Chapter 53 – Comfort

Sleep didn't come easy that night. Reina couldn't tell how long she lay awake just holding Maria close to her. Kuromo didn't object. He was with them in his dragon form, his head curled around them protectively.

Vyrdrun had apologized after Derdir left. Like Reina thought, he hadn't acted—and had stared at him pretty obviously—because he sensed something strange, almost familiar about him. He did promise that if Reina did fight Derdir again, he would help. Reina believed him.

"He is the Great Unifier, but he's something else now." He'd said. Vyrdrun was always honest with Reina before, and he seemed genuine.

Grim wasn't surprised at the reveal, at least about Maria. Derdir being the first Demon Lord didn't affect him too much. Grim knew Maria was related to Savia's royal family, but assumed she was in a branch family. When he found out she was 13 years old, he recalled a rumor about a runaway princess and corrected his assumption.

That part still lingered in Reina's mind. Maria…Charlotte was a princess—though she still wanted to be called Maria. Reina had been traveling with royalty this whole time. Part of her wanted to be mad. This was Prince Johan's sister, the same prince who tried to sell her out to Lola and Goalith…who probably weren't going to kill her back then…maybe.

But, no. It didn't matter. Maria wasn't her family. She didn't even want her family to know about Reina. Maria was Maria, and that was all that mattered.

While trying to sleep, Reina remembered what happened in Keston. That shimmer Maria killed. He might not have been Keston's. He might have worked for the queen of Savia. He probably did. If so, the queen might already know about Maria.

Derdir did say Reina was clever. She was proving him right. Maybe she could figure out why he wanted Maria's bloodline, Keston's royal family's bloodline, extinguished.

Morning came around. Nobody really talked during breakfast, everyone still dealing with what happened the night before.

Maria recast her age spell, returning to the form Reina knew best. She didn't put on Reina's old armor, opting for her usual witch-like clothing. Reina was thankful for that. After last night, Maria was done playing like that.

When they exited the mansion, they were greeted by a strange sight.

"Cassandra?" Reina looked at the Hascain knight.

"Mmrah…" The knight in question was sprawled out on a bedroll, her sleep posture atrocious, her snore weird. One arm over her head, the other underneath her as she lay on her side, one leg straight with the other at a 90-degree angle in front of her. All covered by a tunic and pants

"Wow. I can't really see her as a knight anymore." Reina mused. Their first interaction wasn't great, her sniping at Grim was worse, her…simpleness was a little endearing, but it all took away from knightliness. Her sleeping like an exhausted child was just the final nail in the coffin.

Maybe this was for the best. Knights were nobles, or at least noble-adjacent, and…well, that didn't matter so much either, really. Grim was a noble. Maria was a royal. Hell, Kuromo was a dragon, essentially a noble among monsters. Plus, the royal family of Lespax was pretty good, even if the country's view on women wasn't so great. Reina had more than enough good nobles around her to ignore the not-so-good ones.

Still, she was relieved to see Cassandra was okay. The knight didn't even cross her mind last night. Reina wasn't friends with her, but that certainly didn't mean she wanted the woman dead. She just didn't ask Derdir about her before because of the shock.

After rousing Cassandra—which included Grim smacking her on the back of her head—they got on their way, Cassandra eating her rations as they walked. She didn't even know Derdir was there last night, which Reina believed. They tried shaking her awake before Grim made his attempt.

On their walk westward, Reina thought back to the fight. Derdir groaned. From pain. Her sword and Kuromo's bite hardly did anything, with Grim's cleaver doing a decent amount more. But the three spirits' Death Pacts did enough damage to make him cough blood. How? Could it be they ignored defense? Reina had tested it a little and found it didn't work as well on stronger monsters—as in, it didn't kill them outright. They must have had a lot more HP, like Derdir obviously did.

If Reina was going to use them against Derdir, it would be defensively. They hardly did anything to him with their attacks, and Derdir knew that. She could use them as shields against Derdir when he tried attacking her. That would only get her so far, so she would need to figure out something else.

Piercing Shot definitely ignored defense, so she would use that with a high-attack weapon. Mana Flare should have dealt a good amount of damage to him. While it did damage based off of the target's magic stat, it probably still had to go through defense or magic resistance. Reina would need to test it more thoroughly.

Now that she had the Chisel's power up method, she could fire off those skills repeatedly. She would just need more SP. Luckily, she got a recipe for a potion to restore SP from the Unicorn Horn Rod. The ingredients were a little uncommon, but she had absorbed a good amount of them already.

This was all well and good, but it ignored one important fact: Derdir was an archmage. Outside of him sending his children far distances with a teleport spell of some sort, Reina hadn't seen what he could do. He was also around 70 years old, plenty of time to contract with every spirit at least once and learn every modern use for magic. If and when things got serious, she might have to use Anti-Magic Field and remove magic entirely, leaving her with the relatively weak weapon form the effect was tied to.

Reina thought through all of this for several hours. All while they walked, Reina never let go of Maria's hand. If a monster showed up, it was either taken care of with a spell, a skill, or one or more of the others. Reina didn't want to let Maria go. After last night, Maria needed all the comfort Reina could give, even if they didn't speak about Derdir, or their uncertain relationship. She didn't even ask about this Abashi dragon Derdir mentioned. Whoever that was, he sounded important.

It wasn't until she heard a voice that she really returned to the here and now.

"We just want to help you!" A young man's voice called out.

"Go away!" Yelled another.

Reina recognized the first voice, but was surprised to hear him. "Galen?" She called out.

"Huh?" As they came around a small, rocky hill, they saw the witch boy near a rockface, along with his sister Molly and their guardian Alister. "Ah! Miss Reina!" He waved at them from atop the short hill.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Reina asked as they made their way up the easy slopes.

"We live nearby." Galen said, pointing off to the side. "Oh, you mean out here, right? Well…"

"Don't bring more people here!" The same voice from before yelled.

As the group reached the top of the short hill, Reina got a look at what was happening. "Are those ghosts?" She asked, pointing at the see-through people near the mouth of a cave. They didn't react at all, some already looking her way, some looking elsewhere. All in all, there were about two dozen.

"Sort of?" Molly shrugged. "They don't act like ghosts."

"If they did, Master and Mistress would have destroyed them by now." Alister said, arms crossed as he continued staring at the cave.

"Why are they here? And grouped up like this…" Maria asked as she stepped closer. "A caravan?"

"We don't know." Galen said, shaking his head. "It's…well, it has something to do with the boy in the cave.

Galen explained what had happened. Earlier, they came across an injured boy, about 14 years old, wandering through the forest. He panicked when he saw them and tried to run away. Worried, they went after him. Violet rain clouds suddenly appeared near them and got Crescent before they could find shelter. Luckily, she didn't get that wet, so they took her back home and treated her before coming out again.

When next they found him, he was curled up on the ground and surrounded by ghosts. They tried to quickly banish the ghosts, but it didn't work. The boy ran off again and they chased him, ending up here.

"I see." Reina took in the story. "I think the violet rain was caused by him."

"Impossible." Molly shook her head. "Only Gromnar shamans can do that."

Reina wasn't surprised they knew that.

"It was an accident!" The boy cried out from the cave.

Molly gazed at the entrance. "He really did…"

"Please, just go away! I'm sorry I hurt your friend!" He yelled again.

Alister grumbled and looked away. As their protector, he must not have appreciated what happened at all.

"Vyrdrun, do you think you can get rid of the ghosts?" Galen asked.

Vyrdrun shook his head. "I reached out with my magic the moment I saw them. There was no reaction."

Galen deflated, then looked to Reina. "Miss Reina…"

"You want me to try?" She asked.

Galen nodded. "I know we didn't part on good terms, even if I still don't really understand why you think so badly of our uncle. But that boy…he's in so much pain. Will you help him?"

It wasn't a hard decision, but Reina still paused to think. Not about the boy, but the witches.

Were the witch siblings blood-related to Derdir? It was still possible. They had the same shade of black hair as him, so he really could be their uncle. Then again, Derdir was about 70 and looked younger than 30. Who knew what other changes there were to his appearance.

After yesterday, Reina came to the conclusion that their mother was one of his apprentices, but not one of the crazy ones. If she was crazy, she might have experimented on her children, a thought Reina didn't want to entertain. They mentioned how their mother was good at subtle transformations, likely translating to increased stats without physical changes. Not-so-subtle ones too, since they used their powers on Alister and he very physically imposing.

It was a bit cynical, but helping this boy might persuade them to talk more about their 'uncle'. Again, not that Reina wasn't going to help. This boy sounded terrified, nothing like the last person that could create violet rain.

"I can try." Reina said before she took off her helmet and set it on the ground, letting go of Maria's hand. She started walking toward the cave.

"Be careful." Maria softly warned her. A look over Reina's shoulder showed her Maria taking a step closer to Vyrdrun, clinging to a piece of his hide armor.

Reina held back her desire to rush to Maria and continue comforting her. She knew all too well what it was like having something that powerful wanting her dead. The difference was that Reina only assumed Derdir wanted to kill her. Maria was told that to her face.

"Excuse me!" She called out, focusing on the task at hand. "Can I come inside?"

"No!" The boy yelled back. "Stay back! The ghosts will kill you!" As if on command, all the ghosts looked at her.

Reina learned a thing or two about ghosts from Vyrdrun and Maria. Ghosts drained MP from their targets. There was a 'burn' that resulted from the drain, which reduced HP like any other damage. No MP meant no damage, but the person would likely die anyway from severe and continued MP depletion.

"Mana Ward!" She activated her skill, testing it out. The ghosts continued to look at her…no, at where she was before.

Reina slowed her approach, the transparent bubble around her getting close to a ghost. She took another step forward, the sphere making contact. The ghost shifted against it, its attention still on where she activated it. She took another step, and the ghost was pushed back.

Reina smiled. It seemed like this skill would work well against ghosts, and possibly violet rain as well. Since it didn't block spells, she assumed it was something like this.

"The ghosts can't touch me." Reina said with confidence. "I'm coming in now, okay?"

She didn't hear a response. That was better than refusal, so she continued on.

The boy wasn't that far into the cave, only 10 feet or so, but the number of ghosts had obstructed her view. She saw him sitting against the wall, his legs drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. His clothes were simple, something a villager would wear, if a little out of worn down. His messy brown hair was a little damp, like his clothes.

"W-Who are you?" He asked, peaking his head out from behind his legs.

Reina gave him a reassuring smile. "My name is Reina. I'm the Spirit Forger. Or Totem Hero. Or Ritual Implement Hero. I've heard a few titles." She laughed lightly, hoping to ease the tension. "What's your name?"

The boy sniffled and rubbed his nose. "N-Noah."

"Noah." Reina nodded and stepped closer. "It's nice to meet you."

It was almost strange talking to him like this. He was only a few years younger than her, a little older than Maria, but his appearance made him look more fragile. His arms were thin for someone his age, though he looked about the right height, maybe a tiny bit short; a little taller than Reina, really.

"Are these ghosts yours?" She asked, gesturing behind her with her arm.

"I didn't mean to!" He cried out. "It was an accident! I don't want to hurt anyone! But they…they…"

"Shh, shh, it's okay." Reina made easing motions with her hands. "I'm not blaming you. I just want to help."

"You can't!" He cried, tears starting to run down his face. "No one can help me! He's going to find me again!"

The ghosts moved about a little, their slightly luminescent forms catching Reina's eye. They didn't approach, so she didn't give them more attention.

"Who?" Reina asked calmly, though she already had an idea.

"Master!" He yelled. "He's going to make me go to more villages, and…and…"

Reina kneeled next to him, hands up and gently motioning down. "It's okay. No one is going to take you away. I'm a hero, right? I can protect you."

"He's not the only one!" Noah added. "There are others like me, like he made me. If one of them find me…"

Noah held her gaze, still terrified. Did he not believe her? It wasn't unexpected. Reina didn't believe her either. She could do next to nothing against the last person with abilities like him.

That was then. Now, she had a skill and an effect to counter the rain. One for sure, and one most likely. Anti-Magic Field might also work. She hoped Sabien was one of the stronger…followers? Minions? Victims? Whatever he called himself, she hoped he was one of the stronger ones that could use violet rain. If so, she, Vyrdrun, and Kuromo would be able to handle whoever came next. Maybe Noah would know more.

"Sabien Stormlord?" Reina spoke the name, certain he was one of the people Noah as talking about. Noah started when he heard it. "He's dead. My Gromnar friend killed him."

That part was true, at least. She didn't need to tell him how Goalith, the Demon Lord's son, distracted the man. Instead, she just gave him a reassuring smile.

"Why don't we go outside?" Reina removed the gauntlet from her hand and held her hand out to him. "You can apologize in person to the people you hurt by accident, okay? They just want to help you."

No matter their relation to Derdir, those three witches seemed like genuinely good people. Maybe she didn't think so when she learned of their connection to Derdir, but she had plenty of time to reconsider. She recalled they sold medicine to people and provided healing.

Noah sniffled and slowly raised his hand. Reina didn't move from her spot, waiting patiently for him to take her hand. When he did, she stood up, gently lifting Noah as well. She could see blood on the side of his tunic.

"That's good." Reina reassured him. She looked to the exit of the cave. "Can you…ask the ghosts to leave?"

Noah shook his head. "I can't control them. T-They just show up to haunt me sometimes. And then they hurt more people! They'll—"

"Okay, okay." Reina spoke softly. The ghosts had shifted around amongst themselves again.

With that observation and the way Galen told the story, it sounded like the ghosts showed up when Noah was scared or under attack. The latter wasn't happening, so maybe it was the former.

"I want you to do something for me." She said. "Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and count to 10."

Noah looked at her, confused.

"You want to be able to apologize properly, right?" Reina asked cheerfully.

Noah stared just a bit longer before he nodded.

"Good." She said. "I'm also going to bring out one of my spirits to heal you. Is that okay?"

"Y-Yeah." Noah nodded.

Reina brought out the one with Healing Touch and had it begin.

Noah sighed in clear relief. Then, he did as Reina asked. Eyes closed. Deep inhale. Deep exhale. "One…"

Reina looked toward the cave's entrance as Noah continued to slowly count. Her guess was right, the effect immediate. One by one, the ghosts winked out of existence. They disappeared more rapidly as the seconds ticked by, fully disappearing before Noah counted up to seven.

"I'm not sure what I was expecting. Maybe them fading away?" Reina mused.

"Ten." Noah finished his count. When he opened his eyes, a small smile formed on his face when he saw they were alone.

"Good job." Reina let go of his hand and gave his head a pat. It was a little silly, since he was just the tiniest bit taller than her. "Let's go."

Noah nodded, but quickly grabbed Reina's armor-less hand again. They began to walk out. She dismissed her own spirit since the healing was done.

Reina could only wonder what this boy had gone through. How long was he subjected to whatever it was this 'Master' did to him? What did he even do to him? Maybe Vyrdrun and Maria would be able to figure it out. The witch siblings, too, since they seemed to know enough about violet rain to treat Crescent.

As they walked out of the cave, they were met with gazes from everyone.

"H-Hello." Noah shifted to partially hide behind Reina. Still amusing due to their heights. "I-I'm…I'm sorry I hurt your friend."

"Our sister." Molly corrected, though she wore a smile. "And she already forgives you. We all do." She gave a pointed look to Alister when he snorted in annoyance.

Reina gave Noah's hand a soft squeeze before she brought him over to her party. The first thing she saw—even before walking over—was Grim's amused smirk.

"Well done, Lady Reina." Cassandra gave her a nod. Reina still couldn't take her as seriously as before.

"Boss…" Maria began, eyes twinkling. While Reina was glad she still had her favorite title, the look in Maria's eyes spelled something mischievous. "He's so cute~! Can we keep him?" She gushed, hands clasped together in excitement as she drew near.

"Maria…" Reina sighed, but couldn't help smiling. Maria didn't disappoint. At least she was in good spirits.

~Forging Legends~

Derdir let the back of his head rest against the stone, warm water surrounding his body. The burn he felt inside was still there, but it had ever so slowly begun to recede.

"Father, are you decent?" Maphai asked from somewhere behind him.

"I am not." He responded.

The unmistakable sound of her boots sounded off the stone ground from their home toward him.

"Why bother asking?" He mused, but knew enough not to ask. She wasn't bothered by this sort of thing. Besides, the water's reaction to his body made enough steam to obscure sight into the water.

"How are you?" She asked, stopping just behind him.

He tilted his head back and looked up at her, a frown on her face. "Better."

It had been a while since he last received an injury like this one. Multiple injuries, since it got worse with the destruction of each one of young Reina's forged spirits.

"That bitch." Maphai turned her head and scowled. "Daring to hurt you like this…"

Derdir hummed. "Well, she was under the impression I intended to kill her lover."

"So, she really is a descendent?" Maphai asked.

"She is."

"And Lola wasn't mistaken? That wizard really is a child?"

Derdir sighed.

"Hmph." Maphai took a couple steps to the side. It was enough of an answer for her. Derdir shifted his head so it was no longer craned back. He could see her face twisted uncomfortably. "If that…should you require it, I can…" She trailed off.

"No." Derdir responded simply. "That won't be necessary."

Maphai hated humans. All humans. Well, most humans. There was the rare exception, like the ones Goalith and Meruthia brought back, as well as any Derdir selected. Children were a temporary exception; they did grow up, after all. Until that time, however, she would not strike. The fact that she was willing to bend that rule to help him spoke volumes.

"You're certain the Ritual Implement Hero's weapon wasn't cursed?" She asked for perhaps the seventh or eighth time since he returned.

"It was not." He was certain of that. Otherwise, the blade itself would have harmed him more than a minor cut on his claw. Likewise, the templates her spirits used were traceable to historical accounts.

But that wasn't what Maphai was referring to. She wanted to know if Reina had unlocked one of her weapon's curse series. As the Ritual Implement Hero, Reina was hardy when it came to dealing with intense changes inflicted on her. She was able to endure their assault on Savia, the reality of humans against Gromnar, the betrayal of Keston, and the sudden appearance of his petty rival's henchman and near death of her first true companion in this world. Derdir suspected nothing short of Maria's death would trigger the weapon's failsafe.

Besides, if she had unlocked one of those weapons before, he would have known about it long before he met her in that impressive conjuration Maria made.

"A prodigy." Derdir mused. He didn't lie about that. About one or two did come every century. It's just that one was still alive at around 60 years old and the last one was born 35 years ago…

Derdir sighed, banishing the thought. Like most of his children, he too lost memories. Some were surely important. Some may have kept him from walking down this path. But this one? By the transformation's observed nature, he could not possibly forget it.

Maria being another prodigy could become a problem. She was far beyond what others of her age could do. Within a couple years, Derdir had no doubt she would be considered an archmage by all. She did delve into her training rather early.

For Maria to be both a descendent of Keston's royal family and capable of undergoing a full transformation? With the addition of such raw magical talent? Such a large coincidence. If there actually were gods that watched over the world, they were surely mocking him. Perhaps he would kill them once his work was finished.

"Are you hungry?" Maphai asked suddenly. "I believe Nora and Meru's boy made pastries."

Derdir nodded. "That sounds lovely."

It was funny, really. She hated how Meruthia brought that boy, Isaac, to their home after Keston's last Wave. And here she was now, offering food made by him. She was still cold with him at times, but Isaac didn't seem to mind. Derdir suspected Meruthia told him how her sister acted. He would leave a plate of some pastry just outside her door, knock, and leave, only to return later to retrieve the plate. They had imps for that sort of thing, but the boy insisted on doing it himself.

Maphai could bluster all she liked. There were humans that could find themselves in her good graces, with or without a proper transformation.

Derdir tried to rise, but Maphai's boot pushed him back down. "You aren't done yet."

"My wounds have already healed." He replied.

"Not the ones on the inside. I know better than that." She retorted.

"I have work to do." Derdir pointed out. Plans continued forward, whether or not he was in perfect condition.

"Darvon can coordinate. Goalith can be anywhere you need him to be. Let us handle things for one day, Father." Maphai insisted sternly. Goalith was one thing, but praising Darvon—in the only way Maphai could—meant she was serious about Derdir's condition.

"Very well." Derdir relaxed in the water.

"Good." Maphai nodded and turned around. "I'll tell the boy where to find you." She said before she walked off.

Derdir let a soft smile appear on his face. He truly was glad Maphai opened up to humans, even if only a little. It was far better than being like him, so focused on revenge. If he hadn't helped Maphai get her own, perhaps she would've been far worse than him. He was happy those he looked after were better people than him.

Author's Notes:

Things happening!

Reina is throwing around protective energy. If not on Maria, then some tormented boy.

And yes, the damage from Death Pact is curse damage. Just a reminder that it came from the Voodoo Doll weapon form, which was unlocked by absorbing dead humans. Nothing ominous at all, surely!