'The fuck is that!? A Core?' Gahan stumbled behind as he realized. He'd moved this deep into the dungeon. 'It must be a new one, for a core to only this far into it... But where's the dungeon boss?'

Gahan looked around, unable to comprehend what exactly was happening. In these few seconds, the core stopped strobing. He rolled his eyes at his own exaggerated reaction, brushing off what just happened and walking back towards the confused girl, who shrunk in fear.

"Now... Where were we?" He snickered. raising his hand to grab onto Mihara's arm.

"I guess we were at the part you said I wasn't here to help."

Gahan's eyes widened as he saw a smile appear on the girls face, a voice calling him from behind.

'Impossible!'

He turned around in a hurry to see the man he'd apparently killed before dashing at him while holding a shortsword.

*clang*

Gahan grits his teeth as he recognizes the blade. It is one of Lancer's katars. He blocks the incoming attack with his sword ad the very last second.

'Fuck, I'm slow! Is it because of using that too much?'

His body felt heavy. His movements, sluggish.

"Shit." He let a mutter escape between his teeth, forcing a smile to form on the boy's face.

"What is it? Weren't you all manly and powerful just a second ago? Could it be you are too tired?" Gunther taunted him, taking a leap behind before dashing against him once again, sparks flying as their blades clashed.

"..." Gahan frowned, his eyebrows furrowed as he blocked the boy's sword, ignoring the increasing pain on his muscles.

"Did someone rip off your tongue?" Gunther pressed further, slashing from overhead. Gahan easily parried the hit, but his movements felt heavier by the second.

"AAAAH!" He yelled as he unleashed a counter.

'Fuck!' Gunther jumped back, barely managing to avoid the edge of Gahan's blade. As he landed, a sharp pain caught his attention, a small cut was visible on his clothes, just between his ribs. He'd been cut, albeit a shallow one. 'That was close... Shit!'

He jumped back once again as he saw Gahan's blade slashing onto him just a second after looking up.

'How did he!?' Gahan questioned himself as he doubted how he could've avoided his blade, which he didn't even notice until the last moment. A sense of wrongness grew inside him as he realized that, despite being pressed back, his opponent's movements felt unnatural.

'It's almost like he doesn't know how to use a fucking sword but has absurd physical skills...' Gahan was confused, not knowing his hunch was spot on.  "What!?"

He yelled, as he parried a completely nonstandard cut from below. Defending from such a weird angle threw Gahan out of stance, making him stumble as his sore muscles failed to compensate for the force, cramping.

Mihara still stood in shock, watching the battle unfold. It is not like she could've done nothing to help... but everything was happening so suddenly. She just barely noticed the two shadows that sprung into action, attacking Gahan.

'Wha-!' Gahan realized the killing intent coming from his sides, there was no way to avoid both. 'Those pesky goblins again.' He thought, as he quickly devised a way to escape the onslaught. "Ghaa~!" He yelled in pain as he did the only thing he could to stop the three-fold attack with his legs almost frozen solid. His blade drew a circle, forcing Gunther to retreat while it drew an unnatural arc behind him. Gunther watched in awe as the two shadows fell to the ground, dead, while Gahan's arm hung lower, completely disconnected from his shoulder.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Gahan howled as he forced his arm back in place with his other hand. 'This is bad! I can't keep this much longer!' Gahan thought to himself as he noticed the existence of more such goblins with the corner of his vision. "Here I come!" He yelled as he lunged suicidally at Gunther, who barely managed to parry and block his half-baked slashes.

'Shit! His getting the upper hand!' Gunther desperately tried to find a window to counterattack. Gahan's strokes were slower and weaker than before, but still deadly. A single wrong step and he'd die. 'How can this motherfucker be this good!? Even slowing time down I can't find any flaws!' Reality was, had it not been for his newfound ability to nearly stop time, Gunther would've been dead from the very first time their swords crossed. But a glance was enough, when you can almost pause time itself.

As soon as he saw Gahan turn his eyes towards the goblins who left the "dungeon", Gunther reverted the tides of the fight. Gahan stumbled back as he slowly parried hit after hit, hard pressed under the burden of his previous injuries.

"Fuck!" He yelled as he blocked a hit inches ahead of his face.

"What is it? Feeling scared?" Gunther's taunts had an increased efect on the worn out mercenary.

"Like hell I'd fear you! I'm a way better swordsman!" Gahan pulled his sword back, slashing at Gunther in a very sluggish manner, which was easily parried.

"You see..." Gunther became serious as his blade was once again blocked by Gahan, but this time, they locked in place under the strain of their arms. "The strongest swordsman doesn't fear the second strongest... He fears the weakest of them  all."

Gahan's eyes widened as he suddenly turned behind to try and avoid the impending danger, but all he managed was to gasp as he fell on his knees, a Katar piercing straight through his heart.

"You did well... I'm sorry I didn't help you earlier..." Gunther walked past the fallen Gahan, pulling the sword out of his back and giving it back to Mihara, who gave him death's embrace. He kissed her on the lips softly, making her cry with joy.

"I knew you'd come back for me." She rested her cheek on his palm, as he caressed her.

"I told you I'd never let you go, but now," He stared down at the twitching Gahan, who was trying to grab something from his satchel. "I think you should be the one to finish him off."

Mihara took a couple small steps forward, before.

"DIE YOU PIECE OF FUCK! SCUM! SCOUNDREL!"

"Eeeh~!" Gunther counted in awe as Mihara skewered the man with the Katar using both hands. She took her sweet time stabbing him dozens of times on the head, back, legs... One could say, the half-naked mercenary was turned into a pincushion. 'She's scary...' Gunther kept watching in silence as she continuously pierced the man, his blood occasionally gushing up and onto her face and arms.

She took her sweet time doing it, a disturbing smile on her face.

"Fuaaaah~! This felt so fucking good... Eh. Sorry... I went too far..." She suddenly blushed as she turned back into her usual self... Gunther was still silent, in utter amazement, until she turned her bloodied face towards him, dead serious, pointing the sword straight at him.

Or rather, right next to his face.

Her deadpan smile combined with all the blood gave her a far more deadly aura than even what she'd done before, and he paled, until she spoke.

"Gun... Care to explain who the hell is that girl?"

"Huh?"

She asked, with deadpan eyes, a murderous aura that would make any man shiver.... And Gunther looked back, only to see a naked girl with pink hair hugging her knees on the corner of the room, staring straight at the two.

"Gloria?!"