Chapter 383: The Aquarium (2)

BDISSEM.

A mystical substance that confines the Aura and power of prisoners trapped in Nouvellebag.

Vikir had once speculated that its material might be plant-based.

– Title: “Bloodsoaked Jade Flower Lumberjack”

↳ Deals significant additional damage to creatures in plant form.

The duration of various abnormal statuses such as provocation, confusion, blindness, bleeding, burns, and venom lasts a bit longer.

He could destroy this confinement that seemed unbreakable with the power of the title he obtained from the abyss tree, “Bloodsoaked Jade flower Lumberjack.”

And Vikir’s speculation had proven correct.

The girl in front of him was of a higher rank than any person Vikir had encountered before.

She was even a step above the rank of Major. Just below Warden, who was the Colonel.

Lieutenant Colonel BDISSEM. (Pronounced as Videsm).

Though she looked like a young girl on the surface, her essence was entirely different.

An entity imbued with the power and cunning of ancient trees.

Yes. Her species was none other than the “Ents,” or beings known as “Dryads.”

If beings between animals and humans known as “Beastfolk,” then beings between plants and humans are the “Ents”.

“…As expected. It seems fitting that all five pillars of Nouvellebag are not human but similar humanoid beings.”

Vikir’s thoughts were on point.

D’Ordume was a sea crocodile-type Beastfolk, Souaré was a hybrid of elf and dwarves, and the one before him, BDISSEM, was an Ent.

Meanwhile, BDISSEM looked at Vikir with an air of curiosity.

“I came to find out who broke my shackles. Was it you, little boy~?”

It seemed BDISSEM could sense it if the shackles she made were destroyed.

Shrrrr…

The five fingers at the end of BDISSEM’s arm stretched out like tendrils, then quickly turned black and morphed into the shape of iron chains.

“How did you break them? Try again.”

Before BDISSEM could finish speaking, the tendrils sprouting from her body shot towards Vikir like serpents.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

At the end of the chains, handcuffs and leg irons were interlocked like a snake’s fangs.

If he were to be caught by that, BDISSEM’s confinement would be imposed, sealing his Aura and power.

Of course, Vikir had enough power to destroy it.

But even a momentary interruption in the flow of Aura, not even lasting a second, was unsettling, so he merely retreated, dodging all of BDISSEM’s attacks.

BDISSEM summoned even more tendrils, as if incensed by this.

“Fight properly! Are you just going to keep dodging!?”

She seemed quite angry for some reason.

It seemed she misunderstood why Vikir was only evading instead of facing her head-on.

Crack…

The sound of tree bark came outta BDISSEM’s mouth.

The densely concentrated tendrils, hard yet elastic like rubber, whipped towards Vikir like lashes. The impact of the strike itself was significant, but what followed afterward was an even more annoying attack, wrapping around him.

“It’s all because of Orca, the warden of Nouvellebag! Because of that old man, everyone treats me like a child under excessive protection! Why am I treated so differently than flubber!?”

‘I’m not sure what she means, but I can somewhat understand why she’s complaining’.

Despite having ample opportunity to counterattack, Vikir continued to evade BDISSEM’s attacks, irking her further.

“Go get a guardian. I don’t wanna beat a kid?”

“What did you say!? I’ve lived for more than a hundred years longer than you!”

“I don’t fight little girls.”

“I have both male and female genders!”

“…Fine.”

So why is this girl being overprotected?

After a moment of thought, Vikir spoke up.

“It’s prolly because you’re a precious asset of Nouvellebag. They need to preserve you. What if there’s a disruption in the production and maintenance of BDISSEM restraints?”

“…!”

“If you die, all the other restraints will lose their power, don’t you see?”

“…! …! …!”

Judging by BDISSEM’s shocked expression with each of Vikir’s words, it seemed he hit the mark.

Gradually, her expression turned into indiscernible irritation.

“So what do you want me to do!? Stop telling me to preserve myself! I’m sick of it! I wanna live my life too!”

It seemed like BDISSEM was living as if she were imprisoned in a cell due to the production and maintenance of the restraints, and she was under considerable stress because of it.

“Well, I’ve experienced prison life myself. I know the frustration of Nouvellebag.”

Dodging the lashing tendrils, Vikir landed on the opposite side of the fish farm.

Suddenly, a question arose in Vikir’s mind, and he asked BDISSEM.

“But how did someone so “protected” manage to come all the way here?”

“Hmph. That’s because Orca, that old man, left his post.”

Orca, the warden of Nouvellebag’s prison.

Come to think of it, Vikir had never seen his face since arriving at Nouvellebag.

“Apparently, the surface has become a complete mess lately? There are so many mid-level offenders being sent to Nouvellebag that the old man himself went on a long-term assignment to the surface? Something about facing some huge ‘upheaval’… I don’t know what nonsense it is.”

BDISSEM seemed quite talkative, perhaps from spending a long time alone. Judging by how she kept rambling on even when facing a prisoner like Vikir, it was evident.

“Recently, there’s been chaos about demons or gates or something. Hmm~ Surface matters are really complicated.”

“…!”

The reserved Vikir gleaned a lot of information from BDISSEM’s chatter, which she volunteered without being asked. He barely suppressed a hint of anxiety creeping into his mind.

“Demons and gates, huh. Seems like the era of destruction is drawing near.”

It was all foreseen. And he couldn’t save everyone anyway. He would just try to save those he couldn’t leave to die.

…The ten corpses’ misdeeds.

…The gate of destruction.

…The storm of calamity.

…Poseidon.

…And Nouvellebag.

Vikir bundled the keywords popping up in his mind together and took action.

“Let’s deal this one step at a time.”

When your head is spinning with complexities, dealing with what’s right in front of you is the answer.

…Flash!

For the first time in a while, Vikir summoned the demon sword Beelzebub.

Beelzebub, who hadn’t breathed outside air in ages, was exuding a powerful crimson aura.

There was no need to show and use the solid aura typical of a Swordmaster.

Tssstssstssstssstss…

Even at an expert level, generating a gaseous aura was more than enough.

Vikir converted all of his aura into gas and dispersed it.

“Huh, what’s this? You’re a mere swordexpert? With just that kind of attack… Hrk!?”

Underestimating the gas aura spreading like a fog, BDISSEM charged forward, only to be met with empty air. Gas was gas, wobbly and weak. But the scale of it was the problem. The gas aura Vikir emitted began to cover an immense area like a blanket of mist shrouding an entire mountain.

For an ordinary expert, it would be a dream to even think about.

Crash! Crash!

The sound of anchors and ropes breaking or snapping could be heard throughout the aquarium. The fog of devastation, which Vikir created using gas aura, made each molecule as lethal as a sharp weapon.

“When fighting one-on-one, a Swordmaster’s solid aura is preferable. But when wiping out wide areas, an expert’s gas aura is more effective.”

Vikir had no intention of killing BDISSEM. Now that he knew her identity and power, there were countless ways to utilize her.

‘…I’ll spare her for now.’

BDISSEM’s power, as experienced firsthand, was easily manageable. So Vikir, instead of killing her, covered the area with the fog of devastation to subdue her.

Driving prey slowly into a corner was the basic skill of a hunter, akin to driving prey into a trap.

“Argh!”

As Vikir covered every inch of space with his devastation and aura, BDISSEM found herself with nowhere to retreat. Now, she had only one path to choose.

The aquarium. Diving into the deep pool where gulper eels were being raised.

…In the end.

Splash!

BDISSEM submerged herself deep into the pool.

Vikir felt his plan had worked.

“Plants are weak against salt.”

Typically, when exposed to excessive salt, plants wither and die from the tips of their leaves turning black.

As beings whose life force is rooted in plants, Ents or Dryads were also vulnerable to salt.

Moreover, the water here was the deep-sea water below 10,000 meters.

It was extremely saline, making it a suffocatingly dense brine.

Splash!

Vikir leaped into the pool to capture the weakened BDISSEM. Some gulper eels approached, mistaking him for food, but they were swiftly torn apart by Vikir’s aura.

“…Where are you?”

Vikir searched around, scanning for the weakened BDISSEM submerged somewhere. Just then…

“Ho ho ho – looking for me?”

A female voice echoed from somewhere.

“…!”

As Vikir swiftly turned his head,

Shrrrrrr- swoosh!

A much thicker and tougher tendril of BDISSEM flew in, wrapping around Vikir’s torso. It was much faster than when fighting on land. Surprised by the unexpected turn of events, Vikir widened his eyes as BDISSEM revealed herself before him.

In the extremely saline water, her appearance was quite different, with her hair floating gracefully around her. Her once immature physique and childish face had matured significantly.

Seeing the significant increase in BDISSEM’s power, Vikir had to admit he had made a mistake.

‘…She was a seaweed-type Ent.’

What he had brought into the seawater had turned out to be a double-edged sword.

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