My name is Lastismoon.
I am a dragon with a particular fondness for dried persimmons.
I have been involved in various incidents in the past, but I pride myself on having become quite well-behaved recently. My father and grandfather even praised me for it, which made me happy, yet it seems I am destined to cause trouble somewhere.
The collapse of the Northern Dungeon.
It was a failure caused back when I was overhunting Bloody Vipers alongside Big Sister Hakuren. At the time, I thought the Bloody Vipers were to blame for being in such a narrow space, but the situation has since changed completely.
The Village Head bowed his head to the Giants.
He bowed on our behalf to take responsibility for our actions. While it might have been the natural course of action for someone in his position, it came as a profound shock to me. The fact that he had to lower his head because of what we did weighed heavily on my heart.
And the one even more shocked than I was likely Big Sister Hakuren. She hasn't truly smiled since his apology. She wears a smile, yes, but she is fuming underneath. Most likely at herself. She has enough discretion not to direct her anger toward me or the Giants, but she is still terrifying.
However, I understand how she feels. I am angry with myself as well.
I believe I need to achieve something of merit to calm this feeling. I don't think it will earn me forgiveness, but it should help settle my current state of mind. Therefore, even if it is a bit of a hassle, I will conduct a thorough investigation of the hole the Earth Rats emerged from.
If only some wicked entity were down there, it might set my mind at ease... I wonder if there are any sealed demons or a God of Magic?
I found myself thinking of something dangerous. I must reflect on that. The Village Head wouldn’t want such a thing. It will be enough to investigate the hole, confirm its safety, and ensure the lives of the Giants are no longer threatened.
The site of the dungeon collapse was located quite deep underground. I remember it well because of the sheer number of Bloody Vipers there. That was why we ended up causing the collapse in the first place, but... let us put that matter aside.
Descending from the collapse site and crawling into the tunnel the Earth Rats had used, I found a passage that looked like a proper tunnel. The collapse must have punched a hole right into the middle of it. The tunnel was about five meters high and quite spacious, stretching to the east and west. Since the Earth Rats that emerged came from the east, it was likely a long tunnel running between the two directions.
Now, which way to go?
"Rusty. I will head east. You take the west."
I could not go against Big Sister Hakuren’s orders, so I obeyed without a word.
My companions were the vampires Lu and Flora, Ria the High Elf, and Bulga and Stifano of the Devil Race. Additionally, we were joined by about half of Zabuton-san’s children.
Big Sister Hakuren’s group consisted of Ann the High Ogre, the other half of Zabuton-san’s children, and the Vampire Progenitor.
Regarding this Vampire Progenitor, my grandfather warned me to avoid antagonizing him if at all possible. He must be incredibly powerful. However, that isn't an absolute rule, is it? In the Village Head’s case, it felt absolute... I wonder why? Is it because the Progenitor knows how to make up after a fight?
Well, there is no reason to go out of my way to antagonize him when he is on such good terms with the Village Head. The same goes for Big Sister Hakuren. If that is the case, I should look forward to him being a reliable ally.
...Actually, if Big Sister Hakuren were to go on a rampage, he would have to be the one to protect Ann and Zabuton-san’s children, or the Village Head would be furious.
As I was thinking that, the Vampire Progenitor waved his hand at me as if to say, "Leave it to me." Did I have such a worried look on my face? Or could he actually read minds? If so, that is impressive—to be able to read the thoughts of a dragon.
I tried making a light joke in my head, teasing my grandfather. There was no reaction. It seemed I was safe; if he could read minds, he surely would have laughed or snorted. There was no way my joke was unfunny, after all.
Now then, it was time to take the westward investigation seriously.
"Well..."
I drew a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of fire. Even in my human form, I am still a dragon. I maintained the blast for about five minutes; any small fry in the way should have been reduced to cinders by now. Surely, whatever remained would be the culprit or a creature that knew something.
"Let's go."
I urged my stunned companions forward.
Incidentally, Big Sister Hakuren did the exact same thing on her side.
I was scolded for it later. Apparently, one must not use fire inside a cave. I had thought that was just a pretext to keep the Village Head from joining the dangerous parts of the investigation...
"Dragons might be fine, but I won't last," Ria the High Elf told me.
She explained that using fire inside a cave ruins the air, making it lethal for living creatures. Come to think of it, I feel as though I might have heard that a long time ago. Since it doesn't really affect dragons, I must have simply ignored it.
"The air is flowing here, so it seems we'll be fine, but still..."
If it was fine, then there was no problem. We continued the investigation.
We spent our time simply walking through the tunnel. Along the way, I found remains of things turned to ash by my flames, but that was all. To be honest, it was tedious. During our breaks, I found myself looking forward immensely to the meals Bulga and Stifano prepared.
Since the tunnel continued, we had to keep moving. As Ria said, the air was moving, so it shouldn't be a dead end. Just as I was thinking we should reach something soon... several days passed.
Finally, we arrived. It was a plaza.
The area was a misshapen, roughly spherical chamber. At the bottom of that sphere, a massive black boulder was embedded.
"Some kind of seal?"
There were characters carved into the black rock, so that might have been the case. Was this our objective? Since we were searching the area, perhaps this hall was the source?
Directly above the rock was a vertical shaft. Since the wind was blowing toward it, it had to be connected to the surface.
"I'll go scout it out," Lu said.
She and Flora flew up toward the shaft. Being able to fly while in human form is a bit enviable. In any case, based on the distance we had walked, we should still be within the Forest of Death. I didn't think we had moved far enough to reach the West Mountain.
...Lu and Flora returned almost immediately. They shouted a warning down to us.
"Undead!"
Whether they were chasing the vampires or not, skeletons and zombies began plummeting from the hole. They fell straight onto the black rock and stopped moving, which was a rather pathetic sight. The troublesome ones were the floating types called ghosts. Ordinary physical attacks don't work on them, so magic is the best option.
However...
"Everyone, get behind me."
My dragon fire could burn them all away. I breathed fire with all my might, incinerating every ghost that approached. At the same time, I burned the skeletons and zombies that were still falling. I kept the blast directed up into the shaft.
Most likely, my flames erupted onto the surface. Any undead gathered around the opening must have been incinerated as well. Hahaha.
...Wait.
Could it be that the surface is a disaster area now? Oh no! I'm going to be scolded!
I had Lu carry me up to the surface, only to find the surrounding forest on fire. I transformed back into my dragon form to create a gust of wind to blow it out... but that didn't work. I had to roll my massive body over the ground to smother the flames.
Ugh, how did it come to this? Still, I will persevere.