About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

Then, the sound of something cracking came from the cave.

"Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-"

The dark red lines became more and more dense, flickering like a breathing light, but with the sound of rocks collapsing and falling to the ground, the dark red color instantly became dazzling, forming large patches of flowing magma clinging to the surface.

"—It's Pompeii. That creature is living right in front of us, and it's already awake!"

Orson finally figured out the current situation.

“Ouch——!!!”

"Well……!"

After a low roar that made one's eardrums tingle, a "volcano" appeared in the originally pitch-black cave.

Although that thing had the barely recognizable outline of an Originium worm, at its core was constantly flowing lava.

[The thermal radiation value has exceeded the limit of the machine's measurement! Report the situation, Orson, Black!]

"We've confirmed we've encountered the Volcanic Originium Worm 'Pompeii'. It's more troublesome than we originally anticipated."

Hei responded to Kal'tsit in the headset. She took out the crossbow and aimed at Pompeii, but soon frowned and turned her head away.

It was impossible to aim at all. The thing was just standing there, and the heat it generated had already visibly distorted the refraction of light around it.

"The environment around the cave is eroding—watch your step, Miss Black!"

As the light black "obsidian skin" around Pompeii's body continued to fall off and crumble, the temperature around it continued to rise. The originally dark cave had produced dark red liquid magma, flowing like a river.

[Absolutely, absolutely do not get close to that thing! That temperature is beyond the tolerance of normal living things!]

"I understand. In fact, if I go any further, I might not even be able to breathe. My lungs and throat will be burned directly."

Orson placed the knight's sword where it could be easily drawn out, and said as he looked at Pompey, who was still shedding his outer shell.

[Then let's begin the previously agreed-upon plan. We'll use a long-range sniper to administer the anesthetic injection. Don't worry, I confiscated that potion from Warfarin. Even a Deep Sea Hunter would be anesthetized if they touched it. One bottle should be enough to deal with that thing.]

——I am increasingly tempted to complain about Kal'tsit, what are you doing with this thing in your pocket...

Orson, who was extremely resistant to anesthetics, always felt that he was somehow involved, but he couldn't explain why.

"I understand, but there are two problems at the moment. The opponent's skin is covered with lava and obsidian, which crossbows cannot penetrate. Also, the air refraction is very severe, so it will take me some time to aim."

Hei poured a bottle of anesthetic into the special arrow, then strung the crossbow and spoke at the same time.

"That's okay. I'll use Curtain Call next. Depriving Pompeii of the Originium's energy flow, the lava should subside briefly. Now aim and fire."

"The magma part...please leave it to me."

Hei glanced at Pompeii not far away. Only the core central part of the body was flowing magma.

"One more thing. After I use Curtain Call, I won't be able to use my virtual vocal cords anymore. So I'll leave it all up to you to judge, Miss Hei. Victory or defeat will only be decided in a split second."

Orson said as he drew his knight sword.

[Wait—a large number of scattered mobile heat sources are approaching you. They are Originium worms. Some of these Originium worms have had their biological characteristics altered by Pompeii. They have adapted to this temperature and environment. Be careful!]

As Kal'tsit spoke, several Originium worms with dark red patterns on their surfaces appeared in the area around the cave that was gradually becoming magma.

"Well...we don't have time to deal with this stuff. Get ready, Miss Black!"

Orson judged that there was no time to deal with these Originium worms alone, so he immediately turned his attention to Pompeii who was gradually waking up not far away.

"【take a bow】--!"

The Originium technique that could silence all "Originium techniques, even the flow of Originium energy" fluctuated outward with Orson as the center. The Originium bugs that were originally preparing to attack the two of them instantly stopped in place as if they were fixed.

The "Pompeii" in the center of the cave also shook slightly, and the dazzling heat of its flowing lava core gradually dimmed.

——Is this Orson's 'finale'... Not only did the surrounding temperature drop immediately, but the magma protecting Pompeii's core also became much weaker.

Dark secretly marveled at Orson's ability. Although Orson had roughly explained his ability of 'curtain call' during the previous battle, Dark was still very surprised by this influence.

But having said that…

Hei immediately raised his crossbow, but even though the temperature where he was had dropped, the temperature around Pompeii was still extremely hot, and the distorted air still made it extremely difficult for Hei to aim at the core.

"Don't move...now!"

Hei, who found a split second of opportunity in the distortion, pulled the trigger on the crossbow filled with anesthetic, and the arrow made of specially made fire-resistant carbon fiber flew straight towards the core of Pompeii.

But just before the crossbow arrow was about to hit the core, the originally dim core once again emitted the dazzling white light of lava.

"!?"

Chi! !

Although the crossbow arrow hit the core of Pompeii, the arrowhead did not inject the anesthetic into the core, but was directly evaporated and melted by the lava.

"Ahem...!"

Hei was originally wondering why Pompeii's core was covered with lava armor again, but the scene of Orson vomiting scarlet liquid from his mouth immediately made Hei understand the reason.

The temperature around them rose rapidly again, and the Originium worms that had been lying dormant around them began to move towards the two of them again.

"Sorry... I'm sorry, but the burden of silence is higher than expected..."

Orson apologized to Hei with difficulty, and his body fell forward uncontrollably.

"Orson!!"

Hei immediately switched to ordinary crossbows and pierced through the Originium worms that were rushing towards him one by one. At the same time, he grabbed Orson directly and ran in the opposite direction of Pompeii with him without any hesitation.

Hei led Orson to retreat to the cave entrance, where the temperature was at least barely enough for normal breathing.

"Orson, Orson—are you all right?"

"Uh... I seemed to lose consciousness for a moment just now. I'm fine... But Kal'tsit's plan failed. I'm sorry."

Orson shook his head slightly and responded while wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

——Come to think of it, he's been running around all day today, so he might have already exhausted his energy...

Hei frowned and looked at Orson who was trying to stand up with the help of the knight's sword, his eyes full of worry.

If I had been more careful, at least Orson wouldn't be so weak now... No, complaining is not the right thing to do now.

"Where's the anesthetic?"

Orson stood up with the help of the knight's sword, breathing slowly to adjust his body while asking Hei.

"There's one bottle left."

Hei took out the remaining anesthetic from his shorts.

"Kel'tsit—well, the intercom has been completely jammed and is unusable... There's nothing we can do. Now we only have one last option left."

"Whatever you're going to do, you should rest now—"

Orson ignored Hei's dissuasion and took out a crudely made, handmade thing similar to a sachet from her pocket. It was worth mentioning that there was frost on the bag even in this environment.

"Frost Star knew I was coming to the beach, so she hand-made this [Portable Disposable Air Conditioner - Power Enhanced Version]. It's just that the power has been increased so much, I can't find a place to use it..."

Orson complained quietly, then looked towards Pompeii, who was more active than before and even had obvious signs of movement in the cave.

"Will you believe me, Miss Hei...? This plan is as dangerous as falling from a hundred stories into an area the size of a bathtub."

"You are still my master today, Orson."

In response to Orson's question, Hei just smiled and reached out to gently stroke Orson's head.

"It's not like a servant should touch his master's head... But thank you."

Orson pouted and complained quietly, but then smiled back at Hei.

"Then let's abandon the crossbow. We have no room to aim. We can only force the anesthetic in at close range."

Hei nodded, and she injected the anesthetic into the special arrow again, then held the crossbow arrow in her hand.

Orson also held the knight's sword in front of him. He closed his eyes slightly and meditated and prayed briefly in the way he learned from Maria.

"Next, follow my instructions—go ahead."

“Ahhhhhhhh!!!”

Pompeii once again let out an even more terrifying roar, and small magma pools appeared around it, continuously spewing out dark red molten liquid that could swallow and burn everything.

Hei and Orson once again ran towards Pompeii deep in the cave, and this time they completely ignored the so-called "safe distance".

As the name suggests, Hei felt like he had plunged into magma.

For a moment, the skin of the body even felt bone-chillingly cold, which meant that the cells that sense temperature had begun to die and become disordered on a large scale.

There was an unbearable stinging pain in her eyeballs, and she even felt that they were about to boil and burst.

Just before his body was ignited, Orson threw away the bag covered with frost.

Tsk tsk tsk! ! ! !

Pure white mist instantly enveloped the two of them, and the temperature around them returned to an acceptable level.

"Keep going—aim for the core—"

The protection of the frost could not last long. The two rushed out from the frost that turned into steam, and the huge Pompeii in front of them was already within reach.

Once again——【Curtain Call】

Orson forced the curtain call to open again to suppress the temperature around Pompeii. The core became dim again, and instead, the brain felt like it was boiling with severe pain.

——The core protection is gone!

Hei, who was standing by, noticed the opportunity at this moment. Unlike the previous crossbow arrows, this time there was no need to aim at all.

"...!!"

However, the moment she aimed at the core and prepared to inject the overdose of anesthetic, several Originium worms suddenly split out from the surrounding area of the core.

——Leave it to me, close your eyes.

Although Orson didn't speak, Hei was almost certain that she did hear the boy's voice.

Orson stood in front of Hei, gripping the knight sword tightly while pulling a hidden trigger on the handle.

Click-bang!!!

The trigger guided the Knight Sword to activate the previously loaded 'Fuse Bullet Flashbang'. In an instant, a white light brighter than Pompeii illuminated everything.

The photosensitive Originium worm froze in place for a moment due to the violent flash, while Hei, who had closed his eyes in advance, ignored the traces left by the strong light piercing his eyelids and thrust the crossbow arrow straight into Pompeii's unprotected core.

Puff——

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

After a dull piercing sound, Pompeii's even more violent resistance and roar came.

—What's going on? Is the dosage of the medicine insufficient?... But we have to evacuate Orson from here first, no matter what. He doesn't have any strength left...

Hei pulled Orson and tried to escape outside, but Pompey slowly approached them, closer and closer -

"..."

After a few steps, Pompeii ceased its activity, and its core, which had been gleaming brighter, gradually dimmed again. The surrounding shell, once covered in dark red lines, gradually cooled and was once again enveloped by layers of rock.

Pompeii thus turned back into a huge piece of "obsidian" sleeping in the volcano, just like going back to sleep after getting up in a bad mood.

"It seems... we succeeded..."

Hei wanted to protect Orson who was lying on the ground, but he lost the strength to support his body and ended up lying close to Orson.

"The volcano's intensity has vanished! You succeeded—"

Kal'tsit ran over at full speed and saw the two people "sleeping together" almost naked near the cave. The expression on her face changed from excitement to veins bulging in less than 3 seconds, beating 99% of the people in the country.

20 minutes later--

"Haha... those two idiots didn't even tie me up. Do they think I can't swim? As long as I get out of here, there's plenty of ways... Huh?"

After approaching the shore of the volcano and confirming that the volcano would not erupt, Cronin, who had immediately secretly escaped from the sailboat, finally swam to the shore.

However, before he could be happy for a few seconds, he saw a dark green, indeterminate, terrifying monster in his field of vision, and the monster's controller, a green cat head with a face full of bloodlust.

"You are the culprit, the mastermind behind everything, right?"

Faced with the green cat-head's questioning, Cronin wondered if it might be better for him to just stay quiet and not run away.

29. Kal'tsit: Please... look at me carefully (those who understand will understand) (8K