The battle continued, and in a matter of minutes, all the dark hounds were dead, and the forest fell silent once again.
"Everyone okay?" Aaron asked as he glanced around the scenery.
"We're fine," Diana replied but she was breathing heavily.
Aurora nodded as well and checked to see if Aaron or Diana were injured.
Since no one got injured during the fight, they decided to keep moving.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, the air grew colder and everyone could see the clear differences in the trees present in this part of the forest.
Unlike other parts of the forest, the trees in this region looked wilted and stunted. A lot of the trees and greenery looked like the life essence in them had been sucked dry.
This was due to the large amount of miasma present in the air. The miasma in the air was extremely dangerous to not just the plants but also the three of them.
This was why Aurora erected a magical barrier to prevent them from being affected by the corrupted mana.
Aaron and the girls pressed on but they soon stumbled upon a clearing that was dominated by a crumbling stone structure. It was smaller than a house, but it had carvings that were covered by vines etched into its surface.
"Is this–?" Diana began to ask, but before she could completely utter the words she had in mind, Aurora answered her.
"Yes, it's a shrine," Aurora replied as she stepped closer to it. Aaron also got closer to it, but he noticed the carvings on the shrine and began to wonder how the shrine would be able to do what was required of it. "So, how do we use it to purify the forest?" He asked Aurora.
Aurora examined the shrine thoroughly before replying. "Elven shrines are special. They were designed to channel natural energy and heal lands and those around them as well. But this one looks dormant. We would need a catalyst if we want to awaken it."
"By catalyst, do you mean a mana crystal?" Aaron asked.
"Yes," Aurora replied before looking into her pouch to bring out a green mana crystal. The mana crystal was the only one she had left with her, but she brought it along with her just in case she might need to use it.
She wasn't sure if she would use it for the shrine, but she brought it with her anyway, and now she was glad that she had.
"Will it work?" Aaron asked while looking at the crystal in her hands.
"It might, but we need to be sure of what exactly it will do. If the shrine activates, it could help purify the forest, but it could also attract something dangerous," Aurora replied and Diana scowled.
"We've already got enough problems on our hands, the last thing we need right now is the catalyst summoning more trouble our way."
The two nodded, but Aaron asked Aurora the question on their minds. "Is there a way to prevent the crystal from attracting Magical beasts or demonic beasts?"
"There is, but that'll take a while because I'll have to cast a really long spell to do that."
Aaron nodded in understanding. "Very well, we'll scout the area for now while you try to activate the shrine."
The ladies agreed, and everyone began to carry out their duties, with Aurora working on the catalyst and the shrine while Glimmer stood behind as her guard. Then Diana and Aaron began scouting the area as well.
Luckily for them, they didn't find anything too difficult for them to handle alone.
The only beasts they encountered here were a few dark hounds, hell coyotes, and a couple of hell wolves as well.
A few minutes later, Aurora had completed what needed to be done with the catalyst and the shrine began to glow faintly.
The pure white light glowed brightly and spread across the forest as it purified the air and cleansed the dark forest of all the corrupted mana in its air.
As the shrine's light began to spread throughout the forest, plants began to flourish once again and the air around them felt clean and pure once again.
"It's working," Aurora said softly with a smile on her face and Diana smiled in response as well.
Now, they had not only reclaimed the farmlands, but they had also purified the dark forest and this was all thanks to Aaron.
If he hadn't suggested the idea of reclaiming the farmlands a few days ago, none of them would have accomplished so much in such a short period of time.
Diana sheathed her sword and glanced at Aaron, who was standing right beside her. "This is all thanks to you."
"No, everyone had a part to play in achieving this."
"You're right, but you took a risk in bringing us all here and now it's paying off."
Aaron nodded and his gaze remained fixed on the shrine in front of them. "But we're not done yet. This is only the beginning."
Aaron was right about what he said and the girls knew this as well.
Most of the demonic beasts in the forest were going to flee because of how pure the mana in the air had become, and now, all that would be left to do was for the three of them to clear any of the demonic beasts still roaming around the forest.
And this was exactly what they did.
Aaron, Glimmer, Aurora, and Diana spent the next couple of hours slaying any demonic beast they found hiding nearby.
They doubled around the forest to make sure that it was safe to walk into and once their goal had been achieved, they returned back to the capital.
As the group returned to the town at dusk with their packs filled with herbs and supplies, Luna was waiting for them at the gate, and the moment she spotted them from a distance, she rushed towards Aaron to give him a huge hug.
"I knew you'd be back."
"Thanks, Luna," He hugged her back with a tired smile on his face.
"What about the forest and the shrine, were you able to find it?" Luna asked with a worried look on her face.
Aaron smiled and ruffled her hair gently. "The forest is safer now," He replied and Aurora added. "We found the shrine as well."
"Really?"
"Yes, Luna. The dark forest has been purified and the shrine will continue to purify the land, but we'll need to keep protecting it to prevent it from being corrupted once again."