Behind Merkon’s retreating vengeful spirit, Tie bounced excitedly in place.

“Tie has another super ultra powerful skill now! Temporary resurrection!”

Marbas shouted,

[Raising the dead! And even manifesting the soul of someone who died recently and still retains their consciousness!]

He turned toward Pupu.

[Lord Pupu, don’t you think this will be extraordinarily useful in the future?! Until now, she could only control fragmented souls wandering the afterlife, but this—!]

“......Kkyut.”

Pupu nodded.

Marbas was right.

Until now, the ghosts Tie summoned had mostly been souls wandering the afterlife.

They had died too long ago, so they no longer remembered who they were, where they came from, or even how they died.

The only thing they seemed to remember was that they had to obey Tie, the [N O V E L I G H T] “ruler of the afterlife.”

‘But if she can raise the body of someone who died recently and speak with them?’

Pupu brushed his trembling nose over his forepaw before rubbing his cheek against Tie.

‘This could be useful in countless situations. Like right now.’

Tie giggled.

“Pupu, Mama is amazing, right? Temporary resurrection! Grandpa, this is a temporary resurrection skill!”

Running over to Valentis, the little girl chattered excitedly,

“Tie did it like this. She helped the ghost trapped inside the coachman uncle’s body come out! It was stuck in there like underpants jammed inside a dresser drawer!”

“......Hm.”

“But look? The ghost wanted to come out but couldn’t, and Tie wanted the ghost to do the interrogation, so one arrow became a thousand uses!”

Tie puffed out her chest proudly.

But when the child turned around with a satisfied expression, her eyes suddenly widened.

[Jih...... yra.......]

Nearby.

Merkon’s spirit circled in place, unable to move far away from Tie.

Tie suddenly clapped her hands.

“I got it!”

She immediately ran over to Merkon’s spirit and poured magic into it.

“I think the ghost can’t do anything at all without Tie!”

Magic surged violently into Merkon’s soul.

Bale swallowed hard.

“What the... it’s freezing...”

Just as he said, the icy aura surrounding the spirit intensified sharply.

And then—

“H, he moved! I think he’s heading toward the basement where Jihyra is locked up!”

Just as the squad members shouted, the spirit disappeared toward the underground prison where Jihyra was being held.

“Let’s follow him!”

Tie instantly darted after it.

The remaining squad members exchanged glances before hurrying after her.

By the time they reached the basement, Tie was already standing by the prison door with her ear pressed tightly against it.

Two strands of magic stretched from the little girl’s body, continuously supplying power.

One connected to Merkon’s soul.

And the other connected to his body upstairs.

[Jihyraaaaaa!]

At that moment, a voice like a thunderclap exploded from inside.

Bale flinched and stared at Tie.

“L, little brat. Just how much magic did you pour into him? That coachman spirit turned into a monster!”

“Not that much though? Just a tiny bit more than Tie gives the other servants.”

Bale pressed a hand against his throbbing forehead.

He looked inside the slightly opened prison door.

Merkon, wrapped head to toe in blue flames, threatened Jihyra.

[Because of you, I died an unjust death!]

Bale involuntarily shuddered.

“That hatred is insane. Feels like he’s about to devour Jihyra alive.”

Hearing that, Tie lifted her head.

With wide eyes, she said,

“But Big Brother Bale, the coachman uncle doesn’t hate her. He just wanted to ask something a little.”

“What are you talking about? Can’t you see him glaring with burning eyes while screaming? If that’s not hatred, then what is—”

“Ah, that’s because Tie told him to act like that.”

The moment she said that, every gaze immediately turned toward Tie.

Planting her hands on her hips, Tie let out a heavy sigh.

“Big Brother Bale. Tie always says you should listen carefully when other people talk. What did Tie say upstairs?”

“.......”

“Tie said she’d make the ghost do the interrogation. So how are interrogations supposed to work?”

“.......”

“You have to scare people. Scare them really badly! Like a tiger!”

Tie’s eyes sparkled brightly.

At the same time, the magical threads extending from her body flashed with light—

[I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!]

A thunderous roar burst from Merkon’s mouth, shaking the entire outpost.

Even Tie herself jumped in surprise.

“I’ll tell you everything! I’ll tell you everything!”

Jihyra screamed hoarsely.

Standing before her was Merkon, blood dripping from his body.

The eye socket pierced by an arrow gaped black and empty.

“S, so this is what happened...!”

Her body trembled violently, but she squeezed her eyes shut and shouted,

“I, I was working in Flint Cove when some man approached me!”

[.......]

“He said he was a high ranking clergyman, and when I checked, he really was a cardinal!”

[A cardinal?]

“Yes! A cardinal can see the Pope’s face every single day! I thought I’d caught a huge fish...! And really, ugh... they said they wanted to entrust me with a job.”

Jihyra breathed heavily.

Trying to steady herself, she looked at Merkon.

Maybe because it was the first time in her life she had seen a moving spirit.

Or because the blue aura around him was horrifying beyond belief.

All the secrets she knew began spilling from her mouth on their own.

“T, they... needed children.”

Merkon’s eyes flew open.

[That’s why you sent me that note?]

“Yes! They said they were going to use the children as sacrifices for some kind of cleansing...!”

Jihyra bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood.

Her eyes darted around nervously before she suddenly lifted her head, as though remembering something.

“Right, the Roxe Forest! They said they’d use them for cleansing the World Tree in Roxe Forest! Yes, that’s exactly what they said!” 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Memories from several months ago surfaced vividly in her mind.

“You know too, Merkon. About Magic Crystals and the corruption of the World Tree! Or don’t you? Did the World Tree become corrupted after Magic Crystals appeared? Or was it the other way around?”

The appearance of Magic Crystals had happened a very long time ago.

Because of that, there were thousands, tens of thousands of rumors about causes and consequences.

But whatever the truth was—

“They said only cleansing the World Tree would bring an end to this cursed age of Magic Crystals! They said they were searching for exalted sacrifices!”

All those people hiding their bodies beneath black robes had been monstrously powerful.

Jihyra felt it the moment she stood before them.

“I knew that if I got involved with them the wrong way, they might cut my head off. I knew that, but...”

Jihyra swallowed.

The gold bars she had received in advance flashed before her eyes.

“But the money was completely insane!”

She raised her head.

“With that money, you and I could’ve lived like kings on the Northern Continent! That’s the only reason I offered you the job!”

[.......]

“I never imagined they’d kill you immediately just because several children escaped... that they didn’t have even a shred of mercy...!”

And at that moment—

“Grab her.”

The basement door burst open, and several people rushed inside at once.

Before Jihyra could even react, something was roughly shoved into her mouth.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

Raul had stopped her from biting through her tongue.

Meanwhile, Enzo moved behind Jihyra and checked whether the ropes binding her wrists were secure.

“Lock her up again for now.”

The instant Bale gave the order, a circular subspace opened in the air.

“Mmph! Mmphf!”

As the squad members lifted her up and hurled her into the subspace, Jihyra looked toward Merkon’s spirit.

Floating in the air, the spirit repeated the same words over and over again.

[Jihy...... Jihyra...... Jihyra.......]

Jihyra blinked slowly.

Now Merkon’s spirit looked completely different from a few moments earlier.

And finally, Jihyra realized something.

Her eyes widened abruptly.

Turning her gaze, she saw someone standing by the doorway, staring directly at her.

Platinum hair.

Green eyes.

A lovely little child.

But it was this child who controlled spirits and raised the dead...

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

Jihyra’s face twisted violently.

At last, she understood where she had been brought.

And who had been interrogating her this entire time.

Blood vessels burst in her eyes, staining the whites red.

But she never got the chance to explode in rage.

In the next instant, the subspace snapped shut directly in front of her face.

And in the spot where the subspace vanished—

“Children are needed to cleanse the World Tree...?”

Tie’s face turned serious.

“Kkamani, is that true?”

When she turned her head, she saw Lucarion standing beside her, having approached without anyone noticing.