In the cave where old wood and the mire overlap, the mud is as thick as ink, completely swallowing the light emitted by the firefly grass above.
A group of mud monsters indulges in this, enjoying it like a warm bed.
Compared to the beetles, swamp pythons, or fog frogs and other demons living in the same cave, the number of mud monsters has exploded like wild grass.
Just a few days ago, their population was less than twenty.
This explosion of reproduction relies entirely on a "feast" — the deceased Puki were filled with magic power, and dissecting just one could allow a mud monster to split three times.
They reproduce so quickly purely because resources are so plentiful.
One mud monster lazily half-floated on the surface of the mire, quietly dissolving the last third of the Puki within its body.
Suddenly, its body shuddered, and a few bubbles rose quietly with a faint "pop".
Rising along with them was a newborn individual, much smaller in size.
