The Revenge of the Soul Eater

Well, you know.

Having settled the matter with Gozu and the other three Onigashima, I was walking slowly through the forest with Cryer, who I had taken hostage.

It's really slow, just like a walk around the neighborhood. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one.

By the way, I let go of the hand that was grabbing Cryer's hair a long time ago.

I'm not going to be the only one who's been in a position to do that. That way, the words "chase me and I'll kill you" would have a sense of authenticity.

Since those two were already gone, there was no need to continue the play. Of course, I didn't bother to explain that to him, so I'm sure Cryer will continue to be hostile and wary of me.

Aside from that, the reason why I'm staying in the forest instead of returning to Ishka is because this was to resolve one concern I have.

An elven sage (Lunamaria) once said the following about the dragon species.

For a true dragon, there is no time for eggs. When the conditions of the world are right, it is an illusory disaster that is born of flesh and blood. That is the dragon, he said.

If this statement was correct, then the Forest of Titis, where Hydra had appeared, had all the conditions for the appearance of a dragon species in the present day.

This means that simply defeating the Hydra would not stop the situation, but the possibility of a second or third dragon type appearing.

Of course, there is a possibility that a new dragon type may not be born, but since we don't know the details of the conditions for its appearance, it's all a matter of speculation.

So I decided to find out for sure.

This is why I had left the Hydra faked dead.

The reason why he knew that Hydra wasn't dead was because when he had dropped all eight of Hydra's heads the other day, there had been very little influx of souls. Whether it was the Lord of the Flies, the Serpent King, or Jijinbo, a large amount of souls had entered it, so large that they were recognizable the moment they killed it.

The souls of the illusory Hydra could not be less than theirs. That's why I was convinced that Hydra was not yet dead.

At first I thought I would leave Goz and the others to deal with Hydra, but the fact that he pretends to be dead means that he doesn't want to die, and that his consciousness is working inside of him. And I can also assume that he has the intelligence to understand the difference in power between him and me.

Once the threat of me is out of sight, Hydra will run back to the nest to try to recover. If we can follow them, we can find out the conditions under which the dragon species appears. At the very least, they could find a clue to that - that's what he thought.

It's no problem if this idea is off the mark. In that case, all I had to do was to put a stop to Hydra again.

And things began to work as I had predicted.

''--I see, so you hid the crucial last head in your torso.

I let out a small gasp as I followed the hydra northward through the forest of Titis at a terrific speed.

It had lost its eight heads and eight tails, and a ninth head emerged from its lumpy body. Perhaps this head is the main body of the Hydra.

The head ate its way through its own body to emerge and began to move on its own, biting off the part of its body that was connected to the body.

The way it wriggled its body and crawled on the ground was like a giant snake itself, and the previous sluggishness that it had been advancing while dissolving the ground with its venom was nowhere to be seen.

''Ah, um........Sora-dono!

As I carefully tracked Hydra to avoid being noticed, a panicked voice came from very close by - specifically from my chest.

I looked down and met eyes with Cryer, confusion and shame filling his face.

'Shut up. I'm going to bite my tongue.

Yes, yes. Um, but I think this position is somewhat problematic...!

Apparently, Cryer is concerned about the state of being held by me - the so-called princess position.

It's not a good idea to be held by someone who was seriously cutting each other down just a few minutes ago. I understand that, but I don't think the current exhausted Cryer is able to follow me, and I don't know what he will do out of sight if I carry him on my back. Of course, leaving him or her behind is out of the question.

You're going to be able to find out what's going on in the world. In this state, even if Cryer were to attack me, I would be able to respond instantly.

"Be patient.

When I told him mercilessly, Cryer's eyes fell down, as if he had given up.

While dodging these conversations, I continue to fly through the forest.

The hydra is headed to the north, or the deepest part of the deepest region, and then further back to the deepest part of Titis. On the way, we passed an area that was turned into a sea of venom, and I thought it would be tricky to get underneath it, but the hydra slid over the venom.

The fight with me must have been very hard for him, because he looked so desperate as he fled in a flash, making me feel strangely guilty. I don't know why, but it brings back memories of crying as a child as I ran home to my mother's waiting house.

--It's a long time later. We finally stepped into the depths of Titis.

I recognized it because the air had clearly changed. Not in a metaphorical sense, but the quality of the air had really changed.

In a word, the air became thicker.

At first, I thought that Hydra's poison had broken through Jing's defense, but this was not the case.

This was a sweltering scent of life. The world's magic power - the power of mana - filled the air, and you could feel the magic power filling your entire body just by standing there. If you cast a spell now, you'll be able to draw several times, or even dozens, of times more power than usual. It was the same for the jin technique as well.

The unbelievable density of magic power was even more eerie.

I slowed down my running speed as if I was being frightened by something, and began to advance while being cautious of my surroundings. The more I proceeded, the stronger the eerie sensation became. This feeling is reinforced by the sights around me.

The vegetation in the deepest part of the forest was different from that of the outer perimeter, or even that of the deepest area. It wasn't like there were only new species growing there that I hadn't seen before. Every plant I saw was a familiar species.

It's just that the way they grow is beyond my knowledge.

For example, the corsiera grass on my right should only grow one meter at most, but here it grows over two meters, as if it were a matter of course. For example, the Paralal tree should be at best the size of a fist, but here it has grown to the size of an adult's head.

Every plant I saw was in such a state.

A deformed forest that had deviated from its original form as a species as a result of continuing to take in too much dense mana. This was the deepest part of Titis, which was rumored to be inhabited by a fantastic species.

I don't know why such a large amount of mana is occurring, but at this minute, I should think that non-plant species have mutated as well. It's also highly likely that the demonic beasts have been greatly enhanced.

I lowered the cria I was holding onto to the ground and manifested my mind gear. It's better to do that - or rather, my instincts told me that it would be dangerous if I didn't.

I'm not sure if it's the same for you or not.

I'm sure you'll be able to find your way to the top.

I continue onward while keeping an eye on my surroundings.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to find it, but I know that something that looks like a branch has already begun to grow out of the cracks in the trees that were snapped off by the hydra. This is an impossible growth rate for a natural plant.

If you think about it calmly, Hydra was born in the deepest part of the world and headed to Ishka, the plants around here must have sunk into the sea of toxic fluid at one time or another. Even if they had been out of Hydra's path, they would have been caught in the tornado that the illusory species was creating, and the soil on the ground would have been blown high into the sky.

Nevertheless, there was no trace of it in the surroundings. The vegetation was so dense that there was no room to walk, making it look like a green fortress. These plants had consumed the hydra's venom with their surplus of life force and had returned to their normal form in just a few days.

As mentioned before, there were still poisonous seas in the depths. So, this was only a feature of the deepest regions. It was certain that there was 'something' ahead.

When he thought that far, his vision suddenly wobbled.

I hurriedly clutched my feet and shook my head. I felt a sense of intoxication, or maybe it was just a feeling of drunkenness, but my body felt strangely flustered and I couldn't find my footing. If you drink as much alcohol as you can, you'll feel the same as I do now.

On top of that, I've been experiencing a dull ache around my thighs for some time now, similar to heartburn.

It was clear that these abnormalities were caused by mana.

Essentially, mana does not harm the body; on the contrary, it works to invigorate the body and mind. One didn't have to be a magician to benefit from mana.

However, just as a good medicine can become poisonous if taken in excess, excessive intake of mana can activate the body's functions more than necessary. This may be the result of a physical and mental abnormality.

If it is poisonous, it can be prevented with the use of jing, but in the case of mana, the body takes in the mana on its own, and therefore cannot be prevented even with the use of jing. Rather, using Jing Jing causes the body to crave more magical power, which in turn increases the rate at which mana is absorbed by the body. In a way, it was more troublesome than Hydra's poison.

Staying in this land for too long would be fatal, no joke. Unbeknownst to him, the speed at which he chased the Hydra had increased.

How much further had we gone since then?

I wondered how far we'd come since then, and Cryer had been cupping his hand over his mouth and groaning incessantly. I was feeling dizzy and nauseated, and I felt like I would fall down on the spot if I wasn't careful.

Honestly, I'm thankful that we didn't get attacked by a magical beast. It was probably out of fear of Hydra, so I am grateful to that dragon species in this regard.

It was then that 'it' jumped into view.

-- a gaping hole in the ground.

A huge, too huge hole. I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.

The overflowing stream of mana poured out of the hole with a roaring sound. Compared to this mana that is spewing out like it's reaching for the heavens, the density of the mana that has been tormenting us up to this point is not even a tenth of what it should be.

In the first place, I don't even know if we can call this mana magic power. Isn't this the power of the mythical realm of elemental (ether) or divine (origin) or something like that, this.

This nightmare, where infinitely equal power is gushing out inexhaustibly.

Ah, I can truly agree with you that there is no mystery to the appearance of an illusory species in this place.

I had never seen a scene like this before. But I know about it in terms of knowledge.

A hole in the earth and the primordial power that flows out of it. Since ancient times, it is said that the heroes who have risen a dynasty have always built their capitals on it.

In other words, it is a dragon hole.