The smell of green herbs filled Ulrics nostrils.
He had always been sensitive to strong smells.
Looks like that also came with him to this world when he died in his previous one.
He had no idea where he was.
It seemed he was unconscious and stuck in his mind, waiting for himself to wake up.
Ulric looked around his mindscape.
It was an empty field of grass.
The wind was blowing strongly, with a grey sky.
In the distance, there was a single tree.
Walking towards it, he noticed it was the same tree that started it all.
The giant mammoth tree that contained the Endblume inside it.
Finally arriving at the tree, he noticed the tree was covered in the same flower.
There were multiple Endblume all over the tree, it was like a disease slowly taking it over.
He didn't know why, but he sensed a great comfort coming from the tree.
Ulric sat down, leaning his back against the tree, slowly drifting to sleep.
Branches started to grow from the tree, slowly making their way towards him like vines.
They wrapped around his body.
Slowly, the Endblume flower started to grow from the branches wrapping around him.
Ulrics body was slowly being absorbed by the tree as little bits of flower stems started to grow from his body.
A warm heat spread throughout his body.
The tree wasn't trying to absorb him.
It was comforting him, as if this would be the only place where he would be able to get comfort.
A strong smell of green herb hit his nostrils again.
Opening his eyes, he found his mindscape starting to flicker.
He was about to wake up.
His eyes closed and rolled to the back of his head.
Closing off his mindscape.
Ulric slowly opened his eyes.
A wooden ceiling?
He was in an unknown room.
"AHH!...You're awake!"
A short, orange hair girl yelled as she dropped a plate on the ground, breaking as it made contact with the floor.
Ulric stared at the little girl for a second.
He noticed he was on a make-shift bed, it seemed like this little girl was trying to treat his injuries.
The little girl ran to his side, bowing down as far as she could.
"Thank You! For defeating those evil demons!"
Ulric stared at the ceiling for a bit.
The demons, Kaelvar's blood blades, The Lich.
It all came back to him.
His arm reached towards his chest.
Bandages covered his chest and shoulders, slightly red from the dried blood.
The little girl sat up, immediately started grinding leaves in a chipped bowl.
The smell hit his face instantly.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked, his voice rough.
"Because you saved me."
The words hung in the air for a moment.
He wasn't there for her or anyone else.
He just wanted to test his abilities.
He never intended to save anyone.
"You were scary" she continued quietly. "After the tall demon turned to dust, the other demons tried to run away, but you chased them all down."
She hesitated for a second, her fingers slightly trembling around the edge of the bowl.
"I thought you were going to kill me too."
Ulric just lay'd in silence.
The girl stood and stepped closer, holding out a small cup.
"Drink this. It'll help with the pain."
He took the cup and downed it in seconds, it tasted like ass.
She watched him carefully, as if trying to decide what he was.
"The sun has already set. You should get some sleep."
She walked towards the wooden door, already half a step out before turning around.
"I'll check up on you in the morning."
Morning soon arrived.
Stepping into the room, the little girl found the room empty.
The man who had saved her and her village was gone.
The forest was still dense and quiet as ever.
Ulric wandered around without direction, the faint pull at his chest was the only thing guiding him.
Wherever it guided him to it, he would follow.
Sometimes he would arrive too early, only finding corpses.
Other times he would arrive in time just to witness villages falling to demons, before ending them himself.
Time quickly passed around him.
Spring's damp earth gave way to summer's dry heat.
Green leaves turning gold, then red, before falling off their branches.
Snow eventually followed, covering the earth in a beautiful white.
Ulric walked through it all with the same slow, steady pace, his breath visible in winter and invisible in summer.
Rumours quickly began to spread.
In taverns and trading markets, stories spread about a wandering mage whose spells turned demons to dust and left no corpses behind.
Some started to call him a hero.
Finally, someone who started taking down these evil demons.
Some didn't think he was human at all, but instead insisted he was something wearing a mans face.
Years passed this way.
Ever since that day with the little girl.
Three winters came and went.
By the time the third year ended, the rumours had reached ears beyond humans.
Walking alongside the mountain path.
A tall man with green hair and pointy ears, also wearing a priest's robe, was making his way to meet an old friend.
Making his way to his destination, in the distance, he could see a large group of travellers.
Even from a far distance away, he could still faintly hear the conversations of the group.
Soon, a certain conversation caught his attention.
"…I'm telling you, there wasn't even a body left. Just dust."
Another voice scoffed, clearly not believing the other's tale.
"You listen to too many tavern tales."
"No, I saw it myself! The villagers who survived say they only saw a green glow before most of the demons were destroyed into dust."
The wind shifted, carrying the rest of the conversation away
The pointy-eared man was immediately intrigued with the information.
Looking in the distance, the sky met a jagged line of mountains.
His expression remained calm, but a certain interest just entered the back of his mind.
"...Green glow?" he muttered beneath his breath, continuing his journey.
At the same time, sitting at the head of a table.
An elf with golden hair that fell over her shoulders started reading the stacks of reports left at her table.
Her eyes moved slowly across the page.
"...reduced to dust, no lingering sense of mana, witnesses describe...a male mage with a green glow."
She absorbed each line of text with no visible reaction.
.....
End of Chapter 11