Chapter 652

Urushi ran across the surprisingly calm lake.

『There’s no sign of the Great Magic Beast left…』

「Nn」

『And since when did the Vivian Guardians disappear?』

「Woof」

Until now, the Vivian Guardians should have attacked us in this area, but there was no sign of them.

I think it had something to do with the demise of the Great Magic Beast, but I didn’t know for sure.

We then hurried to the person who knew the details of the situation.

「Weena Rhyn, she’s there」

「Woof!」

『So she’s safe? Well, it’s not like she was gonna let herself get killed by using that technique 』

I could see the white stage where Weena Rhyn and the others had been performing their ritual. It did not appear to have collapsed or been destroyed in the battle that had just taken place.

But what about Weena Rhyn and Romio? Were they safe?

As we got even closer, I could feel the presence of Weena Rhyn and the others. Weena Rhyn, Romio, Sierra, and Zelos Reed. They were all there.

However, being alive was not the same as being fine. As we arrived at the stage, we were reminded of this fact.

Romio was still unconscious, but there were no problems with his vitals or breathing, he was just unconscious. The fact that Sierra and Zelos Reed were not panicking suggested that there was nothing to worry about. He should wake up soon enough.

Sierra and Zelos Reed were in tatters. Their bleeding seemed to have stopped, but their vitality still hadn’t recovered. Just like us, they seemed to have lost their regenerative power as a backlash from pushing themselves too hard.

But both of them were conscious, and as long as they stayed put, they shouldn’t get any worse. They were now drinking potions and were resting their bodies.

However, Weena Rhyn’s condition didn’t seem to be fine at all.

『For real…?』

「Weena Rhyn… You okay…?」

「Fufu… I’d like to say that I’m fine, but, it seems I’m not」

Weena Rhyn smiles wryly while looking powerless.

Half of Weena Rhyn’s body was covered with something black, like the embodiment of the darkness of the night. It was the same with her right eye, part of her right ear, her right arm, and her right shoulder.

It was neither magical nor miasma. I couldn’t sense any magic or presence from that black thing. In fact, I couldn’t even detect the presence of Weena Rhyn’s body which should have been inside it.

No. Was there even a body in it? I thought the black stuff was covering it, but it seemed like her body itself had been transformed.

I couldn’t even imagine what had happened to it.

「What happened?」

「It’s kinda hard to explain, but… I guess this is the price of borrowing in advance」

「?」

「Yes. I borrowed some power from another me in the future」

Borrowing from the future? I’m not sure I understood the concept. Both Fran and Urushi were tilting their heads.

「You know I have a contract with Rhyn, don’t you?」

「Nn」

「Rhyn’s attributes are Time and Water」

「I know that too」

「My skill, the 『 Divine Water Creation』, is the result of a combination of Weena’s ability as a Water Magic-user and Rhyn’s power as a Spirit of Water. It is a power that was created by evolving the Holy Water Creation skill that I could originally use」

「I see」

So, the power that Weena originally possessed was enhanced by her fusion with Rhyn.

「Apart from that, another force has a strong influence on Rhyn. It is called borrowing in advance. It’s a Space-time ability that allows the user to use magic power from the user’s other self from the future」

「You borrow magic from your future self? So that’s what borrowing in advance is?」

「Something like that. It’s an ability to secure a huge amount of magic power for a moment at the price of being unable to use any magic for a few days. You can think of it that way」

「So the backlash of using that move is that black part on your body?」

「That’s half correct」

Well, she said that the cost of borrowing power in advance was the inability to use any magic for a few days. So, I didn’t think it was the reason why a part of her body turned black like this.

「In the first place, my secret technique was neither borrowing power from my future self nor the Divine Water Creation」

「Then, what?」

Fran casually asked back. I wondered if she was willing to tell us about her secret technique, but to my surprise, Weena Rhyn was quite willing to tell us about it without hiding anything.

「The secret technique of the High Elves is the ability to become a demigod. The effect is simple. It increases my status and strengthens my skills. Well, the percentage of that is ridiculously high though. Especially in the skills’ case, you can even say that the transformation causes it to evolve into a higher-level skill while in that state」

「Did you use the Divine Water Creation and that Borrowing In Advance ability after you become a Demigod?」

「That’s right. And this body is the result of me using my enhanced strengthening from becoming a Demigod to its limit――」

She said that the Borrowing In Advance ability that she used in her demigod state could draw something other than magic power. But she said she didn’t even know what it was.

「You don’t know?」

「Yes. I borrowed something from my future self that I didn’t understand, and somehow it gave me tremendous power. That’s how it works」

「You’re not afraid?」

「Of course I’m afraid, you know? However, I will gain tremendous power even more than I would gain by the demigod transformation during that time. Even so, it was almost a gamble on whether I could finish off the Great Magic Beast or not. So, I couldn’t help but use it」

The originally monstrous High Elf was super-strengthened by the Demigod transformation and then further strengthened by the Borrowing Power In Advance from her future self in the demigod transformation state.

It seemed that if she activated the combo of Divine Water Creation and Aquarius in this state, she could imbue any water within a 500-meter radius with the Divine Attribute and then manipulate it at will.

「Amazing…」

「…Well, I wonder? But when you look at my current state, it’s not alright, right?」

「So, the parts of your body turned black because of you becoming a demigod?」

「Yeah. When this happens, I can’t feel or move them anymore. I can’t see out of my right eye, and I can’t hear out of my right ear」

Weena Rhyn then tried to move her arm, but the black arm didn’t move at all.

「Can you use Heal on it?」

「It’ll return to normal in a few years. After all, I’ve been through this before」

Years!? Well, considering that tremendous power, it’s rather not that costly, is it? She’s a long-living High Elf too after all… But even if she was a long-lived being, a few years was still a lot of time.

「Well, I don’t know exactly how long it will take this time, because I’ve never used it this close to the limit before」

「You used it to its limit?」

「Yeah. I would have been dead if I activated that demigod transformation for another ten seconds」

「Eh?」

「If it’s just my arms and a part of my face, I’ll be fine as long as I rest because my regeneration will eventually help me recover. However, if this black part reaches my heart, my heart will naturally stop beating. If my heart or brain stops functioning, there’s nothing I can do」

Weena Rhyn shrugged her shoulders as she said that. Well, the only thing that moved was her left shoulder though.

「That being said, if you and Sierra hadn’t been chipping away at its power before, I would have lost my life before I could take it down. You have my thanks」

「…Nn」

Fran nodded, with a complicated look on her face.

After seeing the battle between Weena Rhyn and the Great Magic Beast, I guess she would feel that her help was a small thing.

But it didn’t look like Weena Rhyn was lying. In other words, she was really telling the truth.

But still, the price of Weena Rhyn using it was high. “If only I were stronger…” That must be what Fran was thinking. I understood how she felt. That was because I felt the same way too.

Oh, and I still hadn’t heard the important part.

「Has the Great Magic Beast completely exterminated?」

「Yeah. Without a doubt」