"Lady Refrea, please run!"

"You should be the ones running! I'll hold this one off—just go!"

"But..."

The clash of blades echoed sharply.

A massive, oversized sword swung at blinding speed.

And effortlessly parried by a slender, ink-black scythe.

(Of all people... it had to be him...)

Around them, scattered fragments of demon spirit stones littered the ground.

Likely the aftermath of having fought and defeated several demons, only to immediately encounter this one.

This was the third time I'd seen him, but the first time witnessing him in battle.

The strongest demon of the second layer: "Mantys".

A monster whose appearance can only be described as a mantis, with massive, sharp sickle-like blades at the ends of its arms. Its muscular human-like upper body is supported by four insect-like legs, and standing over two meters tall, it looks undeniably dangerous. It stands apart from other monsters that appear in two layers, exuding a distinct presence.

Moreover, this one has remarkably sharp senses—despite hiding within the Darkness Fog, it can sense me and pursue me relentlessly. I suspect it's reacting to my breathing or footsteps.

That’s why, whenever I encounter it, I make sure to retreat all the way back to the first layer. It seems unable to cross between layers, so it never climbs the stairs to follow me.

"Even Lady Refrea can't handle a mantis monster...!"

"Then are we just giving up?! No, that's not it—hurry, hurry—!"

Run away—shouted the woman amidst the fierce battle.

A group consisting of a retainer and a princess-like figure.

The three women who appeared to be retainers were already near death, holding weapons despite being covered in wounds, barely able to fight against the mantis. One of them could barely stand upright.

Only the woman fighting the mantis man was wielding her long sword with skill, holding her own or even surpassing her opponent.

The retainers were hesitating, but in any case, unless that woman with the large sword fought, there was no way forward. It was unlikely that the mantis man would be so foolish as to let their target escape.

The sound of metal scraping against metal rang out—spinning with centrifugal force, the large sword struck the mantis's claw, chipping it away.

Twirling like a top, she spun her body with fluid grace, delivering a continuous barrage of deadly strikes.

I hid in the darkness, silently watching the battle.

(—Beautiful.)

It might have seemed like an out-of-place thought.

Yet I felt it honestly.

It was a beautiful way to fight.

Her light, nimble movements made her slightly wavy platinum blonde hair spread out like wings, and even the scattered sweat sparkled.

In the dim light, her pale skin seemed to float, leaving afterimages with every attack.

Life and death intertwined, each clash of blades igniting like flames, radiating intense heat.

I was completely mesmerized.

(—Is there really someone so beautiful?)

For the first time since arriving in this other world, I was moved.

In the gray realm dominated by darkness and death, only her colors stood out, blazing with radiant brilliance.

"Ghh...! You all...! Then go get help! You understand, right?!"

With desperate resolve, she launched her sword strike.

Yet her attack seemed ineffective against the mantis.

The mantis laughed it off, effortlessly dodging her blows.

(Slowly, but surely... she's being pushed back.)

Eventually, this clash will break down.

When she loses.

From outside the battle, I had come to realize this.

She, too, must have understood it, as one involved in the fight.

The command to call for help was surely just a ruse to get the hesitant servants out of the way.

"I-I understand! I'll definitely go and call for help...!"

"Please, I'm counting on you...!"

The servants dashed off, each eager to be first.

Probably they really just wanted to flee as quickly as possible, but were restrained by duty and rank.

The path to the stairs, fortunately, had no sign of monsters—just as I'd passed through earlier. I should make it safely down to the first floor.

The woman named Refreia watched the servants' retreating figures with a soft smile.

"Now then, while they're escaping... shall we dance, my dear...?"

She pressed her sword deeper, driving it forward with a fierce resolve.

Sadness.

Fiercely.

The dance of death ( rondo ) continues.

I held my breath, staring at her form.

More precisely, I couldn't look away from her—so completely forgotten was even the act of breathing.

It wasn't until the final clash of dozens, hundreds of blades, when her sword finally slipped from her hand and the mantis's deadly blade lunged toward her that I finally acted—almost unconsciously.

My gaze—

my laughter—

nothing reached my ears.

I dispelled the Darkness Fog and took a step forward.

In that fleeting instant, whether the mantis noticed me appearing suddenly from the shadows or not—

I unleashed my spirit magic.

"Shadow Bind."

Dozens of shadowy tendrils born from Mantis's own shadow were supposed to bind the凶刃 descending upon Reflare.

"Summon Knightbug"

Holding out my palm, I immediately cast the next spell.

Pitch-black beetles summoned from the depths of darkness swarmed around, carving at Mantis's immobilized body.

Seeing Mantis's full attention now clearly fixed on me, I instantly activated my next technique.

"Shadow Runner"

A shadow-formed silhouette dashed off in an unexpected direction, briefly diverting Mantis's focus from me.

At that same moment, I tightened my grip with my legs.

"Shade Shift!"

With my shadow clone, I drew my short sword from my waist and charged forward.

"Darkness—Fog!"

The mantis, distracted by the shadow runner and blinded by pitch-black darkness that obscured even a few inches ahead, was now an easy target.

Once this situation had been secured, the rest was simple.

After all the fierce swordplay just moments ago. The monster must have been exhausted.

With no awareness of my presence, I delivered a single blow to its spine from behind—

the mantis let out no final cry, instantly transforming into a spirit stone.