Chapter 15: Outskirts of the Ruined Town (2)

“Hey, hey, hey! This one’s flailing like crazy.”

“C-c-could it be an elite monster?”

“Divine envoy, sirs… please be careful!”

Jols and the other two rotted-face people realized the danger immediately. They swung out ropes with iron weights at the ends, like bolas, attempting to entangle the creature. Since they couldn’t deal real damage to fog fiends, this was their best method of support.

But this lizardman was clearly no ordinary grunt. It was visibly larger than the others, and its claws slashed at a terrifying speed. Jols threw the rope, but it wasn’t enough to fully restrain it.

“This isn’t good.”

Mizan braced behind his shield, stepping backward repeatedly. His forged steel tower shield already showed deep dents, and his face was flushed red from exertion. In desperation, Jelena hurled her spear like a javelin, but it was smacked aside before it even landed. But then—

Booker charged in from behind, sword raised, slashing at the creature’s skull. A long, narrow gash opened.

But the blade bounced off its skull.

Now or never—

“Felice!”

“On it.”

We exchanged a quick glance. I surged forward at once, taking point. Jols’ rope hadn’t immobilized it completely, but it had disrupted its movements enough that the claw swipe aimed at me came a split-second too late. One more time—buckler—parry.

Thud!

A deep, heavy impact sent a violent shudder through my arm, nearly numbing my entire left side. A dent appeared in the small round shield. I still wasn’t skilled enough to deflect the force cleanly, but I’d managed to divert it and force the creature open.

Slash!

I struck across its wide-open mouth. It shrieked and staggered back several steps. I must’ve damaged the inside of its mouth—maybe even its brain—but it wasn’t dead yet.

“…Hey!”

Felice leapt in then, her form as swift and elegant as an antelope. Her rapier thrust twice, both strikes burying cleanly into the lizardman’s skull.

“Felice, remember—”

“I know.”

Following my earlier instructions, she twisted her blade inside its mouth, ensuring the brain was fully destroyed before pulling it out.

“Gross.”

She flicked her rapier once, shaking off most of the brain matter, but the grimy blood clung stubbornly to the blade. The way she looked at the weapon, I almost thought she was about to throw it away.

“Hey, Jols? Book—”

“Right… here.”

“Thanks, Felice, here.”

“What’s this?”

I handed her a small, dark cloth. The texture was unusual—perfect for wiping off dried, stubborn stains.

“Jols told me blood and fat will mess up a weapon’s edge. If there’s no enemies around, clean it off ASAP.”

“Thank you!”

It was the first time I’d heard her voice sound so cheerful. She really was obsessed with cleanliness. Maybe I should be giving her some of my water rations—at least enough for her to wipe down each day.

“Yuhong, your hand.”

“Huh? Oh. Must’ve scraped it.”

There was a long cut across the back of my left hand. Probably from earlier, when I deflected the lizardman’s claw. Their claws weren’t poisonous, but who knew what kind of bacteria might be lurking?

“Big Brother Yuhong! Over here, look here!”

A soft, clear voice called from behind. Just as I turned, Rena—holding her little staff—radiated a warm golden glow. The light wrapped around my injured hand, flooding me with gentle warmth, like a mother’s hand soothing a wound. The bleeding stopped almost instantly, and the skin quickly mended. I looked it over—no scarring at all.

“That fast? Rena, that’s amazing!” I couldn’t help but praise her.

“Hehe~!”

She bounced in delight like a puppy. I had the sudden urge to pat her head.

“Waaah~ Rena is just too cute, too cute, too cute! Let big sis squish you!”

Jelena dove in like a girl grabbing a plushie, rubbing Rena’s cheeks while Rena hummed happily despite looking a little confused. Just a minute ago, Jelena, Booker, and Mizan had all taken minor scrapes, but thanks to Rena, they were healed in a flash. Without question, she was our MVP.

As for the other two…

“Hey, hey, that slash I landed from behind was pretty awesome, right? Super clutch, huh~?”

“Come on, if I hadn’t been blocking with my shield the whole time, you wouldn’t have had that chance.”

Booker and Mizan were arguing again, genuinely relaxed this time. Should I remind them?

“Um, sirs… the ones who actually… killed the lizardman… were Lord Yuhong and Lady Felice…” Jols said with a helpless smile.

They didn’t hear a word.

After a brief break, we moved forward again.

The fog still hung faintly in the air. To our right: the eerie silhouette of the town. To the left: a vast stretch of wasteland. 

From the start, we’d been walking along the town’s perimeter. According to earlier scouting by the rotted-face people, fog fiends were only active within and around the town. Venture deeper, and the fog would start actively resisting them. They knew little about the inner zone beyond this point.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

Wind picked up again, rustling dead trees and rattling loose shingles on rooftops. Our group, who’d been chatting and even laughing moments ago, now fell silent. The air remained cold and damp. Sure, with so many people around, the tension had lessened, but fear was still fear. Only when you’re really here, in person, does the horror become so visceral, ten times worse than what movies could ever portray.

Then—

“Everyone… Divine envoy… can you… see it?”

“Hm?”

Jols spoke suddenly. The other two rotted-face people stopped as well, hesitation crossing their blistered, ulcerated faces.

“The fog… it’s… thickening.”

“Thickening?”

I narrowed my eyes and looked ahead. To the left, bare trees scattered across the wasteland. To the right, a shadowed village. The mist still drifted, thin and wispy.

“No, it’s still light fog. Doesn’t look thick at all,” Booker said, confused.

“I thought so. Divine envoy… you’re not affected,” Jols said with a complicated look.

“Wait, this is what you meant by fog repelling you?” Jelena asked.

“Yes. For example…”

One of the rotted-face people took a few steps forward. His movements were sluggish, like he was wading through something. He stretched his arm forward, as if trying to part an invisible curtain of mist. The skin on his arm tightened visibly. I can’t quite explain it. It looked like his arm had been plunged into deep ocean water without any protection, crushed by pressure.

“The mist starts… to resist us here. At first, it’s like… walking through water… But the farther we go… the worse it gets. Full-body… compression.”

It was like water pressure.

“Wait, then that means you guys can’t go any farther?” Mizan frowned.

“Yes. We’re… truly sorry.”

They all looked ashamed, but this wasn’t their fault. We exchanged glances. Even if they hadn’t fought much, the rotted-face people were locals. They knew the terrain. Just having them with us brought peace of mind.

But this time…

“Ahem. This was just a scouting mission anyway. Let’s call it here for today.”

I cleared my throat and spoke up. Everyone visibly relaxed.

Especially Booker and Jelena—they’d both seen Vaclav get one-shotted by that spring-legged monster. If that thing appeared again… they wouldn’t be able to handle it. I was still okay, but Rena looked tired after all that healing. Mizan’s shield had taken a beating. Jelena looked winded. Booker’s sword hand was cramping up. And Felice was still quietly frowning at the bloodstains she couldn’t clean off her clothes.

Yeah. Let’s wrap it up for today and head back.

We—huh?

“Something’s up ahead!”

I snapped, drawing my dagger. The others reacted instantly, switching to combat mode.

A small barn stood just ahead, common around the village edges. From behind it, through the haze, a figure emerged.

“That doesn’t look like a lizardman?” Booker muttered.

And he was right. The figure lacked the lizardman’s stubby head, bulging torso, and signature claws. At a distance, it looked fully humanoid. If anything seemed off, it was the way it walked—wobbly, dragging its feet. But the details were still too vague to make out.

It kind of looked like a lizardman, but also weirdly not.

I signaled the group to hold position, then crept forward, crouched low behind a line of haystacks. Jols gave me a worried look. I waved him back—given the mist’s resistance, the rotted-face people couldn’t help here anyway.

Careful…

Closer… closer… almost there…

The figure finally came into full view.

Ugh…

Humanoid shape. Roughly human proportions. Its skin resembled that of a lizardman, but softer. No nose. Its mouth was a large, triangular slit. Two bulbous orange eyes bulged like candy-orange marbles, embedded in its round head. Its limbs were thin and wiry. Claws dull. Didn’t look built for melee. A lizardman subspecies, perhaps?

But what caught my eye was its chest.

Its chest was split open.

Two swollen, dark red sacs protruded from the gaping wound, flanked by what looked like… white protrusions—ribs? It was like its lungs had inflated so much they broke through its ribs and tore through the skin.

“Hss… sssss… kee?”

It twitched.

Its head turned. Our eyes met.

“…”

“…”

“—Tch!!”

I ducked behind the haystack just as it opened its mouth—and those swollen lungs visibly contracted.

Spsshhh!

The sound of spraying liquid, and the haystack in front of me turned black. The cold wind blew through, and the blackened hay crumbled into ash.

It staggered toward me, mouth widening again—Spsshhh!—a torrent of yellow-green fluid shot out. I dodged aside just in time. The stench hit me instantly—a choking, acidic rot. That stuff was highly corrosive.

“Yuhong! Are you—?!”

“Don’t worry about me! It spits acid, get your shields up!”

I roared back at the others. In the corner of my eye, I spotted two more of them—more of those acid-spitting lizardmen—approaching the group. I couldn’t break away.

“Ki ki ki…”

The first one struck again—but now I had the rhythm down. It didn’t spit often, and the spray was slow, linear—easy to dodge. I charged at full speed, slipping past another jet. Its lungs swelled for the next blast—I was already in front of it.

Slash!

Wait—

Where do I slash?

Its chest and mouth were full of corrosive fluid. If I ruptured anything, I’d get sprayed—and my weapon might melt too.

Then—

“Ki ki—!!”

“Shut up!”

I snarled and slammed my gloved fist into its unarmored face. It staggered, its head twisting away—its acid shot harmlessly to the side. Good. It wasn’t built for close combat. Compared to standard lizardmen, it was frail.

I slashed hard across its neck. The blade cut clean through muscle until it hit bone. Didn’t decapitate it, but it was enough.

“Ki… kiii…”

It collapsed awkwardly. I spun to check on the others.

“Raahhh!!!”

Mizan let out a deafening war cry and charged, shield raised high. The acid-spitter, with its human-like physique, went flying. So that was a viable strategy—slam it with full-body armor.

Jelena and Booker followed up immediately. Their polearms stabbed into the exposed lungs—acid splashed out, but the distance kept them safe.

And Felice—

“Got it.”

Same tactic as mine. She dodged a shot, closed the distance, then slashed at its legs twice. It fell face-first. Its lungs crushed beneath it, she drove her blade down through its back, straight into its heart. It twitched. Then went still.

All in all, we handled it well.

After a short retreat, we regrouped in a safe spot. Rena waved her little staff around, healing our scrapes. These things weren’t particularly strong—just a nuisance if they had numbers. As long as we had strong enough shields, they weren’t a threat.

However—

“Ugh, my shield.”

Mizan frowned at his tower shield.

It had taken multiple acid blasts. The surface was pitted, nearly eaten through in several spots. This stuff melted metal.

So maybe brute-forcing with armor wasn’t a sustainable option.

“Jols,” I asked, turning to the rotted-face people, “have you seen those monsters before?”

“First time. And… fog fiends… never came in such numbers before.”

“I see.”

Could it be our arrival as divine envoys stirred them up? That wouldn’t be a good thing at all.

In any case—

“Everyone, let’s end the first expedition here and head back. Sound good?”

““““Yes!””””

A unanimous agreement.

#####

Fog Fiend: Venomspitter Lizardman
 • Type: Humanoid · Hybrid · Alchemical Creature
 • Rank: Fodder
 • Details: Compared to a common Lizardman, its claws and fangs are less sharp, and its body is slimmer with weaker explosive strength. However, it possesses an enlarged chest cavity housing lungs symbiotically fused with venom sacs. It can spit venom or launch toxic projectiles at distant targets. The venom is highly corrosive.
 • Weapons: Venom
 • Skills: Venom Spit, Pounce & Slash
 • Special Traits: None