After that brutal display, even standing on the rock, a large drop of sweat rolled down Eídal's cheek. The difference was immense, like night and day. During his childhood, he had met talented people, but none of them could have bought even a moment against the heroine. Not even his tutor, Albert. Moreover, another factor complicated his already precarious situation...

'Nothing... I couldn't see... anything,' he cursed to himself. Throughout the entire battle spectacle, his mortal eyes couldn't catch a single movement. 'It wasn't supposed to be like this.'

When the smoke and dust settled, Astrid was already standing victorious. Meanwhile, the fallen lay strewn across the battlefield like mere ornaments. Eídal had to admit, with full honesty, that Astrid was a true monster. Elegant and powerful, that girl was worthy of legend.

"Hey! Thief, are you okay?"

Despite Pia's call, Eídal remained silent. Even using the thorcam[suppress emotions], no words came to his throat. Pia and Adriano seemed to share the same calm expression. Finally, Astrid approached the bag of gems on the ground and, a little annoyed, grabbed it. For his part, Eídal could only utter one word:

"Amazing."

A vague feeling between admiration and fear caused his heart to skip a beat. Astrid returned his gaze. Despite the distance, it seemed she had heard him. Perhaps she hadn't expected that gesture, least of all from the guy she had once called "annoying."

It was just a brief moment when, from afar, a reverberating voice was heard saying: ""Defense Break", "Critical Hit"." In the next instant...

"Watch ou—!"

By the time Eídal tried to speak, it was already too late. With a deafening crash, Astrid's body, along with rocks and dust, was sent flying through the air. Seeing it, Adriano tensed up, and Pia let out a small, stifled scream.

Astrid's body didn't stop; it kept rolling with intermittent jumps across the barren earth. Finally, she crashed into a large mound of stones, shrubs, and rocks, destroying them. The gems from the bag were scattered across the ground.

In the place where Astrid had been attacked, a large silhouette stood. It was another Sollozante. At the start of the ambush, there had been a total of three Sollozantes, though one had been sent flying before the battle began. It seemed that first Sollozante had already recovered. Just like the other two, whose bodies remained destroyed among the debris, this one also wielded a macuahuitl. But how had it managed to land a critical hit on Astrid?

'It seems they can also use abilities and traits unique to their class,' Eídal concluded. 'Although I'm not sure what class they belong to.'

He had been in captivity too long to be up to date with all the fighter types. To be honest, his knowledge wasn't much different from that of a ten-year-old.

'Maybe they're some kind of monk-type fighters or something.'

Though he doubted a monk would use anything other than fists and feet as weapons.

"This is bad..." Pia murmured.

Eídal nodded. The Sollozante moved its large worm-like head and said:

"Ex Luto. Ex Luto. No, she will not join us in the mire."

It was a slightly different prayer. Likewise, the tumors on its neck twisted its expression as if offended and, in unison, repeated:

"Sinner, sinner. Impure, sinner."

That's when Eídal realized something that sent chills down his spine. To confirm his suspicion, he asked Pia:

"Hey, you said the Sollozantes were immortal, right?"

"Well, not exactly immortal. But killing them is... complicated."

"I see... So, that means..."

As if in response to his words, the remains of the two Sollozantes—which were supposed to be dead—began to move. The pieces of skin, tumors, flesh, bones, fat, and organs took on a life of their own. Moving like caterpillars, they came together to reassemble the destroyed bodies. Even the head that had been sent flying. After a few minutes, the two Sollozantes, with small spasms, stood up like corpses. Somehow, their weapons also returned to their hands.

Somehow, their weapons returned to their hands as well.

"Yeah, this is definitely bad."

With Astrid out of the picture, the clear targets were Adriano, Pia, and Eídal.

"The important thing is to stop them from getting into the city," Pia whispered. "Well, they're three, and we're three. Haah. I just hope Astrid's okay."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Eídal was speechless. He pointed to himself with a finger, as if to ask, "Do I have to fight too?" It seemed Pia genuinely believed Eídal could face a Sollozante. However, Adriano stepped in:

"Wait, we shouldn't involve this boy. This is our job."

Eídal nodded, but Pia retorted:

"Hah! Why not? If he managed to steal from me, it means he's got some skill."

Eídal shook his head, and Adriano sighed:

"We don't have time to argue."

"I-I'm just a simple passerby, you know?" Eídal interjected. "My arms are thin, and my hands don't have any calluses, see? I-I'm the kind of guy who can't even tie his shoes properly!"

"What are you saying, coward?!" Pia shouted.

"Haah, whatever." Adriano stopped her. "Listen, here's what we'll do—"

"Too late, they're already here!" Pia interrupted.

By the time Adriano tried to explain the plan, the three Sollozantes were already upon them. It was curious, but none of them went after Astrid's body. Seeing this, Pia and Adriano leaped off the rock simultaneously and charged straight at the enemy.

Pia went for a direct attack on the Sollozante on the left. She drew two black daggers from her belt. They were medium-sized, no longer than her forearm. The hilts had several silver ornaments, and the blades were wavy, a gray color with raised engravings.

"Ex Luto. Ex Luto. You, chained by my sin, join me in the mire."

The prayer was repeated, but Pia ignored it. The Sollozante tried to stop her with a wide swing of its macuahuitl, but just in time, Pia slid across the ground to avoid the strike. The attack came so close to her face that it even cut off a few strands of her hair.

Pia quickly regained her footing behind the Sollozante. When the fallen turned, she kicked up a cloud of sand, creating a dust screen. With a large swipe, the Sollozante stirred the air, forcing the dust to settle. However, Pia had already disappeared. She had repositioned herself to the left side of the Sollozante. Raising both daggers above her head, she whispered:

""Open Wound"."

Then, she plunged the blades into the same spot on the Sollozante's knee; however, the daggers failed to pierce its thick skin. This demonstrated that the strength of a skill was limited by the warrior's level. Pia must have been aware of this. To be honest, Eídal didn't understand why she kept relying on such seemingly useless attacks.

The Sollozante seized the opening to strike her with a diagonal slash of its macuahuitl, but Pia quickly murmured:

""Great Barrier"."

She raised both daggers and blocked the strike cold. The ground beneath her cracked, and several rocks lifted. The Sollozante tilted its head, as if confused by how those small daggers could stop the attack without breaking. It tried to land a second blow with its free hand, but Pia deflected the pressure from the macuahuitl and leaped backward. The Sollozante's fist crashed into the ground.

Pia took advantage of the moment, using the Sollozante's buried arm to propel herself toward its head.

Compared to the Sollozante, Pia was quite small. Her chestnut hair waved with every movement. Watching the fight, Eídal thought that Pia, unlike Astrid, was agile. While she didn't possess overwhelming strength, she knew how to use the right skills to get herself out of trouble. She was clever.

◇◆◇

As soon as Pía began fighting the weeping creature on the left, Adriano positioned himself between the two remaining ones. He pulled a small roll of golden rope from his bag, grabbed the end, and wrapped it around the fingers of his right hand.

""Mana Chains"," he whispered.

Suddenly, the rope came to life. Adriano moved his fingers, and the golden filament, shimmering in the sunlight, swirled between the weeping creatures. It coiled around their arms and legs, immobilizing them. But Adriano didn't stop there; with another flick of his fingers, the delicate ropes tightened. The friction against their skin made the creatures cry out in pain:

"Hiii! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"

The wail was so deafening that even Eídal pressed his hands tightly over his ears. Seeing that his companion had brought down the creature she was fighting, Adriano called out:

"Miss Pía, could you hurry up? I could use a little help here."

"Ha! Can't you see I'm busy? I just need an hour... more or less. Damn it! You should have caught all three at once!"

"I tried, but you jumped in without thinking. I only followed to make sure you didn't get hurt."

"S-stop saying that!"

Setting Astrid aside, who was stronger? Pía, who had gravely wounded one of the weeping creatures? Or Adriano, who had immobilized two of them?

'Each one definitely has their own fighting style,' thought Eídal from the top of a rock.

While Pía was a close-combat fighter, Adriano seemed more like a support type. And Eídal… well, at least Eídal had his health.

'I wish I could be useful, but it's better not to get in the way.'

At Adriano's reprimand, Pía's face turned red. But suddenly, the ground cracked with a horrible "Crash!" from a powerful blow.

"Huh?" Eídal froze.

Adriano had literally been crushed. It happened so fast that if you had blinked, you would have missed it. A cloud of dust briefly shrouded the grotesque scene.

"Huh?" Pía paled. "Adriano? Adriano!!"

When Eídal looked toward where Adriano had been, his skin lost all color as well. Standing there, with a massive macuahuitl in hand, was a fourth weeping creature. Where had it been hiding? Why hadn't Astrid detected it? Figuring that out wouldn't change much now. What mattered was the undeniable reality: a new enemy had entered the fight.

"Ex Luto. Ex Luto. No, this one won't join us in the mud either."

Pía tried to rush over to Adriano, but just as she passed under the new weeping creature, it managed to grab her by the leg.

"Kya!"

With enormous strength, the creature threw her like an old rag. Eídal watched helplessly as Pía's small body was flung through the air, smashing rocks, raising dust, bouncing like a flat stone skipping across water. When she finally stopped, Pía only let out a faint groan of pain. The three weeping creatures that had recovered, along with the newcomer, began to approach Eídal.

None of them went toward Adriano or Pía's bodies.

"Huh?"

Eídal couldn't make sense of it. His arms and legs refused to move.

'Why?' The question echoed in his mind over and over again. 'Why...?'

The silhouettes of the four weeping creatures blotted out the midday sun. The newcomer leaned down until its worm-like head was level with Eídal's. They were like bullies towering over a kid in elementary school. In that moment, Eídal had to admit it: he was scared. A little more, and the emotions he had been holding back would overflow.

"W-why?"

There was no one else in sight. Only Eídal and four massive weeping creatures.