The Fallen Sword Princess
“What the hell kind of crazy bullshit is that?” Elesia asked, her eyes widening like saucers.
Only then did I realize my words could easily be taken the wrong way.
“That’s not exactly what I—”
“This guy’s actually insane…”
Before I could rush out an explanation, Yu-ha’s voice cut in from the side. I turned to find her staring at me with pure contempt. She shut me down instantly and explained the situation to Elesia: the current phenomenon had occurred because the freshman runner-up, Tana Erhen, had become entangled with a demonic contract medium. We knew the truth and were heading out to save her.
“Ah… So that’s what you meant?”
Elesia looked at me with an awkward expression, as if scolding me for phrasing it that way.
“Yeah, that’s what it was…”
And Yu-ha was the same. The two had only met today, yet they already synced up like they’d known each other for five years. I couldn’t decide if this was a good thing or a disaster.
“You seem like you’d actually get along well with me.”
“I think so too.”
Watching them exchange glances and share faint smiles sent goosebumps racing across my skin. Setting Elesia aside, Cheon Yu-ha was no less of a weirdo herself. So crazy really does attract crazy?
…If that was true, what happened to me—the only sane person left?
Damn it. I just handed the dragon its yeouiju.
I pushed away the horrifying image of the two growing closer and forced my mouth open.
“Anyway, all these weird slimes originate from the demon. If we deal with the medium, these things should disappear too.”
Yu-ha, who had been glaring at me reproachfully, suddenly tilted her head as if a question had struck her.
“But why just the three of us? The other professors will come to rescue us soon. If at least one of the Massacrer or the Sage were here…”
“The professors won’t be able to come right away.”
Elesia answered with a hardened expression, pointing at the slimes that still hadn’t fully vanished.
“I can’t say for certain, but this place is both the classroom we were in and a space created by the demon.”
Yu-ha’s eyes widened. Even without Holy Power, she could vaguely sense the space was abnormal. Still, a guess and certainty were entirely different. And Holy Power had turned that guess into hard fact.
She started to ask for the source of the information but closed her mouth. She must have realized from the earlier fight against the giant that Elesia wielded Holy Power. After seeing the golden energy spreading everywhere, she lacked the shamelessness to deny it.
“No matter how strong the Sage or the Massacrer are, it’ll take time to reach this place. Even at a minimum, around thirty minutes. And by then…”
“Anything could happen. I understand.”
These were the words of Holy Power’s master herself. Yu-ha knew better than anyone how stupid it would be to argue and waste energy here. Still, through Elesia’s current speech and the power she handled, Yu-ha had roughly deduced the woman’s standing.
The second-year top student whose name was on everyone’s lips. The main rumor had been that her personality was terrible. But seeing her now, that didn’t seem entirely true. If anyone was strange, it would be…
“You’ve only been a freshman for how long, and you’re already…”
“Huh?”
“Never mind.”
Yu-ha stared at me for a long moment before turning away. Fortunately, nothing happened.
Now that the party was fully assembled, it was time to start the raid. I slowly drew my sword and reviewed the game’s strategy in my head.
The subjugation of the Fallen Sword Princess was typically divided into three phases.
The appearance of the black bubbles and the separation of space. Clearing a path while dealing with the monsters born from those bubbles. And finally, the battle against the Fallen Sword Princess who had become the contract’s medium.
The first phase—appearance and separation—had already occurred. Normally, a professor would lead the students in rescue operations while they got a feel for the monsters, but…
There’s no need for that now.
We had responded far faster than in the game. I had shouted the information ahead of time, and Yu-ha had taken control of the students. After that, just like in the game, everyone would be forming a safe zone under the professors’ command.
They must have noticed by now.
The fact that certain people were missing. In the game they wouldn’t have cared, but reality was different. Once the safe zone was established, they would check for absentees by grade. If they realized both Yu-ha and I were gone, it wouldn’t end as a small fuss. Well, we could deal with the punishment or the rewards after handling this.
Setting those trivial matters aside, we moved on to the second phase: clearing monsters and carving a path. It was exactly what it sounded like. Every game had that stretch where you mowed down trash mobs on the way to the boss. This was the same. Except here, one extra annoyance had been added.
That goddamn maze.
Whether the demon was trying to obstruct our advance or simply didn’t want Tana to reach us, the twisting labyrinth slowed us down. The mobs were already strong, and discovering a dead end after carving through was infuriating.
But there’s no need for that now.
From the moment I could buy plenty of traits, the maze lost all meaning. The Eye of the Transcendent I possessed clearly revealed Tana’s location. Even without it, recruiting Elesia as a companion would have solved everything. Holy Power and Demonic Energy were polar opposites, and she wielded the former. She could simply follow the thicker concentrations of Demonic Energy to choose the correct path. In simple terms, she was a first-rate guide.
“Go, Elesia-mon!”
“What the hell are you saying!”
Thump!
Oops. I had accidentally spoken my inner thoughts out loud. The price was a small lump on my head. Ow, that hurt.
When I looked ahead, Elesia was huffing angrily while taking out her frustration on the monsters blocking the way.
…Was I lucky it had ended with just this?
Beside me, Yu-ha was giving me a look of pure pity. Even so, she continued steadily eliminating the surrounding monsters. I joined in.
Whether they were slimes or the conglomerations they formed, both were manageable as long as you avoided prolonged contact. Of course, elite monsters—the giants—appeared from time to time.
Slash.
Since I could locate the core instantly with the Eye of the Transcendent, they were no different from regular monsters. Actually, the giants were better. Regular monsters came in swarms, but giants gathered every slime in the area to form. And when the core shattered, they died all at once, conveniently clearing the entire surroundings.
“It’s getting thicker.”
Elesia, who had been throwing repeated punches to vent her anger, stiffened. Yu-ha must have faintly sensed the Demonic Energy too; she gripped her sword tighter. I stared straight ahead.
Beyond the monster-blocked path, I could feel Tana’s energy. Of course, it was mixed with something even thicker and more viscous—Demonic Energy.
In the original game, once path-clearing ended, a countdown would begin. Fail to finish the subjugation before it ran out and it was game over.
There’s no guarantee it’s the same here.
Too many things had already changed to assume it would follow the script. There was no way the demonkin or the demons would be kind enough to start a countdown just because I had arrived. Therefore, it was safer to assume the countdown had begun the moment we first entered.
In the game, players had thirty minutes to defeat the boss. The Sage and the Massacrer would also need thirty minutes to break through the separated space.
“About ten minutes have passed.”
That left twenty minutes. We had to complete the subjugation in twenty minutes. If we failed, Tana would die.
“Huu…”
Yu-ha, who seemed to understand that fact on some level, kept taking deep breaths. She must have been incredibly tense. After all, she probably hadn’t experienced proper real combat yet, so reaching this point was already impressive.
I gently placed my hand on her shoulder. Her body trembled briefly at the touch.
“Breathe slowly. Calm yourself a little. Keep a clear mind.”
I wasn’t sure if I was in any position to lecture her, but she looked far too shaken. Elesia, as a second-year, had already seen real combat multiple times, and her Holy Power likely had her body running hot. I had also experienced real battles while venturing into dungeons to obtain Holy Water. So I could at least offer a few words.
“Moderate tension is good. Treat it like a simulation, but stay aware of death. Never let fear lead to resignation.”
It was a common piece of advice. But given Cheon Yu-ha’s current state, it was something worth saying.
Her eyes widened at my words. Though it was a phrase she had heard before, its weight was different in this moment.
“…Thank you.”
Before I could say anything more, Yu-ha shook her head as if snapping back to herself. Her eyes now burned with firm resolve. It was a rather satisfying flame.