Return to the Forest

Astur's return to the forest, while easy and uninterrupted, was made known to many. Both the Church of Light and the Kingdom of Virpal had their eyes on her and the Warband.

The Church had been trying to keep an eye on Astur's movements ever since they became aware of her existence. Before Astur met with Asterion and his Warband, the Church actively searched for information regarding her. But after Astur's fight with the army of the Kingdom, a revelation had been issued from the God of Light. According to the revelation, there was to be a re-evaluation of Astur's power levels and to proceed with caution as she might be stronger than what the initial estimates foretold. Although most of the common personnel of the Church wasn't aware of it, the few at the top such as the Pope and the God of Light had sensed a large spike in Divine Energy from where Astur was reported to have been.

On the other hand, the Kingdom of Virpal had been keeping an eye on the Warband on only recently received word that both the reinforcements from the central military and the local provincial army had been wiped out. Once a report was received that the Warband was moving south, the central government had assumed that the Warband had been forced into a retreat or had pushed out a small victory with casualties on both sides. But never in their wildest dreams did they think that not only would the Warband receive minimal casualties but also wipe out their army without leaving a single survivor. But now having received a report detailing how the Warband was seen entering the Sea of Trees without any hindrance, the Kingdom knows that there is likely some form of partnership between the Warband and the new rising force in the forest.

With Astur now returning to the forest, the Kingdom of Virpal, the Church of Light, and their allies are now keeping a close watch on the Sea of Trees, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. But the woman in question is calmly walking up to her house without a care in the world with Blaze, Elizabeth, Asterion walking behind her.

However, upon opening her front door, Astur looks inside for less than a second before she slams it shut.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asks.

Astur doesn't say anything and immediately tries to run away. But despite her attempt, Astur is stuck in place and unable to move from her position. To the people around her, it appears rather comical as Astur looks like she is just running in place with all her strength.

After a few seconds of Astur futility trying to run, a sudden flash of light blinds everyone as they hear a loud cheery voice, "I've missed you, my sweetie~"

As everyone's vision returns, they see Astur in the embrace of a woman several heads smaller than her. Aside from the distinct purple hair on her head, the woman looks like a smaller version of Astur, bearing similar body proportions and facial structures. Although the most notable difference is that she appears to be completely Human while Astur clearly isn't.

"Get off me, you old hag!" Astur yells only for it to backfire as the purple haired woman pouts and squeezes her harder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you're not an old hag, so please let go!" Astur yells, causing the woman to nod in satisfaction and let go.

Running over to her side, Elizabeth asks, "Are you alright, Astur?"

"Does it look like I'm alri--" but Astur stops mid-sentence as she feels all the hair on her body stand up, "I mean, of course I'm alright."

"So who's this?" Blaze asks.

"Ahem." Jumping into the air, the woman does a double backflip and as she lands she twirls around a couple of time like a ballerina before saying, "Emerging from the light comes the girl who's eternally 17 and everyone's adorable genius~, the great and almighty, it's Serabane here to greet you~."

Ignoring Serabane's unusual entrance, Astur says in a deadpan voice, "This is my Grandmother, Serabane Kojuuin."

"Eh? Grandmother? Not sister? Didn't she just says she was 17?" Elizabeth asks.

"Oh, I like her," Serabane says.

"If you actually believed her, you're an idiot," Astur says.

"Hey!"

Ignoring Elizabeth, Astur continues, "So why are you here?"

"I just wanted to see how you're doing."

"Alright, I got it. So you were just bored," Astur says.

"Yep, pretty much~," Serabane says cheerfully, not denying Astur's accusations

"Is the old man here?"

"Yes and no, he is messing with my stupid disciple. Tsuki thinks that the stupid Dragon has been through enough of our games, but our husband and I think otherwise. I was actually with him at first, but I decided to pay you a visit while he went on ahead. Aren't you glad~?"

Oh, no, you shouldn't have. You really shouldn't have…" Astur says.

"Is that so… well anyways, I might show up again randomly with something to do. But for now, I bid you all adieu. Magical Girl Serabane is outta heret~," she says as she disappears into thin air without a trace.

Serabane's last words before leaving were actually meant for Blaze and the other player. This was to give herself the appearance of a rare NPC that appears randomly to the players. Although she hasn't the slightest intention of coming back to give the players a quest, she won't stop them from speculating and hoping for her to do so.

With Serabane gone, Asterion finally speaks up, "From her, I sense high power. More potent than that which thou previously displayed yourself, mine liege."

"That's because she is stronger than me, even if I had all my abilities unsealed. She has a higher level of Divinity than me so it's easy for her to suppress me. Anyways, follow me, there is something I want to give you," Astur says, leading the group into her workshop, but quickly finds that Asterion can't fit into her house. "Nevermind, I wanted to hand this over in a private space, but that doesn't seem like it would work with how tall you are." Sending some energy into her storage ring, Astur takes out one of her Grand Evolution Elixirs, "A special elixir I made, although taking it will hurt, I have confidence you can bear it. It was based on the Strengthening Potion as you guys call it, using several replacements, I've made an enhanced version as well as a completely different one, which is this elixir. In addition to having enhanced benefits of the original, this can also give you a derivative ability from me if you're lucky."

But surprisingly, Asterion declines the Grand Elixir, "I hast no want for moe strength. I'ld crave this be granted to mine daughter, Kretea, instead of myself. She hath moe of a want for't than I."

"Hmm… I guess that's fine. She was with the rest of your comrades, helping them get situated here if I recall. I'll hand this over the next time I see her. Elizabeth, Blaze, take Asterion to meet with the Forest Guardians. I'm tired after this long trip and nothing is going to stop me from jumping into my bed."