“Uh, what’s that…?”
“My sword style?!”
_Swish!_
The Crystal Knight swung its great sword down after spinning in mid-air, mimicking the perfect swing of Friede’s chop that had just severed the creature’s arm. It was more of a duplication than mere imitation.
Rather than being impressive, I was simply bewildered.
What was the point of copying that? It’s already risky in a one-on-one, but charging in like that against multiple foes is just insane!
There was no need to block it. Of course, taking that hit would make it hard to withstand even with high-grade armor…
“Where did this come from—?!”
While swirling around wildly, how was it supposed to defend against attacks coming in from the side?
– Boom!
And, of course, it couldn’t block. The Crystal Knight, about to swing its great sword at me, was hit in the side by Friede’s blade as she charged in, sending it flying.
It rolled on the floor, making me chuckle.
But if I had the luxury to laugh, I should first block the dozens of ice spikes rushing toward us, just like that idiot did, to protect Friede who was also soaring into the air.
It wasn’t difficult. I might have been a bit short-handed alone, but we still had two more teammates left.
– Swoosh!
Just as expected, the arrows, making a sharp whooshing sound, pierced through every last one of the crystal spikes I had missed and shattered them into pieces.
One of the arrows was that engraved metal arrow I pulled out earlier, and upon hitting the crystal spike, it suddenly exploded and wiped out the surrounding spikes too.
Those arrows cost an arm and a leg. Considering they’re one-use only, that’s seriously inefficient.
Was I mistaken? Was he the type to splurge on gear?
“Thank you!”
I expressed my gratitude as I leaped toward the Crystal Knight rising again. Friede followed right behind me.
“Graaaahhh!”
The Crystal Knight, nearly cleaved in half before, now started to show its rage outright. I mean, how shameless can you get after doing such idiotic things?
Anyhow, perhaps because of that rage, its tactics became more violent and reckless.
– Rumble…!
Crystals shot up from the ground, raining down like a whirlwind, while occasionally the ground would either sink or shoot up.
Thanks to that, things were getting chaotic. If I paused even for a moment, I’d be turned into a crystal pin cushion.
On top of that, it mirrored all of Friede’s swordsmanship, except for her leaps, keeping up the pressure and dodging us in the process.
Every time it got hurt, it would restore itself using the crystals beneath it.
When I smashed its head thinking I might have a shot, it just kept regenerating. Until I destroy some sort of core in its body, it seems I can’t kill it.
In the worst-case scenario, it might not be the core but rather the entire altar’s crystals providing it with endless revival until they run out of power.
The only consolation I had was that the crystals could not be reused once spent; the shards that fell or were used in attacks lost their magical aura.
That was somewhat reassuring.
As long as we continued this war of attrition without finding its core, eventually, we would definitely be able to cut its breath short.
◆◆
Thus, a prolonged war of attrition continued.
“Ugh… this is exhausting….”
“I’ve broken everything that seemed like where a core could be… but it’s still not dead. Frustrating.”
I was panting from the recoil of my strong attacks, and Friede seemed eager to draw her Holy Sword.
Reed and Arine, having settled near the teleportation gate after hopping around, also looked like they were getting sick of this.
Well, you can’t blame them.
Reed was spending all his enchantment arrows like he only intended to live for today, exhausting all but one, and Arine was nearly out of healing miracles from patching us up every time we got hurt.
“Ah… just a little more, let’s hang in there. We’re almost there.”
Still, we had managed to wipe out nearly all the luminous crystals covering the ground, dimming the altar from broad daylight to evening twilight.
The sneaky regeneration, no matter how much we smashed, was reaching its limit.
“Hrrrggg….”
Also, the Crystal Knight itself looked worse for wear compared to the beginning.
Its great sword had shattered into a million pieces ages ago.
After that, it started creating long swords or spears to mimic my martial arts, but it couldn’t replicate my Wind Spear technique.
That was no surprise since it required Ice Heart and Strong Will to perform.
Anyway, after being smashed a couple more times, its movements started slowing down gradually, and its armor had simplified considerably compared to when we first started.
It was clear it didn’t have the energy to fuss over the details of its armor anymore.
“I’m going in!”
That’s why I was sure of our victory. If we kept pressing on, its regeneration would surely be exhausted before our stamina ran out.
“Yes!”
“O Elianel! Grant me the light to judge the wicked!”
Friede and I kicked off the ground and charged at it, while Arine fired penalty arrows from the back.
Even though the Crystal Knight possessed the ability to negate divine miracles like other crystal monsters, it had its limits, and I believed that if we kept shooting, it would eventually work.
“Hmmm, this feels like….”
Finally, Reed drew his last resort explosive magic arrow and pulled the bowstring back tight.
His eyes were sparkled with certainty at having found the decisive moment. My mind quickly envisioned the next scenario.
Once Reed’s arrow shot through the Crystal Knight’s head, its movements would slow for a moment, giving us the chance to hack it to pieces.
If we could break it completely in one go, then the remaining luminous crystals would only allow it to regenerate perhaps two more times at most.
If I smashed it once, and Friede smashed it once, it would be a clean victory.
‘I won!’
I grinned with a sense of triumph as I focused all my attention on the Crystal Knight charging toward us.
And the next moment…
– Thwok!
A heavy thud resonated as the magical arrow flew, tearing through flesh instead of hitting crystal.
“…Huh?”
None of us three could have foreseen this. The sound of flesh being torn came from behind me, followed by a pained groan mixed with confusion—
– Baaaaang!
Arine’s upper body exploded into pieces, scattering everywhere.
It was a sight reminiscent of red and white flowers blooming.
◆◆
– Swoosh, pshew!
The lower half of Arine, which had been completely blown away, twisted grotesquely as it splattered blood everywhere.
Then her knees buckled, and she fell with a heavy thud.
Amid the flowing crimson that stained the dark ground, fragments of her entrails littered the area like the aftermath of a gruesome spectacle; almost as if the goddess herself had bestowed blessings upon her could hardly bring her back to life.
“What the hell…?”
What is this?
My mind was spinning chaotically in an instant.
Why was Arine lying there? Where’s her upper body? Oh, right. She’s dead. Just now. Why…? I was sure—she was hit by the arrow.
That’s right, by Reed’s arrow—
Reflexively, my gaze shot up. Horror-filled blue eyes widened as they caught a glimpse of the one responsible for Arine’s demise through the gap in the helmet.
“Oh dear, my hand slipped.”
Reed chuckled, offering some lame excuse while grinning. He was now standing right next to the teleportation gate, laughing at us in shock.
“You… what the hell are you doing…?!”
This betrayal was utterly unexpected, no, so absurdly out of context that it felt like a dream.
“That thing is clearly a strong monster; it must be the dungeon boss. There are treasures behind this teleportation gate, right?”
Reed slapped the teleportation gate and burst into laughter. Of course, after defeating the boss, the next layer must hold treasure.
“Passing it on to the branch chief or splitting it among four of us seems a bit wasteful, huh? Sorry, Arine, but if there’s something good, we must keep it to ourselves. It’s not like we’ll be doing this forever.”
Dungeon treasures.
Just like those adventurers who betray their party members, it seemed Reed’s reason for betrayal was nothing but greed.
“So please, do your best to die together. If you do, I’ll make sure to at least give you a grave.”
“You bastard—!”
Fury surged in my chest, fueled by the icy heart, feeling like wild flames were burning within. I roared and grabbed the axe rolling on the ground.
“No, I told you to fight that one instead of me!”
Just when I was about to throw the axe toward Reed’s head, he darted into the teleportation gate as if he predicted my move.
Was that part of his plan from the beginning? He ran away so quickly and smoothly.
“Stop right there!”
“Hilde! Behind you!”
I tried to chase after him immediately, but Friede’s urgent shout caught my ankle.
“What the—?!”
No, rather it was that thing grabbing my ankle.
What I saw when I glanced back, just as Friede warned, was the Crystal Knight lunging at me with its sword, making a noise that resembled a sickly laugh.
…Right, that guy was still here.
Without thinking, I swung my sword to parry its strike and swung the axe in my left hand down on its exposed side like I was chopping wood.
– Crash!
The already cracked blade of my axe clashed with the Crystal Knight’s chest plate, shattering shards everywhere.
For a moment, the Crystal Knight stumbled from the heavy impact.
“Haah!”
I pressed down on its skull with my left hand and kneed upward, smashing its head into pieces.
– Crack!
In the next moment, the headless Crystal Knight spun around and kicked me away.
“Gah…!”
The impact reverberated through my armor. I rolled a couple of times on the ruined ground before standing up in a rush.
Expecting a follow-up kick, I quickly got up, but for some reason, the monster was standing in the same spot, having launched me away.
Actually, “standing” might be a bit off.
“Haahhh!”
From the darkness surged a blazing crimson wind, swirling like a torch. The shattered fragments reflected light chaotically as they danced around.
– Swish! Crack! Crash! Zing!
The Crystal Knight, trying to restore its head while staggering, was getting thrashed by Friede wielding her Holy Sword.
Though the Crystal Knight had weakened significantly from when we started, even then, this was a remarkably one-sided and overwhelming assault.
Thanks to the Holy Sword’s blessings enhancing her physical abilities, or perhaps due to Nibelung’s ability cutting off the flow of mana.
Whichever it was, the Crystal Knight’s life didn’t seem long.
And indeed, it didn’t.
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