Mistress Of The Evil Forest

Case 107: Advent – Curtain Falls.

Reaching into her consciousness, Aurora tracks the situation in her domain. In an unfathomably vast room, a grotesque monster made of flesh and metal resides, constantly flailing its tentacles in an attempt to free itself. It appears disoriented. 

However, even with its monstrous strength, not a scratch is present on the walls of the Backrooms.

In another corner, the damaged body of a man lies blankly on the floor, unmoving.

'Is the connection severed?'

To Aurora, it seems that the moment these creatures enter the Backrooms, their connections to Valstein disappear entirely. However, she might need to freeze Genji's body soon, or else it will decompose, and that's not ideal.

In any case, this unexpected battle can be seen as her victory.

Even if she hadn't seized Genji, merely obtaining the colossal monster is already profitable enough. The only thing left to do is clean up the remaining monsters and eradicate the summoning formation.

She knows for a fact Valstein won't die here, so making him retreat is the final goal.

If she has one thing to complain, however...

''...Get away.''

''You're hurt!''

Desperately clinging to her arm is a certain blonde girl whose face is closer to crying than her, the one who got hurt. What's more, by nagging her like this, the terrible wound on Aurora's side seems to hurt even more.

She feels nauseous. 

''Hah... ugh...''

[Skill proficiency achieved a certain level]

[Skill: Pain Tolerance Lv.1 has become Lv.2]

''...''

It still hurts like hell. 

''Stop.''

''!!''

Infusing a bit of her dominance into her words, Aurora successfully stuns Claire, stopping her from yanking her shoulder. Truth be told, she would have instantly chopped Claire to make her unconscious, yet she finds her body devoid of strength.

''Get away. Annoying.''

''A-Ah, sorry...'' Claire backs down, glancing worryingly at Aurora's heavily bleeding wound. ''Should I call a healer? They will definitely help you—''

''Miss!!!''

All of a sudden, a high-pitched scream interrupts Claire's sentence. Not long after, a woman with her body transparent flies over, panicking.

''Stay still!''

While Claire is still confused about what is happening in front of her eyes, Ariel swiftly casts [Heal] on Aurora's wound. Because her proficiency is much higher, the large cut finally appears to be closing. As the pain eases, the owl girl quietly closes her eyes.

[HP: 99/152]

[MP: 19/191]

'...It seems I'm really drained.'

Things would have been much better if her opponent was a demon. Then, she can heal by leveling up...

'Should I kill that monster?'

The system is only assigned to entities that are born 'organically,' but the monsters in Valstein's possession have all been infused with organic sacrifices, so they do contain experience. Moreover, as long as her opponent is in the Backrooms, she can squash them easily by closing the walls into their body. The question is whether she should execute it or not.

For now, ignoring Valstein, who is being held by Graham, depends on whether her allies need her support. If they do, she might have to kill the monster to regain her strength. Considering Valstein can teleport to her and deal a fatal blow anytime, this seems like a reasonable option as well.

''We're almost done with the formation.''

Right then, Ariel reports, wiping her nonexistent sweat on her forehead.

''Already?'' Aurora raises an eyebrow.

''We're working really hard, you know?''

''I see...''

'So that leaves the deer and the dragon—'

GRAAHHH—!!

''Got you!''

In the sky, a giant dragon shakily glides by, casting a deep shadow onto the ground. Its neck has finally been pierced by Claudia's blazing sword, and its body is scattered with fresh magic wounds as well.

KIHHH—!!

In another corner, a high-pitched wail rings within the blinding blizzard. The bright red gleam of ruby slowly dissipates, signaling Orcinus Nova's victory against the monster.

''...''

Aurora breathes a sigh of relief.

At this point, her joining hands with them probably won't make a difference. Just to be extra careful, though, she calls Orcinus Nova, who has just leveled up a bit after killing the deer monster and asks her to create a barrier around herself.

Fine.

In an instant, she feels a refreshing layer of mana wrapping her body, providing a rather reassuring, safe feeling. With this, even Valstein will not be able to touch her easily.

As she slowly gets to her feet after her wound has healed completely, she belatedly remembers the heroine, who still refuses to leave the immediate area.

''Such a beautiful fish...'' Claire mutters, her hand flailing in the air as though wanting to touch Nova's crystal-like skin.

I-Is that so? Hmph...

''Hah...''

Letting out a sigh, Aurora climbs onto Orcinus Nova while clutching Ariel's hand.

''Go around the city.''

As much as she wants to flop down her bed and rest for a while, she needs to see the end of this incident first. So, the three soar to the sky, completely abandoning the flustered girl below.

''Eh? W-Wait! At least give me your signature—''

''Aurora.''

''Hm?''

While in the air, Ariel, who has dropped the 'Miss' title, calls.

''Wouldn't it be good to recruit that girl?'' She asks. ''She's such a big fan of you that I'm sure she'll accept right away.''

''There's a reason to it.''

''If you say so.''

The two return to observing the situation again. A bit absentmindedly, Aurora recalls her earlier thoughts and shakes her head.

'Why didn't I think of this sooner?'

Aurora wants to smack herself in the face for how painfully oblivious she has been.

She can crush anything inside the Backrooms at any given moment. If she simply freezes a ton of monsters and dumps them into an empty room, won't she have free 'refreshes' when fighting formidable enemies?

With those extra MP and HP, she can confidently empty her mana reserve on her opponents.

'I'll have to find suitable targets later.'

After deciding that, Aurora nods to herself and continues inspecting the situation below. From a certain point, she feels Valstein's presence disappearing completely, which means he has likely retreated.

Although it is still chaotic in numerous locations, monsters, and cultists, seem to have been taken care of quite adequately, and there is no sign of a summoning taking place soon.

The incident is finally coming to an end.

There will definitely be casualties, so Aurora can't call this a perfect, happy ending, yet she knows she has done her best, and that is enough.

''Let's prepare to leave.'' She says. ''We'll take the deer's corpse since Nova defeated it.''

''Roger~!''

Hmph.

As it is, Nova flies closer to the massive deer corpse, and subsequently, Aurora warps it into the Backrooms. Then, she initiates a relatively big portal in the sky before giving out a retreat order.

From all over the city, majestic marine creatures begin to flock over, entering the rift of the abyss, one by one. Among them, some carry different figures—a tall man with no face, a husky, a man in black, a skeleton in a robe.

''...''

Aurora squints her eyes, staring at the bright sun for a moment.

Even if the sun is currently dominating the sky, the time will come when the moon takes over the throne and brings unspeakable calamities upon this land.

She wishes... that the sun will stay on for a bit longer.

At least until she can become something that surpasses even the sun.

''Let's go.''

As Aurora's crew joins the backstage, a figure watches over them from afar.

On top of the imperial palace.

Leaning their back on the pillar of the rooftop balcony, they silently tap their index finger against their thumb. The wind blows violently, fluttering their clothes in a chaotic manner.

Yet, their mind is as tranquil as it can be.

'Well... it's probably good enough.'

crack—!

A satisfying crunch resonates in the midst of the wind.