"Cassy, let me cut it off! If it extends any further, he will die."
"Ugh! It was my mistake, even though I knew the danger... It doesn't matter if I lose an arm."
"Wait, it's not spreading that fast. Let's try Lys, she even has a strange ritual, maybe that will work."
When Cassian called out to her, she walked over and listened to what he was saying. She looked at him as if she was complaining about what he had just said, but she didn't waste much time and finally approached Eshaan.
"Expulsio Toxicum... hmm, it's not working... ah! It's the soul 'Purifica spiritum'."
"oh!, I can feel my arm, it's healing! The poison is going away."
In fact, Ellys cast a normal anti-poison spell, but it didn't work. Then she seemed to hesitate for a moment as she looked closely at Eshaan's arm, and finally cast another spell that seemed to be immediately effective; the blackness on his arm began to disappear.
"Lux Vitae."
Then, as an extra, she treated the wound and healed it.
"Huaa~, I didn't lose my arm! I thought I'd have to fight like this tonight... thank you so much, savior."
"I-it was nothing..."
"What do you mean, nothing? In our town , that's something you can't do. Well, it's true that there aren't many magicians or healers, and we're not very advanced in that field, but the fact that you can heal something like that says a lot about your quality as a healer. No wonder you were one of our saviors!"
"I-I... Cas-"
"Wait!!, guys! Look here... tell me I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing."
At that moment, just as Ellys was about to take refuge behind Cassian because of Eshaan's fervent thanks, Naelune's loud voice drew everyone's attention to the same place.
There was the place where the aberration had died and where only the sapling had remained, it had not withered or anything, instead, it had become more vigorous and slightly larger, rooting itself to the ground.
And at that moment, hanging from it, was something that looked like a white , just like the one they had eaten.
"Yes, that's a fruit from Var..."
"No!, Cazzy, don't confirm it. No!... Who am I kidding... I ate one of those things, ugh, and it was so delicious... ugh, I want to vomit!"
Naelune quickly realized that this was the source of the fruit they had eaten and turned pale as she complained.
The rest thought the same, especially when they saw that the other corpses had white fruit on their seedlings.
What Naelune said seemed obvious, giving everyone a bad feeling, until...
"Saviors, I suppose you don't know, since you haven't seen an aberration either, but those are not the fruits of Varnorr."
"Sir Eshaan means they are not the same."
Valeriane began to question Eshaan about what he said; even she had a bad feeling knowing that what they consumed came from such beings.
"Yes, they are identical, but Varnorr's fruits are known to have a rich flavor, while these are bitter and almost inedible. Varnorr's fruits grow on trees; these come from the seedlings of the aberrations."
"Do you know why they are so identical?"
"I don't know that, but it is said that, like the fruits of Varnorr, they help you reach a higher state. No, in fact, they give you more power the first time they are consumed, but I would not recommend eating them, because even though they give you more power, you would go mad and eventually end up becoming an aberration."
"Ugh, I was scared for a moment... Oh, God Pluthys, what I thought of you were recurring thoughts, and none of what I thought was true. Please don't reduce my reward or give me a silly book afterwards. I know you are a generous god who will overlook blasphemies."
Naelune seemed to be cursing whoever had given her that fruit of such hesitant origin, but now that she realized that wasn't the case, she apologized loudly, although it was unclear whether Plouthys really knew what she was thinking or what was happening here.
The doubts were cleared up, but Cassian was thinking about something else. He found it curious how they had the same appearance and effect; of course, one was dangerous and the other was not, but he wondered how true this was.
He found it curious because the aberrations were created, they didn't seem to be things that could reproduce... unless they didn't normally. He wondered if, besides eating the fruit they themselves left behind, there was another way for them to be created, or if that fruit originated in other ways.
Perhaps the fact that they were called 'Varnorr aberrations' was more important than it seemed; he would ask Eshaan or Nahara about it later.
For now, everything was in order: they had completed their mission. Now all that remained was to retrieve the artifact and return to the village; perhaps there were more missions waiting for them.
..
.
"Phew, that lunch was delicious."
"Hey, Cassy, how can you eat so much! You and that horned savior ate almost an entire bison each."
"I don't know, in fact it's the first time I've ever eaten so much, I wasn't really that hungry at first, but when I tasted it I couldn't stop. It was so delicious.
"You know, I heard that my mother was one of the cooks. I spoke with her for a moment, and she seemed happy that you enjoyed her food. I'll tell her what you said later."
"Oh, so that's how it was-..."
"Oh! Miss Nisha was the one who cooked it! That's why it seemed familiar. I haven't tasted it in years."
"Hey Eshaan, keep leading the way, Besides, your food was made by Mrs. Ameria; my mother only made the portions for the saviors. Maybe it seems familiar because you also ate her food when you were a child."
"Ah, that's true... By the way, we're almost at the beast's territory. It's very territorial, so it's likely to attack us immediately."
They had returned to the village after completing their mission and bringing back the object from the cemetery. They were greeted with abundant food, as it was lunchtime.
But once they finished, they were sent on another mission with the same group. Again, it was hunting, but this time it was only one beast.
Craaaauuk!!
As Eshaan said, not long after, the roar of an approaching beast was heard.
He had already explained the characteristics of the beasts, and rather than looking at the ground, everyone looked up at the sky.
It was already known that it was a flying creature and very difficult to hunt. As far as they understood, it was important to hunt it because its body contained an important material.
"Hmph! A mere subspecies dares to confront me, who possesses pure lineage, nonsense."
"Miss Celestine, refrain from roaring unless absolutely necessary,"
"Hmph!, I know that, but an inferior species won't be much of a threat to me and... Hey!, why are you coming closer, why are you putting your hand on my shoulder!!... Get away from me! I mean it, get away right now or I'll use my roar on you."
"...But it's an effective method!"
When the beast's roar was heard, Cassian sneaked up behind Celestine and put a hand on her shoulder, ready to use his effective method.
"Bastard!, I knew it! Don't think I'm going to let you fool me again."
"But it's an—"
"Why don't I throw you, idiot? To see if you like it! And try out your effective method!"
"You two, stop arguing, the beast is getting closer, get into position."
"Wait, Ria, this might be a better alternative. Hey, Celes, are you sure you can throw me, you know, I weigh a lot!"
"Huh!?... Are you willing to let me throw you?"
"I mean, why not? Well, that's only if you can. Do you think you can handle me and throw me as hard as I can? Say it quickly, that it is coming."
Crraaauk!!
The roar was heard again, and it was closer. If she didn't give him confirmation, he would go with the original plan.
"Of course I can, come here, don't underestimate my strength."
Celestine seemed confident in her strength. She stood in front of Cassian and picked him up. In fact, she did have enough strength. Cassian, for his part, tensed his body to make it easier for Celestine to throw him.
"Wait, you two, that's dangerous and you shouldn't..."
"Go for it, Celes!"
"Fine, you asked for it! Ugh, you're heavy, but I can handle this. I have the superior lineage, obviously I'm much stronger than you."
"Go for it!"
Although it was difficult to hold him due to the difference in size, Celes was ready. In fact, she could see the creature coming from the sky with the naked eye.
She began to spin to gain momentum, but Cassian felt that she was slow and would not generate enough force. Or so he thought, until he heard her say the following:
"Art of the dragon dance—firs."
"Hey, throw me quickly, it's already in sight! Besides, wasn't it the art of the phoenix dance?"
"Shut up! It's one I already had before. First stance! Combustion!"
She began to burn all over her body, and her hands began to cover themselves with scales, turning into something reptilian. At that moment, she seemed to carry Cassian more easily.
Her movements became more agile, and as if he weighed nothing, she threw him toward the beast: a lion with dragon wings and a scorpion tail. A manticore, a dragon sub-species.
Fwooosh!
That's it! Now I just have to crash into her and...
Cassian, confident in the effectiveness of his method, was ready to ram the manticore as it flew by.
He wasn't afraid of falling; he had done it before from even greater heights. The important thing was to hit her and drag her down with him. But...
"Celes, your aim was terrible!"
Cassian did not collide with the manticore; in fact, he did not even come close; he passed several meters away and continued his trajectory to who knows where.
He could only complain about Celestine's poor aim, and that was the last the group heard from Cassian as he flew off into the distance. At least Celestine didn't lack strength.
Even the manticore stared, not understanding the human who flew senselessly past it. It wondered if he was running away or something.
Well, since he was in its territory, it would hunt him down later. The important thing was the other prey gathered.
"Hey, Celes, what did you do! You got rid of one of our best fighters, what do we do now without Cazzy?"
Neleune was the first to complain to Celestine for sending Cassian flying who knows where.
"He did this! His effective method, I thought that... ahem! Never mind. With our leader here and me, we are more than enough. He is not necessary! In fact, I am more than enough."
"Let's hope so."
..
"Well, how long am I going to keep flying?"
Only a few seconds had passed, but Caasin in the air wondered this, regretting a little; if he had collided with the manticore, falling would have been inevitable.
He could only regret Celes' poor aim. He was thinking that he would definitely be the one to throw next time.
"Well, I'll start descending soon, now I just have to run quickly and—"
Thwack! !
"Gh!... What was that?"
Just when he thought he had stopped going up and would start going down, out of nowhere he felt he bumped into something.
It took him completely by surprise. He was looking straight ahead and the sky was clear; there was nothing to hit.
All his momentum stopped and even without understanding what he collided with, he began to descend at great speed.