The Demon Realm Underground

The cave chamber Shari led me to was a little larger than the others. Waiting inside was a monster of truly hideous appearance—a creature they called a Worm Dragon.

"Yaaaaah—!"

The instant he spotted it, Benos charged in with his spear. My first priority was securing Kiki, so I left the Worm Dragon to him and sprinted toward the back of the chamber.

Hearing Benos's voice, Kiki peeked out from behind a stalagmite.

"Kiki! Over here!"

I grabbed her hand and led her around the outer edge of the chamber, toward the exit. After asking Shari to stay with her, I turned back to face the Worm Dragon alongside Benos.

The moment I drew my sword and started toward him—

Thwack!

"Guh!"

The Worm Dragon whipped its long neck like a lash, and Benos went flying.

"Big brother—!"

Kiki clapped both hands to her cheeks and cried out in shock. I lunged forward with my sword and planted myself in front of him.

"Kiiiiiiiiii—!"

The Worm Dragon let out a grotesque, keening wail. So it used that elongated neck as a weapon. Everything about it—its appearance, its movements, its method of attack—was repulsive.

Whoosh—

I gathered mana into my blade and set it alight, just as I had against the Arachne Queen Variant. When you're fighting a beast, fire almost never works against you.

Benos, who'd been sent flying by that first blow, pulled himself together, rose with his spear in hand, and readied himself to attack.

This time, the Worm Dragon struck first. It thundered toward me, lashing its neck in every direction like a whip. The ring of razor teeth lining its circular maw opened and snapped shut with every swing, drool flying from its jaws.

This way? Or that?

Predicting the path of a neck that flexed like a snake was no easy task. If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that thing connected, I'd go flying just like Benos. And if luck turned against me, those hideous jaws might clamp down and leave me with a fatal wound.

Then Benos stepped forward, dropped into a low stance, and drove his spear into the Worm Dragon's neck before I could. But the creature's thrashing didn't slow in the slightest—instead, Benos's spear snapped clean in two.

"Wh—what..."

Disarmed and rattled, Benos kicked off the ground to retreat. But the Worm Dragon had already changed direction, its neck shooting toward him like an arrow, jaws wide to tear him apart from the front.

That was the moment I brought the Flame Sword down.

While the Worm Dragon had been charging straight at me, reading its neck had been nearly impossible—but the instant it turned to bite Benos, a window opened. A clean, precise cut. I poured every ounce of power I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had into the mana-wreathed, burning blade and cleaved through its neck. Hide tough enough to snap a spear in a single blow parted with a crisp, almost cheerful sound.

Shiiiiisss—! Shiiiiisss—!

The beheaded Worm Dragon thrashed in a frenzy, blood spraying from the stump, whipping what was left of its neck from side to side. It tried to roar, but whatever organ produced sound had been cut through as well—all that came out was a hiss of escaping air.

I stomped down on the severed head, leapt forward, and drove my sword into the center of its back.

Thunk!

Flame erupted from where the blade sank deep. The stench of burning meat filled the cave chamber. Whether I'd struck the spine dead-on or not, the thrashing of the headless creature stopped all at once.

"Hah... hah..."

I stood over the slain Worm Dragon, catching my breath, and looked from Benos to Kiki. Benos was staring at me, eyes wide, as if he couldn't quite believe what he'd seen.

Time to head back to the village. I'd earned my keep, at least.

"I mean it! Thank you! We'd have been in serious trouble without you!"

After we returned to the village, Benos bowed his head to me in gratitude. Truth be told, Shari was the one who'd found Kiki, and Benos had served as bait, which made killing the Worm Dragon a lot easier than it might have been. Still, he'd already thanked me more than ten times.

In the end, Kiki made it back without a scratch. When we asked why she'd wandered into the Passage of the Abyss on her own, she said she'd followed a pretty cave butterfly. Hearing that, Benos scolded her so thoroughly she burst into tears.

The villagers went out, butchered the Worm Dragon, and brought the meat back. There was enough to feed the entire village. That night, a small festival broke out in the Karia tribe's settlement, and I was served a dish made from Worm Dragon meat.

"Ugh..."

Remembering how hideous the thing had looked while it was alive, I honestly didn't want to eat it—but I carefully put a piece in my mouth along with some mushroom.

"...!"

It was rich, juicy, and completely free of any gamey stench—excellent meat with a deep, savory flavor. Then again, monkfish and hagfish exist. You really can't judge taste by looks.

The next day, after I'd eaten and drunk my fill, Benos came to me.

"You said you wanted to go back to where you came from, right?"

"That's right."

"We owe you for finding Kiki, and I think Lord Eldeborn might be willing to advise you."

"Eldeborn?"

"He's our village elder. He's lived an incredibly long time. Sounds like he heard what you did for the village and wants to meet you. If anyone could tell you how to get back, it'd be him."

The first of the Karia, and he's still alive? Just how long has this guy been around?

Narration had told me once before—the Karia tribe had existed in this world even before the concepts of Demon King and Hero came into being.

And so I followed Benos to meet Eldeborn, the elder of the Karia tribe.

"Lord Eldeborn is in there."

Benos pointed to a cave wall behind the village, densely packed with mushrooms. Looking closer, it wasn't a wall at all. Small, elongated mushrooms crowded over it, but there was an entrance leading inward.

"These mushrooms... I just push through them?"

"Doesn't matter. They'll grow back in a day anyway. I'll wait here—go see Lord Eldeborn."

I did as Benos said and pushed through the dense growth. The strange, spongy texture against my skin was a little unsettling, but getting through was surprisingly easy.

And the moment I stepped inside, I sucked in a sharp breath at the sight before me.

In a vast cave chamber stood a mushroom of unbelievable size—larger than any mushroom I had ever seen, larger than I could have imagined. It seemed to have become one with the place itself; parts of its stalk stretched out like roots, clinging to the cave ceiling and walls. If you fused a mushroom with a thousand-year-old tree, it might look something like this. And all around that colossal mushroom, tiny mushrooms like the one on Kiki's head grew in abundance, blooming like flowers.

"Mm. So you are... Yunoa."

A solemn voice sounded from somewhere. I turned toward it and found a human face, nearly embedded in the earth at the base of the giant mushroom's roots. Small mushrooms grew from the face as well. It was an old man's face, but the bluish tint of his skin marked him as one of the Karia. The enormous mushroom filling nearly the entire chamber had grown from this old man's head.

"Ah... yes. It's an honor to meet you."

Overwhelmed by the presence of a being who was, in essence, the living history of an entire people, I found myself falling into formal courtesy without thinking. There was no need to ask. This was Eldeborn, elder of the Karia tribe.

"Ohh. A human, after a truly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long time. From the look of you, the currents of history have left no mark upon you at all."

Eldeborn regarded me with two wrinkled eyes, sunken like knots in old wood. He continued, slowly.

"You have my thanks for saving a child precious to this village. Would you come a little closer?"

I walked forward at his request. Soft white tufts, like dandelion seeds, drifted through the air. Mushroom spores, maybe.

"I was told you might be able to tell me how to leave this place."

I asked carefully.

"You already know, do you not? Pass through the Passage of the Abyss, and you will reach the surface."

"But I don't know the way."

"I can tell you. There is a particular method. But this old man has a request."

"A request?"

I asked back. Then Eldeborn opened his mouth, his voice low and unhurried.