Liberi Reader

I never knew there was a cave like this on the other side of the volcano.

This used to be a natural cave, but after extensive mining, it's turned into a deep shaft.

Be prepared, everyone. We still have a long way to go once we're inside.

Our actual destination is in the depths of this cave.

Even when I was back in the Lab, I never imagined that I'd be diving deep into a volcano during my vacation.

Can you explain what's going on to me now? That phone call was way too obscure. What did she mean by 'there's a good chance to stop the eruption?'

Hmm... I think Skyfire can explain it better. Help me out here.

Provence and I came to this conclusion after exploring the volcano, and we discussed it with Eyjafjalla.

To explain the theory, we'd first have to talk about the habitat of the Originium slugs... Or rather, we should call them volcanic slugs or lava slugs.

Even though they look just like normal Originium slugs, these creatures feed upon the special obsidian found in this volcano.

These Originium slugs make their colony very close to the core of the volcano, where lava mixes with special components to form large quantities of this obsidian.

Once the people here discovered that this obsidian was special, they followed the slugs' tracks to locate the source.

I see. I've read about this before. People in some places take advantage of the animals' habits to locate and exploit resources.

People can always draw connections from interacting with other creatures.

The problem is, there hasn't been an eruption in a long time, and the supply of obsidian started to dwindle.

Overmining doesn't just affect the industries involved, but also destroys the Originium slugs' natural habitat.

As a result, they became increasingly restless and started to burrow more and more in search of new habitats. This is most likely the source of the abnormal internal activity within the volcano.

Doing this may be effective for keeping the colony alive, but the end result is a Catastrophe for Siesta.

...'If we do not protect the gifts from Nature, then Nature will instead grant us punishment.'

So, what should we do now?

Is there some method to block the volcano?

We should approach it from a different perspective. We actually need to pacify the host of this abode.

Let's hurry it up. We need to go deeper.

It's getting hotter and hotter...

It's just in front of us...

Everyone, be careful!

——————————!!!

That roar... It sounds... as if it's crazed.

Of course. These slugs are not intelligent enough to individually explore this volcano so extensively, so there must be a queen in the colony.

She is the host that we're searching for.

...We're supposed to find that queen out of all of these slugs?

What are you talking about? This volcanic Originium slug is powerful enough to trigger an eruption. She is the true host of this volcano! We should definitely be able to discern her from a glance!

The possibilities are endless for organisms that evolved under extreme environmental conditions. You never know, this slug might be powerful enough to melt an entire Defender squad.

Are you saying that these tremors were caused by a single Originium slug...?

There's nothing to be afraid of, as long as I'm here. It doesn't matter how much these slugs may have mutated--

Wh-what's that?!

How can this be... The lava is already coming out?!

No, that's the mutant Originium slug! Head down the cave!