Day 571-580/Day 577

Day 577 / 107th day
As a result of my research yesterday, it became clear that the gray wolf that had served as my leg was no longer with us. The only vestiges of it remain in the loin cloths of the body armor, but its presence can no longer be confirmed.
However, that is not to say that it has disappeared. When I stroked the black belt with the head ornaments that resembled those of an ash-silver wolf, it twitched and responded. It's like a dog that is happy to be petted by its owner. If you look closely, you can see that the head ornament is also moving, albeit in a small way. If it had a tail, it would be wagging it. When I saw it and tried this and that, I found out that the gray wolf had become a kind of biological armor, and with the head ornament of the black belt as its core, it could create a black flaming demon beast with the consciousness of the gray wolf. Although there are some major changes, such as the black flaming body hair and the huge long horn extending from the forehead, the rest is definitely the Silver Wolf. I'll have him continue to be active as a cavalry beast in the future as the Black Flame Wolf instead of the Ash Silver Wolf. Now that it has become a biological armor, it is literally one and the same, and we will be friends for a long time until we die.
I stroked the black flame wolf's burning body to communicate with it, and when it was in a good mood, I stepped over it. As soon as I was in a good mood, I straddled him, and his body hair naturally wrapped around my legs, so I didn't have to worry about being knocked off even when I was moving at high speed. I was able to do a similar thing with the Ash-Silver Wolf, but now it was interesting to see how the heat from the contact surface improved the heating performance, and how the softness of the body hair improved the sitting comfort. While feeling a big difference even if it was small, the black flame wolf who ran up and spread the flame wings jumped out of the 【Time-Emperor's Heavenly Domain】 that existed in the uppermost part of the ≪Time History City Historinoa≫ as it is. 【Time-Emperor's Heavenly Domain】 seems to have a barrier that blocks intruders from the outside, but it does not seem to block the part that goes out from the inside.
The moment I ran outside, I was hit by a strong cold wind, just like I was in the Balance Tower. At that time, I didn't feel much cold even when I was naked, but as a countermeasure, I activated multiple abilities such as 【Coldproof】 and 【Windproof】 to suppress the cold. But now that he is physically stronger, he doesn't feel the cold as much even if he doesn't do anything. Even when exposed to cold storms, he doesn't feel as if his body heat is being taken away. Either they are resistant to the cold, or their strong vitality allows them to adapt to changes in the environment immediately. It could be either, or it could be a combination of both. While confirming these changes, I looked down at the ground, enjoying an elegant scenic flight on the Black Flame Wolf, which had gained a clear ability to fly, not just glide.
The first thing I could see was the "Red Eclipse Mountain Range" which consisted of eighteen mountains wrapped in red rust illuminated by the morning sun. This is a dangerous area where the "red rust curse" is spreading and it is a den of red rust-infected monsters called "red-eating illegitimate cliffhangers" that are created by the curse. But if you can get rid of the dangerous red rust, it's an excellent mine with an abundance of ore, so I remembered that I wanted to explore underground on the way back. In addition, there is a place where a piece of the 【Fallen God】 may be buried, and the red rust cave that leads to the underground is a place that tickles the desire to explore. I hope you don't encounter the main body of the Fallen God, but if you think about the possibility of unearthing a fragment or something derived from it, this is a place you want to stop by.
There is also a black rust area on the top of a certain mountain that stands out when you look down from the sky, surrounded by red rust. That must be the place where the old hunter who taught me so many things lives. When I think of the old hunter, the taste of the black rust tea he brewed and the parting promise to drink when we meet again come to mind.
It hadn't been that long since we parted. The old hunter may not have expected to see me again so soon. But now that I remembered, I landed in the black rust area.
I didn't hide any particular sign, so the old hunter, who was surprised by my presence, came running out of the lodge with a black bow and arrow. It was still early in the morning, just before the sun rose. The old hunter, who seemed to be clearly awake, perhaps because he was an old man, opened his eyes in surprise when he saw me and the Black Flame Wolf, and showed some hesitation as to whether the sudden visitor was an enemy or not. The black bow and arrow is the only thing that is firmly in place. It was aimed at my heart, so that if it was an enemy, it would shoot immediately. After confronting them for a while, they seemed to have realized that we had no intention of antagonizing them, but they still couldn't let down their guard against us, whom they had never seen before. It may be inevitable. The presence that he naturally gives off as the current "Black Flame Lord of the Middle Demon" probably gives the old hunter a strong sense of pressure even when I am not doing anything. The amount of magic power in his body has increased by an order of magnitude, and his status as a living being is higher than before. Now that he is in a state where he is not hiding his black flame halo, physical heat is being emitted around him. If there was a fierce tiger in front of me that I could not compete with, I would be afraid of it, even if I was just sitting and relaxing.
Laughing at this, I took out a bottle of sake and called out to him.
I took out a bottle of sake and said, "Let's have a drink to celebrate our reunion.
The old hunter's expression changed greatly in surprise, and then he smiled.
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RAWS
　"百七日五■七■七目"
昨日あれこれ調べた結論として、今まで足となってくれた灰銀狼は居なくなった事が明確になった。生体防具の腰布に名残として残っているだけで、その姿は既に確認できない。
しかし消滅したかというと、そうではない。灰銀狼に似た頭部の装飾が施された黒いベルトを撫でると、ピクピクと反応がある。まるで飼い主に撫でられて喜ぶ犬のような反応だ。よく見れば頭部の装飾も小さくではあるが動いている。尻尾があればパタパタと振ってそうだ。それを見てあれこれ試していると、どうやら灰銀狼は生体防具の一種に成ったらしく、黒いベルトの頭部の装飾を核に、灰銀狼の意識が宿った黒焔鬼獣を一体生み出せる事が分かった。黒く燃え上がる体毛と、額から伸びる巨大で長い一角という大きな変化はあるものの、その他は間違いなく灰銀狼だ。灰銀狼改め、黒焔狼として今後も騎獣として活躍してもらう事にしよう。生体防具となった今では文字通り一心同体だ、死ぬまで長い付き合いになりそうである。
そんな黒焔狼の燃える全身を撫でてコミュニケーションをとりつつ、機嫌がよくなったところで跨った。すると体毛が足に自然と巻き付き、高速で動いても振り落とされる心配をしなくてもよくなった。灰銀狼の時でも似たような事が出来たが、今は接触面から伝わる熱による暖房性能の向上と、体毛の柔らかさから座り心地の向上など細かい点でもより良くなっている事は面白い点だ。小さくても大きな差異を感じつつ、助走し、焔翼を広げた黒焔狼はそのまま≪時刻歴在都市ヒストリノア≫最上部に存在する【時帝の天領】から飛び出した。【時帝の天領】は外部からの侵入者を阻む結界が存在するようだが、内部から出て行く分には阻害しないらしい。
外に飛び出した瞬間、天秤塔の時のように強烈な冷風に襲われた。あの頃は裸体でも寒さはあまり感じなかったが、一応の対策として【防寒】や【防風】などのアビリティを重複発動して寒さを抑えた。だが肉体面でより強くなった現状では、何もしなくても寒さは余り感じないらしい。冷たい暴風に晒されても、体温を奪われるような感覚もない。寒さに対する耐性があるのか、強靭な生命力で環境の変化に即座に適応できるのか。そのどちらでもあり、それ以外の要素も含んでいるのだろう。そういった変化も確認しつつ、ただの滑空ではなく明確な飛行能力を得た黒焔狼の上で、優雅な遊覧飛行を楽しみながら地上を見下ろした。
まず見えるのは朝日に照らされた赤錆に包まれた十八の山々からなる≪赤蝕山脈≫だ。ここは【赤錆の呪詛】が蔓延し、それによって生まれる【赤蝕の落胤クリフィスタ】という赤錆に侵されたモンスターの巣窟で、ただ居るだけで赤錆に侵食されてしまう危険地帯だ。ただ危険な赤錆さえどうにかできれば豊富な鉱石の眠る優秀な鉱山なので、帰り道では地下探索がしたいと思っていた事を思い出す。それに【堕神】の欠片が埋まっている可能性のある曰く付きの土地という事もあり、地下へ続く赤錆洞窟なんて探索欲をくすぐる場所もある。【堕神】本体と遭遇するのは勘弁してほしいが、欠片か、あるいはそれに由来するモノが出土する可能性を考えれば寄り道したい場所である。
それに空から見下ろしたら一際目立つ、赤錆に囲まれながらもとある山頂に存在する黒錆のエリア。あれは色々と教えてくれた老狩人が住んでいる場所で間違いない。老狩人の事を思い出すと、淹れてくれた黒錆茶の味や、再会したら酒を飲もうという別れの約束が脳裏を過る。
別れてからそんなに時間は経っていない。老狩人もこんなに早く再開するとは思っていないかもしれない。しかしせっかく思い出したのだから、という事で黒錆エリアに降り立った。
特に気配は隠していなかったので、降り立つよりも早く気配に驚いた老狩人が黒い弓矢を携えて山小屋から飛び出してきた。まだ朝日も昇りかけの早朝だ。老人だから早起きなのだろうか、ハッキリと目覚めていたらしい老狩人は俺と黒焔狼の姿を見て目を見開いて驚き、突然の来訪者が敵かそうでないのか少し迷うような素振りを見せた。ただ黒い弓矢だけはしっかりと構えている。敵であれば即座に射る為だろう、狙いは俺の心臓を捉えていた。しばらく対峙し、俺達に敵対する意思は欠片もない事を察したようだが、それでも見た事も無い俺達に対する警戒心を解けないらしい。それも仕方ないのかもしれない。今の【黒焔領中鬼大王】として自然と発する存在感は、何をしていなくても老狩人に強い重圧感を与えているだろう。体内魔力量は桁違いに増大したし、生物としての格が以前よりも上がっている。今は黒焔光背を隠さず出している状態なので、周囲には物理的な熱量が発散されている。自分では敵わない猛虎が目の前に居れば、例え座ってくつろいでいるだけでも怖がってしまうようなものだろうか。
それに苦笑いしつつ、とりあえず酒瓶を取り出して声をかける。
約束していた再会の酒を飲もう、と。
それで察したのか、老狩人は驚いて表情を大きく変えて、それから苦笑を浮かべた。
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Category:Novel
Category:Re:Monster ~ The Dark Continent ~ Vol. 3