Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga - Chapter 218: Avalon Island

Upon docking our ship, we disembarked, leaving behind a select group of individuals—primarily those with abilities suited for defending the vessel. Among them was the cloaked person the Sage had sent with us. Although I had a sneaking suspicion about her identity, I decided to let her remain, trusting that her presence would serve as adequate protection for the boat.

Though I was a bit annoyed how she hadn’t helped us during the attack of the shark ultimate class demon. She might be a warrior, which would have been a bad matchup against the fish’s oily skin, but she could have grabbed a weapon and done that.

Well, whatever. It didn’t matter now, and I had some people already keeping an eye on her.

Suddenly, Carpy descended from the sky causing a shadow, to cover the boat and the area around us. I reached out, extending my arm to touch his tail.

Instantly, we fused together, and demonic power rushed through my veins. I intended to maintain this merged form for as long as possible during our expedition. Even with Carpy’s heightened senses, Avalon Island was peculiar enough that he could easily lose track of me or even get lost himself.

However, as soon as I activated Carpy’s sensory power, I winced and swiftly turned it off, limiting its range. What I sensed were some familiar signatures traversing the island, spanning different points in time. It was difficult to ascertain if these events had truly occurred yet, and knowing the future on this island wasn’t always a boon.

Before anything else, we approached the man who had washed up on the beach. I pulled him aside to examine his face more closely. He possessed short dark green hair and a scar across his face. Yet, it wasn’t his face that captured my attention—it was his extraordinarily muscular physique, seemingly composed of muscles within muscles. This wasn’t someone any sane man would mess with.

Although only a few knew this man’s true identity, his reputation extended worldwide. I glanced at the Kuro Clan Head, who nodded in confirmation.

“This is the Strength Exorcist. Somehow, it seems he has managed to survive,” he explained to the rest of the group.

The Strength Exorcist groggily opened his eyes and glanced at me, smiling and ready to make a joke. “Heh, seems like—”

Whatever he intended to say, he abruptly halted, his eyes widening. His once-abundant reserves of Ord swiftly depleted. He appeared puzzled and even regarded me with suspicion as he struggled to stand up. Before anyone else could speak to him, I raised my hand and addressed both the group and the special exorcist. Considering how much Ord I possessed, I carefully formulated my sentence. “You’re from the past.”

As soon as I uttered those words, more than 30% of my Ord seeped out, but conversing with this Strength Exorcist from the past required a relatively lesser expenditure of Ord.

Had he hailed from the future, I would have suffered complete Ord exhaustion. Nevertheless, with him present, we knew the Strength Exorcist was alive, and his original self should be somewhere on the island. Moreover, he should be aware of our presence, having encountered our future selves.

After all, time operates in a loop, and nothing could alter the ultimate outcome.

Although somewhat perplexing, this island was not a mere convenience, where one could tamper with the past or exploit it. Nonetheless, it did house numerous invaluable things that had the potential to revolutionize the world or destroy it.

My main goal was to eliminate a specific group attempting to create a deity. Additionally, I needed to seize valuable resources from this location and find something that could facilitate Carpy’s transformation into the ultimate class demon and evolve into a dragon.

Given that one of our comrades was already on the island, we couldn’t venture in with a large group. Instead, we needed a smaller team. The individuals I could trust were Agon, Sei, Anika, and Gem, while the others would remain behind as a backup. I decided to bring along the Kuro Clan Head as well, knowing there were numerous dangers on the island that could potentially end his life.

“Alright, we’ll need a compact team to enter the premises—an adept group that can handle the exploration aspect before the larger group follows,” I explained, carefully selecting my teammates. Surprisingly, the Kuro Clan Head agreed to join, seemingly aware that I harbored ill intentions toward him.

Perhaps he had his own precautions in place?

Approaching the forest, I retrieved a small carving knife and cut my palm, carving a six to represent the six members of our team.

On the opposite side, the Strength Exorcist wore a contemplative expression as he observed us. By now, he should have grasped what was unfolding. From my perspective, he was a figure from the past.

When our gazes met, he smiled and offered a thumbs-up. However, his composure faltered, and he appeared on the verge of collapse as his Ord reached its limit. Communicating with individuals from different timelines exacted a toll on one’s Ord.

Entering the unknown territory carried numerous risks, especially considering most people were unfamiliar with the rules of Avalon Island. Moreover, even during the original story, not every corner of the island had been explored.

While reading the manga, I had never contemplated why Avalon Island’s time was so distorted. Yes, it resided on the border of the barrier, but what caused such temporal anomalies?

The Dragon King responsible for the barrier was renowned as the Dragon King of Twisting Time. Could his actions have affected the barrier? As far as I knew, even he lacked the power to travel to the past or similar feats. Moreover, how did the barrier function, and why hadn’t any external forces attempted to breach it?

Drawing from my limited knowledge of the outside world, I understood there were demons equal to, if not stronger than, Yamata No Orochi and the Dragon King. According to the rules of Shounen, it wouldn’t make sense for Yamata No Orochi to be the most formidable demon.

Shaking off these distracting thoughts, I dismissed any thoughts that held no relevance to my current situation. It wasn’t the time to ponder fruitless matters. Avalon Island was no place for aimless wandering.

As soon as we entered, I pulled out a thin wire and addressed the group, saying, “Now that we’re in the forest, all seven of us need to tie our hands together so we don’t get lost in its peculiar geography.”

“What? But we can see each other perfectly fine,” Agon objected.

As always, he made one of his nonsensical comments, and Anika seemed ready to smack him upside the head. However, I stopped her before she could do so and explained, “Just to be safe. There will be times when moving forward doesn’t necessarily mean progress, and going back doesn’t necessarily mean retreat.”

He appeared confused, and so did the others. But I couldn’t elaborate too much, as we were probably already under surveillance. What a shame, if Bets were here he would have figured out what was happening.

“Just listen to Kon, guys,” Zod, a sickly-looking dark-eyed, black-haired guy, with a pale complexion and sunken cheeks, walked forward.

He was one of the first friends I made in the academy, along with Bets and Gem. After Bets’ death, he had been a supportive friend, despite being considered a “mental midget” by exorcist standards due to his emotional nature.

The only criticism I had of him was that he listened to my orders without questioning them. I could be wrong too; anyone could, for that matter.

As I tied the wire around everyone’s wrist, I caught a glimpse of the number I had carved into the palm of my hand: a nine…

I looked around and saw the Kuro Clan Head, Zod, Anika, Cork, Don, Emanuel, Sei, Gem, and myself.

To be certain, I activated Perfect Me and found memories of all my friends in my mind. Although I wasn’t sure if Perfect Me could detect external memories, it was still better than nothing.

Turning toward them, I gave a thumbs-up. “C’mon, let’s explore this place and find some treasures.”

Oddly enough, despite the dangers, I felt quite optimistic. After all, this island might have something that could give Carpy the push he needed to evolve.

***

Agon felt the trees around him shift, and suddenly, something grabbed him by the nape of his neck, dragging him away at a breathtaking speed. The surrounding trees became a blur in his hasty departure.

Unlike most people who needed time to think things through, Agon acted instinctively. It didn’t take him more than a second before he slashed at the strange creature. However, the creature swiftly dodged Agon’s strike, moving its head out of harm’s way.

“Damn annoying bastard!” Agon attempted to slash at the monster once again, but the thing abruptly halted, disrupting his momentum, and causing his attack to sail just over the bald head of the white creature.

Agon clenched his fist around Ord, preparing to strike the creature. However, the pale figure swiftly leaned to the side, moving with a blitz of speed and letting go of Agon. Suddenly, its body froze, and its wide, eerie eyes widened even further as if its eyeballs were about to pop out. Beads of sweat trickled down its forehead.

Surveying his surroundings, Agon noticed they were in a grassy field, adorned only by a solitary, towering tree in its center.

Examining the creature that had dragged him, Agon observed the hairless humanoid figure with pale skin and a bald head. Curiously, there was nothing between its legs.

The creature’s mouth opened, emitting a low grunt. Its frightened gaze fixated on the tree. Adjacent to the tree stood a tall, silver-haired man dressed in black, his chest-revealing shirt torn as though it had been pierced by a gaping hole. The man’s attention was directed at an anonymous gravestone situated beside the tree.

Before the creature could once again attempt to drag Agon away, its head was abruptly sent flying through the air.

Even Agon, who was aware of his limited ability to sense things, could perceive the overpowering aura emanating from the man. His knees buckled a little and for a split second, he felt like a mountain was on his shoulders.

Unexpectedly, one of Agon’s eyes transformed into Orochi’s, and Orochi spoke through Agon’s mouth. “Be cautious of this guy… he is dangerous.”

It was the first time Orochi had labeled someone as dangerous. Not even the demon from the great war, Shaten Doji… Shiten… uh… the leader of the bad guys whose name Agon had forgotten, had received such a classification from Orochi.