Shota's Isekai NTR Adventure Chapter 2099: Miasma

With the Dorothy situation now under control and neighboring nations satisfied by the establishment of a formal production line, my continued presence in the Kite Kingdom was no longer necessary.

It was a rare luxury to enjoy a solid night's rest in my own bed, yet our journey remained unfinished; there was another destination that urgently demanded our attention.

The creeping signs of corruption energy across the continent were intensifying, and it seemed increasingly clear that a catastrophic eruption was merely a matter of time.

Therefore, we had to ensure every contingency was addressed before disaster finally struck.

Achieving this required us to confront the elementals that had surfaced.

We were currently bound for yet another taboo zone, although this particular site stood in stark contrast to the others. Due to its unique properties, it was far more perilous than any location we had encountered thus far.

Surprisingly, I found myself with an unexpected companion for the trek.

Right before we departed the Kite Kingdom, Lupus stepped forward and declared, "I want to come with you."

While her sudden assertiveness caught me off guard, it also gave me a hint of what to anticipate. After all, the nature of a taboo zone usually allowed us to deduce which elementals were sealed within.

The creation divine energy items bestowed upon each elemental tribe would draw from the environment the polar opposite of the elements they were designed to generate.

Since those tribes depended on such items to conjure the elements essential for their survival, the root cause of these taboo zones was invariably the inversion of what they produced.

Given that this expanse was completely saturated with miasma, it was undeniably tied to the air itself.

This confirmed that we were searching for a faction of wind elementals.

Part of me understood why Lupus would want to locate them, given her allegiance to the god of wind. What remained unclear was why she had decided to pursue them so abruptly.

The only logical conclusion was that Zephyrus intended for some message to be delivered to these wind elementals.

However, judging by her behavior, Lupus had no intention of confiding in me.

It appeared she was holding back, waiting until we reached the wind elementals to reveal her true intent.

Reaching the perimeter of the taboo zone, the reason for its grim reputation became immediately obvious.

This was not some transparent, odorless gas; it was a visible, suffocating shroud that clung to everything. This realization proved challenging, as we had hoped to survey the area to locate the array that would lead us to the wind elementals.

With the thick haze obscuring everything, finding anything at all seemed like an impossible task.

As we stood there, contemplating our next move, Lupus stepped forward and commanded, "Follow me and stay close."

Before we even had a moment to process her instructions, she unleashed a powerful gust of wind.

The gale was not strong enough to shove us off balance; its purpose was to displace the dense gas clogging our path. Yet, Lupus’s control was far more refined than a simple brute-force dispersal.

Instead of merely scattering the fumes, she manipulated the air to drive the gas upward, forging a firm barrier overhead that prevented it from settling back down.

It quickly became clear she intended to keep the ground clear of fog so we could identify the necessary components of the array.

Of course, this was still no simple task, as we lacked any idea of what we were actually searching for.

In such a desolate place, it was impossible to guess which objects might serve as anchors for the array.

After all, there was nothing but gas everywhere.

In previous instances, we had relied on pillars of stone or ice to mark the boundaries of the array.

But what could possibly replace those in a realm defined by wind and vapors?

The answer presented itself soon enough.

It was a pillar of gas.

Or, more accurately, something that resembled a pillar of gas.

It functioned like a vent, channeling vapor out from some subterranean hollow as if clearing out an underground cavern.

A perplexed expression settled on my face at the sight.

This was an undeniable signal that something was concealed beneath the surface. It felt quite different from the previous locations, where the array markers were composed of solid elements native to the area.

It seemed as if this vent was exposing the very hiding spot of the wind elementals.

"They are invisible to others because they remain hidden within the gas. Only because I am lifting the fog can they be seen. And this gas is no ordinary vapor, either," Lupus noted.

I turned to look at her, hoping for further elaboration, but she remained silent, offering no more insight.

Knowing that Lupus was the messenger of the God of Wind, I trusted her assessment. There was no one more qualified than her to speak on such a topic.

With that, I set my questions aside and moved forward to trigger the array.

Just like the pillars before it, the wind vent responded to my touch, and suddenly, the ancient array flickered into existence.