The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo had no idea what exactly a high-level toxic creature was supposed to be, or what the toxic wasteland was. However, the danger level of three-horned made it sound like a fairly easy mission. After all, three-horned demons were fairly easy for Apollo to kill.

The only issue was the requirement to catch them.

While he was fairly confident in his ability to kill things, capturing alive was another thing altogether. What Apollo was most concerned about was how 'alive' the creature had to be.

If he cut off the limbs of a creature, it should be easy enough.

Then, Apollo looked towards the pictures at the bottom of the request paper.

And furrowed his eyebrows.

Layla clapped excitedly from behind Apollo.

"Wow, those friends look so different!"

Apollo let out a dry chuckle.

"...They sure do."

There were pictures of three main different variations. Each variation contained a front body shot, a side shot, and one from above.

The first variation was relatively humanoid, but instead of having a head, it was a thick strand of flesh attached to an eyeball. As for its chest, there was simply a gaping mouth. The picture itself was depicted in ink, so its color was not readily apparent from just the picture.

The second variation looked similar to a dog of sorts, but its body was a little more circular and had eight legs to match. If nothing else, the head was very unassuming.

The third variation was simply a blob. Though it had a front view, side view, and top view, it hardly looked different from any side. It was simply an amalgamation of flesh that didn't seem to have any particular purpose.

Apollo was a little unsettled by the strange appearances, but was more concerned about how he could capture them alive. As for the humanoid and dog version, it shouldn't be too hard to cut off their limbs to render them immobile. However, there didn't seem to be an easy way to capture the blob.

Apollo sighed.

"I suppose it is time to find out what this toxic wasteland is all about."

Layla's tail swayed enthusiastically.

"Yay, toxic wasteland!"

Apollo stepped into the shadow world and was greeted with a familiar red line of mist. Upon reappearing, Layla similarly appeared.

She threw herself towards Apollo, but the person in question disappeared before she reached him.

Apollo reappeared to the side and looked at her strangely.

"What are you doing?"

Layla pouted.

"I want to fly with friend!"

The side of Apollo's face twitched.

"...Why is that necessary?"

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Because I want to fly!"

Apollo sighed.

"Only for a little bit."

Layla raised both hands in the air.

"Yay!"

With that, Layla got onto Apollo's back, while Apollo himself shot up into the air, leaving trails of lighting in his wake.

And so, he began to travel through the air.

The snow lightly battered his face, in a seemingly endless fashion.

Apollo continued to travel through the air.

...And continued.

Until eventually, he realized he had been going for an unnaturally long time. Apollo landed on the ground to step into the shadow world, surprising Layla who suddenly fell to the ground.

He saw the line of red mist, and it was roughly in the same direction he was heading.

Apollo reappeared in the real world, greeted by Layla who had her arms crossed and a small pout.

"Where did you go?"

Apollo rubbed his temple with his knuckle.

"Sorry."

They had been traveling for roughly an entire day, and not at a slow speed either. In other words, this toxic wasteland was really far away.

As such, Apollo wanted to use another method in order to reach the destination.

"...Can you carry me through that blue world?"

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Hm? Friend wants to play there?"

Apollo nodded and pointed towards where the red line of mist went.

"Yes, can we go in that direction?"

Layla smiled brightly.

"Ok!"

She wrapped her arm around Apollo's waist and tore open the space in front of her. As for Apollo, he simply grit his teeth and readied himself for a journey.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop him from screaming.

"AHHHHHHHHHH."

"Waaaaaah!~"

...

For what felt like days, Layla dragged Apollo across the blue world. She arbitrarily decided to go back into the real world, as she was getting bored.

Apollo and Layla tumbled across the snow. While Layla got up immediately, Apollo needed a few moments to get rid of the violent spinning feeling.

Layla clapped excitedly, then pointed in a direction.

"New friends! Look over there!"

Apollo stood up while holding his head, then looked towards where Layla was pointing.

Far off into the distance, there was some sort of giraffe-like creature, except it had two long necks. As for its body, it consisted of pink flesh, almost like someone tore off its skin.

Not too far off were several bugs. They were dark green in color and looked similar to a locust.

Currently, Apollo and Layla were still standing within the snowy forest. However, the floor under them had already partially transitioned into a mixture of brown, yellow, and black.

They were at the borders of the toxic wasteland.

It was filled with several valleys and hills, rising up and down unpredictably. Various debris was scattered across the lands. The debris at the outskirts consisted of thin chips of wood, fragments of stone, and what looked like black tar.

The most peculiar thing about this place was the lack of snow, especially considering that it was snowing just outside. But while no snow touched those lands, it was still strangely moist, like a swamp. There were several tiny puddles filled with discolored water. Sometimes it would be yellow, while other times it would be green.

Apollo furrowed his brows.

"...This place is disgusting."

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"But it will be fun!"

Apollo shrugged his shoulders and took a step forward.

"I suppose."