The King of Spirits did not answer Cecilia’s greeting.
“Waaaaaaah, get out of the way!”
Veronica’s fist sunk into the evil spirit. The one who was hit spun like a dead butterfly and fell into the swamp.
Taking advantage of the opening, Piyo took the Lighthouse Bangle from Cecilia’s hand. Spinning, she scattered sparks of fire to keep the enemies at bay. Finally, the bangle reached the rocks on the opposite bank in her hand.
“All right, I’ve arrived! Eeeeh!”
I did it! With this, the King of Spirits will revive.
“……”
“Brother, nothing is happening again. Isn’t this just a bad day?”
No way, why? Is it refusing? Or has the power disappeared because Piyo took it? In fact, the bangle, which had left Cecilia’s hand, was gradually losing its light. Seeing this, the evil spirits all lunged at Piyo at once.
Veronica clicked her tongue in mid-air. No, she won’t make it in time! Piyo is strong, but she can’t handle this many by herself.
“Use this!”
Cecilia, half-submerged, threw her sword towards Piyo. But the evil spirits nimbly dodged it. The elf’s sword was then stuck into a rock.
“Piyo, run away—!”
Escape during this momentary gap. With Piyo’s speed, she can escape. If she lights her wings on fire and flies, she won’t be defeated easily.
But Piyo didn’t run away. Instead, she pulled out the sword stuck in the rock. What is she doing? Does she intend to fight? That sword can only be used by elves; for other races, it’s just inconvenient.
To everyone’s surprise, she stuck the sword she was holding into the rock. Then, putting her weight on it, she pulled it down, jamming the Bangle into the gap.
“W-What?”
“What is that girl doing?”
Karubene, who was sinking with me, looked on blankly. Then, a dazzling light began to leak out from the gap in the rock, filling the surrounding area. The evil spirits that had been attacking Piyo recoiled all at once.
The strings that had been wrapped around my legs came undone, and my body felt light and buoyant.
“Brother, we’re flying! Eek, this is bad!”
“You’re right, what’s going on?”
My body was literally floating in mid-air. I don’t have wings. The mist cleared, and the morning sun shone down on the water’s surface.
As we slowly descended to the ground, water that shouldn’t have been there was seeping out from somewhere. The foul-smelling sludge was disappearing and changing into clear water.
“Look at that, up there.”
Karubene pointed upwards, and I looked up to see spirits with butterfly wings dancing above the spring. The sight was like a myth depicted in a painting.
“That’s right, Cecilia, are you okay?”
She was standing motionless in the middle of the spring. Like us, she seemed entranced by the spectacle.
“Y-Yes. I can’t believe you actually did it. The water level is rising, let’s talk about this later.”
I forgot. We need to get back quickly before we drown in the water this time.
When we returned to the shore, everyone was gathered there. They didn’t seem to have any significant injuries.
“I’m sorry for going off on my own.”
“Really, you suddenly went crazy and ran off.”
“We were wondering what was going on.”
I was scolded by everyone. It seems I was the only one who had gone mad. Looking back now, that might have been the case.
Just then, Piyo returned. She was holding Cecilia’s sword, too.
“Piyo, that was amazing.”
“Hehehe, you know, up close it didn’t look like a rock.”
What does that mean? If it wasn’t a rock, what was it?
“Greetings, outsiders. And Cecilia Lumie, I am the King of the Forest Spirits, Arceus.”
Turning around, a beautiful goddess with exceptionally large wings floated before us. If that’s the case, then the spirits flying around must be Arceus.
“So you are. Were you sealed in that rock?”
“That was not a rock, but rather a cocoon. The Dark Elves sealed me within a cocoon made of threads of darkness. But before that, with my last bit of power, I sealed the spring itself.”
I see, so that’s why it wouldn’t come out. It must have been a miscalculation for the Dark Elves, who thought they could monopolize the spring by sealing their master. If the seal were broken, the spring would revive, but the master would also awaken. They seemed to have decided it was better to keep her confined.
“Please forgive those who attacked you.”
“No, it’s all right. They didn’t do it intentionally.”
“What?” I looked back at everyone. Hmm, the atmosphere felt a bit off. They were looking at each other and gauging their reactions.
Sharin slowly raised her hand.
“Um, can the wounds be healed in that spring?”
“Yes, of course.”
Glancing at my hands, the scars from the battles so far had faded. Perhaps if I had soaked in it longer, all the scars on my body would disappear.
“I-I see. Then it’s fine. I didn’t kill them.”
“Neither did I. Now, let’s hurry and carry them.”
Everyone busied themselves carrying Arceus and the others, who had fallen in the grass, and tossing them into the spring.
“…It couldn’t be helped.”
Looking at the spirits floating on the surface, the King gave a wry smile.
