Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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Following the Guiding Star, what awaited us were the ominous black mist enveloping part of the forest and an army of Undead.

“Everyone, don’t approach the mist recklessly!”

As soon as Heiven grasped the situation, he began to command the troops. When the detachment that arrived with us clashed with the army of Undead, I too leaped into the fray, swinging my sword.

The rough shouts, the sharp clang of weaponry meeting, and the explosive sounds of magic erupted all around.

The army of Undead we faced for the first time wasn’t that numerous. However, as the battle continued, Undead started pouring out from within the black mist.

Occasionally, a Death Knight would block our path, but it wasn’t very threatening. The number of Undead was still less than that of the detachment, and once dozens of knights blessed by the Priestess charged in, the Death Knight was obliterated before it could swing its sword even once.

After pushing back the Undead to a certain extent, I was able to approach the black mist alongside Heiven.

“It’s a peculiar magic…”

Heiven’s eyes were special. He had cast a spell resembling the eyes of a Dragon over his own, allowing him to somewhat mimic that power. It was clear he recognized that the magic within this mist was far from ordinary.

My eyes, too, were special. Moving beyond human towards Dragon, I was able to see even more than Heiven.

“It’s based on hallucination magic.”

“It will likely confuse human senses… If we go inside, we won’t be able to recognize each other. No, we probably wouldn’t see anything at all.”

“We can’t see inside from outside either. The murky mana makes it hard to even tell what’s inside.”

“That’s not good…”

“Could it be trying to make us fight each other?”

“That’s a possibility… Seris, can you dispel this magic?”

“I think I can.”

I nodded at Heiven’s question. Perhaps they hadn’t anticipated magic being attacked from outside, as there was no visible defense guarding the black mist. Of course, even if they prepared some special defensive magic, the outcome wouldn’t have changed.

I concentrated mana into the Fire Dragon Sword I held.

Whoosh-!

As the concentrated hot energy ignited into flames, part of the black mist began to disappear as if it was burning away.

Swoosh-!

Just as I was about to swing my sword, the flow of mana maintaining the black mist suddenly grew unstable, then began to scatter in all directions.

The magic began to dissipate even before I could touch it. I looked over at Heiven, and he too was merely gazing at the vanishing mist, filled with questions.

Neither of us did it. Then who made this magic disappear?

Boom-!

As the black mist vanished, sounds trapped inside began to explode forth.

Following the sound was a stench. The wind slowly carried the scent of fresh blood.

As the mist completely lifted, a gruesome scene appeared. There were blood-soaked adventurers and knights gasping for air, revealing that a fierce battle had taken place with the Undead. A wizard, with one arm severed, clung to the cut, using all their mana to create a thick barrier.

Those who fought the Undead were fortunate, at least. They were fighting the enemy, not their allies.

As I and Heiven had expected, the hallucination effect of the mist seemed to have led our allies to fight among themselves.

A knight’s sword embedded in the chest of a wizard, and massive icicles freezing the bodies of adventurers gave a clue to what had transpired in the mist.

“Treat the injured!”

The moment I recognized the situation, Heiven shouted as if having a fit. At his voice, numerous Priestesses rushed toward the wounded.

There wasn’t time to weigh the situation. Some were so gravely injured that they might pass out at any moment. I kicked the ground and headed straight for the nearest wizard.

“Y-you are…”

Thud-!

A huge middle-aged man with a hole in his chest fell to his knees, coughing up blood. His unfocused eyes and the mana swirling around him showed he was breathing heavily but shallowly.

I had seen this man before. How could I forget? He was one of the heads of the Mage Tower.

“Mr. Leo.”

In the Mage Tower where Battle Mages gathered, the Vice Tower Master of the Twilight Tower couldn’t even respond to my call due to the severity of his condition. Even Heiven, who was surveying the area, dashed over to my side upon spotting Leo.

“H-hey! Leo!”

With more Priests than injured people, I didn’t need to step in myself. In fact, a Priest was already rushing over to treat Leo.

However, seeing Leo’s state, it seemed he might die before the Priest’s healing could begin.

At that moment, I immediately began to change the properties of the mana and cast healing magic.

Bam-!

The moment the small hand covered in scales touched Leo’s chest, a green and golden light burst forth. The warm mana filled the void in his chest.

The amount of blood flowing out was immense. Stemming the blood flow quickly by regenerating the skin externally was the priority over fleshing out from within.

At that moment, late-arriving Priestesses began to help restore Leo’s health. Instead of mana, divine power poured into Leo.

I cautiously withdrew my hands, keeping an eye on things. While my healing magic could recover wounds, it couldn’t restore lost blood.

However, divine power was different. As divine energy flowed, the pale color of Leo’s face began to regain some color, and his heavy breaths gradually stabilized.

Then, it happened. From not too far away from where Leo lay, ominous mana began to ripple upward, taking on the form of a small beast.

“Ki, kiyek…!”

A small beast letting out pained whimpers rose unsteadily, as if it were struggling to stand.

“What is this…”

Heiven stared closely at the beast’s form. As the beast stumbled forward, it seemed to notice Heiven’s gaze and began to cautiously glance upwards.

“Mr. Heiven, that’s…”

It’s undoubtedly a Demon. Just as I was about to say so, Heiven, as if already aware, retrieved a metal rod from his pocket and threw it toward the beast.

Thwack-!

The thrown rod landed near the beast, and a thin barrier of mana unfolded, binding the creature.

*

Out of the original one hundred and twenty members of the exploration team, nine had been killed, and one was recorded as missing. Of course, the missing record meant no body had been found, but the odds of having died and resurrected as an Undead wandering in the forest were high.

As the exploration team returned, unease started to spread among the base camp personnel. How could it not? There was no hiding the fact that this time, the selected exploration team was made up of highly skilled individuals.

“Raise the walls higher! Don’t neglect the installation of defensive magic circles!”

Upon returning to the base camp, Heiven began bustling about with powerful wizards, reinforcing the defenses. Pouring in the mana stones he had brought from the Mage Tower, he sketched countless defensive and bombardment magic circles.

When I followed behind and asked for reasons, he frowned and replied.

“The Demons that ambushed the exploration team… They weren’t that numerous. Seris, the Demon you mentioned, Skasha, wasn’t overwhelmingly strong either. This was clearly to gauge our strength.”

“Do you think Mr. Heiven that the Demons will seriously invade?”

“The probability is very high.”

The moment I nodded at Heiven’s explanation, a white-clad acolyte came running from afar, shouting.

“The Vice Tower Master of Twilight has awakened!”

Immediately after hearing that news, Heiven dashed toward the tent where Leo lay. It seemed he wanted to see Leo’s condition for himself.

Inside the tent where I followed after Heiven, Leo, the Vice Tower Master of Twilight, was sitting on the bed, conversing with the Priestesses.

Judging from the way he was moving his arms and legs while answering the Priestesses’ questions, he seemed to be checking if there were any aftereffects.

Heiven approached the Priestesses and said, “Could you leave us for a moment? I’d like to have a word…”

“Oh, yes. We just finished confirming things. Feel free to talk.”

As the Priestesses exited the tent, Heiven moved closer to Leo. Leo, upon seeing Heiven, frowned.

“Did you come to gloat?”

It was a self-deprecating question, but Heiven did not respond. Instead, he turned to me and spoke.

“Seris. That.”

“Oh, yes.”

I began rummaging through the bag on my back at Heiven’s words. It was to retrieve the Demon he had captured using the artifact earlier.

“Oh! This little guy!”

Whoosh-

I found the artifact that contained the Demon and frowned. When I had placed it in the bag, the Nightmare inside had been chewing on it, leaving it slimy.

It seemed it had managed to control its strength, so the artifact itself was unharmed, but it was very sticky because of its saliva.

“Ew…”

As I lifted the slimy artifact, the drooping form of the Demon came into view. It seemed to have exhausted itself exploring the Nightmare’s mouth.

“That’s…”

Leo looked on with a surprised expression at the Demon I had pulled out. Heiven observed his reaction and continued speaking.

“Could this be the Demon that attacked you?”

“I remember it being larger than this…”

If it was bigger, just how big was it? I began to shake the Demon sealed in the artifact back and forth. The palm-sized Demon screamed in agony.

[Kiieek!]