The spell had worked.
A dragon, forged from roaring flame and Mimi’s desperate will, surged across the battlefield and sank its burning jaws into the white giant. Still fixated on Delarosa, the creature had left its back completely exposed, and Mimi’s attack struck with unrelenting force. Though Delarosa’s earlier Dragon Flame had been blunted by the giant’s barrier, it had still left cracks in its magical armor. Now, Mimi’s direct hit tore through those openings, overwhelming what was left of its defenses. The creature let out no cry, no resistance; it simply dissolved into heat and ash, its form consumed by fire and undone by magic.
Mimi stared, frozen, as the last remnants of the white giant vanished. For a moment, her mind couldn’t catch up with what had just happened. Her arms trembled, and her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Then, as the silence settled over the battlefield, the realization sank in.
“I… I did it…” she whispered, eyes wide with disbelief. And then, softer, from a place deeper than breath, she murmured, “Thank you, Kuusha.”
It was more than gratitude. It was an offering from a girl who had been protected all her life to the knight who had guarded her until the very end. Kuusha had given everything for her… and even now, through the magical power crystal she left behind, she had saved her again.
Delarosa came rushing over, her expression an open mix of shock and joy. “Mimi, that was amazing! You actually pulled off Dragon Flame? That spell took me forever to get right!”
Mimi looked down, still breathless. “It was only because of Kuusha’s magicite,” she said, her voice quiet with humility. And while that was true—no ordinary beginner could cast a spell of that level—the fact remained: Mimi had done what most mages couldn’t. Even with amplified mana, the ability to replicate a complex spell from memory alone required extraordinary talent, clarity of image, and a deep, instinctive connection to magic.
Delarosa seemed to realize that, too. She didn’t say so outright, but the proud gleam in her eyes said enough.
“Well then!” she beamed, clapping her hands together. “Let’s go climb that ridiculous staircase.”
Mimi nodded, and together the two of them turned toward the steps ahead, an enormous spiral path that vanished into the forest canopy. The way to the Emperor Treant waited at the top, and though neither of them knew exactly what would come next, they moved forward with newfound courage.
After a few minutes of climbing in silence, Mimi glanced upward and hesitated. “Um… hey. You don’t think more enemies are going to show up on the stairs, right?”
Delarosa winced. “C-Can you not say creepy things like that right now?”
Both of them knew the truth: if another enemy appeared now, after everything they’d spent, they wouldn’t stand a chance. By the time they reached the stairway’s midpoint, both girls were utterly drained. Delarosa’s magic power had nearly run dry, and the magical boost Mimi had gained from Kuusha’s magical power crystal was all but spent. In their current state, even the appearance of a single low-level white homunculus would have been enough to overwhelm them.
“Please, no more enemies… no more enemies…” Mimi whispered the words like a prayer with each step, clutching her hands together as she climbed. It was the only thing she could do to keep her legs moving.
The staircase spiraled endlessly. Minute after minute passed, yet the summit, where the Emperor Treant’s face supposedly awaited, remained stubbornly out of sight.
“H-Haa… haa… seriously, how long is this staircase?” Mimi panted, swaying unsteadily as she dragged herself upward. “I-I can’t feel my legs anymore…”
In stark contrast to her wobbling exhaustion, Delarosa looked as energetic as ever—at least on the surface.
“J-Just a little more! You can do it!” she cheered, pumping a fist.
In truth, Delarosa was struggling just as much. Her magic reserves were nearly depleted, and her body was heavy with fatigue. But she pushed forward with sheer willpower, forcing herself to be Mimi’s support, even if her smile was starting to tremble.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the two girls reached the top.
“We… we made it!” Delarosa cried, arms raised in triumph, before she collapsed to the floor.
“Ghhh… I’m dead,” Mimi groaned, dropping beside her like a puppet with its strings cut.
They lay sprawled on the ground, panting, too exhausted to remember what had even brought them here in the first place. For a few blissful seconds, they just stared up at the treetop canopy above.
Then, Mimi blinked and sat up slowly. “Oh, right… We’re supposed to talk to the Emperor Treant.”
Shaking off the fog of fatigue, she looked around for his face. It didn’t take long to find: it loomed directly ahead, and up close, it was massive.
The Emperor Treant’s face was carved into the bark of the ancient tree like a living monument. It towered over them, easily as large as the royal palace back in the dwarven capital. The sheer scale of it left both girls speechless.
“W-Whoaaa…” Mimi breathed.
“Th-That’s huge…” Delarosa added, equally stunned.
It was so absurdly gigantic, their brains could only register it with awe-struck simplicity.
“A-Ahem… Emperor Treant, sir? Can you hear me?” Mimi called out hesitantly, raising her voice toward the enormous face.
No reply.
The silence hung in the air like a weight, and a pang of unease crept into Mimi’s chest.
Don’t tell me… after all that… we climbed all this way for nothing?
The thought chilled her more than any monster could. There was no way she could let this be the end, not after everything they’d gone through to reach the summit. Gathering the last of her strength, Mimi cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted with all the force she could muster.
“Emperor Treant!!! Can you hear me?!”
Mimi’s voice rang out into the towering silence, echoing off the wooden walls of the massive tree. A few seconds passed. Then, without warning, the Emperor Treant’s eyes snapped open.
“Wah!”
“Eep!”
Both girls recoiled, startled by the sudden movement. The great eyes, closed until now, were impossibly vast and unnervingly alive. And then, without the use of a mouth, a voice resonated through the air—no, not the air. It echoed directly into their minds.
“A dwarf… and a goblin. A rare pairing. So, you’re the one marked by blessing.”
It was a strange voice. Ancient, deep, and yet somehow gentle. The language it spoke wasn’t one either girl recognized, and yet they understood it perfectly. Some sort of magic was clearly at work, translating his words directly into their thoughts.