Chapter 50 Cave Temple Of The Black Forest (Part Two)
After defeating the bear-man, we continued deeper into the forest.
"Shizuru, how much further is it to the cave temple from here?"
"It's less than 5 kilometers (3.11 miles) in distance...but if there are many monsters, I can't say how long it will take."
Indeed, as she said, it would normally take a little over an hour to reach a distance of about 5 kilometers. However, in the forest and with monsters roaming around, it's impossible to predict how long it will actually take.
"Did you and your friends get attacked by monsters at the cave temple?"
To understand the situation, I asked her that question.
"Yes. We were planning to stay at the cave temple for the night. That's where we were attacked by monsters."
"Is the cave temple sturdy? Can it withstand an attack from a group of monsters?"
"I don't think it's something that would easily collapse...but I don't think we can stay holed up there forever. That's why we decided to leave and seek help from the town..."
"In total, how many walking shrine maidens are there?"
"There are 25. Among them, five of us headed to the town together."
So that means the remaining twenty?
At that moment, I recall the skill with the kunai that Shizuru displayed.
"Do all walking shrine maidens have combat skills like Shizuru?"
Shizuru remains silent for a while. Perhaps she doesn't want to talk about it? But in the end, it seems she decided to confide.
"Everyone has some form of self-defense training. There's a certain level of danger if we continue our journey."
From her tone, it doesn't seem to be just a simple self-defense technique... I decide not to delve into that.
As we continue for a while, a certain smell is noticeable. The smell of blood, the smell of roasted meat, and the smell of beasts. Shizuru must have caught this scent as well. Her expression becomes serious.
"It's here that I parted ways with the other four..."
In her words, there was a sense of regret, and even a hint of repentance. Soon, we emerged into a slightly open area. There, an even more intense smell lingers. It seems that someone has lit a fire here and eaten meat.
(The question is who they are and where they went.)
As I was thinking that, Shizuru, who was next to me, let out a voice that couldn't be suppressed, "Ah, ah."
"What's wrong?"
When I asked, she pointed to a tree standing in front of us. There were four large fruits hanging there, and I squinted my eyes. And then... what was hanging there wasn't fruit. It was a human head! And a young woman's at that!
Shizuru started running towards the tree. I followed after her. There were remnants of a bonfire in front of the tree. It seemed like they had burned it quite extensively. And there were remains of meat and bones that seemed to have been left behind. The bones were human bones!
"Jun... Izuna... Fatima... Sally..."
While looking at the hanging head, Shizuru muttered those names.
"Are they the comrades who escaped together?"
When I asked that, Shizuru nodded her head.
"They came with me to seek help... but we were attacked by a group of orcs here... everyone, in order to let me escape..."
As she said that, Shizuru collapsed in tears.
"I could hear... their final screams... everyone, what kind of fate are they facing..."
I looked at the decapitated bodies of the girls. Each of their expressions showed pain and humiliation.
(They were violated by orcs and then used as food)
I knew from previous loops that when orcs attack women, they do that. But... an uncontrollable rage welled up inside me. I suppose Shizuru felt the same way.
"I will never forgive those orcs who defiled everyone and then devoured them. I will send them all to hell without exception..."
She uttered this curse.
"I'll help with that too. I will definitely slice up these orcs."
I said, placing my hand on Shizuru's shoulder.
After simply burying the heads of Shizuru's companions, we hurried on. The reason there are no orcs here is that they are likely heading to the cave temple. We encountered lizardmen and earth spiders on the way, but we dealt with them promptly.
"The cave temple is very close now."
Shizuru informed.
(Despite that, it feels like there are fewer monsters around.)
I had my doubts about that point. However, the answer became clear right away. The forest cleared, and the view suddenly opened up. In that spot, a sandy area had appeared as if a hole had opened in the middle of the forest.
In the center, there was a small stone pyramid. The pyramid was not the Egyptian pyramid type, but rather the temple type of pyramid like those found in South American Mayan culture. Several giant trees were growing around it, entwined.
And there, there were over ten orcs, almost the same number of lizardmen, frog-men, and even more non-humanoid monsters such as earth spiders. That's not all. Wyverns, gargoyles, and mothmen-like creatures, a fusion of humans and moths, were flying in the sky.
I hid in the shadow of a nearby tree with Shizuru. With this many monsters around, it was clear that it wouldn't be wise to charge in.
"Shizuru, is the entrance located underneath the staircase in front of us?"
The pyramid is about as tall as a three-story building. You can climb to the top via the staircase. Below, there seems to be an entrance-like hole, but it's blocked by something like a barricade.
"That's right. But besides that, there are entrances in the four directions of the compass and also from the top."
"There are quite a few entrances, aren't there?"
"The cave temple is not a castle or a fortress. Basically, it's not designed to restrict people's coming and going."
"Conversely, it's impressive it's held out until now."
"There's a shrine maiden who can create a defensive barrier. But even her power isn't infinite. It's reaching its limit."
Shizuru shows signs of impatience.
"So, is that barricade for that purpose? But with that, we can't get inside either."
"I have an idea."
With that, she took out a slender flute from her bosom. Putting it to her lips, she began to blow, but no sound came out.
"I see, it seems that it was communicated with a sound that humans and monsters cannot perceive, just like the flute Michael gave me. But how does it reach the other shrine maiden?"
Then Shizuru pointed to the earrings she had on her ears.
"It's this."
There is a small golden plate attached to it.
"This earring resonates with the sound of the flute and turns it into a sound that I can hear and convey."
For a while, Shizuru listened closely. Eventually, she looked at me.
"I have received a response just now. In a little while, the High shrine maiden will create a whirlwind of flames with her divine power from the front entrance. In that moment, while the monsters are startled, we will rush into the Cave Temple."
"Understood."
I replied briefly and stared at the entrance of the cave temple.
(Divine power, huh...)
I pondered such thoughts. In this world, in addition to magic, there is another mysterious power called divine power. While magic relies on magic energy as its source, divine power stems from the life force and the power of gods that reside in nature.
Both magic and divine power often utilize life force, and the divine power used by the clergy is based on the power of gods, so there are overlapping aspects between the two. In other words, one could say that divine power is an intermediate force between magic and divine spirit power.
"It seems like they've arrived." Shizuru whispered beside me.
Hello, we have a NEW project about mc whose heroines want to become his mother instead of his lover. You can read it on here => Link
Hello, we have other project about someone who has returned from an isekai. The main character is a hero who has defeated the Demon Lord. However, for some reason, the human-demon war has resumed and will take place in the MC's original world. The MC, unaware of this, meets a Saint from that world and asks them to join the war. But what does the MC say? They refuse. Is it because their love was rejected by the princess when they adventured together in the past or are they simply fed up? And are the MC will join later? You can find out by clicking on the following => [Link]
We have a new work with genre second life. The story is about a former s*x worker who didn't want to be a loner again, and fulfilling his second life. It has a life conflict and the protagonist will solve it one by one. You can find out in => [Link]
We also have a similar genre returned from isekai but has different MC's characteristic. The story is punishing someone who troll in SNS, someone who cheat and many more. You can find out in => [Link]
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)