I handed over the Ice Sword Arondight I was holding to Iris.
"It was hidden in another room. Here you go."
"Really... I'm so surprised I don't know how to react. Not only did you rescue me, but you also found my lost Ice Sword."
Iris, holding the Ice Sword with both hands, smiled at me.
"I wonder if Shion felt like this when you found her?"
"Who knows? I just thought she got caught by some weirdo."
"You always have a pessimistic view. But..."
While looking at me, Iris started to tear up and said,
"Thank you for coming, Crow. I'm truly happy."
That was probably the only time in my life I'd hear such words.
We, including Iris who changed from her dress into her usual blue tailcoat, escaped from the zombie-infested castle.
Instructor Cattleya and Safran cut down any obstructing zombies.
Their prowess was truly unmatched.
Watching them, I had a doubt.
"Iris, did you really lose to these zombie creatures?"
Iris's strength is no less than Instructor Cattleya's or Safran's.
Despite this, I couldn't understand how Iris was defeated.
"It's embarrassing, but the zombies that attacked me were the town's residents. I couldn't believe that corpses could move, so I couldn't strike them."
"That's a dirty trick."
"That's not all. Among the zombie soldiers, there were corpses that weren't human. I think..."
As Iris was about to say something, the four of us passed through the castle's main gate.
We crossed the drawbridge and easily succeeded in escaping the castle.
"Crow! We're heading straight to where the Pegasus Sword is kept!"
The moment Instructor Cattleya, who was leading, said that,
"You won't get away so easily!"
Someone shouted from the top of the castle walls.
We involuntarily looked back.
Atop the walls stood a woman holding a large scythe-like spear.
She wore a triangular hat and a cloak.
She was dressed like a witch.
And, with her long peach-colored hair, half of her face was hidden.
"That's... the wielder of the Underworld Sword!"
I stared intently at the woman in the witch's attire holding the scythe.
It's hard to tell from a distance, but she seems tall and slender.
Her black witch's attire emphasizes her slender figure even more.
Moreover, she's beautiful, but her complexion is terribly pale. Her skin was unnaturally pale, with dark circles prominently visible under her eyes.
She was so pale and slender that I couldn't help but wonder if she herself was a zombie.
The woman in the witch's attire looked down at us from the castle wall and said,
"I can't just let go of the Saintly Sword user I went to so much trouble to capture. Sorry, but I'm taking her."
"You're the one who kidnapped Iris! You won't get away with this!"
"...Are you... the famous wielder of the Explosion Sword I've heard about?"
The woman in the witch's attire sized us up.
"Wait... other than that guy, are all of you Saintly Sword users? Why? What's going on?"
"That's right! It's three against one! You don't stand a chance!"
"We'll see about that..."
The woman in the witch's attire had a confident smirk on her face.
"Instructor Cattleya! Be careful. She can control the corpses of monsters! I was defeated by those monsters."
"What?"
At Iris's words, we were taken aback.
Creatures that the Demon King created and controlled to annihilate humanity.
Controlling their corpses is not a misuse of the Underworld Sword.
Rather, defeating the monsters that obstruct the hero and then adding them as a fighting force is the proper use of the Underworld Sword.
However, that's strange.
Monsters are beings created by the Demon King.
In a situation where the Demon King hasn't resurrected, they shouldn't exist.
"Haha! There are plenty of monster corpses to be found if you look for them! Well, since they're corpses, it's natural that they rot."
The woman in the witch's attire twirled her scythe-spear and then jumped from her spot.
It was an unbelievable jump.
From the castle walls designed for defense, she reached the roof of the castle in a single leap.
In terms of physical ability alone, she seemed greater than both Instructor Cattleya and Iris.
The woman in the witch's attire tapped the roof with her scythe-spear.
"I have about fifty monster corpses stored in this castle. I intended them as a trump card, but if there are three Saintly Sword users, I have no choice. I'll release them all at once to attack you."
Fifty?
She has gathered that many monsters?
"Once they're set in motion, they're hard to control, so they're not good for guarding. But for killing, there's nothing more convenient. Fifty against three. The odds have reversed."
"...Instructor..."
I exchanged glances with Instructor Cattleya next to me.
Suddenly, the castle where the woman in the witch's attire was standing exploded.
"Whaaaaaat?!!"
Iris, seeing the castle explode right before her eyes, let out an uncharacteristic scream.
In short, before rescuing Iris, Instructor Cattleya had used Galatea to plant a ton of bombs throughout the castle, and now they were detonated.
We didn't notice the monster corpses stored in the castle.
Probably because we only walked the hallways and didn't enter any rooms other than where the Ice Sword was hidden and the VIP room where Iris was.
I won't say "You should've noticed!" to Holly, who had done a prior investigation. After all, he's the kind of guy who wouldn't even report if I was attacked by an assassin.
So, the presence of a large number of monsters inside the castle was unexpected, but inadvertently, we were able to capture all of them.
In advance, after checking the layout of the castle and walking through the hallways, we planted bombs mainly on walls and pillars. Although the firepower wasn't enough to blow them away completely, the castle collapsed under its own weight.
Moreover, even without asking, the opposing Saintly Sword user stood on top of the building where we planted the bombs and even explained that there were dangerous creatures inside.
The monsters, along with the Saintly Sword user herself, were all blown away.
Two birds with one stone.
That's what I thought, but from the rubble of the exploded castle, a woman in a witch's attire staggered out. The swirling dust around her made it hard to notice immediately, but she seemed to be alive. Though barely breathing, her resilience was astonishing.
Do all those who possess a Saintly Sword of the Sacred Sword possess such absurd endurance?
Given that we have three such individuals on our side, I watched the situation unfold with a sense of detachment.
"You... you're unbelievable... Blowing up an entire castle and annihilating my zombies..."
Using her scythe-spear as a makeshift staff, the woman in the witch's attire looked towards us.
While holding her Explosion Sword at the ready, Instructor Cattleya said,
"Crow, don't hold back this time. Make sure to finish her off."
I found myself deep in thought. It felt too dangerous to let her live, but it also felt wasteful to kill her. However, this was a battlefield. I couldn't afford to hesitate, especially since our side might be the one to fall.
Moreover, this woman single-handedly defeated Iris. Turning her into an ally might be challenging. The ball was in her court.
"Instructor, wait a moment."
"What?! You want to recruit her too? There's a limit to being a womanizer!"
"That's not it. Just give me a moment."
The woman in the witch's attire, now realizing that we have three Saintly Sword users on our side, seemed undeterred.
Her earlier confidence was probably due to the fifty monsters she controlled.
But now, the situation was different.
If I were in her shoes, I'd probably run away without a second thought.
She should have used the cover of the dust from the castle explosion to distance herself from us.
However, the fact that she approached us might mean she still sees a chance of victory.
With this in mind, I observed the woman in the witch's attire, gauging her next move.
"Why does that boy, who doesn't even possess a Saintly Sword, act like the leader? Who exactly are you?"