Chương 43: What the River Brought

It is not wise to underestimate an army of green-skinned races. Orcs, trolls, even goblins can pose a serious threat when well armed. But on this occasion, many things were working against them. They had already suffered a recent defeat, leaving them tired and demoralized. On top of that, they were facing the goddess who ruled that territory and her forest spirits. Not to mention the powerful race of the visiare.

Although the forest spirits suffered some casualties, the visiare emerged mostly unscathed, largely because that was the promise Avelle had made to her new lord. She did everything in her power to protect them all. There was only one exception: the Archonte of the visiare, Thaelor. If not for his sacrifice to buy time, the situation would have been very different for the fledgling settlement. Even so, the loss was too great for anyone to celebrate the victory.

While the forest spirits collected the bodies of the fallen enemies to burn them on massive pyres, the visiare gathered around a small wooden altar, arranged over logs that had also been prepared to burn. On the altar lay Thaelor's body, dressed in white, representing the purity of death. Around him, everyone wore whatever they had been able to find that was red or a similar color. Tradition dictated that it represent the blood still running through their veins, to distinguish them from those being mourned.

Of course, no one was very well prepared for this kind of ceremony after being transported to a new world. Not in clothing, and not in heart.

"If we had... if we had the temple my grandfather wanted..." Sae whispered through bitter sobs. Beside her, Ily held her close, tears also gathering at the corners of her eyes.

"It is time to say goodbye." Osvel approached the two of them with a torch in his hands, ready to set fire to the logs beneath Thaelor.

"I... I'll do it." Sae approached Osvel and took the torch from his hands.

"Are you sure, Sae?" Ily asked worriedly at her side. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Ily, this is Sae's decision. We must respect it." Osvel answered instead, one hand resting on Ily's shoulder. She nodded, but kept watching with an anxious gaze as her friend, the new Archonte, advanced toward the funeral pyre. Sae stopped before Thaelor and brought the torch toward the logs, but her arm began to tremble.

"I'm sorry, Grandfather... There are so many things... so many things I wanted to talk to you about... But don't worry. I'll be all right... the visiare will be all right. I'll make sure of it." After she closed her eyes, a few final tears trailed down the Archonte's cheeks. But when she opened them again, her face reflected firm resolve. Without further delay, Sae lowered the torch to light the fire.!! But the torch never reached the logs.

Her arm had stopped in midair because a hand had gently taken hold of her wrist.

"Lord Nereziel?!"

"I'm sorry for arriving late, but there was something I needed to confirm with Avelle." Nerez carefully lifted Sae's arm and guided it away from the pyre where Thaelor lay.

"Wha... what's happening, Lord Nereziel?"

"Sae, let's put the ceremony on hold for a while. Don't worry, Avelle will take care of Thaelor's body."

"Lord Nereziel?" The visiare present also looked at one another, unable to understand what was happening.

"There's an injured person! The river swept someone here!" At that moment, a visiare burst into the ceremonial grounds, shouting between gasps.

"It's not one of those green creatures! But it isn't a visiare either!" Nerez released Sae's hand and prepared to follow the newcomer.

"Looks like Avelle will have her hands full today."

Drazira slowly opened her deep scarlet eyes. Her vision remained somewhat blurry for a few moments, which was no surprise after what had happened... What had happened?

"That's right... Drazel..." With some effort, she turned her head, trying to make sense of her situation. She seemed to be inside some kind of grotto. Around her were roots, vines, and countless flowers. There were also several openings through which amber crystal light filtered in. By that light, she could see that her horns, wings, and tail had been retracted, not by her own will, but by some kind of nature magic acting upon her. It made sense. It would have been difficult to lie down with all of them out.

The magic was running through her entire body, concentrating especially around the place where there had once been a horrible wound, one that had now healed without leaving a single trace.

"Regenerative... properties? Ugh..." However, she could still feel the wound's effects; it had left her body considerably weakened. She sat up with difficulty on the bed of flowers and silk-like blankets where she lay, causing her long, disheveled orange hair to fall over her back and shoulders.

"Ah! Lady Avelle! Lady Avelle! The big-boobed monster has woken up!"!! A delicate figure had appeared at the entrance of the grotto, only to flee in a flash.

"A dryad?" Drazira knew what dryads were. She had gone on diplomatic missions for her father, the demon king, and for that reason had traveled through different parts of her previous world.

"So there are dryads in this world too... Wait, big-boobed monster?!" It was true that Drazira had enviable proportions for anyone who cared about such things, but she never would have imagined being called something like that.

"The underworld really is filling up with all sorts of curious creatures..."!! This time, a soft, melodious voice came out of nowhere, startling her and nearly making her fall off the bed. A moment later, a swirl of leaves formed in the middle of the grotto, and from within it emerged a beautiful woman with hair the color of spring leaves and lime-green eyes. Her presence and aura did not seem to belong to this plane of existence. Drazira knew at once that she was not facing an ordinary being.