Chapter 285

285 – Aro, Third Evolution

I land in front of the dragon-god . I trample on a number of abyss corpses, but don’t pay them any attention for now . When I first saw one, just getting closer to it felt like insanity, so it really is scary how much I’ve gotten used to them .

Aro jumps down from my back while being careful about the ground . I glance at the large number of holes in the walls . They vary in size, but most of them are just barely big enough for an abyss to squeeze in . Even a human wouldn’t be able to enter without crouching down .

Perhaps because of the heavy abysses, a few of the holes are slightly larger . If I used [Humanisation Technique], I could just about enter those . Though it’d be too small to properly fight, and besides, there wouldn’t be any light .

“…”

Restless, Aro is unable to settle down .

I wonder if she intends to return to the village after this? Thinking that, I feel a bit gloomy .

『Shouldn’t I let her evolve?』

…Aah, please do the same as usual, partner . I reply to my partner with my true feelings and she nods back before facing Aro .

“Gaah!”

She cries out, and Aro is enveloped in a black light . It’s the [Soul AppendmentFake Life] skill .

I hear a sizzling sound coming from inside the black light, as though something is burning . Worried by the sound, I take a step forward . The black light surges outwards, and I reflexively close my eyes .

When I open my eyes, the light has dispersed, becoming thin . A pale white arm stretches out from inside . It’s not made of earth . Atleast, I don’t get that impression from its appearance . There’s no sense blood inside it, but it’s a smooth, young girl’s arm .

Before long, the black light completely clears away . Feeling as though they’re boiling with overflowing magic power, wide open crimson eyes stare back at me . Her skin and hair quality, as well as her eye colour have changed, but the shape of her face, her height, and the length of her hair are a perfect match for the Aro I know . A lot of her features remain from her previous evolution . She’s unmistakably Aro .

Noticing my surprise, she blinks, then nervously looks at her arm . The moment she touches the skin of her arm, her body trembles and she collapses on the spot . She hugs her body, so happy she looks as though on the verge of tears .

Finally, we’re finally here . With her pallid white skin and her crimson eyes that are slightly larger than normal, she’s a little bit diverged from a normal human appearance, but this is a massive improvement from her undead appearance up to now . For the time being, let’s check her species information .

【[Revaana Lowlich]: C+ rank monster】

【Freely wielding earth, it creates a temporary body . 】

【Harbouring a strong attachment to the living, it often lures in foolish humans . 】

【Before they know it, those humans find themselves in the midst of the [Revaana Lowlich’s] insane feast . 】

C+, is it? Her rank’s gone up a fair bit . Based her species name, next in line is a revaana lich? …It somehow sounds a little ominous, but it’s fine, right? Aro is still Aro, right?

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Name: Aro

Species: Revaana Lich

Condition: Cursed

Lv: 1/65

HP: 138/138

MP: 38/154

Attack: 88

Defence: 76

Magic: 151

Speed: 65

Rank: C+

Characteristic Skills:

[Grisha Language: Lv4] [Undead: Lv-] [Dark Attribute: Lv-] [Flesh Transformation: Lv5] [Privilege of the Deceased: Lv-] [Ruler of Earth: Lv-] [Evil Demon Eye: Lv1]

Resistance Skills:

[Status Condition Nullification: Lv-] [Physical Resistance: Lv3] [Magic Resistance: Lv4]

Normal Skills:

[Gale: Lv6] [Poor Curse: Lv4] [Life Drain: Lv3] [Clay: Lv6] [Self-regeneration: Lv3] [Clay Doll: Lv5] [Mana Drain: Lv5] [Rope of Regret: Lv 1] [Fog of the Dead: Lv1]

Title Skills:

[Servant of the Evil Dragon: Lv-] [Hollow Sorcerer: Lv6] [Undecaying Body: Lv-]

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L-level 1 is just this much… Eh? She isn’t very strong? Is C+ only this much? Once her level’s raised a bit, she should able to chip away at the abyss population even without me . Whether or not she’s able to make good use of [Mana Drain] is the key though .

While I’m at my wits end looking at her status, Aro gets to her feet . She stares into my eyes . I wonder what she’s doing, but then I realise she’s checking her reflection in my eyes .

Upon seeing her reflection, her expression brightens and she hugs my chin . Th-that tickles . When I raise my head on reflex, she stretches out her arms towards me, a pout on her face .

I touch my chin with my foreleg and remember the feel of her touch . It felt like completely normal, supple human skin . I didn’t feel any body heat, but her skin is unmistakably human in quality . It doesn’t feel at all like it’s made from earth .

Aro suddenly looks at the dragon-god’s corpse opposite me . It’s covered in those fat yellow threads, as well as dead abyss larvae and body fluids .

…Now that I look at it more closely, this soft and flabby stuff looks a bit like a foam nest . Like one of those translucent things that some fish or frogs make to protect their eggs . Since the larvae were nearby, this yellow soft stuff probably had eggs in it . It might also serve as food for them while they grow up . Though I don’t want to think about too much .

When I turn to face the dragon-god’s corpse, Aro moves in front of it . After observing the corpse, she looks back up at me . I was sure she was about to be start being suspicious of me, but it doesn’t look like that’s the case .

“…Poor thing . ”

Aro lets out a mutter . Having seen it be trampled over by abysses, I agree with a nod .

Taking a big breath, I accumulate magic power in the back of my throat before releasing a [Scorching Breath] towards the dragon-god’s skeleton . The raging flames wrap around the bones, burning the soft thread and abyss corpses to nothing . The thunderous sound continues, until soon, even the dirt that can’t be identified as earth or dead flesh is burnt away . All that remains is a clean skeleton with a few scorch marks .

Aro approaches the clean dragon-god’s corpse and softly strokes its head .

“…Thank you for all you’ve done, dragon-god-sama . Please rest in peace . ”

She speaks smoothly, the rattle in her voice gone . She must have guessed it’s the old dragon-god-sama from seeing its two heads .

I watch over her in silence… I-it’s not like I’m jealous .

“…Umm, dragon-god, sama?”

Saying that in a way that leaves a question mark, Aro looks at me . For some reason, I’m close to withdrawing from awkwardness .

Though it’s not like her eyes are showing any distrust or hostility towards me . From the start, it’s possible a majority of the Lithovars are able to guess that the dragon-god changes between generations . It’s a bit late for it now, but I don’t get the feeling that the dragon-god’s miko, Hibi, was trying to press me with questions very much . Though some doubts remain, and there were a few times she looked at me with suspicion in her eyes .

I turn my face away in awkwardness, and it’s at that time . All of a sudden, there’s unpleasant noise .

“Guo…”

The moment I cry out, abysses spill out of their nesting holes . I swivel my head around to check my surroundings, and a moment later, a large number of abysses squeeze out of one of the holes in a jumbled mess . A few of them are overturned, wriggling with their bellies in the air .

W-what is it… What’s happening?

From where the abysses are being pushed out, a mysterious bluish black tentacle stretches out and flicks Aro’s body . It happens in an instant . It’s speed is tremendous . My attention was diverted, but even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to react in time . I hurriedly kick off the ground and leap after Aro, catching her with my tail before she can slam against the wall . She’d be crushed by the impact if I stopped her as-is, so I swing my tail in a circle to kill her momentum .

“Oww…”

Aro moans . The clothes on her side where she received the blow is torn, and a large chunk of her flesh is gouged out . There’s no blood, but the splatters of her pale flesh are grotesque . It wasn’t even a direct hit, yet it had enough force behind it to kill her . I might not have much leeway in this fight .

A mysterious tentacle slithers out of a nesting hole . It’s much bigger than an abyss . What exactly is hiding in this nesting hole…?

“UveeeeEeeEEh!”

An explosive shrill scream resounds . At the same time, the wall that the tentacles are emerging from starts breaking down .