The Great Spirit of Light.

A huge sphere of light...... if you looked at her the right way, you could even mistake her for nothing more than a lesser spirit that had simply grown big. The model for her form was the sun.

In the daytime, that figure—shining down impartially on every living thing on the ground—was precisely what suited the body of one who was a spirit of light.

Back when she had been a young lesser spirit, still without a settled form...... she believed that, from the bottom of her heart.

Without even a speck of awareness of the arrogance hidden inside that belief.

◇　◇　◇

The trigger for her first setback...... was, ironically, the fact that she ended up standing as the one who oversaw the great spirits within the Spirit Forest.

At first, she felt neither joy nor sorrow at her appointment to that post.

Because she thought it was only natural.

The incarnation of the sun, which illuminates all things.

She believed that was what she was.

To serve as the right hand of the Forest Spirit King-sama, who fulfilled his duty as a noble servant of the god, and to manage and supervise the spirits.

She thought it would be nothing.

After all, even though she was still young, she had climbed all the way to Great Spirit.

She had that much talent, that much capacity for a soul, and she had piled up effort as well.

To allocate everything exactly as she pleased.

......She thought there was no way she couldn’t do it.

◇　◇　◇

<<<Weeding?! Why does Pee have to do something like that, peeeeeeeep!?>>>

For example, a certain spirit slacked off on the job of eradicating invasive plants that had been entering the Spirit Forest and increasing in number.

The plants unique to the Spirit Forest that absorb magical power and release it into the air were indispensable to the forest’s management of this land under the Forest Spirit King.

It was an important job—necessary to protect those plants.

The Great Spirit of Light explained it in a perfectly logical, orderly way.

And yet.

<<<Patrolling the forest outskirts and stuff, I don’t think that’s work I’m supposed to do, y’know. Great Spirit, I want you to listen since this is a good chance! I’m confident in how good my head is! Won’t you promote me? Planning, and drafting! No matter what you do, you need a brain, right? I should be your brain, Great Spirit! If I do that, this forest will get even better! Stuff like patrolling, you can just make the other guys do it! This job isn’t work I’m supposed to do!>>>

For example, a certain spirit refused patrol duty when, in the past, a dangerous monster had been loitering near the forest.

That monster was a gigantic land-dwelling whale with four legs that lived in the area adjacent to the Spirit Forest usually called the Giant Beast Plateau—an opponent so terrifying that even Gauugabu would have difficulty dealing with it......

In other words, it was an opponent that had to be discovered in advance and dealt with—sent back to its habitat somehow—before it could invade the Spirit Forest without a fight. Early detection and response were crucial.

But because of its enormous body, it was easy to spot, and precisely because of that, patrols were an important job.

The Great Spirit of Light explained it in a perfectly logical, orderly way.

And yet.

In both cases, they made selfish judgments and shirked their work.

Because of that, the forest came within a step of falling into a critical situation.

And yet the two culprits showed not a hint of remorse.

The Great Spirit of Light was shocked.

That her subordinates would not obey her allocation.

Even though she, who possessed sufficient ability, was surely giving correct instructions—things would not go well.

For the Great Spirit of Light, who until then had never had a failure that felt like a failure, that experience was a major setback.

That setback carved a small wound into her heart.

◇　◇　◇

There was an even greater setback.

It was the departure of her beloved child.

The Great Spirit of Light’s beloved child was a dark spirit born at almost the same time as she was.

Unlike herself, that carefree, noisy dark spirit was someone she loved.

Without a doubt, that dark spirit was the beloved child of the Great Spirit of Light.

That was rare.

For a spirit’s beloved child to be the same kind of spirit.

And surely it was fortunate, too—or so the Great Spirit of Light thought.

Because they were the same kind of spirit.

They would share the same values, and together, they could live for a long time.

Yes— a long time.

A spirit’s lifespan is long.

So......

The Great Spirit of Light kept putting off confessing what was in her heart to the dark spirit.

Thinking she would confess tomorrow.

But when that day came, it was again, tomorrow.

She kept dragging her feet, unable to confess.

Because a spirit’s lifespan was long.

Because there was still plenty, plenty of time......

That’s what she thought.

And then—

The dark spirit left the Spirit Forest.

Astonishingly, the dark spirit found her own beloved child.

And that beloved child was a human man who had been visiting the Spirit Forest.

As the one who oversaw the great spirits, the Great Spirit of Light later received a portrait of that man as an after-the-fact report.

Looking at it, she remembered thinking that he was a man with some kind of suspicious smile—yet in truth, strongly obsessive and sticky, and...... he looked like he had a black heart.

On the other hand, she did not remember his name very well.

It was, somehow, too long of a name.

A name that felt like something someone had slapped on a pet at random, without thinking, just because “it sounded cool.”

But in any case.

What mattered to the Great Spirit of Light was that the dark spirit, without saying a single word to her, had attached herself to a human and left the Spirit Forest.

That the dark spirit had chosen that one human man—one among the countless rabble.

Not her......

The Great Spirit of Light was deeply wounded.

And she regretted not revealing her heart to the dark spirit.

There was no guarantee that her beloved child’s beloved child would be herself—yet she did nothing, and she blamed herself for it.

While she hesitated, the person precious to her had been snatched away by some human she didn’t even know.

Of course she would be hurt.

Even if she wanted to chase after her, her position would not allow it.

The one who oversaw the great spirits was not permitted to leave the Spirit Forest.

She hated the human.

Those low-grade creatures she had thought she didn’t care about—here, for the first time, she came to clearly despise them.

◇　◇　◇

After various experiences—

Before she knew it, the Great Spirit of Light could no longer be the sun.

Her heart had turned into nothing more than a large sphere of light.

But the lesser spirits and medium spirits would not innocently allow that.

The Great Spirit of Light was, now, the one who oversaw the great spirits of this Spirit Forest.

She was the right hand of the Forest Spirit King.

She was not permitted to be merely a sphere of light.

And so—

She continued to act, aloof, as the sun of the forest.

Even as she blamed and abused her own smallness within her heart, she still remained aloof, cold.

Those days—every day, endlessly sighing inside her heart—

Were about to end.

Now.

◇　◇　◇

<<<<<<<<<UGYABOOOOO!?>>>>>>>>>

What burst apart before the eyes of the Great Spirit of Light as it cried out like that was the Armor Medium Spirits.

There were three of them—gray, black, and white—and they could combine and transform into a combat form with three faces, six arms, and six legs.

Once they transformed, they were, in fact, strong enough to rival even a Great Spirit.

And yet they lost.

They took a tremendous blow from a human girl wrapped in dark black miasma—and in a single hit, they exploded and flew apart.

“......Their legs became six, and what was the point of that......?”

Tilting her head expressionlessly, the dreadful girl pecked at the scattered fragments of the Armor Medium Spirits with the tips of her tentacles.

She’s a lunatic.

That was what the Great Spirit of Light thought.

Under normal circumstances, that question would be entirely reasonable.

If your arms increase...... maybe your number of attacks increases, but if your legs increase, does that even mean anything......?

Better footing...... maybe......?

It was something all the spirits of the Spirit Forest had always thought, and in fact, they had said it out loud and pointed it out.

It was such a hassle to get jabbed at over and over that the Armor Medium Spirits usually didn’t show their combined form in front of others.

But.

Is that something you should say right after killing them?

And with that calm look?

In other words, death was surely everyday life to this girl, and she had no hesitation about killing.

A terrifying human.

“......So.”

While thinking all that, the evil human spoke to the Great Spirit of Light, who stood in the Spirit Forest’s sacred ground...... the center of the flower garden...... at the base of the giant tree where the Spirit King lived.

“Are you an important spirit?”

<<<Hmm...... Your attitude is truly rude, but I will answer. I am not well-versed in the social structure of humans, so there may be some slight discrepancy with what you intend to ask...... but I am the one who oversees the great spirits of this forest. It can certainly be said that I am important.>>>

As always, the Great Spirit of Light replied aloofly.

In a flat, unreadable tone, her words flowed on and on.

“Then I have a request.”

<<<......?>>>

“Stop attacking me. Leave me alone.”

<<<......?>>>

“If you promise, I’ll quietly leave the forest. How about it?”

<<<........................>>>

The Great Spirit of Light fell silent, and the silence continued for a while.

In the spirits’ sacred ground now, not even the wind blew—there was no sound.

Wrapped in the brilliance of the star-filled sky and the flowers at her feet, only stillness filled everything.

Why had the Great Spirit of Light gone quiet?

Because the demand from the clearly evil human wrapped in miasma before her was utterly ridiculous.

......After slaughtering nearly all the spirits and reaching the sacred ground, what she wished for was, “Please let me go.”

<<<......Are you joking?>>>

“?”

Even when asked in a trembling voice, the human before her only tilted her head.

......She was serious.

The Great Spirit of Light was once again struck dumb.

That was—

That was—

What a contemptuous story.

<<<There is no way...... I would grant such a wish.>>>

The Great Spirit of ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Light squeezed the words out like a growl.

<<<After killing this many of my comrades, you think you will be forgiven?>>>

She...... the Great Spirit of Light was the right hand of the Forest Spirit King.

The one responsible for overseeing the forest’s spirits.

To grant amnesty to a human who had rampaged as she pleased?

Such a thing...... her position would not allow.

“You struck first.”

<<<Because you invaded our forest.>>>

“You shouldn’t have attacked—you should’ve said, ‘Get out.’ Then I would’ve left right away.”

<<<Why?>>>

“‘Why’?”

<<<......Why should we spirits!! Give consideration!! To humans, a low-grade species!!>>>

“!!”

Here, the Great Spirit of Light...... erupted in rage!

Because her position forced her to!

As if resonating with her fierce anger, the light she emitted explosively increased in strength, and Emi Rune reflexively narrowed her eyes!

<<<Humans...... humans!! Are nothing more than monkeys that merely speak!! No, even worse...... they defile the sacred with treachery and steal away what is precious...... they are a blight that should, by rights, be exterminated!!>>>

The Great Spirit of Light continued, screaming!

She tore open her own wounds, shouted in fury, and simply...... heightened her anger!

And then, suddenly...... the girl before her overlapped with the portrait of the human man who had once stolen away her most beloved!

Because both had two arms, two legs, and a head atop a neck!

It wasn’t a matter of “they look similar”!

They were exactly the same!

FLAAASH——!!

With the ever-stronger light the Great Spirit of Light poured out, the spirits’ sacred ground was illuminated like daytime.

And that wasn’t all.

Smoke began to rise from the surrounding flowers.

A scorched smell drifted through the air.

They were going to ignite from the heat!

<<<I...... My name is the Great Spirit of Light, Akashitaru!! ......The sun...... of this Spirit Forest!!>>>

Amid that, the Great Spirit of Light announced her name.

Even as she did, the light continued to intensify, and the temperature continued to rise.

Emi Rune consciously vented dark black haze outward from her body to prevent her temperature from rising...... then lowered her hips slightly and raised her fists.

It wasn’t only the strength of the light and the temperature that kept climbing.

The hostility pouring from Akashitaru was already on the verge of exploding.

It was obvious she had no intention of negotiating.

<<<Now then, human! While regretting the foolishness of defying us spirits despite being a low-grade creature...... be swallowed by light and perish!!>>>

And then, the very next moment!

Akashitaru unleashed lethal beams of light in every direction, burning the area...... and lunged at Emi Rune!

◇　◇　◇

She fired her beams, and the human dodged them at supernatural speed.

A high-speed battle that changed positions dizzyingly—sometimes kicking off the ground, sometimes dancing through the air.

Driven as if by rage, she continued the fierce battle...... yet in the midst of it, Akashitaru was watching herself—rampaging—and the scene of this battle, from somewhere slightly removed, as if from above.

（......I’m going to lose.）

And she calmly, certainly, foresaw a future of her own defeat.

The human opponent easily avoided Akashitaru’s beams with her innate combat sense...... and even if she was hit, her wounds healed at high speed.

And the dark black miasma the human sometimes spewed from her body spread across the area, obstructing the advance of Akashitaru’s light.

The longer the battle went on, the more the contamination spread...... shaping a field that grew increasingly unfavorable for Akashitaru.

（......Well, that’s fine. At this point, with the forest reduced to ruins like this, I have no ground to stand on as the one who oversees the great spirits anyway.）

Thinking that, Akashitaru exhaled softly inside her heart.

But that breath was not the sigh she had spent years breathing out.

It was a breath of relief.

（So that’s it...... it’s finally over.）

When she thought that, her heart felt lighter—how ironic.

In the end, this position had been nothing but a burden to Akashitaru.

Akashitaru was not the sun.

She was just a sphere of light.

（Did I manage to be properly arrogant...... and even at the end, act like the sun?）

A sudden anxiety rose, and she stared hard at the human she was fighting.

In the midst of the fierce battle, the girl’s face remained expressionless.

She looked cool and unbothered.

Yet in those dark black eyes, a flame of killing intent raged, seeming to serve as the driving force that moved her small body.

Akashitaru hated humans.

So she could not bring herself to feel favor toward the girl in front of her, either.

But.

Surely she was the one who would bring Akashitaru’s gloomy, suffocating days to an end.

When she thought that, even though she was human...... Akashitaru couldn’t say she felt no gratitude at all toward Emi Rune.

（If I’m reborn...... Himetaru. Next time, I will...... I’ll finally, to you......）

At the end of the long, long fight—

As her body, drained, shaved away, exhausted, and now completely shrunken, faced the approaching fist of a human wrapped in something dark black—

What Akashitaru pictured was, after all...... the figure of her beloved child.