Chapter 225
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 225
Chapter Title: The Impostor's Corpse
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This whole affair was riddled with mysteries.
Why had Isna come here? And how had the ring ornament she'd given Triana briefly pushed back the red mist?
Had she foreseen this situation?
"Maybe it's connected to the ones who attacked Isna?"
"Who knows."
It wasn't the Moon's Watchers. Nor the weakened cultists.
The cultists were the type who lusted after the continent's ancient, potent powers, but this incident didn't match their methods.
Perhaps there was some group that worshipped that red moon.
Of course, that was probably just idle speculation.
That was when it happened.
"Lord Leon."
One of the elf guards who'd gone out scouting approached me.
"Did you find something?"
"Not exactly. But we found something a bit strange. Could you take a look?"
Following the elf guard, I arrived at a massive tree where a black sphere of energy hovered.
It looked eerie at first glance, sending chills down my spine. Necromancy? No, this felt subtly different.
But to the elves, it must have looked like necromancy.
"Pardon me, but you handle necromantic magic, don't you, Lord Leon?"
"Yes."
"Could you identify the body inside?"
Did they think necromancers were some kind of all-purpose miracle workers?
A faint flute melody echoed through the forest in several spots.
At the same time, the elves searching for traces of Isna rushed over in alarm.
They all hardened their expressions at the sight.
"This is... what in the..."
"Let's check it out first."
It wasn't necromancy, so no hacking it open or anything.
But it was clear something was hidden inside, so there was no way to know without cracking it manually.
The moment I reached out to touch it—
"Leon."
Luna suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me back.
"Hold on."
Then she lifted one foot and kicked the sphere away.
With multicolored lights shimmering over her body, it looked like she'd channeled angelic power.
Krunch!!!
Purple cracks spiderwebbed across the sphere, followed by a pop!! as it shattered.
Something hidden inside burst out at the same time, but Luna thrust her hand into the air and clenched her fist, freezing them midair before they exploded.
"Touching it wrong could be bad for your health."
The elves cried out in shock behind us.
"L-Lady Romila?!"
Inside the black sphere was the corpse of a high elf girl.
Wearing the same proxy candidate attire as Triana and Doyle.
I approached slowly and examined the body.
Decomposition had been slowed, but not fully halted.
Judging by the rate, I estimated the time of death.
"This body's been dead for quite a while."
"No way! The lady was fine even when the monsters attacked!"
I closed my eyes at their outburst, then slowly opened them.
"Luna, this creepy magic. Any idea what it is?"
"Its structure doesn't match anything from this world."
No firm conclusion, but at least one thing was clear.
If the already-dead young lady of House Romila had been found here as a corpse, then who was the one wandering the forest right now?
"Looks like someone killed her and impersonated her."
The elf guards grew agitated.
"Th-then we need to spread the word right now and capture her—"
"Too late for that. I can't fully parse the magic's structure, but they'll know it's been discovered."
Unless they were idiots, they'd have bolted already.
Of course, confirmation was needed, so the elf guards hurriedly tried communicating via spirits.
And after a long wait, the response was just as expected.
"She seems to have fled already. They're dispatching more guards from the city to search, but..."
"She probably didn't leave a trail."
The head of House Romila was rushing here after hearing the news.
And sure enough, he appeared before us moments later.
"Where is she!"
"Right here."
"Damn it..."
He clenched his fist so hard it seemed it would shatter.
"How..."
He walked over slowly and stroked the cheek of the elf girl's corpse.
"Your daughter?"
"No... my niece. But she was like a daughter to me..."
He answered with a darkened expression, then fell silent as he gazed at the girl.
The corpse's face was etched with pain, sorrow, and torment.
The dried blood tears alone made it clear she'd died in agony.
"Her soul had left this place, but it was bound by the fetters of the flesh, so I released it."
"...Thank you."
He bowed deeply in gratitude to Luna.
After that, Luna and I stepped aside to give them space.
No point sticking around and making things awkward.
"One thing I'm curious about. Do high elves recognize you?"
"They won't know the details. But high elves have keen senses for this sort of thing, so they probably just vaguely sense something."
They could tell she was no ordinary being, but nothing beyond that.
Once we were out of sight of the other elves, I spread my hand slightly.
Woooong...
A tiny orb of light slowly rose from my palm.
It grew into a human shape, then took the form of a girl.
None other than the high elf girl from the corpse we'd just found.
"Normally, when the body dies, the soul escapes and heads to the afterlife... but you couldn't."
-Thank you.
The girl, floating in the air, bowed her head to me in thanks.
Her killer had bound her soul to her body.
That's why, even long dead, her soul couldn't stray far.
The binding was stronger than I'd thought, preventing her soul from even turning into a wrathful spirit.
"Now your soul can enter the afterlife. Forget the pain and rest easy."
She kept her head bowed without a word.
Sadness and torment seeped from her faintly trembling soul.
She hadn't wanted to die. Being bound here in suffering must have terrified her. Even if she seemed calm now, I knew she was in enough turmoil to burst into tears at any moment.
Even after I'd stabilized her soul with necromancy and Luna had soothed it, that influence still leaked out.
"But first, I have a few questions."
-What is it?
"Who killed you?"
At the very least, her killer was clearly tied to whatever force Isna was involved with.
But Luna and I suspected that force wasn't at full strength.
This soul could confirm our hunch.
-I'm sorry... It's like my memories were hacked off in chunks. I can barely remember anything.
"What do you remember?"
-Not their faces, builds, gender—nothing. But...
After agonizing hesitation, her soul finally spoke.
-They felt... not of this world. They looked like any other living being on the surface... but their very essence was completely different...
That was all she remembered about them.
She wasn't lying.
Large portions of her memories had likely been excised.
"Then, have you ever seen someone like this?"
I described Isna's appearance, and after a moment's silence, her eyes widened.
Then she staggered, clutching her head in pain.
-Ugh... my head.
"Are you okay?"
-Y-yeah... It's just... my mind suddenly got all jumbled...
She frowned in silence for a while, deep in thought, then spoke to me.
-My memories are a total mess too... But...
Her expression darkened.
-I'm sorry. I can't be sure. It felt like something from a dream...
"Just tell me what you remember."
-Head north from here, and there's a small cave. It's where I used to hide as a kid when Uncle scolded me.
"And she was..."
-Yes. It might just be a stray memory, and she may not be there anymore. But I saw her treating her wounds there. Ah... I think it's time for me to go.
"If you want, I can hold off a bit longer."
-No. I'm so... tired. I just want to rest now...
I didn't press her on other reasons; if that was her wish, I wouldn't force it.
Keeping her soul here any longer would just be cruel.
"Any last words?"
"Tell Uncle... I'm sorry."
"Rest easy."
With that, her soul departed.
Afterward, I headed in the direction she'd indicated and found a small cave that was easy to miss if you weren't looking.
And there—
The moment we entered, both of us froze in our tracks.
"Haha... how'd you find this place?"
Before us was Isna, covered in blood-soaked bandages, changing them out while sporting wounds that looked fatal at any moment.
Her slender frame was so riddled with injuries that finding uncovered skin was the real challenge.
"Luna."
"Wait. Don't come closer. I'm contaminated right now?"
The ground around her at the cave's end was rotting away like something festering.
"I can't be responsible if you get too close?"
Luna spoke as I glanced at her, sweat beading on Isna's forehead.
"Nakwha. Can you draw the world tree's power here?"
"Should be possible."
The old Nakwha couldn't have, but now—
After devouring massive amounts of spirit energy and the world tree's power, it had undergone its second growth.
Meaning the scale of its power had changed entirely.
Shing...
As I drew my claymore, she gave an awkward smile.
"Y-you're gonna kill me?"
"Stay still."
"Bloom wildly."
The incantation was the same as before, but the power it held was different.
In an instant, the blade morphed into a mass of light, and as I plunged it into the ground, the world tree responded.
Of course, Nakwha didn't control the world tree.
It simply connected me to it, and the tree lent its power at my request.
The elves would probably call it a divine sword without hesitation.
Crunch... crrrunch!!
The cave floor cracked and split as branches erupted upward.
Even at this great distance, its influence reached us in moments.
The world tree's roots rising from the ground sucked in the rotting energy around Isna, filtering and purifying it like a sieve.
They coiled around her, devouring every lingering trace of foreign power in her body.
The world tree might suffer from absorbing this, but it had purified far worse in a heartbeat.
That was the world tree for you—capable of archangel-level feats in this domain.
Isna, panting and slick with cold sweat, widened her eyes as the energy left her body, then smiled faintly.
"Young Master Leon. That sword... it's incredible. You look like you have a ton of questions... what now?"
"Pardon?"
"Hehe..."
She grinned mischievously.
Then, after spacing out for a moment, she toppled over and passed out.
Was she in the middle of saying something?
"No way. This woman's really pissing me off..."
"Knew she was nuts at first glance."
I never thought anyone besides the Moon's Watchers' leader would pull this crap on me.