Like a Moth to a Flame

The Sealed Sword Grungaus.

A weapon once wielded by a certain hero.

It generates a follow-up strike proportional to the user's mana, and that strike can damage any opponent.

Spectral or not, no matter how hard the material.

The stronger the wielder became, the greater the sword's value.

The instant the Sealed Sword Grungaus made contact with the frozen black liquid, the sword's effect activated, generating a secondary attack proportional to Azu's mana.

An invisible blade shattered the frozen mass entirely.

Azu felt the solid feedback of a clean hit— and let her guard drop for just a moment.

"Idiot, it's not over!"

The instant she heard Finn's rebuke, she threw herself backward with everything she had.

A split second later, a piercing shriek filled the air as the frozen black liquid sprouted spikes in every direction.

If she'd been even a heartbeat slower, there would have been nowhere to dodge— she'd have been skewered alive.

"The moment after you've felled your prey is when you let your guard down the most. Pay attention."

"Thank you! But I definitely felt solid contact…"

"I understand the feeling. When the sword connected, it looked like it shattered completely."

"No, you definitely killed it."

Finn and Azu pulled back to regroup with Elza.

Both listened as Elza shared her assessment.

The spiked black liquid showed no signs of moving for the moment.

"What do you mean?"

"Azu-chan's strike nearly snuffed out its existence for an instant. I think the reason that happened is because enough damage was dealt to finish it off."

"But it's clearly still there?"

"I think something forcibly injected power into the forest spirit just as it was about to vanish. That something must be whatever corrupted the forest spirit."

"… No!"

Even Azu's strike hadn't finished it off.

The black liquid maintained its spiked form, vibrating slowly.

It was only a matter of time before it started moving again.

"So unless we find that something, it'll just keep coming back? We don't even know where it's coming from or what it is— this is the worst."

"Not necessarily. The forest spirit was badly weakened by Azu-chan's strike. The fact that it couldn't move right away and had to take that form is proof. That means power is being fed to it even as we speak."

They watched as Elza closed her eyes and concentrated.

Azu kept the Apostle's power active and held her sword at the ready, prepared to move at any moment.

Alexia and Evalin couldn't grasp the situation, but sensing that Azu and the others were up to something, they tried to freeze the black liquid again and seal its movement.

In its spiked form, freezing it took longer than when it had been liquid.

It would likely regain mobility before they could finish.

"The ground. Power is flowing through the ground."

"From where!?"

"Over there."

Elza pointed toward a patch where the forest still remained.

Though calling it a forest was generous— it was saturated with poison, and Mosquito Monsters swarmed above it in droves.

It appeared to be an area that had escaped the reach of Evalin's tornado.

"The reason they didn't come after us was because they were guarding whatever's really important."

"Something is at the center of that area. Power is flowing from there into the forest spirit."

"Can we blow it away with another gust of wind or something to…"

"I'm not waiting."

Azu bolted.

"Wh- Azu!? Damn it!"

"Oh my."

Finn scrambled to follow.

Elza chased after them.

"Alexia-chaaan, please keep that thing from coming this way!"

"Huh!? What do you mean!?"

"No time to explain! I'm counting on you!"

With that parting shout, Elza pressed a holy water-soaked handkerchief to her mouth and plunged into the toxic mist.

Alexia watched the scene with an exasperated look, then sighed.

She figured they must have come up with something or found something, which was why they'd charged in.

They weren't stupid enough to do something pointless.

"I wonder what that was about… Well, if Elza and Finn are with her, it should be fine."

"What do we do?"

"All we can do is trust them and leave it to them. That's what being comrades means."

"Can you really trust them?"

"Yes. We've been through a lot together, believe it or not. Now lend me your strength, Evalin. Without the help of an elf like you, I can't hold that thing alone."

"Very well."

The two worked together, continuing to restrain the spiked mass.

It was straining with tremendous force, tearing away frozen sections as it fought to break free.

Eventually one of them would run out of mana. When that happened, there would be no stopping it.

"Hurry up."

Alexia murmured under her breath.

Azu plunged into the toxic mist, following her instincts.

With the handkerchief pressed to her mouth as Elza had instructed, she could still breathe despite the ominously colored air.

But her skin prickled and stung.

She couldn't imagine what prolonged exposure would do, but harmful effects were certain.

Still, they needed to resolve this as quickly as possible.

No, more accurately, Azu wanted to resolve it quickly.

She wanted to reduce her Master's time in pain by even a little and see him safely recovered.

She couldn't keep her eyes open for long.

She felt a tap on her shoulder from beside her.

Finn was there.

They communicated through gestures, keeping their mouths shut.

There was a vague but distinct sense of something wrong.

This had to be the source of the anomaly.

When Elza caught up, Azu pointed the way with her right hand.

Both of them nodded and followed.

Why she could sense it, she couldn't explain.

Perhaps it was her power as an Apostle.

Or perhaps the Water and Fire Elementals lending her their strength were guiding her somehow.

The three ran onward.

Mosquito Monsters tried to interfere along the way, but Azu, her senses honed to a razor's edge, cut them down without even looking.

And at last, the three of them reached the heart of the toxic mist.