First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 50
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
(Ichiko POV)
The interior of “Red Tilt Taiji Cave” consisted of rocks from floor to ceiling, with lantern-like lights dangling from the ceiling. Although the door appeared to be composed of stone, it was as light as wood.
And so far, everything is going well, but…
“Why is everything bright red!”
“(My eyes hurt!)”
The entire area was a solid red, as Mugi and Izumi indicated. Even the lighting was red as if the flooring, walls, and ceilings were splattered with vivid red paint, and of course, the doors themselves were red as well.
While on the subject, I have once heard that certain drug addicts exhibit symptoms that cause them to drench their rooms in a single hue, causing me to wonder if this was one of those cases.
Or was this a unique feature of this dungeon, like the mist in “White Mist and Black Swamp Forest,” for the purpose of taking measures against intruders…? Well, this reasoning was more than likely.
“Let’s find the rest area for now. Given the enemy’s continuous surveillance in this colorful space, it would be more exhausting than we had anticipated.”
While suggesting the idea to the two of them, I searched for the presence of the surrounding creatures.
Since a cluster of numerous creatures appeared to be congregating in that direction, I instructed both of them that we should proceed in that direction.
————–
“(This is awful…)”
“(Yes…)”
“(You can clearly distinguish the nature of the master of this dungeon by this…)”
After slightly opening the door of the room where there were numerous presences of living creatures, we took a gander at what was going on inside.
And within the room, a significant number of people were working nonstop on massive cogwheels, which were common in manga detention camps. Those who were found taking a break or arriving late will be lashed with a whip and subjected to physical punishment by the Karajin, who resembled punks.
However, by simply viewing the outside and observing this facility, it was evident how the Spice King had elevated his level to level 4. It was likely that the Spice King was unaware of the fact that slaying enemies outside the dungeon will result in a reduction in the amount of experience gained, which was why he assigned his Karajin to hunt them down. The bulk of them would be killed during the hunt, and the others would be forced to do some sort of hard labor. That was most likely what he has been up to.
If I may additionally remark, I was inclined to believe that the humans whom the Spice King had transformed into his kin were inherently vulgar individuals who were fond of such practices. They didn’t seem to be distressed at all. Alternatively, they might have already been indoctrinated. Well, in either case, they were beyond salvation.
Even so, watching a scene like this reminded me of what kind of character a Demon King essentially possesses. And also that Kurokiri was heterogeneous as a Demon King.
“(Izumi. We should dash in right away…)”
“(Please hold on.)”
That was unwise to do so.
I halted Mugi and Izumi, who were about to burst out at any moment.
“(What is it!?)”
“(First of all, let’s verify the situation. If we’re going to seize control, we also have to be mindful of the Spice King and consider what might happen after rescuing them.)”
“(…!)”
At my words, both Mugi and Izumi stayed still.
“(Looks like both of you’ve calmed down now. Then let’s move on. If we’re going to do this, let’s have it thoroughly executed.)”
As a result, we each sought a separate entrance, which I, Izumi, and Mugi entered from there.
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(Third person POV)
“Haa…haa…”
The man’s legs were staggering. Nevertheless, he could not afford to stop. For if he did, he would be killed.
“I… can’t do it any further…”
Yet, the man paused briefly.
At that moment, a Karajin struck the man with his whip, and the sound of skin being slapped and a scream resonated throughout the area. Then whether the man’s scream had lifted his spirits or not, the Karajin sought to wield the whip again… and then things were set in motion.
“Gaaaaaaaaaah!!”
A different Karajin, initially brandishing the whip, abruptly shrieked out. That Karajin had not been wounded in any part of the body. However, a blue flame surfaced before the Karajin’s eyes, and as the flame fluctuated, his turmoil visibly escalated until he eventually fainted while foam flowed out of his mouth.
“There goes the first one.”
What was employed against this Karajin was Mugi’s ?Fox Fire?. Not only did ?Fox Fire? inflict fire attribute damage, but it was also capable of illusory effects. It can induce an illusory effect by exposing the eyes to its light for a prolonged period of time, albeit this was an infrequent occurrence.
“!?”
And simultaneously, another Karajin, who was also brandishing the whip, slumped, powerless to even raise his voice while clutching his crotch and frothing.
“…”
Well, if you are a man, you can probably figure out what happened to this Karajin without elaborating on the details. But if I dare to describe it in-depth, I would have to say that Izumi approached the opponent while clad in ?Mist Cloak? to avoid being spotted, and with ?Strength Enhancement? activated, she delivered a kick with all her vigor towards the opponent’s groin.
Incidentally, after hearing this account later, Kurokiri broke out in a cold sweat and remarked, [What an audacious act…]
“You’re the last one.”
“Eh?”
And before the whip was wielded, Ichiko drew near to the Karajin, who ended up being the sole remaining member of the group, with her ?Short-range Teleportation? and ?Mist Cloak?. She then unleashed ?Decapitation? with her bare hands but what was severed wasn’t his head, only his consciousness.
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(Ichiko POV)
The surrounding people displayed expressions of astonishment and consternation as they directed their attention towards our unexpected presence.
“(We did it?)”
“Now, how should we proceed from here onwards?”
“Well…”
As I turned towards the people who were compelled to labor, I declared, “Human beings, make your choice.”
?
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)