The Jet-Black Sprout

"Gehk."

Finn choked. The poisonous fog was dense.

Even a handkerchief cleansed with holy water couldn't fully block the toxins.

Finn had built up resistance to all manner of poisons through her training, but this poison was unlike any of them, so she couldn't fully neutralize it.

Stay here long enough, and it would kill you.

But at the same time, she was certain this was their destination.

The enemy's weak point being at the densest concentration of poison was only natural from a biological standpoint.

Amid the melted sludge of soil and wood, a jet-black sprout poked its head out.

A plant she'd never seen before.

What was even more abnormal was the small hole at the base of the sprout.

Pitch-black, with no visible bottom. The poisonous fog seemed to be spewing from the hole.

She couldn't begin to fathom how it was growing from there.

The world was full of strange things, but this was a sight that didn't seem like it could be real.

Azu didn't hesitate and swung her sword without a second thought.

Her decisiveness was impressive.

There was no doubt in Finn's eyes that she'd released that Apostle's power, going all out.

The moment the blow, powerful enough to shatter even a spirit, struck the sprout, the air shuddered with a booming impact.

Azu's strike hadn't left so much as a scratch.

It was only thanks to the Sealed Sword Grungaus's special effect activating that a small cut had appeared at all.

Unbelievably, this sprout was extraordinarily tough and hard.

Azu moved to swing her sword again without missing a beat, so Finn stopped her.

Azu gave her a look that asked why, but the next swing would most likely exhaust her power completely and knock her unconscious.

Through training and other exercises, Azu had been gradually learning to control her power, but even so, the strain was far too great.

If they tried again and it didn't work, it would be just Elza and Finn.

Elza was an enigmatic priestess who might have a hidden ace up her sleeve, but they might also be out of options.

They had to eliminate this sprout and resolve the situation using whatever methods were available to them right now.

As Finn was mulling it over, Elza instructed both her and Azu to fall back.

What was she planning?

Elza tucked away her handkerchief and offered a prayer.

In moments like these, Elza looked every bit the Holy Mother, with a sacred and solemn air about her.

Light spilled out around Elza, and Finn felt power swelling.

It was like some vast, higher force, and being bathed in its glow brought a sense of comfort.

Elza condensed the light into her right hand and drove it straight into the hole.

The light was pulled in as if swallowed by the jet-black hole, then erupted upward as a massive pillar of light reaching toward the sky.

The hole was sealed by the light and vanished from view.

The shockwave blasted the poisonous fog away.

"Azu-chan, you can cut it now."

"Here I go!"

At Elza's signal, Azu swung her sword once more.

Just as before, the slash couldn't sever the sprout, but the follow-up effect triggered, and the stalk was cut clean through.

In that instant, the oppressive presence they'd been feeling vanished.

At the same time, the Mosquito Monsters in the area dropped to the ground in droves, and the poisonous fog in the air dissipated.

It seemed the extermination had been a success.

"Hahhh…"

Released from the tension and the stifling handkerchief, a breath escaped.

Even breathing deeply, the air was clean.

Fresh air really is a wonderful thing.

She couldn't help but sink to the ground, but the rotting earth had already turned into plain mud at some point.

"You did it, Azu. Elza."

She turned to congratulate the two of them, only to find them both face-down on the ground.

"… What are you doing?"

"I can't put any strength into my body and I can't stand up. Uugh."

"Same here, I'm all tuckered out. Please carry me, would you?"

"You're kidding? I have to carry both of you?"

Finn made an exasperated face, then found the whole thing so absurd that she burst out laughing.

She could laugh because she was alive. It all seemed absurd.

She stood up and dragged the two of them along.

They'd get muddy, but they'd just have to deal with it.

Azu was light, but Elza was a bit heavy.

It had to be because she was shapely and well-built.

"Ah, are you thinking I'm heavy?"

"Not at all."

"Are you suuure?"

"Keep whining and I'll leave you behind."

"Nooo."

Bickering the whole way, they made their way back.

When they reached the position where Alexia and Evalin had been, the two were huddled together looking at something.

"Hey, what happened over there?"

"Welcome back. Sounds like you had quite the ordeal. Take a look at this."

Following Alexia's direction, Finn looked down at her feet and saw a small clump of grass.

A palm-sized mass.

Evalin gently picked the grass ball up.

"This is the forest spirit. It's lost almost all its power. It doesn't even seem to have enough left to become an Elemental Stone."

"… What happens to it now?"

"It will return to nature and be reborn. In a few decades, or perhaps a few centuries."

No one had ever witnessed the moment a spirit perished.

Just as Evalin said, the grass ball that had once been the forest spirit slowly crumbled away and vanished.

"It's all right. There's no corruption left, so it will be reborn properly."

Evalin murmured toward the sky, looking somehow sad.

"So it's over… right?"

"It seems so. Now, will you tell me what happened?"

"Can it wait until we're back at the cottage? I want to let these two rest, and I want to check on that guy too."

"Fine. Let's have this one… Number Three carry those two."

Puppe Number Three emerged from behind Evalin, hoisted Azu and Elza up, and they set off.

The barrier appeared to have dissipated on its own.

Birds fluttered overhead, and a cold wind passed through.

This was just an ordinary forest now.

It had been torn to pieces, but given enough time, it would surely return to the forest it once was.

And the forest spirit would come back, too.