Defeating the Giga Mandragora wasn’t at all problematic.

Despite being a higher D-class monster, Matthias knew that all three of them were well above the norm. However, he also knew that they had a limit. If Manna had been there with them, then the most they could take on was a middle-C-class monster. They could likely take on even a high-tier monster of the same rank with sufficient preparation. Nail’s party, a high-ranked group with probably a couple of decades of experience under their belts, could stomp his party through the difference in experience alone.

But that was okay. Matthias and Manna were still young, and Soleil looked just as youthful as they were. Given time, he had no doubt they would reach the status of heroes in fame and skill.

“I still can’t move it.”

“Move what?”

“… My toes.”

Until then, they needed to continue working hard. And what better way to do so than to enjoy the process?

Matthias watched in silence as Soleil slowly recovered from her paralysis. They didn’t bring any ointment with them, and they had left the herbs they had picked earlier back at the mouth of the entrance… not that they had any idea if those worked or even how to prepare them. He might be a bookworm in that world, but salve preparation was specialized knowledge that mostly only apothecaries and pharmacists knew.

It was a shame they had to send that apothecary woman back to town.

Still, who would have thought they would encounter a Giga Mandragora in that dungeon? Judging by the zombies and skeletons that roamed the halls, the dungeon was obviously a tomb-type.

He recalled Manna’s words back in the guild. She had guessed that the dungeon might have been initially a ruin-type but had somehow changed to a tomb-type and expelled the previous inhabitants as its upheaval. She also mentioned that someone might have done it deliberately. As far as he knew, no such magic could convert a dungeon from one type to another. But it was also entirely possible that their massive library did not contain books like that, for surely those would be highly-guarded information.

At that moment, he had no idea what was going on.

“All right! I’m fully recovered.”

“Wow, that was quick.”

“Of course. This is me we’re talking about.”

They had been exploring the dungeon for over an hour. As it happened, the second entrance placed them right into a corridor where they could only travel in one direction. Soleil confirmed that someone must have fallen into the hole, judging by the short trail of supplies they left behind. Whoever it was, their bag must have had a hole torn into it when she fell. Thus far, they haven’t encountered a zombie with clothes on it, so they continued searching for her. They also encountered a few incapacitated undead as they walked. None had any visible wounds, so the only explanation was that they were killed using holy-attribute magic.

“Holy shit, are we actually looking for a high priestess?” Matthias thought. He quickly dismissed the idea. Even clerics could do that. Normal undead were highly vulnerable to the strange faith-based magic they used after all.

Unfortunately, the light emitted by Demon Culling wasn’t of a holy attribute. And though he could use it to destroy all of the undead in their way, he didn’t do so.

… Because he didn’t bring it with him that day.

What a fuck-up. Earlier that day, he surrendered the sword to the guild for safekeeping because he didn’t think it was safe to leave it at a cheap inn nor bring it with him for something as simple as a herb-picking quest. There was a slim chance that a skilled thief with a discerning eye would target it, so it was safer with the guild who valued their members’ equipment. He committed himself always to carry it afterward.

At least the dungeon wasn’t dark.

Soleil leaped forward, leaving a weak shockwave behind. She crashed violently against several skeletons and shattered them instantly. Though the skeletons had rusty swords, some of them did manage to point them towards her general direction when she leaped. But Matthias didn’t worry.

As he expected, Soleil walked away from the small dent on the wall she had created without a single scratch.

It turns out that she didn’t use magic to accelerate herself in the blink of an eye. Instead, she uses it to augment her physical ability to an absurd degree. That was why a simple kick off the ground could abruptly push her to incredible speeds. Matthias wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t flexed her strength by pounding her knuckles together at one time. He clearly saw the energy ripple through her muscles, like fluorescent dye running through her veins.

She arrogantly strode towards another skeletal monster, a head larger than the rest. It had a blade on its right hand, which it swung at Soleil horizontally. She didn’t dodge, nor did she attempt to parry the weapon. Instead, she sent her right fist straight towards the skeleton’s elbow, shattering the joint. Following the momentum of her punch, she repositioned her head such that the blade passed by harmlessly behind her neck. Finally, she smashed its head by abruptly changing the trajectory of her fist, clubbing the monster’s skull with the back of her hand.

Before that, Matthias already knew how strong Soleil was. When he challenged her to a duel back during their first day together, she had beaten him down quickly multiple times. Though he was limited by being barehanded, he knew that even if he had a sword on hand, he would only be able to force their duel to a draw.

Since he didn’t entertain the idea that Soleil might be an otherworlder like him, he became curious about what kind of training methods she employed or who her mentors were.

“A demon lord is naturally strong. But, everyone needs to train. That includes me.”

“Who trained you to fight?”

“My… parents.”

She stuttered at the mention of her family. Her slit eyes reflected various emotions, from love to sadness. Matthias suddenly had a bad feeling about it, like the topic was sensitive for her. They hadn’t known each other long enough for him to pry. But on the contrary, Soleil suddenly perked up and recovered.

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“Mom was a warrior. She taught me how to fight. However, after a while, we realized I had no talent with a weapon. I got beaten up for it. But after that, she trained me how to use my arms and legs to fight.” Her recollection was full of fondness. She was happy reminiscing about her past, which showed through her wide smile and sparkling eyes. “My dad was a mage. He tried to teach me how to cast spells, but I couldn’t understand a thing. I didn’t like the idea of fighting from a distance, either. So he gave up and just taught me how to use magic to strengthen myself. I still got beaten up by my mother again when she heard about it, though….”

Even though she claimed to be a demon lord, she didn’t seem to dislike discussing her weaknesses. In fact, she looked proud of herself for admitting them. Matthias nodded his head in approval. Honesty was an excellent virtue; it helped forge strong bonds of trust between people. It was essential for people like them who risked their lives daily. Knowing about each others’ weaknesses allowed the others to cover for them. He just hoped that she wasn’t telling him about it without thinking. Honesty wasn’t the same as carelessness.

“Since you’re so strong, why didn’t you try joining other parties? Other than that other one you did.”

That was another thing he was curious about. Similar to him and Manna, she had enough skill to skip a rank or two. There was no need for her to start at the very bottom. Even with her eccentric qualities, there was no doubt that her combat ability would be highly-valued. And he knew that she had formally registered as an adventurer for some time before he and Manna did.

Soleil, who had just finished crushing an undead’s four limbs, adjusted the protective cloth on her face and answered, “Because nobody would take me.”

“Maybe because I keep calling myself the “demon lord”? But I am. Or, maybe it’s because they think I’m a beastkin? No idea. Oh, I did overhear someone saying I was too reckless.”

The way she nonchalantly told the truth instead of doing so in a roundabout way impressed him.

With regards to calling herself the demon lord, the enemy of humankind, Matthias thought it was doubtful. It was such a ridiculous claim to make in the open that people would dismiss it as a strange delusion. As for being a beastkin, he doubted that reason too. As far as he saw, the adventurers’ considerations went far beyond that of someone’s skin or… eyes and ears. They valued ability more than which country they came from. Well, it was true that Soleil had a reckless fighting style. But to Matthias, that didn’t matter either. She could just be treated as an elite commando that could break through enemy lines and wreak havoc alone.

There must be something else.

For sure, Soleil wasn’t hiding it from them. He didn’t think she was that kind of person. The only other explanation was that she didn’t know the real reason.

Perhaps it was why she lost her tag the first time.

“Even though our partnership was formalized without our explicit consent, I am still grateful to you for accepting me into your party. Thank you.”

Soleil expressed her gratitude through words and a salute with her right hand over her chest while speaking formally, just like when they had first met.

But she did not bow. She maintained her dignified posture.

Matthias met her gaze. Her eyes showed real power, which glowed in an ethereal gold. It rooted him in place.

“You’re welcome,” he said absently. Soleil smiled and turned to continue walking.

Looking at her small back, Matthias suddenly felt like he was staring up a mountain instead; steadfast, overwhelming, and invincible.

----------------------------------------

They continued walking through the dark corridors of the dungeon, fighting the undead as they went. At some point during their search, the undead population became alarmingly dense. Mysteriously, more ruin-type monsters had also started to appear every now and then. Though it was a curious thing, Matthias decided to think about it later and focus on the rescue.

But Matthias was a hero… to-be. Mere undead did not pose a threat to him. On the other hand, Soleil had a different problem. And it wasn’t that she had any difficulties dispatching the undead that came to them.

She was drenched in the blood of the undead. Only a thick scarf, wrapped tightly around the lower half of her face, prevented the fluids from entering her mouth and nose. She had to wear a battered pair of goggles and earplugs for her eyes and ears.

On the other hand, Matthias wasn’t wearing any facial protection. He simply used wind magic to create a barrier around his face. It was enough to protect him from most of the gore, as unlike Soleil, who fought with her fists, Matthias used a sword and thus had a measure of distance between him and the shambling corpses. Because Soleil couldn’t use magic to do the same thing, she had to rely on physical barriers.

At first, they didn’t have to resort to such measures. That was because when they had first entered the dungeon, the density of zombies wasn’t that alarming. All they had to do was be careful and not allow their attacks to splash fluids or entrails onto any of their orifices. But once they faced such numbers, they had no other choice.

Zombies were troublesome monsters. Though the low-ranking ones might be weak individually, they could turn living creatures into zombies by biting or scratching them. But it wasn’t the action itself that initiated the zombification. Instead, it was the fact that a piece of the zombie would be left on the inside of one’s body.

A priest’s blessing could prevent it from happening, and their holy spells could cure it. Holy water could purify one’s body and stop the zombification process. However, despite having brought more than enough holy water for himself with several to spare, Matthias had already almost run out of it.

That was because of Soleil.

“Are you really okay?”

“No problem.”

During a lull in their battles, Matthias decided that they should rest for a bit. Soleil took the opportunity to drink a vial of holy water.

Her face, free of the facial protection gear she wore earlier, remained immaculate, despite the number of undead she had dispatched. Her smooth, tanned skin was in perfect condition, with not a single scratch on it. Still, she kept consuming their stash of holy water every quarter-hour or so.

It was a peculiar behavior. As far as he knew, holy water did not have any addictive properties to it. It tasted like water, and it only affected people with specific ailments. He had never heard of anyone becoming addicted to it either.

After they felt well enough to continue, they resumed their search. Soon after that, they found the first sign of human life they’d heard since shortly after entering that cursed place.

A piercing scream echoed throughout the corridors. Together with the eerie appearance of the place, with its crumbling walls, broken pillars, and dark corners born from the sporadic, dim lighting, it turned the experience into something not dissimilar to a haunted cave.

Matthias felt a chill rise from his feet, while a sense of déjà vu assaulted him. He quickly turned his head towards Soleil—only to see that she was already gone.

Without thinking, he dashed towards the source of the sound. Fortunately, the corridor hadn’t forked even once. While that prevented them from getting lost, it made for a weird dungeon formation. Was the dungeon just one long hall?

It didn’t take him long to arrive where he needed to be. The hall abruptly expanded into a large, dome-shaped structure. The packed soil had cracks where ghostly purple light escaped, illuminating the area in a way that he thought would have been better if there had been no light at all.

Soleil stood on the other side of the dome, roughly a hundred meters away. She was carrying an unconscious girl dressed in a deep red, flowing robe. Just like her friend’s description, the girl’s hair was black and long, and the ornaments on her body did indeed make her look like a priest.

He had no idea how she made it that far with so many undead along the way. But it looked like that was as far as she could go. Because whatever she did to repel the low-level undead horde, it couldn’t work on the enemy that guarded that area.

An undead drake.