230 - - a dead man's welcome

As I took a step forward, I heard a small crushing sound under my foot.

Lifting up my leather shoe, I see a white piece of debris mixed with thick dust.

It is bone.

Hundreds of years have passed since this place was built.

Countless people have been imprisoned and decayed here.

The traces of them were scattered all over the floor.

The remains of the dead are not the only ones.

At the end of a passageway leading into the darkness.

From there, a small sound, as if something was being rubbed together.

The sound was subdued at first, but it gradually moved closer to us.

Soon a white figure appears in the pale light of the phantom lamp.

The grating sound was also a human bone.

This one, however, was a full-bodied man.

Emerging from the back of the passageway were skeletons, their bony bodies swaying.

The first two skeletons had been replaced from the elbows down with flat, straight bones.

They reached to the ground like two swords.

The unusual parts of the back two are the legs.

Their knees are bent inverted like those of animals.

The four skeletons seem to have noticed the intruder and stop moving slightly.

The next moment, they attacked silently.

According to what I've heard, they are the dead bodies of the guards.

Their loyalty to their duties even in death is commendable, but the fact that it results in their defending the "abandoned underground prison," a fixed dungeon that leads to the miasma-producing pit, is not.

Thor, having set down the baggage on his back, quietly draws his sword.

The silver blade shines brightly, as if dispelling the darkness.

The skeletons, their hands now swords, slash at Thor as he closes the distance.　

They parry the initial blows with a slight hesitation, and swing their swords at an angle as they step forward.

The targeted monster immediately lifts up its other arm to intercept the attacker.

The other skeleton also aims at Thor's torso, striking him in the side.

The movement is not delayed and the aim is precise, probably because the sword and the arm are integrated into the same body.

Furthermore, the double-sword stance of the skeleton leaves almost no gap between the two swords.

However, he is still slow.

Thor, who had already seen through the skeleton's sword, increased his speed by about two steps.

The silver blade flicks the oncoming sword, and at the same time, it is instantly brought back and runs from the bottom to the top.

Thor's sword cut through the exposed ribs without mercy, and the returning blade sliced the skull in half.

He swings his blade at the other one in a flowing motion.

The skeleton's right arm, on the other hand, has somehow disappeared from the elbow down.

Before the skeleton could realize that it had struck out, Thor's white blade flashed as he closed the distance.

The skeleton, with its cervical vertebrae slashed and its sternum shattered, crumples to the ground with a creaking sound.

"Sora, he's gone!"

"Let me go!"

The attack and defense lasted only a moment, but the two bodies behind them would not stand idly by.

The skeletons, their legs flailing, kicked the floor forcefully and were on the move.

The walls were on either side of them.

Two small figures run through the vertical wall at a tremendous speed, as if they were running on the ground.

Bypassing the vanguard, the monsters set their sights on the girl in the back.

The girl, however, is a magician who can manipulate space at will.

Suddenly, without warning, a bone sword appears in front of one of them.

The monster plunges forward at high speed without time to avoid it.

With a loud clang, the head pierced by the sword shatters into pieces.

The skeleton stalls and slams its body on the floor, adding new bone fragments.

Sola the sword of the skeleton that slashed at Thor and it in front of the other skeleton, then lifts her staff to the remaining skeleton.

No matter how fast they are, they can easily be stopped by a part of their bodies.

Or, if the entire movement is ...

"I'll take care of Moe too!"

Suddenly, a young girl with short blonde hair and purple eyes jumped in front of us.

She roared cutely and thrust her arms out in front of her, gathering magic power.

At that moment, the ring that was floating above the child's head spun rapidly and shone brightly.

"Stop!

At the same time as the call is made, an electrified space is created in the passageway.

Anything that enters the space is drawn to the walls and the ground, and its movement is halted.

The skeletons that had come running with great force were stuck to the walls like insects.

At first glance, this lightning-type magic technique has an effect similar to and , but the difference is that it does not stop completely but only slows down the movement by applying a load.

Therefore, it is possible to keep moving, albeit very slowly.

However, since it works over a wide area, it has the advantage of being able to capture the target at once.

However, in such a case, there is a problem that the allies are also involved.

Thor, whose feet were stuck to the floor and his movements were blocked, forcibly lifted his hand and scratched under his chin as if he were troubled.

At his feet, the lower half of the skeleton, which should have been dismembered, rises and slowly begins to move.

At the same time, the monster, which had supposedly lost its skull, stood up with a swaying motion as the shattered pieces came together.

A child, who has rolled his eyes at the sight, calls out to Thor for help with a panicked look on his face.

Tor-chan, help me!

"I'm a little stuck right now. First of all, you have to do something about this electric current.

But if I move it, won't that endanger Mu?

"Well, I don't know."

While the conversation is carefree, the body of the bone is steadily regenerating.

However, due to the load that holds the body in place, the progress is still slow.

Behind Mu, who is in a desperate and impatient state, Yuril and Sora meet each other's eyes and the corners of their lips lift.

As they lifted their sticks in unison, someone's voice echoed from behind them.

"Now, at this time, my sword is hot!

"Red fruits of the flame tree--"

A blazing fireball suddenly erupted and went over Mu's head, hitting the skeleton that was stuck to the wall.

And then another.

A figure leaps into view, wielding a red-hot blade.

The flames that shot out from the sword's point caught the other and cremated him.

The child claps his hands happily as the skeletons burn away like straw.

"Thank you for saving me. Thank you, Tiptoe and Lil' One!"

You're welcome. You're welcome, my brave boy.

"You have to watch your surroundings and use your magic, Moo-chan."

The two who dashingly appeared and slaughtered the monsters were Stratchia and Ninessa, the proud aces of the "Platinum Flame".

Thor, who was unable to move, looked at the two Red Tails and Moo, who were holding hands in a friendly manner, and uttered a troubled voice.

"Hey, To-chan, you haven't been saved yet!"