“What was that sound?”

 The sound echoed through the mountainside, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

 Fortunately, there were a number of people around so nobody panicked. Yet, the uneasiness in their eyes was apparent. Even if the people of Kobayashi Village were responsible for imprisoning Daisuke Kojima, it did not mean that they were immune to fear.

 “Why are you guys so flustered?” It was then that Takashi Kobayashi, the chief of Kobayashi Village, exhibited his influence as their leader. Even though he was startled too, he quickly regained himself and said, “We don’t come here often, and neither did we explore all of the rooms, nor wandered through the place. It’s not that strange for mice or some wild beast to make this place their home.”

 Upon hearing that, Taisei Kobayashi and the others heaved a sigh of relief, having noticed they were way too jumpy just now.

 Yet, it was not their fault because the chewing sound from the depths of the mountainside could still be heard. It was the sound of someone slowly chewing on something, a munching noise that was occasionally interrupted by loud cracking noises of bones snapping, and every sound was spine-chilling.

 “You heard it too, you heard it too! I wasn’t lying to you guys!” Daisuke Kojima’s voice cracked like he was about to cry, his tone urgent and filled with anxiety. “Even if you want to lock me up, you should transfer me to somewhere else! There’s this sound every single day in this hellhole, do you know what’s it like trying to survive on my own? Try staying here and you’ll go mad!”

 Taisei Kobayashi was embarrassed when he heard what Daisuke Kojima said, as he had not expected him to be telling the truth. Even if there were quite a number of them here right now, he still felt fear well up in the bottom of his heart. It must have been a lot worse for Daisuke Kojima, who had spent days alone in this eerie place.

 “Aren’t you guys going to investigate it?” Kimura Kazuki heard the sound too, but he appeared to be unfazed. After all, there were not many things in this world that could make him panic, other than things like recuperation of reiki which might insanely delight him instead.

 Taisei Kobayashi proceeded to shake his head. “Forget it, it was clear from the sound that something’s chewing on bones, who knows what it is. Let’s go back quickly.” The last phrase was directed at Takashi Kobayashi, their leader.

 He was extremely against the idea of staying in this place any further. Besides, they were going to kill Daisuke Kojima in the end anyway. Such a greedy vampire! An intense hatred arose in Taisei Kobayashi’s heart just by looking at him. Even though he did not deserve death for his crimes, if he were to spread exaggerated rumors around, Tomohito would be brought to the police department. Tomohito may be dumb, but he did not have any mental illness. So according to the law, Tomohito would be sentenced to jail for several years for committing involuntary manslaughter.

 They would stand with their families and not with reason, this was what most villagers from Kobayashi Village thought. On top of that, Takashi Kobayashi was a very prominent figure in Kobayashi Village, as he was the one who led the village toward the path of prosperity. This was also why that family would agree to resolve this privately, even though they had lost their kid forever.

 They all knew that Tomohito Kobayashi was not right in the head, so he would never have any ill intention to murder their child on purpose. Therefore, they may be devastated about their child’s death, but they did not hold a deep grudge toward him. Of course, the fact that they have many children could be another reason. If it was their only child, they would not stay quiet.

 When Taisei Kobayashi finished speaking, he glanced at the village chief and turned his gaze to Kimura Kazuki. He pointed at him and asked, “Chief, do we lock this person up as well?”

 Kimura Kazuki glanced coldly at this idiot. Throughout the whole trip, he had noticed that this fellow had no respect for others, and did not value the lives of other people as well. It was entirely possible that this fellow might have killed someone before.

 “Lock up? What are you saying?” Takashi Kobayashi glared at Taisei before turning apologetically to Kimura Kazuki. “I’m sorry about that. Taisei likes to make threatening jokes like that…” Throughout the whole ordeal, he had been constantly observing Kimura Kazuki. He noticed that this young man was really oblivious to everything, as he could not find a hint of fear in his eyes. When he recalled the exchange they had previously, he knew from his life experience that Kimura Kazuki was no ordinary person.

 As the saying goes, one can’t catch old birds with chaff. Takashi Kobayashi was very confident in his judgement, so if it turned out that Kimura Kazuki was here to deceive them, then he could only applaud Kimura Kazuki for being an excellent actor.

 As he thought about this, Takashi Kobayashi smiled. “Kimura-san, if you want to check the place out, I could go with you.”

 “Then, I want to go too,” Tomohito Kobayashi chipped in.

 “This isn’t a good idea. I think it’s some kind of beast, so if we go over now, it might be dangerous. Why don’t we leave first? Wouldn’t it be better for us to form a team and check it out later?”

 “Yeah, let’s get out first. This sound is creeping everyone out.”

 “We don’t have any tools on hand, it’s better to stay away from it.”

 The three of them, including Taisei Kobayashi, voiced their reluctance one after another. It was obvious that they did not want to investigate further, as who knew what beast was lurking around. They did not bring any hunting tools with them, therefore investigating the noise without any plans would be disrespecting their own lives.

 However, it was clear that Kimura Kazuki was someone that would not change his mind easily. Besides, he did not come here for Daisuke Kojima. He was here to investigate the reason behind the strange incident with the firefighters in the morning.

 Now that he heard this strange sound, Kimura Kazuki knew that whoever was behind the bone chewing sound might be the reason why he came to Kobayashi Village. Be it a beast, or a monster, or a specter, he needed to figure out the truth after getting here.

 As for Daisuke Kojima, he would not interfere, nor would he make a police report, since they did not really know each other. Of course, it was mainly due to the fact that Daisuke Kojima was not a kind soul and would resort to blackmailing others for his own benefit, this was something that he frowned upon.

 After making up his mind, he paid little attention to Taisei Kobayashi and the others, and neither did he check if Takashi Kobayashi was behind him before he went straight into the depths of the mountainside.

 As he walked, he studied the two sides and realized that many of the doors were engraved with different patterns. There were flowers, sceneries and animals, it was evident that every room served many different purposes, or it could be said that every room had a different owner.

 It occurred to him that this place might have been a business trading site in the olden days. Though eventually, everything faded as time passed. Kimura Kazuki did not ponder any further.

 On the other hand, Takashi Kobayashi, who was left behind, became increasingly convinced that Kimura Kazuki was different. Clearly, Kimura Kazuki had paid little attention to Taisei Kobayashi’s threat. As he thought of this, he contemplated for a moment and tailed after Kimura Kazuki. Seeing this, Tomohito Kobayashi naturally tagged along without another word.

 Taisei Kobayashi and the rest were taken aback. They looked around their empty and dark surroundings, the only source of light being the torchlight that they were holding. The chewing sound that came from the depths of the mountain echoed eerily around them. The sound was really soft, but it was extremely uncomfortable to listen to. Taisei Kobayashi gritted his teeth as he said, “Follow them.”

 The other two did not object. After all, they greatly admired Takashi Kobayashi, as he was the one who had brought wealth to the once poor Kobayashi Village. He was the pillar of Kobayashi Village. If anything were to happen to him, they would never be able to face the villagers and their families.

 “Lock the door.” Before departing, Taisei Kobayashi ordered and proceeded to follow after them.

 “Hey, Brother Taisei, wait for me.” The one that was locking the door saw that the other two had left, and could not help but panic. After all, it was much more reassuring when there were more of them, compared to now when he was left alone. Naturally, he was nervous.

 On the other hand, Daisuke Kojima was at a loss for words. He had wanted to escape when the others were distracted. He did not expect Taisei Kobayashi to still remember him after all that.

 “Jerk! Let me out!” Daisuke Kojima’s miserable cries echoed throughout the mountainside, but no one cared about him.

 At the same time, Kimura Kazuki had reached the edge of the mountainside. He could easily make out the creature in front of him, his eyes revealed that he knew what it was.

“So it’s you.”