Black retreated half a step, her eyes wide at the sudden question. “W-what do you mean?” She asked with a brief stutter, having clearly not expected a question like that to appear. At most, she thought Dana might ask her how someone so young was able to fight on the twenty-fifth layer like she was.
“There’s a darkness within you. A very literal darkness. Thousands of souls connected to a shadow. I’m very sensitive to souls, so you stand out like a beacon. You and that black-haired human back at the camp.” Dana explained, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
Black gulped, unable to properly meet Dana’s eyes while trying to find some way to explain herself. “I’ll handle this.” A voice spoke up from behind the demoness, causing her to abruptly turn towards the source. A female human emerged, rising from the shadow while wearing a flowing black robe.
“This should be our first meeting, isn’t it?” The woman asked with a warm expression, looking towards Dana, who nodded her head.
“I’d definitely remember meeting someone like you.” Dana could infer that this woman was the ‘source’ of the shadows that Black and the man back in camp were connected to. While those two felt like they were merely vessels for the darkness, this woman felt as if she was the darkness itself.
“My name is Thelsa Whitefallow. I’ve had a few interactions with the Keeper, and have come to acquire a rather special power in my time.” When Dana heard that, she glanced downwards, seeing how Thelsa and Black’s shadows connected to one another.
“So that’s it… you have an energy that is able to conceal space within a shadow.” Dana nodded her head, though she knew that there was still more to it. This energy also had to be able to either create or capture souls, but she wouldn’t directly say something that might be taken as offensive.
“That’s one way to put it.” Thelsa chuckled. “However, I would appreciate it if you did not spread word of my existence. It is my desire to only help from the shadows. By now, the world should have long since forgotten about me, and I would like it to remain that way.”
Dana considered her request, before nodding her head. “That wouldn’t be hard.” After she said that, she stepped out of the forest, raising one hand to summon her tome. “Well, if you ever need a place to hide out for a bit, you’re welcome at the citadel.”
Black, taken aback by the easy acceptance Dana showed, could barely keep her jaw from dropping to the floor. She looked between Thelsa and Dana, the former of which was once again descending into the darkness of her shadow and the latter was boldly walking out into the field where the giants were resting.
“Are you sure that you can handle all three of them by yourself?” Black asked in concern, prepared to step in if Dana said that she needed assistance.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. We made a few little cheat items a while back, so these guys aren’t a problem for me. It’d actually be harder to deal with them if I had to worry about not implicating someone else in a messy melee. So, if you could do me a favor and stay over there, that would really help me a lot.” Dana’s smile was sweet, but for some reason sent chills down Black’s spine.
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Are you sure it was alright to tell her all of that? Petra asked internally, watching Dana stride out into the field. The exchange between Dana and Thelsa just now had been far too casual for her to understand, not at all like what she expected from two peak experts shrouded in mystery.
If it’s her, then it’s fine. She is one of the Keeper’s Servants, and we are on good terms with him. Most likely, she’ll try to confirm our story the next chance she gets, so as long as we tell the truth it will not cause a problem.
Petra nodded, seeing how Dana slowly lifted herself into the air with a powerful gust of wind. But what if she decides to tell everyone about us?
That shouldn’t be possible with her personality. If she was that interested in spreading secrets, then she would have never been chosen as the assistant to the most powerful being in any world. Thelsa’s words assured Petra to a degree, so she watched the elven girl lift her scepter.
Gradually, the pages of Dana’s tome began to turn, one by one as she looked for a spell. By now, both Dana and Petra could see the massive beings in the distance. Like Dana had said before, there were indeed three of them. Of the three, one looked quite unusual with red skin and a pair of horns on its head.
If Petra had to guess, that should be the giant able to wield magic that Dana had pointed out previously. Given how they were walking closer, they should have detected Dana hovering in the air. One of them raised up its tree of a club, and slammed it down against Dana.
There was a dull thud that echoed all the way to where Petra was hiding, before a thunderous crash as the tree hit the ground. Even without any extraordinary senses, Petra could tell that the giant had reinforced its weapon with ki. She winced, expecting Dana to be severely hurt… or worse.
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However, the pulse of mana from within the air caused her gaze to go skyward again. There, she saw Dana continuing to float as if she had never been touched. Splinters fell around her body, bouncing off a spherical barrier.
What… but… how? Even if she was over level one thousand, she shouldn’t have the mana to maintain a barrier like that against such a strike. Much less without being moved in the process. Petra was having a hard time comprehending what she had just seen, but Thelsa seemed to have an idea.
It should be one of the two items in her hands. She said that they had made ‘cheat items’... perhaps one of them acts as a bottomless mana battery?
But… if they had something like that, why not give it to the world? Even getting to this continent only took so long because people couldn’t find a suitable power source. How many other problems would something like that solve?
Far less than the problems it would create. Thelsa explained patiently. Let’s ignore how many accidents could be caused while researching the applications of those artifacts. If they were widespread, that means that they would similarly be in the hands of those with more nefarious designs. Even a weak mage would be capable of destroying entire countries if he were to get his hands on such an item.
Petra still had her complaints, but knew that she wouldn’t win an argument with Thelsa over it. Instead, she watched as Dana found the page she was looking for. The tome hovered out in front of the small elf, while an incredibly complex burst of light appeared above it. Dana waved the scepter across the light, and three beams shot out from her body.
These three beams instantly connected with the three giants, causing them to let out pained cries that shook the land. Of the three, the two who had relatively normal skin tones fell to the ground, shaking the entire nearby forest. Their bodies began to dissolve into motes of light. As for the third, it seemed to be resisting the effects of the magic, holding on with its innate power.
“Oh? That’s interesting.” Dana’s voice could be heard from above. “You’re able to absorb magic, and turn it into your own power? Let’s test how far that goes.” There was a playful, if almost wicked tone to her voice.
Spell diagrams began appearing one after the other around Dana. These were so simple that even someone like Petra was able to recognize it. A simple ‘arcane bolt’ spell that even an apprentice mage could cast. However, there was the problem of quantity…
Five, ten, twenty… fifty, one hundred… Petra lost count when there were more than three hundred diagrams formed in the air. The red giant remained stationary, glaring fiercely at Dana as it seemed to work on digesting her earlier spell.
Suddenly, Thelsa’s voice spoke up within Petra’s mind again. It is said that in the early days of Earth, before the discovery of second tier magic, there was a great wave that threatened to wipe out a large portion of the elven population. Using only the first tier ice bolt spell, the Goddess of Magic froze the wave. She did this by casting thousands of spells at the same time, charging each of them to their very limit…
Are you saying that Dana is using the power of the Goddess of Magic?! Petra asked in shock, staring up at the small figure.
No… I’m saying that her weapon is likely able to reproduce the power that the Goddess wielded at that time. It shouldn’t have a direct connection to Ryone. But still, to wield such a power is already incredibly impressive.
As if to confirm Thelsa’s thoughts, the gathered spell diagrams all fired simultaneously. Each one crackled with enough energy that it looked like it could burst at any moment. And while a normal arcane bolt would be a shapeless blur the size of a fist… the blasts that emerged from these spells were a dozen meters thick, refracting light like a rainbow as they crashed into the giant at the same time.
Still, the giant tried to absorb the spells, doing its best to survive the assault. Its body even grew larger by a few meters. But Dana did not appear worried, ordering her spells to launch once again. And again… and again. A dozen rounds of fire in as many seconds, until the red giant appeared to bloat, a look of fear in its eyes.
“So that’s your limit.” Dana smiled, waving her hand again. The hundreds of simple spells faded away, replaced by one of the third tier. “You can die now.” When this spell fired, it launched a needle of black light that pierced into the body of the giant. Then, as if it were an overfilled balloon, it popped…
Blood and gore swept out across the field with the powerful explosion of mana, but that wasn’t all. When Petra’s eyes looked upwards to track the blast, she noticed thousands of small dots descending from above. Her eyes widened in shock, remembering the insects said to lurk on the ceiling of this layer. Had the battle with the giants caused them to lose their grip and fall?
As she was preparing for the worst, the blast of mana swept over them, sending them careening off over the forest. Although she couldn’t see from her perspective, she could estimate that they should be landing a few hundred meters past the cliff, inside the ocean.
Petra offered a silent prayer, knowing that the whales would be eating well today. Looking back at the scene, she saw Dana descending to the ground, stepping onto the soaked red grass. Then, she casually put away her scepter and tome, and began walking over. “Well, that was fun!” She said with a bright grin.
“...Fun?” Petra was sure she had to have heard wrong.
“Yeah! I got twenty whole levels at once! I think I hit the cap for this world. Hmm… maybe I should grab the level up orb while I’m here? Otherwise, I don’t think I’ll be able to come back next time…” When Petra heard that, she was almost certain that Dana was serious… and that she had the ability to do it, too.
“If you can… that would certainly be helpful.” She forced out the words with a strained smile, able to hear the footsteps of those from the camp charging over.
“Got it! Aunt Aurivy, mind giving me a lift?” Dana asked, looking upwards. Suddenly, a golden mist emerged from her feet, encapsulating her body before dispersing. When it faded away, Dana was no longer present. Petra was left alone at the edge of the forest, trying to find some way to explain what she had just seen. Whether the explanation was for herself or the confused workers… well, to be honest, it was for both.