To my surprise, after his disappearance, Maruyama Kotono only panicked for a few seconds at first, and then quickly calmed down.

And he continues to collect photographs of the murals, as if he had forgotten about his disappearance.

I don't quite understand, but

It's a pleasure.

Because, at this time, the two of us only have time alone.

The paper on which the text was recorded was crumpled on this page, and the distortion of the handwriting was even more illegible.

Some of the words are written in a huge way.

For example, "happy", "two", and "alone" occupy two or three lines, and they don't care even when they are written on other words.

It can be seen that when he wrote these words, Takeshi Takaji was by no means in a calm mood.

Moving on, a stone gate appeared in the place that had been sealed by the rock.

It's a very thick door that can't be opened by manpower.

A few lines apart, another line of words remained.

Miss Maruyama is so beautiful!

It's really beautiful! I think

The handwriting here was crossed out by him with a pen, and it was smeared into a blurred black line.

But

After that, there were still several traces of smearing, and it seemed that there were some great ideas that could not be known to outsiders, but they were rejected by Takeshi Takaji himself.

Or rather, he didn't have the courage to implement that bold idea.

At most, it was written down on this piece of paper, and it was quickly crossed out.

But it can also be seen that Takeshi Takaji and Kotono Maruyama were not in a normal state at that time, and after that Kamo-kun disappeared mysteriously, instead of making any reaction, they were still fixing these moths?

Normal people would never do this at such a time.

Just as we were stopped by the stone gate, Miss Maruyama walked to the front and held out her hand

Instead of a hum, the roar rings in the ears.

Then, the stone door opened.

Somehow, I was stunned for a long time, and by the time I came back to my senses, Miss Maruyama had disappeared from my eyes.

I wasn't so scared that I didn't run away, but I had the heart to record what had just happened.

Passing through the stone gate, there is another passage. However, the rocks on the walls and the ground are different from those just now, and the color is darker, and after I practiced, I found that their hardness and density greatly exceeded the former, and it seemed that a large number of metal elements were mixed in the material.

Moving on, there was another long mural that caught my attention for a moment.

Thinking that the photos and drawings I had taken before had become useless waste paper when I went out, I decided to write down the contents of the photographs I had taken

This mural is connected to the picture that I just saw.

The main character is still the female leader of the clan.

Led by the group of Facelings, she came to something that looked like a "door", not a stone door, but another door represented by a special pigment, like a pale blue, reflecting a magnificent color in the light.

The woman stepped through the door, and when she walked out of the door again, her face had changed to that of a faceling, with no eyes, no nose, no facial features, only a deliberately white face, and behind her, two pairs of wings had grown. But just looking at the lines, they don't look like the feathered wings of birds, but bones and flesh

The Facelings on the side clapped their hands in celebration.

The faces without facial features all exude joy and congratulations, as if welcoming women to become one of them.

Then, the four-winged Faceling led the rest of the Facelings out of the area, finding the remaining members of the reddish-brown tribe. They accepted the group of Facelings, and they bowed down before them, expressing their reverence and fear.

Below, there is a commentary and description of the mural.

The fresco depicts the heroic story of this female clan leader, and matrilineal clans were more common in those days.

The war meant that she was inspired, and then fell into the dark river, which foreshadowed her trials and tribulations. The Faceling represents that she has received help from the outside world, and entering the door means that the protagonist has undergone a trial, and the change in her face indicates that she has passed the trial and has been sublimated.

The expression of this fresco is reflected in various civilizations. As for the "Faceling", it is probably just a symbolic device, indicating that she has shed her mortal identity and transcended into another creature.

Aono stretched out his hand and lightly touched the rock wall in front of him.

The rough touch comes from the skin, and you can feel the long time they have passed.

The description of the archaeological record in my memory coincides with the mural in front of me.

I have to say that Takeshi Takaji still has the professionalism of a scholar.

In particular, the content of his murals is obviously based on his understanding of mythology and archaeology, so he dares to make such a judgment.

If this is really just a relic of an ordinary ancient civilization, then there is a good chance that such a guess will be correct.

merely

This has never been the kind of civilization that Takeshi Takatera expected.

It is worth mentioning that the content of the archaeological notes ends here.

This kind of ending can be called a "bad ending" or a "eunuch", which is no less than those protagonists who are drowned and killed by themselves, and they all have a sense of abruptness.

The information that can be derived from these archaeological records is extremely limited.

It's no wonder that those two level transcendentals, as well as Taiichi Kaneshiro and others, didn't have much interest in this note, only Aono has always been obsessed with it.

In fact, Aono learned more than just archaeological notes that came to an abrupt end.

The road continued to stretch forward, and the faint sound of the wind could be heard in my ears.

The air flowed.

It proves that there is an exit not far away, or a larger space.

There is no doubt that there is more space in this mountain than this passage, which is undoubtedly unreasonable.

However, in fact, everything here has long been impossible to measure by common sense!

And at this time, danger also crept in.

Aono-kun, this way!

The mental fluctuations of the Qilin arm team members came out of their minds abruptly.

Aono turned around, and among the few crevices in the rock wall, some creatures crawled out.

They resemble beetles, but they are the size of a fist and are black all over, revealing a metallic sheen.

But there is one place that is completely different from a normal beetle.

That's on their backs, without exception, all growing

An eyeball!

Unlike human eyeballs, those pupils are all cross-shaped, and the eyeballs themselves are more like some kind of precious gem.

A single beetle may not be a big deal, and it may even be observed as a rare species.

It's just that at this time, no one will be in that mood.

Beetles crawled out of the cracks like a tide rising from the seashore.

"Buzz"

The friction of the feet, the collision of the carapace, and the vocal organs growing in their bodies came together.

It converged into a disturbing humming.

At this moment, Aono finally heard what they said.

Countless eyeballs, growing on their backs, are still moving with the beetles' movements.

The pupils of the eyeballs were not fixed in place, but stared straight at Aono and the others.

The cross-shaped pupils flashed with inhuman cruelty.

When they are piled up, just by looking at them, they form a strange weapon that inserts into people's hearts and makes normal humans instinctively afraid.

Their feet are not like normal beetles, but like sharp knives with a dangerous glow.

The constant friction action is also more like sharpening this weapon.

Good, so scary

How could there be such a creature?

Aono-kun, what should we do?

In my head, the panicked voices of others came one after another.

The side effect of spiritual connection is still here, people's fears are contagious, and connected thoughts are to accelerate this contagion.

But Senbon Yayoi they soon found out.

No matter how chaotic their minds were, Qingye, who was in the same spiritual connection, was always like a calm and vast sea.

There was no wave because of the fall of such a few small stones.

No doubt.

Aono's presence has brought them a great sense of security.

The previous performance of smashing open the heavy stone door with a stick made Chibon Yayoi have a tendency to develop in the direction of believers.

It can be seen that Aono has a position in their minds at this time.

"Don't be afraid, just move forward."

"Whatever you hear, don't look back."

Aono said lightly.

But in the face of those beetles that are surging like a wave, he stands in place.

These slightly abnormal beetles alone could not pose any threat to him.

It's just that he doesn't plan to destroy them all, so it's going to be a waste of time.

Just make it impossible for them to keep up, and that's enough.

Chibon Yayoi hesitated for a second or two, then led the two of them to the front of the passage, all they could do was not to become a burden to Aono.

The pitch-black mist spread silently around Aono.

Cold and greedy.

For ordinary people, this fog itself is probably an extremely terrible thing.

But Aono was in it, and he only felt like a fish in water, eliminating the impact of some fatigue.

Every molecule in the black mist is showing a sense of intimacy to Qingye.

To use a less appropriate analogy, these fogs are like flesh falling from Aono's body, and there is a feeling of flesh and blood.

You can even feel that every particle is in intimate contact with Aono.

Submissive and gentle.

Just as the panel said, Aono began to feel that the black mist was beginning to give birth to a consciousness that belonged to it.

Even if this consciousness is still very immature and ignorant, like a baby in swaddling clothes.

But one day, it will become an important help for Aono.

This is something that Aono firmly believes.

Wait, am I raising black mist, or am I raising children?

Aono suddenly had such an idea.

I couldn't help but laugh softly.

"Little one, it's time to eat."

"Crunch Crunch"

"Snort!"

It is like the sound of being crushed by a heavy object, and the juice-filled fruit suddenly bursts.

Such voices kept coming from behind him.

Mixed with his own dull breathing and heartbeat, it was particularly harsh.

To be honest, Chibon Yayoi is a little panicked right now.

She ran as fast as she could in the passage, just in case the monsters caught up from behind her.

Aono-kun, is it really okay?

She couldn't help but have such thoughts in her consciousness.

Probably not, something happened

The other two members thought at the same time.

Rest assured, I'm fine.

It wasn't until Aono's voice sounded in their heads again that they breathed a sigh of relief.

But the voice

That's the sound of them being crushed! Feel relieved!

Chibon Yayoi even sensed Aono's mental fluctuations, and there was a joy or two, which was actually disguised by Aono unconsciously.

I don't know what to say.

Or can only be described in one sentence worthy of Aono-kun!

Under the fast run.

The width of the passage that remained unchanged finally changed and began to become narrower and narrower.

The color of the rock wall is also changing to a darker color.

It looks even stronger.

But even Chibon Yayoi can feel an ominous aura that is so rich that it can't be dissolved.

The beating of the heart, and the flow of blood, seem to be affected.

To be honest, Chibon Yayoi really regrets it in his heart now.

They have overestimated the danger of this event as much as possible.

But until now, just by going deeper into this place, she felt physically and mentally exhausted.

I am under tremendous mental pressure all the time.

Taiichi Kaneshiro, who was at the top of the team, disappeared in the blink of an eye.

If it weren't for Aono-kun here, I'm afraid they would have been wiped out long ago.

Hey? Why is it so quiet all of a sudden?

Chibon Yayoi's pace slowed down, and she was about to reach the limit of her physical strength.

And I always feel that what's weird?

It's so quiet.

"Wait!"

Chibon Yayoi suddenly turned around and finally realized where something was wrong around him.

Next to the ponytail girl, there was no one.

Not only Aono, but even those two team members have long disappeared without a trace.

"Boom! Knock knock! ”

The girl's heart was beating violently, and the blood was obviously flowing fast, but her hands and feet were cold.

Damn, when!?

Calm down! Calm down!

Chibon Yayoi stood in place.

First, she pinched her inner thighs hard, and the pain came violently, which made her panicked mood calm down a little for the time being.

Einsatzpen members have long been trained.

In the face of abnormal things, the most important thing is not actually strength, but

Calm down!

No matter how strong the strength is, if you lose your mind, you will become a help to the enemy.

It's all a bloody lesson.

"Huhuha"

Chibon Yayoi took a deep breath regularly.

Repeat it two or three times to finally calm down temporarily.

Aono-kun will definitely come to my rescue.

Chibon Yayoi is firm in her beliefs.

But when she looked up, she saw it

A door.