Although its form had changed from an arrow to a bullet… Lian would not mistake the faint purple glow shimmering on its metal casing.
‘After switching to a gun, I had the Sage help me adjust these remaining three. She’s truly incredible… to be able to transform arrows into bullets like that.’
“Magic Bullet”—this was one of the Relics Iyue had once used.
In Lian’s memory, it was originally a set of seven arrows—seven magic arrows that, once aimed and shot, would inevitably hit their target.
During that journey, Iyue had fired these magic bullets four times using another “Relic” in her possession, the longbow 『Flowing Wind』 which could manipulate air currents.
One shot was used to break the Demon Spirit Duke’s spell, while the other three were fired during the Brigade’s final battle with the Demon King, destroying his nearly invincible Mana Barrier and dealing him a severe blow.
“…Are you alright?”
But “Relics” weren’t all benefits… Lian understood this better than anyone. Seeing Iyue’s face turn pale, she asked with concern.
Like all “Relics”, “Magic Bullet” required the wielder to provide a massive amount of Magic Power when used… and it also had a special effect—
Iyue explained this to her with a smile… then, amidst the workers’ profuse thanks, she turned and walked toward the Village Chief’s house.
Lian followed silently behind her, noticing Iyue’s steps were somewhat unsteady.
She knew this was the other effect of the “Magic Bullet”.
The “Magic Bullet” would respond to the user’s will, materializing the user’s imagination at the moment of firing onto the target it hit.
And like all Magic and Miracles, whether this imagination could be fully materialized depended on the Magic Power the user provided at the moment of firing.
Regarding this effect, Lian and Iyue had once wondered—was the imagination it could realize truly without any limits?
If one imagined “Resurrection of the Dead” and shot it at a corpse, could it also—
“Absolutely not allowed to try. Don’t even entertain such thoughts anymore!”
During their journey, when they proposed this idea to Sage Saifei, they received the most serious reprimand Saifei had ever given.
“I should have reminded you, right? Magic, supernatural abilities, Relics… the foundation of all these is Equivalent Exchange. And as far as I know, bringing the dead back to life is an absolute taboo that no magic or supernatural ability can achieve.”
“Perhaps these ‘Relics’, these things beyond imagination and inexplicable, could break the taboo… But believe me, you absolutely could not afford the price to realize it.”
Looking at Iyue’s current state, Lian couldn’t help but recall Saifei’s earnest warning.
And at that time, Saifei’s eyes even showed a flash of despair and pain… though it was only for a moment.
She also remembered how Iyue looked when she fired the Magic Bullet in the past—in the final battle, she shot three Magic Bullets at the Demon King in one go… that pushed her to the brink of death.
If it weren’t for the Holy Maiden Linxi keeping her alive by a thread, she probably would have died then.
Lian’s gaze fell on her right arm… the metal ring sealing her Magic Power looked like nothing more than a plain accessory from the outside.
Iyue didn’t know the possible cost of using the Magic Bullet this way… She had no experience. She was just gambling that her Magic Power could afford the price.
‘…Damn it… if only I could use Magic Power…’
If I could use Magic Power, perhaps Iyue wouldn’t have had to use such a precious Relic, nor take such a big risk—
Lian gently bit her lip, clenching her fist and muttering… while Iyue, walking ahead of her, twitched her ear slightly.
“Lian… it’s fine. Even if you could still use Magic Power, it would only allow that worker’s wound to heal. Regenerating a limb… probably only Saints in the Holy Nation at Linxi’s level can do something like that.”
Iyue slowed her pace a little, walking beside Lian.
“But you used such precious bullets… They were originally supposed to…”
“Lian.” Iyue firmly placed a hand on Lian’s shoulder, then pinched her cheek.
“What are you saying? Being able to help and save others without having to shoot an enemy—could there possibly be a better use for bullets than this?”
Stunned by her words, Lian stared blankly at Iyue’s expression… her smile was so bright and sincere, with not a trace of regret or falsehood to be seen.
“Lian, relax. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Because I’m here… I’m by your side.”
Iyue patted her cheek and walked ahead.
“What are you going to do?”
In the direction of the village entrance, the Ranger Corps led by Leiji had already finished assembling.
The breeze rustled their white and green cloaks… with the Captain, a female warrior, at the front, the team members craned their necks, waiting.
Iyue looked strangely at Lian, who had stopped, and asked.
“You go ahead first. I just remembered there’s something else I need to take care of.”
Lian, holding the horse’s reins, waved at her. Iyue saw her smiling radiantly and wrinkled her brow in confusion.
Knowing Lian as she did, she quickly guessed what Lian wanted to do.
“…Alright then, I’ll go ahead—you watch your limits, okay?”
Then she nodded and went ahead to join the Ranger Corps.
“Sigh… as expected, I couldn’t hide it from her eyes.”
Lian sighed helplessly… then the smile vanished from her face.
“Daring to treat Iyue like that… just you wait, I’ll teach you a lesson.”
She led the horse back into the village, fuming… at the spot where the earlier confrontation had occurred, Harold and the workers were arguing with the villagers.
“You elves have gotten us into a huge mess… do you know our rice bowls for dozens, maybe hundreds of people were almost lost?”
“You’re just losing your jobs… we’re about to lose our lives! Village Chief… think of something!”
The villagers and workers were in an uproar… but the few senior villagers at the center weren’t concerned about the workers’ issues at all.
With expressions of panic rarely seen on the faces of elderly elves, they surrounded the Village Chief in the middle and asked.
“D-don’t worry. Ilya… didn’t Ilya say she wouldn’t hold us accountable using her family name?”
The Village Chief was also sweating profusely… but he still forced himself to appear calm.
“Don’t be ridiculous…! That’s the Nelf Family… and she’s a war hero! The things we did to her… and her father… how could she possibly forgive us?”
“Ilya is a Nelf… and her father was an outsider… that person with the bloodline…”
“I-I don’t know…! When Iruna came all those years ago, she was alone… didn’t bring any guards, didn’t have any items to prove her identity… didn’t everyone confirm that? And letting her live in the village was something you all agreed to! Now you want to clear yourselves and put all the blame on this old man alone?”
“Wasn’t it you who wanted to sell off her family’s forest?! I told you Ilya wasn’t dead… you greedy old fool just wouldn’t believe it…!”
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