Darkness envelopes Rosa's vision as she closes her eyes shut.
She pulls Erika closer, clutching her body, sweltering with fever and drenched with sweat.
She is bracing for the beast's claw to tear them both.
Instead, she hears soft rustles. Soft, slow, and gentle rustles.
Hrrrrrr…
Soft growls. Not a snarl, not a roar. Most importantly, no pain in her body.
Curiosity lifts her eyes open. Light begins to pour into her eyes.
The soft rustles continue. The beast's hand now splayed on Erika's forehead.
Palm softly stroking the skin and carefully adjusting her hair.
It's her…
She looks at the beast's eyes. The ferocity is gone.
The eyes are still sharp. Even sharper than the one hunting her.
Yet its action is tender.
"Rei… ko…"
Erika mutters under her breath, eyes half open. Tears flow on her cheeks.
The beast looks at Rosa. Shiver claws on her spine. Rosa immediately jolts her body away from Erika.
On her palm are wilted grass blades. Looking around, dead trees are everywhere.
Then she notices something about the beast, the swirling white glowing marks around its body fade.
A glint catches her eye from behind the treeline. Then another, and another. Mages positioned themselves in the bush.
She bobs her throat. They're going to take their chance at it.
Something in her screams how terrible an idea it will be.
As she looks at the beast, the claws begin to retract as it holds Erika tight in its hug.
Its snout shortens. The muscles getting thin.
If something hits it right now… she doesn't want to imagine the outcome.
"Wait! She's reverting! Stop the atta-"
She shouts too late. Icicle spears, wind blades, and lightning arrows are coming at it at the same time.
Awesome, isn't it? This is what I learned at the university!
If you control the mana just right while you flow and cast exactly at the right place, you can form two barriers with a single cast!
Parallel casting? No, it isn't one. But, let me tell you a little secret, this is how they get started~
Time slows down in Rosa's eyes. She points her staff at the direction of the focal point of the attacks.
"Varriere!"
A barrier forms at the centre, small. Then she expands the cast sideways to the left.
Then a second barrier forms, while the other barrier grows bigger.
The lightning arrows hit the barrier. The attacks dissipate and the arrows get scattered, yet the barrier shatters.
The right barrier forms too slow. Rosa gulps. The barrier isn't enough.
Her legs immediately sprint before her thoughts finish. She throws her body at the beast, tackling it out of the focal point.
Yet as the attacks reach them, the barrier shatters before impact.
The icicle spears and the wind blades fade out.
Bluish white mist floats around the place where the attacks and the barriers were.
The mist turns purple before it's pulled towards Erika's body.
Purple aura oozes out from Erika's mouth, nose, and ears.
"Stop the attack! Something's happening!"
One of the archers shouts.
Same mist is leaking out from Rosa's body, it turns purple and goes into Erika just like the rest.
"Huh?"
It is the same sensation as the mana draining in Eisenvalt. Yet this is way worse.
It's like being forced to cast a spell past the point of exhaustion in rapid succession.
Rosa's knees feel weak. She can't lift a finger. Her body collapses forward before the beast catches her.
A sensation runs on her scalp. A stroke. Yet this time, she feels no sharp claws.
Not only that, when the beast lays her down. Facing up. She sees the snout disappear.
The fur on the beast's body slowly recedes. Revealing the fair skin underneath.
The beast's face is now revealed, a beautiful woman with both jet black eyes and shoulder length hair.
The same mist is being pulled from her body.
Rosa tries to keep her eyes open, yet her eyelids are getting heavier.
Then a gust appears before her, between Rosa and the former beast.
"We're getting out of here, for now…"
Rosa feels a tug on her collar before she is forcefully yanked out at the speed of a storm.
"Hyaaah!"
Before she knows it she lands on soft grass. Fresh and green.
"Akira!?"
"Ptooey!"
Akira spits to the ground, launching a red goo out of her mouth.
The white lines around her body also disappear.
"She got me good, landed square on my rib…"
Akira puts Reiko beside unconscious Lilia, before she throws a cloth at her.
Reiko's hazy eyes slowly focus. Then she looks around, her eyes immediately widen.
She looks at Akira, Rosa, then Lilia.
"Ya don't mind telling me yer name, lady?"
Her gaze snaps to Akira who's calling her.
"Where… am I?"
"Hoffman's farm, should ring a bell. Yer name?"
The girl doesn't answer. Instead, she snaps another gaze at the unconscious Erika.
"Erika!"
She tries to stand up and run to Erika, yet Akira grabs her wrist.
"Are you Reiko? The girl is dying. Something happened to 'er while she was trying to save you."
Reiko sharpens her eyes.
"Tch! Yes, I am! I know she's dying! Let me go! I got to help her!"
Akira lets go of her wrist. Reiko sprints off not even a second after.
Other mages are running to Akira.
"Hey! What happened!? Suddenly our magics don't work!"
"The trees and grasses also wilted!"
"What happened to the beast!?"
"Rite… squeak, can ya tell us what happened? Ya were messing with the phylactery."
Everyone looks at Rosa.
Rosa looks down to the ground. Her eyes become foggy.
Something hurts in the back of her skull.
"S-sorry… I was… I didn't know…"
She looks at Lilia's unconscious face.
A magic circle is glowing underneath her.
No. I have to keep it together.
Rosa takes a deep breath. In and out. She's now aware of the lump.
She's now aware where things are leaking out.
She takes another deep breath.
Swallow. Her throat bobs. Another breath.
"Sorry… Cough cough… let me explain properly."
Rosa stands up, using her staff as a crutch.
"Our plan was… cough… to split the phylactery mana into potions and pour them into the ground…"
She takes another deep breath, stabilizing the rhythm of her chest.
"For some reason, Erika's spell failed, and before I know it, she begins to drain mana from everything…"
Akira nods, closing her eyes.
"So that's why she was able to revert the form… Ah, right, the beast reverted to the girl over there."
She bobs her jaw in Reiko's direction.
Everyone's gaze follows her, looking at Reiko and Erika at the center of the wilt.
"That was… the beast?"
A caster steps forward, her voice cracking.
"What about our Erika!? Will she be alright?"
Rosa casts her gaze down once more. She remembers how it felt. Mana was flowing all over her body.
Everything felt cold while her body was burning. She couldn't even lift a finger.
"...She's pulling mana from everywhere… If we don't act soon, then she'll die from mana poisoning…"
A mage begins to step towards Erika's direction.
"Then we should hurry up!"
"Wait!"
Rosa raises her voice.
"If we're going near, you'll get drained! You'll die from mana exhaustion!"
The mage puts his zweihander back to his hip.
"Tch! Then what about her? Why isn't she collapsed?"
The mage points at Reiko, who's hugging Erika.
Rosa's eyes widen. He's right. Reiko manages to stay conscious the entire time.
"Right… Akira."
She calls, Akira snaps her gaze at her.
"Yeah. I know. Probably cuz she's a kemomimi. Just like myself."
Akira cracks her neck.
"I'll help her. Squeak, ya said something about splitting the mana to potions or something."
"I did… why?"
"Did ya by chance use that book?"
Rosa softly nods.
"We used the pentagram from the book, yes."
"...I'll do something about it. Y'all better stay put."
Akira forms another hand signs sequence. Wind wraps her and she disappears into the thin air.
…
"Reiko…"
"Stay with me! Erika!"
Heat surges into Erika's body. As if her entire body is made of hot coal.
She knows how drenched her body is.
A gust of wind, temporary relief before the heat comes burning once more.
Cough Cough…
This is probably what they meant when they said life flashes before your eyes when you're dying.
Erika sees the scenery again. When her body is burning, cold palm is holding her.
In front of her is Reiko. This is a dream about that day.
"Erika… please say something!"
"Rei… ko…"
She grabs the hand tighter.
"I… missed you…"
Her voice wavers. Tears form in the corners of her eyes, mixing with sweat.
"I missed you… so much…"
"Erika! I'm here! I'm here, so bear with me!"
Was she this panicked that night? Her memory is fuzzy.
She doesn't remember her being this afraid, even when she got high fever.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry for leaving you! Erika! Please!"
She has nothing to apologize for. She never did back then.
Unless… this is how she would imagine Reiko. After she left.
After the betrayal. After she took everything with Beringar.
"Reiko. Here, got something for her."
Another voice. Beringar? No. Not this crass. Not this feminine.
She can't clearly see the figure beside Reiko.
"A bucket of water. A real water. Shouldn't dissolve into mana."
Erika hears a splash and slosh, then suddenly a coldness in her forehead.
"Thank you!"
Another sound of liquid. A vial?
"This is?…"
"Squeak made this before our trip. Should be able to help 'er. Said it eases fever."
"Squeak… you mean that girl in the red?"
Silence. Then something cold touches Erika's lips. Cold liquid gently pours to her throat.
The burning in her body eases each gulp.
Then rustles catch her mind. Papers being flipped. A book?
"I had my suspicion, this is indeed Igor's version of mana based resurrection…"
"You know about that?"
"Been handling my fair share of cases. Church duty."
Another silence. Erika's eyelids are getting heavier.
"So you're from the church…"
"Yeah. In fact, I might be able to help her to get through this… for a favor."
Reiko's grip suddenly tightens.
"Please! I'd do anything! She's… I tried my best to pull the mana out of her! But…"
Her voice cracks, sobs mix with her shout.
"I know. I need two things from ya."
Erika's eyelids are closing bit by bit. The voices suddenly fade.
"First, I need ya to …"
Everything fades to a mute, and her vision goes dark.
…
"Hwaaaaaaa! I'm glad you're okaaaaay!"
Rosa tries to pry her best friend's snotty face away from her.
"That should be my line… glad you're okay, Lilia."
"Hwaaaaa! Rosieeee! Thank youuuu!"
Rosa pushes harder.
"You can thank me by letting me go!"
A gust of wind and clinking of metals snatch her attention from Lilia.
Her body moves before her mind does.
She already stands up and points her staff in the direction.
It's Akira, holding Reiko by the shoulder. Metal shackles cling to Reiko's limbs.
"You're back. How was it? Will Erika be okay?"
Akira raises the book in her hand.
"Just read what's inside, Igor's necromancy. Happens to know how to handle around it."
She tosses the book and the phylactery to Rosa.
Rosa grabs the book, but her hand just won't touch the jar.
It drops to the ground. Leaking nothing.
"...Yer lucky Igor's version doesn't explode on mishandling."
"...Sorry."
Rosa drags the jar towards her with the end tip of her staff. She reaches for it.
Her fingers stop short. Lilia snatches it from the ground.
"Hey!"
Lilia pokes out her tongue with a cheeky smile.
"You seem afraid, so let me handle this one~"
Akira clears her throat.
"Anyway, I want you both to prepare the shed."
"Prepare?"
"The pentagram, make sure it's intact. Also…"
She looks at Reiko, who casts her eyes down.
"Make several vials of numbing potion, relaxant, and something to drain mana faster."
Rosa squints her eyes.
"What are you going to use them for?"
"Erika, obviously. We need to get the mana out of her body, and then back to the phylactery."
Lilia stands up, she steps closer to Reiko. She inspects her like she did to a new ore.
"What did you do to her? She seems downer than before."
"She had to make some compromises. Anyway, tell others to clear the way and the shed."
Akira nods to Reiko. She nods back. Both perform the same hand technique.
"We'll carry Erika there, might take the whole night. Clear out before morning."
Then they vanish.
Rosa and Lilia look at each other and nod.
Lilia crouches, presenting her back before Rosa.
"...What are you doing?"
"You want to get there faster or not? We don't have all night!"
Rosa sighs. Lilia gets the point.
"Fine… just this once."
Again, she slides her leg between Lilia's arm. Then another.
"You keep saying that, looking forward for the next~"
"THIS IS THE LAST TIME!"
…
Warmth. Not the heat of burning coals like earlier.
From her body, and from someone hugging her.
Strokes come washing her scalp, one after another.
Finally, Erika's eyelids are light enough to open.
She slowly opens her eyes. There is Reiko, hugging and stroking her scalp.
Reiko is wearing a maid uniform. Just like the old times.
Beside her is Akira. Not just them, there are Ursula, Pauline, and then. Rosa and Lilia.
Looking around, she is lying on her old bed. Reiko must've brought her here.
"Erika!"
The hug tightens.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… Your body got really cold… I thought… I thought…"
Warmth from Reiko's eyes spills to Erika's neck.
"What… happened? Am I dreaming? Am I dead and now in heaven?"
"Ya probably were. Ya went cold and stopped breathing. We thought that was It. So she brought you here."
Pauline steps forward.
"Hics… Erika… Hwaaaaaah!"
She sprints herself towards Erika's side and joins her hug.
Beside where she stood is Ursula, wiping her eyes.
"I'm glad you made it, dear… Really glad we don't lose another one of us…"
Then beside her, Lilia, sniffling through all of it. Eyes as watery as a morning dew.
The girl beside her, way shorter than her, gives her an elbow to the side.
"You can… cry you know?"
"You said that… but you're biting your lips, Rosie…"
Reiko is here, beside Erika. Yet everyone was still mourning for Erika.
Something warm falls to Erika's palm. Another warmth.
Then another, then another, and another. Like a rain drop.
"Huh? What? Since when did I…"
She reaches her cheeks, the warmth is flowing from her eyes all along.
So I'm loved after all…
Was it because I always have been loved? Or was it because I was-
She doesn't finish the thought as she returns the hug to both Pauline and Reiko.
She tightens her hug, especially on Reiko.
"I'm back… to this… I missed this…"
"Me too… I'm back, Erika… I thought you would never…"
She shakes her head. What Reiko did to Ursula… that fact is unchanged.
But what does she want for herself? The answer is pretty clear.
It's this. She wants this. All gathering together. And she finally feels like she matters.