Chapter 50: The Black Mist
The heavy iron door on the other side of the chain-bridge stood open, gaping like a wound in the side of the massive black castle.
Hide and Fuu crossed the bridge slowly, the howling wind tearing at their clothes and the rusted links groaning beneath their boots. With every step they took toward the central castle, the ambient dark mana grew thicker, pressing against them with an almost physical weight.
They reached the other side and stepped off the grating onto solid stone.
Hide looked through the open doorway. It was complete, utter darkness. He felt something was wrong there from that very moment, he could not even see one inch inside even though everything was very clear outside.
Hide raised his right hand and called upon the Abyssal Flame. The orange fire flared to life in his palm, casting a harsh light over his face. He stepped forward and held the flame out into the doorway to illuminate the hall beyond.
The light didn’t penetrate.
It was as if he had held a candle up to a solid wall of black velvet. The flame burned brightly in his hand, but its light simply stopped at the threshold, swallowed entirely by the dense, swirling darkness inside.
Hide frowned.
’It’s not just dark, ’he realized, watching the edge of the darkness slowly drift and curl around the doorframe. ’It’s like mist.’
The system chimed in his mind, the familiar translucent window blooming in the corner of his vision.
[Adaptive Override — Analysis Active]
Concealment Field — Black Mist
Location: Ambient environment
Source: Unknown Calamity beast
Severity: High — Absolute visual impairment
System query: Initiate adaptation sequence for this environment type?
[Awaiting command.]
Hide’s eyes narrowed at the text. ’An unknown calamity beast. That’s not very assuring.’
"Evolve," He muttered under his breath.
[Adapting — 10%]
[Adapting — 35%]
He lowered his hand, the Abyssal Flame dying out, and stopped just outside the doorframe.
Fuu, who had been lagging a few steps behind, finally caught up. He leaned against the stone archway, his chest heaving despite the healing potion having closed his worst gashes. He looked into the doorway and recoiled, shivering violently as the cold, unnatural mist brushed against his skin.
"Why did you stop?" Fuu asked, his voice trembling over the wind.
"Can’t see anything," Hide replied, keeping his eyes fixed on the system window.
[Adapting — 60%]
Fuu stared into the void and hugged his arms tightly around his chest. He looked back over his shoulder at the bridge, toward the citadel where the sounds of gunfire and breaking bone had finally faded.
"Hide," His voice dropped to a nervous whisper. "We... we should go back. We should go back across the bridge and find those official Exterminators."
Hide didn’t look at him. "Why?"
"Because look at this place!" Fuu gestured frantically toward the castle walls. "This doesn’t feel right. This doesn’t feel like something a mindless beast could do. Look at the mist. Look at the size of this castle. I’m telling you, the dungeon master in there... it has to be a Calamity Lord."
Fuu’s teeth were chattering now, and not just from the freezing wind. "If we go in there blind, we’re going to die. We need those pros. They have experience. If we team up with them—"
"No one is forcing you to follow me," Hide interrupted, his tone completely flat.
Fuu stopped talking, his mouth hanging open slightly.
"You can sit here and wait for them," Hide said, finally turning his head to look at him. "Or you can walk back across that bridge and go find them yourself. I really don’t care. But I’m going in."
[Adapting — 100%]
[Adaptive Override — Adaptation Complete]
Counter Skill Generated
[True Sight — Rank C (Passive)]
— Grants the ability to see through all environmental, magical, and skill-based concealment fields
— Negates visual impairment caused by mists, illusions, and absolute darkness
Hide blinked.
The heavy, suffocating wall of black mist hanging in the doorway didn’t disappear, but its opacity shattered. The mist turned translucent to his eyes, like a thin veil of smoke. The oppressive darkness lifted, and the interior of the castle suddenly came into sharp, perfect focus.
He was looking down a massive, cavernous corridor. It was built from ancient, polished stones that reflected no light. Along the walls stood strange, towering statues — twisted, grotesque things that looked like amalgamations of beasts and men, holding rusted weapons. The corridor stretched far into the distance, leading deeper into the heart of the castle.
Hide didn’t say another word to Fuu. He simply stepped over the threshold and walked into the mist, his boots echoing sharply against the stone floor.
Fuu watched him go, completely dumbfounded. "Hide? Hide, wait!"
Hide didn’t stop. He was already twenty paces in, moving confidently down the center of the corridor as if it were lit by the midday sun.
Fuu’s body shivered violently. He looked back at the swinging, terrifying chain-bridge behind him. He thought about the drop. He thought about the Exterminators who had shot at them on sight.
"Dammit," Fuu whimpered.
He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then lunged through the doorway after Hide.
It was a mistake. The instant Fuu crossed the threshold, the absolute darkness swallowed him. He couldn’t see his own hands in front of his face. The black mist was thick and disorienting, immediately stripping away his sense of direction.
"Hide!" Fuu yelled, his voice sounding muffled and flat inside the mist. "Stop! I can’t see anything!"
Fuu took three panicked, blind steps forward, his hands reaching out to grab anything solid.
Clang!
Fuu slammed face-first into something hard and metallic on the side of the corridor. He let out a yelp of pain, stumbling backward and clutching his nose. He reached out tentatively and felt the cold, rusted armor of one of the towering, grotesque statues lining the walls.
"Hide, seriously, where are you?!" Fuu panicked, spinning around blindly in the void.
Hide, who was standing about thirty feet ahead, paused and looked back. To him, Fuu was clearly visible, stumbling around like an idiot and feeling up a decorative statue. Hide sighed, debating whether it was worth walking back to grab him.
Before he could decide, the entire castle shuddered.
It was a massive, deep vibration that rattled the ancient stones beneath their feet and shook dust from the vaulted ceiling. The mist swirled violently around them.
And then, a voice echoed through the corridor.
It didn’t come from the end of the hall. It didn’t come from the walls. It seemed to project directly into the space around them, smooth, cultured, and terrifyingly clear.
"Ahh!" the voice called out, carrying a note of genuine, pleasant surprise. "Someone is finally here!"