Chapter 35 ~ Everything Happens for a Reason
“So, the calamity has been exorcised?”
“Technically, yes.” Tillysha, drained of mental energy, lazily rested her head on the black stocking-clad thighs of the moon elf princess, stretched her lithe and curvaceous back, and shifted positions.
Monitoring this polluted forest with the Divine Analysis Technique throughout was exhausting. Even if the technique hadn’t depleted her mental energy, her sanity points had long been depleted. She needed a good rest and some nutritional supplements.
“Hmm-hmm-hmm………” Wenfu fidgeted with her fingers, her soft pink ears drooping. She was somewhat relieved that this time it wasn’t just her dragging the team down, but it seemed to make no difference. She was still on the list of ‘deadweight teammates,’ and the hat probably couldn’t be removed anytime soon.
Princess Filisia remained silent. This knight would not show remorse for harming her teammates.
She found it hard to believe, touching the abrasions left by the green celestial vines, but she had to accept this fact. She had been infiltrated by an unknown contamination affecting her mind, proving she was still immature.
“Is this forest the work of the Demon Race?” Wenfu rubbed her fists. “If so, that’s terrible. Mind control and such…”
Mind control……
At the mention of this keyword, Aistride, who had been giving Tillysha a leg rest, showed a suspicious change in expression, but no one noticed.
“I think it’s more likely a supernatural phenomenon than the work of the Demon Race.” Enjoying the silkier-than-silk pillow provided by her knight, Tillysha didn’t even bother to lift her head.
“Supernatural phenomenon?”
“It’s the only explanation. After all, we know very little about Ruglien.” It’s something we can’t even ask the locals about. Even if we could communicate, they’d probably be just as confused.
“While dealing with those ghost faces, I noticed something. These ghostly faces seem to only contain pure negative emotions. These pure and extreme negative emotions are concentrated enough to affect the minds of those who enter this forest. What’s more likely driving them is this profound resentment.”
“A monster born from negative emotions?”
“What, Filisia, have you heard of this?”
“No, but I remember seeing a book in the palace library about ‘curses spawned from negative emotions.'”
“Oh? What was written?”
“I can’t recall the details, but I remember it saying, ‘every extreme notion and vision is the primal seed of power.'”
“Primal seed of power?” Wenfu tilted her head, clearly too difficult for her to understand, being a cat that only knew how to be cute.
“Power?” This word encompasses so much. Magic is power, alchemy is power, and divine authority is power.
“Is this book kept in the palace grand library?” Tillysha asked.
“Yes, it’s old enough to trace back to the ancient empire, probably a mass-produced edition at that time.”
“Even so, that book probably wasn’t issued much back then, but being selected and preserved by the palace library must have significance.” Filisia thought.
“If what the book says is true, divine authority might be included.”
“According to the book, divine authority is also born from intense visions?” Aistride was puzzled. “Isn’t it supposed to be something granted by the gods to their descendants and passed through lineage?”
Filisia shook her head, indicating she didn’t know. “We shouldn’t take an ancient book as gospel. Even though many records in old classics were inaccurate, later generations corrected them.”
These ancient texts are indeed precious for archaeologists, but the experience and theories recorded in them were hundreds or even thousands of years old. Aside from some lost skills, they might already be outdated or outdated by today’s standards.
Unless there’s a dimensional collapse, time always moves forward.
Filisia had read many old books but largely focused on studying the culture and customs of the period with little belief in the content verbatim. This incident reminded her of some descriptions she’d read.
Tillysha was right; the Light Race has lost the continent for over four hundred years. They know nothing about Ruglien and don’t understand what changes have occurred in these four hundred years.
This eerie forest that devours people indiscriminately, whether they are humans or the Demon Race, spares no one. If it was a creation of the Demon Race, why has it turned on its creators?
If it was created by a higher-ranking demon targeting lower-ranking ones living near the wilderness, it shows the Demon Race is not a monolith.
In short, their expedition has yielded much information, giving them a deeper understanding of Ruglien’s internal situation.
“Has this forest really returned to normal?” At the first signs of dawn, it seemed to mark the end of a nightmare. Wenfu, uneasily stroking her small paws, only found comfort in the first rays of the sun.
Although she was under someone else’s control, sensory remnants made her realize how bizarre last night’s events were.
Her body felt as though it had been dominated by countless tentacles and forced to act against her will.
“Whatever happens, let’s head back.” As the main force, Tillysha was wounded and couldn’t continue fighting. Proceeding further could lead to total annihilation.
Though this mission ended in failure, Ruglien is the Demon Race’s stronghold, and surviving several infiltrations was already commendable.
“Hold on; this time, we might have an unexpected windfall.” Tillysha pointed in a direction.
“That position, look there. You might find a Demon heart.”
Following Tillysha’s gaze, they spotted the tallest tree in the forest.
Filisia and Wenfu searched around the tree and, sure enough, found a soft, jewel-like object nearby.
“Is this the Demon heart?” Wenfu looked at the palm-sized, translucent orb resembling jelly, surprised that monstrous demons could drop such beautiful items upon d*ath.
“Indeed. I’ve seen one before when I was little. By the standard of Demon hearts, this one isn’t small.” Filisia approached, picked up the soft heart, and held it in her palm.
“It’s the heart dropped by the ghostly monsters inhabiting this forest.” Tillysha regained some mental energy. “I thought ghosts wouldn’t drop hearts. Guess they’re more physical than I imagined.”
“After all, without a heart, one cannot wield divine authority.”
Filisia held the heart up, and under the sunlight, Tillysha thought it looked like a clot of bl**d sealed in a plastic bag.
“Now, Filisia’s breakthrough conditions are complete; we can head back.”
“This time, thanks to you, Tillysha.” Filisia looked at the demon heart in her hand, hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and solemnly said to the other three present. “And to all of you, thank you for your unwavering support when I was in peril. I will remember it forever.”
“Among teammates, there’s no need for such formalities, Princess Filisia.”
“Right, Filisia-nee-san need not concern herself so much …” Although that’s what Wenfu said, she awkwardly turned her head, feeling uneasy. Accepting Filisia’s gratitude made her restless because she hadn’t done anything this time. The entire mission was carried out by Tillysha and Aistride. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was just there for a leisurely stroll.
She felt like she was merely an accessory to these big players, a charm hanging off their legs, trying her best not to hinder them.
After tidying up the tents, they were ready to leave the forest.
“Tillysha?” Seeing Tillysha preparing to go but her gaze staying fixed on the forest, Aistride asked, “Did you forget something?”
“No, I’m just thinking about what changes Ruglien will undergo after I leave this forest?” Tillysha said her thoughts aloud.
Upon hearing this, Aistride and Filisia went silent. Only Wenfu tilted her head, perplexed.
“What do you mean? If you depart, wouldn’t Ruglien remain unchanged?”
“The curse of this forest has been exorcised by Tillysha,” said Aistride without continuing.
“Isn’t that better?” Wenfu still didn’t understand.
“From now on, this forest will no longer be a forbidden zone for the local Demon Race.” Filisia said. “Most likely, another batch of demons resides on the other side of the forest.”
“Since the curse on this forest has disappeared, it’s just a matter of time before edge-living demons discover that the forest is no longer dangerous. They will rush in and conquer this unclaimed territory, inevitably sparking conflicts or even wars with the demons living outside the forest.”
“After all, no demon would willingly live in this resource-scarce wasteland. Disputes over territory are bound to occur.”
“Originally, an impenetrable forest kept two groups of demons apart, but we’ve opened this passage. Who knows what unexpected changes might happen?”
“Isn’t that better? Isn’t inter-demon conflict beneficial to the Light Race?” Wenfu still didn’t understand Tillysha’s concern.
“Perhaps. I hope so, but I feel that everything up to this point has been too smooth.” Tillysha raised an eyebrow.
The only reason she could exorcise the forest’s curse was thanks to her cheat-like ability, “Holy Oblivion.” Someone else might not have had the opportunity and would have perished in the forest.
How could it be this coincidental that she, who had the ability to lift the forest’s curse, happened to come here and do just that?
Even though all these actions were driven by their personal will without any external interference, Tillysha felt as if the path had been pre-designed, waiting for her to follow.
Impossible, who could be using her? Who would dare? Who even knows her so well?
Among those she currently knows, Tillysha cannot think of someone like that. She could only attribute this suspicion to her being overly suspicious.
The only possible person without a motive or the means is Bilodis far away.
After considering it, the group proceeded to leave Ruglien.
Aistride had been in the jungle all along and felt no fatigue from a night of intense physical activity. Filisia and Wenfu were slightly weary but managed to rest before continuing, so they weren’t overly exhausted.
This time, unlike the fortunate journey here, they didn’t encounter a single demon.
Perhaps because the group was entirely female, their scent seemed too enticing, attracting numerous goblins, those mischievous green little fiends.
Some scholars argue that goblins are part of the Demon Race; others think not, considering them more akin to beasts. This debate continues unresolved. Ultimately, there is no definitive academic or biological classification to determine whether a species belongs to the Demon Race. This classification rests solely on the word of scholars.
These little fiends clearly mistook them for naive female adventurers, each weaker than the last, ready to fall over with a breeze. So, they attempted to lure Tillysha and her group into traps outside their lair, aiming to capture them all in one go.
Looking at the team, each member appeared as a beautiful, delicate jewel, these goblins’ eyes gleamed with malice, staring directly at Tillysha. The greed in their gaze suggested they wanted to pounce and tear off her clothes right there.
The goblins clearly overestimated their abilities. Filisia’s greatsword suddenly struck with the force of a mountain, obliterating them with ease. Even the wind from her sword was enough to shatter their fragile joints.
With Wenfu’s support, Filisia fought, swiftly defeating the group. A few managed to escape into the Desolate Mountain, but they no longer posed a threat.
Filisia raised her swan-like neck, shaking the bl**d off her sword, then puckered her lips, seemingly dissatisfied, having not expended her energies. On the way, they faced no other demons; an eerie forest was their only obstacle. She had long been restrained.
Additionally, they encountered a few lone beastmen returning from a hunt. Though the beastmen might have noticed their disadvantage in numbers, they decided not to attack, attempting to sneak away unnoticed. However, Filisia wouldn’t have it. She swung her massive greatsword and attacked the four beastmen.
With Wenfu’s support and occasional help from Aistride, Filisia’s battle against the four beastmen was surprisingly straightforward.
Tillysha sighed lightly as she watched Filisia stomp her high heels into the face of a defeated beastman, gradually pulling her sword from the creature’s chest.
The ‘Dragon’s Ascension’ was far from fading. Encountering Filisia’s heightened state on the return journey, these four unfortunate buffoons couldn’t have been luckier.
