First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 135
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
(Kurokiri POV)
“So, what’s your explanation?”
“What might you be talking about?”
After returning to “White Mist and Black Swamp Forest,” I averted my face to the side at Ichiko’s question, who had been waiting for me at the entrance, separating my eyes from hers as much as possible.
“Why are you tearing your gaze away from her?”
And at this juncture, Ryo came from behind me and restrained my shoulders.
“Lady Ryo, please continue to restrain Kurokiri that way.”
“Don’t worry, Ichiko. I will restrain him while activating ?Great Heal?.”
From Ryo’s hand, the light of ?Great Heal? was emitted and the power flowed into my body. And Ichiko’s right hand was gathering mist under the effect of ?Enchanting Mist?.
The two of them were now exuding an extremely optimistic demeanor.
Yeah. This is unfavorable. Let’s have a candid conversation.
“I-I understand. I’ll explain everything, just calm down…”
And so, I ended up exposing the whole episode that transpired outside.
————–
“In other words, you had developed a sorcery that would allow you to go outside, albeit temporarily.”
“And just when you thought to test it out and went outside.”
“You protected the boy, and engaged the beast of disaster in battle.”
“After defeating the beast, you handed the boy the sword before returning here.”
“I can’t even use the word stunned to describe it.”
“Indeed.”
That was what Ichiko and Ryo remarked after listening to my exposition.
“So, what exactly is this sorcery that enables you to go outside?” Ryo asked.
“The sorcery is called ‘Dispersing Fetters’. By expending power, it temporarily lifts one of the restrictions imposed on the occupation of a Demon King, that is to say, the prohibition of leaving one’s own dungeon. Depending on its application, other restrictions may be removed as well.”
“What about the fuel consumption?”
“It is not that terrible. But if I am going to be in combat, I have to pay attention to a number of variables.”
Indeed, it was not that bad. I can leave the dungeon for a few hours without any problem. Even in battle, I can perform reasonably well. However, I had to constantly allocate capacity in my head for ‘Dispersing Fetters,’ which made me less effective in combat.
More importantly, unlike “The King Acts for the Sake of His People,” utilizing this method repeatedly would not exhaust me, which I appreciated.
“And how did you feel when you fought the beast of disaster?”
“It depends on their abilities, but I can handle it one-on-one. Moreover, I was able to find out more about the ?Disaster Curse? through the ‘Eye of Law Analysis’.”
“That’s good news.”
In reality, the syntax of the ?Disaster Curse? skill that I calculated backward from the residue of ?Disaster Curse? that was left in the remains of Houki and that I analyzed this time differed significantly.
While it was conceivable that my backward calculation was inaccurate, it was also plausible that ?Disaster Curse? was not a fixed skill in the first place.
Or rather, I believed that possibility was more likely. Between Houki’s time and today, there were far too many distinctions in terms of status and skill.
“So, how was the sword I made?”
“Oh, that one. It’s incredibly sharp and durable. As expected from the combination of my magic and Ichiko’s ?Sword of the Formless King?Weak?.”
It was, to say the least, awe-inspiring. With some enhancement, the solid physique of the beast of disaster can be cut in two with a single stroke.
“And you gave it to the boy despite being aware of that, huh?”
Ah, I have stepped on a land mine.
Ichiko was inspecting the condition of her left hand with a very benevolent look on her face. Furthermore, it may be a hallucination, but I had a feeling that I can see something on Ichiko’s back that looks like Ni?-sama[i].
“Please clench your teeth.”
“Yes.”
For now, I will just let her knock me out with a straight punch to the jaw.
————–
(Ichiko POV)
“And how powerful was it, really? About that sword?” Lady Ryo asked me with an unconscious Kurokiri at her back.
“Basically, it’s a magical metal created by Kurokiri through sorcery and processed by my ?Sword of the Formless King?Weak?.”
Right. That was all there is to it, simply put.
Despite its appearance as a pitch-black metal, Kurokiri’s magical metal was called “Black Fog Steel,” and it contained a few special properties.
The first was its weight which was as light as air.
The second was its strength. Even though the name “steel” was attached to it, its strength far surpassed that of steel.
The third was its absorption ability. This magical metal can further augment its strength by absorbing HP, etc. from anyone who brushed against it, and the absorbed HP, etc. may be returned to its owner as well with the use of special machinery and tools.
Therefore, with the application of my ?Sword of the Formless King?Weak?, I processed “Black Fog Steel” into the shape of a sword. Since the sword absorbed the owner’s power from the handle as it was, I covered the handle with another metal, and then processed the covered metal to return the absorbed power to the owner.
“By the way, does the sword have a name?”
“No, I didn’t come up with a specific name for it. I figured it was just a prototype anyway, and if anyone was going to decide, I thought it would be Kurokiri,” I answered Lady Ryo’s question.
And this was when Kurokiri wakes up.
“The name? If so, I’ve already decided on one, and it’s surreptitiously engraved on the center of the sword.”
“What kind of name is it?”
“Kurokirimaru[ii].”
“What an ominous name.”
“No matter how I look at it, it seems that Kurokiri will be ultimately slain.”
Kurokiri was chuckling at our words, his expression signaling that he found it entertaining.
Seriously, Kurokiri is really such a…
————–
T/N:
[i] Ni? is a god who is the guardian of Buddha
[ii] It means Black Slash Maru ???here, the word maru is often found in a lot of anime like Naruto series, Konohamaru and Orochimaru and One Piece, Sentomaru. “Maru” was used in the days of the samurai (Sengoku and Edo periods) to names of young boys before they reach adulthood. It is also used in naming Japanese ships. It has the same pronunciation as Kurokiri’s name, that’s why they said it sounds ominous