RAaaa!

The masked warrior suddenly burst into this place, and when he noticed it, Phoenix revealed his hostility.
The hostility Phoenix directed towards the masked warrior was so intense that even when he attacked Aamir, it was incomparable in intensity, and I understand that Phoenix feels that much of a threat to the masked warrior.

''Ha!''

But even in the face of that intimidating feeling, the masked warrior was still not frightened.
He just raised the great sword in his hand in front of him and smiled.

''Come on.''

RAooooooooaa!

The next moment the Phoenix roared and released a fireball.

...... that too, a fireball that is three times larger than the fireball it fired at Aamir.

''Ha!''

I gasped at the sight.
It was true that the sword the masked warrior held was a huge one, as tall as Aamir's height.
But even such a large sword couldn't protect against the Phoenix's fireball this time.
A sword as large as that one isn't enough.

''Gah!''

RAAA!

ー ー ー Contrary to my expectations, however, the masked warrior's strike easily dissipated Phoenix's fireball.

''Ah,''

And at that moment I realized that the great sword the masked warrior was holding was no ordinary sword.
A line of red light appeared on the sword's blade, which fogged up Phoenix's fireball with a single blow, and before I knew it, a line of red light appeared on the blade.
At the sight, I couldn't help but open my mouth.

''Well, demon sword ......!

Demon swords, they are swords with special effects made by dozens to at most hundreds of mages and blacksmiths working together using the materials of super-difficult demonic beasts.
And I was surprised that a masked warrior possessed that demonic sword, and I couldn't help but be speechless.

''Raaaaaaaaaaaaaa!''

Woo-hoo!

But even as I was so stunned, the battle was going on.
Phoenix repeatedly fired huge fireballs at the masked warrior.
But every time the masked warrior reeled in the fireball with his red lighted greatsword, the fireball would dissipate, leaving only sparks of fire in its wake.

It was a terribly fantastic scene.
A warrior facing a super-difficult demonic beast without pulling back a single step.
I couldn't help but admire their offense and defense, which was like the first act of a fairy tale.

''Alright! Go!

I can go! Now we are!

...... Yet while recognizing my floating self, I was aware that the masked warrior was slowly becoming disadvantaged, unlike the cheering Margurus, who were cheering.

If we don't keep up ......!

The fireball flew with ridiculous speed and power, and yet the masked warrior still moved his great sword with unstoppable speed, blocking it many times.
Looking at the attack and defense alone, the masked warrior seemed to be competing with the phoenix.
But as a healer, I noticed that the masked warrior was clearly fatigued.

...... It was a natural result.

It is true that the masked warrior may have the ability to cross over to that phoenix on his own.
But under these circumstances, there is no way they can fully demonstrate their abilities.
At any rate, right now, the distance between the masked warrior and the Phoenix is quite far apart, and the masked warrior is being unilaterally attacked by the Phoenix.

...... How much pressure it is putting on the masked warrior.
A warrior's role is usually to attack.
The warrior usually limits the attacks and actions of the magical beasts by constantly hitting them with attacks.
Furthermore, their physical abilities are enhanced by their skills, so they can ignore some attacks.
In other words, a warrior is a mainstream basic attack and not a defense.

...... and yet currently the masked warrior is forced to defend against that phoenix attack, which he is clearly not supposed to be good at.
It's not surprising that they are almost at their limit.

''Armia, get a grip! I'm going to fight with that guy now!

What?

And the moment I understood that, I was shouting that to the stunned Aamir.
It's true that in our current state, the masked warrior has no chance to win.
But if Aamir and I entered the war, it would be a different story.
I would be able to recover from a certain amount of fatigue, and if Armia unleashed her magic, the masked warrior would be able to sneak into Phoenix's bosom through the gap.
So we're trying to be on the brink of war: ......

Stop coming!

......, but the masked warrior rejected us for it.

'What about .........?'

......... Huh?

Aamir and I can't hide our upset as we don't know the true meaning of those words.

'Don't worry, we've bought ourselves some time.'

Woohoo!

ー ー But in the next moment, when I saw the masked warrior throw away a large amount of what looked like a large magical stone with his words, I realized everything.

What the masked man had thrown away, was a very valuable magic tool.

That magic tool was very expensive, and if you used this magic tool, you would not be able to enter the labyrinth for several days.
Furthermore, it has various problems, such as a low activation rate and a considerable amount of time to activate it, making it completely unpopular among adventurers.

However, the magic tool has the revolutionary ability to escape from the labyrinth.

In other words, we were saved.

''Raaaa!''

The next moment, a light covers our bodies.
Then, at the sudden anomaly, the Phoenix roars out.

''Don't miss me. I'll fight you properly this time.''

And the last thing I heard was the voice of the masked man who muttered that to that phoenix, and my eyes were covered with light: ......





◇ ◇ ◇.




Is he back?

The next time I open my eyes, I'm stunned to see a blue sky in front of me and I let those words out.
The moving clouds in the sky and the feel of the ground on my body make me realize that this is reality.

I'm alive again!

And in that moment, joy flooded my heart.
I still had the horrible image of the Phoenix stuck in my head.
The Phoenix was a truly terrifying enemy, and to me it was a miracle that we had escaped from that place.
It was only because Margurus hadn't told us about the defeat of the boss that we were in such danger.

''Oh, oh,''

...... And perhaps instinctively aware of this, the Aamir beside him was shaking in a small way.
There were tears in the corners of her eyes.

...... but there were two people who hadn't noticed that miracle.

''d*mn! What the hell did you do to me? Just when I had a chance to take down the boss!

'Yes! You're in breach of contract! As for this one, I'll never pay you the contract money!

Margurus and Sabelia, the two of them had told the masked warrior who was supposed to have saved their lives.

'This!'

And the shamelessness of the situation makes me angry instead of the relief I had been feeling.

'...... You are inexplicably shameless.'

......, but I didn't need to tell you what I was talking about.

It was the masked warrior, the very person who was criticized, who spat at Margurus and the others.

'You bastard!'

The next moment, the masked knight's attitude enraged Margulis.
Then, motivated by anger, he struck out.

...... But that fist never reached the masked warrior.

''Gah!''

On the contrary, Margulls gets slammed to the ground in reverse.

...... eh?

Surberia couldn't understand what had happened to Margulus' condition, and she let out a voice in dismay.
Then, seeing Margulus and Surberia, the masked warrior laughed and opened his mouth.

''Rejoice. From today onwards, you are demoted from being top-notch adventurers.