Another world, Celeste

Chapter Eighteen, pt 2

Lord Sol and I stay behind to deal with the mess. Most of the ground is scorched from the fireballs, some trees are tilting sideways with the danger of falling over and also, pieces of burnt woods that I'm assuming to be the remnants of a whole tree from the charred tree stump are scattered everywhere. But, the main issue is the hole from when I uprooted the tree stump. There is the possibility of black mana recurring at the same spot if it is not completely purified.

"Since this area will be restricted for a while, the keepers won't be allowed to come here. Iris, can you help me gather all the burnt woods? I will deal with this."

Lord Sol is referring to the hole that caused the prolonged fight between Roy and the tainted monster.

"Sure. Is it okay if I clean up the mess too?"

Lord Sol gives his answer with a nod then gives his full concentration on inspecting the hole. I begin working on putting out small fires with water magic and strengthening the weaken soil around the tilted trees with earth magic. All the while, Bane assist me with the heavy lifting and gathering all the pieces of burnt woods in one place and wait for Lord Sol's further instruction.

"All done."

I call out to Lord Sol, but his eyes never leave the hole on the ground. Just when I'm thinking of calling him out again, Lord Sol gesture for me to come closer, his gaze still fixed on the ground.

"Since this is a valuable opportunity for your study, I want you to remember this. This is important. I'm sure you know this already, but I will say it nevertheless. After confirmation of successful purification on the target, you must make sure there are no traces of black mana lingering in the vicinity as well. If you neglect to do so, the same trouble will repeat itself and more people will fall as victims."

I listen quietly since Lord Sol is speaking in a serious manner, different from how enthusiastic he gets during lessons with me.

"Black mana in its truest and weakest form is when it shows itself as a black mist. However, many encounters with black mana are when it already attaches itself to a host and the host gradually becomes a tainted monster. The fact that black mana is the originator of tainted monsters complicates the situation even more and the only way to subdue them is either by light magic or a weapon forged from mana ore."

Lord Sol's last muttering about complicating situation seems to implicate there are more to the story, but I leave the topic untouched since it doesn't concern me. Complicated stuff should be handled by experts in related fields.

After confirming the hole and the surrounding is safe and have been purified from black mana, I use earth magic to cover it up and burn the pieces of wood until it reduces to ashes and let the wind carry it away. One last thing before we leave is Lord Sol cast the same magic he did with the tainted monster earlier, the ground completely covered in bright light and dim almost instantly.

"Good. Luna did a wonderful job with the purification. There is nothing left for me to do," says Lord Sol, looking satisfactory.