Vermillion

As far as I can see, a milky white world.

"It's thick………."

Step by step, make sure to check your feet. Kay strained his nerves around him as he set up his "dragon scales through".

Blurry wood leak days, pouring from overhead. In the woods it was brighter than I thought, but my vision was significantly worse. Softly thick fog. Both stand-up trees and mossy rocks rolling around them lose their contours by making sure everything blends into the background.

Earlier on, Kay was forced by the shadow of a giant tree that appeared all the way from the milky vale. I'm not sure I can really walk straight at it.

Tranquil foggy forest.

I can't hear anything but the sound of my boots stepping on rotten soil and my slight exhalation.

A moist, damp stream of air strokes my cheeks.

――――

Second, I felt some gaze, and Kay looked back.

…………

But there's nothing there.

I don't even know what it is.

It's just that there's a white, cloudy world out there that you can't even see in the eyes of eagles.

"……… Kay? What's going on, man?

Eileen was the one who stopped the movement. Ask Kay, who stopped at a glance, to whisper. It was as if her upset was coming through the chains connected to her hips.

"... No, it's nothing. It was my fault."

With that answer, Kay pulls the lifeline of her hips twice.

- Goddamn it, I get a signal back.

"What's the signal?

"Yes."

"... have we moved on?

"Probably. Maybe it's time to limit the length of the lifeline."

I should have decided on the signal when I approached the limit, etc., and now I think Kay. How much time has passed by stepping into the fog - realizing that our sense of time has become much more obscure.

"……… I think we should go back now, Kay"

Eileen seems a little uncomfortable. I'm looking around. I don't know if the act makes sense in this place where I can barely see anything and hear anything.

"Right, it's time to turn back"

"Yeah...... even so, creepy, but it was a more normal place than I thought it would be"

Eileen as she moves her hands to stir the fluff and fog. It was like telling myself.

but, sure, he was sporadically threatened before he went in saying that if he stepped in, it would be a crazy, hell of a dangerous place - in fact, the Kays are still keeping their sanity.

"Right - hmm?

Kay, hammered, raises his hand gently to draw attention. Again, like some kind of toy game, Irene stops moving perfectly.

………… Hey, what's going on?

"I heard something."

A whispering exchange. Clear your ears.

It's not my fault this time. From behind the woods, a slight sound. It's a little faint, like some kind of tall voice.

Yep... Yep...

Kay, who heard clearly, peeled off his eyes.

Yep... Yep... Yep... Yep...

"……… red, honey?

Irene groaning blankly.

Crying.

That was a baby cry. To mishear, or say no to the sound of the wind, is too vivid. I'm not even old enough for a dairy drinker.

- No, that can't be right.

There can't be a baby in a place like this, more importantly, behind The Devil's Forest.

"……… It's not an illusion, is it?

"No. I can hear you, too"

That's why it's so bad. There is something to raise your voice like this.

near (...) to (...).

"……… Maybe a bobcat or something."

An esthetic cat may raise a voice similar to that of a baby. Eileen said this might also be the cry of the animal in his hand - but he immediately shut his mouth.

Shiru……, Shiru…….

Sounds like dragging something. Makes you feel weighty. Like pulling a hemp bag stuffed with stone.

Yup... yup... yup... yup... yup...

Something, crawling, approaching.

It's time to step back and dive into the shadow of the great tree. Kay laid an arrow on the dragon scale.

"- There are many strange beasts near the Devil's Forest."

As I narrow my eyes to look behind the fog, inadvertently, Alexei's words come back to my brain.

"A big pig in a corner about the length of his body, a two-headed snake. All the time, he's just a bunch of crazy, dangerous people."

Jesus Christ, the look on Alexei's face when she said she was laughing is cloudy.

'... it's just that Soitz and the others are better than the monsters in the fog'

Those clear, watery eyes were shaking anxiously...

"- I can just take it down with a blade, you know."

Shit, shitty, heavy noise.

Kay's eyes, on the other side of the mist, caught something dazzling.

Yep... Yep...

- Definitely, 'Voice'. It's like sobbing. I can't see that clearly.

But a smaller shadow than I thought.

…………

Doron, Doron and I become aware of the heartbeat.

Yep... Yep, yep... Yep...

The cry seemed unaware of Kay's presence.

Just like when I came, I kept slowly moving away.

Tingling and burning sensation.

Eventually, when his voice disappeared on the other side of the fog and the silence came again, Kay and Irene exhaled in abundance and brought him to the trunk of the tree. They're both sweating cold, unknowingly.

In the end, Kay never released an arrow.

"…… Kay. What is it, alle?"

"... I don't know.... Not a baby, is it?

"You can't have a baby like this..."

"... right"

Kay, too, knows by the head. But - that shadow shape only looked like a baby. Back to back with that heavy-duty sound, it seemed so small and frivolous that it was likely to be held back. I didn't feel like releasing an arrow.

Especially when you hit an arrow, 'can you defeat' is a different question - was that an organism at all?

"That sucks, right here"

"Is that so? I think it's a good place."

"What?"

To Eileen's whining, someone else answers and raises a dumb voice, Kay.

Looking back like he was bounced, at some point, behind him, stood something odd.

I can only describe it as truly 'odd'. Back length is about the same as the Kays, common human size. Long hands and feet on egg-shaped torso. But the torso - no, can I say 'torso' in the first place?

It was all, a face. Looks like my hands and feet grew from my face.

Kay aggressively associated Humpty Dumpty with "Alice in Mirror Country". An anthropomorphic character in a sloppy shape - the difference with the commonly known Humpty Dumpty would be that the body surface has a rough rocky texture. Exactly, stone eggs - as if to tell the story of their weight, the soft earth is filled with their little legs. And it showed that this strange 'thing' in front of me was indisputably real.

"Become."

Kay, who returned to me as soon as possible, almost accidentally placed a bow, but he weighs himself on the brink. Instead of its torso (or face), it set a goal at its feet, just as a threat. Because I thought it would be too disrespectful to point weapons at them with the intention of killing them if they were 'interactive'. Or a gentle, gentlemanly attitude that just makes you think so, with its' stone eggs' piercing. From what I can see, Eileen seemed to have the same idea as Kay, she had reached for the back sabel, but she hadn't pulled it out.

- But is this presence really 'interactive'?

Kay felt an unpleasant sweat seep in front of a stone egg that had not uttered a word since he first spoke to her.

The stone egg is smiling.

Alkaic smile - an untouched smile floating at the edge of your mouth. If you look closely, the shaping of that face was like a joke. Big round eyes, a shaky nose, a wrinkled mouth, a mouth big enough to likely swallow Kay whole. Overall, it has a stoney texture, but only its eyes make it strangely vibrant and disgusting. A sense of unreality as if it had popped straight out of the painting. It doesn't even look like a stone statue with a bad taste, just like standing still there.

It's just - I wonder what it is.

As she stares back into her eyes, Kay can stir up her anxiety sexually.

The stone egg is smiling.

But that's just Kay's perception. It is Kay who distinguishes the expression of a stone egg as' smiling '.

I have a question.

Against a gentle expression - what is behind these eyes?

Slowly, Kay restarts her bow.

Aim from the foot, to the center of the body of the stone egg.

The idea that it was no longer a dialogue of disrespect had been thrown away. Untouched, Kay can't help but think of an animal from the open eyes that stare at her.

Snake.

A carnivorous reptile who sets a goal for his prey.

――――

And the stone egg moved only his eyes to the side.

Shift your gaze.

To Eileen.

The girl who reacted to Bikun puts her hand on the pattern of the sabel. Kay also uses her hand to hold the Dragon Scale through again, sharpening her senses so that she can pull the strings immediately.

Earlier, terrible tensions dominated the scene.

Neither Kay, who sets up the "dragon scale through", Eileen, who holds the sabel, nor the stone egg, who smiles, move any further.

…………

Eventually, the stone eggs finally strayed my gaze. It's as if you've lost interest.

Turn around and turn your back.

At that moment, Kay almost screamed unexpectedly.

On the back, the faces of countless people.

One by one, it was the 'face' of the big grip. It fills the back of a rounded stone egg with surprise. There was also a man's face. There was also a woman's face. Old and young alike with an equally distressed look, they acknowledge Kay and Irene's appearance and move them as they whip their mouths together.

It's like asking for help.

A small mouth - countless' holes', shuddering.

"Ugh..."

To much ugliness, Eileen, blue-faced, held her mouth. Kay's whole body pops. to its heterogeneity and, above all, physiological disgust.

Stone eggs, no longer looking back, walk away.

And the seeds and the footsteps were turned away, and their backs - and the faces of the people, wrapped in mist, were invisible.

Only two rough exhales caught my ear.

"……… What is it, now?"

Make sure Eileen gasps and squeals.

Kay can't answer that.

I just thought it might be nice not to let go of the arrow.

"……… Let's go back."

Wiping the cold sweat off your forehead, Kay. Eileen nodded without one or two to the suggestion.

I just tried to follow the lifeline and turn back - but the two stop.

I noticed something strange.

Kay's lifeline.

That's what I've been pulling from the woods.

on top (...) towards (...) or (...) eh (...) and (...) extend (...) by (...) and (...) by (...) ru (...).

The two of them follow the tip of the rope with a frightened face.

On the other side of the milky white wall where you can stand, the tip of the rope is sucked in and invisible. The end of the blurry mist, could not be foreseen. Even with Kay's eyes.

Step or two toward the rope stretcher.

Naturally, the rope is loose and saggy.

Then only for a saggy portion, the sagging is handed over from 'over there'.

They were two people fluttering as they were and walking away to be caught, but Kay stopped less than ten steps away.

On the other side of the fog - blurry, something's coming.

Big.

It looks human. But it's not the right size. Its back length, the more I look up - even if it is quoted less, is nearly ten meters. The height is comparable to that of the surrounding trees.

that (...) and (...) and (...) b (...) - (...) p (...) is (...) extended (...) to the (...) hand (...) of that (...) person (...) type (...) and (...) i (...) ru (...).

It reminded me - somewhere, of a dog walk.

Lifeline leads.

The Kays are the dogs.

…………

My mouth is dry and my body is dry.

At that time, Kay pulled the lifeline saying it was difficult, in front of that huge 'human rattle'.

Knock it off, and the signal returns.

Obviously, the human rattle is shaking as it moves.

And Kay finally realizes. - Until now, despite not sending a signal for a long time, the lifeline was not drawn for rescue.

Immediately, he pulled out the knife and cut the lifeline.

Tap, and make a light noise and fall to the ground, sagging the lifeline.

Shiruru, the human gata pulls it off. Hand to hand, hand to hand, hand to hand - tip to tip, I realized there was nothing on it.

――――

At that moment, what a different sign to describe, full of surroundings.

anger, may be appropriate.

But the forest remained quiet.

In silence, full of anger.

The human rattle in front of me starts to rumble like a waste.

"Oh, wow."

Let's get out of here.

Irene raises her rubbed voice. Pulling that hand, Kay rushed out, trying to force him to pull over. Return to me immediately, and Irene runs herself out.

They also noticed human rattles in their voices and footsteps.

――――

Try to blow up silent anger, Zung, Zung heavy footsteps and chase.

He crushes down the trees like a dead tree, crushes the earth, and still doesn't stop.

The human gutter movement was dull and could not be described as a agile run to flatter. but one step is out of step, sooner or later they catch up. If only Irene could get away with it.

Kay...

"Damn it, Eileen, run!

The chain connecting the two hips was unhooked.

"Ah, Kay what!?

Irene stops again, too, to Kay, who suddenly turns to Hitogata.

"Go, don't worry about me!

Kay, who shouts so, basically sets up a "dragon scale through".

Blue arrow feathers. Connect even longer arrows than normal ones.

Aim for the head of the human rattle.

Squeeze into a breath and release.

Ka!! and the arrows roar up and poke at the pleasant sounds, the monsters that look up.

――

The atmosphere trembled as if it were upsetting itself. A human gutter with his head in both hands loses momentum, fluttering and losing his foot - falling.

It was Kay who sits on the impact of heavy objects being knocked down, but with the human rattle's body close to touching the ground, the bullet (...) was (...).

"Kuh!?

Kay crosses his arms in front of his face and keeps his posture low. Blistering winds. No, that was no longer a 'blast'. Or the cry of the human rattle's terminator, or something close to the sound that cringes and paralyzes in silence, presses Kay. Even the wrapped fog was so scattered for a moment.

But the fog will be right back.

The forest is once again surrounded by silence, with moist air covering one side of the perimeter.

Kay stood up, shaking her head to shake it off as she even felt the remnants of her stillness.

"…… Are you all right? Eileen?"

Call.

"…… Eileen?

But I haven't heard back.

I looked around in a hurry. But that girl in black doesn't look like her. Kay is alone in the fog, left behind.

The fog seems to be getting thicker and thicker. I can no longer even see a few steps away.

In a white, blurry world, Kay was alone, werewolf.

"Eileen? Eileen!?

Squeeze your voice and scream. And clear your ears.

"…… Kay!

Eventually, Irene's voice returned from somewhere.

"Eileen!? WHERE -!?"

"…… Kay! Where -!?"

"Irene!! I'm here!

"... Kay? Kay!? Why!? Where is it?

Irene's voice seeped a color of perplexity. Are you losing your sense of direction due to some cause?

"Freeze, I'm going that way now -! Wait -!"

To those who speak, Kay runs out alert at his feet.

"Irene!!

"……… KEY!!

"Irene, are you okay -!?"

"Kay!"

"Irene!!

"KEEEE! Over here!"

"That way! Eileen!"

"Ke-i!

"Irene!"

"Kee! Kee!!

Run, run, run.

Why.

Stop.

"Irene! Don't move, because I'm going!

Beyond the fog, scream. No matter how much Kay runs, the distance doesn't shrink.

"Kee! Over here, over here!

As always, Irene's voice is heard.

"Irene! Don't move! Ready!? Because I'm going that way now!

"Kai?

Plus, I ran. And on the other side of the fog, a black shadow in disgust.

"Good, you're here!

On its back, I said my voice.

"Eileen, are you okay? ……"

But I stopped, approaching the distance of a few steps left.

Every shake, black shadow. I thought you were turning your back, but this is--

No - even in black, this is crazy. Irene's hair is platinum blonde. With dark hair like this - no, the color of my skin is dark too.

No, this isn't human in the first place.

"Keeeeeeeeee"

It's so flirty.

"What are you!?

Without hesitation, pull the bow. Bump the arrow in.

A black shadow struck me, and I could play it.

Scarecrow and tall, somewhere fun screaming - countless, countless dwarf shadows splashed.

It also looked like a flock of ants. However, it scatters in all directions at a speed not comparable to that of an ant.

Bulbs.

Again, Kay is alone in the fog.

"…… Eileen?

- What was I after?

- Where's the real Eileen?

"…… Irene!!!

Scream.

"Iri- - Nhh!

So much so that my voice dries up.

And clear your ears. Close your eyes and tilt your whole nerve.

".................. kay!

This time, I heard you.

"Kee."

"Keeeeeeee"

"Kee-kee."

"Keeeeeeee"

"Kay."

"Kai-kai."

And to block it, from all directions, voices, voices, voices.

This is it. What Irene was confused about earlier was - Ko (...) Tsu (...) et (...) 's (...) Yi (...).

"Fucking lick me!

Kay brutally pulled the exorcism (Talisman) out of his chest and grabbed a large amount of emerald from his lower back porch.

[Maiden Vento, Siv!

Call that name,

[Montru al mi la vojon al Aileen!

The talisman and emerald in his hand are scattered and disappear into the void.

"Ugh!?

At the next moment, Kay knelt down. Awesome load. It was as if the flesh itself could be squeezed up like a rag. The magic is removed.

- Kei, venu kun mi.

Whispering, caring, kind words. The wind comforts me. The fog swirls and the road is shown. Kay was there, hallucinating the girl wearing a feather coat.

I get up fluffy and walk away.

"Kay! Where are you, Kay!

"... here I am...!

Because, uh, with my breath absurd, I still answer.

"Kay!? Kay!"

Eventually, let the wind guide you, and you'll see the girl. Familiar black clothes, one-handed savels, golden hair bouncing like a horse's tail -

- It's Irene.

"Kay!? Are you all right!? Your face is bright blue!

Without any strength, he walks in the wind that is still going to fall, and to Kay, who looks like a sick person, Irene also changes her blood phase again.

"It's okay... hey, use your magic... too much..."

"No... But good... I thought I'd never see you again..."

I held Kay tight and Irene twisted her face.

"Me too…… it's good to see you………."

Feeling Irene plush, Kay thinks.

I wonder why.

This has happened before.

I think there was...

The two began walking, chained together again the belt of their hips, holding each other firmly. Kay can't use the bow satisfactorily, and Eileen can't move quickly. Still, it was better than being apart.

"I'm sorry... if I hadn't unchained this thing..."

Kay walks powerless as Eileen draws her hand. I used too much magic. Even though I don't know the way home, I can't use magic for the time being anymore.

They were completely lost in the fog.

"No, you can't help that one.... but Kay. I appreciate you trying to miss me. Stop trying to sacrifice yourself."

You can't just leave Kay and get away with it, Eileen said in a joke-like tone.

But words are painfully powerful in the back, in the connected hands.

"…… sorry. I'm talking about the thump."

"... hehe. I'm glad. Thanks for protecting me, Kay."

"Next time, I'll be careful."

"I'm sorry about 'Next Opportunity', huh?

"Ha, that's right."

Tapping lightly, I just walked. It seems dangerous to stay there.

It's been a long time since I've been in the woods.

Walk, chill your liver, fight, run.

The two of them remembered their fatigue and thirst.

Is that why - I noticed a slight sound of water, sensitive?

Make sure you can suck it in and head over there.

Eventually it was the rusty iron gateway that greeted them.

"Is this……?

An iron fence with a sharp sneak back extends endlessly from left to right. In the center of it, the gate. Reaching out and touching him, he made a noise, kii...... and opened without any resistance.

Inside the gate, enter.

As if when I went into the woods, the fog cleared up softly.

- No, if you look closely, there is a thin slice at your feet. But the sight is clear. Except that the sky looks like a cloudy sky, just blurry.

And with the neat vision, it looked new.

What was spreading inside the gate was a garden like it had been thrown down. Weathered stone tiles, large fountain in front of you. Compared to the roughness of the garden, fresh water is sprayed up by the unusual, making a crisp and cool noise.

Ahead of that - a huge mansion.

It was a sumptuous reminder of the fortress city of Wolvern.

"…… This is the place, no way."

"…… of the wise, home?

That's a lot more splendid than I thought, Kay had a simple feeling.

I couldn't help but thirst, but it was horrible to mouth the raw water, so I left the fountain with the thought of getting my hair pulled back. First, I decide to visit the mansion.

Mansion surrounded by a desolate garden. The windows are all covered with velvet (velvet) curtains, so you can't see what's going on inside.

There seemed to be no sign of people.

In a quiet space where only the water sounds of the fountain, knocking on the door knockers felt somewhat incomplete. When Kay and the others hesitated in front of the front door, the door was more open, eliminating the sound.

"Ugh..."

"Wow..."

With eyes inside the mansion, Kay and Irene raise their voices of surprise.

Normally, this mansion is where the entrance hall is spread out, but there were countless bookshelves.

That, too, is endlessly spread with books and scrolls filled with surprises. Horribly, even with Kay's eyesight, I couldn't see the whole thing. From the outside, it was already a huge mansion, but what do you mean it's even bigger?

"Come on in."

And, bewildered Kays, a voice was called.

Upper (...) or (...) et al. (...).

Looking up at the ceiling for a moment - near the bookshelf on the second floor, the red figure. "He" kept the book open, trying to sit in the air with nothing.

"The Devil's Forest is inhabited by wise men dressed in bizarre red -"

Kay understands that the inheritance was undoubtedly true.

The wise man wore a bright red 'suit'.

A well-tailored suit, familiar to the Kays' world, that is, on Earth.

Of course, there's no such thing as this one.

"Hey, good to see you, both of you."

Pan, and "Sage", who closed the book, was a young man, white and fine.

Green eyes stare at the two.

"You're welcome." Eileen-Robachevskaya "- and" Keiichi Nagawa ""

You're not even supposed to be named.

The red sage said so and sneered.