299 - - new darkness

Once the three heads are defeated, it takes more than three days for them to reappear, during which time the wide cavernous road is a safe zone.

Because of the large number of people, we were sometimes attacked by lava dogs and fire heads with burning wights as we moved from cavity to cavity, but these were not new opponents for Thor and the others who had defeated the labyrinth master of this level.

Thus, the return trip was uneventful and the group was able to return to the door of the key of the blue skull near evening.

The first one to notice us was Nenemimi, who had taken over the role of a scout.

Kikiriri, who had shared the same sensation, turns his head in surprise.

"What is this?

Sora and Kugase, who had noticed the change, were startled by the voice and rolled their eyes.

"What?　We didn't have anything like this, did we?"

"What the hell is going on here? ......"

There were two doors in a row.

They fit so well into the rock wall that you would think they had been there for a long time.

One of them must be the door leading to the upper level that Thor and the others had passed through.

The other, however, is completely unfamiliar.

The twin sister, noticing Thor's gaze, quickly activates her radar to search the area around her.　

After checking for a moment, she shakes her head and tells us that there is no danger of monsters.

"Sola, please take care of this."

"Yeah, you're getting a little heavy, Moo-chan."

Handing the child who had fallen asleep on his back to the girl, Thor activated his as he approached the suspicious door.

Immediately, images of 13 seconds into the future flooded into his vision like raindrops.

Thor identifies them in an instant and sees that there are no traps.

He takes out the key of the red skull, presses it against the hollow and twists it, and the mysterious door moves without a sound.

From inside the door, a narrow staircase leading downward emerges.

It was covered in such pitch-darkness that we could not even go down a few steps.

"This is definitely not right!"

Kugase, who had been peering at us with great interest from behind, raised his voice angrily while grabbing the sleeve of Thor's armor.

If there was a cavity here, my horns wouldn't have missed it. Why is there such a thing here?

The horns on the forehead of the brown-horned tribe can detect differences in the hardness of materials.

Kugase seems to be especially good at this, and can even detect the thickness of walls.

"Hmmm, this is too unnatural. It's so unnatural that the door appears as if it anticipated that we had obtained the key. And there was nothing like it before."

Thor and Yuril looked at each other as Balconia pointed this out while wringing his moustache.

There are too many strange things in this labyrinth for them to go to the trouble of preparing a stairway to the lower level.

Kikiriri exhales in exasperation at Thor and the others' silent reaction.

"Hey, can't we have dinner first?　There's no point in thinking about it here."

"Yes, I'm hungry!"

"Well, let's get some rest first."

With these words, the group finally turns their feet to the safety of the door.

Kugase quickly throws his luggage against the wall and jumps into the bedding that is placed against both walls, stretching his arms and legs as hard as he can.

The twins, who do not hide their relief, do the same.

Thor unfolded a folding chair and sat Yuril down quickly.

Even though his magical power is inexhaustible, he still seems to have little strength.

The silver-haired beauty smiled reassuringly as she held the offered hand.

Sola, on the other hand, throws Moe into the hanging bedding and begins to cheerfully prepare for dinner.

Barukkonia, who had returned to her usual chatty self, rushed over to help.

They could be heard whispering to each other about the menu for the evening.

"Sola-dono, that thing I promised you..."

"I'm not sure I'm going to be able to..."

"In that case, here's..."

It seems that they were preparing a festive feast, but they seemed to be concerned about the depressed state of the three Sourin Clan members.　

The Rummeleras have hardly opened their mouths since their return.

They should be happy that they had defeated one of the labyrinth masters, but they must have been disappointed with the results that did not meet their expectations in more ways than one.

Raszel is alone, leaning against the wall and carefully running the whetstone over his sword.

After waiting for a while, a strong aroma filled the aisle.

The sound of something simmering could be heard.

Moo, who had been asleep, wakes up with a start, and easily falls to the ground from the hanging bedclothes.

The child lands safely in Thor's hands, and rolls to the feet of Sora, who is still cooking.

The child, still with her eyes closed, stopped at the girl's feet and opened her mouth like a baby bird.

Sola scooped up the contents of the pot with a wooden spoon, blew on it to cool it down, and put it into Moe's mouth.

The child, lying on her side, took a sip of the soup and moved her mouth around for a while before suddenly opening her purple eyes.

"Delicious!"

"I see you like it, Mr. Mu. This is a soup stock made from specially salted meat made from the middle leg of the wild boar herd and dried in the sun for a year.

I'd like another plate!

"It looks delicious. Let us taste it too!"

The twins heard the commotion and before I knew it, they were sitting around the pot.

They laugh and shake their heads in unison when Sola tries to hand them a wooden spoon.

"I can't hold it in my hand. I'm sorry, can you scoop it for me?"

"Hurry up, I can't stand it."

"Yes, please."

The spoon is offered to both of them, and Moe gets up with a start and starts to get angry.

"That's Moo's!　Don't eat it."

Then let me cool it for you. Please, this way.

"You've got a good thing going for you, old man Slippery!"

Rummella suddenly bursts into laughter at his terrible words.

Licori and Moldamo's eyes widen in surprise at the sudden change in expression, then they look at each other and their mouths finally relax.

The dinner ended in a friendly atmosphere.

The next day, after some discussion, it was decided that they would only reconnoiter the next layer.

Thor and the others carefully descended the stairs, which seemed to have been built by human hands, relying on the light from the magic stone lamps.

When they opened the door at the bottom, they found themselves in a cylindrical space.

The floor was covered with square black stones, and at the back was a chair-like object--a throne.

Seated there was the corpse of someone holding a black sword.