Cherry blossoms, blood, and flames

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Sometimes even the greatest of adventures and challenges begin in the most mundane of ways. It was a pleasant day when the silver wolf, Leila Vergious, rested on wooden slanted roofing for the local storage of wine. Currently finding herself in a small village known for being home to one of the most prestigious vineyards in all of Fiore, she could not quite resist the temptation to just lay down and let the warm Sun blanket her with comfort. Especially when she felt that it has been so long since the weather was this good. Almost not a single cloud covering the crystal blues skies.

And those that were there simply provided amusement for the children and adults alike with wild imaginations, pointing up to the skies and calling out the shapes they would see in the fluffy blankets. With birds singing and people quietly chatting in the distance, it truly felt like there was no trouble in the world at all. Closing her eyes, the girl might have even fully drifted to Dreamland for a few moments before someone called out to her. A youthful voice that she did not recognize, prompting her to quickly get up into a sitting position.

It didn’t take much for her to have a good point of view from her high position. And to her surprise, the person who called out to her appeared to be a postman. She had not experienced one approaching her in such a long time that she even forgot that such a profession exists. Not interested in wasting the youngster’s time, she leaped down onto the paved road without any delay and accepted the letter. One that was to be delivered directly into her hands, no exceptions. Such requests were rather uncommon these days and very expensive. It even made the girl feel a bit bad, as the post office probably had quite the trouble finding where she currently was.

Exchanging farewells with the boy, she headed to the nearest bench where she would seat herself once more and open the envelope to reveal its content. A fairly short hand-written letter. The writing was rather elegant, making the individual characters appear almost like they were more than just something meant to convey a simple message. And strangely, there was even a rather pleasant smell coming off of the paper. One that the girl recognized as a smell of freshly blooming cherry blossoms. But without delaying it any further, she decided to read the letter itself.



For one reason or another, the day quickly became much less pleasant after reading the desperation-filled words imprinted on the lifeless piece of paper. While the message itself certainly showed urgency, the method of delivering it only reinforced the idea that this was no jest. The island of Eternal Bloom… the girl had heard of it on several occasions. As far as she remembered from those times, it was a curious magical island filled with cherry blossoms that would be in bloom all year-round. However, the seasons themselves held little power there, making a life for the inhabitants somewhat difficult.

There was not a single moment of doubt. Why would she ever decline such a plea for help? A sizable reward was always a good motivation, sure… but something resonated with her when she read the message meant only for her. Something she had almost forgotten. In the past, she risked her life again and again, sometimes for little to no gain. However, it did eventually lead to at least some semblance of fame. One that faded quickly due to her small disappearance, but it was still there at some point, perceived by someone. That fact could never be taken away by anyone.

And Leila had to admit, it felt good. To have people who were grateful for her actions… a wonderfully selfish motivation, was it not? But she was sure that many humans had it the same way. And even if there was some selfishness, it still drove her to do acts of kindness and to save others. If people could not forgive her that, then she would just have to forgive herself. She was more than just willing to do so, especially after some of the things that happened recently. The girl had found herself with renewed focus and confidence.

Gripping the letter with a bit more force and lighting creasing its edges while getting up, the silver wolf looked in the direction of the nearest port. Hargeon Town, most likely. A good three or fours hours away on horseback. Given the fact that it probably took some time for the letter to even reach her, there was no time to lose. Borrowing a healthy-looking brown steed from the local stables at a surprisingly reasonable fee, the adventure would begin at that very spot. One that Leila would surely remember for a long time and recall it on many different occasions.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

The Sun started to slowly crawl from beyond the horizon on the following day as Leila walked on the ship’s deck. It seemed that they were pretty close to the island now, its silhouette visible in the distance. And while the girl could have probably slept for a bit longer, she chose to go ahead and lean on the railing instead, taking in the fresh air. The feeling of salt and moisture was so clear that it helped her still slightly sleepy mind properly wake up.

It was actually kinda astounding how the atmosphere of the sea could never grow old for her, regardless of how much time she spent in its presence. It was not even that long since she worked for a certain group of scientists that had her diving deep beneath the water’s surface and here she was, certainly not sick of it at all. Though she was wondering when exactly those weirdos would get back to her, it has been much longer than she expected by now. Or perhaps they finally replaced her with someone cheaper, that was also a possibility.

In the end, all that mattered was that these thoughts helped the girl pass time as the ship slowly closed in on their destination. And just as she suspected, there were not many individuals seeking passage to the island. In fact, she might have been the only one. The rest of the people on the ship were part of the crew. And while that drove the cost up significantly, it was well worth it. The island must have been anti-tourism even before all of these news about mysterious monster attacks began surfacing and making the way outside of the island itself.

The moment they would dock, Leila did not even wait for a plank or anything to be lowered as she easily jumped over the railing and landed on the sturdy wooden pier with as much grace as she could possibly muster. Given the urgency of the letter, she intended to find the person it originated from as quickly as possible before deciding on how to proceed further. Thankfully there was a pretty sizable group of people from the village who must have been tending to the pier and helping the ship dock safely and without any damage being done.

She didn’t even have to directly approach them, as they quickly gathered around her after that little performance she showed. Clearly having a visitor like her was rather rare and exotic for these people. Clearing her throat before speaking, the girl then decided to inquire about the whereabouts of the letter’s originator. “Excuse me, would anyone of you know where I can find miss… Akagame Kagura?” Naturally, the girl did her best to sound as friendly as she possibly could when asking the question. The first impression was often everything with strangers, after all.

However, the faces that were observing her until this point quickly went pale and started turning away as if they did no longer want to see her at all. “Er… excuse me, but-” “I apologize, dear child… if you were hoping to visit miss Akagame, then I am afraid that I have only bad news to relay… as of three days ago, she has gone missing…” An elderly woman moved past the crowd of shaken people and explained the situation. Three days… so the letter must have been sent a good while ago, after all.

Suffice to say, the news did weight the girl’s consciousness down quite a bit. She had no idea what to say… the one who asked her for help had fallen victim to whatever she asked Leila to help with. Frustration and anger mixed together within her chest, nearly bubbling over as she tightly squeezed her fists to the point of her own nails cutting through the thin skin on her palms and causing a bit of bleeding. “I… see… tell me, is there anyone I can speak to that would be able to catch me up on the local events? And somewhere I can stay?”

As the crowd slowly started disbanding, another one of the villagers, a middle-aged fisherman by the looks of it, spoke up and pointed toward the village that could be partially seen in the distance atop a slightly elevated plateau. “You ought to speak with the shrine maiden, miss. She knows the most and can probably offer you some lodgings in the village or the shrine itself.” A shrine maiden, not the village chief? There certainly was one, as he was mentioned in the letter… this was quite curious.

Regardless, Leila would nod and thank the man for the directions. People were going missing around these parts, so the sooner she would get her bearings, the better. Heading into the village, one could not even tell if something was wrong, however. People were going about their business as if nothing unusual was going on, chatting, making trades, paying attention to their work. Though perhaps that in itself was not that unusual. If she got the right info, then this island had a very limited amount of resources. People living here had to work hard to ensure that the village as a whole would survive. The only thing they could claim as their own was fishing and growing whatever they could on the bit of land that proved fertile.

A cruel irony, given the magical properties of this island and the beauty that came with it all. Indeed, many cherry blossoms quickly came into view all over the village and even outside of it. It even seemed that some of the villagers were specifically assigned to clean the streets up by sweeping all of those pink petals to the side and then wheeling them out to be burned. A reminder that even something so pretty could bring about extra work and depending on which side of the events you stood, a good headache as well. It seemed that Leila was experiencing a strange clash between trying to sympathize with these people and acting as a tourist.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

As far as the structure of the village itself went, it was rather simple. Resembling roughly the shape of a letter L when looked at from above, the shrine resided in the last corner to create a bit of a square. It was also elevated above the entirety of the village, the structure firmly built on top of a sizable hill. Surrounding the village was the sea at the side of the port, bamboo forest and mountains in the opposite direction. It was actually a fairly similarly shaped to other islands that surrounded Fiore, with a large mountain sticking in the middle.

There was also a river going through the village, originating from the mountains. Whoever helped to build this place must have been quite skilled, as the shrine was actually built on top of this river without impairing it in any way. Simply flowing through a small stone tunnel beneath the structure, it then formed a small waterfall to get down onto the village’s elevation and going toward the sea. Standing on the small wooden bridge that people used to cross this river actually revealed a picturesque view on the open sea and the ship that was slowly leaving the port.

It seemed that the girl would not be leaving the island anytime soon. Not that she planned to, but it put even more emphasis on just how strongly the reports of monsters impacted this place. Even if she paid to be voyaged here, no one wanted to stay any longer than they had to. The only ships that really went to and from this place were trading ones. But not letting herself get distracted by that too much, she continued on ahead. The current goal was to find the shrine maiden before Leila would grow far too hungry to be able to do anything properly.

Thankfully it was still noon and at least a couple of hours remained till the usual lunchtime. Past the bridge was a bit of a cleared plateau, a place that almost looked like it might have been training grounds of some sort. It reminded the girl how the villagers mentioned the shrine maiden is the one protecting the village. That meant she must have had some powers. But looking it over, there was no one present. Shrugging to herself, the girl continued as the path narrowed and took her through a part of the bamboo forest.

Dirt was slowly replaced by actual stone steps ascending the hill toward the shrine, even red Torii gates present to welcome anyone who was heading up to the sacred location. The trek didn’t take long, few minutes at most. And at the top of it was where she wanted to be. An imposing structure sitting atop a solid stone foundation that rose several meters above the ground and had even more stairs carved into. Moving up these, Leila noticed something. Several fox statues on each side, overlooking anyone who would be going to the shrine. “Are they worshiping Inari here?”

She never asked what sort of shrine or temple this was, after all. Could have been erected in the name of any God imaginable. Though, given the Midi-like structures all around the place, it was probably safe to assume that this place was indeed devoted to the one goddess of foxes, fertility, and agriculture. Inari Ōkami. The moment the girl finally found herself on the official grounds of the shrine, she spotted a figure right in front of her, kneeling in front of a stone altar meant for offerings. Even more fox statues adorned it, though those were quite small.

It appeared that she had conquered the steps just in time, as the figure stood up from her praying posture and looked around. A young girl wearing a long traditional attire, her hair long enough to cover the entirety of her back and of shining black-ish color. For a moment, it felt like her violet eyes pierced straight through Leila. “A visitor? It has been so long since someone outside of the village came to this place. Welcome, traveler.” Turning around fully, she would give a deep bow and them smile gently. So she was the shrine maiden.

Getting a bit closer to her so that they would not be speaking with one another across the shrine’s front yard, Leila looked around some before speaking up. “Um, hello… I was actually invited to this place, kinda. So that I can help with the local problems. The villagers directed me to you.” For a very brief moment after hearing that, the maiden’s eyes seemed to open wide as if in shock, but she composed herself far faster than Leila ever could. Nodding, she would elegantly point her hand toward the left with of the shrine.

“Let’s talk inside, shall we?” Following her, the two of them would end up sitting in a room made in a traditional Midi style. This was the time to talk about anything that could help the silver wolf solve the mystery of this island and save it from the trouble that seized it. “Now then… first of all, I was contacted by a person named Akagame Kagura but apparently, she had disappeared. This is why the villagers pointed me to you, but… I thought there was a village chief in this place somewhere?”

It was still quite strange that they would direct her to speak with the Shrine Maiden rather than the person who was in the charge of the village. The black-haired girl nodded. “Indeed, there is a village chief. However… I believe you were send to me due to the chief being a very elderly individual. To be perfectly honest, he is the chief in name only. Everything important is handled by his son. And given how busy he is all the time, I am the only other person who is intimately acquainted with the evil that is lurking about…” The way she said it certainly sounded like words of someone who had at least tried to combat the monsters a few times.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

But what she said made sense, at least on some level. The chief was an elder and thus incapable of shouldering this entire situation while his son who was effectively in the charge of the village was far too busy to entertain Leila’s requests, even if she was here to ease their situation. It made her sigh lightly, but accepted the facts for what they were. “I understand. Now then, if I’m to help this place, I need to know exactly what is going on. Could you relay to me all the information you have about the monsters and the disappearances?”

Once again the maiden would nod and start speaking calmly. “I’m afraid that there isn’t much. Monsters simply started appearing out of the blue one day. No one, me included, was able to find any place of origin. It’s as if they simply appeared out of thin air. Not to mention that these are no ordinary monsters. They are warped, almost like wildlife corrupted by some sort of darkness. As for the disappearing, I can only assume that villagers venture out and are ambushed by these monsters, killed and their bodies devoured.” Her words most certainly did not paint a pretty picture.

Thinking for a moment, Leila started sorting the information in her head. “These monsters, could you tell me where they attack the most?” Shaking her head, the Maiden did not hesitate in her reply. “The attacks appear to be completely random. So far the monsters never ventured into the village itself, but anywhere outside of it is fair game to them.” This information was interesting. If the attacks really were random, then these monsters were not organized in any way. But then again, maybe the villagers and this girl simply failed to see any sort of pattern.

“Very well… I will have to encounter one of these monsters myself to gather the required information. For now, could you show me around? It would be beneficial to be aware of any notable landmarks.” The request came across as a bit of a surprise to the Maiden, or that was how her expression looked like, at least. Perhaps she was thinking that Leila would give up after hearing about these monsters? Well, if they tried to hire someone in the past who failed and fled, then such suspicion would make sense.

“Understood. Please, wait outside while I prepare.” With no reason to comply, the silver wolf found herself outside of the shrine once more. She had to admit, the view from here was astonishing. And now that she got to look around here some more, she even noticed that there was another structure of sorts behind the shrine, possibly an area for more private rituals. A lot of sacred buildings had such an area, usually to invoke an avatar of whatever deity that was worshiped there. And the air… there was a hint of some rather unpleasant smell.

Though it would not surprise the girl if that was some kind of local incense. She rarely found those pleasant. Hearing the noise of the sliding door opening behind her, she would turn to spot the Shrine Maiden in a new attire. One much more suited for moving around, consisting of a skirt and slightly open traditional shirt. She even had a katana resting by her side. Clearly ready for combat if they were forced into one, Leila could not fault her for that if these monster attacks were really happening. And she had no reason to believe that the were not.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” “Oh no, it’s fine… um…” “Tsubaki Ayame. Just Ayame is fine, I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. My thoughts are all over the place with what’s been happening recently.” “No, no, I understand. I’m Leila Vergious, a mage from Silver Wolf.” Giving her another bow before joining her side, Ayame pointed in the exact opposite direction Leila came from. “Now then, I suppose it would be best if we went in this direction and made a circle around.” Having no reason to disagree, the silver wolf just followed.

It seemed that there was another dirt path to the shrine’s side, going through the hills. Safe for being a pleasant walk for anyone who did not have problem with their knees, there was little of interest there. Well, safe for one specific part of the location. “Is this… a graveyard?” Leila would exclaim and stop as she noticed a number of hand-made wooden crosses sticking from the ground next to the wide road. Ayame stopped next to her and nodded. “To a degree, yes.”

Suddenly walking past the mage, she would approach one of the many crosses and kneel in front of it. The one she chose had fresh flowers lying in front of it, making it clear that at least someone was visiting here regularly, or at least was here somewhat recently. “An official graveyard was never truly established here. Even I don’t know why… whenever I tried to bring it up with the village chief, he would do his best to avoid the question. I can only assume it is a superstition of some sort. Though it does pain me that the people who die here do not receive proper resting place…”

Getting back up, she would not hesitate and start walking down the path again. Leila followed, giving that specific cross one last glance. Tsubaki Reimi. That was the name written on it. She could easily connect the dots and figure out the reason why Ayame did not want to stop here for too long. For the rest of this area, there really was not much. Just an occasional cairn and stone markers from the time before either of the girls was even born. The significance of those stones was long since lost. And beyond them lied the other side of the village again. Leila had now gone the full circle that was the area claimed by people on this island. Though, naturally, Ayame still had much to show her.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

From the chief’s mansion where he and his entire family lived to the local storage of materials and food, and even a local restaurant. A place where Leila would find much joy not too long from now, she was assured. Overall, it seemed that the village itself was doing fairly well despite everything that has been happening, safe for the grieving families that had people disappear from. Beyond that, Ayame showed Leila the training grounds she noticed before. It was indeed a place where the shrine maiden practiced her handling of a weapon in order to defeat the vile creatures plaguing them.

She even offered the silver wolf a free usage of this area if she ever found the need. Though the girl didn’t expect she would be wasting her time here training instead of attempting to fix the problem, she graciously accepted the offer. From there, it was back up the stone steps and through the Tori gates once more, except there was one vital difference. Right before the shrine came into view, the priestess stopped and looked to the side. “I suspect you did not go off the beaten path when coming through here before?” Leila nodded.

Frankly, she did not even notice there was a side path before. It was quite concealed by bushes, making it clear that people were not exactly using it frequently. “I don’t think it will be of any importance, but it leads to a certain cave. It’s the last place I can think of that would be worth knowing about, so please, follow me.” Making their way through the shrubbery, they would soon find themselves on a fairly thin path following the hill’s edge. There was not even any railing on the side where there was just a sheer drop off.

Clearly not something meant for tourists, it made Leila wonder what they would find at the end of this path. Just like Ayame mentioned, it was a cave. Cold air washed over them both as soon as they entered the damp environment, almost freezing in comparison to the warmth outside. “So what exactly is this place?” Outside of being a natural wonder, she was not seeing anything worthwhile yet. “You will see soon.” That was all the shrine maiden said as she continued down the small decline. And sure enough, there was something rather interested they ran into at the end of the cave.

“This is..!” “A seal.” What stood in front of them was a giant stone, or perhaps even a crystal, of purple color. Shining and illuminating the dark area, very clear symbols pulsated on top of it, along with numerous chains and hallowed rope that were all holding it mid-air. And even around this stone itself, there was a powerful ward that did not permit anyone to get closer. Somehow it felt like Ayame undersold this by a lot, something like this was huge and extremely important.

“What in the world is sealed here..?” “I don’t know, actually. No one does. This seal has been here for as long as the village itself exists, several thousands of years. But a legend says that a local god sealed an evil demon inside of the stone before giving humans the right to create a settlement on these grounds.” A demon… that only reinforced the importance of this place. It was possible that this sealed being was behind the attacks and disappearances. But how would it be able to do something like that when the seal was clearly still active?

While Leila pondered, Ayame turned around and looked toward the exit before her eyes fixated on the silver-haired girl again. “I believe I’ve shown you everything of note now. So if you would excuse me, I will need to return to my duties. If you are interested in the seal, I will let you examine it in private.” This surprised the girl somewhat. “Are you not worried about leaving a stranger in a place with something like this?” Normally such seals were tightly guarded and no one could get near them for obvious reasons.

But Ayame merely shook her head. “As I’ve said, this seal has been here for thousands of years. Many villagers, adults and children alike tried to tamper with it over the course of that time and no one was ever even able to get past the outer ward. I don’t believe you would be able to remove the seal even if you wanted to. Now, if you excuse me…” Finishing her little explanation, the shrine maiden was on her way and Leila was left in the creepy cave alone, with the sealing stone right there.

And for some reason, Ayame’s words did not calm her down at all. Yes, the seal certainly looked powerful… but having an ancient evil being sealed right next to the village, that just spelled problems. But at the same time, it was a convenient excuse. If some other sentient force was behind all the attacks, then this could have been their best way to throw anyone who would come to investigate off of the right path. For now, she had to keep this place in mind and come to proper conclusions later.

It was not easy to think with her stomach empty. So with the tour of the area officially finished, she figured it would be the best course of action to return to the village and have that promised meal. It was already well past the time for lunch and something home-cooked sounded quite wonderful at the moment. And it was not like this seal was going anywhere if it remained in place for the last few thousands of years. But whatever could be sealed inside, that was the real question.

And depending on the answer, Leila could have quite the problem on her hands with this entire ordeal she was supposed to fix. Not only that, the chief and his family were a bit suspicious as well. The fact that the son was one in control of everything and would not even meet up with the one who came here to fix their problems immediately raised some red flags. But for now, she just made her way to the desired destination.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Once the lunch was out of the way and everything was properly paid for, dusk quickly started approaching and people began retreating into their homes. Leila, who obviously did not own a home in these parts, was welcome to spend the night at the shrine itself as Ayame mentioned during their little tour. And seeing how she would probably not be able to get much done in the village itself at this hour of the day, she figured that she might as well retreat there and perhaps explore the shrine itself. The building was even larger than the mansion of the chief and his family, after all.

The walk there was just as peaceful as it was the other two times before, albeit more atmospheric with numerous lanterns lit along the way to illuminate the path, especially when crossing the bamboo forest. But it also made the girl wonder just how frequent these attacks and kidnappings were. As quite honestly, the base case scenario would be if that were to happen to her. Then she could easily engage the monsters or other potential culprits herself, something that would be much more efficient than snooping around or waiting for someone else to get attack and then intervene, hopefully in time.

But alas, she had no such luxury. Finding herself back in front of the shrine, she was exposed to just how imposing the structure itself was. Though this was generally the case with most religious sites, there was also a strange vibe in the air here. But shrugging that off, for the time being, she would enter the same way as she did before with Ayame. Where the shrine maiden was at this point was also completely unknown, but Leila had no interest in getting in the other girl’s way. It seemed that her job was a busy one as well.

Heading straight to her bedroom, there appeared to be nothing strange. A bed that was pretty much on the same level as the ground itself was not something the girl was used to, but it would do just fine. Much better than actually sleeping on the ground itself, which Leila was honestly all too familiar with from whenever she would travel great distances. Aside from that, she had a simple table set up with a vase and a beautiful lily inside of it atop, as well as a wardrobe in the corner that had some change of clothes.

Though everything inside, while rather alluring in its oriental style, was a tad bit bigger than the clothes Leila normally wore. So for now, she would keep her standard outfit. And she had no problem sleeping in her birthday suit, as even the nights could get quite hot during this time of the year, anyway. But it was a bit too soon to sleep the day away. As she decided before, it was now the time to explore the entirety of the shrine. Going from room to room, her ocean blue eyes would scan everything, creating a mental map of the structure.

But to her dismay, she found nothing suspicious or out of place. It actually looked like a typical home with the addition of a few extra rooms that served for the more religious purposes, or to store various things that could be found all around the shrine. There was especially this one small statue of a fox that Leila quite liked, which only made her a bit disappointed as she obviously could not just take it for herself. But finally, she reached a room that also offered a door leading to the back of the shrine.

The space behind it was not too big, as a forest hugged the structure fairly tightly from most sides. But she was still curious what little was there, and she would certainly leave no stone unturned. Though leaving the building made her realize just how much time she managed to fly through while exploring the building. The Sun was now completely gone from the skies, making the exterior rather dark and illuminated only by a single lantern that lied by the door. Was Ayame here recently, perhaps. Taking hold of it, she stepped outside only to be washed over by a cooler breeze.

Looking around, it appeared that there really was not much. Essentially just a square area that was paved with stone. Though it also proved to be a good place to watch fireflies fly around like small yellow dots, carelessly living their own lives. Yet, there was something… Leila felt a bit strange as she stood out there. But she could not point out what exactly it was. Or perhaps it was just her imagining things. Shaking her head, she would sigh and return the lantern where she picked it up before going back inside. It was just the first day, so obviously she didn’t expect to find much.

In fact, she might have gotten more information than she would normally be able to get this fast. Returning to her bedroom, she sat at the table and started sorting it all out. The sealing stone was still her biggest concern. Unfortunately, she was far from being a specialist in the area of sealing magic. Especially if this one was so ancient. She would have to make sure to monitor it on a daily basis if she ever hoped to figure out whether there was something going on with it or not.

But for now  she decided that it would be for the best if she got some rest. Sleeping on the ship was not the most comfortable, so she had to catch up on that as much as she could tonight. Leaving her clothes behind, she would slip under the warm blanket and close her eyes. And naturally, she kept her magic at least somewhat active so that no one would be able to sneak up on her here. Though such an action would also probably make her job all the more easier than it was looking right about now.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

The morning of the following day came peacefully, nothing interrupting the girl’s sleep. She got up pretty early while still feeling rested, too. There really must have been some truth to places like these usually being the richest ones with how comfy the bed was. But Leila never spent too much time thinking about that. She was just grateful that she was able to spend the night somewhere comfortable. Getting dressed right away, she walked out of her room to be greeted by a small note on a table along with what appeared to be a giant rice ball.

I’ve prepared this as your breakfast, please enjoy.

That was what was written on the paper, most likely by Ayame. It was more hospitality than the girl expected, but she wasn’t one to look at the teeth of a gifted horse. And what more, her first bite into the rice ball also revealed that it was filled with a sweet paste of some sort. It had been quite a while since she last had something like that and she certainly enjoyed consuming every last bit of it. And the size even guaranteed that she was quite full by the time her plate was empty.

Letting out a sigh of satisfaction, she made her way outside and started stretching. First of all, she had to get some clues. And while she did not have much to work with, lady luck smiled upon the silver wolf on this fine day, as her body suddenly jerked as she heard a loud scream. One that clearly belonged to a man, it came from the bamboo forest. Not wasting a single second of her time, the girl jumped down the stone stairs of the shrine and started sprinting down the Tori gate path. If her guess was correct, then someone was getting attacked. She just hoped she would get there in time.

And sure enough, her suspicion proved correct when she arrived at the scene. A young man was crawling on the ground, the right side of his body covered in blood as it appeared he suffered several claw-like wounds. And next to him stood Ayame, the shrine maiden. Her sword was drawn as her back faced toward the victim and Leila herself. Because in front of her stood a giant beast reminiscent of a bear. Only it towered well over 3 full meters in height, its fur black as the darkest of nights.

While those alone were signs of an unusual beast, there was even more. Its eyes were bright red, shining like two small flames. Veins of pulsating magic crept from them and all over the creatures face as well. And black tendrils were emerging from its back, this was no ordinary beast. Hell, it was no kind of wildlife that Leila ever encountered and knew about. No one had to tell anyone that this thing was clearly dangerous. Thankfully Ayame was here as well, protecting the man. Her blade moved with true expertise, cutting through the tendrils as they swung like merciless whips.

That said, the sheer amount of them proved to be far too much even for the shrine maiden, one of them managing to knock the weapon out of her hand and the rest coiled around her stomach, squeezing tightly. The grunt of pain she let out made Leila speed up all the more, her magic at the ready. And once close enough, she would employ her own overwhelming attack, letting a number of roots shoot out from the ground and sever the dark tendrils. The moment they fell to the ground, they would melt into some sort of strange black goo, too.

It felt as if there was absolutely nothing natural about this monster. But at the very least, it didn’t showcase enough power to be above Leila herself. Stepping in front of the two injured people, she would shield them briefly. “Ayame, help him get out of here and seek medical help. I’ll take care of the beast!” “Understood. Please, be careful!” Her answer was immediate as she carefully picked the man up and carried him over her shoulder. For someone so frail-looking, she certainly had some serious physical strength.

Unleashing another attack, she ensured that the beast’s attention remained on her while those two slipped past the bear and went straight to the village where a medic could help them. Now Leila just had to dispatch of this thing. Sprinting forward, the bear would get up on its hind legs and try to slam down onto the girl. Instead, it only crushed the ground that it landed on with its front paws, as the silver wolf dissolved into pure air, re-appearing right next to the beast and transforming a good portion of her right hand with Eden’s corruption.

Coiling several roots around it in a cone, she made it look almost like an unmoving drill that she slammed into the beast’s side with all of her might. It was enough to make it growl in pain and send it flying a good few meters. At the same time, she started quickly growing a particular plant right next to her, one that formed a large blue fruit that the girl quickly grabbed and tossed right at the bear. Before it could get up, it made contact. Not that it would be able to dodge with how big its body was.

With the impact being powerful enough on the fruit, it suddenly exploded rather violently and left behind a blue mist of polled that faded away soon enough. What was left was the beast with a very clear hole through its body. It had expired, that much was clear. But as soon as the girl tried to approach it, that entire body would start dissolving in the same way those tendrils from before did. In just few seconds, there was nothing left but black goo and bleached out bones of what must have once been a completely regular animal bear.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Suffice to say, it was a rather disturbing look. But despite that, she still had to dig through all of the stuff. At the very least it was not actual animal guts that were all over the place. But the black liquid, bubbling and steaming… what in the world was it? She could clearly feel magical energy from it, but such material was not something she had ever seen before. And while there was some sort of danger, she also had to move her hand toward it and try to touch it. She was prepared to pull away, attack, or even heal herself if something bad were to happen.

It felt rather odd, very thick and trying to stick to her body. It was also rather hot but was not harming her. Not much else she was able to sense from it, however. If she wanted to learn anything more from it, she had to send the goo to Silver Wolf for lab analysis. Unfortunately, that would probably just take far too long. Retracting her hand again and trying to get every last bit of the black sticky liquid from it, she suddenly noticed something dimly shining from the black mass, something of crimson red color.

Cringing as she had to submerge her hand in it again as soon as she dipped out of it. But it was necessary, so she just gritted her teeth and quickly grabbed whatever was emitting that light and pulled it out. What now laid in her hand was a small crimson crystal. And the moment it left the black mass, it started completely evaporating, all of the magical energy completely disappearing from it. So that was the source of it, even something that might have created the beast, to begin with. But… there was something little different about it.

Squeezing the crystal, Leila could sense her hand going a bit numb. Her own magical energy was in a clash with the magic of the crystal. So that was why the bones were normal… the beast once was just a regular bear. But someone introduced it to this little thing and the power of the crystal corrupted it, creating the black goo and altering the bear’s body with it, driving it bloodthirsty. And so it attacked the villager, his screams attracting both Ayame and Leila. It sounded right in her head, except it introduced a bit of a horrifying problem into the equation.

Someone had to create this gem and then deliberately use it on the bear. A sentient force that knew what it was doing. Yes, it appeared that this was more than just some random crazed animals attack villagers and making them disappear when they strayed too far from the village for the shrine maiden to protect them. But before she could even begin to speculate as to who or what this unknown perpetrator was, she had to check on said shrine maiden and the man who was attacked. Putting the crystal into her pocket, she just hoped she would be able to hold on to it for long enough.

Heading toward the village, it didn’t take her long at all to get there, quickly finding the local doctor’s clinic. Well, it was more of a regular house where troubled people visited him, but it still counted. Inside was both Ayame and the man, already wrapped up in bandages and lying in the patient bed. “You’ve come! I was starting to fear that you might have… I was almost about to head out to help you!” Her expression and words both sounded genuine, so the silver wolf accepted them.

“It’s fine, I was able to overpower it without too much trouble.” It also appeared that the shrine maiden was in slight distress herself. “I’m sorry… I was able to defeat all of the monsters that got too close without trouble. But this one was more powerful and I underestimated it.” Leila actually knew the feeling. Thinking that you’re weak and undeserving. She felt it many times during her own adventure, so she could tell from just one look at Ayame. But it was fine, the black-haired girl was still doing a good job.

“You still saved that man’s life, right? That’s all that matters now. I also think that I found a new lead with that beast, so I will do my best to end all of these attacks as soon as possible.” They could only accept that as the resolution for now. And without anything else to deal with in the village, Leila swiftly returned to the shrine itself, back to her room. Her body was not feeling great as long as she was holding onto the crystal. So she required a contained area where she could deal with it without any interruptions.

Putting it on the table, she started analyzing it to the best of her abilities. It was strange, the magical energy it was emanating didn’t really feel that strong. But even someone like Leila herself was quite affected by it whenever she would make physical contact with the crystal. And she had never seen anything like it before. If even such a small shard could corrupt beasts and affect her to this level… the idea of a bigger piece possibly existing somewhere sent shivers down her spine. It was a dangerous weapon, no buts about that assessment.

But once again, there was very little she could do without proper equipment. Her guild hall was a place where she could discover more, but there was no way for her to get the stone there efficiently right now. And she could not keep it in her company any longer. At the same time, if she left it alone and someone else tried to pick it up, it would be a catastrophe that would surely result in the loss of a life. There was only one option left, one that the girl did not like considering the stone was a valuable clue. But at the same time, the safety of the village came first. She had to destroy it.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

And it wasn’t like this was a completely unique specimen, either. If this crystal was what could drove the local fauna into madness and adjust their physical bodies, then she would surely find more of this strange stone as her investigation went along. Especially if she were to encounter more of the monsters. Not to mention that whoever was introducing these to the animals must have an extensive supply of them as well. Nodding to that notion, she would take the crystal outside and stand in the middle of the shrine grounds. The holy energy of this place should help her with such a vile thing.

Still, it proved surprisingly problematic. The stone was hard and the magic inside of it was intense. Far stronger than even the high-end power lacrimas people could get in the cities of Fiore. This once again beckoned the question of what exactly these crimson red stones were. But the question still went unanswered, so Leila would simply opt to increase the amount of magical energy that she was ejecting out of her body and essentially crushed the crystal between her hands without actually physically pressing against it. She didn’t want to risk a shard embedding itself in her skin, after all.

If this thing could transform bears into the thing she had to fight, then she didn’t even want to think what it would do to her beautiful body! Once crushed, the red color would surprisingly quickly start fading away, leaving behind what appeared to truly be nothing more than an ordinary black stone, one that quickly fell apart even further and eventually left nothing more behind than a big of dust that scattered into the wind from the girl’s hands. It seemed that the magical energy inside could remain there only as long as the stone was intact enough.

Leila took a mental note of that before letting out a sigh. While she discovered quite a bit, it still felt like she was far, far from the truth. Who was the one creating and using these red crystals and for what reason? That was the main question she had to answer right now. One of the theories swirling in her head was that maybe a group of some more advanced bandits hid on the island to avoid the prying eyes of the magic council and these were their experiments on creating a magical weapon.

It wouldn’t be the first time such a scenario played out. Thankfully such dangerous organizations were very few and far between, as they required both the talent and resources for such experiments. Which meant that if she was correct, she was dealing with some rather dangerous folk. Thankfully, she was not someone others would want to mess with herself. If not for her own powers, then for her spirits that were truly capable of the most amazing of feats imaginable. They were where the girl’s true power rested. She even considered summoning one or two of them to maybe help her with this investigation.

But in the end, she decided against such an idea. While the spirits of Eden were willing to serve and help Leila, they had their own lives as well. She didn’t want to disturb them unless absolutely necessary. After all, they would visit her themselves if they had the free time and desire to do so. Forcing them to this place just didn’t feel quite right at the time. And the girl was quite confident in herself, sure that she would be able to uncover this mystery without any additional help! That said, she was currently still somewhat stuck.

Scratching the back of her head, she had a little option outside of heading out of the shrine. It seemed to be roughly lunchtime anyway, so she might as well have headed to the village’s restaurant in hopes of getting some lovely lunch. Once she did, the girl merely started wandering about the area, hoping that the clean air would help her figure something out. Unlike the mainland, there was not a single hint of pollution of any kind here. The island was a beautiful place that almost seemed stuck in its old ways, ensuring that the snares of technology did not reach it.

And at some point, the girl found herself once again standing in front of the wooden crosses. The local cemetery, of sorts. Apparently not all deceased villagers were actually buried here, as many chose for their remains to be burnt, allow them to return to Earth all the faster. Thoughts that were so disconnected from Leila’s own that they almost appeared strange. But she could not help but approach the one that bore the same family name as the current shrine maiden. Tsubaki Reimi. The grave actually seemed somewhat fresh in comparison to the other ones.

This made the silver wolf speculate as to who might have been lying there. Clearly, it was being taken care of, so the obvious conclusion was a member of the shrine maiden’s family. A mother, perhaps? Well, the guess didn’t even have to be made, as a voice from behind the girl called out. “Good day, young lady! Whatever drove such a young soul to this dreary place?” Looking around, it appeared to be quite an old lady from the village. And she had a basket full of sticks on her back, clearly taking them home to burn.

“Greetings. I’m investigating the attacks and disappearances, but just kinda wound up here by chance. Actually, would you be able to tell me something about this grave?” Stepping aside, she would point at the wooden cross and wait. It seemed that the granny didn’t have the best sight around, as she had to get quite close to read the name and then sigh. Leila was actually surprised that someone like that was able to carry such a full basket around their back this high above the actual village, but before offering her help with it, she listened for whatever the old lady had to say about the grave.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

“Yes, yes… this grave belongs to little Reimi.” So she knew who it was. And ‘little’… Leila got the feeling there was an important story buried here. “Who was she?” The old woman scratched her chin for a bit before she actually gave an answer. “She was Ayame’s, that is our current shrine maiden’s, little sister. She died in an accident when she was only 10, the poor thing.” So she was a little sister. And at such a young age, too. The girl could not even rightly imagine how such a loss must have felt, partially because she never really had someone who felt like a sibling to her.

It made sense why Ayame wanted to depart from this location as soon as possible when she was showing Leila around. “What kind of accident?” There was another long pause, even longer than the one before, in fact. “An attack. A wild saber tore her apart. It was not pretty, not at all.” Now here was quite the surprise. A wild animal attacked her? Not exactly common even on the mainland, but here? “I thought the village and the shrine always had at least some form of protection. Are attacks of regular wild animals like that common?”

The granny suddenly started turning and walking away from the grave at her elderly pace. “That’s… maybe, I don’t quite recall. My memory is not what it used to be, deary. I don’t remember much these days! Now, I have to quickly deliver these sticks-” “Allow me to help.” Quickly getting in front of her, Leila almost forced the old lady to get help from her. After all, there was more she wanted to ask now. To put it simply, something a bit fishy was going on. Attacks where people could lose their lives, surely that was something even an old woman like her would remember.

So as the two walked down the hill toward the village entrance, Leila would continue asking. “So I was wondering… how are the local protectors chosen? It’s always the shrine maiden or a priest, yes?” Taking a handkerchief out of her pocket, the granny wiped the sweat off of her forehead before answering. “A shrine maiden is always chosen by the previous one. This was often the offspring of those who held the position, but could be someone entirely different if they did not have any children, yes…”

So whoever was in that role before Ayame chose the girl? “Who was the previous caretaker of the shrine then? Ayame’s mother?” “N..no… it was the current village chief. He was a priest before but had to take care of the village when his father died of an illness. And since he had no children then, he chose Ayame. Because she was a good and strong girl who could surely fulfill that duty. And he is being proven right to this day!”

The village chief was also in that role… now, this was something the girl could work with, surely. She committed it to her memory as they finally arrived at the gran’s home. Helping her with the wood earned Leila thanks, but it was clear the woman was glad the young lady would go away now. Clearly, she asked too many questions and tried to dig a bit too deep. But that was the point. Something was happening in this place and she had to figure out what it was. And, well… she had this rather unsettling feeling for a while, but it only grew stronger after the conversation.

Why did she feel that the old lady was not entirely honest with her when it came down to the subject of Tsubaki Reimi and her premature death? She didn’t want to prod Ayame about it, that was for certain. The young maiden was surely followed by that misfortune to this day, losing a younger sibling at an age that low, but old enough to understand it and carry it in her memory as if it had happened just yesterday. Leila felt sorry for her, but it felt connected to this whole plot somehow.

Or perhaps that was just her scheming brain at work. Regardless, she chose to return to the shrine the same way. Though, something rather strange happened when she was walking by the crosses again. As if there was something in the corner of her vision, Leila’s gaze was guided to the side. Once again resting at that oh so familiar cross. She had to shake her head for a bit and even slap herself, as she could have sworn that she saw a figure of a young girl in the corner of her vision. But as soon as her eyes fixated on that grave, she was nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps she was getting a bit tired from the fight in the morning. Along with that, the story she was just told was probably also taking its toll on her. After all, the village was in a situation that ensured despair was aplenty. She could feel it in the air, the unease of the villagers who knew that they could be the next one in line to disappear or be attacked by a monster that could kill them before the shrine maiden or Leila would show up to help them, to save them from the evil.

And unfortunately for them, it felt like Leila was nowhere finishing this whole ordeal. She was getting closer step by step, but this road was far too long for such progress to be noticeable. And there was still that sealing stone in the cave… mysterious stones turning animals into monsters, a death of a young girl with the reason potentially fabricated and lied about, and an ancient evil sealed beneath the shrine in a cave… they were all link somehow. And it dreaded the girl to think of what darkness might have actually been spreading through this land at this very moment. And what she would eventually have to face if she hoped to ever free this place, truly.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Finally finding herself in front of the shrine, the girl’s body would shamble up the stairs, her tired step leaving much to be desired. The path was illuminated by the shining stars popping into view up above as the skies quickly grew dark, night captivating the world and holding it hostage once more. Somehow, today suddenly felt a whole lot more tiring then it had any right to be. Having to hide a prevalent yawn with her hand, Leila pushed the sliding door the side and nearly fell in, her only destination being her own room. And once she reached it, her mind went nearly blank as a piece of freshly made paper.

Not even bothering herself with undressing, she simply fell onto the comfy futon and closed her eyes, the world around her spinning uncontrollably. The stars forming patterns high up above, magical sheep running about and helping her fall asleep. And a young girl, transparent in her visage, standing by her side and kneeling down. Her ethereal hand rested gently on the silver-haired maiden’s head, brushing her hair briefly. She could not feel so, for she had long since departed into the land of dreams. After all, it was the ghost that made her feel so sleepy.

There was something she wanted to show to the savior of this village, after all. And this was the best way she could do so. As a single tear slid down her pale cheek, she would look up, as if the roof of the small room did not even exist, and started praying. “Oh, the powerful king of Dreamland… please, hear my prayer. Guide this star through the dark, to the place of my dreams. To the village… years ago. She must see to understand, the pain that grips this place.”

It had been a while now since Leila liberated the Dreamland. A mystical place, away from Earthland itself. And a place where all beings went to in their sleep, to dream. The Nightmare that swallowed this place whole was a powerful one. But the girl managed to break the curse at the end. And the corrupted king had recovered since once more ruling over the land of dreams as he should have. He owed the girl all. And so, he did heed the ghost’s prayer. And he would let the young girl dream exactly what had happened at the shrine oh so long ago.

As if suddenly woken from her slumber, Leila’s body would shake violently before her eyes shot wide open, her brain trying to get her to get up into a sitting position. A reaction that she sometimes had when especially bad nightmares consumed her. Only now, she had found herself somewhere completely else. No longer in the room where she fell asleep, the girl became very confused quickly. Getting up on her own two feet, she started looking around, a defensive position assumed and expecting any sort of danger to suddenly show itself and try to take her down.

But nothing of the sort happened. What she saw around her was the scenery that slowly became more and more familiar, recognized as the village on the island of Eternal Bloom. Did she somehow leave the shrine and ended up here in her sleep? No, that was definitely not the case. It was in the middle of a day and things… they looked strange, to say the least. People were actually walking around, but not one of them was paying any attention to her. And the buildings, clutter on the streets, it was all different from what she remembered the village looked like.

Approaching one of the villagers, she would even try to call out to them. But she quickly realized that no voice would come out of her throat, not a single note. Her hands could not touch anything and would merely go through all, only her legs were firmly planted on the ground and able to carry her around. She was still dreaming. And this was no ordinary dream, either. She was aware of this now, but still unable to manipulate the dream herself. It was not the usual lucid dreaming then, either.

And that had lead Leila to the only possible conclusion in this situation. Someone or something was forcefully showing her this dream. The ability that she obtained after freeing Dreamland allowed her to forcibly wake up from this place if things were to go South, so for the time being, she decided to stay and watch. Whatever was about to happen, it could potentially aid her in the investigation and lead her closer to the truth of this island, the village and everything that was going on. And she did not even have to wait for all that long before the events started unfolding right in front of her.

As if watching a movie reel that someone had sped up out of nowhere, the life in the village would start moving at an incredibly fast speed. And while everything seemed to be just fine at the start, it all started degrading soon enough. People started getting sick, no cure for their illnesses known. The crops would rot or wither away, making the villagers go hungry, some even dying due to undernourishment. And the normally pure water coming from the mountains, contaminated by an unknown force. It was as if some evil force had grasped the village in its claws.

Eventually, people started outright disappearing and animals driven mad would attack the village itself, afraid of nothing. If no one were to do anything about it, all humans on this island would surely be wiped out. And so, the village chief stepped in. As a man of deep faith, he constructed a shrine atop the nearby hill, dedicating it to a local deity that was said to reside in the mountains. It seemed to work, lessening the effects of whatever was at play here. But not permanently and not enough. Something more had to be done in order for the people here to survive.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Everything tore apart and stopped in a single instant, as if the movie she was watching had been suddenly cut off. Finding herself in a temporary void of black, different scenery started coming into view slowly. An area that resembled what she had seen behind the shrine while exploring, but a bit different. Further behind it, where she had only seen trees. Now she had found herself on a stone platform with an altar in the middle of it. A large one, able to fit several people in a lying position if the need were to arise. And up above, the blackened skies.

A very clear full moon was all that Leila could spot up there. No stars, only eternal darkness. But looking back at the ground, she had now noticed entire crowds of people standing some distance away from the altar. They all wore long dark robes, hoods covering their heads and masks hiding away their identity completely. Trying to take a step forward, Leila suddenly realized that there was nothing to actually move. She had no actual body, only her vision suspended in the air and gazing at the scene in front of her. A light drizzle was wetting the ground as someone behind her started walking forward.

Presumably, a man, judging by the frame of their figure, dressed in a much fancier version of the dark robe. And next to him, a young and beautiful girl. Her hair was raven black and short, yet looked like it would be silky smooth to the touch. Her body pale, only covered by a short kimono that was anything but modest. But she was clearly not on the same side as the masked people. Her mouth was sealed by a piece of white fabric, her teeth forcibly biting into it. Her hands bound behind her back, her legs shackled.

And above all, her expression. That terrified look that said it all. A very bad feeling started swelling up inside of Leila as she realized what was about to happen. The lengths that these villagers were driven to in order to stop whatever cursed power befell the village and its people. Tossing her onto the stone altar as if she was some object to be thrown away, they started chanting away. And the adorned man would produce a sharp blade from beneath the dark robes, its edge daunting and shining as the moonlight reflected off of it.

His words were muddled to the girl, but she assumed that they were of some twisted prayer, calling to the god of the mountain to bless them for this sacrifice. And finally, he would raise the blade above his head… and swing down. There was not even a single shriek, as the girl’s lips were tightly sealed. Her blood splattered all over the stones, taint this place forevermore. And in that very instant, a cool breeze would blow over the area. The next day, all of the crops were healthy and doing far better than ever before.

The water from the river was crystal clear and those who drank it found themselves spry and healing much better. All illnesses seemed to disappear and people would no longer vanish into the night. At least not as a result of the curse. But a young girl would still disappear from time to time, as this newly formed cult continued to sacrifice the maidens they deemed worthy to the god, ensuring that this age of unimaginable prosperity continued on and on. This seemed to be when the island actually became popular as a tourist destination and a place to trade with for the wealthy businessmen.

All of the scenery would fall apart once more as Leila looked around, a new set was constructed right away. It was clear now that she was being shown the history of the village and the shrine. A dark history that everyone kept secret, naturally. And if all of this was true, then… well, it was more than just worrisome. Once again, the girl found herself by the sacrificial altar. And once more, it was surrounded by people in dark robes. Only this time, not all of them actually wore their ornate ritualistic masks.

And those that did bore the mark of a fox. The symbolism that the silver wolf noticed all over the shrine on several occasions. At the altar stood an older man, the leader of the cult. This time, he wasn’t wearing a mask either. Or even any ornate robe, for that matter. It was the village chief… the current one. Only a good few years in the past, not the old man that he was in the present day. In his hand rested a sword, much like in the previous vision she was given. And in front of him lied a very young girl.

Her hair was also black, but much longer than that of the last victim she witnessed. It reached all the way down her back and two fluffy pigtails adorned her as well. She was so much younger than the previous victim, it made Leila sick to the stomach. Especially once she noticed the blood that was soaking her kimono, coming from two rather severe wounds on her legs. Even if she wanted to escape, she would be unable to. In fact, she would never be able to walk again in her entire life, as the most vital of muscles in her legs were severed.

The sound of her crying brought her no sympathy, however. The people in this place… they were cruel. Monsters resembling humans. But they had cast their humanity away a long time ago, as soon as they made their decision to continue with this dark ritual to appease some deity that clearly did not even have their best interests in mind. She wanted to walk forward, break all of the bones in that man’s body. But she could not. She still had no physical form to speak of. She was but a gust in this vision, an observer forced to watch the tragedy unfold.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Nothing could ever prepare Leila for what she was about to witness on this night. The sound of multiple people ascending the stone steps, slowly and meticulously. Even with her lack of self, she was able to turn around. And there she saw her. Tsubaki Ayame, the current shrine maiden. Only in this vision, she was a young girl. Probably no more than a few years after her 10th birthday, if the girl had to guess. She looked terrified, her entire body shaking. She was lead here against her own will by few others that came along with her, pushing her up the final step.

The village elder would turn to face her and approached, his broad frame making sure she was not able to see the bleeding girl on the altar just yet. “Ayame, finally. We’ve all been waiting for you… as you know, this will be your trial. You were chosen as the next head of the shrine. But in order to fill that role, one must have resolve stronger than the hardest of steel. So we have prepared something special for you.” It almost looked like she could not even understand what he was saying with how afraid she was.

Finally, he would step to the side. And the moment Ayame saw the other girl, her entire body froze up. But only for a moment. No longer shivering, she instead broke into a sprint, quickly stopping as soon as she reached the victim that was about to be sacrificed. Seeing them so close to one another, it became even more clear… the similarities between them, they truly resembled one another. “Reimi! Remini, what happened to you! Answer me, please!” It really was her younger sister. Already on the death’s doorstep with how much blood she had lost.

The younger girl would turn around, do her best to look past the tears that blurred her vision. She was weak, but she used what little energy she had left to extend her hand, caress her older sister’s cheek. “A..ya..me… don’t… be… sad…” The village chief approached behind Ayame, an expression on his face that Leila could not even possibly describe. It was dark, twisted, sadistic… a vile existence. “Get up, Ayame. We had ensured that the sacrifice cannot move to make it easier for you. So stand up, and let us embrace what is about to come!”

With his free hand, he would take a firm hold of the older girl and starting pulling her up, completely ignoring her screams and desperate attempts to get out of his hold so she could help her younger sister, he suddenly forced the weapon into her hands. It was far too big for her, but it seemed that he used some kind of spell to force her body to move however he needed her to. And along with his own hands, he guided her small hands to prepare for the swing, Ayame crying so much that it must have been physically painful.

“D..don’t… be… s..sa..d… Aya-” With the last ounce of her strength, Reimi did her very best to smile at her older sister. Even as her last word did not reach its end, her throat severed open by the edge of the swung blade. Were they even able to understand why all of this was happening? Did Reimi realize that her inexcusably short life was coming to an end? And why? It was the village chief who performed the strike, but it was through Ayame’s hands. Letting go of the girl, he laughed and extended his hands toward the skies.

Rain. Droplets of water started falling from the skies right away as the crowd praised the ritual which just ended the drought that was plaguing them for a good while now. Exchanging life for this. Leila felt sick. And Ayame… the gild who was just forced to murder her own sister? She was sitting on the ground, her eyes completely lifeless and wide open, staring at the lifeless body in front of her. The sword still lied in her hands, as if she didn’t have the courage to let it go.

Her body was completely unmoving as if she had become a statue. And the silver wolf could not blame her. After what she just went through, it was obvious that she would be in an unimaginable shock and pain. As the scene in front of her started fading into nothingness, the last thing Leila saw was a dark aura of sorts around Ayame’s body and something that looked like an outline of a giant animal in the distance. Suddenly being sucked out of the vision, she wasn’t able to make out what it was, but it gave her a bad feeling as well.

Suddenly, her eyes opened up again. A strange feeling since they were already open in the dream, but she was actually awake now. The birds were happily singing their melodies outside, the only sound interrupting them was Leila’s own heavy breathing. Getting out of the futon, she noted that she was indeed still dressed in her usual clothes, which were not almost completely wet. Her entire body was drenched in the sweat and her body was still recovering from the horrific scene she was shown during the night. Was it a vision from one of the victims that were sacrificed?

Or was it just a figment of her own imagination, a nightmare that was trying to fill in the blanks of the story she was trying to piece together here. Regardless, she had to visit the river and wash herself off there. And while doing so, a revelation came to the girl, One that sent cold shivers down her spine, despite the warm water she submerged herself in to refresh the soaked body of hers. If she remembered her lunar phases correctly… then the next night would be a full moon, just like the one she saw in both of the visions of sacrifice that she was given. Moon was often connected to rituals like this. Was that the reason she was shown the vision now, rather than later? There was really only one reliable way to find out.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

She had to wait till the night and see. Considering the state that the village was in due to the monster attacks and everything else going on, they would surely try to perform the ritual as soon as possible, right? And thinking about it, she was contacted by what appeared to be an outside force to this ritualistic group. Especially considering that last vision. The one leading them was the current village chief. Though he was now too old for anything, so it was his son who was actually in charge. He was the prime suspect for being a new leader of this cult then.

And the one who sent the letter was an old woman, hardly someone who could be actively participating in something like that. Given the tone of the letter and its urgency, it would just make no sense for them to ask Leila to help if they were able to fix all of this with a sacrifice like always. In other words, the old woman must have been unaware of the rituals and sent for professional help. And when the word of that got out, the chief’s son made her disappear. She posed a problem to them, not a solution.

Frankly, right now she wanted to be a problem. If she could figure out what exactly was causing these bad events to happen, then she would be able to stop both the killings and the curse. Given that she had no idea what the source of the curse was, she had to wait on that one. First came the cult. If today really was a full moon and they would attempt to sacrifice another life, she would do her damn best to find them and stop them. Though she also still hoped that it was really just a random bad dream and nothing of that sort was going on here.

But then again, it was her only lead at the moment. Which sounded rather pathetic, relying on a vision in her dreams as the only clue, especially given the fact she was not prophetic or anything like that. Maybe she was actually just going insane. No, that line of thinking was unacceptable. In a situation like this, she had to consider every single possibility and eliminate them all until she was finally at the truth of the matter. Somewhat violently shaking her head, the girl would stomp toward the shore and quickly get up.

Her clothes were still wet, so she had to use her magic to summon a backup. Except she had quickly halted, as she noticed a person standing right in front of her. “Ah, good morning. I was wondering what the noise was. I bathe here myself, so don’t worry. I will let you finish.” It was Ayame, the shrine maiden. And, well… it was clear that her eyes quickly wandered all over Leila who just got out of the water and did not have a single layer of clothing to cover her.

Suffice to say, the wolf girl’s cheeks flushed bright red as she swiftly turned around and hopped back into the water. She felt her head so hot after that embarrassing moment that she was surprised that the water around her didn’t start boiling as a result. In the meantime, the shrine maiden simply laughed and turned around. “I’m not looking so you can get out and dress!” Peeking over the shore, Leila made sure that what Ayame said was true and once confirmed, she got out and started very quickly drying herself. Once that was done, a simple spec of magical energy summoned her new clothes.

Dressing just as quickly to make sure the other girl didn’t have a chance to turn around and peek, Leila might have even set a new world record. “R-right, I’m done! Sorry for taking your spot…” Ayame turned around and smiled, shaking her head to indicate that it was no big deal. Looking at her now, the silver wolf could not help but be reminded of her dream and the Ayame she saw there. It was years ago, so of course, she at least somewhat got over the tragedy of losing her sister like that.

But no one could get past such a night fully, ever. At least that was the girl’s personal opinion. If she could, she would charge forward and give the shrine maiden the longest hug imaginable. But right now, that would only cause confusion and she had no desire to trouble her caretaker any more than she already had. And, well, it was now Ayame who suddenly started undressing, making Leila’s face grow as red like a giant tomato again. Promptly turning around, she felt her heart racing a million miles an hour, why was she so shameless?!

“Looks like you’re pretty weak to such openness, Leila. I apologize if I come across as strange, people tend to act a bit differently when they live in a place like this instead of some city on the continent.” The apology itself was acceptable, but Leila still had no idea how a girl could just de-robe herself like that in front of someone, even if it was another girl. In any way, she made sure to not watch as the shrine maiden submerged herself in the water now, leaning against the shore and letting out a satisfied sigh.

“Say, did you make any progress with your investigation?” “I’ve found out some things, but still not anything too solid. I hope to a trail of one of these monsters that attack people will lead me somewhere.” Leila didn’t really have a reason to lie, but she decided to keep what she knew to herself for now. Certainly not because she suspected Ayame, but… well… she didn’t want to bring up that tragedy again. She noticed how she acted around the grave of her younger sister, so obviously she didn’t want to be reminded of that night, if those events truly did transpire. No one should be forced to remember that.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

“I see. I am sorry that I cannot provide more assistance, my duties do not give me the luxury of free time.” Her voice sounded genuinely saddened. Obviously, the girl wanted all of the problems to finally end, that was understandable. “It’s fine. I’m sure I will be able to stop whatever is going on here soon. Now, if you excuse me.” Not wanting to just awkwardly stand there with her back turned toward the other woman as she bathed, Leila would head back toward the road that lead from the shrine to the village.

Now, what exactly should she do? There was still a lot of time before the nighttime, obviously. She just woke up a short while ago, after all. Letting out a sigh, the girl would run her hand through her own hair, letting the silver glisten as the reflected the light’s shine. Unless another monster were to attack, she had awfully little leads to follow. For now, she decided to go back to the village and observe things a bit. Especially the mansion in which the chief’s family resided. If all were to be confirmed as the truth, then she would have to deal with them as well.

Thankfully she knew the magic council very well. If she presented them with people that were performing blood rituals to appease some sort of dark deity, then they would not hesitate to lock these lunatics up. But she had to dismantle the cult first. Once out of the village, she also decided to check up on the other object of interest, the sealing stone. It still had the invisible barrier around it and all seemed fine. But the sacrifice and blessings and followed after them… it would be strange if they were not connected to the stone in some way.

And yet, she was unable to even get to it. Sure, she could probably use enough force to break the barrier… but that sounded like a really stupid idea, all things considered. An ancient evil of some sort was sealed inside it and she’d probably just allowed it to escape if she were to do that. Though… an ancient evil that had to be put away by such powerful magic… curse that grasped the land and sacrificial ritual that appeased the curse, but only for a short amount of time. The puzzle pieces fit together if she considered things from that angle.

There were no visible imperfections on the stone or the sealing words themselves, but it was possible that the magic had grown weak over the thousands of years that this stone was here for. And whatever was inside started corrupting the land, only stopping temporarily when the sacrifice was performed. Such deeds tended to generate an extremely large amount of negative energy that could power up such an evil being. And by having the curse return, again and again, it would force the villagers to perform the ritual each time instead of just discouraging them if their actions were to have no effect at all.

Letting out a sigh, the girl moved out of the cave and be washed over by the warm Sun once more and frowned. This was probably not something she could deal with by herself. Once the cult was dealt with, she’d have to call for reinforcements both from her own guild and the magic council. The stone was something that should not stay here either way. And not many places outside of those two had the means to safely contain it without risking another catastrophe happening due to the entity escaping.

Returning to the shrine, she decided to spend the rest of her day there. If nothing else, she was at least able to mentally and physically prepare herself for anything that could lie ahead. If these people believed that they were actually helping everyone by sacrificing others, then they would surely not let her just stop them. There would be fighting involved and she had to ensure that she would not seriously injure anyone. Or, well… maybe she could do that, just not kill them. After all, they were doing something truly vile, so maybe they did deserve to be roughed up some.

And her combat style was not something most people would call ‘gentle’, either. It was just a bit too easy to break bones with her attacks when fighting beings that possessed little in terms of defenses against both magical and physical assaults. Alas, their pain was not her problem. What she was more concerned about was the possibility of encountering something much worse than humans who had succumbed to the lunacy. The crimson crystal she had destroyed before… they were probably the source of those as well. If a monster could be created with just a small shard and they had more of it…

Leila shook her head as she laid down. She had to make sure she was in top condition, just in case. In the state of deep meditation, time passed quite quickly. The Sun hid behind the horizon and the Moon took its place. Opening her eyes again, the girl didn’t feel tired at all, either. Stretching her limbs, she would get up and walk outside for a brief moment. One simple look at the darkened skies showed a very clear ball that reflected light upon the planet they were on. It was a full moon, alright.

Unlike the other night, she could also now see quite clearly even though it was a nighttime. Nodding to herself, she returned back to her room and waited a while longer with all of the lights turned off. Sure enough, she soon heard some commotion. People walking through the shrine. But not many of them, three or four at most. The direction they walked in was also fairly easy to discern. Carefully opening the doors and following behind, Leila found herself going through the back exit once more and onto the familiar spot that seemed to be completely empty and devoid of any life at all.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

When she was here before, it was also dark outside. And the moment she stepped out, she felt some kind of disturbance. She wrote it off back then, but now? The veil was much thinner, presumably because it was being used. She could feel it, almost even see despite her eyes closing to focus on gathering information about the magical energies all around her. A powerful spell was at play here, one that surrounded some kind of area right in front of her. A masking illusion that had taken a physical form rather than influencing the mind of its victim directly.

Not only that, it was malleable. Walking forward would not just cause her to smack her forehead into an invisible wall. No, it was almost like the spell made whatever was inside of it into its own pocket dimension that could not be accessed unless one had explicit permission to pass through the veil. Leila had no such permission, but lucky for her, she was also a fairly powerful mage. Gathering magical energy in her hand, she would extend it forward and wave the ethernano particles. Doing it on a precise-enough level, she was eventually able to touch the veil directly.

And once she achieved that, it was rather easy to tear it. Swinging her arm to the side, a cut ran through the barrier as if it was cut with a knife. The space all around her distorted as the curtain opened for her, a stone staircase leading up a small hill surrounded by the forest showed itself. Taking on a posture filled with confidence, she would start ascending the stairs. Just this much was proof that the vision shown to her was a correct one. Something was going on here and she was going to put a stop to it, no matter how difficult that would be.

She owed as much to the ghost that forced the dream upon her. It was its way of begging her to stop the senseless killings. And she certainly agreed with that sentiment. But it seemed that her first obstacle would be one she was a tad bit familiar with. Clenching her fist, she would not stop for one second as she spotted Ayame descending the steps against her. Though the shrine maiden certainly did stop, one of her hands resting on the sheath by her side, ready to draw the weapon that was inside of it. On her face rested a displeased look.

“I was afraid you would find this place… please, I beg of you… go back. An outside like you could never understand what is going on here and the importance of-” “I refuse!” That was Leila’s simple answer. But she did not assume a combat-ready stance or anything of the sort. She merely continued walking as her determined gaze rested on now rather surprised Ayame. “This might be hard to believe, but… I know exactly what is happening here. And what happened in the past. Do you really think your little sister would want this to continue?”

At that moment, the shrine maiden’s eyes widened. Suddenly hearing about her sister, it must have been quite a shock. But that was exactly what Leila planned. If anything were to get through to Ayame right now, the person who’s duty was given to her by a member of the cult, it would be something shocking and dear to her heart. The poor thing was completely paralyzed, but that also allowed the silver-haired maiden to step up right beside her and wrap one of her hands around her in a warm and friendly embrace.

“Don’t worry. I will stop this for good, so you don’t have to see anyone close to you die like that ever again. That is my promise to you, Ayame.” With that, she would retract her hand and continue up the stone steps. She didn’t even have to turn around to confirm that the sword maiden wasn’t going to stab her in the back. She could easily feel her still standing there, frozen as she tried to process everything that just happened, the things that Leila had said to her.

Yes, for her… and for the rest of the village that was not in on this, she had to ensure that she’d stop this farce tonight! Failure was not an option. Well… it was never really an option in her line of work, especially as she started working on these jobs. The difficulty bore a great danger with it. Making a mistake and failing would usually mean that there would no longer be any room for more failure in the future. Unless one was able to be resurrected by any means, anyway. Not something Leila wanted to experience either way.

But before she could even get to the top, she heard what sounded like a muffled scream of terror. Was she too late? Clenching her teeth, she now dashed up the steps to get to the platform with the alter at the top as soon as possible. And what she saw there was surprisingly nothing like the vision she was given. The stone altar that all the previous victims were slaughtered on was long since broken. Instead, in its place stood a wooden cross to which a young woman was affixed to. Or at least Leila was sure that she once used to be a young woman…

Now she was a monstrous carcass. Not one disfigured by a man, but warped through magic. Her face wasn’t even that anymore, possessing no eyes, nose, or even a mouth. Just a conglomerate of pulsating flesh and veins as something within her chest sparkled. A blood-red stone gem. One of the same exact kind as the one Leila had extracted from the monster she defeated. The crystals were created by absorbing life force from the sacrifices. A portion of it went to the god they were trying to appease while the rest was locked into the stone, making it into the most horrific magic battery imaginable.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

No wonder it was able to affect even Leila in such a strong way when she held it before. Anything that was created by sacrificing life itself was bound to be beaming with power. And what an outrageous revelation this was as well… the cultists have become unbelievably bold and selfish, too. They were not just trying to appease some evil deity at this point but were actively ruining the lives of others for their own personal gain. The girl did not know why they had an interest in creating these monsters, or for what else they were using the stones, but it had to end.

“Stand down this moment! If you just give up, I will save you a lot of pain before giving you to the magic council… if not-” Not even able to finish, a small dagger flew past her face, something that would have hit her if she had not seen it coming and moved to the side soon enough. Just like she thought, they were going to resist. Very well, she was prepared. Her body was suddenly surrounded by hundreds of red rose petals that started gathering at her hands, taking shape and becoming a weapon.

The Rose's thorn, a weapon of hers forged from an actual talon of a Rose Dragon. One of two parting gifts given to her. She was not really comfortable with using the other one right now, so this had to do. Gathering the dragon’s might within it, she performed a quick horizontal swing that did not hit anyone but release a wave of crimson magic. Despite the blade’s size, its weight was perfect for handling, which was to be expected from an item that was capable of self-reforging to fit the user’s needs. And those hit by the wave? A multitude of roses and their vines appeared on their body, rooting them to the ground.

But not all of them were hit, as some managed to get out of the cone that was affected. Their robed bodies became surrounded by elemental balls, ready to attack. All the way from fire to water and even lightning. So there were people capable of using magic in this village, then. She had no seen anyone using it, so she assumed it might have been one of the places with zero mage population. Clearly, she was mistaken. Not that it was much of a problem for her.

A quick dash forward ensured that all of those mostly novice-level attacks landed on the end of the stairs, causing a smaller explosion that sent chunks of the paved stone flying. During her dodge, Leila also grabbed the weapon with her other hand as well and tugged. It that split of a moment, the weapon split into two identical pieces that the girl could dual-wield. But she had no interest in that, as this ability was used a bit differently. Spinning one of the blades on her hand for an added badass moment, she would then stab it into the ground and form a giant magic circle.

It easily covered the entire area and drew the attention of the remaining enemies to the ground. That made it even easier for the girl who just had to perform few swings now, each one of them sending a pretty solid wave of red ethernano particles, slamming into the cultists and knocking them unconscious without much struggle. She actually had to hold back a good bit to ensure that none of the attacks would split their bodies into multiple pieces. Again, unlike them, she was no murderer even if she was facing such despicable men.

With all of them either completely immobilized or lying on the ground unconscious, she would find the one that was dressed a bit more fancily and donned a golden fox mask. Approaching him, she grabbed the golden mask and tore it off. Unsurprisingly, it revealed the village chief’s son. And he certainly did not look happy. “Damn you, woman… let us go this instant!” The girl could only put on a sly smile as she shrugged. “And why would I do that? With the head of the operation, I have accomplished my mission. You won’t be doing any-”

A sudden and unexpected scoff interrupted the girl. The twisted anger and frustration turned into something different as the man eyed the silver-haired maiden. “Ah, I see. Well, you are an outsider. It doesn’t matter, it will let me free once you’re dealt with. You’ll make a fine piece of morsel, I’m sure.” Confused what he was talking about, Leila opened her mouth to question him when the veil around them reacted again. And out of nowhere, the space distorted once more. Was there a second barrier inside of the first?

All the girl knew was that a new passage opened up. Yet another set of stone stairs leading further up the hill, to its very top it looked like. It seemed that someone was inviting her up there… and it smelled of a trap. Unfortunately, she was not in a position to refuse. There was something more to this whole thing. Leaving the bastard with the rest of the cult stuck in place, she would start ascending the steps. For some reason, she got a really, really bad feeling. Whatever was up there, it reeked of darkness that almost made her want to throw up.

The grip on the rose weapon in her hand tightened as she let magical energy freely flow through her body. The villagers were no match for her in any way, but this ‘it’ as the man described would probably be far stronger. The air around her grew colder, to the point of her breath becoming visible, even. The hair on her body stood up momentarily, but she couldn’t let any of that distract her from the task at hand. Deciding that the suspense was long enough, she dashed forward and pretty much flew past the rest of the stairs, finding herself at the final altar platform at last.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

What stood in front of her was a single being, completely covered in the same garb as the rest of the people downstairs. And while their back faced the girl, they would start slowly turning. But Leila had enough at this point. The weapon in her hand reforged itself once more, becoming a longbow that she swiftly aimed at her mark and released an arrow of pure magical energy. It flew like a bullet and hit the mask, though not directly. Grazing through it, the material would shatter and make the figure stumble backward and cover their face with their hands.

“No more games! I thought that the chief’s son was the leader of the cult, but I guess I was mistaken there. Nonetheless, this all ends now!” There was a muffled laugh and the sound of blood dripping onto the ground. It seemed that the arrow didn’t just break the mask apart, but also grazed the person hiding behind it. But something was wrong… the energy flowing from them, it felt both familiar and completely unknown. Not to mention their magical power itself, surely at least on par with Leila’s own. They would finally narrow their posture and move the hands from their face.

Standing in front of Leila was the grimly smiling figure of Tsubaki Ayame, the shrine maiden. Leila’s eyes widened, her mouth open wide without any words coming out for a while. How was this possible? “I… how? I just passed you on the steps, you couldn’t have-” “Shh! Don’t be silly now, Leila. You’re a powerful mage, is the idea of someone slipping by you using magic really that inconceivable? Especially with all these illusions erected all over the place? Tsk, tsk, I expected much better from you! But yes, it is me, your lovely Ayame~”

Saying that, she would toss away the dark robe of the cult along with the hood and what remained of the shattered fox mask. She still wore the same clothes as when they met only a few minutes ago. But there were some much more obvious changed that indicated she was not exactly the same person that Leila had met so many times on this island. Fox ears of the same color as her hair adorned the girl’s head and full nine tails just as dark swayed behind her back, as if dancing in the wind.

“Don’t tell me… that dark energy I’m feeling, a possession?!” A chuckle. The girl’s voice sounded somewhat distorted, not her own. It was definitely Ayame, but someone else was hijacking her body! “I must admit that she makes for a splendid avatar of hatred. After being forced to kill her own sister and having the burden of protecting this whole village by herself placed unto her shoulders… it was quite easy, even in my unfortunate state. But all of that has changed now. I am almost free!” Extending her hands to the sky, dark magic surrounded her.

And a visage of a giant nine-tailed fox appeared behind her. So that was the true form of the demon that was plaguing these lands all this time, was it? “You’re the ancient evil that was sealed in that purple stone…” The fox woman would yawn and wave her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Yes, indeed, that is me. The seal finally grew weak enough for my magic to escape… but to ensure no one would find out, I erected my own barrier around it, identical to the one that was there before. From there on it was beyond easy.”

A wide grin spread across her face, an eerily wide one. Showing the fangs that she now had, the possessed shrine maiden finally started taking steps forward. “You humans are oh so easy to manipulate. Not that I’m complaining. And you… your life force will be the key to fully release my lock, at last!” Suddenly dashing, Ayame appeared right in front of Leila in a low, crouched position. Her hand rested on the hilt of her blade and then unleashed it, straight from the sheathe into a powerful strike.

Being able to only narrowly block it with her own weapon, the girl stumbled back. To regain her footing, she attempted to firmly plant one of her feet onto the ground and spin around it, transforming the now fairly damaged bow into a katana similar to the one her opponent was using. Performing her own strike, the sword maiden blocked it rather easily and continued grinning throughout the entire ordeal. At the same time, they would both dash backward and to the side, almost as if they were two mirrored images attempting to fight with an identical style, just very different appearance.

But it seemed that the possessed girl was merely mocking Leila with this. Clashing several more times, no direct hits were landed. Though Ayame managed to tear a bit of the silver wolf’s outfit to bits. Better than her skin being cut open, but this situation was far from ideal. Compared to that morning when this girl fought that monster bear, this was completely different. The fox fueled her with dark magic, making all of her attacks considerably stronger and movements way faster. But she still wasn’t using any magic. That was Leila’s winning ticket in all of this, now gathering ethernano to cast a spell.

“I won’t let you~” As if she was moving faster than light itself, the opponent’s blade found its way to Leila’s neck. It’s been quite a while since she fought against someone so fast moving. But she was hardly helpless! Able to mock that strike with Rose’s talon just in time, she however heard a crack. And in that one moment, her weapon fell apart, divided into two. The strike from Ayame was powerful enough to completely cut through the enchanted dragon talon. A power that would be surely able to severer her head from the rest of the body if it landed how it was meant to.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

And as one could expect, the enemy didn’t want to give Leila any breather. Stopping right behind her, Ayame would turn 180 degrees and perform a second strike. But Leila was fast enough to cast her spell this time, the blade hitting a carapace of some sort that shielded the silver wolf. “It seems that I’m the one who is more familiar with magic. Or maybe you’re just rusty from your thousands of years-long slumber, fox!” The shrine maiden tried to step forward again to attack the shield once more but was unable to do so. In the brief shock she had, roots had coiled around her feet.

With a rather displeased look on her face, Ayame would swing her blade toward those very roots to easily cleave through them and free herself, but Leila already managed to make her next move. Her first connected with the other girl’s face in a painful-looking manner, sending her flying across the stone platform. Breathing heavily, the silver-haired maiden fell to her knees after that one. Casting so many high-level spells in succession was still no joke, even for her. But at least it worked. The possessed girl got back up and grinned at her opponent like the demon that was controlling her.

“You find an opening and that is all you can muster? You pitiful- ugh!” Naturally, it was no ordinary punch. The hand Leila punched her with was covered in Eden’s mark. But even beyond that, the mark looked different. Almost like a window looking into a distant galaxy, it glowed with a multitude of colors, its radiant shine indicating that there was more to it than just pretty looks. Normally she needed some sort of anchor for her spells, either the ground or her own body to grow trees and plant life from.

But by striking her with this spell, she managed to place a seed directly onto the shrine maiden’s body. And from it, a brilliant tree of healing started growing. It stuck to her like a persistent tick, its bark, and leaves of the same look as Leila’s hand. And the magical particles it produced looked almost like glowing pollen with healing and cleansing properties.  “Something like this… I just have to cut through it!” And she did. It took her a while, but eventually, she managed to remove every last bit of the spell from her body.

Leila remained stationary, on one knee and breathing a bit heavier than before. She needed a small moment to gather more magical energy in her body again. Obtaining it was no problem, but it had to actually flow into her body. The fox clearly didn’t want that to happen so it moved Ayame into another dash and a strike with the sword. The girl was prepared to block this incoming attack but didn’t even have to. The tip of the blade was now covered in blood, one that did not belong to the silver wolf. Rather, it was her own, Ayame’s.

Suddenly stopping and driving the sharp katana into her own stomach, she stumbled and looked at the girl kneeling in front of her. “I’m sorry… please… avenge my little sister… for me…” And with those words, she fell to the ground as those fox features faded away from her body completely. The spell from before, it was one to heal. The reason why Leila attached it to the girl was in hopes of the dark magic being purged from inside of her. But… Leila certainly did not expect this to happen. Panicked, she quickly removed the sword from the shrine maiden’s belly and wrapped the wound up in her own clothes as tightly as she was able to.

Thankfully the strike didn’t appear lethal, but the sooner she would get help, the better. The unfortunate part was that Leila wasn’t able to recast her healing spell right now to seal up that wound. And even if she could, it might have been far too severe for that kind of spell. Things were further complicated when dark magic surrounded the entire platform, accompanied by a horrific roar and a push of wind that managed to knock Leila to the ground and roll her all the way back to the stone stairs.

Ah, she was able to place it now… that silhouette she had noticed at the end of the vision that surrounded Ayame. One of a giant black fox with veins of magical energy coursing through its body. That was the true form of the demon. And it stood right across the stone platform right now, taking on a semi-solid form. The seal was broken enough that it was able to manifest in such a way… no, Ayame’s own life force was now feeding it! With such a wound, a good chunk of it must have gone directly to the beast who was now using it to grow even stronger.

After all, it said that killing Leila would mean its complete escape. Sure, she was a powerful individual… but that also meant that several regular people dying would free it as well. Ayame was not dead, but the life force still left her body when she stabbed herself and every last bit counted for the fox. As the girl stared at it, its form would rush forward and leap, falling into the ground and dispersing itself again. A strange move from the outside, but Leila was able to feel it gathering its magical energy.

It was putting all it had into itself, presumably to create a proper physical avatar that it could use to fight her and kill her by its own hands… or, well, paws. And it was certainly succeeding at the first part. The damn thing must have had even way more magical energy than Leila herself at this point. But that meant little to her! She would still fight it and use all means available to her to defeat it and bring peace to this place! She refused to let herself and Ayame die in this dump of a sacrificial ground!

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

The fight was far from over. The possessed shrine maiden might have been able to rid herself of the demon’s presence within her, but that did not mean the beast was defeated by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it had re-emerged fully materialized. Not even stopping to glare at the two girls, it went straight for Ayame. Given Leila’s wounds, she was unable to react fast enough and the other girl’s limp body became entrapped between the jaws of the nine-tailed fox. “Let go of her!” A sudden outburst, as the silver-haired wolf finally snapped.

The creature in front of her caused so much suffering across many generations. It was enough. She was not about to let it chomp down and take yet another life that could yet be saved! The stone ground beneath it broke apart as a sharp root shot out, aiming to pierce the beast’s head directly. Though, as was expected, it was fast. The attack still grazed it, but that was far from the intended purpose of going right through its skull and ending it all. But that did not matter. Leila knew that this would not be an easy and straight-forward fight.

So the first thing she had to do was making certain that no one else would be getting hurt here. The fox’s pupils grew small in anger and surprise as it looked to the side, only to see the girl right next to it. She used to moment when it had to dodge her attack to get close and extend her hand, grabbing onto Ayame’s own firmly. “I said to let go of her!” Shouting those words, she swung her other hand, completely letting Eden’s mark take it so that it would transform into numerous branches jutting forward.

Letting every single one of them got lodged in the beast’s mouth, she was able to pry those jaws apart and with one powerful tug, she pulled the shrine maiden out. Naturally, such risky action did not come free. Quickly moving that hand back to shield herself, Leila was only just in time to block the worst of one of the clawed paws hitting her, sending both her and the other girl in her hand flying. But that was all she needed to do. The corrupted hand quickly returned to normal, now bearing numerous open wounds that were bleeding quite badly.

But such damage was something that could heal. Letting go of Ayame, she let the wounded girl lie beside her. Under any other circumstances, she would have surely expired by now due to the self-inflicted wound. But the moment their hands were able to make contact, Leila send a wave of Eden’s magic into her. Powers that would stimulate regenerative powers within one’s body. It was not nearly enough to fully heal her, but it did move her away from death’s doorstep. And she would be able to heal her properly once the nine-tails in front of her was dispatched.

Her ocean-blue eyes met with the fiery gaze of her enemy. And for the first time, it let out words that she could understand. “Pitiful girl… you will regret your actions here! I’ve no need for the Shrine Maiden anymore, nor the cult! I’ve grown powerful enough… all I need to do now is devour those who are left in the village. Ahaha, you cannot stop what was started here!” Indeed, this creature was strong. An ancient being that achieved ascendance and became a deity. But there was one important fact playing into Leila’s cards.

As it itself said, it still had a good portion of its power sealed! As long as it didn’t wield the power of all nine tails, she had a chance to win! And that was something she planned on doing from the very beginning. Letting out a loud exhale, she pointed the blood-covered hand at her enemy and smiled. “If that’s what you believe, then go ahead. I will make sure to stop you! Because I know I can… the fact that you have decided to talk to me alone means you respect me. You see me as a real threat!”

After all, no one would bother trying to talk to someone they considered a mere insect, an obstacle they could easily remove by just stepping at it. The Kyubi growled again and let out a sound eerily similar to laughter. “You were more trouble than I could have ever imagined, silver wolf. But you’ve grown weak after your fight with the shrine maiden. For all the trouble you have caused… I will see to you getting broken before meeting death! Watch as the village you tried to protect disappears!”

At that moment, its tails flared up in ethereal flames emerging from the pulsing veins of magical energy present on the beast’s body. With all of the tails pointing at the full moon, it quickly started gathering a rather large amount of magical power, one that easily surpassed even the charts for the most powerful spells of H-rank category. At the same time, a barrier of darkness was forged around its body, shielding it from any interruptive attacks Leila might have still had up her sleeve. Realizing all of this, the girl's heart started beating faster and faster, nearly bursting.

An attack that was aimed at the village, capable of completely wiping it from the surface of this island in an instant. It was definitely that kind of attack. And with the barrier in the way, she had no way of interrupting it. And she most certainly did not have a spell durable enough to shield her and block the spell if she were to throw herself in front of it. But… that quickly started appearing as the only option she had. The beating of her heart, she was sure that if someone got close enough, they would be able to hear it loud and clear. The stress and worry that was running through her at this very moment.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

What choice did she have? Steeling her nerves, she threw away all of her worries and quickly ran in front of the trajectory of the attack, just as the fox gathered enough power to form a ball of pure energy in front of it, aiming it exactly where she thought it would, and firing it as a concentrated beam. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Trying to throw your life away before the enemy is defeated, not a wise choice.” A disembodied voice, that quite tore the girl out of the moment. And not just metaphorically, but quite literally. As if pulled by someone, she was tossed to the side and out of the beam’s way.

“NO!” Only one single scream filled with despair. And yet, surprisingly frivolous. The area around them started changing as if they were being transported somewhere. And with that, the village completely faded away just before the attack reached it, hitting a flat plane instead and causing an explosion that truly did cover enough ground to wipe the settlement out of existence. But here, it did no damage at all. Though, where exactly was here, that took Leila a moment to figure out. Even the fox seemed confused at first.

“While I do not like intervening in the matters of mortals, I suppose Eden is still part of you. And I cannot stand looking at you fighting like this alone any longer. I’m not gonna bother breaking some furred cretin, so call the others. I’ve done my part already. ” The voice unmistakably belonged to Aurora, the one true creator of Gardens of Eden. She didn’t show her physical form this time and in the heat of the moment, even Leila didn’t quite recognize that at first. So it was her who used her powers to temporarily transport them into the space between worlds…

Indeed, their surroundings quickly started returning back to normal instead of being just a flat plain of pure black in all directions. At the same time, the girl felt an overwhelming amount of power flowing through her body, as if she was completely reinvigorated just like that. But she understood. She knew exactly what the goddess was saying. So with a smirk on her face, she stood back up and looked at the demonic fox in front of her. It was fuming with anger, the dark barrier shielding its form and leaving only the crimson eyes peering through it.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I will not let you take a single life more! And in order to do that… I open the gates of Eden!” Extending her hands forth and opening her palm, the energy within her was forced out, covering the area around them in a layer of magic that reflected the galaxy on top of itself. It almost made it look like they were floating in a colorful space for a moment, even though they were still standing on solid ground. And along with it, three very distinct keys floated around the girl in a circular formation.

“Oh spirits of my home… lend me your strength to defeat our foe… the one who is a guest in our house, yet a friend dear - Libra! The queen of dragons who rules wastes frozen deep - Yuki! And the mother of these, a goddess in name and power - Aurora! I invoke your power into me!” Calling all of their names, she did just as the goddess suggested. Instead of summoning them normally, she borrow their power, let it infuse her own body. Summoning into the state of origin! Though with Aurora, she could do this only in a very limited fashion. But that was still better than nothing.

The keys quickly dissolved into pure magical light that surrounded the girl. And in an instant, an explosion of blinding white swept the demon fox. And once the darkness of the night took hold again, who stood in front of it was Leila who assumed the aspects of all three spirits that she invoked. The normally deep blue eyes were now more azure, silver even, reflecting the entire scene in front of her. The silvery hair grew similar to their surroundings, reflecting an entire galaxy as it each strand of it was a wave of a portal to another world.

Even the girl’s attire changed into a short dress that reflected the colors of the celestial world and the Gardens of Eden. The Kyubi took a step forward as the darkness around its body also grew more prevalent. “Don’t think you can now win against me. Struggle, and prepare to meet your maker!” But before it could attack, Leila did so first. Letting numerous roots spring out of the ground around her, each one of them thicker than your average tree, they would slam into the protected demon and instantly freeze in place.

Leila could have gone with some clever retort but decided that taking action was the best she could do now. They have already gone on for long enough. She only had so much time in this state, so she had to make it count! Letting more of her power into the attack, even the dark barrier started freezing. Yuki’s power was quite something and her command over frost was extraordinary. Especially in the form that Leila had invoked her in. While the dragon queen often appeared as a young girl, it was possible to unleash her full potential and have her appear in her ‘adult’ form. And that was the form Leila invoked.

It seemed that the Kyubi realized how much power was in the frost as well, not backing away but instead lunging forward. This resulted in the fox breaking its own frozen barrier as it leapt right through it, numerous fox flames emerging from its many tales and shooting directly at Leila. As an answer, she activated Libra’s portion of powers, making her body feel considerably lighter. That combined with increased gravitational pull from one of the nearby statues, she was basically able to slingshot herself out of the flame’s way. And flying in a circle around the fox, she was able to quickly get behind it.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Though this might have not been the best of ideas in retrospect. The beast didn’t even really have to turn around to face the girl’s attack. It just started trashing its nine tails around and that was good enough to force Leila to back away. Those extra appendages of fur might have not looked like much when attacked to a regular fox, but this was very different. Each one of them held a significant amount of the Kyubi’s overall magic research, which also made them solid and extremely dangerous up close. One could say that they were like razor-sharp malleable blades dancing around.

And since it effectively stopped the girl in her tracks, that also gave the fox enough time to jump into the air, turn around, and land facing her. With a growl, it started gathering magic within itself once more. But while this being held a lot of power, it was clear that the attack it unleashed before was not something it could just perform over and over again. Otherwise, it would have done so, destroying the village as was its goal and claiming the souls of all who resided there to unleash its full power, escaping the seal in the cave completely.

Deciding she had to take the gamble, Leila readier herself with a sly plan in her head and charged forward. Naturally, her enemy did not wait for a second longer than they had to, firing the concentrated beam right at her. If it were to hit her directly, it would have surely scorched her body to the bone, that much was clear. Thankfully, she noted something about the attack. It seemed to solidify magical particles - ethernano. This meant there was a solid, physical aspect to the attack. And so, she armed herself with Libra’s powers and used them right as she saw the attack firing.

Shifting the properties of her own gravitational field, she essentially formed a repulsion field around herself. Under regular magical attacks, this would have had absolutely no effect. But as her theory, thankfully, proved correct, the laser bent ever so slightly, just narrowly missing her. This clearly took the demon aback, as it quickly jerked its body in what perhaps was a quick attempt at a retreat. But it was too late, Leila managed to get close enough. And gathering the gravitational power in her palms, she was finally able to directly strike her mark and detonate all of that energy.

This created a small, but extremely powerful shock-wave that went right through the creature’s body, dealing substantial damage on its own, but also sending it flying. This was done with such a power, that the giant fox easily broke through the shrine and continued flying some distance after. Its landing was marked with a thunderous sound and the ground shaking. Though the fight still clearly wasn’t over. Leila followed quickly, using Libra’s powers to easily fly over the now rather damaged shrine and then down the hill. She wasn’t exactly aiming with her previous attack, so it was quite amusing that the fox landed right in the middle of the shrine maiden’s training area.

While it was a good bit closer to the village, the entire place was much bigger and more open than the sacrificial area where they were until now. Landing not too far away from her opponent, she watched as the fox quickly got up and glared at the girl. Ready to charge at it again, Leila’s actions were suddenly stopped. Something was behind her, some sort of dark power. Quickly jumping to the side, it seemed that she only narrowly avoided collision with something. And the moment her body stopped, she was able to see what it was.

The purple sealing stone… while flying through the air, the Kyubi must have targeted it and used its newly increased powers to forcefully pull it out of the cave and toward itself. The stone was what the beast was sealed inside until the cult formed… and it still had a good bit of the demon’s power inside of it. But while it was able to pull it all the way here from the cave, surely there was nothing it could do with it when the seal was still present, right?

A vicious growl shook the girl to her core as her body started instinctively moving again, rolling out of the way as the ground beneath her suddenly became scorched and a pillar of searing flames shot up into the skies. And not only where she stood, but all over the place. Even though she recognized just how powerful her opponent was, it seemed that she still underestimated just how determined and skilled this monster actually was. It was able to draw its own power from the sealing stone, but not control it…

So instead, it was just releasing it in order to create randomly directed attacks in order to increase the pressure on the girl. Gritting her teeth, Leila would once again summon trees and roots from the Gardens to attack the beast while also swatting her hands and shooting out waves of ice and cold. They were all met with a wall of flames and fireballs that started flying out of the floating stone. And from the steam that this created, the Kyubi charged head-first right at the girl. There was no time to dodge, she could only brace herself.

Utilizing her powers to their fullest, she also formed a barrier of magically enhanced wood right in front of her. But the sheer physical force that her opponent possessed proved too much. It was able to smash right through it and then into Leila. And so it was her who was sent flying this time, right into the nearby waterfall. Slamming into the stone behind it, blood spurred out of her mouth as the girl felt several of her bones breaking and the air being forced out of her lungs. Subsequently falling into the flowing river, it took a good bit of effort for he to get back up and not drown there.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

In the end, what the fox said before was wholly true. Ayame was a formidable foe, especially with the demon’s power controlling and empowering her. She wouldn’t have been able to get this far without Aurora’s assistance that allowed the girl to invoke the power of her three most powerful spirits. But even that privilege was slowly coming to a close. And while she did get some good hits in, the enemy still had plenty of power and vitality to keep on going. This situation was, beyond all doubt, extremely bad. Which meant that the girl had to resort herself to truly desperate and dangerous measures.

Dragon’s Talon managed to reforge itself by now and started materializing itself in the girl’s hands in its usual sword form. A weapon created from the flesh of an actual Rose dragon… the same one that gave its heart to Leila, in the most literal sense imaginable. That crystallized heart now rested inside of the girl herself, right next to her actual heart. And it gave her access to the powers of a dragon. But it was something she had not yet fully explored. She had trouble controlling those powers and as such, she should absolutely not use them outside of training.

But those very powers might have been her last chance here. And according to her research… reuniting the dragon’s heart with its flesh should increase those powers exponentially. Swallowing audibly, the girl had aimed the tip of the blade at her chest and pressed it up against her clothes and the pale skin beneath. Her breathing quickly became erratic, as one would expect from someone who was about to impale themselves with such a weapon. It would normally be a lethal strike, so she had to hope that the dragon’s magic would not let the wound actually kill her on the stop.

But what other choice did she have other than being devoured by that fox? Gripping the blade with all of her remaining might, she moved it into herself without thinking about it. A sharp pain ran through her entire body, one greater than anything she had ever felt before. The feeling of a rather large blade lodging itself in her chest, severing her muscles and veins alike. But there was a different feeling as well. One of two identical magics colliding and combining. At that moment, a pillar of crimson red energy shot up directly into the skies from where she stood.

Surrounded by roses, the spectacle remained for a good few seconds and clearly alerted the Kyubi that the girl was not yet dead. A surprising revelation after it felt her life energy so eagerly disappearing. But instead of a corpse, the girl’s changed figure emerged from the river as the pillar slowly faded away. Bearing no actual wound where she had stabbed herself, the girl’s attire was now covered in roses in a number of places, all of them glowing with magical light. And while the base of her body did not change, some extra features were added.

Namely, two large wings resembling numerous petals of a rose holding together. Two sharp horns of red and black colors were also present on her head. Her skin was covered in scales that, too looked like petals of a rose. And finally, a sleek and long dragon tail moved elegantly behind her lower back and legs. The physical transformation was only one sigh of the girl’s dragon powers. A powerful red aura surrounded her form as a ward of sorts, along with waves of visible magic tightly embracing parts of her body.

An extreme magical concentration brought about the activation of the dragon force. Quite amusing that such a powerful mode was what Leila managed to activate while using her dragon powers in live combat for the very first time. It was all thanks to the Rose Talon and using it the way she did. But there was still no telling what nasty side effects she would suffer once even this amount of power would run out. She had to make it count, along with what little time she still had with the power of her spirits. And speaking of which, it seemed that the celestial was interacting with her dragon part as well.

A strange nebula of sorts surrounded her body, coloring parts of the space around her in the most vibrant of colors and small shining particles that almost looked like the tiniest of distant stars. Taking a deep breath, she would take a step toward the fox. It was glaring right back her. “You appear to have an annoying habit of showing one new power after another. But at this point, I can only consider you a true adversary. But… I WILL WIN!” Roaring in pure wrath, the ground bellowed as more flames erupted.

It was time for one last clash between the two of them. Making use of her wings, Leila would quickly start moving toward the fox as it unleashed a hell of attacks, flames that almost looked like they had a mind of their own. Trying to strike her down from the skies, the girl had quite a bit of work to do if she wanted to avoid all of them. Especially considering how weak her nature was against flames that could burn almost anything down to ashes. But combining her enhanced senses with the guidance of her spirits, she was able to thread the needle.

And finding the one moment, the girl made her way through the flames and slammed into the ground right next to the Kyubi. She had to take a bit of the head as pretty much all of the training grounds was engulfed in the sea of fire at this point, the earth hot as a furnace. But as long as she could kick-start her attack, it was well worth it. And she certainly managed to do just that as she unleashed her own sea of green from below the fox, ensnaring it from every direction possible.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

Though this proxy, she also heavily increased the power of her enemy’s gravitational pull. And with that, her combination attack began. The ground was already broken aplenty by their previous attacks, chunks of it being quickly attracted to the fox and sticking to its body. Even its roar and flames were not able to prevent it, its entire form soon encased in tightly back earth that was being pulled directing into its body. To put it simply, Leila managed to combine her powers to create a giant ball of dirt and rocks with the demon in the middle, acting as the attractor.

With that, a good portion of the flames that were present actually disappeared. This gave Leila some much-needed breathing room at last. And it granted her even a bit of time to smile, being reminded of using this exact tactic several times in the past. A combination attack that almost became like a signature of hers, allowing her to win the toughest of battles she ever went through. And a testament to her cooperation with her spirits, as she required a number of them to pull this off. And although they were currently not summoned, she was still borrowing their power. Something not possible without a great deal of trust.

Now using Yuki’s power, she sent another few freezing waves in the direction of the floating sphere, letting it freeze completely. The Kyubi surely appreciated that amount of unavoidable cold, given its affinity to flames and heat. And finally, the last bit of Aurora’s power and the attack that would end it all. Admittedly much more powerful than the finisher she used all those times in the past, but nothing less would be able to put an end to the force that she was dealing with. Taking in a deep breath, she started focusing.

A dark round portal would open up directly above the earth prison and something pointy started emerging from it. A pillar of sorts that was pointed like a lance at both ends. And in its center, a somewhat familiar black orb that erratically moved within the confines of the pillar, as if filled with the energy of chaos itself. A physical form of energy from the Void, extremely volatile and dangerous. This was what made Aurora so powerful, the ability to control such energy. And right now, it would be used to end this fight, at long last.

Moving her hand up toward the sky, Leila would ready herself and then swing the limb down, a motion that made the pillar itself shoot downward like a bullet and pierce the sphere along with the fox inside of it. Only a fraction of a second later, the ball of void energy detonated and all of that extremely powerful magic was unleashed. The explosion itself was oddly small, a perfect sphere of black energy that engulfed and eradicated anything and everything in its path. And despite the pure dark color, it felt blinding to Leila, forcing the girl to look away until the attack subsided.

And when it did, there was nothing left. Only a bowl-shaped hole in the earth where the edge of the explosion met the ground. But the fox? The only thing that remained from it was a cloud of concentrated energy, radiating the power of darkness and flames. A mass that was quickly absorbed back into the sealing stone, it's surface once more glowing bright purple and the hallowed symbols on it ensuring that the force trapped inside would not be able to escape anytime soon. So she was not able to kill the demon, after all.

But that much was expected. After all, it was a nine-tailed fox. Being that achieved divine status, becoming an actual deity. Even if its revived flesh was destroyed, the creature itself was truly immortal at this point. So it being forced back into the seal was the best result Leila could have hoped. And somehow, she managed to achieve it. After a long and grueling confrontation, she emerged victoriously. The dragon features started dissolving from her body, as did the celestial traits she acquired after invoking her spirits. Pretty much all of her energy disappeared, all of her spells and transformations wearing off.

Her vision blurred in an instant as she could feel her internal storage of magical energy completely empty. And without any juice to keep her going, she simply fell forward, hitting the ground and losing consciousness. The next time her eyes opened, she was in an unfamiliar room constructed in the traditional Midi style, lying in a comfy bed. Her entire body was hurting, but a young girl she had never seen before was nearby and ready to explain everything. She was one of the villagers that managed to survive the entire ordeal.

It turned out that it was pretty much impossible for those in the village to miss the light show Leila and the fox created while fighting one another. And once everything died down, some of the villagers managed to gather enough courage to head over to the site of the battle. What they found was collapsed Leila and the active sealing stone half-buried in the ground some distance away from her. Piecing it all together, they naturally took the girl into the nearest house where they tended to her numerous wounds. Apparently, she slept for an entire week, only waking just now.

In that time, they also moved the sealing stone back into the cave, afraid that it was not powerful enough outside of it. Though Leila knew that was not the case at all, it was still as good of a location as any for now. And she was finally able to convey the good news to the villagers who still had no idea what was causing all the bad things that were happening. Since she was unable to move just yet anyway, she saw no wrong in telling the whole tale. It was no surprise that the village girl bolted outside afterward to tell everyone that they would be able to return to their peaceful lives.

Leila Vergious  ❃  X-rank  ❃  Silver Wolf

As it turned out, only a very small portion of the village population actually knew about the sacrifices and everything that surrounded them. Mostly those that were close to the village chief and his family. The rest simply saw the island as a place where the good and bad circulated. Only this time it got bad enough for them to call for outside help. Good thing, too. With Leila’s victory against the fox, the curse gripping the land should be completely gone. And the seal itself would continue to hold the creature for years to come after she had weakened it again.

Though, naturally, she still intended to have the magic council take it away from here as soon as possible. They had the means of safely containing it for as long as the organization itself would stand. Letting out a tired sigh, Leila stared at the ceiling of her room. Her whole body was wrapped in bandages and while she could probably stand with some difficulties, she was unsure if the pain would be worth it. But to ease her boredom, a golden light entered the corner of her vision. Returning to a sitting position, she soon spotted a familiar figure next to her.

Sitting on the edge of the bed was Yuki, one of her spirits. One that she invoked the power of during the fight, even. But right now she was back to her more child-like appearance, a book in hand and her eyes glued to the text within it. As uncaring of her surroundings as always, it seemed. “Good work.” “Ah, thank, but it was all thanks to you-” “Never do it again.” The spirit's words quickly shut the girl up. She sounded rather serious, which was fairly normal but this time was different.

Slowly moving her eyes away from the book and toward her summoner, the ice dragon really did have a look of worry. “Using powers that are not fully under your control is always dangerous, but you went ahead and let them flow freely. It had… some effect on your body. We could all feel it. The power of a dragon and that of Eden, they melded into one for a brief moment. And it altered your body to some extent.” The words made Leila swallow rather loudly, looking over her body, covered in bandages and white robes.

She didn’t exactly feel any change right now, but then again, her body was still fairly beat up. Even with her regenerative powers, mages always had a hard time getting out the magic exhaustion state. And she most certainly did empty up her reserves completely. She was in one peace, but what about her insides? And her magic? There was absolutely no way to find out for her right now unless she were to use it. But she didn’t quite dare if she were to be honest. Letting out another sigh, she would collapse back into a lying position.

“Well, not all is bad. You just need to practice with that magic more, learn how to properly use it so it doesn’t tear you apart the next time you find yourself in that situation.” Her words sounded cold, but Leila knew that this was the spirit that cared for her greatly. She just never seemed to show it and lacked a good expression of her emotions in general. It made the girl smile as she covered her eyes with her hand. She just woke up after seven days of slumber, yet she felt so unbelievably tired still, it was unreal. And she would probably continue feeling like this for some time more if she had to guess.

“Yeah, I’ll do that. It was a gift to me, after all. Ought to learn how to use it properly. Heh… I think it’s the first magic that was not just given to me by Eden so I’m struggling a bit.” There it was again. That depressing notion of her being powerful only because the Gardens made it so. But she didn’t want to think about that now, it made her feel like she accomplished nothing even though she saved at least a few people by defeating that nine-tailed fox. Which was no small feat, she liked to think.

Suddenly, she shot up right back into the sitting position with her eyes wide open, the pain of doing so shooting through her body and making her groan in brief agony. “You will break yourself like that…” “Ayame! I just remembered, how is she? And the cult members, did someone get them?!” It was an earned concern, she just kinda left them there when she moved up the stairs to fight the fox demon itself. And Ayame, the last she saw her was the poor girl lying on the floor regenerating from that nasty wound she inflicted upon herself.

“You can calm down and lie down again. All was taken care of. After your fight concluded and the people of this village found you, Ayame stumbled down the road from the shrine as well. She was barely holding on but informed them of the cult before collapsing. They took care of her after that. Her wounds already fully healed. As for the cultists… they are in the local cell for now. It took a surprising amount of convincing for the rest of the village to not just stone them to death for what they did.”

Sacrificing their own, they certainly earned no favors. Leila understood that much. But it was good that they were all still alive. A proper judgment would await them soon enough. Though there was still one small question that lingered in her head all this time. Why were they creating monsters using the blood-stones? They were already thinning the population of the village by kidnapping people and sacrificing them so the seemingly random attacks appeared rather excessive. Not to mention that Ayame who was forced to guard the rituals was the one cutting them down as well, whenever they showed up.