Passing through the cave that is the entrance to the village of Ludo, I emerge into the forest.

(!)

　Instantly, a horrible smell hit me.

　--a fishy smell.

　Even though the landscape of the forest surrounded by green didn't change, there, the smell of many demons filled the air.

(.........Ortima-san and the others?)

　I focus my nerves on my nose and take a deep breath.

　--there they are.

　I can find their scent, faintly, among the many kinds of smells.

(Over here!)

　I started running as fast as I could in that direction.

　Kicking up grass and breaking branches, I pushed through the forest for about five minutes before I spotted them.

　There were three hunters gathered at the top of the cliff.

　They all looked towards the bottom of the cliff.

''Mr. Ortima!''
!

　He noticed and turned around.

　He immediately raised his hand and made a gesture to press something down - 'Kill the signs,' he realized immediately.

　He hurriedly slows down and reduces the sound of his footsteps as much as possible.

　I ducked down and approached next to him as he crouched down and got down on one knee.

　The three hunters, including Mr. Ortima, gave me a look as if they were looking at their companions.

'You're here, Marle,'
Yes.

　I nodded.

What's going on?

　He didn't answer, but moved his chin toward the bottom of the cliff.

　I lowered my posture and let my face just sneak a peek down the cliff.



　There was a terrifying scene.

　A large number of demons were strolling among the trees in the forest below.

　The wolf-like 'White Fang Wolf'.

　A large bear 'Demon Bear' with horns.

　The 'Evil Tiger' with the face of a fox and the body of a monkey.

　There were also a snake-like demon that I had never seen before, and a tiger-like demon that looked like a tiger.

　Not twenty to thirty of them.

　Probably ten times that, it seemed like there were two or three hundred of them.

　And in the midst of that crowd of demons, a few human figures in white masks and black robes could be seen blending in.

(Divine Blood Cult Nakes.........!

　In their hands, they hold a strange shaped staff.

　Seeing that they are among the demons and have not been attacked, it seems that they can really control the demons.

　And they haven't noticed us on the cliffs yet.

　I let out a breath.

It's spectacular.

　I couldn't help but let out a sarcastic laugh.

　The two hunters chuckled.

　Then, Ortima-san was about to say something, when another presence approached.

''
You're back, Doma, Saury.

　I reflexively grabbed the hilt of my sword, but it was two of Ortima's fellow hunters who came.

　When they noticed me, they were surprised.

Merle's here too?
Yes.

　I smile back at them vaguely, as they seem happy to see me.　

　Immediately, Ortima asks me to hurry up.

'How was it?'
I don't think so.

　Doma answered.

'The forests to the north and west are also full of demons. For all intents and purposes, the entire village is surrounded by them.

　Apparently the two of them were working on reconnaissance.

　And what they reported.

(I mean..............they've already found out the location of Lud Village?

　I thought so.

　Maybe that's what Ortima and the others thought, too.

　As the leader, he made a decision.

"It's no longer possible to exterminate all the demons. I'll just go back to the village.
..........
..........
..........
..........

　Me and the four hunters nodded.
　He continued.

'And we will meet them at the cave, the entrance to the village. We can fight there without being outnumbered.

　Yup.
　That cave is small enough to hold two or three of them side by side, at most.

(For a few of us, that's easy terrain to fight in.)

　Look at us.

If you can control it there, fine. But if that's not possible, then I'll use the most efficient means.

　I said.

(...last hand?)　

　The four hunters nodded to me dubiously, "Okay," with a mysterious look on their faces.

　Mr. Ortima nodded, too.

Okay, let's go to the village.

　He stood up and took off running at the head of the pack into the forest.

　The other four followed.

　I tried to follow.

..........

　Suddenly, I look down the cliff.

　The figures of many demons writhing in the forest.

　There was a sense of despair like when I once saw a thousand skeletons at the lowest level of the Dior ruins.



　I bite my lip tightly at the imagining.

　Am I to abandon Ludmura for the sake of the future, or...?　

　No answer yet.

　Shaking my head hard from side to side to shake it off, I followed Ortima-san and the others and jumped into the trees of the forest.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　We entered the cave and proceeded to prepare to intercept them.

'Mir, you go back to the village and bring all the arrows you can find.
Okay!

　At Ortima's direction, one of the hunters ran to the back.

　They must have been fighting before I joined them in the forest, and there were only a few more arrows left in the arrow barrel they were carrying on their backs.

　We are in a fairly small section of the cave.

　In this place, it should be impossible for many demons to attack us at once.

　Ka-ka-ka-ka.

　Since it's dark in the cave, they drive a wedge into the upper rock wall and set up a candle there to light it.

(.........if only we had a magic activator.)

The magic of the "Light Bird" made it easy to create a light source - while helping to work on it, I'm reminded of the usefulness of magic.

　But even with a candle, the surroundings are brighter.

　But the light wavers and is unstable.

''Can you still aim this with a bow?''
No problem.

　Ms. Ortima nods dependably.

　Once the light source is set up, I pick up a pebble that falls at my feet and toss it farther away.

'What are you doing?'

　One of the hunters asks me a question.

'Get a foothold. I try not to step on them and slip when we're fighting.'
Haha, I see.

　I nodded and they helped me.

　Soon, Mir-san also returned with a mountain of arrow tubes.

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

　We waited for a while.

　About 15 minutes passed after all the preparations were made?

I'm here.

　A fishy beastly smell.

　I let my fingers touch the floor of the cave, just as I had been taught to do during the goblin slaying.

　I could feel it vibrating.

(...) I'm getting close.

　I stood up and pulled out the 'fairy sword' from its sheath and let it go.

　Seeing this, everyone else seems to have noticed as well.

　They each move to a rocky area that is easy to aim at.

　It's a simple way to fight.

I'll stall them, while five other hunters kill them with their bows.

　That's it.

(I'm still on the fence...)

　But for now, let's forget about it and swing the sword.

　In my mind, Arkyn is screaming at me to 'stop,' but I dare to ignore him.

　And.

　Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

　The noisy voices of the demons could be heard as they reverberated through the cave.

　Gyuu.

　I gripped the hilt of the sword.

　Facing the darkness of the cave, which is beginning to come under pressure, I slowly hold the beautiful tip of my sword in my right eye.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


Hi!

　Gasp.

　I slash off my arm with a counter-sword technique as the 'evil tiger' jumps at me.

　The demon's screams reverberate in the cave, and purple fresh blood dances.

　Shudder.

　Immediately after, five arrows pierced through the 'Evil Tiger''s head, heart, and abdomen, causing it to die.

''Next time!''
Yes!

　I shouted back at Ortima-san's voice as I regained my disordered breathing.

　I was desperately defending myself against the demons' onslaught.

　I don't attack from here.

　I repeated my checks and pushed back with the occasional counter-sword technique. While I'm stalling for time, Ortima-san and the others' bows will take down the demons.

　The repetition of that.

　The group battles with skeletons I once experienced in the Dior Ruins have helped tremendously.

(But it's tough........)

　I think as I run the tip of my sword against the newly appearing 'Demon Bear'.

　There is no armor.
　There is no recovery magic.

　You will never be able to sustain an injury.

　And the demons that attack one after another.

　There are no breaks.

　Even more troublesome was the narrowness of the cave.

　Because it's so small, it has the advantage of not being attacked from many directions all at once, but it also doesn't have much space to dodge the attacks of the opponents.

　D'ohn.

Ku......

　He barely dodged the huge bowl of 'Demon Bear' that was swung down, smashing his back against the cave wall.

　It was only a few centimeters to his toes.

　Thush!

　Five arrows doomed the 'Demon Bear'.

　As I dodged the falling giant body, I checked my foothold and shouted.

''Three mades, we're falling back!

　The large amount of blood was making my footing worse, and the corpses of so many demons had left me with no space to move properly.

　Ortima said, "I get it! I shout.

　I step backwards.

　A new White Fangled Wolf attacks from the darkness of the cave toward me.

　Thud thud!

　Two arrows pierced me, slowing the demon's movement.

　With the support of the five hunters, I managed to retreat to where I could move.

''Yup!''

　gasp

　He severed the head of the wounded 'White Fang Wolf'.

　Kicking the corpse away, he wipes the blood on the blade with the sleeve of his clothes and once again holds his sword in his right eye.

　Inside the cave, illuminated by the candle flame.

　From the depths of the darkness, demons appear one after another within the range of that flickering light.

(I'm not going to lose........)

　Huh. Swoosh. Huh.

　He swings his sword in a frenzy.

　However, the demons will not stop appearing no matter how long it takes.

　I'm sure I've already killed more than 50 of them.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha.

　I breathe on my shoulder.

　Miraculously, he wasn't injured, but there were many dangerous moments.

　-- it could be tougher than this.

　It felt that way.

(What to do...?)

　Hu-Con

　I was getting impatient as I slashed at the serpentine demon's fangs and severed its neck with the returning blade.

　Then.

I'm at my wit's end.

　Mr. Ortima muttered.

'Merle, back off!　We're going to retreat out of the cave like this!

(...what?)

　thud

　Behind my astonished me, he shot an arrow into the approaching 'evil tiger' and said, ''I'll use the most(⋅)later(⋅)hand(⋅).

''I'll use my most (...) later (...) hand.

　The last move?　

　The four hunters look at Ortima-san.

'Are you sure?'
You have no choice. You can't worry about the future. You can't worry about your life right now.

　They nodded divinely.

'Hurry up, Marl!
Uh-huh.

　As if played by Ortima's voice, I started running through the narrow cave in the direction of the village.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　We walk out of the cave, keeping the demon's pursuit in check.

(Ugh ... it's dazzling.)

　The sun's rays burned my eyes for a moment.

　As soon as it subsided, the green of the meadow and the blue sky filled my vision.

　Gawd, gawd.

　But even two fast-footed 'white fangled wolves' were out there with us.
　This can't be good.

(We have to hunt them!)

　Me, sword at the ready.

　But.

Back up, Merle!　We're going to get caught up in this!

(Huh?)

　Backstepping backwards, unable to gauge the meaning.

'Cuiriz, do it!'

　When Mr. Ortima saw this, he shouted to his companions.

　Mr. Cuiriz, who was by the exit of the cave, was holding a huge wooden mallet in his hand.

　He swung it wide and smashed it into the frame wood of the exit.

　Boom, gogang.

　The frame wood shattered.

　Naturally, the ceiling of the cave was greatly distorted under the weight, and then part of the wall collapsed.

　Gogun, gogon, gaga.

　A chain of sounds led to the back of the cave.
　And then.

　Dopaaaan.

!

　Immediately after the loudest roar, a tremendous hot wind erupted from inside the cave as a shockwave.

(Ah, heat--whoa!

　I'm blown away, and I roll across the grass in a rumble.　

　I regain my position and look up in a hurry.

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

　I was dumbfounded.

　The exit of the cave had completely collapsed.

　Amidst the dust and dust, several streaks of scorching black smoke rose into the sky from the gaps between the huge rocks.

　--The smell of gunpowder.

(Don't tell me they had set explosives in the cave?)

　I noticed that.

　Thush.

　Ortima-san's and the others' bows killed the two 'White Fang Wolves' that had been blown away as well.
　There were no other demons outside.

　And the demons inside the cave were.

Annihilation...?

　If caught in a cave collapse, even the strongest of demons will find it difficult to survive. Even if you're alive, there's no way to escape.

　I was stunned, Ortima-san held out her hand to me.

"Can you stand up, Mar?
Uh-huh.

　With a helping hand, he stood up.

　The other four hunters had been holding their bows for a while, towards the collapsed cave. However, when they saw that no sign of anything appeared from there, they released their stance.

''Hmph...''
You're done.
Yeah.
..........

　We each exhaled heavily.

　I looked at Mr. Ortima.

　His crimson eyes were silently staring at the crumbling cave.

It was the only way to connect the village to the outside world.
..........
Now the demon threat will be safe. But we have to dig a new path before our food reserves run out.

　Heavy breathing.

　This was a means to a great deal of pain for Ludvillage.
　It's just the most (...) after (...) hand (...).

(But you protected everyone in the present first, rather than the future.)

　I respect that decision.

　Me and the five hunters stood in the grassy field in front of the cave for a while.

"..........

　Did this avert the tragedy that struck the village of Lud?

　I don't know.

　I'm still alive.

　I'm here.

　I thought if history had changed, I'd be gone. But here I am.　

And yet ... it's not over?

　When you're feeling insecure.

Merle!　Father!

　I huffed at the voice.

　I turned around and saw everyone in the village of Ludo there.

　In each of their hands were hoes and spades, knives and mortars, weapons that could not be called weapons. They were looking at us with nervous faces.

　They all seemed to have noticed the roar and gathered around.

　Among the villagers was a young girl, Illtimina.

　In her hand was a small knife used in wood carving.

　In the arms of nearby Forn-san, a sleepy little girl, Solstice, is held in her arms. The little girl stood in front of it as if to protect the two of them.

　Everyone was staring at the situation.

　Then the village chief comes forward.

'Is it over, Ortima?'
Yes, sir.

　Ortima nodded.

　There was a pause for a few moments, and then the villagers erupted in delight.

　We are surrounded by them all at once.

　We are patted on the head, patted on the back, and given mouthfuls of thanks.

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

　In the midst of that stormy blessing, however, I kept looking at the girl, Iltimina, who was now 13 years old.

　She had a happy look on her face.

'----'

　But unexpectedly, he held his forehead.

　It was as if he felt a headache, as if he was remembering his fears - an expression that was very similar to the one he had shown before he disappeared.

　The future that is to come.

　A face as if he was remembering that tragedy.

(Illtimina-san.........)

　I was going to come over to you.

　Bahuuhhhh.

　A tremendous gust of wind from above almost played me off the ground.

(!?!)

　He hurriedly lowered his posture.

　When I look, I see that some of the villagers have been blown away and are lying on the ground.

　The world shades.

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

　A huge flying dragon (wyvern) was flying above the village.

　It wasn't as far away as it had been before, but at such a close distance that each one of its black scales could be seen.

''What?!''

　Ortima's astonished voice.

　The flying dragon with its wings spread out was a huge body that looked like it could be fifteen to twenty mead.

　Its entire body was black and covered in hard-looking scales.

　Blood-red eyeballs glowered at the dwarf humans (me) and others.

　phew!

　As it flapped its huge flying membrane and circled above the Lud Village, its huge body came plummeting down at once.

''!　Watch out!

　I hurriedly covered Illtimina-san in a hurry.

　Bwaa.

　The girl's hair danced and her clothes flailed.

　My blue eyes caught it as we fell to the ground together.

　A corner of the rocky mountain that surrounded the village.

　There, a huge black flying dragon plunges in headfirst.

　Zgagaaaaan.

　The sound of tremendous crashing and crushing echoed across the grassland.

　Cracked and crumbling rock walls.

　We all stared at the scene, stunned.

　It was a natural obstacle to the village of Ludo.

　It had been destroyed.

　As if it had been planned, a rope fell from the collapsed area, and a group of white masks and black robes descended from it.

　The Divine Blood Cult Nakes.

　The horrible humans who want to eradicate the demon blood invade this Lud village.

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

　A black flying dragon, standing on top of the crumbling rubble.

　Its massive body slowly turned around to look back at me.

　The astonishing scene, however, did not end.

　In the midst of that soaring dust, the giant flying dragon's figure was changing rapidly and becoming smaller and smaller.

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

　My blue eyes widened to their limits.

　The black flying dragon became a person.

　She was a beautiful woman who was completely naked.

　And on her white skin, there was a strange pale, luminescent tattoo that encompassed her entire body.

(That--that tattoo!

　In front of my astonished and trembling face, the tattooed woman smiled disgustingly, like the crescent moon in that 'Child of Darkness' in her beauty.