“Frozen Shield!”
“Hurry! Bring out the weapon! It’s only one elf!”
“It’s only one elf! Use all the bombs and your mana! We can’t get caught here!”
To think that so many humans would be involved … even a few beastmen.
After separating from Miss Saori, I went down the stairs into the basement. According to the reports Lady Hestia got and from what Kiiro could remember, I was expecting to find two or three alchemists working on this fiendish project. I expected those human alchemists to resist since our arrival was announced by the receptionist. After all, this was a crime worthy of death to the Artorian nobles.
However, what I found was baffling. The moment I stepped foot in the basement, my [Prediction] warned me something was being thrown at me. Embarrassingly, I had to admit I didn’t expect to be attacked this soon, so my reaction time to bring up my [Frozen Shield] was pathetically slow for a member of Aurora. Kiiro, inside my catalyst, flew into the thrown object's trajectory to block it, causing it to crash into the orb and shatter like glass, spilling its content on me. This small delay was enough for me to reflexively activate [Frozen Body], causing my body to exude freezing ice to protect myself from the spillage.
As I assessed the attack, [Identify] informed me the attack was from a flask of acid. The sizzling of flesh wasn’t present, thankfully, as Lady Hestia’s [Sanctified Blaze] considered it a threat to me and began aggressively burning the acid off me. Still, I could feel some of my mana being lost from the attack. My body of ice couldn’t protect me. I had to reflect on this mistake.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t do it on the spot, as the alchemists began their attack on me. Some were mages and could use spells while others simply threw acid flasks or bombs, all of which lacked the oomph of Lady Hestia’s creations. While I wasn’t surprised at the resistance, I was so more unnerved by the number of conspirators and there being beastmen amongst them.
Honestly, I didn’t know why I was so fixated on that last part. Evil wasn’t restricted to humans alone. Lady Hestia and Miss Saori made sure to make me understand that point. However, I still felt more prejudice towards humans than I claimed, still thinking that they were the only ones depraved enough to torture the fae like this.
Nevertheless, I focused on the fight, accepting that I still needed time to rid myself of all my animosity towards the human race. These fiends were simply greedy enough to commit the same mistake they did 200 years ago. Miss Saori said history was written down and taught to others so past crimes can be avoided in the future, so I guess these criminals were part of the more foolish stock.
More importantly, however, I wasn’t the most furious person in the room.
[“Diiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee! Fooooooorrrrr theeeee forssaaaakeeen! Rot in your foolishness!”] Kiiro, the supposedly cured onnikai-turned-spirit, was speaking in their onnikai voice even as they aided me in controlling the two floating ice swords.
By using this catalyst’s function—which Goddess Zephira herself blessed—to turn my mana into a moldable slime, I was able to form two swords to act as my offensive power. Although outnumbered by over ten people, [Ice Magic] was thankfully well suited for defensive tactics. Very similar to earth magic, in this manner, although it lacked the durability of the latter in exchange for being as flexible as water and wind spells.
“ARRGH!”
“H-how is a mage so fast?! W-what are those swords?!”
“She’s only one person! I call for the ocea-What?! ARGH!”
With [Frozen Shield] active, I was going from one cover to the next as I closed the distance between each alchemist and guard using [Wind Blast] to accelerate myself. The basement was a collection of large rooms, and in each of them were tables, shelves, and large boxes that could be used as cover. By using my floating swords and shield to defend myself from spells, they could quickly transition to wounding my enemies, whether close by or from afar.
My enemies weren’t just alchemists, but what I presumed were mercenaries, as they were acting the part of guards and were all members of a group named Yanderu Elusuess. There were around seven low-level alchemists whereas the mercenaries numbered up to thirteen, I believe. They also weren’t much of a threat as a single high-leveled person, but the problem lay with their numbers. I wasn’t sturdy, nor did I have a reliable mana healing method to be able to just ignore these people and their attacks.
Their attack strategy was simple but effective. The leader of the mercenaries, a man they called Helmut, was ordering the alchemists and his mercenaries around like a puppeteer. Telling them how to attack and when to execute it, which meant that I was being pinned down most of the time. Although staying on the defensive would lead me nowhere, I couldn’t attack carelessly.
Helmut was a mage, an earth and fire mage to be more precise. Whenever I was stuck in a single place for too long, he would use a fire spell to melt down my shield, making me prone for further attacks if I didn’t respond fast enough. If he missed and hit a wall or a piece of furniture, he would use [Reduce Heat] to stop the fire or use earth spells to quench it.
“How funny it is to have a mage of Plesia fight me today! Is this a sign from God? Is this a trial he designed just for me to help me grow? Glorious!” His zealousness was to be expected from a Danterno faithful. “Now, hurry up and bring out that damn weapon! It’s only a single elf and you imbeciles are having so much trouble with her!”
The alchemists would throw flasks of acid and bombs at me, while archers would shoot arrows whenever my shield moved. Swordsmen and axe fighters closed in to apply pressure on me until Helmut destroyed my shield. This whole situation would repeat itself as I re-materialized my shield. It would have been a stalemate if it wasn’t for my dwindling mana reserves.
As a fairy, if my mana was reduced to zero, it would mean death for me. I was drinking mana potions to regenerate my energy; it was fortunate that my enemies didn’t know about this weakness. If they had, then I believe they would begin draining my mana using whatever devilish machines they used to torture the faefolk they captured here.
[“Tasianna, what are you doing?!”] Kiiro raised his voice while I cast another [Frozen Shield]. [“This is unacceptable! Why are you so meek with so much power? The power of the orb can overwhelm all these fools! Kill them already! Stop holding yourself back and slaaaaaaaayyyyy them!”]
While I could understand Kiiro’s anxiousness, I didn’t know how to proceed with this battle outside of defending while waiting for an opening. I was able to deal damage by combining my floating swords and spells like [Ice Spike] and [Icicle Gale], but none of them have died yet. My attacks weren’t lethal enough.
“I don’t have enough mana to fight as aggressively as you want me to!” I told Kiiro bluntly. “I only have a limited amount of potions on my belt and I can’t risk taking damage. Kiiro, we must retreat and call for Miss Saori’s support.”
It was the smartest decision. I couldn’t fight as I did during the bandit raid because I didn’t have the element of surprise. The moment I entered the basement, I was at a disadvantage. The basement was also too small for me to assume my [Elvenize (Moderate)] form and use my wings.
As the sounds of broken glass and explosions continued behind my shield, the elated voice of Helmut brought me back into the fight. “Ahhh, good! Finally, the mana cannon! Put the battery in already!”
Peeking around my shield, I saw some mercenaries bringing out a large cannon from another room. If my memories served me right, it looked like a smaller version of the “Warhammer Mana Cannon” the dwarves could engineer. It was small enough to pass through the storage room with some trouble, but I presumed its firepower must still be great considering it was a cannon.
Upon Helmut’s orders, an alchemist opened up the battery compartment of the cannon and put a metal cylinder in it. The moment the cannon was activated, Kiiro began to tremble.
[“Arghh! Th-they are draining my brethren right in front of me?! Kiiilllll! Veeeeegeaaaancceeee!”] With a loud cry, Kiiro used the orb to produce blue slime, reminiscent of what he could do as an onnikai. However, unlike his previous mana slime, this one couldn’t be transformed into the onnikai beast he used to combat us. He needed my mana.
“Don’t do a full charge. Use it when it has enough!” Helmut commanded.
“Bad! Kiiro we must leave—Urgh!” I groaned as a mercenary bashed a hammer against my shield, which slammed on me due to the recoil. The hit pushed me back, creating a distance between me and the floating orb. As the orb could store mana, it was also another source of mana regeneration for me, so having it not to my side was disadvantagous. It should float back to me due to its function, but it wasn’t.
“Haha, isn’t this your catalyst, elf? Hehe, this will probably fetch a good price,” the hammer-bashing merc laughed with derision before grabbing my catalyst. However, what happened afterward was what drew my attention. “Huh, what is this shit? Huh?! Argh?! W-what the fuck is this?! Fuck off!”
The slime surrounding the orb suddenly latched onto the mercenary’s arm, and it was slowly growing in size the longer it stayed on him. Kiiro screamed, “Maaaannaaaaa! Giiiiveeee iiiiiit toooooo meeeeee, huuumaaaaan!” while this was happening.
Is Kiiro draining mana? I thought, as that shouldn’t be possible.
When I read the orb’s description, it didn’t mention that it could siphon mana away from others; however, now that I thought about it, shouldn’t there be a reason why the onnikai beast was able to drain mana? Not only was it problematic for a faefolk like me, it also caused Miss Saori issues. Nevertheless, our party never questioned why it was possible in the first place, believing it simply being a feature of the onnikai slime. Wouldn’t it make sense for Kiiro to be the reason?
Goddess Ilsaphone’s blessing allowed the onnikai regenerate lost parts of a corpse they possess with the black slime, and some of them, like the garms in Miss Saori’s possession, were even able to fuse entirely with their bodies. They couldn’t drain mana from others. Only the onnikai beast and onnikai boss, Kiiro, could. I didn’t know how this was happening, but it was good for me. I just wish Kiiro had mentioned this earlier.
But this joy only lasted for a couple of seconds, as my [Prediction] and [Danger Sense] exploded into action, ringing so loudly in my head that I could get a migraine. I had to endure through the pain, as the skills wouldn’t activate for no reason.
“Fire!”
Like a reaper’s scythe, the doom those words sent down my spine was indescribable. My body stiffened when I sensed a large amount of mana gathering in a single spot, and I drew my head not towards it but to my side. I needed to dodge.
With a huge explosion, the mana cannon fired a ball of condensed mana. Whether it was tables or my [Frozen Shield], anything that stood in this destructive attack’s way was decimated and reduced into scraps and fragments. Callous of their own, the mana ball also hit the mercenary who grabbed my orb, turning his body into nothing but minced meat and viscera, before finally crashing into the wall. Nothing was there aside from dust and blood.
I wasn’t standing there anymore either.
“Whew, definitely not the same power as a normal warhammer cannon. The ceiling didn’t drop at all, but I guess it did the trick. Haha, good to see mana batteries using faefolk are just as efficient as the normal, dwarven-made ones,” Helmut cheered as he looked at his handiwork. “Alright, time to return to work! The knights and soldiers will probably storm the building once they hear those mercenaries are dead. I need to regroup with the others, so you all start packing everything up to be transported out of the emergency door.”
Helmut turned his back to the crater left on the wall, confident of his win, as he couldn’t see me. Unfortunately, for him, I was a bit too resilient to ignore just yet.
“AARGH?!”
“Wh—BUFUUU!”
“UGWAHHHH!”
None of them give a lot of experience …
A single longsword of ice was floating around, holding a blue orb where its crossguard should be. Around it, multiple small shards of ice levitated with it and would attack anything the sword directed its blade at. If any of these thugs were to look closer, you could see a small girl with a set of blue wings grabbing onto the sword’s protruding ice spikes to ride it like a mount.
Thankfully, nobody had taken notice of me just yet. Nobody expected me to be hiding in such a conspicious location.
“What the fuck, the floating sword still exists?! Shit, hiyarrrrr!” a mercenary with a sword and shield exclaimed.
He attempted to fend off my sword, but as it wasn’t constricted to the arm of a person, it was as maneuverable as a fly, with the sting of a bee—a very large bee. On the blade, I used [Wind Blast] to propel myself forward, piercing the mercenary’s heart.
“Kiiro, now drain it! I need mana!” I commanded, feeling a bit ill after having to create this sword and the numerous ice spikes after transforming back into my fairy form to avoid the cannon blast. The less mana I had, the more my stats would decrease. My wind elf form had higher stats due to its larger body, so the demerits weren’t as bad.
The human began to scream in agony as the blue of my catalyst grew more azure. I quickly used this moment to drain the stored mana to regenerate myself, to the point I was feeling as good as new. Feeling satisfied with my safety, I launched the ice shards at my surroundings, buffeting any enemy hit. Like the shrapnel of Lady Hestia’s bombs, the ice shards lodged into their bodies, draining them of their body heat. Unlike normal ice made using my magic, the shards from the orb wouldn’t melt so easily due to it being “thick slime.”
With the movements of my arm, I pulled the shards out of their body, consequently bringing them closer to me. Which also meant they were in slashing range.
I wasn’t a swordswoman. I was a mage who could control a floating sword, so I had to act and fight like one.
So, instead of grabbing the blade to slash them, I used the orb’s functions to control any slime I created and used the floating sword to slice anybody close enough in an arc. Although the damage wasn’t lethal due to my inexperience in handling the floating sword accurately, Kiiro managed to drain some mana from them, which I used to once again drill the ice shards into their bodies. The second time, all of the shards hit the alchemists’ and mercenaries’ heads, killing them.
“Why didn’t you mention this?! I wouldn’t have so much trouble if you had told me about your ability to drain mana!” I chided Kiiro, angry that he would reveal this ability now.
[“I had assumed you would have deduced it after reading the description of the orb. Did I not mention that Davison wanted me to absorb the surrounding mana to have me grow? The orb amplified my abilities, giving me the power to use the mana slime created by it to drain mana from others. My mana became my hands, and it eventually grew into the beast you fought,”] he finally explained it clearly. [“If you do not ask, you shall not receive. I believed you didn’t need my power or that you would use it when the time comes.”]
“W-wait, you were serious when you said ‘my power’ when you told us your memories? You actually have the ability to drain mana?!”
[“A reward for my survival. My death may have turned me into an onnikai, but it also gave me the power to drain mana. I became the same as that human’s vile creation. My brethren were not as blessed, and for that, Davison placed me in that ruin,”] he continued.
Baffled, I did regret not asking more about Kiiro itself, but I couldn’t exactly question it now, especially not while a fireball was being shot at me. I constructed a [Frozen Shield] to delay it as I flew a bit further away to dodge. A blue mist came out of my body.
“Danterno’s fire, you’re a fairy?! Hahaha, what a surprise, what a surprise. How fitting for you to come here to free your fae friends,” Helmut laughed, already having finished his next fire spell. “She’s back in her normal form! Melee, get into her face. Use shields or whatever to defend yourself!”
Knowing the same situation could happen again, I had to use this moment to its fullest. I had taken down a couple of enemies and thinned the room out, but there were still enough of them for me to feel threatened. I had the power of both Goddess Plesia and Goddess Zephira on my side, so I couldn’t afford to lose here! No, in the name of my party, Aurora, I would not lose!
The room was small, making flying hard, but I still had to rely on it for now. The extra movement was needed.
Wind Blast!
With my ice sword in hand, I used [Wind Blast] to propel myself forward to one of the alchemists and archers. Helmut threw another fireball at me, but I doused it with [Water Bolt]. Zigzagging through the air to avoid any attacks the alchemists did, I controlled my ice shards and buffeted them like a hailstorm, leaving behind only bloody and cold corpses.
With a frown, Helmut shot a massive spear of fire, ignoring the fact his allies had to jump out of its trajectory. To counter Helmut’s [Flame Spear], I cast [Aqua Beam] to shoot out a beam of condensed water, dispersing the fire spell and piercing through the wall as if it was butter. I then used this chance to eliminate the melee combatants who were off-balanced from the fire attack.
I first pierced the chest of one of the mercenaries with my sword and then sent the hail of ice shards forward, increasing their lethality with [Wind Blast]. The barrage gravely wounded them, but they didn’t die. Once I pulled the shards out and then redid the same thing again, did they cease their struggle.
Tornado Bullet!
I then snapped my body back to Helmut as he was chanting a spell. Pointing my finger at him, my spell formed its magic circle immediately, allowing me to cast my spell before he could due to [Chant Revocation Lv. 10]. Unable to finish in time, Helmet canceled his attack and dodged to the side, otherwise his stomach would have had a similarly large hole as the one on the wall behind him.
“Fuck this shit! I didn’t sign that contract just to die here! Hey, get out of my way!” Helmut then shoved an alchemist towards me, forcing me to cut him down. In the meantime, Helmut picked up a bomb and threw it at a door.
After it exploded, numerous roars suddenly appeared. A dust cloud blocked my sight, preventing me from seeing them, but my [Enhanced Enemy Sense] couldn’t be fooled. I immediately cast a [Frozen Shield].
“Petal Flames!” Helmut shouted in panic, turning the ground and ceiling on fire, before running to the back of the basement.
“H-hey, Helmut! Argh!” The alchemist and remaining archers screamed before crying out in pain as four-legged monsters appeared from the exploded doorway and jumped on them, rending flesh and bone asunder.
Peeking from my shield, I could see monsters of various types. All of them had orbs lodged into their chest or back as a blue slime covered up their wounds and body. Their eyes looked like those of a feral animal.
Seeing as the humans and beastmen were a lost cause, I used a custom spell I learned called [Ocean’s Blast]—a spell Priest Kushlek’zar wrote down a wooden slate for me to learn—to douse the flames inside the basement. I then quickly froze it into a protective shell of ice. It separated me from the monsters, and also the cries for help that the alchemists and mercenaries were sending me. Something in me was telling me to save them … but the crime of being associated with fae hunting was death. Even if I saved them now, they would die later on.
Let their suffering cleanse them of their sins. May their souls all rest in peace in Goddess Ilsaphone’s embrace.
The moment was melancholic for sure. Similar to last time during the bandit raid, it ached my heart a bit to take another humanoid’s life. How funny … I showed none of this apprehension when hunting monsters for my lady’s meals. It really was a difference in mindset … and it made it even more conflicting that I was thinking of these scum as “people.”
Kiiro, on the other hand … Well, I had to use [Air Shield] to stop hearing his insane laughter.
I did not follow Helmut, for I had no reason to. It wasn’t my mission to kill all these criminals. Instead, I went to the mana cannon. I located the fuel compartment and took out the mana battery before opening it to free the faefolk inside. As it didn’t fly out, I looked inside to see a weakened small spirit.
Even with [Telepathy], I couldn’t speak to spirits like Kiiro or Sister Silva. I never really considered speaking to those following Lady Hestia in the woods, so I had little experience of what to say to them.
I touched the spirit and let my mana enter its body, helping it regenerate. I turned to my orb and said, “Kiiro, please, ask it where the rest are.” Kiiro agreed and told the spirit to lead the way to the room with the imprisoned fae after it regained its strength.
Inside, the room was mostly filled with lesser fae, like spirits and spriggans, but there were also a few minor elementals. All of them looked feeble inside their cages while others were being drained inside batteries. Some batteries only had remnants of mana … which I presumed belonged to those who stayed too long inside these insidious creations. Kiiro couldn’t help but shout out in pain when it saw this.
I shared my mana with them and allowed them to regenerate. Once freed, Kiiro translated their gratitude to me. Kiiro didn’t say anything more afterward, which caught my suspicion. It was too little for what happened inside here; however, I didn’t pressure Kiiro to speak. I had a feeling ignorance was better for my sanity.
Princess Schuri … It was as if I was seeing Princess Schuri inside these cages.
Weak and fragile, so desperately looking for affection and warmth. The cruelty she faced wasn’t what she deserved. The suffering and death inside this room made me want to puke, so I went outside.
I dispelled the ice shield to the main basement room. The beasts were no longer there—only puddles of blood and chunks of human and beastman remains were left. I guessed the beasts probably escaped the guild building, but I wasn’t too worried about it. After all, we had a clean-up unit.
“Davison,” I mumbled.
“Davison …” Kiiro replied in agreement. “KIIIIIILLLLLLLLL!”
“… Yes.”
SpoilerName: Tasianna Marina Silverpond Level: 56 Race: Wind Elf
Age: 88 Years Job: Cryomancer Level: 10/15
Status: Health: 2118/2118 (+574) Mana: 5509/5509 (+1265)
Strength: 631 (+225) Intelligence: 2371 (+851)
Vitality: 693 (+195) Wisdom: 1889 (+544)
Agility: 2178 (+717) Stamina: 1478/1478 (+378)
Effects: [Elvenize (Major)]
Skill Points: 2050 (+2060) (Spent 1550 SP)
Skill: Magic skills and related:
[Fairy Magic] [Arcane Mind Lv. 10] [Ice Magic Lv. 4]
[Water Magic Lv. 10] [Torrent Magic Lv. 1] [Water Amp]
[Water Magic Efficiency] [Wind Magic Lv. 10] (+1) [Wind Amp]
[Wind Magic Efficiency] [Storm Magic Lv. 1] (+1)
[Synergist’s Oath Lv. 3] (+1)
[Chant Revocation Lv. 10] [Silent Casting Lv. 7] (+1)
[Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 3] (+1) [Mental Stability Lv. 3] (+1)
[Mental Warfare Lv. 5] (+1) [Fluid Cast Lv. 1]
[Continuous Cast Lv. 1] [Delayed Cast Lv. 1] (New) [Multi-Cast Lv. 1] (New)
Senses and movement skills:
[Silence Lv. 1] (New) [Accuracy Correction Lv. 6] (+2)
[Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 7] (+1) [Prediction Lv. 6] (+1)
[Danger Perception Lv. 6] (+1) [Enhanced Vision Lv. 5] (+1)
[Enhanced Auditory Sense Lv. 5] (+2)
[Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 7] (+1)
[Night Vision Lv. 6] [Tracking Lv. 1] [Presence Killer Lv. 6] (+2)
[Evasion Lv. 8] (+2) [Acrobatic Lv. 7] (+1) [Flight Acceleration Lv. 6] (+1)
[Mid-Air Maneuvering Lv. 5] (+2) [Concentration Lv. 8] (+1)
[Terrain Maneuvering Lv. 1] (New)
Resistance:
[Physical Resistance Lv. 9] (+1) [Pain Resistance Lv. 9] (+2)
[Poison Resistance Lv. 8] (+1) [Paralyzation Resistance Lv. 6]
[Torpor Resistance Lv. 6] [Mana Leak Resistance Lv. 10] (+9)
[Ice Resistance Lv. 2] (New) [Lightning Resistance Lv. 1] (New)
[Holy Resistance Lv. 7] (+2) [Fire Resistance Lv. 9] (+1)
[Water Resistance Lv. 8] (+1) [Earth Resistance Lv. 6] (+1)
[Storm Resistance Lv. 1] (New) [Dark Resistance Lv. 6] (+2)
Stat growth and related:
[Stamina Recovery Lv. 3] (+1)
[Enhanced Health Capacity Lv. 1]
[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 7] (+1)
[Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 6] (+1)
[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 6]
[Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 4]
[Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Vitality Enforcement Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 6] (+1)
[Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 3] (+1)
[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 5]
[Enhanced Agility Enforcement Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Stamina Enforcement Lv. 2]
Others:
[Singing Lv. 5] (+1) [Dancing Lv. 3] [Identify Blocker Lv. 10]
[Identify Lv. 8] (+2) [Cooking Lv. 8] (+2) [Dismantle Lv. 5] (+2)
[Herbalist Lv. 6] (+2) [Alchemy Lv. 1] (New) [Brewing Lv. 5] (+1)
[Sewing Lv. 2] (New) [Battle Mind Lv. 4] (+2)
[Terror Aura Lv. 1] [Royal Etiquette Lv. 6] (+1) [Elvenize Lv. 10]
[Frost Body Lv. 1] (New) [Cryokinesis] [Telepathy]
Job Skills:
[Water Magic Efficiency] [Wind Magic Efficiency] [Ice Magic Efficiency]
[Low-Temperature Resistance Lv. 8] [Ice Resistance Lv. 5]
Magic List: Custom spells:
[Create Water] [Greater Create Water] [Marine Lungs] [Ocean’s Blast]
Ice spells:
[Ice Spike] [Frozen Shield] [Icicle Gust] [Glacial Protection]
Water spells:
[Water Ball] [Water Wall] [Water Bolt] [Cleanse] [Protective Water]
[Droplet Torrent] [Aqua Prison] [Aqua Beam] [Torrential Rain]
Wind spells:
[Wind Bullet] [Wind Cutter] [Air Shield] [Air Shield] [Wind Slash]
[Swift Winds] [Wind Blast] [Featherfall] [Aerial Blitz] [Tornado Bullet]
Title: [Hestia’s Retainer]
[collapse]AbyssRaven A small moment for Tasianna's character arc.
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“Frozen Shield!”
“Hurry! Bring out the weapon! It’s only one elf!”
“It’s only one elf! Use all the bombs and your mana! We can’t get caught here!”
To think that so many humans would be involved … even a few beastmen.
After separating from Miss Saori, I went down the stairs into the basement. According to the reports Lady Hestia got and from what Kiiro could remember, I was expecting to find two or three alchemists working on this fiendish project. I expected those human alchemists to resist since our arrival was announced by the receptionist. After all, this was a crime worthy of death to the Artorian nobles.
However, what I found was baffling. The moment I stepped foot in the basement, my [Prediction] warned me something was being thrown at me. Embarrassingly, I had to admit I didn’t expect to be attacked this soon, so my reaction time to bring up my [Frozen Shield] was pathetically slow for a member of Aurora. Kiiro, inside my catalyst, flew into the thrown object's trajectory to block it, causing it to crash into the orb and shatter like glass, spilling its content on me. This small delay was enough for me to reflexively activate [Frozen Body], causing my body to exude freezing ice to protect myself from the spillage.
As I assessed the attack, [Identify] informed me the attack was from a flask of acid. The sizzling of flesh wasn’t present, thankfully, as Lady Hestia’s [Sanctified Blaze] considered it a threat to me and began aggressively burning the acid off me. Still, I could feel some of my mana being lost from the attack. My body of ice couldn’t protect me. I had to reflect on this mistake.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t do it on the spot, as the alchemists began their attack on me. Some were mages and could use spells while others simply threw acid flasks or bombs, all of which lacked the oomph of Lady Hestia’s creations. While I wasn’t surprised at the resistance, I was so more unnerved by the number of conspirators and there being beastmen amongst them.
Honestly, I didn’t know why I was so fixated on that last part. Evil wasn’t restricted to humans alone. Lady Hestia and Miss Saori made sure to make me understand that point. However, I still felt more prejudice towards humans than I claimed, still thinking that they were the only ones depraved enough to torture the fae like this.
Nevertheless, I focused on the fight, accepting that I still needed time to rid myself of all my animosity towards the human race. These fiends were simply greedy enough to commit the same mistake they did 200 years ago. Miss Saori said history was written down and taught to others so past crimes can be avoided in the future, so I guess these criminals were part of the more foolish stock.
More importantly, however, I wasn’t the most furious person in the room.
[“Diiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee! Fooooooorrrrr theeeee forssaaaakeeen! Rot in your foolishness!”] Kiiro, the supposedly cured onnikai-turned-spirit, was speaking in their onnikai voice even as they aided me in controlling the two floating ice swords.
By using this catalyst’s function—which Goddess Zephira herself blessed—to turn my mana into a moldable slime, I was able to form two swords to act as my offensive power. Although outnumbered by over ten people, [Ice Magic] was thankfully well suited for defensive tactics. Very similar to earth magic, in this manner, although it lacked the durability of the latter in exchange for being as flexible as water and wind spells.
“ARRGH!”
“H-how is a mage so fast?! W-what are those swords?!”
“She’s only one person! I call for the ocea-What?! ARGH!”
With [Frozen Shield] active, I was going from one cover to the next as I closed the distance between each alchemist and guard using [Wind Blast] to accelerate myself. The basement was a collection of large rooms, and in each of them were tables, shelves, and large boxes that could be used as cover. By using my floating swords and shield to defend myself from spells, they could quickly transition to wounding my enemies, whether close by or from afar.
My enemies weren’t just alchemists, but what I presumed were mercenaries, as they were acting the part of guards and were all members of a group named Yanderu Elusuess. There were around seven low-level alchemists whereas the mercenaries numbered up to thirteen, I believe. They also weren’t much of a threat as a single high-leveled person, but the problem lay with their numbers. I wasn’t sturdy, nor did I have a reliable mana healing method to be able to just ignore these people and their attacks.
Their attack strategy was simple but effective. The leader of the mercenaries, a man they called Helmut, was ordering the alchemists and his mercenaries around like a puppeteer. Telling them how to attack and when to execute it, which meant that I was being pinned down most of the time. Although staying on the defensive would lead me nowhere, I couldn’t attack carelessly.
Helmut was a mage, an earth and fire mage to be more precise. Whenever I was stuck in a single place for too long, he would use a fire spell to melt down my shield, making me prone for further attacks if I didn’t respond fast enough. If he missed and hit a wall or a piece of furniture, he would use [Reduce Heat] to stop the fire or use earth spells to quench it.
“How funny it is to have a mage of Plesia fight me today! Is this a sign from God? Is this a trial he designed just for me to help me grow? Glorious!” His zealousness was to be expected from a Danterno faithful. “Now, hurry up and bring out that damn weapon! It’s only a single elf and you imbeciles are having so much trouble with her!”
The alchemists would throw flasks of acid and bombs at me, while archers would shoot arrows whenever my shield moved. Swordsmen and axe fighters closed in to apply pressure on me until Helmut destroyed my shield. This whole situation would repeat itself as I re-materialized my shield. It would have been a stalemate if it wasn’t for my dwindling mana reserves.
As a fairy, if my mana was reduced to zero, it would mean death for me. I was drinking mana potions to regenerate my energy; it was fortunate that my enemies didn’t know about this weakness. If they had, then I believe they would begin draining my mana using whatever devilish machines they used to torture the faefolk they captured here.
[“Tasianna, what are you doing?!”] Kiiro raised his voice while I cast another [Frozen Shield]. [“This is unacceptable! Why are you so meek with so much power? The power of the orb can overwhelm all these fools! Kill them already! Stop holding yourself back and slaaaaaaaayyyyy them!”]
While I could understand Kiiro’s anxiousness, I didn’t know how to proceed with this battle outside of defending while waiting for an opening. I was able to deal damage by combining my floating swords and spells like [Ice Spike] and [Icicle Gale], but none of them have died yet. My attacks weren’t lethal enough.
“I don’t have enough mana to fight as aggressively as you want me to!” I told Kiiro bluntly. “I only have a limited amount of potions on my belt and I can’t risk taking damage. Kiiro, we must retreat and call for Miss Saori’s support.”
It was the smartest decision. I couldn’t fight as I did during the bandit raid because I didn’t have the element of surprise. The moment I entered the basement, I was at a disadvantage. The basement was also too small for me to assume my [Elvenize (Moderate)] form and use my wings.
As the sounds of broken glass and explosions continued behind my shield, the elated voice of Helmut brought me back into the fight. “Ahhh, good! Finally, the mana cannon! Put the battery in already!”
Peeking around my shield, I saw some mercenaries bringing out a large cannon from another room. If my memories served me right, it looked like a smaller version of the “Warhammer Mana Cannon” the dwarves could engineer. It was small enough to pass through the storage room with some trouble, but I presumed its firepower must still be great considering it was a cannon.
Upon Helmut’s orders, an alchemist opened up the battery compartment of the cannon and put a metal cylinder in it. The moment the cannon was activated, Kiiro began to tremble.
[“Arghh! Th-they are draining my brethren right in front of me?! Kiiilllll! Veeeeegeaaaancceeee!”] With a loud cry, Kiiro used the orb to produce blue slime, reminiscent of what he could do as an onnikai. However, unlike his previous mana slime, this one couldn’t be transformed into the onnikai beast he used to combat us. He needed my mana.
“Don’t do a full charge. Use it when it has enough!” Helmut commanded.
“Bad! Kiiro we must leave—Urgh!” I groaned as a mercenary bashed a hammer against my shield, which slammed on me due to the recoil. The hit pushed me back, creating a distance between me and the floating orb. As the orb could store mana, it was also another source of mana regeneration for me, so having it not to my side was disadvantagous. It should float back to me due to its function, but it wasn’t.
“Haha, isn’t this your catalyst, elf? Hehe, this will probably fetch a good price,” the hammer-bashing merc laughed with derision before grabbing my catalyst. However, what happened afterward was what drew my attention. “Huh, what is this shit? Huh?! Argh?! W-what the fuck is this?! Fuck off!”
The slime surrounding the orb suddenly latched onto the mercenary’s arm, and it was slowly growing in size the longer it stayed on him. Kiiro screamed, “Maaaannaaaaa! Giiiiveeee iiiiiit toooooo meeeeee, huuumaaaaan!” while this was happening.
Is Kiiro draining mana? I thought, as that shouldn’t be possible.
When I read the orb’s description, it didn’t mention that it could siphon mana away from others; however, now that I thought about it, shouldn’t there be a reason why the onnikai beast was able to drain mana? Not only was it problematic for a faefolk like me, it also caused Miss Saori issues. Nevertheless, our party never questioned why it was possible in the first place, believing it simply being a feature of the onnikai slime. Wouldn’t it make sense for Kiiro to be the reason?
Goddess Ilsaphone’s blessing allowed the onnikai regenerate lost parts of a corpse they possess with the black slime, and some of them, like the garms in Miss Saori’s possession, were even able to fuse entirely with their bodies. They couldn’t drain mana from others. Only the onnikai beast and onnikai boss, Kiiro, could. I didn’t know how this was happening, but it was good for me. I just wish Kiiro had mentioned this earlier.
But this joy only lasted for a couple of seconds, as my [Prediction] and [Danger Sense] exploded into action, ringing so loudly in my head that I could get a migraine. I had to endure through the pain, as the skills wouldn’t activate for no reason.
“Fire!”
Like a reaper’s scythe, the doom those words sent down my spine was indescribable. My body stiffened when I sensed a large amount of mana gathering in a single spot, and I drew my head not towards it but to my side. I needed to dodge.
With a huge explosion, the mana cannon fired a ball of condensed mana. Whether it was tables or my [Frozen Shield], anything that stood in this destructive attack’s way was decimated and reduced into scraps and fragments. Callous of their own, the mana ball also hit the mercenary who grabbed my orb, turning his body into nothing but minced meat and viscera, before finally crashing into the wall. Nothing was there aside from dust and blood.
I wasn’t standing there anymore either.
“Whew, definitely not the same power as a normal warhammer cannon. The ceiling didn’t drop at all, but I guess it did the trick. Haha, good to see mana batteries using faefolk are just as efficient as the normal, dwarven-made ones,” Helmut cheered as he looked at his handiwork. “Alright, time to return to work! The knights and soldiers will probably storm the building once they hear those mercenaries are dead. I need to regroup with the others, so you all start packing everything up to be transported out of the emergency door.”
Helmut turned his back to the crater left on the wall, confident of his win, as he couldn’t see me. Unfortunately, for him, I was a bit too resilient to ignore just yet.
“AARGH?!”
“Wh—BUFUUU!”
“UGWAHHHH!”
None of them give a lot of experience …
A single longsword of ice was floating around, holding a blue orb where its crossguard should be. Around it, multiple small shards of ice levitated with it and would attack anything the sword directed its blade at. If any of these thugs were to look closer, you could see a small girl with a set of blue wings grabbing onto the sword’s protruding ice spikes to ride it like a mount.
Thankfully, nobody had taken notice of me just yet. Nobody expected me to be hiding in such a conspicious location.
“What the fuck, the floating sword still exists?! Shit, hiyarrrrr!” a mercenary with a sword and shield exclaimed.
He attempted to fend off my sword, but as it wasn’t constricted to the arm of a person, it was as maneuverable as a fly, with the sting of a bee—a very large bee. On the blade, I used [Wind Blast] to propel myself forward, piercing the mercenary’s heart.
“Kiiro, now drain it! I need mana!” I commanded, feeling a bit ill after having to create this sword and the numerous ice spikes after transforming back into my fairy form to avoid the cannon blast. The less mana I had, the more my stats would decrease. My wind elf form had higher stats due to its larger body, so the demerits weren’t as bad.
The human began to scream in agony as the blue of my catalyst grew more azure. I quickly used this moment to drain the stored mana to regenerate myself, to the point I was feeling as good as new. Feeling satisfied with my safety, I launched the ice shards at my surroundings, buffeting any enemy hit. Like the shrapnel of Lady Hestia’s bombs, the ice shards lodged into their bodies, draining them of their body heat. Unlike normal ice made using my magic, the shards from the orb wouldn’t melt so easily due to it being “thick slime.”
With the movements of my arm, I pulled the shards out of their body, consequently bringing them closer to me. Which also meant they were in slashing range.
I wasn’t a swordswoman. I was a mage who could control a floating sword, so I had to act and fight like one.
So, instead of grabbing the blade to slash them, I used the orb’s functions to control any slime I created and used the floating sword to slice anybody close enough in an arc. Although the damage wasn’t lethal due to my inexperience in handling the floating sword accurately, Kiiro managed to drain some mana from them, which I used to once again drill the ice shards into their bodies. The second time, all of the shards hit the alchemists’ and mercenaries’ heads, killing them.
“Why didn’t you mention this?! I wouldn’t have so much trouble if you had told me about your ability to drain mana!” I chided Kiiro, angry that he would reveal this ability now.
[“I had assumed you would have deduced it after reading the description of the orb. Did I not mention that Davison wanted me to absorb the surrounding mana to have me grow? The orb amplified my abilities, giving me the power to use the mana slime created by it to drain mana from others. My mana became my hands, and it eventually grew into the beast you fought,”] he finally explained it clearly. [“If you do not ask, you shall not receive. I believed you didn’t need my power or that you would use it when the time comes.”]
“W-wait, you were serious when you said ‘my power’ when you told us your memories? You actually have the ability to drain mana?!”
[“A reward for my survival. My death may have turned me into an onnikai, but it also gave me the power to drain mana. I became the same as that human’s vile creation. My brethren were not as blessed, and for that, Davison placed me in that ruin,”] he continued.
Baffled, I did regret not asking more about Kiiro itself, but I couldn’t exactly question it now, especially not while a fireball was being shot at me. I constructed a [Frozen Shield] to delay it as I flew a bit further away to dodge. A blue mist came out of my body.
“Danterno’s fire, you’re a fairy?! Hahaha, what a surprise, what a surprise. How fitting for you to come here to free your fae friends,” Helmut laughed, already having finished his next fire spell. “She’s back in her normal form! Melee, get into her face. Use shields or whatever to defend yourself!”
Knowing the same situation could happen again, I had to use this moment to its fullest. I had taken down a couple of enemies and thinned the room out, but there were still enough of them for me to feel threatened. I had the power of both Goddess Plesia and Goddess Zephira on my side, so I couldn’t afford to lose here! No, in the name of my party, Aurora, I would not lose!
The room was small, making flying hard, but I still had to rely on it for now. The extra movement was needed.
Wind Blast!
With my ice sword in hand, I used [Wind Blast] to propel myself forward to one of the alchemists and archers. Helmut threw another fireball at me, but I doused it with [Water Bolt]. Zigzagging through the air to avoid any attacks the alchemists did, I controlled my ice shards and buffeted them like a hailstorm, leaving behind only bloody and cold corpses.
With a frown, Helmut shot a massive spear of fire, ignoring the fact his allies had to jump out of its trajectory. To counter Helmut’s [Flame Spear], I cast [Aqua Beam] to shoot out a beam of condensed water, dispersing the fire spell and piercing through the wall as if it was butter. I then used this chance to eliminate the melee combatants who were off-balanced from the fire attack.
I first pierced the chest of one of the mercenaries with my sword and then sent the hail of ice shards forward, increasing their lethality with [Wind Blast]. The barrage gravely wounded them, but they didn’t die. Once I pulled the shards out and then redid the same thing again, did they cease their struggle.
Tornado Bullet!
I then snapped my body back to Helmut as he was chanting a spell. Pointing my finger at him, my spell formed its magic circle immediately, allowing me to cast my spell before he could due to [Chant Revocation Lv. 10]. Unable to finish in time, Helmet canceled his attack and dodged to the side, otherwise his stomach would have had a similarly large hole as the one on the wall behind him.
“Fuck this shit! I didn’t sign that contract just to die here! Hey, get out of my way!” Helmut then shoved an alchemist towards me, forcing me to cut him down. In the meantime, Helmut picked up a bomb and threw it at a door.
After it exploded, numerous roars suddenly appeared. A dust cloud blocked my sight, preventing me from seeing them, but my [Enhanced Enemy Sense] couldn’t be fooled. I immediately cast a [Frozen Shield].
“Petal Flames!” Helmut shouted in panic, turning the ground and ceiling on fire, before running to the back of the basement.
“H-hey, Helmut! Argh!” The alchemist and remaining archers screamed before crying out in pain as four-legged monsters appeared from the exploded doorway and jumped on them, rending flesh and bone asunder.
Peeking from my shield, I could see monsters of various types. All of them had orbs lodged into their chest or back as a blue slime covered up their wounds and body. Their eyes looked like those of a feral animal.
Seeing as the humans and beastmen were a lost cause, I used a custom spell I learned called [Ocean’s Blast]—a spell Priest Kushlek’zar wrote down a wooden slate for me to learn—to douse the flames inside the basement. I then quickly froze it into a protective shell of ice. It separated me from the monsters, and also the cries for help that the alchemists and mercenaries were sending me. Something in me was telling me to save them … but the crime of being associated with fae hunting was death. Even if I saved them now, they would die later on.
Let their suffering cleanse them of their sins. May their souls all rest in peace in Goddess Ilsaphone’s embrace.
The moment was melancholic for sure. Similar to last time during the bandit raid, it ached my heart a bit to take another humanoid’s life. How funny … I showed none of this apprehension when hunting monsters for my lady’s meals. It really was a difference in mindset … and it made it even more conflicting that I was thinking of these scum as “people.”
Kiiro, on the other hand … Well, I had to use [Air Shield] to stop hearing his insane laughter.
I did not follow Helmut, for I had no reason to. It wasn’t my mission to kill all these criminals. Instead, I went to the mana cannon. I located the fuel compartment and took out the mana battery before opening it to free the faefolk inside. As it didn’t fly out, I looked inside to see a weakened small spirit.
Even with [Telepathy], I couldn’t speak to spirits like Kiiro or Sister Silva. I never really considered speaking to those following Lady Hestia in the woods, so I had little experience of what to say to them.
I touched the spirit and let my mana enter its body, helping it regenerate. I turned to my orb and said, “Kiiro, please, ask it where the rest are.” Kiiro agreed and told the spirit to lead the way to the room with the imprisoned fae after it regained its strength.
Inside, the room was mostly filled with lesser fae, like spirits and spriggans, but there were also a few minor elementals. All of them looked feeble inside their cages while others were being drained inside batteries. Some batteries only had remnants of mana … which I presumed belonged to those who stayed too long inside these insidious creations. Kiiro couldn’t help but shout out in pain when it saw this.
I shared my mana with them and allowed them to regenerate. Once freed, Kiiro translated their gratitude to me. Kiiro didn’t say anything more afterward, which caught my suspicion. It was too little for what happened inside here; however, I didn’t pressure Kiiro to speak. I had a feeling ignorance was better for my sanity.
Princess Schuri … It was as if I was seeing Princess Schuri inside these cages.
Weak and fragile, so desperately looking for affection and warmth. The cruelty she faced wasn’t what she deserved. The suffering and death inside this room made me want to puke, so I went outside.
I dispelled the ice shield to the main basement room. The beasts were no longer there—only puddles of blood and chunks of human and beastman remains were left. I guessed the beasts probably escaped the guild building, but I wasn’t too worried about it. After all, we had a clean-up unit.
“Davison,” I mumbled.
“Davison …” Kiiro replied in agreement. “KIIIIIILLLLLLLLL!”
“… Yes.”
SpoilerName: Tasianna Marina Silverpond Level: 56 Race: Wind Elf
Age: 88 Years Job: Cryomancer Level: 10/15
Status: Health: 2118/2118 (+574) Mana: 5509/5509 (+1265)
Strength: 631 (+225) Intelligence: 2371 (+851)
Vitality: 693 (+195) Wisdom: 1889 (+544)
Agility: 2178 (+717) Stamina: 1478/1478 (+378)
Effects: [Elvenize (Major)]
Skill Points: 2050 (+2060) (Spent 1550 SP)
Skill: Magic skills and related:
[Fairy Magic] [Arcane Mind Lv. 10] [Ice Magic Lv. 4]
[Water Magic Lv. 10] [Torrent Magic Lv. 1] [Water Amp]
[Water Magic Efficiency] [Wind Magic Lv. 10] (+1) [Wind Amp]
[Wind Magic Efficiency] [Storm Magic Lv. 1] (+1)
[Synergist’s Oath Lv. 3] (+1)
[Chant Revocation Lv. 10] [Silent Casting Lv. 7] (+1)
[Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 3] (+1) [Mental Stability Lv. 3] (+1)
[Mental Warfare Lv. 5] (+1) [Fluid Cast Lv. 1]
[Continuous Cast Lv. 1] [Delayed Cast Lv. 1] (New) [Multi-Cast Lv. 1] (New)
Senses and movement skills:
[Silence Lv. 1] (New) [Accuracy Correction Lv. 6] (+2)
[Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 7] (+1) [Prediction Lv. 6] (+1)
[Danger Perception Lv. 6] (+1) [Enhanced Vision Lv. 5] (+1)
[Enhanced Auditory Sense Lv. 5] (+2)
[Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 7] (+1)
[Night Vision Lv. 6] [Tracking Lv. 1] [Presence Killer Lv. 6] (+2)
[Evasion Lv. 8] (+2) [Acrobatic Lv. 7] (+1) [Flight Acceleration Lv. 6] (+1)
[Mid-Air Maneuvering Lv. 5] (+2) [Concentration Lv. 8] (+1)
[Terrain Maneuvering Lv. 1] (New)
Resistance:
[Physical Resistance Lv. 9] (+1) [Pain Resistance Lv. 9] (+2)
[Poison Resistance Lv. 8] (+1) [Paralyzation Resistance Lv. 6]
[Torpor Resistance Lv. 6] [Mana Leak Resistance Lv. 10] (+9)
[Ice Resistance Lv. 2] (New) [Lightning Resistance Lv. 1] (New)
[Holy Resistance Lv. 7] (+2) [Fire Resistance Lv. 9] (+1)
[Water Resistance Lv. 8] (+1) [Earth Resistance Lv. 6] (+1)
[Storm Resistance Lv. 1] (New) [Dark Resistance Lv. 6] (+2)
Stat growth and related:
[Stamina Recovery Lv. 3] (+1)
[Enhanced Health Capacity Lv. 1]
[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 7] (+1)
[Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 6] (+1)
[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 6]
[Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 4]
[Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Vitality Enforcement Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 6] (+1)
[Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 3] (+1)
[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 5]
[Enhanced Agility Enforcement Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 3]
[Enhanced Stamina Enforcement Lv. 2]
Others:
[Singing Lv. 5] (+1) [Dancing Lv. 3] [Identify Blocker Lv. 10]
[Identify Lv. 8] (+2) [Cooking Lv. 8] (+2) [Dismantle Lv. 5] (+2)
[Herbalist Lv. 6] (+2) [Alchemy Lv. 1] (New) [Brewing Lv. 5] (+1)
[Sewing Lv. 2] (New) [Battle Mind Lv. 4] (+2)
[Terror Aura Lv. 1] [Royal Etiquette Lv. 6] (+1) [Elvenize Lv. 10]
[Frost Body Lv. 1] (New) [Cryokinesis] [Telepathy]
Job Skills:
[Water Magic Efficiency] [Wind Magic Efficiency] [Ice Magic Efficiency]
[Low-Temperature Resistance Lv. 8] [Ice Resistance Lv. 5]
Magic List: Custom spells:
[Create Water] [Greater Create Water] [Marine Lungs] [Ocean’s Blast]
Ice spells:
[Ice Spike] [Frozen Shield] [Icicle Gust] [Glacial Protection]
Water spells:
[Water Ball] [Water Wall] [Water Bolt] [Cleanse] [Protective Water]
[Droplet Torrent] [Aqua Prison] [Aqua Beam] [Torrential Rain]
Wind spells:
[Wind Bullet] [Wind Cutter] [Air Shield] [Air Shield] [Wind Slash]
[Swift Winds] [Wind Blast] [Featherfall] [Aerial Blitz] [Tornado Bullet]
Title: [Hestia’s Retainer]
[collapse]AbyssRaven A small moment for Tasianna's character arc.
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