While on the way to carry out the box containing Ryoku, the hunter was stopped by a man.
The tiger spirit, with its mouth and both hands stained bright red, sat quietly in front of the cage where its master was imprisoned. There was no sign of it attacking, but I couldn’t bring myself to approach it. My instincts screamed fear.
“Big man, we meet again!! I never expected to find you here.”
“Yes, hello. Uh, sir, we have to take Ryoku to the ground.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but let me out!! It seems even I couldn’t break through this cage. I am Tiga, the great Kiba!”
He didn’t need to shout; he was close enough. Just hearing him sent shockwaves. I had no choice. For the time being, I’d at least free this person. I tried many keys one by one. Honestly, with no time to spare.
“There, it’s open.”
“Thank you, I owe you one. By the way, have you seen my daughter? She’s Little Kiba.”
“Ah, could you possibly mean Kiba? The spirit of the wolf spirit?”
“That’s right! She should be captured too.”
“What? Do I have to save Kiba too? She looked listless after losing her spirit.” Just then, Tiga, riding a tiger, galloped off on his own.
“He’s gone. Alright, we should focus on letting Ryoku escape. ”
“I found them! This way!”
Ugh, this is getting troublesome. Heading towards the voice, I found him standing defiantly in front of his daughter’s cage.
“It seems her spirit hasn’t returned yet.”
“I’ll give you these keys. Could you please help her? We have other things to do.”
I shoved a bundle of keys at Tiga and picked up the iron box again.
“Is that so? But there are still Dark Elves here. For now, he seems to have taken down a few of them, but can you two escape with your hands full?”
Damn, he hit the nail on the head. He wasn’t just loud. I decided to split up with Karubene and help the Hummingbird Harpies. I would open the cages, and Karubene would rescue the spirits from the crystals.
Opening cages at random, colorful Harpies began to escape one after another. At the same time, the spirits returned to their masters. The sight of so many spirits rushing down the narrow hallway was like an aurora.
“Hey, big man. Thank you.”
“Ah, Kiba. Your spirit has returned, has it?”
With her spirit back, she was filled with energy as if she were a different person. Her body was covered in wounds, but her eyes held the fire of battle. It seemed the hunters who had been with her had also gathered.
“So you’re the one who freed me. Thank you.”
A squirrel spirit sat perched on the shoulder of the young hunter. It seems the spirit that accompanies you doesn’t necessarily relate to your profession. Suddenly, Cowardly Ear signaled the approach of the Dark Elves. Reinforcements had finally arrived. They were quite late; most of the enemies were already gone.
“Now then, big man, you’re taking that box to the ground, aren’t you? We’ll escort you. But is the one inside that box truly so important?”
“Ryoku is the one who talks to trees. Everyone saw them as a villain, but without him, the forest cannot resist.”
The Hummingbird Harpies were whispering amongst themselves. Many voices asked, “Who is he?” It was probably because they lived hidden in the forest.
“Everyone, the one who talks to trees is the voice of the forest. Does that make sense?”
A murmur went through the Harpies. “Is that even possible?” they seemed to wonder.
“Nigpyura holds the key to this cage. Ryoku’s existence is the biggest hindrance to him.”
“Then why is he still alive?”
“It’s to take his spirit. You understand now, don’t you?”
Tiga tapped his chin with his wing and nodded. Then he turned back to the murmuring Harpies.
“Alright, our mission is to take the key from Nigpyura! We will all engage in a full-blown battle. From now on, there will be no distinction between combatants and non-combatants. No one shall retreat another step, be they escorts or hunters!”
The men who appeared to be escorts shot Tiga a glare. It seemed they didn’t get along well. One of them, the man with the Serval Cat spirit, approached Tiga. I wanted to say, “If you hadn’t chased Ryoku, this wouldn’t have happened,” but I held my tongue.
“Hey, Great Kiba, do you believe what this giant says? What’s your basis for that? It’s not yet determined that the one who talks to trees is innocent. Besides, you say everyone, but it’s impossible to fight while protecting those who can’t fight.”
Tiga narrowed his eyes and picked at his ear.
“Ah, you’re noisy. All talk and no substance, I’m tired of it.”
“What did you say? You’re the one who’s loud. You hunters, take the non-combatants and flee. We’ll clear the path.”
“Hey now, are you going to spout rules even in this situation?”
The Harpies started murmuring again. They had just come together, and besides, this wasn’t the time for this.
“Of course. We are escorts, after all. An escort is…”
“Enough! They’re coming, I tell you!!”
Cowardly Ear’s loud voice cut in. This quieted both the arguing escorts and the hunters.
“If you have time to shout, fight already. Look, here they come.”
The sound of many people descending the stairs could be heard. Honestly, their arguing led to us having to fight in a place like this.
