The Petrified Hero's Childhood Friend (7)

After dealing with that tentacle monster, no more plant-type monsters appeared.

But what we had overlooked was that this temple was designed much deeper than it appeared from the outside.

My left wrist ached from holding the open grimoire in one hand for so long. When I stretched, the cracking sounds from my bones were loud enough to shake my entire body.

"How about we rest for a bit? You must be exhausted from fighting those plants earlier."

"Yeah… I think we should. I've been feeling sleepy for a while now."

"It's because you're carrying around that heavy sword all the time."

As a mage, all I had to deal with were my grimoire and staff, but the swordsmen were different.

They carried their swords at all times so they could fight whenever needed, and it was clearly taking a heavy toll on their stamina beyond just their wrists.

I went first, lighting a fire on some dry branches to create a campfire and clearing a spot to sit.

"When we get back, I'm definitely taking a hot bath. Otherwise, I'm going to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be sore all over."

"Me too… Sihyun, since water is precious, would you like to bathe together?"

"Are you crazy? If you don't want to get cut in half by Serin, you'd better keep quiet."

Neria glanced at the Holy Sword, decided it wasn't worth it, and quickly turned her head away.

I'd be happy to bathe together, but it's a shame we can't with everyone watching.

As we eased our fatigue by the campfire, I felt sleep slowly creeping in. It would've been nice to have a soft bed instead of this hard floor.

"Sihyun, you've been rubbing your wrist for a while. Does it hurt?"

"Ah, I think I sprained it a little when that tentacle thing grabbed me earlier."

"You should have said something sooner. I'll heal it for you."

Bia brushed her blonde hair back and took hold of my wrist.

Her warm hand and the gentle glow of light. The longer her prayer chant continued, the more the stinging pain gradually faded away.

"Thank you, Bia."

I gave the saintess who had healed me the best smile I could manage.

I could have given her money to show my gratitude, but expressing thanks to a fellow party member felt like the best gift of all.

"I only did what I had to… Ahem, thank you."

"Thank you?"

"Sihyun..."

I wasn't sure what she was thanking me for, but the way Bia's ears turned slightly red was just adorable.

I watched her twirl her long blonde hair around her finger for a moment before pulling out a potion.

Not the red potion for stamina recovery, but a blue one. It was an excellent way to restore mana.

"Ugh, it's so fucking bitter… Ptoo. I'll have to add flavoring later."

"Can you even do that?"

"The first thing they teach you at the academy is how to modify them. Adding a soda flavor would probably taste good."

I chugged the rest of the potion and spat out saliva as if trying to purge the bitterness from my mouth.

Even so, my face scrunched up from the lingering bitter taste, but the effect was undeniable. I could already feel my mana replenishing quickly.

"Hmm, since we don't know exactly where we are, distributing equipment is tricky. We don't have many whetstones left either, so we shouldn't use our swords too roughly."

"We don't have that many torches either, so we'll need to conserve them."

"I can handle the fire, so that's fine. Instead, let's save the potions we can't make here."

Since I could take care of the fire, there was no need to hold back on it. I finished organizing our luggage with Allen and prepared to move forward again.

Our goal was the heart of this temple. That's where we would strengthen the Holy Sword.

I steeled my resolve and gripped my wand and grimoire once more.

"Oh, there's a door here."

"It's a big door. This must be the heart."

"But the energy I feel from inside is no joke. The holy power..."

Bia, who could sense holy power, frowned. The holy energy radiating from within was probably beyond imagination.

It was now certain that this room was connected to the Holy Sword.

Still, we couldn't just rush in. We needed to be in perfect condition before entering.

"We don't know what's inside, so stay on guard."

"Understood."

And then the door opened.

Beyond it was a space filled with an appropriately lit, distinctly sacred atmosphere.

The only unusual thing was a spot in the center for inserting a sword, along with a massive knight statue standing beside it.

'There's a trace of mana there… Is it some kind of mechanism?'

I first scanned the entire area to check for any devices.

But nothing was found, and Serin, who had moved to the center, lifted the Holy Sword and prepared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to insert it.

"Is it right to put this in here?"

"I'm uneasy about it, but no matter how much I look around, this seems to be the only option."

"Haa… Alright, let's give it a try."

Serin seemed anxious, but she raised the Holy Sword and pointed the blade downward.

After taking a deep breath, she drove it straight down, plunging the sword in.

-Clang!

The blade sank all the way in as Serin closed her eyes. We kept scanning our surroundings, wondering what might happen.

A heavy silence filled the temple. We slowly relaxed our tension as we watched over Serin.

The glowing Holy Sword and Serin, frozen in place.

"Serin?"

"..."

"She probably entered a mental world."

I grew worried when Serin didn't respond to my call. Still, I felt relieved knowing the elder's words had been true.

"Wait a second. Haven't you felt vibrations for a while now?"

"Now that you mention it… There's a strange vibration coming from below."

Rumble. The sound of cracking and falling stone echoed as the interior of the temple began to change.

Light gathered in one place and flowed into the stone sword held by the knight statue.

"Fuck… What the hell is that?"

"Looks like we're in big trouble."

"Seraph-nim, to give us a trial like this… No, this can't be right."

"Do we really have to fight something that big?"

The statue, easily twice my height, began to move. And it was wielding a glowing sword.

In an instant, we all drew our weapons and prepared for battle, watching the situation unfold.

The knight raised its sword toward us. At that moment, a chill ran down my spine and I began chanting a spell.

"Frost Punk!"

Ice bombs flew toward the knight, but a single swing of its sword blocked the magic entirely.

As if my spell had been a signal flare, Allen stepped forward, marking the beginning of a small-scale war.

It would be difficult for our party members using rapiers, bows, or prayers to land any meaningful blows on that knight.

I'd have to create openings with my magic.

"Allen! Move aside…!"

After confirming that Allen, who had been drawing its attention from the front, dodged to the side, I aimed my staff ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once again.

I condensed the mana flowing from my fingertips while chanting the incantation without pause.

"[Explos…] Ugh."

Before I could finish the spell, a stone falling from the ceiling forced me to dodge, cutting off my chant.

The knight didn't miss the opening and charged straight at Allen, who was at the very front.

Allen parried the knight's massive stone sword with her small rapier. Despite her skill, the overwhelming difference in size made her hands look dangerously unsteady.

'The power gap is too severe… I need to cast a spell quickly.'

I prepared a shorter incantation and readied it again.

Considering Allen was right beside it, I had to avoid using any wide-area spells.

"[Sparrow Lightning]"

A lightning spell with long range but narrow area, yet devastating power. I poured in enough mana to make my body feel drained.

The railgun-level concentrated force successfully shattered the knight's left arm.

"Allen! Get out of there!!!"

"O-okay… Aaaargh!"

Yet the statue still didn't fall. It swung its remaining arm and struck Allen.

"Seraph, protect this lamb… Ugh, Neria! Sihyun! Hurry!!!"

"Tsk, figures arrows don't work. I'll move Allen, so Sihyun, cast your magic. Now."

I had squeezed out my remaining mana to land a hit on the knight, but it seemed ineffective.

The creature turned its attention from me to the fallen Allen. Thanks to Ceria's quick reflexes, she had survived, but now both of them were in danger.

Bia's holy power didn't seem to work either, as the barrier began to shatter.

***

Everything was spinning. It felt like my head wasn't even my own.

My vision was blurry, and the nausea from someone shaking my head kept rising.

What happened? Am I dead? Soon my hearing returned, and sounds from my surroundings gradually reached me.

The sound of something breaking. Shouts and fervent prayers. And the voices desperately struggling to protect me.

'What the...'

My vision slowly returned.

"Ugh… Hurry and move Allen!!!"

"Sihyun!"

The man holding my sword was facing the knight with swordsmanship I'd never seen before.

Sihyun was definitely a mage, so how?

Even if he enhanced his strength with magic, swordsmanship should have been impossible.

Yet he displayed beautiful swordplay that sent a thrill through my chest.

"Sihyun..."

His appearance perfectly matched the knight I had always admired.

'He's so cool...'

Even in such a disadvantageous situation, the way he wielded the sword left me momentarily speechless.

And then, at last. A brilliant light bloomed from behind me as the hero appeared.

"You held out well. I'll take it from here."

"Serin!"

Serin, who had appeared in an instant, raised the Holy Sword that radiated light and swung it once, unleashing a beam of pure radiance.

"It's over..."

As the light faded, I felt the situation had come to an end.

Serin, emitting a beautiful glow toward us, looked exactly like the hero from legend.

'She's beautiful.'

The only word that came to mind to describe her appearance was beautiful.

"Are you back now?"

"You're late… Sorry, everyone."

"Next time, give us a heads-up in advance. We almost died."

"I'm really sorry..."

Seeing that the shattered statue wasn't moving at all, I stood up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with relief.

"Before that… Sihyun. If you had such amazing sword skills, why didn't you ever mention it?"

"Ah! That..."

"Exactly. If you can use it that well, you should have told us."

We pressed him about the beautiful sword dance he had been hiding.

"It… was just part of the academy curriculum. That power mage thing."

"...Let's head back for now. Our bodies are completely wrecked."

And so, our exploration of the temple came to an end.

[Returning to the original world.]

This is Neria from a happy future. I don't know when it'll be, but...