Fugitive Poison User ~I Am Somehow Recovering in a World Full of Miasma~ - Chapter 35

Poison-Wielding Fugitive   Chapter 35
“Woof!”
“Muuuuu!”

Though the Midnight Blue Wolf Alpha had only recovered slightly from Dorimsvoyta, it gives Muu another ride and approaches Elbatoxin.
Muu lands his axe on its nose and I follow up with a bolt striking the same place.

‘I have told thee to enchant it with poison.’

Oh, right, right.
Veno highlights Swamp Toxin and Spray Green Mosquito Venom.
I follow his instructions and apply the poisons.

‘Don’t you underestimate me!’

Elbatoxin releases poison in all directions.

“Awooooooooooooo!”

The Midnight Blue Wolf Alpha uses me as a human shield then jumps up in the air. At the same time, Muu swings its axe in the air and throws it.

‘W-What?!’

While Elbatoxin is busy with releasing his poison, Muu seizes the moment to use Tornado Axe and launches it right between its Elbatoxin’s eyes.
Oof… bet that hurts.

‘Aughhhhhhhhhhhhh!’

Its scream echoes throughout the chamber.
Elbatoxin’s whole body begins to swell up.

‘W-What is happening?! The pain! The itch! Why did your poison circulate so quickly in me? What is it…’
‘How unsightly. Dost thou not recall this poison? ‘Tis merely gushes out from the earth and the venom of Spray Green Mosquitoes.’
‘Swamp toxin and the venom of some lowly insect?! How dare you use such weak poisons against me?!’

Hmm. It looks like it’s pretty effective.
Maybe Elbatoxin is actually kinda weak. It uses really weird attacks after all.
Plus, no boss that I’ve fought was ever weak against poison, no matter which game it was.

‘Cast away thy misconceptions. Thy knowledge is lacking, so take heed to what I have to say.’

Veno starts explaining with an exasperated tone.

‘Listen. Poison comes in many shapes and forms. Those who use poison are not necessarily immune to all forms of it. In fact, to be able to absorb and contain all types of poison makes thee the peculiar one!’

He trailed off into a whisper for that last sentence.
What, so that Elbatoxin doesn’t hear?
Anyway, I’ll keep what Veno said in mind.

It’s kinda like how when venomous snakes fight each other, both of them die because none of them are resistant to venom… I guess?
Maybe it’s more accurate to describe it as a computer virus.
No matter what kind of antivirus programs you have installed, you can’t protect yourself against them all.
There’s a limit to what antibodies can do.

Hmm… there’s still a lot more to learn about poisons.
Even though antidote magic cures all poisons, just like a video game.

‘Well… aye. With the right herbs, there indeed are all-powerful antidotes… there are even ones that can do what magic cannot.’

Isn’t that kinda sad?

‘It depends on the variety, aye? There are poisons that can cause instant death as well! The power of poison is infinite!’

I get what he’s trying to say.
Even in my world, there are poisons that are extremely lethal, like fugu toxin.
Amidst our conversation, Elbatoxin causes a wave of green light.
That’s gotta be some sort of antidotal magic, eh?
He quickly deflates, getting smaller and smaller.

“Mu!”
“Awoo~!”

Getting it while its guard its down again, the wolf performs a very dextrous leap forward and scratches with its claws, but to little effect.
And Muu, even though it has the power, hasn’t enough range to do too much.
Not to mention, riding the Midnight Blue Wolf Alpha makes it harder for him to strike hard.
The Midnight Blue Wolf Alpha has quite a lot agility but not the strength to do much damage.
It’s in a weakened state. Being able to move is no more than it using all its determination.

‘Haa… haa… you’d best stop looking down on me!”

Ah, his expression kinda changed.
Elbatoxin swings his tail at the two.
They barely managed to dodge the attack.
Maybe I should try enchanting my bolts with Slow Poison to slow it down?

‘Thou should try this one next.’

Toxin of Arleaf’s Poison Cooking I
… hey. Isn’t that a little too cruel?
And since there’s a “I” at the end, that means there should be a level II version too.
Enchant with Slow Poison and… Toxin of Arleaf’s Poison Cooking I. Guh, I feel like I’ve lost a lot of strength.
I check my status and indeed, my mana has dropped quite a bit.
What the hell? I can’t use it without it costing so much mana?
Just in case, I’ll take a deep breath of this miasma to recover some mana and to stay focused.
Alright… prep my crossbow and… the bolt is melting! I gotta shoot it soon or else I’m in danger!

‘That is so weak; you can hit me with it as much as you like!’
“Hey, now… just because you can use poisons and bacteria doesn’t mean that I can’t either.”

I launch a poisonous mist with Poison Release for concealment and I advance on its position.
Elbatoxin swipes the foggy area with his claws and tail.
Gah… a small scratch.

“Muu?!”
‘Ah-hahaha! You may be immune to poison and germs, but you cannot best physics! I’ll have you regret turning into feeble human!’

Even a single strike would be bad. That’s for sure.
I’m only strong because of Arleaf’s Poison Cooking and the thick miasma here.

‘I wonder. Keep thy contempt in check.’

I hurry to pull the trigger on my crossbow while using Aiming Shot.
The bolt makes its way towards Elbatoxin who has its arm raised up overhead.

‘What?!’

Whoa! He dodged crazy fast and my bolt hit the wall.
But watch out for Arleaf’s Poison Cooking.
The dissolving bolt ricochets off the wall and flies towards Elbatoxin again, who’s now focusing on me.

‘W-What?! Gwaaaaah! What kind of poison is this?! It hurts so bad! My body feels all weird! A mystery of a poison!’

Elbatoxin groans out after being hit by the bolt enchanted with the toxin of Arleaf’s Poison Cooking and begins to fade out in agony.
That, and I also applied Slow Poison, so he’s becoming more and more sluggish.

“Amazing, Yukihisa! Let’s press our advantage!”
“Mu!”

Muu gets dismounts the Midnight Blue Wolf Alpha to retrieve his axe stuck in Elbatoxin’s head and performs another Hatchet Crash.
The wolf wheezes, struggling in his condition.

“Take it easy, okay?”

Arleaf heals the Midnight Blue Wolf Alpha while casting Leaf Shot to strike Elbatoxin.

“How amazing, Yukihisa. The monster is growing weaker and weaker! What kind of attack was that?”
“Uhh, hmm…”

Guessing from my hesitation to reply, Arleaf makes a painful expression.

“It looked awfully familiar, actually… exactly like those who eat my cooking.”
“S-Sorry…”
“No, I’m glad I could be useful… it’s almost over! Let’s do this!”
“Yeah!”

Mm. There’s a lot of things that I’m anxious about, but surprisingly, we’re doing alright.

‘Gah… damn you to hell!’
“Mu?!”

Elbatoxin unleashes his wrath, gets up, and swings his arm at Muu with great force.
Muu is hurled towards the wall at a frightening speed, causing his cap to tear.

“Muu?!”
“Are you alright, Muu?!”
‘Did you think you can win with how weak you are?!’

Damn it! Muu! Should I circle back to protect Muu?
I rush out, but I doubt I’ll reach it in time.

‘Wahahaha. Finally showing thine true strength? Dost thou think thee can win? How comical!’

Veno is still provoking Elbatoxin at a time like this.
But Elbatoxin, in a huff, stops mid-attack to turn towards me.

“Mu… muu…”

Muu staggers a bit before rolling back, creating distance between it and the monster.
Yes! Muu’s safe thanks to Veno stirring it up!

‘If thou wish not to perish, then surrender and undo Dorimsvoyta. Consider it my benevolence.’

Ah, Veno’s gonna show some mercy to Elbatoxin, eh?
He always thinks killing someone or something is a huge pain, so I can see why he’s doing this.
This guy doesn’t play fair though. You think he’ll just give up?
Veno nonchalantly whispers back to me.

‘It is no mercy, but merely more provocation. Do not look away from him. If it sees through the ploy, then it will regain composure. If it regains composure, then it shall escape. And if it escapes, then we shall have to give chase and slaying it shall prove to be difficult.’

Gotcha.
I unwaveringly advance towards Elbatoxin while glaring at it, but I also make sure to have my crossbow ready.

‘Hmph… I do not play games when the odds do not favor me. What I have to do, then, is to simply worsen it for you!’

Elbatoxin raises both arms up and oscillates the air stronger than ever before.

“Mu?! Muuuu…”
“Arf…”

As soon as it does that, crystals swell out of Muu and the Midnight Blue Wolf Leader and the Bloodflower pattern appear on them too.

“Muu?! Mr. Wolf?!”

Is Arleaf unscathed?
I look over to her to see the gemstones on the sword on her back glowing, covering her in a pale glow.
Maybe it’s protecting her, but it also seems like it’s about to fade.

“W-What are you doing?!”
‘Bastard…’
‘Were you surprised? I had this ace up my sleeve the whole time. Honestly, I wanted the area to be a little bigger, but alas, I can only absorb this much mana.’

Elbatoxin’s whole body trembles to vibrate the air. It grows larger and its color also changes.
W-What is it doing?

‘Bastard… it has not only reactivated their Bloodflower and Dorimsvoyta, but are also absorbing all their mana, cultivating its own power. I doubt any infected—human or monster—are able to move anymore.’

That’s nothing to sneeze at.

‘It is approaching territories of infamy. If Elbatoxin gets to that point, it would be difficult for any human to win. Consider us fortunate to be able to fight it now.’

Veno focuses at Arleaf’s holy sword.
If it activates for us, can we win?

‘Perhaps. However, that light…’