1. The Blurry Ridge

Gremlins chanted all around them.

“Nafushuperah, toburoh, furagurashurah, purapurapuryoh.”

“Anabushoh, fakanakanah, barauarafurenyoh, kurakoshoh.”

“Kachabyuryohoh, kyabashah, chapah, ryubaryaburyah, hokoshoh.”

Blue light leaked out from hole upon hole upon hole. How many gremlins lived here in these flats? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands, maybe?

Those creatures that looked like a bat combined with a goblin were fundamentally harmless. Even knowing that, though, they were a little scary. If something went wrong and they attacked, the party wouldn’t stand a chance.

After they made it through the Gremlin Flats, they came to the Egg Storage.

The layout of this place was simple. There was a single path along which there was a series of oblong rooms where the gremlins laid their eggs. The party had no interest in the eggs, so they just kept going down the path and ignoring the rooms.

We can just keep going, right? Haruhiro thought.

Haruhiro looked to Ranta, Kuzaku, Yume, Shihoru, and Merry again and again, making sure they were still there, as he asked himself if they should go on or turn back. Ask as he might, he never came to an answer. He had no clue what he ought to do.

The dominatrix, Lala, and her servant, Nono, were up ahead, moving at a careful but confident pace. Nono carried a lantern, its light illuminating Lala’s bold and extreme appearance.

Honestly, she didn’t have to accentuate her womanly parts and expose herself as much as she did; just barely hiding the bits she absolutely couldn’t show in public. It wasn’t like Haruhiro wanted to see those bits. But... he couldn’t help but look. Did she just like to show off? Maybe she was aiming for every reaction she could possibly get from showing off like that.

Nono, who was white-haired and wore a black mask that covered the bottom of his face, was silent. In fact, Haruhiro had yet to hear him speak. Whenever they took a break, he served as Lala’s chair. That was, well...

They were an odd couple, to put it lightly.

They were capable. Terrifyingly so. Reliable, too. But, was it okay to rely on them? That was somewhat iffy. It felt like if the party trusted them too much, they would be taken for suckers and suffer for it.

Eventually the group came to the end of the Egg Storage. From there on, it really was a single straight path. The path gently curved to the right before suddenly taking a sharp turn in that direction.

It came to a T junction.

Haruhiro felt a sense of déjà vu. It was nearly identical to the entrance to the Egg Storage in the Wonder Hole. The T junctions there had met up again whether you went left or right, and the Wonder Hole had been on the other side.

Can we make it back through here, maybe?

For a moment, he thought that. But naturally, that wasn’t the case.

Lala and Nono went right at the T junction. Another curve. As expected, the path split. They turned right, then went a long way. The tight, twisted path with its low ceiling seemed to go on forever.

The two paths were similar, but this wasn’t like the entrance in the Wonder Hole. Where exactly would they come out? Could Haruhiro and the others go back home?

“We’re near the exit,” Lala told them in a whisper.

Now that she mentioned it, the air was flowing slightly. The temperature had dropped a little. When Nono covered the lantern, it was suddenly pitch black. No sign of light up ahead.

“Is it night...?” Ranta whispered, gulping.

There was the sound of someone sighing. Footsteps. The rustling of clothes. The clinking of armor. Breathing.

The cover on the lantern was not lifted. There was a small amount of light leaking out from the gaps in the cover.

Lala stopped, making some gesture to Nono. Haruhiro and the party stopped, too. It seemed Lala intended to have Nono go investigate the situation by himself.

Nono knew how to use Sneaking. As a thief himself, Haruhiro could recognize it. Nono used it at a fairly high level, too.

Nono left the lantern with Lala, then melted into the darkness, making not so much as a single sound, and soon vanished from sight. It was probably around five minutes later that Nono returned.

Nono moved in close to Lala, perhaps to whisper something in her ear, but Haruhiro couldn’t pick up his voice. Either way, Lala nodded once, then gave the lantern back to Nono and began walking. Haruhiro and the others had no choice but to follow.

The lantern was still covered, and it was still completely dark like before, but they were clearly approaching the outside.

Just a little longer, Haruhiro told himself. We’re almost there.

“Mrrowr...” Yume let out a strange sound.

The outside was damp, locked in a cold darkness. There were noises, but from what?

Ou, ou, ou...

That sound steadily repeated—was it the cry of some animal? There was a continuous high-pitched sound, too. Was that one the beating of some insect’s wings?

There was another one that sounded like the rapid clicking of someone’s tongue. It was creepy, and it made him uncomfortable.

“Where is this place...?” Kuzaku whispered weakly.

Someone was sobbing. It had to be Shihoru.

“It’s okay,” Merry said, trying to encourage her, but her voice was shaking.

“Night...” Haruhiro had a sudden thought. “Could this be that place? The Night Realm?”

Lala and Nono were the ones who had discovered that the Gremlin Flats that were accessible from the Wonder Hole were connected to another world in addition to the Dusk Realm. No morning or night ever came to the Dusk Realm, but in this other world, it was only night; the day never came. That was why it was called the Night Realm.

“Wait, if that’s true...” Ranta did a little dance. “...we can get back, don’tcha think?!”

“Possibly,” Lala snorted. “Possibly not. That place is dangerous in its own ways. We’ve barely explored it ourselves. Too dangerous.”

Haruhiro rubbed his belly. His stomach hurt. Intensely. Even the jubilant Ranta fell silent.

Even at this very moment, some unknown creature might appear from the darkness to attack them.

“So, on that note, we’ll be going,” Lala said briskly.

Then Lala and Nono moved away from them. It took Haruhiro a moment to understand what her words and that action meant.

“...Huh?! That’s—whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on?!” he yelped.

“What?” Lala asked.

“No, you’re going—Huh? What does that mean... Huh? Huh...? Just the two of you... By yourselves?” he stuttered.

“We have no clue what’s up ahead, after all,” she told him.

“No, w-we have no idea either, obviously, but... But, still...”

“When in an unfamiliar place, experience tells me the two of us are best to move on our own. That’s how we’ve always worked, and I intend to keep it that way.”

“No, b-but...”

“Don’t...!” Ranta got down and performed a kowtow. “Don’t leave meeeee! Please, please! Seriously, seriously! I’m begging you! Don’t leave me here!”

Even Haruhiro, who thought he was well aware of what kind of human, or piece of trash, Ranta was, was appalled by this display. He couldn’t possibly not be.

How is he not embarrassed with himself? He’s just too shameless. And hold on, what’s this “me” stuff? Seriously, he only ever thinks about himself. I knew that, but he’s still horrible and the worst...

“Bye.” Lala might have waved to them, or maybe she didn’t. Either way, they couldn’t see her anymore.

The dominatrix and her servant were gone.

“Wh-What... now?” Kuzaku asked in a whisper.

Oh, crap. This is bad, thought Haruhiro. I can’t believe how dark it is. I can’t see anything. It’s solid darkness.

Haruhiro had been trapped inside some dark mass. He couldn’t move, couldn’t escape. This was the end.

—No, that wasn’t true. It was all an illusion.

“R-Right, first thing’s first, we need light...” Haruhiro rummaged through his bag and pulled out a lantern. Once it was lit, he felt a little calmer.

Yume had pulled out her own lantern, and was trying to light it, too.

Haruhiro stopped her. “We only need the one. Just mine, for now. I want to conserve oil.”

“Ohhh. Yeah, that makes sense, huh...”

“Damn that woman.” Ranta punched the ground and ground his teeth. “I’ll never forgive her.”

“Don’t cry, man...” Haruhiro said.

“I-I’m not crying! You’re stupid, stupid, stupid Haruhiro! Urgh...”

Merry was hugging Shihoru tight. If she hadn’t been, Shihoru looked like she would have collapsed at any moment.

Haruhiro took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. I need to keep it together. I’m the leader, after all. I need to support everyone. Need to pull them along. I won’t let anyone die. We’re going to survive. We’ll all get through this alive.

“Let’s move,” he said. “Take it a bit at a time. Things will work out. I’ll make them work out. I’m... Or rather, well, all of us are here. Just be careful not to make too much noise. If you sense anything coming, let me know right away. Then, we’ll take things cautiously and... Yeah. Okay. Let’s go.”

I’m just rambling. Even I know that. What am I thinking? What should I be thinking about? I don’t know. But, staying here is bad—right? Or maybe I just don’t want to stay here? It might be that I’m just scared to stay put. But, I mean, Lala and Nono took off immediately. Yeah. We shouldn’t stay here.

Haruhiro and the others had their backs to a rock wall. The hole that led to the Egg Storage opened up out of that rock wall.

Lala and Nono had vanished off to the left. There was a gradual downwards slope in front of them.

The ground was uneven. Rocky. Right, forwards, or straight?

He didn’t hesitate long. Haruhiro decided to go after Lala and Nono. They probably couldn’t catch up, but those two had gone left. It would be somewhat safer than going right... maybe?

While checking his footing, they proceeded carefully along the rock wall to their left. They walked as if they were crossing a narrow bridge.

Is this too slow? Should we hurry? What good will rushing do? It would help if it would just get brighter. Does morning come in this world?

Shihoru was sobbing convulsively.

“Oh, cut it out, would you?” Ranta clicked his tongue. “—Ow!”

“Shut up, you dummy!” It sounded like Yume had hit Ranta.

If I open my mouth, I feel like I’ll start whining, Haruhiro thought. Time. How much time has passed? I can’t even imagine. How long do we need to walk? Should we rest? Are my comrades tired? Should I ask? Are they hungry? Thirsty? We need water. Food, too. What do we do? How can we secure those? Is everyone going to survive? Is that a realistic goal, in this situation?

At some point, Shihoru had stopped crying. The rock wall had been at almost a 90-degree angle before, but it was much less steep now. It felt like he could probably climb it, but he didn’t feel like climbing.

Off to the right there was darkness, darkness, endless darkness. Even holding the lantern up in that direction, he couldn’t see a thing.

The animal cries, the batting of wings, the clicking... He heard what sounded like animal noises coming from here and there periodically.

Suddenly, the wind blew against them.

“Hold on.” Haruhiro raised one hand for his comrades to come to stop.

He inched forward. The ground in front of him soon disappeared. It was a cliff. There was a cliff here.

How high was it? Crouching down, he lowered the lantern as far as he could. He couldn’t see. The bottom was too far.

He listened closely. Was that... the sound of water? Was there a river down there?

Water. If there was a river, there would be water. Though, that said, they couldn’t make it down the cliff. They couldn’t jump off, either.

He picked up a stone and threw it off. Soon there was a splashing sound. It didn’t seem like it was dozens of meters; it had to be around ten.

“There’s water down there,” Haruhiro said.

But he got no reaction. Not even from Ranta. Everyone must have been exhausted, both in body and soul.

“We’ll continue along the edge of the cliff here and look for a way down,” Haruhiro said. “If we can just get water...”

“...Yeah,” Kuzaku responded briefly.

“Shihoru, you okay?” Haruhiro asked, to which Shihoru silently nodded.

She didn’t seem okay. That concerned him, but if they could find drinking water, even Shihoru would start to feel a little safer. But, was the river water potable? Not as it was, probably. But, if they boiled it—Right, by kindling a fire...

They’d have to be careful not to fall off the cliff, too. He didn’t think anyone was that stupid, but just in case.

There was a strong, damp wind along the cliff that was unpleasantly cold. If they didn’t warm themselves eventually, they weren’t just going to feel cold, they’d start shivering.

Eventually, a fog came out, too. The ground was no longer rocky. It felt like there was something like grass growing on top of the dirt. The grass-like stuff wasn’t green, it was white. Was it really grass?

“Whoa!” Ranta suddenly jumped. “Wha, wha, wha...!”

“What?” Haruhiro asked.

“I-I just stepped on something! Nothing alive, I think, but—Ahh!” Ranta picked something up. It was a white object. “Look at this! Bones!”

Shihoru shrieked.

“What’re you pickin’ ’em up for?” Yume asked.

“You’re unbelievable...” Merry muttered.

With that concentrated attack from the girls, Ranta got defensive and started waving the white object around. “What’re you scared of some stupid bones for? You stupid women! What’s there to be afraid of? I’m totally fine. Because I’m me!”

“What kind of bones are they?” Haruhiro asked, squinting at them.

A hand, huh. It looked like a skeletal hand. If it hadn’t fallen apart after the blasphemous treatment Ranta had been giving it, there had to be dried flesh or something holding it together.

“Hmm?” Ranta brought his face up close and inspected it. “Size-wise, it could be human... but the fingers are too long. Yeah, too long. Wait, there’re too many of them. Like, eight? Hmm?”

Kuzaku crouched down next to Ranta. The rest of the bones were apparently there, hidden by the long, white grass-like stuff.

“...Yeah, doesn’t look human,” Kuzaku agreed. “Some other creature, I guess.”

Yume, Shihoru, and Merry backed away. Haruhiro moved over to where Ranta and Kuzaku were and crouched down.

It’s a skeleton, I guess, or a dead body. It’s wearing what looks like some sort of metal armor. Two arms, two legs. A tail, too, so it’s probably not human. No head anywhere to be seen. Maybe it never had one to begin with? Or maybe some animal took off with it? Looks like it’s lying face down. The long, thin object looks like a sword. The round one, that’s—a shield, maybe? The white, grass-like stuff is wrapped around it.

Kuzaku grabbed the edge of the shield and pulled. The white, grass-like stuff snapped as he did. “Think I could use it?”

“A paladin without a shield’s about as useful as a maggot, after all,” Ranta agreed. “Take it.” Ranta chucked the skeletal hand aside and picked up the sword. “This one’s no good. It’s rusted like crazy.”

Haruhiro gave a frowning glance after the hand Ranta had thrown away, then looked down at the man’s body. Well, the body could very well have been a woman, not a man, but Haruhiro was going to assume he had been male for convenience’s sake.

The man was armed, so that probably meant he’d been a sentient being from this world. How much time had passed since he died? It seemed unlikely that it had only been a few days. A few months? A year? A few years? Or decades, maybe?

“Ranta, turn him face up,” Haruhiro ordered.

“Hell. No. Why should I have to do what you tell me to? Go die.”

“I’ll do it.” Kuzaku lifted the man up and turned him over. “There we go...”

Haruhiro closely examined the man now that he was facing upwards. The head had definitely been cut off or something. Haruhiro could see what looked like the neck bones.

There were box-shaped containers fixed to the man’s belt. Haruhiro opened one and took out the contents. It was dark, hard, and round... Was this a coin? There were also a number of what looked to be seeds and a rusty dagger. Was that a key, maybe? Some sort of tool. It was hanging from a chain around the man’s neck.

That’s a pretty chain, thought Haruhiro. It looks like it might be gold. It couldn’t possibly be pure gold, though.

When he brushed the dirt off of the front of the armor, he realized there was writing or a pattern of some sort carved there. Writing, probably. The same sort of characters were on the coin-like black object, too.

Incidentally, back in Grimgar, he had heard the orcs had their own unique language, while the undead used one that closely resembled the language used by elves, dwarves, and humans. It was probably best to assume this race was intelligent, probably on the same level as Haruhiro and the others, or close at least.

“Haru-kun.” Yume pulled on Haruhiro’s cloak. “...Y’know, Yume’s thinkin’ she might be hearin’ a rustlin’ noise.”

Ranta reacted with a start and looked around the area. Merry and Shihoru huddled close together, holding their breath. Kuzaku held the man’s shield at the ready, crouching on one knee with a hand on the hilt of his longsword.

Haruhiro quickly threw all of the man’s possessions into his bag. He listened closely.

...Rustle. Rustle. Rustle. Rustle. Rustle...

He definitely heard something. From the opposite direction of the cliff. Watch for it? Flee? Haruhiro decided instantly. It was a compromise between the two. They’d retreat while staying on watch.

“Let’s stay on guard as we move forward,” he ordered. “Ranta, Kuzaku—” He waved his hands to get people in formation.

Haruhiro took point, Merry, Yume, and Shihoru formed one column behind him, while Ranta and Kuzaku were beside them on the side opposite the cliff. Was carrying a light here like saying “Please, come after us?” But if they put out the lantern, then they would be in total darkness. There was the risk they’d fall off the cliff, too.

Haruhiro and the others began to move.

Rustle... rustle... rustle...

He could still hear that sound. Was it coming after them? It didn’t seem that far off. It was pretty close. Within ten meters? No, probably less. It was closer than that.

He felt compelled to see whatever it really was with his own eyes. Wouldn’t that be a good idea? No. He couldn’t decide.

While remaining careful of the cliff, he kept listening closely to the sound for any sign of change...

This is driving me crazy. I don’t want to do it anymore, he thought over and over again. Once every few minutes. When it was at its worst, he thought it every few seconds.

He wanted to throw everything away and run. Run? Where to...?

The lantern’s fire’s getting weak. The moment he thought that, it was gone.

“Whaaaaa?! Parupiro, come on! I can’t see, you moron! You scum!” Ranta screamed.

“The oil just ran out, okay? Uh, well, next we’ll use Yume’s lantern to—”

“Hold on,” Merry said in a stifled voice. “The sky...”

Haruhiro looked off into the distance, beyond the cliff. She was right. There was something about the sky.

“Is it... morning?” Haruhiro asked slowly.

There was a ridge in the distance burning faintly. It was red, or orange rather. It was strange. Normally, when the sun rose in the morning, the darkness gradually faded from the edge of the sky. It would turn blue or purple, then grow redder. It never looked the way this did, like the sky had suddenly caught fire.

He knew there were worlds like the Dusk Realm. If this world’s sky changed in strange ways, that wasn’t going to be enough to surprise him at this point.

But, at the very least, this doesn’t seem to be Grimgar or the Dusk Realm. The realization hit him pretty hard.

“Huh...?”

Haruhiro craned his neck. He didn’t hear the rustling sound anymore. Had it gone away? Or was it just laying low? Either way, he figured it would be a good idea to get away from this spot while they had the chance. Haruhiro signaled for them to set off.

That was when it happened.

“Mrrow!” Yume made a strange noise and collapsed. No. She hadn’t collapsed. She’d been knocked down. There was something on top of Yume. “Something”—that was the only way he could describe it. He couldn’t see.

“Ohhhhhh?!” Ranta was trying to pull that something off of Yume.

“Damn, it’s too dark!” Kuzaku shouted.

“Yume! Yume! Yume...!” Haruhiro shouted his comrade’s name as he rushed towards the thing. Because he was flustered, he nearly lost his footing and fell off the cliff, which made him majorly panic.

He could hear the sounds of punching, hitting. Yume was crying and screaming.

“It took off!” Ranta shouted.

There was a light. From a candle. A portable candlestick, huh. It was Shihoru.

Shihoru sat down next to Yume with the candlestick. “Yume! Hang in there!”

“The enemy! That bastard! Where is he?! Dammit!” Ranta was swinging his sword around.

“What was that?!” Kuzaku had his shield at the ready, his shoulders heaving with heavy breaths.

Yume had fallen over, clutching at her throat. Blood. The blood. Her neck. It’d gotten her neck. Blood. So much blood.

Kuh. Fuh. Fuh. Hah. Kuh. Fuh. Hah. Yume’s breathing was strained, shallow, and ragged.

Haruhiro was stunned. No way. Don’t do this to me. You’re kidding. What the hell? Tell me it’s a lie, somebody. Please, tell me it’s a lie. No. This is wrong. It’s a lie. It can’t be real. Right? I mean, it makes no sense. This makes no sense.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Haruhiro screamed.

His level head. His sense of duty. His responsibility. His self-control. His reason. His ability to think. All of those were blasted away.

Haruhiro didn’t even cling to Yume. He just stood there and screamed. He knew one thing, and that was that he couldn’t take anymore. He had totally snapped.

It’s over. Just let it end. No, I can’t let it end, but what can I do? I mean, there’s nothing I can do, is there? It’s hopeless, isn’t it? Yume’s gonna die, isn’t she?

“O light...!” Merry touched her five fingers to her forehead, making a pentagram, then touched her middle finger to her brow to complete the hexagram. Then, rushing over, she brought her palm to her Yume’s throat. “May Lumiaris’s divine protection be upon you! Sacrament!”

—What? Haruhiro thought numbly. What are you doing? Have you gone nuts? It’s hopeless. I mean, light magic doesn’t work in the Dusk Realm! Sure, this isn’t the Dusk Realm, but it’s not Grimgar, so Lumiaris’s power shouldn’t reach here, and—

No doubt Merry knew all of that. Was she unable to give up, even knowing that? Had she decided to bet on that one thin thread of hope?

“...Ahh... Hah...” Yume blinked repeatedly. “Huh...?”

Her body was wreathed in a dim light.

Merry gritted her teeth. Her shoulders, her arms, her hands, her whole body was shuddering.

This can’t be real, right? Haruhiro thought, stunned. Really? No lie?

“...Your wounds!” Shihoru’s eyes went wide. “Yume! Your wounds are closing!”

Ranta stopped swinging his sword and stood there staring blankly at Yume.

“Haha!” Kuzaku laughed like a crazy man. “Ahaha! Hahahahaha! Wahahaha!”

Haruhiro wanted to laugh along. How could he not want to? What could he do but laugh? But, for some reason, he cried instead.

Yume still hadn’t gotten up. Merry’s healing still wasn’t done. It was taking a surprisingly long time for Sacrament.

Haruhiro got down on all fours next to Yume. Merry finally pulled her hand back and fell on her backside. Her breathing was rough. She looked pretty spent.

Yume looked at her, then smiled softly. “Thank you, Merry-chan. Huh? Haru-kun, what’re you cryin’—”

“Yume!” Haruhiro hugged Yume without really meaning to. “Thank goodness! Thank goodness, Yume! Thank...! Sorry! I thought you were a goner, so...!”

“Ohhh,” said Yume. “If you squeeze tight like that, Haru-kun, you’ll get blood on you, y’know?”

“Who cares?!” he screamed.

“Okay then. But, still, when you’re squeezin’ her tight like this, Yume, she’s happy, but it hurts a little, y’know?”

“S-S-S-S-Sorry!” When Haruhiro hurriedly tried to let go and jump back, someone whacked him hard in the back of the head. “—Ow?! Huh?! R-Ranta?! What was that for, all of a sudden?!”

“For nothing, you damn idiot!” Ranta glared at him and tried to intimidate him.

Seriously, what was that about? Was he a moron? Was he total scum?

“Sorry to interrupt, but...” Kuzaku said hesitantly. “...don’t you think it’d be a good idea to get away from here? I mean, we did let the thing from earlier get away...”

“Ah!” Haruhiro wiped his face with both hands. Oh, right. He’s right. I completely lost myself there. I need to do some serious reflecting on that, but it can wait. For now, I should do what Kuzaku suggested.

“Y-Yume, can you stand?!” Haruhiro exclaimed. “Merry, how about you? Oh, right, someone, get a lantern out! Okay, now then, let’s go!”

Before they set out, he looked once more to the ridge that was burning orange.

Was the sun coming up?

He couldn’t imagine that was the case.