I had been worried that the structure might be complicated, but from the entrance, it turned out to be a straight path. We were attacked by the same monsters a few times, but I defeated them all. The area spells made it difficult to protect Roel and Truppo, which was quite troublesome. Since I had been fighting alone for so long, I hadn’t even considered the area spells.
“Lua… you’re too strong…”
Truppo had been focused solely on me. Should I mention the Abyss Cave? But there was no time for explanations right now. As I pondered this, an ancient door appeared before us.
“Is this the end?”
“Are you going to open it? Are you? Let’s open it!”
When Roel wrapped her arms around my waist, I found it hard to move. I gently took her hands and lowered them. Where had that girl who hugged the ghost gone? Now, she was a mere shadow of her former self.
“Something… is here…”
Truppo’s cryptic murmur only heightened Roel’s fear, and in that moment, I swung the door open.
What awaited us was Francoise, hanging limply from the ceiling. Her neck was stretched by a rope, and vomit spilled from her mouth. Excrement dripped from her legs onto the floor.
“Noooooo!”
Roel’s fear finally exploded, and she clung to me tighter than ever. Even I couldn’t hide my shock at the sight. I instinctively stepped back and bumped into Truppo. What was he, or rather she, thinking as they stared at this corpse?
Deeper inside, there lay the mummified body of a girl and the skeletal remains of a man. Both were the girl who had clung to me and the man who had guided us here. What on earth had happened here? Why had Francoise taken her own life? Would this request end shrouded in mystery?
“Wh-what should we do…?”
“…Not yet.”
Truppo pointed at the transformed Francoise. Her elongated neck twitched slightly. Her head began to move with a sickening creak.
“W-whoa!”
I let out a pathetic yelp.
The head of the corpse turned to face us. A tongue hung limply from her mouth, and her pallid face with wide-open eyes stared at us. With a slithering motion, her neck slipped free from the rope, bending at a 90-degree angle, and Francoise, now grotesque, fixed her gaze upon us.
In the next moment, her arm stretched out towards me as if it were elastic.
【Francoise has appeared! Francoise suddenly attacked!】
“Whoa!”
I quickly shielded Truppo behind me and swatted her hand away with my right hand. The arm slammed against the block-paved floor, but it shrank back towards Francoise as if nothing had happened.
“W-what…?”
Roel, barely holding onto her staff, had tears in her eyes. I had to ensure that Roel and Truppo wouldn’t be harmed at all costs. However, I was troubled by the fact that the sensation I felt when I swatted her away was eerily similar to when I struck the ghost of that girl. It felt as if I had struck something rubbery, devoid of any real resistance. Was this Francoise the same as that girl? I had defeated that skeletal monster, yet here I was.
“Chaaanto Ohenkyou Shinaito!”
Blood gushed from Francoise’s mouth as she spoke.
“Warui Ko wa Bashoku Jinuki!”
With each word, blood spilled from her lips, and Truppo unleashed a spell.
【Truppo cast Blaze Shot!】
A massive fireball struck Francoise, but she didn’t budge; she stood there, engulfed in flames. Eventually, the fire died down, revealing Francoise’s colorless skin.
【Francoise takes no damage! HP 0/0】
“This… is a Vengeful Spirit-type… as I thought… it’s useless…”
“A Vengeful Spirit-type?”
It was the first time I had heard that term. Wasn’t she a Ghost-type monster?
“A Vengeful Spirit… a monster… different… from Ghost-types… before becoming one…”
A Vengeful Spirit was the state before becoming a Ghost-type monster. In other words, since she was a Vengeful Spirit, our attacks wouldn’t affect her.
“I’ve never seen anything like this…”
As I felt my resolve waver, Roel dropped her staff to the floor, trembling. Seeing her like that made me hesitate. I had promised to protect her, yet here I was, making her afraid. She should feel secure enough to fight because I was here, yet I was the one faltering.
I took a step closer to Francoise, who was slamming her elongated arms on the floor like a petulant child.
“Do you want to kill me, Landlady? But that’s impossible.”
I decided to provoke her, trying to draw her attention. I wasn’t sure if it worked, but Francoise’s bulging eyes turned towards me. In reality, the monster before me wasn’t that threatening in terms of attack. The real problem was how to deal with this immortal being. It was absurd to be immortal while being dead, but calling it invincible felt strangely frustrating. Francoise swung her long arms at me, slapping me from the side.
“That won’t work!”
I caught her hand with my left hand, twisting it and slamming it down onto the floor. The monster showed no signs of pain.
The arm that had fallen to the ground twitched and quickly crawled back up towards me. As I grabbed it, the dead hand clamped around my neck with an iron grip.
“Ugh… this…!”
“Lua-chan!”
It was just like when I faced the ghost of that girl. Even when I tried to pry it off, I was held down by an unbelievable strength. Despite having trained in the Abyss Cave, for some reason, this Vengeful Spirit was completely unaffected. Roel was half-mad, trying to pull Francoise’s hand away from me.
“Get away from her!”
Francoise’s long claws dug into my neck, cutting off my breath. Francoise’s body twisted its head 180 degrees, watching us from a distance. I took this as a challenge and tried to crush her arm, but it felt like I was hitting something as hard as rubber, and it didn’t budge.
I couldn’t die here. I had things I needed to do.
You won’t get me…!
///
I had felt it ever since I easily crushed the Mortal Ghost. However, the killing intent emanating from that girl now was unlike anything I had experienced before. During the day, I had innocently chatted with Roel, but now she felt like a different person, almost unrecognizable as human. I didn’t want to get close to this girl. Perhaps it was that fleeting thought that made me realize I had torn the Vengeful Spirit’s arm apart and stepped back, distancing myself from that girl.
///
“Lua? …Who?”
I felt Truppo take a step back.
This time, my fingers sank into the dead hand. I tore it off and threw it with all my might against the wall. The arm fell to the floor but continued to crawl towards me, even without its fingers.
“Heal!”
Roel desperately cast Heal on me. I was grateful, but I had to deal with that hand first. I stomped down on the crawling hand to avoid being caught again. Roel continued to cast Heal on me.
The hand writhing beneath my foot felt strange. The terrifying strength trying to escape from my foot began to weaken slightly.
“Roel… more Heal…”
Truppo seemed to have an idea and urged Roel to keep healing. Without needing to be told, she continued to cast Heal with unwavering focus. With each spell, Francoise’s arm twitched, and its attempts to escape grew weaker. Eventually, the arm was enveloped in the light of Heal and vanished. The distant monster shrieked, pressing down on the spot where its arm had been.
“My hand… it disappeared…”
Roel was the most surprised. I had no idea what was happening either.
“Heal… on her…”
I didn’t understand, but it seemed that Francoise was weak against Heal.
“Right, for her, healing is actually painful!”
“Roel… on her…”
“But we can’t reach her from here…”
Then it was my turn to act. I dashed towards the Vengeful Spirit. Francoise, writhing in pain, tried to grab me with her arm again, but I wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice. I kicked off the floor, dodging to Francoise’s side, then kicked off the floor again to circle behind her. She couldn’t react at all as I kicked her from behind, sending her flying.
Before she could recover, I jumped after her and stomped down on her head, forcing her to the ground.
“Uh… um…”
Roel looked confused as she saw Francoise beneath my foot.
“Quick!”
If she tried to get up, I wouldn’t be able to stop her. I couldn’t help but shout.
“Y-yes! Heal!”
The wailing of the Vengeful Spirit echoed throughout the basement, a sound that made me want to cover my ears. Roel hesitated, wanting to stop, but I pleaded with my eyes for her to continue.
As if in pursuit, Francoise was engulfed in a wave of healing magic, her body vanishing just like before…
Or at least, that was how it should have been.
This story isn’t over yet.
It will conclude in the next part and the one after that.