Of course, it’s also possible that they’re pretending to be dead like the plants in the Forest of Calamity, actually seeking opportunities to ambush, or simply unable to move freely for the time being. It’s best not to hastily conclude that they’re “harmless”.

 

“Come take a look.”

 

These protrusions from the ground aren’t very tall, reaching only to Violet’s waist, and even she can easily see the scene inside.

 

Wisps of gray gas drift slowly outward, emanating from the depths of this flower-shaped structure—what can’t be clearly seen is a circular, pitch-black pipe with a diameter of about one meter.

 

These things should be similar to the bizarre parasites found in the bodies of those three adventurers back in Anilo City, extending countless tentacles from a single body. And these cavities are the ends of those tentacles.

 

If fundamentally they’re all “Calamity”, then the basis for this inference is quite substantial. The difference lies only in the former parasitizing human bodies or monsters, while whatever is here spreads over the entire island as a colossal entity.

 

Violet currently has two choices.

 

Like in the Forest of Calamity, forcefully breaking through the ground, or directly entering through these pipes in reverse. If her hunch is correct, the abyssal creatures born inside the island should also be coming out through similar channels.

 

These cavities are likely indeed serving as vents and outlets, while the island as a whole resembles a giant abyssal creature production machine.

 

And to verify this speculation, the simplest method…

 

The black-haired girl glanced back, grinning.

 

“Shall we?”

 

“Huh? So, where are we… Hey!”

 

Just as a certain suspicion emerged in her mind, before Sigrid could finish her sentence, a certain priestess quite gracelessly stepped onto the edge of the cavity and then leaped forward!

 

Whoosh, the black-haired girl’s figure vanished before everyone’s eyes.

 

Following closely behind, the dragon girl, whose expression remained unchanged throughout, also jumped without hesitation in the direction of her master. After her came Leila and Rene, who seemed a bit hesitant but still moved without delay.

 

They were all people who unconditionally and absolutely trusted Violet.

 

Watching the girls jump into the cavities one by one, Sigrid glanced at the priests beside her and swallowed hard.

 

“We really have to jump…”

 

Leona, the beautiful mole elder sister who seemed to be leading the four priests, sighed helplessly.

 

“It seems like this is indeed the only way. Since Miss Violet dared to take the lead herself, she must have already confirmed its safety. Little Sigrid, are you scared? This isn’t like you at all?”

 

“It’s not a matter of being scared… it’s just that, the shape of this thing, it looks so… so…”

 

“?”

 

The priests looked at each other, seeming not to understand what the usually carefree and fearless girl was afraid of.

 

“We’re already here, and there’s no turning back, right? How about we jump first and test the situation for you?”

 

Leona kindly suggested, seemingly not hearing the inexplicable anxiety… or rather, embarrassment in Sigrid’s ears, and then, she snapped.

 

“Aaah, forget it! I’m jumping!!”

 

Wrapping her body in white wings, the girl stumbled into the narrow passage in a strange posture.

 

“…?”

 

“Is she okay? Maybe she’s not feeling well, or got injured when crossing the death fog?”

 

A female priestess looked worriedly at where Sigrid disappeared, while Leona, although equally puzzled, shook her head without hesitation.

 

“There shouldn’t be anything wrong with her physically. Little Sigrid grew up under my watch. If it were something like that, she wouldn’t be secretive about it… Anyway, let’s be careful and stay vigilant. None of us have been here before, and anything could happen.”

 

“I just hope… everything goes smoothly. This magic island always gives me a creepy feeling.”

 

………

 

The length of this passage was even more outrageous than Violet had expected. Even though she wasn’t plummeting at a 90-degree angle, it took her nearly half a minute of sliding before she finally touched solid ground again.

 

There wasn’t much death fog leaking from the pipe, but there were some sticky fluids clinging to the walls, which was a bit disgusting. However, with the protection of 【Feather Robe Graria】, there was no need to worry about getting contaminated.

 

If she guessed correctly, this should be something similar to the tissue fluid inside a large organism. In other words, where she stood now was indeed inside the enigmatic entity parasitizing the entire floating island.

 

Before the priestess could observe her surroundings properly, several figures leaped out in succession from the pipe hole she had just exited.

 

It was Xiao Guang and the two white-winged aides of Violet.

 

“Master, are you okay?”

 

“Mm.”

 

During the descent, Violet had already sensed several similar breaths following closely behind her at high speed. To be honest, she wasn’t entirely sure what the situation was down below, whether it was safe or not. That’s why she decided it was best for the most survivable person—herself—to probe first.

 

However, it seemed that the pipeline was merely used for transportation; there weren’t any traps or mechanisms inside. Even the deadly fog was just a portion that diffused from the lower levels, which included where they were.

 

With a protective effect similar to dragon scales, Xiao Guang naturally wouldn’t get stained by the sticky liquid in the pipeline. But Leila and her sister Rene weren’t as fortunate. They had quite a bit of the viscous fluid stuck to their snowy white wings and hair, busily cleaning each other’s faces with a look of distress.

 

“And what about Sigrid and the others, didn’t they follow you…?”

 

“Plomp.”

 

Accompanied by a somewhat strange spitting sound, the bedraggled white-haired girl rolled out, completely soaked.

 

Compared to Leila and Rene, it seemed this girl was even more unlucky—perhaps due to the armor she wore, which caused her body to expand quite a bit when wrapped in wings, making the squeezing worse.

 

Her entire wings were almost soaked through, resembling a drowned chicken, even her ponytail stuck to her head. She remained crouched on the ground in silence after emerging from the pipeline, looking like a disgruntled wife who had been wronged.

 

“Pfft…”

 

Because Miss Sigrid’s appearance was just too comical, a certain unscrupulous priest couldn’t hold back anymore and let out a suppressed laughter.

 

As if suddenly finding a vent for her frustration, the captain immediately jumped up, embarrassedly launching a series of soft punches at the priest’s flat chest with her sticky fists!

 

“Violet, you’re still laughing! It’s all because of your rotten idea to come down this cursed place, now I’m dirty! How will I find a partner in the future?! Sob, sob, sob!!!”

 

“Pfft… Hahaha~!”