Chapter 52 The Black Mother Of The Orphanage
(Wait for me, Shura! I'm coming! You seem to be going a bit crazy, but make sure the protagonist gets their moment to shine!)
So, I was all pumped up to chase after her.
To cut to the chase, I caught up to Shura pretty quickly. It took about ten minutes.
She was crouched down in front of a thick tree.
"Shura!"
"..."
"Hey! Shura, what in the world are you doing? Where are those beasts?"
"...Look at this."
"Huh?"
"Look at this!"
She kept insisting I look without even waving me over. I thought, what the heck, but I walked over and looked down at her feet.
A chill ran down my spine.
"!"
It was a skull. A child's skull, to be exact.
Thanks to Hiiro's influence, I managed not to scream, but I was definitely shaken.
"One of those little beasts was digging this up."
"The beasts? Were they burying something?"
"How would I know? But now I understand. There's a beast deep in this forest that caused the disappearances."
"What the heck are you talking about?"
"This is probably the bone of a missing child. And you heard that song earlier, right? That song... it's the one the kids heard when they explored the graveyard and went into the forest, isn't it?"
"...!"
That reminded me of how Kumin, the second victim, went missing. He was exploring the forest with some kids when he got separated, and the others heard that song. Shura thinks that creepy song is connected to all this.
"The little beasts reacted to that song. So it makes sense to think that the source of the song is the cause of this incident."
"Hmph." (Well, that's true.)
There's a culprit in the forest. I agree with Shura's conclusion.
A boss character hiding deep in a dark forest is pretty much a classic trope.
"...Then it must be the orphanage."
"Huh?"
"The culprit is probably there. Just a hunch."
If we're going by tropes, I couldn't shake the feeling that the singing beast was hiding in the ruined orphanage Mr. Eigun mentioned.
I mean, it's too suspicious. Abandoned places that villagers avoid are classic spots for monster nests in RPGs.
I feel bad for Mr. Eigun who warned us, but if we want to solve this case, we have no choice but to go in.
"...I don't really trust your hunch, though. You're a bit of a musclehead."
"Who are you calling a musclehead, you annoying little brat?"
"You're the only one here. But I agree we should head to the orphanage."
"What? What's that got to do with anything?"
"My gut says that's where we need to go."
"...Ugh." (...If that's the case, you should have just agreed from the start.)
Yeah, she just wanted to call me a musclehead.
Even as I thought that, Shura kept moving deeper into the forest without caring about me.
Her steps were steady. It seemed like all she could think about was taking down the beasts.
(...I have a bad feeling about this.)
I felt uneasy. Was it because of the unknown beasts? Or was it because of Shura, who was burning with a desire to hunt them?
The forest grew darker and deeper, making it hard to tell which one it was.
* * *
By the time Shura used her white magic sensing to find the place we were looking for, it was completely dark outside.
"...Is this the place?"
"Yeah. It definitely has the right vibe."
Deep in the dark forest was a ruin that looked more like a church than an orphanage.
And like Shura said, the atmosphere was creepy. What made it creepy was that it wasn't just an ordinary ruin. There were signs of burning all over the orphanage.
It clearly had a dark history. I thought it was a beast's home, but it felt more like a place for vengeful spirits.
"I can sense something."
"Is it a beast?."
"What else could it be?"
"It's probably just some wild animal that wandered in. Let's not jump to conclusions."
"Not a chance. There's no way I can't smell the presence of prey. What's wrong with you? Are you scared?"
"...Shut up. I'm just being cautious because I have to deal with beast... thing next to me."
"Who are you calling a beast?"
I'm not really doubting Shura's senses, but she is super fierce when it comes to beasts.
Anyway, it's clear that there's a beast troubling Korghi Village. But I can't just charge straight into a place that looks like a beast's nest.
So, Shura and I decided to look for a gap to peek inside the ruins.
[───a───ie────]
""!""
We both froze when we heard a sound coming from the front door of the ruins.
It sounded like a woman's voice, almost like singing or whispering.
Without even planning it, we quietly moved closer to the front door. The burnt and broken door had a small gap. It was the perfect chance to check inside, so I slowly leaned in to look through the gap.
"......!"
Then, I gasped at what I saw.
[Geeeee,eeeee]
[maa,maa,maa]
The orphanage inside the ruins looked like a church, even on the inside.
Beyond the front door was what seemed to be a chapel. There were long benches lined up, just like in a church. And there, sitting side by side like worshippers, were those little beasts. The scene was creepy and strange, but that's not why I was shocked.
[La──goo──nniiggg──ssleep────]
Deeper inside, I couldn't take my eyes off something sitting on the altar, almost like it was being worshipped by the little beasts.
It had a pitch-black body like the little beasts, with cracks all over it glowing yellow-green. Long orange hair hung down from its head, and it looked a lot like a human woman.
But what really stunned me was that this beast was lovingly cradling a skull against its chest and stroking it.
(...That skull, could it be!)
A human skull. And it probably belonged to a child. A chilling thought ran through me. That must be the remains of the missing kids.
It was like it was cherishing it, as if it were its own child.
With gentle hands. Like a mother.
"What the heck is that thing...!"
It was such a bizarre sight that I didn't even realize I was speaking out loud.
[────────La]
But unlike me, it noticed. It caught my gaze. Its orange eyes, matching its hair, glared at me fiercely.
[Laaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!]
"!!!!?"
"Hiiroo!!"
By the time I heard the beast's voice explode, it was already too late.
My body was blown away along with the front door by that booming song.
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