Chapter 124: Into the Black Fog
Right after leaving the office, Walfred headed with Elsa to the quarantine zone where everyone was gathered, to hand over the shelter management log he’d found in the room.
"Ah! You’re back, Hunter."
"Did you find the log?"
Donovan and the survivors gathered in the quarantine zone welcomed him. Walfred nodded quietly and handed over the shelter management log.
"Read it for yourselves."
"Oh, right. Understood."
Donovan opened the log.
People soon crowded around him.
As the pages turned, the faces of those reading the log grew paler and paler.
At last, the final page was opened.
"..."
A heavy silence pressed down on the room.
Everyone wore expressions of considerable shock. Just as no one could bring themselves to speak, someone broke the silence.
"...So that’s what happened."
It was Donovan.
Biting down hard on his lower lip, he closed his eyes and quietly bowed his head. As if mourning Helen’s sacrifice, he stayed that way for no short amount of time.
When the long moment of silence ended, Donovan turned to face the others.
"If what’s written here is true, we need to evacuate immediately."
"E-Evacuate? To where...?"
"Let’s go to Macon. It’s the closest shelter, and it’s where the pharmacist was headed."
Donovan spoke as if making a proposal.
No one objected.
For a group without a Hunter, the only survival strategy is to run from danger.
"What will you do, Hunter?"
Donovan asked him then.
At that, everyone’s eyes turned to Walfred at once. Just from their gazes, he could tell exactly what they wanted.
’They want me to come with them to Macon.’
Traveling with a Hunter raises the survival rate far above what a group of non-Awakened could manage on their own.
But Walfred had other plans.
"I’m going to exterminate the Soul Eater."
"I see. The Soul Eater... Pardon?"
Donovan, who had been nodding along, froze with a blank expression.
He wasn’t the only one.
The others stared at Walfred too, eyes wide or mouths slightly agape.
A brief silence passed.
"You’re going to exterminate... the Soul Eater...?"
"B-But doesn’t exterminating an Elite Monster require at least five Hunters of the same rank?"
"Fighting alone is too dangerous!"
"Why not evacuate to Macon with us instead?"
"He’s right. Everyone would be overjoyed if you came with us, Hunter."
Negative reactions poured in from all sides.
Among them, just as Walfred had expected, were voices urging him to evacuate to Macon with them.
And then,
"I think you’re all misunderstanding something."
"...Pardon?"
"This is me informing you. Not asking for your opinions or your approval."
The moment the Skinwalker screening inside the shelter had finished, Walfred’s work was done. Even coming to deliver the log had been nothing more than a courtesy.
He had no intention of tagging along with them.
"Th-Then what are we supposed to do...?"
"Figure it out yourselves."
Go to Macon, or stay here.
With that indifferent answer, Walfred turned away as if he had no further business with them. Donovan and the others could only stare blankly at his back.
Ignoring the gazes pouring onto him, Walfred left the quarantine zone.
---
Whoooosh!
When he stepped outside the shelter, a fierce blizzard greeted him. The industrial complex was a long way off, but there was no need to worry.
Elsa was by his side.
[Daddy, I’ll give you a ride.]
Elsa, transformed back into her original form, lowered herself flat in front of Walfred. He climbed onto her back, and together they leaped into the air.
[Hold on tight!]
Elsa cut across the sky at high speed, her enormous wings beating. Meanwhile, Walfred reviewed the information about the Soul Eater he’d seen on the community.
Its traits, the things to watch out for, and so on.
As he crammed all that information into his head, something suddenly flashed through his mind.
’Wait, come to think of it...’
Was it really okay to enter the Soul Eater’s territory with Elsa like this?
Unlike Walfred, who could resist the Soul Eater’s mental corruption thanks to the [Blessing of Eternal Light] and [Brilliance], Elsa had no defenses whatsoever.
’Sure, she’s Dragonkin, so mental attacks might not work on her at all, but I can’t jump to conclusions.’
There had been that exception: the curse.
What if Elsa fell victim to the Soul Eater’s mental corruption, just like back then?
Things would get complicated.
’And the bigger problem is that the Soul Eater might target Elsa first...’
The Soul Eater had already devoured this region’s frost-attribute Boss Monster. By now, its confidence had probably shot through the roof.
And if a new frost-attribute Boss like Elsa showed up? To that thing, it would look like a delicious meal walking right up to its door.
’What should I do?’
Should he send her back now?
Just as his deliberation deepened, a voice suddenly shattered his thoughts.
[We’re almost there!]
It was Elsa.
They had already arrived near their destination.
Snapping out of his thoughts at her words, Walfred looked toward the industrial complex. Then his brow furrowed.
He’d spotted something he never expected.
’...What is that? Smoke? Fog?’
Something that looked like black smoke, or perhaps black fog, blanketed the industrial complex.
And though it should have been nothing more than a phenomenon, it writhed eerily, like a living creature.
Walfred narrowed his eyes.
’Is this the Soul Eater’s doing?’
To hide the location of its main body?
That was probably the most likely explanation.
Even the community had said that, mental corruption and hallucinations aside, the Soul Eater’s main body wasn’t all that strong in terms of raw combat power.
[Hngh-choo! Ugh, ptui, ptui!]
As he continued his speculation, Elsa suddenly made a strange noise.
She sneezed a few times, then spoke in a stuffy, nasal voice.
[Ugh! Something over there reeks!]
"Reeks?"
At Elsa’s words, Walfred instinctively sniffed the air, but he couldn’t smell a thing.
What was she talking about?
When Walfred asked, puzzled, Elsa moved a wing to point out exactly what she meant.
[That pitch-black smoky stuff!]
Elsa was pointing at the black fog.
According to her explanation, she could sense a horrendous stench coming from the black fog. Bad enough that just smelling it gave her a headache.
The moment he heard that, Walfred’s eyes went wide.
’Then that means... could it be...’
Was that the culprit behind the mental corruption?
The thought struck him out of nowhere.