Chapter 21 - Under a New Body [2]
"Hello~? Is anybody there!" I flailed my hands around and raised my voice.
Despite this, no one answered my call.
"Ugh, no good. There are no humans here either."
Five days have passed since I left my apartment, searching for any sign of human activity.
If I had to summarize what I discovered during my journey, I would have both good news and bad news.
The good news is, I haven't encountered any entities other than wild animals yet.
The bad news is, I… also haven't encountered any entities other than wild animals yet.
Yes, I intentionally repeated myself, but that's what makes this situation so confusing. It feels as though humans have vanished completely, leaving no traces behind.
"'I'm going to steal everything in this convenience store if you don't come out! What are you gonna do, hmm?"
…
…
…
"Ah, what the hell am I doing with my life?" I banged my head against the wall.
Acting rather mischievously, I cringed at my own behaviour. My stomach twisted inside out.
Ahem, ignoring my horrible attempt at lifting the mood, here's what I deduced so far:
The continent that houses Demiurge is known as Ancrel, one of three dominant nations that stand out as powerhouses.
These countries boast their unique strengths, shaping Ancrel with their contrasting philosophies and capabilities.
Demiurge, renowned for its mastery of magicraft and trades, stands as a beacon of innovation and arcane knowledge.
Trestkania, the nation that has completely banned any usage of magic, positioning itself as the pinnacle of technological advancement.
And Yorselania, a country that achieved remarkable development in both areas. Essentially, a well-rounded nation excelling in various fields, most notably Alchemy.
Because the 1st Cardinal Sky impacted Demiurge the most due to their negligence, Demiurge most likely advised its citizens to immigrate to these countries.
The damage wasn't as severe as this, but inevitable when Noah, the thread that stitched the world together, had vanished.
However, if more than 4 years have passed and the 2nd Cardinal Sky has descended, that's when things become complicated.
My best option is to head to either Yorselania or Trestkania.
Yorselania would be the ideal country to migrate to, especially since it maintains a positive relationship with Demiurge.
But Trestkania, on the other hand... It's obvious which is the better choice at first glance.
Trestkania hate magic. Demiurge angry.
Despite conflicting views, Trestkania was included due to its sheer military strength.
Hell, some of the humans there possess combat skills that rival the likes of Noah.
As risky as it sounds, I might have a better chance of encountering a thriving civilization in Trestkania.
While there are certainly other countries in Ancrel, the three I mentioned stand out as giants in comparison.
And one of the main problems is that Demiurge... doesn't have the best reputation, unfortunately.
"Oh, jeez, sure wish I could share this haul with someone!" I said out loud, I still haven't given up on trying to find a person.
Maybe it was because using my appealing voice as a signal could be effective or not.
Still, I kept doing it anyway, even humming famous songs in the process.
It's not like I'm curious about my voice or anything.
"Hum hum hum~" Seconds after refuting myself, I hummed a familiar tune, wandering through the aisles to see if there was anything worth uncovering.
"Hup!" I reached out to grab an object hidden behind the corner.
Due to my frustrating height, I couldn't reach it, no matter how hard I tried.
"..." I looked to my right and noticed a stool designed for situations like this.
Since what I was trying to grab wasn't that high in the first place, I refused to use it.
I felt like... if I grabbed that stool and gave in, I would never be the same ever again… so I used another method to retrieve the object.
—Ving!
As if I had done this multiple times, I used Ichor as an extra limb, swinging it so the can falls off the shelf.
—Clop!
And thus, with minimal effort (I could've just grabbed a stool), I have obtained a can of preserved corn.
"Oh, lucky~" I smiled like a child, completely unaware of how innocent I looked.
"Heh, I love this thing." I nodded in approval, appreciating the Ichor's existence for the 6th time.
"Hmm, can I even fit this in the bag?" To see if it did, I tried to fit the canned corn inside the bag.
Although I was determined to carry luggage, I instead settled for something small because of my weaker physique.
"That's enough supplies. I should head back before dawn falls."
With my excited little hops… I can't help but notice that my behaviour has changed ever so slightly.
Was it because I've been alone for so long that I stopped caring about my outer appearance, or was it because I turned into a girl?
Hmm… dunno!
—Chirp Chirp!
Taking everything I needed, I took a deep breath and stood still, reminding myself that I lived in a grim reality.
"For a ruined world, this feels oddly calming."
The air was clean, and the people who caused unnecessary disturbances were no longer present.
Earth could have been like this if humans had not colonized it.
If my journey were to be as peaceful as this, then I'd appreciate it if it stayed this way—
Such hollow wishes are usually never met with gratitude, but an omen that I didn't want to happen.
—Rustle Rustle…
"Great, I jinxed it." I retrieved my senses and hurriedly prepared myself.
—Fwip!
I held my gun firmly and faced the rustling in the bushes, ready to defend myself against whatever approached.
"Shrieeek!"
'Whoa?! Too sudden...!' The moment an unknown entity lunged,
"KIEE-"
—BANG!
I shot it reflexively, blowing it into smithereens.
"…W-What was that?" I set the gun down and questioned whether I made the right choice in pulling the trigger.
I didn't even get to take a closer look to see what it was.
—Rustle Rustle!
"W-Woah!" I stumbled backward when another appeared, only to run past me and disappear into the distance.
"Oh.... it's just a rodent."
—Rustle Rustle! Rustle!
While I was wondering why that rodent was running, hundreds of rats followed and surged past me, their numbers multiplying rapidly as they raced in a single direction.
—Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
"Wait, there are so many of them!" The swarm of rats started to overwhelm me, nearly knocking me off balance.
It took a few seconds for them to dwindle; all that remained after this was the eerie silence that revealed the cause.
'Ah, I don't like how this is going.'
After spending the last 5 days alone, my first contact with something besides wild animals won't be humans… but abhorrent Eldritch monsters that have haunted me ever since.
'Why does it have to be now?' My head creaked, sensing an ominous presence in the distance.
—C…Crack!
A distant sound echoed, a noise foreign and unsettling.
If animals have an instinct to sense danger from predators, then the creature that now occupies the top of the food chain above humans was nearby.
'My hands... they're shaking.'
Fighting this monster will inevitably lead to my death unless I can conquer the fear that resides deep within me.
But it was already too late.
—Creak...!
"□●■○○●■…" There, a voice attempting to mimic life emerged.
It was a creature with eight legs, peeking behind a building. Multiple eyes were scattered across its grotesque face. Its hair merged seamlessly into a spider-like torso.
Atop this nightmarish form rested a human-like head and a gaping maw that formed a terrifying grin, stretching unnaturally from ear to ear, revealing rows of jagged, glistening teeth.
Its neck was like a centipede, moving around as if it were struggling with something. The more I looked closely, the more I realized that animals were stuck in its carcass, serving as extra limbs, forced to live a life full of pain and suffering.
Its grotesque form already gave away what kind of creature this is.
An Eldia, a hellspawn directly born under Xelthatl themselves.
—Voom…
I slowly charged my gun and infused it with Ichor.
While I still had much to learn about the Ichor's full capabilities, I had discovered that I could coat objects with it, enhancing their strength as I supplied more mana.
This was a skill I learned during my first five days of experimenting with Ichor.
It felt like a powerful ability in theory, but I knew it wasn't enough to take down one of the Eldia.
One misstep, and it could all end in an instant.
—Crack! C…Crack!!!
Eldia's long neck slithered, creating a sound like cracking knuckles every time it moved its head.
As if it had noticed my presence a long time ago, the Eldia stopped when its eyes fell toward me.
'…It doesn't see me as a hostile entity yet.' My sweat poured down like rain from the extreme stress.
I concentrated intensely, channelling every drop of mana I could muster, packing it all into a single powerful blast.
Creating a bullet out of Ichor was possible, but at my level, the bullet disappears when Ichor travels too far away from me.
—Voooom…! Kachick!
Loading up a shot, I aimed at the Eldia's gaping mouth.
Things were going well until the Eldia vaguely noticed what I was trying to do.
—C…C…Crack…!
The Eldia's jaw widened, deeming me as food instead of something that could harm it.
'Focus… focus…' The Eldia's appearance and smell were so mortifying that I wanted to vomit.
From this moment on, I made a silent vow deep within my heart: to never create eldritch abominations as adversaries ever again.
—Kachick!
"Take this!!!"
Without a moment's hesitation, I pulled the trigger, firing straight into the gaping maw of the Eldia.
—BOOM!
"■○■○□●■○○●■!!!" The creature emitted a horrifying shriek, its sound a symphony of dissonance.
Incredibly distressed, the Eldia crawled away, wreaking chaos and destruction as it clawed desperately to ease the pain.
"It pierced through…!" My eyes widened in surprise.
What shot out of my gun wasn't a standard bullet, but a literal railcannon that pierced through the Eldia's shell entirely.
"■○□○□… ■○□○■●□■•□!!!" Recovering enough to regain its senses, the Eldia wailed.
It no longer sees me as prey—but an obstacle.
"It isn't dead yet!?" I tried to load in another shot.
But the Eldia didn't give me time to process; it swung its bony neck at me, too fast for me to react.
—BOOM!!!
Like a wrecking ball, I was launched back to the convenience store and broke the walls from the impact.
"Kuhack!" I coughed up blood despite my prepared defences, making it feel as though my ribs had shattered from the pain alone.
Predicting that I was going to get hit, I added layer upon layer of Ichor on my chest to the front to avoid being pulverized to ashes, blocking most of the Eldia's damage dealt.
After that, I managed to prevent further injuries by covering myself in Ichor, turning into a giant ball.
All of this preparation for a simple tackle, not even an attack.
"Whew… that was close." I brushed the dirt off my shoulder and held my gun tight.
The smoke began to subside, revealing the Eldia as it cast its gaze towards the sky, immersed in an action I had witnessed twice already.
Just by recalling the two past incidents, my instinct to shoot it immediately skyrocketed.
"Oh no, you don't!"
—BANG!
I shot the Eldia at its mouth again using a bullet I made beforehand, concentrated with Ice and Earth magic.
"■○●□■-" The Eldia tried to scream and call for reinforcements, but the ice prevented it from making a sound.
'There goes my special bullet…' I clicked my tongue, saddened that I had to use an experimental bullet so early.
The Ichor can only maintain itself as long as I'm within a certain vicinity.
If a bullet surpasses a specific distance, the mana contained within it, augmented by the Ichor, detonates explosively, resulting in a violent outburst.
"■○●□♤○○□○■●!" The Eldia then burst through the ice with terrifying ease, letting out a chilling shriek of fury.
At this moment, it had completely lost all semblance of reason and charged at me, driven by an instinct to kill me.
"Fine! Then come at me, loser!" I provoked the Eldia further, stimulating it to go even faster.
My death would be certain if the Eldia reached me. But thanks to being flung from afar, I stood my ground with confidence.
At the last moment, I placed my left hand on the wall, preparing a big surprise that could turn the tide of the battle.
With barely enough time to finish, the Eldia charged recklessly with the intention of crushing me, treating walls as if they were tofu.
But that was its greatest mistake, one that cost it its life.
"■○●□○□○■■●!!!"
—SHIIIK...!
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…
...
"…Did it work?" I opened my eyes, afraid to find out whether I had succeeded.
"■○●■… □○●■○……" The Eldia whimpered above me, its ferocious tendencies fading as it tried to patch itself up.
With half of its body mutilated, the Eldia lost the ability to regenerate, turning into ash.
"It… worked." I rubbed my eyes repeatedly, refusing to believe that the gamble worked.
The Eldia was pierced by a giant, golden spike that pierced its whole torso.
Because of the Ichor's durability, this was more than enough to catch it off guard.
"■○●□…■○…" Slowly but surely, the Eldia stopped moving and ultimately died, turning into ashes.
The realization finally kicked in. It was something I never thought I could accomplish on my own.
"I… I killed one. I killed an Eldia and won!"
After a life-and-death situation against the Eldia, I stood there with pride, basking in the glory of victory.
My heart raced with exhilaration, but the overwhelming emotions caught up to me, and my legs collapsed under the weight of it all.
"I did this... all by myself." I clenched my hands.
Although I was still weak, slaying an Eldia alone was a considerable achievement.
From this moment on, going forward,
It's only just the beginning.
