Hole 2: Grave Keeper
By any measure Muoru’s singing ability was seriously lacking.
popular tunes he’d heard on the radio to bits from his marching chants. And since
was off key and sometimes he would even make up words.
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graveyard.
he would have to toil with these corpses forever. And though he was continuing
specifically, the condition he’d been in one month ago.
with and a helmet.
parted from his neck, but now he started to notice the lightness at the top of his
No matter what I do, it’s obvious that I’ll probably never get my hands on a
At a glance it did not seem to be a necessity in this quiet graveyard. Plus if he
be enough. But for some reason Muoru really liked that headgear. It brought back
same age and rank, had touched a rifle and boasted about future heroism. Now
worn a helmet that entire day and even as he slept.
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helmet even if there wasn’t an enemy within the surrounding ten kilometer
but perhaps there was hope and a sense of security that came from the helmet
digger he tore a sheet into pieces and wrapped it around his head in efforts to
“Mr. Prisoner, thank you for your hard work.” Coming from behind Muoru’s back,
you’ve seen those things.”
experiment, Daribedor looked Muoru over with his small eyes.
dirty bandage imbued with the bodily fluids oozing out from his wound…
panic.
“Well, it’s not like I’m not curious,” Muoru said. Then trying to insert a slight
come from?”
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one could even say he made an unsightly smile. “You probably wouldn’t ask
question?”
amused in the slightest.
mansion, saying the following, “Well, I understand why you’re not afraid of them.
disappointing, it is much better to refrain from excessively going out at night. It
done.”
about Daribedor from Muoru, they giggled mockingly.
dig holes, once they become unable to deal with the devils, they soon become
Reaching the limits of his endurance, Muoru readily ignored Crow’s meaningful
Crow shrugged and answered, “Well, honestly speaking, I hate that man. Be that
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“…what do you mean?”
be buried here.”
only monsters buried here?”
…that was exactly right.
designated to be as large. After hearing how strong the big monsters were, he
peaceful.
graveyard? It’s simple. It’s for humans and devils. The name comes from the fact
it’s not common for them to come here except under special circumstances.”
“So…for example, what about the grave you are sitting on?”
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“Get off. Right now.”
shovel threatening them into obedience.
they placed their feet on the ground and sighed deeply.
“Why is what?”
enemy right? Why did your companions have to bury it so courteously?”
wanted to sit quickly. No, that wasn’t right. Even though he’d seen their child-like
“Do you remember that those things are immortal?”
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what we call life. Just like the words suggest, they are undead. Even if you cut
back to life…”
Reading the change in their expression, Crow continued. “Right, it’s strange right?
we are burying enemies that somehow cannot die… Of course, just because we
Muoru was silent.
Hunters certainly fought with the demons. However, they couldn’t exactly finish
But for example, if the humans from ages ago were able to wield the same type of
rifles, then I think mankind then would have had the same access to the
That’s right, Crow had definitely said that in their previous conversation. They had
civilization.
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they won’t be able to seize anyone or anything. But that’s the best we can do.
With a face full of remorse, Crow bit their lip.
something the other day about how people were able to acquire a method to
“Ah, yeah, that method is at your feet now.”
you heard of a method to destroy them?”
on the ground.
constrict them you’ll be able to prevent them from moving. But even if you try to
their confinement and resume their slaughter.
Hole 2
“…so you’re saying after the burial they can’t come back to life?” Muoru asked,
Crow nodded and gave a weak smile.
buried in a graveyard,’ has been asked before, I don’t know. Even great scholars
bodies we don’t understand.
some sort of story that says they came from the moon. The guy who first tried to
something.”
said laughingly at Crow, even though the child-like person had a mysterious,
Scribbling on the ground with their pinky, Crow answered. “Well, this is just my
grudge then maybe the things tied up here would be unable to reanimate.”
“You’re not shaken are you?”
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Crow lifted their face and puffed out their soft-looking cheeks.
adult wouldn’t say. “Well…even if their power is sealed that doesn’t mean they
land that has been protected by humans, and has continued to serve as the
eternal prison of those things.
Remembering his discomfort, Muoru asked, “Well, by any chance is this not a
Crow laughed. “Yeah, it’s one important place. And of course, there are other
because this task is so important that insurance is necessary. If there were only
demons would come back to life and there would be nothing we could do.
people are prohibited from entering to protect them from entering without any
Hole 2
That makes sense, maybe that’s why no one seems to be visiting the graves here.
decreasing his chances of finding a clue as to how to escape. Still…
currently concerned with something else. “Until probably a hundred or so years
that’s true, then why were people unaware of these monsters’ existence? At the
dark.”
a hasty promise.
rapidly than in the past. One thing that’s interesting is the demons seem to
luring out humans, they don’t appear before them at all.
increasing. So you could say that them not dying is some kind of weakness- Take
they are probably quite weak, right?”
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Crow’s analogy was indeed quite easy to understand, so the boy above the moles
Strictly speaking, the military forces composed of humans and the monsters were
both be unable to revive themselves. And soon after that it would be obvious that
“Yeah, it’s that, “Crow continued. “After all the effort it took to decrease the
developed and now even if the sun sets standard activities are able to continue.
an effect on industry and economy. So as a result, the countries thought it was
Muoru, still not persuaded, had been biting his lip. Crow then continued their
“So don’t think it’s a lie that the world completely didn’t know.”
“Well, let me ask, how was the first night you came to this graveyard? You
Hole 2
“Well about that…it’s because when I was a child my mother, terrible aunt or
of graveyards at night, ghosts, evil spirits…zombies and things like that.”
seems that the stories involving the devils have changed a bit in the same way as
Then Crow giggled.
can dig holes in a graveyard, without that person losing their sanity. And if that
“Qualities?”
drawing near, the quality of having strong nerves. To put it simply…they’re
“I’m not tough or anything like that,” the boy said flatly.
have to be modest.”
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tough then I wouldn’t be…” Muoru cut himself off and looked away.
“What…what are you saying?”
look on his face the boy stubbornly kept his mouth closed. He didn’t show his true
In the end Crow got angrier and stuck out their extremely red tongue in the boy’s
“You’re an idiot mole-kun! Trying to look better than you really are!” Crow
appeared, Crow abruptly went away.
graveyard as the sun reached high-noon.
that instead of song lyrics, more and more sighs were spilling from his lips.
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military, even though it was just a bunch of assholes relying solely on their
However, his confidence in his toughness had been rapidly fading since he had
to tell the childlike Crow not to misunderstand.
-The existence of these monsters had begun to take away his sanity.
found…
It’s understandable, Muoru thought, trying to interpret his own emotions.
foothold in escaping from this place.
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friend – he felt that he’d been able to converse quite successfully. But since then
he fruitlessly spun his wheels, or he was crashing into the girl’s words of rejection.
been mostly unable to tell him the things he wanted to hear, which Muoru
“Why does she only show her face at night?” “What specifically does a grave
face and shook her head.
that, perhaps she hates me. However if that were true she’d probably avoid
come when she’ll talk to me right? Would that day really come?
Good grief, who did Crow say was tough?
then he probably wouldn’t have gone into a state where he couldn’t calm down
Hole 2
Anyway, though he hadn’t received an answer from the girl’s lips about
her life. Plus he had learned a bunch of other miscellaneous facts too, such as she
However, in the end she still wasn’t his friend. And they never agreed on a
So as a result, when it became night Muoru went out looking for her in the
Maybe it was inefficient, but strange as it was, the time he was searching for her
Even the graveyard, which in the beginning had been terribly frightening at night,
him to be able to walk. Humans’ power to adapt is incredible.
sight of the gravestones and trees extending seemingly forever outward, he was
growing roughly in the center of the graveyard. While remaining conscious of how
walked about the graveyard, he was unable to find her.
legs got tired, he was suddenly struck with an idea. He called out to Depphen who
Hole 2
“You’ve got a good nose don’t you? Wouldn’t it be great if you helped me
He was only half-joking when he made the request, but after a while he thought
darkness. With a start, the boy followed after him.
It seemed like she was hiding in the shadow of the roots, but she didn’t seem to
five men to encircle it. And the exposed roots were just thick enough to hide her
He felt calling out to her as she sat there would be the first time he’d ever
Perhaps she’s always been the one looking for me, the boy thought, imagining
Muoru purposefully made a lot of noise with his shoes as he approached and the
“Yo, what are you doing?”
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trying to hide one of their mistakes.
covered by her coat and she was hiding something behind them with both of her
…
With the two of them in those positions, the extremely awkward silence
though it was a common story, the thing the girl was desperately concealing only
forcibly lifted up her legs.
He didn’t know whether or not she’d run out of patience with him as he stood
from under her knees.
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Besides the color it had the imperfect spherical form of a peach and near the top
looked like nothing more than some kind of bad fruit but…
knock, he had a recollection.
military clothing fell backwards.
could see the man’s heart stubbornly beating.
part beneath the teeth marks looked just the same as that heart. Completely…it
…Was it like a part of something?
However, Meria with her head hung said in a small voice, “I can’t…”
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she meant. Basically, after a week of hearing her use it in response to various
The intention behind the refusal stood in his way like a deep chasm which he was
go to her side he realized that no matter how much dirt he threw into the empty
Meria brought the black fruit back to her lips, moving extremely slowly as if the
Looking at the girl’s plain mouth, Muoru asked, “Is it good?”
she slowly shook her head.
the compliment that she always exhibited good social graces, this was the first
‘Are you bothered by my being here?’ –, He was thinking about asking, but when
word.”
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…But even though he understood it, to actually have it confirmed made his weak
Leaning his back against the trunk of the tree, the boy was at a loss.
side.
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There were flies flying about the waterside.
he’d seen insects since he came to the graveyard, which was a little surprising.
been a day where he didn’t see flies.
had forgotten the person who’d said that, but certainly a large family in the
When it came to the military, the excrement from people and horses, the large
that didn’t lack in feed for the insects. Incidentally, other than digging trenches,
responsibilities.
camps were also visited by village merchants who had purchased permits from
The man sent from the merchant’s guild had a horse-cart fully-loaded with luxury
bulletproofing charms, sunglasses, and changes of undergarments, all of which
Hole 2
The days that were particularly hectic were immediately after paydays or on days
flood of rough, uncultured guys to break out into scuffles, so the MPs1
dispatched to prevent the fist fights and force people into lines.
clients were certainly men, the horse carts also had other products like perfumes
on the cart some even sold various clothing accessories.
and use these products. But one day that mystery was solved when he stumbled
smile, his superior had bought some earrings. Then he walked right from the
Of course, buying a permit in order to sell merchandise during a military campaign
the “Heroine guild”2
the material the soldiers used.
merchandise as a way to woo a sweetheart or something.
Military Police
Brothel
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and even if it did Muoru was broke. Plus, he couldn’t imagine Meria getting
Well, that may just be a problem with my imagination.
his military allowance to buy envelopes or a little bit of alcohol, understood that
And hearing about his troubles, Crow added, “The heart of a skeleton”.
inability to close the distance between him and Meria, and the seemingly
The more he thought about it afterwards, the more he thought he’d made a
who was the type of human who seemed to jump up with all their energy if they
“So that’s it… that was what you refused to tell me earlier,” Crow hummed out
come to me about this earlier. This mole has become interested in the opposite
Hole 2
Well Crow seems to be in high spirits.
close to Meria precisely because he needed a way to escape, nothing more and
was clear as day that he would become even more of a target for teasing. Though
continue in this way.
example, if it was me who had their hair complimented, I’d be happy.”
Resisting the desire to retort that way, Muoru instead did a mental simulation.
things he could compliment her on. And of course because it was his imagination,
you Muoru. It makes me so happy to hear that.
Crow directed a look full of sympathy at the boy frowning alone.
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never met her, but somehow she seems like a rather difficult person.”
unreasonable, so stop it.” Maybe he was in fact a good guy, Muoru thought,
…somehow it seems like even I’m really giving up.
sense. In other words, maybe the girl has the heart of a skeleton.”
Crow’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and like a hypnotist they spoke in a way that was
“Look, try to imagine the interior of a skeleton’s left breast. Flesh and organs
Crow abruptly closed both of their hands together, as if right before giving a
“It’s hollow,” Crow continued.
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“What are you talking about?”
Crow placed a hand to their chest and spoke in a mysteriously serious tone.
when hearing something wonderful or shocking? Right, if I were to guess, those
…But the girl you’re thinking about, she doesn’t seem to have that kind of feeling.
like as if she didn’t have one.”
“Ah hey, hey, don’t feel down like that. This is nothing more than my own,
“…If that’s true, then great. But really, I get the feeling that it’s useless no matter
Hole 2
Laughing at the boy’s timidity, Crow said, “Well, let’s confirm whether the girl has
“Huh?”
a skeleton” should have just been an analogy. Yet Crow had just said they should
“Yes, so close your eyes,” Crow said and Muoru unconsciously obeyed.
left breast. Under her clothes, her undergarments, her skin, her flesh, her bones,
may ask? Well, it’s simple. Touch her directly with the palm of your hand, and if
and expose the swell of her chest you may love it…”
Crow grinned and pointed at Muoru’s face.
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perverted.”3
he covered up the area beneath his nose with his hand, which only made Crow
“Wow, how amusing. This is the first time you’ve responded to me like this, Molekun!”
…Well, there was no one else who seemed to be able to discuss Meria with him.
understand his compliments. That being the case, at least he should worry about
currently Muoru couldn’t make any other decision.
have originally been used to give water to the horses.
In Japan there is a pseudo belief that thinking lewd thoughts will cause a nosebleed (this is prevalent in anime).
nosebleed, which is why Muoru covers the area under his nose in the next line.
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water and dumped it on his head. In the middle of the uncirculated reservoir
bucket back into the water and repeated the action.
problem waking his absentminded face.
basis,” Crow had said earlier while handing over a razor for him to shave with. “At
matter how much you don’t display your true behavior, there won’t be any girl
It was completely none of Crow’s business. Then again, were there actually
Grumbling complaints about the insinuating Crow, Muoru nevertheless shaved his
In the distance the east sky was starting to brighten, but the sun still hadn’t
Although it was a good idea to put on clothes after drying up, he felt a little lost
Hole 2
He still had time before he had to start working. However, after making the effort
him towards the graveyard.
went to bed before her so he didn’t even know what time she left the graveyard.
mind. But then even if they did run into each other, he had no idea what they
As he traveled from the graveyard to the stable, there was no way he could miss
fence, but this time he could hear water coming from about where the small
Ordinarily he would have been on the verge of thinking it was someone watering
had no shrubbery at all.
So, he light-heartedly went around to the back.
Hole 2
She was kneeling at the center of the garden on a nook paved with concrete. To
hose was plugged into the faucet, and her white arm was holding that hose
poured out and washed over her whole body. And her appearance from
Just before dawn, in a world still showing signs of darkness, the girl was washing
…Isn’t this strange? The boy was confused.
And that dripping wet light brown hair clung to her white skin.
Hole 2
Hole 2
…Strange, it was a contradiction…Why despite that slender figure…why with that
“Muoru…?”
turned to look at him over her shoulder. The completely defenseless girl’s line of
Then the girl tossed away the hose and covered her small chest. The girl lowered
elbow, and other places.
The next moment, a terrible growl erupted from the thicket and the dog jumped
saying his apology, the boy ran away.
moved his legs.
Hole 2
He wasn’t sure about that, but there was one thing he knew wasn’t a mistake.
hate him even more.
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The graveyard prisoner dug holes.
The size of the holes were designated and marked by four cuts in the ground. But
Maybe it was some kind of mistake, he thought, as he looked around the ground
Being at the edge of the mass graveyard, the gravestones surrounding him
housing complex; here the graves were sporadically placed.
Rapping on the shovel on his shoulder, the boy glared at the ridiculous single
rivet and looked up…
Hole 2
At that moment he finally noticed the second rivet cut into the ground, but it was
to check. Strangely, it was placed at the distance where the third or fourth rivet
double the size of the first hole he’d made to bury that giant headed monster.
Then he grew terrified. …how big is this one that it needs to be buried in a hole
Not only did he realize the time and effort it would require, he also understood
monster would have to be smaller than the hole he was going to make, the hole
“The monsters have infinite variations of size, but what they share in common is
as he tried to get to work. Was Crow and the people they were with planning to
they would have to pray for safety since by Crow’s own admission the monsters
Sighing, Muoru stabbed his shovel into the ground and lifted out his first scoop of
another scoop, scoop, scoop, scoop…
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grew dark the hole wasn’t even halfway finished.
After all the effort he made that morning to wash away the dirt at the reservoir,
was a prisoner, now he felt like his condition was some kind of punishment. But if
That was a false charge. I didn’t really do anything bad. He touched his chest with
At the same time, he felt a part of himself unintentionally harden.
criminal.
Without a doubt, the first thing out of his mouth should be an apology. What he
With that resolve, he went back to the reservoir and washed up. However, it
his fingers, and so no matter how much water he poured on his body, he could
on his head over and over again like some kind of religious ascetic.
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the familiar orange lamplight floating in the dark of the night. It approached him
Good, maybe she’s not that mad.
him.
Muoru made no move to draw closer.
“…”
apologize. Muoru tried to open his mouth but before he could say anything Meria
“For a little while, don’t come out at night.”
feeling relieved.
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Meria, whose face was wrapped by her hood, shook her head. “I’m not mad.”
boy.
walk. I heard some water and it caught my interest then…No really, I didn’t intend
Muoru’s face was turning red. Halfway through his explanation his words had
trying to say. It was like he had the demeanor of an elementary school child.
to reach the girl.
no means go outside. Please, I’m begging you….”
fingers. And in that grip she did nothing but plead for him to remain inside, over
Hole 2
So not having a choice, for the days after that Muoru would return to digging the
mind worrying endlessly as he stared at the crumbling tattered wall to pass the
He had no idea how long the girl had meant by “for a while” but she had only said
If what he thought was true then just as the words “for a while” implied, soon the
…but for two or three days nothing could be done about his body itching with
excuse had once again begun to make its presence felt inside his mind. And the
even though he didn’t feel like he could properly say what he wanted to her,
Then one night he unexpectedly heard the dog’s howls coming from the direction
Unable to relax for some reason, Muoru tried leaving the stable.
changes in the two days he’d stayed in at night.
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The boy tried gently rubbing his arms. He’d gotten used to the graveyard at night,
…it is probably just my imagination.
deceived by misapprehension.
phenomenon where the ground shakes, Muoru thought the area seemed to be
giant tsunami rise over the horizon. Within that wave were a swarm of possibly
attack.
something. No. Whatever the feeling was foretelling, it was going to happen soon.
to wait completely still until the morningMaybe
Hole 2
Right after thinking that, Muoru ran out of the stable and rushed towards the
than ordinary. On the sloping, wide ground the ground was sprinkled not with
area was shrouded in darkness.
He wasn’t very skilled at climbing trees, but if he were able to climb it then he’d
But when he finally arrived at the root of the tree out of breath….he saw it.
seeing.
with a creature that wasn’t something you saw in the everyday world. The first
bound hand and foot and buried.
In front of his eyes now was an extremely gigantic sack of flesh.
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folded over flesh resembled the head of an octopus…but octopuses didn’t come
two story building.
Or as Crow said, a devil. Or as the gravekeeper girl said, The Dark. And this one
But this was different from that time. This time, it wasn’t bound or anything like
by eight legs with suction cups…no its legs were harder, just like a beetle’s, and
The tip of each leg abnormally tapered to a sharp point and looked like a claw,
things like a rough and bony claw anywhere on its body. And as for the number,
flesh, all wriggling restlessly like the legs of a centipede.
creature of the natural world.
Hole 2
Muoru forgot to breathe.
each other.
slender body, which in front of that monstrous giant beast looked terribly tiny.
expression she always had on her face.
Run, he tried to say, but his voice wouldn’t come out.
The leg wagged side to side like a reptile’s tongue, the end equipped with its
Then… the girl’s left hand twirled over and over in the air like the tip of a broken
There was a feeble, tiny scream.
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still pierced Muoru’s eardrums.
Meria’s body. Her screams soon disappeared. There was a claw stabbed through
claws were stabbing through her right arm, her left thigh, and through her
Then the monster used those four extended legs to lift her up into the air.
couldn’t hold it in, a large amount of the red liquid spilled out from the lower half
The monster shook the helpless girl in the air and hurled her body to the ground.
her inseam, allowing her abdomen and entrails to spill out from her body like a
monster had just crushed a fruit full of juice. And on the earth her intestines
Meria…
She was sobbing.
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terrible injuries like those. Of course, it wouldn’t be strange for them to die
…but despite all that, the girl stood.
straightened up and her legs stood firm.
The guts that had spilled out of her torn abdomen wriggled like worms and
been hanging outside her body was once again inside her body, the grievous
stopping the bleeding.
assault rolled across to her body as if pulled by a magnet. It then crawled up her
complete arms. It was as if she was a doll and her hand and body were being
Witnessing that unbelievable spectacle made Muoru recall the words Crow had
suggest, they are undead. Even if you cut them, burn them or chop them into very
Hole 2
Meria was pierced multiple times, and her body was split apart. And each time
arms and legs, her scooped out organs, her split apart torso, and her smashed-in
injury she received, it couldn’t kill her. However, like someone who took pleasure
its slaughter on Meria for what seemed like forever.
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on forever, the unnatural monster continued to ravage Meria’s body. It seemed
seemed to be gradually weakening…
Its moving legs were decreasing.
sprouting out, but now more than half were not moving. One by one the legs that
But they weren’t stopping randomly. In fact, looking closer it seemed like the legs
He had no idea why, but as for the facts: the girl approached and whenever the
and hang loosely as if the nerves inside had been severed. Gradually the
support its mass. And when the mass of flesh crumbled to the ground, it caused a
Hole 2
If this were what was normally considered a fight, then it would only be natural
the girl. If the monster had been confronting Muoru, even if they fought a million
difference in strength between the girl and the monster.
plant stem; in fact its body was weakening bit by bit. It was like a rock, weathered
Of course, since it was a giant, the speed in which it weakened was terribly slow.
The chunk of folded flesh, larger than any kind of statue, now couldn’t even
moving, though it was strange to say, it seemed to look despondent and
Covered in blood despite not having a wound on her body, Meria slowly, with the
flesh with her right hand.
his eyes, but, it did become quiet. So quiet, it was like the world had stopped.
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limp with fatigue. She took ragged, deep breaths over and over again. And even
profile now looked like a corpse.
The boy didn’t try to hide the sound of his footsteps.
them back.
to understand her if she’d sobbed on him like a child.
…The only thing he could think of was getting closer to her.
If he’d shouted, “run” that monster would probably have turned its weapons on
shout – why he didn’t shout. And really, there was nothing wrong with that
Hole 2
He painfully regretted what he did, but it was difficult to excuse himself for
really didn’t intend to run.
The girl’s expression as she held back the tears was harder than any kind of mask,
and Muoru was unsure wh