We left the village and headed for the demon's lair that the chief told us about.
　It was in the forest at the foot of a volcano.
　Large trees no more than a few hundred years old stood in a row, and the sun's rays were blocked by the spreading foliage, giving the place the appearance of eternal night even in the daytime.
　A hole was drilled in the rocky mountain like a large creature's mouth. Peer through it from a distance. It seems the hole leads deep underground.

This is definitely their lair. I'm sensing a dense miasma.
Yeah. I'm not much of a fighter, but there's a definite feeling of disgust in the middle of this one, something unapproachable.

　Anna frowned as she peered into the nest.

"And it smells like... It sucks.
"They're good at night, but we're not. And of course, they know what's inside the nest.
So the enemy has a lot of ground to cover.

　At Anna's words, Elsa nodded her head.

But we can't just sit here and do nothing. Even as we speak, the people of the village are in trouble.
"Elsa. Wait a minute. Not so fast.

　She was about to march into the lair when I grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her.

"We don't have to be stupid enough to play in the other ring. Just drag him out into the ring over here.
'Huh. ....... Does that mean you're going to lure him out?　But how?　Doesn't the mole show itself on the ground?
"It's easy. You just have to make it look that way. Meryl.

　I called out to him, and Meryl said, "Hmm? And then she turned her innocent face to me. I beckoned to her, and she came running up to me like a puppy.
　I gently nudge her ear.

"Well?　Can you do it?
Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm.

　Meryl made a circle with her thumb and forefinger.
　Me and Meryl are standing side by side at the entrance to the den. From here it's all slope up to the bottom where an unfathomable darkness awaits us with a wide open mouth.

"Daddy and I are working together, aren't we?
Well, yeah, but... Don't talk like that.

　I smiled and held up my palm.
　Meryl followed suit. Two magic circles rose into the air.

"'Water splash!'

　When the chanting was completed, a large amount of water was released from the blue-lit magic circle. It flowed along the slope into the nest.
The silent depths of the darkness that had been shrouded in silence a moment ago suddenly became noisy.

　There was a scream, then a bewildered cry.
　It seems to be panicking at the sudden rush of water.

"Oh, I see. So you're going to waterboard it. Submerging the nest will wipe out any advantage we might have. It'll shave off a lot of the enemy's strength.

　Anna was right.
　There was no need to venture into unfavorable conditions of battle.
　Ordinary magic doesn't work for this plan.
　That's because it's me and Meryl who can use advanced water magic.

Elsa, I need you to stand a little ahead of us.
"?　Yes, sir.
In a few minutes, the enemy will come running, having lost their way. I hope Elsa will be there to intercept them.
I understand!

　Understanding her intentions, Elsa valiantly stood in the front line. She readied her sword.
　It wasn't long before the sword had its moment of truth.
　A clatter of furtive footsteps approaching. Out of the darkness, the mole-men were revealed as they rushed to earth, seeking refuge.
　The moment they caught sight of Elsa, they stared in horror. But they quickly revealed their hostility and came at her, wielding their claws.
　But that was not an enemy to Elsa.

''--Haha!

　The tip of the sword sliced through the moles' bodies without hesitation. They are unable to react as they fall to the ground one after another.
　The swords are said to be made at god's speed and there's no way these demons will be able to stop them.
　Erza cut down the fleeing moles as if to repel their comets. These are serious swordsmanship with no carelessness.


　Soon the water was rising to our level. The dumb moles were floating on the water.
　They must have drowned because they couldn't swim through the current.

Aren't we all done here? Anna said.
'I guess so. It's flooded in the nest.
But that's my dad and Meryl. You used water magic to sink an entire nest of enemies. You must have a hell of a lot of scale when you get under.

　Anna said that with admiration. That was the moment.
　Elsa and I noticed the presence of it almost at the same time. The dense, inferno-ridden miasma was close at hand.
　Where are you?　I ran my eyes quickly over to Anna's feet.

''--Anna!　Get out of there!
What?

　I could see the ground underneath Anna's feet was about to rise.
　At that moment, it was moving as if it had been played.
　I took Anna's body in my arms and laid her on the ground. A few moments later, a claw shot out of the ground and ripped through the spot where Anna had just been.
　If I hadn't reacted just a little later, I'd be on the spit.

"d*mn. I think I missed.

　I can hear the sound of an abominable tongue click .
　I looked up from my position on the ground with Anna in my arms, only to look up.
　A large hole was drilled in the ground where we were standing, and a huge mole monster, far different from the moles we had seen until now, towered over us.
　It must have been nearly five meters long .
　Its eyes were fierce and its skin was reddish-brown. A huge, fat, obese figure.

Are you the boss of this lair?

　Judging by the fact that he speaks human language, it seems to be correct.
　Only demons with a certain amount of strength and intelligence can understand human speech. That's because he's not just some mole monster.

"You drove water into our lair. Now our hut is flooded. And now my little boys are dead all over the place.

　The mole was staring straight at us.

How are you going to make this stuff up?
You messed with it first. "You mixed the toxin with the hot water stream.
Yeah. Yeah. That was us for sure. They won't listen to a toxin. We were going to chase the villagers out and take over.

　The boss mole stroked his double chin and said.

"'We can't give the hot spring to a human. It belongs to us.
I won't let you do it. I'll beat you and purify the hot water.
"Try as you can. But first, I'll have to kill you both. We'll avenge the little minions.