Volume 5 Chapter 15 Aftermath Of The Raid
Toxy had done it.
"Ow, ow, ow."
As my entire body was melting into a gooey mess, I walked while activating my second heart, the Anahata Chakra, at full power.
Where to? The ruined city.
Or rather, the ruined city that Toxy had submerged in a sea of deadly poison.
"I wonder if things have calmed down up there yet...? Alright."
I leaped onto the roof of the ruins. The poison was now only deep enough to submerge my feet, so I hopped around, regenerating my feet as they melted, while searching for Toxy.
"Weeeeeeeeee! Dragon breath is the besttttttt!"
I spotted Toxy, who was completely high, flying in the sky. Wow, that's amazing. It looks like there's a dragon attached to her. She has so many necks. Is that Yamata no Orochi?
"Toxy!"
I shouted as I approached. Then one of the dragon's heads looked at me and raised its head.
I was completely stunned.
"Roooarrr!"
The dragon's head, which seemed to be acting independently, unleashed a poisonous breath at me. I said, "No, no, no, no," and summoned about 10 crystal swords and used gravity magic to scatter them like a fan.
'Hmm, not bad. Little girl, it seems the real deal has arrived.'
"Eh? Oh! It's Wade! Wade!"
"What? ...Could it be, a friend of yours, little girl?"
The Toxy dragon flapped its wings and glided towards me. As it landed, it gradually retracted the dragon's illusions, leaving only one neck growing from its shoulder.
Then Toxy hugged me tightly. Her eyes looking up at me were sparkling with pure affection. But the white of her left eye was pitch black, and her pupil was gold and elongated. It was a beautiful, snake-like eye.
"Wade, Wade! Isn't it amazing! This is my power! Ehehe!"
Toxy said that with a look of joy I had never seen before. I smiled and replied.
"Toxy, sit down in seiza."
"Eh?"
"Seiza."
"...Um, well? What do you mean?"
"Seiza."
"...Okay."
After saying the same thing over and over again, Toxy gradually returned to her normal self and sat down cross-legged on the spot. For a moment, I wondered if this venom was okay, but she seemed to be completely fine.
"Toxy, first of all, can you do something about this sea of venom in the ruins city?"
"Um...Hydra, can you do it?"
The dragon phantom that grows on Toxy's left shoulder is apparently called Hydra. So that's why this venom is here.
'Hmph, that's nothing for me, but I don't like the fact that my vessel, this little girl, is listening to a brat like you, ugh!'
I moved at lightning speed and grabbed Hydra's neck.
"Can you do it? Then do it. If you don't, I'll keep tearing you apart. I heard that Hydra's heads regenerate, so it'll be easy, right? So, I'll keep tearing you apart until you obey me."
'Little girl! What the heck is this brat! He's even crazier than you, little girl!'
After all, this is not funny.
To Hydra, who was desperately trying to defend itself, Toxy pretended to be embarrassed.
"My~ dear husband~♡"
'...'
Hydra opened its mouth wide and froze. I started to tighten my grip slowly.
'Wha? A-are you really going to tear me apart!? I was only summoned as a phantom, but it still hurts!'
"Are you going to listen?"
'...Hmph, ugh! I'll listen to a runt like you―――wait a minute. Brat, how did you find the little girl in this venom?'
Hydra asked me, and I dipped my left hand, which was not holding Hydra, into the venom. It hurts.
I take it out. It's melting. But the Anahata Chakra is repairing it. Fully recovered.
"Like this."
'...'
After a brief silence, Hydra said.
'...This venom can easily be burned to ashes by my fire. Just give it a little heat, and that's it...'
With a puff, Hydra breathed fire. As if the sea of venom was a lie, it disappeared in no time.
I let go of Hydra's neck.
"Thank you, you saved me."
'...Whatever, it's no big deal...'
Hydra said sullenly. On the other hand, Toxy's face was quite pale. She seemed to have calmed down and realized what she had done.
"Well, Toxy. What did you do wrong?"
"...I'm so sorry for creating a sea of deadly poison in a place with our allies without any precautions..."
"Toxy, that sounds like a terrible crime when you put it that way."
"I'm truly sorry..."
Toxy bowed deeply. There's no point in saying anything more if he's reflecting on his actions. From what I've heard, none of us in our party would be embarrassed to die in this situation.
"Alright, just reflect on your actions. Let's go back after checking the area for a bit."
"Yeah..."
Toxy and I stood up and walked through the completely deserted ruins of the city.
The surroundings were a mess. There were only newly formed skeletons. It seems they all died from being melted. I guess that's a fitting end for those who seemed like bad guys.
Since the lights were extinguished by the poison, I lit the torch I had with me and walked. Most of the things around were just overturned wine bottles, but one thing was different.
A ruin with almost no people. In the middle of it, there were countless gold coins and expensive-looking furnishings.
There were no paper-like items, but there were ink bottles remaining. Maybe they were doing some bookkeeping. And it seems the paper materials melted from the poison.
"This must have been their headquarters. Oh, look."
There was only one remaining remnant of the strange, moving doll-like thing I fought. It seemed to be made of part biological and part inorganic materials, and it attacked me in a half-broken state.
"Object Weight Increase"
I slammed it to the ground with gravity magic, then thrust my crystal sword into it and infused it with magic. I learned that depending on how I infuse the magic, I can either shoot beams or make the crystal explode.
And then, the doll stopped moving, pierced from the inside by the countless tips of the crystal sword's blade. Seeing that, Toxy said in admiration, "Eiosnight's sword is super strong."
Then, someone called out to us.
"I see, I see. I thought something was wrong since I was suddenly submerged in a sea of poison, but it was you guys."
We turned our attention towards the voice. We were surprised, but we didn't panic. That's because there was no killing intent in the voice.
In our line of sight, there was a man-like figure in a black robe, sitting on a chair that was about to collapse.
"Who are you?"
"If you insist on exchanging names... I suppose you're not keen on it. I don't mind, so I'll introduce myself. In Nightfather, I'm known as 'Puppet Master'."
"What? Puppet Master!?"
Toxy exclaimed. I was already aware of him, so I just widened my eyes in surprise.
A Nightfather executive and one of the Gold-rank enemies. A villain who transforms humans into puppets and toys with them.
So that's why there was something puppet-like there, I thought. That must be the puppet.
Puppet Master said.
"Oh, you seem to know me. That formidable power... Among the many enemies in Nightfather, I can't figure out who you are."
I was relieved that my identity wasn't revealed. But Puppet Master continued.
"The famous poison magic user, Toxy-san from the Wade Party, is in Karditsa, but she shouldn't have been here. Or rather, there are rumors that she recently rose to Gold rank, so maybe...? "
It sent a chill down my spine. If our identities were revealed, it would lead to our homes being exposed, which would be bad.
But I've seen Clay's silver tongue. He said with a hint of glee.
"Oh, you're right. I'm that Toxy. Got it?"
"...I see, you're the one who recently joined Karditsa? There are almost no people in Karditsa who don't know the Wade Party. So it's natural to think that's the case."
"Hey, don't get offended. I'm a born-and-bred Karditsa citizen."
By mocking the man, I could bluff in 3 ways: 'blaming others', 'being stupid enough to think that', and 'not knowing the Toxy Party'.
Surely, judging from his polite language, he must be wise and educated. That's why Puppet Master fell for my bluff.
"You say formidable power, but you don't seem to be in any trouble."
Toxy cleverly concealed ers true feelings and said, "I have plenty of replacements." Puppet Master laughed. Confused, I peeled off the black robe.
Inside was a puppet. I began to understand. So, this guy is a copy.
"Ugh, this is disgusting."
"Hehe... For me, it's the highest compliment."
"And is it a Floating Sword?" he asks. When I hear "floating sword," I understand that it's a sword controlled by gravity magic. It was probably named after the fleeing enemy's screams.
In fact, the true effects of gravity magic are not widely known. That's probably what's making me less memorable.
"Floating Sword and Poison Sea. I'll remember you two well. So, I'll be off now. May God bless you."
With a click, the puppet that housed Puppet Master lost its power. He's a type of enemy who operates things remotely and safely. In terms of system, he's similar to Ice's snowman.
"Well, the Gold Rank is bottomless, isn't it?"
We're the ones saying it, but Toxy shrugs.
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