Chapter 125: Boohoo, I’m Not Clean!

Of course, it could also be that, like the plants in the Disaster Forest, they are pretending to be dead while actually looking for opportunities to ambush, or perhaps this part just can’t move freely, so it’s better not to jump to “harmless” conclusions for now.

“Come take a look.”

This **protruding section isn’t particularly high, only about waist-high for Vilyric, so even she could easily see the scene inside.

Thin wisps of gray mist drifted outward, emanating from deep within the flower-shaped structure—a round, pitch-black pipe about a meter in diameter.

This thing should be similar to that strange parasite we found in the bodies of those three adventurers in Yaniro City, extending countless tentacles from a single host, with these tunnels being the ends of those tentacles.

If they are essentially all “Disasters,” then there’s plenty of basis for this hypothesis; the only difference being that the former are parasitic to humans or magical beasts, while here, something is spreading like a gigantic entity across the entire island.

Currently, Vilyric has two choices.

She could, like in the Disaster Forest, break through the ground with brute force, or directly enter this pipe in reverse. If she’s correct, the Abyss Beasts born inside the island probably emerged through a similar route.

These tunnels likely act as both breathing holes and exit points, making the island itself more like a massive Abyss Beast production machine.

To verify this hypothesis, the simplest method…

The Black-haired Girl turned back and grinned.

“Shall we go?”

“Huh? Where are we… Hey!”

Just as a bad feeling surfaced in her mind, before Sigrid could finish her sentence, a certain Priestess took the liberty of stepping right onto the edge of the tunnel and then leaped in!

Whoosh, the Black-haired Girl’s figure vanished before everyone’s eyes.

Following right after her, the Little Dragon Daughter, who hadn’t changed her expression throughout, also jumped in without hesitation, followed by the slightly hesitant, yet still brisk, Leila and Renée.

These few wholeheartedly and absolutely trusted Vilyric.

Watching the girls jump one by one into the tunnel, Sigrid exchanged glances with the priests beside her, swallowing hard.

“Are we really jumping in…?”

The beauty named Leona, seemingly the leader among the four priests, could only nod helplessly.

“It does indeed seem to be the only option. Since Miss Vilyric dares to lead, she must have confirmed its safety, right? Are you scared, little Sigrid? This isn’t like you!”

“Gah… It’s not about being scared! It’s just that… that thing looks… looks…”

“?”

The priests exchanged puzzled glances, seemingly not understanding what this usually carefree girl, who feared nothing, was trembling over.

“Since we’ve come this far, there’s no turning back. How about we jump first and test the waters for you?”

Leona kindly suggested, but it seemed her voice didn’t reach Sigrid, who had plunged into inexplicable anxiety… or perhaps embarrassment, and then she snapped.

“Ahhhh, whatever! I’m jumping too!!!”

Wrapping her body with white wings, the girl tilted her foot and tumbled in with a strange posture into the not-so-wide tunnel.

“…?”

“Is she okay? Is she feeling unwell or did she get hurt while crossing through the Fog of Death?”

One female priest looked worriedly at the spot where Sigrid had disappeared, while Leona, though just as baffled, shook her head without hesitation.

“She should be fine. Little Sigrid has been under my watch. If it were serious, she wouldn’t hide it… Anyway, let’s be careful and stay alert. None of us have been here before, so anything could happen.”

“I just hope… everything goes smoothly. This Magic Island gives me a sense of unease like my hairs are standing on end.”

…

The tunnel was far longer than Vilyric had anticipated; even though she wasn’t plunging straight down at a 90-degree angle, she slid for nearly half a minute before finally touching solid ground again.

The fog seeping from the pipe wasn’t much, but some sticky liquid clinging to the pipe walls was a bit nauseating. However, with the protection from the Feather Garb of Glarya, she didn’t have to worry about getting it on her.

If she guessed correctly, this should be something akin to the bodily fluid of a large organism, meaning the place where she was standing was indeed inside the bizarre creature that was parasitizing the entire floating island.

Before the Priestess could properly observe her surroundings, several figures leaped out one after another from the pipe she had just exited.

It was the Little Dragon Daughter Xiao Guang and Vilyric’s two small feathered attendants.

“Are you okay, Master?”

“Mm.”

Even during the descent, Vilyric had sensed several entities sliding quickly behind her. To be honest, she didn’t really know what the situation was down here, whether it was safe, which is why she decided to be the first to test it out, given her strong survival skills.

But it looked like the pipe was indeed just a transport mechanism; there didn’t seem to be any traps or mechanisms inside, and even the fog was simply what seeped out from the layers below.

The Little Dragon Daughter had a protective effect similar to dragon scales, so she wouldn’t be affected by the sticky liquid in the pipe, but Leila and Renée weren’t so fortunate. Their snow-white wings and hair were covered in slime, and they were both looking distressed as they tried to clean each other off.

“What about Sigrid? Didn’t she come with you…”

“Plop.”

With a strange splashing sound, the drenched white-haired girl tumbled out in a mess.

Compared to the Leila and Renée sisters, she clearly had it worse—perhaps due to her armor, the bulkiness led to her wings being more tightly compacted when she wrapped herself up, making it worse.

Her entire wings were practically soaked through, looking like a rat that fell into water, with even her ponytail glued to her head, forlornly squatting on the ground in her original position after rolling out, looking as pitiful as a scorned spouse.

“Ha…”

Because Sigrid’s appearance was simply too comical, a certain unprincipled Priestess finally couldn’t hold back and covered her mouth with a chuckle.

Like she suddenly found an outlet for her frustration, the leading girl sprang up, angrily launching a series of soft punches, covered in sticky goo, aimed at the Priestess’s nearly barren chest!

“Vilyric, you’re still laughing! It’s all your fault for suggesting this horrible idea to come down here! I’m not clean anymore! How am I supposed to find a partner in the future! Boohoo!!!”

“Ha… Hahaha~!”

   

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