Chapter 366

The drifting continued for three days and three nights. You were powerless, left only to let the wind and waves carry you away.

Since only a few eggs remained, I had to create an aura to supply Quinn with oxygen. They also needed to eat to produce eggs. Furthermore, the energy required for the body to sustain life is maintained for a time through photosynthesis, but water is also essential. It is said that protecting water is the greatest problem in long-term maritime distress.

Seawater was used for this purpose. Ordinary terrestrial animals consume a large amount of water to excrete salt, so they cannot drink seawater. However, my body was originally a Chimera Ant individual that inhabited water-scarce desert regions. It mainly fed on red ore plants and possessed the function of separating and extracting small amounts of water even from tissue fluids that contained high concentrations of toxins and were red in color. I drank the seawater without any problems.

Conversely, I struggled to secure food. There were no signs of any animals in the sea. Occasionally, kelp debris floated in the sea, but I could not go and get it myself. Fortunately, I had to wait for it to flow nearby.

I could not make eggs properly, let alone fool the aura consumption required to maintain Quinn. Overall, consumption gradually increased. The situation of constantly replenishing oxygen with aura was a great burden compared to usual.

There was also the weather problem. Once the sea became rough, that was the end of the cycle. If it were just the sea, that would be fine, but if it were rubbed by waves in the habitat of nutakonbu, it would die. The viscous sea seemed as if it would never end.

I could do nothing. However, the time spent drifting between the waves had passed. The only benefit was that I had enough time to think.

I did not think much about my situation. Most of the time I was thinking about my friends. Would the boat be safe? I wondered if Chell and Tokunosuke were doing well. I thought more about the boat than I did about myself. The result was not what you would think. In a way, it was a form of salvation.

I did not know, so I could not say that the worst-case scenario had happened. They might have continued their voyage home without any accidents. I could not go with you, but you should find a way to cross the Sea of Pitch Darkness. It would take time, but the probability was not zero.

So it was fine. I could envision the future, no matter how much that thought relied on guesswork. I was still okay.

I did not know why myself, but I believed that it was natural to believe without clear evidence. I only had a future in my mind where everything would go well.

Perhaps, that brilliant future would be revised downward every time a problem was encountered. It might become small and crumpled like a piece of wrinkled paper, becoming worthless and degenerate. I could not even imagine what the future would be like.

More foolish than ignorance, refusing to think might be the driving force for people to move forward. This was definitely a weakness, but it was necessary for survival.

＊＊＊

Four days after drifting. As the viscous sea continued, we discovered an island.

Although it was called an island, it was nothing more than a sand dune formed by the accumulation of coral reefs, with the part protruding above the sea surface being less than ten meters square. It would be completely submerged during high tide.

However, the area was so shallow that we could see the seabed here and there. It was dotted with similar small sand islands. There might have been a continent nearby, but I had never been able to find one.

After crossing this group of small islands, we discovered a large island. The intricate tide, as if being sucked into this island, was heading toward it. Even if I landed, I could not get rid of that eerie feeling.

However, I was lucky. If I had continued to drift in a state where I did not know when my aura would run out, I might have died of exhaustion. For now, it was fortunate that we were able to reach land within a few days.

However, even this faint joy would disappear shortly after landing. The moment I stepped onto the beach, I felt that something was wrong. The aura on my main body and Quinn was gradually weakening. Although it was insignificant, I felt as if I were being sucked out of my body.

Thinking that he had been attacked from somewhere, he immediately activated the infection function of the Almeiza Machine, but the aura did not stop weakening. If it were an attack related to an aura field, the opponent should be using Nen. However, the Almeiza Machine did not have any reaction.

Was it not an attack? The enemy's Malice could not be perceived. For example, it could be a special phenomenon caused by the environment, or the regression existing in the area could cause special effects.

Either way, the result was terrible. In a situation where consuming aura was already a burden, the extra aura being sucked away by the outside world could not be ignored. I had to find out the reason.

But the first thing we had to do was to save Quinn from the white cocoon. The mucus cocoon had become a sturdy shelter. It did not accept half-baked attacks. Especially hitting was not allowed. Without any tools, dismantling it was a labor-intensive task.

The fangs of its main body bit off the cocoon bit by bit, and it actually took nearly half a day to save Quinn. The work started in the early morning but was completed at sunset.

In this way, the aura used for oxygen supply was no longer consumed, but the situation did not improve in the slightest. The phenomenon of absorbing aura had not been interrupted, and it could be said that the balance was worse than before.

I thought about leaving this island, but if I did that, a drifting life with an uncertain future would be waiting for me again. Coincidentally, until today, we had experienced a series of calm, sunny days, but if we were hit by wind and rain once, it would be over. Here, at least, I would not die due to bad weather, and kelp was washed onto the beach, so it was easy to get food.

I decided to stay. The biggest problem at the moment was to solve the aura absorption phenomenon. If possible, I wanted to Eliminate the cause. To do that, it was necessary to investigate this island in detail.

From the outside, it was an eerie island. Its shape was like a plateau protruding above the sea surface. The place where I drifted ashore was a beach at the foot of this plateau. I could not find any vegetation. Of course, I did not feel any signs of any animals either. I did not know if he had died after his aura was completely absorbed.

I climbed up the plateau Wall. There was a clear geological difference between the beach area and the plateau area. The gray, Hard rock surface was Floating Stone-like, with small holes. Countless holes of various sizes were suitable for climbing the wall, but there was a disgusting feeling that something was lurking in the depths. After all, I did not feel any signs, but I still climbed up without letting my guard down.

The height of the plateau was not that high, and it took less than 10 minutes to reach the top. The scenery that spread out above was not unexpected.

I thought that the plateau was an atoll. It was a landform formed by a ring of coral reefs. A long time ago, coral reefs spread around a volcanic island, and then, for some reason, the volcanic island receded, leaving only a ring of coral reefs on the sea surface.

The wall I had just climbed over was one end of the atoll. A high reef wall was built around the inner lagoon. The lake water seemed to be isolated within a Barrier.

From the top of the wall, one could see a huge lake. It was bright blue, like a Fire ignited by gas. The current time was night. The sky had turned redder, and the sea was also dyed red, as if reflecting it, but only the lake water was deep blue. When it got dark, you would notice that the lake itself was emitting Blue Light. If you took a picture of it, it might be breathtakingly beautiful, but when you experienced it in person, it was more terrifying.

There was only one small island in the middle of the lake. The peak of a submerged volcano was likely still slightly preserved. There were some Shadows there. Even if I strengthened Quinn's vision, it was too far from this distance to see the details.

It looked like a low tree lined up. Things were concentrated there. I continued to observe for a while, but the Shadow did not seem to move. However, this was the only place on the island that had lost all signs of life, and one could smell the existence of living things.

In the end, I still could not grasp the true identity of the small island's Shadow. I did not know what the danger was. Before that, you needed to cross the lake to reach the island. Although it was called a lake, it was formed by the influx of seawater, and the water was also contaminated by mucus. There was no way to cross it.

＊＊＊

It had been eight days since I arrived on the island.

The aura absorption continued. Not only that, but the amount of absorption had also increased a lot compared to before. The aura required to maintain Quinn's minimum existence had become difficult to pay off. The long-term lack of omens continued, and the physical condition was also affected.

I ate a lot of kelp and tried to make new eggs, but the effect of absorbing aura was poor. As a life before being an egg, it absorbed aura in a state of undifferentiated cells and died before growing. Eggs could be said to be the most immature and weakest state of life. If Life Energy was sucked away at that time, it could not be properly created as life.

At one point, the number of remaining eggs had recovered to about 40%, but as our aura production increased, the amount absorbed also increased.

The current egg-laying rate remained basically flat and was slowly declining. Since eggs were the source of aura, the more eggs were lost, the lower the egg-laying rate would be. Eventually, it would be impossible to maintain the activation of "Idolatry".

On the third day of my stay, the weather finally turned bad, and we had heavy rain. If I had gone out to sea, I would not have been saved. The choice to stay on the island was not wrong, but at this rate, we were just waiting for a careless death.

The aura seemed to be sucked out from the soles of my feet. But even if you did not put your feet directly on the ground, you could not escape the absorption. Even if you were on a cactus made with the Almeiza Machine, it would be sucked away.

I searched the island as much as possible. This coastal sea area was a group of isolated islands unrelated to the continent, although the shallows where coral reefs spread around the atoll where I was now continued.

The radius of an atoll was at least tens of kilometers. A cobalt blue lagoon spread inside. This lake seemed to contain a component that emitted Blue Light, and this light could be clearly observed at night. So far, there had been no confirmation that this light or water had any special harm.

The depth of the lake seemed to be very shallow, but there were several large holes that were so deep that the bottom could not be seen. It was a hole that was very close to a perfect circle, and it was hard to believe that it was formed naturally. I was curious, but at the moment I could not find it.

I went around the atoll, and I could not find the reason for the aura absorption. Only a small island in the center of the lake remained. If there was nothing there, you could do nothing.

But this was obviously a strange place. At first, there was a plan to eat kelp, increase the number of eggs to the maximum, and use "Sacrificial Cradle" to attack, but it soon went off track. You just had to go in and see.

I was not completely helpless. In fact, the sea level had dropped significantly in recent days. In this offshore area, which originally had many shallows, there were islands that could be crossed on foot during low tide. The lagoon was shallower than the surrounding sea and could be crossed during low tide.

However, even if the water was only one centimeter deep, this was the sea where you might fall into a puddle. Unless it was completely dry, you could not pass safely. If the tide rose while you were crossing the river, you would be in trouble. It was not always possible to go to a small island and return safely.

It was also necessary to consider disaster resistance. I still had to go. On the 10th day of my stay, it was already early morning. When the Sun finally began to shine on the sea, I stepped into the sparkling blue lake water.

I chose a particularly shallow part of the lake and continued to move forward. Even if it was dry, the wet feet were still sticky. The distance to the small island was probably tens of kilometers. If this were just a land route, the distance would not be far for a Nen-type ability user, but he could not reach that speed and desperately tried to maintain balance.

There was still water in many places. If you slipped there, it would cause a great loss. I had to be careful. Due to the low tide, the time we could move was estimated to be about 1 hour. Without a clock, I did not know how much time had passed since I started moving forward, and the beating heartbeat caused unnecessary impatience.

I did not know if there was still time to go to the small island and return. Besides that, you also had to predict the battle. Aura was exhausted, the physical condition was not perfect, and I was becoming more and more impatient.

I walked at the time when day and night met. The road at the bottom of the lake had already dried up, revealing its face, and black was floating in the pool water that was emitting a faint light. It was like a twisting Snake, continuing to walk silently on the road.

I passed through a huge hole. The circular hole, as if it had been hollowed out, was filled with water, shining like a stage bathed in spotlights. It was not suitable for the magnificent, lifeless, hollow lake. I passed by, hoping that no one would step onto the stage.

They were slowly but surely approaching this small island. The amount of aura absorbed increased accordingly. After all, the cause of everything was on that island. I had to make sure no matter what.

The shape of these small islands was close to an orderly triangular pyramid. The geology was the same as the gray cliffs towering over the atoll. The only difference was that there was green vegetation on the top of the mountain. Only things that looked like plants.

But it is not just any plant. As I approached the small island only a few dozen meters away, there was movement on the green. What looked like a tree from afar was moving. By the time I reached this point, I was already able to see its true identity with my own eyes.

The plant is about the same size as a human. It walks on the ground by moving its stem and large leaves like limbs. Many fine, hair-like things grow all over the stem. I don't know if they are roots, but they don't seem to be connected to the ground and can move freely. At the top, it is bloated and round, with broccoli-like flowers. It might be real.

Perhaps they sensed my approach; they gathered at the edge of the small island. I had to stop.

Quinn clicked her tongue. I had vaguely predicted it, but it is the worst possible opponent. The plants are the enemy. The Almeiza Machine cannot infect plants.

The plants move around like animals and prey on their targets. I don't seem to have ever encountered this kind of monster. There are rarely such crazy enemies in the jungle. However, they couldn't compete with my abilities at all, so they all avoided the fight and fled.

Fortunately, the enemies didn't seem to step into the lake, just waiting on the island shore. The slimy water also seems to be unfavorable for this type of plant. They remained standing in place, continuing to stare at each other.

Plants don't move that fast. If we could even land on the shore, we would easily be at their mercy. However, the other side also prevented them from landing on the small island. If you try to go around from another place, the enemy naturally follows.

But if you look closely, its way of moving is somewhat awkward. One plant pushed the companion standing in front of it, shoving it into the lake. The fallen plant struggled desperately in the puddle, but the other members didn't seem to try to provide help. Rather than pretending not to see, it's more like he couldn't even recognize the proper perception. The only priority was to keep me away from the shore.

And I didn't feel any Malice from the plants. What can I say, my impression is that they are not acting according to their own will, but following orders given to them like Lobo. The movements are very simple.

When I confirmed with 'Fixed', I felt a clearly unnatural Aura. A faint Aura radiated from the plant's body, like a thread, extending all the way to the top of the small island. This is the flow of Aura unique to a Manipulation ability user.

There seems to be an ability user on the mountaintop, and this plant is being controlled by it. From the perspective of someone without Malice, he can only act according to a simple program. It takes quite a high level of skill to move these figures one by one using 'Remote Control', so it can't be helped, but it left behind an Aura that can identify the location of the person with the ability. The point is definitely proof of immaturity.

It seems that the number of targets that can be manipulated at the same time is large, but apart from the Nen Bead, it is not difficult to control creatures that have a physical body from the beginning. Frankly speaking, the skill I use as a precaution is not that high.

Even while dealing with these plants, the attack that absorbs Aura continues. The reason may be related to the existence on the mountaintop of the small island. If it is a plant, it makes sense that the Almeiza Machine cannot work.

Anyway, without clearing this manipulated arsenal, we can't even land. The question is whether my current strength can defeat them.

Looking at the appearance alone, they don't look that strong. They are not tall, have no armor, move slowly, rely more on numbers than on themselves, and look weak. Such enemies are often poisonous, so you need to be careful, but if you don't get close, there shouldn't be any problem.

Even if the Almeiza Machine doesn't work, the "Erosion Machine Bullet" has the lethality of a Bullet. These plants curled up by the lake and waited, which means they don't have long-range attacks to capture them. A unilateral attack is possible.

Time is running out. If they run away without a harvest, the situation will get worse. The water level has dropped to the point where I can cross the lake today, but I don't know what will happen tomorrow. Today might be the spring tide day with the largest tidal range. I don't have the knowledge or skills to accurately judge this day.

I still have many eggs. Even if Quinn dies, I can pay the price in time. There is no doubt that this situation will be dangerous, but in the worst case, as long as Quinn is sacrificed once, it is possible to eliminate the cause of the Aura absorption phenomenon. With these eggs becoming fewer and fewer, I'm afraid that by the time the next spring tide comes, there won't even be a chance.

Of course, they should know the danger of coming this far. Make up your mind and fire.

The cyst Bullet shot through the head (flower) of a plant. The enemy fell to the ground on the spot and stopped moving. I didn't even see a trace of evasion. Successfully defeated the enemy.

I was afraid that I was a bit too weak, but the environment of this island, compared to the dense forests of the Dark Continent, has become a melting pot for the weak, or rather, lukewarm. There is no invasion by external enemies because it is surrounded by a sea of nutakonbu. That is to say, it is the environment near the back of the giant Snake where my main body originally lived.

Creatures that evolved through over-selection like that dense forest are abnormal; in the environment of this island, creatures with matching power should be born.

This guess is of course correct. The soldier plants are weak. They automatically respond to enemy reactions instead of acting according to their own will. This is a fatal gap.

I did not despise my enemy. On the contrary, I overestimated it. He applied the optimal solution of "if I were in the enemy's position, I would do this." For example, because the preconceived notion is that if you have a projectile, you will use it quickly, the enemy should not have a means of long-range attack.

The plant flies things. Delayed reaction. I used 'Thought Action', but the attack was already completed. A large number of Bullets wrapped in Aura flew about.

Avoiding is impossible. I had no choice but to defend myself. However, this is an unknown attack. If you touch it directly, you never know what will happen. In a world of one-tenth of a second, make a decision immediately.

I used the Almeiza Machine to solidify the "Circle" into a barrier. This is the technique used when Quinn lost control before. I couldn't reproduce the armor, but I could use a circular barrier.

The Bullets scattered by the enemy went straight ahead regardless of the Obstacle.

"?"

Before I knew it, a hole appeared in the Wall. A similar hole also appeared on Quinn's body, which had already been solidified by 'Hardness'. I didn't know anything until it was all over. The Bullet penetration had no effect; it just disappeared where it passed, as if nothing had happened from the beginning.

"Ah...?"

A moment later, blood gushed out. This time is fine. Now is not the time to worry about these things.

Quinn's gaze caught the main body. There was a hole in the body. Part of the head and half of the body were gone, as if they had been dug out. The protruding organs hung down like worn-out shoelaces.

Of course, the main body also solidified the strongest defense. This is my best protection. The armor that was damaged but never broken had no resistance.

The next moment, another hole appeared on Quinn's body. The mechanical attack that completely obeyed orders without any Malice dazzled me. If his attack intent was clear, he could read the signs. I could feel the trajectory.

That is to say, I relied entirely on the ability of 'Malice Perception'. I was just enjoying the benefits brought by the power given to me, but I couldn't use it. That is my power.

The plant is weak. But more importantly, I am helplessly weak.

Quinn's thigh disappeared. The shoulder was gone, the arm fell off. The side was dug out. It had circular holes on it, like a cookie cutter.

Almost subconsciously, a deep-seated sense of avoidance reflexively moved Quinn's body. Almost didn't escape death. You could say that the cutter helped me. The repair of the limbs will be delayed, and the damage to the abdomen will be repaired with priority.

-So?

Noise runs. The brain of the body cannot function properly. The consciousness existing in the egg thinks instead. This is not as easy to heal as Quinn's wounds. Something warm flows out. The more accurately you understand your state and the environment you are in, the more all possibilities will be.

——I can't do this anymore.

The plant did not pursue further. Did you decide that you had already killed the enemy? Although they have stopped attacking, they are still waiting on the shore, and the situation continues, ready to attack at any time.

――What should we do?

You probably won't swallow your last breath anytime soon. Chimera Ants have the Life Force to survive for a day even if their heads and bodies are severed. But it not only didn't die, but it was still alive. It just gave it a long time to wait for death.

-What

The egg is discharged from the ovipositor. There is no reason to discharge an important power source out of the body. This is not an intentional movement, but my body is moving on its own.

This is a living instinct, like a female fly that has been knocked down, scattering maggots from its belly.

Suddenly, I realized that I was about to die. The destination, which was as hazy as if covered by a layer of fog, appeared clearly before my eyes. This is a fear I have never had before.

Not physical, biological death. In such an unknown place, no one would notice, as if it had never existed from the beginning, like trash, like an insect, you died.

Quinn couldn't even scream. If you say it out loud, the enemy might notice you. The lament sealed deep in the throat turned into a tremor, spreading throughout my whole body. Consciousness fluctuated, the line of sight tilted, and the illusion of the ground shaking struck.

No, this is not an illusion. The earthquake really happened. The plants rushed back to the center of the island. My undying grief reached the heavens, and someone reached out to save me. This almost made me believe in this convenient illusion.

With the rumbling of the earth, huge towers appeared from various places in the lake. This is a hole in the bottom of the lake that I saw on the way here. Many spirally twisted towers stretched out from the hole. Looking closely, it was a long and narrow snail shell.

The shell began to circle in place. A blue line lit up along the winding of the shell, and as it rotated like a drill, the light became more intense. Blue particles began to fly away from the lake surface, as if attracted by the light. The blue light danced in the air like snow.

During the few days I stayed on this island, I didn't see such a huge creature appear. I can't say for sure, but it might be related to today. Just as I used the low tide to cross the lake, this creature might appear on the lake surface during the spring tide, which is a habit.

If this giant snail only preys on the blue light components contained in the lake water, it will save me now.

The body began to pull toward the conch. It tried to cling to the ground, but the sandy quality of the slimy lake bottom was elusive. Although Quinn blocked the main body with her hands, the suction force gradually increased, and she was dragged over.

This power does not work on Quinn. As far as I have confirmed, only the main body and the blue particles are affected. Perhaps these particles are metal. You are caught by an invisible force, just like being attracted by a magnet.

The conch has no Malice toward me. No wonder. No one breathing would hurt every piece of food on their Plate. What's more, I am like krill eaten by a whale. They might not even know of their existence as individuals.

There is no grand story. The impurities mixed into the life of the island's creatures are eliminated. That is such a very simple story.

I am very weak, so weak that I cannot even live. Even if I did not die here, this moment would have arrived eventually.

When I encounter difficulties, I think that by overcoming them, I will grow and move forward. How naive. When the limit is reached, reality suddenly ends, without even a chance to overcome such despair.

"Ahhhhh!"

A shadow of Malice shrouded Quinn. Black smoke transformed into armor, replacing the limbs that had not yet been repaired in time, becoming prosthetic limbs.

I was not fully prepared. Even knowing there were many high-level opponents, he still restricted his own power, Stick to his foolish beliefs. In order to survive, they had to give it their all.

Let us give up.

If trying to be human prevents you from living.

Right now, I do not even have the strength to cross this sea.