That's quite a drastic change. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

The ground beneath Kasugabe's feet was engulfed in nothingness, and many streamlined worlds could be seen spinning on the other side of the darkness. Yao notices that one of them is the stage where he fought against the Vulture Lion.

(This is ...... The ...... of the White Yaksha? ）

Then there is nothing to be disturbed about. Yao gave his body to the feeling of sinking to the bottom of the pot, quietly waiting for himself to be filtered. With the dazzling rainbow light scattered, she was the only one thrown to the end of the star.

Burst! The sound of the landing was somewhat unexpected. She looked closely, and the material under her feet was part of the tree.

No, it's no ordinary tree –

"This tree...... No, it's not just the ground, it's a place surrounded by tree roots? ”

It was a large hollow surrounded by huge tree roots. Yao was able to understand that the trunk in front of her was actually the root of a tree because of her strong sense of smell to discern the smell of soil.

Another person who heard Yao talking to herself laughed at her with a contemptuous attitude:

"Oh, yes, thank you for telling us. Is this here inside the roots~? ”

“……”

Yao turned his head away unconcernedly, turning his back to Aixia. Although she didn't intend to provoke this time, it still seemed to be enough to make Aixia angry.

Although she and the jack-o-lantern beside her put on a battle-ready attitude, Yao whispered to stop them.

"The game hasn't started yet."

"What? What do you say......"

"The victory conditions and defeat conditions have not been announced, so it can't be considered an official game yet."

Ai Xia was not very happy, but she must also think that Yao's statement was indeed reasonable.

So she flicked her double ponytail and, after observing the great cavity formed at the root with disapproval, murmured:

"But ah~ It's really worthy of Lord Xingling, who is very different from an inferior demon like us, and actually has such a strange game board."

"That'...... Probably not. ”

"Huh?"

Yao didn't respond, just shook his head. This is the second time she has been brought to the plate by the White Yaksha.

The experience of the last time, plus the various actions about the invitation before the transfer.

The most important thing is that the low somatosensory temperature makes her have a hypothesis about this stage.

(If you can get out of here and go outside, you'll know the details...... Oh? ）

At this time, the space between the two suddenly cracked.

Emerging from the crack was a black rabbit holding a glowing parchment.

The black rabbit held aloft the "contract document" made based on the authority of the organizer, and read the contents of the document flatly:

"Bestow Game Name: "Labyrinth of Underwood"

Victory Conditions:

1. Contestants get out of the maze formed by the roots of large trees and go into the wild.

2. The contestant destroys the boon of the opponent.

3. When the opponent is unable to meet the conditions of victory (including surrender).

- Defeat Conditions:

1. The opponent achieves one of the conditions for victory.

2. When the Participant is unable to meet the above Victory Conditions.

"In the name of 'judicial competence', the oath under the banner is the inviolable rule of both parties. Please make sure that both sides have a glorious battle to boast about. So here, announce the start of the game. ”

The oath of the Black Rabbit ends, and that's the whistle for the game to begin.

The two of them distanced themselves and pondered their first move. Since there are several conditions for victory, it is natural to want a clear policy.

After a brief hiatus, the first to act was Aixia, who smiled dismissively.

"It's useless to stare at each other, so let you do it first."

“？”

"Forget it, after all, that kind of thing happened just now, and it will be troublesome if someone instigates it later."

Aixia shrugged her shoulders with her ponytails and a calm smile on her face.

Kasugabe Yao thought expressionlessly for a while, and then asked:

"Are you the leader of ...... Willo'wisp?"

"Huh? Does it look like it? That's really fun? But it's a pity, Miss Aixia, I ......."

"Really? Then I got it. ”

Perhaps glad that she had been mistaken for a leader, Aixia answered the question with a cute smile on her face. However, Yao didn't listen, she just gave up the conversation and quickly ran to the passage behind her.

"Huh...... Wait...... Wait a minute............? ”

Obviously, it was Yao himself who took the initiative to propose the conversation, but he suddenly fled halfway, which made Ai Xia Leng stunned for a while.

After suddenly coming back to his senses, Aixia was so angry that his whole body trembled, and he shouted angrily:

"Hey...... Feed! So you play people like fools! If you want to do it, then we won't show mercy! Come on, Jack! Hunt humans in the maze of roots! ”

“YAHOYAHOHOhoho～！”

Aixia was so angry that her ponytails stood up and launched a fierce pursuit. With his back to them, Kasugabe Yao kept climbing up the gaps in the roots of the trees that resembled passages, and Aixia shouted at Yao's back:

"We have the right place, burn her! Jack! ”

“YAFUUUUUUUuuuuu！”

As Aisha raised her left hand, demonic flames erupted from Jack's pumpkin head and the lantern he was holding in his right hand, instantly burning away the roots of the tree and attacking Yao.

However, Yao only causes the minimum necessary wind, inducing the flames and dodging the blow.

(She dodged away?) No, the gust of wind just now...... Is that her gift......? ）

Seeing the flames released by Jack change the track, Aixia couldn't help but smack her tongue.

In contrast, Yao has already begun to perceive the secret of Jack's jack-o-lantern.

(The flame...... It's the same story as Jen's Willo'wisp. ）

Yao recalls the knowledge he gained before the competition.

- On the legacy of "Willo'wisp" and "jacko'lantern".

The inheritance of the former is the phenomenon of blue and white flames suddenly appearing in uninhabited places, which is commonly known as ghost fire.

The inheritance of the latter is the rural legend of the wandering soul of the deceased after it was transformed into a skeleton, which is commonly known as a ghost.

However, both lineages have left behind common anecdotes.

One of them is that the nameless demon bestowed a bonfire on the soul of a great sinner who had been given two lives.

In the lineage, Jack was a major sinner in both lives, so he can only wander between life and death forever after death. The flame given to him by the demon who thought he was pitiful was the flame of hell that came out of Jack's lantern.

- "Inheritance" is equal to "meritorious". According to this law, the leader of the community [Willo'wisp] should be "a demon that appears in the realm of life and death".

(However...... That girl is not the leader, then she should be a different demon or race. ）

Assuming that Aixia's true face is a demon who is powerful enough to be able to go back and forth between life and death, Yao's chances of winning are very small. The initial question was asked to confirm this.

"Ah~ Damn! It's flashing around like that! Hit three attacks at the same time! Jack! ”

“YAFUUUUUUuuuuuu！”

Aisha raised his left hand, and Jack used the lantern in his right hand to release flames. Faced with the three pillars of fire that were even more fierce than before, Yao didn't even use the gift of the vulture lion, and passed directly through the gaps between all the flames.

“…… How could it be ......! ”

Aisha was speechless in surprise, this attack allowed Yao to grasp the truth of this flame.

That is, the truth about the "Willo'wisp" bonfire.

(The flames weren't from Jack, but the girl was "sending flammable gas or phosphorus around with her hands.") ）

That's right, the truth of the "Willo'wisp" heritage is that "combustible gases or substances that come out of the earth, such as biogas".

Because of this, ghost fires can appear even near the waterside such as the lakeside.

Originally, natural gas was tasteless and odorless, but Yao, who was tens of thousands of times sharper than humans in terms of smell, still sensed that something was wrong. The reason she was able to use the Vulture Lion's bounty to change the path of the flames was because she blew away the erupted gas or phosphorus before the flames were fired.

Aixia found that her methods had been seen through, and gritted her teeth unwillingly.

"Damn, it's not good, Jack......! If she continues like this, she will be able to escape! ”

“Yaho……！”

In terms of foot power, Yao has an overwhelming upper hand.

It didn't take long for the strong legs of a leopard to distance themselves and slowly move away. Moreover, Yao's senses can grasp the correct route through the air currents from outside, and the maze has lost its meaning.

Ai Xia looked at Yao's back as she moved away—and let out a sigh of abandonment.

“…… I'm! Although I am not reconciled, I will leave it to you next. Get serious, Mr. Jack! ”

"I see."

Hey? Yao looked back. I saw that Jack, who was standing in the distance, had disappeared, but suddenly appeared in front of her like a fog. Faced with the black shadow caused by the huge pumpkin, the startled Yao couldn't help but stop.

"Impossible......"

"It's the reality. Sorry, little girl. ”

With a strong sound, when Jack's white hand was about to fly Yao, a dense power grid suddenly appeared on Yao's body to block Jack's hand.

"Alright, you can go, Aixia. I'm in charge of this girl. ”

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jack. I really want to win on my own......"

"The reason is your arrogance and carelessness. You have to reflect on it and learn a little bit about how this girl controls the situation in the game. ”

"Uh......h I know. ”

After Aixia responded, she ignored Yao completely and ran out directly. Yaogang wanted to keep up.

"Wait a minute......"

"Of course not. Your game will end here. ”

With that, Jack poured a little bit of a bonfire out of the lantern.

The small flame engulfed the roots of the tree in an instant, forming a wall of fire that rumbled and burned.

Faced with the overwhelming heat and density that was very different from before, Yao still looked at Jack with a blank face.

“…… You are ......"

"Yes, your guess must be correct. I'm not the jack-o'-lantern made by Aisha Ignefatus, but the object of your original vigilance, the great demon who appeared in the realm of life and death! A masterpiece made by Vera Za Ignyifathus! That's me, the oldest pumpkin goblin in the world...... Jacko'lantern?”