By the time Aoyama returned to the shelter, the moon had already risen above the treetops.
The dark red embers still glowed faintly, casting a dim light over Kasumigaoka Utaha sitting on the grass bedding.
“Who is it?!”
The moment she heard footsteps, she immediately raised her head.
Her red eyes shone brightly in the darkness.
The tension and worry on her face vanished the moment she realized who had returned.
However, her fingers still remained wrapped tightly around the signal flare.
“Aoyama-kun, are you okay?”
Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the urgency behind every word was impossible to hide.
“I’m fine.”
Aoyama placed the compound bow and machete beside the fire before sitting down.
“There were three men resting near the stream.
They were killed by a creature that looked like a dinosaur.”
Utaha’s voice paused slightly.
“A dinosaur?”
Aoyama reached out and adjusted the embers, his expression calm.
“It should be some kind of Velociraptor-like creature.
Around two meters long, and its movements were unbelievably fast.”
“The three of them had weapons, but they barely had any chance to fight back.”
“The entire hunt lasted less than a minute.”
Utaha’s fingers tightened around the signal flare.
She remained silent for a while, her eyes falling onto the compound bow and machete beside the fire.
“These weapons…
belonged to those three people?”
“Yeah.
That thing dragged away their bodies along with an entire backpack, but the weapons were left behind near the stream.”
Aoyama turned his head toward her.
“I took a longer route back and made sure nothing followed me.”
Utaha quietly processed everything he had told her.
Her breathing, which had been rushed at first, gradually settled down.
The firelight reflected in her red eyes, revealing a complicated mixture of emotions.
Fear.
Lingering anxiety.
But more than anything, relief after confirming that he had returned safely.
“Aoyama-kun.”
“Hm?”
“Please be careful.”
“I know you’re strong, but that thing…”
She paused, her grip tightening slightly.
“What if you hadn’t been able to avoid it in time?”
Aoyama looked at her.
The firelight illuminated her profile, highlighting her slightly furrowed brows and the lingering fear that had not completely faded from her eyes.
Feeling her concern, he smiled.
“I will.
And besides, I’m strong.”
Utaha slowly exhaled, as if she had finally received the reassurance she needed.
She released her grip on the signal flare and placed it back into the side pocket of her backpack.
Then she moved closer to the fire and sat down beside him, her shoulder almost touching his arm.
“This place is becoming more dangerous.
Do you have any plans for tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow, we’ll head to the shipwreck.”
Aoyama picked up the compound bow and checked the condition of the string.
“But we need to be more careful.
This island isn’t only dangerous because of other humans.”
Utaha nodded.
Her eyes rested on the brand-new compound bow.
After a few seconds of silence, the corners of her mouth curved upward.
“But…
with this thing, you should be able to deal with that dinosaur, right?”
Aoyama pulled back the bowstring, feeling its resistance.
His gaze became serious.
“If I can hit it…”
“There might be a chance.”
“But that thing is too fast.
I need to find the right angle and distance first.”
“Then you can test your accuracy while we’re traveling tomorrow.”
Aoyama nodded.
“Get some sleep.
We have a long journey tomorrow.”
“Mm.”
Utaha slowly closed her eyes.
Listening to the faint sounds of insects from the distant forest, her breathing gradually became steady.
Meanwhile, Aoyama sat beside the fire with the compound bow resting across his knees.
Through the entrance of the shelter, he stared into the moonlit forest outside.
The image of that dark-scaled creature flashed through his mind.
I need to prepare.
…
The next morning, the two of them woke up early.
Aoyama checked their equipment one more time.
The steel rod and machete were secured to the side of his backpack.
The long blade hung at his waist, the compound bow was strapped across his back, and eight arrows sat neatly inside the quiver.
Utaha carried her own backpack, which contained the remaining smoked crocodile meat, several packs of compressed biscuits, two bottles of water, a first aid kit, and the signal flare.
“Let’s go.”
Aoyama pushed aside the vines covering the shelter entrance.
Morning sunlight poured inside, illuminating the stone overhang with a warm glow.
The two followed the stream downstream.
The shipwreck was located near the northern coastline of the island, and reaching it from their current shelter would take a long time.
Aoyama deliberately avoided the area near yesterday’s stream bend and chose a slightly longer route that was more open and easier to observe.
They did not encounter the dinosaur-like creature along the way.
However, while passing through a dense patch of bushes, a snake nearly two meters long dropped down from the branches above.
Its triangular head flicked out a crimson tongue as it moved toward Utaha.
“Careful!”
Before his warning had even finished, Aoyama’s long blade was already out of its sheath.
A flash of steel cut through the air.
The snake’s head separated from its body.
Its body twisted as it fell from the branch, convulsing twice among the fallen leaves before becoming completely still.
“…”
Utaha stepped back half a pace, still shaken.
She patted her chest before watching Aoyama calmly use the tip of his blade to move the snake’s body aside.
“Aoyama-kun, good thing you reacted quickly.”
“Snakes are common in tropical rainforests.
You get used to it.”
Aoyama wiped the blade clean against some grass.
“Let’s keep moving.”
Utaha nodded and followed behind him.
Her eyes remained fixed on his back the entire time.
After walking for around three hours, the trees gradually became thinner.
The soft soil covered in decaying leaves beneath their feet slowly changed into sand and gravel, while the salty scent in the air grew stronger.
“Aoyama-kun, did you hear that?”
Utaha suddenly stopped.
Aoyama stopped as well.
“Crash…
crash…”
A rhythmic sound came from the distance.
It was steady and continuous, repeating again and again.
“That’s the sound of waves hitting the shore…”
The two exchanged a glance before quickening their pace at the same time.
After passing through the final stretch of sparse vegetation, their vision suddenly opened up.
“We’re here.”
The beach stretched beneath the sunlight.
White sand extended all the way to the water, where the ocean displayed different shades of blue.
The water near the shore was a clear pale green, while farther out it deepened into a dark indigo.
The sea breeze blew against them, sweeping away the exhaustion from their journey.
Farther away, several hundred meters from the beach, a ship rested tilted into the ocean.
Only around three or four meters of its upper structure remained above the water.
Its strange angle made it look like a massive whale slowly sinking into the depths.
Utaha stood at the edge of the beach, the sea breeze lifting her black hair and brushing it across her face.
She stared at the shipwreck.
Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something but swallowed the words.
“…It’s bigger than I imagined.”
That was all she said.
Aoyama stood beside her, also staring at the ship.
His gaze moved between the hull and the surface of the ocean.
He estimated the distance.
Around two or three hundred meters.
The darker color of the water in between meant the depth was likely at least ten meters.
Swimming there was not impossible.
But if he ran out of strength halfway or encountered some kind of aquatic creature, the consequences would be disastrous.