I wonder where Queaz is…
I initially wanted to enlist him along but…
******
…
The sun has risen on the line of horizon.
Marco and his friends agreed to find a way to lift the curse. Either possible or not, they're going to find out, soon.
Firstly, they head into the chief's house and tell him about their plan. Of course, it isn't immediately accepted. The chief says that he and his strongest magicians had done multiple things to lift the curse but to no avail. Trying to heal the ground with Earth Element is useless, so says the chief. The nature isn't answering the elementalists' call. He conveys as well that probably the curse prevents the land from being 'healed'.
Nina stands up and says that she is willing to give it a try. The chief is amazed by her confidence but he worries that she'll fail as well. Nina assures him that she will find a way eventually. She doesn't tell anyone about what method will she use to lift the curse. The chief decides to have faith with her, although she and the rest of her friends are newcomers.
The party goes to the shriveled garden. The villagers there are looking glum with their already broken crops. They might not obtain good harvest this season, that's what they're worried of. Their children might not eat well, too because of it.
Pio and Aily examines the plantations after Nina gets permission from the gardeners who work there. The branches are yellowish and weak. The leaves are dead. A small smack can dissect the plant from the ground. Learning those things causes Marco to think.
"If the plants are frickin' weak as shit, why the villagers even bother taking care of the gardens?"
Scias comes with an idea that, "These villagers… are in the brink of… hopelessness. T-T-They're desperate to the point they don't even care what they are doing…"
"Makes sense…" said Marco in agreement. "But still… just how bad is the curse? It looks like it grows gradually…" After a few minutes, Marco realizes something. "I wonder… if the curse is a magic… then… hold on, hold on… if it is a magic… then there's supposed to be…!"
"Hey, Scias… have you ever, EVER tried activating Mana Sensing in this village yet?"
"N-No, I don't bother using it, tho." Scias stated casually. "That's it, Scias!" Marco nearly yelled in excitement.
"W-What is…?" Scias asked. He's unsure of what his friend up to. "Dude, let's try sensing mana activity in this village. Maybe we can find the source of this curse."
"H-Huh… a simple thought, but okay…"
Both of them immediately activate their mana sensing ability. Their intention is simple, to find out whether the curse is mana-based or not. They obtain their answer almost immediately, as the mana sensing detects a massive emission of mana energy spreading out in the region. That rapid feeling quickly storms his focused mind, piercing it like a thousand needles infecting the brain.
Marco soon collapses onto his knees after sensing the intense sensation. He feels his head like it's going to explode anytime soon. His body feels rather numb. Meanwhile, Scias holds his forehead, caressing it tightly. He feels the same as Marco, that feeling of their heads are going to blow up. Unable to comprehend the seething pain, the two deactivate their skill right away.
Some villagers come to the two, trying to help them relieve the pain. Aily calls her sister, Nina to heal them immediately.
"Hah? What are those two bollocks doing now? Seriously, though…" she said frowningly as she headed to her friends' location.
One of the villagers says that he forgot to tell the party about the following effect of the curse. Any magical effects that has detection properties (e.g. mana sensing) will be nullified and could potentially harm the user.
After that moment, they learn why the villagers, who were supposed to be mages didn't bother activating detection skills while the curse is still active. It slowly devours them, either physically or mentally. Marco wonders about those in the past who had experienced it prior.
"It must've been a pain in the arse. No doubt about it, hm! They're heroes."
"So trying to sense mana energy around here is a dangerous act to do. How troublesome, especially for a village inhabited with powerful magicians," Nina thought. "Having unable to sense mana is like walking blindly for us. It's like losing one of the human senses."
"Um… Miss Nina is kind of scary with that face…" Pio said to herself. She walks to her and asks, "What's the matter, Miss Nina?"
"I wonder about it…" Nina muttered to herself, ignoring Pio's voice.
"Miss Nina? Miss Nina! Miss! Nina!"
"E-Eh?" she got snapped out of her thoughts. "Pio, what is it? Are you hungry?" she asked while crouching down to her.
"No! Pio isn't really hungry. Pio worries Miss Nina's overly serious face! It's scary!" Pio conveyed.
"What, scary, you say?" Nina grinned scarily.
"Eeek! Really scary, you're really scary, Miss Nina!" Pio squawked.
"Hee-hee, you're too honest, Pio. But that sense of honesty that makes you cute, hehe." Nina stated. Her scary smile melted into sincerity. "I'm happy you'd worry for me, but don't worry about me, Pio. I'm just… uh… guessing! Yeah, that's it."
"Woah! Guessing!" Pio said excitedly. "Hm, I'm simply guessing things. That's why you should not worry about me, okay?"
"I see! Pio understands!"
"Hehe, good girl, now go along with Aily and help her there."
"Okay!"
Pio leaves her and goes straight back to Aily, whose speaking with the locals. Pio startles Aily, nearly causes her to jump out of existence. Seeing the two squabbles and being friendly to each other makes her happy.
"But still… is Pio really, REALLY, fourteen years old? Her mental is that of a seven-year-old, though."
Nina turns around and looks into the road. "Now, then… I want to ensure something first."
She asks Scias to come along while Marco remains accompanying Pio and Aily. On the way, Nina shows a flat expression most of the time. Scias guesses that she's deep in her thoughts, much like him when thinking things too hard. But after several minutes of walking, Nina doesn't change her expression, which makes Scias uneasy.
"W-What is it do you w-want to d-do?" Scias asked stutteringly.
"You know, Scias… I always wondered why you spoke with a stutter whenever you're not around Marco." Nina said curiously.
"It's…" Scias couldn't deny that fact. It is true that he is bad at speaking to anyone else aside Marco. He requires Marco to be near him so that he may speak fluidly. "…Why bring it up all of s-sudden?" he switched to asking.
"Not in particular. I'm just curious about you, big guy." She stated with a smile. "Anyway, there's something I want to test out."
"U-Uh… sure," said Scias awkwardly.
They reach the end of the village. They proceed a few hundred meters further until they're completely surrounded by grass and the village is quite distant from them. During their walk, Scias is pretty shocked to see the changes within the environment.
"The land… is shriveling badly, Scias." Nina stated anxiously.
Within a radius of two kilometers, the grasses have turned yellow. Some even has died, too, marked with their brownish color.
"Y-Yesterday… it isn't like this…" Scias conveyed. "Yep, that's why it's concerning. The land is dying, Scias…"
"The demons did not simply curse the gardens, the crops, and simply the village," said Nina. "The entire land around this village is also dying because of the curse."
"The curse is spreading faster than ever, huh…" Scias muttered heavily. "Yeah. That's why I kept thinking about it last night. Is there a way to undo the curse? It has to be. There must be a way. When a demon cursed something or someone, one way to nullify the curse is to kill the demon. If that's the case, then it's just the same as trying to start a war against them. There… has to be another way, another possibility that will allow us to destroy the curse without fighting the demons."
Consuming her words, Scias found one conclusion of what kind of 'test' she is up to. "…Are you willing t-to use healing magic, Nina?"
"…Precisely." Nina confirmed.
"But healing m-magic can only be done to creatures like humans…" Scias reasoned.
"Yeah, I know that well. I'm surprised that both worlds, Tellus and Gaia had the same theory. But you know, Scias, today I will change it. The definition of healing magic can be done to humans and other creatures shall be totally changed into healing magic can be done to anything, as long as they're alive and organic beings!"
Scias is stunned to hear her words. She said it with full confidence. "…That's amazing. But how will you do it? We don't even k-know where the curse is coming from!"
"That's why I've come up with some tricks. Mana sensing isn't possible, right? Then my Mana Perception ability will do it."
"W-wait, hold on a second. You're g-going to use Mana Perception? Have you gone mad? You'll lose your eyes if it fails!" said Scias nearly shouting, he is very anxious about Nina's plan.
"It's a gamble that must be taken, Scias. If I simply cast healing magic to the ground without knowing where the source of the curse is, then it's useless." Nina explained.
She takes a breath and asks the mercenary, "Will you trust me, Scias?"
"…U-Uh." Scias nodded slightly while looking away a bit. "Y-You… can try it…" he said with a wavering voice. His face frowns deeply somehow. He simply looks down to the grass now with his fists clenching tightly.
"My, my, that expression again…" Nina said quietly while exhaling a silent breath. "I hoped for your honesty, though… oh, well. Anyway…"
Nina holds her cane tightly. She turns her gaze into the distant village. She takes a deep breath, hoping to withhold the probable injury she might receive. Her heart is throbbing rapidly, knowing that her intentions are going to be fifty-fifty risk. Either she will still see the glory of the sun or witness the dark void embraces upon her.
"Hey… Scias…" Nina called out.
"Y-Yeah?" Scias responded short. "If I fail, then I want you, only you, Scias, to take care of me. That way… I can still take care of Aily and Pio. Marco can take care of himself, right, heheh."
Shocked, Scias responds almost instantly, "N-Nina, what are you s-saying?!"
"Please." She stared at Scias while expanding her lips in a forced smile. "I believe you can."
Her intention to bring Scias along was to try and understand the man by herself. She always wondered why Scias acts so stiff and cold many times, while her little heart believes that he never intended to show that charade of his. She just wanted to know more of her friend. But right now, it must come to a pause.
"I hope to understand you more. A speck of understanding is better than nothing. Besides, nothing comes instantly."
Scias watches silently with a shocked look in his eyes. Nina gives him a kind smile and turns her look into the village.
After going into some consideration, Nina closes her eyes.
Deep in her thoughts, why would she be doing this for a community that she just met? Why would she risk sacrificing her body part to save a small village that she just visited?
"That's right. I can't stand looking at the grief people showing to us. If there's anything I can do to revive their smile, then I'm more than willing to do so, because everyone deserves to live happily and peacefully. Heheh… probably, my overly attentive character to these people is derived from my personality as a princess. A princess who worries about the good of her people, that's who I am, Nina Aureole zi Meridia."
With all braveness she has brought with her, thus she opens her eyes, showing her pair of beautiful brown eyes. Shortly, those eyes emit lime lights in circle around their irises. Finally, she activates it whole.
"Mana Perception!"
…
..
.
In her wake of power, she saw a terrifying sight, one of the worst one, yet. She saw the village being engulfed with blood-colored spikes. The dirt, the grass, the gardens, the walls, the houses, the fences, the watch towers, everything! Those spikes did not just infect inorganic objects, but also being a parasite in every individual in the village, with Marco and the others as exception. Those spikes are in fact, the magical curse that has been casted upon them.
What's more terrifying is that she sees the spikes shattering the earth as it spreads. There are large amounts of thread with thorn on their surfaces that come from the forest to the west. Those threads are tying up, mangling all over the place like webs of spider, but aren't visible to those who're not capable of Mana Perception.
Her most anxiety comes from her sightings of a massing wave of dark mana energy emanating from the far north slowly shifting closer than ever. Although they're far, but once close enough, it may consume the entire village, and lastly, she and her friends.