172 – The Nymphs and the Secret of Hios Island #1
Whew-!
I could momentarily sense a black wind escaping from Hex’s body.
Cough, cough—Hex exhaled heavily.
“What, what is this… how…?”
“Hex! You’ve come to your senses!”
I realized the spirit possessing Hex had disappeared.
It was true what Mythuber Kira had said: to help someone afflicted by a possessing demon, you first need to subdue them definitively!
“Hex! You should escape for now!”
It was at that moment.
“Ggaaahh—! You guys─, can’t escape! You will live here with me forever!”
The dark clouds enveloping the sky took on the intense shape of a monster.
It had a human upper body, wings like a raven, and a lower body resembling a creature that looked like a dragon or a snake, its eyes glimmering menacingly.
It was as enormous as a mountain, covering the sky, and its presence was overwhelming.
“What the heck is that!”
I was slightly overwhelmed by its sheer size and might.
The rain and wind began to batter against us more violently, and it felt like if I didn’t hold onto something, I would be swept away toward the sky like a balloon a child had released.
“Aah! There it is…!”
“I can see it with this Coris’s eyes…!”
“I smell a dragon…!”
Pop—.
At that moment, I heard a familiar voice from somewhere.
Turning my head, I saw Nymphs entering through the dimensional rift!
Achilles was with them.
“Yil-do! Are you okay?!”
“Yes! That big cloud seems to be the center of this rift!”
I felt the need to explain the situation as quickly and accurately as possible.
But it was urgent, and I didn’t know what to do; everything faded to black in front of my eyes.
So I said.
“Chattering, chattering sea anemone!”
Soon, Inoi was in awe.
“What a splendid ‘Nymph Trick, Chattering Away’! Heroes who have long been with the Nymphs can sometimes use Nymph Tricks…!”
“I’m glad I don’t have to reminisce about the past…!”
“Is that disgusting dragon the legendary Typhon from the stories? Muhuhu, our Nymphs are specialists in dealing with dragons…!”
Pop—.
The Nymphs lined up in a row.
“Dora-dora, dora water—.” they began to chant.
An amazing thing happened immediately.
The dark clouds that had been so dense started to dissipate, and the rain and wind gradually lessened, allowing sunlight to seep down onto the muddy ground!
“Gaaah! I can’t believe the Nymphs are still in this world! So unjust!”
The dark cloud Typhon shrank significantly.
Now reduced to the size of a person, though lacking the same ferocity as before, it still looked menacing as it spewed thunder, rumbling and raging.
While I maintained my focus, I suddenly heard the sound of something floating up from somewhere.
—Eee-eee-ee!
It was the typhoon cloud Iningyi!
The typhoon cloud Iningyi, which had vanished earlier, dove toward the now-person-sized Typhon and sprang at it.
—Krrrrr…!
With a sound like thunder, the sky-blue cotton candy cloud attacked Typhon, who screamed, “Guaah…!” and was finally swallowed up by Iningyi.
—Gyu-ing.
Now, Iningyi’s body glowed so brightly that it was almost blinding.
After about five seconds passed, the radiance gradually dimmed, and Iningyi wore a small rainbow around its waist. Seeing this, Inoi placed their hands on both cheeks and exclaimed.
“Unbelievable…! That is a kind of typhoon cloud called ‘Rainbow Ring’…! An incredibly beautiful typhoon cloud that symbolizes peace…!”
Rainbow Ring.
Rainbow Ring.
What an impressive name.
“If it’s a Rainbow Ring, then this Illinois has heard of it…! A rare species that even the gods of Olympus want to see once…! It must be quite expensive…!”
—Eee-eee-ee.
Swoosh—.
The typhoon cloud Iningyi, having successfully established its identity as a Rainbow Ring, emitted a gentle breeze.
Strangely, that rainbow-colored wind seemed to vanish as it mingled with the wounded bodies of Kkungkkungi, Ahn Ahn, and Kalilnoi, healing them.
Suddenly, a great thing happened.
The wounds that Kkungkkungi, Ahn Ahn, and Kalilnoi had on their bodies were completely healed!
“I had no idea that the Rainbow Ring possessed healing abilities…!”
Healing abilities.
That was a remarkably rare ability even among the Awakened.
And it was a crucially beneficial ability for us, who often faced injuries from animals.
# # #
“Dora-dora, dora water—.”
The Nymphs sang, closing the rampaging rift.
Once the task was done, the world was clear as if nothing had happened, the sky brightening.
Of course, since it was night, it was still dark, but the brightly shining moon and stars sparkled more beautifully than ever.
Buuuuuuuu—.
As I rode back on the transport vehicle that the Nymphs and Achilles had taken, Inoi looked out the window and said.
“It seems very similar to the land and star shapes of my hometown…! Looking at those constellations, I’m feeling nostalgic…!”
Inoi seemed to miss their hometown.
Even while in Greece, the land of the Nymphs, they missed their home.
But in fact, this Greece wasn’t the home of Inoi, Illinois, Coris, or Kalilnoi.
This Greece was merely similar in land and terrain to the Greece where the Nymphs lived, but it was slightly different.
In my opinion, it might be better to say that the Greece where the Nymphs lived was from a ‘different dimension.’
Would it be appropriate to describe it as an underlying world existing in the same place?
I wasn’t a PhD in rift studies or a scholar, so I couldn’t say for sure…
“It’s a relief that I’m not injured.”
Srrh—click—.
Achilles spoke to me while organizing his sword.
He was right; I was grateful I wasn’t hurt.
Looking back, my actions had been reckless.
If the outcome had been negative, I would have been in big trouble.
“Thanks to Hex resisting that possessing demon well, it’s a relief.”
Originally, the wind mage Hex Pascal was said to fight in a style that unleashed a wide range of deadly techniques befitting his S-rank status.
It was said that his power could carve solid rocks with wind.
However, it seemed that the possessing spirit didn’t fully bring out Hex’s abilities, and it ultimately reduced his strength to something below S-rank.
That was probably why I was able to remain uninjured and occupy a favorable position in this fight.
“I just thought that I had to resist against a monster that manipulates my body at will. I’ve often faced possessing demon spirits in England, so while it was my first time being possessed, it wasn’t something completely unknown.”
“I see. Thanks to you resisting, I survived.”
An intense possessing spirit that could suppress the mental strength of S-rank Hex and seize his body.
If something like that had successfully escaped the rift and entered the world, it would have been a disaster.
Ssssss—.
Hex lifted his upper clothing to examine the wounds on his body.
He was covered in bruises and signs of being burned.
These were wounds received from being hit by Kkungkkungi and Ahn Ahn, as well as from Kalilnoi.
“I think these wounds will heal in a day or so…. But strangely, I can’t feel anything in my lower half…. This can’t be good, right? Did I say something about ‘Hyper Cutting’…?”
Hex said he had been watching the whole fight while possessed.
To comfort him, I said.
“Everyone is different, but generally, you should be fine in a few days.”
“…Is that so? I see. By the way, you said you have a Haildo from Korea? Impressive, right? Even though he wasn’t in his right mind, to push me like this against Hex….”
Unlike the polite Achilles, the second-in-command of Greece, Hex, was as breezy as the wind.
He handed me a business card.
“If you want to work in Europe, let me know. The requests from our ‘Pantheon Guild’ don’t discriminate by nationality.”
After that, we were hospitalized.
Although we weren’t injured, we thought it wouldn’t hurt to have thorough bodily examinations, and both Hex and I, as well as the Nymphs and animals, had no significant issues.
“Senpai!”
The next day.
While sleeping in the hospital, someone shouted loudly at me.
I opened my eyes to see Ari.
“Senpai, you’re in the hospital! Are you okay?!”
Ari, very surprised, examined my body here and there.
Though I had been provided a private room by the Greek guild members, my body was actually fine.
“I’m okay.”
“Thank goodness!”
“By the way, Ari, what brings you here?”
“I heard you got hurt and flew in last night! Something major happened, right?! Senpai, you were too reckless…!”
Ari seemed to be in a state of great agitation.
To calm her down, I poked her forehead with my finger.
“Settle down.”
“Eep.”
Ari touched her forehead, making a slightly pouting expression as she shot me a glare.
Ari used to look at me like this when I played pranks on her back in high school.
It seemed that even after becoming a proper adult, she hadn’t changed in that respect.
“Ah! The muddy Nymph Buntanoi has appeared again…!”
“Let’s beat her up and cleanse her nicely…!”
“Of course…! It’s punishment time…!”
Dududududududududu—.
When I stepped out into the noisy hospital hallway, I saw Nymphs mercilessly beating the muddy Nymph Morales.
“Hyiaaah…!”
Morales, who was getting thrashed by the Nymphs, was crying slightly, and seeing that made my heart ache.
Isn’t it better for the Nymphs to get along, drifting in a foreign land away from home?
“Hey, stop bullying her. Bullying is a bad thing.”
I intervened with the Nymphs.
In response, they said, “Everyone is dancing the happy nymph dance…!” and vanished somewhere, leaving only Morales, who looked at me with shining eyes.
“Human Haildo…! This Morales doesn’t need help…! I’m the one who’s bullying the Nymphs…!”
I see.
Morales was a tougher Nymph than I had anticipated.
“Senpai, are we going back to Korea now?”
Ari asked as she followed me down the hallway.
Since we went through a big event, she seemed to be asking if we were going back to Korea.
In fact, my purpose for coming to Greece was to meet a man known as ‘The Pinnacle.’
I also had things to ask Achilles about the ‘Whispering Coin’!
In other words, my journey in Greece was just beginning!
Seeing me, Ari clenched her fists as if she had made some resolution.
“Senpai always rushes in and puts yourself in danger, so I, as your personal physician, must join you on your journey through Greece!”
