---

Cutting through the ground with the Holy Sword.

It’s about 50 meters deep, but the Holy Sword can handle it.

I left the method to Lucius.

I was curious about how Lucius would drill down into the earth, so I planned to calmly observe how he would do it this time.

“Wind, arise!”

Lucius unleashed the Holy Sword.

The Golden Storm began to gently wrap around our party, and I gathered my mana as best as I could to avoid disturbing Lucius while allowing his wind to carry me.

Whoooosh.

The Golden Wind enveloped our entire party.

The warm breeze felt as if it mirrored Lucius’s intentions for us… No, to be honest, I could really feel how much Lucius trusted and followed us.

‘If the Master of the Holy Sword held malice, it would never be like this.’

The Holy Sword is most influenced by its owner.

Whether or not there is a consciousness residing within it, or whether the Holy Sword has its own self-awareness, it is merely a tool that wields the power of spirits, so it can never act against its owner’s will.

If Lucius subconsciously disliked us, someone among us would surely have been blown away by the wind he emitted.

No matter how much we pretend to be calm on the outside, humans find it hard to bear hating one another.

But as it stands, our group is entirely safe.

Rosmas, Droniel, and Saintess Yan are all fine.

“I will descend now.”

Lucius calmly plunged Ascalon downward.

And the Golden Wind became a sphere enveloping us.

“This is….”

“I applied a bit of Liriez’s technique. Making a perfect sphere is somewhat difficult, but….”

“No, no. This is seriously impressive.”

I was genuinely amazed.

Instead of creating a perfect spherical barrier, Lucius layered the wind to form a globular shape.

It resembled a tomato sliced with a knife.

I think he got the idea from a similar dish he made last time.

“I need to learn this too.”

“M-Master…?”

“I’m not joking. It’s a brilliant technique.”

“Thank you.”

For some reason, Lucius looked very pleased.

‘Let’s reflect on this.’

The fact that he is so happy about such praise means I have been stingy with my compliments, so I should praise Lucius more often to build up his goodwill.

‘That way, when I eventually ride on the Spirit Device, he will surely hand over the controls.’

The Spirit Device of Ascalon is something I’ve never even steered before.

I’ve never faced it directly, so I want to experience it not just by looking but by actually taking the controls once.

Genuinely.

Of course, being a man, Lucius won’t just casually hand over the controls, but even if he lets me take the maiden flight, I want to steer it once afterward.

Saying right after acquiring a Spirit Device that I want to ride it?

That’s like letting a friend drive a brand new “magic car” before even taking the plastic off in the Demon World.

‘That can’t be right.’

Yeah, definitely not.

“Then, from now on, we descend!”

While I pondered the future looking at the barrier, Lucius began to exert the power of the Holy Sword in earnest.

Vroom vroom.

The entire barrier started to rotate.

The layered gears began to turn in different directions on each layer, and I lowered my gaze to the snowfield beneath our footing.

‘Not a sphere, but a drill below.’

Crack crack.

Though the sound wasn’t very clear, I was sure a loud scraping sound was echoing outside as the ground was being excavated.

The rotating Golden Storm quickly began to carve out a hole, and the dust that was kicked up rose on the golden winds, soaring towards the sky above us.

“What will happen once that settles and sinks…?”

“Don’t worry; I’m grinding it down to particle size. And at about 50 meters high… As we drill down, Lucius’s wind will blow up, so you don’t have to worry about that either.”

Indeed, the dust was soaring up from the hole Lucius had drilled.

If viewed from outside, the golden dirt must be visible rising from the snowfield.

It would certainly be a spectacular sight, enough to draw attention.

“And, it will surely attract many eyes.”

“Lucius. Can we attack from up here?”

“Yes?”

“It seems like we’re not the only ones wanting to go down.”

Screeeeech!!

Screams began to erupt from above.

I inspected the sphere that radiated from Lucius, and it seemed to have a diameter of at least 3 meters.

In other words.

“It seems like the undead, who have lost their sanity and only want to return home, want to hitch a ride. Everyone, prepare for attack.”

Kyaaaaak!!

Undead started pouring from the sky.

Not to kill us, nor to stop us.

“Those… are they really…?”

“Are they trying to stop us? No, they want to come down with us.”

To return home.

Now that the path is open, they simply wish to descend alongside us.

The problem is.

Kyaaaaaak!!

The first undead to throw itself into the hole was shredded by the Golden Storm.

Krackkk!!

A scene too brutal to even describe unfolded, and I felt the world around me go dark, unable to keep my eyes open.

“Uuh…!”

“If you can’t bear to watch, you don’t have to.”

“N-No, it’s just… I was caught off guard by seeing something like that suddenly.”

It was such a cruel scene that it almost made me dizzy; I couldn’t imagine how the others must be feeling.

“…….”

Lucius was calmly looking down below.

Fortunately, those shredded by the Golden Storm did not fall back onto the barrier but were swept upward, and the cutting wind also ground down the undead whose heads were leaning into the hole.

“Lucius. This isn’t murder. It’s just letting the dead return to eternal rest.”

“I know. Thank you for your consolation.”

“That’s not—hmm, no. Yeah, thanks for accepting it calmly.”

It’s just dealing with those who are already deceased.

I’m relieved to see that perhaps Lucius is thinking the same thing, as he silently focused on the task.

Using the Holy Sword’s mana to reshape the land, sprinkling the dust from the ground through the cutting wind above the hole.

In this process, the undead trying to enter the hole are merely impurities.

“Rosmas. Droniel. What can we do about them?”

Kyaaaak!!

The undead continued hurling themselves into the hole.

Even as those in front of them fell down, the undead ignored it and continued to throw themselves in.

“I can only shoot arrows….”

“I have no other means than to deal with them using my sword….”

Both were clever.

Meaning, even if they attacked the undead, it wouldn’t truly resolve the problem.

Shooting arrows? Possible.

Slicing with the sword? Possible.

But the real issue is that once they kill a corpse, it can be flung out of the hole like a windstorm, and that’s not the case.

Once we defeat the undead, their corpses will accumulate atop the barrier.

Then what’s the point of defeating the undead?

‘The psychological burden must be tremendous.’

If the undead pile up above, that directly becomes Lucius’s burden.

As it’s Lucius’s harem party, the women working on his behalf wouldn’t want to complicate things for him.

“Then, Sage—”

“I can handle this.”

Without hesitation, Droniel tried to catch me off guard with her words, but Lucius cut her off.

“The power of the Holy Sword is limitless. Even if we go down below, Ascalon’s power can be exerted at any time. Right?”

“That’s true. That’s why I entrusted it to you.”

“So trust me completely and leave it to me. After going all the way down, we can seal the hole.”

Lucius boldly declared his intent to take responsibility until the end.

While on the surface, there didn’t seem to be any problem, the cold sweat trickling down my neck surely indicated he was experiencing significant mental strain.

As the only male in our party (at least in the public’s eyes), he probably feels he needs to be calm or show a masculine side, but isn’t it incredibly difficult to grind the corpses of people down with the Holy Sword’s aftermath?

“Lucius, you’re too kind for your own good.”

“… Thank you for the compliment.”

“Yeah, yeah. But don’t carry it all on your own.”

“No, Master. I…”

“It’s my turn to step in.”

Yan clasped her hands and looked up at the sky.

“Although they are heretics, the Moon Goddess would wish for even such heretics to be converted. I will purify them.”

“…….”

Oh.

Come to think of it, I’m undead too.

“……Please, Saintess.”

I hid behind Lucius.

The Turn Undead prayer effects will surely be aimed upwards, but if it does happen to reach me, it would be safest behind Lucius.

The power of the Holy Sword is the power of nature.

Regarding whether Divine Power and the Holy Sword can mix, they don’t, like oil and water; just having Lucius clenching the Holy Sword should keep me safe.

“Lucius. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

Pretending to be supportive, I placed my hand on his back.

In reality, I’m hiding behind him trying to avoid the Turn Undead.

If I go too close behind Lucius, it might raise some eyebrows among the others.

“Those are already dead. They fell to the Holy Sword, so they will surely fly to the sky, and once they turn to dust in the sea, they will eventually reach home. So you don’t need to feel guilty about this.”

“Master, I don’t at all….”

“It’s alright, Lucius.”

I patted Lucius’s back.

Ahead, Yan began to chant prayers towards the undead hurling themselves into the hole, and I kept patting Lucius’s back while trying to hide behind him as much as possible.

“No one will hold it against you. In fact, they will be grateful.”

Fortunately, it seemed my small frame allowed me to remain sheltered behind Lucius without being affected.

“You are just doing what you should. So….”

No matter how difficult and uncomfortable it is.

It’s not like I’m crying over family, friends, or the person I cherish most having died.

Of course.

“……Let’s grow stronger. Got it?”

I couldn’t bring myself to say, “Hey, are you crying?” to consider Lucius’s social reputation.

“… Master.”

“Uh, could it be that we’re digging down into the snowfield?”

I lowered my head.

“It seems like sand is getting in my eyes. Lucius, could you make the barrier a bit sturdier?”

“… Yes.”

The Holy Sword lowered towards the ground began to shine even brighter in golden light.

 

---