Third Floor

In an instant of climbing the stairs, I arrived in another hell—a marshland. The air was thick with moisture and the smell of rotting vegetables. I was up to my ankles in mud, with both girls slumped over my shoulders.

Luna was unconscious, but Kiki… I could hear her muttering something. This entire place was a death trap. I could tell that the terrain beneath the mud and water was uneven.

Where I was standing, the mud was up to my ankles, but in other places, entire trees were submerged in the water. One wrong move, and I could be sinking; having these two to support made things even worse.

To make matters even more urgent, I heard what sounded like some kind of explosion followed by the roar of something monstrous.

This kind of terrain wasn't fit for fighting. Luckily, there were a few trees that were relatively high up. From atop the tree, I could identify where the sound was coming from, but I couldn't see who was making it.