Sugar Dark Chapter 2

Hole 2: Grave Keeper
Chapter 1
By any measure Muoru’s singing ability was seriously lacking.
Alone as he swung his shovel, Muoru sang a smattering of songs, from things like
popular tunes he’d heard on the radio to bits from his marching chants. And since
no one could hear him, he sang the words the way he wanted; that is, his voice
was off key and sometimes he would even make up words.
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Though his voice was loud, it seemed to disappear into the uninhabited
graveyard.
The singing was his only comfort, helping him to forget his dislike of the idea that
he would have to toil with these corpses forever. And though he was continuing
to dig holes, he was in good spirits, as if he had returned to the past, more
specifically, the condition he’d been in one month ago.
The only things he was lacking compared to that time were people to harmonize
with and a helmet.
He had started to get used to his short shovel and the collar that could not be
parted from his neck, but now he started to notice the lightness at the top of his
head.
No matter what I do, it’s obvious that I’ll probably never get my hands on a
helmet.
At a glance it did not seem to be a necessity in this quiet graveyard. Plus if he
wanted to protect himself from that monster, an iron helmet probably wouldn’t
be enough. But for some reason Muoru really liked that headgear. It brought back
memories such as the first time him and his fellow young soldiers, all around the
same age and rank, had touched a rifle and boasted about future heroism. Now
looking back on that event with slightly disillusioned eyes, he remembered he’d
worn a helmet that entire day and even as he slept.
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Since then, particularly during a military operation, he was never apart from his
helmet even if there wasn’t an enemy within the surrounding ten kilometer
perimeter. Admittedly, Muoru understood it was a bit strange to feel that way,
but perhaps there was hope and a sense of security that came from the helmet
protecting the most important part of the human body. After he became a grave
digger he tore a sheet into pieces and wrapped it around his head in efforts to
prevent heatstroke. But that thin cloth was completely unsatisfactory.
“Mr. Prisoner, thank you for your hard work.” Coming from behind Muoru’s back,
the old man’s voice cut into Muoru’s song. “You seem to be alright even though
you’ve seen those things.”
Completely as if he were inspecting the administering of a medicine in an animal
experiment, Daribedor looked Muoru over with his small eyes.
Muoru slightly scowled. His right leg was wrapped with a seemingly yellowing and
dirty bandage imbued with the bodily fluids oozing out from his wound…
Then he recalled the girl who lay under his arms after he’d knocked her down in a
panic.
“Far from it, actually you’re increasingly working harder. That’s good.”
“Well, it’s not like I’m not curious,” Muoru said. Then trying to insert a slight
probe into his words he continued, “For example those things… where did they
come from?”
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“Where….that’s another philosophical question.” The old man’s mouth twisted,
one could even say he made an unsightly smile. “You probably wouldn’t ask
questions like ‘where do humans come from’. Isn’t this the same kind of
question?”
“Mostly from a woman’s stomach,” Muoru jested, but Mr. Daribedor was not
amused in the slightest.
Not even trying to hide his displeasure, Mr. Daribedor started to return to the
mansion, saying the following, “Well, I understand why you’re not afraid of them.
It’s because of those people who frequently appear at night. Though it may be
disappointing, it is much better to refrain from excessively going out at night. It
would be a problem for this place if you were killed after all the work you’ve
done.”
….Crow as usual liked sitting on top of gravestones. And after hearing the story
about Daribedor from Muoru, they giggled mockingly.
“That old man is terrible. It’s like, no matter how many people are employed to
dig holes, once they become unable to deal with the devils, they soon become
useless.”
Reaching the limits of his endurance, Muoru readily ignored Crow’s meaningful
leer and asked, “Do you know each other?”
Crow shrugged and answered, “Well, honestly speaking, I hate that man. Be that
as it may, he’d take care of us in this graveyard if you and I were to die.”
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“…what do you mean?”
“What, I didn’t say? Even people who know about the devils’ existence are able to
be buried here.”
Muoru slightly hesitated, his questions piling on top of another. “Wait! Aren’t
only monsters buried here?”
“What are you saying Mole-kun? Isn’t what you are digging now human-sized?”
…that was exactly right.
He had dug multiple graves, but since the burial of the monster, none had been
designated to be as large. After hearing how strong the big monsters were, he
didn’t feel like it was a worthy to question to ask if the smaller ones were more
peaceful.
Crow continued, “Why in the world do you think this place is called a “Ma.s.s”
graveyard? It’s simple. It’s for humans and devils. The name comes from the fact
that their two incompatible existences are both buried here…but as for humans,
it’s not common for them to come here except under special circ.u.mstances.”
A non-childlike, sarcastic smile spread across Crow’s face.
“So…for example, what about the grave you are sitting on?”
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“Yup, I think this is a human grave.”
“Get off. Right now.”
“Haw…” Crow pouted, making a commotion with their feet, until Muoru raised his
shovel threatening them into obedience.
“Ah, you’re such a good guy. You don’t seem like a prisoner at all,” Crow said as
they placed their feet on the ground and sighed deeply.
“Why is that?”
“Why is what?”
“It seems strange. To borrow your words, those monsters are mankind’s natural
enemy right? Why did your companions have to bury it so courteously?”
Having lost their seat, Crow sat cross legged on the ground. Like a child they
wanted to sit quickly. No, that wasn’t right. Even though he’d seen their child-like
appearance many times, sometimes when they spoke he completely forgot.
“Do you remember that those things are immortal?”
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“Ah,” Muoru nodded. Crow had definitely said that. “These things do not have
what we call life. Just like the words suggest, they are undead. Even if you cut
them, burn them or chop them into very small pieces, like a joke they will come
back to life…”
Gradually the boy noticed the uncomfortable feeling with those words.
Reading the change in their expression, Crow continued. “Right, it’s strange right?
Burials are courtesies you conduct for dead things. Yet, in spite of that, in this land
we are burying enemies that somehow cannot die… Of course, just because we
give them a memorial service doesn’t mean we sympathize with them.”
Muoru was silent.
“Before you guessed that ‘hunters’ exterminated those demons. That’s right.
Hunters certainly fought with the demons. However, they couldn’t exactly finish
the job.
But for example, if the humans from ages ago were able to wield the same type of
power that “demon hunters” had when they hunted down these monsters with
rifles, then I think mankind then would have had the same access to the
prosperity humans have now.”
That’s right, Crow had definitely said that in their previous conversation. They had
said that the monster’s existence was an obstacle to the advancement of
civilization.
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“As humans we can’t kill those things. Well, if they are bound head and foot then
they won’t be able to seize anyone or anything. But that’s the best we can do.
Unfortunately…”
With a face full of remorse, Crow bit their lip.
“Wait, isn’t that exactly why it’s strange?” Muoru interjected. “Didn’t you say
something the other day about how people were able to acquire a method to
defeat these monsters?”
“Ah, yeah, that method is at your feet now.”
“So, the beasts buried underneath this graveyard are allegedly immortal. Haven’t
you heard of a method to destroy them?”
“You don’t get it huh? Hey look at this.” As if playing in a sandbox, Crow rapped
on the ground.
“There’s something more to these things than just having a physical body. If you
constrict them you’ll be able to prevent them from moving. But even if you try to
drown them in water or bury them in a hole, eventually they will break out from
their confinement and resume their slaughter.
Then it seems that one day someone tried burying them in a human grave. “
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“…so you’re saying after the burial they can’t come back to life?” Muoru asked,
finally picking up on what Crow was saying.
Crow nodded and gave a weak smile.
“Although your question ‘why don’t the demons come back to life if they’re
buried in a graveyard,’ has been asked before, I don’t know. Even great scholars
don’t know. However, maybe for starters it’s because these demons exist in
bodies we don’t understand.
Since they’re so different from the living creatures of this earth, there’s even
some sort of story that says they came from the moon. The guy who first tried to
bury it in a graveyard….well, maybe he planned for it to be some kind of joke or
something.”
“So, back then some guy eating sea slugs intended for this all to be a joke,” Muoru
said laughingly at Crow, even though the child-like person had a mysterious,
miserable-looking expression.
Scribbling on the ground with their pinky, Crow answered. “Well, this is just my
hypothesis…Perhaps if the people who were killed by those monsters held a
grudge then maybe the things tied up here would be unable to reanimate.”
“Don’t say such scary things.”
“You’re not shaken are you?”
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“I don’t know, I just don’t like ghosts,” Muoru said with conviction.
Crow lifted their face and puffed out their soft-looking cheeks.
“I wonder…” While doing that childish action, again they said something even an
adult wouldn’t say. “Well…even if their power is sealed that doesn’t mean they
can be buried in any graveyard. It has to be old land, land with power; the type of
land that has been protected by humans, and has continued to serve as the
opposite of a human cradle for a long time. That kind of land has become the
eternal prison of those things.
Exactly like this place…”
Remembering his discomfort, Muoru asked, “Well, by any chance is this not a
terribly important place?”
Crow laughed. “Yeah, it’s one important place. And of course, there are other
graveyards that exist for the purpose of defeating the demons. It is exactly
because this task is so important that insurance is necessary. If there were only
one place, for example this place, and if it were to be destroyed then those
demons would come back to life and there would be nothing we could do.
“…Well, for the most part the other places have been disguised, and ordinary
people are prohibited from entering to protect them from entering without any
knowledge of what lies beneath.”
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That makes sense, maybe that’s why no one seems to be visiting the graves here.
The fact that there were no visits by ordinary people was a negative factor,
decreasing his chances of finding a clue as to how to escape. Still…
“It is strange, but…” Although he understood what Crow was saying, Muoru was
currently concerned with something else. “Until probably a hundred or so years
ago, humans lived in fear, without any method to kill these monsters, right? If
that’s true, then why were people unaware of these monsters’ existence? At the
very least I and the people around me shouldn’t have been completely in the
dark.”
“That’s simple. You didn’t need to know,” Crow said, nodding quickly as if making
a hasty promise.
“Losing their overwhelming immortality their numbers are decreasing much more
rapidly than in the past. One thing that’s interesting is the demons seem to
understand their disadvantage. Now they aren’t just refraining from hunting or
luring out humans, they don’t appear before them at all.
“And, by all means we’ve observed this tendency. The monsters are not
increasing. So you could say that them not dying is some kind of weakness- Take
for example a military force. No matter how strong they are, without supplies
they are probably quite weak, right?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
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Crow’s a.n.a.logy was indeed quite easy to understand, so the boy above the moles
responded with a deep nod.
Strictly speaking, the military forces composed of humans and the monsters were
probably different, but in either case after losing their total strength they would
both be unable to revive themselves. And soon after that it would be obvious that
they were gradually getting worse and worse.
“Yeah, it’s that, “Crow continued. “After all the effort it took to decrease the
number of demons, the injuries also became fewer. Gas and electric lights were
developed and now even if the sun sets standard activities are able to continue.
As long as people are scared of the fading threat of darkness, that fear will have
an effect on industry and economy. So as a result, the countries thought it was
preferable to keep the monsters a secret. Call it the dark living in the dark.”
Muoru, still not persuaded, had been biting his lip. Crow then continued their
explanation.
“So don’t think it’s a lie that the world completely didn’t know.”
“Huh? It’s true?”
“Well, let me ask, how was the first night you came to this graveyard? You
weren’t scared, right? Why not?”
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“Well about that…it’s because when I was a child my mother, terrible aunt or
someone had completely terrorized me. They talked about things that come out
of graveyards at night, ghosts, evil spirits…zombies and things like that.”
“See? Aren’t those all the same things then, ‘creatures that harm humans’? It
seems that the stories involving the devils have changed a bit in the same way as
the names they were called.”
Then Crow giggled.
“Well, due to the extreme level of secrecy it is difficult just to find someone who
can dig holes in a graveyard, without that person losing their sanity. And if that
person goes to the graveyard, it is likely that they have certain qualities.”
“Qualities?”
“Such as being able to endure the situation where mankind’s natural enemy is
drawing near, the quality of having strong nerves. To put it simply…they’re
tough.”
“I’m not tough or anything like that,” the boy said flatly.
“What? I know you’re saying that you have no will-power like me, but you don’t
have to be modest.”
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“I’m not being modest or anything. Deep down I truly think that. If I was truly
tough then I wouldn’t be…” Muoru cut himself off and looked away.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“What…what are you saying?”
Crow insistently wanted to hear what Muoru was about to say, but with a sour
look on his face the boy stubbornly kept his mouth closed. He didn’t show his true
face, just like a mole that burrows underground.
In the end Crow got angrier and stuck out their extremely red tongue in the boy’s
direction.
“You’re an idiot mole-kun! Trying to look better than you really are!” Crow
shouted as if they enjoyed degrading him. Then in the same way they had
appeared, Crow abruptly went away.
Muoru heaved a heavy sigh. With Crow gone, Muoru was the only one left in the
graveyard as the sun reached high-noon.
Though singing songs had been able to trick him into a different mood, he noticed
that instead of song lyrics, more and more sighs were spilling from his lips.
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Honestly speaking he had thought he was reasonably tough. And as for the
military, even though it was just a bunch of a.s.sholes relying solely on their
muscles, like an all-male household, he could only sometimes call them tough.
However, his confidence in his toughness had been rapidly fading since he had
been brought to this graveyard. And nowadays it was to the point where he had
to tell the childlike Crow not to misunderstand.
-He was frightened of the night’s darkness.
-The existence of these monsters had begun to take away his sanity.
-Recently, he worried that the grave keeper girl was absolutely nowhere to be
found…
…and, that the girl must hate and fear him.
It’s understandable, Muoru thought, trying to interpret his own emotions.
It was natural to feel uneasy. That girl is my important…she is my important
foothold in escaping from this place.
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The other day when he was running wildly – the time he asked her to become his
friend – he felt that he’d been able to converse quite successfully. But since then
he was not able to respond at all. Either he was the only one stalling in the air as
he fruitlessly spun his wheels, or he was cras.h.i.+ng into the girl’s words of rejection.
As for Meria, since she always asked him as many questions as possible, she’d
been mostly unable to tell him the things he wanted to hear, which Muoru
thought was unfair.
“Why does she only show her face at night?” “What specifically does a grave
keeper do?” When he threw those kinds of questions at her, she made a troubled
face and shook her head.
When he saw her make that expression he grew anxious over the possibility
that, perhaps she hates me. However if that were true she’d probably avoid
meeting him face to face every night…So sooner or later the day would probably
come when she’ll talk to me right? Would that day really come?
But where he was now, that day couldn’t be anything but very far away.
Good grief, who did Crow say was tough?
He laughed. Such a thing was ridiculous. If he was really what they called tough,
then he probably wouldn’t have gone into a state where he couldn’t calm down
just from thinking about a girl.
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Anyway, though he hadn’t received an answer from the girl’s lips about
friends.h.i.+p, he was able to find out how old she was. Fourteen years had pa.s.sed in
her life. Plus he had learned a bunch of other miscellaneous facts too, such as she
liked ripe apples and hated the rain after her clothes were dirtied by mud.
However, in the end she still wasn’t his friend. And they never agreed on a
specific time or place to meet up.
So as a result, when it became night Muoru went out looking for her in the
graveyard.
Maybe it was inefficient, but strange as it was, the time he was searching for her
wasn’t a bad thing. He even felt it was fun, though he couldn’t clearly say why.
Even the graveyard, which in the beginning had been terribly frightening at night,
was no problem for him now. In fact, just the light from the stars was enough for
him to be able to walk. Humans’ power to adapt is incredible.
But the graveyard was excessively vast, and even though he’d gotten used to the
sight of the gravestones and trees extending seemingly forever outward, he was
still unclear about where he was. The first landmark he made was a giant tree
growing roughly in the center of the graveyard. While remaining conscious of how
to get back to the tree, he went searching for Meria, but tonight even though he
walked about the graveyard, he was unable to find her.
He picked up pebbles and twigs while he continued to walk, and then when his
legs got tired, he was suddenly struck with an idea. He called out to Depphen who
had been trailing him by a slight distance.
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“You’ve got a good nose don’t you? Wouldn’t it be great if you helped me
search?”
He was only half-joking when he made the request, but after a while he thought
he saw the dog wriggle its nose before turning its body and bolting away into the
darkness. With a start, the boy followed after him.
And tonight Meria was directly beneath that giant tree holding her knees.
It seemed like she was hiding in the shadow of the roots, but she didn’t seem to
notice his arrival. The tree was so big that if men were to hold hands it would take
five men to encircle it. And the exposed roots were just thick enough to hide her
crouching figure. .
He felt calling out to her as she sat there would be the first time he’d ever
initiated their meeting.
Perhaps she’s always been the one looking for me, the boy thought, imagining
that pleasant possibility.
Muoru purposefully made a lot of noise with his shoes as he approached and the
girl, as if shocked, hurriedly concealed her hands behind her crouched knees.
“Yo, what are you doing?”
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Meria’s face was unusually fl.u.s.tered. She was like a child caught in the middle of
trying to hide one of their mistakes.
Muoru looked at Meria’s legs. But not in a perverted way, the girl’s knees were
covered by her coat and she was hiding something behind them with both of her
hands.
…
…Silence.
With the two of them in those positions, the extremely awkward silence
continued. It was clear that for her they’d met at an inconvenient time. However,
though it was a common story, the thing the girl was desperately concealing only
excited his curiosity. He even wondered to what extent she would hate him if he
forcibly lifted up her legs.
Of course, I couldn’t actually do that to her.
He didn’t know whether or not she’d run out of patience with him as he stood
there, but as if giving up she hung her head and took out the mysterious item
from under her knees.
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Filling up the palms of both her hands was a gloss-less chunk of deep black.
Besides the color it had the imperfect spherical form of a peach and near the top
were what looked like small teeth marks. If it had just been that it would have
looked like nothing more than some kind of bad fruit but…
Muoru seized his chest at once. As if a door was suddenly opened without a
knock, he had a recollection.
Before his eyes he saw someone hit by an explosive, and the unknown man in
military clothing fell backwards.
His head along with his breastbone had been blown off, but underneath Muoru
could see the man’s heart stubbornly beating.
As for the clump in the middle of the girl’s hands, the pulsing of the black fleshy
part beneath the teeth marks looked just the same as that heart. Completely…it
was completely the same.
…Was it like a part of something?
“What is…that?” Muoru asked, shuddering.
However, Meria with her head hung said in a small voice, “I can’t…”
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He understood. Even if that was the only thing she thought to say, he knew what
she meant. Basically, after a week of hearing her use it in response to various
topics, he understood it as her way of saying, “don’t ask me that”
The intention behind the refusal stood in his way like a deep chasm which he was
standing at the edge of. And on the opposing cliff was the girl. But as he tried to
go to her side he realized that no matter how much dirt he threw into the empty
s.p.a.ce, the chasm would never be filled.
Meria brought the black fruit back to her lips, moving extremely slowly as if the
boy wasn’t even there. She then began to eat.
Looking at the girl’s plain mouth, Muoru asked, “Is it good?”
He didn’t expect her to respond, but then with the fruit attached to her mouth,
she slowly shook her head.
Even for her, today she was acting strangely. Although you could never give her
the compliment that she always exhibited good social graces, this was the first
time that Muoru felt she was clearly avoiding him.
‘Are you bothered by my being here?’ –, He was thinking about asking, but when
he opened his mouth the only thing that came out was, “Well, let me have one
word.”
Right. She considered him an annoyance. That he understood.
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…But even though he understood it, to actually have it confirmed made his weak
self feel hopeless.
Leaning his back against the trunk of the tree, the boy was at a loss.
And with the fruit still touching her lips, the girl sadly shook her head from side to
side.
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Chapter 2
There were flies flying about the waterside.
It was something he hadn’t noticed until then. That is, he felt it was the first time
he’d seen insects since he came to the graveyard, which was a little surprising.
Especially since only a bit before his tenure at the graveyard, there hadn’t even
been a day where he didn’t see flies.
“Wherever lots of people gather, flies and merchants will come without fail.” He
had forgotten the person who’d said that, but certainly a large family in the
middle of an expedition would have flies buzzing all over.
When it came to the military, the excrement from people and horses, the large
amount of thrown away food or sc.r.a.ps, and the corpses created an environment
that didn’t lack in feed for the insects. Incidentally, other than digging trenches,
digging out holes to be filled with that stuff was also one of the moles’
responsibilities.
And refusing to succ.u.mb to the lively flies buzzing loudly about, the military
camps were also visited by village merchants who had purchased permits from
the upper ranks.
The man sent from the merchant’s guild had a horse-cart fully-loaded with luxury
indulgences, like tobacco, alcohol, chocolate bars, newspapers, playing cards,
bulletproofing charms, sungla.s.ses, and changes of undergarments, all of which
the soldiers would distribute around wherever they made camp.
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The days that were particularly hectic were immediately after paydays or on days
when the merchants came with s.e.xy photos of famous actresses. Both caused a
flood of rough, uncultured guys to break out into scuffles, so the MPs1
were
dispatched to prevent the fist fights and force people into lines.
One thing that was interesting though was the merchandise. Though 100% of the
clients were certainly men, the horse carts also had other products like perfumes
and lipsticks, clearly female products no matter how you thought of it. Depending
on the cart some even sold various clothing accessories.
Naturally, for a long time Muoru had wondered what kind of soldier would buy
and use these products. But one day that mystery was solved when he stumbled
upon one of his superiors after they’d gotten their hands on their pay. With a
smile, his superior had bought some earrings. Then he walked right from the
horse cart straight back to the tents set up at the rear of the camp.
Of course, buying a permit in order to sell merchandise during a military campaign
was not just the right of the merchant’s guild. There was also another tent called
the “Heroine guild”2
, clearly made from a flowery patterned cloth different from
the material the soldiers used.
He didn’t know his superior’s intentions, but Muoru a.s.sumed he’d gotten the
merchandise as a way to woo a sweetheart or something.
1
Military Police
2
Brothel
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Be that as it may, that merchant’s horse cart was not coming to this graveyard
and even if it did Muoru was broke. Plus, he couldn’t imagine Meria getting
excited about receiving things like lipstick or perfume as a present.
Well, that may just be a problem with my imagination.
The girl was different from the usual female. Even for Muoru, who had only used
his military allowance to buy envelopes or a little bit of alcohol, understood that
much.
And hearing about his troubles, Crow added, “The heart of a skeleton”.
Just before making that statement, he’d been worrying excessively about his
inability to close the distance between him and Meria, and the seemingly
unoccupied Crow discussed the topic with him absent-mindedly.
The more he thought about it afterwards, the more he thought he’d made a
mistake. The topic at hand was an ideal source of teasing for someone like Crow,
who was the type of human who seemed to jump up with all their energy if they
felt something seemed a bit fun.
“So that’s it… that was what you refused to tell me earlier,” Crow hummed out
without even trying to hide their cruel-looking smile. “Good grief, I wish you had
come to me about this earlier. This mole has become interested in the opposite
s.e.x!”
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Well Crow seems to be in high spirits.
Crow’s misunderstanding wasn’t enough to warrant correction. He was getting
close to Meria precisely because he needed a way to escape, nothing more and
nothing less. However, if he tried to correct Crow’s repeated misunderstanding, it
was clear as day that he would become even more of a target for teasing. Though
he was reluctant, there was nothing he could do but let the misunderstanding
continue in this way.
“Well, other than presents, it is also fundamental to praise her good points. For
example, if it was me who had their hair complimented, I’d be happy.”
No one was asking about you.
Resisting the desire to retort that way, Muoru instead did a mental simulation.
Meria appeared inside his mind and spoke. Fortunately he had an abundance of
things he could compliment her on. And of course because it was his imagination,
his words didn’t get jumbled up. Yo Meria, your hair is beautiful as ever. Thank
you Muoru. It makes me so happy to hear that.
“…No, that wouldn’t happen. She definitely wouldn’t be happy.”
Crow directed a look full of sympathy at the boy frowning alone.
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“Yeah, yeah, Meria-chan right? I can’t come here except during the day so I’ve
never met her, but somehow she seems like a rather difficult person.”
…That really was true. However he just couldn’t say things like, “you’re being
unreasonable, so stop it.” Maybe he was in fact a good guy, Muoru thought,
somewhat ignorantly.
…somehow it seems like even I’m really giving up.
Then instead of comforting him, Crow said something strange. “Hmm, that makes
sense. In other words, maybe the girl has the heart of a skeleton.”
“The heart of a skeleton?” Muoru asked back without thinking.
Crow’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and like a hypnotist they spoke in a way that was
completely fascinating.
“Look, try to imagine the interior of a skeleton’s left breast. Flesh and organs
intertwine. And behind the white ribs…”
Crow abruptly closed both of their hands together, as if right before giving a
cheer.
“It’s hollow,” Crow continued.
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Muoru exhaled, as if being lied to.
“What are you talking about?”
“The trouble with your comprehension is not just with your ears.”
Crow placed a hand to their chest and spoke in a mysteriously serious tone.
“I think even you have experienced this- Haven’t you ever felt your heart jump
when hearing something wonderful or shocking? Right, if I were to guess, those
important words reach far deeper than just your outer consciousness.
…But the girl you’re thinking about, she doesn’t seem to have that kind of feeling.
No matter what you say to her, I think your words may never reach her heart, just
like as if she didn’t have one.”
Hearing that, Muoru unconsciously bit his lip.
“Ah hey, hey, don’t feel down like that. This is nothing more than my own,
arbitrary guess. It might simply be that she has bad social skills right?”
“…If that’s true, then great. But really, I get the feeling that it’s useless no matter
what.”
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Laughing at the boy’s timidity, Crow said, “Well, let’s confirm whether the girl has
a heart or not.”
“Huh?”
The girl is a human so physically she definitely has a heart. Meaning this “heart of
a skeleton” should have just been an a.n.a.logy. Yet Crow had just said they should
confirm it…a statement that completely bewildered Muoru.
“Yes, so close your eyes,” Crow said and Muoru unconsciously obeyed.
Then Crow, as if casting some kind of spell, said, “Look, try to imagine the girl’s
left breast. Under her clothes, her undergarments, her skin, her flesh, her bones,
under all of that. Is there really a heart? Shouldn’t we try and confirm? How you
may ask? Well, it’s simple. Touch her directly with the palm of your hand, and if
you feel the beating it’s okay. However, if your fingers were to undo her clothes
and expose the swell of her chest you may love it…”
“…”
Crow grinned and pointed at Muoru’s face.
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“Oh, my Mole-kun. You’ve got a nosebleed. Perhaps you’re imagining something
perverted.”3
“Fu…Fu… f.u.c.k you idiot! I am not thinking that! I’ll bury you!” Muoru shouted as
he covered up the area beneath his nose with his hand, which only made Crow
laugh.
“Wow, how amusing. This is the first time you’ve responded to me like this, Molekun!”
…It was a complete and utter mistake to discuss this with Crow.
…Well, there was no one else who seemed to be able to discuss Meria with him.
In the end Muoru knew he couldn’t use a present, nor did he think she’d
understand his compliments. That being the case, at least he should worry about
doing something she wouldn’t hate. It was an incredibly timid way of thinking, but
currently Muoru couldn’t make any other decision.
Next to the run down stable, where he slept, there was a reservoir that seemed to
have originally been used to give water to the horses.
3
In j.a.pan there is a pseudo belief that thinking lewd thoughts will cause a nosebleed (this is prevalent in anime).
Technically the translation is “you have a lewd look on your face”, but that doesn’t mesh with the idea of a
nosebleed, which is why Muoru covers the area under his nose in the next line.
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Waking up earlier than usual, Muoru went there, filled an old cracked bucket with
water and dumped it on his head. In the middle of the uncirculated reservoir
water, mosquito larvae floated about. He didn’t even notice them as he put the
bucket back into the water and repeated the action.
The water was lukewarm, and it had the faint smell of mold, but it had no
problem waking his absentminded face.
“Listen Mole-kun, even at the best of times you’re covered with mud on a regular
basis,” Crow had said earlier while handing over a razor for him to shave with. “At
least when you’re not digging holes you can try to bear in mind good hygiene. No
matter how much you don’t display your true behavior, there won’t be any girl
who’ll like you if you’re unhygienic.”
It was completely none of Crow’s business. Then again, were there actually
people who cared if moles were covered in dirt? To say nothing of girls….
Grumbling complaints about the insinuating Crow, Muoru nevertheless shaved his
beard and thoroughly removed the filth from his body.
In the distance the east sky was starting to brighten, but the sun still hadn’t
shown its face. On the other side of the sky, the moon was just barely visible.
Although it was a good idea to put on clothes after drying up, he felt a little lost
not having something to do.
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He still had time before he had to start working. However, after making the effort
to bathe, he couldn’t bring himself to go back to bed. So, he willed his legs to take
him towards the graveyard.
-How’s Meria doing? Suddenly that question floated into his mind. He always
went to bed before her so he didn’t even know what time she left the graveyard.
Was she still guarding the graveyard? Muoru walked with those thoughts on his
mind. But then even if they did run into each other, he had no idea what they
should talk about…
As he traveled from the graveyard to the stable, there was no way he could miss
the side of the mansion on the way. Like usual he pa.s.sed the side of the black iron
fence, but this time he could hear water coming from about where the small
garden was.
Ordinarily he would have been on the verge of thinking it was someone watering
the plants, but then he recalled that the mansion’s garden was flat and definitely
had no shrubbery at all.
He was sure it was just the running water and pipes at the back of the residence.
So, he light-heartedly went around to the back.
Meria was there.
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She was kneeling at the center of the garden on a nook paved with concrete. To
the side there was a thin pillar with a faucet attached to the tip. A somewhat blue
hose was plugged into the faucet, and her white arm was holding that hose
around the middle and hoisting it over her head. From the tip of that hose water
poured out and washed over her whole body. And her appearance from
behind…was just like when she was born.
Just before dawn, in a world still showing signs of darkness, the girl was was.h.i.+ng
her body.
…Isn’t this strange? The boy was confused.
Her hair that was always covered by her hood went down to just above her waist.
And that dripping wet light brown hair clung to her white skin.
Skin that was completely bare, from her hair all the way down to her feet.
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…Strange, it was a contradiction…Why despite that slender figure…why with that
seemingly soft skin…?
“Muoru…?”
Whether or not she’d felt his gaze, he didn’t know, but in that moment Meria
turned to look at him over her shoulder. The completely defenseless girl’s line of
sight and the rigidly still boy’s gaze mingled across the iron fence.
Then the girl tossed away the hose and covered her small chest. The girl lowered
her head, and water dripped down from her narrow chin, hair, the tip of her
elbow, and other places.
“I’m..I’m sor…”
The next moment, a terrible growl erupted from the thicket and the dog jumped
out. It had jumped out with enough force to rip him to shreds. So without clearly
saying his apology, the boy ran away.
I never figured I’d see Meria bathing there, Muoru thought as he desperately
moved his legs.
Perhaps, I’m just dreaming, just like every night…?
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He wasn’t sure about that, but there was one thing he knew wasn’t a mistake.
Though he hadn’t intended to see her there, now that he had, she would probably
hate him even more. 
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Chapter 3
The graveyard prisoner dug holes.
That was his job–his duty.
The size of the holes were designated and marked by four cuts in the ground. But
for some reason he could only find one of the markers today.
Maybe it was some kind of mistake, he thought, as he looked around the ground
at his feet. Yet he still couldn’t even find another marker.
Being at the edge of the ma.s.s graveyard, the gravestones surrounding him
weren’t densely arranged. It was much different than the uniformity of a city’s
housing complex; here the graves were sporadically placed.
What does it mean?
Rapping on the shovel on his shoulder, the boy glared at the ridiculous single
marker. Did Daribedor make a mistake? He placed his foot atop the meaningless
rivet and looked up…
“…”
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At that moment he finally noticed the second rivet cut into the ground, but it was
extremely far from where he was standing. Thinking it was preposterous he went
to check. Strangely, it was placed at the distance where the third or fourth rivet
was usually placed. And if the marker really wasn’t a mistake, then this hole was
double the size of the first hole he’d made to bury that giant headed monster.
Muoru’s spirits fell. How much effort is it going to take for me to finish this one?
Then he grew terrified. …how big is this one that it needs to be buried in a hole
this big?
Not only did he realize the time and effort it would require, he also understood
the answer to his second question. It was only natural, after all. Even though the
monster would have to be smaller than the hole he was going to make, the hole
was still large enough to hold a pile of three tanks or more.
“The monsters have infinite variations of size, but what they share in common is
they are stronger the bigger they are.” He remembered Crow’s words from before
as he tried to get to work. Was Crow and the people they were with planning to
fight with the thing that was supposed to go in the grave he was digging? If so
they would have to pray for safety since by Crow’s own admission the monsters
were undying.
Sighing, Muoru stabbed his shovel into the ground and lifted out his first scoop of
dirt. With that same action he scooped again, then another scoop, another scoop,
another scoop, scoop, scoop, scoop…
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…and despite how many times he’d repeated that action, by the time the day
grew dark the hole wasn’t even halfway finished.
Even though he’d gotten used to the activity, as one would expect he was tired.
After all the effort he made that morning to wash away the dirt at the reservoir,
he’d completely returned to the filthy state he’d been in before. Even though he
was a prisoner, now he felt like his condition was some kind of punishment. But if
that were the case, what exactly was the punishment for?
That was a false charge. I didn’t really do anything bad. He touched his chest with
his hand and recalled the sight he’d witnessed that morning.
At the same time, he felt a part of himself unintentionally harden.
Although it had been an accident, peeking at Meria as she bathed was certainly
criminal.
He’d wondered all day what was the best way to speak with her if they met.
Without a doubt, the first thing out of his mouth should be an apology. What he
had done was shameful; there were simply no other words to describe it.
With that resolve, he went back to the reservoir and washed up. However, it
seemed like the dirt had already fully permeated into his kneecaps and the tips of
his fingers, and so no matter how much water he poured on his body, he could
never get rid of it. But in order to cool his head, he fervently dumped the water
on his head over and over again like some kind of religious ascetic.
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Soon after, he headed off towards the graveyard, and in the distance he could see
the familiar orange lamplight floating in the dark of the night. It approached him
with the same languid speed it always had.
Good, maybe she’s not that mad.
If she was angry she wouldn’t try to meet him. That simple line of logic rea.s.sured
him.
“Meri…” but as he tried to speak she halted, still quite far away. Still feeling guilty,
Muoru made no move to draw closer.
“…”
“…”
An uncomfortable silence fell upon them. It’s no good if I can’t properly
apologize. Muoru tried to open his mouth but before he could say anything Meria
spoke.
“For a little while, don’t come out at night.”
The inside of his nose popped in pain and Muoru felt like kicking himself for
feeling relieved.
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“I’m sorry. I guess you’re mad after all,” he said hanging his head in shame.
Meria, whose face was wrapped by her hood, shook her head. “I’m not mad.”
The girl’s behavior seemed to be saying, “You don’t need to apologize,” to the
boy.
“I’m really sorry, it wasn’t on purpose! Occasionally I wake up early and go for a
walk. I heard some water and it caught my interest then…No really, I didn’t intend
to peek at you, yet still I saw you there…”
Muoru’s face was turning red. Halfway through his explanation his words had
devolved into rambling to the point where he didn’t even know what he was
trying to say. It was like he had the demeanor of an elementary school child.
“…please, for heaven’s sake…” Muoru said, but his desperate words didn’t seem
to reach the girl.
“I’m not mad or anything, so please. For a while, just stay in the stable at night. By
no means go outside. Please, I’m begging you….”
She grabbed the edge of his cloak so tightly that the color drained from his
fingers. And in that grip she did nothing but plead for him to remain inside, over
and over again.
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So not having a choice, for the days after that Muoru would return to digging the
giant hole during the day. Then at night he would spend his time in the stable, his
mind worrying endlessly as he stared at the crumbling tattered wall to pa.s.s the
time.
He had no idea how long the girl had meant by “for a while” but she had only said
not to go out, that didn’t mean she had broken off relations with him.
If what he thought was true then just as the words “for a while” implied, soon the
suspense and antic.i.p.ation would die down.
…but for two or three days nothing could be done about his body itching with
impatience. Could it really not have been helped? It was unintentional…. That
excuse had once again begun to make its presence felt inside his mind. And the
only way to quiet those thoughts was to hear directly from Meria. That’s right,
even though he didn’t feel like he could properly say what he wanted to her,
there was nothing else he could do.
Then one night he unexpectedly heard the dog’s howls coming from the direction
of the graveyard.
Unable to relax for some reason, Muoru tried leaving the stable.
The completely cloudless, starry sky looked just like usual; as if there had been no
changes in the two days he’d stayed in at night.
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But…why? Why is my skin p.r.i.c.kly with gooseb.u.mps?
The boy tried gently rubbing his arms. He’d gotten used to the graveyard at night,
so it wasn’t that his day-dreaming was causing both his fear and the gooseb.u.mps.
…it is probably just my imagination.
But he couldn’t trust his feelings about the current atmosphere if his mind was
deceived by misapprehension.
Then something happened. If an earthquake, as the name implies, is a
phenomenon where the ground shakes, Muoru thought the area seemed to be
trembling slightly. He would describe the feeling as being the same as watching a
giant tsunami rise over the horizon. Within that wave were a swarm of possibly
countless enemy soldiers, now vigorously rus.h.i.+ng towards him, preparing to
attack.
Maybe he was feeling the beginning of a premonition or
something. No. Whatever the feeling was foretelling, it was going to happen soon.
With those feelings he returned to the stable, but he didn’t think it was possible
to wait completely still until the morningMaybe
I should get ready to run or something.
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Right after thinking that, Muoru ran out of the stable and rushed towards the
mansion’s gate. At a glance he thought the night graveyard was nothing more
than ordinary. On the sloping, wide ground the ground was sprinkled not with
humans, but gravestones. The wind made the forest trees howl, and the entire
area was shrouded in darkness.
Muoru ran towards the large tree growing in the direct center of the graveyard.
He wasn’t very skilled at climbing trees, but if he were able to climb it then he’d
probably be able to look out over the entire graveyard.
But when he finally arrived at the root of the tree out of breath….he saw it.
It was his second experience where his brain was unable to grasp what he was
seeing.
Muoru couldn’t quite single out the previous memory as he stood confronted
with a creature that wasn’t something you saw in the everyday world. The first
experience had been quite recent. It was when that giant-headed monster was
bound hand and foot and buried.
Now.
In front of his eyes now was an extremely gigantic sack of flesh.
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If he forced his eyes to look up he’d see that the distorted, spherical, soft ma.s.s of
folded over flesh resembled the head of an octopus…but octopuses didn’t come
this far inland, they should have eyes, and they definitely weren’t bigger than a
two story building.
It was a monster.
Or as Crow said, a devil. Or as the gravekeeper girl said, The Dark. And this one
was even bigger than its companion, the other giant-headed monster he’d buried.
But this was different from that time. This time, it wasn’t bound or anything like
that. This one had moved. The giant fleshy octopus-like head was not supported
by eight legs with suction cups…no its legs were harder, just like a beetle’s, and
they only helped make the monster look bigger.
The tip of each leg abnormally tapered to a sharp point and looked like a claw,
depending on how you looked at it. Of course it wasn’t natural for it to have
things like a rough and bony claw anywhere on its body. And as for the number,
countless legs of varying lengths extended out from the bottom of the sack of
flesh, all wriggling restlessly like the legs of a centipede.
It was extremely bizarre and creepy and he definitely got the feeling it wasn’t a
creature of the natural world.
That creature was facing ahead, where…Meria was.
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Muoru forgot to breathe.
She wasn’t running or trying to escape. Rather, she and the monster were facing
each other.
Even with the hooded cloak wrapped about her, she still appeared to have a
slender body, which in front of that monstrous giant beast looked terribly tiny.
And even from his far distance, Muoru thought he could see the same quiet
expression she always had on her face.
The monster brandished one of its legs like a sickle.
Run, he tried to say, but his voice wouldn’t come out.
But whether he shouted or not made no difference. It was already too late.
The leg wagged side to side like a reptile’s tongue, the end equipped with its
sharp claw.
Then… the girl’s left hand twirled over and over in the air like the tip of a broken
sword, before hitting the earth and rolling on the ground.
There was a feeble, tiny scream.
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And though it wasn’t loud, it couldn’t possibly be that loud; the sound of her voice
still pierced Muoru’s eardrums.
In the next moment four of the creature’s tentacle-like legs, extended and pierced
Meria’s body. Her screams soon disappeared. There was a claw stabbed through
her body, right below the throat she needed to scream. The other scythe-like
claws were stabbing through her right arm, her left thigh, and through her
navel….each of the four jutting out from her body from their tips to their centers.
Then the monster used those four extended legs to lift her up into the air.
Blood rushed out of the girl’s mouth, and one moment later, as if her body
couldn’t hold it in, a large amount of the red liquid spilled out from the lower half
of her body.
The monster shook the helpless girl in the air and hurled her body to the ground.
As it threw her body, its claw that was pierced through her navel split her open to
her inseam, allowing her abdomen and entrails to spill out from her body like a
long tail. Then she hit the ground, her blood splattering the surroundings as if the
monster had just crushed a fruit full of juice. And on the earth her intestines
painted an arc on the ground.
Meria…
She was still alive.
She was sobbing.
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No matter how muscular or strong a man was, they’d definitely cry after receiving
terrible injuries like those. Of course, it wouldn’t be strange for them to die
before crying, since they were in other words, fatal wounds.
…but despite all that, the girl stood.
At first she was unsteady, resting her hands on her knees. But then she
straightened up and her legs stood firm.
Then the boy saw something that was more unbelievable than even the monster.
The guts that had spilled out of her torn abdomen wriggled like worms and
crawled back inside her body. Then after everything that should have
been hanging outside her body was once again inside her body, the grievous
wound splitting her from her inseam to her back automatically sealed itself up,
stopping the bleeding.
That wasn’t all; her left hand that had been ripped off at the beginning of the
a.s.sault rolled across to her body as if pulled by a magnet. It then crawled up her
leg, stomach, chest, and back, before joining with her wrist, restoring her to two
complete arms. It was as if she was a doll and her hand and body were being
st.i.tched back together by some invisible tailor.
Witnessing that unbelievable spectacle made Muoru recall the words Crow had
said to him once. “These things do not have what we call life. Just like the words
suggest, they are undead. Even if you cut them, burn them or chop them into very
small pieces, like a joke the will come back to life…”
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Meria was pierced multiple times, and her body was split apart. And each time
she was injured she would mutter a scream as if giving up…but then her ripped
arms and legs, her scooped out organs, her split apart torso, and her smashed-in
head, would all return back to how they were before. No matter what kind of
injury she received, it couldn’t kill her. However, like someone who took pleasure
in grisly homicide, that giant monster wielded its edged tentacles and continued
its slaughter on Meria for what seemed like forever. 
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Underneath the s.h.i.+ning moon and the stars, on a ground that seemed to stretch
on forever, the unnatural monster continued to ravage Meria’s body. It seemed
like the cruelty would never end, but as time went on the monster’s energy
seemed to be gradually weakening…
The reason was simple.
Its moving legs were decreasing.
Underneath the giant’s ma.s.s there still seemed to be countless sharp legs
sprouting out, but now more than half were not moving. One by one the legs that
should have been wriggling restlessly, suddenly stopped and never moved again.
But they weren’t stopping randomly. In fact, looking closer it seemed like the legs
that stopped moving were always the ones that touched Meria.
He had no idea why, but as for the facts: the girl approached and whenever the
monster’s legs wounded, cut, or pierced her they would eventually stop moving
and hang loosely as if the nerves inside had been severed. Gradually the
monster’s energy depleted to the point where the remaining legs could not
support its ma.s.s. And when the ma.s.s of flesh crumbled to the ground, it caused a
tremor that rocked the earth.
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If this were what was normally considered a fight, then it would only be natural
for there to be an overwhelming difference in strength between the monster and
the girl. If the monster had been confronting Muoru, even if they fought a million
times, he’d probably die each time. And truthfully there really was a gigantic
difference in strength between the girl and the monster.
Still, the hideous, fiendish monster was unable to kill the girl who was as thin as a
plant stem; in fact its body was weakening bit by bit. It was like a rock, weathered
down through long months and cycles of endless rain.
Of course, since it was a giant, the speed in which it weakened was terribly slow.
Until finally the last leg stopped moving.
The chunk of folded flesh, larger than any kind of statue, now couldn’t even
struggle with something like an ant. As the extremely violent creature stopped
moving, though it was strange to say, it seemed to look despondent and
discouraged, like a patron at a festival that had just closed.
Covered in blood despite not having a wound on her body, Meria slowly, with the
same slowness she always showed, stepped up to the monster and touched its
flesh with her right hand.
The atmosphere vibrated without a sound. It wasn’t a change he could see with
his eyes, but, it did become quiet. So quiet, it was like the world had stopped.
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The creature didn’t move an inch. Meria crouched to the side of the creature,
limp with fatigue. She took ragged, deep breaths over and over again. And even
though she was still alive after being stabbed, pierced, and ripped apart her pale
profile now looked like a corpse.
“…Muo…ru?” the girl looked up with a face dripping with tears.
The boy didn’t try to hide the sound of his footsteps.
Looking at him, Meria stopped crying. No, it was probably better to say she held
them back.
He didn’t know why she did that. Especially since it would have been much easier
to understand her if she’d sobbed on him like a child.
Should I approach or should I leave?
…The only thing he could think of was getting closer to her.
But before the reason he hadn’t shouted was self-defense.
If he’d shouted, “run” that monster would probably have turned its weapons on
him and killed him the moment after it killed the girl. That’s why he couldn’t
shout – why he didn’t shout. And really, there was nothing wrong with that
hypothesis; it just didn’t include the possibility that Meria would still be alive.
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He painfully regretted what he did, but it was difficult to excuse himself for
running away just to save his own skin. But despite what others may think, he
really didn’t intend to run.
…but, “Meria.” There was no energy in his voice.
The girl’s expression as she held back the tears was harder than any kind of mask,
and Muoru was unsure wh