"Hey! What are you doing!?"
"Nothing special, size-wise. I really don't see what's so great about a loser like you. Well, I guess I have my doubts about those who play the 'pole' too."
"Who...?"
"Anyway, my goal today is to deliver the finishing blow to the boss of this dungeon."
"Boss?"
"Yes, boss. The power of the boss monster in the deepest part of the dungeon is incomparable to the fodder. Instead of mass-converting fodder into my army, I thought it would be better to convert the boss into a small, elite force. That's when I changed my strategy, right after you guys blew up most of the monsters I gathered the other day in an instant."
"So, you plan to kill that bull-like monster with your saintly sword and turn it into a zombie..."
"Yeah. You seem to know a lot about my Hades Sword's abilities. Well, that's right. So, could you please step aside and let me take care of the boss? If I can convert that boss into my army, I'll quietly disappear from here."
"What should I do?"Should I agree to her demands? But do I even have the right to make such a decishion? Would it be right to effectively aid Cineraria, who is clearly hostile towards us, by strengthening her forces? Well, my life and death are already in her hands.
"No," Saffron began to approach us while invisible, but Iris stopped her.
"We should prioritize Crow's life. That Cineraria woman, she won't kill a hostage."
"But didn't she only spare you because you're a saintly sword wielder? Crow could be killed once he's no longer useful, right?"
"Still..."
"This situation will only get worse if she turns the dungeon's boss into her minion."
"Even so... no... that person... she's too strong."
"Fine, but if Crow gets killed, we'll take her down immediately."
As they spoke, Saffron and Iris slowly retreated, moving away from the dungeon's boss... or as Cineraria called it, the 'boss.'
"Good girls," Cineraria said, hugging me from behind, moving closer to the boss.
"Let's take this," she said, stabbing the boss's neck with the Hades Sword without hesitation.
Suddenly, the surrounding scenery distorted. The dungeon, along with the boss's death, started to disappear. The stone floors, walls, and ceiling vanished. In a matter of seconds, we found ourselves outside, not because we left, but because the dungeon had vanished. However, the boss, stabbed by the Hades Sword, didn't disappear. Instead, it knelt down as if following Cineraria, and its wounds from the earlier battle healed. This was the zombification, or rather, the convershion of a monster.
"Cineraria, you've achieved your goal! Now let Crow go!" Iris pleaded.
"Not yet..." Cineraria, resting her chin on my shoulder and sticking out her tongue, flatly refused.
"Tell me how you guys managed to navigate the shortest route through the dungeon. Knowing that would be a great help to me."
"A help? Are there more dungeons?"
"I didn't ask you anything, you worthless guy."
"Ah..."
I was left speechless by her response.The reason we were able to navigate the shortest route through the dungeon was because of me. Well, more accurately, because of Holly.
"...Wait."
Where did Holly go? She said not to talk to her when others were around, but Holly, who should always be by my side, was nowhere to be seen. Something felt off since a while ago.
〈...Your body's condition is improving even more〉, I heard Holly's voice inside me.
"Holly?"
〈I've slightly increased the output. Normally, the minimum would be enough to cause instant death, but you should be able to withstand it now〉.
"What?"
Thump. My heart pounded.
"…!"
A surge of strength welled up within me. With each beat of my heart, an unusual vitality coursed through my body.
"…You've gotten too cocky, you old hag."
"!"
Holly, taking control of my body, began to speak using my mouth. Instantly, I grabbed the Hades Sword from Cineraria's hand.
"Ah! Noo!"
Of course, Cineraria tried to wrestle back the sword, but her physical strength was weaker than mine. Despite owning the Hades Sword, which should surpass the physical enhancements of the Ice Sword and the Blaze Sword, she was overpowered by me.
"Overconfident trash!" Holly cursed through my mouth while throwing Cineraria away.
"Ugh!"
Cineraria, letting go of the Hades Sword, was dramatically flung away. I was left holding the scythe-like Hades Sword.
"Fool. You don't even understand the properties of your own saintly sword."
Holly twirled the Hades Sword around.
"The Hades Sword is powerful, but difficult to handle. Each time you convert a strong monster, it consumes a vast amount of magical power. It's natural to weaken after converting something like the dungeon's boss."
"Damn it!"
Cineraria tried to use her summoning ability to retrieve the Hades Sword, but,
"Hehehe!"
With a laugh, Saffron unleashed a flying kick, hitting Cineraria squarely, sending her flying again.
"A saintly sword wielder without her sword is just a normal human, right? Super weak."
Saffron approached the kicked Cineraria, holding the Vacuum Sword in a reverse grip.Trouble. She clearly intends to kill. Normally, I would try to intervene, but right now, Holly has taken control of my body.
"Saffron, experienced saintly sword wielders often have enhanced physical abilities even in their normal state due to their habitual use of possesshion. Be careful not to let your guard down."
"...Does that mean I can kill her?"
"Yes. Go ahead and kill her."
"...Crow... What's happened to you? This isn't like you."
At that moment, Saffron's smile vanished, replaced by a blank expresshion.
"Where's the Crow who didn't want me to become a murderer? And...who are you?"
She approached me and looked closely at my face.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"We don't have time for this," Holly responded, still controlling my body and pointing in Cineraria's direction.
"I didn't notice it while we were inside the dungeon, but there's another saintly sword wielder nearby, aside from that woman."
"Really?"
Saffron and Iris, surprised, began scanning the surroundings.
"It's only natural. No matter how powerful a saintly sword wielder is, entering a dungeon alone is reckless. She was probably hiding near the entrance of the room where the boss was, but now that the dungeon has disappeared, her presence is very clear."
As Holly said this, a woman suddenly appeared next to Cineraria.
"…!"
She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
"Space teleportation... The Transfer Sword, Draupnir?"
Holly clicked her tongue while speaking through me.
The woman had a tall, slender figure, similar to Iris or Cineraria. She had flaxen hair tied back in a ponytail, giving her a mature look.
The problem was her attire. She wore martial arts clothing, which in itself wasn't unusual, but the cross-shaped axe on her back was.
"Martial artists don't typically carry weapons. It's as strange as a witch carrying a scythe... but that's another story."
"Cineraria, we're withdrawing."
"Wait! We can't just hand over the Hades Sword to them..."
"Then hurry and retrieve it. I'll provide cover."
In an instant, the martial artist wielding an axe stood before me.The martial artist woman lunged at me, wielding the Transfer Sword, aiming a powerful blow.
"Damn! She's quite formidable!" Holly cursed while using the Hades Sword to block the attack. Of course, it was my body doing the blocking.
I realized I had somehow let go of the Hades Sword. The reason became clear when Cineraria, having caught her breath, effortlessly used her ability to retrieve the sword from me.
Just as a third party intervened and Cineraria reclaimed her Hades Sword, the situation became too overwhelming for Saffron and Iris, who had been standing bewildered. They prepared their saintly swords to counterattack.
In a moment, the martial artist teleported back to Cineraria's side.
"We're at a disadvantage now, aren't we?" she grumbled.
"I'm quite exhausted from teleporting," the martial artist admitted.
"What? Someone of your caliber doesn't get exhausted from teleporting a few times," Cineraria retorted.