It was indeed a shadow itself.
　Something thick and black, in the shape of a man, was moving like a human being.

　The unnatural sight of it coming towards me made my spine tense up.
　But then I remembered something.

"Mia, shoot!　"What?　Are you sure?

　The girl looked confused as she watched me and the approaching shadow.
　The girl just stared at me and the approaching shadow alternately with a puzzled look on her face, but didn't move.
　When I saw Yoru and Kuu brushing back their hair and getting into a battle stance, I hurriedly gave them instructions.

"Get back, don't touch it!

　Just as I said this, someone leaped in front of me.
　At the same time, the sound of punching air echoed in succession, and the whip whipped through the air at a speed that my eyes could not catch.

　The black shadow that was hit by the three sharp blows wavered slightly and its outline blurred for a moment.
　But that was all.

　Paula paused in alarm at the lack of response.
　Then the shadow suddenly reached out its hand.

　A few steps were too far for an ordinary person to reach.
　But the shadow had no such limitations.
　The demon hunter quickly whips away the impossibly long hand.

　But the result is the same as before.
　The whip struck the floor hard, and the shadow's hand grabbed Paula's wrist as if nothing had happened.

　Paula quickly shakes it off, but her legs tangle and she falls to her knees.
　Then more shadowy hands closed in...

"Yo, it's a distraction!

　I managed to ignore the incredibly fast beating of my heart, and shouted out to the fairy.
　Instantly, a dazzling light shone from its wings, and the shadow turned away as if startled.
　Seizing the opportunity, I called out the girl's name again.

Mia!

　This time she seemed to be all right.
　The familiar click, click, click of fingers echoed in the darkness.

　At the same time, bright red balls of flame pierced the darkness, hitting the humanoid shadows in rapid succession.
　In an instant, the swirl of flames engulfed the demon and flashed red.
　Immediately, the black mass of darkness disappeared like smoke.

　Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, I rushed over to Paula who was lying on the floor.
　Unfortunately, the difference in level was unavoidable.

　Mia easily overtook me and jumped into a hug with Paula.
　She then tried her best to say sorry.

I'm sorry, Pau!　It's my fault I screwed up!


"No, Mia beat me to it. Thank you.

　As she says this, Paula reaches out her hand, but for some reason it wanders through the air instead of Mia's face.
　Surprised by her gesture, the girl hurriedly looked into Paula's face and noticed that her eyes were not in focus.

"Pau, could it be that you're blind?
...... Yeah, nothing.

　Mia stopped moving as if she had been struck by lightning.
　Her face is completely drained of blood.

"I'm helpless.
"d*mn.

　Yoru and Kuu, who had come by out of concern, also clung to Paula with a pouting face.

I'm going to have to go ....... faster. Oh, it's my fault. ......
It's okay, Mia. You've got me for this.

　I stroke her head as gently as I can to soothe her, her lips trembling.

"Hey, can you fix it?　Mr. Pau's eyes.
"Yeah, it's only temporary. Just give it some time.
So it's ............. Thank God.

　Mia smiled, tears in the corners of her eyes, a smile of deep relief.
　Then she shook her head in panic.

But I'm sorry it was my fault. If I had followed your advice, even you would have ......
"You know, you've only been exploring for less than a week. You've only been exploring for less than a week. You can't possibly move that fast.
Yeah, yeah, that's true, but ......
It's normal to make mistakes, so don't worry about it. Don't worry about it.

　I'd rather not have you shrink or get ahead of yourself.
　In the first place, it's safer for a mage to be a little cautious.

"Yes, you're right, Mia. You just have to get used to it. There's no rush.

　Even though she couldn't see me, Paula understood my intentions, and in a gentle voice she added, "I'm sure you'll be fine.
　Mia wiped her eyes and nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, I understand!　As usual!
Yeah, yeah. It's not a good idea to stay here for now. Let's go back.



　As I said this, I put my hands under Paula's armpits and behind her knees as she sat on the floor.
　Then, with great effort, I stretched out my hips and forcibly picked up the beautiful woman who had temporarily lost her sight.

"Oh, my dear!
I'll carry you up the stairs, just bear with me for a moment.

　I was impatient to feel the plump flesh from Paula's side hug, but I replied calmly so as not to be noticed.
　Yeah, I'm not feeling too guilty. Not all of them.

No, that ...... isn't too heavy, is it?
I'm rather surprised it's so light.
Oh, really? I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

　I whispered into her ear, her cheeks flushed and her eyes downcast, in a slightly lower tone.

You were protecting me. Then we both deserve it. But don't be too reckless. I thought my heart was gonna stop.

　At these words, Paula's eyes widened slightly and she wrapped her outstretched hands around my neck.
　Then she whispered back with a sweet exhale.

I'm a very lucky man to have your concern.
"............, next time back off properly.

　The only reply was the usual lusty smile.

　As I sat Paula down on the steps of the staircase, I explained once again the identity of the demon I had just seen.

"That was a shadow, right?
"What is it, sir?

　That sounds like a car road.
　The Shadow is a so-called undead monster.

There are three main types of undead monsters. The first is the skeleton type. See, the one upstairs?
Oh, the bone dog?
That's the one. The second one is the carcass type, which is a moving corpse with some meat left on it.
Oh, my God. Isn't that dangerous?
It's easier to handle if the body is still there. And the last one is the dead body type. That one.

　Skeletons and other skeletons move quickly and have high attack power, but they have low defense and are easily attacked by you.
　If you're not sure what you're looking for, you can always ask your doctor.
　There are also exceptions to this rule, and if you underestimate them, you may get hurt.

　And then there are the spirits of the dead.


　They are insubstantial, so physical attacks won't work on them.
　In the game, you can use blessed weapons, but they're not that easy to find.

　But if we can't do it, they can't do it either.
　No matter how many times the spirits of the dead hit us, our bodies will never be damaged.

　However, the spirits of the dead, which have no physical attack power, instead have a nasty characteristic.
　The mere act of touching an opponent will bring about abnormalities in their state.

I see. So that's why I'm blinded.
Yeah, it's called Hand of Darkness.
Wow, isn't that a lot of work?
There's also a hand of sucking spirit and a hand of sucking demon, so it's a bit troublesome to deal with.

　I'm not sure what to do.
　In fact, there is a definite weakness against magic and sorcery, although at first glance it seems invincible.
　Well, there are exceptions to this, but at least they don't appear in such a shallow level.

So, Mia, when that shadowy thing comes out, just burn it.
"Uh-huh!

　The only other technique that might work is Fairy Yoh's Blinding, but it can't do any damage.
　Kuu's Ripping might work, but it eats up too much magic power.
　And then there's Gobu's: ....... No, that's a seal.

　Once you get used to it, the rest is easy, which is our usual pattern.
　Yaw stops and Mia flicks her finger.
　With this, we can proceed with our search without letting the shadows get close.
　Incidentally, the only drop item is a black magic stone.
　I can only say that they are troublesome in that respect as well.


　After walking through a stone passage for about thirty minutes.
　Suddenly, you arrive at a place that looks like an open square.
　According to the map, it seems to be located right in the middle of this seventh floor.

　What was there was a decaying old tower rising out of the ground.
　We forgot to breathe and looked up at the huge structure that suddenly appeared in the underground space.
　Then we looked back to where the entrance to the tower seemed to be and let out a sigh of relief.

...... Thank God. It's not Shado.

　Standing guard over the doorway were two skeletons.