305 - - The second day of my return to my home country.

The next morning, Thor and his party waded through the knee-deep grass and headed for the mountains located at the back of the village.

Their destination was a shrine on the mountainside.

The stairway, piled up with stones, leads uninterruptedly up to the middle of the mountain, as if weaving between thickly growing trees.

The stairs seem to be in good condition, although they are crumbling in some places.

At the end of the climb, there was supposed to be a neat square paved with cobblestones, but this too was in such a state of disrepair that there was no sign of it.

The shrine pavilion at the back of the plaza was not even in its original state, but just a pile of rubble.

And in the center of the plaza.

There, what Thor and the others were looking for was standing there, not even moving.

The uppermost part is so high that it lines up with the treetops that surround it.

Its feet are covered with thick black tentacles, and its short body is a dull green.

On top of it was a huge human face.

Although it was shaped like a human face, there was not a single hair on its inorganic face, which lacked any human touch.

The eyeballs also look like mere embedded pebbles.

The base of the face was surrounded by multiple protruding red petals, like a crescent.

From a distance, the viewer can get the strange impression that a human head is protruding from the core of a blooming flower.

Even more eerie was the fact that all the petals were surrounded by a blazing fire.

Oren, who was breathing heavily on his shoulders from the hard work of climbing the long flight of stairs, took one look at the monster, which seemed ready to move at any moment, and lunged forward without a sign of fear.

Looking up at it as if he were about to bite it, he exclaims in excitement.

Oh, oh, oh. There's no doubt about it. This is a demon tribe for sure!　I'm really sorry I doubted you."

"I guess that story about the old man's success wasn't a hoax. ......"

"Hey, I thought you were sure!"

Thor scratched the bottom of his chin in a deliberate manner at Oren's startled questioning.

"Well, that's all right. Let me take a closer look. Hmmm... it looks like it's burning, but I don't feel any heat... how does it work? ......

" is like time standing still. It doesn't affect us, but we can't do anything about it either. At best, we can move the end of the line."

Striking it does not change it, and blades do not penetrate it.

Therefore, it is impossible to destroy this monster.

And unlike Sora, cannot be used on the monster.

In other words, the deformed monster will have no choice but to remain standing here until the end of the world.

"So it is impossible to collect a specimen?"

But just being able to see them makes a lot of sense. You see, this place is very interesting.

"Oh, there is an unfamiliar hole at the base of the petal. Dr. Odle, you have noticed it very well.

Leaving the two of them engrossed in their work, Thor checked on Sola.

A short distance away, the girl was staring silently at the cruelty of her familiar home.

Moe rests his head on her stomach as if leaning against it.

Yuril is quietly cuddling next to her.

When Thor, concerned, approached, Thora gave him a reassuringly relaxed smile.

Then she gently pointed to the back of the rubble.

Hey, Thor, over there.

"Hm?　Yeah, I see a hole."

"Could that be the loophole we used to escape?"

I'm sure it is.

Behind the shrine building was a gentle slope, but there was a black hole peeking out halfway through, buried under rocks and grass.

"Why don't we go there?　I'm kind of curious."

"How do you like it?　Moo de banda!"

I'd like to see it, too. I've always wanted to see a cave other than a labyrinth.

Reading the history of the entrance to the hole, it seems that a swarm of monsters has swept in here as well.

The rocks and pieces of wood that were blocking the entrance are removed with to make it passable.

When I turn around to say a few words to them, I find Oren and Audre nestled in the tentacles of the monsters.

With nothing in sight but the flailing buttocks, we give up and enter the hidden passageway alone with the four of us.

The interior, illuminated by the magic stone lamps, was more spacious than we had remembered.

The footing was not too bumpy, and it was quite easy to walk.

It felt as if the ground had been leveled by people who had passed through it many times.

The walls and ceilings were covered with wooden planks and pillars to prevent them from collapsing.

There are no people here either, Tor-chan. But there is something here. It's not unpleasant, but it's making my head itch!

As I looked on in admiration, Moo, with his purple eyes and tiny lightning snakes, who could see through the darkness, told me that he was still attached to Sola.

He had no intention of leaving the girl for even a moment today.

"Is this what itchy feels like?　Moo-chan."

The child, who had been nudged on the whip by Sola, immediately burst into a pleasant laugh.

The girl's mouth relaxes as well.

Then she murmurs a little curiously.

What is it?　Something really makes me itchy. I wonder if it's just a feeling I get from Moo-chan."

"Can I ask you to do something for me too?　Mumu-san."

"Nm."

Yuril shook Moe's hand and, after a moment's pause, his eyes widened.

The ash-eared woman, who wiggled the tips of her ears, gave her frank impression.　

"This is ticklish ......, itchy ....... It's like being tickled behind the ears.

Ulille removed her hand and continued speaking, her expression of surprise still intact.

"You startled me. I didn't know you could communicate such things.

In the past, Mu's had been limited to the obvious: sight, hearing, smell, and the effects of magic tricks.

Therefore, it is truly a remarkable growth that he has been able to attune himself to the super-senses, which could be called intuition.

Yuril stroked his curly hair softly, and Moo's flat chest turned up.

"Moo, I did my best for you, Coco!"

The incident deep in the basement of the court temple may have been the occasion.

Tall, whose senses often overlapped with his, had sensed that Mu's power of sympathy seemed to be increasing day by day ever since then.　

"There seems to be no danger, shall we go and see what that itch is?"

Thor, with his hand on the hilt of his sword, leads the way.

After a while, the path splits in two.

Thora, who had been walking with Moe, pondered for a while and then pointed to the path on the left.

Itchy is this way, isn't it? I think that's the path we took when we ran away.

"I didn't know there was such a fork in the road."

The path to the left gradually slopes down to the bottom of the earth.

After walking for about ten minutes, Thor and his companions arrived at a reasonably large space.

"............ what the hell is this?"

At the end of the underground cavern was a small spring filled with clear water.

It was no more than twenty paces wide.

In the center of the fountain, there was something circular floating in the air with a silvery shine.

It was about the size of Thor's outstretched palm, and there was no sign of any support.

The silver circular object's pale glow made it possible to clearly see through to the crystal-clear bottom of the water.

The water seems to be no deeper than Thor's knees.

Moreover, if you look closely, you can see white stepping stones placed just above the surface of the water here and there.

If one follows the stones, it seems that one can reach the center of the water just by dipping one's toes in the water.

However, it was not the mysterious floating objects or the strange fountain that surprised Thor and his friends.

The shore of the fountain.

There, piled high in a heap, were the corpses of countless monsters.