Chapter 29

"Rise!"

Seeing the black mist, Selena readied her sword.

Rise is an undead like a Wisp, but it uses more powerful magic.

It can also possess living beings and corrupt their bodies with dark magic. This time, it was probably using a sacred tree as a medium.

"Leave it to me, Lord Alex! I will burn the tree with my grand magic, 'Inferno!'"

"Ah... No, that won't do! If you use that magic, the entire dome will collapse!"

Selena said it casually, but 'Inferno' is the highest-level fire magic.

After causing a massive explosion, it will unleash a storm of flames that will burn everything to ashes. Rise will certainly be defeated, but we will die too. This is not a spell to use in such a confined space.

"I will take its magic. If you see a spirit core, a concentrated mass of magic, Elysia, hit it with holy magic."

"Yes!"

I immediately turned my attention to Rise.

At the same time, Rise also began to emit a purple light.

The vast dark magic contained in the tree and water was gathering in that light.

Selena said with a worried look.

"Lord Alex! The magic is extraordinary! We should—"

"It's fine—!"

A purple beam was released from Rise.

I deployed 'Pandora's Box' in front of me and began to absorb the magic.

However, it seems the other side still had a lot of magic, and the magic core was not showing up.

Seeing this, Selena said.

"I see, in that case... Lord Elysia! Infuse my sword with holy magic!"

"Huh? Y-Yes!"

Elysia sent holy magic to Selena's sword.

As the sword glowed, Selena kicked off the ground with great momentum.

"Wha—"

I was speechless.

Selena jumped all the way to the center of the lake and slashed at Rise.

She probably used wind magic to jump that far.

The beam eventually disappeared, and the black mist that had been cut in two dissipated.

Selena landed on the opposite bank of the lake, sheathed her sword, and then jumped back to us.

"How was that, Lord Alex! ...Oh, no!"

With a splash, Selena fell into the lake. It seems she didn't quite make it.

"Selena!"

Elysia and I pulled Selena's arm and helped her out of the lake.

"I'm sorry..."

"No, don't worry about it. But that was truly impressive!"

I nodded in agreement with Elysia's words.

"Really. You are a worthy commander."

"No, no, it's because Lord Alex absorbed Rise's magic and Lord Elysia infused my sword with powerful holy magic."

"No, Elysia is one thing, but I'm not that battle-hardened. You did great."

"Lord Alex... Your words are an honor!"

Selena said with a proud smile.

Given her combat skills and the ability to use the highest-level fire magic, 'Inferno,' Selena is indeed strong. It might be best to leave tactical decisions to her.

As I was admiring her, Selena let out a loud sneeze.

I took a towel from 'Pandora's Box' and told her to wipe herself off.

"Thank you! H-H... Hachoo!"

Selena sneezed again and went to the corridor to take off her armor.

Despite her occasional slip-ups...

"Anyway, the tree... No, it's not okay yet."

Elysia said, looking at the tree still enveloped in black mist.

"Yeah. The roots might be infected... I'll try to absorb the dark magic."

I extended my hand toward the lake.

I drew in the dark magic and absorbed it into 'Pandora's Box.'

Although it was a vast amount of magic, I had become accustomed to it, and within a minute, I had removed the dark magic from the lake and the tree.

The black mist had disappeared from the tree, but it still looked like a dead tree.

"Even so, it might be dead. Elysia, try holy magic."

"Yes!"

This time, Elysia cast holy magic on the tree.

The tree was enveloped in light, and soon it began to emit a sparkling glow.

Tia exclaimed.

"Chew! It's beautiful!"

"The light of the sacred tree... It has come back to life."

I thought it was dead, but it actually revived.

Selena, who had finished wiping herself off, returned.

"Oh, it has come back to life! By placing the sacred tree here, they were probably infusing the water with holy magic. This was done in wealthy cities in the empire. The Tiars region also had a lot of trade with the Eastern Continent."

"So, we'll be able to drink water that's good for our health!?"

"Yes. It's good to drink and good to bathe in. The bath is really comfortable."

As Selena said, it should have a recovery effect similar to a cheap potion.

I said to everyone.

"Alright, thank you all. At least the water supply is fixed. We just need to clean the pipes and waterways, and the water should be fine."

I will have the slimes clean the mold and other impurities from the pipes.

And so, we restored clean water to Ars.