By Zephyria 
Aska went inside without any hesitation and stood before the skeleton. Then, he squatted down in front of it, fiddled with the skull, and said,
“It looks really old.”
Unlike the vast library from before, this room wasn’t very large. Standing at the entrance, one could see the entire room without having to move their head much.
I didn’t bother going in and subtly stepped back outside, saying,
“Just come out.”
The sharp, lung-piercing smell was so strong that I held my breath as I spoke, and Aska turned his head to look at me.
“Why? Are you scared? Because of the skeleton?”
I almost asked what he was talking about, but stopped myself. I decided to just go with it since I would have to breathe in to speak.
Seeing me nod, Aska pushed off his knees and stood up, approaching me. Then, with an expression that was hard to describe, he took my hand.
I felt a little strange, but his expression seemed like he was trying to protect me because I was scared, which made my heart flutter. I had felt it a few days ago too, but Aska seemed to quite enjoy situations where I had to rely on him.
What should I do? Should I pretend to stumble and twist my ankle?
I was seriously contemplating when we arrived at the next room. Just like before, Aska smashed the closed door. But this time, he didn’t shatter it completely, cleanly splitting it in two, so not much dust rose.
This time, the room was a bit larger, and there were no strange smells or skeletons. There was nothing special, so I looked around a bit and came back out.
We had entered every room except for the last one, but there were no clues or exits to be found.
“Let’s just look at this last one and then go read some more books. Can we take some books with us?”
Aska muttered in response to my question.
“I could just break through the ceiling and make a passage…”
Aska, who was waving his arm around casually while looking at me, paused. Even though he had hit it like before, the door remained perfectly intact this time. I was surprised and quickly covered Aska’s fist with both hands.
“Does it hurt?”
Fortunately, he wasn’t injured. Still, just in case, I blew on the area he had hit earlier. Only then did cracks start to appear on the door.
The thickness and material seemed similar to the other doors, so why was this one so sturdy? Anyway, it was a relief that the door was broken, but suddenly I had a bad feeling.
Even when I was first dropped here alone, I wasn’t this anxious, but now I even had goosebumps all over my skin.
“Wait…”
Just as I was about to say that we shouldn’t go in there, Aska suddenly pulled my arm sharply. I frowned as my nose bumped into his hard chest, and then I heard an unfamiliar voice in my ear.
‘Let’s stop sacrificing people meaninglessly.’
I turned my head and saw a bald man walking towards us for the first time. His whole body was transparent like a ghost, so I could see the background behind him.
“What is it?”
“Is it a video?”
“So suddenly?”
I huddled close to Aska, shrinking my shoulders. Even as I whispered in a small voice, the ghost-like man continued to talk to someone.
‘But isn’t there no other way? We must be firm for the future. This is the land where our children must live. If we don’t protect it, who will?’
‘This is like finding a needle in the ocean. Even though you volunteered, I don’t know if this is really the right thing to do.’
‘For the sake of those who remain, we must find a needle even in the ocean. If we give up too, it’s all over.’
More and more people gathered around the bald man. Among them was the black-haired woman I had seen in the hallucination earlier. I glanced at Aska and said,
“She looks really similar, even seeing her again.”
“She’s a little different if you look closely.”
“Of course, she’d be a little different.”
I was puzzled by his somewhat curt tone, but the black-haired woman, who had been quietly silent, opened her mouth.
‘I will try.’
‘I am against it. You are not a replaceable resource.’
‘I agree.’
‘Pasiphae has also permitted it. I am usually…’
Static crackled, and the translucent figures of the people flickered. The noise was mixed in, and I missed what they said in the middle.
‘…ability is excellent, so you may be able to endure it. First, lower your immunity to the extreme, and this…’
Crackle. Crack.
‘…if you try… inside the fissure… …if the body can just endure it… bonding…’
Crackle.
The flickering and noise grew worse and worse, to the point where I couldn’t even recognize their shapes anymore. Of course, I couldn’t understand what they were saying properly, but I could roughly grasp the atmosphere.
“…”
When I first found the necklace, I naturally thought that some group with impure motives was trying to disrupt the world, but it didn’t seem to be the case. They were too solemn and resolute for that.
They didn’t seem like the kind of heinous people who would create a situation where many people die for simple profit. There was no way such people could be so composed.
Clack.
At that moment, all sound and light went out at once. The crackling noise that had been tormenting my eardrums disappeared as if it were all a lie. The surroundings turned dark in an instant, and I tightened my grip on Aska’s hand.
“Can you see anything?”
“I can see well, so it’s okay. Do you want me to carry you on my back if you’re scared?”
Why does he keep telling me to get on his back since last time? I couldn’t see anything, but it was a relief that Aska could see well even in the dark.
―Damage scale exceeds 8%.
A voice different from the one the transparent people had been speaking in could be heard.
―Intruder alert.
The tone of the voice was so ominous and rigid that I couldn’t help but frown. It didn’t sound like a human voice at all.
“Where is that sound coming from?”
“Over there.”
He spoke without hesitation and moved, but of course, I couldn’t see anything.
Clack, a dull sound rang out again, and a gloomy red light shone on Aska. I quickly pulled Aska away. But the red light followed Aska accurately no matter where he moved.
―Confirmed. Pass.
With a short word, the red light touched me this time. Aska instantly slung me over his shoulder and tried to dodge, but no matter how fast he moved, he couldn’t avoid it.
―Confirmed. Denied.
“Should we just break it and get out?”
“Is it dangerous?”
“I don’t know.”
The red light disappeared as if a fire had gone out.
―Reconfirmation in progress.
An incomprehensible sound was heard, and the red light touched me again.
“Let’s get out of here.”
I had a bad feeling ever since we opened the last door. It seemed better to escape by breaking through the ceiling as Aska said, and I was about to nod when I heard a short sound in my ear.
―Confirmed. Pass.
―No other life form detected. Alarm deactivated.
Clack, a sound rang out, and the surroundings brightened. I was still on Aska’s shoulder, so I patted his butt a few times with my hand.
“Put me down.”
“Aren’t we leaving?”
“Well…”
―Subject 2, re-examination requested.
―Initiating transfer.
I thought it was over, but a circular magic circle formed on the floor where Aska was standing. Before I could even recognize it, Aska jumped high, but a transparent barrier blocked us.
We had no choice but to stand on the magic circle.
―5, 4, 3…
“What should we do?”
“Where are we being transferred to? Another Ruins?”
“I don’t know. Just don’t leave my side, since it might be dangerous. Stand on my instep. Don’t touch the floor, just in case.”
I did as Aska told me, sticking to him as much as possible and standing straight on his instep. Aska hugged my waist tightly and covered my body with his robe as if protecting me. I put my arms around Aska’s neck and clung to him like a cicada on an old tree.
―2, 1. Transfer.
As soon as the countdown finished, the scenery changed in the blink of an eye, and the floor disappeared. We were transferred to an unknown place and were falling endlessly downwards.
“What’s going on, really…”
I looked around with a bewildered expression, but it was like a vast underground world where the sky couldn’t be seen. Fortunately or unfortunately, it was as bright as daytime, so I could see below.
“Wow… We’re going to die if we fall like this.”
We had been falling for over 10 seconds already, but there was still a long way to go. I looked at the trees that looked like beans and said dazedly, and Aska sighed.
“Can’t use magic?”
“Nope.”
“Then are we going to die here like this?”
They told us to do a re-examination or whatever, and then they just transferred us into the air like this?
But being angry was one thing, and now wasn’t the time for that. I was trying to figure out how to survive a fall from this height, racking my brain as much as possible, when Aska sighed again. I wondered why and slightly separated my upper body to look at Aska’s face.
“Why do you keep sighing?”
“I’m just annoyed.”
“Suddenly dying?”
“No… Ha, I really don’t want to.”
What did he not want to do? Before I could even wonder, Aska pressed the back of my head tightly. My face was buried in Aska’s chest, and I couldn’t lift my head.
“What are you doing?”
I tried to lift my head by force, but it was impossible. I didn’t budge, so I struggled, but there was a limit to that too. If I slipped even a little, I could fall away from Aska and flail in the air.
“I get it, so let go. Let go… Ah, really!”
I grabbed Aska’s shoulders and lifted my head up with all my might. I was about to ask why he was suddenly doing this, but no voice came out.
“…”
Behind Aska, I could see huge black membrane wings. I gradually moved my gaze towards the base of the wings. The wings were starting from Aska’s back.