"Hmm, it seems this went even further than I expected," Brasso muttered, staring at the sight unfolding before them.
"I didn't see this coming either," Phron added from beside him, her voice sounding stunned.
"Guruuu?"
Seto tilted its head as if asking what was wrong, then nuzzled its head against Rei. Rei, too, stared at the scene in a half-daze.
"I mean, I had an idea of what might happen, but... not to this extent."
Rei's gaze remained fixed on the mountain summit, specifically on the cave where the harpies had nested. The entrance was scorched from the multiple Fireballs Rei had unleashed earlier, and the acrid scent of smoke still drifted through the air several hours later.
But that wasn't what held their attention. The area before them was nothing short of a bloodbath.
The surrounding area—a barren wasteland where almost nothing grew—was littered with the corpses of countless monsters. Nearly every carcass had been partially devoured; some had been reduced to nothing but bone in the few hours Rei and the others had spent resting.
"To think this happened in just a few hours... The presence of those harpies must have been suppressing the entire monster ecosystem on this mountain."
"So, you’re saying the other monsters teamed up to wipe out the surviving harpies?" Rei asked.
Brasso shook his head slowly. "No. I doubt it was that organized. Most likely, it was the scent of the harpy blood from our battle. It must have drawn monsters from all over the mountain. What followed was a massive slaughter... or rather, a feeding frenzy."
"If that's the case, why aren't any of the winners still here?" Phron asked, glancing around.
"That is a fair point, but... most likely..." Brasso trailed off, his eyes shifting to Seto, who was currently acting spoiled and rubbing against Rei.
"Brasso?"
"I expect they sensed Seto's presence as we approached. If you look at the monsters that haven't been picked clean yet, you'll see they’re almost all low-rank monsters. They tend to be hyper-sensitive to the presence of a powerful predator."
Rei and Phron looked back at the carnage. As Rei inspected the remains, he realized Brasso was right. The field was mostly covered in the mangled bodies of goblins, soldier ants, and fang wolves. There were a few corpses that appeared to be orcs or lizardmen, but they were in the minority.
Perhaps the creatures that had actually won the frenzy were those higher-rank monsters, but even they had fled before the Gryphon arrived.
"In any case, we can't just leave these corpses here to rot. A plague could break out. We took this harpy subjugation request so the mine could reopen; it would be a disaster if the miners fell ill once they returned to work. Rei, can you handle this?"
"You want me to burn them?"
"Yeah. There’s no decent material left to harvest from these remains anyway. Besides, even if the monsters are keeping their distance because of Seto, there’s no telling when they might get bold. I'd rather have this settled before they change their minds."
Rei nodded and searched his mind for an appropriate spell. The corpses were scattered all across the wasteland, not piled in one spot. He needed something with a broad area of effect. Selecting his magic, he gripped the Death Scythe and took a step forward.
"Flame, take my magic power as nourishment and incinerate the fallen. Purify their lingering regrets with my fire. Grudges, bitterness, envy, and hatred—all are meaningless before my power. Flame consumes even resentment. By my magic power, return to the heavens."
As he chanted the incantation, Rei’s face contorted from the sudden, violent drain on his magic power. He pushed through it, pouring even more energy into the spell.
A fist-sized blue flame sparked into existence at the tip of the Death Scythe's shaft.
"Funeral Flame."
He slammed the shaft of the Death Scythe into the ground. The blue flame was crushed against the earth, but instead of extinguishing, it surged outward like water rushing down a hill. A carpet of blue flames spread across the wasteland. Upon contact with the monster corpses, the fire instantly consumed them. The flames continued to roll outward, and within ten seconds, the entire area before the cave was bathed in a sea of blue.
And yet...
"It’s not... hot?" Phron whispered.
Indeed, despite the blue fire relentlessly reducing the monster corpses to ash right in front of them, there wasn't a hint of heat radiating from it.
"Rei?"
Brasso, equally amazed by the sight, turned to check on Rei, only to find him drenched in sweat.
"H-Hey! Rei!?"
Rei waved a hand to dismiss Phron’s concern as she rushed over. He leaned his weight against Seto’s flank.
"I’m fine... This kind of magic is usually the specialty of holy magic. Since I only have an aptitude for flame magic, the cost in magic power is massive."
He watched the blue fire finish its work before explaining further.
"The spell I just used is meant for mourning and purifying the remains of monsters or people. It's specifically designed to prevent corpses from rising as undead. It doesn't do much against actual undead monsters—well, I can't say it does zero damage, but it’s negligible. If I wanted to kill an undead, I’d just use the regular fire magic I’m actually good at."
Rei stroked Seto’s soft feathers as the last of the monster remains vanished into the blue light.
It took about twenty minutes for the blue fire to dissipate. By the time the wasteland was clear, Rei had finally recovered his breath.
"That’s... much cleaner," Phron remarked, looking at the empty field that had been covered in gore just moments before.
"No more worries about undead or disease then," Brasso said. "Now, Rei. We’re going to head inside the cave to confirm the kill. How are you feeling? If you're still weak, you can stay here and rest."
"No, I’m fine now. I'll go with you."
"Guruuu..." Seto let out a worried croak and nudged him. Rei smiled and rubbed the creature's beak.
"Don't worry, Seto. I was just a bit drained from the sudden mana spike. Stay here and keep an eye out for any wandering monsters."
"Gururuuu."
Still looking a bit concerned, Seto let out a small trill and nodded.
After one last pat for his partner, Rei followed the others into the harpy cave.
"It’s cooler than I thought... actually, it’s freezing," Phron muttered the moment they stepped inside.
"Well, even if it was Rei's magic, the fire didn't burn all night. The heat probably escaped through the mountain air hours ago. Still... look at this."
Brasso sounded impressed as he ran a hand along the cave wall.
The entrance was narrow, but the passage widened as they went deeper. If they had been forced to fight the harpies in here, Rei and Brasso would have struggled to swing their large weapons in the cramped tunnel.
But Brasso wasn't looking at the dimensions of the passage. His eyes were glued to the rock of the walls.
"This is..."
"Brasso?" Rei asked. He was used to the dwarf being a loud, ale-loving brawler; seeing him this serious was jarring.
Phron placed a hand on Rei’s shoulder and shook her head with a sigh. "It's no use. Once he gets like this, he won't hear a word you say for a while."
Having known Brasso for years, she had seen this state many times.
"I think I told you before, didn't I? Brasso started out wanting to be a blacksmith but failed."
"Yeah, you mentioned that."
"The main reason was that he lacked the actual 'sense' for smithing. It was a total wash. But even so, he’s still a dwarf. When it comes to judging ores and minerals, he’s a genius. No human blacksmith could even dream of matching his eye for quality."
"...Ore?"
Rei turned his attention back to Brasso. The dwarf was tapping the walls with his fingers and using his Earth-shaking Hammer to gently chip away pieces of stone from the floor to inspect them.
"So, what you're saying is this cave is actually a mineral vein?"
"Most likely. And based on how Brasso is acting, I’d bet it’s something pretty rare."
Rei and Phron watched the dwarf for another five minutes, but eventually, Phron grew impatient.
"If we wait for him, we’ll be spending another night on this mountain. Let’s just go check the back of the cave ourselves."
"Is it okay to leave him?"
"I’m a little worried, sure, but Seto is right outside the entrance and we're heading into the only other path. Nothing is going to get to him. And if something did try to jump him, the idiot would snap out of it fast enough. Come on, let’s go."
Phron grabbed Rei’s arm—despite the thickness of his Dragon Robe—and pulled him further into the depths.
They ignored the lingering smell of burnt feathers and pushed through the darkness until they emerged into a colossal cavern.
"Wow..."
The space was massive—larger even than the great hall of Boruntar's residence. High above, countless stalactites hung from the ceiling like frozen icicles.
Stalactites? Rei thought. I remember seeing something on TV about stalactite caves being formed by water dissolving limestone deep underground... Why would there be a cavern like this at a mountain summit?
He quickly reminded himself that this was a world of magic and monsters. A stalactite cave at the top of a mountain was probably one of the less strange things he'd encounter.
"Hey, look over there. That must be where the harpies nested."
Rei followed Phron's finger. One side of the cavern wall was riddled with holes in a complex, honeycomb-like structure.
"What is that?"
"No idea. I've never heard of harpies building nests like that. Maybe they just found it this way and decided it was the perfect spot."
Near the base of the honeycomb wall lay piles of charred remains—harpies that had been incinerated by Rei's fire magic earlier. They were nothing more than lumps of charcoal now.
Opposite the side they had entered from, Rei spotted a large opening that led back out to the mountainside.
"I see. That was their main entrance. The way we came in was basically the back door. No wonder twenty of them managed to survive my first spell."
Phron sighed and looked around the great hall. There were no signs of life—no harpies had survived the second wave of attacks. Any that might have been lucky enough to avoid the fire would have fled through the main exit long ago. Seeing that the cave was clear, Phron let out a satisfied laugh.
"Well, that settles it. Mission accomplished. I have to admit, we relied on you for almost everything this time, Rei."
She gave him a heavy, friendly slap on the back. Rei managed a wry smile, his eyes still fixed on the strange honeycomb wall.
"The subjugation is done, but I still wonder... did the harpies really build this?"
"Who knows? Like I said, I've never heard of them doing it. They probably just moved into a cave that already looked like this."
As they spoke, the sound of heavy, frantic footsteps echoed from the tunnel behind them. Both turned as Brasso came charging into the cavern.
His face was flushed beet-red with pure excitement, and he was cradling a massive chunk of pale crimson ore against his chest as if it were a long-lost child.