Chapter 152: The Center and Shock Demon Poison
“It seems this is the center of the Rotten Earth.”
Liliera and I had come to the deepest part of the Rotten Earth.
“Is this… the center of the Rotten Earth?”
“Yes, because the toxins are thickest here. It is safe to assume this is the center.”
“It’s somehow… a strange shape.”
As Liliera said, the center of the Rotten Earth had a mysterious shape. Because, looking from the sky, the center of the Rotten Earth was centered around a long, elliptical hill, with long, narrow mountains connecting from it in 7 directions. And only one of those mountains towered exceptionally high.
“It doesn’t look like a naturally formed shape.”
That being said, if asked whether someone intentionally made it this shape, I still couldn’t read the intention.
“Hmm, what on earth is this… nn?”
There, I noticed the existence of something on top of the hill.
“Is that… a building?”
Yes, that is undoubtedly an artificial structure. Could that be the cause of the Rotten Earth?
“Let’s investigate, Liliera.”
“E-Eh, right…”
We descend toward the building standing on the hill. It was at that moment.
“Cough cough!”
“Liliera!?”
Suddenly, Liliera started suffering while vomiting blood from her mouth. I caught Liliera, who lost control of her flight magic and almost fell, and examined her symptoms. Not only was Liliera vomiting blood, but her complexion had turned a sickly ashen color, and her body was convulsing in small tremors.
“This is… could it be the symptoms of Shock Demon Poison!?”
Having identified the cause of Liliera‘s illness, I immediately activated antidote magic.
“GRAND ANTIDOTE!”
When the radiance of the antidote magic enveloped Liliera‘s body, the convulsions subsided, and redness returned to her ashen face.
“Thank goodness, it seems to have worked properly.”
“…Ugh, what on earth did I…?”
The symptoms subsided, and Liliera‘s consciousness returned.
“Are you okay, Liliera!? Liliera was suffering from the symptoms of Shock Demon Poison, you know.”
“Shock… Demon Poison?”
“Yes, Shock Demon Poison is a poison where the body literally convulses as if receiving a severe shock. At first, it starts with vomiting blood and mild convulsions, but soon the degree of convulsions increases, and the body begins to convulse as if bouncing. Then, due to the impact of the enlarged convulsions, the bones throughout the body break, nerves and blood vessels are torn, and finally, it’s a terrifying poison that tears the body apart into pieces.”
“Scary!? What is with that absurd poison!?”
“I’m sorry, honestly I let my guard down. Shock Demon Poison is a poison originating from a certain monster, so I never expected to encounter such a dangerous poison in a place like this.”
“Originating from a certain monster… this is a monster’s poison?”
“Yes, it seems the poison had dispersed and weakened because we were far away from the center until now. That’s why I was late to notice. I am truly sorry, Liliera.”
“N-No, I was the one who was saved. If anything, I’m the one who should be saying thank you. Thank you, Rex.”
Even though she was afflicted by poison due to my carelessness, far from getting angry at me, Liliera even thanked me. I feel truly apologetic for putting such a kind person in danger.
“But, then we can’t carelessly descend, can we. Even if it can be treated with Rex‘s antidote magic, if we have to treat it over and over, no matter how many lives we have, it won’t be enough.”
“Ah, that’s okay. The GRAND ANTIDOTE from earlier doesn’t just detoxify; it also has the effect of nullifying poison for a while.”
“I see, then as expected it’s impossib… wait, eh? Nullifying?”
“Yes, you’ll be fine for a few hours.”
“…”
When I answered, for some reason Liliera fell silent.
“Huh? What’s wrong, Liliera?”
Could she still be feeling unwell? If so, it might be better to cast the antidote magic once more.
“Wait, wait a minute. Rex, you detoxified the deadly poison that nearly killed me with the magic just now, right? And yet, that magic doesn’t just treat the deadly poison, it can nullify poison!?”
“Yes, it can. There is a time limit though.”
“Wait wait wait!? Isn’t that strange!? Treating deadly poison and nullifying poison are different magic, aren’t they!? Why can it smoothly do even nullification!?”
“Well, detoxifying again later would be troublesome, so I thought it would be easier to make it a magic that analyzes the poison during detoxification and temporarily grants an antibody effect.”
“That is absolutely not ‘easier’! Normal mages can’t create outrageous magic with a ‘maybe I’ll cut corners a bit’ kind of vibe!”
“But if I only detoxified the poison, you’d just get afflicted by poison again and it would be a repeating cycle, so considering efficiency, don’t you think being able to nullify it is better?”
“W-Well, that’s true, but…”
“In other words, that’s how it is. It’s not just about solving the problem; taking countermeasures in advance so you don’t stumble on the same problem next time is the efficient way to use technology.”
“Hmm, is that… how… it is?”
Yeah, yeah, I’m glad Liliera seems convinced above all.
If possible, I wanted to nullify the poison permanently, but since it’s magic, it can’t be helped that the effect wears off eventually. Besides, that’s why magic items exist.
Yeah, when I get back, I have to make an antidote magic item that can counter even Shock Demon Poison. If I use the materials that can be gathered here, I can make it, after all.
“Alright, then let’s try going to that building for real this time!”
“O-Ooh…?”
