Obelisk Assault (10)

Erinn's story ended there.

After driving the Holy Sword into Allen, Erinn had used the soul-swapping magic just like that…

"…And that's why you're here."

I hadn't expected her to tell me everything, but she must have felt pretty damn sorry for me.

"You said it was a matter of the party members' honor, yet you ended up spilling it all."

"That's because I didn't explain exactly what Allen did to the girls."

…Well, that was true.

"You're not curious about the specifics, right?"

"…Yeah, not really."

There was no need to dig into their painful ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠memories on purpose.

"…You're really different from Allen."

"Of course. We're not the same person."

Even as I said it, I glanced at Erinn a little. Listening to the story, I understood. How much this girl had cherished this body—Allen's.

It didn't take much thought to figure out how she would see me, the one who had taken over that person's body.

Of course I was the victim, but people are harsh toward others and generous toward themselves… If I had been in Erinn's position, I might not have been able to hold back.

In that sense, the way she treated me so casually now seemed impressive. No—beyond casual. She was even apologizing to me…

She didn't become the Hero for nothing.

It was definitely a mindset different from ordinary people. Thanks to that attitude, I could talk without feeling too awkward.

So I still had a question. Even if Erinn was like that, why had the others been so good to me?

"…But if everyone knew I was Allen, why were they so nice to me? Honestly, given everything he'd done, they shouldn't have been too fond of me."

"Well…"

Erinn said.

"I did ask them to, but also because they thought Allen had changed, just like I'd intended. It just turned out that wasn't the case."

So that was it.

As I accepted the explanation, Erinn added one more thing.

"And you were really… a good person. So everyone couldn't help but like you."

"Huh?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. I meant like as a human being."

"…I know."

I hadn't really misunderstood.

After finishing her story, Erinn glanced at me, then let out a light sigh and spoke.

"For now, until we finish clearing the Obelisk, don't say anything to the others. I'll tell them when it's over."

"I could tell them myself."

"No need. I don't want to make the victim do even that. It'll be easier for them to accept if I explain."

I was grateful for that.

"And once we clear the Obelisk, like I said, I'd like you to leave the party. Whether you go back to a normal life or keep adventuring is up to you, but…"

Erinn said.

"…I don't think we can stay together."

"Okay."

I accepted Erinn's request so easily it surprised even me. If I was going to keep adventuring, staying with this party would be best, but I understood this wasn't something I could force by being stubborn.

Watching the body of someone you'd known for so long—someone you'd even loved—move according to another person's will… Just imagining myself in that position sent chills down my spine.

Even for a Hero, seeing that would be mentally hard to endure. And I had no desire to get in the way of the Hero who had to defeat the Demon King.

So I didn't drag the conversation out and simply agreed.

"I know. Once we clear the Obelisk, I'll leave the party."

"……"

Erinn hung her head low. Then she quietly offered me her thanks.

"…Thank you. And I'm sorry."

"You already apologized plenty earlier."

I answered that way and looked back at the campfire, and Erinn glanced this way once before looking at the campfire as well.

Crack.

Crack.

For a while, only the quiet sound of the firewood burning filled the space between us.

And so, that night, the end of our companionship was decided.

The next day, as planned, we left Zone C and began the assault on the Obelisk.

Whether I should call it fortunate or not, after leaving Zone C the enemies and gimmicks that appeared were no different from what I knew.

The monster types had definitely changed, but they were just higher-tier versions of the original monsters—nothing as powerful as Murder Clowns or Murder Dolls popped out.

For a while, that is. We quickly cleared Zones D, E, and F, and before long we had Zone G right in front of us.

"Once we clear this, the next is the top floor. We're finally here."

"…I see."

Freya's gaze as she answered my words was subtle. Since I still hadn't explained anything to them, I couldn't really complain about those suspicious looks.

Whenever that happened…

"The scrub's all excited~♡ Thinking about going home soon makes you happy, huh~?"

Erinn treated me like usual and lightened the mood. Normally it just pissed me off, but looking at it this way, it felt completely different.

"…Yeah, it does."

"Pfft♡"

Erinn lightly swung her sword, shaking off the monster blood that had clung to the Holy Sword.

"Then let's finish this quick and go~."

When I nodded, the party members nodded as well. Meanwhile, Clara approached me and spoke.

"…Allen."

"Yeah?"

"…Are you okay?"

"Out of nowhere?"

I tilted my head, not understanding why Clara was suddenly asking if I was okay. Clara stared blankly at me for a moment, then shook her head slightly.

"…Never mind."

Clara returned to her place.

What was that?

I couldn't immediately understand what she meant by asking if I was okay.

So as we moved into Zone G, I thought about it a bit and found the answer.

Ah.

Clara had naturally noticed that the party members' gazes toward me had changed, and she'd asked about that. I could tell because Clara's gaze toward me was a little different from the other party members'.

Does she not find me suspicious?

Up until yesterday, her gaze wasn't much different from the others.

Had some change of heart occurred? Clara wasn't looking at me with suspicion. Unlike Freya and Letisia, who still hadn't dropped their doubts.

As I tilted my head at Clara's change, Ser-Aria approached.

"Allen, what comes out here?"

Ser-Aria, asking that, was drinking again today.

I had no idea what this one was thinking. She didn't seem to suspect me, but she didn't seem to fully trust me either.

Maybe she doesn't think about anything but booze.

Looking at her, I scolded her a bit.

"Don't drink too much even here."

"Aww, I haven't even finished one bottle yet! More importantly, what comes out here?"

"…As far as I know, Drakes."

They had dragon-like appearances, but were famous for having no wings—that monster.

The Drakes in Dungeon in Evil felt more like crocodiles than dragons, and if you pictured a crocodile standing with its four legs straight, you'd be pretty much spot on.

But separate from resembling dragons, their power was so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weak compared to dragons it was almost embarrassing, and they were much weaker even than Wyverns, which similarly resembled dragons.

However, considering that higher-tier versions of the monsters I knew had kept appearing so far…

"We can't rule out the possibility of Wyverns either."

"…Wyverns would be a bit tricky."

Letisia spoke in a slightly worried tone. I told her not to worry.

"It's fine. Even if Wyverns come out, no problem."

Even if it changed from Drakes to Wyverns, what we needed to do wouldn't change much. Because the basic strategy for Drakes and Wyverns was similar.

Because their main weapons were similar. The power was different, but both Drakes and Wyverns breathed fire. And all of that came from the individual's mana.

"If I suppress their mana, they won't be able to breathe fire. Then the Wyverns will have no choice but to go for close ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠combat."

Of course, flying Wyverns weren't weak just because they closed in. Diving down and tearing enemies apart with claws or fangs was one of a Wyvern's specialties.

But it was hard to believe such crude attacks would work on these girls. If anything, the Wyverns that charged in would get slaughtered.

"Then I won't need to call spirits here."

She said that because if I raised my mana, Letisia wouldn't be able to use her mana either. But my thoughts right now were a little different.

"No."

"Pardon?"

"Just summon the spirits a beat late."

I'd realized something when fighting the Murder Clown before. That my mana binding the opponent's mana had a set capacity.

The Murder Clown's barrier was also made of mana, but even when I raised my mana, the barrier only wavered briefly and didn't collapse.

That meant my mana suppressing the opponent's mana also had a capacity limit, so…

"While I'm binding the Wyverns' mana, try summoning the spirits then."

"…So they'll be free, you mean?"

"Probably. I haven't tried it so I don't know for sure, but."

It was a high-probability theory. When I said that, Letisia looked at me briefly, then nodded.

"Alright, I'll try."

The moment we exited the passage into Zone G, I said.

"As expected."

No way nicely waiting Drakes would be there.

What greeted us in Zone G was something resembling a dragon, flapping a massive pair of wings.

"KRAAAAAAAH!!!"

It was a Wyvern.

Roughly more than twenty Wyverns gathered there spotted us and immediately opened their maws wide.

With that many…

Just as I'd discussed beforehand, I raised my mana to the fullest, and soon the Wyverns' mana tangled up. Because of that, only light breaths came from the mouths of the Wyverns that had been about to spew fire.

"Now!"

With my order, Ser-Aria nocked three arrows on her bowstring at once.

The three arrows shone softly like moonlight. It was clearly mana, but as expected, my mana didn't swallow up Ser-Aria's mana as well.

Since I was already binding the mana of over twenty Wyverns, I had no leeway to suppress other mana. This could be called a weakness of my power, but right now it was acting as a strength instead.

Compared to the Wyverns that couldn't breathe fire, the party members who raised their mana later could use skills freely.

CRACK!!

The three moonlight arrows immediately pierced through Wyvern heads. At the sight of three Wyverns dying in an instant, the other Wyverns went berserk.

"KYAAAAAAH!!"

Since they couldn't breathe fire, they seemed to be trying something with their sharp claws and fangs. As expected, they were playing out just as I'd anticipated.

"Erinn, Freya!"

"Leave it to me~."

"…Yes."

Erinn stepped forward and Freya raised her divine power.

As Erinn's sword swung boldly forward, Freya unfolded a holy barrier that protected all of us from the attacks of the Wyverns passing by her.

Thanks to that, the bravely charging Wyverns were cut by Erinn's sword, and even the ones that passed her had their massive claws completely blocked by Freya's barrier.

"KYAAAAH!"

The Wyverns' power was impressive enough that their claws sank in with enough force to pierce ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even Freya's holy barrier, but they didn't fully break through. So conversely, their claws got stuck and they became helpless.

It was an opportunity by anyone's standards. And just as I thought that, the combat-savvy party members didn't miss it either.

"I'll take them!"

Ser-Aria shot up a single arrow imbued with mana. The single arrow she shot soon split into hundreds of arrows.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!!

Hundreds of arrows pierced through the Wyverns' wings, bodies, and heads.

Just like when the Blitz Wing Lizards had fallen in an instant before, the sight of even larger Wyverns falling from the sky this time was quite the spectacle.

Those who even endured Ser-Aria's arrows were cleaned up by the spirits summoned a beat late. Individual skill was skill, but…

…The party's coordination has already gotten pretty good.

Even in the Lizard Lord's dungeon, there had been a lot of awkward-looking parts. Finding another companion as good as them after leaving the party would be hard no matter what.

One or two maybe, but…

A party with this many talented people gathered like this would be hard to meet again.

As the Wyverns fell and I clearly felt that only the final top-floor zone remained, a sense of regret lingered.

What if I'd been a little more careful in my actions? That thought crossed my mind, but… if I had, I wouldn't have been able to approach combat with this comfortable feeling. I'd have always lived watching for others' reactions.

That's not great.

I hadn't done anything wrong, so if I'd had to live that kind of life, the stress would have broken me.

In the end, it was destined to turn out this way. With that conclusion, the regret disappeared, and my heart felt much lighter.

Yeah.

Once this is over, I'll try starting anew.

"Everyone did really great!"

I deliberately smiled and praised them.

"Let's give it our all until the end."

Because this would be the last time with them.