Proof (2)
At that moment, as Estina and her deputy Lamuel's gazes locked onto Wolrang, Tiny already knew why the wolf was acting up. He was shouting at the Elven Knights who were watching him instead.
"Why the hell did you let those bastards go!"
The Elven Knights monitoring him scowled at the sudden outburst, but the moment they looked where he was pointing, even they couldn't hide their shock.
"Weren't we supposed to be watching for demon worshippers!?"
Two Elven Knights were fleeing toward the Great Forest, leaving the front lines behind.
No way... that ridiculous story was true!?
The thought flashed through their minds simultaneously. It seemed like a disaster caused by too many comrades who hadn't believed this human.
"I'll chase them! Get out of my way!"
"You can't!"
They simply blocked him as ordered.
"Damn it!"
They were just(?) 4th or 5th-stage sorcerers and mana users. He could shove them aside with brute force if he wanted, but he had no confidence in doing it without hurting them.
I can't afford to fall out with Estina after coming this far. Damn it all.
But he wasn't without options. Catching those demon worshippers pretending to be people was far more urgent than the monsters right in front of them. And an elf in full Elven Knight garb could wreak all sorts of havoc in human lands—too many possibilities to imagine.
Wolrang, catch them no matter what!
- Kyung!
He couldn't go himself, but he was determined to see them torn apart. The soul link with Wolrang granted the spirit even greater power. And as a wolf spirit hypersensitive to demon worshippers due to its primal essence and final memories from life, it bolted toward the fleeing pair like the wind itself.
Then, the next instant.
- Pfshuk.
With a small noise, green arrows sprouted from the chests of the escaping Elven Knights. Aura arrows that pierced their mana metal armor—far superior to human plate.
"...Estina?"
Tiny and everyone else's eyes turned to the World Tree guardian. There, Estina—her body not yet fully recovered—spewed pale blood and collapsed.
"Estina!!!"
Tiny bellowed and charged forward. This time, no elves blocked him. No, they weren't even paying attention to him anymore.
"H-how?"
"Liring, Esna... both of them...?"
"Demon worshippers for real?"
"No way!"
Everyone could see the two Elven Knights felled by Estina's arrows rapidly decaying, spewing black demonic energy that corrupted the surroundings.
* * *
"What the hell were you thinking...!?"
Was it overexertion? As Tiny instinctively rushed to her side, he couldn't comprehend it.
I could've caught them—or Wolrang could have! So why!?
Of course, one might have escaped. An elf's Forest Step in the woods multiplied their speed and senses several times over, and he still couldn't maintain long-range spirit summons like Estina.
But even so.
Overdoing it just to catch one demon worshipper? It's a net loss.
Estina's sluggish recovery—one of her only weaknesses despite being top-tier among the Ten Great Knights. Of course, the Estina twenty years from now had devised ways to build endurance amid endless wars, but not this one.
Half a day had passed since her exhaustion after sending Kyleum to Elvenheim. The long-distance summon must have drained a ton of mana, but even accounting for that, vomiting blood from just two aura arrows didn't match the Estina he knew.
She wouldn't die from overrebound or anything, but...
Damn this elf body.
Expecting her to bounce back after a few months like a human was unrealistic.
Overrebound backlash could last years if severe. Her body might even weaken further.
One of humanity's strongest pillars couldn't afford to weaken over something this stupid. Absolutely not.
As Tiny gritted his teeth and approached the fallen Estina—
"Stop!"
Lamuel, the orange-haired deputy, couldn't tear her eyes from the bizarre scene but nocked an arrow to block him anyway.
He understood why, but Tiny didn't back down.
"Move! I can heal her!"
"What nonsense is that? I said back off, human!"
Common sense said no one could aid an Aura Exceeder's overrebound. Residual aura repelled even divine power, and its overwhelming life force ignored any herbs.
But Tiny was insistent.
"I can do it!"
"Don't make me laugh! Who the hell are you to—!?"
But even her shouting voice and arrow tip trembled mercilessly. Their trusted comrades had been proven demon worshippers by their own actions and the corpses left behind. And the one who'd called it out was this human right in front of her.
"If you want your superior stuck with lifelong aftereffects, go ahead and shoot."
Confirming her hesitation, Tiny calmly passed her and knelt by Estina, who lay vomiting blood on the ground. He looked at her with pitying eyes.
"Why'd you do something so reckless, Lady Estina?"
Cough.
"Hah... My subordinates... it was right for me to clean up after them."
Even as she spat bright red vital blood, Estina managed a bitter smile.
...Yeah, that's just who she is.
Too strong a sense of responsibility, ignoring her own harm. That's why she'd thrown her life into a role that didn't suit her when she realized she was the only one who could handle the beast legion's air forces.
"...Not this time."
This wasn't just about the immediate aftereffects. He wouldn't let her—or any comrade—throw their life away pointlessly.
Tiny placed his hand on her crown, resolve firm.
"What are you—?"
He met her flushed face steadily and drew up his mana.
- Our elves' mana circuits take in the 'Power of Great Nature' through the crown.
Part of the secret technique she'd taught him in his past life to compensate for her slow recovery. Back then, as a fellow Aura Exceeder with superior mana sensitivity, he could aid her mana regen even if not her body.
His current realm was lacking, but his soul retained the full might of the Mighty Knight.
No—stronger, even.
The new spirit contract absent in his past life had pushed his soul power to 3rd stage. Handling soul power directly had sharpened his mana control too.
And moreover.
Woooong.
The Transcendent Weapon Animus on his shoulder would amplify that soul, letting him mobilize mana beyond limits repeatedly.
So it wasn't hard.
"I'll synchronize pure mana to the path of the 'Power of Nature.' Accept it."
"What do you—!?"
Estina and Lamuel—who'd watched him warily—both widened their eyes. Without pause, Tiny unleashed his maximum mana.
Woooong.
Sunset glow shifted to red, then bathed the surroundings in brilliant blue.
Slightly different from my past life. But still... doable.
Gauging her state, Tiny carefully infused mana into her body.
Focus.
Grit.
His first attempt in the past life had been risky. The 'Power of Nature' circuit rooted in her brain—mess it up, and she could've ended up vegetative or dead.
He wouldn't have tried without urgency.
But it worked then.
He'd helped her mana recovery directly afterward. Now, only his current realm held him back—but he had ways to compensate in abundance.
Best of all.
It works.
His new soul power synced perfectly with hers, making mana wavelength alignment far easier than before.
But then.
Now it's smooth... Huh!?
Tiny felt his soul sucked into some space.
And then.
- H-how?
- Hm?
In a pure white void, their souls faced each other—raw, primordial forms beyond even their origins.
- Wh-what is this?
- Huh? Huh?
Regardless of their wills, the souls drew closer, overlapping completely.
Wung.
- Ah...! You!?
- Wha...!?
Estina instantly knew everything Tiny hadn't said. Tiny deeply understood her in turn.
Soul communion. Bewildered by the inexplicable phenomenon, they were ejected from the white space in a flash.
And then.
"What the hell are you doing!"
As Lamuel yelled belatedly, Estina slipped into meditation with a faint smile.
Tiny sighed in relief and poured mana more vigorously. Soothing blue light thickened around them.
"Ah, no, this is...?"
Even flustered Lamuel soon watched with hopeful eyes.
But the recovery wasn't entirely smooth. Soul levels aside, their current realms differed vastly.
"Nngh."
For an indeterminable stretch, Tiny repeatedly maxed out his mana. Enhanced soul power had limits against overrebound too.
After ten over-limit mobilizations, he stopped counting—but eventually even that limit shattered.
"Grgh."
Blue veins bulged on his hand atop her crown, spiderwebbing across his body. As if glowing blue blood coursed through him instead of red.
While he gave his all, Estina's meditative face grew ever more serene. Waking her forcibly from near-trance would cause massive backlash.
So.
Just a bit more... just a bit more...
Enduring the soul-bursting strain, Tiny pushed to wring out every last drop of mana.
And then.
Woooong.
As his Mana Body screamed it couldn't take more—
Tap.
A warm hand brushed his away from her head.
Huh?
Barely conscious, Tiny cracked his eyes. Estina's voice rang out, her green eyes shining as if fully recovered.
"How is this possible...!?"
Her voice brimmed with un-elf-like shock. Yet trust filled her gaze at him—a contradictory mix of the impossible and the certain gripping her mind.
And that made Tiny smile.
It matched the look his past-life comrade had given him.
Way beyond expectations.
In the best way. But still.
"D-damn it, sh-shameful... pathetic..."
He couldn't even finish venting his frustration at the gap before passing out with a lame curse and awkward grin.