Chapter 245: Another One

245 – Another One

Through [Presence Perception] I can track the movements of all three groups. At the start, there’s just one group heading towards me, but soon the two individuals shift their course towards me. The two solos, even though they’re far apart, they act like they notice me at the exact same time. Their movements are odd.

It’s likely that they have some means of contacting each other from far away. [Presence Perception], as well as some sort of [Telepathy] skill?

Suddenly, I remember Hibi. Indeed, in battle she had some way of knowing where the abyss was, and also used [Telepathy] to talk to me. Could Hibi be with them?

As I’m look in the direction of the presences, Aro is looking at me in a panic. From my reaction, she must know that something’s approaching.

Though is that reason enough for her to panic? She knows that she of course can’t be seen by anyone as she is now, but I don’t think that’s all. As I thought, there must be something Aro knows about this place.

I don’t know how much of her memories from her past life she has, but since coming to this place she’s seemed on edge. There’s also that Hibi said that it was fine since the manticore fled this way. There’s no mistake, the Lithovars know there’s something out here.

For now I’ll hide Aro and wait-and-see. If by any chance they’re hostile, I have no intention of losing to five humans. I’ll raise up a cloud of dust and run.

I open my mouth and look at Aro. She pauses, tilting her head in confusion. Then, understanding my intention of 『Aro, do you mind hiding in my mouth?』, she freezes. After thinking for a moment, she nods her head.

…It doesn’t show on her face, but I don’t think she’s looking forward to it. Sorry, Aro.

“Aah! Aah!”

My partner also opens her mouth and cries out as if to say her mouth is also fine. I quickly clasp Aro in my mouth, becoming responsible for her protection. My partner could have accidentally swallowed her somehow.

Aro’s earthy flesh gets soaked by my saliva and breaks off, spreading throughout my mouth… After all, she’s undead. Perhaps, this is the reason she was reluctant. It looks like this could become a complex for her.

Doing my best to ignore the sensation in my mouth, I resume observation with [Presence Perception]. They’re getting quite close. The three groups are all closing in on me from different sides. To match their timing, some of them stop, then suddenly they all run towards me.

…They’re probably not friendly.

I’ll have keep my mouth closed as I fight so they don’t see Aro. I’m worried that they’ll notice her with [Presence Perception], but as an undead, her presence is a bit unusual, so I don’t think they’d mistake her for a human. Her rank’s only D as well, so as long as they don’t see her it should be fine.

I hear the sound of something whistling through the air. I swing my tail, knocking an arrow out of the air. I glance back. It’s not got a lot of attack power, but the arrow tip has been coated with a black liquid. Poison.

【[Poison of Morz (modified): Value C+]】

【The poison of a [Morz], plus the stew of various poisonous plants. 】

【A choice poison for hunting, used by people living in the forest. 】

…People living in the forest. In other words, that’s…

As I’m thinking, another arrow comes flying from another direction. Sorry, but no matter how much you poison the tip, it doesn’t matter if it can’t pierce my skin. It’s too slow, too.

I spin around and repel it.

“Gaaaaaah!”

My partner raises a [Roar]. It doesn’t seem like she’s trying to keep them in check or provoke them, but rather is just annoyed by the sudden attack.

From the front, two half-naked spear-wielding men appear. The materials and design of their clothes match the Lithovar style.

Bracing their spears, they slowly approach. I see hate reflected in their eyes.

Shit, why? Why are these guys raising their weapons against me…?

“Come back! I told you, your objective was just to check what it was!”

From behind the two I hear a voice. It’s coming a woman holding a large staff. She’s not Hibi, but she’s wearing the clothes of a miko of the dragon-god.

Probably, that woman has [Presence Perception], and some sort of long-distance [Telepathy]. Hmm? If she can use [Telepathy], then why’d she use her voice there…?

The woman points her staff towards me.

“Yushi, Ah, Rafu”

The woman chants, her eyes closed. In the next instant, a bright white light spreads throughout the area.

“GuoOH!”

“GaaAAH!”

Shit, it’s even having an effect inside my head.

As I was watching the woman approach from the front, I got hit by the full brunt of her blinding attack. Was that the reason she called out? To get my attention on her?

I hear the sound of my partner slamming her head against the ground repeatedly. It’s a simple technique specialising in killing the target at first sight, but it’s scarily strong.

【Resistance skill [Strong Light Resistance: LV1] was acquired. 】

【Resistance skill [Confusion Resistance] has risen from level 1 to 2. 】

…Yet another weirdly precise skill. If possible, I don’t want to ever experience it again.

I squint my eyes and look around. I try feeling around with [Presence Perception], to find that those five have run away. Chasing after them would be easy, but I don’t feel like it.

The question is, why did I run into the Lithovars out here, and why did they attack the dragon-god that they worship. Is there something out here they don’t want me to see? No, it seemed that their objective was just to check me out… Hmm? Those guys, could it be that none of them had seen me before? I’m confident that I don’t recall seeing any of their faces before. Besides, when they fled, they ran in the opposite direction from the Lithovar village.

They attacked the dragon-god who’s supposedly the object of their faith. Hibi said it’s okay since the manticore fled that way.

Could it be that they’re split up into two villages? To make matters worse, one side is driving monsters towards the other, while that side’s attacking the first’s object of faith with poisoned arrows, so it’s clear they’re hostile to each other.

Wh-what should I do? I might not have known, but I drove a monster towards a place where people live. That explains why they bared their hate at me.