Chapter 3: The Fury of the Evil Spirit
“Well, shall we get going?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
Leia and I slowly stand up at Celia’s words. Our rest is over, and it’s finally time to depart.
“Then, Gareth, I’m counting on you.”
“Yeah, I’ll keep an eye on Lily.”
“Don’t forget the souvenir.”
“What souvenir?”
I feel a bit uneasy about leaving Lily here, but with Gareth around, it should be fine. Well, he’s quite the unpredictable one too.
“And Rourke.”
“Hm?”
“Take this with you. It might come in handy.”
As I start walking, still feeling somewhat uncertain, Gareth throws something at me as we’re about to leave.
This is…
“Why do you have something like this?”
“I brought it just in case, thinking it might be necessary. But you seem to need it more, so use it well.”
“Got it. I’ll take it gratefully.”
Thanking Gareth, I pocket the item he gave me and rejoin the other two who were waiting.
“Well then, I’ll take the lead. Rourke, please cover the rear.”
“Roger that.”
With Celia in the lead, we advance to the door at the back of the room. We place our hands on the doorknob and push it open forcefully, entering the next room.
“…What an eerie room.”
Celia, who entered first, mutters while looking around. Indeed, upon entering, it was clear at a glance that the appearance of this room was quite different from the previous ones.
A dimly lit room with bonfires, a huge door at the back leading further in, and wall paintings on both sides, just like on the first floor.
However, the goddess depicted in the paintings was quite different from the mystical atmosphere of the first floor. She was shown extending her hand over the earth, dyeing the ground black – a strange and eerie depiction.
If the previous rooms were meant to symbolize the beauty of the goddess, this room could be said to symbolize her terrifying aspect.
In any case, it wasn’t a pleasant picture to look at.
“What is the Moon Goddess doing to the earth?”
“I don’t know. But it’s certainly not bestowing blessings or mercy.”
I answer Leia’s question while thinking that it looks more like she’s spreading calamity.
If it were something good, they wouldn’t use such a black color. It’s safe to assume that she’s doing something harmful to the earth.
“There are stories that this ruin is the goddess’s temple. Maybe they painted such frightening images to inspire awe.”
Celia says this while taking photos of the wall paintings with her camera for submission to the academy.
This exploration of the ruins also serves as a survey request from historical researchers through the academy, so Celia, as the leader, was taking photographs for documentation from time to time.
“But it’s truly mysterious. The structure of this room shouldn’t be possible given the building’s exterior.”
As Celia says, there shouldn’t be space for a room of this depth and width considering the shape seen from outside. Yet, beyond the door we opened, there exists this spacious area. It’s safe to say that some special power is at work here.
Although we have no idea what kind of power it might be…
“I think some kind of spiritual technique must be being used, but…!”
Leia’s words were interrupted by the sudden opening of the huge door at the back of the room.
Turning our gaze towards the commotion, we see three Guardian knights with black wings on their backs, similar to the ones Gareth and I had encountered earlier, entering the room from the door.
Their basic appearance is the same as before, but there’s something odd about them. Their armor has more damage, and some feathers are missing from their wings, giving a sense of unease.
“They’re the same Guardians you and Rourke fought, right?”
“Yeah, no doubt about it.”
Well, whether they’re injured or not doesn’t matter to us. As I reach for my weapon to deal with them, Celia steps forward and stops me with her hand.
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“Rourke, stand back. You’ve worked hard downstairs, so I’ll handle this.”
“Celia-senpai, I’ll help too.”
“Well then, I’ll ask for your help at the end. For now, I’ll start alone.”
It seems I don’t need to fight. Well, considering her abilities, she should be fine handling this number alone. I’ll quietly observe their performance from the rear.
“Celia, these guys basically only engage in close combat with their weapons. But be careful, their armor is tough.”
“Thanks for the info. Then I’ll take care of them without letting them get close.”
Responding to my muttered advice, the contract mark on the back of Celia’s hand begins to glow. Then, a small girl in a green dress appears next to her.
Although she looks like a young girl, the inhuman and powerful spiritual energy emanating from her would change that assessment immediately.
“Celia, is it work?”
“Yes, Dryad. Please take care of those knights in front of us.”
“Understood.”
Following her master’s instructions, the Dryad raises both hands. Then, from her thin, small arms, a large number of trees sprout, creating a small forest-like mass of greenery. All of it rushes towards the knights before us, following the Dryad’s will.
The Dryad, who can deploy enough trees to cover this room in an instant and control each branch and twig with the precision of limbs, is undoubtedly among the upper ranks of wood spirits.
Faced with the approaching mass of greenery that quickly covers the surroundings, the knights panic and try to retreat into the air by spreading their wings. However, their movements are sluggish and lack vigor, and they are quickly ensnared by the trees wrapping around their limbs.
“Ugh!”
“What!?”
“You won’t escape my restraints so easily~”
Two of the Guardians are restrained without much resistance, but the remaining knight manages to escape the branch restraints and starts swinging its halberd, smashing the approaching trees. However, for every one it destroys, two more appear, and for every two, four more approach. It quickly reaches its limit.
“What!?”
“Checkmate, isn’t it?”
The last one resisting desperately is also engulfed by the swarm of trees that rush in as if to envelope it when its arm swinging the weapon is entangled by branches, slowing its movements. After a few minutes, it’s completely restrained and immobilized.
“…!?…!?”
The sight of the knights entangled in trees all over their bodies, unable to move in such a pitiful state, is… well, let’s say it’s a scene that’s hard to look at directly.
“There, all done.”
“Dryad, good job.”
“Stop it, don’t pat my head.”
Celia tries to pat the head of her contract spirit who sighs after finishing the job, but the Dryad doesn’t seem too pleased and mutters with a frown.
I can’t help but let out a breath of admiration at the skill of Celia and the Dryad, who instantly neutralized the Guardians that I had struggled against.
“As expected, you’re amazing. Maybe we should have left the first floor to you too, Celia?”
“Don’t joke around. Even I couldn’t handle that many. I could do this because there were only a few, and I’ve only restrained them so far.”
“Only restrained? They’re completely at your mercy now.”
Celia is being modest, but the Guardians are completely immobilized, even their wings restrained. At this point, with enough firepower, they could be dealt with like an assembly line.
“Well then, Leia-chan, if you please. From above, if possible.”
“Understood. Salamander!”
“Gaaah!!”
And when it comes to firepower, we have our promising new first-year student here.
With Leia’s nod, a gust of wind blows, and the red dragon summoned above the Guardians’ heads soars up.
Flying just below the ceiling, Salamander takes a deep breath, accumulating an enormous amount of spiritual power. As the surrounding air rapidly heats up, Salamander glares down at the Guardians below, sparks escaping from its mouth.
“Celia, I covered the floor with trees as instructed, but that probably won’t stop it.”
“Well, as long as we protect the wall paintings, some damage to the floor is fine. So, Leia-chan, go all out!”
The Dryad, who covered the entire room with trees, points out while looking at Salamander accumulating spiritual power in the air, but Celia says it’s not a problem and laughs while asking Leia to finish them off.
“Yes, Celia-senpai. Please take care of the defense.”
“Huh? Defense?”
“Do it, Salamander!”
“Gaaaaaaah!!”
Ignoring the confused Celia, Leia gives the order.
Following its master’s command, Salamander converts the accumulated spiritual power into flames, opens its jaw towards the targets below, and unleashes the stored inferno.
“What!?”
“Kyaa!?”
The flames released by Salamander instantly engulf the Guardians along with the trees restraining them, turning the floor red. The heat wave from the aftermath spreads around, approaching us.
This is definitely overkill. Maybe it’s because I mentioned they were tough, but this is too much. We could have defeated them normally. Does this junior only know extremes?…
“This is incredible!”
The Dryad shuddered at the overwhelming firepower and created a wall of trees to protect us, so we didn’t directly face the heat wave. Still, the hot air stung our exposed skin.
“What incredible firepower…”
As I gazed at the scene before me, I once again realized the terrifying power of the Salamander. Even the maximum output of my hellfire sword probably couldn’t match that level of firepower.
As expected of a dragon-type spirit belonging to the highest rank. The amount of spiritual power and instantaneous firepower the spirit possesses clearly sets it apart from other spirits.
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