Outer World Story: Basilisk of Ice Sculpture

“Apparently, we are too late.”

“Well, I suppose that’s unavoidable.”

“I wish we could have saved them, though.”

Having entered a new layer of the “Maze,” and following a trail of footprints that seem to originate from human beings, our “Frozen Cloud” is now in motion.

Of course, there were a few occasions along the route when a small group of monsters appeared, but I was able to eliminate them nearly entirely using the power of my right eye, which didn’t affect the “Frozen Cloud’s” pace.

“It’s appalling, in any event.”

“We’ll never recover the identification tags, and with all this, there’s no telling how many people were in there.”

“Let’s just assume there was at least one.”

However, even if we arrived in the utmost haste, it would be hopeless to save them the tragedy had already ended.

Right. For instance, nothing can be achieved if there are visible remnants of a prior human being dispersed around the area and the ground has already dried out due to something being absorbed.

The only thing we can do is pray at best.

“The cause of death is unknown, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Neither do we have a clue as to what kind of monster was here, or what type of assault was inflicted on this person. To begin with, we do not even know if this person was a man or a woman.”

“All right. Sora-san, do you see anything distinctive in the surrounding area?”

“Wait a minute…”

A sigh of grief breaks out in my throat at Toki-san’s words, but figuring that this is all the information we have here for a single person, I turn to Sora-san for further clues.

Whether it’s the last survivor to be found, the master of this “Maze,” or the gate to escape, it doesn’t matter.

Whatever the case, if anything is found, we may use it as a lead and proceed to the next stage.

“Hmmー? What’s this?”

“Did you find something?

“Akira onee-sama! I found a squad member being hunted by a pack of monsters, at 3 o’clock!”

[[!?]]

Catching on to Sora-san’s words, my own reflexes cause me to initiate channeling divine power into the “Frozen Cloud” and begin driving at full force, turning the steering wheel sharply in the direction of that point.

Toki-san likewise starts inspecting the various equipment and prepares to react to whatever may be unfolding at the time of our arrival.

“I see it! It’s there!”

“There it is!”

A figure in the lead, billowing a plume of dust, and a group of monsters, primarily large and medium in size, in pursuit of the figure cross our field of vision after several minutes of pushing the “Frozen Cloud” to its maximum capacity.

“S-Someone ahhhhh!”

The distance between us and the group narrows, revealing the shadow of a figure running in the lead, accompanied by the sound of their voice.

A piece of equipment is fastened to their waist, and they are in the uniform of the Mirror Stone Specialized Unit.

The voice tone makes it clear that the fleeing figure is a woman rather than a guy.

Now that I have reached this point, what I have to carry out is simple enough.

“Ys!”

[Even if you don’t tell me to!]

Shutting my left eye, I stop the power that has been flowing into the “Frozen Cloud” and move it with inertia alone and begin to gather that amount of divine power in my right eye to the best extent I can.

“Toki-san, Sora-san!”

“I know!”

“Any time!”

“Then let’s go!”

My right eye’s power is adjusted such that it only blocks out the fleeing woman until enough force is concentrated, and then it is discharged.

“Over here!”

“A person!?”

“Tajikarao-sama!”

[[[Gebugobubaa!?]]]

As the monsters in pursuit of the woman begin to be frozen to the ground, Toki-san and Sora-san leap down from the “Frozen Cloud,” which has been slowed down, and while calling out to the fleeing woman, they launch their attacks on the monsters at the front of the pack, slamming them back into the pack.

Multiple collisions between the monsters occur as a consequence of their assaults; some of the frozen monsters are caught in the collision and have their bodies shattered, and some of the monsters, who are fortunately out of my sight, have stopped moving as a result of collisions with the monsters in front of them, and some of the monsters are unable to control their speed and crash viciously into each other.

In a nutshell, it is a… catastrophe.

However, the monsters are the opponents, so there is an absence of compassion. If anything, they deserve it.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes… you guys are…?”

Toki-san and Sora-san come back here with a mildly disoriented-looking woman.

Whether for ease of movement or perhaps as a result of an accident during her escape is uncertain, but her hair is as short as a boy’s, and the ends are in disarray.

Nevertheless, as far as I could see, no indication of injury could be discernible, which might be considered a blessing in a sense.

Furthermore, while it is tough to distinguish from a distance, a pair of goggles are attached to her neck, and on her waist is equipment that looks like a sprayer.

Perhaps this is the equipment used to stain the surface of the mirror stone.

Now, let me introduce myself to earn your trust.

“We are the first squad of the Security Organization’s Special Operations Squad, and I am Akira Whiteice, the commander of the unit. We have been assigned to rescue you and your team and to conquer this ‘Maze’ at the behest of the Mirror Stone Specialized Unit, of which you are a member. And you are?”

“Oh, yes! My name is Date Subaru, and I belong to the Mirror Stone Specialized Unit of the Outer City Security Organization!”

“Then, Date Subaru-san. Stay behind the two of us for the time being.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Hang in there, Akira onee-sama.”

“Please.”

I move her… Date Subaru behind me along with Toki-san and Sora-san, and then turn towards the crowd of monsters that are slowly starting to regain their bearings.

“Well, let me give it my all.”

[Oh, let’s get on with it.]

Gathering even more divine power in my right eye than before, I unleash its divinity, transforming the monsters in the lead into a cleaner, more transparent ice than ever before, turning the monsters in the back into ice as well.

Yeah. Looking at the results, I can attest that my training has been rewarded.

Even a monster that size would have been limited to converting the surface of it into ice up until this point since I would not have been able to transform the ice into such a transparent color.

“Ngh? That thing is…”

At this instant, something moving in the distance and concealed by a cloud of dust is detected by my right eye.

If it’s this size at this distance, it’s unquestionably the same size or larger than the worm I met earlier.

It would be impractical to convert that thing into ice in its entirety.

However…

“T-That thing is…”

“Akira onee-sama!”

“It’s okay. I know what’s going on.”

“Here it is at last.”

That gigantic monster is presumably the master of this “Maze”, so originally it would have been unfeasible for my right eye’s power alone to turn it into ice, I suppose.

[Muuuuuuuaaaaa!!]

The huge monstrosity then let out a roar that seems to shake both the air and the earth, sending a puff of smoke and dust soaring into the air along with the sound of its voice.