The Sacred Place of Lizard Den (1)

Walking where there is no path is a familiar task.

Having lived as adventurers for 3 years now, they were also accustomed to breaking through places without paths, so Alec and Yona were climbing up a mountain path, pushing through dense undergrowth.

Alec, leading the way, swung his curved blade for vegetation, cutting down grass that came up to people’s waists, while Yona followed behind.

The cries of mountain birds echoing frequently, and the cries of mountain beasts from unknown locations.

Every time those sounds were heard, tension built up layer by layer, but it was still okay so far.

“Aren’t you tired? Should we rest a bit?”

“No, I’m fine. We can go further.”

When Alec looked back, Yona replied as if it was nothing.

But the rather thick beads of sweat flowing down her face were evidence that Yona was quite exhausted, yet Alec didn’t insist stubbornly and silently swung his blade to cut down the vegetation.

“You know, we could still turn back now if we wanted.”

After all, they had only climbed for two or three hours at most.

The sun is still high in the sky, and it’s a distance where they could easily return if they wanted to.

Alec hoped that Yona would give up her stubbornness at this point.

There’s nothing particularly to gain, and it might even become dangerous, isn’t it?

“…It’s about Kaiyak’s hometown. It doesn’t feel right to just pass by.”

“Yeah, I knew you’d think that way.”

What can one do when she says that— Alec silently swung his blade and walked on.

After walking for quite a while like that.

About an hour after the two had their last conversation, they both stopped in their tracks as if by agreement.

“Isn’t that the sound of water?”

“It seems so.”

The sound of “shaaaa” was clearly the sound of water.

The sound was quite loud, enough to make one wonder if there might be a waterfall somewhere.

“Looks like we came to the right place.”

“But we didn’t hear anything about a waterfall, did we?”

“Ah, that’s true.”

It was hard to judge whether they had come to the right place or not.

Yona was in favor of going to check it out since they could hear the sound of water anyway, and Alec, trusting Yona’s intuition, followed behind her without much objection.

The waist-high vegetation gradually disappeared at some point, and the gravel under their feet also decreased.

And as mist began to form, the atmosphere became somewhat ominous.

“Gah!”

Alec stumbled backwards with a strange sound.

The tip of his nose turned red as if he had hit a wall hard somewhere.

Yona hurriedly put her finger to the tip of Alec’s nose, and the nosebleed that was trickling down his nostrils quickly subsided.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“No, this… in front, huh? Why is there nothing?”

Alec extended his hammer forward in confusion.

With a “clang!” sound, the hammer seemed to be blocked by something and couldn’t move forward anymore.

Although there was clearly nothing there, the hammer was blocked as if there was an invisible wall and couldn’t advance any further.

“What? What is this?”

Alec stretched out his fist in confusion.

That fist too was blocked as if hitting a wall.

“…Ah. I think I know what this is.”

After tapping here and there for a while, Alec clapped his hands with a loud sound.

He realized that the answer was in the conversation of those adventurers they heard at the inn.

“Humans can’t enter…”

Alec started to say while looking at Yona, but couldn’t finish his sentence.

Yona had stepped through that transparent wall that he couldn’t pass, and was looking at Alec with a bewildered expression on her face.

“Wh-what? Why can I enter…?”

“Uh, that… no, what on earth is this?”

Alec desperately racked his brains while looking at Yona’s face that seemed about to cry.

It was said that humans couldn’t enter the sacred place, and that adventurer must have somehow managed to get inside.

Then his identity as a human was revealed, and so he was driven out while unconscious— this story would make sense.

So it was understandable why Alec was blocked as if hitting a wall and couldn’t advance further.

But why could Yona enter as if it were natural?

Alec’s brain began to spin rapidly.

And soon, it came up with an answer.

Could it be because Yona is already half not human?

She has tattoos on both arms, and a demon is even dwelling in one arm.

Therefore, could it be that she’s able to enter because she’s not considered a complete human?

This was roughly the judgment he came to, but whether he could tell this to Yona straightforwardly was another matter.

Alec racked his brains again while looking at Yona who seemed like she would really cry soon.

“Maybe it’s because I’m bald.”

“…What are you talking about now?”

Yona glared at Alec with an expression that said ‘what does being bald have to do with this?’

“…Ah geez, it means you’re no longer human from the point you accepted a demon, that’s what this is.”

“If you knew, why did you ask?”

“Well, I didn’t want to say it with my own mouth…”

Yona sighed deeply.

It wasn’t only Alec who heard the adventurers’ story, so setting aside why this happened…

From the point that Alec couldn’t enter but Yona could, this was the only reason that came to mind.

But he didn’t want to say it with his own mouth.

A somewhat complex and strange feeling, not wanting to hear it through Alec either.

“Since we’ve come this far, it would be a bit strange not to look, right?”

“Do you really intend to go in? It seems better not to enter.”

“Well, since I’m not human anymore, it should be fine, right? I’ll just quickly check if the water has really turned black and come back.”

【Yes, I smell the scent of my kind in this deep place. They won’t be ones who have risen to the seat of an archduke like me, but it would be good to confirm their identity.】

‘…It’s a bit awkward to say that this thing is babbling… But should I really go? I don’t want to go alone.’

I don’t want to go alone.

This was Yona’s honest feeling. She doesn’t want to be separated from Alec. That was Yona’s honest heart. She might not be able to accept Alec, but she also doesn’t want to be separated from him. How selfish and inconsiderate, how unbecoming of a cleric and unmanly this wimpiness is— Yona thought. But that was just a thought, and Yona’s honest feelings were as such. So what use would there be in denying it now?

【Wouldn’t it be fine to just accept and acknowledge it? Are all human women as complicated in their thinking as you? I’ve corrupted countless heroes as a demon, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman as unpredictable as you!】

‘Shut up, you snake.’

Yona inwardly cursed at Berbaria and waved her hand at Alec.

“You, don’t go anywhere. Stay right here. Got it? You have to answer well when I call. Understood?”

“I got it, but you be careful. I wish you wouldn’t go, but you’re insisting on going.”

“I’ll be back soon. I’m just going to look and come back.”

Yona turned away from Alec and began to move her reluctant feet.

*

As they approached where the sound of the waterfall could be heard, the mist thickened.

The humidity also intensified to the point where she could feel her nun’s habit getting slightly wet with each step.

【Quite intense demonic energy.】

‘This, this…’

Yona’s breathing was very rough, unlike her.

The repeated sound of “huff, huff, huuu—” was heated, and although she had felt a strange heat rising when such demonic energy was nearby before, now it seemed to have intensified even more.

Yona didn’t realize, but her face was also flushed red. Her pupils were slightly dilated, showing a strange lustfulness, and her lips were moistened, with saliva slightly coating between her lips with each breath.

【You seem to be having quite a hard time.】

‘Shut up. This has nothing to do with you.’

It had been like this even before Berbaria took residence.

Since this started happening when the tattoo appeared on her right arm, it shouldn’t have anything to do with Berbaria.

It feels like it’s gotten a bit worse, but that’s all.

“Huh?”

Yona, who was about to take a step forward through the undergrowth, quickly withdrew her foot.

There was a downhill path in front of the vegetation that she hadn’t noticed, but rather than the downhill path, Yona was speechless at the sight that unfolded before her.

*

Kaiyak dodged the tail striking down from above and immediately thrust his spear into that tail.

With the feeling of flesh being pierced, black blood spurted out, and a giant fist slammed down in that spot.

Kaiyak once again threw his body to avoid the fist and shouted to the Lizardmen around him.

“Move as fast as you can! Don’t stop after attacking!”

The strange occurrence at the sacred place.

And Kaiyak, who had led the warriors to subjugate the monster said to have appeared from that sacred place, was struggling.

The shaman who had been bestowing healing grace upon them was injured not long after, and although the young shaman who had come along was barely managing to continue, it was hopelessly insufficient.

The monster called a mermaid was quite familiar to the Lizardmen.

It was a monster that appeared wherever there was deep water, including the sea, so it was a monster that could be encountered quite often in Lizard Den on the Cantasia River.

And they thought that the monster that appeared in this sacred place would not be difficult to subjugate since it also had the same appearance as a mermaid, but that was a miscalculation.

Unlike mermaids that appear in groups, this mermaid that appeared alone was different from the start in its appearance.

With the face of a catfish, six arms, and fins shaped like fan ribs that protruded roughly, shooting spines.

The tail was split into three strands and handled freely, and its size was quite large, so even Kaiyak, who was a strong warrior among the Lizardmen, had never seen such a mermaid before.

In the meantime, Kaiyak once again deeply thrust his spear into the area near the buttocks where the tail had sprouted.

He quickly dodged as soon as he confirmed the black blood flowing, but Kaiyak’s gaze caught the wide-open palm flying towards him.

“Tch!”

He holds his spear horizontally to avoid a direct hit.

With an impact strong enough to break the spear shaft, Kaiyak was pushed back, sliding.

Is it time to prepare for retreat?

Kaiyak quickly rolled his eyes to look around.

The mermaid was submerged in the sacred place, not coming out from there.

There were still more than ten Lizardmen left, and although most were injured, they were still in a state where they could fight.

However, Kaiyak had seen a similar situation before.

The bear that appeared in James’ village, and the divine tree that was entangled with that bear.

The bear that recovered its wounds as soon as it drank the black sap overflowing from that divine tree.

Probably, that mermaid must be gaining power from the blackened sacred place.

They say the bear self-destructed from drinking too much of the divine tree’s sap, but this mermaid was originally a creature that lived in water.

They’ll have to do something about the sacred place first.

But how to do it, no way comes to mind.

And that’s when it happened.

Someone’s touch reached somewhere on his injured thigh, and no sooner did he feel it than the wound began to heal.

“Kaiyak, are you okay?”

A voice he hadn’t heard in a long time.

Much shorter than Kaiyak, but always with a confident appearance— a healer with a bit of a strange head but definite skill and personality.

It was Yona.