As we ventured further down, something stirred, causing the ground to tremble with a strange echoing sound rising from below.
The slope leading downward seemed endless, making one doubt if it truly had an end. At the entrance, sunlight still reached us, allowing some visibility, but soon enough, the only light came from the glow of the wizard’s book and Myungho’s torch.
The incline was gentle, yet its narrow width made even single-file walking slightly precarious. Every time the path narrowed, Alterra used her abilities to create railings, but an unsettling feeling lingered.
“…Alterra. That railing looks exactly like the one you just made. Did you see that one and replicate it? Or…”
“…I made it, alright. And those hole-ridden bones we’re passing—weren’t they somewhere we’ve already been?”
“Yes, I was starting to suspect… For some unknown reason, it seems we’re continuously going in circles.”
After looping back several times, our initial suspicion turned into certainty: no matter how far forward we went, we inexplicably returned to where we’d already been.
While Akashi and Mari walked along unperturbed, they halted when we stopped.
“Problem? Why are we stopping all of a sudden? Is there a ghost jumping out to scare us? Or maybe scattered corpses?”
“You’re the one who should know this already. Akashi, we’re circling the same place repeatedly. Didn’t you realize?”
“Of course I knew. You guys must not understand where we’re heading yet, huh? Into a dragon’s nest? This is the kind of place where paths vanish or walls push you off without it being odd. We’re lucky it’s only doing this much.”
Myungho tried to inform Akashi about the situation, but the latter confidently claimed he already knew everything, leaving Myungho embarrassed.
I thought someone like him would naturally be aware… but there’s nothing to be done about his attitude.
“I’m helping you out. Show a little respect.”
“It’s ‘respect,’ not ‘reverence.’ Worm. Oh, want to see something interesting? Follow me. You’ll soon understand what this trapped thing wants.”
Akashi shot back every word without compromise, then abruptly turned around and started climbing back up.
Myungho tried to stop him mid-step, but the narrow path only allowed for watching as Akashi ascended alone. A few steps later, he vanished suddenly.
“Akashi! Where did you go?! Mari, head up! What is going on?!”
Startled by the sudden disappearance, Myungho anxiously instructed Mari to ascend, urging the rest of us to follow. Though hesitant to climb into the unknown, Yuna eventually followed Mari, and I trailed behind.
In our hurried ascent, sunlight suddenly poured down upon us. Shielding my eyes with my hand, I heard Akashi’s voice calling from above.
“…So, do you get what the owner of this nest wants? Seeing that angry face, you seem clueless. Let me enlighten you—it’s ‘get lost.’ Blocking descent while returning anyone ascending back to the entrance proves it.”
Furious, Myungho glared at Akashi after climbing up, threatening retribution later. However, Akashi remained unfazed.
“Oh, so scary. You’re going to ask me how to descend next, right? It’s obvious by now.”
Predicting Myungho’s actions perfectly, Akashi brushed off dust and promptly provided the answer.
Despite being somewhat predictable, it still annoyed Myungho, who reluctantly nodded and said,
“…Speak.”
“Living beings can’t descend; what we’re doing is as meaningless as punching a slime. Conversely, the dead can descend.”
“…Finally showing your true colors! I suspected it since you were blasting magic everywhere before! You plan to kill us and dispose of the bodies, don’t you?!”
Yuna, somehow interpreting his words this way, drew her bowstring back, ready to fire an arrow at him. Though I wanted to assist her, I restrained her knowing it would complicate our adventure greatly.
“…Wait, let’s hear him out. Magic isn’t usable now anyway.”
Ignoring my recent rescue, Akashi continued explaining casually. While Myungho and Yuna occasionally questioned him, I stood bewildered, barely understanding anything.
Normal conversation is fine, but this mage’s words are incomprehensible. He deliberately uses difficult terms.
“…A spell treating the living as dead? Sure, suppose we cast that. But why does such magic exist in the world…?”
“If there’s magic disguising the dead as alive, there must be the opposite too.”
Myungho pondered where to object but ultimately gave up, spreading his arms and urging Akashi to cast the spell.
Akashi muttered something nonchalantly and aimed it at Myungho. A blue curtain-like aura enveloped him, then absorbed into his body, slightly pale-ing his complexion.
“…You look slightly paler.”
“It’s a disguise, but remember, it’s a corpse. Have you ever seen a corpse with good complexion? Next.”
Since I intended to verify things below, I willingly let Akashi cast the spell on me. However, unlike Myungho, my skin tone didn’t change.
Pretending to be dead is possible only for the living, so it’s fine. Before questioning further, the spell was also cast on Yuna and Mari.
“Hold on. Why are you casting it on Mari? She’s a doll, isn’t she? Not alive, right…?”
“The uterus is alive. Casting the spell on just the uterus would suffice, but don’t overthink it.”
Muttering something about dwarves, Myungho massaged his forehead. Regardless, the prospect of finally descending genuinely excited me.
…The thing below probably isn’t my father. It just feels that way. Still, since it’s the same species as my father, it will help gauge strength and appearance.
Perhaps, if things go well, I might even uncover information about my father directly.
Determined, I volunteered to take the lead. Since there wouldn’t be significant danger below, creating a path at the front would be advantageous. Myungho agreed.
“Don’t exhaust yourself making the path. The thing below might attack immediately upon seeing us. Absolutely no reckless moves; run if needed. There’s no shame in it, right?”
“Understood. Don’t worry.”
…I intend to test its power in one exchange.
With this resolve in mind, I resumed descending into the seemingly endless abyss. The initial segment still had some light visible.
Without much conversation or need to create paths, I gazed at the snake bones embedded in the wall.
Though positioned slightly above the slope, they couldn’t be stepped on. If there were no slope, they might have served as a path. Interestingly, the tail section higher up was nearly decayed into powder, but lower down, the bones became increasingly pristine.
At a certain point, they detached from the wall and lay in the center of the pit.
Just before the light disappeared entirely, I noticed something red clinging to the bones, but the light vanished instantly afterward, preventing further observation.
“…I’ll mark this spot. If we see it again, it means we’ve failed.”
Informing the group, I scratched a line into the wall with my fingernail. With nothing else to say, I urged everyone to continue descending.
Along the way, remnants of my railings and footprints remained. Continuing to mark the wall with scratches, I ensured we’d recognize if we looped back.
However, we never saw those marks again.
Despite traveling for quite a while, neither the railing nor the scratch reappeared. Strangely, the surroundings began to feel brighter.
Even so, the vast space meant the difference was merely better visibility of the immediate front and back.
“…It seems we’ve succeeded.”
From here onward, everything was uncertain. Until now, the only obstacle was the barrier preventing living beings from crossing, but things might differ ahead.
Here, a spear would be more effective than a sword, so I pulled a rock-formed spear from the wall. I advised Myungho to ready his uneasy-looking blade as we continued downward cautiously.
After some time, we heard a faint rustling sound. Checking our surroundings and sensing vibrations revealed no source, and the group behind confirmed they hadn’t caused it.
“…Akashi. Could you shine the light from your book toward the center of the pit?”
“Eh? Something catching your attention? Alright. Here… oof.”
Soon, we identified the source of the sound.
It came from the intact snake torso in the center of the pit—a living snake covered in flesh and scales.
