“Hmm?”
In the trunk of the giant tree standing in the Mother Sea, Eleonore suddenly looked up. She got to her feet and stared at the sky outside.
“Has the sky gotten darker?”
Due to Gaetenaros using his authority to change the Celestial Canopy to night, the sky of the neighboring Mother Sea also dimmed.
“Eleonore,” I called through Leaks.
She tilted her head to show she was listening.
“According to what the God of Change just said, the firedew is going missing in the Mother Sea.”
Eleonore tilted her head in confusion and held up her index finger.
“But this is Wenzel’s divine domain. Isn’t the Goddess of Birth an old friend of Misha’s?”
“There may be other circumstances behind it. Wenzel has also been absent from the Mother Sea for a long time. Although it’s her domain, another god may have used their powers there while she was gone.”
“Oh, that makes sense. Someone was doing bad things behind Wenzel’s back.”
“Pranking people...is bad!”
Zeshia stood up and joined our Leaks.
“If there’s nothing, that’s for the best. But it’s worth looking into.”
“Roger that.”
“Where do we look?” Ennessone asked. The wings on her head flapped.
“Gaetenaros said the wind was strange. Search the sky first. There may be a hint in the firedew wind right before it turns to water.”
“Understood!” Zeshia replied enthusiastically, linking hands with Ennessone. She then lifted their linked hands into the air. “It’s a...SOSearch!”
The two flew out of the hole in the trunk and rose through the air using Fless.
“Hey, don’t run too far ahead!” Eleonore exclaimed. “There might be another scary god out there like that one in the turban!”
“We’ll get them next time...by showing our true strength!” Zeshia cheered.
Eleonore smiled wryly. “Um, we used our true strength last time too... But that’s because you’re still growing, and I’m not suited for combat to begin with. Enne too.”
“But Eleonore, Ennessone was thinking something,” Ennessone said, wings on her head extending out. “If I could use Ennessone magic in a different way, you and Zeshia would both become stronger.”
“Hmm? What do you mean? Ennessone is a spell that gives birth to new life, isn’t it?” Eleonore asked curiously.
“Yup. It creates life that isn’t bound by order. In Da Qu Kadarte, the flow of firedew is decided already, as the limit of life in the world is fixed. That’s why there’s a limit to the number of artificial sources you can make through Eleonore.”
Zeshia nodded along with a serious expression.
“But Ennessone magic isn’t bound by such limits. It can ignore the limits of the world,” Ennessone continued.
“Oh, I see. That way, I can use Eleonore to create even more—”
Eleonore cut off mid-sentence and looked upwards as if in deep thought.
“Huh? Isn’t that a little weird?”
If she created artificial sources using Eleonore, she could convert hearts to magic power. If she used the magic power that was born to cast Eleonore, she could create more artificial sources. Eleonore normally looped this process to gather magic power for Aske, but there was a maximum number of artificial sources she could create.
However, if that limit were removed...
“Wouldn’t I be able to create infinite magic power using Aske and Eleonore?”
“Yup, that’s what I think! After all, Ennessone is the Demon King’s magic order!”
For some reason, Zeshia puffed up her chest proudly. “The Demon King’s magic is tyranny. The T in tyranny stands for infinite.”
“Infinite doesn’t start with a T, Zeshia,” Eleonore said jokingly, holding up a finger. “But if that’s true, I could have beaten up that turban-wearing god myself.”
“Hmm. I wouldn’t do that unless you absolutely had to.”
Eleonore paused at my words. “How come?”
“The greater a power, the harder it becomes to control. You may be capable of creating infinite power, but that doesn’t mean you have the vessel to withstand it. Imagine if you had to handle my power.”
“Ah... I’d perish.”
“Keep it within a manageable range—around one hundred thousand artificial sources at most, I’d say. Exceed that only when you have something you’d give your life to protect.”
“Tee hee. That won’t be necessary—I have a Demon King on my side!”
A large cloud was approaching Eleonore and the others. They flew through it and reached the upper sky of the Mother Sea.
“Hmm, do you two see anything strange?” Eleonore asked.
The three of them strained their Eyes at the sky.
“Over there!” Ennessone exclaimed, pointing above them. “I can see a light.”
The place she was pointing at was where the sky of the Mother Sea crossed with the Celestial Canopy’s sky. Night had fallen in the Celestial Canopy, making parts of the boundary between the skies shine brighter than the others.
“It’s...an aurora!” Zeshia said.
“Is it the wind turning into an aurora?” Eleonore wondered, staring at the aurora with her Magic Eyes. But she wasn’t able to identify it from this distance. “Let’s go closer.”
The three of them flew towards the shining aurora. The closer they got, the less stable their Fless became, until they were wobbling on the verge of falling—a side effect of getting close to the Celestial Canopy, most likely. Just as they were about to reach the aurora, they found themselves unable to rise any further.
“I can’t...get closer...” Zeshia muttered.
“What should we do? Extend a long, long ladder from the bottom of the tree?”
When Eleonore turned to look at the sea below them, a gust blew her hair.
“Ah!” Ennessone suddenly shouted. “The wind is coming!”
“Without any sound? Where from?” Eleonore replied.
Eleonore started flying around in search of where the wind was strongest. Out of nowhere, her long hair started to rise upwards; she had found a strong upwards current.
“Whoa, that’s cool!”
“Grab on to me,” Ennessone said.
Eleonore and Zeshia linked hands with her, and the small girl spread the wings on her back. They then rode the current upwards, shooting into the sky. They surpassed the area where Fless couldn’t be used and drew closer to the light.