HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

"Is this the entrance to the second level? It only took ten minutes," Yae Sakura said from her seat on Higokumaru's back, glancing at the timer. The journey from the underground city entrance to the threshold of the second level indeed took just ten minutes.

The entrance to the next level before her, much like the starting entrance, was a shimmering veil of colored light.

"Well, let's go!" After a moment of contemplation, noting the swift passage of time, Yae Sakura felt there was no room for further deliberation.

With a word from Yae Sakura, the fiery fox Higokumaru began to enter the light-based portal.

-

As Yae Sakura and Higokumaru passed through the shimmering veil, a colossal palm suddenly descended upon them.

Both Yae and Higokumaru jumped in fright. However, Higokumaru's reflexes were quicker; she instantly darted off with Yae, narrowly escaping the giant hand.

The massive palm struck the ground, leaving behind a small crater where it had landed.

Now, Yae Sakura and Higokumaru turned to face the one who had ambushed them upon their very entrance.

-

Before them stood a giant nearly twenty meters tall, but... it had only one eye and two pairs of arms, each exuding incredible strength.

If Higokumaru hadn't been with them earlier, none of the adventurers would have survived that initial attack.

They'd barely made it to the second floor, without even having a chance to look around, before this massive one-eyed, four-armed behemoth could've ended it all with a single swipe.

"A Cyclops..." Yae Sakura murmured, sitting on Higokumaru's back. Though she'd heard rumors of one-eyed giants on the second floor, she never expected to encounter one this way, and so soon after entering.

To make it to the second floor, and even dodge A'Do's attack...

The Cyclops gazed down at the human and fox with some surprise. You've met our standards. Not many can say that.

"I can't waste much time with you. Instantaneous Body Slash!" Yae Sakura locked onto the Cyclops's single eye, transforming into a blade of light hurtling towards her target.

However... when Yae Sakura alighted on the Cyclops's head, her sword glare managed only to inflict a wound on its eyelid. It failed to fully blind the giant's eye as she'd hoped.

Its eyelid is far thicker than I imagined.

"Ahh, it hurts... A'Do hurts so much! I can't believe you'd dare hurt me! I'll turn you into mincemeat!"

The pain from the wound on his eyelid sent the Cyclops howling. In his fury, he swatted at the Yae Sakura sitting atop his head with all four of his hands.

But... as he forcefully smacked his head, he inflicted more pain upon himself. And with that blow, the Yae Sakura vanished from his head.

"You foolish creature, living on this earth is nothing but torture for you. Let me grant you release!" Yae Sakura appeared on the Cyclops's shoulder, gripping her spiritual blade with both hands, her declaration icy-cold.

"A'Do will kill you!" The Cyclops's anger only intensified at Yae Sakura's words, and he continued to swat at her with his hands.

"Cyclops... you're a divine being as well, aren't you? Then... my apologies, but I... am specifically targeting 'gods'. And that divinity... will prove to be your downfall."

Yae Sakura tightened her grip on the spiritual blade, pouring her spiritual energy into this weapon designed to combat deities.

As the Cyclops's hand was about to close in, she made a swift cut...

A sword mark streaked across the Cyclops's neck.

The weapon skill of the spiritual blade: [Blazing Sakura, Chaos Divinity]

The special property of the blade increases non-human damage by 100%, and for divine beings, the damage is further amplified by 250%...

And the Cyclops... was indeed a divine creature...

-

The Cyclops's hand, which had been swiping at Yae Sakura, froze. Then, its massive head simply detached from its neck and fell to the ground.

Yae Sakura leaped from the Cyclops's shoulder, landing gracefully on Higokumaru's back.

"Higokumaru, shall we continue forward?"

"Yes, Big Sister." Higokumaru turned, and they swiftly moved on.

As soon as Yae Sakura and Higokumaru were out of sight, the headless Cyclops crumpled to the ground, motionless...

-

On the second level, the number of demonic creatures was even greater than on the first, and they were more ferocious and rare.

Yae Sakura and Higokumaru encountered many marvelous magic beasts and creatures...

However, they were either crushed to death by Higokumaru or burned to a crisp with a single breath of flame.

Two-headed lizards, carrion eaters...

-

As they ventured further, they arrived in a more spacious area where a group of harpies suddenly attacked Higokumaru and Yae Sakura with reckless abandon.

These harpies had the heads of human women and the bodies of birds of prey.

Brutal, vicious, greedy...

They were a group of exceedingly evil demonic creatures. Yae Sakura never would have imagined that such beings could exist in an underground dungeon; typically, they lived on cliffs and precipices.

Upon reflection, it made sense that the Demon Lord might populate his underground lair with harpies, as it was a domain he'd created specifically for this purpose.

Despite being no match for Higokumaru's flames, the harpies charged irrationally towards Yae Sakura on Higokumaru's back like moths to a flame. As if determined to take Yae Sakura down with them, despite having never met her or Higokumaru before, they acted as though driven by an ancient, unrelenting hatred.

"Annoying insects!" Unable to bear it any longer, Higokumaru unleashed a blast of fox fire upward.

The inferno claimed most of the harpies, but a few managed to evade using their mystical abilities.

Just as they were about to reach the duo below, five fiery tails lashed out, dispersing the remaining harpies.

Yae Sakura, too, joined the fray, her sword slashes cleaving through the air to decimate the harpies in front of her.

The battle raged on, the trio confronting wave after wave of harpies determined to meet Yae Sakura no matter the cost. Higokumaru, unfazed, spat forth another torrent of fox fire, seeking to wipe out these adversaries intent on touching her precious cargo.

After escaping from the harpy territory, Yae Sakura and Higokumaru estimated they had slain at least several thousand harpies. The remaining ones were probably less than a hundred.

These monsters were truly insane, caring nothing for their own lives.

However... this extreme nature was typical of harpies. If you invaded their territory or took something belonging to them, they would stop at nothing to get it back.

-

"Finally rid of them!"

Encountering these harpies hadn't left us injured, but they were still a tremendous nuisance.

"We should reach the third level soon, shouldn't we?"

-

Sure enough, not long after, Yae Sakura arrived at the entrance to the third level of the dungeon.

Having learned from their previous misfortune, Yae Sakura and Higokumaru were well-prepared for defense when entering the third level.

However, once they entered the third level, nothing like the incident at the second level's entrance occurred.

They passed through safely...