Young Noka squatted behind a rock, full of "resignation" mentality, and had no hope for his future.

All he could think about was the expanding pool of blood behind him, and the unidentified creatures that had previously disguised themselves as fluffy birds but were actually monsters.

"Ahhh......h Ahh ”

Suddenly, he heard an unusually terrible scream.

The sound was painful, but at the same time shocking, and for a moment, the ground shook in the corridor, and countless rubbles and clods of earth fell from the ceiling.

The creepy shouts were followed by a long silence.

For a moment, Noka could only hear his own breathing and panting.

He felt his heartbeat, and when it had calmed down and stopped being as rapid as it had been, he stood up behind the rock, grabbed the Cloak of Light, and looked in the direction where the sound had come from.

"Nothing" in sight.

There is no pool of blood that threatens her life, no mysterious being who transforms into a bird, and no mad and dehumanized Lady Iris.

As for the demon beast that bewitched the old lady to come to this underground project...... His presence was too low, and he didn't do anything that actually endangered Noka's life, so he was ignored by this human.

Noka's eyes were a little glazed, and he stared at the empty corridor in front of him.

It took him a long time before he noticed the stone door that was open to him.

Right now, the door to the small red brick room was hidden...... Humans vaguely remember that when they fled in a hurry, they should have smashed open the door and made the stone door have a "close contact" with the wall behind it.

When Mrs. Iris pursued him, didn't she forget to close the door?

She's so careful.

Bah! Noka shook his head, convinced that there must be a mystery behind the door.

The bird-shaped monster had fought Lady Iris, and whoever emerged must have slipped back to the other side of the door, in the little room full of chests and all sorts of things.

But it doesn't matter who the winner is, it has nothing to do with him.

Noka's thinking was clear, and at a time like this, leaving the underground project was the first priority, and his curiosity was not active enough to urge him to die.

After clarifying what was in mind, the human turned around and climbed a rock that had fallen from the ceiling to walk back.

However, the scream that had flashed through his mind was so terrible that it tugged at his nerves and resonated with the sound of his heartbeat.

You can't let go of each other.

The mentality of the good old man suddenly occupied all his thinking, suppressing the ideas in his heart that were originally based on reason and born on logic.

Anyway, the other party comforted himself, and the other party didn't seem to have any ill will towards him.

For no reason, he mentally concluded that the loser was Mrs. Iris and not just acquaintance—not even "acquaintance", just a few moments of interaction and a few one-sided words—but he somehow thought that the bird would not lose.

Birdie thought of a way out of the game to ask for it to be thrown at Mrs. Iris, didn't she?

It was also out of unwarranted and heartfelt trust that he would follow the instructions of the other party and make the kind of action that would have been hesitant in normal times.

But even if the bird had defeated the mad old lady, it would have been seriously wounded, which is why it cried out in such pain.

Thinking of this, Noka no longer hesitated, he let go of the rock in front of him, turned and walked in the direction of the stone door.

He deliberately accentuated the sound of footsteps, trying to let the survivors inside know that it was him, so that they could relax.

As he walked, he said tentatively:

"It's me, uh, are you okay?"

"I see you as a friend." He took the initiative to define their relationship, "I'm worried about you, especially after listening to it...... You know, your voice sounds terrible. ”

The sound of objects scraping against the ground from behind the door made him nervous with every slight sound that hit Noka's heartstrings.

The panic that was finally resolved, with the delay in responding from the other side of the door, seems to have relapsed again.

Just when he was about to lose his nerve and almost shouted, broke down emotionally and turned his head to flee, there was a "squeak", and the hidden stone door was pushed open from the inside.

It's wide enough to allow one person to pass through, or to get a proper view of the inside of the room.

Noka subconsciously held his breath and paused, and in this moment, all the fear in his heart converged on the crack in the door.

He was worried, and he was afraid that something would come out of it that didn't fit his imagination.

Mrs. Iris ...... He put his hand in his arms and pinched the puppet he had snatched from the old lady's side, he didn't want the other party to be alive at all, and he was cursing her for dying soon.

And when he realized that he actually had such an idea, he could only helplessly sigh in his heart how bad the idea was, and that he was "not at all like himself" when he thought of it.

There is always a double standard in the human heart - if he doesn't get the puppet with his sister's name sewn on it tonight, he will definitely think that Lady Iris has a bitter heart, and sooner or later he will be moved by the "true feelings of the world" and let go of this foolish idea of "sacrificing the whole village".

But once Erica is involved in the incident, he wishes that the culprit would disappear sooner, and is bent on believing that the life that fights the culprit will win.

Even if that creature was a monster that could speak and create another layer of fear in his heart.

"Hey, you-cough, cough!"

The human choked on a mouthful of his own saliva, his eyes widened sharply, and he watched as a terrifying "object" slowly and slowly poked out of the crack in the stone door.

A look of horror first appeared in his eyes, and then he forced himself to calm down.

For he recognized—it wasn't the old woman's arm, or any part of her body.

In short, belonging to a strange existence.

But despite this, the shock in his heart could not be calmed, and the fear in his heart could not dissipate.

Because it was a white, skinny "arm" that didn't look like a living thing.

It feels very long, and even though the elbow and part of the upper arm are exposed, it seems to be able to continue to elongate.

Not only that, but its five-fingered fingertips also have long, sharp nails that shimmer with a radiance that seems to be deadly.

Noka could almost imagine the scene behind the door—a human-like monster with more than one elbow and long arms, with its face pressed against the ground, its arms sticking out of the crack in the door.

It was as if as soon as he got closer, that long horrible arm would burst out, grab him by the neck, and pull him behind the door.

The fantasy scene didn't happen after all.

The arm hung limply on the ground, and the skin that outlined the outline of the bones was stuck in a lot of grass roots and rubble, and it hurt to look at it.

"Are you alright?" Noka recalled the strange way of saying words when the bird asked for him, and couldn't help but worry a little about the communication between the two.

At the end of the day, can they really communicate smoothly?

After all, species are different...... If there are monsters who can really use human language fluently, then I'm afraid that no human who knows will be able to have sweet dreams, and they will be haunted by nightmares every day until they have no choice but to accept this fact.

Strange to say, only humans can communicate with each other, and in the minds of some of the residents of the mountain village, this is something to be proud of and a sense of superiority.

Especially when they see the villagers who have pets in the village, imitating the sounds of their pets and trying to talk to their pets, this sense of superiority in their hearts is even stronger.

So, if other species offend or deny this sense of self in their presence...... Their mentality can be imagined.

"The language of one's own race" has become a "forbidden" concept in the minds of some old-fashioned humans in the village, and it is not allowed to be touched by creatures of other species.

"You, first, go, go."

He heard the pronunciation of human language coming from across the door, feeling unfamiliar.

"Hmm......" Noka gritted his teeth and stepped forward, taking the outstretched hand.

The next moment, he was startled by the piercing chill coming from his hands.

"You ......," he forced not to let go of his hand, "you're the bird just now, aren't you?" ”

"Thank you for saving me...... Are you a monster? Or which capable senior? We also have a capable person in our village, so, well, I'm not afraid of you. ”

“…… Walk. The other party only replied to him, "Stay away, stay away!" ”

Noka mustered up his courage and wanted to look through the crack in the door.

"Leave, leave, this, inside!" It said in an almost commanding tone.

The human playfully rested the other's arm on the ground, let go of it, and took a few steps back.

"Back to ...... on the ground. ”

The mysterious being inside seems to have gradually mastered the art of speaking, and although the voice still sounds painful, it is much smoother than before.

"On the steps...... Miscellaneous birds...... Let them leave first. ”

"Ahem......" the creature inside the door cleared his throat, but his voice still didn't improve, "You ...... first. Back to the ground. ”

"No need to ...... me. ”

"Okay, okay." The human replied weakly.

At the same time, he finally made up his mind that he would not be reckless, and decided to follow the instructions of the mysterious existence and the wishes of his heart, and leave this underground project.

"Don't ......" the creature inside spoke again, "Tell any human...... Mine, exists. ”

"No problem!"

After dropping a word, humanity fled.

……

Behind the stone gate, in the place where the beasts are hidden.

Fang Nuo opened his mouth, confirming that he could no longer make any sound.

As a consequence of over-squeezing the burning vocal organs, there is a temporary loss of voice, and even the cries of the beast cannot be produced.

At this point, he could only complain in his heart about the current situation.

First of all, the snake demon "Naga" who has absurdly disappeared from under his nose.

I don't know if that guy took the relics in the room......

Fang Nuo could feel the aura of the "miracle" being cast, and he guessed that the creature had used some snake secret method to leave the place without having to return the same way.

Secondly...... He stretched out his other changed arm, picked out a translucent crystal stone from the box next to him, and squinted his eyes to see his own figure reflected on it.

His first impression of it was "ugly".

His skin was pale and purple, crumpled on the skeleton, and the hair on his body was invisible.

The ribs protrude, the eye sockets are deep, the elongated face is like a withered face, and the limbs are thin to the bone......

Long, dull, messy silver hair, stacked on his head in an irregular manner, draped over his shoulders and draped behind him like a heavy, totally unaesthetic blanket, dragged to the ground.

The forest greenstone, which only emitted a dim glow, hung from his chest, but to Fangneau, it was the most dazzling and beautiful presence in the entire environment.

The relics of the surrounding beasts dwarfed by it.

And the self that has been deformed into this appearance is not to mention, the current self has neither transformed into the appearance of a bird, nor has it transformed into the appearance of a human, and there is no yellow fairy on the whole body...... It's a monster that's the most ugly.

He covered his face, only to feel the pain caused by the deterioration of his appearance, and all the pain he had just felt after passing it.

But he could feel that the change was not forever.

It's as if it's a transitional state, and after a while...... It may only take a moment, or it may be half a day, a day, three days, or even a red star day...... You'll be able to automatically change back to the way you were.

I don't know how long I'll have to wait...... He lay limply on the floor of the red-brick room, feeling many changes in his body inside and out, and he didn't notice it.

Turning his head sideways, Fang Nuo set his gaze on the wooden box closest to him.

There was a strong aura of spiritual power from inside, as if it was a reminder to him how to pass the time waiting to return to his original appearance.