The skeletons kept popping up, one after another, out of the turn of the wide hallway before us into the one we were in.
From where they were coming from, a dark smoke began to rise and along with it, the unmistakable smell of something burning, giving a clear idea of what that noise we heard a few moments ago was.
Now that they had us in their field of vision, the cavity where the eyes of the enemy skeletons should be, glowed a red light, and their footsteps were rushing towards us, making even more noise from the bones hitting the hard floor. Only now that they were getting closer could I glimpse a black aura around their figures, a dark smoke that bound them together, as if they were puppets connected.
They were very similar to the skeletons I had faced in the game, the first and weakest of enemies, but that aura was strange. Although it didn't give me any dread, the situation was different for those with me, especially Mash and Hokusai.
Shielder retreated as the enemies advanced, and I could see the nervous sweat pouring from her face and arms. Her expression was serious and cautious; I could even say that she seemed somewhat afraid of those things coming our way. Hokusai was clinging to me again, but only in the clothes, sticking her breasts to my back and looking from behind me into the corridor, sometimes hiding, as if afraid to see something.
Before this situation, something had happened to them, something to do with these monsters. Or maybe I am calm because I know how weak they are from the game.
In the game, not in reality. If I acted rashly here, I could end this new life before it even begins.
I counted fifteen skeletons in a procession that came faster and faster, carrying their weapons with their fists, the ones behind wielded spears instead of swords which were pointed towards our direction.
"Thorn, we should retreat and get out of here as quickly as possible." Mash spoke, whispering as if any of them could hear us, which was unlikely when dealing with skeletons.
When I turned my attention to her, her eyes were almost pleading, fearful. Artoria, behind Shielder, looked worriedly as well at the scene ahead but was more confused, just following the same as the others about being cautious.
"Why? Shouldn't we face them? Shall we just let them take Chaldea? I believe we are strong enough to take on some skeletons, no? Are you guys capable of fighting?" Even though I had spoken to the other two, I looked directly at Ruler, who nodded in confirmation and then blushed. I didn't understand the reason for the embarrassment until I heard her next words.
"Master has made me stronger, I think he is right in saying we can take on these monsters, they are not even in great numbers." Artoria's initial embarrassment soon turned to analytical and courageous, befitting who she was.
Behind me, Hokusai decided to show her face, waving in response to my question, and when I got a better look at her, I noticed that a little black octopus-like creature was crawling on one of her shoulders hidden by her black hair.
The apparition of it seemed to bring into even sharper focus how unreal the whole situation was. Even though I wanted to appear rational, it is hard to accept that there was a floating mascot following a girl in a kimono and strange hair accessories, and even stranger to remember that this animal represented her father.
I tried not to focus too much on the weirdness of the moment and just smiled at her, encouraging her not to feel afraid to fight.
It was strange to see this, a servant afraid to fight.
"You don't know..." Quietly, Mash's voice tried to say something, but a noise cut off her words.
It was a strange, hoarse, grotesque moan. It was closer than we imagined, and so was its owner, the skeleton in front, who began to run the remaining few meters, raising the sword in one of his hands in the air, ready to lower it towards the shield that protected us.
Without much time, I held the shield with Mash and pushed him forward. It was as heavy as I imagined it would be, but the lilac-haired girl was as quick as I was to act, running with the shield towards the skeleton, no matter how much her expression opposed that idea.
The clash of the metal sword against the shield caused a loud, continuous sound that I felt reverberating in my bones, perhaps because I was holding the shield with Mash. But the idea seemed to take effect when the collision shook the enemy and made him walk backwards.
Foolish or not, I didn't stand still. Wanting to see if my idea about how weak those monsters were was accurate, I dropped the shield and stepped out from behind it, placing myself in front of the horde of skeletons coming towards us and immediately in front of the one we hit and still looked a bit confused by the collision.
"Master!..."
Whoever it was that called me, I paid no attention, being too busy lifting my leg to deliver an aggressive kick where the skeleton's ribs were, pushing him against the nearby wall.
The enemy fell backwards and landed hard on the wall, dropping the sword from his skeletal hand. Wasting no time, I went towards him and kicked him again in the ribs, then stomped on them.
I felt the bone break under the sole of my boot, and before I had time to take another stomp, now on his chest, the enemy disappeared into black dust.
Unfortunately, his weapon also turned to dust, slipping through my fingers when I tried to pick it up from the ground.
With a smug smile, I turned to the women still hidden behind Shielder's large shield, watching me slightly surprised.
"Didn't I say they were weak enemies?"
I had no time to gloat, and again I was called out by Hokusai, who widened her eyes in terror as other grotesque screams arose behind me.
"Lord Master!"
Before I could entirely turn around, I saw out of the corner of my eye a quick and graceful movement, something that looked like black ink made a scratch in the air for a few seconds, and four of the skeletons turned to dust before me.
Beside me, Hokusai landed gracefully on the ground, her beautiful breasts swayed slightly with the movement, and now she was holding what looked like a large paintbrush, noticeably heavy to me, but which she carried as if it were the weight of a normal one.
The sudden attack made the others retreat a few steps, but soon they were back on their march towards us, still meters away.
I ran my hand through the girl's black hair in Japanese clothes, and she turned to me with a beautiful smile on her lips. Of course, my eyes went down to her cleavage, but the idea was to encourage her, so my hand continued to fondle her head.
"Very good, Hokusai. Thank you for saving me, I was a fool to turn my back on those things, even though they were weak. Do you think you can do it again and finish off the rest?"
She nodded in confirmation, excited, again her cleavage showing her breasts moved slightly with subtlest of movements.
More and more, I am getting carried away with those skin samples and erotic parts, to the point where I just want to escape back to the room and enjoy the appearance of the two new servants, even if it is still unknown whether Mash is my servant or not.
So let's get it over with, I thought as I turned to the approaching enemies.
What I saw was too fast to understand and even distinguish whether it was real. One moment I was still stroking the black strands of beautiful Hokusai's hair, and the next, she was falling on top of me, dropping her big brush and with her accompanying mascot wide-eyed with concern, floating around us.
Nearby, Mash was shouting something I didn't quite understand as I fell to the floor with the Foreigner class servant in my arms. Her clothes were ripped in some parts. Amidst all of this, I remember seeing a skull mask decorating an all-black face, too fast to notice any details before it simply disappeared.