Chapter 522: The Short Corridor

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The great hall, where I had a fierce battle with a large number of skeletons.

Opening the door, and going through it... what I found there... is a short corridor.

"............"

I quickly scanned the area, sniffing the air, listening intently, deploying my [Mana Sensing Threads].

It seems that there are no enemies, and no traps, in this corridor.

It's just an old corridor... with dust swirling red in the sunlight pouring in from the small windows.

And in the middle of that corridor... the princess, with her out-of-place beauty, is standing there, quietly.

『You have come this far... brave one...』

The phantom princess, as I approached a certain distance, quietly started speaking to me.

<It's not a standard message.>

『Beyond this point, waiting for you behind the door... are the confidants of Tekigataa, the evil general of the Superbad Empire... the mages, Deyas and Gaston.』

...Confidants.

<'Confidant subordinates', huh?>

『They're magic experts, commoners who rose to become the evil general's confidants through their extraordinary abilities... They are not opponents you can underestimate.』

<If they've been training for five hundred years... That's a nightmare for us.>

Yeah...

And she suddenly gave me a lot of information.

<That's how much of a threat those two, waiting ahead, are considered to be... even to this princess.>

『Be careful... their weakness is fire magic.』

...What's with this 'weakness is fire magic' information, which is the same for everyone?

<Although there are generally no undead in the current Ardyst... The classic weakness of undead is fire magic. Perhaps this princess is just influenced by stories she has heard.>

Eh, it's just an assumption!?

<It's not entirely wrong. Most enemies, not just undead, die when they're burned to ashes.>

The blunt truth...!

『Please... please... help me... brave one... I... await you...』

Lastly, after saying that sorrowfully, the princess's illusion disappeared.

All that was left is the dust dancing in the corridor.

"............Fuuuuuu..."

I quietly... but deeply... exhaled.

"............"

And then, I thought for a bit.

That princess...

<What's wrong?>

"It's nothing."

And then... prompted by Extra-sama, I stopped thinking.

Because if what 'crossed my mind' is true... I think it would be even more pitiful than what I originally thought.

Too pitiful.

But anyway, what I'm doing is—

<Relieving stress.>

Right... relieving stress.

There's no need to think about the details.

"............"

After clapping my cheeks, I stepped forward and started walking down the short corridor.

The next door I reached is made of wood.

But perhaps because it's indoors, it's not as weathered as the entrance to the great hall from earlier.

There are no holes in it either.

It's a fine door... one that makes me believe that it'll properly function as a door.

I put my hand on the doorknob, and was about to push it open, and then—

"............"

—I stopped.

<Emi?>

What I'm doing is just relieving stress.

It's just an outburst of violence... with no righteousness or anything.

Just killing.

If that's the case—

"RAAAH!!"

I stepped back, took a deep breath, and then kicked the door... with the front of my right foot!

Crack, boom!!

The door blew open with the sound of wood creaking, metal snapping, bounced on the floor, rolled across the room, and then—

Stopped.

As if floating in the air.

『Goodness... Young lady, you're supposed to open a door by pushing or pulling it, not by kicking it, you know?』

『This is deplorable, Challenger... You should learn some common sense.』

It was two skeletons, reprimanding me in exasperated voices, who did that.

Both are wearing reddish-black, luxurious-looking robes with gold embroidery on the sleeves... and they're floating in the air!

"Moving skeletons, talking about common sense."

I picked up a stone from the floor, and fired it at the floating skeletons, using [Stone Throwing]!

But the pebble... just like the door from earlier... stopped in mid-air, immobilized!

『Haa... Really, you should listen to your elders' advice. 'Be polite', 'don't go to dangerous places'... Were you never scolded by the adults around you when you were little?』

『She wasn't scolded... was she? I don't know the circumstances, but how pitiful. That's why... you're going to—』

『『—Die.』』

The next moment, the eye sockets of the two floating skeletons glowed red!

And at the same time... the door I kicked, and the pebble, which had been frozen in mid-air... were all—fired at me with incredible force!