Chapter 127

A monster vigorously jumped out of the bushes.

A bipedal monster with a scaly skin.

A humanoid lizard— it reminds me of those so-called “Lizardman”.

It’s unique features would be its two tails.

I could see that the tip of its tails were quite sharp.

It was quite different compared to the sinister form of those guys in the Disposal Ruins…

However, its head has grown quite strangely.

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It doesn’t have a lizard-like head.

Seaweeds.

That’s the only way I could describe that.

Its seaweed like head were swaying on its neck.

It’s like it was swaying along the waves underwater.

Hmm?

Seaweed?

[…………………..]

I tried remembering the things about this place.

That must be… the “seaweed lizard” huh…

Eve put some power in her grip on her sword.

[So, that guy’s also a Golden-eye monster huh.]

There’s a golden ball on the tip of a seaweed.

I see, so that’s the eye huh.

It’s quite an eccentric form.

However, I’ve already seen quite a lot of monsters with strange appearances in the Disposal Ruins.

That’s why I didn’t shudder upon seeing if it’s just something like this.

Eve doesn’t seem to be scared either.

As expected, she still courageously assumed her position.

The monster’s head swayed.

[Aggyyyuuuunnn~ iiieeehhhhhh~]

I could tell from the direction of where its neck is pointed at.

Eve has caught the monster’s attention.

[Oggyyyoooooohhhh…]

It seems to be watching Eve.

I wonder how they recognized someone as a were-leopard?

I still don’t understand the difference between the monsters and the were-leopards…

Eve charged ahead.

The monster reacted as it sprinted towards her.

[Gigiiyyyyooooo~! Eeeeeiiiieeeehhhh!]

While it roared out in its strange voice, the monster leapt towards Eve.

Kisshhhaakkkk!

The monster slashed in the air using its abnormally developed claws.

Eve quickly ducked as a large claw brushed through over her head.

Immediately after— the two bladed tails swiped towards Eve like a spear.

However, Eve repelled the two bladed tails with her skillful swordsmanship.

Her movements were really precise.

It could be said that her movement is really something you would expect from someone with the reputation of being the strongest Blood Champion.

[………………..]

Alright.

[<Paralyze>]

Crackle…

Crack—

The monster’s movements abruptly stop.

[Eee—-eeeehhh…. eehh!? Eeeeehhh…?]

[So, they also work for monsters here huh.]

With my arm still held out, I revealed myself out from the thicket.

[<Poison>]

[Inngghh…!?]

Approaching the monster, I tapped Eve on her shoulder.

[Good work.]

[Have you achieved your goal, Touka?]

[Yeah, the first condition has been cleared.]

I’ve learnt that my paralyze and poison were still effective to monsters here.

Of course, it is still unknown at this time whether my skills work on all the monsters in the Demon Zone.

However, this is a good start for us.

[<Sleep>]

[Zuuuuuuu…]

I’ve also confirmed that sleep is also effective.

The monster in front of us falls down.

Thud!

I could have finished it off quickly by invoking Berserk on it but—

[I want to try out how much time it could withstand until it dies from <Poison>.]

I would check this first..

Eve looked down at the fallen monster.

[If it’s against a monster like this, I could have finished it off by myself. However, how strong do you think it is?]

I didn’t use <Paralyze> immediately after we encountered it.

I wanted to have Eve fight the monster for a bit.

Why?

I wanted to observe the battle and compare it to the monsters in the Disposal Ruins.

How is it compared to the monsters in that ruins?

I wanted to see that.

While watching the monster which had fallen on the ground, I answered Eve’s question.

[Don’t let down your guard.]

[Mhmm?]

[Compared to the monsters I’ve killed before— the strength of this guy is comparably weaker.]

Speed.

Intimidation.

Combat Sense.

Whichever aspect it is, the monsters from that ruins are far superior.

The aspects that were the same with them were the murderous intent that surges from them and the frenzy you could see from how they act.

The moment it judged Eve as its prey, it attacked without any questions.

The aggressiveness seems to be the same.

Though I say that, this seaweed lizard is the only sample I have that I could base on.

Hereafter, I want to apply the same battle flow as this one to observe the other monsters.

But well—

[It isn’t likely that all the monsters in the Demon Zone were monsters like this who only relies on their strength.]

After a while, the monster finally died from poison.

I unsheathed my dagger on my waist.

I then tried stabbing the monster’s corpse.

Thunk!

It pierced through.

It seems that the toughness of this monster is also incomparable with the monsters at that ruins.

There’s no acidic fluids spouting out of its body.

There’s even no potent acid flowing through along its blood.

[Against monsters like this, this still—]

I looked at its golden eyes that have lost its vitality.

[—can’t be considered an enemy.]

▽

Seras began approaching.

[Touka-dono.]

[Hmm?]

We still haven’t moved away from where we encountered that seaweed lizard.

[Is there something I could do?]

With her hands behind her waist, Seras slightly leaned forward.

She had a modest smile on her face as she looked at me with her reserved gaze.

However, did she think that she would become a hindrance if she called out now?

That’s my guess on Seras’ thoughts right now.

Whether she’s being considerate or being reserved…

I always remembered that she had one line of thought when talking with me.

She must also have that kind of thought right now.

[I don’t think I recognize this monster.]

[Isn’t it because this is the first time you’ve encountered this monster…?]

I showed the cover of the book I’m holding towards them.

[This is indeed my first encounter with this monster. However, I remembered seeing this monster somewhere in this book…]

I turned the pages of my “Encyclopedia on the Forbidden Arts”.

Then, Seras points at the bottom right of the page.

[This is…?]

She pointed at the simple picture of a monster that was drawn in the book.

It had a head of a seaweed.

It also had the body of a humanoid lizard.

[Ah, it’s this.]

Found it.

It was certainly the first time I’ve encountered the monster itself.

However, I felt that I’ve seen something similar in form from somewhere before.

I remembered seeing the name of this thing before.

Therefore, the name of the seaweed lizard seems to have immediately appeared in my mind.

[This seaweed-like part is also a material to make prohibited items.]

[Just like that strange voice stone in the fly mask?]

[That’s right.]

It’s probably because the characters written were too small for her to see.

Seras brought her face closer to the book.

Her long elven ears were just directly below my face…

[Hmm? It seems that it had Bakuos Ruins listed as its habitat though?]

[Well, the author mustn’t have encountered the seaweed lizard in the Demon Zone.]

The original habitat of this lizard is probably the Bakuos Ruins, located southeast of this continent.

Even the Great Sage wouldn’t know all of the monsters in the Demon Zone.

In fact, there’s also another note written about it on another page.

“It is estimated that the habitat allocation of the Great Ruins (hereafter referred to as the “Demon Zone”) has been drastically changing over time. If we don’t conduct surveys and update our information once a month, we will not be able to obtain accurate information about their habitat allocation. Say, in some of the ruins that were scattered about in the countries, we had an impression that the species that were dwelling in them has already been determined to some extent. But in the Demon Zone’s case, different species of monsters were coexisting in this area. I can’t imagine how many monsters were inhabiting that place. However, you could also look at it in another way. This also suggests that it’s possible to gather all the raw materials needed for forbidden items inside the Demon Zone.”

I’m noting about the last sentence there.

One of my main reasons why I entered the Demon Zone was to acquire experience points.

However, I may also obtain materials I required to make forbidden items.

Witch of Taboos.

Experience points.

Raw materials.

If we’re lucky, I may be able to kill three birds with just one stone after entering the Demon Zone.

I told Seras about the aforementioned note.

[In the past, I’ve heard some rumors about the white fortress near the Demon Zone. I heard that the people of the white fortress not only protects their territories from the monsters coming out of the Demon Zone, they’ve also killed monsters they find around their perimeter and sell their materials to use it to fund their country.]

So, they’ve processed the horns and pelts of the monsters huh…

[If there’s an abundant variety of species, this may surprisingly be a good hunting ground even if you stay around the shallow areas.]

Beside my neck, a protrusion had come out and also looking into the book together with us.

Pigimaru had already peeked out a while ago and was also looking at the page while it’s swaying about.

[Pinyyuuu~]

I don’t think it understood what’s written there.

It’s probably just imitating us.

I gently pat the protrusion.

[For the time being, I guess my first priority would be your Enhancer huh.]

[Punii~]

Seras hummed.

[This “Encyclopedia on the Forbidden Arts” really is quite interesting…]

I remembered she liked looking around old books.

It feels like she had always been interested in this before.

[If you’re interested, should I lend it to you?]

Seras neck quickly twists and her face turned towards me.

There’s a mix of seriousness and expectation on her face.

[Is that alright?]

[If it’s Seras, it wouldn’t be a problem. You’re the person I trust the most aside from my uncle and his family.]

Seras turned her face away again.

She played around with her ears as it turned into the color of cherry blossoms.

[……….Thank you.]

Anyone would be happy if they felt their being treated special.

Well, I’m not really telling a lie though.

If you don’t properly set your consciousness in your conversations, Seras could easily see through lies.

Tearing off the parts that could be used as materials, I gripped my dagger and was about to process the corpse.

However…

[Ah, let me do it.]

Seras offered.

Kneeling down, she skillfully stripped off the seaweed head with her sword.

[You’re quite dexterous.]

[Fufu, I’m honored to receive your praise.]

Seras began wrapping the seaweed in a cloth.

[Now then, you should hold on to this.]

I held out the “Encyclopedia on the Forbidden Arts” towards her.

Receiving it with both of her hands, Seras carefully embraced the book on her chest.

[Thank you very much, Touka-dono.]

▽

After a while, we advanced again.

On the way, we encountered some monsters we’ve met for the first time.

All of them were aggressive Golden-eyed monsters.

As soon as they notice us, the monsters would attack us immediately.

[……………………..]

Isn’t there a harmless monster like Pigimaru around here?

The threats from the monsters doesn’t seem to be a problem as of the moment.

The monsters that have attacked us were also intercepted with the same battle flow just like that time with the seaweed lizard.

All of my Abnormal State Skills were also quite effective on them.

And then, I’ve also gained more materials for the forbidden items.

I already brought my own utensils to make them.

However, it seems that I still don’t have anything I could make with the materials I have on hand.

I need a certain amount of materials before I can make them.

It would also require some time.

If I were going to stay for a long time, I want it to be somewhere that we’re safe.

However, we still haven’t found such a place yet.

I want my base somewhere secure so that I could place a bed in it.

After a while, we found a rocky area that’s almost a blind spot.

Thereupon, we decided to take a break there for a while.

I started looking for a rock that I could sit upon.

I look up in the sky.

The view outside is quite open.

Therefore, the sky is clearly visible for us.

The sky is still bright.

There is also no change in the weather.

[I guess I wouldn’t have to worry about rain for the moment.]

I took out my pocket watch and checked the time.

The time is just past 2 PM…

I put it away and looked around again.

I could see Seras turning the pages of the “Encyclopedia on the Forbidden Arts”.

While I looked over our preserved food, I continued watching over her.

At any rate, Seras’ mouth really is quite small.

It’s somehow as small as a squirrel.

[Hmm?]

Suddenly, Seras’ brows wrinkled.

She vigorously turned the pages.

Her hand that had been turning the pages stopped at some page.

She appears to be a bit flustered.

I wonder what’s the matter.

Did she just turn pale…?

Eve and Liz also seem to be looking at her.

With her shaking shoulders, Seras looked towards me.

She held the “Encyclopedia on the Forbidden Arts” towards her chest.

Thereupon, I immediately realized.

[Umm, Touka-dono…? W- What could this be…?]

With her slightly trembling voice, Seras asked.

I could only place a hand on my forehead.

Oops…

I actually haven’t really explained anything about that.

That bloody page where the Great Sage wrote his warning about the Soul Eater.

[Don’t worry about it.]

I said,

[That’s already over now.]

……………….

However, I’m only talking about that “Soul Eater”.

The reason for my concerns pertaining to the Demon Zone.

A monster that appears to be that same species as the Soul Eater.

The Human-Faced.

Perhaps, you could say that it would be a matter of life and death for us if we were to meet them.