This Sword Is Cursed

Elza used holy water to set up a perimeter so monsters wouldn't approach.

A Slime that had been watching them retreated.

It was barely more than a comfort against the monsters of the Hill of Lament, but at least it was effective enough to prevent ambushes.

They found a suitable spot and sat down. Alexia prepared warm drinks.

Kazusa accepted one.

Her hands were still trembling, but as the warmth seeped into her body, she gradually calmed down.

"They were a mid-rank adventurer party. I'd gone on a few expeditions with them before, and we decided to come to the Hill of Lament as a test of our strength."

Kazusa paused to take a sip of her drink.

"The monsters here were tougher than we expected, but we managed through teamwork. Then a Slime got one of us from behind and they got hurt. That person was our cleric."

"The mage let their guard down."

"I'm not sure. The mage was running low on mana from consecutive fights. I was keeping watch too, but Slimes can come from anywhere. That threw our formation into chaos, and we decided to head back."

Kazusa's hands began trembling again.

"That's when it appeared, blocking our escape route. We tried to fight it, but the mage was targeted first, then the hunter. The warrior tried to let me escape, but…"

"That's enough. I understand. It's okay."

Saying that, Azu stroked Kazusa's back.

Kazusa gave a small nod and fell silent for a while.

At last, she whispered softly.

"They were good people."

"Adventurers never know if they'll see tomorrow."

"You don't have to put it like that."

"It's simply the truth."

Alexia deflected Azu's protest with a cool expression.

"We could end up the same way at any moment. She's saying we should keep that in mind."

When Elza said this, Alexia gave a small snort.

The observation was on the mark, it seemed.

"So, about this…"

Kazusa broached the subject hesitantly.

"Sure. If you want to head back, we'll help."

"No, that's not it. If it's all right with you, I'd like to come along. I have the items we collected with the others, and we can combine those with your haul."

"Are you sure? You don't have to push yourself."

Kazusa shook her head.

In a case like this, the ownership of items obtained by the fallen party belonged to the survivor, Kazusa.

"You're planning to clear this place, right?"

"That's the plan. We'll turn back if it's too much."

"Yeah. If I just go home like this, their deaths will have been for nothing. But if I clear the labyrinth with you, maybe it'll be a tribute to them."

"Ah, so you want to frame it as being in exchange for the clear."

Kazusa nodded.

In a sense, it was nothing more than self-satisfaction. They had already been wiped out.

Elza thought this but didn't say it aloud.

People all had different views on the dead, and she could understand wanting to send them off in even a slightly more honorable way.

"I don't mind. We'd have run out of bag space halfway through on our own anyway."

"I've no objections, so long as you don't become a burden."

"Fine with me."

"Thank you. I'll do my best to take care of myself."

"Just stay close to me and keep quiet when enemies show up."

Alexia said this. It was an expression of strong confidence.

They finished their rest, placed their palms together before the ashes of the cremated adventurers, and resumed their advance.

They ate bread while walking.

"About earlier, you really have gotten stronger, Azu."

"You… think so?"

"Yeah. At least, that's how it looked to me."

"I hope you're right."

Azu said with a hint of embarrassment.

The problem was that her frame of reference was set absurdly high to begin with.

The Ash King was still far beyond her reach.

She still couldn't beat Finn.

Alexia, too, was ultimately still stronger than Azu.

Even so, being told she'd grown was a welcome thing to hear.

The Black Knight Zombie must have been a unique monster, because they encountered no more of them as they pushed through the labyrinth.

However, the deeper they went, the stronger the monsters became.

The Knight Zombies that had previously acted independently began coordinating, and their numbers grew.

The Slimes, too, started creeping in during combat.

In other words, the labyrinth's killing intent was escalating.

"Compared to the first monsters we fought here, these are much harder to deal with."

"It's almost like it's alive."

They made no sound, yet they covered each other's openings and pressed coordinated attacks.

Their durability and raw strength were climbing, too.

Azu couldn't hold them all on her own; she had to team up with Elza to manage.

"It's the nature of labyrinths for monsters to grow stronger the deeper you go, but the fact that they don't just get stronger is quite the nuisance."

Alexia crushed an enemy's head with her fire-heated battle-axe.

Before her overwhelming firepower, a bit of coordination meant nothing.

That was true only so long as they kept their resource expenditure in check.

"… We've been walking for quite a while, but the sky hasn't changed at all."

"For that matter, there's no sun, is there?"

"Downright eerie."

Yes. They'd noticed partway through, but ever since entering the Hill of Lament, the sky had remained a constant blue, with the sun nowhere to be seen.

It was as if the sun were being deliberately shut out.

The lack of nightfall helped them avoid ambushes, but it made gauging the passage of time and recognizing fatigue difficult.

It occurred to Azu that this might have been what caused Kazusa's party to misjudge when to pull back.

Still, things were going smoothly for now.

The monsters' strength meant no other adventuring parties were around, so they didn't need to worry about others and could collect plenty of loot.

Alexia's mana was starting to run low, so they decided to stop and take an extended break.

They sat in a hollow with their backs to a wall, reducing the angles they could be attacked from.

"This is definitely cursed, right?"

"One hundred percent."

Azu examined the sword they'd obtained from the Black Knight.

The crimson blade had such a sinister quality that you could almost hear cursed voices emanating from it.

"Hmm, some people are into this kind of thing, so it'd probably sell for a good price."

"Are you serious?"

"She has a point. Nobles love displaying cursed items like this."

"That's… unusual."

Azu put the cursed sword away.

It was a fine blade, but Azu already had the Sealed Sword Grungaus.

There was no need to force herself to use it.