The Spearmaster and the Black Cat

but I wonder whether you can understand that…”

“You can call it comprehension, or bond.
I feel a deep bond with you.
A bond…surpassing that with my ancestors.
It’s mysterious.
Also, I can hear a voice giving me an explanation inside my head, to some extent…”

“Liliza, be quiet for now.”

“Ah, I stopped hearing the voice.
However, even though I died after being eaten…I’m alive? Moreover, right now I’m just a head…”

She looks bitter, but that’s something I can relate to.

“…You’re correct.
Purin-san, you have been eaten and absorbed by an evil god’s apostle, but by coincidence, you were revived as my .
That’s how it is.”

“…Yes.
Thanks for your kindness.
However, honorific language from the person whom I consider my Emissary-sama feels a bit embarrassing.”

“Understood.
Is it fine to call you Purin then?”

“Sure.
But, although it was coincidence, I feel happy to be able to live like this.
And, I said so before, but I feel a special bond…exceeding the one towards my Selene brethren…one I have never felt so far…”

I knew that she was telling me her true feelings.
Something similar to a gentle feeling was faintly transmitted to me.
Is she different from Tsuan?

“Please tell me if there’s anything I can do for you.
I will do anything.
If it comes to battle, there’s my technique of using the bone needles characteristic to the Selene race, and I will do my best, making use of my experience as a B rank adventurer.”

She will do anything…huh? I’m happy to be told that by the cute Purin.
A B rank adventurer, eh? If she passed that exam, I guess you can say that her abilities as an individual aren’t all that bad.

“I see.
I’m counting on you together with Tsuan.
Please switch to Liliza then.”

“Okay.”

Purin’s face wriggled, and transformed.
What appeared wasn’t Liliza’s face, but a new arm.

“It’s fine for you to take a human shape, as Liliza.”

Ca-chan formed an OK sign by putting her thumb and index finger together.
The flesh wriggled with squishy sounds, went down to the ground, and transformed from its arm shape into a human shape.
It took her a bit of time to transform, but she returned to her form as Liliza.

“Emissary-sama, I’m back.”

She told me about having a few remaining memories from her time as the third apostle of an evil god.
Hence I will try asking her about those.
I’m kind of interested in what kind of fellow Evil God Nicross is.

“Aye.
About your memories as a third apostle, what kind of god was that Evil God Nicross?”

“He possesses a rhinoceros beetle-like head.
His whole body has thick bones as foundation, and is covered by something similar to decaying flesh.
Usually he’s enveloping his body with a Wicked Wave Spirit Garment.”

A rhinoceros beetle-like head, huh? There was such an evil god statue among the ones in the ruin on the fifth, tenth, and twentieth floor we passed.

“Do you have any memories about the reason for attacking Mamani and the others?”

“Yes, I think it was immediately after tricking and eating the adventurer party that I encountered a tiger beastman who was fairly strong.
I thought that she simply looked delicious and that I might become stronger if I were to absorb her abilities.”

I see.
I can imagine.

“…It looks like the third apostle had been collecting magic stones and items, but was there any purpose in that?”

“There is.
Evil God Nicross’ favorite dish are magic stones because they become the source of his mana.
You can regard magic stones like minerals♪”

Is winking a habit of hers? I also disregarded the play on words. 2

“Are there any other memories you recall?”

“Yes, two more.
First, the initial memory, my origin.
In the past I was simply a golden, caterpillar-shaped monster called Golden Securion.
It was at a time when I was living every day eating leaves, fruits, and insects in Fubalph’s Forest.
Suddenly, because of Evil God Nicross who arrived there, I acquired the strange ability to absorb various things by eating them and the delight that I could get stronger by absorbing them.
Soon after I ate a human adventurer, who had been hunting nearby, and absorbed her.
It was Liliza.
Liliza strongly fused with me.
Even now her pronounced traits remain, including her habits.”

Liliza’s origin, huh?

“And the other one?”

“The second memory is about a three-way battle that took place on the 15th floor of the labyrinth.”

“Three-way?”

The battle from just now crossed my mind…

“Yes, the Demon King Class monster Eggword Metal vs.
the evil god apostles vs.
a great number of human adventurers.
It’s a memory of a melee combat between those three groups.
The first apostle Cherubim remained unscathed, but the fourth apostle Otherheart and the fifth apostle Do Al Derel were petrified and locked up inside a slate.
The second apostle Noma Amud was injured by having his right arm turned into stone.
It was a big, fierce battle.”

Why did they fight?

“Why fight on the 15th floor? With a Demon King Class? To begin with, on the 15th floor?”

I quickly threw my questions at Liliza.

“The 15th floor is called New World.
There are countless Demon King class monsters such as Eggword Metal, Barbaryo’s Emissary, and so on.
They are one of the great enemies of Evil God Nicross who’s spreading his influence in the New World.
The adventurers are enemies, too.
Since the adventurers fought against Eggword Metal as well, it turned into a three-way battle.”

So, the 15th floor is another world just like the 20th floor? That means, the 20th floor might also have a name like New World.
Have the people living in New World three eyes like the evil races living on the 20th floor? I’m curious about those humans.

“…Those human adventurers…do they look like me? Or did they have three or four eyes?”

“I think there were only two-eyes like Emissary-sama, but since it’s not like I know all of them, I’m not completely sure.
Just that the humans are one of the major forces on the 15th floor.”

I see.
Is it fine to think that the 15th floor has an Earth-like planet as well then? Evil God Steertop said so as well, that it’s huge.

“How many apostles does Evil God Nicross possess?”

“Evil God Nicross’ apostles were six in total.
Since I dropped out, it’s currently only the first, second and sixth, I believe.”

Is the probability low that those apostles will come to meddle with me if there’s another battle?
Well, I wonder.
Liliza has no memory of it, but maybe there was an apostle among them who was close to her? Thus I think it’s possible that they will come looking for her.
It’s fine to talk it out if possible, but if it comes to a battle…

“…I got it.
Thanks for telling me.
For the time being, mimic my finger.”

“Okaaay♪”

Liliza transformed into a golden caterpillar, moved on the palm of my right hand like a stretching spring, and then shifted between my thumb and index finger.
There she transformed into a finger again, becoming my new sixth finger.
――Instinctively I brought it close to my eyes, staring at it very carefully.
It’s quite real with nice nails.

“…Rollo, we’re going back to Helme.”

“Nn, nya.”

After Rollo got on my shoulder, we went back to the place where Helme was protecting the blond-haired woman.

 

◇◇◇◇

 

Helme greeted me with a smile when I came back to her.
The woman she had been protecting was still sleeping.
However, currently it looked as if she was imprisoned by a magic water cage instead.

“Welcome back, Your Excellency.”

“I’m back.
I killed the ringleaders of 【Apostles of Nightmares】.”

“The demons leading the evil heretics perished, haven’t they? I wanted to stab their butts with my ice stakes.”

Ah, wise men say detest the sin but weep for the sinner, but that’s really impossible here.
I’m also a monster on the side of the tainted who likes blood, but I can’t forgive those who capture innocent women, rape them, and delightfully devour them.

“…I think for the time being there won’t be any wicked ceremonies held in this city anymore.
I absorbed a part of the evil god’s apostle and turned the other part into our comrade, though.”

“Comrade, you say…is it the person who split off earlier?”

“Yep, she can also transform into something like this finger.”

I showed my new finger to Helme.

“Eh!? You have six fingers!”

“In addition, she can transform into an arm, grow a head, and change into three personalities, including the silver-haired woman who had split off earlier.”

“T-That’s…surprising.”

“Nn, nyan, nyaa～”

Rollo meowed with a triumphant look.
I guess I can demonstrate it a bit to her.
I focus on the finger, triggering its transformation into an arm.

“Whoaa…there’s really another arm on your hand, Your Excellency…amazing.
You accomplished an even stronger evolution.
I’m happy…it makes me tremble.”

She really caused the bluish-black and blue leaves across her whole body to tremble and wave.
Somehow I feel like we already had such an exchange in the past.

“Your skin is truly trembling, isn’t it?”

Helme nodded many times in response to my question.
While excited, she approached me as she emitted sheets of water spray from her whole body.
She started to touch my new hand…with her soft palm.
I grasped her palm just like that.
Of course with a lover’s hold.

“Fufu.”

She revealed a beautiful smile befitting a spirit.
No matter how often I look at her big eyes and long eyelashes, she’s a pretty woman.
Albeit a spirit with a blue, leafy skin.
I’m being healed by her.

“N…”

At that moment, the woman, who had been sleeping on the ground, woke up.

“…This is? Did I finally arrive at the path leading to Seuros…? To the place of God of Justice Shafa-sama…huh?…I’m alive? My body is healed? I wasn’t eaten?”

I turned my eyes towards Helme.
She released the lover’s hold, and after my new hand changed back into a finger, I instructed Helme, “Cancel the spell.”

“Okay.”

The water cage that had concealed the blond-haired woman vanished.

“It looks like you woke up.
I’m a B rank adventurer called Shuuya.
I killed Naromivas, who seemed to be the mastermind of the 【Apostles of Nightmares】, and the man who hurt you.”

“What did you say!? That demonoid…you, Shuuya-dono, defeated with just that woman over there?”

Talking excitedly, the woman surveyed the vicinity while standing up.

“Nyaon.”

Rollo meowed from atop my shoulder.
It might be 『I did my best as well nya』.

“Ooooh, what a lovely black cat…with round and cute, red eyes.”

“She’s Rollo, my partner, who participated in the battle.
Rollodeen is her full name.
And, the one you see on the left is Helme.”

“…Got it.
Rollo-dono, you’re a strong cat, aren’t you? And, Helme-dono, thank you.”

“No, don’t mention it.
I just followed His Excellency’s orders.”

Helme had transformed so that it looked as though she was wearing clothes.

“His Excellency…? Helme-dono, you’re Shuuya-dono’s subordinate? B rank adventurer means you belong to some large clan?”

“No, I have a party, but we aren’t that big.”

Innocent Arms is a small scaled party.
However, there are probably no other adventurers who have stepped onto the labyrinth’s 20th floor besides us.

“Shuuya-dono, are you a magic beast tamer? Or is she a skill-based familiar? Either way…it’s a fact that you saved my life…this body with its nice clothes.
I’m truly grateful.
Aaah, I’m terribly sorry! I forgot to introduce myself!”

At that point the woman held her head.

“Don’t mind it…”

“No, that’s an outrageous blunder.
I’m Ivanka.
I’m serving as Shafa’s battle priestess in a temple worshiping God of Justice Shafa.
And I want to show my gratitude to you, Shuuya-dono.
Since I can’t do anything for you here, can I have you come to the Shafa temple by all means?”

So she says, but currently I want to go back home and inform the others…

“…Gratitude, you say? Just your feelings are plenty.
We’re going back to our friends.”

“…Can’t you somehow concede here? At this rate I won’t be able to escape the slander of ingratitude.
Besides, my hot feelings…”

Her eyes that combined blue and golden colors were moist.
It was a womanly expression.
…If I’m told something like this by a beauty who has scars left on her face, I can’t really refuse, can I?

“…Understood, I will just escort you to the Shafa temple…that’s okay with you?”

“Then it won’t be any thanks.
But, fine.
Anyway, I want to show you my gratitude…”

“Got it.
Let’s go to the entrance then.
Helme, into my left eye.
Rollo, transform as well.”

“Okay.”

“Nn, nya～”

Rollo jumped off my shoulder, landing on the ground.
She grew her body with a poof.
She had transformed into a reliable, black beast with an aerodynamic, imposing head.
Helme turned into liquid in an instant, and went into my left eye in a spiral.

“Whaaat, for them to transform…I guess that settles it that you’re a remarkable magic beast user.
It’s been a while since I last saw a transforming beast.
And yet, her black fur is pretty and glossy…and Helme-dono has gone into your left eye…”

Ivanka was taken aback with her lips trembling.

“If possible, I’d be happy if you could keep it a secret.”

“Of course! ――Kyaaa.”

Suddenly Ivanka screamed with her boobs bouncing.
Yep, Rollodeen’sHorse Lion tentacle had coiled itself around her waist and lifted her up, carrying her on top of Rollodeen’s back with its bushy fur.
I jumped on Rollodeen as if taking part in a pommel horse contest, straddling on her back.
At the same time as I grasped the tentacle rein, our senses were shared.

“Shuuya-dono, umm…”

She timidly asked from behind whether it was fine for her to hug my back.

“Go ahead.”

I answered with a cool face, but…the elemental devices of the Boobs Research Society that were located on my back squirmed around.

“I see, then please excuse me!” She put her arms around my waist and embraced me.

How nice.
The elasticity of her boobs is irresistible…she was at the level of Eva, the hidden big-boob owner.

While enjoying Ivanka’s soft sensation on my back, “…Rollo, you remember the way to the entrance, right? Time to bid farewell to this gloomy place.”

“Nyaa.”

Rollodeen kicked off the ground with a powerful movement of her limbs, and started to run as if flying.
――She plunged through the madder red cave.
Since Ivanka was with us, it wasn’t an explosive speed.
I think it’s alright, but it’s still quite fast.
――She might end up fainting despite being a war maiden of the Shafa temple.
My partner was quickly proceeding through the cave.
If seen from the side, it might look as if we’re riding through a narrow tunnel on a huge motorbike with a jet propulsion installed.
I even felt as if my visual field within the cave we ran through narrowed down.
It was such a visual effect, but my dynamic vision had remarkably improved as Light Demon Lucival.
I don’t know into what category of my status, be it strength, agility, stamina, mana, dexterity, or spirit, it belonged, but ― is it simply because I’m endowed with demonic eyes?
While pondering about such things, I let my eyes carefully wander, making sure that there were no evil heretics left in the corners of the cave.