Chapter 6
Purification failed.
Well, it wasn't exactly a failure; maybe it was a matter of range.
Purifying only the entrance to the cave isn't going to do any good.
As soon as I enter, shadows are everywhere...
Somehow, I hold out my hand and focus on purifying a wide area.
I managed to purify an area about two meters around me...
Ah... So the cave was bigger than I thought.
And then I hear faint groaning.
Apparently, this is a wolf's den.
Could it be that by coming here on my own, I've basically announced, "Here's some food!"...?
...That would be incredibly stupid.
Maybe because of the purification, the shadows inside the cave have thinned a little.
Thanks to that, I can see a little of what's inside.
A wolf similar to the one that led me here is threatening me from a short distance away.
Behind it, a shadow moves.
I can't make out its shape from here, so I don't know what it is.
And behind that, there's a mound of something black.
I raise my hand again and cast purification magic.
My vision is clearer than before.
The mound of something black I could barely see... seems to be a pile of wolf corpses.
They're piled up like a mountain.
They looked black because they were covered by dense shadows.
If I hadn't seen wolf legs sticking out here and there...
I probably wouldn't have realized they were corpses.
It's making me feel sick.
...When I try to approach, the groaning grows louder.
Ah, so I'm not supposed to.
The wolf that came with me lets out a single bark.
Everything goes quiet.
What should I do...? Does this purification only work within the range I can reach with my hand?
Hmm... If it's within the area I can see in front of me, maybe I can do something about it.
Well, I might as well try.
I focus on the faintly visible depths and imagine the purification covering the entire area.
"Purification."
Apparently, I can purify a wide area, too.
But this cave is even larger than that.
With my field of vision expanded, I repeat the purification magic several times.
It's interesting to watch the black shadows inside the cave disappear.
Phew... Doing this over and over is getting a little tedious.
Strangely, every time I use magic, I feel as though my body is getting lighter.
Does magic have an effect like that?
...I don't know.
Thinking about things I don't know would just be a waste of time right now.
Come to think of it, I've been moving around, but I don't feel tired either.
...This is another one of those things where worrying about it would be a waste of time.
I give my head a shake, stopping myself from thinking about all sorts of things.
All right, next. Next.
I approach the mound of corpses in the back of the cave.
Even after purifying the cave, nothing changes, and shadows still cover it.
When I look at the wolf walking beside me, it's staring intently at the mound.
I can't read its expression, but I get the feeling it's grieving.
It makes me want to do something about it... I curse my own personality.
Can't be helped.
I purify it, putting a little more force into imagining the curse being lifted.
Yeah, magic really can do anything!