A Sword Raised in Tribute

"Haah. Tattered again. If they're going to make me wear a dress, they could at least use better fabric."

Alexia said this, then tied off the torn sections of her dress, forcing it to hold some semblance of shape.

The amount of exposed skin had increased considerably, but it was still better than being naked.

"How is he?"

"Still alive. How's Azu doing?"

"Her breathing is stable. Overwork, plain and simple."

"I see."

She mixed apple cider vinegar into the water from her canteen, poured it into a water pitcher, and held it to Azu's lips.

It contained sugar, so it would help with recovery.

The effects of the blast faded, and the smoke was swept away by the wind.

There, the Blood Knight was down on one knee.

"Cough. Well, I won't need a smoke for a while."

"Monsters smoke?"

"A preference from when I was human, you see. Couldn't get any down here, though."

"See, you do remember. You just don't want to talk about it."

Alexia dragged the battle-axe behind her as she approached the Blood Knight.

Even on one knee, this was not an opponent she could let her guard down around.

"No man wants to talk about a battle he lost."

"And yet here you are, shut away in a place like this. Honestly, the trouble you cause. Just pass on already."

She stopped at a distance where the battle-axe might or might not reach.

The Blood Knight's body was beginning to crumble in places.

Blood welling up from his feet was filling in the crumbling parts, but it didn't seem to be keeping up.

The lingering effects of Alexia's magic were potent.

"No wonder my shadow was broken. You've practically become fire incarnate."

"Shadow? You mean the blue-armored one? The Black Knight's undead was stronger."

"Heh. The Black Knight, huh. He's the one who fought to the very end, too. His sword… I see. So you're the ones who carry it."

The Blood Knight rose to his feet.

In his right hand, he gripped a sword.

"Come. One final bout."

The Blood Knight leaped.

His legs crumbled the instant he launched himself.

It was clearly his last strike.

If she dodged, the fight was over.

But Alexia, too, had once been a knight.

As a final courtesy, she received the Blood Knight's sword.

The blow, inconceivable from a body on the verge of death, drove her feet into the ground.

"Why you…!"

The Blood Knight appeared to be expelling his blood.

The force only grew stronger.

"Do your reflecting in the afterlife!"

She poured her mana into physical reinforcement.

Body-enhancement magic was terribly inefficient. Her mana burned away in the blink of an eye.

But it paid off. She halted the Blood Knight's attack, bringing them to a deadlock.

She drove her battle-axe forward and deflected his strike.

Facing the Blood Knight, now nothing more than an upper body, she raised the battle-axe high overhead and gripped it tight.

"Oh. Like a goddess."

Those were the Blood Knight's final words.

The battle-axe came crashing down and shattered his body completely.

The shadow-like form dissolved entirely into mist.

Before she knew it, the Zombie Knights who had been watching from a distance raised their swords toward the sky.

It was a sword raised in tribute, a send-off for their commanding officer.

Mist enveloped the area.

Alexia moved closer to Elza and the others, maintaining her guard, but the mist did nothing more than surround them.

When the mist cleared, they were back in the place where they'd fought the Blue Knight.

It seemed that with the Blood Knight gone, they'd been ejected.

"Phew. Looks like that's finally over."

"Ahh, umm. Alexia-chan, this is hard to say, but…"

"What is it? That's unlike you to hesitate, Elza."

Alexia looked at Elza quizzically, and Elza timidly pointed behind her.

There was a Slime.

It had apparently eaten the Blue Knight's remains, making it larger than the black Slimes they'd seen before.

And right now, it was in the process of swallowing the remnants of the Blood Knight's armor.

It seemed those had survived without turning to ash.

With a hissing sound, the armor was digested, and the Slime's body began to change.

"Alexia-chan, how's your mana?"

"Not so low that I can't fight."

"So not much to spare, then. Kazusa-chan, keep an eye on Azu-chan."

"R-right."

The Slime began to take human form.

Its shape resembled neither the Blue Knight nor the Blood Knight. Perhaps due to its black color, it bore a slight resemblance to the Black Knight.

"—Aaaah."

"Looks like absorbing too many Undead turned it into one itself. In that case, it's my turn."

Elza said this and advanced with her mace at the ready.

She held a bottle of holy water in her left hand, clamped the lid between her teeth, and twisted it open.

She spat the lid out and splashed the holy water onto the Slime.

Where the holy water made contact, that part of the Slime hissed and was purified.

But the Slime paid no mind and drew a sword-like object from a sheath, both fashioned from its own hardened body.

"No effect, huh. Then I just need to smash its core with this mace."

She swung the mace at the Slime.

Its movements were sluggish, and the sword-like object shattered on contact with the mace.

The mace continued through and gouged into the Slime's body.

"What, it's weak. I'll just finish it off like this—"

"Bring down the sun."

Elza's hand froze.

Alexia and Kazusa hadn't heard a thing.

"Bring down the sun."

"Wh… why would a Slime… Because it absorbed part of them…"

Elza was caught off guard but quickly poured strength into her mace.

She reached the core in an instant, and it shattered at a mere touch.

It seemed the Slime had bitten off far more than it could chew.

"You don't need to tell me. That's my mission."

"The sun—"

The Slime managed that much before it vanished.

Elza clutched the Creator King rosary.

"I know. I know how many corpses have been piled up for that. And I know those corpses are watching me."

Making sure no one could see, Elza bit her lip. As if holding something back.

Once the enemies were gone, a treasure chest rose from the ground.

"Eek!"

Kazusa yelped and scrambled backward, clutching Azu.

"That really scared me. A treasure chest, huh."

"So this is our spoils, then."

"Yep."

Elza was already back to acting normal.

They opened the chest. Inside was an orb.

Along with it, gold and silver treasures were packed in tight.

"Ooh, easy to understand."

"Let's take this and go. If we stay too long, it's not exactly—"

Before Alexia could finish, the Blue Knight was standing in the same spot as before.

Apparently, it would respawn even without the Blood Knight around.

"See, no time to chat."

"Honestly! Let's go!"

Alexia hoisted Azu onto her back, and Kazusa scrambled to stuff the treasure chest into her bag.

Elza cast her blessing on everyone, and they fled in a hurry.

If they had to fight the Blue Knight again, they wouldn't have the strength left to make it home.