We're just halfway across the room, kicking off the Blue Goblin.

　--halfway there.

　He swings his spear and blows away the blue goblins rushing at him.
　The sword clutched in one hand mechanically pokes and pulls repeatedly.
　The target is the heart and the eyeballs.
　The chanting of the forbidden spell continues, of course.

　And then one goblin caught my eye.

　What is it?
　A green one, different from the other blue goblins, mixed in with the rest of the pack....
　I guess they're a different species, but was that one in the illustrated book?
　And instead of an axe arm, the end of that green goblin arm was in the shape of a sword.
　A new species?

　I come right in front of the blue goblin while slaughtering it.

'Ky, shaaaaah!

　With slimy saliva glistening on its fangs, the green goblin - the 'wrong color' - leapt and slashed at me with its sword arm.
　I half-turned my body to the side and avoided the attack.
　From there, I held the sword in my reverse hand and pierced the back of the different color with the blade as it was.

''Egwu........''

　The wrong color fell forward as the short, breathless voice died out.
　And--.

-Oh!

　Was I a little too distracted by the wrong color?
　I caught the Blue Goblin's axe arm wielded immediately afterwards with my sword, and I lost my stance.

　Sheesh--

　I fall on my ass on the spot.
　The blue goblins get a momentum and pounce on me as I'm about to do so.

　d*mn.
　I can't chant the forbidden spell in time.......!
　There are no spears around now.
　Can you make it with just a blunt sword?
　The crystals that could be used...!

!

　Where the different colored goblins have melted, there is something.
　Is that........a dagger?

　There was no time to get lost.
　He reached for the dagger and quickly grabbed it with his left hand.
　With that dagger, he caught the axe arm that was coming at him.
　Furthermore, while using the blue goblin's body skewered with the crystal-blade sword as a shield, he saw an opening and jumped up his body at once.
　A slightly heavy pain was felt in my lower back due to the fact that I jumped up from an impossible position, but I couldn't care about that.
　I headbutted the blue goblin that attacked me and knocked him down.
　From there, while adjusting his stance, he pulls out his sword from the goblin's body, which was holding its breath.

　He takes a fighting stance.
　At the same time, he starts chanting the forbidden curse.

"..........

　It's the first time I've ever been able to do two swords.
　But this one is better because it saves me the time of holding it in my hand like a crystal or spear.
　I catch the door with my eyes.
　I'm almost there.
　While restraining the blue goblins with chains, I resumed my advance.

　The goblins blocking my path are becoming more and more vicious in their attacks.
　But the door is nowhere near.

"Kisha!
Gugea!

　Two goblins jumped at me from left and right at the right time.
　They are skewered at the same time with a sword and dagger held in the opposite hand.
　But - from the front, the other goblin.
　The other one is already right in front of you.

　You can't chant in time.
　You'll never be able to draw it in time.
　Then...

Guigui?

　Gulp,
　I bit the blue goblin on the neck.
　The goblin, perhaps not expecting this, stops moving.

　From there, all at once, I bite off the carotid artery with all the momentum I can muster.

''Geez!　.........gah......gah, gah......

　Phew, and spit out a piece of meat.
　.............
　This really is a beast itself in this case........
　But .........

　This brought me to the door.

''.........?''

　I felt a bad feeling in my side.
　--Hot.
　The back of the hand holding the dagger touches the "spot" with the back of the hand.
　A slippery sensation.

　You put your hand on the door.
　The door is heavy.
　I push the handle of the door and slide my body into the opening, killing the blue goblins that are chasing me to keep me from escaping.

　Finally, my body is on the other side of the door.
　I cut off the head of the goblin that emerges from the gap as I let it sneak in.
　Then, with all his strength, he pushes the door.........................shut it off.
　A dull ache runs through my armpit as I put all my strength into it.
　While enduring the pain, I let my gaze crawl around the door.
　The noisy banging on the door and the strange sounds of blue goblins can be heard through the door.
　There was something that looked like a lever at a position where I could reach it.
　....................
　For now, I try to put it down.
　Then, the door began to glow.

".........

　Parali, stone dust fell from the stone wall around the door.
　I felt a faint tremor.
　I moved away from the door, thinking that there might be some danger.
　A blue goblin might jump out of the door.
　Just in case, I readied my sword.

''..........''

　The stone walls around the door began to 'erode' the door.
　And then........after a while, the door disappeared.
　The door that should have been in front of me was now completely turned into a stone wall.
　There was no more sound of knocking on the door or strange voices.

''........Did you manage it?

　Somehow they managed to survive the Blue Goblin's onslaught.

''But... where am I?''

　I finally observe calmly where I am now.
　It looks like a passageway....
　The end of the passageway.
　A single path stretches out into the darkness.

"..........

　We're going to have to go.

....

　The moment I stepped out, the wound in my armpit began to claim pain.
　Earlier, when I bit the goblin.
　That time, I was hit from behind with an axe.
　The axe, swung with all its strength, cut Cuirass lightly and gouged out my armpit even more.
　............
　I was so focused on defeating the demon in front of me that I neglected to pay attention to my back at that moment.

''d*mn........''

　Me, I'm not done yet........

　While muttering in my mind, I suppressed the armpit that was bleeding sluggishly and began to walk down the dark passage.

　　　　　　　　　　*.

So, now... how many levels are we on, anyway?

　At the end of the corridor was a single door.
　It was a door similar to the one he had seen before coming to the fourth level.
　When he opened the door further, the passage also looked familiar.
　The only thing that was different from the scenery up to the fourth level was that there was a lot of ivy-like things running along the walls.

''---''

　The pain in my armpit hits me again.
　I couldn't help but fall to my knees in place.

　Maybe it was because I was relieved to be out in a brighter place.
　The exhaustion and pain felt suddenly more intense.

　
　It seems that if my consciousness and feelings aren't in a state of 'combat', that 'sense' doesn't come back to me.
　If I were to call it that........there's no sign of it.
　Is the owner of that "sensation" a combat madman, after all?

　What a thought, I finally sit down on the spot.
　Huh, I breathe.
　I guess I was pretty close to my limit.........

"..........

　My vision has been blurry from time to time for a while now.
　It's similar to the feeling I had when I was anemic in the past.

　But it's no use.
　I have to find the stairs to get back to the upper level somehow.
　Or, if we're lucky, we'll be able to find another attack team.



　Is Miss Currier safe?
　..........
　No, he's fine.
　Absolutely, he'll be fine.
　Rather, I have to do something about myself right now.

''Gruuu........''
!

　A few meters down the aisle.
　A white humanoid demon with a tiger's head appeared from the corner with a nudge.
　Compared to its lower body, its upper body was large in size.
　In its hands, well-developed, sharp, glowing claws.

　Tiger Head.

　The appearance hierarchy is, as I recall, five levels.
　............
　It's like good information and bad information arrived at the same time.

　The good news is that this wasn't very far down the hierarchy.
　The bad news is........I'm not sure if I'm in a position to deal with Tigerhead right now.

　Tigerhead is already running towards us.
　I designate the target and begin the forbidden chant--but

　It doesn't work.
　I can't spin the words quickly enough because my consciousness is so fuzzy.
　It's faster for Tigerhead to reach me in this case.
　I manage to try to get my body up while attempting to cast a forbidden spell.
　I feel a dull ache in my lower back and a throbbing pain in my armpit.
　More importantly, I can't get my strength to work.

　It's no use.
　I don't know if I can do it in this position, but somehow I'm going to intercept it with my sword and--
　And then.

Get down on the ground--Kurohiko!

　I heard a voice.
　A cool, yet dignified voice.
　A voice that sounded familiar and somehow nostalgic.

　A golden hair tied in one behind me, across my vision as I fell on my back.
　In the next moment, the twin swords, emitting an emerald green glow

　The Tigerhead was shredded.

　Not even giving him time to scream, Tigerhead became a lump of meat.
　In an instant, the owner of the voice tore the demon to pieces, wearing a gracefulness.

Finally, I found one.

　He said as he turned away and tucked two swords into the scabbard of his belt.
　The figure turned to me.

'Cecily, mister,'

　Cecily was there, dressed in her white and yellow capture outfit.

　　　　　　　　　　*

　Speaking of which, Currier-san said.
　Cecily-san and the others are also diving in the Holy Ruins today.
　However, it could only be called truly lucky that we met by chance like this.

''Um--''
We'll talk later. First the wounds ... excuse me.

　Cecily bends down and rolls my exploratory clothes up a little too forcefully from underneath.
　Then she crushed my body, as if checking my condition.

'We're going to use a healing technique now, and we're going to close up this armpit wound first. However, before that--

　The ring on Cecily's left hand is stuck on her index finger.
　The pink gemstone on that ring (is it crystal?) but it gives off a strong glow.

''I won't go into details, but in essence, these rings are magical tools to help us know each other's positions. So, after a while, Zeke and the others will....

　While moving her mouth, Cecily-san spells out the magic formula with her fingertips in the hollow.
　Even while doing so, she did not neglect to pay attention to her surroundings, which I should say is impressive.
　The last activation ceremony that Cecily-san spelled out with her fingertips that collected the holy elements with a thump.
　Then a ball of faint light, the size of a softball ball, appears in her right palm.
　That light, Cecily-san shines it on my side.
　...................
　Slowly but.........the wound in my side closes up.

　I knew you could go through the healing process without difficulty, Cecily-san.
　I thought to myself as I looked at her profile face, which seemed to let out a breath of admiration even at a time like this.

　A class on the art form where you can't participate in the actual technique.
　During that class, I had been cramming my knowledge incessantly, so even though I couldn't use it, I was familiar with the jutsu formulas there.

　By the way, about Jutsu.
　Broadly speaking, Jutsu is...

　attacking system
　defensive system
　healing system
　special system

　It can be classified into four types.
　Of course, there are individual techniques of high difficulty in every lineage, but if we divide them roughly, the amount of sacred elements required, fatigue level, etc.

　Attack < Defense < Healing

　higher and higher.
　In other words, the healing system is a high level technique.
　By the way, special systems are mainly magic swords and techniques specific to magic tools.

　This technique of sealing up the wound is a high degree of difficulty, but if you can use it, it will be quite advantageous in attacking the Holy Ruins.
　To some extent, you will be able to get away with wearing light clothing, and most importantly, you will be able to continuously advance your attack even if you are wounded.
　Although the healing technique does not cure diseases, restore lost blood, or recover from fatigue, it is quite a useful technique, even if it can stop the bleeding.

'Lady Cecily,'

　Ah.
　A slender silhouette emerged from the left-hand side of the passage.

'Hyrgis.'

　It was Hyrgis-san.
　Today, she is also dressed for the Holy Ruins attack.
　When I looked, I saw a ring on her finger that was identical to Cecily-san's.
　From that ring's crystal, a line was extending towards Cecily-san.
　........Ah, I see.
　I wonder if that line of light is a mechanism that indicates the direction of the ring into which the holy element has been strongly poured?

　Mr. Hirgis takes one look at me.

'You've been found, haven't you?'

　Hmm?
　What you just said.........

'......................

　Then it occurred to me.
　Why are these women acting apart?
　Were they possibly... looking for me?
　If that's the case, then I don't think Currier-san--.

　At Hirgis-san's words, Cecily-san nodded slightly.

''Hyrgis, if the demons come, please deal with them.
Okay.

　Hyrgis-san begins to pay attention to the aisles on either side of me as she draws her shortsword from the scabbard on her hip.
　Cecily-san has beads of sweat on her pale cheeks and forehead, while she shines a pale light on my side of the body.

''Alright now the blood has stopped.

　When I check my armpit, the wound is all but gone.
　When I saw it in person, it was amazing.......the wound really is gone.

"Since it's time to go, let's treat the other wounds as well!

　Cecily smiles, dripping with sweat.
　She is a little out of breath.
　Healing Technique.
　It seems that even for a user as good as Cecily-san, the level of fatigue is not half as bad as it should be.
　That kind of technique is not something you can let someone use over and over again.

''No, I'm fine now...''

　He almost got up, and his body wobbled.

'Oh....'

　When I stumbled and lost my balance - Cecily-san held me back.

''Hmm........you shouldn't push yourself, Kurohiko?
I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

　I mean, Cecily-san and I are in close physical contact--.
　The temperature of my face rises rapidly.
　The warmth of Cecily-san, who is slightly sweating, or how should I put it--.
　I mean, my breasts........my breasts!
　He tries to let go of the body in a hurry.
　but.

Excuse me, Miss Cecily?
I'm not going to let you get away with this - just kidding - how do you like that?
No, 'How about this?' I don't mean to be a............tat.

　The laceration hurt like a sore thumb.

See it's not all right.
The thing is...
Okay, then, you're ready for my healing process?
But...
I'm just worried about Kurohiko, but this is terrible.

　Cecily, with her hands on the floor, winced and dropped into a paragraph.
　And then there was a sobbing voice....

'I understand, I understand!　Please!

　

''Yes!　Then let's treat him.

　Cecily-san smiles and claps her hands lightly, huffing and puffing, and smiles.

''........Don't lead Cecily-sama in too strange a direction, okay?　Please.

　With a disgruntled look, Hyrgis-san looked down at me.
　Oh, is it my fault........?

　And so the wounds kept closing up.
　And in a little while, all the wounds will be closed - that was when it happened.
　Turning his body to the right-hand passage, Hyrgis-san held up his sword.

''Cecily-sama.''

　Cecily, who was in the middle of activating the healing technique, only looked in the direction that Hyrgis-san was facing.

''Is that........Dark Tiger Head?''

　A humanoid demon with a black body and a tiger's head was in the corner of their gaze.
　A black tiger head with horns on its shoulders.
　Claws that were longer and thicker than the tiger head.
　Muscle mass, also more than Tiger Head, could be seen at a glance.

　A different species, a dark tiger-head.
　That's three of them.

　But the dark tigerhead's appearance level.......according to the school's records so far, there should be twelve levels.

''I see. Rumor has it that there are many different species this year.......Indeed, it seems to be true. Furthermore, the appearance hierarchy as well?''

　Cecily-san reached for both swords as she stood up, interrupting the healing process.

''Excuse me, Kurohiko.......with three of them, Hyrgis alone might be a bit of a burden.
I'm under a curse too.
Don't worry, I'll take care of this.

　Cecily-san smiled at me, but her expression tightened as she quickly pulled out her twin swords and released them.
　Her red eyes narrow, and the dark tiger head lets out a low roar.
　A sense of tension filled the place.
　And in the next moment.

　The three dark tiger heads, one of them was cut in half from the brain to the lower half of its body - the other two were sliced in half right after their bodies were cut in half, and then, almost instantly, their bodies were cut into seven equal parts.

　It was too easily.
　A different species, too.
　And that it was originally a demon that appeared on the twelve levels.
　In this place, in just a few moments, it was as if it had been stripped of its meaning.

　Two figures jumped out of the shadows of the passageway.
　By one of them.

'Do not block my path for one second--the dustballs.

　The three dark tiger heads were instantly denied the existence of a threat.

"Huh, d*mn it..........................I didn't have a chance to do anything.

　Two figures jumped out of the aisle.
　That's because you and Zeke

Mr. Currier.
...Black, Hiko?

　It was Currier-san, who opened her eyes wide when she looked at me--.