Chapter 79

The woman I met in a mysterious place introduced herself as Astira.

"Astira...? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before..."

...Am I mistaken?

But I'm sure I've heard it before.

I can't immediately remember where, but I feel like I've heard it recently.

"Wh-What? Do you know me?

...Oh, could it be that I've become famous outside...?

Hehe, could it be that I'm spoken of as a legendary beautiful adventurer who saved her comrades in a crisis, or something...?"

"No, I don't think it's anything like that."

"...R-Really? I was kind of hoping..."

Astira looked a bit disappointed, but I thought it was different. I'm sure I heard that name from Lean.

Who was it about?

As I tried hard to remember, suddenly the scenery around me distorted strangely, and voices echoed around us.

"──Ah, there you are.

I didn't expect a rat to come this far. How did you get through that multi-layered barrier──?"

A woman's voice echoed from somewhere, and then a part of the air distorted as if it were being torn, creating a vortex of light large enough for a person to pass through. As we stared at the vortex, a woman appeared from it.

She was wearing a white robe adorned with glittering gems, similar to the giant skeleton next to us. Though the size was different, it seemed to be a matching outfit.

"Who is she──?"

Astira looked surprised at the sight of her.

I was also a bit surprised when I saw her face.

The one who came in looked very similar to Astira.

No... They looked more than similar. If it weren't for the different clothes, they would look exactly the same, almost like the same person. It was hard to tell them apart... but upon closer inspection, I felt a sense of unease.

The woman on the other side seemed to have a cold aura.

She looked similar, but a bit different.

"Who is she? She looks just like Astira... Is she a relative?"

"...No, she's not. Who is she really?"

Astira beside me also seemed confused.

I thought they might be relatives or sisters because they looked so similar, but it seemed they weren't.

"I am Astira, the Pope of the Church of Mysra."

As we looked at her face in confusion, the woman who looked like Astira introduced herself as 'Astira'.

"...Astira?"

I was even more confused.

Both of them were Astira, and the one on the other side was the Pope...?

What does that mean...?

Pope──?

Ah, right. The Pope.

I finally remembered.

The 'Astira' I heard from Lean was the name of the Pope of this country, the Church of Mysra. But when I saw the Astira who called herself the Pope, I had doubts again.

The Pope was said to be an old woman over 200 years old. But the one in front of me looked much younger than I imagined. She didn't seem like the person I imagined from Lean's story.

Moreover, I heard that the Pope was a respected figure by all the people... but I still felt a sense of unease.

Her aura was much colder compared to the Astira beside me.

Maybe there are people who like that kind of person... but I couldn't really imagine this person being beloved by everyone.

"Who are you...? Why are you using my name? And that face...?"

The Astira beside me asked the cold Astira.

The cold and slightly mean-spirited Astira laughed.

"Oh, oh, for a fake like you to speak like that. I kept you around thinking you might be useful, but what's with that attitude?"

"...I'm a fake...? What are you talking about...? ...No way."

Suddenly, the Astira beside me turned around and looked up at the giant skeleton behind her.

She then became serious and looked back at the mean-spirited Astira.

"Could it be that you are the one from──?"

"Be quiet."

Suddenly, a fierce bolt of lightning struck at the feet of the Astira beside me. Though it didn't hit her directly, the shock of the lightning striking the ground made her stumble and sit on the ground.

"That's something you don't need to know. Stay quiet. I only have business with that man."

Saying that, the mean-spirited Astira looked straight at me.

"Sir, could you please hand over what you're holding?

I don't know what it is, but it seems to be a dangerous item."

"This sword? Why?"

"You don't seem to understand. This isn't a request──if you don't understand, I'll show you."

──Another lightning strike.

"Parry!"

I instinctively swung my sword to deflect the lightning.

Struck by the black sword, the lightning changed its course and fell to the ground.

"...That's strange. I aimed to kill just now."

"...Why are you doing this? It's dangerous, you know?"

"If that doesn't work... I'll have to put some strain on my body, but there's no choice..."

The mean-spirited Astira didn't answer my question.

Instead, she slowly extended her hand towards me, and something momentarily glowed in her palm.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out what it was──

"【Black Lightning】"

Instantly, a black bolt of lightning was released from her hand.

A massive bolt of lightning, covering the entire field of vision, struck without a moment's notice.

Seeing the lightning, I had an instinctive feeling.

──This is bad. If we get hit by this, we'll definitely die.

"Parry!"

Feeling the danger, I moved my arm faster than the lightning.

The black sword caught the massive black bolt of lightning, and I tried to forcefully push it away.

──But it's heavy.

I felt a strong resistance in my hands gripping the sword.

Despite the pain in my arms, I swung the sword, and the lightning changed its course and fell behind us.

The ground and air shook simultaneously, and the sound of the explosion followed.

──That was close.

I looked at the massive hole behind us, feeling a chill down my spine.

...It's an incredible amount of power.

If we had been hit by that, we would have been completely obliterated.

Astira also sat on the ground behind me, looking dazed.

"...Was that... lightning...?"

"Yeah, it seems so."

"...I didn't know lightning could be deflected by a sword... I've never seen that before."

"Yeah, I never thought I could do it either, and I didn't think it was possible... but it turns out it can be done."

"...S-Sure...?"

But with a normal sword, you would probably get electrocuted and paralyzed.

I owe my safety to this sword.

I can't help but feel grateful for this black sword.

"But deflecting lightning with a sword... I've heard it's difficult to even see it with the naked eye?"

"I thought so too, but... well, I have a friend whose spear is faster. Maybe lightning isn't as fast as I thought."

"A friend whose spear is faster...? Is there really such a person...?"

"Yeah, Gilbert is amazing. I can't even compare to him."

"...I see, so a lot has happened in the Kingdom of Creuse while I was away...?"

As we talked and felt a bit relieved after overcoming the crisis, the Astira on the other side was looking at her palm and muttering something.

"...That didn't have much power... Maybe this body has reached its limit."

Feeling a more dangerous presence, I readied my sword against the mean-spirited Astira.

"Are you still going to fight...?"

"Yes. I didn't want to be too rough here... but this is a good opportunity. It's good to move my body once in a while. My new body has finally reached adulthood, so let's consider it a celebration.

I thought it was a bit early to discard this body, but since it's deteriorated so much, there's no choice."

"...Discard?"

"Yes──This body has been very useful for over two hundred years.

It's not as good as my original body, but being a half-elf was quite nice. Moreover, I didn't expect to be able to have children with this clone body... I wish I had realized it sooner.

If I had, I wouldn't have needed to keep you here for so long as a backup."

"What are you talking about?"

I still didn't understand what the Astira in front of me was saying.

The Astira beside me also seemed confused about what she was saying.

"...But rest assured. You're no longer needed. Your role ends here."

"What are you saying──?"

"I have a new body, and the next one is ready. So, you and this one are no longer needed."

As she said that, the atmosphere around the white-robed Astira changed.

It looked as if something black and misty was emanating from her body.

──From now on, I'll take care of you personally.

Suddenly, the mean-spirited Astira, who had a creepy smile, lost her strength and fell to the ground.

"What's happening? ...What's going on?"

At the same time, I felt a strange sensation in the air around me.

I couldn't tell what had changed.

But I felt something moving somewhere.

Something very large was moving.

But here, there were only the three of us and that creepy skeleton──

──No way.

I turned around and saw the giant skeleton behind us moving, facing us with its palm.

"...That skeleton can move...!?"

As the skeleton moved, I looked up in surprise with Astira. I could see the palm of the skeleton glowing like a starry sky.

Then, the many small glows gathered in the center of the palm, gradually forming a grain of sand──

The beautiful grain of sand in the skeleton's hand suddenly danced and glowed intensely.

──At that moment.

A pitch-black bolt of lightning was released from the skeleton's hand.

It was a bolt of lightning much larger than the one before, an extreme and unprecedented threat.

It was like a natural disaster, something I had never even imagined.

"Parry!"

I swung my black sword frantically.

When the sword touched the lightning, intense black sparks scattered, and I felt a strong, abnormal resistance in my hands.

──It's incredibly heavy. Too heavy.

It was incomparably heavier than before.

I felt an unusual weight, as if the already heavy black sword had become several times heavier.

I felt an abnormal pressure and impact through the handle of the sword, and my arms and fingers screamed as if they were being torn apart.

It felt like I was striking a massive mountain with just one sword.

Not just my arms.

My entire body was screaming──but I couldn't focus on that now.

If this massive bolt of lightning hits us, we'll definitely die.

I felt an incredible strain on my body as I forcefully swung the sword to push the massive bolt of lightning as far away as possible──and when the massive black bolt of lightning fell far away, the entire field of vision was covered in a pitch-black flash.

──The delayed sound of the thunder was like a tearing of the ears.

At the same time, a powerful blast wave occurred, and the ground shook violently, shaking my entire body.

A large hole seemed to have opened up quite far away, but I had no desire to check.

A fierce wind was blowing, making it hard to even open my eyes.

──Just one hit, and this.

I got goosebumps.

It seemed we had narrowly avoided instant death, but I didn't feel safe at all.

I desperately stuck my sword into the ground to prevent myself from being blown away, and when I noticed, the wind around me had weakened and become easier to handle.

"...Are you okay? That was intense, wasn't it?"

The violent wind that had been hitting us suddenly stopped.

It seemed that Astira was protecting us with some kind of power.

"Yeah, we survived. That was really intense... I think we could handle one more, but if they keep coming like that, it would be tough."

"...You're pretty impressive...?"

I relaxed for a moment, but we quickly stopped talking.

The giant skeleton in front of us was slowly standing up from its chair.

Just standing up, it had a completely different presence.

It was so tall that we had to look up.

Astira and I involuntarily gasped.

"What is that thing...?"

I said it out loud as I saw the skeleton move.

And at that moment, something came to mind.

──A monster made entirely of bones.

I knew about this monster.

I haven't met it yet, but I wanted to.

But I couldn't find it even when I went looking for it.

It was supposed to be my arch-nemesis as an adventurer.

Thinking about it, the one in front of me looks very similar to that monster.

It's bigger than I expected, but I guess monsters are usually that big.

The 'Goblins' I've met before were also unbelievably large.

And a monster called 'Goblin Emperor' is several times larger.

──That's right, it's probably not wrong.

The guild guy said it would be a good opponent for me now, and the image matches except for the size.

So, this is──a 'Skeleton'.

I didn't expect to meet it here.

"Is that... the monster, probably a 'Skeleton'? ...Right? Astira."

I asked in a low voice.

She was an adventurer and had a lot of experience, so she should know.

"...Huh...? ...That's a Skeleton!? ...Haha! Haha!"

But she suddenly burst out laughing.

She was even holding her stomach.

I was asking quite seriously, but...

"No, no... sorry, I couldn't help it. It was just so unexpected in this situation..."

She then calmed down a bit.

"...Maybe I'm wrong?"

"No... you're right, Noll.

That's a Skeleton.

...Well, since it uses magic, it might be a 'Skeleton Wizard'.

But it's nothing to be afraid of... it's just a common enemy! Just a common enemy!"

I had a bit of a doubt after saying it myself.

She called it a common enemy, but I remember her saying something like, "I tried to defeat it, but I couldn't do anything"... and she seemed a bit over the top. Is it just my imagination?

"So... let's take care of it together. I can't do it alone, but with you, I think we can... handle it."

Astira said this, then became serious again and quietly readied her staff.

"Alright."

I also gripped my black sword and pointed it at the skeleton in front of me.

I was a bit concerned about her reaction, but I couldn't focus on that now.

──A massive bolt of black lightning struck us again.

It was even larger and more intense than before.

The opponent didn't seem to have used their full power even in the previous attack. This fact made me feel a bit scared.

But──

"Parry!"

I used all my strength to strike the lightning with the flat of my sword, trying to send it even further away.

The blast wave from where the lightning fell almost blew us away, but this time Astira protected us.

"...Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm getting used to it. I think I can handle that level now."

"...You... are really amazing...?"

As we watched, the skeleton began to wrap itself in a 'blue light'.

It was the same light I had destroyed to get here. The opponent was probably preparing to attack again.

I think we can withstand the same kind of attack.

But we can't just keep defending.

...The 'black sword' I have isn't good for cutting.

But the bones seem to crack when hit.

If so, I might be able to break it by force.

I'm not sure if I can do it, but I have to try.

I don't have the confidence to defeat it alone.

But if we work together, as she said, we might be able to.

──We should be able to defeat a monster made of bones like that.

With that thought, I readied my sword again.

"Let's go, Astira... we're going to take down the skeleton. Help me if it gets dangerous."

"Sure, I'm counting on you, Noll."