Riding a wind spirit shaped like a horse, the village chief and Ayu Permata quickly made their way to the village chief's home.
The village chief lowered his gaze.
"Ayu Permata... are the children..."
Ayu cut him off.
"Only now do you think to ask about that?"
She let out a sigh, returning her focus to the path ahead.
"We will count ourselves fortunate if they are alright. For now, let us focus on finding that teleportation orb first."
The village chief continued to reflect on everything he had done, while urging his wind horse spirit to move faster.
After some time, they arrived at the village chief's home, located right at the center of the forest, at the part of the largest tree.
"We've arrived." Said the village chief as he saw his wooden treehouse beginning to wither.
Ayu touched the bark of the tree.
"This wood... it truly cannot be saved."
She turned to the village chief.
"It seems we won't be able to continue with the horse spirits."
Ayu noticed the village chief lost in thought as he looked around.
"What's wrong?"
The village chief clenched his fist while gazing at a garden of shimmering pink flowers.
"Do we really have to leave this place?" He saw the shadow of his wife within the blooming flowers.
Ayu shifted her gaze.
"Looking at the state of the central tree, they have already contaminated this land. We cannot stay here any longer."
The village chief continued staring at that expanse of shimmering pink flowers, the place where he and his wife had once spent so much time together, before everything changed, before Astella was born, before a loss he had never truly let himself accept.
"I know." The village chief finally answered, his voice heavy. "I just..."
He did not finish the sentence.
Ayu interrupted.
"NEVER MIND THAT! Can we go inside now? And tell me where your storage chamber is!" Her expression sharpened, showing both deep anger and concern at the same time.
The village chief nodded and opened a door that was nearly rotted through.
The door opened with a creaking sound.
Inside was a room that was dark and cold, yet filled with warm memories.
Items clearly showing the village chief's affection were visible everywhere.
Feelings he had long since set aside, since the death of his wife.
Children would never understand the meaning behind those items, but any adult who was aware of their love story would surely recognize what every single one of them meant.
A doll made from soft forest fibers, a bracelet made from the hardened sap of a glowing tree, a painting of flowers, and all kinds of other beautiful keepsakes.
"You really are... unbelievable." Ayu furrowed her brow.
The village chief paced along the corner of the wall and pressed an invisible switch.
Then a dark passage leading underground suddenly appeared.
"This way, Madam Ayu." He gestured toward the staircase leading down.
Ayu's mouth fell open.
"I truly had no idea something like this existed here."
The village chief smiled.
"Of course not. This is only passed down through the bloodline of the village chief."
Ayu summoned a small fire spirit to act as a light source within the dark passage.
"Are you actually feeling proud of yourself right now?" Ayu said to the village chief.
The two of them softened slightly, faint smiles appearing on their faces.
They walked, and kept walking.
Until finally Ayu Permata and the village chief reached the storage chamber.
A place where countless strange artifacts and treasures lay stored.
They began searching for the teleportation orb, assisted by several spirits and small fairies.
The storage chamber was filled with spiders and scattered dust.
Yet strangely, none of the items had lost their shine, and they remained remarkably sturdy, with no signs of decay at all.
Ayu picked up one artifact shaped like a globe.
"Village chief."
The village chief turned to look.
"When was the last time this place was cleaned?" Ayu asked.
The village chief's brow furrowed, his pupils drifting slowly toward the upper right corner of his eyes.
He began to recall.
"I believe it was during the last research effort on the teleportation orb." He answered.
Ayu was even more astonished upon hearing that.
"It's been that long... and yet all of these items are still in such excellent condition."
The village chief offered his own thoughts.
"Perhaps it's also an effect of the artifacts themselves?"
They continued their search as quickly as they could.
Until one of the small spirits fell into a hole.
It was a mischievous wind spirit.
As it fell, it spotted a glowing orb.
The small spirit then carried the orb out with all the strength it had.
Upon emerging from the hole in the pile of items, it blew a gust of wind toward Ayu.
Ayu responded to the wind and turned to look.
She saw a pale blue light lifting an orb.
The village chief, seeing this, immediately moved toward the floating orb within his sight.
"This orb... this is what we've been looking for!"
Ayu stroked the spirit. To her, it appeared only as a soundless, shimmering orb.
"Well done." Ayu smiled.
The village chief now looked puzzled, turning the orb over in his hands.
"So... how do we activate it?"
Ayu moved to stand beside the village chief.
"Let me handle this." She touched the orb and began channeling her magic into it.
Within Ayu's consciousness, she found herself inside a vast dimension of magical formulas.
She was utterly amazed by the sheer scale of the formulas contained within the teleportation orb, her eyes shining with wonder.
"There are so many formula seals that need to be broken."
She raised her arm, flexing her muscles, and smiled.
"Yosh! Time to get to work!"
Ayu took her stance and leapt forward, taking on twenty magical formula seals at once.
Outside, the village chief kept praying.
He hoped Ayu could finish quickly.
The village chief then leaned Ayu's body against him, making sure the teleportation orb remained securely in her grasp.
The tremors of battle above ground continued to be felt, which was deeply worrying for the village chief.
"I hope everyone up there is alright."
The village chief watched as Ayu broke into a heavy sweat.
He tore a piece of cloth from his clothing to wipe it away.
"Come on! You old woman!"
Within Ayu's mind...
She was answering thousands of formulas all at once, in an incredibly short span of time.
Her adrenaline surged, and despite her exhaustion, she appeared to be enjoying it.
Until she managed to complete it all within just a few minutes.
Ayu then reached the final seal, and was utterly stunned by what she found.
It required the power of a dimensional spirit to activate this device.
"I see! No wonder the ancestors were never able to activate it!" Ayu began thinking of all the ancestors who had tried countless methods before.
Ayu then opened her eyes back in the real world.
She saw the village chief's face very close to hers, wiping her face.
"Huh?! What exactly are you doing, young man?!"
The village chief stopped wiping.
"You were sweating heavily just now, and your condition looked very concerning." The village chief said with a flat, blunt expression.
Ayu tried to stand as best as she could.
"Now we need to go get the children!" Ayu said, breathless.
The village chief helped support Ayu to stand.
"Tell me slowly."
Ayu took a deep breath.
"So... the reason the ancestors could never activate this orb is..."
"Because it requires the power of a descendant of a dimensional spirit!"
She turned to the village chief.
"BECAUSE OF THAT! YOUNG MAN, HURRY! WE HAVE TO GO GET THEM!"
The startled village chief immediately carried Ayu out and began rushing to retrieve the children.
To Be Continued...