◇◇◇◇
Luria, riding on Daru’s back, raised her hand and shouted,
“Stay away!”
With those words, she blew away the cursed ones, and Kuro was stunned by the sheer power of it.
(What?!)
As expected, Luria was extraordinary. What she just did was different from regular magic.
It was a powerful force, one that seemed specially effective against the cursed—something that could only be described as the power of a saint.
(Could it be… we might actually have a chance? Luria-sama is much stronger than I thought!)
With that realization, Kuro instructed Luria to focus her mind and strongly will the cursed ones to “disappear.”
If Luria used the same power she just unleashed, holding off the cursed ones would be easy.
If they could be stalled, Luria could concentrate on dispelling the curse from the Cursed Child.
If the curse was lifted, everyone might be able to escape unharmed.
“I-I understand,”
Luria nodded obediently and shouted, “Disappear!”
In the next moment, Luria’s power swept through the surroundings.
It was the same force she had used earlier to blow away the cursed ones, but this time, its output was on an entirely different level.
It was a holy power that healed wounds without causing any harm to spirits, guardian beasts, or animals.
If it had to be named, it would be called “Healing Wind.”
No, perhaps “Healing Tempest” would be more fitting—the torrent of power swept over everything in its path.
The countless cursed ones writhing around were all purified and returned to the heavens.
Even the accumulated curse energy in the vicinity was completely cleansed.
The silver body of the Cursed Child had been reduced to about eighty percent of its original form.
‘…’
The overwhelming power far beyond what Kuro had anticipated left him speechless.
(What’s going on? I haven’t even lent her my strength yet.)
Kuro had planned to lend his power to Luria right after she activated hers.
But he didn’t even get the chance to do so—it all happened too quickly, and the power was too immense.
Normally, a magician would channel the spirit’s power, store it in their magical circuits, and then activate their magic.
But Luria, being part spirit herself, could activate magic on her own.
That’s why it was better to lend her power in tandem with her activation of magic.
The act of storing magic power in the magical circuits itself is taxing on the body.
But while Kuro had been calculating the timing, it was all over before he realized it.
Luria was far stronger than he had imagined.
“Ku-Kuro, what’s going on?”
A confused Luria asked, snapping Kuro out of his thoughts.
‘Uh, if I go into detail, it’ll take a while, so I’ll explain later. To put it simply, Luria-sama purified the curse.’
“What? Purified… the cursed ones? Huh?”
‘Details later. More importantly, Luria-sama, are you all right? Feeling faint or anything?’
The output she unleashed was something no ordinary magician could ever achieve. It wouldn’t be surprising if she had collapsed—it was that powerful.
“I’m a little tired.”
‘You’re bound to be.’
As expected, Luria was feeling fatigued.
The spirits hadn’t even lent her any power this time.
Yet she had displayed such overwhelming force—that was unusual.
Even with the spirits lending their power, no magician could output that level of strength.
Luria truly was an exceptional being.
(She must be even stronger than in her past life.)
However, using such immense power couldn’t possibly be good for her body.
Although Luria only admitted to feeling “a little tired,” she was likely exhausted to the point of nearly passing out.
(It’s still dangerous.)
If Luria realized what she was capable of, she would undoubtedly try to use it again and again.
She wouldn’t hesitate to risk her own well-being if it meant helping the guardian beasts or spirits.
If that happened, her healthy growth might be hindered.
Extreme fatigue would naturally weaken her body, making her more prone to illness.
It could even shorten her lifespan.
(Until she grows up… I must prevent her from using this overwhelming power as much as possible!)
With a firm resolve, Kuro stared intently at Luria’s face.
Luria, noticing his gaze, smiled warmly and gently stroked him.
◇◇◇◇
When I said, “I’m a little tired,” Kuro simply stared at me in a daze.
He must have been so relieved that his tension finally broke.
He’d been trembling with fear earlier, so it couldn’t be helped.
In my heart, I reassured him, “Leave it to me,” while softly patting Kuro.
I needed to stay strong—for both of us.
“Daru, we have to help the Cursed Child!”
“Woof!”
Daru, who had been frozen in confusion, started running again.
Now that the cursed ones were gone, we could safely focus on lifting the curse.
The massive Cursed Child had shrunk to about half its original size and was lying on the ground.
It seemed that roughly half of the curse had been lifted, but it wasn’t fully dispelled yet.
Daru reached the Cursed Child, and I leapt down from his back.
“Thanks, Daru!”
“…Gyaah…”
The Cursed Child, now about half its former size, was still a four-legged creature with wings and a gaping mouth.
“Don’t worry. I’ll lift the curse soon.”
I placed both hands on the creature’s silver body.
It felt unpleasant, as though the silver substance was trying to creep into me.
“Curse, be gone!”
I shouted with all my might.
—Whoosh
A strange sound echoed, and the silver body vanished as if it had evaporated.
“…Ugh… Ugh…”
Left behind was a small, bright red, beautiful dragon.
It was breathing shallowly, barely conscious.
“Huh?”
I was at a loss for words.
The being in front of me was the Spirit King Loa, who should have been dead.
“No, that can’t be… but… it looks just like him.”
It probably wasn’t Loa.
But it was the spitting image of him.
