Apparently severely injured, she couldn't stand up and was crawling on the floor towards me, wielding the Underworld Sword.
"I'll kill... I'll kill..."
Continuing her threats.
"No, Cineraria-san. Why would you want to kill me?"
"It's your fault... How dare you do this to me... I'll kill... I'll kill you..."
"Why is it my fault..."
It was her own doing stepping on the trap.
Well, her movement speed was abnormally slow due to her weakened state.
Ironically, the wielder of the Underworld Sword, capable of controlling zombies, had become zombie-like herself.
As I looked down at Cineraria in disbelief,
"Crow!"
Holly next to me screamed.
"What's wrong?"
I followed Holly's pointing direction.
From the direction the iron ball had come from, the way I had been walking until recently.
"‘Gaaaaaaaah!’"
A horde of monsters was rushing towards us.
"Hyaaaaaaaaah!"
I screamed.
The very moment I needed my escorts, Cineraria was,
"I'll kill you..."
Just crawling around on the floor, muttering irrelevant threats.
"Damn it! She's barely of any use!"
Yelling, I snatched the Underworld Sword from Cineraria and handed it to Holly.
"Crow?"
"Holly, you carry the Underworld Sword!"
I picked up Cineraria, who was still crawling on the floor, and ran away from the monsters with all my might.
I was already out of breath from running, and now, with the added burden, my speed was even slower.
The horde of monsters was swiftly catching up to us."Yeeeeeek!"
"Crow! Leave that woman behind!"
As usual, Holly suggests what I don't even have the energy to respond or retort to.
"Leave her behind!"
"It's impossibleeeee!"
Holding the Underworld Sword, Holly, and me carrying Cineraria, we continued to run at full speed down the straight corridor.
Meanwhile,
"I'll kill you…"
"Enough with that alreadyyyyy!"
Cineraria was still intent on killing me, weakly grappling at me.
"We need to regroup with Jasmine-san quickly!"
To meet up with Jasmine, who possesses the Healing Sword with the ability to heal wounds, and fully recover Cineraria, who was crushed by the iron ball.
Then, utilizing Cineraria's Underworld Sword, which has the power to control dead monsters and humans, we could defeat the monsters chasing us from behind and potentially enlist them as zombie soldiers.
This should ensure our safety while moving through the dungeon.
"…!"
Running in fear from the growling monsters chasing us from behind, we finally emerged into a large space from the straight path.
"Crow-san!"
In that spacious area, Jasmine, who seemed to have escaped the iron ball, was waiting for us.
Since she wasn't in the middle of the path like me or squashed like Cineraria, I assumed she hadn't encountered the iron ball, but it seems she had safely escaped it.
I hurriedly put Cineraria down on the floor,
"Cineraria-san was crushed by the iron ball! Quick, she needs healing!"
"…!"
Hearing my words, Jasmine immediately started healing the prone Cineraria with her Healing Sword shaped like a huge battle-axe,
"‘Ugaaaaaaaah’"
But the monsters that had been chasing me weren't going to wait quietly for the healing to finish.
"Holly! Possess me! I need your strength!"
"As you wish!"
Holly handed me the Underworld Sword and possessed me.
Instantly, explosive power surged through my body.
With Holly possessing me, using my body to skillfully wield the Underworld Sword, we started mowing down the monsters one after another.Remarkably, the iron ball rolled past me without crushing me.
It worked out.
For a last-minute idea, it was pretty ingenious.
"...Cr-Crow... How did you not get crushed?"
Holly, who had just phased through the iron ball as a spirit, was astonished.
Huh? Didn't she see why I survived?
The reason I made it.
"Well, it's a good thing the corridor is square-shaped," I started to explain while standing up.
"The iron ball is spherical, and the corridor is square, right? Even if a spherical iron ball rolls down a square corridor, it can't reach the four corners between the floor and the ceiling."
"If you can't reach the ceiling's corners, lying sideways in a corner on the floor allows you to dodge the iron ball."
"Really… You always find a way to be clever, don't you..."
"...But what about those two?"
I looked in the direction the iron ball had rolled towards.
"I think they'll be okay. With the physical abilities of the saintly sword wielders, escaping that iron ball should be easy."
"Then, let's hurry and regroup."
So far, we hadn't encountered any monsters, but there was no telling when we might be attacked.
I jogged down the corridor the iron ball had rolled through.
"...Hmm? No forks in the road or uphill paths. How were we supposed to avoid the iron ball?"
"After continuing down this straight path for a while, you'll reach a larger space. That's where you can dodge the iron ball. Let's head there."
"Got it. They've probably made it there by now."
And so, I ran down the straight path for a while.
Then, I noticed something on the floor.
It was the Underworld Sword, shaped like a giant scythe.
Nearby, there was a piece of cloth that looked like a crushed black triangular hat and cloak.
"Gah!"
It was Cineraria, who had fallen.
Clearly, this was Cineraria after being crushed by the iron ball.
"Cineraria-san!"
This is bad.
If she was crushed by that iron ball...
Normally, all the bones in her body would be pulverized.
Her internal organs would all burst.
If it was really bad, her body could be squashed like a stepped-on frog, turning into a mushy mess.
I cautiously picked up the triangular hat that had been covering Cineraria's face to check on her.Jasmine seemed to be aware that running out of magical power while in a dungeon could spell disaster for a hero's party, and she readily agreed to my suggestion to rest.
Thus, we laid Cineraria down on the floor of a dead-end in the dungeon, with Jasmine sitting beside her, and I kept watch over the corridor.
"…Thank you for earlier. Without you holding off the monsters, I wouldn't have been able to heal Cineraria."
Jasmine murmured something like that.
"…"
I sat down on the floor, placing the Underworld Sword nearby, and turned my back to the resting pair, falling silent.
Holly stood close by, ready to possess me at any moment.
It's a common occurrence, but the recent event doesn’t feel like something I can take pride in.
The accomplishments while being possessed by Holly aren't really mine.
The focus might be on the enhancement of physical abilities, but the significant aspect of being possessed by Holly is the improvement in technical skills like reflexes and combat proficiency.
Holly has consistently led the heroes to victory in their decisive battles against the Demon Lord.
It's not just about the slashes of light from the Holy Sword or the superhuman physical abilities.
In terms of skill in maneuvering the body and weapons, Holly is extraordinarily proficient.
Even someone with as little muscle power as me can be made to match the saintly sword wielders.
Well, when possessing Shion, it seems like Holly gives her the reins.
Using Holly's power to fight doesn't exactly fill me with pride.
If we start on that, it implies that all the heroes who saved the world did so in a not-so-glorious manner, but then, being chosen by the divine sword is something to be appreciated.
"…Crow-san. I apologize on behalf of Cineraria for her rude behavior earlier."
Perhaps because I hadn't responded, Jasmine offered an apology.
"No, it's fine, really. Don't worry about it."
"But…"
"We were enemies to begin with, so there's no need to force a friendly front, right?"
After all, we're only cooperating temporarily.
This cooperation has made something clear to me.
I used to think Instructor Cattleya, Iris, and Saffron had tough personalities, but compared to what I've seen now, they seem quite mild.Compared to Cineraria, they're like angels.
"…Crow-san. Just between us, Cineraria dislikes men in general."
"Ah."
"The reason lies with her father."
"Ah."
"Her father was a nobleman with a large estate, but..."
Hold on...