Chapter 476 Black Smoke Humanoids

“It looks like a village.”

Hulim Heyerar said as she helped Prarlulu to her feet.

“The village is surrounded by forest, but beyond the forest lies complete darkness.”

“??? That quickly…… Hulim, have you already mapped this place out?”

“More or less…… though I am curious. Is this truly Hena’s innermost Inner World?”

“No, it is not.”

Prarlulu explained.

“We are currently in the entrance realm of the Inner World. Places like this are usually unstable. We must find the anchor of this realm as soon as possible—Hena herself, who is hiding somewhere. Only by finding her can we proceed step by step to the deepest layer; otherwise, we will lose our way on a false path.”

“So our first task is to find her…… then allow me to try.”

Hulim extended her right hand and began to cast a spell.

Weapons could not be brought into the Inner World, so she had to cast magic with her bare hands—but for Hulim at her current level, this made little difference.

Hum!

As a magic circle unfolded, a wave of magical energy rapidly spread outward in all directions.

However,

the very instant the magic was activated,

the darkness drifting around them stirred as if provoked.

The spell she had cast was met with some kind of interference, unable to function properly.

“This is…… trouble!” Prarlulu’s expression shifted sharply. “Hena’s self-defense mechanism has been triggered!”

“Self-defense mechanism?”

“Um, well……” Prarlulu wracked her brain for words. “It’s roughly that the entity we intend to eliminate has sensed a threat, and is preparing to take us out first?”

“……”

Why are you speaking in a questioning tone? You just explained it perfectly clearly.

“Prarlulu, do you mean that thing?”

Miko pointed to a shadowy humanoid figure coalesced from black smoke not far away.

“Ah, yes, that’s the…… one?”

“No! Why did it appear so quickly?! Run!”

Boom——!

A flash of white light burst forth.

The newly formed Black Smoke Humanoid was instantly obliterated.

“Huh?”

Prarlulu froze mid-step, her right foot suspended in the air.

“It’s defeated?”

Hulim focused her senses for a moment, then said:

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“Although this world feels strange, and normal magic casting is interfered with, it is still not a major issue to forcefully activate spells.”

“I see, that’s a relief—wait, no! We still have to run!”

“Why? Didn’t Hulim just destroy that thing?”

“It’s not that simple—”

Whoosh~!

The black smoke around them churned violently once more.

Another identical Black Smoke Humanoid materialized nearby.

“They can’t be permanently destroyed!”

“Roar——!”

A hollow, shrill howl erupted from the humanoid’s empty eye sockets and gaping maw.

It then charged madly toward the three girls.

Boom!

Another flash of white light.

The Black Smoke Humanoid was eliminated once again.

But in the next moment,

“Roar——!”

An identical creature lunged out from behind the trio.

Boom!

A beam of light shot skyward,

and the Black Smoke Humanoid melted away directly in the radiance.

Barely had the two consecutive foes been defeated

when:

“Roar!” “Roar!” “Roar……”

More and more bloodcurdling roars echoed around them.

At the end of the village path, one Black Smoke Humanoid after another could be seen charging toward their position.

“I-It’s no use……”

Prarlulu trembled as she spoke.

“The more of them we destroy, the faster and more numerous they become.”

Hulim froze, her hand halfway to casting another spell.

“……You could have said that earlier.”

“S-Sorry……”

“Can you tell where Hena is?”

Prarlulu shook her head.

“I’m sorry, I cannot.”

“……”

“Ah, but she must be somewhere in this village! If we search carefully, we will surely find her!”

Hulim glanced around.

Under normal circumstances, searching such a small village slowly would be no problem.

But under the current circumstances……

“No other choice. This is our only option now—let’s find her as quickly as we can.”

Hulim took the lead and began to run, searching the village alongside Miko and Prarlulu.

The village was not large, but it contained several dozen houses.

With detection magic rendered ineffective, they had to resort to the most primitive method: searching house by house……

Bang!

The three forced their way into one dwelling.

“Nothing.”

Finding the room completely empty,

the trio immediately turned and headed for the next house.

Bang!

“Not here either.”

Bang! Bang……

They searched house after house,

yet Hena was nowhere to be found.

Instead, the number of Black Smoke Humanoids continued to grow,

and the trio’s movements became increasingly obstructed.

“Where…… could she be hiding?”

After failing to find her in so many houses, Hulim began to doubt whether Hena was in any of the visible locations.

“Roar——”

“Obstacle.”

Boom!

A sweep of white light cleared over a dozen Black Smoke Humanoids blocking their path.

But given their total numbers at this point, such losses were negligible. More and more of the creatures surged toward them from all directions.

The trio was quickly surrounded.

Hum!

Orbs of white light floated into the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom……

Hulim obliterated the encircling Black Smoke Humanoids at an astonishing speed.

Their numbers plummeted drastically in a short period.

But just as Prarlulu had warned,

the rate at which new ones appeared was accelerating rapidly.

Before they knew it,

the pressure on the three girls grew heavier and heavier……

Just as Hulim focused on fending off the Black Smoke Humanoids, Miko suddenly seemed to sense something.

She lifted her head,

sniffing the air twice,

then fixed her gaze in a certain direction.

“I found her! Over there——!”

With that, she darted off immediately.

“Wait, Miko?”

Hulim stared in astonishment at Miko’s fleeing figure, at a loss for words for a moment.

Just how sharp is a cat-girl’s sense of smell……

“Prarlulu, we must follow Miko quickly.”

Boom! Boom! Boom……

Clearing a path with a relentless barrage of magic, the three soon arrived at a house on the village’s edge.

Miko came to a halt here.

“She’s inside! But this thing—”

A Black Smoke Humanoid several times larger than the others stood guard in front of the house, and it was this creature that had stopped Miko in her tracks.

Boom——!

Without a word, Hulim raised her hand and unleashed a powerful magical blast.

“Roar——!!”

The massive Black Smoke Humanoid let out a deafening roar and actually blocked the attack with its body.

“It blocked it?”

Hulim blinked in mild surprise.

This was only a casual strike, yet it was enough to take down an A-rank entity……

Realizing this, Hulim grew slightly more serious:

“I will handle this creature. Miko, you two go inside and find Hena.”

“Alright, Hulim—be careful!”

Miko immediately chose to circle around to the side, with Prarlulu close behind.

“Roar!!!”

The enormous Black Smoke Humanoid, seemingly tasked with guarding this location, detected their attempt to approach and moved to intercept them at once.

Boom!

But a white light cannon slammed into it, blowing one of its arms clean off.

“Your opponent is me.”

“……Roar——!!!”

The massive Black Smoke Humanoid raised its remaining arm and charged straight at Hulim.

Miko and Prarlulu seized the opportunity to burst into the house.

……