?”

“Graaaaaarrr!!!”

Oh, she’s charging right at us. It seemed there was no room for discussion. I wondered when our opponent would notice that a hoard of those jellyfish I loved so much were floating all around her.

The moment her claw touched one of the spirits, it released a blast of frigid air. The ice spirit encased her arm with ice from her wrist to her elbow, and Kartina leaped backward as soon as she noticed. The thing was, there was another jellyfish right behind her.

Kartina looked bewildered as she was hit in the back with consecutive ice blasts. This was the power of a Spirit Sorceress: a preemptive attack that had been prepared beforehand.

Well, I did ask if she preferred a one-on-one. Since she didn’t seem to mind, it shouldn’t have mattered whether it was a two-on-one or three-on-one, right?

“Don’t forget, we can communicate using Chat. I may still be a newbie, but not as much as you, Kartina.”

She easily broke the ice around her arm, but seemed to have trouble getting rid of the ice encasing her wings. She could probably have broken that too if she spent some time doing so, but I wasn’t going to let the chance Marie gave me slip by. No, I wouldn’t call this unfair. This was a co-op effort.

“Thanks, Marie. I’d appreciate it if you could keep blocking off her surroundings. By the way, will I be okay if I touch the spirits?”

“Yes, of course. But since I’m controlling so many spirits at once, I won’t be able to trap her with stone walls like usual. The ice spirits are also limited to simple movements only.”

“I figured that’d be the case,” I replied in Chat. The enemy could move at abnormally fast speeds, so it would have been difficult to trap her with stone walls or send ice spirits at her anyway. That was why it was better to have many of them surrounding the opponent instead.

Eeeeee...

The moment I drew my blade from its sheath, a sound like a horse’s whinny rang out. Astroblade began greedily draining my energy, and Shirley summoned guardian shields from the ground. The white shield wall surrounded us in a circle.

Hmm, it’s pretty cramped in here.

It was about the same size as a boxing ring.

“Round two, fight... Well, that sounded a bit better in my head. Okay, Kartina, let’s start on the count of... Whoa!” Kartina charged forward with explosive rage. She looked terrifyingly intense, but her speed was reduced due to her wings being restricted. Though, a normal person would have still died instantly.

My view changed completely as I pretty much automatically appeared next to Kartina. Astroblade glinted, and those infernal eyes turned toward me.

I had an opening. I had to stay focused. My opponent was much faster than me; I had to take this slow and steady. That’s what I had learned from my earlier mistake.

Kartina sliced through my illusion, and I flew forward from behind it as it dispersed. My sword glowed like a shooting star and was drawn to the enemy’s black palm, clashing against it with a metallic clang.

It completely halted my momentum, and she threw a front kick at me as I stumbled a step forward. The attack was so swift it could have ruptured my organs had it landed, but I had already registered that move into one of my slots. The counterattack I had set allowed me to teleport to her flank in a split second and slash at her Achilles tendon at the same time.

*Clang!* Finally.

I had finally carved a cut into that crystalline armor.

Kartina lost her balance after I cut halfway into her ankle, but spun around to deliver a backhand blow with her claws. I thought she’d managed to shave off some of my hair, but then I noticed blood coming out of my split cheek.

“Hm. I thought I dodged it, but she extended her range by spreading her fingers.” I adjusted the attack pattern I had memorized and increased the speed of my attacks.

Earlier, I had just been using my illusions, teleporting short distances, and hoping it worked out. But I decided to change my approach. By optimizing every move I made, I would be able to precisely evade and attack at the same time.

I deftly dodged each attack while backing away from my opponent. It was obviously an attempt at provoking her. I could see her blood boiling with each swing that hit only air.

“Grrraaaaaarrr!!!”

Heh, how scary. Her roar from up close was enough to make an innocent child faint. But I was far from actually being a kid, so I gave the horrifying Demon Arms a creepy smile in return.

“Kartina, it seems like you and I have similar tastes. Now, it’s time to fight. A runt like me may not be the powerful opponent you hoped for, but it’ll be fun in its own way. You’ll see.”

I had a tendency to mouth off like this. It wasn’t that I did it just to mock the opponent; I was enjoying this tense battle to the fullest. Kartina glared at me and hurriedly repaired her ankle, but did she really think she had time to do that right now? I landed on Kartina’s stomach. It all happened in a flash. Teleportation happened in an instant, so there was no way for an opponent to react to it. My enemy was startled by my sudden appearance, and I flashed her a grin. Though, the smile may not have been exactly fitting for a child’s face.

“Hey there, you seem to be struggling. If your foot isn’t working, I’ll just approach you like this.”

Her face contorted demonically as if she wanted to scream, “Silence, insect!” If that was really what she was thinking, then she must not have noticed my glowing sword. It was rather unfortunate that she was so myopic, simplistic, and monotonous. I had hoped she would be the ideal foe I dreamed of.

My glimmering sword had been charging energy since the fight started. It glowed far brighter now, and it could likely fire a blast straight through that solid armor.

“ROOOOOOAAAAAAR!!!”

An X-shaped slash instantly appeared in the spot I had just been standing in. It seemed Kartina finally realized the trouble she was in and foolishly charged right at me.

Kartina, if you’re a speed-type fighter like me, you can never lose your cool like that. Otherwise, your attacks will become simple, making them easy to predict like earlier.

A jellyfish appeared right in front of her eyes. The spirit had white frost floating around it, and it was clearly the same kind from earlier. They looked cute in our eyes, but Kartina probably didn’t feel the same way.

Kartina stumbled as she tried to stop, but she couldn’t avoid my full-force swing. I watched as she weakly swung her claws...

*Fwsh! Clang!*

I had put my whole body into the swing.

The counter swing landed perfectly into her helmet, sending black fragments flying into the air. Kartina’s knees went weak, and she spread out her legs to stop in place.

Her labored breathing and the sight before me stopped me from delivering a follow-up attack. Astroblade’s starry glow faded away.

“Kartina...”

The half-broken helm revealed a tear-soaked, emaciated woman’s face.

Her eyes had their whites and blacks reversed, a trademark characteristic of demons. They looked rather big for her face, but that may have been because her cheeks were so hollow.

Her hair was soaked in sweat. I could see the exposed parts of her had turned brown, and even black in the deeper parts, because of the Demon Arms’s influence. Her teary, demonic eyes weren’t looking at me, but somewhere far away.

“I’m...the only one left... Why?! Why did this happen, Captain? Please, answer me... Captain!!!”

I was at a complete loss for words. Before my eyes wasn’t the enemy I had imagined in my head, but a woman that couldn’t stop crying.

“I see. The rebels were turned into monsters. So you’re the last...”

“We are not rebels! I...I have a duty to stop Arilai, even if it costs me my life... Raaahhh!” Kartina suddenly accelerated, but I already knew how to fight her. Tons of ice spirits appeared when I teleported backward, and she had to desperately evade them as she tried to hit me.

But to be honest, I felt bad for her. I couldn’t bear to watch as she cried while she repeatedly attempted her futile attacks, sustaining injuries all around her body as she did so. Kartina cut her cheek on a broken fragment of her armor, and when she opened her eyes, an ice spirit was right in front of her face.

“Ah!” And so, I picked up the ice spirit that was about to touch Kartina. It was as cold as ice, and the ice spirit wriggled in my hand in an attempt to get free.

When I moved it aside, I saw the woman’s freckled face and her brown hair. She was covered in ice, and with her joints having been disabled, she had lost her ability to function. I whispered to her from right up close to her face.

“Kartina. I’m not from Arilai. That’s why I don’t know too much about its history.”

“Don’t give me that. You defile the sacred ancient labyrinth, you piece of filth. May my ancestors curse you for all eternity.” Her burning rage was palpable. There was a militaristic intensity to her, but she wasn’t so intimidating if she couldn’t even beat a single kid.

Then, for some reason, Kartina twitched.

It seemed Kartina was just as confused as I was, and she restlessly looked down all around her body. Her Demon Arms was squirming against her will...

It wanted to flee. That’s how it seemed in our eyes.

Then, I finally realized that Shirley was walking up from behind. But there was no hostility about her, as if she was just going on an evening stroll. Shirley extended her finger, and the gesture was enough to make the Demon Arms tremble in fear. Kartina screamed, desperation in her eyes. Not at us, but at her own armor.

“D-Don’t run! No, no, I said NO! You do this to my body, and now you want to run away, you bastard?!”

It was like they were playing tug-of-war. Kartina clung to the ground with all fours, and her armor tried to get as far away from Shirley as possible. I heard something ripping, and I was shocked when the armor peeled away from her body, revealing bare skin.

The Demon Arms extended like rubber, and Kartina’s well-built upper body was exposed. But she didn’t allow the armor to escape. She gripped the ground with her claws, grabbed the armor that tried to remove itself, and pulled with all her might. It was clear that she would do whatever it took to keep it from running away.

“Hnng, nnngh! Do not...run away...from me. You want to run away from a kid that was just playing around on a lap pillow?! Don’t you fucking dare, Demon Arms!!!” She had put her very soul into that scream, but Shirley and I exchanged blank looks.

I mean, maybe it seemed that way to Kartina, but that was necessary for me to heal.

I asked Shirley to confirm, but she looked away from me in response.

Wait, what does that mean? It was necessary for me to lie on your lap, right? It wasn’t? But then, I remembered something.

She had once told me she had the ability to put defeated monsters into her book. Once the monster was stored in the book, it was likely that their will and very being would be changed. Maybe that was why the armor instinctively tried to flee from Shirley.

This was a battle for their own existence. Kartina, who would rather die than flee from this fight, and the Demon Arms, which didn’t want to perish.

The struggle would soon come to an end. The Demon Arms seemed to have given up and returned to its original position with a high-pitched whirring noise. It was like a dog that had been ordered by its master. The hole-ridden, beaten armor covered up Kartina’s sweaty body. Just then, someone calling to us from afar suddenly appeared.

“Ah, so you were able to make it obey through force. Then perhaps there is still a way.”

“Huh? You’re here, Wridra?” A black stain expanded on a nearby wall, and a black-haired beauty stepped out. She then reached behind herself and picked a certain elf girl up in her arms.

I turned around, and...the ogres in the distance had already been taken care of. Though, I figured Marie probably could have wiped them all out whenever she wanted.

Wridra stepped forward. She parted her lips and continued where she had left off earlier.

“Did your captain ever tell you what happens to those who succumb to demonic powers?” Having depleted all her energy, Kartina struggled to breathe as she looked up on all fours with a confused expression. She then shook her head as if she had given up. Wridra let out a heavy sigh.

“You will not die. This is rather unfortunate for you. Your shattered body will become whole again, turning into something else entirely, and you will continue to attack any intruders that enter this place. You do know what respawning is, do you not? That will be your fate.” Kartina gulped with a shocked expression on her face. It seemed she didn’t know whether she should feel hope or despair from those words. Unfortunately, it would be the latter.

“Your organic parts will mostly die, and your consciousness will become completely muddled. Do you wish to be permanently trapped in this labyrinth in such a state?” It was clear from the look in Wridra’s eyes that she was only speaking the truth.

Kartina began to tremble. The realization had finally hit her. She was doomed to live eternally, unable to escape from this ancient labyrinth. She must have felt it all the more clearly now that she was on the brink of death.

“However, you are quite lucky indeed. Even I had given up already.” With that, the Arkdragon placed a hand on Kartina’s cheek. There was such kindness in her touch, it was hard to believe they had just been fighting earlier.

But come to think of it, it did kind of make sense. Wridra had lived since ancient times, and she had seen many involved with demonic powers until now. Maybe that was why she was able to touch her with such kindness.

Wridra stared at Kartina’s eyes, swollen with tears, then nodded.

“Yes, you have the Demon Arms well under control. Shirley here is the one who controls the cycle of life and death. Therefore, you can choose what you wish to become. You may die, go on to your next life, or be released from this labyrinth and live on in this world. Though, you will have the life expectancy of a normal human, of course.”

Kartina probably wouldn’t have been convinced if they were just ordinary words. But as she felt Wridra’s warmth while the Arkdragon put her arms around her neck like an old friend, she felt tears fall uncontrollably from her eyes. Fighting all alone in this labyrinth forever would be far too cold. Kartina looked around at the room littered with the corpses of her former comrades and spoke with tears still streaming from her face.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry... Have mercy. I can’t fight anymore. My will to fight is no more. I’m sorry, everyone... Curse me if you wish...” Kartina opened her mouth wide and cried out loud.

It was a strange sight.

Kartina clasped her hands together as if she was praying to God, and Shirley laid a hand upon her head. There was something sacred about the way the darkness covering her body faded away.

The dust that remained from the fallen monsters scattered into the air as the third floor burned. Marie and I watched while holding each other’s hand as even those remnants were purified like white snow.

When we reported that the Demon Arms had been defeated, cheers erupted from the stronghold. As the troops stepped out of the fortress, they stared in silence at the room that seemingly became covered in snow.

It was as if it was snowing in celebration of their victory, and it in fact marked the release of monsters that had been working for thousands of years. The white landscape was the final destination of those who had fought on for so, so long. Knowing this, the two of us didn’t celebrate, but watched hand in hand as everything turned white.

Unbeknownst to us, the same thing was happening at the central control room.

The keeper who had fought through to the end and had his lower body turned to dust faintly opened his eyes and looked up at the light of salvation. The light was being emitted by the one who had been in the water tank, who then stepped through the glass and touched the man’s forehead. The man eventually broke down into particles and mouthed the words “I’m sorry” before vanishing completely.

Shirley was probably unlike any other being in the labyrinth.

She could put an end to the circulation of demons and could reveal paths that weren’t possible before.

One day, she just may change this ancient labyrinth entirely. But the way she opened her Monster Book and proudly showed off her new illustration made her look rather childlike in my eyes.

Kartina stood up, clad in pure white armor. From the look in her eyes, whatever sorrow had been haunting her was now gone...but I didn’t understand why she glared at me as if to say, “You’ll pay for this.”

§

Citizens were coming and going as usual while soldiers solidified the castle’s defenses.

The sun had gone down, but the discussion going around the roundtable hadn’t reached a conclusion yet. One of the members of the royal family, Wallace, stared at the map upon the table and grunted.

“It’s only a matter of time until the ancient labyrinth of the oasis falls.” Although Hakam and the others were still in the middle of their raid, there was no voice of dissent from the table. Now that the most powerful monsters of the third floor had been captured, its fall was practically guaranteed. The map on the table showed the estimated enemy forces, most of which were focused on the west side.

“Unfortunately, we’re not able to contact the team there due to something interfering with our link. But it has already been ten days or so. It’s possible that our communications aren’t being blocked, but there’s no one left to answer our calls. The good thing is this won’t hurt us too badly, considering we reduced the number of raid team members to a minimum... Oh, pardon me. I forgot your son was among them, General Gido.” He turned his cold eyes toward a well-built man.

The man in question was the master of the Thousand household and Zera’s father. There was a powerful air about him despite his graying hair. Just as his name suggested, he had the ability to control a thousand blades at once, and he could turn the tide of any battle no matter the situation.

“My son chose to fight on that battlefield. I have nothing to say on the matter.” There was neither anger nor sorrow in his words. Death could be awaiting anyone who steps into battle. That was the message that the man’s quiet demeanor was conveying. As they were about to return to their discussion, the master of the Thousand household spoke again.

“My son may still be inexperienced, but his sense of smell is as good as mine. And I hear that ‘Man-eater Barracuda’ Gaston is part of the raid team as well. I cannot imagine that beast of a man would actually die.” Several at the table nodded at this comment.

Gaston had come to choose more dangerous battlefields as he aged, but always returned without sustaining any damage. Even Gaston himself had complained, “When will I get to die?”

Wallace scoffed.

“Impossible. According to the records, there is a powerful weapon from the ancient times known as the Demon Arms inside. While I will admit those men are quite skilled, should you not be more realistic about this, General? You should beware not to lose your position by being so narrow-sighted.”

“It appears you’re thinking too realistically, Prince Wallace. As general, I will prioritize my own intuition. I believe the ones who determine the state of a battlefield should be those who have actually fought on one.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” the prince replied, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. Not many knew that these two had been clashing quite often. That was part of the reason why the discussion dragged on, and many of those seated were getting visibly tired. Some of them blatantly let out a sigh as Prince Wallace approached the general to confront him.

“But perhaps it’s that way of thinking that has been leading our young soldiers to their deaths? I find it inhuman that someone would send their own son to a fight he has no hope of winning and order him to resolve this unprecedented situation.”

“That is the nature of battle. If we gave in to hardship, this country would have been swallowed in sand long ago. They took on the challenge believing they had a way to win. To fight is to entrust oneself to hope, Your Royal Highness.”

“Hah, if you wish to rely on hope, then why don’t you go to the church and worship the land god? Or perhaps you should clasp your hands together and pray to a shooting star at night.”

“Pardon me, but such places with no enemy in sight are not the kind of battlefield I know.”

“Well, I think doing so would make you seem more like a parent.”

Neither of them had any intention of backing down, and the royals gathered there looked up at the ceiling as if they were sick of it. As they lamented the thought of wasting more time today, the door to the room slammed open.

“I-I have a message from the third-floor raid team! They’ve successfully defeated the Demon Arms and Gedovar’s forces!” The messenger’s voice reverberated through the room. There was a faint silence before they all rose as if they had been jolted with electricity.

“What?!” The one who was most surprised was Prince Wallace, who had supposedly been assessing the situation realistically.

This news implied that the raid team had turned the situation around despite facing the horde of monsters living on the third floor, including their elite units, while being outnumbered and outleveled. The records showed that the Demon Arms was a terrifying being that could take down castles all on their own.

Their surprise was understandable. But only the master of the Thousand household let out a “Hmph” and slowly walked toward the table.

“Now we can finally have a proper discussion. The enemy vanguard, our biggest threat, has now been wiped out. Their country is likely more surprised than we are.” He smiled for the first time since stepping into the room. It wasn’t the smile of a fighter, but the smile of someone who was enjoying the situation. Now that things had changed so drastically, it was unlikely that any of the royals gathered would get any rest until the morning.

§

It was already past noon by the time we got back to the condo. I wasn’t sure if it was because she had used too much magic or because she had been concentrating for so long, but Marie was splayed out on the bed and didn’t move. When I looked at her, she returned my glance with a displeased expression.

“Are you okay, Marie?”

“I’m tired. I’ll have you know, no one would ever control so many spirits at once under normal circumstances. You should understand that it was only possible because I was the one doing it.” She thrust out her lips and made a sullen expression, which I found adorable.

I moved closer, and she reached out her hands as if demanding a hug. I reluctantly supported her by her back and under her knees and picked her up like a princess... Well, okay, I was happy to do it.

She was incredibly light. Yet, she was so soft, and when she wrapped her arms around my neck, I knew the upcoming Obon vacation would be an amazing one.

When I turned around, I saw Wridra rolling her eyes at the table. It seemed she had really taken a liking to reading the newspaper with glasses on. She straightened out the pages and moved the paper into the sunlight.

“So, Kartina didn’t perish after all.”

“Yes, I hear she will be serving Shirley for some time. Supposedly, it would be better for her to stay in that world at least until she witnesses the fate of the ancient labyrinth and her own country.”

That would be something she would care about. Although she was a precious source of information on the enemy country, I couldn’t bring myself to interrogate her. I had heard she was forced into the Demon Arms, so it was probably better for her to rest for a while.

“Oh, something smells nice. What’s cooking?” Marie asked.

“Pancakes. We should eat up before we head out.” The elf and dragon both loved pancakes covered in butter and honey. Marie swung her feet happily as she waited and called out to the cook right as she flipped the frying pan.

“Thanks, Shirley. You’re such a good cook!” It seemed Shirley had gotten used to Japan for the most part. She turned around and gave a thumbs up, and I was having trouble believing she was a former floor master. It was good that she had gained the ability to negate her transparency after a part of her seal had been undone the other day. But apparently, she turned blurry whenever she let her guard down, and it startled me whenever it happened.

“We’ll be leaving tomorrow, so we’ll need to get ready. There’s something called character bento in Japan, where they arrange the ingredients of a boxed lunch to look like certain characters.” Marie’s long ears stood up. It seemed something immediately came to mind from my comment. Marie’s purple eyes were alight with excitement when she looked at me.

“But...isn’t that for children? You should know that I’m far more mature than you might think.”

“Not at all, this is a part of adult culture. Kids don’t really make their own bento.” The practice had started spreading overseas as well. There was something strange about the culture of enjoying food to the fullest. Though, if anything, I thought being carried like a princess was more childish.

“Is that so? Mhm... Then, I suppose if you insist, we could give it a try. I’ll let you have this one and take this chance to learn about foreign culture.”

“Yeah, I’ve been living in this country for a long time. You should listen to people who have more experience about these things. So, what kind of character would you like?” I asked, and Marie whispered something in my ear. It kind of tickled as she spoke, but I was even more amused when I pictured the character she mentioned. It was a rather obvious choice.

I knew it was hard for a person to forget the first anime they ever saw. Just as I pictured the character’s smiling face, the pancakes finished cooking. All we had to do now was move the Monster Book away from the table and... Wait, Monster Book?

This thing can’t activate its powers even in Japan... Can it?

There were probably countless monsters sealed within those pages, but... It couldn’t have been. There was no way. Yet, when I looked at the book, I thought I saw a picture of “Demon Arms” Kartina, posed with an ogre shield and spear.

I must have imagined it. I shut the book, and pancakes on their respective plates were soon brought to the table.

“Ah, they are done,” Wridra said as she folded her newspaper. Our humble breakfast in the wake of an intense battle was about to begin.

I had Marie sit in a chair, guided Shirley to the table, and opted to have a manly standing breakfast. I looked up at the summer skies thinking that I really needed to buy extra chairs soon.

And so, our Obon break and trip to Izu were both about to start.

The freshly made pancakes were warm and sweet, and the smell of butter filled the room. I thought that the flavor felt nostalgic for some reason as I ate.