Kwaaaaa!
A four-meter-tall Ogre roared. This magical beast, covered in grass-colored skin like camouflage, spewed bright red flames from its mouth, turning all the surrounding grass and trees into black ashes.
Gwoeeeeeee!
Kiyaak! Kiyaaak!
Hearing the Ogre's roar, magical beasts of all sizes gathered from every direction. The small ones were Goblins, and the large ones were Orcs.
These hideously ugly creatures began burning the surrounding vegetation, following the Ogre's lead.
All trees in the forest were manifestations of the Divine Tree. Even the most common tree had an extraordinary size.
The giant trees, hundreds of meters tall with trunks tens of meters in circumference, possessed a rock-like hardness that did not easily succumb to the flames of the magical beasts.
So the magical beasts used a trick. Goblins gathered plenty of dry grass and fallen leaves, and Orcs caught animals to extract their oil. Then they piled up dry grass and oil to create a large fire.
Kwaaaaa!
Gwoeeeeeee!
Kiyaaaaaak!
The Ogre, Orcs, and Goblins each let out bizarre cries. As fire spread through the forest and acrid smoke filled the air, they danced wildly. It was a dance offered to their creator, the demonic flames.
Flocks of birds that had taken to the air became enveloped in black smoke and fell like rain. Rabbits, deer, mice, and foxes that had been fleeing were consumed by the flames and writhed in agony.
As the flames devoured everything living, they soon engulfed even the green magical beasts.
But the magical beasts did not avoid the flames. Rather, as if they had been waiting for this moment, they even threw themselves into the fire.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
The Ogre let out a roar of ecstasy. The Ogre's body, after being swept by the flames once, had grown even larger.
The Orcs and Goblins were the same. The Orcs had become more like Ogres, and the Goblins more like Orcs. They had transformed to become more terrifying, more dreadful, more powerful.
The magical beasts, having made offerings to the demonic flames with the forest trees and received rewards, all turned to look at the Ogre. They were instinctively waiting for the Ogre's command.
Whether to be satisfied with this and disperse, or to create even larger flames and continue making offerings to the demonic flames.
The Ogre pondered carefully with its enlarged brain and enhanced intelligence. From Goblin to Orc to Ogre, it had experience burning countless forests.
It made a judgment based on that rich experience.
They must now disperse. They must scatter in all directions and flee throughout the forest. Before the long-eared slaughterers appear.
It took a deep breath. Its chest swelled greatly. It opened its mouth wide, preparing to roar with all its might. So that all magical beasts in the vicinity would hear.
But just before the Ogre could unleash its roar, a long ice stake drove into the crown of its head.
The ice stake that pierced its crown penetrated straight through its body, turning the Ogre into a skewer.
The surrounding magical beasts were startled by the suddenly driven ice stake. They hastily moved away from the skewered Ogre and looked up at the sky.
The acrid smoke that had been hanging like dark clouds until just a moment ago had somehow cleared completely.
In the blue sky where the smoke had disappeared, beautiful people with long ears had appeared. A girl with purple hair and a woman with platinum blonde hair were looking down at the magical beasts.
Their faces, with the bright sunlight behind them like a halo, were darkened by the backlight, making their features indistinguishable.
Suddenly, the purple-haired girl casually swung her arm. It was a nonchalant movement as if shooing away an insect, but the phenomenon it caused was anything but casual.
Tuk, tuduk!
Hududuk!
Hudududududuk!
The white clouds in the high sky froze and dropped sharp ice fragments everywhere.
The magical beasts, still caught up in excitement and frenzy without grasping the situation, were bewildered by the sudden hail.
Strangely sharp and pointed large hailstones poured down like heavy rain.
The fragile Goblins had their heads cracked and flesh torn by the hail. The Orcs, on the other hand, dismissed the hail as insignificant. They had bodies so tough that such hail couldn't even scratch them.
Right at that moment, the girl swung her arm again, raising wind.
Whioooooo!
Several whirlwinds arose in the midst of the magical beasts.
The sharp hailstones falling from the sky, and those that had already fallen, began to swirl along with the wind. Light-bodied Goblins were swept up as well.
The Orcs struggled not to be blown away by the wind. They held hands or dug into the ground. But they couldn't avoid the swirling ice fragments.
The girl moved her finger with a languid face. The whirlwinds rampaged here and there according to the movement of her finger, grinding the magical beasts like mad.
Soon, all the magical beasts were chopped into fine pieces beyond recognition.
Only then did the girl calm the whirlwinds and turn to the platinum-haired beauty with a bored expression.
"Eve. It's over."
"Good, Lethe. It seems not many escaped. You used magic reasonably well. Do you want to find more magical beasts and try more?"
"No. I want to go back for today."
Shaking her head, Lethe flew away quickly on the wind.
Eve made it rain on the area burned by the magical beasts. After extinguishing any hidden embers, she flew after the purple Lethe.
"Do we really have to deal with such trivial groups of magical beasts one by one? You said they'll gather into larger groups if left alone. Can't we just sweep them all away at once then?"
On the way back to the Platinum Tree Palace, Lethe expressed such doubts.
"It is annoying to deal with small groups. But if we leave them until magical beast groups merge, it won't end with just being annoying."
"Why?"
"They are like fire. The larger the group, the stronger the magical beasts become. A small fire can be stomped out, but a large fire cannot be controlled."
"No matter how strong magical beasts get, aren't they still just magical beasts?"
Eve slightly narrowed her brow. She seemed to recall an unpleasant memory.
"I used to think like you too. How strong could magical beasts possibly get? But when magical beasts truly become strong, they become a calamity that even we can't handle."
"Magical beasts becoming stronger than us?"
"Yes."
Lethe blinked and turned to Eve. Magical beasts being stronger than High Elves? Was she joking?
But Eve's expression was serious. She didn't appear to be joking.
"When magical beasts cross a certain threshold, the demonic flames use their bodies to descend. When that happens, the magical beast becomes a semi-immortal being. It can't be killed by one's power alone, so help from other brothers and sisters is needed."
Only then did Lethe's face show understanding. But she raised another question to Eve.
"I understand that we need to deal with magical beast groups before they grow. But why do you do it yourself? Couldn't you just create nobles and have them do it?"
"..."
At Lethe's question, Eve reflexively recalled something.
"Eve? What are you thinking about?"
"Huh? I wasn't thinking about anything."
Eve unnecessarily raised a fierce wind to increase their speed.
After arriving at the Platinum Tree Palace, Eve invited Lethe to have a meal together. But Lethe refused without a moment's hesitation.
"I'm going to see Xu Xin."
"Xu Xin? ...You go to Xu Xin often?"
"Xu Xin plays well with me."
Lethe flew away quickly to Xu Xin's quarters on the wind.