Chapter 10: Investigation Mission (3)

O panicked. He was trying to break free from the cage he had created himself, meanwhile the magic circle underneath his feet grew brighter as if it was about to explode. 

“Aaah! Wait! Wait! Ceasefire!"

O managed to escape from the stone cage and ran towards the door. However, the circle didn't stand still, but followed his steps…

“Shiiit! This is not fair!"

The light from the magic circle grew brighter, making O's tension and panic soared to the sky. In that state, O remembered his crazy idea: separate the crystal core from his body.

O's still intact hand reached into his hollow ribs and reached for its thumb-sized core crystal. He threw the core crystal towards the door, while his body turned around and ran towards the monster instead.

“To hell with the rescue mission! I don't want to die anymore!” O lunged at the monster, right at the head where a black-purple magic circle glowed. If this holy magic was fatal to him, it must be the same for this undead monster in the form of a winged lion as well, right?

“Eh?! What are you doing?" Now it was the voice from the purple-black magic-circle who panicked.

“Kamikaze!” O screamed while clutching the monster's head. He didn't care about the series of sharp teeth studded in the monster's mouth. This was the Backfire Strategy that was backfired, then backfired again!

BOOOOMMMMM!!!

The white-gold circle let out a screeching sound, then exploded like a flash grenade. Only, if the flash grenade was made to paralyze one’s senses, this magic was made to shatter one’s body into pieces.

The magic explosion left streaks of light dust in the air. When the dust receded, the figure of O was still standing. Other than the arm and ribs that were broken by the first wind magic earlier, O suffered no significant damage. Meanwhile, the monster collapsed on the ground. The monster's face was completely blasted, but there was no significant damage other than slightly torn skin.

“…” O mused. "So the so-called holy magic turned out to be harmless?"

“”…””

“Even the bites of those ugly zombies hurt more than this bombastic-looking magic!”

“”…”” The Narrator was speechless.

“Aaaargh! Damn you Narrator-“ O was about to launch into another series of swears and curses, but was cut short by another scream.

“Ua-a-aRGH!” The voice coming from the purple-black magic circle was hoarse and broken. The magic circle itself was no longer intact; the formula cracked and slowly thinned like air. The explosion just now seemed to have damaged the magic circle. “Just wait, you, damned kid! The Order of the Night Eaters won’t stay idle. We will find-”

“Noisy!” Now it’s O’s turn to cut his enemy’s speech. He flicked the circle once, and it broke into pieces and disappeared completely. After that, there was some kind of gray smoke coming out of the monster's head.

The monster was unconscious. O would have thought the monster was dead if it hadn't made a grunting sound. Yes, the monster that previously looked like a lion was now snoring softly like a kitten.

O took a deep breath. He picked up his crystal core that was lying on the ground and focused his mind on putting the pieces back together. “If my assimilation level drops drastically this time, don't talk to me anymore. You hear that, Narrator?”

“”…” The Narrator did not answer. He had been very quiet since the holy magic explosion just now.

O immediately went back to the monster and examined the chains bounding it. After some time, he managed to untangle some of it. However, the ends of the chains were still nailed deeply in the walls and in the ground. If this beast couldn't break free, let alone O who's only had bones for his body. O then intended to break the chain with his magic.

“Narrator, show me earth magic formula!”

When O said this, the monster suddenly opened its eyes. The monster roared, but this time it didn't struggle. The monster shook its legs alternately, and the harpoon on the end of  the chains that bound the monster were snapped out in just a few movements.

O immediately rolled over to avoid the monster's flutter. However, the monster was no longer interested in O and was busy pulling out the chains that were piercing its flesh. O deduced that the winged lion monster and the thing inside the purplish-black magic circle just now were two completely different entities. Whatever the entity within the magic circle was doing made the winged lion go berserk, and clearly, what O had done just now had angered the entity. O suspects something bigger than that mysterious entity awaits him in the future.

The Order of the Night Eaters, O etched that name in his memories.

Finding itself unmoored, the monster turned and broke through the wall behind it. Unlike other walls that were  made of hardened earth, this wall was made of bricks.

"Hey, wait!" O chased the monster behind the broken wall. However, he soon lost its track.

O found a very large area behind the broken wall. It was an underground cave, or rather a canal. O could hear the sound of the rushing stream below, but other than that, he couldn't see anything because of the darkness covering the whole area.

“Well, never mind. This is enough to complete the mission right, Narrator?”

""Congratulations! Mission accomplished! You get a new ability: Map and Navigation Magic!”

“Oho! Show me the formula now!” O was impatient, but the Narrator's answer silences him immediately.

“”Your assimilation level is insufficient. Terms of use: 3%; your current assimilation rate: 2%.””

“…” O was at a loss for words. He was silent for a few moments and then screamed at the top of his lungs. “Daaamn you!”

O’s yell echoed in the ceiling of the cave. For a moment, the yell overpowered even the noise made by the rushing streams in the canal. The yell awakened something that resided in the ceiling of the cave. Then, dozens of red spots flashed alternately in the darkness.

"This damn luck!" O sweared softly. He immediately ran away with tears flowing on his cheeks …