Echoes in the Dark
The underground passage next to Dain’s room was far wider than the one in the cemetery. Ten people could have walked through it side by side. It must have been built as an emergency evacuation route; given the cathedral’s size, such dimensions made perfect sense.
The party moved forward in silence, torches held high. The tension was natural, but the horrifying sight of the people outside the abandoned cathedral still lingered in their minds. Only the quiet sound of breathing and the occasional drip of oil from the torches filled the passage—until a low, guttural growl slowly rose from ahead.
Everyone froze. Weapons were drawn in perfect silence. They crept forward with torches raised, and the shapes of monsters gradually emerged from the darkness.
“Oh no…!”
Goblins, orcs, zombies, and wild dogs. The eyes of every monster staring at the party were unfocused, just like the villagers outside, glowing with a faint violet hue. One of the dogs bared its rotting fangs directly at Dain.
“A-all of them… is this an illusion spell?!”
“Graaaah!”
Without warning, the monsters charged as one. Dain and two soldiers quickly stepped forward to block the front, but the passage was simply too wide. The fight instantly devolved into chaos.
“Ceres! Zarco!”
Dain shouted as monsters attacked him from every direction. He snatched up a fallen torch in place of his shield and swung it wildly to keep them at bay, trying to assess the situation. From somewhere slightly farther away, Ceres’s voice rang out.
“Dain! Kyaa!”
“Ceres!”
The longsword Grahn had newly forged for him was lighter and fit his hand perfectly. At the sound of the Saintess’s cry, Dain’s eyes changed. Rage flooded him as he stared into the violet eyes of the monsters watching him. I have to save Ceres.
He began swinging the comforting weight of steel with savage force. Monster blood sprayed, chunks of flesh flew. He shoved his blade into a leaping dog’s maw and ripped upward, tearing its jaw clean off. An orc lunged at him; his longsword carved a perfect arc, spilling the creature’s guts in a wet rush. Even as his vision began to blur, he did not stop swinging.
“C-calm down, warrior!”
Someone grabbed his arm and shouted. Dain snapped back to himself. What was I doing? He looked around. The floor was drenched in blood and littered with corpses. The man gripping his arm was the soldier who had been guiding them.
“Wh-where… Ceres. Ceres!”
He spun, calling her name, and spotted a pale white hand rising from beside the wall.
“Dain! I’m here. I’m okay.”
He rushed over. Her saintess robes were torn in several places and spattered with blood, but she bore no wounds.
“Zarco… blocked them from the front for me.”
“Ah…”
Zarco was covered in injuries—slashes, bites, deep gouges. Light was leaking from the hand clasped with Ceres’s as she healed him. He swayed slightly but refused to let exhaustion show on his face.
“You’ve finally come back to your senses. Whew, that was terrifying. You were incredible, warrior. Almost all of these things were cut down by you.”
“R-really? I don’t remember much…”
“You reminded me of the berserkers they talk about up north. Truly magnificent.”
Only then did Dain feel the weight of the sword still clutched in his hand. His right arm was trembling faintly. It was his first time experiencing anything like this; he could only stand there in bewilderment.
Zarco took a deep breath as the healing took effect and stood. Ceres gently wiped a small trickle of blood from the Hero’s forehead. Zarco accepted the touch as if it were familiar, then looked at Dain.
“If you’ve calmed down, let’s press on a little farther. If the inside of the cathedral is packed with this many monsters, we won’t be able to handle it with just our strength. We’ll scout the situation and decide whether to exterminate them or retreat.”
The soldiers nodded. At some point, only sensible words had begun coming from Zarco’s mouth. Was he always like this, or was it because he was the Hero? Dain wrapped his still-trembling hand around his shield once more.
“As expected.”
Fortunately, no more enemies appeared until the end of the passage, but when they peered through the crack of the door, the cathedral interior was teeming with monsters. Among them were several that looked like powerful knights. And sitting casually in a high place was a figure that immediately drew the eye—human-like, yet with striking violet skin and a single horn protruding from the center of his forehead. A Demon.
“So that’s Marus.”
“Th-this isn’t going to work, is it? There are way too many monsters.”
They could not possibly fight the horde filling the enormous cathedral and a demon at the same time. Dain and Zarco exchanged a glance and nodded.
“Let’s return to Hargon for now.”
“Understood. So there are monsters inside as well…”
Gardan rubbed his furrowed brow and let out a heavy sigh.
“We will need the full strength of the Kingdom Army. Please lure as many of the interior monsters outside as you can.”
“Without harming the villagers. I understand. We’ll come up with a plan.”
Only then did Gardan notice the state of their clothing and armor—torn, broken, bloodstained.
“Rest for today. I will have your equipment repaired by tomorrow. You there—escort the Hero and his party to the inn.”
The inn the soldier guided them to was easily twice the size of the one in Siko Village. Exhausted from the fierce battle, the party said little as they each retreated to their rooms. Dain dropped heavily into a chair the moment he entered his and let out a tired sigh.
“Haa…”
His hands were still tingling. It was the first time he had ever lost his reason like that. The soldiers had told him he was the one who cleaned up the situation, but the image of Zarco and Ceres holding hands kept flashing through his mind. The conversation with Grahn resurfaced right after, and Dain shot to his feet, pacing the room for no reason at all.
When he looked at the wall, the uncle from Siko Village suddenly came to mind. This was also in the Marant region. The room next door belonged to Ceres. Could the hole he had seen back then exist here too?
Dain’s eyes slowly scanned the room. He checked every suspicious corner. He lifted picture frames for no reason, shifted furniture slightly, but found no hole. Realizing how ridiculous he was being, he flopped face-first onto the bed.
“Sigh… what am I even doing…”
Staring at the dark ceiling with his exhausted body, his eyes gradually began to close. It had been a tiring day.
Ceres set down the book she had been reading in bed and gazed outside for a moment. Her eyes drifted to the wall. What is Dain doing in the next room right now?
The way Dain had shouted her name and cut down enemies today had been both frightening and reassuring. But more than anything, the worried face that had rushed straight to her after the battle filled her with joy. A small smile formed on Ceres’s lips—right as the door creaked open and he entered.
The Hero, Zarco.
“Are you crazy? Dain is right next door!”
Ceres whispered in shock, keeping her voice as quiet as possible.
“My wounds still haven’t fully healed.”
“Ah… I see…”
When Zarco rolled up his sleeve, the angry red gashes were still visible in several places. On his legs. On his shoulders. She remembered how he had stood right in front of her, shielding her while surrounded by monsters. Thinking of how he had endured being bitten and slashed without flinching, her hand naturally reached for those wounds. A soft light began to flow from her palm.
“Huu…”
“Zarco… thank you for today.”
“It’s nothing. It’s what Dain always does anyway.”
The moment Dain’s name left his lips, Ceres’s hand paused. Zarco stared at it for a second, then casually looked around the room before beginning to unbutton his shirt. The garment fell to the floor, and the metallic smell of blood spread through the room.
“Ah…”
Ceres had meant to turn her face away, but her eyes stopped. A long gash ran across his side and abdomen, still not fully closed.
“W-wait, why… why didn’t you say anything about a wound this bad?”
“I couldn’t exactly grope your ass in the middle of that fight, could I?”
“…”
Ceres said nothing. His words sounded like a demand. If I just hug him lightly, maybe it will heal? She opened her mouth to speak, but her eyes caught the Lumirod already in Zarco’s hand. In that brief moment of hesitation, he spoke first.
“Tomorrow, if we’re going to save those villagers, I need to recover my condition as much as possible right now, don’t I?”
“Y-yeah…”
“Using sword qi consumes too much power. I want to eliminate every variable I can.”
“…”
In the silence, Zarco looked directly into Ceres’s eyes.
“Should I turn around?”
It was only the third time she had undressed in front of Zarco, yet it still felt unfamiliar. Even with a battle looming, she hated how her heart pounded at the memories of what had happened before. Her pale shoulders. The straight line of her back that curved gently at the hips. The buttocks not hidden by her underwear, and the soft bounce of her thighs with every movement.
When Ceres finally turned around after removing her clothes, Zarco was already staring at her body.
“Wh-why are you looking?!”
“You didn’t answer, so I thought it was okay to look.”
“Of course it’s not okay…”
Ceres lowered her head with a sigh, but her eyes suddenly widened. Right in front of her, the front of Zarco’s pants was slowly swelling.
She quickly looked away, but Zarco paid no mind and began pulling down his pants and underwear. There it was again. That long, hard thing. The swollen, reddish shaft that had sprung free seemed to glare at her.
“Wh-why is it… getting bigger again…!”
She deliberately spoke in an embarrassed, playful tone so the mood from yesterday wouldn’t repeat, but Zarco’s member only swelled further, as if angry. The protruding veins throbbed visibly.
“I told you. It’s because you’re too beautiful.”
“N-no…”
Zarco gave a faint smile as Ceres’s face turned bright red. The familiar atmosphere. The familiar heat filling the room. Ceres came to her senses with a start and cleared her throat.
“Ahem! So… I just need to heal the wounds, right? By hugging you?”
“Mm, shall we try?”
Ceres glanced sideways at him. She didn’t want that hard thing touching her body again, so she tried to pull him into a side hug. But the Hero firmly grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him directly. The wounds on Zarco’s body once again filled the Saintess’s vision.
Biting her lip lightly, Ceres slowly—very slowly—wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close.
“Haa.”
A satisfied sigh escaped Zarco’s lips. His member slid between Ceres’s slightly parted thighs, right against her wide pelvis. The moment it brushed against her underwear, her shoulders trembled. Zarco wrapped his arms around her and pressed his body forward. Her full breasts, still covered by thin undergarments, squished firmly against his chest. Below, just beneath her panties, she could feel his hardness through a single thin layer of cloth. Every throb of his shaft was transmitted directly to the plump front of her panties.
“Ugh… mm, don’t move…”
Ceres didn’t even realize that a coquettish tone had crept into her voice. Light flowed from between their tightly pressed bodies. As if to check it, they slowly pulled apart. Zarco’s member, which had been straining upward aggressively, scraped against Ceres’s panties as it fell free and swayed up and down.
Ceres finally tore her eyes away from it and looked at the wounds. They were glowing, but still not completely closed. They said his recovery was monstrous. And it’s still not done? She felt a surge of resentment toward Lilias.
“Ceres.”
“Wh-what?”
She felt hot. In the dim room lit only by a flickering candle, with two half-naked people inside, Ceres’s body was already glistening with sweat. Her breathing grew rough. She licked her lips as if thirsty. When Zarco gently gripped her shoulders and pressed down, her knees buckled. When she lifted her head, Zarco’s member was staring right in front of her eyes.
“Want to touch it?”
Her head was spinning. It’s because it’s hot. It’s because of the Authority. They were ridiculous excuses, but they were enough for Ceres to slowly reach out and grasp Zarco’s shaft. The feeling—hard yet pulsing like a heartbeat—made the strength drain from her eyes. Light sparkled over the wound on its surface, but she paid it no mind. Driven by burning thirst, she slowly brought her face closer. Without realizing it, she looked up at him. Her slightly parted lips revealed the tip of her tongue. To anyone watching, it would have looked as if she were asking for permission.
“The wound still hasn’t healed. Do whatever you want.”
The member drew nearer. The tongue extended past her lips slowly approached the glans. The light from the Lumirod gripped in Zarco’s hand grew steadily brighter.
Bang!
At the sound of something exploding and the sudden flash of light, Dain jolted awake. The light vanished. The sound had come from Ceres’s room. He threw off the blanket and ran barefoot toward her door.
“Ceres! Ceres! What happened?!”
He flung the door open. Ceres was lying in bed, covered by a blanket.
“D-Dain…”
“Didn’t something just explode? What—”
Shattered fragments of a wooden rod lay on the floor. He had seen it before.
“Th-that’s a Lumirod. It’s for training Authority… yeah… something like that. I used it a few times and it suddenly burst. Hehe.”
“…I-I see?”
Beneath the blanket, Ceres gave Zarco’s thigh a light smack. The moment they heard Dain running over, the two had quickly hidden under the covers. While Ceres poked only her head out, Zarco remained pressed tightly against her from below, rubbing his still-twitching member against her ass.
“Haa… you’re not hurt, are you?”
“Mm. I’m fine.”
Ceres smiled as she spoke, but her face was strangely flushed red.
“Are you sure? Why is your face so red?”
When Dain stepped closer, Ceres pulled the blanket tighter around herself. Beneath her, Zarco playfully shoved his head into her armpit. She tried to close her arm quickly, but the head already inside refused to be pushed out.
“It’s nothing! I’m fine! Really!”
Even as she spoke, Ceres was pinching Zarco under the blanket. But Zarco only grinned, turning his head to drag his tongue across her armpit. The moment his tongue traced the soft, plump flesh, an odd moan slipped out on its own.
“Haaah…! I-it’s because I was startled! I-I’m only in my underwear, so don’t come any closer!”
“Ah, aaah! Sorry!”
Dain’s ears turned bright red. He quickly closed the door and left. Ceres let out a huge sigh.
“I told you to stay still…!”
When she lifted the blanket, she saw Zarco looking up at her with a satisfied expression—and her own armpit glistening with his saliva. The tip of the Hero’s member poking out between her thighs sparkled stickily with transparent fluid.