Companion Reset
Clatter! Clatter!
Hiss∼ Hiss∼
Undead who had lost their souls and were left with nothing but white bones, and undead who had lost their bodies and were left with nothing but souls.
At a glance the two kinds of undead seemed complete opposites in every way.
Yet the way they kindled an eerie purple ghost-fire in their hollow eyes—fed by rage, envy, and greed toward the living—made it clear that, in the larger picture, they were the same sort of existence.
“Fire Arrow!”
Fire Arrow
A clear, ringing voice cut through the battlefield that until then had held only the wailing of the dead. At that signal four flaming arrows hovering above the female mage’s head streaked toward the undead.
They had been loosed the instant the undead emerged from the thick fog, so all four found their marks.
Flap-flap-flap!
The soul-only undead—wraiths that looked as though they had been draped in rags—thrashed desperately, trying to beat out the fire clinging to them. Their efforts were useless; the flames used the rags as kindling and swallowed the wraiths whole.
Kyaaaaak!!!
Was it so bitter to face death again after having fled it once? The wraiths poured out screams thick with unresolved grudge. Unspent resentment spilled down as purple tears.
All that remained now were the bone-only undead—the skeletons.
They seemed to know it too; they charged the living even faster than before.
A warrior stepped into their path.
“Hup!”
Martial Art — War Cry
“Look at me!”
The shout, thick with life-force aura, dragged every undead’s attention onto the warrior.
“Protect!”
Protect
Just before the skeletons’ filthy hands and teeth could reach him, the priestess’s prayer settled over the warrior. A soft barrier of light formed around his body.
They get along terribly, yet they still work together.
They do seem to know time and place, at least.
I think it’s just habit by now.
The two wives surveying the battlefield with him offered positive judgments. Jun shook his head in quiet disagreement and glanced at the priestess beside him—Susan. A faint regret sat on her face.
Ease up already, seriously.
If he left that emotion alone, real trouble would follow. He was about to caution her when—
Clatter-clatter, whoosh—
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”
The sound of bones locking together and air escaping was followed once more by the female mage Amber’s voice. This time, though, it was packed with urgency and anger instead of the earlier confidence.
“Haa∼. Let’s finish this first, then talk.”
Jun swung his weapon at the skeletons Dennis had “accidentally” let slip past. A short while later the fight was over.
“That last battle was an absolute disaster.”
“““...”””
With only three swings Jun had ended the fight. He lined the party members up and began his lecture. The party, thoroughly steeped in miasma, wore sullen faces and kept their mouths shut, yet a lecture was unavoidable if they wanted to avoid the worst outcome.
“Susan. A priestess’s job isn’t only backup and pathfinding—she also has to look after the party’s mental state. Is it all right for a priestess to scowl while she’s supporting her teammates?”
“...No. I’m sorry.”
“Even if you hate it, never let it show. Other people maybe, but a priestess absolutely cannot.”
“Yes... hic!”
At the end of her answer Susan hung her head and began to sob quietly. It looked more like wounded pride than genuine remorse, but her spirit had clearly been crushed, so Jun moved on to the next target.
“Amber. You panic and botch a cast just because a few monsters slipped through—what then? Don’t you know a mage has to stay cold-headed no matter the situation?”
“Ugh! No excuse.”
“I was right next to you. Don’t tell me you didn’t trust me?”
“N-no! Absolutely not!”
Amber shook her head hard, denying it. Jun soothed her with a promise to protect her if anything happened, then turned to the final subject of the lecture.
The man was staring at the foggy sky as though he couldn’t bear to meet Jun’s eyes.
“Dennis. Why did you do it? You could have held them all.”
“...”
“Don’t clam up. Speak.”
Thwack!
“Ghk!”
A sudden joint kick dropped Dennis to the ground clutching his shin. Jun looked down at him coldly and asked again.
“Why.”
“Because it pissed me off, that’s why! One guy’s getting the shit beaten out of him by monster bastards while another just stands there watching like he’s on vacation—how the hell is that supposed to feel good, huh?!”
“It wouldn’t feel good. But that doesn’t excuse failing the role you were given. Your role is defender, and the reason you got surrounded and one-sidedly beaten is that your skill is lacking.”
“Ghk! What’s lacking about me?! I’m a double-core owner! I’m way better than those two!”
Dennis’s face flushed crimson as he pointed at Susan and Amber. The sight of him belittling the two women who had once confessed to him was truly ugly. Jun’s gaze grew colder still.
“What good is a superior core if the martial skill, judgment, and experience to back it up are missing? Susan and Amber, who use even a single core properly, are far better than you.”
“Fuck, you finished talking? Huh?!”
“Yeah, I’m finished. What are you going to do about it? Want to take a swing?”
Jun’s eyes sank into a chilling calm as he drew Firmus a bare inch from its scabbard. A quiet, clear ring—ssrung—echoed, as cold as his gaze. Dennis—
“...Damn it.”
—muttered a curse and dropped his eyes.
“Haa∼. Further exploration is impossible. As party leader I order: from now on we avoid combat as much as possible and head for the entrance. Even if we find an Easter egg, we will not take it. Understood?”
“Understood?”
Fuck, is that even a real order?
Dennis clenched his teeth at a command he simply could not accept.
What was an Easter egg? It meant the hidden elements inside a labyrinth—treasure chests, named bosses, traps, trials. They were extremely hard to find, yet if found they yielded enormous rewards. With enough luck—truly absurd luck—one might even awaken a new core. That was why adventurers scoured every corner with burning eyes.
And this guy said they would ignore one even if they found it?
Of course the rewards came with matching danger, but even accounting for that, the statement was pure insanity.
Yet the only ones who seemed to think so were—
“Yes.”
“Yeah.”
—apparently just him. His longtime childhood friends, more than friends yet less than lovers, simply nodded like devoted wives accepting their husband’s every word, no matter how mad.
Filthy bitches.
Until they entered the labyrinth they had been throwing tantrums, begging him to choose them. One pretty face later and they wouldn’t even glance his way. Their love was as faithless as a rag that soaked up everything; Dennis felt bile rise.
“Dennis, take point.”
The order came again. Dennis wanted to rebel, but he couldn’t. He simply lacked the power to oppose the man.
Did the heavens take pity on that resentment?
“Huh? Wha—!”
Not long after, Dennis’s eyes locked onto an altar standing alone on the plain and the ominous black coffin resting atop it.
Easter egg.
The instant the word surfaced, his body bolted toward the altar of its own accord. He had not even taken three steps when—
“Where do you think you’re going.”
—an irritated voice and a translucent barrier stopped him cold.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“What the hell are you doing? Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? Even if we find an Easter egg, we ignore it.”
“I never agreed to that!”
“Shut up and do as you’re told! Anything else maybe, but not that.”
“I-it feels insanely ominous. Just pretend you never saw it.”
After the man’s order, his fairy added a grave warning.
Fuck, ominous my ass. They’re just making up bullshit so I can’t take it. They’re scared I’ll get stronger than them.
Of course Dennis did not so much as listen. Just like before, he only obeyed because he lacked the strength to resist.
Damn it... if I could just claim that power, a bastard like him would...
Dennis daydreamed of crushing Jun with the power from the coffin. The miasma accumulated throughout the journey grinned darkly and unleashed the monsters of impulse and desire that had been born from that fantasy.
That night, while Jun slept, Dennis ignored both the order and Fortuna’s counsel and headed for the coffin—taking Susan and Amber with him.
“Is this really okay?”
“Maybe we should turn back even now.”
“Hmph! If you’re that scared, go ahead. Though if you keep running every time you’re scared, that guy’ll dump you soon enough. Can’t you see it? I can picture you two getting coldly abandoned by him clear as day.”
Pulling them in had been easy. All he had to do was shove the harsh reality they had been carefully ignoring right into their faces. That alone made the women who had mocked his plan change their minds and follow.
It worked again.
“...I’m going.”
“This time for sure.”
The women who had hesitated in anxiety and worry immediately put on the resolute faces of devoted wives ready to die for their lord and began walking quickly once more. The sight stabbed Dennis’s heart like a needle, but he forced the pain aside. Silence settled naturally among the three.
After a stretch of that uncomfortable silence they reached the altar. They climbed it and stood before the black coffin. Perhaps because of what the fairy had said, the coffin looked hideously ominous.
It’s only a first-floor Easter egg. Don’t be scared. Whatever it is, it’ll be easy to claim.
Gulp.
“I’m opening it.”
“Wait. Just in case, I’ll put a blessing and a barrier on you.”
“I’ll prep a spell too, so hold on a second.”
Dennis nodded readily. Caution never hurt. A moment later sacred power from Susan settled over him, and mana from Amber formed flaming arrows aimed at the coffin.
When everything was ready, Dennis tensed and pushed the lid open.
Grate—thud!
The stone lid slid off and the interior was fully revealed. Dennis carefully leaned in and peered inside.
“...”
“Dennis.”
“Hey. What’s in there?”
When he only stared without a word, Susan and Amber called his name in growing impatience. He did not answer; he simply gazed blankly into the coffin.
Beautiful.
An emaciated corpse. Resting atop it like a cross was a beautiful sword that stole Dennis’s heart completely. The monsters of impulse and desire guided his hand toward the blade.
Normally any item-like object was supposed to be checked by a priestess for curses before being claimed, but right now he had no mind left for that. The single thought of taking the sword before him filled his head.
“No!”
“Stop!”
Susan and Amber threw themselves forward to stop him. But—
Clack.
—they were just a little too late.
-Heheheh!
Whoosh! Whoooosh!
“Huh? Wha—! Aaaaagh!!!”
A sinister laugh rose with yellow flames that climbed Dennis’s arm and swallowed his entire body. His scream echoed thunderously through the labyrinth.