Volume 4, Chapter 88 – The Holy Tree Dance

After all, not all problems can have a good beginning and a good end. If you don’t want one party to be hurt, you can only use this method that is acceptable to everyone on the surface.

Lies can be malicious or well-intentioned. If one can guarantee that the people in the story will not be hurt in the process of achieving the result, then that answer can be called an answer.

“Fia, where’s Claire?”

“Ah?” Mizuki’s voice brought Fia back to her senses. At this moment, the two of them, having just finished dinner, were in the magic laboratory on the third floor of the palace. She quickly answered, “She probably went back to her own bedroom?”

“That’s strange… we clearly agreed to restore the Holy Tree Dance here, but she disappeared right after dinner. That’s not like Claire at all.”

Her right hand resting on her delicate chin, Mizuki, in her shrine maiden’s attire, had a thoughtful look on her face. However, she soon relaxed her brow, and her expression became cheerful.

“Maybe she went back to get something she forgot. She’ll be over soon. By the time you’ve gotten to about the right point, Fia, she should be here. Let’s start first. Today is the most important day. With a bit of luck, we might even be able to see Lord Elf God in one go.”

“That’s a bit too optimistic…”

Fia, in a black evening gown, answered with a wry smile.

Just as Mizuki had said, today was of the utmost importance. If there were no accidents, tonight she would be able to restore the Holy Tree Dance to the point where Mizuki had been possessed. In fact, as early as this morning, she had already performed the dance to that stage. It was just that because those were movements she was unfamiliar with, she had not been able to continue. To put it bluntly, she had danced it wrong.

That being said, Fia still had her worries. For example, Mizuki had said that when she was restoring the dance, she had a comfortable feeling of being one with the world. However, besides her five senses becoming sharper, she had no other feeling. Even when she reached the point of possession, she still did not feel anything special, as if she were just performing an ordinary dance. If not for both Mizuki and Claire saying that the environment had changed significantly when she was performing, Fia would have doubted whether she was cut out for restoring it at all.

It was truly worrying. After all, if she couldn’t restore it, she would have to give up on relying on the Elf God to lift the curse on Claire and would have to seek out other gods instead.

At this thought, Fia inadvertently glanced at the red and white shrine maiden’s skirt on Mizuki. Both this skirt and the kagura bell used for the dance had a very Japanese style. Even the dance itself was a Japanese-style dance. Could it be that she had to first dress up like a shrine maiden before she could communicate with the Holy Tree? This was a bit of a letdown. After all, the shrine maiden’s attire Mizuki was wearing had no magical effect whatsoever.

As if sensing Fia’s gaze, Mizuki, her golden hair tied in thin twin tails, tilted her head in confusion.

“Is there something you haven’t done?”

“No… I was just wondering if I have to wear a shrine maiden’s outfit to be able to experience that feeling of being one with the world that you mentioned.”

“That’s unlikely, right? Although this is indeed the attire that the former maidens would wear, I only wear it because I feel it fits what I’m doing. When I’m alone, I can connect with Lord Holy Tree even if I’m restoring it in my pajamas. Ah, if you think it’s worth a try, Fia, we can also exchange clothes? Our bodies are about the same size anyway.”

Mizuki’s gaze looked up from below, her tone and expression full of probing. One of her hands was even already on the collar of her dress. Fia couldn’t help but have a premonition that if she were to nod, Mizuki would immediately start changing clothes with her.

She was being too unguarded. Were all elves who had always lived in the deep mountains this naive?

Fia’s expression became hesitant. She didn’t refuse to try on the clothes. At this point, she had even put aside her dignity and put on underwear; a mere shrine maiden’s outfit was nothing. But to have to wear the clothes that Mizuki had just taken off, still warm with her body heat, felt a little strange. Mizuki herself had not noticed, but like Liti, she always had a sweet, milky scent on her, which made one’s imagination run wild.

No, no, this is a woman who almost became my mother. And it’s just changing clothes. As women, it should be perfectly fine. I’m the strange one here. I’m too inexperienced in this area.

However, before Fia could agree, Mizuki, as if she had remembered something, gradually lowered the hand on her collar, and a stiff expression appeared on her delicate and petite face.

“L-let’s just forget it. I suddenly remembered something.”

As expected, even between women, this was too inappropriate.

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But thinking about it from an objective point of view, it was just changing clothes. What was so inappropriate about it?

Fia couldn’t help but ask.

“What is it?”

Mizuki’s cheeks began to turn red. As if in defense, she held one hand to the plain chest of her shrine maiden’s outfit and said in a small, embarrassed voice.

“I remembered the clothes under this one… are… are also different from what I usually wear… the clothes inside would also have to be exchanged… that’s not good…”

The clothes inside?

The moment the question appeared in her mind, Fia came to her senses. The thing Mizuki was talking about must be her underwear. Indeed, the underwear for Japanese-style clothing was quite different from the style of the World Tree Continent. But then again, for Mizuki to even think of exchanging clothes like underwear and panties, that was a bit too… too indecent.

Fia was sure she couldn’t bring herself to wear someone else’s freshly taken-off panties, not even if it was Mizuki. It was simply perverted. No, the word “perverted” was not enough to describe such a perversion.

If it had been Liti who had said such a thing, she would have already been pinching her nose.

Fia cleared her throat seriously.

“Ahem, I was just mentioning it casually. Since you can connect with the Holy Tree even in your pajamas, it means this outfit is not a necessary item. Let’s just start restoring the dance directly.”

“Y-you’re right. Then I’ll use the recording crystal this time, okay?”

“Mhm.”

Although Fia didn’t think she would be possessed, just in case, she still had Mizuki use a recording crystal to record what happened.

When Fia walked to the center of the spacious magic laboratory and Mizuki had retreated a few steps away, Fia took a deep breath. She placed her left hand horizontally on her chest, while her right hand, holding the kagura bell, was held flat to her side, assuming the starting posture of the Holy Tree Dance. When everything was quiet, with only the rustling of the heavy snow falling outside the window, Fia began the dance.

Just like Mizuki when she entered the state, although there was no music, the moment she entered the state of the Holy Tree Dance, Fia’s entire temperament changed dramatically. The gentle and slow movements of the dance made Fia, in her black formal dress, exude a stunning beauty, like a swan.

Normally, “white swan” was a term used to describe a person’s graceful dance, but the princess’s cold appearance was not suitable for such an approachable description, because anyone who looked at her would think that this was a beauty who spread death and cold, who was both stunning and whom one dared not get too close to.

Strangely, such a Fia did not lack a sacred aura. Of course, the sacred aura here did not refer to a warm presence, but a cold temperament that was so noble that it made one feel ashamed and could only be worshipped. If Fia could see herself from a third-person perspective, she would surely have discovered that this was the “change” that Mizuki and Claire had talked about. This obvious sense of sacredness was not something she carried herself, but a change brought to her by the Holy Tree Dance.

As proof, as the dance progressed, the spacious magic laboratory also gradually changed. The various elements that had been scattered in the air without any rules began to gather frantically towards her. Even the snowflakes outside the window were affected. The heavy snow, as if it had been blown away by a gust of wind, began to dance randomly.

Every time Fia shook the kagura bell, Mizuki felt as if her heart was trembling violently. At the same time, the elements that were gathering towards Fia also accelerated a little.

In less than a minute, the overly dense elements had caused the air around Fia to gradually distort. The airflow even became as viscous as a liquid, giving Mizuki a clear sense of suffocation. She had to retreat several steps away from Fia to lessen the heavy burden on her body and allow her difficult breathing to return to normal.

If not for Claire lending her the Siren’s Mirror to prevent her mind from being controlled by the dance, who knows if she would have had her mind taken away by the dancing Fia and would have just stood there until she suffocated to death.

“This change… is completely different from before.”

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Although Fia had also been able to affect the elements when she had danced before, it had not been to the point where she felt suffocated. Was it because the flow of elements was also strange with Claire, which had affected Fia, or was it that Fia had established a direct communication with the Holy Tree this time?

Unsure of the answer and not daring to go forward and interrupt her, Mizuki, holding the recording crystal, quietly tightened her grip on the silver brooch on her chest and retreated a few more steps.

Another minute passed.

The elements in the laboratory were already so dense that they could be seen with the naked eye. The magic lamps that illuminated the room had also all gone out, as if they had malfunctioned.

As the one who was restoring the dance, Mizuki knew that it had not even progressed a third of the way yet. However, the current Fia had already dyed the entire laboratory with color. The elements should have been something that could not be seen directly with the naked eye, yet she had gathered them again and again, turning them into a colored vortex.

From Mizuki’s perspective, it was as if countless mutually insoluble pigments had been mixed together and stirred vigorously with Fia at the center. The colored vortex had created a strong wind, and even the dust on the floor and ceiling had been swept up. To avoid being affected, she was even forced to retreat to the entrance of the laboratory, a position where she could open the door and go out at any time.

Although the Fia of the past could also make flames flow towards her, it had definitely not been on this scale. In the end, as a maiden, she herself had never encountered such a situation.

“What on earth is happening… Why isn’t Miss Claire here yet?”

If not for the fact that she felt she couldn’t get close to Fia, she would have already gone forward to interrupt the dance and stop her. Who knew if the current situation would put her in danger? Without a strong person by her side to guard her, if something unexpected happened, with her strength alone, she could neither stop nor rescue her. She couldn’t help but become anxious.

“I have to go and find Miss Erin Slate.”

Just as her words fell, a series of hurried footsteps came from behind the door. Then, as the door was pushed open, Anastasia, in her maid’s uniform, appeared before her, her lively azure eyes filled with urgency.

“Miss Mizuki? What’s happening here?”

“It’s Fia. She’s restoring the Holy Tree Dance.”

“How can the Holy Tree Dance have such a presence?”

“I don’t know either, but something abnormal must have happened. Hurry and stop her, Anastasia!”

“No…”

Hearing her words, Anastasia actually hesitated. If it had been the her in Aurora City, she would surely have rushed forward to stop Fia without a second thought. But now she had witnessed Fia’s power. Even hundreds of thousands of monsters could not stop her. As long as Fia herself was unwilling, it was hard to imagine that there was anything that could harm her. Her master had created too many incredible things, some of which could even be called miracles. Now, just changing the environment of a small place no longer made one feel that something was wrong.

Perhaps Fia had already noticed all of this, but had not stopped for some purpose. To go forward and stop her would interrupt the dance, and might even turn a good thing into a bad one.

Mizuki did not know what was in Anastasia’s mind. She grabbed her arms and said with an anxious expression.

“Why? The Holy Tree Dance wouldn’t cause a change of this magnitude. You must have also felt something abnormal outside and rushed over, right, Anastasia?”

“How should I explain it… Miss Mizuki, Her Highness’s strength is far beyond that of an ordinary person. Ordinary things can hardly harm her. She might have already discovered the changes around her, but seized this opportunity and was unwilling to give up. Didn’t she also say so? The soul that possessed you could hardly harm her. You can trust her a little. The airflow of this level is not even a Second-Rank spell. It will not harm her. If it later progresses to the point where it will destroy the house, I will personally go forward and stop her.”

Anastasia’s explanation made Mizuki’s expression become complicated. She only had the mana of a Second-Rank. If she said it was fine, she could only believe it.

“…Even you say so, Anastasia. Alright. But the magic laboratory is separated from the outside world by a barrier. The people outside shouldn’t be able to feel the changes here. How did you know that something abnormal had happened in the laboratory?”

“Because Her Highness has already affected the outside,” Anastasia said without hesitation. “I heard the maids exclaim on the first floor, so I went to the courtyard to check on the abnormality they were talking about. A sacred glow like that of the Holy Tree had appeared above the palace. Besides Miss Claire, only Her Highness has the ability to cause such a phenomenon in the entire palace. And she had told us at dinner that she would be restoring the Holy Tree Dance in the magic laboratory, so I immediately rushed over.”

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Without going outside to see for oneself, it would be difficult to imagine her description. The sacred light covering the palace was like a golden aurora, slowly flowing. With its conspicuousness in the night, half of Blossom could see it.

“A sacred glow like that of the Holy Tree…”

Hearing her description, Mizuki began to murmur. The Holy Tree Dance was something that needed the tree’s assistance to be restored. Now that a golden glow like that of the tree had appeared above the palace, it already said a lot.

For example, Fia, who had always said she couldn’t get in touch with the Holy Tree, had actually connected with it.

Realizing this, Mizuki looked up at Fia, who was still in the elemental vortex. She could only vaguely see that Fia was still performing the gentle Holy Tree Dance. Her slow movements, in contrast to the extremely fast airflow around her, had an astonishing sense of dissonance.

I hope things are as Anastasia said, and that nothing will go wrong.

With this thought, Mizuki nervously clasped her hands and waited anxiously.

…

Before long, the entrance to the magic laboratory was filled with people.

Just as Anastasia had seen in the courtyard, the golden aurora above the Eldest Princess’s palace was exceptionally eye-catching. Anyone could see that something abnormal had happened. In just a short time, not only had Liti, Milu, and Erin Slate, who also lived in the palace, rushed over, but even Yulisha from further away had arrived. Most fatally, Yelido had arrived here.

“What’s happening? Why are you all here?”

With the arrival of the naturally authoritative Yelido, the people who felt an invisible pressure all parted to the sides. He subconsciously glanced at the source of the phenomenon in the center of the arena, then his sharp gaze fell on Mizuki.

“Is this the restoration of the Holy Tree Dance?”

Knowing his attitude, Mizuki’s expression and tone became timid.

“Y… yes.”

“Nonsense! I said I would not allow Dofi to restore the dance! Make her stop!”

No one dared to defy his will. Everyone remained silent.

In the end, it was Mizuki who gritted her teeth and stood up, saying timidly.

“Your Majesty, Fia has already passed the point where I was possessed, and the elements surrounding the laboratory are gradually weakening. Maybe in just a little while longer, she will be able to restore the true Holy Tree Dance and communicate with Lord Elf God.”

Just as she had said, the dense, inseparable elemental vortex in the laboratory had indeed gradually weakened. At the same time, Fia had successfully passed the stage where she had been possessed. The Holy Tree Dance had already been explored by Mizuki to a point close to complete restoration. If Fia could really connect with the tree, it would not be strange for her to completely restore it.

“I also think we should believe in Her Highness’s power. If she felt any discomfort, she would have stopped long ago…”

Anastasia’s voice made Yelido frown and look over. That sharp gaze, which made one feel a piercing pain, made Anastasia subconsciously lower her head. But unlike usual, he did not reprimand her here. He withdrew his gaze, his majestic red eyes filled with only anger.

“When I say stop, you must stop! There is no place in Silvar where my word is not law!”

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With that, he himself went to the center of the laboratory. But before he had taken a few steps, the elemental vortex that had been going on for a while had dissipated at an extremely fast speed. At the same time, Fia’s figure quickly became clear. Fia, in a black formal dress, maintained the same posture as the starting pose of the Holy Tree Dance—her left hand horizontal to her chest, her right hand holding the kagura bell held flat to her side. Even someone who had never seen the dance before could feel at this moment that it was over. This was not just a difference in temperament and atmosphere, but a huge change in the environment.

Like an angel descending, an intense sacred aura poured into the entire hall. A golden light filled every corner, and everyone was bathed in a dazzling brilliance. As the light was too piercing, no one, except for Yelido who had his blessings, could open their eyes to see Fia’s figure clearly.

If it were a fanatic of a god, they would surely be so excited at this moment that they would prostrate themselves in worship. However, the people present only felt a coldness and a power from this sacred aura, and not the intimacy of being favored by a god. This was an aura full of pressure, making one feel a chill from the bottom of their heart and a sense of invincibility.

Feeling that something was wrong, Yelido quickened his pace towards Fia.

And as if sensing his approach, Fia, who was slightly bent over in the starting pose of the dance, suddenly opened her eyes. Unlike when Mizuki had been possessed and her ice-blue eyes had become devoid of any emotion, Fia’s ruby-like eyes were still full of spirit. She silently extended a finger, gave a shushing gesture to the approaching Yelido, and then quietly pointed upwards.

He subconsciously stopped and followed her finger to look up.

And then, he was slightly stunned, his brows quickly furrowing.

A giant golden phantom was hovering above Fia’s head. Although the elements that composed her were only golden, if one looked closely, one could still make out that this was a beautiful, long-haired female elf wearing shrine maiden’s attire.

Even if it was just a phantom, she, like a living being with a soul, slowly turned her neck and swept her gaze over everyone in the laboratory. Finally, she lowered her head, her gaze locking onto Fia directly below her.

“You are the maiden of this generation… and also of the Alexia family. How ironic. Six thousand years have passed, and the Alexia family has forgotten the sins of the past, restoring the Holy Tree Dance to awaken me from the tree. For the sake of you having broken the seal and restored the dance, Lord Elf God will surely be very fond of you. I can also be lenient with you.”

“Who are you?”

Not intimidated by the phantom’s aura, Yelido held his head high and asked with a kingly authority that was no less than hers.

However, this action instantly filled the grand hall with a murderous intent. The dazzling golden light became sharp and cold. Everyone in Anastasia’s direction felt a chill in their hearts. And all of this change was just because the golden phantom had narrowed her eyes.

“Who am I? A person with the blessing of Divinity, a descendant of the Elf Saint has even forgotten who I am. Has the long passage of time worn away your will, or have you destroyed everything related to me?”

The golden phantom’s voice paused. She raised her chin, her expression full of arrogance.

“—The fourteenth generation elf maiden, Celia Astarte. And also the last maiden of the Holy Tree you speak of.”

By the end, anyone could hear the hatred of the fourteenth maiden for the Alexia family. The hostility she expressed was impossible to ignore.

Yelido tensed his whole body and slowly retreated, ready to fight at any moment. At the same time, Liti also tried to take the weaker Milu, Mizuki, and the others to quietly leave. However, just as she took a step towards the outside of the house, she unexpectedly ran headfirst into a wall formed by a golden curtain of light. It was clear that the golden phantom had no intention of letting Liti and the others, who had the royal bloodline, escape.

“To escape is futile. A creation of Lord Elf God, yet in the end, you betrayed him. People of the Alexia family, regret your birth!”

With the ferocious words, a magnificent giant bow made of condensed gold quickly appeared in front of the phantom. It seemed as if it would condense an arrow in the next second.

Before that could happen, Fia raised her hand.

Not [Mind Blast]—that could be discussed in a little while—she asked a more direct question.

“Wait. What did the Alexia family do back then?”