Rose’s body swayed, a small hole opened in her abdomen. Her knees buckled like a puppet with its strings cut.
“──Don’t let the wound touch the ground!”
It was Sheth who immediately responded to my urgent cry. Just as Rose was about to collapse forward, Sheth gently caught her body.
I moved to where Rose had been standing and quickly spread a clean cloth on the ground below. I laid Rose down on top of it and then stood up again.
“Swan, apply pressure to stop the bleeding.”
“Wha—what? What’s going on…?”
“Quickly!”
“Y-yes!!!”
Swan hurried to Rose, while Anemone began channeling power into her holy staff, preparing the healing spell, Heal.
…The vital point seems to have been missed. As long as we avoid hypovolemic shock, her life shouldn’t be in danger.
Meanwhile, I had something to confirm before joining the emergency treatment. I turned my gaze to the depths of the forest from where the beam had come. Narrowing my eyes, I focused… The forest shimmered.
“So, it’s here again…!”
Another beam, the same as the one that pierced Rose earlier, was heading toward me—the second wave of the attack.
It cut through the darkness, streaking straight at me. I thrust my right hand forward, spreading my wide-range Dark Heal to counter it. The murky purple magic touched the beam.
“Whoa!?”
But it didn’t vanish. On the contrary, the beam resisted my Dark Heal, intensifying its pressure, crackling and writhing like electric currents.
…If it were a holy spell, my Dark Heal should have nullified it… Then this isn’t a holy spell…? No, it’s different!
“A holy spell that converts sacred power into another force and fires it…!”
It’s akin to how I transform souls into immense magical energy with my myth-level Dark Heal. This is a power born from laws outside the known world, an unexplored principle.
“Well, well, this is quite fascinating…”
Yet, it doesn’t seem entirely immune to magical influence. I quickly adjusted the output of my Dark Heal, distorting the beam’s trajectory and diverting its path. It passed over my head and disappeared into the sky.
The next moment.
“!?”
A weight descended upon me, as if pressing from above. Its source was an overwhelming, absurd amount of sacred power. I instinctively looked up. The vast night sky spread above, and amidst the stars, I saw a light different from them.
It was—
“…an eye?”
A bloodshot, spherical eye the size of a ball floated in the sky, its blue iris glaring straight at me.
“──A human? A mere human escaped my punishment…?”
A low female voice echoed from nowhere.
She seems to have identified me.
…I see. Coming to a clearing in the woods for stargazing was unlucky.
Apparently, I was spotted by that eye created with holy magic and targeted with pinpoint precision.
Of course, yet another beam was fired at me from the same position. Just like before, I diverted their trajectory.
…It seems only one person is using this holy magic beam.
“──Insolent wretch…”
The mysterious voice continued to echo.
The beams ceased, but the pressure of sacred power kept growing. The voice’s owner seemed to be drawing closer.
Who could it be…?
“No way… This sticky, ominous sacred power, and that ‘all-piercing holy spell’… There’s no doubt—it’s Marrow, the Eastern Sage.”
Anemone spoke as she cast Heal on Rose with her holy staff.
Marrow. Of course, I know that name.
He’s the one responsible for inciting the war over the disputed territories with the Demon Kingdom, the de facto leader of the Western Elven Nation.
However—
“Wasn’t he supposed to be a man?”
“Yes, that’s right. Which is why I think he’s using one of the myth-level secret arts unique to this world… Possession.”
“Possession?”
“A holy spell that lets him transfer his consciousness and power into another elf acting as his vessel.”
“Transferring consciousness and power…!?”
Oh, come on.
Really?
“Now that’s quite the supernatural tale…”
“I have no idea how it works. But because he can do it, he’s called a sage.”
“Oh…!”
I’m intrigued.
Possession, where the soul exists independently and can move freely—how does such a phenomenon occur?
If there’s an elf acting as his vessel somewhere in this forest, this might be a chance…!
“Guh…”
I heard a coughing sound.
It was Rose, lying wounded on the ground.
“L-leave me… Forget about me and run…!”
Coughing blood, Rose forced out her words.
“We can’t defeat Marrow… And you’ve felt the waves of his sacred power, haven’t you…? Soon, every elf in this forest will gather here…!”
“Hmm. Certainly, this does seem like a desperate situation.”
Sheth, Swan, Anemone, and the others all looked at me, questioning whether we should flee.
The answer is obvious.
“In that case, let’s achieve our ‘objective’ quickly and leave.”
“What…? Are you planning to confront Marrow…!?”
Rose’s eyes widened, but the others didn’t seem particularly surprised.
Of course. With a rare myth-level holy spell sample coming to us, how could we not engage? Surely, they all think the same.
And most importantly—
“Rose, I won’t abandon you. After all, I promised to guarantee your lives in exchange for your surrender.”
“…! B-but—”
“Now, now, just focus on recovering.”
I have a plan. This dire situation is also a great opportunity. That massive wave of sacred power just now has even saved me some effort.
I ordered the soldiers—beastmen and vampires—who had been executing a plan in the background during the stargazing to continue their mission.
“We’ll handle the brunt of the assault. Ready, Sheth?”
“As you command.”
Sheth stood by my side, and behind us, zombie soldiers thudded into position.
“Now, let’s meet the legend face-to-face…!”
And then, it appeared—a presence as overwhelming as a giant star.
“──To think I must walk, even with a vessel…”
Emerging from the dark forest, where the trees seemed to bend away, was an elf with a form no different from Anemone and the others. But the aura surrounding them was entirely different. Sacred power, both sinister and fierce, radiated from their body.
“You despicable lower creatures… You’re worthy of a thousand deaths.”
“Oh? A thousand deaths, you say? Now that’s quite a weighty statement.”
This is the monster called the Eastern Sage.
I see, I see.
“So, tell me—how many times have you died and been pieced back together?”
“…”
A vein bulged on Marrow’s temple.
