Outer World Story: Basilisk of Ice Sculpture

y to channel cold air from the cold storage device and launch at full speed whenever I need to.

Once encountering that woman, it would be impossible not to be wary of her.

Damn, the recollection of that time is sending tremors through my arms and legs.
Rather than trembling with excitement, it is out of fear.
Even if I become a laughingstock for the futility of this vigil, so be it.
So I beg you.
Please don’t come out.
I am not competent enough to fight that guy right now.

[Fear not, Akira.
There’s no sign of her nearby.]

“I… see.
Both of you can relax your caution now.”

Eventually, Ys’ words cause me to loosen up, and as soon as I ease up on the power I am exerting on the “Frozen Cloud,” I inform the two of them that they too can lower their alertness, before letting out a deep breath.

“Akira-san.
What in the world brings you to such fear… is it the ‘Death’?”

“‘Death’… come to think of it, there was a rumor of such a thing too.
Well, you’re not wrong.
But Ys said there is no trace of that guy nearby.”

The “Death”… is a rumor circulating in the Security Organization that there is a veritable monster with a scythe roaming around in the “Maze,” a monster whose scythe is believed to slay even the mightiest of warriors.

In reality, there is a difference between a scythe and a hatchet, but it can be said that the story is true since if you run across her, death is undoubtedly on the horizon.

I mean, the rumor is definitely originating from that guy.

“That sound is…!?”

“Earthquake!?”

“No! This is…”

The ground abruptly begins trembling, which forces me to start pouring a lot of power into the “Frozen Cloud” to be ready to spring into motion at any moment.

“It’s a monster!”

[Uoooooomuuuuu!!]]

[[!?]]

In the instant that Sora-san concludes that this tremor is triggered by the monster… a monstrous creature breaks out of the ground, emitting bizarre noises as if to destroy the room that is near us, much to the surprise of Toki-san and myself.

[Uoooomuuuu…]

“This is…”

“A-Ah…”

“Um, the core seems to be at the tip of its tail…”

The monster stares down at us, capitalizing on its massive size.

Simply put, that monster is an absurdly gigantic earthworm.

However, the monster’s peculiar eyes are like moles around the mouth and the core at the tip of the tail, according to Sora-san, can be determined from there that it is a monster.

Its length is the issue.
Even though the mouth is now only protruding out of the ground, it is unquestionably several meters long.
If so, the overall length would definitely be several times that.

Ah, no… there’s another problem.

“I mean, that thing is a tentacle…”

“It’s a tentacle…”

“It’s got some kind of slippery surface.”

“Yeah…”

From the mouth of the monster-modified worm, dozens of thin, line-like things emerge… well, those are tentacles specifically, each of which has a slightly different form and is separately moving up, down, left, right, back, and forward with their surfaces being glossy with some sort of liquid.

To put it bluntly, the movements alone are physiologically repulsive just by beholding them.

[[[[…]]]]

Yeah.
There is only one choice for us to take, isn’t it?

“‘Frozen Cloud’ at maximum output! Cold air boost also emits at full power!”

[Uoooomuu!?]

Let’s flee.

I, therefore, unleash the cold storage device toward the earthworm even while injecting all of my divine power into the “Frozen Cloud.”

With the cold air attacking and accelerating at the same time, I plan to evacuate from this place.

“The gate is confirmed to be 5 o’clock from the local point!”

“Go at full speed, please!”

[Move with all your might, Akira!]

“You don’t have to tell me!!”

After everyone has reached a consensus, “Frozen Cloud” starts to speed off at a rate that has never been achieved before.

I am absolutely not going to be covered in tentacles!

T/N:

I have made a doc about all Licorice that is present in the Outer World Story so far (which means spoiler ahead, read at your own risk, the ending of this series is included at the Military part).
It can help you understand more about the settings.
I will make for the Tower and Multidimensional Trading Company Complex at some point.
“Death” is another Licorice also from the second series.
You can read the details there.