The ants that gathered were like the earth itself surging.

''Kuhn.''

　Reflexively, I held up my 'fairy sword'.

　But I didn't think a sword would be useful against the hundreds of millions of tiny ants that had gathered there.

　What to do?

　In front of me, Illtimina-san stepped in front of me.

　In her hand, the 'Yellow Magic Stone'.

(Ah.)

　She let it shine through her fingertips and threw the glowing magic stone into the swarm of ants.

　Potpourri Zazaa.

　The ants all moved away from the fallen magical stone at once.

　The red clay ground beneath them could be seen as well.

''It still works, doesn't it?''

　A calm word.

　Kilt-san nodded, ''Mm.

''Alright, we'll get through this siege while using the magic stone to repel the insects. Sol, still prepare for the ants that will get through, and stretch wind magic around them.
Okay.

　At the instructions of the party leader, Solstice makes the magic stone of the great staff shine.

　Faon.

　The wind danced around us like a whirlwind.

　The winged ants that were flying through the air were also being blown away.

Okay. Everyone use the magic stone.

　At the sound of his voice, I also took out the Yellow Magic Stone from the pouch on my waistband.　

　From my fingertips, I let the magic power flow.

　The magic stone shone.

　As for Poe's, Illtimina-san poured out the magic power on his behalf and handed him the magic stone.

''Don't stay too far away. Let's go.

　At Mr. Kilt's command, we start walking in one mass.

　Zah.

　Take one step forward.

　Zazaa.

　The ants pulled back.

(Yes.)

　We moved forward, making sure the ants were going down.

　Occasionally there were ants that wouldn't go down, or winged ants that flew in from the sky, but they were blown away by Solstice's wind magic.

　Slowly, he moved forward through the land of ants.

　............

　If we were to be attacked by this swarm, we would be eaten alive.

　The death bugs in front of us.

　Pushing back the fear, we move forward on our feet.

　Ten minutes......

　20 minutes.....

　Eventually, after 30 minutes, I finally got through the siege of the ants.

(Yes!)

Stay alert. We'll keep moving away until we're within a certain distance.

　Kilt's instructions.

　We nodded and walked for another ten minutes.

　No more ants from the earth.

　Looking back, we could see the anthill mounds standing in disarray in the distance.

''............. Hmm, it's good to come this far.

　Mr. Kilt exhaled.

　Me and Solstice flopped down on the spot from relief.

(Ahhh, I was so nervous!)

　Illtimina-san is smiling at us too.

　............

(I wonder if those ants are the bugs from The Voyage Journal?

　It occurred to me.

　If so, have we crossed a mountain range?

　What did the other 'pioneers' do?　Did you make it through the situation in one piece?

　I can't help but wonder.

　Bilingual.

(Hmm?)

　Then there was a faint vibration in his fingertips as he sat down and touched the ground.

　What was it?

　crunchy

　It's a small vibration.

　Little by little, it gets louder.

　I had a bad feeling.

　I stood up and readied my 'fairy sword'.

"Merle?

　Illtimina and the others looked surprised.

　I said.

'Something's coming.'
What?
What?

　Illtimina-san and Kilt-san also held their respective weapons at the ready.

　They looked around without caution.

　Solstice also got up in a hurry.

　However, in 360 degrees, there was no sign of any kind of figure anywhere.

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

　I wait quietly, trying not to make a sound.

　And in the next moment, Poe looked at the ground under his feet as if he had noticed something.

　Bogo.

　Immediately afterwards, something long and slender blew out of the ground.

''Pooh!''　

　bang

　A small fist punched it away.

　Falling to the ground, it was a large centipede that was one meter long.

(Demon!)

　A glowing black torso, red tentacles, yellow legs.

　We'll take up arms against it.

　And

　Bogo. Bogo-oh.

　Eight more large centipedes emerged from the ground around them.

　A total of nine of them.

　The threat in the 'reddish brown wilderness' that was attacking us wasn't over yet.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


The fangs may be poisonous. Beware of their bite!

　Mr. Kilt warns.

　And.

Male is on the right, Irna is on the left. Wawa is in front. Sol, stay in front. Po, you'll guard Sol.　
Yeah!
Yes, sir.
Okay.
Poe agreed.

　We immediately form up.

　Gitchy.

　The nine big centipedes are attacking the five of us.

(Fast!)

　But I can adjust.

Yeah!

　I intercepted one of them with a counter-sword technique.

　Gagiiin'

　The blue translucent blade and the black exoskeleton collided with each other, sending violent sparks into the air.

　Hard!

　You'd be surprised at how much more defensive it is than you thought.

　This one can only be defeated by aiming for a gap in the joint.

　The large hundred-footer that was sent flying gets up, moving its legs and writhing around.

''Nunn!''

　Kilt-san's great sword smashed the exoskeleton with tremendous power, even crushing its contents.

''Ha!''

　Illtimina's white spear was a sharpened blade, cutting even the hard exoskeleton.

　Both of you are strong after all.

(Even I...!)

　Breathe and focus.

　Extreme concentration.

　The sound disappeared from the world and the color was gone.

　The movement of the great hundred-footer that jumped at me became slow motion, and I pushed the blade of the 'fairy sword' into the gap between the knots.

　Bhush!

　Bodily fluids dissipate.

　The torso of the great hundred-footer splits in two.

　But it's still moving.

"You!

　Zap. Zap.

　I'm going to cut it down further and divide it into four parts.

　Finally, the motion stopped.

(Not yet!)

　There are still six of them left.

　Hunt them all!

　I run towards the big hundred-footers myself.

'Wait!'　Don't lean too far forward, Merle!

　Kilt's surprised voice.

(It's okay!)

　Ignoring that voice, I don't stop.

　While dodging the fangs of the large hundred-footer attacking me, I slam the 'fairy sword' into the gap between my joints.

　Gahhhh, zakk, dakkung.

　The long torso of the big centipedes is being severed.

　Guinn.

The "Fairy Iron Armor" was hit by the fangs of a large centipede and sparks flew.

(No problem!)

　Even if it's poisonous, as long as it doesn't hit you alive.

　Three of them.

　Four.

　Five.

Yeah!

　The sixth and final one also cut into three parts.

　From the tip of the blade, the demon's bodily fluids splashed out in an arc.

''Phew, phew, phew.......''

　While taking a residual mental stance, I regulate my disordered breathing.

　The corpses of a large hundred feet were scattered around them.

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

　All four of them looked at me, somewhat stunned.

　Immediately, Mr. Kilt gets an angry look on his face.

　He almost opened his mouth to say something.

　Doggone it.

　At that moment, the ground in front of me was blown wide open, and one more giant hundred-legged animal jumped out of it.

　More than five meds in length.

(The master of the big centipedes?)

Back up, Male!

　Mr. Kilt's instructions fly.

'They may have heard the sounds of battle, and the demons may be gathering there!　Let's pull out of here for once!

　Pulling?

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

　But I held up my 'fairy sword'.

　Kilt-san, Illtimina-san makes a guffawed face.

''Marl!''

　Ignoring the strong voice, I ran to the giant centipede.

　I open the faucet of power in my body.

(--Release of divine energy)　　

　Gyu-Oh!

　In a moment, my body grows ears and a tail, and the radiating divine energy sparks white around me.

　Power fills my body.

'Divine armor (koro), power.'

　I wish while running.

　In response, the "rainbow-colored sphere" in my pocket shattered and became a particle of light.

　It clings to the "fairy sword" and evolves into the "rainbow-colored machete sword".

　The weight of the sword becomes heavier, and I leap with it in my hands.

　The giant centipede opens its large mouth and scissors and tries to swallow me.

(Now!)　　　

　Just before the giant shears stabbed into me, I wagged my tail and spun sharply.

　Gatchin'

　The scissors mesh together underneath my body.

　And I myself, spinning like a dictatorship, slammed the 'rainbow-colored machete sword' into the head of the giant centipede.

　Boom.

　The solid, black-glowing exoskeleton shatters and is severed.

''Uh-oh!''

　As he shouted, he slammed the 'rainbow-colored machete sword' into his long torso in succession.

　''Doc, zacky, dacky, dacky.

　The giant leg was shredded, the torso was scraped off, and the giant centipede fell on its back.

''Yaaaah!''

　Zudaian

　While falling from above, he slammed the 'rainbow-colored machete sword' into its torso.

　The thick torso was severed.

　Bikku Bikku.

　The giant centipede twitched as it spat out fluid, and eventually, it stopped moving.

''Huh, kafu.''

　I draw my sword, exhaling with all the excitement I can muster.

　I beat it.

　I've beaten it.

　Filled with a surge of emotion, I feel it strongly.

　The four of us were stunned.

''........Marle.

　Iltimina-san's awful and worried voice stroked the eardrums of my beastly ears and eventually disappeared into the wilderness sky.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


Fool!

　That night, while we were camped out under the bones of the great royal species, I was pissed at Mr. Kilt.

　Soltis gave me a 'oh my goodness' look and Poe was staring at us a short distance away, with no expression on his face.

　The flames of the fire illuminate us.

'Why did you ignore the straw man's instructions?'
..........
It's not enough to defeat the demon. It's not enough to defeat a demon, but depending on the situation, it may be necessary to decide to retreat. You don't understand that, do you?

　Golden eyes gaze at me.

　There's no excuse for that, it's such a strong gaze.

　...........

　I tie my lips together.

'Oh well, Kilt.'　

　Ms. Illtimina interrupts us.

'You must have some thoughts about Marle.
"Irna.

　Mr. Kilt glares at her tightly.

　She takes it in.

'I'll tell Merle. Will you let me take this place?

　Ms. Illtimina said quietly.

　Mr. Kilt was silent, as if he felt something in it.

　She looked at me.

　Then she let out a deep breath.

All right. You better talk to him.
Yes, sir.

　Iltimina nodded at Kilt's permission.

　Then I was led by Ms. Illtimina to a place away from everyone else.

　The flames of the campfire are far away and our shadows stretch long.

　Behind the giant bones of the great royal species, me and Illtimina-san are alone.

''You did a great job today,''

　Iltimina smiled.

''But there were many moments when you were more prominent on your own than usual. I was a little worried about you.
..........
..........
..........
Is there something wrong?

　A gentle voice.

　It was an indication that he was waiting for me to start talking.

　............

　I take a deep breath and slowly let it out.

''I wanted to kill as many demons as possible.

　I answered honestly.

'As much as possible?'

　She repeated in surprise.

　I nodded.

'Yeah. Because if you can take down as many as you can, that makes the others less dangerous, right?
..........
So I wanted to cut down on one of them.

　I stare at my hands.

　I know what I did today was dangerous.

　But if that means that other people are in less danger.

　If the number of people killed by the demon is reduced.

　Geez.

　I clenched my fists.

'I don't want to be like Arun's 'Great Labyrinth' where I can't do anything but be informed that someone else is dying!

　I exclaimed.

　Mr. Illtimina looked terribly astonished.

''Marle. If you know that this search has cost you...?
..........

　thump

　I nodded.

　Iltimina moaned sadly, '........'

''That's right. So that's why you did that kind of recklessness.......

　I exhale.

　She kneels on the ground and makes eye contact with me.

'I'm sorry I didn't tell you,'
..........
But Merle. But that doesn't mean you should ever do what you did today, ever again.

　His hands rest on my shoulders.

'If you don't take better care of yourself as well, one day, you'll die.
I'll be fine.

　I said.

　With a small smile, I touched the jewel that swung against my chest.

"I have the 'Bright Stone of Life'. Even if it's reckless, if I can come back to life--

　bang

　A shock went through my cheeks.

(Huh?)

　Iltimina's white hand slapped me...?

　In front of my astonished face, the beauty's willow eyebrows were upside down.

''Don't be silly!

　He shouted at me.

'Marle, adventurers can die no matter how carefully they prepare and act. This was entrusted to you by the princesses of Reclear to protect you from that plague. Never to let their lives be neglected!
Huh.
Your words are a trampling on the thoughts of everyone who cares about you.

　I was stiff.

　This might be the first time I've been seriously angered by the always kind Illtimina-san.

　My slapped cheek was hot.

　My heart hurts.

　Illtimina hugged my body tightly as I let go.

I understand how you feel.
..........
That pain, that suffering, it must have been so hard for you to be alone.

　The hug is strong.

　My body hurts.

　But.

Still, I dare say.

　Strangely, her voice was haunting.

'Don't be so vain, Marle,'
..........
It's a noble thing to want to help so many people. But one person can only take on one life, and that's all we can do. We can support each other, but no more than that.

　She slowly let go of her body.

　With her hands on my shoulders, her crimson eyes were staring straight at me.

'All we can do is put our hands on her.
..........
You can never take on all that. It would also hurt their pride in life.

　He smiled sadly.

'So don't try to carry something too big on your little back. ........I've said it before, haven't I?　You're allowed to be 'Just Merle'.

　I said as a reminder of that.

　............

　My chest was painful and it spilled out of my eyes as tears.

'Is that all I can do?'
Yes.

　Iltimina nodded.

''It's ... frustrating.''

　I moaned as I cried.

　I don't want to die, but I can't stop someone else from dying....

　I can't cover that death.

　Illtimina-san says, 'That's fine.

　But I couldn't help but feel frustrated by that.

'.........I want to be stronger.

　I hoped with all my heart.

　Illtimina-san met my gaze squarely as she glared at me as she cried.

'Yes,'

　She nodded.

　As it is, she hugs me again.

　In her arms, I grit my teeth desperately trying to stop the tears.

　But it doesn't stop.

　Under the starry sky in the wilderness, Illtimina-san's fingers are forever gently stroking my hair like that.