Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 169

“Kishaaaaaaah!?”

In the instant when a high-pitched scream was heard, the empty space seemed to blur as if covered in noise.

There, a large snake with purple spots floating on its black body was writhing.

“When did the monster appear!?”

“It’s like it appeared out of nowhere!?”

Lumia and Leilushka were surprised to see the large snake.

To them, it must have seemed like the snake suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the empty space. It was natural to be surprised.

【Geinos: Danger Level AA】

A monstrous serpent inhabiting the Terra Phios Wetlands.

It can freely change its body surface and blend into its surroundings, excelling in surprise attacks.

Due to this rare ability, it is rarely witnessed.

It is equipped with poison in its body, capable of spitting it out and injecting it from its fangs.

The poison is highly toxic, and detoxification is difficult.

Upon appraisal, information about the large snake emerged.

“It’s called a Geinos, a monster with highly developed camouflage abilities!”

“I don’t recognize the name, but I’ve heard about snakes that can camouflage themselves to hide from my ancestors. I never thought such a monster really existed…!”

Although Leilushka didn’t know the exact name or appearance of the monster, she seemed to have vague information.

Considering this optical camouflage-like camouflage ability, it’s understandable that there are extremely few witnesses and it remains ambiguous.

Nevertheless, what a monstrous threat for a first encounter.

Approaching with its transparent body and spraying deadly poison. If you couldn’t perceive it, it would be instant death with no chance to react.

If not for my detection skill and past experiences, it could have been bad.

Given the lethality, it’s understandable that the danger level is higher than the Red Dragon.

“Could this creature be the cause of the swamp’s abnormalities?”

“I believe so. If the monsters are changing habitat, it must be because it senses a threat, even if it can’t be seen visually.”

“Now that we’ve figured out the swamp’s abnormalities, what do we do next?”

“It’s obvious, we defeat it! With such a dangerous creature roaming around, our settlement will perish!”

With such a creature present, not even Dark Elves like Leilushka could come for gathering.

Coming stealthily to the settlement in the dead of night, there might not even be time to perceive it before being swallowed whole.

“Shuu, you could see that snake, right?”

“Yes, I saw it.”

“Now’s the perfect opportunity with Shuu able to see through its invisibility! Sorry to ask, but lend me your strength!”

“Understood.”

I owe Leilushka for the help with gathering poisonous materials, so I can’t just abandon her now. Even though I don’t like monster subjugation, I’ll help.

“Is Lumia okay too?”

“…………”

I asked Lumia just to be sure, but there was no response.

“Lumia?”

“Shuu, look! Poison is dripping from Geinos’s fangs, and the grass and ground are melting! That must be an excellent poisonous material!”

Asking her again, she said it with a bright smile.

She clearly saw the opponent as a source of poisonous materials.

It seems that Lumia has certified Geinos as an excellent alchemical material in her mind.

Even without my confirmation, she intends to bring back Geinos’s materials.

She didn’t retreat even with the Red Dragon, and she fought bravely at the Undersea Temple.

Her aggressive nature doesn’t match her calm appearance…

“The Geinos vanished!”

With each of us unified in purpose and entering a fighting stance, the Geinos smoothly disappeared as if blending into the air.

The fact that not only its entire body but also the icicles that should have pierced its eyes vanished raises questions about how it operates.

“Shuu, tell me its position!”

Ignoring such trivial thoughts, Leilushka, who had her sword at the ready, requested.

Immediately activating magic stone detection, I captured a golden magic stone.

As a result, the silhouette of the Geinos, which couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, was clearly visible to me.

“It’s ten meters diagonally to the right of Leilushka.”

“Right there!”

Leilushka bravely charged towards the Geinos, swinging her sword as she attempted to flank it.

“Kishaaaah!?”

Seemingly taken aback by the realization that its position had been exposed, the Geinos let out a bewildered cry.

As a result, like a surge of noise, the Geinos’s body flickered in and out of visibility.

It seems that maintaining its camouflage becomes difficult when subjected to attacks.

“Its scales aren’t as tough as I thought.”

There were cuts on the Geinos’s body, and it was bleeding from Leilushka’s strike.

While not quite a clean cut, its defense seems lower than expected for its size.

“Probably specialized in camouflage with not much emphasis on defense.”

“That makes sense considering the Geinos’s ecology.”

With such advanced camouflage and potent poison, one wouldn’t stand a chance in a fair fight.

It’s understandable that the Geinos evolved to prioritize camouflage and poison over defense.

The injured Geinos swiped its tail to push Leilushka away.

Leilushka dodged the blow with a step, slicing through the air with a sound.

Because its camouflage was insufficient, she managed to see and avoid the first strike.

However, she couldn’t react to the completely transparent second strike.

“Earth Shield.”

Leilushka created an earthen wall in front of her.

Due to the haste, the earth wall couldn’t completely block the Geinos’s strike, crumbling and sending Leilushka flying.

“Are you alright, Leilushka?”

“Ugh! Sorry, thanks for your help!”

Leilushka rolled on the grassy plain with a tumble.

From her firm response, it seems she’s not severely injured.

However, the impact seems to have been intense, as she wears a pained expression and holds her stomach.

“Leilushka, here’s a potion! Drink this!”

“Wow! The pain in my stomach disappeared! Thank you!”

After drinking the potion Lumia handed her, Leilushka’s complexion returned to normal.

And back into action she goes.

Indeed, Lumina’s potions are something else. They seem to heal minor wounds in the blink of an eye.

Having an alchemist in the party is truly reliable.

“This is troublesome. I didn’t expect invisible attacks to be this tricky…”

Leilushka, now standing, remarked.

While I can manage since I can see it, Leilushka’s burden as the vanguard is intense.

If she continues to be subjected to continuous doses of potent poison, there’s a possibility my instructions won’t reach her in time.

There’s also the option of resorting to brute force magic for area attacks, but that might end up involving both of them.

Furthermore, there’s this fog obstructing our vision. Not only is visibility already poor, but this fog makes it even harder to spot the Geinos.

“First, let’s clear the fog. ‘Wind’!”

I activate wind magic, blowing away the fog surrounding us.

As a result, the dense fog moves away into the distance, and our visibility improves.

“Oh, this is helpful!”

“It’d be great if there were a way for both of us to see or locate them more easily.”

While I thought the icicles might serve as markers, somehow even those are camouflaged.

Would making a larger part of their body frozen prevent them from camouflaging?

As I ponder, Lumia raises her hand.

“In that case, leave it to me! I have just the right item!”

“Understood. I’ll immobilize them with magic, so seize the opportunity to use it, Lumia!”

“Got it!”

Deciding to trust Lumia’s item, I aim icicles at the Geinos.

Perhaps wary that we might also have it in our sights, unlike with Leilushka, we don’t end up receiving any attacks.

It moves sideways to avoid the icicles.

I produce more icicles, showering them down like rain.

The Geinos gracefully dodges them by wriggling its body.

But that was expected.

As the Geinos’s attention is drawn upwards, I slowly unfold the ice magic spreading from the ground.

The avoided Geinos’s body is enveloped in ice.

There’s a slight distortion in the Geinos’s body, and its surface is exposed.

Though the ice bindings are quickly shattered by the struggling Geinos, it should have served as a good marker.

“Here!”

Even before I shout, Lumia, who has clearly spotted the Geinos thanks to the marker, throws something.

When the small ball-like object hits the Geinos, it bursts with a squelch, releasing pink slime.

“W-what’s that?”

“It’s an adhesive ball. Hopefully, it’ll serve as a marker…”

As the ice bindings break, the Geinos’s body begins to seamlessly meld into the air.

However, the liquid from Lumia’s adhesive ball remains distinct from the air, floating as pink droplets.

It seems that while the impaled icicles and blood can be camouflaged, the liquid from the adhesive ball cannot be disguised. Perhaps they were recognized as part of the body?

“Ah, now we can see its position!”

“This is amazing!”

“Then, I’ll continue to shower it!”

No matter how it tries to camouflage, it’s pointless if it’s so conspicuous.

Lumia throws adhesive balls at the spot where the pink liquid floats, carving out the outline of the Geinos.

With this, not only I but Leilushka can clearly see it too, enabling us to attack and evade without me having to indicate the position.

At this point, it’s no different from a large snake with poison.

It’s also significant that its left eye was crushed by the initial magic attack, giving us a decisive advantage.

I keep casting spells one after another, while Lumia and Leilushka flank the Geinos’s blind spots and continue to attack.

“Kishaaaaah!”

The Geinos, wounded by our combined assault, lets out a voice filled with anger.

And then, it spews poison breath from its mouth.

Sensing the impending danger, we quickly evacuate.

However, Geinos continued to rampage on the spot, dispersing poison.

Poison is spewed everywhere, causing the grasslands and ground to decay.

“Whoa! Retreat! Retreat!”

“What a reckless fellow!”

Unable to withstand the indiscriminate release of poison, we fall back.

Dealing with this much poison being scattered is indeed difficult.

For us, honestly, it was the least desired attack.

“But that’s proof that we’re cornering the enemy, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, let’s keep our distance and wait for it to wear out.”

Even though it has such a huge body, it can’t continue releasing poison indefinitely.

Although it has poison, there should be a limit to the amount it can generate and excrete in a day.

As we keep our distance and wait, our plan succeeds, and Geinos’ poison breath subsides.

Finally, the body it had been mimicking is now glitching, constantly flickering in and out of sight.

Blood flows throughout the body, and it seems completely exhausted from spewing poison.

Geinos slowly retreats, glaring at us.

Could it be trying to escape?

Thinking so, we attempt to pursue, but Geinos reverses and charges at us.

Coming towards us like arrow released from a drawn bow.

As I and Lumia disperse, Leilushka steps to the side.

Turning to Geinos’ left side, she strikes the ice spear embedded in it with the blade of her sword, pushing it in.

“―――!?”

A piercing scream erupts, and Geinos staggers uncontrollably.

“Discharge Ball, go!”

Lumia throws an item she used against the poisonous swamp toad. The potion bottle shatters, releasing the lightning magic stored within. Thunder surges, piercing through Geinos.

Geinos’ surface is charred, but its eyes are still alive.

“Freeze.”

Sensing a strong gaze and the presence of poison rising from its throat, I unleash a powerful ice magic. My magic swiftly envelops Geinos, and a large ice sculpture forms on the plain.