28 Regret

Using his new 'combo' Haru continued to cut, with the monsters' blood of a purple color spilling both on himself and the floor. He felt the fatigue was slowing the swings of his sword down, yet Haru gritted his teeth.

'If I let go now that I see a light of hope, I will have done nothing but prolong my death. I have too much to do in this world to waste this life in a Dungeon Floor.'

This determination pushed him. He had people to repay, things to try, but especially the beginning of his journey to change the world for the better had not even begun.

Ignoring any pain he could feel all over his body, Haru disabled yet another Killer Ant. With his combo that shrunk the speed with which he could deal with only one Killer Ant, Haru was using as much energy as he could burn, also because it wouldn't be long before the Dungeon would start supplying mana to the monsters, regenerating them all. Knowing that would result in his death, Haru carefully observed his surroundings as he ran towards another Killer Ant, finding that there were still 20 of them, although he had already disabled 43 Killer Ants.

But knowing that usually, their swarm was large, Haru could not stop to think. Even though only 20 of them remained after a long fight, he could not underestimate them at all.

And it is with this certainty that Haru quickly wiped some sweat that was coming down his chin, firmly putting his hand back on the sword so that he could quickly wipe out the last Killer Ants left...

---

Shortly after Yamato Mikoto had begun to peek at how the fight was proceeding, she saw something that hardened her expression. She had noticed that the way Haru wielded the sword was different from what she was used to seeing. There was something she could not explain in the boy's actions. He didn't seem to have enough parameters to overpower the Killer Ants, yet his sword technique was not bad at all, if not rare, as the power behind the attacks was something she couldn't fully explain.

But if that made her think perhaps her help was not necessary in the end, sighing in relief, yet she proved to be wrong. Mikoto was able to see how a Killer Ant had managed to attack him, and since at that moment he was still focused on another enemy, he could not avoid him in time, taking the blow directly on his left arm.

Seeing Haru being thrown away by the blow, Mikoto was about to unsheathe her sword to rescue him, but Ouka shook his head.

"The boy's fighting alone. If he needs help, he wouldn't carry that security behind him. I think this challenge could help him become stronger in the future, and if we saved him now, maybe his growth would be badly influenced..."

What Ouka said was true. If they had moved to save him, who knows what his reaction would have been. Depending on it, the falna would probably have responded with a change in his parameters. In the end, Ouka could see that the boy was determined to survive. If he were trying to be cool by trying to survive such a swarm all by himself, then Ouka wouldn't have stopped him, Because he knew it would annoy himself if someone stuck their nose in his business without any permission whatsoever.

"I understand your reasoning, Captain Ouka, but..."

What he didn't want to see anymore was watching someone die without doing anything to save him. But as this worry made its way into her mind, she saw the boy now up, glancing furiously at the Killer Ants.

"It hurts, and now my cloth is torn apart. I guess I'll have to pay for new clothes with your heads later."

Announcing these words that seemed ironic to Mikoto, she could see how seriously Haru was worrying about something completely different from the fight. However, it barely lasted the time to say these words, as a couple of seconds later, Mikoto saw the Killer Ant that had injured him collide against the ground, with blood pouring out of what was once part of the monster's shoulder as its arm flew away.

The more she observed Haru's swordsmanship, the more Mikoto admired him, precisely because his sword widely originated from the Far East. Which unconsciously made her crack a smile, remembering for a few moments her own country.

That's how Haru swung and swung his sword, but after so many times that he had always done the same tactic, he changed. If before his attacks were slow and time-consuming, now Haru seemed like a lightning bolt, continuing to pass among the monsters, cutting roughly, no longer worrying about fixing his posture. If she thought at first that the move was of despair, the reason for the hand on her sword to be shaking, now she had to stop as she understood this was not an act of mere desperation at all.

Haru was evolving his understanding of the sword during the fight, using a form of attack of his own combining more attacks into one.

'Ability to think in times of danger, cold-bloodedness, evolve his knowledge of the sword during a fight... How could I have never heard of such a talented adventurer?'

The fact he was on the 7th floor, meant he probably registered as an adventurer by at least 2 or 3 months. Yet in this period, Mikoto had not heard a single rumour regarding a talented adventurer like him. Some questions arose in her hand from these thoughts. However, she chose to put them away for when they could speak since she wanted to be the one to witness a fellow swordsman's fight in its entirety.

Mikoto could understand his goal was to make the Killer Ants unable to fight and then finish them all at once. A rather rudimentary and risky plan, but found herself in his situation, Mikoto knew she would not be able to find a solution so quickly if not to kill as much as possible. Besides, with him who was even alone, thinking one could slay them all was comparable to suicide...

After some time passed with Haru wounded on his way multiple times but got up with a seemingly more explosive force to continue his attack, the captain was surprised by the determination and will he was demonstrating.

'...If I were all alone against that huge amount of Killer Ants, I probably wouldn't be able to get out alive. Even if I would barely survive, my mind would have shattered long before, as despair was the only thing I would've been able to picture.'

He would not give voice to these thoughts, yet he could not deny in his mind that these words were the truth. Even though his strength was overwhelming compared to a single Killer Ant, Ouka knew the mind was much more fragile than the body. Faced with a situation he could only define as hopeless, Ouka didn't know for sure what he would have done. Maybe he would have thrown himself at his enemies with all his might out of despair, or he would have just given up hope, letting the Killer Ants honour their name.

---

With blood flowing from his arms and on one side of his face, Haru used all of his remaining strength to cut the Killer Ant's neck.

'Finally...this was the last...still alive...'

After dealing with the last 20 Killer Ants, Haru hurried to use his remaining forces to cut the neck of each of them. For those that did not dissolve immediately, Haru reserved an additional treatment. If he saw the Killer Ant still alive in fact, he would stab them a second time in the chest to erase them.

He needed to hurry before not only his body would no longer hold the extreme level of fatigue, but also that the mana could regenerate the lost parts of the monsters, so he couldn't care less if it was harsh on them or not.

Successfully managed to deal with all the Killer Ants, he looked for a second at his sword, totally covered in purple blood, and at the same time with signs of proximity to breaking, could finally meet its due rest. This realization made Haru release the sword instinctively, But as soon as he let it go, the sword, who had already small cracks everywhere, broke into a thousand pieces with a high-pitched sound that resonated for a whole second.

However, Haru couldn't focus on it as if all the strength he had up to a second ago was nothing more than a mirage, he was now falling to the ground while losing consciousness.

Before he could crash into the ground, however, Haru was met by two hands who slowed his fall slowly, until he landed with his head on what he believed to be thighs.

Losing consciousness, Haru failed to recognize the person who had come to his aid. All he could notice was the bluish-purple color of the girl's eyes as she whispered something he couldn't understand, but even before Haru could wrap his head around what the girl told him, Haru felt a lightness well known to him. However, that was slightly different from the last time he felt in this way...

---

Seeing Haru ending the last monster's life, Mikoto was curious to go and talk to the former as he still seemed to have the strength to stand. Yet this thought changed the moment she saw Haru release his sword, that as if had finally completed its duties, she could see as the cracks on the sword widened quickly, shattering the sword into many pieces. As a result, it generated a sound so high-pitched she trembled for a moment. However, she had no time to think, as Haru was now falling to the ground.

Before the other members of Takemikazuchi Familia could add anything, Mikoto used all her speed to reach him. Managing to stop his fall just before his head hit the ground, and having nowhere else to rest his head, Mikoto sat on the blood of the numerous Killer Ants, which, although faded, was still present on the floor, allowing Haru to rest his head on her thighs.

Gently laying his head down, Mikoto could only look at him in the eyes, and once their eyes met, Mikoto showed him a small smile as her eyes narrowed as gently.

"You fought well. Now you can rest, it's all over."

At her words, Haru's lost eyes did not react whatsoever, but before she could say anything else, she observed how Haru slowly closed his eyes due to the desire for resting.

'I humbly ask you to forgive me if I didn't act sooner, but as captain Ouka said, it would have been more damaging for you to stop than to let yourself go as long as you could resist... I apologize.'

With these thoughts in mind, the little smile she had met Haru's eyes faded. They could have avoided having him reduced in these conditions. Yet the captain's decision was both logical and correct, so Mikoto had not been able to act in any way, but if this was the case, she had promised to accompany him back to the surface. It was the least she could do for him in her mind to apologize.

---

(That's all for today, Mikoto is like what, the 2nd candidate to become Haru's girlfriend in the future? Do not think it's assured that Hephaestus will be with him in the end only because he chose to fulfil her promise and also to see her eye, there are still quite a good amount of girls to introduce, I believe. Btw join my discord.gg/y8VBZAp I'll give you candy!)

(If from the parenthesis above this one you assumed the story was a harem, then congratulations, you can't understand simple sentences in English. Don't mind this message if you understood)

(Haru broke his sword! Yet wasn't that a good weapon? how could it shatter so easily? Oh yes? please wait for the explanation to come in the next chapters.)