Chapter 338
The spirits were bored.
They simply continued their role of maintaining nature's peace as if by inertia.
The spirits themselves held no dissatisfaction with this.
If you asked if they sought change, they did, but it wasn't essential.
That way of life made the spirits forget the concept of time.
The feeling of 'yesterday' stretched into decades. Falling asleep once meant the humans they knew had raised children.
People change in the blink of an eye.
But, beings like spirits do not change so easily.
Their long lives meant little change.
Bored, yet, they did not change it.
Into such a life, a gust of wind blew in.
The ones who blew that wind were just a few humans.
After that group came to the hot springs where the spirits rested slowly, the feeling of 'boredom' vanished from the spirits for the first time in ages.
It wasn't a festival uproar every day.
Instead, they began to look forward to tomorrow.
They could eagerly await the next festival.That feeling, like the seasonal shift from winter to spring, brought joy to spirits across the world.
It wasn't like the Western Continent, a stiff relationship of reverence, of giver and receiver.It wasn't like the Northern Continent, a relationship of constant battle and environmental destruction, of breaker and healer.It wasn't like the Eastern Continent, a relationship of being used for business transactions, of user and used.It wasn't like the Southern Continent, a distant relationship as invisible neighbors, felt or not.
Laughing together right beside them, frolicking together—an ancient relationship.
Ah, the enjoyable times had returned.
New songs, new festivals.
Old spirits returned, new spirits awakened.
The day those few humans became the spirits' friends.
It became a day the spirits would not forget until the day they vanished.
There was a girl good at singing, a girl desperately thinking up festivals, a girl kindly offering food, a woman playing with a rambunctious spirit.
And there was a boy who brought more unknowns than anyone.
For spirits, the unknown is happiness.Not knowing things is a blessing for beings living long years.
So, the boy probably didn't know.
From his perspective, he worked hard to make the spirits happy, and this was the result.
But for the spirits, even if it was a fleeting moment, they felt a great debt to the boy who gave them this precious time.
He was by their side.He tried to be by their side.
Even if it was temporary, for the spirits, it was close to unconditional love.
That's why the spirits wanted to respond to that love.They accepted the slightly perceived ulterior motives as human emotion, and thought even more about how they could spend time happily with this boy.
One day, the boy came to the spirit world.
He was fleeing from a formidable enemy.
The boy was in trouble.But he laughed, saying he'd manage somehow.
Humans are greedy.Having lived long years, they had seen many such people. Most were those who begged the spirits for help, scheming to have things done for them.
But that boy tried to manage on his own, saying he didn't want to cause trouble.
The spirits wondered if there was anything they could do to help.
And when they offered to help, the boy smiled and said.
"Thank you."
Those words of thanks were warm.And it wasn't just words.
Everything he brought, every event, was warm.The live music events where everyone got excited.The sports festival everyone enjoyed.The BBQ they ate with everyone, regretting not knowing such delicious food sooner.
The boy named Liberta had given the spirits something far greater than he imagined.
That's probably why.
Azhdaha is close to a natural enemy for spirits.A being that could potentially erase their very existence.
Normally, the spirits should have hidden in a safe place, chosen to wait and observe quietly for this calamity to be subjugated.
However.
*`'Everyone! Put your backs into it!! For that boy and his friends!'`*
Now, in the sky above that calamity, the crackling lightning was a spirit.
*`'Yeah! Just a little, just a little more effort, and Liberta will take this thing down!!'`*
The one creating the clouds was a water spirit.
*`'We just have to keep this nasty air from getting out, right!?'`*
The one manipulating the winds to prevent the miasma from flowing out was also a spirit.
Some spirits were stopped from coming here.Some spirits were too scared to come to this place.
But there were also spirits who stood up, wanting to repay their debt, even just a little.
*`'Yes! Just a little is fine!'`**`'You're fired up, little sister!'`**`'That's right, your lightning is stronger than usual, sister.'`*
The catalyst was the lightning spirits who had interacted frequently with the boy Liberta.They had no names.The three sister spirits.
*`'Be quiet! I just hate the thought of going back to those boring days if he disappears!!'`*
Thus, while bantering with her sisters, their bodies were constantly exposed to the miasma.The air, like a potent poison to spirits, constantly touched their bodies, their forms gradually eroded by the curse. They were in a state where they could easily pass the point of no return, yet they did not stop unleashing lightning against the breath attacks shot from below.
*`'You two, fall back now!!'`**`'We're fine! We can still do it! We want to enjoy the Guild Master's events too!'`**`'What are you saying, all drenched in sweat like that!? I'm telling you to fall back and get healed by the light spirits before coming back!'`**`'But if we fall back...'`**`'Don't underestimate a Great Spirit!! We can handle a mere snake like that just fine ourselves!!'`*
The lower spirits had fallen back long ago.The mid-level spirits, who had somehow served as a fighting force to maintain balance, were also nearing their limits.The spirits manipulating the clouds and winds to reduce pollution and hide their bodies were also approaching their limits.
These were the spirits who, upon learning of Liberta's predicament, followed the second sister who was the first to stand up.Originally, they were not combat personnel.He might request the creation of tools, but he never called them to a battlefield.They were here because Liberta and his friends were important to them.
They had heard the plan from the Great Dark Spirit, the one called 'Dark-san'.If things went smoothly, it would be safe.They could definitely win.
*`'When that happens, let's have another festival.'`*
He promised with a smile, so they waited.To keep that promise, the spirits rushed here.
Even among the spirits known to the Great Lightning Spirit, who had lived long years, this one was particularly dangerous. An entity their instincts screamed at them to flee from.
But, to have another festival with everyone, one by one, the spirits stood up and ran forth, disregarding the danger.
*'The preparations aren't ready at all, are they? Nothing is going smoothly, is it?'*Everything was outside the plan; Liberta was in dire straits.
*`'I'm going.'`*
Perhaps because she was a lightning spirit, she ran out ahead of anyone else.
Not wanting to lose something precious—with that single-minded determination, even if she was a Great Spirit, just one spirit ran towards her natural enemy.That became the catalyst, leading a large number of comrades to rush to the scene.
They dislike battle.It's painful, not fun, dangerous.
Acting contrary to what their hearts told them to avoid, they fought.
It wasn't chivalry.It wasn't a sense of justice.
Just one thing.They wanted to repay *them*—the ones who gave the spirits their greatest joy, who freed them from the boredom akin to death for a spirit.
And they believed.
Liberta would surely use this time they bought to do something.That he would play a reversal card.
For that, their lives were not precious.
*`'Cough'`**`'Just fall back already!!'`*
Another mid-level spirit, unable to endure the pollution, fell back.Their body contaminated by the curse, they had fought on nonetheless.
*`'I'm sorry.'`**`'It's fine!!'`*
Dodging the breath attacks by a hair's breadth, the aftermath pushed the curse level into the danger zone.
*`'I can't... anymore!'`**`'Thank you! It's alright now! Leave the rest to us!!'`*
The water spirit constantly purifying the clouds fell back.Because of this, the figures of the lightning spirits flying in the sky became visible, and the miasma surged forward.
*`'Sister, you fall back too!!'`**`'Not yet! This is nothing compared to our fourth all-nighter making costumes!'`**`'That's right! When it comes down to it, we're strongest when we're together, right!!'`*
The more time passed, the more the number of spirits decreased.The Elves on the ground were providing support, but it only served to buy time.Strength was rapidly draining from their bodies.The more mana they used, the less they could resist the miasma.It couldn't be helped, given the nature of spirits.
However, their will to fight did not wane in the slightest.
Becoming a trinity, they slammed an extreme lightning bolt into Azhdaha, declared they could still fight, and the sisters psyched themselves up, saying they'd give it more, right at that moment.
*`'Ah, is that... Amina-chan's song?'`**`'That's not all.'`**`'....You're late.'`*
A beautiful song, unbefitting a battlefield.There was no way the spirits here could mishear it.A song signaling that the preparations for battle were complete, just when they thought they could still fight.
A clear voice, so pure it seemed it might cleanse the polluted air, echoed across the area. The monster looked towards the source of the song.
A stage created on a mountainside. At its center stood the birdkin girl, flanked by a choir clad in white robes.Singing a hymn to dispel the curse, and with the aggro-drawing effect of her song skill, they were recognized as the most dangerous existence by the Mirror Image Azhdaha.
The eight heads opened their mouths simultaneously, charging Cursed Poison Breath.
If this attack wasn't stopped, that choir would be annihilated.The spirits knew this, but they did not move. They did nothing.
It wasn't resignation, nor was it clinging to life.
There was just one reason: they believed.
The eight ominous flashes were unleashed.
They flew straight towards the choir—and.
*`'Just as planneddddddddddd!!!!!!!!'`*
The shout of the boy who had grumbled during the BBQ that he wanted to say this line, echoed.
*`'Good thing we built them! Barrier Towers!!'`*
Six towers sprouted from the ground, centered around the ruins.And instantly, a barrier deployed, linking the towers together.
This was the decisive weapon against Azhdaha that Liberta had asked the spirits to create.
The Barrier Towers.
The towers themselves were constructs built from Light Spirit Stones.If one were to pay to build these in this world, a single one would require a national budget equivalent to ten years—an absurd object.Furthermore, these Barrier Towers, once activated, would continue functioning until the mana within the Spirit Stones was depleted, after which they would vanish. They were consumables.
*`'Kara-noooooo!!!'`*
Going by hypothetical estimates, using six of these outrageous objects—enough to make a finance minister turn pale, foam at the mouth, and collapse—the created barrier perfectly blocked Azhdaha's breath before Amina's choir.
And Liberta's voice, now highly excited, continued to ring out.
*`'Filth must be disinfecteeeeed!!!!'`*
The Barrier Towers were merely for defense, a cage.Alone, they could only buy time.
The barrier created by the light attribute, generating a sealed space and reducing curse effects, was effective against Azhdaha.But it wasn't enough.
There, one more action.
According to Liberta, this was the combo that made it the delicious "kabayaki".
The magical tools held by the knights appearing at the barrier's 'windows'.
Those in the know would understand.Flamethrowers.
The range of a man-portable flamethrower is at best around 50 meters; a vehicle-mounted type might reach 300 meters.
Even that seemed like it wouldn't reach Azhdaha inside the barrier.
But this is a world of swords and magic.
The flames released from the nozzles of the flamethrowers in the knights' hands ignored physics, releasing firepower enough to turn this vast space into a sea of fire.
***`'■■■■■■■■■■!?'`***
In an instant, the flames spread to surround the Mirror Image Azhdaha.