Chapter 163

I’ve never seen Cerceus look more discontent, but Seiya has a point. All of a sudden, Seiya, who’s looking out the window, lowers his voice. “A dragonewt’s coming. Rista, hurry.” “O-okay!” We swiftly slip through the gate right as the dragonewt approaches the door. “…Hmph. So this is the underworld. Foggy.” Seiya nonchalantly mutters. While we may have gotten away from the dragonewts, we still have to deal with all of this fog. Plus… “Sluuuuuurp.” I suddenly hear the eerie sound of some creature licking its lips, only to discover that the hollow-faced individual is slowly walking this way. “I-it’s her!” She throws herself at Cerceus as a long, grotesque tongue crawls out of her jet-black hole. “Eek! Seiya, help me!” Cerceus screams before hiding behind the level-1 Hero. Seiya, however, doesn’t even flinch as he calmly asks: “What do you want?” “I want to lick, lick, lick the god.” “Okay. Knock yourself out.” Seiya then kicks Cerceus over! “Gwah?!” Cerceus groans as he tumbles across the ground until he stops right in front of the hollow-faced creature with the long tongue. Lick, lick, lick, lick lick lick lick lick. “Ooooooeeeeeeeee! Heeeeeeeelp meeeeeeee!” “S-S-Seiya?! Is Cerceus going to be okay?!” “Gods don’t die. He’ll be fine.” “B-but—gag. This is just d-disgusting!” Lick lick, lick. Liiick. Lick lick. Liiick. Cerceus shouts and cries as the creature relentlessly licks his body. Seiya crosses his arms while observing him with a cold gaze. …After a few minutes, Cerceus’s entire body is dripping with saliva. He looks like a shivering fawn that was just born. “Hey, uh… You okay, Cerceus?” “Sniffle! I’m sticky…and feel gross…and… Sniffle!” “Seiya! Cerceus is crying, but I think he’s okay!” “That’s good.” “Do I look okay to you?! I’m all gross now!” Cerceus angrily cries, but… “Ah, I’m satisfied. Satisfied, satisfied, satisfied.” The creature gleefully retracts her long tongue. “Hm? She just wanted to lick him? I guess she really didn’t have any intention of killing us, unlike those dragonewts.” “She even repeats herself two or three times, so we don’t have to worry about missing anything she says. While I can’t say for certain yet, she probably isn’t a threat.” “I-I really hope you’re right…” Just then… “Excuse me? I apologize for Hohzuo.” I hear a well-projected, feminine voice. When I turn around, I see a woman with violet hair. She has double-edged eyelids and a defined nose. Other than the jewel on her forehead, she appears to be an ordinary, beautiful woman. She lifts the hem of her gray dress and bows to Seiya and me. “Ristarte and Seiya Ryuuguuin, correct? I appreciate all you have done for us.” “…?! How do you know our names?!” A-and “I appreciate all you have done for us”? I’m pretty sure this is the first time we’ve ever met… She breaks into a smile and pulls a hand towel out from her dress’s breast pocket. “Cerceus, please use this to wipe the saliva off your body.” “Th-thanks.” She even appears to know Cerceus’s name. After giving him the hand towel, she turns around and looks at the hollow-faced individual. “You were drawn to his blinding divine aura and lost control of yourself. Isn’t that right, Hohzuo?” The hollow-faced creature then bashfully scratches her head. I approach the woman. “H-hey, uh… You are…?” “I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I am Unoporta. Our Lord Hathies asked me to bring you to the Shrine of the Six Realms.” “Your Lord…? The Lord of the Underworld?” “He will explain things to you once we arrive. Please, come this way.” She begins to walk away, but I slightly hesitate and look at Seiya. “Seiya! What should we do? She doesn’t seem like a bad person…” “Usually, I’d want to train until I leveled up enough before going, but it’d be days before we could meet this Lord of the Underworld if I did that.” “We can’t make him wait that long! Plus, we need to find out what’s going on!” “All right. Don’t let your guard down, though.” We begin following the woman named Unoporta. While walking, I notice the fog clearing up the farther we go. “What the…? The fog is dissipating.” “We only have fog during the day in the underworld.” “Oh…” But what becomes visible to us is a bloodred sky. And surrounding us as we walk down the gray stone pavement are wriggling plant-like individuals, giant rabbits, and people with only one giant eye instead of two normal-sized eyes. The monstrous creatures stare at us as they chat. “I think that’s a god.” “Ooo! Divine aura! It’s divine aura…! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!” “Mm-hmm. I’d love to sink my teeth into that!” I-is it just me, or are they saying some unsettling things? I start to get scared, so I grab on to the hem of Seiya’s shirt. Unoporta looks back at me. “There is no need to worry. They mean no harm. If anything, the people of the underworld feel a great deal of fondness for deities.” “R-really?” I hope that’s true, because right now I feel like Unoporta is the only decent person in this bizarre world. All of a sudden, Cerceus approaches Unoporta, who is walking ahead of us, and returns the hand towel she lent him. “Thanks for letting me use this! I really appreciate it!” Cerceus flashes his pearly white teeth with a refreshing smile. “I never expected to run into such a wonderful young lady like you in the underworld!” What is wrong with this guy?! First, he was trembling in his boots because he was afraid to return to the underworld, and now he’s flirting with a local?! Unoporta suddenly comes to a stop and faces Cerceus, who is pathetically trying to act smooth while blushing. Is she actually enjoying his company? Y-you’ve gotta be kidding me! Don’t tell me a beautiful woman like this has taken a liking to Cerceus! But at the very next moment… “Blooorgh!” With a deep grunt, she regurgitates a tsunami of scarlet liquid onto Cerceus’s face, painting it red! “Eeeeeeeeek!” “I-I’m so sorry!” Unoporta promptly apologizes while Cerceus screams. “I have a habit of vomiting blood from time to time…” “I don’t know if I’d call that a ‘habit’! Are you okay?!” I ask in surprise, but Unoporta wipes the blood from the corners of her mouth while gracefully smiling. “Yes, I’m perfectly healthy.” Since when do healthy people randomly vomit blood?! What’s going on here?! “Groan… First, saliva. Now, blood. Great…” After handing Cerceus the towel back, she gazes at him with rapt attention as he wipes his face, on the verge of tears. “Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee… Ah, how good it feels to be overflowing with HP again…” “What the…?! Unoporta, what did you just say?!” “O-oh, nothing! Come on, Ristarte! My Lord is waiting!” She picks up her pace, trying to play it off. I turn to Seiya and whisper: “H-hey, don’t you think she’s acting a little suspicious?” “Extremely suspicious. However, Cerceus is the only one who’s suffering so far, so let’s use him as a meat shield while we keep an eye out for anything else suspicious.” “Good idea.” “Hey! I can hear you, you know!” We ignore Cerceus as always and continue to follow Unoporta. Before long, we find ourselves in front of a massive building made of obsidian under the bloodred sky. “This is the Shrine of the Six Realms, where the Lord of the Underworld resides.” It reminds me of a tombstone, which sends a shiver down my spine. Seiya observes it in silence for a few moments, but he soon boldly strolls through the gate. Glowstones illuminate the interior like lamps, making it surprisingly bright. As we walk down the path behind Unoporta, I see unusual ornaments, sculptures, and even stuffed specimens of mysterious creatures I’ve never seen before. While an eerie sight, it still beats being outside where all those bizarre critters are. Eventually, Unoporta stops in front of a hinged double door. Hathies, the Lord of the Underworld, must be in there. It feels almost like we’re about to battle a Demon Lord… But before I can even brace myself for what comes next, Unoporta opens the door. He sits atop a throne made of animal bones at the end of a gray carpet with a presence no different from a Demon Lord. “…Come forward.” His voice is slightly higher than I expected, but I can feel it rumble in the pit of my stomach. My footsteps are timid as I follow Unoporta. “I am the Lord of the Underworld, Hathies—he who passively observes this realm.” Only when I get closer do I finally realize that Hathies’s face, slightly hidden behind the strands of beads dangling from his crown, is completely white. Cerceus and I exchange glances, then nod with evident satisfaction. “I am glad you could make it, survivors of the ruined spirit world—Goddess of Healing, Ristarte, and God of Swords, Cerceus.” What?! “R-ruined”?! As in destroyed?!