It seems that the enemy has realized the strength of the Heavenly Sword.
Up until now, it wore a relaxed expression, but its face grew somewhat tense.
Together with the young girl, I stepped forward.
In response, the four-armed creature took a fully defensive stance, unlike before—as if it had been holding back up until now.
The tension in the air grew immense. All its muscles were now taut.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
The girl’s sword led the charge.
Six swords danced through the air, lunging toward the four-armed creature.
Although she had the upper hand in number of attacks, the creature skillfully deflected her strikes, showing incredible skill despite being our foe.
But how would it fare if I joined in as well?
Gripping the Heavenly Sword, I swung left and then aimed a strike at its stomach.
One of its arms wielding an axe and the other a mace intercepted my sword.
Perhaps because one arm alone couldn’t match my strength, it used two arms to block me properly.
However, that left it needing to fend off the girl’s fierce assault with its remaining two arms.
The arms holding a sword and spear desperately parried her strikes, but her blade began to break through its once impenetrable defense.
In no time, wounds started appearing all over its body. Though shallow cuts quickly regenerated, if we inflicted damage faster than it could heal, it wouldn’t stand a chance.
I pressed forward with my sword, inching closer to its stomach.
“Even with four arms, it seems you still lack enough.”
“Curse you! Curse you!”
The creature turned its face toward me, and a glow lit up in its eyes.
Is it planning to incinerate me?
“There!”
The girl’s sword moved directly in front of its eyes, deflecting the light.
“You saved me!”
“Think nothing of it!”
The creature leapt backward, but I chased after it.
In desperation, it swung its sword down on me.
Dodging, I raised the Heavenly Sword and severed one of its sword-wielding arms.
“Arrrgghhh!?”
A howl echoed; it seems it can’t immediately regenerate a limb.
Now it has only three arms left. Then the girl’s sword pierced one of those remaining arms.
“Finish it!”
Hearing her call, I swiftly closed in on the creature.
Due to its large size, targeting both the head and the heart at the same time was impossible.
First, I stabbed at the area where its heart was, twisting the blade.
This would be most effective at destroying its organs, making regeneration slower.
Blood spurted from its mouth, proving the attack worked.
I pulled out my sword, preparing to sever its head from its body.
The girl summoned new swords, placing two beneath my feet for support.
A perfect assist.
When I reached the same height, our eyes met. The creature’s face was twisted with rage.
I swung my blade horizontally toward its neck.
When it made contact, I felt even greater resistance than with its arms.
“I shall never lose to a mere human!”
The creature opened its mouth wide.
Blue flames compressed within.
If I get hit by that flame, I won’t survive.
I tightened my grip even further.
It’s tough. Too tough.
The girl’s sword added support to mine, and slowly my blade sank into its neck.
This is our only chance.
Gritting my teeth, I continued pressing with all my might.
At the very instant blue flames were about to spew from its mouth, the creature’s head flew off.
The blue flames shot upward, piercing the chandelier on the ceiling and dispersing into the sky beyond the roof.
All strength left my grip on the sword.
As its body collapsed, I sank to the ground as well.
How long had it been since I fought such a close battle?
The fight with Mastema was challenging by choice, but this had been truly perilous.
Confirming that the remaining torso wasn’t moving, I dropped the Heavenly Sword to the ground.
“That hurt…”
“Stop complaining. Took you long enough to show up.”
But without any magic left, I could only use it sparingly.
The timing had been perfect, though.
The girl retracted her swords and approached me.
“You saved me. Alone, I might have been killed back there.”
“Don’t worry. It was my target, too.”
I had a sense that the trial had concluded. Gradually, my body was fading from this world.
“Just who are you?”
“I told you. An adventurer.”
“I see… I never gave my name, did I? I am—”
Her words cut off mid-sentence.
A spear jutted from her abdomen.
“Guh—still alive?!”
“No…we definitely finished it.”
To our shock, the body of the four-armed creature, whose heart we had destroyed and whose head had been severed, moved again.
Blue flames engulfed its torso, burning it down to bare bones.
The skeleton of the creature began reattaching its severed head and limbs.
“An undead transformation?! Did it turn its own servant into an undead?! How depraved can it get?!”
The girl coughed up blood as she shouted.
I had almost no strength left but tried to assist her.
However, the trial was over.
Light began enveloping both me and the Heavenly Sword.
“Thank you, adventurer. I’ll take it from here and seal it away.”
“Apologies that I can’t stay until the end.”
It seemed I was being forcibly removed.
I could see the girl raising her arm toward the sky.
She must be preparing to use a massive power.
Doing so with a wound in her abdomen wouldn’t end well.
The girl unleashed her power, sealing the skeletal creature into a nearby mausoleum.
Just as I bore witness to that, I was transported.
The image of her collapsing entered my fading vision.
What a cursed trial. Couldn’t even end it on a good note.
