Freezing Magic

Azu and the others hurried toward the center of the barrier.

They needed to hurry in every sense of the word.

There was no real resistance along the way.

Thanks to that, the two mages conserved their energy and didn't have to slow down.

"The bad smell is gone too…"

"More like everything's turned to sand. Until just recently, no matter how bad it was, it still at least felt like a forest."

"What happened?"

"It sucked up everything, toxic swamp included. Quite the glutton. In a way, this might be the cleanest place around."

Evalin answered Azu's murmured question as they moved.

"I don't think this is the time to be impressed. We can't afford to leave even one of them alive, regardless of any potential utility."

"Of course. That's why I put up the barrier in the first place."

"Good to hear."

"It wasn't just animals and monsters… Even the plants and soil…"

After that, everyone fell silent, with only the sound of their footsteps on sand.

Eventually, the scenery changed.

The sand gave way to the area around the river where the black liquid had flowed before, which still retained some semblance of the forest it had once been.

However, a purple toxic mist hung in the air.

It was dense enough to be visible as fog.

The buzzing was loud too. A considerable number of Mosquito Monsters were hovering within the mist.

"It's defending itself because we attacked it once before?"

"Seems like it. They're probably trying to keep us from getting close."

"Take these."

Elza held out pieces of cloth.

Handkerchiefs soaked in holy water and thoroughly imbued with blessings.

"Press them to your mouth when you charge in. They should block the inhalation. Be careful not to get stung by the Mosquito Monsters."

"Understood."

Azu took hers and gripped it tightly.

She and Finn were the ones in the most danger here.

Azu in particular, as the linchpin of the plan, would almost certainly have to plunge straight into that toxic mist.

"I can't see anything through this. Let me blow it away first. Move aside."

Everyone obeyed Evalin's instruction, splitting left and right to clear her line of fire.

"Rather than just blowing it with wind, this should work better."

She extended her right hand, palm up, and blew across it.

That breath grew rapidly into a tornado, sweeping up the purple-tinged air as it went.

The tornado drifted away into the distance.

It seemed to have caught a considerable number of Mosquito Monsters in its wake, their buzzing fading as they were carried off.

Where the toxic mist had been cleared, a black sphere hung motionless in the air.

Most likely the black liquid that had once been the forest spirit, waiting in a dormant state.

"It has no eyes, but it's definitely watching us…"

Finn murmured, crouching low.

There was a palpable sense of being observed.

Somehow, it knew exactly where they were.

"Don't zone out, below!"

At Alexia's shout, everyone scrambled to move.

An instant later, black liquid shot up from the ground like tentacles, trying to grab them.

They shook off or slashed through the writhing tendrils to evade.

The failed attack withdrew back into the sphere, melting back into liquid form.

It shifted slightly, as if gauging their movements.

"Ambushes too? Cleverer than I expected…"

"Would have been easier if it just came at us directly, but it might have the ability to learn."

"So calm even at a time like this, Elza. Does being a priestess steel your nerves?"

"Not at all. There's simply no point in panicking."

"Hmph."

Alexia and Evalin began pelting the black liquid with ice magic as planned.

The liquid tried to dodge, but its sheer volume meant the extremities couldn't evade in time, and it was gradually being frozen.

"Pin it down!"

"I know!"

Finn circled behind the black liquid with Azu and hurled explosives.

It was questionable how effective they'd be, but the black liquid recoiled from them, pausing just long enough for more ice magic to land.

"I see. Being too clever for its own good is slowing down its threat assessment."

"I wish I had something like that…"

"You're terrible at any magic besides enhancement, and you've got combat instincts but you're too clumsy for tricks. Better off not trying to be clever. Wait for your chance. In the meantime, handle any Mosquito Monsters that get close."

"Yes, understood."

Azu cut down the remaining Mosquito Monsters nearby with her sword.

With her dynamic visual acuity, she could track them no matter how fast they moved.

After several rounds, the frozen portions of the black liquid grew larger, and its movements became sluggish.

"Going well."

"It's the blessings, isn't it?"

"Ah, right. It's been so long I'd forgotten the feeling."

"It drives me crazy that someone this out of practice is still a far stronger mage than me…"

Alexia grumbled but continued firing magic in concert with Evalin.

The extremities were completely frozen now, and even the main body was about half encased in ice.

The thing tried to force its way out, snapping off several frozen tentacles, but movement was becoming increasingly difficult.

"Can't we just freeze it completely and seal it away?"

"If it revived somehow, that'd be the worst outcome."

"Fair point."

Evalin froze the entire surrounding area in one burst, and the black liquid was completely encased in ice.

The ambient temperature plunged below midwinter levels, their every breath threatening to crystallize.

"Azu, now!"

"Here I go!"

At Alexia's signal, Azu drew on the power of the Apostle and channeled her mana into the Sealed Sword Grungaus, bringing it down on the frozen black liquid.