I woke up with a chilling heat that ran on the back of my hand.
　I looked down at my arm, but there was no change in the 'proof of bravery'.

　Is it just my imagination?
　The sky is still dark.
　But somehow I didn't even feel like falling asleep twice.

　I don't know what the logic is, but it seems that the underworld also has morning and night.
　I could see red stars and the moon twinkling in the murky sky.

　There are moons, stars and suns in this world too.
　This world is made up of large continents, not spherical like the earth.
　Fundamentally, the origins and concept of celestial bodies themselves must be different from the original world.

　He slips out of the blanket and stretches widely so as not to wake Lucifina, who is breathing in her sleep.
　I still feel a sense of emptiness after my magic runs out, but I feel a little better now that I've slept.

　I walk a short distance away to check my body's condition.
　On the way, I touch the trees that are growing, but the texture is no different from normal ones.
　The wind was blowing last night, and as far as the laws of physics are concerned, it's pretty much the same as in this world.

　There is no change in the clothes you are wearing or the 'Jade Tathagata' you brought with you.
　When a flesh and blood person comes over here, they are said to be unable to withstand the air and will disappear.
　Then I wonder what would happen if they sent the things from this world to us.

　There are many things I'm wondering about.
　It might not make sense to think about this and that in a world that God created, though.

............

I activated the "Proof of Valor" and let the magic power run through my body.
　I'd say that the remaining magic power is less than 50%.
　The recovery of magic power is slower than usual.
　The amount of power I'm devoting to protecting my body from the outside air of the underworld may be the reason why my recovery power is lower.

　But contrary to the condition of my body, my mind is somewhat lighter.

'...... Lucifina's, thanks to you.

　Still.
　The sense of loss and the hatred that seems to burn a hole in my chest and scorches my whole body has not diminished.
　What needs to be done has not changed.

----.

　Suddenly, I had an illusion similar to the one I had when someone touched my hair back.
　Someone was watching me.
　Reaching for the sword at his waist, he turned back to his gaze with vigor.

'----'

　A short distance away - someone was standing outside of the wards that Liuzas had put up.

''What ......?''

　What was there was a mass of black, smoky haze.
　I could barely make out that it was in the shape of a man.

----.

　At his feet, at the sight of the shadows, he shuddered involuntarily.
　A shadow of haze, writhing.
　If one looked closely, one could see that the shadows were all composed of arms.
　The countless arms were writhing as if they were calling for help.

　Outside of the warding, a haze was scurrying around.
　Eventually, the part of the haze that hits the face of the haze peers into the ward.

''---- ah.''

　I heard a dumbfounded voice that could not be taken as male or female.

　It was shortly after that.
　From within the stirring shadows, a single arm reached out to us.
　As if grasping something, the moment that hand cut the sky--.

　-- A girl was standing in the place where the haze had been a moment ago.

　Her gray hair, stretched out carelessly, was drained of pigment.
　In some places, the red color was mixed in like a mesh.　
　Her large, round eyes, red in the right eye and blue in the left, are different colors on each side, as if she had a glass ball fitted at random.

　The translucent white skin is covered with a crude cloth.
　There was no indication that he was holding a weapon, and his small hands were hanging down weakly like a doll.

　The girl, who received a somewhat limp appearance, was too sparse in her presence to be there.
　I can't sense any hostility, but I can't read any emotion from her expression.

''...... hey.''

　I called out to her, but the girl didn't answer.
　It's just a shaking body and just peeking at you vacantly.

　No, it's not me who's watching ......?
　Not me, in the back?

　Eventually, the girl reaches out to us with a fearful look.
　Immediately after, the wards rejected the intruder.
　Shaking her shoulders as if startled, the girl who was played retreats back without power.

　Her mouth moves and she utters some words.

''----.''

　I didn't hear his voice.
　But I'm pretty sure that mouth is now ----.

'Hey, what the hell are you ......?'

　I was about to call out to him when he unexpectedly tapped me on the shoulder from behind.
　My heart leaps to a halt.

'What's wrong?'

　I turned around and saw Lucifina standing there with a worried look on her face.

'No. ......'

　When I turned around and looked in the original direction.
　Already, the girl from earlier had disappeared.

◆

A soul on the verge of becoming a wreck.

　I asked him about the girl who disappeared, and what he came back with were these words.

The souls that can't stand the air and melt, mix with other souls. When other souls mix in, they usually can't stand it and their ego gets thinner. The one who lost his ego also melted and mixed with others, in this way, a chain of events occurred. That's what you saw, isn't it?

　Indeed, the girl I saw earlier was rare, and the color of her hair and eyes gave me the impression that she was choppy.
　The joke of the word "weak and strong" came to mind, and it was disgusting.
　However, there was still a part about that girl that bothered me.

''That girl was peering into the wards. Does a vanishing soul have the power to see through your wards?

Didn't they just look like they were watching us?　I didn't skimp on the warding.

............

　Really?

Would you mind?

...... little bit.

　Before he woke up, the girl from earlier was strangely curious about him, combined with the tingling of the 'Proof of Valor'.
　After pondering for a while, Liuzas clicked his tongue as if he was irritated.

'Worrying. I'm sure your caution would be good for you if you were to use it elsewhere.

...... Mr. Liuzas.

'Good, Lucifina. I'm not going to listen to this guy's nonsense.

　Angrily, he stops Lucifina from raising her arms towards Liuzas.
　It's just exhausting to deal with every single one of them.
　This guy's magic skills have use value. As long as their purposes are aligned, you can use them.

'Brainiac woman ....... You don't have to try to hit me every time you want to. Well, okay. Anyway, I don't want to stay here for long. Some hero is scared out of his wits, so let's get out of here.

　When Lucifina raised her fist in the air, Lucidina gave him a bitter look and Liuzas pointed behind her.

''Do you have the right direction?''

　Our final destination is to the north, but we need to go through the west side to get there.
　I know the direction of that crystal, but I haven't been able to get the exact direction yet.

I figured out the direction while you guys were sleeping. I can get a general idea of the direction by looking at the stars.

'Yes!　Isn't that great, Mr. Liuzas?

　Not answering Lucifina's voice of praise, Liuzas began to lead the way.
　The direction of the stars?
　I've checked the stars and the moon during the night, but I haven't been able to grasp the law of the land.
　I can't just rely on that guy, I need to learn it before it's too late.

　With that in mind.

Hey, come on, man. If I can afford it, I'll teach you how to read the stars at night. I'll show you how to read the stars at night, if you can afford it, and you'll learn to work like a human being.

　After exchanging looks with Lucifina, we followed Liuzas.

◆

　As we passed through the forest, we came to a wide hill.
　The ground was uneven and the foothold was poor.
　But fortunately, many of the rocks protruding from the ground served as shields to hide us.
　While hiding from view, we slowly proceeded onward.

　As we walked, we were briefed on the south side of the underworld, where we were currently located.
　Unlike the fiercely contested north and east sides, this side seems to be a relatively calm place.
　I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.

I was also a guest in a village built by such people for a while.

　There are some people who have built a village near the forest where Kongo uses as its territory, and are living in secret.
　It's a way of surviving by taking advantage of the fact that the wreckage and ruffians don't go near the forest for fear of Kongo.

　In such villages, various people are said to be living together to survive.
　I didn't expect to see the scene I was aiming for after I died," said Lucifina, letting out a small bitter smile.

'Lately, I've heard that people who came a little before me have been going around helping people who are wandering around. It seems that there are people on this side of the world who are fighting just as much as we are.

　It seems that Lucifina and the others had the option of collaborating with that person, but they seemed to be going around to help people in need, so they couldn't meet them after all.

'Come to think of it, what do you do for meals and such over here?'

'We are only souls, and we don't need to eat. Even if we don't eat, we won't be hungry, and it won't interfere with our activities.

　Nevertheless, Lucifina said that the culture of 'food' exists in the underworld as well, in a manner of speaking.
　However, it's not in the form of food that is necessary for living, as it is in this world, but in the form of tastes to be tasted.

'I was surprised too,' she said, 'that food grows on trees. Fruit and vegetables. Even if you pick it up, it grows back after a while.

　They also seem to be able to get fish and meat from rivers and lakes.
　If the dead come to the underworld, I wonder what happens to the souls of the animals, fish and plants.

'Most of the people living in the village ate just as they did in this world. Everyone had a role to play there, and some people's job was to go and collect food for everyone.

What was Lucifina doing there?

'I worked as a guard and escort, mainly to protect the people of the village from danger. We didn't stay in one village for very long, though.

　It was while he and Lucifina were having such a conversation.
　Lucidus, who was walking in front of me, stopped.

I'm sure you'll be able to find your way to the top. The hordes of wreckage are coming towards us!

How many?

Two hundred. It's like an army with a lot of discipline. They're finally doing it, aren't they?

　Strengthening our vision, we peered out from behind the rocks in the direction of our progress.
　Just as Ryusas had said, we could see countless shadows coming towards us from the direction we were traveling.
　Other than the wreckage, we can't find anyone other than the wreckage at the moment.
　Considering our strength, it's not impossible to fight them, but .......

　We shouldn't take them seriously.
　That's when I was about to conclude that.
　A sign caught my sharpened senses.

"...... Are you aware of that, Liuzas?

Yeah. Yeah, like they knew we were there right from the start.

　--Someone is watching me.

　I don't know when, but he's casting a spell of distant vision.
　That's when we had our conversation.

"Aha. What, he had the brains to notice?

　A high female voice echoed throughout the hills.

It's like an insect crawling on the ground, hiding in plain sight. The fact that you want me to deal with these filthy people without a second thought shows how cowardly they are.

　I don't know the voice, but it's obviously speaking to us.

Probably that Megina Van Deerdred I mentioned yesterday.

　Lucifina muttered, her voice hushed.

'What's the matter. It's me calling out to you.　Isn't it reasonable to sob in tears of emotion and look up to the heavens?'

　The voice that could be heard exuded arrogance.
　In one respect, arrogance, the owner of the voice and Elfi have something in common.
　That attitude of looking down on the other person all the way through is a completely different thing, though.

''What do you want to do?　There is still some distance between you and your opponent. We'll have to take a detour, though I suppose we could take a detour.

'Yes. They're the ones who can see through the magic of our concealment. We need to take precautions, but we don't have to deal with them now.

Detour?　We don't have to deal with all of them, but there are quicker ways to move forward than that.

　That's when I try to bypass the conversation.
　He taps the ground with the tip of his wand and Liuzas interrupts the conversation.

'What?'

There's no reason to take countermeasures from afar, but they know we're going to advance on them from the west anyway. So...

　Liuzas narrowed his red eyes and laughed ferociously.

'The ...... inchoate lawman. If you don't come out--'

All you have to do is break through before he gets there first.

　As he leapt out from behind the rock, Liuzas swung his staff down.
　Immediately after - a star fell to the ground.
　The phosphorescence blinked, and the wreckage that was lined up was blown away by the momentum of the explosion.

　-- "Loss Magic (Lost Magic), Falling Starlessness".

　It's two times smaller in scale than when I saw it before.
　Has the output been reduced and the power adjusted?
　Under the influence of the sorcery, the opponent's leadership is disrupted and a hollow is created around the center of the explosion.

"Hey, all you have to do is to advance through that place.

As far as I can see, the only enemy is that army, but are there any other ambushers?

You're not here, so I fired your weapon. Let's get the f*ck out of here.

You have more brains than Mr. Liuzas!

　Liuzas, whose body has been strengthened by magic, begins to run.
　After a moment's delay, we follow.
　We run through the scattered wreckage in one fell swoop.

I'm not going to be able to get out of it. I'm not going to be the only one who has to look up to you, but you've been fooling around with me for so long.

　A woman's voice rang out behind me.

"'Can they be held in check with that many? But don't think you can get away with it. I'm sure they'll be coming at you anyway. I'm not going to be able to get away with it.

Don't be a sore loser. b*tc*, just slump back in your chair, you stupid b*tc*.

"...... absolutely kill

　I could see that the owner of the voice was furious at Ryusas' provocation.
　Behind him, the wreckage begins to move in a controlled manner again.

'Was it necessary to provoke them?　He's an understandable and arrogant opponent. All you have to do is make him step back like you said he would.

　He's the kind of guy who would line up an army of idiotically honest people.
　Of course it's easier to do it if you let him get on a roll.

"Shut up. Calling someone an idiot is a stupid thing to do.

That's why you've always had so many enemies!

　Turning around, Lucifina swings down her great sword.
　The slash that was released stops the wreckage that was chasing us.
　Meanwhile, running through the hills, we swept the wreckage away.

　After running for a while, we arrived at the west side of what is considered to be Kongo's territory--a large forest.
　We arrived at the large forest.