At first it was subtle, but soon Orsted could feel that the surrounding was reacting in a strange way to Zarestia's action of absorbing the large beast leg.
The starry sky illuminated their surroundings brighter than usual, as if the stars were excited.
The air felt fresher and mana was more invigorated than before.
With his keen senses, Orsted felt the spirits run away quickly as Zarestia finished absorbing her lost limb.
A few plants could be seen growing on the barren ground, as if life force was pumped into the ground too.
'Strong...' That was the feeling Orsted perceived from Zarestia as she clenched her fist in a victory pose. The current her was already stronger than him in pure statistics.
Zarestia approached Orsted with light steps, her smiling face didn't begin to show the pure happiness boiling within her.
After walking beside Orsted and holding his hands, Zarestia pointed at herself with a prideful expression.
"I'm stronger now." Zarestia's eyes locked onto Orsted's.
Tilting his head, Orsted could see through her burning need immediately through her eyes.
"I see, good job. I would expect nothing less from my spirit." Orsted naturally began rubbing her head.
"Huhuhu~ I will do all the heavy work now! You can relax as much as you want!" Zarestia pushed her head against Orsted's palm with a blush.
'...She has been raised well. I'm proud of you, Zarestia.' Orsted felt satisfied with her mindset.
Rub~ Rub~
"Hehe~"
Watching Zarestia stick to his body again, Orsted could only begin moving while carrying her on his back. They still had work to do, Zarestia's last limb was nearby and it was yet to be collected.
With all her four elements, Zarestia's strength was expected to rise exponentially. She could even potentially use four-fold magic, making use of all her four elements at once to bring out unbelievable output.
It was similar to Roswaal's six-fold magic, showing his potential in all elements. In accordance to the plot, while using six- fold magic, Roswaal could contend against Puck, in the beast of the end form.
However, the result would still be Puck's victory in the end.
Zarestia's final lost limb was located at Jimuna volcano - which was geographical within the holy kingdom of Gusteko.
Crossing country boundaries involved rules, formalities, and risks. It was mandatory to cross through a checkpoint, when travelling across countries.
'I don't think there would be any border guards around Crimson Hills Girall. They would most likely be stationed near Zesperga.'
Zesperga city was located right beside the Jimuna volcano. The living conditions of this city was most definitely better than the other cities of Gusteko.
With the existence of Jimuna volcano, the climatic conditions in Zesperga were more humid - unlike the harsh snowy climate the holy kingdom of Gusteko suffered from. Therefore, the city was named - Torrid Hot City of Zesperga.
The only way for Orsted to enter Zesperga would be by sneaking in. The bounty hunter identity from Kararagi wouldn't work in Gusteko's cities.
Orsted's vision was still clouded by a range of mountains, even after flying in a straight line for 20 minutes.
In the darkness of the night, Orsted could only hear the breathing of Zarestia beside him. He felt her hands around his neck tighten suddenly.
"Control your strength." Orsted frowned at Zarestia, though it wasn't suffocating, it felt uncomfortable enough.
"Sorry, Sorry, I could sense my 'hands', so I couldn't help it." Zarestia apologized with a sorry face.
'Already?' Orsted couldn't even pick up a scent yet and according to his map, it would still take a while to reach their destination.
Zarestia continued as if she saw through Orsted's thought: "It's not the smell...I can just tell it's that way."
"So, a vague feeling?"
"That's right."
Orsted nodded in understanding and pulled Zarestia's slim arms off his neck, while floating on the sky.
"Lead the way and try getting used to your increased strength. " Even while knowing the exact location, Orsted still let Zarestia do the tracking.
"Don't be surprised by my speed then!" Zarestia held Orsted's hand excitedly and conjured her winds to bolt forward.
It was almost thrice as fast as him, if Orsted didn't use light wings to boost his speed.
'Her wind element has almost caught up to her peak strength, comparable to when I met her the first time. The stored power in her light sphere would probably only be icing on the cake to her current self.' Orsted squinted his eyes slightly, as the wind brushed past his face.
Their destination presented itself before them soon, a cloud of dust was visible even from afar.
Jimuna volcano was considered a hazardous zone in the holy kingdom of Gusteko. As its volcano was active and spewed out molten lava at random times.
Landing atop the volcano, Orsted felt an unbearable heat pressing against him, almost unnaturally so. A normal volcano, even if active, wouldn't radiate such intense heat.
"My 'arms'...." Zarestia called out in a nostalgic voice.
When Orsted started to wonder how to fish out her lost limbs, Zarestia walked forward confidently.
"Just watch me." Zarestia flashed a cocky smile at Orsted, as golden light shimmered from her body.
The ground shook almost immediately, reacting to Zarestia's will. The peak of the volcano, where they stood, trembled more violently than anywhere.
Looking down at the active volcano, Orsted saw the hot magma swirling violently. It was showing signs of erupting.
'I should keep [Shadow transfer] ready just in case...' Orsted decided internally.
The magma rose visibly before a pillar of rock pierced through its surface and rioted up. Before long, multiple rigid pillars of rock arose from within the magma - bringing up two beast arms.
"I see." Orsted nodded his head at Zarestia's fine work.
Watching Zarestia flying towards her lost limb impatient, Orsted felt a sense of expectation as he activated [Tear stigma] partially.
Zarestia's strength spiked rapidly, she was regaining the strength she held a thousand or so years ago. As one of the first four spirits created by Od lagna itself.
Seeing it would take a while for Zarestia to absorb her 'arms', Orsted felt lost in thought - the [Tear stigma] continued analyzing.
'Zarestia's tail was used in the desert, in hopes of getting a better habitat. Similarly, her arms, which controlled fire, were used to alleviate the cold weather of this land.'
Orsted didn't know if there was a mastermind, who planned Zarestia's downfall. However, he was sure that they had succeeded quite easily in the end.
'....I should teach her more now that I think about it. Only I can use her, I won't let her suffer any loss again in anyone's hand.'
And it wasn't a problem, as soon she would belong to him whole.
[Side quest has been completed!]