Every living being She had encountered had been terrified at the sight of Her. Some bowed their heads and prostrated themselves on the ground, and a rare few had even attempted purification.
But the emotion that man directed at Her was something She had never experienced before. He barely even flinched — he actually waved at Her. Running all over the imperial capital, trying to counter Her with ridiculous methods.
"Where are you...? Where did you run off to...? Klye Andrich!"
She spread Her killing intent, searching the city shrouded in darkness. The torrent swallowing the entire city, the rain pouring down — they were all Her. If even a single part of His body touched it, She would know His location instantly.
She had spotted the human woman riding the carpet, but that no longer mattered.
No — it did matter, but everything came after Klye Andrich.
She was being looked down upon. Being underestimated. Being mocked. This was — a trauma.
A trauma She had tasted long, long ago. If She didn't curse Her targets to death and make them regret it, She wouldn't be able to spread Her resentment to humans the way She always had.
The one She needed to capture now, the one She needed to kill above all else, the one who had mocked Her with every trick — was Klye Andrich alone.
She, who filled the entire city, was slowly seeping into the buildings.
That man had used strange equipment to repel Her attacks unscathed time and again, but this time would be different.
She had no ability to destroy things. The only target of the curse potent enough to become a torrent was Klye Andrich. Klye Andrich alone — to corrode Him with certainty.
To rot His organs and inflict agony upon His soul.
Everything else was trivial. That there had been a vast space inside the treasure chest, that the two curses She had pulled in had betrayed Her, and even what She would do after killing Klye — none of it mattered.
She couldn't see Her target. But She could feel Him nearby.
He was probably hiding somewhere in this city. Since He wasn't touching the rain, He must be concealed inside some building.
"Your struggles are in vain, Klye Andrich! I will never — forgive you!"
As if answering Her cry, the downpour intensified.
She needed no unnecessary tricks. She would fill this entire strange city with Her curse. The city was vast, but it wouldn't take an hour.
And then — it would be over. That man had no means of dealing with Her curse.
His equipment was powerful, but that was all. Humans were always like that. Compensating for their hopelessly fragile bodies compared to Spiritfolk with terrible weapons, attacking without knowing their own place. Despite possessing the wisdom of language, they were more savage than any Monster dwelling in the forest.
Wielding power on impulse alone.
Humans, fear. Fear the Queen's judgment. Repent for your sins and perish.
The torrent was Her anger. The muddy rain was Her tears. No matter how many ages passed, She would never forget that tragedy. Never forget that rage.
For all eternity, She was the enemy of all humankind.
The curse-water, ever increasing, filled the deserted old city with nothing but the sound of the torrent and the downpour.
He shouldn't be far. He was close — right nearby. She could feel His presence. That powerful pulling force She had felt at first was no longer strange — but then— From inside one of the buildings, a loud crash sounded.
In an instant, She transformed part of the water into an eyeball and pressed it against the second-floor window of the building where the sound had come from.
And then — for a single, fleeting instant, She truly forgot Her anger.
The second floor of an utterly unremarkable building. There was the figure of the one She could never curse enough — Klye Andrich.
But the one truly unexpected thing was — what He was carrying on His back.
It was a shock so great that She, who existed solely through resentment toward humans, forgot Her grudge, forgot Her rage, if only for an instant.
What He was carrying — was one of Her own kind. A Spiritfolk woman whom She, who had once served as a guardian, could never mistake for anyone else.
The brown skin and white hair had different characteristics from those of the kind She knew, but She felt a powerful bond. She understood — the blood flowing through that body was unmistakably the same that had once flowed through Her own.
Without realizing it, She had taken on Her living form and was floating outside the window. Through the glass, their eyes met, and Klye Andrich's eyes went wide.
And then — in that split second, She re-experienced the tragedy of old.
A burning forest. Humans rushing in with barbaric weapons designed solely for killing. Her companions fleeing in panic as insane laughter rose above the roar of flames. The treehouse built over years of careful construction — felled at its very foundation, with the hideous targeting of women and children first.
The purpose — She didn't understand. She knew from knowledge that Spiritfolk were traded among humans at high prices, but She could never comprehend it. She couldn't see them as the same kind of intelligent being.
Until She could vent the grudge She had once harbored, She could never rest in death.
Why was Klye carrying one of Her kind — a companion — on His back? She didn't even need to think about it.
The anger that had been momentarily subdued by shock began to fill Her once more with even greater heat. Her body transformed in response to instinct, to killing intent.
"Humans... did it...? You... carry... a Spiritfolk... before me...?"
The Spiritfolk on Klye's back hung limp, not moving a muscle.
It was too horrible. Too humiliating. Too tragic.
It was always like this. Defective as living beings, yet possessed of cunning malice — humans. They kidnapped children, took them hostage, slaughtered companions who stopped to help, and captured them. They always employed demonic methods She would never have imagined.
But those tricks would no longer work.
Before She realized it, a spear had materialized in Her hand. A twisted, pitch-black spear.
A spear gleaming brilliantly in the darkness. This was — Her resolve. The crystallization of Her determination to annihilate all of humanity.
No more words were needed. All of Her curse had manifested right here.
Klye Andrich stood there, still wearing a dazed expression.
Ugly humans. She wouldn't even give Him time to regret.
This spear would destroy humans without harming a single Spiritfolk. Without leaving a single fragment of their souls— She raised the spear overhead. No force was needed. This spear was death itself for humans — upon contact, even a trained warrior would not endure a single second.
She twisted her body powerfully. And at the very moment She was about to hurl the spear at Klye Andrich with everything She had — Klye's posture suddenly crumbled completely.
"Guh!"
Klye was crushed flat, letting out a bizarre sound. She barely stopped the throw in time.
It was clearly not a collapse meant to dodge. It was as though He simply couldn't withstand the weight— Klye had become a complete cushion beneath Her kind. Frozen in the posture of bringing the spear down, She watched as the Spiritfolk body — which hadn't moved a muscle until now — slowly began to stir.
A resilient and beautiful body honed in nature. Calm magical energy flowing through it.
Palms pressed to the ground, arms pushing up, slowly rising to stand. The face lifted, and hazy crimson eyes fixed upon Her.
She was alive. Well, since She was a hostage it went without saying She was alive, but every movement was utterly natural, with no signs of injury whatsoever.
A powerful heartbeat, a living aura — they reached Her.
Not a single visible wound marred the body that had risen. If anything, the Spiritfolk before Her showed a resilience equal to any of Her former companions.
She couldn't even fathom why She hadn't resisted while being carried.
Before Her, who could now do nothing but stare blankly in lost fury, the Spiritfolk gazed dazedly down at Klye serving as her cushion, took His outstretched hand, and slowly helped Him to his feet.
It was a scene beyond anything She had ever known.
A Spiritfolk helping a human — the very human who had held her hostage. It went against all reason.
The spear of killing intent, destabilized by Her emotional turmoil, vanished from Her hand. The Spiritfolk steadied the still-wobbling Klye by wrapping her arms around His back in an embrace, then stared at the stunned 'Her' and called out what had once been 'Her' name.
"...Queen Shelo Iris Frestel... the war is... long over. Let's return... to the forest."
§ § § Talking it out really is best, isn't it...? We're not Monsters or Phantoms, after all.
Being squeezed by Elisa like a stuffed animal, I managed a half-hearted smile and nodded along.
As usual, I had no real idea what was going on. But it seemed Elisa had managed to — talk things out with the cursed Spiritfolk.
The killing intent the cursed Spiritfolk had been scattering just moments ago had completely vanished. That terrifying-looking spear aimed our way was gone without a trace. It was hard to believe I'd been bracing for death just seconds ago.
Elisa was shorter than Lapis, but among the women of the Mourning Specter, she was the tallest. Her arms and legs were proportionally long, and being squeezed tight like this meant an overwhelming amount of contact. Personally, I'd rather hide behind her than in front of her.
The cursed Spiritfolk looked at Elisa and at me, tucked inside her arms, flapping her mouth open and shut.
"The... war is... over...?"
"It's... thanks to Your Majesty... that I've come to know... how terrifying Spiritfolk can be..."
"Foolish... that human... will stop... fighting...?"
...It had been quite a while since Spiritfolk and humans were at each other's throats, hadn't it?
Relations weren't exactly peachy even now, but at least there was no war, and though few in number, some Spiritfolk even lived in human cities. I wasn't that well-informed myself, but how long ago had this person's information cutoff been?
Bracing myself for the possibility of pouring oil on the fire, I asked Elisa.
"...Could it be that you knew each other?"
"Kuu... good girl..."
Elisa whispered softly by my ear, then nuzzled her cheek against mine.
Spiritfolk aged at a different rate than humans. Elisa's age was unknown, but even among Spiritfolk, she probably hadn't lived for hundreds or thousands of years. There shouldn't have been any way for her to know this Spiritfolk who seemed to have been alive for a very long time.
As I blinked in confusion, Elisa continued, speaking sparingly.
"I've been... searching for a long time. She is... our hero. Our great wish."
"...Oh, that's great."
That explained absolutely nothing, but whatever. I accepted it with a vague sense of understanding.
If Elisa was okay with it, then I had no complaints. Being alive alone was a net win.
Though really, if showing Elisa to the spirit could have stopped things, we could have tried it much sooner...? Ah, right. Krus and the others were outside the city.
But still — I'd heard she was searching for something, and in every sense, this was a shock.
But well... a happy ending makes everything fine, right?
"Yes. I'm glad."
My obviously halfhearted words didn't faze Elisa in the slightest. She just nodded with a "mm-hmm."
Elisa always looked like she was spacing out and would vanish somewhere without warning, but that didn't mean she was thoughtless or cold-hearted.
I didn't get many chances to interact with her, but Ries and the others seemed to have fully accepted her — she was probably just that kind of person.
To the cursed Spiritfolk, whose eyes were still spinning, Elisa spoke once more, clearly.
"There's... no need to curse anyone anymore... Queen Shelo. Our companions... are waiting."
"Ugh... no... impossible... such death, such resentment — to trample wretched humans... Klye... Klye Andrich! You fool... you ignorant man — I'll kill—"
She'd been calling her "curse," but apparently she had a name. The cursed Spiritfolk called Shelo glared at me with feverish eyes. The look on her face was as if she wanted to at least kill me before the end.
What grudge could she possibly have against me...? Please stop. I don't even have the Barrier Ring anymore...
Elisa was silent for a while, staring with a dazed expression, then pressed her cheek firmly against the side of my head, tightened the arms wrapped around me, and spoke in a clear voice.
"...I'm sorry. Kuu is... mine."
"..."
"...I beat her."
As expected of a Thief — critical hit.
Shelo froze for a moment, then collapsed on the spot without another word.
Her figure faded, and all that remained was a large red gem pendant that had been hanging around her neck.