Erwick and Ravali find a fountain and fetch water.

　Me and Luna Maria will look for wood to build a fire. We'll each set off in a different direction.

　Along the way, I wondered if this was the right distribution of forces, but Lunamaria

It's okay.

　I assure you.

Ms. Lavery's ability as a warrior is beyond reproach.

It's true. She's a princess, so she's a bit ladylike.

That is. But the threat of the hellhound has passed. No problem.

"I hope so.

"Master Will is a worrier,

　Then you pick up a dead tree that fell to the ground.

Also, lovers should always leave each other alone. If you balance the force distribution, you'll end up with Master Will and Mr. Irwick.

"I could have gone it alone with three others.

Poo, you don't like being alone with me so much?

　Luna Maria puffs her cheeks out adorably.

　Thinking that if I complained anymore, I might not be able to drink her delicious herbal tea, I silently picked up a dead tree.

But then again, maybe Master Will has a tendency to get into trouble.

I'm sure you'll run into a herd of hellhounds that you didn't run into when it was just the two of you.
"This may also be a test of God,

"Mother Earth?

Yes. The Mother of Earth is famous for inflicting hardship on the brave.

"I'm not a brave man, but

But it's more than that. But they're more than just brave men.

So you're going to give me more hardship than a brave man?

　Crossing her arms and frowning, Lunamaria "chuckles".

　I laugh along with her.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed.

I guess it was because I thought it was true.

"Yes. . has been a constant struggle since we began our journey.

"But we've been through it all.

I know. That's Will for you. Raised by the gods is a great name for him.

I had a Spartan education in the name of gifted education. But I have my fathers to thank for that, considering it was all about overcoming challenges.

Thank you again the next time you're back home.

Yeah. --Well, now that we have plenty of dead wood, let's get back to camp.

Yes.

　Lunamaria agrees, but stops the moment she returns the kibisu.

　What could have happened?　And when I stared at her, she was sniffling and sniffing.

　She reminds me that she has a good nose.

　Instead of giving her sight to the gods, she has the power to feel the breath of the gods. Her sense of smell is keen.

"It smells sweet and sour. It smells like rotten, high quality fruit.

Smells like rotten fruit.

　With those words, you get an idea of what Lunamaria smelled.

No way. ......, no, it must be.

　I go backwards and rake the soil.

　Removing the dead leaves and brushing away the humus I find the stem and leaves of the plant.

　A piece of the root was sticking out, and there was an obvious face.

It's a mandogora. This one's lucky.

"So this is the smell of Mandogora.

　Lunamaria peers over her shoulder.

"Yes, that's right. Father Vandal uses it a lot, so I remembered the smell.

That's my boy, Mr. Will. --Would you like me to pull it out for you?

　I can't let Master Will do the dirt work," she says, rolling up her sleeve and trying to grip the stem with a "yup," but I stop her in a hurry.

"No, Lunamaría, don't pull it out!

"Huh?　But wouldn't you use this to make up for the elves and dwarves?

Yes, but when Mandogora is pulled out, it screams. There's a 'curse' on his voice that kills anyone who hears him scream.

"Well, ......

　Putting his hand to his mouth, a surprised Lunamaría.

"So you can't collect a mandogora?

No, I got the hang of it. The effect of the scream is supposed to be about a 20-meter radius, so we'll have to use a dog or something to pull it out.


That would kill the dog.

Yeah. I've always said that Vandal Dad is sinful material.

...... right.

Well, I've already taken care of that.
That's what I'm talking about, Master Will.

　Receiving the accolades, he goes straight back to camp, but Lunamaria's expression turns grim.

There's a battle going on in the camp. I thought perhaps Mr. Raverly and his men were fighting.

That's a big deal.

　We rushed back to the camp.

　There was a battle going on. The hellhounds we had just driven off have reappeared.

"Those are the ones you saw earlier.

I think you learned your lesson in the last battle.

I should be, but there's something wrong with me.

　If you look closely at the black dogs, they all have bloodshot eyes. Their eyes are driven by fear. I saw those same eyes earlier when they were on the run. No, they were even more gripped by fear than before.

"These guys are afraid of something.

　The stagnant eyes, the chaotic drooling, it was like a rabid dog.

　It must be something or someone was attacking us.

　We don't know what that thing is, but we know it's a very bad one. At least the hellhounds know that we are weaker than it is.

　We wanted to turn the game in our favor before that thing showed up.

　I throw the sacred shield in my left hand.

　She was
"BABY!
　And then he flew with great force, hitting the heads of the hellhounds.

"Heh heh, long time no see!

　I'm glad to see you're pleased, but I quickly begin chanting the spell.

　I choose the Tornado spell because there are so many of them and they are so dense.

　One by one, the tornado rips through the hellhounds and winds up in the air.

　The tornado blew away a dozen or so dogs and the battle was in our favor, but only for a short time.

　From deep in the forest, we notice a presence creeping down through the trees and approaching us.

　Lunamaría was the first to notice it.

Berserker Bull ......, no, something more will emerge from deep in the woods.

　And then he said.

　Erwick and Raverly tense up at these words. They tighten their grip on the battle stance, but it's useless in front of the monster.

　A huge black shadow enters, tearing through the trees. The monster, which looks like an even bigger version of a large dog, a hellhound, swings its right paw down as a greeting.

　That right paw alone was as huge as a hellhound. Naturally, its power was so great that it tore apart the ravers. --It doesn't, it just leaps backward as fast as it can. But the aftermath of the attack was so great that the ground they had just been on was severely pierced and damaged by the shock wave.

　A pebble strikes the head, leaving Erwick bleeding.

"Erwick!

　Shouting the name of his beloved lover Ravely. The canine monster doesn't care and tries to attack them.

　But it is prevented by Luna Amalia.
　She attacks the monster with her oversized holy power.
　With her magic she incarnates the holy bow and shoots through it.

　When the monster is hit in the face by the holy bow, it flinches for a moment and then slackens its attack. Meanwhile, Lunamaria tells Arwick and Ravali to fall back. They obeyed her instructions.

　I applaud Lunamaria's calm action.

Thank you. It was a red-faced indignity to be praised by our hero, Master Will.

"No, it's not. Cool head, as usual. --But what's this guy?

　The dog was staring at us from a few dozen meters away, letting out a low-pitched growl. It was so powerful that it threatened to break our hearts.

At first, I thought it was the legendary Cerberus.

That's different. Cerberus would have a lot of heads.

If not two, then not an orthoros either.

It's just a big Hellhound in appearance.

Hmmm, then this one is

　As I come to a conclusion, Erwick's words come from behind me.

Will, that's probably a Hellhound with a second name. A nearby villager told me. They say that there's a monster in these woods called a beast of beastly blood.

　I would have liked to have told you that information earlier, but Erwick says that the villagers exaggerated it so much that they thought it was a con job.

It seems that it wasn't a concoction, but the reality outweighed the rumors.

　The two named Hellhounds have resumed their attack as Lunamaria summed up.

　It still seems to be aiming at the Lunamaria that I just attacked. I had read the beast's attack, and I'll flank the enemy at the shortest possible distance with a sword strike.

　Zach!



　It's satisfying to cut through the meat, but it couldn't break it down to the bone.

　The two-named hellhound is just as thick as it looks.

Isn't my swordsmanship, which I improved during my fight with Mr. Hifune, ineffective: ......

　He mourns, but does not despair.

　Putting magic into the sword, it strikes with two and three blows.

　Each time, the two-named hellhound contorts its face in pain and lets out a roar.

　It was a roar that shook my heart, but it wouldn't kill me. But it won't kill you. It's not the effect of Instant Death but the effect of Convocation.

　The roar echoes throughout the forest. Hearing it, more and more of the Two Hellhounds' men are gathering.

　One by two, the number of Hellhounds will increase with every passing hour.

Is there a whole forest of hellhounds gathering here?

Maybe.

　Something does not come from nothing. Perhaps this most powerful Hellhound is being used with these two names.

...... I'm confident we can beat them if we take the long game. But if I'm surrounded by hellhounds.

　Glancing at Erwick.

　His vision seems to be limited by the blood loss he just experienced. He has been largely unable to participate in the attack. Ravali seems to be doing his best to protect the wounded Irwick, too.

　Lunamaría, too, is struggling, surrounded by a dozen or so Hellhounds.

(...... has about ten minutes to go)

　It would be impossible to kill two hellhounds within that time limit.

(--with normal hands, that is.)

　If you can't win in a normal fight, use the "arrows".

　This is the secret of the Ronin school of swordsmanship.
　It was also the essence of Vandal-style magic.

　Also, Mother Militia said, "Backhanded cheating is good! is the motto.

　Fight smart and win smartly is the common language of the House of the Gods.

　So I shout as I fend off the attacks of the two Hellhounds who come at me, trying to cut my throat.

"Don't look at me, Irwick and Raverly!

　It is human nature to want to look at them if they ask you not to, but they have built up a trustworthiness through their many battles, and they immediately agree.

　After confirming that no harm will come to them, I focus my magic power on the tip of my sword.

　The strongest magic, in a sense, that I learned from the Vandal, the god of magic.


　Flashing


　Unleash.

　Flash Magic is, as its name implies, a magic that unleashes light. It is a primary magic that emits a dazzling light and has no offensive capabilities. But, according to the Vandal, the god of magic, there is no magic more powerful than this.

Most creatures have sight. Most creatures have sight. Used well, it will get you past any opponent.

　As he said, it was effective against the monster in front of him. They are dogs, of course, with good noses, but that doesn't stop them from relying on their eyesight to attack. If we can take away their sight for a few dozen seconds, we can make as many moves as we want.

　Having reaffirmed that my flash magic is effective, I finish off the two-named hellhounds - instead of doing so, I unleash a flash of my sword on the hellhounds surrounding Lunamaria, and then fire on the hellhounds that were about to attack Erwick and his friends. I throw the magic of the sphere at them.

　The Hellhounds flare up and I tell them to fall back.

Are you going to back off?　I think it's a good decision, but this forest is their forest, it will soon be surrounded by them.

That's the idea. I'm going to go to a place and I'm going to trap them there.

What do you have in mind?

　Raverly asks me with faint hope, but I have no power to see the future. But I had the wisdom to use what was there and overcome a powerful enemy.

Everyone believe me.

　With those words, Luna Maria wordlessly follows me.
　Irwick and Ravaliereley look at each other in silence and follow behind me.

　Along the way, a few hellhounds attack, but as I cut them down with my sword, I ask Raverly, "Is that thing ready, sir?
"Is that thing ready?

"The one in the example?

"The tools we use to collect mandogolas. I just had it knitted with ivy.

"Yeah, there is that, but

　Erwick took out a rope from his back.

　The rope I had woven from the ivy just now is so fine that it's hard to believe it was improvised. As expected of the forest people, it was made by the elves.

That's as good as it gets. Then may I have it?

There's no reason to say no.

　Erwick is willing to give it to me.

　Watching her, Lunamaria chuckles. I wonder what's funny.

"No, I'm just glad to see another one of Master Will's wacky tricks.

I see. But that's not so much of a novelty as a trick.

No, I'm sure they will use the devil's advocate. So what do we do?

It's nice to have a good setup.

　Praise the Lunamaría and talk about the plan.

I'm going to use this rope to set a trap.



"A dog trap?

Yes,

But does it work with those two names?　With such a meager rope.

"This trap is not about the size of the individual

"What kind of magic do you think makes that possible?

"It's a secret . It's no fun to tell.

That's not a very boyish thing to say.

I wonder if I inherited my mother's mischievousness.

　The face of the Goddess Militia comes to mind, but I knew that her unique personality would not be explained in a few words.

Mr. Raverly, and Mr. Irwick, please believe Master Will. I have never failed in a mission when Master Will had this look on his face.

It sure feels like a luxury. So what are we doing?

"This strategy may fail if it is interrupted by hellhounds along the way,

You can create an environment in which you can play with your nicknames in a tandem, right?
That's what I mean.

Then leave it to me. This mallet is going to fire.

　With that statement Raverly begins to spin and twirl the mallet. Then he kicks away a crowd of attacking hellhounds. Arwick sings a specially made battle song he composed for Raverly.

　As the song resonates, Lunamaria also slashes through the dogs with her shortsword.

　Each of these three warriors is skilled and breathes well together.

　There aren't many demons that can defeat this trio. And not even a dog can break through. Unless, of course, it's a monster dog.
　While the hellhounds were being kicked around, only the two-named hellhounds rushed forward and broke through without a care in the world. No, the trio dared to miss it.

　Lunamaria, one of the three players, saw the monster running through the forest and muttered to herself.

"Will-sama, please be safe.

　Although Lunamaria always admires Will, in the end, her worries eventually win out. I've seen how strong he is, but still I can't help but imagine the "what ifs". Of course, I never had a "what if" before.

　I just don't know if it will be forever. One wrong move can lead to death for any hero.
　--What if Will is dead?

　Since she began this journey, she has occasionally imagined it, but each time it gnawed at her heart and made her wince. I feel a darkness in my heart that is more terrible than when I lost the light.

　So although Lunamaría vowed to protect Will at all times to prevent that from happening, she felt as if Will had always protected her since she made that vow.

　She thought of the face of a kind boy who would always be there to save her from her plight.

　He was raised by the gods and it may be presumptuous of a priestess to protect him, but I can still help.

　Now is the time.

　Lunamaria slammed her shortsword into her right hand and drove it through the hellhound.

　You have to make sure that Will is ready to do the trick.

　That's all the help Lunamaria could give right now.