Azu Is Gone

While Azu was crossing swords with the Blood Knight, Elza and the others were busy dealing with monsters of their own.

"Where did Azu go?!"

"I don't know. The fog cleared and she was just gone."

"I thought I heard her voice for a second, but…"

With their frontliner Azu missing, Alexia had taken over as the vanguard.

She couldn't afford to use magic unless the timing was perfect.

She deftly wielded the massive battle-axe, mowing down the swarming Undead.

Her movements were minimal and refined, and the destructive power of the fire-enchanted battle-axe was staggering, brushing aside the numerical disadvantage like it was nothing.

After sweeping through the horde, she slammed the butt of the weapon into the ground to intimidate anything still standing.

The moment the fog had cleared, the party realized Azu was gone.

They'd tried to search for her immediately, but the fog lifting had apparently been the signal for the labyrinth master's battle, and they found themselves surrounded.

Fortunately, the monsters were weaker than the Knight Zombies, so they'd taken no damage so far.

"I am worried. I don't think Azu would go down easily at this point, but still."

"You do spar with her all the time, after all."

"She still has plenty of wasted movement, though."

"That's a problem in its own right, but right now we need to deal with that thing."

The weak Undead alone were no issue.

But in the distance, a blue-armored knight covered in spikes was watching them.

The knight hadn't moved once, simply observing.

Completely still from the very start.

It held a large greatsword in both hands, the point resting on the ground.

"Is that the labyrinth master?"

"Probably. It's clearly strong."

"O ye undying, return to the earth and set forth on a new life. That should do it."

Elza consumed one vial of holy water and a blue stone catalyst to invoke the miracle of area purification, chanting a sacred prayer.

The blue stone dissolved and merged with the holy water, forming a circle around Elza of its own accord.

Radiant light burst from the circle, purifying every monster except the Blue Knight.

Apparently only Undead inhabited this place.

The Blue Knight showed no signs of being affected by the purification miracle.

"Maybe it's not Undead?"

"We'll find out once we remove its helmet."

Alexia gripped her battle-axe and stepped forward.

Only then did the Blue Knight pull its sword from the ground and speak.

"Let us do battle."

It wasn't a normal voice. It resonated as if echoing up from the depths of the earth.

In that instant, a black, mud-like substance oozed from every gap in the Blue Knight's armor.

"What is that?! It's so creepy!"

"This is no time for that! Give me the blessing, hurry!"

"I know, I know!"

Elza bestowed a holy blessing on Alexia.

Empowered by the blessing, Alexia accelerated further and brought the battle-axe arcing toward the Blue Knight with all that momentum.

The Blue Knight caught Alexia's battle-axe head-on.

Flames spilling from the axe scorched the Blue Knight's surface, but it showed no reaction.

The black mud seeping from its armor ignored the fire entirely and sprayed toward Alexia.

Alexia pulled the axe back and swatted the mud away.

"How revolting!"

"Go, Alexia-chan! Oh, Kazusa-chan, stay close to me where it's safe."

"R-Right. I know."

The Blue Knight locked onto Alexia, raising its greatsword skyward before bringing it down.

Alexia deflected the blow with the flat of her axe.

Her timing was flawless. Any earlier or later and the axe would have been knocked from her hands, or she would have been seriously injured.

The impact cracked the ground. Alexia planted her right foot on the greatsword, pinning it, and raised her own battle-axe overhead.

By all rights, Alexia's weight shouldn't have been enough to hold down the Blue Knight's greatsword even with all her strength behind it, yet the blade trembled and refused to move.

"How is she doing that?"

"She's using magic. Even Alexia-chan's ridiculous strength can't do that with pure muscle."

"Who are you calling ridiculous?! I won't stand for that from you, Elza."

Adding a muttered "how rude" for good measure, she swung the battle-axe down.

She cast an impact spell, accelerating the weapon.

The magic holding the greatsword in place dissipated in the process, but that didn't matter.

Alexia's axe would land first.

The Blue Knight's greatsword rose, lifting Alexia along with it since her foot was still on the blade.

In that instant, Alexia's battle-axe collided with the Blue Knight's helmet.

A tremendous clang of metal on metal rang out, and the dented helmet tumbled to the ground.

Alexia flipped backward twice in midair and landed.

"Bravo!"

"Amazing…"

Alexia ignored the cheers from behind, gripping her battle-axe and fixing her gaze on the Blue Knight.

She hadn't felt the decisive impact of a finishing blow.

Even on an Undead, it should have dealt significant damage, but true to the master of the Hill of Lament, it wouldn't go down that easily.

Beneath the lost helmet, the Blue Knight had no face.

The black mud that had been oozing out was its actual substance.

It was impossible to tell how effective physical attacks would be against something like that.

The Blue Knight deftly moved its armored hands, picked up the dented helmet, and placed it back on its head.

The sight was disturbing. No human could survive in that state.

But this was the Hill of Lament, a labyrinth.

They were humans trespassing in an inherently abnormal place. Nothing here should come as a surprise.

"Oh, I see. Well then, how about this?"

Seeing that her slash had dealt no visible damage, Alexia grinned fearlessly.

The battle-axe began to glow crimson.

The mana she poured into it swelled, and the ambient temperature rose.

"Oh my, Alexia-chan's getting serious. Let's move over here."

"Huh, Elza-san?"

Kazusa was dragged by Elza behind a large rock.

"Ever since the Fire Elemental took up residence in that brooch, Alexia-chan's been pretty scary."

"Wait, what? Now I'm curious."

"I'll tell you later."

Elza poked her head out from behind the rock just enough to watch Alexia.

She didn't forget to wave encouragingly, either. Alexia didn't spare her a glance.