"Cough! Cough!"
Ais coughed again and again, gasping for the oxygen she had barely managed to draw in after being driven to her limit.
"It's because of me."
Watching her like that, Vesta twisted her face in anger.
What was that anger aimed at? The one who had attacked Ais? Of course that was part of it, but the greatest anger was directed at herself.
She had become weak. She had let her guard down. Something that should never have been possible had nearly happened. She should have been more vigilant, more careful...!
"Ais, are you all right?"
"Huff... huff... y-yeah..."
Even as she struggled to breathe and answer me desperately, seeing Ais like that made the emotions inside me grow more intense.
Grit.
My teeth ground together, strength gathering in my hand. I wasn't as strong as I used to be, but somehow, that only made me happier.
If that was the case, then I probably wouldn't need to hold back.
Just as I turned my head to look toward the direction the woman had gone, something caught my hand.
It was Ais. With both small hands, she clutched my lone arm and looked up at me anxiously.
Was she worried about me? Nothing like that would happen, but after seeing me like this, I could understand her unease.
"It's fine. I'm not los—"
"Vesta, is something wrong?"
The careful question cut me off.
"...No, nothing happened... No, actually, something did."
"Something?"
"Ais ended up like this, didn't she? I'm really angry."
I lifted one eye as if to prove how angry I was, but Ais's expression remained uneasy.
"Is that really all?"
"..."
Ais was always a little dazed, but every so often she would ask something this sharp. Was this a woman's intuition? Or a spirit's instinct?
I didn't know what it was, but it seemed best not to push it any further, so I gently let go of her hand and patted her head.
"Of course. You don't trust me?"
"...Mm-mm."
She couldn't quite bring herself to say that, so she carefully shook her head.
It stung a little, as if I were taking advantage of a child's innocence, but this wasn't the time to worry about that.
"Cough... cough..."
The sound of coughing from far away had never sounded so welcome. I immediately took my hand off Ais's head and grabbed Astrafe.
"...?!"
Shock flashed across the woman's face. The opponent who had been far away just a moment ago was suddenly right in front of her nose.
It wasn't a skill. It wasn't the effect of some magic or item, either.
It was simply the technique of a trained adventurer. A trick that wouldn't work on a master, something meant for monsters, but it worked on Revis.
She looked human, but she was a being closer to a monster. Vesta instantly grasped that and treated Revis the way one would treat a monster.
Clang!!
"Ghk?!"
The sound was different from when she had fought the heretics. The impact that rang out struck Revis's body with equal force.
"Tch!"
She was flustered by the sudden turn, but instinctively swung her sword. That all-out attack was effortlessly sent flying when Vesta stepped back a single pace.
"Kraaaagh!"
And then, in a flash—
The sword light flickered, and in an instant one of Revis's arms was severed.
That too happened in a heartbeat. Revis, who did not analyze or counter an opponent's technique but simply took it head-on, failed to react.
The difference in skill was overwhelming. It utterly toyed with Revis.
"Hmm..."
Vesta looked down at Revis calmly and picked up the key that had rolled over.
Now she had everything she needed. There was no reason to indulge that woman any longer.
If she hadn't been holding Ais, that blow would have killed her outright.
If she hadn't had the key, she would have cut her throat right there.
But there was no third thing she needed to worry about. Now Revis would have to block Vesta's attacks with her own strength.
And Revis knew very well that was impossible.
That was why her choice was rational.
"She's running!"
Tap—
From a fallen position, she fled in an instant. The heretics and Ais were thrown into confusion by the escape that happened before they could even blink.
"..."
I wasn't surprised. I knew better than anyone how difficult it was to flee in this labyrinth.
I quietly raised my arm and activated the key.
Thud—
"Damn it..."
Revis's face twisted as a [door] blocked her path.
The door that had always moved according to her will was now blocking her instead. Feeling something she couldn't put into words, Revis looked toward the man slowly approaching her.
Could she win if she attacked? Even if she couldn't win, if she could create an opening...
She couldn't steal the key, but if she could just get out of range, escape was possible. The front and back were blocked for now, but the hole this man had broken through was still intact.
Then—
"Hup!"
"..."
The instant Vesta stepped forward, Revis launched a surprise attack. The full-force slash she swung was carelessly diverted by a casually raised sword.
A repeat of the fight with the heretics. But Revis shuddered at the completely different sensation this time.
The heretics' defense had been a matter of forcing the blow aside with brute strength. But what was this feeling?
It was such a natural flow, as if she had intended to swing it that way from the very beginning. While she was still shocked that her own attack had been smoothly redirected, a sharp knee strike slammed cleanly into her face.
"Kuh!"
Her face caved in, and the impact felt like it would snap her neck. Vesta ignored it and sent out another strike.
Her neck was fully exposed by the way her head had been thrown back. The spirit's sword drove straight for it. The moment Revis's throat was about to be severed—
"GRAAAAH!!"
"Tch."
Fwoosh! Black energy surged from Revis's sword and filled the labyrinth.
So it wasn't an ordinary weapon. That black energy... it was a cursed weapon.
Having figured that much out, Vesta swung the flat of her blade. Thwack! With a sound like flesh bursting, Revis was sent flying into the opposite wall.
"Kh, kuh...! How...!"
"If you're going to say that, at least hide your presence."
Revis didn't know. She didn't know how sharp the intuition of a first-rate adventurer could be.
She had crossed countless lines of death. A sensor for danger forged to survive the Dungeon, a battlefield that never ended. It was not something a creature that relied only on raw power could evade.
Merely blinding her eyes was not enough to cause any inconvenience.
But...
"Ggh..."
"W-what...?"
"My breath..."
"Ghk..."
"..."
Unfortunately, that darkness seemed to be more than simple blindness.
"A curse..."
"You're quick on the uptake."
Revis smiled. A curse was a near-impossible status ailment to remove. To heal injuries even an elixir could not fix, one needed high-level purification magic or the caster's own exorcism.
She had hoped that man would be caught by it too, but that would be asking too much. Besides, if she could take a hostage, she might be able to seize his weakness.
Thinking that, Revis tried to proceed with what was essentially extortion disguised as negotiation.
But then—
Fwoom—Crack!
"...?"
Flames bloomed. At the same time, a sinister sound like something breaking rang out.
"What...?"
Revis stared in shock at the spiderweb of cracks spreading across her sword.
"Huh?"
"My body..."
What's more, to make matters worse, the heretics and Ais had also broken free of the curse.
Her decisive blow had been rendered meaningless. Realizing that, Revis clenched her teeth.
"Grr..."
She ground her teeth at how nothing was going the way she expected.
It was a disaster. Everything was a disaster.
And the source of all this...
"You...!"
Was the man in front of her.
Come to think of it, it had been that way from the start. If things had gone as planned, Aria should already have been in her hands.
The one who had interfered was that rabbit-like man. If not for him, Aria would have been with her.
Because of him, everything had gone crooked. If only he hadn't existed, everything would have been perfect.
"Kuh!"
She surrendered herself to her rage and wildly swung the sword that was on the verge of breaking.
The fast, powerful sword aura was messy and crude, but it still failed to reach him, slicing only empty air.
Vesta, who had indulged her for a moment, slowly moved her sword.
It was a slow motion. So slow that Revis thought she could follow it and respond. Yet that sluggish movement shattered Revis's sword to pieces.
Even then, Revis did not give up. She threw the sword aside and pressed forward with her fists, trying to overwhelm Vesta.
Slash! A flash of sword light, and the arm she had thrust out was cut away. Before Revis could even scream, a flying kick slammed into her abdomen, and she was sent bouncing away like a ball without even making a sound.
"Cough, cough!"
She couldn't breathe. Every time she coughed, blood and organs came up together.
'Strong.'
Only then could Revis finally become calm. She could barely admit that the opponent before her was not someone [she] could defeat [now].
But it didn't matter. If not now, then she would aim for the next time. Time was on her side, and she could grow far faster than anyone else.
"...Don't think this is over."
Even while breathing hard, Revis glared at her opponent with icy eyes.
As if engraving that infuriatingly calm face into her retina.
She wouldn't forget. Not that face, nor this humiliation. Even if she had to chew over this defeat and swallow bitterness for a long time, she would grow strong enough to kill that man.
So she would accept today's defeat. She would repay this suffering someday, no matter what.
"Even if you kill me, nothing will change."
Because of her oath, she had been promised eternal immortality within the Dungeon. Until that oath ended, no one could kill her.
"The next time we meet, I'll kill you with your own technique."
That was why Revis could speak so boldly. It was possible only because she was certain she would never die.
The undead wraith. The embodiment of growth. The words of a monster that devoured everything carried a fear that could make any listener tremble.
In fact, the heretics and Ais watching this were overwhelmed by that presence, breaking into cold sweat as they stared at her.
But—
"The oath has already been settled."
"...What?"
"Your regeneration still seems to be there, but your immortality was gone long ago."
Well, if you don't believe me, why not test it yourself?
I raised my arm casually and delivered the final verdict. What Revis had said to Ais had reached Vesta's ears too, and she knew exactly what Revis was relying on to act so confident.
It was laughable. Clutching a card that had long since lost all value as if it were a hidden trump card.
"I came out of the Dungeon too."
"What—"
There was nothing more to say. I brought the spirit sword down and severed the woman's neck.
Swish—
With a sensation that never became familiar no matter how many times I experienced it, the Dungeon's wraith breathed its last in vain.