🌹💘🌹
A week later, I stood in a wasteland in the stifling humidity that blanketed the world as a sign of the coming rainy season. The stench of filth assaulted my nose and an oily, muddy swamp stretched as far as the eye could see. The combination of monster bodily fluids, carcasses, and excrement befouled the earth.
Monsters of various sizes crawled everywhere. They hadn’t noticed us yet because of the shielding magic I employed. Next to me were Darius and Solarus in her military uniform, which was unusual for her.
“There’s…nothing here anymore,” I muttered.
No vestiges remained of the hometown I loved so much. The only thing that caught my eye was a slightly elevated round hill protruding like a hump. It used to be the center of the former village of Nowasilo. Today, only a large stone slab stood as a monument to mark the villagers’ mass burial.
The former village district of Nowasilo stood between Mayga Cieux, the forest covering the western half of the country, and the royal capital. It doubled as an essential point for controlling Mayga Cieux and protecting the capital. Since it was a no man’s land, no serious harm would come to Kophe even if our strategy failed. It made sense to select this location as the first candidate for purification.
“Miss Monica.” Having given his orders to his knights, Richard approached, his armor clanking. Then, in a gentle, considerate tone, he continued. “…Can you do it?”
“Yes, I can. For the sake of everyone lying in rest here and all those in Kophe who still live.” I nodded firmly, staring straight ahead. “Shield, release.”
The moment I chanted the release spell, the monsters’ attention focused immediately on me. Bat-type, large serpent-type, and sheep-type. Countless numbers of them and all their bloodlust homed in on me.
A powerful gust of wind blew through.
I could hear the sound of armor plates rubbing against each other. I felt the knights positioning themselves as a unit. Every member of Richard’s order was here for today’s operation. The refugees of Kophe waited behind a formation of wagons as logistical support.
I inhaled deeply. My hands trembled, either from my excitement at finally being able to exact vengeance or the fear I experienced in the past. Sadness, anger, tension, resolve. A kaleidoscope of emotions swirled within me, turning into a raging torrent.
I squeezed my hands into tight fists on my chest and stood unyielding.
“Come. I won’t lose again!” I knelt down and pressed both palms to the ground. “I am saint Monica Regulus, a heaven-sent child of this ancient continent. Heed the voice of my saintly power. O earth, respond to my call and release the abundance trapped within!”
Darius shouted, using my chant as a signal. “Go! Protect Saint Monica! We’re taking this land back once more for the people!”
“Aaaaaayyyyyyeeeeeee!”
Thus the fierce fighting began. A cacophony of noise rang around me. Blasts of magic, explosions of dirt, roars and bellows, weapons clanging, holy women yelling.
“O earth, expel the seeds of malice, resurrect yourself, and return to your true form.”
I closed my eyes and connected my consciousness with the earth. The flesh originated from Mother Earth and the soul returned to the heavens—the power dwelling within a saint’s body came from the earth. I spoke to the vegetation living in the soil. To the insects and lifeforms.
“Recall the sun’s affection. The meadows’ breaths. The proper cycle of death and rebirth. I know. I know the abundance of this earth.”
Suddenly, my senses dissolved. It felt like my limbs entwined with the ground and disappeared. I continued the chants through my heart instead of my words.
“O earth, you who raised me. You who blessed me with flesh and blood. Now I, Monica Regulus, share my saintly powers with you who have too little.”
I felt like I was being dragged in by the earth. My powers were on a rampage far greater than during the time against the legendary snow beast. I grit my teeth and held on to my sanity. But it kept sucking me in steadily. This isn’t right. The moment after the thought flashed through my mind I realized something.
Oh… Oh, I see… My affinity with the earth is much stronger than it was when I was in Hietside… Too strong!
I was born and raised in this land. My ancestors lived here for generations, so my affinity with the earth that shaped my very existence was much too strong. I communed with this earth too much.
“N-No! This is…bad… My reason…” I ground out.
“Madam Monica!”
“Darius, focus! I’ll take care of her.”
Solarus caught me just as I was about to collapse. I mustered up the last dredges of my power while clinging to her. Mages continued shooting monsters down from the sky. I could hear the knights shouting too.
Then all the noise disappeared with a snap.
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🌹💘🌹
AROUND that time, Darius, assigned as Monica’s bodyguard, felt a sense of wrongness. Something wasn’t right with her. As he mowed down a monster with his flame-magic-infused sword to protect Monica behind him, he whipped around to look at her. She and Solarus were behind a semi-transparent, milk-white barrier, so no monsters should be able to hurt them.
Her hands still pressed to the ground, Monica had stopped chanting. She was hanging on by a mere thread, on the verge of collapse. Solarus also seemed concerned about her condition as she took a fighting stance.
“Raaaar!”
Bellowing, Darius defeated the pterosaur-type monster that flew in front of him. Then he cut down the tentacles wiggling up out of the ground.
The second after he wiped the sweat off his brow, he heard Solarus scream.
“Madam Monica!”
When he jerked around reflexively to look, he doubted his own eyes. Monica’s silver hair spilled out of her wimple and glowed pink, as if lit from within. Solarus forced her head up. Monica’s vacant eyes glowed in a color he’d never seen until now.
Even magic couldn’t create such a rapturous expression. Saint Monica seemed no longer human but—something else entirely. Darius felt a chill run down his spine.
Her lips moved. He couldn’t read them. But he understood one thing—she spoke in the ancient tongue.
“Huh…? What in the—”
The next moment, the ground started shining, with Monica in the center. A pillar of light covered the entire area in an instant.
“Nh…!”
Darius automatically covered his face. In contrast to the intense glare, a warm feeling enveloped him. Like he was being wrapped gently in someone’s body heat. Or stroked by a comforting hot wind. The rich fragrance of flowers permeated the air.
The sweet sensation melting him from the inside out made him shudder and Darius automatically bit down on his lower lip. The scent was designed to trigger sexual arousal. The small pain stopped him from making a terrible mistake.
After some time, the light dimmed then vanished entirely. The aroma caressing his very core went with it and the fervor in his body calmed. Slowly, gingerly, he opened his eyes and found the whole area blanketed in beautiful new growth and flowers.
“This…is…”
The monsters were all gone and a cool, refreshing breeze carried away the stagnant air.
With a gasp, he returned to his senses and spun around to look at Monica and Solarus. Though she strained, Solarus nevertheless supported the fallen Monica as best as she could with her slender frame.
“Ngh…”
“Lady Solarus!” Darius shouted and rushed toward them, cradling Monica in his arms before Solarus dropped her. Her disheveled hair spilling out of her wimple had returned to its original pink-tinged silver. As far as he could tell, she was simply unconscious.
A few of the magic stones sewn into Monica’s holy attire were broken.
“Madam Monica, what sort of a burden did you take upon yourself…?”
“Miss Monica!”
At that moment, His Highness came running up to them, his uniform awash with monster fluids telling the tale of his fierce battle against them. When he reached them, he dropped down to the ground next to them and slapped her lightly on the cheeks. His desperation came through his expression as he called her name repeatedly.
“Miss Monica! Miss Monica, wake up! Damn it, Miss Monica!”
Her eyelashes fluttered and her lids opened. Her eyes, the color of ripe cherries, stared up at His Highness in a daze. A faint smile curved her lips.
“I did it, Richard…”
She weakly held up her fingers in a V sign, mimicking his master. For a moment, regret twisted His Highness’s face—then he smiled and spoke.
“You did, Miss Monica. Well done.” After His Highness picked her up in his arms, he ordered his two subordinates, his voice low. “Darius, check on the others and the area. Solarus, with me. You’ll help me take care of Miss Monica.”