Chapter 504: The End of the Great Grassland of Beginnings 3

The End of the Great Grassland of Beginnings 3

* * *

“What are you doing!?”

Kalamaruyu, his arms and legs bound by thick vines, was lifted into the air, as if he were being crucified.

The other four are in the same situation.

The vines binding them are thick and hard… there’s no way they can break free with human strength.

Kalamaruyu, unable to move, tried to calmly assess the situation, but he couldn’t help but ask Shimegamamo, who had transformed into a monster, in a trembling voice.

“A divine revelation… has been bestowed upon me.”

“D-Divine revelation?”

“The ‘final journey’… is about to begin.”

Shimegamamo, in response, said something incomprehensible, with a big smile on her face.

A truly cheerful smile.

“What… divine revelation… you idiot… Just untie these vines already…”

Saint Ad, who has currently exhausted her power, is pale.

Barely breathing, all she can do is complain.

“Intruder, I can’t do that… You’ll have to stay like that for one night. But rejoice, for now that my clan’s mission is about to be accomplished, there’s no need to kill you.”

“Huh?”

Shimegamamo, still smiling, said something incomprehensible to Saint Ad as well.

And then she turned back to Kalamaruyu, and was about to walk towards him… but she tripped.

She couldn’t properly control the legs she had created with vines.

“Hmm.”

Shimegamamo thought for a moment, and stopped trying to imitate human form.

She untied the vines that were her legs, and then… grew countless vines on her lower body, like an octopus, or maybe a jellyfish.

Those countless vines, so densely packed that they look like a skirt from a distance, moved at Shimegamamo’s will, easily lifting her body.

“And rejoice, brother-in-law! There’s no longer any need to interfere with your wish!”

Shimegamamo, moving her countless vines, glided across the ground, looked into Kalamaruyu’s face, hanging in the air, and said that happily.

“H-Huh? Eh?”

Shimegamamo, affectionately stroked Kalamaruyu’s forehead with a vine, as he was too stunned to comprehend the situation.

“A peaceful… Yes, truly a peaceful ending.”

And then, with a slightly lonely look on her face, she muttered—

“Now then, farewell, brother-in-law! May a pleasant wind blow across the grassland… of the future that you will create!”

And lastly, after giving him her blessings, she moved her vines, which were acting as her legs, and slammed them on the ground.

“Wah!?”

“Wha!?”

“Hih!?”

“Hey!?”

“…!!”

And then, the vines restraining Kalamaruyu, the three brothers, and Saint Ad in the air—transformed further, creating spheres that completely enveloped their bodies.

“When the sun rises tomorrow, these cages will be undone. Until then, sleep peacefully.”

Shimegamamo said that to the five ‘cages’, swaying in the air, as if the people inside were panicking.

And then she turned her back on the cages, moved her countless vines, and started moving through the Great Grassland of Beginnings, at an incredible speed.

* * *

After traveling for a while, she reached her clan’s hidden village, located in the depths of the Great Grassland of Beginnings.

There are several houses here, built with piled-up white stones, but currently, the only one living here is Shimegamamo.

There’s no one to question her monstrous form.

“…………”

So Shimegamamo, unhindered, went straight to the building she was looking for.

It’s a huge, cylindrical building, located in the center of the hidden village.

It has no windows, only a single, large, metal door.

And on that door is a crest—depicting flowers, leaves, and vines… and that crest, which normally glows red, is currently flashing green.

“Just like the legends said.”

Shimegamamo, confirming the green light emitted by the crest, muttered that, stood before the door, and chanted the spell that was passed down to her from her father.

“‘PASSWORD’!”

And then… what kind of supernatural phenomenon is this?

The metal door, hearing the string of meaningless sounds—emitted a high-pitched, yet gentle sound—

‘Password confirmed’,

…And spoke in a woman’s voice that Shimegamamo had never heard before!

WHOOSH!

And then, the door slid open smoothly.

“…………”

Shimegamamo, without any fear, entered the building.

And then, as if some kind of sensor detected her entry, the green magic lamps embedded in the floor, in a single line, automatically lit up, creating a path of light in the pitch-black room.

“I see, it’s guiding me.”

The path of light leads to a spiral staircase in the center of the building, beckoning Shimegamamo to go down to the basement.

Shimegamamo, without hesitation, followed the guidance, skillfully moving her countless vines, and slid down to the basement.

* * *

And then, reaching the bottom floor—

The moment she passed through the large, automatic door… the entire room was filled with light.

Suddenly exposed to daytime-like brightness, Shimegamamo flinched, her eyes narrowing, and she stopped moving, but only for a few seconds.

She quickly looked around the room, and—

“…Ooh…”

Overwhelmed with emotion, she involuntarily let out a voice.

This is her clan’s sacred ground.

What’s here is the treasure, passed down through her clan, which they were ordered to protect until the time comes.

…And it was also the wedge that has been binding Shimegamamo’s life.

It… no, they are… five giant test tubes, with countless pipes and cords, extending from the ceiling to the floor, connected to them.

But four of them, lined up in a row, are already empty.

Therefore, what Shimegamamo needs is the last remaining test tube—on the far right.

That test tube is filled with a faintly glowing, pale blue liquid, and inside it…

A young man’s body, with a well-proportioned, beautiful physique… and light purple hair, is floating.

His eyes are tightly closed.