I was stunned.

　Kirt-san muttered, 'Elle'.

　As far as I knew, the only person Kirt-san could call 'Elle' was the now deceased Golden Seal Demon Hunter Eldorado Rogue.

(Kirt-san?)

　I look up at her profile.

　Her gaze is staring straight through the white fog.

　I look in that direction, too.

　But there's no one there.

　It wasn't like I could see anything before that, just a blanket of white fog.

　I said, "Mr. Kilt? I tried to call out to him.

　Just before that.

　Bwaaah.

　Suddenly, a strong wind blew.

　A white darkness spread out and enveloped the five of us.

　My vision is taken away, and I can't even see Solstice, who should have been right in front of me.

(What, what the hell?!)

　My vision is all white.

　I look for everyone else, and just as I'm about to speak up.

(Huh?)

　Somehow I could clearly see a figure on the other side of the white darkness.

　Boom.

　My heart jumped.

　There was more than one of them there.

　Six people.

　Six boys and girls, not yet old enough to be old enough, were standing in the white darkness.

''Ah.........''

　My voice trembled.

　I didn't know those boys and girls.

　But I do know them.

"....the Yacour goddesses...?

　Yes, the people there were the important 'Godgu' friends of Arkyn that I had seen in my dreams several times before.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　The spirit of the divine arcane arcane that melted inside me is generating intense emotions.

　I have to get to you!

　The thought swelled.

　He or she smiled seductively at me.

　Young hands beckon to me.

　Zarit.

　My feet turned in that direction, of their own accord.

　And the six of them smiled deeply.

　Then they all turned their backs to us and began to run with light steps into the depths of the white darkness.

(Ah!)

　Wait for me!

　Arkyn's emotions scream.

　I panicked and tried to chase after him.

　There was a resistance in my waist.

　I untangled that resistance and followed the backs of the six people who seemed to be melting into the white darkness, desperately trying to keep up.

''Ha, ha, ha.''

　I can't seem to catch up with them.

　I'm reaching for it in a frenzy, and then...

　firmly

Merle!

　Something hugged me from behind and a strong voice rang in my ear.

　Boom!

　The familiar voice shakes Marle's emotions, not Arkyn's, violently.

　Sparks fly, and his consciousness becomes clearer.

(Ah.........)

　When I came to my senses, Illtimina's white beauty was right there.

　She was hugging me tightly, from the back side.

'Do you understand me, Marle!

　He asked appealingly.

　I nodded.

''........Ms. Illtimina.

　He answered in a small voice.

　She exhaled in response, feeling terribly relieved.

(!)

　That's right.

　I looked back at the white mist in a hurry.

　The six "divine dogs" were no longer there.

　My heart goes cold in my chest.

　Arkyn's emotions are crying.

(No, no ... no ... no.)

　I shook my head hard.

　Those six men are gone; they've been dead for 300 years.

　They couldn't be here.

Then is that thing now...?

　As if seeking an answer, I looked at my sister, who was always protecting me.

'Mr. Illtimina I, what did I see?　What the hell was that?!

　I exclaimed.

　Miss Illtimina smiled sadly.

'Marle has been conjured up.
Illusion?
'Yes. There was a hypnotic, poisonous gas mixed in with this fog. Merle breathed in the gas.

　Hypnotic poison gas...?

　Could it be that when the fog got thicker...?

There are demons out there that can hallucinate and capture their prey in this way. Perhaps we have been attacked by that demon.

　Demon.........

　As I was stunned, Illtimina-san asked me in a gentle voice.

''Marle, you've seen 'something' too, haven't you?

　Something..........

'It's an illusion. It's a dream to lure you in. It's not real.
Phantom...

　It's not real........

　I should have known that, but it hurts my heart to be told that.

　Because I can still clearly remember the six people I just saw.　

　I close my eyes tightly and bear the pain.

　As if I was squirming, I grabbed Illtimina-san's arm that held me tightly and told her that this is the reality.

　........Ah.

　Then I remembered.

'Yes, where is everyone else?'

　I look at Illtimina.

　She shakes her long, glossy hair and moves her head from side to side.

'I don't know.'
..........
"Merle suddenly untied the rope and ran off. Seeing this, I ran after you in a hurry.

　Oh.....

I'm sorry.
No.

　Miss Illtimina smiled.

'It's not just Marle. 'I told you.　We were attacked by a demon, he said. In the same way, Sol was subjected to an illusion.
What?
Almost at the same time as Marle, Sol also cut the rope that bound her to herself with a knife and ran off into the fog. Poe, noticing this, quickly unhooked the rope and gave chase after her, though.

　Illtimina's crimson eyes were down.

(Even Solstice...)

　And in the midst of such a sister's concern, Illtimina-san pursued me.

　........I'm sorry, I can't help it.

　Becoming small, I asked about the other one as well.

'What about Mr. Kilt?'

　It was like she, too, had been under an illusion.

　Ms. Illtimina shook her head.

'I don't know. Poe went after Sol and I went after Marle, and I couldn't confirm what happened to the rest of the kilt until I found out what happened to it.

　Oh, I see.

　I look back at the white fog.

　What spreads out there is nothing but white space.

　The five of us have now become separated in this "forest of mist"--.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　Me and Illtimina-san retied our bodies to each other with the rope, and even more so, we walked away from each other, holding hands.

　The palms of our hands were very hot.

　It's a little embarrassing, but

(But it's important.)

　If I fall under the illusion, I might unconsciously remove the rope again.

　Illtimina-san's left hand is holding my right hand.

　...............

　With this, I can't pull off the 'fairy sword' on the left side of my waist belt.

　But if I held it with the opposite hand, this time Illtimina-san wouldn't be able to handle the 'White Winged Spear' with her dominant hand - when I thought about it, it seemed like this would surely be the best way.

''What are we going to do now?''

　I asked as we walked.

'First, we have to take out the demons.
Demons?
If you don't, you risk another illusion.

　I smiled at him.

　I see.

"But you know where to find him?
Yes, sir.

　Illtimina nodded.

'The demon creates the illusion that one is potentially seeking and lures one to himself. In other words, the demon is in the direction the illusion is headed, and beyond that.

　Oh.

That's Illtimina.

　I thought so.

　But the voice I was going to praise didn't come out when I looked at his profile.

　...........

　Angry?

　It was such a sign.

　The dignified, quiet power of the scene made me somewhat silent.

　And so we continued walking through the white fog.

　About 10 minutes later, we were walking through a white fog.

(Hmm...?)

　We emerged into a space where the trees were broken off.

　In the center of the space, shrouded in white mist, we could see a dead black tree standing in the middle of the space.

　Illtimina-san's feet stopped.

　Bwaa.

　The wind blew.

　It blew away the fog of the place and opened my vision.

"!

　I stiffened.

　There was, indeed, a large dead tree standing there.

　But there were countless masses of human faces floating on the surface of its trunk, like it was mourning.

　Long branches.

　There were white-boned human and animal corpses hanging there, swaying in the wind.

(What the hell was that?!)

　A shiver ran down my spine at the presence of the ominous atmosphere.

''--I knew it was the 'Grudge Tree'

　Iltimina's low, quiet voice rang out.　

''It is a dead spirit body that haunts the trees and invites the living to kill them in a vision. I knew it existed in this forest as well.

　Zawa, zawa, zawa.

　The black branches swayed in the wind and the human faces laughed in unison.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


The demon called the "Grudge Tree" stretched out countless branches like a black hand towards the two of us.

　Snap! Beqiri!

　The bones that had been entangled in the branches crumbled and fell to the ground.

(Phew!)

　I wanted to let go of Illtimina-san's hand and pull out the 'fairy sword'.

　But my hands wouldn't let go.

　Illtimina-san's left hand was still clutching my right hand.

''It's okay.''

　A soothing voice.

'Trust me. Let me take care of things here.

　I said as I looked forward.

　.........Illtimina-san?

　I'm confused, but I can't help it if I can't get my hands off it.

　And of course, there's trust.

　I couldn't help but nod my head, "Yeah.

'Thanks, Merle.'

　Illtimina-san smiled happily and started walking forward.

　I walk with her.

　Zawawa.

　A black branch grows up.

　Huo Bakin.

　With hazy speed, a white spear shattered it.

　Black fragments scattered in front of me.

　The black branches were destroyed, but there were still a few branches left, approaching us.

　A moment.

"--Hagenshi, the White Dance

　Illtimina's quiet voice echoed.

　The crimson eyes and white spear's crimson magic stone shone in sync, and glowing feathers erupted from the magic stone, converging into three spear-bearing 'women of light'.

　They floated in front of me and Illtimina-san.

　''Bakikin, Bakikin.

　The approaching black branches are crushed one by one by the spears of the "Women of Light" and others.

　Black fragments are flying in the air.

　Illtimina-san and I walk through them without doing anything.

　........What is this?

　Even though we're in the middle of a battle, only the two of us are in a peaceful space around us.

　No, that's how far away the gap in strength between the huge black tree demon in front of us and Iltimina-san next to us is.

　Iltimina Wong, the Golden Mark Demon Hunter.

　It was one of the strongest adventurers that the Shumuria Kingdom was proud of.

''Ooohhhh...!

　The human masks let out frightened grunts.

　Huo hupac.

　Several black branches come at us like whips.

　But they can't reach us.

　All of this will be prevented and destroyed by the three 'women of light' and others.

"...Phew...

　Illtimina-san's steps stopped.

　It was at a point three meds before the 'Grudge Tree', right in front of the fearless demon.

(!)

　The crimson eyes gleam with a strong killing intent.

　There is a definite rage there.

''How dare you.......show me something like that?''

　A low voice.

　The intensity of its killing intent made me shiver.

　At the same time, I noticed.

　Illtimina-san had said.

''We were attacked by a phantom magic,'' she said.

''Marle also saw something, didn't she? , and.

　That means that Illtimina-san herself was also attacked by the illusion, and Illtimina-san must have seen something.

''Roooooo...!

The Grudge Tree let out a trembling voice.

　In unison, black branches crunched out of the black trunk, which stretched out to envelop us from all directions and attacked us.　　

　Chach.

　At that time, Illtimina-san was already holding the 'White Winged Spear' in her backhand.

　Throwing stance.

''Shhhh!''

　A beautiful spear, drawn at point-blank range, is unleashed on the giant black tree monster.

　Qubot, dpaaaan.

　A tremendous explosion.

The main body of the "Grudge Tree" exploded into pieces, and black branches and fragments flew off in shreds.

(Ah.........)

　At the same time, a black haze leaked out into the sky and melted away with a sort of moaning noise.

　The blast subsided.

　On the ground, where the white mist had been dispelled, dead trees, not black, but gray, shattered and tumbled to pieces.

　Illtimina's crimson eyes were downcast.

''I will never forgive beings like you, who would gouge and use the wounds in people's hearts.

　She told them beautifully and coldly.

　And then, around her, the three 'women of light' disintegrated into glowing wings and disappeared.

　The light scattered around Ms. Illtimina.

　Illuminated by that glow, she seemed really strong and beautiful.

　............

　What kind of vision was shown to Illtimina-san?

　I was curious.

　But I also felt like I shouldn't have listened.

　So I thought, instead.

''.......How did Illtimina-san break the illusion all by herself?''

　I asked her like that.

　She noticed and looked at me.

　Then she smiled.

'It's because of Merle.'
What?
'The most important thing to me, neither in the past nor an illusion, was in this reality. That fact sustained me.

　As she says this, she rests the white spear on her own shoulder and places her right hand on my cheek.

"My Marle. You are my treasure.

　I looked into my blue eyes and mouthed that.

　.........Illtimina-san.

　My heart was filled with joy and embarrassment.

　She laughs at me like that.

''Hmph, Marl...''

　chow (mahjong)

　He hugged me and rubbed my cheeks.

　Wow?

　Her lustrous dark green hair and the feel of her soft white porcelain cheeks are pleasant.

　Illtimina-san also looks happy.

(.........hmm...)

　I was a little embarrassed.

　But with a lot of gratitude and effort, I left her to her own devices for a while until Illtimina was satisfied.