Chapter 32 "Intestinal Worm"

　We arrived at a village near the ruins on the second night as planned.

　The sun had completely set, so we decided to stay the night.

... I guess we'll go to the ruins tomorrow.

Heidi disappeared as soon as we arrived at the village, saying, "I'm going to gather information."

It was the same as before, but does she like this kind of thing?

Either way, I was planning to gather some information lightly, so if she's willing to take the initiative in taking care of the trouble, I'm all for it.

　I put my luggage in the rented room and lay down on the bed.

The equipment I brought with me this time was a week's worth of food, traveler's silver, and some armor that had turned to sand and had to be discarded. I now wear normal clothes and a cloak. Lastly, the sword I got at the Enkau tavern.

　This is plainly useful.

　After stabbing the demon, I shot it with magic and broke it, but it was restored to its original state in a little over a day.

　When I use a weapon, I tend to swing it with a lot of force, so it breaks easily.

　In that respect, the makana that that goblin was using was good.

　It's powerful and doesn't break when you shake it.

　It's turned to sand...oh, what a waste...I really liked that one....

　I wonder if I can order it from one of the arms shops sometime?

　There's no point in thinking about what's gone, so let's think about what we got.

　I remember the devil.

　That guy had no memory before he was summoned.

　In other words, Fatima must have summoned only the body of the demon.

Fatima herself didn't seem to know about the demon, since she was aware of it only to listen to the summoner's instructions.

... of course she didn't know. Unless you suck out the memory like I did, you wouldn't know.

　On the other hand, it's only intelligent enough to fight back when attacked without instructions, so it's a second-rate weapon.

　There are different ranks of demons, and the one that was summoned this time seems to be the lowest rank, a low-ranked demon.

　A low-class demon with zero intelligence....

　Thinking about it calmly, would I have died if Heidi hadn't been there?

No, if I put my mind to it, surely...right? I can win, right?

I had a vision of myself turning into sand with my body held in place, but it was just my imagination.

　The rest is that mysterious attack.

　Heidi said it was some kind of magic, and she was right.

　It was definitely magic.

　But unlike humans, they don't need to construct a formation...in other words, they don't need to chant.

　I'm not sure how credible this is, since it's just a theory I've spliced together from memory, but as I see it, magic is the art of distorting events before your eyes, and magic circles are necessary to do that.

The magic is to pass the magic power through the magic circle, and the magic works according to the circle.

　The demon does not use a magic circle...rather, it seems that the cells themselves take the place of the magic circle.

　Moreover, it also has the ability to absorb a certain amount of magic power, making magic less effective.

　That's why they can shoot so many times and not worry about it.

　The giant creatures that appear in folklore may have a structure similar to that of demons.

　They probably maintain their bodies with magic.

That's why they are literally using magic as if they were breathing.

　I lie down, spread my hands out and lift them lightly.

　I activate the magic to try it out. Five small fireballs appear around my outstretched palm.

　I turn them off, on, off, and on several times.

　I see, this is very convenient.

　The attack to turn into sand must be an application of magic.

The pebbles on the soles of my shoes are peeled off and turned into sand.

...I can't use it too often because I can't eat it.

　I lightly blow on it and let the sand fly around.

　But this demon's body has a drawback.

　My body starts to complain of hunger.

... it's not fuel-efficient.

　Let's have dinner when Heidi comes back.

　While I'm thinking about that, Heidi comes back.

　I sit up.

　"I'm home."

　...Oh."

　Heidi takes off her cloak and sits down on the bed next to me.

"I've asked around and it seems pretty clear that there was an investigation into the woods not too long ago."

I'm looking at my memory, so it doesn't mean anything more than confirmation, but it backs up what he said.

　"And one more thing. It seems that a party of adventurers visited this village during the day."

　!?

　"During the day, you mean today?"

　"Yes. There were five of them. They said they remembered it well because they had asked the same thing I asked."

　That's not good. Perhaps they were the ones Zubel had secured for the investigation.

Since Zubel stopped contacting them, they must have assumed that something had happened to Zubel and went to raid the place.

　If it was daytime, they would have left the village long ago and headed for the ruins.

　Considering the distance between the village and the ruins, they must have already arrived and gone inside.

Even if it took them a while to find it... it's impossible.

　We won't make it in time.

　I was at a loss at once.

What the hell...I thought I was going to be the first one in, but now this...ah...it's disheartening.

　Heidi, perhaps sensing my tension plummeting, scratches her cheeks and makes a troubled face.

"Um...well, how should I put it...I understand how you feel?"

　Damn. I don't know who...you know.

Maybe they'll come back here and I'll ambush them and kill them?

No, I'll eat whatever information they have on the inside of the ruins.

　"I dare not ask what you have in mind, but... let's keep it quiet, shall we?　Those adventurers ahead of us are sure to come back here to rest and resupply, so why don't we just wait and talk to them?"

　Well...yes. I guess there's no point in saying what's done.

　Should we wait until they get back tomorrow?

I want to see the ruins in person too, so I'll head out in the morning.

Hopefully I'll run into them on the way.

Then I can inspect what they got.

　"No, let's head for the ruins tomorrow. If we run into the people who went ahead of us, let's talk to them."

　It's a shame we couldn't be the first to go, but we'll enjoy the ruins, which are almost untouched.

　"All right. Tomorrow, then."

　Heidi quickly removed her equipment and put her knife under her pillow.

It's early. Sleep already?

It's easier for me if she goes to sleep quickly.

I was going to ask her to go out to eat, but she fell asleep, so it's okay.

　I took some food out of my luggage and finished a light meal, then lay down again and closed my eyes.

　...Which memory shall I read today?

　I was immersed in the process of reading a book called Memory again tonight.

　This memory is about a certain witch.

　She was born with a certain amount of talent for magic, so she was popular in her village, but when she was 15, some men in the village... well... you know... Her life started to go wrong when they started roughing her up in the shadows.

　The first thing he said to her was, "You're a woman and you're cocky," which is something a man who assaults a woman in a group would say.

　She got mad and slaughtered the men in the village with her magic.

　From a bird's eye view, she kills a man who has nothing to do with the murder, but to her, it's probably just a small matter.

In the end, she set the village on fire, making a grand entrance into her new life.

　After that, she repeated murder and robbery here and there, and ended up in a den of hit men.

From the looks of it, I'd say she had some talent there, right?

＜Explosion＞ can be used, too. If she had lived, she might have made it, right?

It all started because she was screwed!

...And then she was sent on a mission to kill a powerful enemy that was going around killing her friends, and she was attacked by a mysterious demon that looked like an earth dragon, and she flew through the air with only her head, and her vision spun around and slowly went dark after she landed. The ending.

　What a disaster. It was mainly my fault.

　When I see that much, I open my eyes thinly and look out the window.

It's getting slightly brighter. The sun is rising and it must be morning soon.

Heidi is sleeping peacefully in the bed next to me.

...I'll wake her up in a little while.

　I try to close my eyes, but a roaring noise outside wakes me up.

　"What the hell!?"

Heidi next to me also jumped up and was looking around.

　Heidi was quick to react.

　"What happened?"

　"I don't know. Get your gear on and let's get out of here."

　We quickly put on our gear and run outside.

　Before we got outside, we heard a series of sounds like things breaking.

　The village was in a terrible state.

　Buildings have been crushed and villagers are fleeing.

　It was early in the morning.

It must have been difficult for the villagers whose houses were destroyed to escape.

Where is the culprit?

　A nearby house was crushed from above, as if something had stepped on it.

　Was it magic? No, there was no sign of magic.

　"Watch out. There's something out there."

　Heidi whispered softly to me.

　I looked at the ground. It looks as if something huge has moved.

　It looks more like it's been lightly gouged out.

　What could have passed through here to make such marks?

　While I was thinking about it, the house was crushed again.

　The occupants are desperately trying to crawl out of the crushed house.

　"What?"

　The resident was able to escape from the house, but the way he exited was strange.

　It was as if something pulled him out of the house.

The resident floated in mid-air after moving a little.

　Ah, so that's what happened.

　As expected, even I, who am not very perceptive, could tell.

　As if the villagers had lost a little altitude, they soared and fell.

　Before he landed, he vanished without a trace.

　I can't see it, but there's something there.

　Heidi, the woman next to me, must have noticed it too.

　Optical camouflage, huh? But it doesn't matter once you figure out the trick.

　You're too big to hide.

　I start to run. Heidi follows a little behind.

　When I get reasonably close, I activate the magic. I'm glad I don't have to chant every time thanks to the fact that I ate the demon.

　The magic used is  

　This kind of ability is supposed to have some kind of effect on the surface of the skin, making it invisible, right?

　If so, burning it should render it useless.

　It's a bit random, but if it works, the damage will be done even if you can't see it.

　A tornado of flames swirls around the area where the something is likely to be.　

　A high-pitched whine can be heard from the center of the tornado.

　It sounds like something you'd hear if you scratched a blackboard.

　It breaks through the tornado and appears.

　"What!?"

　I let out an involuntary yelp.　

　It was about 10 to 15 meters long.

　Its dark brown body was covered with spike-like projections at equal intervals.

　It looks almost like an earthworm.

　"Oh, it's so big...is it a monster?"

Heidi next to me was also surprised at the earthworm's enormity.

　But that doesn't matter.

　I know this guy.

　This is the....

　"The Mongolian Death Worm."

　I muttered unintentionally.

　The Mongolian Death Worm.

　It is a killer worm said to live in the Gobi Desert.

It is also called the intestinal worm Orgoi Korkoi because of its resemblance to the intestines of a cow.

　It is said to emit venom, flames, and electric shocks from its mouth, as well as luminescence.

　It is also said that it is a land eel that evolved to live on land because of the electric shocks it emits.

　In the movie that was made about it, it was the tomb guard of Genghis Khan.

　It is said to have been discovered by the Russians in the early 1800s, resulting in the deaths of several hundred people in the area, and in 2005, a British research team confirmed the existence of this UMA (unidentified organism).

　I felt my body tremble.

Although it may seem a little big, I'm honestly a little impressed ...... that I can see a UMA in another world.

　If I had a camera, I would have taken a picture for sure.

　"What are you dumbfounded about?　Let's do something about that creature."

　Next thing I know, Heidi next to me is shaking me frantically.

　Oh, sorry, I was so impressed with the UMA I didn't notice.