Thank you to everyone who provided comments and coupons! Chapter 155
50. The Magical Beast and the Avatar of Power – The Magical Beast and the Avatar of Power #2
【It’s been over twenty minutes. Looks like making the materials turned out to be tougher than expected? The Goddess’ clothes have changed into a red dress. Both of them look exhausted.】
Outside, Usir was waiting for us, peeking under the Black Robe at the state of Azidahaka and me. In his hands, he cradled the sky blue cotton candy Cloudring and Yingyi.
━Gyuiying.
━Yingyi! Where did you find that?
In response to my question, Usir released Yingyi into the air with a light answer.
【I didn’t find it; it came here on its own. I don’t know how it got in, but it seems to have been hiding safely within this divine realm. Quite a clever little thing.】
━Hey, where were you hiding before? I was worried something went wrong.
━Gyuiying.
━You’re saying don’t lie? Hmmm, this guy….
“Phew, then…. Let’s put the refined materials in carefully.”
Azidahaka seemed still on edge, limping desperately towards the fountain to calm her flushed face.
The beaker in her hand, filled with a white liquid, made me want to look away and gaze longingly at a distant mountain.
Glug glug.
“Please turn blue with this….”
As I poured the last material, obtained with much effort, bubbles started to form.
【The color is changing.】
━Oh my, it really is changing color.
Usir and I exchanged excited glances as we watched the water in the fountain transform into a bright light. It was blindingly pure white.
━But it’s white, not a shade of blue.
【Yes, it is white.】
“White….”
Azidahaka murmured as if something had struck her, then moved to a pile of gold coins stacked on the floor.
Clatter.
As she touched the pile of coins, they crumbled to the ground. Watching her rummage through the gold, she pulled out something small and square, exclaiming brightly.
“Ah-ha! So that’s where it was!”
It was an old, worn paper book. Azidahaka held it out to Usir and me while calmly providing instructions.
“Read the last page. The very last one.”
【The very last page, huh? Got it.】
Receiving the old book from Azidahaka, Usir opened it without hesitation and stared at the last page.
【The last page shows signs of being torn. One entire page has been ripped out.】
“You need to look just in front of that tear. Read the very last line.”
【Alright. Let’s see…. ‘If you’ve added two heaping spoonfuls of sugar, now let it ferment for a long time. The matured elixir will appear as a pure white liquid without any impurities. If you manage to turn it blue, it’s complete.’ Hmm….】
Usir averted his eyes from the book and looked at the fountain. The shimmering substance there now resembled a high-purity white liquid akin to milk.
【So we’ve got everything ready just before completion.】
“Right. We just need a little bit more. Do you remember anything else? What went in it?”
Azidahaka shook me vigorously by the shoulders. Struggling against her strong grip reminded me of the day the witch Eve was making the elixir while I was drunk and ensnared by her.
━It’s a long time ago, and I was quite tipsy, so my memory is a bit hazy….
“Dig a little deeper!”
【Yes, your knowledge holds the future within.】
With Azidahaka and Usir pushing me along, I scratched my forehead with my claws and dove deep into thought.
How long did I ponder? Suddenly, a sound like scratching my neck popped into my head as if it were a nagging memory.
‘There was that “Kyaak!” sound. Did she maybe spit into it?’
It could just be my imagination, but it felt like the witch Eve had spat into the cauldron while making the elixir.
Perhaps the secret was the saliva of a mythical creature.
━Got it. Try spitting yours in there. It might need mythical creature saliva.
“…Huh? My spit?”
━Right. I’m pretty sure Eve spat in hers too. No doubt about it.
“Saliva…. Hmm, was the magical power of a mythical creature necessary?”
Drip.
Though unsure, Azidahaka slowly dripped her saliva into the fountain. Suddenly, the dazzlingly white water began to bubble and change color again.
━Oh, it’s changing.
“Is it really?”
【But this looks… pink.】
The water in the fountain mixed with Azidahaka’s saliva turned into a pretty shade of pink, like light strawberry milk.
“A pink color, huh? It’s a long way from blue…! Ah! If something else went wrong, we might have to start all over again!”
Azidahaka began to tear at her hair in a fit of horror.
“What do we do now? It could take a hundred years to remake it….”
【Things were going too smoothly after all.】
Azidahaka and Usir sank into deep despair, making me feel exhausted just watching them.
‘Was it really the mythical creature saliva we needed?’
I started to question Eve the witch’s methods again.
Maybe it wasn’t the “mythical creature” status but rather Eve’s Wildling or Cloudring traits that were important.
Plop.
━Gyuiying.
I glanced down at Yingyi in my paws. The creature was the same sky blue as the sky itself.
‘Honestly, since it seems like we’re already doomed, tossing in one or two more weird things couldn’t make it worse…’
━Gyuiying! Rumble!
Yingyi, seemingly reading my thoughts, began to thrash around wildly in my grasp.
━I know! I don’t want to dip into that weird stuff either! But it’s just a few seconds! Just a few seconds…!
━Yingyi!
━Ah, just stay still!
Sparks began to jump from Yingyi’s body. It seemed the little guy really didn’t want to jump into the fountain.
Splash.
━Gyuiing!
With a desperate wail, the fountain’s water rapidly began to change color.
“What’s happening…?”
Azidahaka, unable to see, expressed bewilderment at the ruckus, while Usir beside her flashed his red eyes under the Black Robe.
【The color is changing. It’s getting bluer!】
“Is it true?”
I quickly replied to Azidahaka’s question with a short “Yes.” It seemed we needed the bodily fluid of a Cloudring or Wildling as the final ingredient.
━Rumble!
Yingyi jumped out of the fountain like a cat with its tail on fire, expressing its frustrations at me. I squeezed the puffed-up little creature with my paw to calm it down.
━Hey, I’ll feed you something tasty next time, so chill out.
Splash.
The blue liquid spraying from Yingyi’s body covered Azidahaka and Usir, drenching them.
Clink clink.
In that moment, the handcuffs and shackles on Azidahaka’s arms and legs began to corrode quickly, falling off onto the ground.
“Oh my…!”
Azidahaka gasped, surprised as she examined her freed wrists and ankles.
━The restraints really came off. They wouldn’t budge no matter how much I clawed at them.
I recalled my attempts to scratch at Azidahaka’s restraints and smash them against rocks.
For some reason, chains that had suffered not a single scratch were now crumbling like ancient relics decayed from centuries buried underground.
‘The elixir is truly more impressive than expected.’
I had thought it was just some nutritious meal mix that the witch Eve made at home, but it actually seemed to be a near-miraculous medicine.
“It’s time to take off this eye patch!”
Azidahaka exclaimed, bright as a cheerful teenager.
Approaching the fountain, she filled her newly liberated palms with the clear blue water and splashed it on her face.
Clink.
With a satisfying sound, the metallic locks securing her eye patch released.
“Phew….”
Letting out a tense sigh, Azidahaka raised her hand, sliding the eye patch off and dropping it to the floor.
“Whoa, it’s bright!”
Azidahaka began to slightly open her eyes, squinting at first.
‘Her pupils look normal. I was expecting something serpent-like with vertical slits.’
Her newly revealed face was incredibly beautiful, a true sight to behold for a mythical creature, without a single blemish.
With eyes as sharp as a cat’s, it was hard to tell before, but there was a captivating teardrop mark under her right eye.
Having just freed her eyes after many years, they seemed to still be adjusting to the light.
Azidahaka squinted at me.
“I thought they’d be whiter. But there are patches of black fur here and there.”
━What are you talking about, you burned me!
“Oh, is that so? I thought you’d be a hideous monster like a magical beast. But your face is all round and cute like a young little beast….”
Azidahaka’s hands reached out to gently stroke my face and chin. Her black eyes locked onto mine and, it felt as if she was peering straight into my mind.
━What’s up with that intense staring?
As I struggled to break free from her grasp, she firmly held my head in place.
“My eyes can see beyond mere appearances, into the thoughts, past, and future of an individual. High-ranked nobles would come to me, offering heaps of gold, begging for glimpses of their futures. And you— you can receive all that freely. Just sit still.”
━Hey, I didn’t even ask you to look! Why are you invading my privacy?
“O-oh, a passionate night…. Not picky with beastly females…? D-doing that in such places…? Aah… licking it!?”
━Hey, what are you looking at! That’s an invasion of privacy!
“Ehem.”
Azidahaka pretended to cough, her face flushed red.
“Your mind is filled with nothing but vulgar thoughts…!”
━Hey, males tend to be like that. It’s how new lives come into the world in this realm.
I wriggled out of Azidahaka’s hold and tidied up the fur on my face and chin with my paw.
━So, what do you see in my future, huh? Anything at all?
I wasn’t someone who usually enjoyed fortune-telling or reading palms, but it seemed this Fire Dragon Azidahaka’s ability was genuinely “real,” and since not just anyone could have their future read, I felt a twinge of curiosity about what lay ahead.
What would she see in me?
However, Azidahaka slowly closed her eyes again, shaking her head gently.
“I saw nothing at all. It was just pure blackness. Perhaps it’s because it’s been so long since I opened my eyes that they have lost their power….”
━Or maybe my future is murky enough that you can’t see anything!
“I can’t know for sure. Even if I glimpse the future, it’s just some fragmented scenes….”
━Ugh, what a letdown.
I sighed in disappointment.
I hoped to glean useful information to help me in my upcoming fight against Nialli and the mighty Guki, but it seemed aiming for fortune was out of reach.
━So, what about this old man? You got doused in the elixir too, right?
I shifted my gaze to Usir, who was examining his hands and body.
【It’s a bit tingly. But it doesn’t feel bad. It feels almost like new flesh is sprouting.】
“It might be that the elixir we hastily whipped up has limitations on healing given that Nialli’s plague dug in deep after a thousand years.”
【Perhaps it might require a greater quantity.】
Usir spoke with a tone that bore disappointment yet retained a sliver of hope. Despite that, I could clearly smell the rancid odor of illness he carried had significantly decreased.
‘The flesh beneath the bandages visibly regenerated. His voice had become much more bearable, moving away from that horrific sound like nails on glass.’
“If you experience any more changes, please let me know. You are going to play a crucial role in rescuing the wandering spirits of this tower.”
【So you want me to be a test subject? I can do that without a hitch. After I stab Nialli’s heart, that is.】
Having released the seal of the Fire Dragon, it was safe to say all preparations were complete. All that was left was to expel the Warlord and the malevolent Nialli from this tower.
‘We’re really close now.’
I licked my lips at the thought of the precious jewel of the Fire Dragon, hidden somewhere in this desert.
