Slip...

　I crawl through the rubble like a caterpillar.

(...it's so small.)

　Wrapped up on all sides and unable to move their limbs freely.
　A dark oppressive feeling.
　It's a bit stuffy.

　But I'm trying to help Asbell and the others.

(Yeah, good luck with that, me.)

　Encouraging myself, I move forward little by little.

　A little ahead of me, a magical light bird created by Solstice is walking.
　I try desperately to zigzag my way towards it.

(It's okay. I can make it with Solstice.

　The light bird's brightness makes me smile.　

　Zuri Zuri........

　I'm a caterpillar, and I remember an event that happened not long ago - I'm a caterpillar.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


No. You can't do that.
It's too dangerous to take on the challenge alone.

　The two older demon hunters were still opposed to Solstice's proposal, the two older demon hunters were still opposed to it.
　But there was no other way to do it.

''I'll do it,''

　He looked at the two of them and declared so.
　Kilt-san held her temples, "That eye again........" and Illtimina-san twisted her expression in pain, "Marl.......

　Luta-san looked at my profile, as if surprised.

''Well, I'm here, so it's okay.''

　Resting the large staff with the magic stone on his shoulder, Solstice smiles dependably.　　

　He ponders for a moment.

Okay, all right. I'll leave you to it.
"...quilt.
"Sol's magic is good enough to stand against the skeletons. Merle's strength is mature enough. There's a good chance of that.
..........

　Then Mr. Kilt put his mouth to Miss Illtimina's ear.
　In a very quiet voice.

I don't know if Marle's heart can bear the thought of letting Asbell and the others die. I'm not sure that he is ready for the adventurous spirit of an adventurer, despite his skill with a sword. --And you're still a child.
..........
If it comes down to it, there are ways to escape through the cracks. It's pretty risky, but for now, we might as well let them do what they can.
Well, yes.

　Maybe he was trying to keep me from hearing him.

(...but I did hear it.)

　They looked at me and sighed loudly.

　So, in the end, they broke down.

　But even the girls wanted to help Asbel-san and the others.
　Especially Illtimina-san and Solstice, who had been talking to him in a friendly manner, and I am sure that those feelings helped them to make their decision.

'We'll do our best, Solstice,'
Okay.

　I shared a small laugh with the wizard girl next to me.

　-- and through the rubble, the rush begins.

　On the other side of the rubble are me, Solstice, and the dark elf girl, Luta-san.

　Luta-san is equipped with a rapier and a staff.

　But the rapier is just for self-defense and she's not confident in its handling.
　The party is supposed to support Asbel-san and Garion-san, who are in the vanguard, with magic from the rear.

(In other words, is she a wizard like Solstice?)

　I see.　
　So I'm the only one of the three members of the platoon who can fight in the vanguard? ...more responsibility.

　Kirto says.

"Male, who can fight with a sword, should go first.
Yes.
We don't know what's out there. We don't know what's going on behind that hole. Those girls who can't get close enough to fight, they'll be killed at once. You're certainly not there.

　Yeah, I guess so.　

"As soon as we get out of here, a bunch of skeletons might attack us. Just don't let your guard down.
........... Yeah.
Second, Sol, third, Luta. Are you sure?
Yes.
Okay, I understand.

　One looks comfortable, the other nods with a nervous look on his face.

　It's my turn, and I stand in front of the dark, narrow hole.

(Calm down, calm down...)

　Soooo, ha.　

　Take a deep breath and clear your mind.

"Merle.

　Iltimina-san hugged me with a worried look on her face.

　Gyu.

　It's still soft and smells good, as always.

Please be careful, Merle.
Yes.

　The warmth of her body is so comforting.
　Her gentle warmth gives me strength in my heart.

"If this happens, drop everything and run away. No one will blame you. So you will definitely come back to me, won't you?
Yes.

　He smiled and nodded.
　Ms. Illtimina smiled, looking like she was about to cry.

　kiss

(Wha?)

　She kissed me on the forehead.

　Everyone's faces are surprised.

　And then their moist, crimson eyes stare straight at me.

"Bon voyage, my Merle.
"...Yeah!　I'm off, Miss Illtimina.

　I nodded widely, smiled and replied.

　Then I made up my mind and let my little body slip into the dark hole that seemed to lead to hell--.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.　


　After about three minutes of playing the caterpillar.

(Hmm?)

　Suddenly, the light bird spread its glowing wings wide.

　--The exit.

　The light bird flew outward from the exit.

　The distance is about two meters.

"..........

　The light bird was gone, and in the darkened hole, I stopped moving and listened carefully.

　I couldn't hear anything.
　Not even a strange smell.

　The moment I step out of the exit, I'm completely unprotected.
　If I ran into a skeleton there, I would be killed without being able to do anything about it.

　So you need to make sure you're okay.

Okay.

　I was determined to get out, so I headed for the exit.

　--Fortunately, I was able to get out of the hole in one piece.

(Is this ... a passage?)

　Outside the exit was the middle of a straight passage.

　The light birds perched on the floor of it, illuminating their surroundings. Thanks to that, I had some visibility, but from about 10 meters away from the passageway on either side, no light could reach me, and I was dyed in jet blackness.

　............

　The air was stagnant.
　A rotten smell drifts in from somewhere.

(It's like........something out of a horror movie.)

　Except for my surroundings, I was in a darkened space - an ancient ruin.

　I kill myself.

　This is already the territory of more than 100 skeletons.
　We don't know when they will attack us.

　Will I be able to live until Solstice and Ryuta-san come here?

..........

　I grab the hilt of The Fang of Marl to gain courage.

　Asbell-san and Garion-san have become trapped in such a dark world.......what a horrible story.

(.........Solstice, come quickly.)

　Feeling my own heart beating strangely loudly, I waited patiently for the energetic girl with the purple hair to come.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.　


Here you go.

　After a long minute or so, she appeared.

(Thank God...)

　For some reason, just looking at his face makes me feel lighter and brighter.

　Solstice, with her small hands, pans and brushes the dirt off her clothes.　
　Then he looks around.

Hmm?　This is the ruins of Dior?

　Those big crimson eyes sparkled a bit.

　Ah, yes.
　She had a tremendous thirst for knowledge like this.

(I'm not like me.)

　I was so scared all the time.
　I guess that's the difference between being an adventurer and being an adventurer.

　Furthermore, about two minutes later, Ryuta-san also appeared.

　As expected, she had a nervous look on her face.

　And Ruta-san had a rope in her hand.
　When she pulled the rope, our backpack, which was tied up, came to her.

(Good.)

　Once you've got that on your back, you're ready to explore.

　The three of us look at each other.

Well, before we leave, I'd like to make sure we're okay. In order to help Asbell and the others, we are going to have to do battle. --You two know the drill, right?
Yes.
Yeah.

　Me and Luta nodded.

'I'll hold the skeleton back until Solstice uses her magic.
"Hm.
''I don't have much magic left, so I won't move until the moment of need. If possible, I will support Marle-kun with my sword.
Yes.

　Solstice smiled with satisfaction and pointed her large staff with a magic stone at us.

''I won't be using any big magic either, since the ruins will be destroyed. But it will take thirteen seconds at the most to activate. But it will take thirteen seconds at the most, and thirty seconds at the most.
Yes.
I trust Merle, so I'm really counting on you.
I'm on it.

　I laughed, happy for the trust.
　Seeing that, Solstice also nodded at me with a smile.

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

　Luta looked at us with some complexity.

　--Well, let's get going.

　But...

I wonder where Asbell and the others are?

　Solstice blurted out.
　He didn't seem to know which way to go, on either side of the aisle.

(Hmm~?)

　I also looked around and suddenly noticed my feet.

　There were quite a few white objects on the floor. I was immediately surprised to find out what they were.

　--It's a human bone.

　There are some brand-new scars on the old wall.

Gotcha. ...these are the marks of Asbell's people.
What?

　The two girls look at me.

'These bones, I'm sure they're the fragments from the skeleton that got hit. Maybe they bought some time here to let Ryuta-san escape?
'Oh....'

　Luta spoke up, as if she had an idea.
　Solstice nodded, "I see.

'So we should follow these traces, then?
Maybe.

　I nodded, judging by the amount of scratches and debris.

'Yeah, it's this way.'
Okay. So, shall we go?

　I nodded and we started walking.
　But when I thought that, only Luta-san stopped in place.

''........Ruta-san?''
Hey, what are you doing?　Can we go now?
..........

　But she didn't say anything, she just stared at us - or at me.
　Then she says in a small voice.

'....Why?
?
''Why would the 'Bloodless' be willing to risk it all for us 'Demon Blood People'?'''

(...yes?)

　And the dark elf girl's light blue eyes turn to the girl next to me as well.

''How can you believe in the 'bloodless' too?　How can you be so friendly?
..........

　Solstice has a surprised look on her face.

　Solstice and I couldn't help but look at each other.

　And then she answered, "I don't care if we have demon blood or not.

"Whether or not I have demon blood or not, it doesn't matter to me.
"Whatever!
Yeah. To me.

　Of course, I know that some people don't,
　Solstice said, too.

'Well, to me, this is "Marl". No more, no less," he said. --That's all I'm saying.

　He uttered a line like his sister had said before.

　Luta-san was stunned.

''........That's it!
Yes.

　Solstice cowered her shoulders.

'I don't like 'bloodless' either, you know?　But that's why I don't want to do the same thing, the same thing. On top of that, I've seen Marle and I just trust this guy with the results.
..........
You know what's really going on, don't you?

　mouth to try.

　But Ryuta-san bit her lip and didn't say anything.

(........................Emotions are different, right?

　What is theory.
　So I didn't say anything, either.

Okay, let's go.

　snappingly

　Slapping me lightly on the chest, Solstice started to walk away.
　I followed him.

　Luta-san stood there for a while, but soon followed us.

　Kotz.

I'm not sure...

　A moment later, I stop.
　I immediately pull Solstice's shoulder, hard.

'Ita........?　Wait ... what's with the rags?
Stand back.
...What?

　I stared into the darkness ahead of me.

　Tsk, tsk, tsk.

　That's where the sound comes from.
　...the sound of hard footsteps hitting the floor.

　Both Solstice and Mr. Luta noticed it.

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

　The two men's expressions were tense.

　I let out a deep breath and slowly pull the Fang of Marl out of its sheath.　

　The sharp blade is illuminated by the glow of the light bird.

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

　knocking

　Then, from the depths of the darkness, a moving human bone, with a wet white glow, appeared.

　--Skeleton.

　A demon of the underworld, embodying and desecrating death.

　The hollow space in its skull housed the deepest darkness anywhere, staring at the living who had invaded their territory, as if trying to suck them into the darkness.