"Not coming?"
The Demon Lord…no, now the Angel Captain Eri…spoke to me while holding her golden spear.
I exhaled softly, then faced straight ahead and declared:
"Eugene Santafield, stepping forward." (Eugene)
I raised my White Sword.
The next moment…
Gywoon!!!
The sound of slicing wind grazed past my ear.
(What!?) (Eugene)
A golden spear passed directly in front of my eyes.
Dodging it was pure luck.
Don!!!
A shock like my body exploded rippled through me, and I was blown away.
(I got kicked!?) (Eugene)
I only realized afterward that it was a roundhouse kick from a blind spot.
I hurriedly rolled in midair to recover.
"Guwa!"
Claude, who tried to attack Eri from behind, was blown away.
Claude slammed into the ground, groaning in the cloud of dust.
"Damn…! I can't see…!"
"Haa! …Eh?"
"Erinyes, remem—kya!"
A golden flash swept through Sara and Airi as well.
It wasn't even 'swinging a spear' anymore…
It was like the light itself had taken shape and was attacking us.
(…Twin Heavenly Resonance Style – Secret Art: [Fenrir].) (Eugene)
I closed in using Sky Walk, aiming to strike Eri while her gaze was away from me…
—— "No, Eugene. That kind of lukewarm attack won't work."
I heard a voice, and my consciousness went dark.
◇◇
"Eugy-kun! Eugy-kun, wake up!!"
I opened my eyes as Sumire shook my body.
I quickly got up and looked around.
"Sara! Airi! Even Claude…" (Eugene)
I rushed to the three who were down and used healing magic.
They woke up immediately.
"Uu…"
"Huh…? I lost consciousness…?"
"What? What happened…?"
(Where's Eri?) (Eugene)
She wasn't anywhere nearby.
"Over there, Eugene." (Anemoi)
Anemoi poked my shoulder.
"Eri, honestly, could you maybe hold back a little more?" (Laila)
"Eeh, I can't go any gentler than that." (Eri)
"Um, Laila-senpai, Eri-senpai, would you like more tea-ssu ka?" (Rita)
"Oh, thank you." (Laila)
"Uh… Should we maybe switch judges for the Trial of the Gods soon…? Laila-senpai is busy, and…" (Mariel)
"It's fine. It's still break time." (Laila)
"R-Right…" (Mariel)
Rita and Mariel were being considerate toward the senior angels.
Wait, no. That's not the issue.
"Eri! The Trial of the Gods…!" (Eugene)
"Good morning, Eugene. The trial ended with your failure." (Eri)
Eri casually said this while holding a teacup.
"Kuh…" (Eugene)
I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly.
To think that after all our training with the Dungeon Master, we end up like this…
—— "Hmm, I don't know about that. I don't think you're that weak. If this had been the original Floor 500 Trial of the Gods, your strength would be more than enough."
"…Demon Lord-sama." (Eugene)
She gave an unexpectedly kind remark.
—— "To begin with, Erinyes-chan's rank is Cherubim, second only to the Seraphim. Seraphim serve directly under the Sun Goddess Althena-kun, so her rank is practically one of the strongest under the Goddess herself. Honestly, she's not someone who should appear on Floor 500." (Loki)
"Then why would the Wood Goddess Freya-sama…" (Eugene)
Eri's transformation into an angel was the will of the Goddess.
—— "Well, the most likely reason is that she's messing with me. The Wood Goddess doesn't like me~. But this time, I feel like she has another purpose too." (Loki)
"Another purpose…?" (Eugene)
While I was talking with the Demon God…
"Hey, Eugene."
"Eugene, we need to talk."
Eri and my mother, who had been elegantly drinking tea just moments ago, now stood in front of me.
"W-What is it?" (Eugene)
"You… um…seem awfully close with Lo—with the Demon God-sama?" (Eri)
"Eugene, I don't intend to meddle in your friendships, but…that person is…" (Laila)
Both Eri and my mother wore unusually serious expressions.
—— "My my, looks like the girls don't like how friendly you are with me. No need to worry. Unlike a certain someone, I don't seduce earnest mortals." (Loki)
"..."
"..."
Eri and Mother still looked troubled.
I didn't know how to respond when…
"Hey, Eugy-kun…" (Sumire)
Sumire spoke to me.
Everyone else was looking at me as well.
Right. There was something I needed to confirm.
"Eri, what happens to us now that we've failed the Trial of the Gods?" (Eugene)
Normally, failing means the summoned Divine Beast returns to its original place.
But Eri was still here.
So I initially thought maybe the trial wasn't over.
But if the trial had already ended, Eri remaining here made no sense.
"You can just challenge it again, right? As many times as you want." (Eri)
Eri said this lightly.
"No, is that…allowed?" (Eugene)
I looked toward the Dungeon Master.
"Um… that's not how the usual Trial of the Gods works…" (Anemoi)
Anemoi looked confused.
As expected, this was an irregular situation.
"Eugene, this is because Freya-sama's miracle magic overwrote the original Tower trial." (Laila)
Mother explained.
"The Wood Goddess picking me, Erinyes, as your trial opponent means I'll probably stay fixed for a while." (Eri)
Eri added.
"N-No way! That's impossible!! There's no way we can win!" (Sumire)
Sumire screamed.
Sara and Airi also paled.
"Uh, Rita-chan…" (Claude)
"There's nothing I can do about this…" (Rita)
Claude clung to Rita, desperate.
Certainly, Eri, with her restored angelic powers, completely crushed everyone's morale in a single instant.
But to me, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Hey, Eri." (Eugene)
"What? Want a rematch already?" (Eri)
"Yeah. Please. Sumire, lend me mana." (Eugene)
I readied my White Sword.
"E-Eugy-kun…" (Sumire)
Sumire hesitated but gave me mana.
My whole body burned with heat.
The blade of my White Sword glowed red.
And so did I.
"Eri, I want to ask you something." (Eugene)
She tilted her head.
"What is it?" (Eri)
"Angel…you. Right now. Could you beat the Red Dragon?" (Eugene)
"Hmm. If I had the Valkyrie squad with me, maybe. Alone? It'd be hard." (Eri)
My companions widened their eyes at her words.
"…I see. Then…Eugene Santafield, stepping forward." (Eugene)
I unleashed the Twin Heavenly Resonance Style secret art…and she crushed me again.
"Read ahead more. And stop wasting movement! Come on, next!" (Eri)
Even as my consciousness blurred, I heard Eri's voice.
(Yeah… Our goal is to deal with the Red Dragon.) (Eugene)
The Red Dragon is stronger than Angel Eri.
Which means we have to defeat Eri first.
No matter how impossible it looks.
"Eugene, wake up."
The Dungeon Master shook me awake.
"Thanks, Anemoi. Alright, next is round—" (Eugene)
Just as I was saying that…
"Wait, I'm joining this time." (Airi)
"Don't rush in alone." (Sara)
Airi and Sara grabbed my explorer uniform.
"Okay! Then we'll just have to become strong enough to beat Eri-san." (Sumire)
Sumire had regained her enthusiasm.
Claude, holding his spear over there, too…
…If we're going to face the Red Dragon, we can't complain about fighting Angel Eri.
With that shared understanding, we challenged Eri…
…and were defeated three times without landing even a scratch.