“I’m also looking forward to you wielding real swords.” We were in different squads, so I hadn’t seen her fight since our mock battle.
“Sir Albert! Please watch my swordplay too!” Myra joined our conversation.
“Sure, I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve got as well.” In Myra’s case, we had drawn swords the moment we’d met, but I wasn’t going to bring it up again. That said, given her bangs were still slanted, she probably didn’t mind too much. She was still young and had grown a lot in this short time. I really wanted to see her skills in action.
“Serrulata, our goal is the salvation of the undead.”
“I know, Princess. But you know how I am.” Despite having a sword at her hip herself, Euryops reined in her battle-crazy partner. The two seemed quite close.
“Myra, don’t you get carried away either. We aren’t here so you can show off to Albert.”
“My apologies, Lady Orlaya.” Orlaya’s voice sounded cold, but I knew the kindness she had deep down. Myra was usually a loyal, composed knight—she would only get emotional when it came to her master, Robert, and me. Together, the two of them were generally a very coolheaded duo.
I looked over at my own partner—a beautiful girl with silver hair and blue eyes.
“Albert? Is something wrong?”
“Stay close to me this time, Princess.”
“Of course. I remember the strategy.” Given the giant’s offensive prowess and range, it was best to stick together.
“Ha ha ha, you’re a little dense, aren’t you, Astrantia?” Serrulata laughed. “Albert’s worried about you.”
When told that, the princess’s face flushed red with embarrassment. “Oh, sorry. I—”
“Enough chatter. We’re going in.” Everyone immediately straightened up at Orlaya’s words.
The moment we passed through the gate, we were welcomed by a piece of rubble headed straight for us. A massive lump of stone that had presumably once been part of a building flew at us. Had we been targeted? No, that couldn’t be it. The outside couldn’t be seen from within the barrier. That meant its intended targets were the members of the Twelve Saints who had entered earlier.
“Heavenly Sword—Vulpine Razor!” Someone leaped at the oncoming lump of debris—it was Lycoris, Drizzle’s holy knight. Her sword split into six parts and surged toward the hunk of stone. The orange, ribbonlike blades sliced through it in an instant. “Sorry! Good luck with the rest!” The debris, now transformed into a fine meteor shower, rained down on us with slightly diminished force.
“Princess, Physical Enhancement.”
“Right!”
“Myra, clear the way.”
“Of course!”
“Serrulata, we’re moving too.”
“Roger!”
The other two holy knights, myself, and Euryops all drew our swords and faced the oncoming debris. The pale light of Physical Enhancement shimmered around me. There were about six pieces that were on a collision course right for us. Although they had a little less force behind them now, getting hit would still result in a crushed head, and even a graze would probably tear off the impacted body part.
However, I wouldn’t let that happen. With several flashes of my bone sword, I effortlessly sliced the rubble like cake. It either fell to the ground or flew past us without losing any momentum. The other three followed suit. Once the immediate threat was dealt with, we turned our attention to the source of the debris—a giant.
Like mermaids and fairies, giants were sometimes counted among the ranks of fantasy creatures. In fact, I had never heard any stories about giants existing in the modern day. But at the very least, they seemed to have still been around three centuries ago.
Its legs dwarfed even two-story buildings. The skeletal giant had an imposing presence, like a mountain that had sprouted two legs. Its left arm, however, was missing. Its remaining right arm was covered in metal bits and tattered cloth—likely remnants of what had once been armor. Each step it took shook the ground, its fist created gusts of wind, and its roar was so loud it rocked our very souls.
First a dragon, now a giant, huh? As much as it felt like something out of a story book, the tale of a dead holy knight killing a dead giant was now undeniably reality.
Thorny vines wrapped around the giant’s legs, six ribbonlike blades drew its attention, and scorching heat engulfed its upper body. The Twelve Saints were already fighting it.
“We should move, Princess.”
“Right!”
As far as I was concerned, the One-Armed Giant’s greatest weapon was its range. I knew how far a human was capable of reaching but not a giant. Even if we tried to have our holy women support us from a distance, if they ended up still being within the giant’s range, it might not be possible to protect them.
While all the others had experience, the princess was still just a first-year—I’d be lying if I said I was confident she could defend herself from the giant’s attacks. A holy woman’s divine protections varied based on her skill. For example, if we were to say the princess’s Physical Protection doubled her defenses, Orlaya’s might quadruple hers. The numbers were arbitrary, but the point was that not all holy women were equal.
To begin with, Physical Protection was a spell devised to defend against the blessing spread by curions—in other words, a spell to protect against being bitten. It wasn’t infallible. Blocking even a single piece of debris that could crush you in an instant was impressive. Even as she was now, the princess would probably have been able to block the rubble I had just cut apart. However, a stronger attack might prove too much. That was where the flawless formation I had devised came into play.
“I-I’m not too heavy, am I?” The solution was simple—I would fight with the princess on my back.
“No, you’re soft.” While her featherlight weight didn’t bother me, the feeling of her well-developed boobs pushing against me was impossible to ignore.