The Power of the Saint is All Around (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 6

Act 6:

The Undying Monsters

DURING THE INVESTIGATION, we did indeed locate a black swamp, deep in the mines. The miners had reported that more undead appeared inside than outside of the mines, so we had predicted as much.

The day after its discovery, we immediately headed in to purge it.

“Light.” A mage cast a Practical Magic spell, summoning a faintly glowing ball of light to float in the air and illuminate the area around us.

Everyone in this world could use Practical Magic, but it cost MP, same as any spell. Ordinary people didn’t have much MP at their disposal, so normally they relied on thoroughly unmagical lamps and lanterns. The miners also largely employed ordinary lanterns for light within the mines. However, since it was quite likely that the lanterns would be destroyed on these expeditions, our people with MP to spare lit the way with the Light spell, as they were doing now.

As the surrounding area grew brighter, I heard some kind of flapping from deeper within the mines. Gradually, we started to see monsters that looked like bats. I’d assumed we’d run into them, since this was a mine and all, and it turned out I’d been right again.

I immediately cast a spell to buff everyone, and the knights went on ahead. They worked together to swiftly take out the bats. Once the fight was over, we continued making our way into the mines.

Bats weren’t the only sort of monsters we ran into. There were also beasts that resembled wolves and lizards. However, most of them weren’t the typical variety but a kind covered in rocks. A lot of them had attributes of the earth element, hence their location in the mines.

The farther we went, the more monsters we ran across, most likely because we were approaching the black swamp. The mines weren’t open like the forest, so it felt like they were all clustered close together. On the flip side, since the monsters had a limited number of directions from which to approach, the fights were overall a bit easier for us.

In addition, since the mine’s walls were made of dirt and rock, we didn’t have to worry about burning down the environment, which meant that Yuri was actively participating in our battles. He cast fire spells one after the other, allowing us to proceed at a smooth pace.

Of course, when we encountered any monsters that were earth types, he would make full use of wind spells instead, since they were especially vulnerable to that element. I assumed he whipped out the windy stuff mostly because it was more efficient. Given his druthers, he dealt with most of the monsters using flames, flames, and more flames.

After we advanced a little farther, a different sort of monster began to appear. We had already seen a few undead along the way. They were recognizably animals, but parts of their bodies were visibly rotting. And, just as I had feared, the stench was awful. The first time we ran into one, I reflexively threw up.

From then on, I tried my best not to breathe while we fought the undead. Even so, I had my limits. It was hard to keep fighting while holding my breath, so eventually, I wound up covering my mouth with a piece of cloth. It helped, but it didn’t eliminate much of the overall effect.

It might be a good idea to develop something like an odor-resistant mask the next time we have to go fight nasty-smelling monsters, I thought. I had a feeling such a thing had existed in the world of my origin, but I had no knowledge of the principles underlying its design. It was completely out of my area of expertise, so I didn’t even know where to begin. I might have to reinvent it from scratch. If I consult people about it, maybe there’ll be someone out there in this world who can make them? 

While I was still thinking about odor-resistant masks, we finally made it to the black swamp. Just as it had been reported, the swamp itself wasn’t that large. However, undead monsters shambled out of it one after another.

For some reason, the stench was beyond awful, even with the cloth covering my face. I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible just to give my nose some relief.

While I was impatient, we couldn’t charge in straight away. There were several monsters around the perimeter of the swamp, so we knew we were in for a series of battles. It was standard practice to stop at this moment and prepare ourselves first. We chose a spot where the monsters near the swamp couldn’t see us.

“Let’s stay here a moment and recast our spells. Keep an eye on your reserves of HP and MP,” Albert commanded. 

“Yes, sir,” everyone answered.

“All right, I’m going to cast my spells now,” I called. “Area Heal. Area Protection.”

Everyone drank potions to recover their HP and MP and I recast our buff. It felt like everyone was preparing to take on a boss in a video game.

“Thank you!” several voices called to me.

Just when I thought we were finally ready to go, Yuri put a hand to his chin and said, “Excuse me, but might I try an experiment first?”

“An experiment?”

“Yes. I would like to see if I myself can purge the black swamp.” 

I suspected Yuri had been wondering about this ever since we spoke about it during the dish unveiling at the institute.

When the density of miasma grew to a certain level, it affected the monsters near to it, and the palace had begun to hypothesize that black swamps themselves were merely an especially dense concentration of miasma. So, Yuri had been wondering whether it might be possible to purge the swamps without relying on the Saint’s magic—just like he exterminated ordinary monsters. This was why he wanted to try using his own Holy Magic to purify it.

“I might not be able to purge it, but I want to see if I can manage to affect it in some way.”

“And you want to try Holy Magic because it’s close to the Saint’s power?”

“That’s part of it.”

Specifically, Yuri wanted to develop and test a spell to eliminate black swamps, but unfortunately, he hadn’t yet met with any success. So, the next best thing would be assessing whether Holy Magic made any impact on its own.

Albert frowned after hearing Yuri’s brief explanation. “So you only came along to experiment?” 

“Exactly. This swamp isn’t that big, so I thought it would be a suitable subject.”

“But just look at the number of monsters. Everyone but you would be at their limit trying to take them all out.”

Albert and Yuri were of the same rank, but Albert was the one leading our team. Of course he couldn’t roll over just because Yuri wanted to try something out. Without the grand magus fighting by their side, the rest of the party would have a much tougher time dealing with the monsters until I was able to finish casting the Saint’s magic. The previous black swamps had also ended in grueling battles. Surely Yuri knew that.

But he wasn’t about to give up so easily. “There is value in this work. If Holy Magic can purge this swamp, it will mean that people other than Lady Sei can deal with future irruptions.”

“Well.” Albert hesitated. “You’re right that it would be a boon to have more than one person able to purify these swamps, but—”

“Just once, then. For my first spell. Please.”

Albert was quiet for a long moment before he finally sighed. “Fine. Give it a shot. But only your very first spell.”

“Thank you!”

Albert gave in with visible reluctance. Although this would endanger their tactical approach, perhaps he thought it might have a greater strategic effect to open with Holy Magic. I offered an opinion along those lines, but we still had no idea if it would work.

Once we were done speaking, at the grand magus’s signal, the battle began. 

“Here I go. Holy Arrow.”

I turned in his direction, surprised. I had never heard nor read of a spell with that name. The other mages in the party looked just as shocked as me, which made me realize that this was a brand-new spell. Although Yuri had as yet been unable to devise a spell that could purge the black swamps, he had finished devising a new Holy Magic spell—and an offensive one at that. New spells took a long time to properly develop. The grand magus truly was something else.

Yuri shot his Holy Arrow straight into the swamp, where it was absorbed. There was no visible change, but Yuri and his vast knowledge of magic seemed to detect a promising change. “It looks like it had an effect—very small, but there. Well, that nugget was worth the effort. Lady Sei, I leave the rest to you.”

“Okay!”

I didn’t have time to grill Yuri for more details. The monsters knew we were here, and they simultaneously lumbered toward us. As the knights did their damnedest to defeat the monsters, the mages at the rear attacked the creatures with spells.

As per our usual teamwork, while everyone else took care of the monsters, I started to summon the Saint’s magic. I had done this so many times that, by now, I had grown pretty used to it. That didn’t mean I didn’t still feel, ah, embarrassed as I called on it.

I concentrated, feeling my cheeks grow hot as I did. Magic began to flow forth from my chest. I let it flow and flow as I continued to let my magic flood outward.

As I watched, the golden mist enveloped the black swamp—and then I unleashed my power.

Everything went white. A few moments later, my vision returned, and I saw sparkling golden particles flutter down from the ceiling.

“It looks like it’s been purged.”

“Reliable as ever. Good job.”

Along with the black swamp, the monsters had been completely eradicated. Not a single one remained, and the spot where there had once been a black swamp looked exactly the same as the path we had taken to reach it.

I responded to Albert’s words of thanks, and now all that was left to do was to take a moment to recover ourselves and head back. However…

“What?! Why?” I couldn’t help but cry out as we were ambushed by another undead monster.

Usually, when I purged a black swamp, all the monsters in the area were likewise purged. As such, we didn’t typically run into any on our way back. That wasn’t to say that we never ran into more such creatures on our way home, as a short time after purifying a swamp, the monsters would start spawning again. However, they would manifest at the same frequency as they had before the formation of the black swamp. 

In other words, the area would revert to the state it had been in before the manifestation of that swamp—which was why I had assumed the same would hold true in the mines as well.

The other reason I was so shocked to see an undead was because it was my understanding that no one had ever spotted one without a black swamp somewhere in the vicinity. Although we went ahead and defeated the creature, I couldn’t shake the anxiety. This bothered me.

“Undead monsters aren’t typical to this area, are they?” Yuri asked Albert. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought this strange.

Albert wore an enduring frown as he answered, “Indeed, they aren’t. I’m fairly sure the warden reported that they usually only ever encounter earth elemental beasts.”

Did this mean that undead monsters would become the norm in this mine because there had once been a black swamp? Surely not—right?

We’d seen black swamps make monsters uncommon to the local environment spawn in strange places before. That said, once the black swamp was gone, those new monsters no longer manifested in those locations.

As this was unprecedented, anxiety began to spread throughout the party.

“What if there’s some other cause?” I suggested offhandedly.

“What do you mean?”

I had just rattled off that possibility, but it seemed it might not be totally off base. And the first and foremost other potential cause would be—

“When you consider it, perhaps this indicates that there is another black swamp somewhere on the premises?” Yuri suggested. 

We had come to the same conclusion.

“That does seem to be the most likely possibility.” Albert paused. “However, we thoroughly searched this mine, and no one reported seeing a second swamp.”

“Ah.”

What if it was outside, then? We all pondered this for a bit, but in the end, we couldn’t come up with a definitive answer. We also knew it would be for the best if we left the mine before deciding on our next course of action. After all, if we stood around thinking all day, we risked suffering another attack.

Ultimately, we decided to discuss this at the settlement and started making our way back to the entrance to the mine. As we went, we defeated monsters that we ran into along the way. 

That was when something felt off in my shoe. I had probably gotten a pebble inside it. I tried to suck it up until we got out, but every time I stepped on my foot, it stung, and it was really starting to bother me. 

Hmm, I guess after this next fight, I’ll take my shoe off as fast as I can and dump the pebble out.

I made a face as I thought this, which prompted Albert to ask, “Are you all right?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s just that something got into my shoe.”

“Oh, and that’s bothering you? You should remove it as fast as possible.”

I felt dreadful making everyone stop for such a personal and insignificant problem, but I was about at my limit. I decided to take Albert up on his offer. I apologized to everyone and put my hand on the wall for support while I took off my shoe. 

Then I heard some terrible sound. Then I was falling over.

“Huh?!”

“Sei!”

My head snapped in the direction of the wall to find that the wooden board that had been nailed to it had fallen and behind it was a gaping hole. Having lost my balance, I fell down into its darkness.

On the other side of the hole was a steep downward slope.

“Owwww.”

I wasn’t sure how far I had tumbled on the way down. I sat up at the spot where I had finally stopped. I was sure my eyes were open, but it was pitch-black as far as I could see, with no light to be found. The same went for sound—nothing. It was so painfully silent that I started to fear that something had happened to both my eyes and my ears.

Although I doubted that was the case, since neither of them actually hurt.

Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure I heard Albert’s voice right before I fell. He had to have seen me fall. I knew he was profoundly worried. He’d likely come looking for me right away. Should I call out for him to let him know where I am? 

I took a breath to shout, but then I stopped. I got rid of the swamp, but there’s still strange monsters around. I doubt there are any around me now, but what will I do if monsters come after me because they hear my voice? Can I defeat them by myself?

I decided against calling out. Although I could use Saintly powers that were effective against monsters, I wasn’t confident that I could use that power while resisting attacks. And although I had the highest base level in the kingdom, I doubted I could defeat anything in hand-to-hand combat. All of that meant that shouting was not my brightest idea.

What should I do, then?

My thoughts were interrupted by pain radiating all through my body. At first only the parts of my body that had been knocked about during my tumble were throbbing, but now that I had recovered from the initial shock, I was noticing places on my body that oozed with pain.

I was doubtless covered in scrapes from the fall. I tried to check myself to see how bad it was, but in the darkness, I couldn’t see myself at all.

Maybe I should make some light? But I was afraid that might attract the attention of monsters too. That being said, it also didn’t feel right to cower in the dark and neglect my injuries either.

If a monster did attack me, it would be much harder to deal with than it would normally be. If anything, I would have a much higher chance of survival if I called up one spell to allow myself to see and another to cure my wounds.

Speaking of, healing myself with magic made me glow. Well, if I was going to potentially attract the attention of something out there, then it would be best if I could properly see as well.

Having come to that conclusion, I decided to give myself some light.

I don’t have a lantern, though. I guess I’ll have to use the Practical Magic spell.

I usually relied on lanterns or lamps, but I had used Light on a few occasions, so I knew I could cast it without a problem.

Oh yeah. The grand magus told me that, if I wanted to, it’s possible to make the light not as bright when I cast the spell. Perhaps if I do that, it won’t be so easily noticed. Okay, I’ll give it a try.

“Light.”

A small orb of light floated up into the air. It gave off much less illumination than the one the mage had conjured at the entrance to the mine. Nevertheless, it was more than enough for me to give myself a once over.

As I looked down at myself, I accidentally let a groan slip. My clothes were covered in dirt and dust, and they were torn in several places. And of course, the places where my clothes were torn were where I had the biggest scratches. It felt like it stung even more just looking at myself. Though my skin looked fine now, I had a feeling that I would be covered in bruises before long.

I should heal myself right away.

“Heal.” I cast the spell on myself, making my whole body glow white. As usual, golden particles danced about in the light.

Once the illumination subsided, my injuries had been nicely healed and the pain was gone too. I heaved a sigh of relief—goodbye, discomfort!—before I took another look around.

I was at a T-junction. There were paths in front of me, as well as behind and to my left. The paths ahead and behind were thin and flat, but the one to my left went up a steep slope.

When I considered my present situation, it was likely that I had tumbled down here from the path on the left. I didn’t remember much about it—I had been too confused. But from the fact that I couldn’t see any light as I peered up the slope, it seemed like a winding path.

So, what was I to do?

I had no doubt that it would be better to go back the way I had come instead of trying to do something on my own. Alas, it turned out that was the wrong idea.

I tried to go up the left path, but because it abruptly steepened, I stopped being able to climb it. I might have been able to manage it if there had been protrusions on the wall to hold onto, but unfortunately, I saw no such thing.

This situation isn’t going to get any better if I just stand around staring up at it. I guess I should head back. If I run into monsters here, I’ll have nowhere to run.

I heaved a depressed sigh as I headed back to the T-junction.

Now what? I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be a good idea to move far from this spot and make my way down one of the paths.

I studied the place where I had fallen.

My companions have surely figured out what happened. They’ll come looking for me. If I move from this spot, they won’t know where I’ve gone, I thought as I sat down against the wall and hugged my legs.

How long would it take them to find me? In my satchel, I had potions, a simple first aid kit, and food and water, so I would be able to last for a little while. Thankfully, the potion bottles and the canteen were undamaged, so I could still use them. But what if it took days?

I tried to remember what I ought to do in this kind of situation. However, because it was so dark and because I was alone, whenever I lost focus, my mind began to trend toward dark thoughts.

This wasn’t good.

I shook my head back and forth to drive the bad thoughts away. Even though I tried, it felt like the more I tried not to think, the further the dark thoughts crept into my mind.

Hmm, maybe it would be best to think about what we’ll do after this expedition instead?

“That’s right, think about something else,” I said aloud to bolster myself.

I started with imagining what would happen after we returned to the capital. I’d return to the experiments I had been performing before I left for this expedition, and I’d have to work on helping to prepare and open the restaurants and cafés that had contracts to serve the food debuted at my party.

Ahh, and I can’t forget the potions I have to make for the First Order.

At that thought, I involuntarily sighed. After our expedition together, the First Order had submitted an order for potions from the institute. Potion brewing made for a good diversion when I was stuck on something, and they hadn’t ordered much, so it wasn’t really a problem. That said, I was a bit reluctant when it came to the prospect of going to their barracks—I didn’t know if I could take another round of that behavior.

It wasn’t like they were still treating me like they had before—quite the opposite, actually. They must have realized I didn’t really love the pampering, so they no longer treated me like royalty. Instead, they had taken up an appropriate sense of distance.

Yet all the same, something about it made me feel uncomfortable. Like whenever I was talking to them, I just got super antsy and was filled with the urge to run away. I wasn’t sure why exactly I felt that way, but because I did, I really dreaded going to their barracks. Why was I like this about those knights when I was okay with Albert?

Although, on occasion, when he teased me I’d get a similar antsy feeling and also feel like I wanted to run away. Except those feelings didn’t last long, and I certainly didn’t ever feel like I wanted to avoid him.

“I wonder why that is…”

Fine, I knew the answer: It was because I had feelings for him. A ton of them. To the point that I thought it was probably more apt to say that…I had fallen in love with him.

I couldn’t be sure, though. I had zero experience with relationships. And these feelings weren’t as intense as the ones I had read about in books or seen in movies back in Japan. My heart didn’t feel like it was being twisted into a knot whenever I was with him, nor did I feel restless all the time, nor was he on my mind all day, every day. Although I enjoyed the time I spent with him, those times only felt a bit different versus when I spent time with others.

Oh, but…

“Sei!”

Huh? Am I hearing things? Was it because I was thinking about Albert that I’d thought I heard his voice? My face was buried in my knees as I pulled myself out of my head and sluggishly looked up.

I scanned the area, but I saw nothing different. Above, perhaps? I slowly stood up to look up the path I had tumbled down—and just then, Albert came rushing toward me.

“Sei! Are you okay?”

“Lord Haw—”

Albert didn’t give me a chance to finish. He immediately swept me into his arms.

At first, I didn’t understand what was happening.

Albert quickly surveyed the area before checking to make sure I was in one piece. His grim expression melted into one of relief. Then he pulled me close again, and the next thing I knew, my upper body was enveloped in warmth.

It took me three full seconds to realize I was being hugged.

“Thank goodness,” he murmured into my ear.

There’s nothing good about this situation! Or maybe he’s just glad I’m alive? I can’t argue with that. All I could do was think, helpless to respond.

What was the matter with me?! I had heard that when people suffered too great a surprise, they became trapped in their own minds, but that didn’t seem to be the case at present.

My mind had gone blank. I had no idea how to react. All I knew was that my face felt incandescently hot.

Uh, so, h-how do I respond to this? If he were just a regular friend, then I’d just lie back and enjoy the feeling of his taut muscles, right? No—wait a minute! What am I thinking?! Enjoy the feeling of his muscles?! Calm down, me! My mind whirled in confusion, with part of me desperately trying to escape from the reality of the situation.

Then I heard a voice from behind Albert say, “Did you find her?”

I instantly snapped back to myself, and Albert somewhat loosened his tight grip on me. I used the space he put between us to fan my steaming face with my hand.

I had probably only missed the feeling of his warmth because it was cold down here. Surely.

When Albert moved his arm, I saw people descending behind him.

“Oh, good. You’re all right?” The voice I’d heard had been from Yuri, who looked unusually relieved.

“I’m sorry for worrying you.”

I pretended not to notice the knights who were smirking behind Albert and asked what had happened after I fell.

As it turned out, Albert had tried to throw himself right into the tunnel after me, but another knight had stopped him. That knight had realized what had happened and showed them that the tunnel behind the wooden board went down in a steep slope. He suggested that before descending, they should secure a way to return. Albert had lost his cool and objected at first, but he’d quickly come back to his senses. He agreed to the suggestion, and they’d come down here via a rope that we could use to get back. It had taken them some time to tie it securely, though.

“Although he seemed calm enough on the surface, we knew he was a bundle of worry underneath,” added the knight who had stopped Albert from plunging in after me. He couldn’t help ending his explanation with a small grin.

“Hey!” Albert desperately tried to stop him from saying anymore.

So much for changing the topic, I thought. But I tried anyway. “So, where exactly are we?”

The path that stretched on before and behind us was thinner than a typical tunnel, but given that it was so straight, I could tell that it wasn’t a naturally formed passage.

“This is probably one of the tunnels that has fallen into disuse.” But Albert didn’t sound so sure.

“Oh, I see.”

It was a guess based on his general knowledge about mines. In this world, just like my old one, you had to dig to find new veins of ore. For that reason, there were a number of standards one followed when digging through a mountain, but for one reason or another, there were always tunnels that fell into disuse. Those tunnels would be boarded up with wood to prevent people from wandering off.

Of course, they left signs on those boards to let people know that there were tunnels beyond. I didn’t know if the wooden wall that had broken when I put my hand on it had included a warning sign, though.

Either way, based on its appearance, we could conclude that this tunnel had been excavated a long time ago.

Perhaps it was because I had been reunited with everyone and felt safer, but I started peering around more closely.

“Something wrong?”

“Oh, no, I was just taking a closer look.”

If Albert hadn’t known about this place, I doubted anyone alive knew about it. Or maybe it was just that no one remembered that this tunnel existed? If someone had remembered, then the knights would have included it in their investigations alongside the other tunnels, then reported it to Albert.

Which meant that no one had yet explored this passage.

Maybe it was a coincidence, but as a Japanese person who’d played video games, part of me found it suspicious that we’d been running into undead monsters and then suddenly discovered an unexplored tunnel. Those were big old flags signaling an upcoming event if I’d ever seen them.

As a result, although I didn’t want to believe it could be true, I began to wonder if something was waiting for us at the end of this tunnel. It was because I had been staring toward the far end of the path that Albert had asked me if something was wrong.

“I doubt there’ll be anything, but part of me wants to check, just in case,” I admitted.

“But of course. It’s important to follow your intuition,” said Yuri, looking excited.

I tried to explain, but it was too late. Now Yuri wanted to see if there was anything to see.

Given the situation, Albert was at a loss. From the perspective of safety, it would be best for everyone to return, then have the knights come back to conduct another investigation. That was likely the plan as he had intended it.

He sank into thought with a serious look. I felt super guilty—after all, this was my fault.

“Based on how long it would take us to reach the exit, we can stay for another two hours,” said Albert. “We cannot spend the night in here. We didn’t prepare for it.” 

Yuri was thoughtful for a moment before he said, “This is true. Then let us explore for as long as time permits.”

I was a bit surprised. I’d thought Yuri would insist on exploring the whole tunnel right this instant.

It would be better to hurry, though, if we wanted to make it back to the entrance before sundown. Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing. They immediately started coming up with a plan.

As they discussed, several knights went to scout ahead on both paths. When they got back, they reported that in one direction there was the most rancid stench.

Suspicious, no matter how you sliced it.

Albert and I exchanged a look and nodded.

“Shall we go in the direction of the odor, then?” Albert asked.

“Yes, it sounds like we’ll find something down that way,” Yuri agreed.

Everyone’s expression grew tense.

Thirty minutes of walking later, I grimaced. The smell had grown gradually worse until at last we arrived at the end of the path, which opened into a wide cavern.

There we found a black swamp much larger than the one we’d seen earlier. It covered the entire expanse of the cavern floor, and wave after wave of monsters spawned from it. Naturally, they were all undead.

Luckily, the tunnel opened up at a point considerably high on the wall of the cavern, so no monsters had yet noticed us. Even so, it was only a matter of time.

If I could, it would be best to purge it ASAP.

Having made up my mind, I tried to move to the front so I could see the entirety of the black swamp. However, for some reason, one of the knights stopped me. I only had to wonder why for a moment.

“Look!” the knight whispered. 

I looked where he was pointing to see the surface of the swamp bubbling.

“Oh my!”

They were small bubbles at first, but they gradually grew bigger and bigger.

At that moment, I was pulled back. Albert stepped into the position where I had been and stared at the swamp. “Is it a monster?” he murmured.

“It’s too big for that,” Yuri noted as he peered from behind Albert.

Simultaneously, their eyes widened in astonishment.

“It’s going to be a dragon,” said Albert. “Potentially an undead one.”

“This bodes ill.” 

The surface of the swamp rippled, then an enormous beast with a very distinctive shape emerged from the bottom of the swamp.

It was indeed a dragon.

So…they actually existed in this world.

I had never seen one before, but they were said to be the strongest of all monsters. A chill ran down my spine.

Albert turned to give his command. “Retreat.”

“No, we should take care of the swamp, if possible,” Yuri said. “Now that it’s manifested, there’s no telling what damage it will cause if we let it run amok.”

“But—”

“We should attack it now, before it notices us. Attempting to face it at any later point would be foolhardy even for me.”

Albert clicked his tongue at Yuri’s argument, which was unusual for him.

“Lady Sei, can you purge it from your current position?” Yuri asked me.

“No—I can’t see the swamp from here.”

“Try to imagine where it is—imagine exactly. Then try.”

“But I can’t!”

“Ah, but I think you can. Your magic leaves you with a far greater degree of freedom than ours does.”

I made a strangled noise of distress.

“Besides, it will be too dangerous for you to expose yourself at the fore.”

“Huh?”

“We’ve already wasted too much time.” As soon as Yuri said this, we heard a loud boom and the earth shook beneath our feet.

Then there was a screeching like I’d never heard before. I reflexively covered my ears to block it out.

Huh? What’s going on?!

The knights in front of me stared down at the cavern floor, their expressions stiff.

“It knows we’re here,” said one of the knights at the front.

“Uhhh, Sei, please, you’ve got to try,” said another. “That—thing down there has a huge, gaping maw.”

“Is it an undead dragon?” I asked.

“You could say that.”

“It’s ramming itself into the wall below us. You’ve got to cast the spell now, before it destroys the wall.”

“Oh no!”

Their words made me go pale.

I rushed to take a deep breath and tried to focus on casting the spell, but I couldn’t concentrate. There was just too much shaking.

What should I do?

All the while, the great booms continued and the ground continued to tremble underfoot. Every time the earth tremored, dust sprinkled down from the ceiling, making me even more panicked.

I’d shut my eyes tightly closed, but then, suddenly, a warmth enveloped the hands that I had clasped to my breast. I opened my eyes to find a large hand wrapped around mine.

When I looked up, I found Albert smiling at me, the same way he always did. “It’s all right. You can relax.”

“That’s right,” Yuri immediately followed up. “We are here to protect you, so you needn’t worry.”

When I raised my eyes forward, I saw Yuri launch multiple high-level spells aimed downward. In front of him was a wall of earth that someone had conjured.

Beyond that, I saw the other knights, who’d taken up positions to protect me. They met my gaze and grinned.

“Thank you!” I called to them. “Here I go!”

To fail here would be to bring shame upon myself, I thought as I tried to psych myself up. It did the trick.

I summoned my focus again, and this time, my magic flowed unimpeded out from my chest. I suspected that it helped more than a little to have Albert holding my hands.

Perhaps it was because the air in the cavern was so heavy, but my magic crept out of the mouth of the tunnel and across the ground like the smoke of dry ice, then flowed down below into the cavern.

A moment later, the dragon let out a punishing roar.

“It doesn’t seem that the magic will be quite enough to exterminate it. It’s likely too large,” Yuri said as he looked down at the undead dragon.

“But it does seem to be having some effect,” a knight replied.

The weaker monsters were destroyed by mere contact with the golden magic, but the dragon wouldn’t be so easily overcome. Yet it was enough to hurt it, even a little. I had the feeling that the dragon was panicking. The frequency of its earth-shaking attacks had increased.

This wasn’t enough. I was sure we would win, so I felt okay, but we were still only halfway there. I had to continue letting the magic flow. I had to flood the cavern.

As I concentrated, I strained myself to hear what everyone was saying. As I waited, listening, Yuri finally gave me the green light: “Lady Sei, finish the spell!”

By this point, the cavern was overflowing with my magic.

I was up against a dragon—an undead one, at that. 

I poured even more of myself into the magic than I usually did, praying for everything within the cavern to be purified, and then unleashed the spell.

I squinted as the cavern was filled with dazzling light. At the same time, we heard the agonized shriek of what was, undoubtedly, the undead dragon’s final end.

Once the white light subsided, the ground no longer shook, and the dragon could be heard no more.