As violets are conventionally seen as symbols of death, so too are dual weapons seen as icons of demise and defeat.
Carrying twin swords is like swearing that you won’t complain even if you die from getting hit by hail while you stroll down the street, and wielding twin spears is like simply resigning to natural causes.
It means that being behind is the more natural state than being alive.
Among adventurers, this was an orthodox jinx. There were jokes about cutting off an arm before entering a dungeon if a party member picked up a spear.
The farthest removed from victory? That would be the spear knight. If you met one as an enemy, you could safely bet on winning.
– Kachink!
…There was a time when I thought that too.
“Ugh… this is more than I anticipated…!”
“Fast…!”
A skirmish with a Valkyrie descended to the ground.
With a weapon sanctified by holy mana and the Holy Sword in hand, I thought it would be a piece of cake, but it turned out to be far more troublesome than I imagined.
“Dauði kappanum….endalaus kuldi…!”
i Death to the warrior. Endless cold. i
The Valkyrie, exhaling curses laden with despair, faced me and Friede simultaneously, her hands gripping ice spears that darted about, spraying frost like a snake.
Speed, power, technique—each was terrifyingly flawless.
Was there no limit to the undead’s stamina? Her powerful strikes seemed endless, and though she was a dull-witted specter, the fierceness of her thrusts was surprisingly precise.
“Tsk… why is she so agile?”
I just barely deflected her spear, which shot out like a bullet, clicking my tongue.
Before my words finished, I twisted my body to dodge another thrust, barely parrying the third stab before I was kicked and sent flying back.
“Ugh…!”
The grieves with reinforcement and shock absorption spells were dug into by the kick, leaving a clear imprint.
“Haah!”
Friede, who had also been thrown back like me, wielded her Holy Sword and unleashed a blade of light. The strike that obliterates demons cleaved the barren stones apart.
However, the Valkyrie leapt into the air, avoiding the attack elegantly as she planted her spear into the ground; she then hurled it towards Friede, sending her flying away.
“Ugh!”
Friede screamed as she deflected the spear with her sword, crashing into the collapsed wall of a building.
Though the impact was less than the first strike due to damaged shoulders hindering her recovery magic, it was enough to send her flying like a baseball.
“This is…!”
She sprang back up immediately, looking like she’d escaped serious injury.
“Svikari…!”
“A traitor? We were never on the same side to begin with!”
As Friede shook off the debris and charged back, the Valkyrie drew her spear, launching a barrage of strikes at me.
A hail of icy attacks enhanced by tremendous physical strength. It was as if a blizzard swirled and crashed in on me.
‘They say the Eisenstein spear technique isn’t much beyond one thrust—well, that’s a bunch of baloney!’
I was sweating buckets as I swung my long sword endlessly to counter her offense.
This was the Valkyrie.
A remnant of the ancient era when demonkind had ascended to the surface, entwined with dragons roaming the skies, and humanity’s chosen heroes and goddesses battled.
Truly a formidable opponent, once called the ghost of the battlefield, even in her weakened state, her skill was monstrous.
With sparks flying and ice shards melting away, chunks of broken ice spears collided with my sword and armor, reconstructing themselves each time and eagerly probing for gaps in my armor.
It was too fast and too intricate to fend off completely.
– Swoosh!
The spear grazed my cheek, thigh, and arm. Blood spat out, painting the tip of her spear red.
Haah!
A retaliatory strike from me; it got caught in the Valkyrie’s gauntlet. Darkness momentarily clouded my vision, and my knees buckled. I struggled to breathe.
“Ugh…!”
I could feel my strength draining away fast. I remembered the information that the Valkyrie’s gauntlet was inscribed with a stamina-draining spell.
It was probably meant to replenish the energy she used up as a warrior… while she was alive.
“Let go of that hand…!”
I gritted my teeth and yanked my sword, shaking off her grip. Bright flames erupted from her hand as a finger was severed along with the gauntlet, falling off.
However, the Valkyrie swung her spear as if that one finger was nothing.
While I blocked the strike with my left arm, I was still knocked off balance and tumbled to the ground, kicking up dust that tasted gritty and foul.
“Dauði!”
“Hilde!”
Suddenly, Friede, who had dashed close, deflected the Valkyrie’s spear that aimed to skewer me and dove forward in a spinning motion, bringing down her greatsword.
– Crash!
This was the attack I couldn’t completely evade.
The Valkyrie activated her breastplate’s protective spell, wrapping her entire body in a layer of magical defense, but the Holy Sword pierced through the barrier like tissue paper, burying itself deep into her armor.
“Kyaaak…!”
The Valkyrie screeched like a banshee. Along with exploding shards of ice, her left arm was severed at the shoulder and slammed down to the ground.
“Kvenhetja…!”
The Valkyrie, having lost her left arm in this new era, glared at Friede with venomous eyes, thrusting her spear—
– Thud!
The dagger I had thrown while lying on the ground shot straight up through her jaw.
◆◆
Is it true? Even after becoming a specter, one’s weakness remains the same as in life?
In desperation, the hastily crafted dagger broke through the holy vessel and penetrated into her skull, causing the Valkyrie to creak like a broken music box and then collapse, lifeless.
– Ssssss…
She slowly melted away, leaving only bones behind, like ice cream on a hot summer day.
“Are you okay, Hilde?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. But first…”
I grabbed Friede’s hand as she helped me up, my eyes fixed on the Valkyrie’s dissipating remains.
No, to be precise, on what she left behind…
“Wait, what’s that…?”
…the items she left behind.
‘Hey, look! I got one thing!’
The remnants of the Valkyrie lay there, a pitiful skeleton.
The armor she had worn melted away like ice flesh, but… there was one piece that remained undissolved.
The grieve, pitifully fixed to the leg that was nothing but bone.
Unlike its former grandeur adorned in gold and silver, it had dulled over time, looking more like a neglected ornament, a rough, grayish-black grieve.
This armor was exactly why I had come to Banafitza and the hidden piece for this dungeon.
「Damaged Vestments of a Virgin」
Despite its now rough appearance, having lost its crafting, the magical spells inherent within were weakened or entirely lost… but it was still sufficient.
The damaged area was merely the magical inscriptions— the metal itself, formed from tough ore, remained in pristine condition without a scratch.
Having an all-over iron plate so early on? That’s definitely a hidden piece, and nothing can argue that.
Rare metals are hard to come by, even if you throw money at it.
Just collecting all five parts from here would be enough to rival the equipment prices of Heid or Gunther.
As for the first loot, I had been hoping for a helmet or shoulder armor, so getting grieves was a bit disappointing, but…
“I’ll take this. Is that alright?”
I broke the bone of the remains to strip off the grieves and looked back at Friede, asking for confirmation.
“Ah, yes! Of course! It’s definitely yours, Hilde! Because you’re the descendant of that ancestor!”
Hmm. That’s a bit of an awkward thing to say right after I just put her ancestor to rest and broke her leg bone.
But hey, what does it matter?
“Thanks.”
I smiled slyly, removing my crumpled grieves from the fight, switching into the heirloom gift from my ancestor.
As expected from rare metals, it was tougher than black iron and astonishingly light. It felt like I was wearing leather armor instead of metal.
– Click!
The moment the grieve’s buckle locked into place, a faint magic surged through the grayish-black plate armor, infusing my legs with the power of a wild horse.
For continuous magic supply, I’d need a breastplate, so it quickly faded after that.
But the magic spell on the Valkyrie’s grieve was a shock absorption spell and a reinforcement spell.
The shock absorption spell was utterly damaged, but the reinforcement spell was still weakly operational, just as the original novel’s setting stated.
“Perfect fit.”
I felt satisfied as I smiled and plopped down on the bare ground to catch my breath and take a rest.
Alright. I’ve got one down, and the remaining parts are only the helmet, shoulder armor, breastplate, and gauntlets.
I couldn’t get a cloak that came with flying ability.
Unlike the iron plates that had endured for centuries in damp conditions, the cloak was merely fabric and had rotted away long ago.
So now, all I needed was to gather the remaining four parts, and it would be goodbye to this dungeon. At least if I got the helmet and breastplate, I wouldn’t have to run for my life anymore.
The magic encased in the Valkyrie’s helmet was a combination of cloaking and a perception-blocking effect that resisted magical effects coming at me visually.
As far as I remember, the helmet too had lost its magic resistance due to spell damage, but the effect for blocking perception would certainly still be working weakly.
I probably wouldn’t be able to go completely invisible like the Valkyrie did while ambushing us, but just wearing it would trigger the perception blocking.
What’s that perception-blocking effect, you ask? To put it simply, it means other people wouldn’t be able to differentiate me from a regular passerby even if they saw me.
To be exact, they wouldn’t be able to hold any greater interest in me.
People forget about the passerby they encounter without any interest.
A person enshrouded by the perception-blocking effect would blend into the background like a piece of scenery woven into the crowd.
In other words, just wearing the helmet would allow me to roam the cities openly without any worries.
This would significantly expand my maneuverability.
Considering my current situation and what’s ahead, it’s an essential piece of equipment I need to grab first.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.