The sun's glare woke me up.

　At the same time, I noticed a severe discomfort in my throat and coughed loudly.

'Geh-ho, gho-ho,'

　After suffering for a while, my breathing finally settles down.

(Huh........what the hell am I.......?)

　I look around and see a forest.

　I was lying in the forest - the moment I realized that, I remembered the events of last night.

"!

　He held his left shoulder in a panic.

　There was no wound.

　But his linen-like clothing was ripped wide open to his stomach.

　The ground on which he sat was discolored red-black by a large amount of blood.

(...not a dream...)

　I stand up dazedly with my hands on the trunk of the tree.

(?)

　I noticed an uncomfortable feeling in my mouth and pecked it out.

　What came out with the saliva was a red-black mass. Apparently the blood had dried and clotted in the back of his throat.

''.........''

　It's not a dream but I'm alive though, right?

　I chew on that fact.

　And so I start walking slowly through the early morning forest, hazy with the morning mist, to return to the tower.　


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


　Rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle.

　After returning safely to the tower, I gargled with the glowing water, satisfied my hunger, and finally calmed down.

"Phew.

　On the surface of the water, a slightly emaciated boy's face could be seen.

　A trace of splattered blood was left on his cheek.

　Even the torn part of his clothes had sunk into the blood, and had turned reddish-black and discolored.

　.............

　Without a doubt, I was cut by that huge skeleton.

　I can understand that.

　I remember the pain and fear I felt at that time.

"Then why am I still alive?

　He took off his top coat.

　There is not a scratch on the child's upper body as it appears.
　The skin was fresh.

　I traced a small finger from its left shoulder to the area around its solar plexus.

(.........even though he was cut here for sure.)

　I don't know.

　Maybe he was reincarnated and became immortal?

　Jabot. Jabot.

　Thoughtfully, I stripped down to my bare skin and sat down on the base of a seashell filled with glowing water at the foot of the goddess statue.

　I decided to wash my blood- and mud-stained body and clothes.

(Ugh ... it's a little cold.)

　Patiently, I bathe in the ablution.

　Then, I suddenly noticed an object that was swinging around my chest.

　It's a pendant that hangs around my neck.

"Huh?

　The glowing blue gemstone that had also served as a light last night had now lost its luster and had turned gray.

(What? Why?)

　I walked to the living space, wet and naked.

　I compare it to the two pendants still in the drawer, both still glowing with a faint light.

　The gray stone in my hand feels as if it has lost some of its power.

(...........)

　Maybe it's because of this?

　That's what I thought.

　If that's true, then I've got two more lives in this other world.

　I stared at the three jewels in my hand, stunned for a while.　


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　I remained bareheaded until my clothes were dry, looking out from the watchtower.

'.............'

　The Great Forest.

　My immediate goal is to get out of here.

　But, at night, those huge skeletons appear in this forest. Considering the number of purple lights in the forest, there are probably dozens, if not hundreds of them.

　They would kill you if they encountered you.

　It would be impossible for them to leave the forest in the daytime, even at a distance.

(.........Difficulty, too high.)

　I got two lives, a magic pendant, but it wasn't enough to help me.

　...........

''No, it's okay. I'm still fine.

　I hurriedly encouraged myself to be depressed.

　There might still be something in this forest that could help me escape.

　'Peen.'

　I lightly flick my fingers at the new blue gemstone I've worn around my neck.

(Yes, I even found this 'magic pendant'.)

　He laughed.

'Alright, let's check out the woods again while it's daylight!

　That was when I decided to do so.

　POTUS.

　Something hit my skin.

(Hmm?)

　I looked up and saw gray clouds in the sky.

　Rain.

　Pots, pots, pots, pots, zzaaaa.

　While I was dumbfounded, the rain footing grew stronger all at once.

''Ow, ouch!''

　I am naked and scream at the raindrops that hit me.

　It's no time to explore the forest.

　With tears in my eyes, I rush to take refuge in the tower.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


　The rain didn't stop at all.

　I tried to go outside, but the rain barrage made visibility poor, and I fell on the muddy ground, but it was a mess.

(Let's just stay in the tower until it stops...)

　I decided to do so.

　So now I was holed up in my living space, looking at a book.

　I wondered if there was anything useful in it, but after all, I couldn't read, and I didn't understand the meaning of the magic circle, so I was just bored out of my mind.

　With a bowl of glowing water in hand instead of a meal, I looked at it for a few hours.

(Hmmm... 33 letters?)

　Somehow, I counted the types of letters used there.

　Hiragana is 50 letters, 46 in fact, and the alphabet has 26 letters, so it's about halfway between the two.

　Garigari

　To pass the time, I picked up an abandoned stone and wrote its 33 letters on the floor.

(................I hope the rain stops soon.

　Skinny, skinny, skinny.

　The rain is gaining more and more momentum on the other side of the window pane, cloudy with dirt.

　Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch....

　...................

　--for the next three days, the rain didn't stop.


　◇ ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇


　Early in the morning on the fourth day, we finally got to see the sun for the first time in a long time.

(Oh, how nice it is to be bright.)

　The light from the window naturally brings a smile to my face.

　I look back at the room.

　In the past three days, 33 unreadable characters have been carved all over the floor and walls.

........well, maybe I went a little too far?

　I feel like I've come to myself in the morning sun.

　I've memorized all 33 letter shapes by heart.

　While reflecting on it, I moved to the chapel with a determination to explore the forest again today.

　Boom!

　Suddenly, there was a loud noise.

!

　Boom, boom, boom, boom.

　The roar continues, the vibrations shaking the entire tower.

　Pieces of fine sand and stones were falling from the top of the tower.

　In just a few seconds, the shaking stopped.

　There is not even a sound.

　........was that an earthquake?

No....

　Something is different.
　My intuition told me so.

　I felt a strange uneasiness in my chest and ran up the spiral staircase as fast as I could to the watchtower on the top floor of the tower.


　◇ ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇


It's a landslide.

　From my watchtower, I spotted a part of the huge cliff that trapped me in a collapsed form.

　Perhaps it had just collapsed, but a cloud of dust was dancing on the other side of the forest.

　Was it the effect of the long rains?

(No, I don't care why!)

　I stare at it.

　The wall, which used to be vertical, appears to be gouged out at an angle just there.

I thought we could climb up the cliff from there!

　I thought so.

　Of course, I'd have to check it out in person to find out.

　But it was enough to give me hope.

(Okay, let's go!)

　With my blue eyes shining, I descended the stairs in a flash and left the tower for the site of that collapse.


　◇ ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇


　Using my new wand, I spent an hour or so making my way through the forest of muddy ground.

'.............'

　When I arrived at the site of the collapse, I was at a loss for words to describe the devastation that had spread out there.

　A huge wall had collapsed, and the massive amount of earth and sand that had flowed out was ripping away the trees in the nearby forest.

　Tree roots growing upside down from the soil.

　They look like the hands of someone calling for help.

　Near the cliffs, there were some fallen rocks lying near the cliffs, some as large as five meters and some as large as ten meters.

　Cautiously, they proceeded through the dirt and sand.

(...........It's climbable, right?

　The part of the collapse that we looked up at was gently sloping up to a height of about 50 meters. But after that, the next 50 meters were a sheer, vertical cliff.

　I didn't know if I would be able to climb that cliff until I got a closer look.

　I tried to step out.

...?

　I noticed a strange smell.

　There was a fishy smell wafting around.

　It's probably originated from behind that big rock.

(What is it?)

　I went around to the back side of that big rock without a second thought.

　Bizzare.

　The soles of my shoes stepped on the purple liquid.

'...........

　I stopped in my tracks.

　A purple, mucus-like liquid was scattered all over the dirt and sand that spread at my feet.

　The center of it.

　In that purple mucus lay the corpse of a huge monster.

　Nine to twelve meters long.

　It was a red-skinned, quadrupedal, crocodile-like monster.

　It had a mane on its thick neck.

　From its lower jaw, two curved fangs, more than two meters long, sprouted in a distinctive manner. The tip of one of them was stained red for some reason.

　This was the source of the smell.

(.........What is this monster?)

　Shivering, I moved closer.

　I touch the red skin.

　It's very hard and still, slightly warm. Proof that this monster was alive a while ago.

(...maybe it got caught in a cliff fall and died?)

　At first, I thought so.

　But it wasn't.

　There were many open cuts in the red skin, with purple blood flowing from them. There was also a large wound on the head, which seemed to be a fatal wound.

　In other words, 'something' had fought this monster and killed it.

''.........''

　That fact sends a chill down my spine.

　Conn.

　This monster's skin was so hard. When I tapped it, it felt and sounded like a rock.

(.........to be able to cut through such skin.)

　What kind of horrible monster was this other guy?

　Then I finally realized that.

　Maybe the 'something' that killed this monster could still be nearby.

　Hurriedly, I looked around.

　The spreading earth and sand, and the large fallen rocks stuck into the ground.

　A view of the forest in the distance.

　I couldn't find anything in particular, but my timid heart was restless.

''Yes, let's go back to the tower.

　I turn my back to the corpse and try to walk away at a brisk pace.

　That's when I see it.

　In my field of vision, I see something white growing out of the earthen ground at a distance.

　It was carrying five fingers.

...a human hand!

　Horrified, I rushed over to it.

　It was definitely the white hand of a human.

　I hurriedly dug up the dirt and sand.

　Gasp!

　A white hand connected to a white arm, and soon the upper half of a person's body appeared.

(.........a woman.)

　She was a woman with a neat face, though stained with mud.

　Her eyelids were closed, as if she were unconscious, and her long, dark green hair hung softly over her beauty.

'Da, are you okay?　Hang on!

　As he called out to her, he passed his hands under his armpits and struggled to pull her out of the dirt and sand.

　Zzzz.........

　I finally got my whole body out.

(Thank God.)

　The relief was short-lived.

　The woman wore white armor and had wounds all over her body.

　Not to mention the scrapes and bruises.

　Both of her legs, in particular, were bent at different points than her knees and pointed in impossible directions.　

　Worst of all is his right side.

　The metal armor in that area has a large hole in it, and the blood flowing from the wound behind it won't stop.

(............What should I do?

　This is an otherworldly forest.

　I can't call an ambulance, there are no medical supplies, and I have no medical knowledge or skills.

　Hah, hah.

　Painful beauty.

　I felt like I was going to cry, and all I could do was squeeze that person's hand.