Gardenia’s Heart

Releasing the grip of her trembling fingers around her arms and turning to Lily, Thelira fixed her crescent-moon eyes on the girl’s two-colored ones.

“Just based on its aura, the Torment was estimated to be a monster as strong as—or even stronger than—the Calamity-class monsters found in Finis.”

Hearing Thelira’s words, Lily thought for a moment. She remembered the leviathan she had encountered in Caligo. Selene had said that even groups of several three-star mages wouldn’t dare to challenge it.

Just one of those creatures had been enough for her to use everything she had, and even then, it had barely been enough to defeat it. If the destruction she now saw had been caused by something as powerful, if not more so, the fear on both of their faces made sense.

“With a monster that powerful appearing, it was truly fortunate that there were no casualties.”

When Thelira added those words, Lily’s eyes widened.

“There weren’t?” Lily repeated, disbelief in her voice.

“Our mother, Queen Virelia, used her precognition to evacuate all the inhabitants to the farthest edge of the forest in time before the monster was born,” Thelira said in a nostalgic, almost melancholic tone. “She faced the Torment alone and managed to kill it without anyone else being hurt.”

Lily knew that those who bore the title of hero were powerful, but realizing that the kilometers of destruction before her were the result of that battle was almost too much for her to process.

“Wait… You said the monster you call the Torment was born because of the dark mana in the soil, right? We’ve found many of those filaments as purple miasma throughout the forest. How can you be sure this won’t happen again—that another monster of that kind won’t be born?” Lily asked, slightly uneasy.

When they had entered the forest, Nia had detected that there was purple miasma dozens of meters beneath parts of it. If that was new, it meant that another such monster could emerge.

“Well...” Thelira began, but her gaze wandered to her sister, as if seeking confirmation.

Approaching Thelira, Elarielle held her again before glancing sidelong at Lily. “Another Torment won’t be born. We have our own means of preventing that now. Let’s go. Don’t fly this time.”

Without saying anything else, Elarielle started walking again, now across the ruined ground.

Watching the girls moving forward, Lily took a second to ready herself. She didn’t know why Elarielle told her not to fly, but she quickly followed after them.

That battle had been fought decades, if not hundreds of years ago, but Lily could still feel her body tensing, as if bracing for any threat. Even Nia, who usually didn’t react to such things, was now holding her body more tightly with her tentacles, as if sharing in her apprehension.

“Is it still far until we reach the labyrinth?” As even the cold night breeze vanished from the surroundings, Lily asked the elves leading the way.

“We’ve already passed Area 9; we’re almost there,” Elarielle replied without turning back.

The elves’ forest was divided into circular sectors, with the city of Lampides at its center. Each of the four cardinal directions projected a circular sector, with a final distance equivalent to the length of the forest in that direction.

Lily remembered Zaylin mentioning that the place where the girl had entered the forest was in the western part, Area 12—this being the closest location to the border with the human continent. From what she had learned by questioning Elarielle along the way, the labyrinth was located in the northern part. However, since the area varied in size depending on the direction, she didn’t know how far they would need to travel to reach it.

After walking for a few more minutes, Elarielle suddenly stopped and once again set Thelira down.

“Get ready.”

Instructing the girl, who promptly removed her restraints and brought her hands together to summon her fairy, Elarielle reached for the axe on her back once more.

The queen’s sudden change in attitude made Lily tilt her head in confusion. Even looking around, she couldn’t see any entrance or staircase similar to what she had found at the labyrinth of Stardust Spring.

“Tsk.” Noticing the girl’s confusion, Elarielle clicked her tongue. “The purple miasma here can pose health risks if exposed to it. After the battle, our mother ordered this area to be sealed off, and no one has come here since.”

Even after the explanation, Elarielle realized the girl didn’t seem to understand. Letting out a long sigh, she pointed in an empty direction with her thumb.

“I mean that, if not for Thelira’s precognition, we never would have found this place.”

Without saying anything more, Elarielle simply walked forward. A single moment of doubt flashed across Lily’s face—until the elf in front of her simply vanished.

(It’s the same as what happened when we entered the capital!)

Nia’s excited voice accompanied one of her tentacles shooting forward. Just as expected, as soon as it crossed a specific point, half of the extended tentacle simply disappeared.

Approaching, Lily cautiously felt around in the air a few times. As her fingers passed through the invisible boundary, the tips vanished without causing any pain.

“So there’s also a barrier here that prevents us from seeing the other side from outside,” the girl muttered, pulling her hand back as an orange glow caught her attention.

Standing there now with the emerald bow in her gloved hands, Thelira was wearing a dark green corset beneath her cloak, a large orange scarf gently swaying behind her.

“I’m ready.”

When Thelira stepped confidently toward the invisible wall, Lily did the same. Similar to the sensation of passing through a thin layer of water, the bluish moonlight was immediately replaced by gold.

Beneath the night sky, the tree before the girl rose like an ancient entity. Its trunk, as thick as an entire city, stretched up toward the stars. The long branches seemed to snake through the heavens, intertwining in impossible shapes to support the golden canopy above.

Leaves, as if bathed in warm, gentle light, shimmered in shades of amber and gold, cascading down like calm, silent waterfalls of fire. All around the base, wildflowers from various biomes of the vast forest bloomed in abundance.

“It’s incredible, isn’t it?” Leaning forward, Thelira spoke while watching Lily’s astonished expression. “It looks like this tree is even taller than the royal castle.”

The silver-haired girl could hardly believe what her eyes beheld. The sight of the World Tree had already captivated her, but the tree before her now drew her gaze so intensely that she couldn’t help but stare at it.

“Something like this... was right in front of us the entire time?”

Agatha had told her long ago that it was only possible to find the labyrinth of Stardust Spring because a meteor had struck the mountain, revealing the structure’s entrance. Lily knew that the labyrinths were meant to be secret, as they were meant to guard the treasures of Sylvan’s followers, but imagining that something of this magnitude stood here out in the open made her realize just how powerful those mages had been.

(Lily, it’s here! I’m sure of it!)

Pulling her out of her state of shock, Lily heard Nia’s voice resonate in her mind with extreme excitement.

“You’re sensing a volume of the Book of Truth!?” Caught off guard by her wife’s words, it took Lily a second to respond.

(Yes! The barrier is distorting my mana-location quite a bit, but I can definitely feel that the Book of Truth is somewhere within that tree.)

Although she hadn’t obtained the book yet, Nia’s words filled Lily’s chest with relief. It had taken a long time, but they had finally managed to reach the place where one of the volumes was located.

(This is a problem. It looks like we can see the outside from here, but the barriers are layered.) However, as soon as Nia’s brief moment of euphoria passed, her voice grew somber as she realized something. (Both this one and the World Tree’s barrier are in effect. I still can’t teleport freely.)

“It’s okay, we still have other ways to fight.” Lily responded while gently stroking the tentacles wrapped around her waist, trying to calm her beloved.

Except for Lampides, where no effects were interfering with her teleportation, Nia still couldn’t use her portals without restrictions. That could pose a problem, but Lily trusted her own agility, and—though she didn’t like relying on it—the group still had a frontline fighter in the form of a hero.

“Let’s go.”

With a sidelong glance, Elarielle, who had been waiting for the girls as they admired the scenery with an irritated expression, started walking through the flower-covered field with her battle axe in hand.

“Come to think of it, this labyrinth isn’t that many days’ travel from the city… Why didn’t you just overwhelm it with numbers?”

Drawing her twin blades, Lily questioned the golden-haired elf.

In labyrinths shrouded in mist, where there was barely any education or mages, the reason they remained unexplored was clear. The very idea of traveling to such an inhospitable and dangerous place with a large group just to risk one’s life didn’t seem appealing, especially considering there were many others near the capital of Anthus. So, with one so close to the capital of the elves, it didn’t make sense to Lily that Elarielle, in her race against time, hadn’t gathered all the mages she could to invade and conquer it.

“The barrier we just crossed sets a limit on how many people can enter at once. It’s not possible to get through with a large group.”

Shrugging, Elarielle pointed her axe at the tree still hundreds of meters away.

“But that’s not the problem. I can’t find the entrance anywhere.”

The queen’s words made Lily raise an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“I couldn’t find anything, even after searching for several days.” Elarielle said in an irritated tone, narrowing her eyes. “Besides, no matter how much I try to climb the tree from the outside, a colossal force starts pushing me down. If you had flown in, even at the height you were at before, you would’ve ended up as a smashed fruit on the ground.”

When Elarielle practically laughed at the last part, Lily frowned but let out a small sigh, deciding to ignore the provocation.

Just as the queen had explained, even when they finally reached the base of the tree, nothing resembling a staircase or door was visible. For the next hour, the group of girls walked around the tree searching for any structure or passage, but nothing they could call an entrance appeared.

Just as Elarielle had told her, when Lily tried to fly to reach the top of the tree, a powerful force pressed down on her body even when she was just a few meters off the ground. From what Nia could tell, this effect seemed to be enforced by the barrier and could not be deactivated, forcing her to abandon the idea for safety.

“Thelira, your power works better the closer what you want to see is to you, right? Can you find the entrance with your precognition?” Lily asked the high elf who was carefully walking behind her.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know if I’ll be useful for that.” Thelira shook her head. “Even if it’s around me, I can only see with absolute certainty a few seconds into the future. The uncertainty increases if I try to stretch it further, and randomness can interfere with what I actually see. If I use it too many times, exhaustion will take over, even with Vesca healing me.”

The elf girl’s orange scarf swayed a few times as if it too wanted to apologize for her inability.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

Turning to face the other elf, Lily watched as Elarielle tested the trunk’s resistance to impacts once again. Even with powerful blows, none of her attacks had any effect. After a few more tries, the queen knelt down on the ground, and from her hand, a putrid green aura formed.

Bringing her fingers close to the tree’s wood, the greenish aura began to slowly spread along the trunk. Wherever it touched, the brown-orange wood started to turn dark.

“It’s no use.” After a few minutes, Elarielle clicked her tongue again. Narrowing her eyes, the queen gripped her axe tightly with both hands and stepped back a few paces.

“Wait, you’re planning to break a hole in the tree?” Watching the girl begin to gather mana, Lily asked in an agitated tone.

“If I really go all out, I can destroy part of the trunk. I didn’t try being this forceful before out of fear of a collapse, but I don’t have time to be subtle anymore. Go with Thelira outside the barrier, I’ll call you both after the attack.”

Lily didn’t need to look twice to understand that Elarielle was serious. Even though she understood what the elf was planning, Lily didn’t feel it was the best option.

The first time they had gone into a dungeon, the explosion of a stardust staff had shaken the dungeon’s internal structure so much that it had been nothing short of a miracle that they survived. Even if they moved to a safe distance, this method still seemed far too risky to attempt.

“Nia, have you figured anything out?”

For some time now, Lily had noticed that Nia had gone quiet, as if she were thinking about something, so she decided to wait while her beloved pondered.

(Lily, it might just be something silly, but I’ve been finding something strange ever since we got here.) Nia murmured hesitantly.

“Nothing you think could ever be silly! You don’t have to be afraid to tell me your ideas, I’ll listen to all of them.” Lily affirmed with intensity. “And even if you think it’s not important or that you’re wrong, we can think about it together and solve the situation.”

The moment she finished speaking, a girl with purple hair and a black dress appeared in the air, her face falling against Lily’s chest.

“Hihi~” Giggling softly, Nia calmed herself in her wife’s warmth for a moment, while Lily promptly began stroking her hair.

Holding Lily’s hand, Nia began to walk away from the tree. Thelira, who had been observing the scene, started following the pair, and Elarielle, who had been preparing her attack, also stopped upon noticing the strange movement.

“Nia, where are we going?” As they kept walking away from the tree, Lily asked, her fingers still firmly intertwined with her wife’s.

“Lily taught me that mana herbs grow where there’s a high concentration of mana in the soil, but they can also sprout randomly, right? Even when we walked all around, I found something strange.” Smiling, Nia led the group for a few more minutes, stopping around an area with faintly glowing flowers. “There are flowers everywhere, but only in this spot are there mana herbs.”

Lily quickly understood what Nia meant. Scanning their surroundings, she couldn’t find a single mana herb among the various types of flowers that surrounded them—except for the small area Nia had pointed to.

“You noticed that?” Struggling not to let her jaw drop, Lily turned to the girl who was still smiling at her.

“Lily wants to have a big garden, right? Ever since we left our first home, I’ve remembered the location and type of every flower we’ve come across. All of them!”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Nia felt her feet leave the ground as Lily quickly grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.

“I have such an amazing wife!” Lily said in an excited tone, planting several kisses on her beloved’s cheek, barely able to contain the emotion swelling in her chest.

“Hihi~ That tickles, Lily.” Letting herself be kissed and caressed without resistance, Nia surrendered to the pleasant warmth growing inside her.

Beside the two girls, who kept hugging each other as if nothing else mattered, Elarielle and Thelira watched the affectionate exchange with a mix of confusion and embarrassment.

“Okay, there are mana herbs here… What does that mean?” Elarielle asked, unable to keep watching the scene in silence any longer.

The queen’s irritated tone made Lily stop doting on Nia, causing the girl to frown slightly in the elf’s direction.

“If there are only mana herbs here…” Nia crouched down, a reddish-purple aura seeping from her fingers and spreading through the soil. “That means there’s something in this area significant enough to drain all the mana from the surroundings.”

Her mana-location ability had a very short range under the effects of the World Tree’s barrier. However, Nia knew that if she focused on a specific spot and increased the amount of mana, she could strengthen its effect.

Extending her dark mana as far as she could, Nia felt it wrap around something. The object, resembling a small icosahedron, appeared to be made of the same material as the beacons she had found in the mist territory.

Sending her dark mana into the object, nothing happened at first. Several silent seconds passed, with only the gentle breeze moving through the air.

“Impressive, indeed.”

Until a voice echoed.

In the blink of an eye, Elarielle leapt to the front of the group, followed by Lily raising her swords, Nia summoning her tentacles, and Thelira readying her bow.

And that woman… simply walked toward them.

Her slender, elegant figure was clad in a meticulously designed outfit that blended layers of black and yellow. The train of her cloak spread behind her like silent wings, while gloves covered her fingers, their nails sharp as blades.

Two large translucent wings extended from her back, delicate and intricate like natural stained glass. From the back of her dress, a black stinger protruded, surrounded and protected by a layer of white fur that accentuated her waist. On her head, long adorned antennae swayed gently among her short, beautifully disheveled hair, mixing deep black with dark gray tones.

The woman said nothing for a while, simply standing there, but even without speaking, everyone knew her mere presence was far too dangerous to act without thinking.

With one hand resting on her elbow, she brought her palm to her cheek. Her expression remained cold and unshakable as her black eyes scanned the entire group.

“A simple, old-fashioned method… but strangely effective at separating the wheat from the chaff.”

Her velvety voice seemed to resonate inside the group’s ears, as if forcing its way into them was inevitable in this woman’s territory.

“Who are you?!”

Among the four, it was Lily who managed to speak in that situation.

Without even the slightest change in her expression, the woman brought her hand to her chin. Her dull yet strangely deep eyes reflecting for a moment.

”I apologize for the late introduction. I am a follower of the Archmage, Rhei, the Architect of the Golden Hive.”

For the first time, a thin, cold smile formed on her lips.

“Welcome to my sanctuary, daughter of Sylvan.”