Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert-Chapter 489

Chapter 489

Despite the High Elves’ excited cries, Serina was not yet fully healed.

The energy corroding her from within was sticky like slime, yet murky, murkier than the darkness of a moonless night.

And it was greedy, like a horned hyena, gnawing and devouring everything it touched inside her body, as though it would never be satisfied until nothing remained.

Lemura had healed countless people and dealt with all manner of disease and poison before, but she had never encountered such an evil force.

‘Still… I can heal her.’

It was only the unfamiliarity that startled her. If she poured in her full power, even this could be cured.

She trusted herself.

“Holy Healing!”

She unleashed the skill she had recently awakened.

In an instant, pure white light burst from her body.

“Ah, !”

At the same moment, Serina gasped.

The pain that had nearly stolen her breath vanished in an instant, and strength flooded back into her limbs.

As if she had never been hurt at all, she stood whole and clear-eyed once more.

“This can’t be…! The Dark Bloom’s poison, it’s completely gone!”

“Serina!”

“It’s a miracle! A true miracle!”

The High Elves who had been watching breathlessly ran toward her.

Tesserina lowered the magic shield she had cast to protect Lemura, allowing them to reach Serina.

“Thank the spirits! Serina, thank goodness you’re safe.”

“To think someone could neutralize the poison of the Dark Bloom… This is nothing short of divine.”

Then, one of the Elves spoke up.

“It’s not a miracle. They saved her.”

It was the same High Elf Levin had been tailing earlier.

She stepped forward and bowed slightly.

“My name is Narha. Thank you for saving Serina.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Narha. My name is Zeon.”

“Zeon…? Could it be, Lord Zeon of Neo Seoul?”

“You know me?”

“Then that must be Lord Levin beside you?”

Her gaze found Levin unerringly.

Levin blinked in surprise. He had never met this High Elf before, yet she seemed to know him well.

Zeon, however, remained calm.

“You heard about us from Brielle, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Brielle told me about you and Lord Levin.”

“Is she well?”

“Brielle is… sigh.”

“She isn’t well, is she?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What happened? What about Brielle, and this barrier? What are these Dark Blooms, and why are you all working here?”

“It’s… a long story.”

“We have plenty of time.”

“But we don’t. If we don’t deliver the harvested Dark Blooms inside the barrier within the set time, our kin inside will suffer.”

Her face and voice were filled with desperation.

It was then that Tesserina, who had been silent until now, spoke.

“A Dark Bloom field right beside a High Elf village… Something’s terribly wrong.”

“And you are…?”

Narha’s eyes trembled.

With her elven perception, she had glimpsed Tesserina’s true nature.

“A… dragon?”

“This body is a chimera, made from my flesh and bone. My true self is far from here.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Exalted One.”

Narha placed a hand to her chest and bowed deeply, the highest gesture of respect a High Elf could show.

Even if she was not the true body but merely a chimera, she carried a dragon’s will.

That alone was enough to merit their reverence.

Tesserina asked,

“Why are High Elves harvesting Dark Blooms? They’re not something souls as pure as yours should handle.”

“There’s been a calamity in our village.”

“A calamity?”

“There’s no time to explain everything, so I’ll keep it brief. The High Priestess suddenly changed. She began oppressing our people. She took our families hostage and ordered us to harvest these Dark Blooms. If we don’t deliver them on time, our loved ones will be killed. Please forgive me, I cannot tell you more.”

“How much more do you need to gather?”

“Pardon?”

“How much is left?”

“Two more full hide sacks’ worth.”

“That’s all? Then that’s easy enough.”

Tesserina narrowed her eyes at the Dark Blooms and whispered something.

Whirrr!

A wind swept through, rustling the black flowers.

The impact dislodged them, and they began to fall.

“Wait!” Serina cried out. “Once the Dark Bloom touches soil, it loses its potency!”

“Don’t worry. I know.”

Tesserina smiled faintly and flicked her fingers.

The wind gathered the falling blossoms midair and poured them neatly into the sacks.

In an instant, she had done what twenty High Elves would have taken all day to accomplish.

Each Dark Bloom was covered in thorns, making them dangerous to harvest,

a single prick, and one would end up like Serina moments ago.

But Tesserina’s magic had neutralized the thorns’ threat with ease, saving the High Elves precious time.

Zeon turned to Narha.

“What about the barrier? How does it work?”

“I don’t know. The High Priestess created it not long ago.”

“Then how do you enter or exit?”

“This makes it possible.”

She raised her arm, showing him her wrist, a black bracelet clasped around her pale skin.

“That’s the key?”

“Yes. The High Priestess made these. Without one, no one can pass through the barrier.”

At her words, Tesserina extended her hand.

“Let me see it.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll just examine it. Don’t worry.”

“Understood.”

A promise from a dragon could not be refused.

Narha carefully handed over the bracelet.

Tesserina studied it intently for a while, then said,

“I think I can replicate this.”

“Really? Sis!”

“Whoa, amazing, Lady Tesserina!”

Levin and Lemura’s admiration made Tesserina’s nose lift slightly with pride.

She explained,

“The barrier emits a specific mana wavelength, a kind of frequency.

If you don’t know the frequency, you could try for a hundred years and never get through. But if you have a key like this, it’s different. All the frequency data is stored inside. Give me a little time, I can make copies.”

“Good. Make four more.”

“Got it.”

Closing her eyes, Tesserina focused her mind.

At that moment, Levin leaned toward Zeon and whispered,

“Why do you think she’s using a chimera body instead of her real one?”

“Who knows.”

“Maybe… something’s wrong with her real body?”

Levin tilted his head.

It didn’t make sense, a dragon in full health wouldn’t act through a chimera if she didn’t have to.

But without Tesserina’s answer, they could only guess.

Lemura, meanwhile, stared at Tesserina with wide eyes.

To her, dragons were creatures of legend.

She had never imagined she’d see one, even if only in the form of a chimera.

Until now, she had thought Tesserina was simply a powerful awakened being.

Now she didn’t know how to treat her.

Sensing her unease, Zeon said quietly,

“Just treat her the same as before.”

“How can I?”

“Like she said, her real self is somewhere else. Don’t think of her as a chimera.

Just treat her as you always have.”

“Is that really okay?”

“She’d want that.”

“Alright… I’ll try.”

Just then, Narha approached Lemura and bowed deeply.

“Thank you for saving Serina’s life, messenger of Lady Ciela.”

“Huh? No, you’ve got it wrong, I’m not anyone special. I’m just… ordinary.”

“An ordinary person could never purify the venom of the Dark Bloom. That flower feeds on the malice of the world. Its toxin cannot be neutralized by normal means. Only a messenger of Lady Ciela can heal it.”

“B-but that’s not true…”

Lemura flustered, unsure how to respond.

At that moment, Tesserina opened her eyes.

“All done.”

In her hand gleamed four newly formed bracelets, perfect copies of Narha’s.

She handed the original back.

“Here. It’s intact, no harm done.”

“Thank you, Lady Tesserina!”

Narha fastened it back onto her wrist, and Tesserina distributed the replicas to Zeon, Levin, and Lemura.

Zeon buckled his on and asked,

“They work properly?”

“Exactly like the original.”

“Well done.”

“Pfft, thanks.”

Even a simple compliment from a human made Tesserina smile shyly.

‘Strangely, it felt… nice.’

Zeon turned his gaze to Narha.

“When must you return to the village?”

“We must re-enter within two hours.”

“Is the entrance guarded?”

“There’s no guard. The barrier itself allows only those with the key to pass. If anyone tries to enter by force, the alarm spell triggers immediately.”

“Good. Then let’s talk on the way.”

“On the way…?”

“We’re going in with you.”

“If the High Priestess learns I brought outsiders inside, she’ll destroy our entire race.”

“She’ll destroy you all anyway, even if you do nothing.”

“But, ”

“Whatever you say, I’m going in. And I’m bringing Brielle out.”

“….”

Narha bit her lip at Zeon’s firm words.

Once, she had been a great warrior, brave, gifted, unyielding.

But after the High Priestess captured her and sealed most of her power, her spirit broke.

The High Priestess was the strongest being she had ever known.

Narha couldn’t understand why one so wise and revered had changed so drastically, turning their paradise into a living hell.

That betrayal had carved a wound deep in her heart.

In mere days, the proud warrior she once was had withered into a shell of herself.

But as she looked at Zeon’s resolute face, mshe remembered the expression she herself had once worn, the fire she’d lost.

“Haa…”

She lowered her head, exhaling slowly.

When she looked up again, the warrior’s glint had returned to her eyes.

“I’ll guide you to the village,” she said.

“Thank you, Narha.”

“No, I should be thanking you. You reminded me of who I used to be.”

Narha turned to the other High Elves who had been harvesting the Dark Blooms.

“Stay here and wait.”

“Can we really trust them?” one asked.

“They are the ones Brielle spoke of. She always said, if they ever came, we could trust them.”

“But Brielle was tainted by humans, ”

“Still with that nonsense?”

Narha’s gaze turned cold.

“While we hid away in our secluded village, Brielle ventured to Neo Seoul and returned stronger, wiser. If she were truly tainted by humans, she would never have gained a spirit. Even the High Priestess coveted her spirit, revealing her greed. We should have protected Brielle from the start, we never should have let her fall into the High Priestess’s hands.”

Zeon and Levin’s expressions hardened.

“Brielle… is in the High Priestess’s hands?”