Huh ... huh ...
Well, you are making it out, aren't you?

　Breathing on their shoulders, Wraith and Seth put their hands on their knees in exhaustion. There were no demons behind them, and somehow they managed to escape with their lives.

'Where are we?'

　Wraith looks around while wiping sweat off his face. Since I was going along various roads without thinking about the future, I didn't have any idea of my current location. The only thing in front of me is a large, prominent red rock that is dotted with large, prominent red rocks.

　There is a possibility of encountering the demon again even if we try to return to the original path. Once this happened, we could only hope that Raffy and the others would find it.

"There's also the matter of the demons, so let's just leave a little longer.
Okay, I'll do it.

　He begins to walk as safely as possible while trying to recover his strength. Stepping on the reddish-brown ground, I finally regained enough time to think.

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

　As he stepped silently forward, Wraith reflected on what had happened since he'd come to the volcano.

　There were things that he remembered being stuck on for a long time.

　It was when he was attacked by a demon, or when he began to climb this volcano. The fact that I had heard a voice that was clearly possessed of intelligence.

'Hey, Seth. Have you heard anything like a muffled voice since you entered this volcano?
Voice?　No, I didn't ask for that, but...
Well....
Did you hear something?
Maybe I'm wrong, though.

　I don't think it's the same mistake over and over again. However, it is strange that only one Wraith heard it, though.

''Will I ever meet a genie?''

　I sigh as I think of my original purpose. At this rate, it seemed like a dream come true. As Wraith moved his heavy legs with a limp, he suddenly saw something next to him.

　A potted, large red rock.

　He stopped, looked up, and tilted his head.

''Wasn't this the same one I saw earlier?''
It's not the same thing? It's not that unique.
Well, yeah.

　I feel something that doesn't quite add up, but I can't put it into words well. I nodded my head as if to force myself to accept it, and started walking again.

　For a while, only the sound of their shoes reached my ears, and it felt awfully quiet. There was no sound of birds or the wind. It was as if all the noise had disappeared from the world.

　I can't shake the feeling of discomfort, and my brow furrows.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.
Sure, it's a little too quiet...

　I missed the noise of being chased around by demons a long time ago. The eerie silence made me naturally quicken my steps. We both walked with serious expressions on our faces - and were shocked by what we found beyond.

　A large red rock with a pointy spot.

''Hey, this is.........''
Well, it could be a coincidence.

　At this point in the season, Seth uttered a hopeful look of bitterness. This is certainly the third time I've seen a similar rock. It's true that the possibility of coincidence cannot be discarded.

　Nevertheless, Wraith narrows his eyes.

'I have a bad feeling about this, though.

　Wraith is not at all hopeful of a modest hope. As he approaches the rock, he uses alchemy to transform it and put a line right next to it. Now you can tell the next (...) from the next one.

''I don't want to go any further, though.
I'm with you. So do I.

　As he says it, Wraith starts to move on, leaving Seth at a standstill. There is no choice. Seth holds his gray head in one hand as if to endure a headache, and then follows. He quickly lines up next to Wraith.

　Already, he had lost his mental reserve.

'Hypothetically, yes, hypothetically. What if we're going around in circles in the same place?

　The question emphasized the "hypothetical" part.
　Wraith kicked a pebble from under his feet and let out a depressed breath.

'I suppose so. If that's the case, I don't think there's anything we can do to break it down. At least I don't know. And even if that kind of magic exists, it's not something we can use.
"...okay, let's hope it's a coincidence.
There's nothing more unbelievable than asking God for help in a situation like this, though. And don't worry, we were only talking about the 'provisional'.

　He told her not to worry, but the provisional content is very specific. Seth unintentionally looked at Wraith as if to blame him for the sarcastic way he said it.

　However, the person in question only cowered his shoulders. Even though Seth started the tentative talk from Seth, I still feel a little frustrated.

''........Hey, Wraith. Aren't you coming to break my heart?
'Giving up is rather crucial. You don't have to despair.
Thanks for the advice I didn't want to hear.

　The words that had connotations were not the words Seth wanted to hear right now. He squints up at the sky and sighs heavily. As he does so, he gets a thump on his shoulder from Wraith.

'See?'

　A red rock with a single line right next to it is indicated by a finger. It's definitely the rock that Wraith used alchemy on earlier.

　In other words.

It's confirmed. We've been walking in the same place for some reason.

　Having already given up on escaping, Wraith sat there in a daze. Without further ado, he looked up at the sky with vague eyes.

I'm going to try again in a different direction.
'I think it's useless. It's obvious that we're being brought back to this place regardless of the direction or anything else.
I'll still try.

　Not accepting Wraith's words, Seth began to run in the direction he hadn't yet gone.
　He looked off behind him and looked at the sky again, thinking to himself, "Oh dear. After a few minutes of watching the flowing clouds with abandon, I heard a noisy shoe noise approaching.

　I turned to look in that direction and saw Seth, breathing heavily.

'Hey, I told you,'

　Wraith sighs to the heavens, not particularly proud of it.

''What are we going to do about this...?''
The quickest thing we can do is find out who's making this loop. Well, it's going to be difficult for us who can't move from this place. Hmmm, well...

　Wraith crosses his arms and snarls, wondering if there's anything else he can do better. Seth can't do anything about it, since he can't use magic. Only Wraith, who can use alchemy, might be able to make a breakthrough.

　I search through my memories to see if there is any solution.

'Wait, well, I think I heard something similar to the current situation from my master.

　After a while, Wraith got a clue.
　Before coming to this volcano, he had heard several pieces of information about the Salamander from his mentor. One of them was a story similar to this looping state.

　I didn't take it very seriously, so my memory is vague.

''Well, I don't know... there's something called the 'Curse of Fire' from a fairytale in this area, and I think they were talking about how it has the power to lead people astray or something...''
So, what's the solution?
Master says, 'It feels like spatial magic...'

　He dexterously imitates Lurimes, but not down to his voice, which is weird to say the least. However, the information he brought was useful and sufficient for further consideration.


Well, it's a drastic change in terrain.

　Wraith turns his shoulders round and round and smiles a big smile. He exudes an atmosphere like, "I'm all set, man," and his next move was easily predictable.

　Hence, Seth turns blue in the face.

''Hey, wait, Wraith. Let's calm down...!
It's okay, Seth, I'm calm enough.
Then let's get your hands off the ground right now!
"If you're a man, you better go big.

　He gave a thumbs-up and glinted his teeth. It was clear that he was no longer interested in listening to me.

'You're being too bold!

　After Seth's heartfelt cry, a roar raced through the volcano.