Chapter 15 – The Treasure Fox's Guidance
The eerie scrolls coiled like serpents, wrapping around Missol's towering form.
Beneath his feet, a black-and-white spiral began to spin, and from it burst chains engraved with the eight trigrams—clashing, grinding, and binding upward.
"Hmm…"
"What kind of magic is this?" Missol's deep voice rumbled with curiosity. "I've studied sorcery for over a thousand years… and I've never seen anything like it."
High above, Elias hovered in midair, eyes calm and focused.
He pressed his palms together and whispered the incantation:
[Yin-Yang Arts · Taiji Seal]
"With this—your existence shall be bound!"
The moment his words fell, the world seemed to split open.
The black-and-white spirals twisted into a maelstrom, dragging the demon's body into a churning chaos of shadow and light.
Missol's defiant laughter echoed through the void.
"So, it's a seal after all… But what of it?"
"It's only a matter of time."
"With my endless life, I will awaken again. By then, your frail mortal years will have long rotted away."
His crimson eyes narrowed on the trio before him.
"Especially you—the human who wields the so-called Goddess Magic. How many years do you even have left? Your fleeting lives… are truly pitiful."
Aivis calmly closed his spellbook, his tone steady as iron.
"Worry not, demon."
"Underestimating humankind—that will be your greatest and final mistake, genius."
"When you awaken again, you'll find that the Age of Magic belongs to humans."
"Tch… an era where humans rule over magic?"
Missol's eyes flashed with mockery, as though laughing at Aivis's naivety.
"What a foolish dream. I can't even imagine such a laughable world."
"Ha… hahahaha—"
The sound faded as his body was swallowed completely by the black-and-white abyss.
Elias lowered his hands, breathing out slowly.
"It's done… for now."
Serie stepped closer, watching the still-turning Yin-Yang sigil etched into the ground.
"To think a demon could hide for a thousand years, obsessed only with mastering magic. What a terrifying creature."
"At least the seal held," Aivis said with a faint smile. "The future… I'll leave that to the two of you."
"Hmph." Serie crossed her arms and shot him a glare.
"Easy for you to say, tossing responsibility to others just because you'll die first."
"Don't be like that, Serie." Aivis chuckled. "Even in my remaining decades, Elias's seal won't falter. You'll be fine."
"Lucky you," she muttered, turning away. "Let's go already. After three days of fighting, I'm starving. Elias! I want river snail noodles—extra fermented, extra spicy!"
As they left the cave, Serie paused and looked back one last time.
"The age of humans ruling over magic…" she murmured.
"That really is… hard to imagine."
— — —
Two shadows—one black, one white—moved through the dim corridors of the ancient tomb.
After passing three winding forks, Frieren finally broke the silence.
"This place is far more complicated than I imagined…"
"Probably the work of the Treasure Fox," Elias replied calmly.
"The Treasure Fox loves to steal valuable objects, then build a sprawling nest in a place no one dares to enter. Its burrows are always a maze."
At those words, Frieren's golden eyes flashed like twin lanterns.
"So that means—this place is full of treasure!"
"Frieren," Elias sighed, "don't get greedy. We came here for The Tear of the Azure Sea, nothing more."
"And besides, after a thousand years, who knows what dangers lurk here now? Even the remnants of Missol's magic could attract far worse things…"
"Frieren, are you even listening?"
When he turned, the faint glow of his will-o'-wisp magic revealed an empty tunnel.
Elias's face darkened.
"Damn elf… When did she vanish again?!"
— — —
"♫ Treasure Fox… ♫
♫ Pretty little Treasure Fox… ♫
♫ Where will you hide your treasure box? ♫"
Frieren hummed to herself as she wandered alone through the twisting tunnels. Suddenly—whoosh!—a crimson tail flicked past her eyes.
"Heh heh… Found you."
She dashed after it, chasing the darting shadow through winding caverns until it vanished at the end of a long passage.
There, in its place, sat a massive golden chest.
Frieren's eyes curved into gleaming crescents.
"Hehehe… A chest this big—what kind of treasures could be inside…?"
— — —
[Thousand-Mile Vision· Wind-Ear Spell]
Back in the main tunnel, Elias invoked his tracking magic, his senses extending deep through the maze.
Through the dark, twisted passages, he finally located her—
or rather… her butt.
Zooming in, he saw Frieren's upper body stuck inside a chest monster's mouth, her legs kicking helplessly outside.
"Mmmph! It's so dark! It's so scary!"
Elias let out a long, exhausted sigh.
Following the sound of her muffled wails, he soon arrived behind her.
The elf knelt with her rear in the air, legs flailing weakly as the chest monster gnawed at her head.
"…So this is how you traveled with Flamme too? Careless as ever."
"I told you not to get greedy."
He rubbed his temples, utterly speechless.
"What am I going to do with you…"
"E-Elias! Help me! It's so dark! So scary!"
"Yeah, yeah." He grabbed her by the ankles. "Hold still—I'm pulling."
— SWISH!
With one mighty tug, Frieren tumbled free, landing on her rear. Her hair and face were dripping with monster drool.
«(「≡_≡)»
"It'd be great if someone invented a Detect Mimic spell…"
Expressionless, Elias waved a hand, casting [Cleanse: Monster Slime Removal].
"Stop complaining and move. While searching for you, I found where The Tear of the Azure Sea is sealed."
— — —
Ten minutes later, the two stood before a massive black-and-white sealing array.
At its center, glowing faintly, rested the blue gem they sought.
Frieren frowned. "This seal… feels wrong. Why would the gemstone be placed here?"
Elias stared silently at the runes, a thousand unspoken memories stirring in his chest.
It wasn't fate that brought him here for treasure—it was destiny itself, a thousand years in the making.
His eyes followed the fractured lines of the eight-trigram seal and the fading energy that sustained it.
He finally understood.
"Below this seal lies the demon Missol—the one from the old legends."
"The runes have decayed after a millennium. The Tear of the Azure Sea must be what's keeping the seal intact."
"The Treasure Fox probably sensed the power below and dared not disturb it, so it hid the gem here for protection."
— — —
Frieren raised her staff, her expression sharpening.
"So if we take the gemstone… Missol will awaken."
"Frieren," Elias asked quietly, "have you ever fought a demon before?"
"Don't underestimate me, Elias. I fought plenty alongside my teacher, and I wasn't half-bad."
"Maybe so," Elias said, voice grave, "but the one we're facing isn't just any demon. He was a prodigy of the Mythic Era."
Frieren smirked, eyes glinting with confidence.
"Well, I'm curious—after a thousand years in a seal, let's see if that 'prodigy' can still keep up with modern magic."
"…So you're ready, then?"
She nodded firmly.
"Elias," she said, her voice steady as steel,
"let's retrieve the gem."