Are you gonna be able to beat this thing?
Well, I don't know. I've never seen a skeleton that big before either.
I see.
Well, it doesn't look like they're going to let me go anyway.

　Where Raffy points his sword.

　A skeleton with his regenerated arm dangling and staring at the Wraiths as if in alarm. To be precise, though, he's probably only wary of Raffy.
　Although Skelton is wary, his fighting spirit does not seem to have disappeared. As if looking for an opening, they are inching closer and closer.

'Stay back, Wraith.

　Raffy took a step closer to the skeleton himself as he said this.
　And in the next moment, he was in the bosom of the skeleton.

　In Wraith's eyes, he couldn't see Raffy's movements at all. It could only be assumed that he really moved in an instant. It seemed that it was the same for the skeleton as well, and it hadn't been able to react to Raffy's movements.

　The skeleton's torso was ripped open at an angle. The body made of fractured bones fell to the ground with a heavy sound.

''.........You won?''

　Wraith blurts out, with no sense of reality.

　I'm stunned.
　That's the only emotion Wraith is feeling right now.

　Perhaps because she had expected a fierce battle to unfold, it can only be described as a disappointment.

''No........not yet.''

　While Wraith was distracted, Raffy understood that the battle wasn't over. That decision was correct, and the body of the splintered skeleton connected with a carapace sound. In a few seconds, the original giant body was looking down at Raffy.

'Impossible to destroy, huh?'

　Through two attacks, Raffy came to that conclusion.
　Currently, it was difficult to destroy and defeat the body of the bones.

　Then, the means Raffy could take would be extremely limited.
　He can't win, but he can't lose either. It's not hard to imagine that such a barren battle would continue.

　While the means of escape comes to Raffy's mind, she notices something strange about the skeleton.

''What the...?''

　The shadows underneath my feet seem to be getting darker and darker. As the color of the shadow deepens to the point where it could be called 'dark', the skeleton's white feet sink into the shadow with a thumping sound. The shadow swallowed the skeleton's body like a swamp, and soon, within a few seconds, his entire body was hidden in the shadow.

''Magic?!''

　As soon as Raffy senses the identity of the anomaly, the shadow begins to move. The speed of the shadow, which moves silently without a sign, is quite impressive. This magic must have enabled the skeleton to make a surprise attack.
　The shadow approaches Raffy and tries to grab her leg with only one arm out as they pass each other.

　Raffy calmed down and held his sword at the ready.

'I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to break the magic a little too forcefully.

　Raffy felt sorry for Wraith, but

"[Rupture]

　He swung his sword not against the shadow, but towards the ground.

　The power held by the sword was tremendous, and dust danced around the area at the same time as a roar sounded. Even against the Wraiths, who were a short distance away from Raffy, a strong wind struck without mercy.

''Ooooh...!''

　With her vision blocked, Wraith desperately lowers her posture to avoid being blown away.

　Then, she suddenly gets her arms around the back of her knees.

'Sorry, don't move!'

　The moment he heard Raffy apologize, the feeling of the ground disappeared from the sole of Wraith's feet.
　-- the moment he realized he was being held, Raffy was on the move.

　Quickly escaping from the dust, she made her way through the trees of the forest. Wraith, who was being held in Raffy's arms, the so-called princess in her arms, covered her face with her hands.

''I can't be your groom anymore...''
'We don't have time for that!　Since we can't defeat that skeleton, we'll have to run away. Do you know how to get to your house from here?
Yeah, that's okay, though.
Show me around.

　The purpose of the Wraiths is only to recover the materials in the Wraiths' house. They didn't come to defeat the demons.
　As Raffy told me, the Wraiths were proceeding while directing the way.

Oh come on, aren't you being too hard on yourself?

　Wraith suddenly looked backwards, and his cheeks tugged at his cheeks.
　A shadow moving at high speed was approaching from behind.

　A bony body emerged from the shadows with a slippery appearance. The skeleton wore half-destroyed armor and held a large sword in its hand.

'Raffy, they're coming after us!
Yeah, I know!

　The words were exchanged in a voice that had a hint of impatience in it.

　Skelton looked angry and let out a loud, caracara sound.

　The Wraiths frowned at that sound that made their ears ache.

''What the hell, all of a sudden...!

　Wraith held his ears and looked at the skeleton and noticed. More and more Blood Wolves were gathering behind Skelton.

　--It's calling to you, monster.

What's wrong with you, Mr. Raffey? He's calling Bloodwolf.
'We'll deal with it on the run!　Be careful not to shake the Wraith off!
...Really?

　Before the Wraith is ready, the assembled Blood Wolves attack. Raffy checks them with a sideways glance and buries them with a single blow.
　Raffy has a dubious look on her face as Wraith looks blue from the blood splattered on her face.

'This feeling...'
What's going on, Raffy?
No, these bloodwolves are probably not alive.
...hmm?

　Wraith tilted his head, unable to understand Raffy's words.

'Probably, but it's just a corpse being controlled by that skeleton. Look at the shadows.'

　After being told, Wraith saw the shadows of the Blood Wolves. It was faint, but the shadows stretched out and connected to the skeleton.

''Magic?''
Yeah.

　Magical manipulation of corpses. So-called necromancy.
　If it was typical of the undead, it was typical.

　Wraith looked at the scene and suddenly remembered that the potion to repel demons didn't work on the Blood Wolf.

　Because he was a corpse, he had no sense of smell. It made sense if he thought of it that way.

　Dead spirit magic is a magic that can use the dead. However, with the passage of time after death, the five senses of the dead who are being used will fade away.

　As a result, the Blood Wolf's sense of smell, which had been following the Wraith, would have disappeared.

''I mean, I've never heard of a skeleton that can use magic or anything like that before...''
It's a rare breed, a singularity. Don't think too hard about it.

　There are certainly individuals among the demons that use magic. For example, the bracelets used by dragons.

　Nevertheless, the use of the dead, for example, is a level of magic that is comparable to that of a regular mage. If we express this skeleton in terms of rank, there is no doubt that it is only quite high.

''So what are you going to do, Raffy?''
We will have to intercept. I'll need Wraith to retrieve the material while I fight.
All right. --I can see it.

　A few seconds after Wraith said that, a wooden hut appeared in view. Raffy paused for a moment and lowered the Wraith to the ground.

'Run!'

　The Wraith sped behind Raffy's screams. Immediately after, a high-pitched sound of metal colliding with each other rang out. When I looked behind me with my butt-eye, I saw swords clashing with each other at a terrific speed.

　It seems that Skelton is also completely in earnest. To Wraith's amateur eyes, it looked like he and Raffy were evenly matched.

''Shall we collect it quickly?''

　Wraith didn't have time to feel nostalgic for our home after a long time, so he opened the door and walked in.