Volume 8, Chapter 2 – Thousands Upon Thousands of Spells

“Dofilia Alexia Yushir… never heard that name before…”

Upon hearing Fia’s introduction, the pink ghost wore a contemplative expression—despite being a translucent body, it mimicked even the subtlest facial changes with remarkable fidelity. Fia’s already astonished heart grew even more astonished. Even Davis, an eighth-rank undead, lacked such clear facial expressions. Only undead like Ruth, who stood at the threshold between eighth and ninth rank, appeared as truly human.

Wait. Ruth?

Fia furrowed her brow and scrutinized the young woman before her, this self-proclaimed Venex.

Ruth also had pink hair and pink eyes. Compared to this extremely mature ghost, who was old enough to be Fia’s mother, the two actually bore a certain resemblance.

“Do you know the Queen of the Kingdom of Death?” Fia asked, feigning casualness. “If I remember correctly, the Queen of the Kingdom of Death is called Venex.”

“Huh? How do you know the Queen of the Kingdom of Death is called that?”

“I have the ability to foresee the future.”

She brushed it off casually.

Calling it foresight wasn’t entirely wrong. The name Venex was information Anastasia had given her.

But judging by this ghost’s reaction, she did know what the Queen of the Kingdom of Death was called. Still, treating this pink ghost—who remained first-rank even under [See Through]—as the Queen of Death was too far-fetched. Like running into someone slightly unusual on the street and assuming they were some eccentric genius. The janitor sweeping the entrance actually being the academy head was a plot that only existed in fiction.

She glanced at her outstretched hand. Even though she was wearing gloves, the pink ghost still showed no intention of shaking it.

She had read too much into it.

With a quiet sigh, Fia withdrew her hand. Her tone became more casual.

“I’m just passing through. I was curious why a ghost would want to throw herself off a cliff. If you don’t need help, that’s fine.”

“But I’m a dreaded undead. You’re an elf. If you help me, won’t your own kind see it as fraternizing with the enemy?”

“As long as we can communicate properly, undead and elves aren’t so different. I can tell you’re very different from the undead around here. I’ve met an undead like you before. She always found the world of the dead boring and was curious about the world of the living. So if you want to go to the living world, I can send you there.”

Very clearly, hope and delight flickered across the pink ghost’s face. But that emotion vanished in an instant. She hesitated.

“Uh… thank you for your kindness. But if an undead like me went to the living world, things would turn out badly.”

“You’re worried about being consumed by the surrounding life force?”

“Something like that. That’s what I mean.”

The pink ghost hesitated a moment longer, then nodded.

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“Hmm…”

For a moment, Fia hesitated as well. She had ways to help this pink ghost—it just wasn’t strictly necessary. Taking her to the living world could be considered on the way. Using [Sacred Relic Analysis] to understand her structure and then creating a body for her was somewhat more involved.

She searched for some grand, high-minded reason to convince herself—no, she didn’t need a reason at all. She simply couldn’t stand to see the weak suffer, especially beautiful young women. How could she watch a beautiful girl in distress and do nothing? At worst, this pink ghost could work as a servant at Twilight Palace to pay off her debt!

Her fragile defenses shattered instantly. Fia straightened her posture, cast a sidelong glance at the large undead stirring around them, and declared with righteous conviction.

“I know a way for you to obtain a living body. Then you won’t be troubled by the life force of the living world. However, this process will come at considerable cost to me—one you’ll need to repay. If you’re willing to owe me an enormous debt, I’ll try to help you.”

“Turn an undead into a living being? Reverse life and death? That’s impossible. Not even if you’re very strong.”

By the end, the pink ghost’s tone had become earnest. Almost admonishing.

This only stirred Fia’s competitive spirit.

“How do you know it’s impossible if you haven’t tried?”

Especially that last part—saying she “couldn’t” do it. That stung. If not for the fact that she still had some princessly pride, she would have dragged this pink ghost back by force just to show her what real magic looked like.

“So, are you willing or not? You have the resolve to die. Are you really afraid of letting me run a few experiments?”

“Hmm… what exactly do you plan to do?”

“You’ll know soon enough. But first, I need to deal with these nuisance creatures.”

Because this was deep within the Netherworld, there weren’t just skeletal whales, but also numerous high-rank skeleton warriors and undead wizards draped in tattered cloaks. Fia even spotted two enormous bone dragons flying in from the distance, spewing blue-green flames from their jaws.

Enemies that delivered themselves to her doorstep naturally warranted no mercy. Most importantly, she had recently studied a great deal of new magic—from the six elemental schools to spatial and summoning magic, not a single field neglected. This was the perfect opportunity to test her results.

Time to give it a try.

She pushed the pink ghost beneath the cliff face, then flew into the air and snapped her fingers lightly.

[Forbidden Spell: Celestial Canopy of the Divine]

Like a mirage, a colossal city unfolded in the sky. Following it came countless radiant spires and floating towers suspended in midair, each surrounded by swarms of magic tomes flying at tremendous speed. The sheer overwhelming pressure alone was enough to steal one’s breath.

Most noticeably, the horde of undead rushing forward below halted, one after another. The bone dragons in the distance turned tail and fled.

Too late.

The gleaming spires erupted with terrifying rays of light. Simultaneously, a downpour of fire rained from above, and among the flames roared blazing dragons. The battle wasn’t even one-sided enough to describe. The undead were annihilated instantly if even grazed by the fire rain or the dark crimson rays from the spires. The already lifeless earth was scorched black. Countless craters of varying sizes blazed with towering walls of fire. The city suspended in the air had already transformed into a dark crimson city of death.

As expected of a genuine ninth-rank spell. Judging by the city’s scale, it was likely comparable to a metropolis of two hundred thousand.

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Under the enhancement of [Hyper-computation], [Celestial Canopy of the Divine] was probably more suited for dealing with weak chaos than ordinary [Orbital Bombardment]. Orbital bombardment was a single-use spell; [Celestial Canopy of the Divine] was continuous.

Apart from forbidden spells, there were still two thousand three hundred other spells, ranging from first-rank upward, yet to be deployed. Testing magic was truly a land-consuming endeavor.

Well then, time to skip to the next spell. Keeping the pink ghost lady waiting too long wouldn’t be good.

Calculating inwardly, Fia voluntarily dismissed [Celestial Canopy of the Divine] and invoked her next forbidden spell: [Wide-Area Gravity Manipulation].

◇

By the time Fia returned to Blossom, it was already afternoon.

Even Fia found the extensive use of magic troublesome—not because she couldn’t remember the effects and names of those spells, but because the incessant flickering of various magical lights dazzled her eyes and left her dizzy. If she had photosensitive epilepsy, she would have gone into shock by now.

Whether for orbital bombardment or future spell experimentation, crafting a pair of sunglasses was an urgent matter.

For now, however, Fia was occupied with something else.

Creating a physical body for that pink ghost.

Several days of waking up and immediately immersing herself in magical study had grown exceedingly tedious. Even she needed to find something else to do for relaxation. It was worth noting that due to her shrunken body, Claire had developed something akin to either insecurity or shyness. When Fia hugged her pillow and knocked on Claire’s door late at night, Claire would open it—but she absolutely refused to let Fia remove her clothing. This had eliminated Fia’s sole remaining method of stress relief.

Though in theory Fia could seek out Anastasia to alleviate her boredom, she hadn’t yet found the right moment to formally tell Claire that she had acknowledged Anastasia. Without that formal disclosure, not only Fia but Anastasia herself would be uneasy. So in practice, Fia still couldn’t turn to Anastasia for relief.

The only good news at present was that Estelle had been brought over by Fia in the meantime, adding some excitement to daily life. But Estelle had left for Cold Night several days ago, and life had grown dull once more.

Aware of this, Fia stood before the stone sarcophagus, ceasing her mana infusion, and sighed softly.

“Ah.”

“Your Highness, are you finished?”

Anastasia’s voice came from behind. Fia stepped back two paces, exiting the circle formed by stone pillars. Her delicate features relaxed with the satisfaction of completing a day’s work.

“Yes, finished.”

Anastasia, dressed in her maid outfit, stepped forward. She had initially intended to offer Fia a handkerchief to wipe the barely perceptible sweat from her forehead, but after a brief hesitation, she mustered her courage and wiped away the beads of perspiration herself. At the same time, she inquired casually.

“Your Highness has been sighing constantly since you went out this morning. Have you encountered some trouble?”

“A little, though nothing that demands immediate resolution. More importantly, let me confirm something, Anastasia. When the other you was exchanged to this side, you weren’t actually transported to that world, were you? You were slumbering within your own body?”

“Yes.”

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Anastasia nodded honestly. In fact, were it not for the memories remaining in her mind, her first words upon waking would surely have been to ask how she ended up in Fia’s room—when just before, she had been wearing that pale green nightgown, sharing a bed with Fia in the Barony of Yarua.

Because the other Anastasia had lied, deceiving Fia into believing that her connection with Anastasia was strengthening, Fia—along with Laplace and Claire—had from that point assumed that the vanished Anastasia’s soul slumbered within her body and had not been exchanged to the other world. That is, one body containing two souls.

This was also the sole reason Fia had been able to remain calm. After all, if this side’s Anastasia grew stronger, the slumbering Anastasia would awaken sooner. It was a visible, straightforward process.

Though in retrospect, this was purely a lie fabricated by Anastasia to calm Fia down, the fact remained unchanged: Anastasia had not gone to that world, but had instead remained slumbering within her own body.

And precisely because she knew Anastasia had not gone to the other world, Fia had halted the plan to raise Anastasia’s rank after the forget-me-not incident, Anastasia’s body began showing abnormalities. At that time, she had not yet mastered the ability to shape bodies; raising Anastasia’s rank would accelerate this side’s Anastasia’s awakening and cause the forget-me-not Anastasia to disappear. Her goal had always been to preserve both Anastasias simultaneously. Now that she had confirmed this Anastasia’s safety, she naturally had to find a way to preserve the other.

Anastasia’s affirmation eased Fia’s mind.

“It’s good that you didn’t go to the other world—Anastasia wouldn’t deceive me like the other you, would you?”

“Your subordinate swears upon her life that she will never commit any act of deception toward you as that other me did. That would be the most shameless betrayal.”

“…Don’t be so harsh either.”

Still, it was fortunate that this Anastasia truly hadn’t gone to the other world. Otherwise, there would have been serious consequences. Though the other Anastasia had acted out of consideration for her, Fia hadn’t wanted her to do so in the slightest.

“Betrayal is betrayal. Deceiving one’s sovereign is an unforgivable crime. Fourteen years of time made her overly presumptuous. Once Your Highness awakens her, your subordinate will certainly hold her accountable for deceiving Your Highness.”

“And if you found yourself in the same situation as her, what would you do?”

“This…”

Anastasia opened her mouth, uncertain how to answer.

Fia smiled wryly and waved her hand—the height difference was truly troublesome. If Anastasia were the same height as her, she could pinch Anastasia’s cheeks.

“If Anastasia had been in her position at that time, you would have done the same, wouldn’t you? That’s what it comes down to. That said, the fact remains that she deceived me and nearly caused a catastrophe. When she awakens, I’ll permit Anastasia to punish her.”

“Please entrust this to your subordinate. Your subordinate will make her recognize her errors.”

Anastasia’s expression was solemn, but Fia, familiar with her, could discern that this wasn’t entirely about impartial justice. Part of it stemmed from personal obstinacy and dissatisfaction.

“She is, after all, another you. Go easy on her.”

“As you command. Your Highness still hasn’t explained why you were sighing earlier. Your subordinate rarely sees you so preoccupied. Might I ask you to share?”

“Ahh, I was worrying whether Estelle’s main family will accept her.”

In truth, there was also the matter of Claire—perfectly youthful in figure yet refusing to allow Fia to examine her body. When Claire grew intimate with her, the lost mana would recover. It was disheartening. In this state, she also couldn’t broach the subject of Anastasia. Truly caught between a rock and a hard place.

—Wait. The elven grimoire she’d examined today contained a faith magic called [Art of the Sage] that could enhance the effects of mental magic. If she used it to amplify [Peerless Beauty], which increased one’s charm, she wondered if it might work on Claire.

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To be clear, Fia had no intention of using [Peerless Beauty] to hypnotize Claire into approving her relationship with Anastasia. She merely wanted to be intimate with Claire in her youthful form. She wasn’t capable of such underhanded acts.

Anastasia tilted her head, one eyebrow raised.

“Miss Estelle’s main family? You mean the Syris family that Miss Estelle mentioned? Miss Estelle finding her main family is a good thing. Why worry?”

“On the surface, of course it’s a good thing. The problem is that Estelle has only half a wing. Even with the Despair Demon General’s dying testimony, whether she’ll gain recognition from her main family remains uncertain. Vampires are more obsessive about bloodlines than humans or elves. With such an obvious defect as half a wing, even if Estelle is a count of the Oro territory, I think it’s highly likely her main family won’t acknowledge her return.”

Estelle’s main family traced back to ancient times. When Estelle was an infant, the Despair Demon General had taken notice of her half wing, believing she would bring him great pleasure in the future. He murdered Estelle’s biological parents and gave her to the Count and Countess Oro, a childless vampire couple who had lost their reproductive ability and were desperately seeking an infant of pure blood.

What followed needed no elaboration. In short, Estelle was a pureblood vampire princess, but not the biological child of the Oro counts. She had another main family. After stabilizing her territory with Fia’s assistance, she had been searching for her original family. Even if only grandparents remained, she wanted to be acknowledged and return to her roots.

Now she had located the Syris family—her likely main family—situated within Cold Night, near the territory of the Fire Cats. Naturally, she had gone to seek their recognition. Several days ago, Fia had used transmission magic to send Estelle and her escorts to Cold Night.

After hearing Fia’s explanation, hesitation surfaced on Anastasia’s lovely features. Her hands clasped together lightly, somewhat tense.

“Indeed. With only half a wing, even if a blood relation exists, publicly acknowledging it would bring shame. But even if they can’t publicly recognize her, privately acknowledging her should be acceptable, shouldn’t it? The Syris family’s territory in Cold Night is quite barren—neither as wealthy nor as large as the Oro domain. Your subordinate rather thinks they might instead try to curry favor with Miss Estelle, hoping she’ll provide them with blood.”

“Merely acquiring impoverished relatives would be comparatively fortunate…”

What she feared was the relatives overstepping their bounds, latching onto the Oro territory and refusing to leave. If the Syris family threatened to expel Estelle from the family unless she complied with their demands, Estelle, with her modest personal strength, would be at a disadvantage.

If that happened, she, as Estelle’s close friend, would step in to mediate. If open intervention proved inconvenient, she could always employ her covert identity, Thanatos.

“Speaking of which, Your Highness is scheduled to depart for Cold Night tomorrow to fulfill your promise to the Fire Cat Holy Son. Shouldn’t you be making preparations now?” Anastasia’s gaze carried implication. She seemed quite preoccupied with the woman inside the stone sarcophagus. “Your subordinate has never seen this pink-haired woman before.”

“Ahh, this is someone I happened upon in the Netherworld today. Because I couldn’t bear to see—ahem. Because I wished to experiment with transforming a ghost into a living being, I created a body for her.”

Having fabricated this high-minded justification, Fia smoothly evaded the truth. She could hardly bring herself to admit in front of Anastasia that she simply couldn’t bear to see a cute, beautiful maiden weeping alone and had therefore offered assistance.

“A ghost? Where?”

“I left her in the Netherworld. I’ll deliver the body to her shortly. No, the body is already complete—I should send it now. Anastasia is right. I need to make preparations for tomorrow’s trip to Cold Night.”

Opening the stone sarcophagus, Fia wrapped the mature young woman within in a blanket until she resembled a caterpillar, lifted her through the air with Spatial Hand, then stored the pillars, sarcophagus, and other ritual implements into her storage magic.

Based on Claire’s past remarks, she likely wouldn’t object to Fia accepting Anastasia. But whether something had been formally disclosed was another matter entirely. Tonight, even if she had to steel herself, she must convey her feelings to Claire and seek her approval.

…What a lousy elf I am.

The very thought made her muscles stiffen. Fia clicked her tongue, lifted the pink-haired girl, instructed Anastasia that she would return shortly, and activated teleportation.