The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

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The Villainous Noble Who Kept Rewinding After Death: The Story Somehow Changed When I Committed Suicide

Chapter 107: Reconnaissance

Three days had passed since we stayed at Shuvina’s house, and today was finally the day we would go on a reconnaissance mission to the location where the Hydra is sealed.

We still hadn’t received approval from Kaylee for the extermination, but the Hydra hadn’t revived yet, so I planned to remain patient for a while longer.

“Isn’t it a bit late to be deciding this?”

“Yeah, it would be too late to rush in once it revives.”

“It can’t be helped. It seems Kaylee is trying to convince them, but the other stubborn elves are too proud to trust a human like you.”

Just as Shuvina said, Kaylee had been putting in a lot of effort over these three days, but the old elf lords insisted on defending their own territory themselves and were reluctant to accept help.

“They say they can protect themselves, but do they even have the means to do so? …Well, whatever. If it revives, I’ll just let it fight on its own.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

While we talked, we completed our preparations for the reconnaissance. Fiera grabbed the magic bag, and Shuvina slung her silver bow over her shoulder as we stepped outside the house.

“By the way, are you really coming, Shuvina? You could stay with Cecile and the others.”

“It’s fine. I want to do something for my country too. Besides, it’s lonely to be left out at this point.”

“Got it. Well then, let’s go.”

In the end, the three of us set off for reconnaissance, exchanging light greetings with Cecile before heading towards the southern district.

As we exited through the gate of the southern district, we moved further south through the forest, which was incredibly peaceful, filled with the sounds of chirping birds.

“It’s remarkably peaceful here.”

“This forest is blessed by the World Tree, so there are no monsters. Plus, the plants get lots of nutrients, so the animals that feed on them are really healthy. We live by hunting those animals and gathering fruits from the forest.”

“Is that so?”

Indeed, as Shuvina said, the trees here were clearly thicker than those I’d seen in other countries, making it evident that this forest was nutrient-rich.

As we continued deeper into the forest, the atmosphere began to change gradually.

“It’s gotten quiet.”

“Yeah. The birds have stopped chirping too.”

Just as Fiera said, the chirping birds and the rustling leaves that had been there moments ago fell silent, creating a chilling stillness around us.

“What is this…?”

We proceeded cautiously, and what came into view were trees stripped bare of their leaves and skinny, decayed trunks.

Moreover, the blue sky from earlier was now covered by a purple mist, and the ground was decayed with rotting grass and flowers.

“What on earth happened?”

“This is likely due to the poison released when the Hydra’s seal was broken.”

“What should we do?”

“Wait for a moment.”

After confirming the surroundings, I used search magic to locate where the Hydra was sealed and found a significant reaction at the center of the poisonous mist.

“I found it. Fiera, you and Shuvina check the surroundings. There might be demons lurking around, but if you find any, don’t pursue them.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

Once I confirmed that Fiera and Shuvina were heading into the forest, I cloaked my body with barrier magic and slowly stepped into the mist.

“The visibility is terrible. What happens if I touch this mist?”

With my vision obscured by the purple fog, I was curious and stretched my left arm out past the barrier. As soon as it touched the mist, the flesh began to decay and melt away, while my bones started to sizzle and evaporate.

“Hm. That seems like some serious poison. The flesh deteriorated quickly.”

As I cast recovery magic on my completely rotted left arm, I continued toward the center of the mist.

“This must be it.”

There stood only an oddly elevated patch of earth and something resembling a stone monument.

The mound where the monument stood showed the most signs of the poison’s effects, with even the soil rotting into a poisonous swamp, while the monument itself appeared cracked, indicating its sealing power had weakened.

I used flight magic to approach the monument without touching the poisonous area, carefully reaching out and feeling it while trying to interpret the magical wavelength contained within.

(The sealing magic applied here seems quite powerful. But, after 1400 years, it seems the seal has loosened.)

It appeared this monument bore strong sealing magic, but it couldn’t sustain itself indefinitely, with its power weakening over the passing centuries.

Even so, it seemed there was enough magical power left to maintain this state for a few more decades; thus, it was likely that the Hydra had been revived in the past due to the actions of the demons.

“Alright. I’ve grasped the situation here. Time to regroup with Fiera and the others… huh?”

After finishing my investigation of the Hydra’s sealing location, I turned back to head toward Fiera when I felt something watching me from above, prompting me to blow the mist away with wind magic.

“What’s that…?”

There was a single pitch-black bird spinning unnaturally in the sky, clearly observing our movements.

“Hm… maybe it’s best to leave it be.”

After pondering what to do with the bird for a moment, I decided not to take action this time and to give the enemy some information instead.

I could have easily destroyed it, but if the enemy truly had the abilities I expected, they likely already knew our position even if I took out that bird now.

Besides, there was no need to indiscriminately give away our information, and it might actually work in our favor if the enemy decided to release the seal here, making it easier for the elves to entrust the Hydra to us.

“It seems like things are about to get busy.”

I turned my thoughts to the soon-to-be-fighting Hydra and headed back to the spot where Fiera and Shuvina were waiting.

As I emerged from the poisonous mist, Fiera, who had been sitting with her back against a tree, noticed me and ran over.

“Welcome back! How was it?”

“I’m back. I found the sealing location. But since the surroundings are a poisonous swamp, you guys might not want to get close right now.”

“I see. What happened to your arm?”

Fiera pointed at my left arm, which was now missing its sleeve from the elbow down, inquiring about what had happened.

“This? I just tested what would happen if I touched the poison mist. This mist is seriously toxic, so it’s best not to touch it. Whatever touches it will rot.”

“Did you really try it on purpose?”

“Of course! If I went into battle without knowing any countermeasures and touched that mist, I could die instantly. We need every bit of info we can get, right?”

Shuvina arrived a moment later, looking at me with a mix of exasperation and incredulity, but she seemed to understand my nature well enough from our long acquaintance and didn’t say anything further.

“How about you two?”

“Yeah, for some reason, this mist doesn’t seem to be affected by the natural wind. Plus, it’s gradually expanding its range.”

“I suspect that this poisonous mist itself is the Hydra’s racial magic. So, it’s unaffected by the wind, but since it hasn’t revived yet, it’s spreading due to the passage of time.”

“I agree with that theory. You wouldn’t be able to do this unless it were some sort of racial magic.”

As Shuvina said, if this mist was indeed produced by the Hydra, it was highly likely to be a manifestation of its racial magic.

“And also, there was a strange bird watching us in the forest.”

“I saw that too. It’s probably a familiar the demons are using to monitor this entire forest.”

It seemed Fiera had also spotted a different black bird, prompting me to explain that it was likely a familiar from the demon side.

“A demon’s familiar? So that means…”

“Yeah. They’ll be making their move soon.”

“In that case, we need to prepare properly.”

“Right. It’s our first encounter with demons. We should gear up thoroughly.”

After that, we checked the surroundings once more for any clues about the demons, but we found nothing of note, so we headed back to the elf kingdom.