Chapter 18 – Purification Begins

“So that’s Rufhana village, eh?”

It had been a full two days since the bandits fled the mansion they used as their base. Rufhana village was located in a small, low-lying land surrounded by a forest.

“Ooohhh the air is so thick that you can see it even from here.”

“It seems the taint had been advancing steadily from the center of the village to the surrounding forest. It would be meaningless if we purify the land without purging the evil spirits in the area first.”

“Say, we purge the place. We don’t even know how many there are, so are we going to kill them one by one? How annoying!”

“It will take too long if we do that, so Kuro and I will do the major sweep. Al, it’s fine if you just take care of the ones that get past us.”

“Ahh, so you’re doing that? If that’s the case, then I guess I’ll be on night watch tonight.”

“It’s ‘composite magic’, so the drawback is it takes time to invoke. I’m sorry, but, I’ll be counting on you.”

“U-umm…”

A small voice called out to Syltina and Alhart, who were talking while looking at Rufhana village from afar.

“…… Milliane-sama, it’s been on my mind for a while now, but, that only makes you more conspicuous instead.”

“Eh!?”

Syltina turned around and told Milliane, who was hiding behind the shield she had taken from the bandits. Milliane seemed quite distressed in turn, as her body, along with the shield, started to shake.

“This…s-stands out?”

“Yes, well…”

It was unclear where the bandits got it from, but a person cannot possibly go unnoticed if they always carry around a large shield to hide behind even when there is no battle.

“You didn’t stand out as much when you used a hood to cover your face before, but if there is a shield…”

A loud THUNK echoed, halting Syltina’s words.

“I-I even thought that this was perfect to hide my whole body… but if this makes me stand out, what…what should I do?”

Milliane, who had dropped the shield, said in a confused voice as she pulled the hood deeper over her eyes.

“Well, most people won’t notice you if you just cast the presence erasing spell you normally use”

“Presence erasing magic…is…is it really okay if I just use that? Strangers wouldn’t suddenly sell me pots or pans while talking to me, or ask me to wear cat ears and a tail!?”

“……”

It was said with an extremely desperate expression.

“You…are prone to meeting weirdos and perverts, aren’t you?”

“…… At any rate, if you hate to stand out, it would be enough to just erase your presence with magic, pull over your hood, and be quiet at the back. It will be safer if you do that. Understood?”

“Ye-yes”

“By the way, don’t we have something to do?”

Upon Alhart’s words, Milliane remembered what she was just about to say earlier.

“Uh…ummm…what did you mean earlier when you talked about ‘composite magic’?”

Peeking from under her hood, Milliane’s golden eyes shone brightly like never before.

As expected from a race that excels in magic. They will eagerly devour (or absorb, as in learning) anything that has to do with magic.

“‘Composite magic’ is a new type of magic that combines the contracted familiar’s magic and could only be used by its master. By adding, subtracting, multiplying, or splitting the magic attributes each one has, one magic is created by two beings. It is what we, the magic users with familiars, call ‘composite magic’”

“Generally, ‘composite magic’ has a wide range of effects and boasts high power outputs. However, the resulting ‘composite magic’ is different depending on the master and the familiar, so its characteristics are not usually the same.”

“A wide range of effects plus high power outputs….that’s amazing.”

“But, in exchange, it needs a vast amount of magic power and concentration, so I don’t like using it much. It’s also unsuitable to use in a battlefield where foes and allies are mixed together.”

“Well, the necessary magic power is also dependent on their ability. The enormous amount of magic power and concentration required means that the ability of the master and the familiar is high.”

“The ‘composite magic’ that Kuro and I invoke requires half a day of building up magic power. If done poorly, it can burn the whole area down so it needs a considerable amount of magic power and control.”

“In exchange, their magical reserve becomes almost empty, so they can’t fight for a while. That’s why it’s usually my role to get rid of the occasional survivors.”

“Do you get it?”

After nodding once, Milliane turned to look at Kreutz, who was watching the fire.

Noticing Milliane’s line of sight, Syltina smiles.

“Fufu. We will be invoking the spell tomorrow. You will also be able to see Kreutz in his true form. Look forward to it, okay?”

“Yes.”

Seeing Milliane nod enthusiastically, Syltina and Alhart looked at each other and shared a strained laugh.

ーーーーー

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ー

The next day.

At dawn, before sunrise.

The party watched Rufhana village from a closer distance than yesterday.

“So this is the tainted land…”

“Those are demons….“

A black haze originating from the soil covered the whole village, withering the plants in and around the village.

And then, roaming about were a number of grotesque-looking creatures. It was a being covered in black mist who turned the ground black every time it advanced. It wasn’t a beast. Nor was it a human. It had an unknown form, it cried in an unknown voice. It looked absolutely strange. Abnormal. Foreign.

That is what was commonly known as ‘demons’.

“You’re fighting with that….?”

“Against such a being….”

“Well then, let’s start.”

Syltina raised her voice nonchalantly, contrasting with the fear-streaked expressions Akari and her companions wore.

“Hey Tyr, I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me.”

At Syltina’s words, Alhart throws a glance towards Tyrtinkle, who nods her understanding and flies up to the sky.

Tyrtinkle clapped twice after she reached a height directly above the village. The sound produced by her hands was very small, but strangely enough, it reached Syltina and the others just fine.

The moment the clapping stopped, the wind began to blow around Tyrtinkle, and in a flash, the huge wind mass engulfed Syltina and the others who were in the ground.

CLAP! The sound of her hands struck again and the wind mass stopped expanding and remained as it is.

“This is…”

Rufhana village, along with Syltina and the others were now completely surrounded by the dome-shaped wind.

“It’s a spell called ‘Prison of the Wind Blade God’.”

Syltina explained to Milliane, who looked on curiously at the wall made of wind.

“Wind blades….”

“You better not touch those.”

Milliane immediately withdrew her outstretched hand and clutched it against her chest after Alhart warned her.

“As the name suggests, those are blades made of wind. It’s the end once you touch it since it breaks everything to nothingness.”

“Neither the demons nor us can get out of here until the demon extermination is over. We can’t let even one of these demons get far from the village now, can we?”

“I see…”

Seemingly impressed, Millianne nods as she looks at the Prison of the Wind Blade God with great interest.

Chuckling at the awestruck girl, Syltina turns to face Kreutz.

“Okay, let’s get started!”

“Sure.”

Nodding at Syltina’s words, Kreutz instantly changes his form into darkness.

”Eh!?”

“Wh-huh? What’s….”

That darkness rapidly spreads, covering the entire area occupied by the Wind Blade Prison.

It was deep, pitch-black darkness. It was a darkness incomparable to the black haze that oozed from the demons.

Compared to the view that was dimmed by the impurity, that darkness completely dyed everything black, to the point that one couldn’t even tell if their eyes were open or not.

“Before the many shining lives,..”

Amidst that darkness, a dignified voice rang out.