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Chapter 70: In Search of the Demon Sword (2)

After the 5th party member, Berald, joined us, we exited the school gates and headed towards the ruins.

“Heheh. This is my first time exploring ruins, so I’m super nervous!”

“…You don’t look nervous at all.”

I stifled a laugh as I glanced at Berald, whose eyes were sparkling like an excited child going on a picnic.

“By the way, brother! Since we’ve gathered here like this, why don’t you introduce the party members?”

“Oh, of course.”

Looking at Yuren, Iris, and Camilla, I began to speak.

“This is Yuren. You’ve probably heard the name.”

“Could it be the descendant of the ‘Sword of the Sun’?”

“That’s right.”

“Whoa, I’ve heard so much about you!”

Berald strode up to Yuren and extended his large, cauldron-sized hand.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Berald Ryu from the 2nd-year Magic Department! I’m a year younger, so feel free to speak casually!”

“Ah, uh, sure.”

Yuren shook Berald’s hand with a confused expression that said, ‘This guy is in the 2nd year? And in the Magic Department?’

“And over there are Iris and Camilla.”

“I’ve heard of them too! The Saintess of the Holy Kingdom and her bodyguard, right?”

With constant admiration, Berald approached Iris and Camilla.

“Nice to meet you! It’s an honor to be in the same party as such famous people!”

“Likewise.”

“Berald Ryu… You wouldn’t happen to be related to Headmaster Lionel Ryu, would you?”

“Hehe, yes. But I’m from the branch family, so I don’t have much connection with Grandfather Lionel.”

Berald answered with a bitter smile.

“By the way, how do you know Dale?”

“Hehe, brother and I bonded during remedial classes!”

“…Remedial classes?”

“The extra classes you take if you fail the exams. Haven’t you ever had one?”

“Ah… no, I’ve never had one.”

Iris shook her head in surprise.

Yuren and Camilla also looked away with awkward smiles.

“Hahaha! You were all model students! Brother and I spent a whole year in remedial classes, forging a deep bond…”

“Shut up, man. There\'s nothing special about taking remedial classes.”

I smacked Berald on the back.

“Besides, we’re almost at the ruins, so let’s wrap up the chatter here.”

It had been about an hour since we left Valhalla City.

Thanks to using a warp device midway, it hadn’t taken long to reach the location of the \'Cave of Red Tears.\'

“Is that the ruins you mentioned?”

Yuren asked, gazing at the massive cave entrance ahead.

“Yeah, that’s the ‘Cave of Red Tears.’”

A protective barrier was set up at the entrance to prevent ordinary people from entering.

Beep.

[Temporary Hero Certificate confirmed.]

[Barrier is deactivated.]

As I turned on my Hero Watch and held it to the barrier, the bluish shield surrounding the entrance disappeared.

“Let’s quickly set up our formation before we go in.”

Pointing to each party member, I assigned them the optimal formation I had thought of beforehand.

“I’ll take the rear.”

While it’s common to place support or magic users at the back in open spaces, it’s safer to place a warrior at the rear and protect support users in the middle when exploring caves, where you could be attacked from behind at any time.

‘Besides, it’s better if I don’t join the fight too much.’

This ruins exploration was meant to give the less experienced party members a chance to gain some real battle experience.

If I were to take the lead, they wouldn’t have much opportunity to gain any experience.

“If Dale’s taking the rear, then I’ll be in the middle, right?”

“Yeah. Camilla, stay close to Iris and focus on guarding her.”

“Got it.”

Since Camilla’s primary purpose wasn’t exploring the ruins but protecting Iris, she nodded without complaint.

“Yuren and Berald, you two take the front.”

“Hahaha! Leave it to me, brother!”

“Sure. But wait, didn’t you say earlier you were in the Magic Department?”

Yuren looked confused at seeing a Magic Department student confidently placed at the front lines.

“Well… you’ll understand once you see.”

I shrugged and cast a ‘Light’ spell.

Glowing orbs formed, illuminating the surroundings.

“Let’s go.”

A chilling, eerie aura sent shivers down our spines as we entered the cave.

“Ugh… something smells really fishy in here.”

Iris wrinkled her nose and pinched it as soon as we stepped into the ruins.

"Look up," I pointed toward the stalactites on the ceiling.

Blood-red droplets were forming and dripping down at the tips of the icicle-like formations.

“…So, that’s why it’s called the ‘Cave of Red Tears,’ huh,”

Yuren muttered, grimacing as he observed the crimson drops falling from the stalactites.

“……”

“……”

The eerie atmosphere of the cave seemed to have silenced everyone.

A heavy, tense silence now replaced the chatter that had filled the air before we entered. I glanced at my party members, their faces filled with nervousness, and I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.

‘So, even they had such innocent days.’

Yuren, Berald, and Iris had all been seasoned veterans in my past life, so it was funny to see them now, young and inexperienced as candidates.

It was an amusing contrast to their confident, battle-hardened selves I remembered.

‘I miss those days.’

Though Sophia, our former leader, wasn’t with us yet, this experience brought back memories of the past.

Exploring ruins with my old comrades made it feel like we were back in the good old days—a time I thought I’d never return to.

‘I’ll have to meet Senior Sophia sometime soon.’

I’d already tried to visit her during the wait for the ruins exploration permit by sneaking around the 4th-year classrooms, but all the senior candidates were away for ‘Hero Field Training.’

‘Well, we’ll meet again soon enough.’

For now, I focused on the ruins.

“Krrrk… Karrrk.”

“Kraaa. Krrrik.”

We had been inside for about ten minutes when the smell of blood intensified, and unsettling screeches echoed through the cave.

"Demonic beasts spotted ahead."

Yuren unsheathed his sword and quickly scanned the area.

The sounds were coming from the ceiling of the cave.

Icicle-like stalactites hung from the ceiling, and clinging upside down to them was a horde of demonic bats.

Their eerie red eyes gleamed as they stared down at us.

Their entire bodies were covered in gray fur, with thin membranes stretching under their arms like cloaks, and their menacing fangs jutted out sharply.

It was clear at a glance that these creatures had been mutated from bats.

“There are seven of them in total. Six are Four-eyes, and one is Five-eyes,”

Yuren reported, quickly assessing the size and strength of the group.

I watched her with my arms folded, feeling a sense of satisfaction inwardly.

‘Wow, no wonder he\'s the top of the class.’

This was surely his first time on a ruin expedition, yet he flawlessly took on the role of the leader without showing any signs of panic.

‘But.’

So far, it had all been basic knowledge learned in school.

The real test started now.

“Grrr!”

“Everyone, get back!”

Yuren dashed forward just as the bat demonic beasts, which had been hanging upside down from the ceiling, began to stir.

Boom!

He kicked off the ground, leaping high into the air.

“Kieee?!”

The bat demonic beasts frantically flapped their wings and tried to flee.

“Where do you think you\'re going!”

Yuren chased after them through the air, using the stalactites as stepping stones like an acrobat.

“Haa!”

“Kaaaak!”

Yuren drove his sword into the back of one of the fleeing demonic beasts.

“Next....”

In the blink of an eye, he had taken down one bat and turned to find his next target.

“Kyaaaah!”

The five-eyed bat demonic beast let out a deafening screech, and simultaneously, the other bat demonic beasts spread their wings and took to the air.

Yuren readied his sword, as if daring them to come at him.

And then—

“Grrr!”

“Kyaaak!”

Instead of Yuren, the bat demonic beasts charged toward the rest of the party.

“Ah…!”

Yuren gasped and tried to chase after them, but he was already too far from the others, and it was too late.

“Shield of the Seven Stars!”

Iris stepped in to cover for Yuren’s absence, swiftly tracing a cross in the air and casting a protective barrier.

The bat demonic beasts that had been charging ferociously bounced off her bright white shield.

“I can’t hold them for long!”

“Leave this to me!”

Berald clenched his fists and rushed forward.

“Hraaah! Got one!”

Crunch!

With a single punch, he crushed the skull of one of the bat demonic beasts.

“Take this!”

He grabbed two more that were trying to fly away, yanking them back into his grasp as if hugging them tightly.

Crack!

With a sickening sound, their skulls shattered, spilling blood and brain matter everywhere.

“Karrrr!”

While Berald was busy smashing skulls, two other bat demonic beasts, with their sharp fangs, gnawed through the shield Iris had created.

“Saintess! Get behind me!”

As soon as Camilla saw the shield break, she stepped forward, positioning herself in front of Iris protectively.

“Hah!”

With a powerful swing, she slashed through the two bat demonic beasts that had been rushing toward Iris, using the distinctive, straightforward swordsmanship of her homeland.

“Kiiisshh!”

The last remaining bat demonic beast, the leader, let out an unpleasant metallic screech as it charged.

It was much faster than the others.

“Huh...!”

“No, stop it!”

In an instant, the front line from Berald to Camilla was breached, and the demonic beast lunged at Iris with its savage fangs.

“Tch.”

Sun Sword.

Form II, Crescent Moon Slash.

Sssshing!

With a flash of the blade, the leader of the bat demonic beasts was cleaved in half, its body spilling blood and entrails as it died on the spot.

I shook off the blood from my sword and turned to the rest of the party.

“Sigh.”

It was exactly what I had expected, but—

“We’ve got a long way to go.”