First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 48
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
(Mugi POV)
“Noooooooooo!”
My screams reverberated throughout the forest.
“Bumoooooooo!”
In pursuit of me, a massive boar with crimson teeth lunged at me, spewing red dust and destroying the trees in the process.
“Seriously, why the hell is this happening to me!”
I couldn’t help but raise my voice, but the only one who answered me was the boar, and the pair who entered this country with me were not near me right now due to circumstances.
“But I have come all this way! Take that!”
I turned over on the spot and activated my skill ?Firebolt? against the boar.
And just as ?Firebolt? struck the boar…
Dong!
“Nooooooooooooo!!?”
An enormous explosion erupted, causing me to be blown away. Apparently, the dust strewed by that boar was highly combustible.
And then, when I was knocked to the ground, the boar can be seen charging at me with smoke billowing out of it. That boar’s fur was evidently highly resistant to fire and explosions. Nevertheless, the boar’s assault never reached me. After all…
“Thanks for taking on the role of a decoy. Leave the rest to us.”
“(Nod.)”
First, from the shadow of a tree, Izumi leaped out and activated her ?Bio Weapon Creation ?Axe?, conjuring an axe made of bone, which she used to sever the boar’s thick leg.
“Bumoooooooo!?”
Ichiko then continued to assault the wounded and thrashing boar by activating ?Decapitation? from ?Short-range Teleportation?, thus putting an end to the boar.
Even after being beheaded, the pig twitched convulsively for a brief period of time before ceasing to move.
“Phew. We somehow managed to pull it off.”
“Haa, it was just in the nick of time…”
“(Thank you for your work.)”
The three of us assembled around the boar, and while removing the boar’s skin, we appreciated each other’s exertions.
Now, it’s time to explain how we ended up hunting the boar. The story traces back to a week ago.
————–
(Ichiko POV)
“Even though this is a city, there are no people.”
“(There’s not a soul here.)”
“It wouldn’t be out of place if there was at least a coast guard.”
When we entered this country, which was connected to the continent across the sea, the first thing we did was to search for residents in order to grasp the current state of affairs here. Since this country was supposed to be a developed country as far as language was concerned, we assumed that in a developed country, English would be the language of communication.
After wandering around for a while, we came across a kin of the Demon King of this country.
“Who the hell are you guys!”
Yeah, of course we escaped. And the moment he entered the shadows, I eliminated him.
And this was where things started to heat up.
“There are a great number of them, indeed.”
“What’s more, what’s with that skill…”
“(My eyes hurt?!)”
Apparently, the name of the Demon King of this country was “Crimson Scattering Spice King” and his kin were “Karajin,” possessing the skill of ?Crimson Dust? which allowed them to be wrapped in lachrymal crimson dust like our ?Mist Cloak?. That being said, it seemed that there was no problem if it was only a fleeting moment. Well, this was the information we found out about the country from the communication through Kurokiri.
Now, you may be wondering why masses of Karajin have been attacking us since earlier.
The reason for the attack was self-evident. It was the fact that we were the intruders who have defeated one of the Karajin.
What I failed to comprehend was how this number of Karajin was prepared.
“I have a theory about that, but…”
“Is that right?”
While taking a brief rest lest the enemy discovered us, Mugi put on a contemplative expression.
“Yeah. It makes sense if you consider that the number of humans they capture are being transformed into a kin, regardless of their skills or status.”
“But then, how did they reach this place…?”
“‘Long-distance Transportation’.”
“! So that’s what’s going on.”
After hearing that, I had a clear picture of what was going on. In other words, if it was a tricky enemy, they will mobilize all their allies to crush them once they spot them without fail?
Indeed, there weren’t many individuals who were capable of crossing the ocean at the present time.
“However, if the other side can use ‘Long-distance Transportation’ then…”
“Well, it is essential to contact your master, isn’t it? I mean, I’ve already informed the Fox Princess-sama.”
“(I’ve passed the message to Kurokiri.)”
“I see.”
Both of you were faithful to your master. Especially Izumi, who can report to Kurokiri even though she didn’t know his true nature.
While I was amazed at these two, we fled into the forest near the city so that the Karajin wouldn’t detect us.
And there we met… a boar with huge red tusks. Its entire body also emitted a powder that seemed to be identical to that of the Karajin.
“…”
I was momentarily stunned but pondered how to defeat the boar. And the conclusion was…
“Mugi-san, please do something about that powder with your skill. After using your strengthening skill and self-enhancement, Izumi, follow Mugi-san and deliver a surprise attack to the leg.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to follow Izumi and finish it off. Well then, best of luck to you.”
“(Good luck.)”
“Eh, w-wait!”
After saying that, Izumi and I went into hiding.
————–
(Mugi POV)
Then, out of desperation, I fired a single shot of ?Fox Fire?, forcing the boar to hound me down, leading to the situation depicted at the start of this story.
“Now, what are we going to do next?” I asked them.
“First, we need to locate the other party. Whether we enter the dungeon to fight or head deeper into the continent, it will be too risky if we don’t have a clue where they are.”
“(I agree.)”
I see.
“In that case, I suggest we move on swiftly.”
Little by little, the surrounding forest became noisier and noisier. It was likely that the information that the boar was killed had been transmitted to the other side, attracting the Karajin’s attention.
“I guess so. Let’s hurry.”
And then, the rest of us drifted off into the depths of the forest.
?
Check out other Outer World Story series in order: Outer World Story: The Black Mist that Devours (First series), Outer World Story: Pumpkin Sorcerer (Third series), Outer World Story: Basilisk of Ice Sculpture (Fourth series)