Pathway to Japanese Literature

Because his school in Tokyo had closed for break, the boy Hikota returned to Kidani Village for the first time in three months.
The village lay completely buried under snow.
This winter had brought such heavy snowfall that they had already cleared roofs four times.
After disembarking at the station and switching to snowshoes for the trek home, he found only utility poles protruding their blackened crowns from the drifts—not a single rooftop remained visible.

“This winter, we will still have to do snow removal three or four more times.”

Having said this, the father who had come to meet him looked up resentfully at the gray sky that had once again begun to scatter powdered snow.

“What’s Gosuke been up to?
“Hey, Dad.”

Hikota asked about his close friend Gosuke.

“Ah, Gosuke. He seems well enough, but he hasn’t come to visit at all lately.”

“Hmm. Probably because I wasn’t here.”

“That might be part of it, but from what I hear, Gosuke and the others are busy climbing mountains every three days without fail.”

“When you say ‘mountain climbing,’ which mountain are they climbing? With all this snow falling…”

“Well, I don’t know about that either.”
“In any case, the people in that house are odd.”
“I just hope they don’t end up in some foolish trouble before long…”

“What do you mean by ‘foolish trouble’?”

Hikota turned around and looked up at his father’s face approaching from behind.
However, the father only groaned slightly and did not answer that.

The next morning, unable to remain still any longer, Hikota pulled his pointed snow cap down to his shoulders, tightened the straps of his snowshoes, and dashed out of the house. When the covered walkway ended, he climbed up a snowdrift and emerged onto the main road. Wind-driven powdered snow engulfed Hikota’s body from the side. There were still about five blocks left to Gosuke’s house.

Gosuke was at home.
Then he jumped up and welcomed Hikota.

Sitting on the straw mat by the hearth, the two close friends faced each other for the first time in ages.
The protractor and tape measure he had brought back as souvenirs from Tokyo delighted Gosuke immensely.

“I hear you go up the mountain every three days without fail.”
“Which one do you climb?”

Hikota immediately asked what he had wanted to ask.

“Yeah.”

Gosuke gave only a brief reply and remained silent for a while, but eventually,

“Who told you that?”

he asked in return with a slightly hardened gaze.

“That’s something Dad heard from someone in the village,” Hikota said.
Then Gosuke let out a light sigh,

“It’s already become common knowledge after all. So I did say from the start there was no point in hiding this.”

“Gosuke. Are you doing something bad?”

Hikota asked bluntly out of concern. Gosuke widened his eyes and shook his head side to side.

“Since it’s you, Hikota, I’ll speak plainly without hiding anything. The truth is, Brother Ichizō has been secluded in the mountains for ages now.”

“Huh, is that right?”

“Brother Ichizō has dug a large hole in the snow and is holed up inside it.”
“And he’s been conducting observations without a break.”

“Observations?”
“What’s that about?”

“I don’t really know the details myself, but he’s brought in a bunch of instruments—measuring ground temperature and making some odd canister record earthquakes traveling through the earth.”
“And he says this’ll keep going until spring.”

Hikota had no idea what that was all about.
However, speaking of Brother Ichizō, he was a graduate student at some university in Tokyo and was someone who always conducted such scientific experiments.
So he felt relieved that such activities couldn’t possibly be anything particularly wrong.

“So he’s making observations for his research then.”
“If it’s nothing wrong, why keep it hidden from the whole village?”

“But Brother Ichizō gave strict orders to keep this secret,” Gosuke said. “He told us to climb the mountain every three days and bring his food without letting anyone find out.”

“Ah! So that’s why you never miss your mountain climbs,” Hikota replied. “Is that all it was?” He laughed heartily in relief. “But keeping something like that secret seems rather odd, don’t you think?”

When Hikota said this, Gosuke fell silent and busily stoked the hearth with firewood.
On Gosuke’s face, there seemed to be written something he still hadn’t fully told.

(What could it be?)

Hikota wondered doubtfully.
If it were the usual Gosuke, he’d be chattering away like water flowing off a plank, yet now he wasn’t doing that—why did he seem to be holding something close to his small chest?
Oh, that’s it.
Perhaps the secret lay in which mountain it was.
And from that mountain, might there not be a prospect of discovering a precious mineral vein?

Having thought this, Hikota again said to Gosuke without hesitation.
Then Gosuke dismissed it with a single word.

“That’s not it. My brother isn’t that greedy.”

“Then which mountain?
“You could at least tell me the name of the mountain.”

Hikota cornered Gosuke.
Gosuke wore a look of distress so pitiful it pained to see, but he soon appeared to have reached a decision. He stood up and moved to sit beside Hikota.
Then, after looking around, he spoke in a low voice near Hikota’s ear.

“Don’t tell anyone.”
“And you mustn’t be surprised either.”

“As if I’d ever leak such a secret!”
“Of course I won’t be surprised.”

“Well... I wonder...”
“And... that mountain... it’s Aokami Mountain.”

“What? Aokami Mountain!”
“That…the one no one’s allowed to approach…”

“Don’t speak so loud.”

"Hmm," Hikota groaned.
His complexion turned pale in an instant.
Aokami Mountain...
If it was Aokami Mountain, this was serious.
It was said that a Demon God dwelled in Aokami Mountain since ancient times, and those who entered would never return safely to the village.
Even hunters pursuing the finest game did not approach that mountain.

It was only natural that Brother Ichizō, who had begun digging a hole beneath the snow of such an ominous mountain to conduct his observations, had ordered them not to tell anyone.
But Brother Ichizō had courage.
Be that as it may, when he thought of his friend who trudged through snow over a meter deep all the way to that remote Aokami Mountain every three days to deliver food for his brother, he couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

At that moment, Gosuke edged even closer to Hikota.

“Actually, Brother Ichizō is determined that this winter is when he’ll uncover the true identity of Aokami Mountain’s Demon God.”

“The Demon God’s true identity, you say?”
“But can such equipment really determine the Demon God’s true identity?”
“First of all, the idea that a Demon God lives in that mountain is just a legend.”
“No one has ever truly seen it, so…”

When Hikota said this, Gosuke—as if struck by a sudden thought—firmly grabbed his friend’s arm and brought his mouth close to his ear.

“But Hikota, the Demon God actually exists in that mountain.”

“That’s a lie! There’s no such thing!”

“But... but I saw it! I did!”

“What?! You saw the Demon God…”

When Hikota heard that, his head spun.

The Demon God's Mountain

Gosuke and Hikota braced themselves and stepped outside into the drifting powdered snow.
On their heads were snow caps; over their bodies, straw raincoats; on their feet, long snow boots; and they wore snowshoes.
And on their backs were securely fastened food supplies, fuel, water, and alcohol.
These were provisions for Ichizō—daily necessities being delivered to sustain him as he continued his observations deep within Aokami Mountain’s snow cave.

“Hikota,” Gosuke said urgently under his breath as they adjusted their gear.
“You really shouldn’t come after all.” He glanced back toward the house where his sister stood watching.
“We could’ve just brought Oyuki like usual.”

Oyuki was Gosuke’s younger sister.
It had always been Gosuke and Oyuki who made the climb up Aokami Mountain.

“It’s fine，it’s fine．Today，I’ll help．”

Hikota，though it was all for his friend’s brother’s sake，couldn’t bring himself to stand by and watch a girl younger than himself climb that terrifying Aokami Mountain．
The weather today seemed likely to turn into a blizzard，and imagining what hardships Oyuki might endure if she went，Hikota resolutely offered to go in her place．

Oyuki saw them off as far as the snow-covered path.
She kept her head bowed shyly, but it was clear she was deeply grateful to Hikota.

Gosuke took the lead, Hikota followed behind, and they finally set off along the snowy path.
Fortunately escaping notice, they successfully turned onto the distant mountain path leading to Aokami Mountain.
The powdered snow gradually increased in volume, enveloping the figures of the two boys.
Gosuke’s snowshoes sank deep into the snow with every third step.

“The snow’s about two feet deeper than when we came three days ago.”

Gosuke said.

“If you get tired, I’ll take over and walk in front.”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Hikota. I’m fine.”

The slope of the mountain path through deep snow grew steeper, and combined with the heavy loads they carried, their progress became extremely arduous.
The two boys climbed the snowy path without another word, breathing in rough gasps.

Hikota, on the other hand, had it relatively easy.
He just had to follow behind Gosuke.
He just had to avoid stepping out of the snowshoe tracks Gosuke had packed down.

As he walked, he mentally reviewed the story he had just heard from Gosuke about seeing the Demon God of Aokami Mountain.

Gosuke had apparently seen the Demon God in the forest during their previous climb.
That forest was a cedar grove located over two kilometers further in, called Jizo Forest because a Jizo statue stood there.

It was along their very route when Gosuke spotted the forest about two hundred meters ahead; amidst the cedar grove where tall trunks stood black against the snow, he noticed something bluish swaying like smoke.

(Is someone making a bonfire over there?)

At first he thought it might be a bonfire, but even so, something felt off about it. The color was too blue for smoke, and it wasn’t visible below where the snow had piled up—appearing near the cedar treetops like a wide belt flying through the air—so his heart leaped. Gosuke nearly let out a cry but finally managed to stop himself. Because his younger sister Oyuki was following behind them, he thought that if he were to let out a strange cry there, she might faint from sheer terror.

Gosuke, striving with all his might to calm himself, continued watching the mysterious blue figure. Then it seemed to suddenly descend down the cedar trunk and crawl out onto the snow-covered path—but in that instant, as if shuddering violently, its form vanished like erased smoke.

Gosuke thought of turning back there, but remembering his brother waiting ahead and fearing he might startle his sister behind him, he steeled himself and kept trudging forward.

But soon they came upon a terrifying pass.
They had no choice but to pass through that Jizo Forest.
Gosuke resolved to fight the monster if it came to that, while simultaneously praying the creature wouldn’t appear, and approached the forest’s edge.

Fortunately, there was no sign of the monster anywhere, and no groans could be heard.
The only thing they found was what seemed to be sunken footprints scattered here and there in the snow.
These footprint-like marks differed from both human tracks and animal prints—boat-shaped and vertically elongated, with a gradual indentation sloping inward from the edges toward the center.
That was all they saw when passing through the front of the forest.

Gosuke, upon passing through there, encouraged Oyuki and suddenly quickened his pace.
It was because he wanted to get away from that ominous forest as quickly as possible.
Oyuki, unaware of what was happening, resented Gosuke’s hurried pace as she struggled to keep up, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

After traveling about four kilometers further into the mountains, they reached the snow cave where Brother Ichizō was secluded.
Gosuke wanted to tell his brother about it immediately, but with his sister present, he found himself unable to broach the subject.
The chance finally came as they prepared to depart.
Once out on the path, Gosuke pretended to have forgotten something, doubled back to the snow cave, and told his brother about encountering the Demon God.

Ichizō dismissed the Demon God story with a laugh.
Citing that Jizo Forest lay far below Aokami Mountain, that what appeared to be footprints were merely the wind’s mischief blowing snow, and that eyes often play tricks in snowy conditions—frequently causing such blue apparitions—he concluded it was not the Demon God of Aokami Mountain.
Even Ichizō’s earnest explanation lacked the power to fully dispel Gosuke’s doubts.
Well, that was the gist of it.

“Hikota.”
“We’re finally here.”
“Jizo Forest.”

Gosuke shouted.

“Ah, Jizo Forest. Can you see the Demon God?”

“Nah, it’s not out today.”

The snow had stopped.
Visibility was good.
The grove of Jizo Forest was also clearly visible, as if viewed through glass.
Sure enough, there was no sign of the strange shadow resembling a Demon God that Gosuke had described.

“There aren’t any footprints today either.”

Gosuke said this as they passed through the front of the forest.
Hikota laughed.
However, Gosuke did not laugh.

Then began four kilometers of grueling snow-covered mountain path.
Unfortunately, the wind suddenly shifted, and powdered snow began swirling down in vortices.
It looked like a blizzard was finally setting in.

The two boys stopped in the middle of the path, poured hot tea from the thermos, drank it, and regained their energy.
Then they stepped out onto the snow-covered path again.

The grueling climb continued for over two hours.
The two boys were drenched in sweat from head to toe and felt a scorching heat.

“Gosuke.
Is Brother’s snow cave still far?”

Hikota, unaccustomed to the snow, let out a somewhat strained voice.

“It’s almost there.
You can see the peak over there.
It’s on the other side of that peak. Once we pass through that gorge, the observation post’s snow cave will come into view.”

Hikota shook his heavy head instead of replying.

It was then.

Suddenly, four or five gunshots were heard.
Boom after boom, they violently echoed through the snowy mountain.
The sound seemed to come from around the peak.

“Gunshots.”
“What’s going on?”

“Something happened.”
“But who fired them?”

“Let’s go check quickly.”
“To Brother’s snow cave…”

The two boys turned pale and hurried forward as if brushing through the snow.

"Avalanche!"

"Brother—!"
"What's wrong?"

"Brother Ichizō!"
"We're coming right now—!"

Gosuke and Hikota took turns shouting as they ran desperately, trying to reach Ichizō's location even a second sooner.

To reach the observation post's location, they had to circle all the way around the mountain.
The two boys were frantic with worry, but their feet kept sinking into the snow, making it impossible to move as swiftly as they wished.

Despite this, they finally reached the entrance of the snow cave where Ichizō had been sheltering, but by then twenty minutes had already passed since the gunshots were heard.

“Brother! Brother!”

“What happened? The gunshots earlier…”

The two boys, shouting those words, jumped into the snow cave without even brushing off the snow clinging to their bodies.

“Oh.”
“Brother isn’t here!”

Gosuke looked around restlessly inside the observation room.

“Then he went outside?”

Hikota immediately jumped out of the hole.
And swept his gaze across the surrounding snow.

“Did you figure it out?”

Gosuke came out of the hole.

“No—I don’t know. But look—on the snow, there are no footprints besides ours. So Brother hasn’t gone outside after all. He’s still inside the cave.”

“Hmm, I’m not so sure. But that’s strange. He’s definitely not inside the cave.”

The two boys entered the hole once again.
And they called out repeatedly for Ichizō, but still no reply was heard.

“That’s strange. The light’s always on, but today it’s out.”

“Right—it’s too dark to tell.”
“Hurry up and turn on the light!”

“Where was it again… The place with the batteries…”

Gosuke went toward the back and groped around the area when he suddenly cried out in surprise.

“Oh no—this is bad! The batteries have been overturned… Huh? When did they dig this? The back of the cave has gotten deeper!”

And then—

A low roar began echoing from nowhere.
Then Hikota, who had been outside the snow cave, came rushing in.

“Gosuke! We need to get out now—it’s dangerous!”
“The avalanche’s coming!”

“Huh? An avalanche—”
“That’s terrible!”

“Hurry—hurry…”

The two boys tumbled out of the snow cave.
Snow pellets pattered down.

“Let’s escape to the other side! Hikota, hurry…”

Gosuke took the lead and scrambled up the opposite mountain slope like a rabbit.

A tremendous roar erupted behind the two boys, but without a moment to look back, they kept desperately scrambling up the slope.
Their breath came in gasps.
Their hearts felt like they were going to burst.

When the roar subsided, the two boys felt relieved upon realizing for the first time that they had survived.
Both were knocked down into the snow and lacked even the energy to get up for some time.

When they had finally regained their energy and sat up abruptly on the snow, the snowfall had already stopped, and the surroundings had grown brighter.
And what met their eyes was the tremendous aftermath of the avalanche.
The area where the two of them had been running just moments before was now completely buried under snow.
The snow cave that had housed the observatory now lay buried in the distant depths.

“Ah… That was terrifying.”

“I really thought I was going to die there.”
“I wonder what happened to Brother.”

“Well, this is a problem, isn’t it…”

Before they could confirm Ichizō’s whereabouts, the avalanche had struck just like that.
Concern over whether Ichizō was alive or dead grew sharper by the minute.
Hikota wanted to find some way to reassure Gosuke, but he couldn’t find a single shred of evidence to work with.
But there was one thing he noticed at that moment.

“Gosuke… It’s strange for an avalanche to happen now, don’t you think? It’s still too early for that, isn’t it?”

“That’s true,” Gosuke nodded.

“But maybe that avalanche was caused by the sound of the gunshot earlier.”

“Does that even happen?”

“It does happen sometimes.
But if anything, it’s a rare occurrence.”

Hikota, who had been listening to Gosuke’s account, noticed the blood staining Gosuke’s wrist red at that moment and widened his eyes in shock.

“Gosuke! You’re hurt!
Your hand’s bleeding!”

“Huh? Blood’s coming from my hand…?”

Gosuke too started in surprise and hurriedly looked at his own hands.
There was indeed a great deal of blood on his wrist.

“Where did this bleeding come from?”
“But I don’t even feel any pain, though.”

He examined himself thoroughly but—strangely enough—no wound could be found anywhere.

“But there’s no injury anywhere on me…”

“But that’s strange, isn’t it? There’s clearly blood on it.”
“That’s an awful lot of blood!”

Hikota also joined in examining him, but it became clear that Gosuke had indeed sustained no injuries anywhere.

“How strange,” Hikota said. “What could have happened?”

“It’s completely strange,” Gosuke replied. “That’s creepy.”

“Ah, I get it now!”

“I get that...” Gosuke trailed off. “What do you mean?”

“The reason is... Well, this is complicated,” Hikota said with a troubled look. “But Gosuke, you mustn’t give in to despair. In other words, there must have been blood flowing inside that snow cave. That blood might have gotten on your hand.”

“Ah, I see!”
Gosuke’s face abruptly paled as he spoke.
“Then Brother Ichizō was in the cave…”

“We still don’t know whether that’s actually true.”
“We can’t be certain unless we excavate the snow cave.”
“So it’s too early to lose heart.”

Hikota desperately comforted Gosuke while thinking this had become a grave situation.

“Gosuke.”
“Let’s head down the mountain.”
“And let’s inform everyone about this.”

“That’s right.”
“We have to tell the villagers so they can quickly excavate the snow cave from under the avalanche…”

Gosuke and Hikota hurriedly descended the mountain, stumbling several times in the snow.

The slightly premature avalanche, Ichizō’s disappearance, the blood on Gosuke’s wrist—the strange events reported by the two boys spread swiftly throughout the village.
Immediately, a rescue team was formed; everyone rushed to the scene at Aokami Mountain, where snow excavation began.
What suspicious things would indeed be unearthed from beneath the avalanche?

The snow melted.

The villagers who had rushed to the scene upon hearing of the incident desperately dug through the snow to uncover traces of the avalanche.
However, their efforts made little progress, and night soon fell.
Bundles of firewood carried from Fumoto Village were piled up here and there; when doused with oil and set ablaze, crimson flames crackled fiercely as they burned, casting an intense glare across the snowbound mountains.
The excavation continued through the night, yet even by dawn they still hadn't achieved their goal—and as if misfortune knew no limits, another violent blizzard struck at that very moment.
This marked the beginning of what weather records still show as that generation's worst snowstorm.

Once that happened, human strength was no longer of any use.

The people had to retreat to Fumoto Village, leaving the mountain as it was and barely escaping with their lives, all while shedding tears.
Among them were both Gosuke and Hikota.

That both those strange events and the unprecedented blizzard were rumored to be the curse of Aokami Mountain’s Demon God—and that such rumors spread throughout the region afterward—was perhaps unavoidable.

Several months had passed.

One day in mid-May, Hikota unexpectedly appeared at Gosuke's house.
Gosuke, puzzled yet delighted to see Hikota despite it not being a holiday, welcomed him in. According to Hikota’s explanation, Tokyo’s schools had suspended classes indefinitely due to severe food shortages.
Gosuke widened his eyes in surprise and said, “Huh, is that so?”

“Did you go to Aokami Mountain after that?”

Hikota asked Gosuke.

“No… I don’t go.”
“Can’t go anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because they say Aokami Mountain’s Demon God curse is too dreadful—the village decided nobody climbs it now.”

“That’s strange,” Hikota said, pursing his lips.
“Being afraid of Aokami Mountain’s Demon God is nothing but superstition.”
“If they keep clinging to such superstitions, Japan will never be able to join the ranks of the world.”

“But even I get shivers just remembering Aokami Mountain.”
“That something like a strange band was flying in Jizo Forest, footprints shaped like boats, Brother Ichizō going missing, the massive avalanche, and then the blizzard—oh right, and you remember how my hands were covered in blood back then, don’t you?”
“There’s just so much weirdness everywhere!”

Gosuke’s face was drained of color.
Hikota shook his head from side to side,

“No, no. If you keep being scared like that, you’ll never uncover the truth. Come on, let’s go to Aokami Mountain together right now. The mountain’s snow has probably melted by now, right?”

he said in a strong voice.

Gosuke was initially reluctant, but encouraged by Hikota—thinking it better to shatter superstitions, and truly wishing to find and bury his brother’s remains—finally resolved to secretly climb Aokami Mountain with him, following Hikota’s words.

They made preparations the previous day, and the next morning while it was still dark, the two boys left the village and began their ascent up the mountain.

The snow had melted.
The scent of spring mountain herbs filled the air.
And just as the morning sun showed its face over the eastern mountains, they reached the peak of Aokami Mountain.

Finding the entrance to the cave where Brother Ichizō had secluded himself was not such a difficult task. Of course, there was no snow, and the entrance was half-collapsed. The two of them stood before it and exchanged glances. In Gosuke’s eyes, tears glistened.

“Cheer up, and then you need to calm down and think things through properly,” Hikota said in a grown-up tone. “Three days before the two of us climbed here last time, you came here with Oyuki and saw Brother Ichizō in good spirits, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Up to that point, things had been safe, but when we climbed up the mountain and heard gunshots, then rushed here, Brother Ichizō was nowhere to be seen inside the cave.”
“You went deep into the cave and saw that the battery had been overturned.”
“At that moment, the avalanche came, so I called out loudly from outside the cave.”
“You crawled out of the hole and evacuated to the mountain over there.”
“After the avalanche, when I looked at your hand, there was blood on it.”
“That’s how it was, right?”

“That’s right.”
Gosuke stared intently, wondering what Hikota would say next.

“The blood that was on your hand was from what had spilled deep inside the cave. When you were searching there earlier, you must’ve touched that pool of blood.”

“Ah, I see!”
Gosuke turned pale.
“So that blood was what flowed from Brother’s body? Then Brother really was killed after all. That pistol sound…”

“Wait, Gosuke,” Hikota interjected in a restraining tone.
“I checked your family’s blood types—they’re all Type A.”

“Yeah, everyone’s Type A.”
“My dad and mom are Type A too.”

“Exactly. So Brother Ichizō is naturally Type A too.”
“However, when I took the blood that was on your hand back then and had them examine it in Tokyo, what do you think that blood type turned out to be?”

Gosuke panted heavily. “Are you saying it wasn’t Type A?”

"That's right."
"It's not Type A."
"So that blood didn't come from Brother Ichizō."

“Ah! I’m so glad.”
“So it wasn’t Brother’s blood?” Gosuke leapt up with joy but soon clouded over.

“Then whose blood was that?”
“Could it be... Could it be...”

Gosuke could no longer speak further.
His body began trembling violently.

Gosuke could no longer say what came next.
His body began to tremble uncontrollably.

(Ah... Could it be... Could that blood have come from someone Brother Ichizō shot and wounded with his pistol?)
If that were true, Brother Ichizō would have shot someone with a pistol.
No—or perhaps something even worse than that?
Brother Ichizō is a murderer!
Tormented by thoughts of *Ah, could it not be that?*, Gosuke could no longer remain standing there and dropped heavily to the ground with a thud.

“The blood type was, as I just stated, neither Type A nor Type O nor Type B nor Type AB.”

“Huh? Then... it’s not human blood, but a beast’s?”

Human blood types are limited to four.
If it wasn’t among those four, then didn’t that leave only beast blood? Gosuke tilted his head in puzzlement.

“I had a doctor examine it, but it wasn’t beast blood either.”

Hikota said something strange.
It was neither human blood nor beast blood.
How could such a thing be believed?

But Hikota appeared to have some confidence.

What was the true identity of that mystery?

brother’s notebook

Even though there was no snow, the cave where Brother Ichizō had secluded himself was chilly and cold to the skin.

Moreover, because Hikota had started talking about blood types in such a strange way, Gosuke felt uneasy and shuddered as if cold water had been poured down his back.

“Gosuke, I’ve determined that the blood on your hand was neither human nor beast.”
“So that blood isn’t from Brother Ichizō’s body—rest assured.”

“I’m so glad we found out it wasn’t Brother Ichizō’s blood.”
Gosuke smiled.
“But if it’s neither human blood nor beast blood, then whose blood could it possibly be?”
“Ugh, that’s so creepy.”

“The mystery lies there.”
“Let’s solve that mystery with our own hands from now on.”

“Do you have any idea, Hiko?”

“Nah, not at all.”
Hikota shook his head but continued, “But you know… I think that might actually be the blood of Aokami Mountain’s Demon God you mentioned before.”

“Demon God’s blood?”
“Could there even be blood in the Demon God’s body?”

Gosuke widened his eyes and stared at Hikota’s face.

“That’s just my imagination.
“Anyway, let’s enter the depths of this cave and try searching more thoroughly.”

Hikota took the lead and proceeded into the depths of the cave.
The cave appeared to be a dead end.
However, when he swung the pickaxe they had brought and dug into the earthen wall four or five times, suddenly the soil crumbled away with a crash, revealing a dark hole beyond.

“Just as I thought. The hole continues further back here.”

Brandishing their battery lamps, the two stepped into the depths.

“It’s a huge hole.”

“This doesn’t seem to be a hole your brother dug.”
“This hole seems to have existed for quite a long time.”

The walls of the hole were as hard as rock, their geological composition different.
The air grew piercingly cold, and from somewhere echoed the sound of water droplets falling.
Hikota cried out sharply and pitched forward.
Hikota’s battery lamp abruptly went dark.

“Hiko! What happened?”

“Nah, I’m okay.”
“I just slipped.”
“There’s water flowing here.”

Gosuke let out a sigh of relief and, holding the lamp, approached Hikota.
Hikota was getting up, his hands and knees covered in mud.

At that moment, Gosuke noticed a small notebook lying at Hikota’s feet. Thinking Hikota had dropped it, he alerted him.
Hikota picked it up, but it was not Hikota’s.

“It’s not mine.”

“Then whose is it?”

“That’s weird... Who would drop a notebook in a place like this…”

The two brought their faces close together, opened the notebook’s pages, and examined its contents.

“Ah, this is Brother’s!”

“Huh? Brother Ichizō’s notebook?”
“It is!”
“The handwriting looks familiar… Oh, look! My name is written there!”

Indeed, it was just as Gosuke had said.
“Gosuke, be careful. Danger approaches. Return to the foot of the mountain quickly…”

“Ah, Brother Ichizō is warning us about the danger!”

“That’s right. Alright, let’s read ahead.”

Forgetting their fear, the two clung to the notebook and read ahead.
The following had been hastily written inside.

Gosuke, be careful. Danger approaches. Return to the foot of the mountain quickly.

I let my guard down and failed.
Today (December 25th), while conducting observations, I had barely registered the sound of collapse from deep within the cave when strange gray creatures—neither human nor beast—crawled out from the depths and lunged at me.
I fought against them and took down the first one.
But more came swarming out from behind and attacked me.
They possessed incredible strength.
I finally fired the pistol.
The opponents withdrew at last, but they had broken both my legs, leaving me immobile.
There I tried to crawl out using only my hands, but it proved futile.
Inside the hole, the battery had toppled over with sulfuric acid spilled everywhere; water had turned the ground to mud, and the hole's exit rose too steeply to climb.
It's hopeless.
I pray you will come.

What on earth were they—these things that had unexpectedly emerged from the depths of the cave?

They do not seem human.
The bodies were about twice the size of a human’s, with gray hair covering them from head to toe.
However, I do not think they are mere beasts either.
They stood properly on both legs, spoke with voices, and I saw them leap over the hole like bats.
The feet appeared frog-like.
And they stank.
They emit something like gas.
They are indeed highly advanced creatures.

What kind of beings were they?

That’s it—it might be them.
What I mean by “them” is—though the Earth has undergone four ice ages—I believe they may be descendants of advanced organisms that inhabited this land prior to those events.
At that time, some of them fled underground because the surface grew cold.
And I think they might be creatures from a bygone era that have lived underground ever since then for tens of thousands of years.
Could it not be that they suddenly emerged from deep within this hole?
It is a strange thing, but I do not think it impossible.

Now that I think of it, Brother had been observing seismic vibrations traveling through the ground in this hole until now, but there were strange tremors mixed in that weren’t ordinary earthquakes. Brother had intended to solve that mystery and had continued his research without telling anyone, but it ultimately led to this tragedy. Everything is fate. But while Brother was still alive, he was able to see the subterranean monstrous human tribe that no one else in the world yet knew about, and I think he was glad. These monsters—they’re what people called the Demon God of Aokami Mountain. Those footprints, that strange aerial flight...

We all must remain vigilant.
More qualified researchers must be dispatched here.
Station an adequate security force to prevent casualties.
These are fearsome creatures not to be taken lightly—

Ah，it seemed like the monsters were rushing in again．
I can no longer be saved．
I will keep firing as long as there are bullets left—though only two remain—after that，I can only surrender myself to them．
Goodbye，Gosuke．
Give my regards to everyone．

Ichizō

“Oh, how pitiful.”
“Your brother fired his last two pistol shots and was caught by the monster.”
“If only we’d come sooner.”

“But if we’d come sooner, we might’ve been taken by the monsters too.”
“Brother saved our lives in the end.”

“I see, that’s how it was.”
“Gosuke, shall we try exploring deeper into the cave?”

“No, let’s not go through with it.”
“Brother left a note saying we should retreat to the mountain’s base immediately—it’s too dangerous.”
“Come on, let’s get out of this cave right now.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.”

The two boys resolutely crawled out of the hole.
However, immediately afterward, for some reason, a massive avalanche suddenly occurred with a thunderous rumble from the earth.
And the place where the hole had been was completely buried beneath the rocks.
The two boys scrambled down the mountain with their lives barely intact and returned to the village at the foot.

The monsters ceased to appear thereafter, so it is said that the villagers have been living peacefully.