"Come on, come on... the Spirit Festival has turned into nothing more than a pretext for drinking."

"What do you mean by 'turned into'?"

"It's because we now know the fact that real spirits haven't actually seen this festival before."

"W-wait, just because I haven't seen one doesn't mean fire and wind spirits didn't! Right?"

"...Are there any?"

"Y-yes they are! ...I've never seen them though."

"...So what? That's still questionable."

To the south lies a lake, to the north stretches a desert—that town is Helicon.
Hearing rumors lately of lizards frequently stopping by, Gash Zapper, a tail-less lizard axe-wielder, and Heely Water (tentative name), a water spirit appearing as a half-elf, had arrived just as year-end approached.
Pine trees scattered throughout the town—artificial ones, since real pines are nearly nonexistent in southern deserts, each crafted by hand—and adorned with red decorations. Green and red: those are indeed the symbolic colors of the Winter Spirit Festival.
Well, even though it's "winter," snow rarely falls in the south of this desert, so to be blunt, it bears little resemblance to the winter festival Celestans typically imagine. It's a town where temperatures stay only as cool as autumn would be back north, yet all-night revelry unfolds anyway.
A merchant's virtue among the Celestans is squandering money without hesitation during such festivals; even coins earned by keeping flames lit beneath their nails for days are spent lavishly when the occasion demands it. Stagnant economies are minor crimes in their eyes; no businessman thrives unless he displays a booming prosperity before his customers.
Sticking faithfully to this creed, the town's merchants had planned a grand banquet unprecedented since Helicon was first founded.
"What a small place for such a wealthy town..."
"Surely making so many lizards visit means it'd be profitable enough?"
"No, I mean... that rumor about a dragon being the cause? It just seems fishy."

Gash is also one of those lizardmen who worship dragons, yet he's never encountered even a single dragon in his entire life. Though watching his own kin rejoice makes him reluctant to pour water on them, dragons can shapeshift so perfectly they look human... leading him to suspect they might be getting fooled.
As a former soldier, Gash is well-acquainted with the terrifying power of illusion magic through military demonstrations. He'd considered that talented fox-beast people or elves could perhaps achieve similar feats if they tried hard enough.
"Well, either way works. If the economy's doing this well, the Spirit Festival must be happening in a big way."
"Yeah... I'm looking forward to it."
Heely leaned close to Gash, resting her head on his shoulder.
Though Gash isn't short for a lizardman, his species' characteristic forward-leaning posture keeps his overall height modest. Having Heely—a slightly petite female whose stature fits within that range—lean against him felt entirely natural, and it brought them a small shared joy.

Thus began the day of the Spirit Festival.

By evening, the festive atmosphere in town reached its peak.

"Gash! What's that?! That!!"

"Freaking fireworks! Seems like student caravans from the Capital University occasionally bring them... can they really do this in a place like our town?"

"Incredible! Spirits of Fire or Light wouldn't need anything like that to create such magic!"

"...But could even spirits of Fire and Light pull something off like that?"

"...I don't know, but I think water spirits could easily make displays like that."

"What an interesting idea. Let's put on a show sometime and earn some cash."

"W-wait, no way! That'd get out for sure!!"

"Just kidding!"

Every few minutes, magical beams of light painted patterns across the sky. Throughout the town streets, open-air taverns sprang up everywhere.
One after another, someone would shout, "I'll treat everyone—drink up!" purchasing a barrel and serving drinks right there on the spot, turning it into a competition among friends.
Enthusiastic ogres started wrestling matches, with dark elves, humans, and lizard merchants joining in too, throwing each other around to elicit laughter. Though some genuinely struggled valiantly, others would exclaim, "Ooh! Which one of your elite knights is that?" heating up the crowd further.
It was truly a chaotic yet energetic festival very typical of Celestans.

"Gash, give it your all!"

"Come on and watch."

Gash decided to join the wrestling match too. His opponent was a middle-aged ogre man.

Though alcohol had loosened his mood and he eagerly stepped forward to challenge... facing such a brute of sheer strength made him sober up instantly. He muttered inwardly, "Did I make a mistake?"

"Hah, you hornless ogre, can you actually take a hit? If you ain't thinkin' about where you're gonna flop, it's gonna hurt!"

"Haah. You call yourselves ogres but I'm an old man! Look at the way that guy's standin', don't he gotta worry 'bout his back soon?"

"N-no way... No, no way, even so, you're not flipping me over with just your level of skill."

"Who says? Don't underestimate a lizard man's strength, okay."

By the way, ogres get bad knees and lower backs as they age due to their massive frames. It wasn't that Kashu had amazing eyesight; he was just trying to bait him.

However, since lizard men express themselves completely differently from humans or ogres, this kind of psychological warfare works surprisingly well on them.

"Alright, C-Stage Match #27... Let's go!"

"Grrraaaagh!!"

"Chaaaaaaarge!!"

Kashu locks onto the middle-aged ogre. He's really going for it, trying to show a little more than his usual self.

But the middle-aged ogre, noticing the mention of his back, just waves his arms half-heartedly in front of him without properly bracing for Kashu's charge—he's full of gaps.

This should work! Encouraged, Kashu pushes forward with even more momentum, but the middle-aged ogre sidesteps him quickly.

"!??"

Even if they were twice their size, locking grapples is already a struggle in itself.

With such long, massive arms, it's possible for an ogre to simply not let another race get their hands on him at all.

That's why other races rush forward desperately so they won't be blocked.

If their momentum gets nullified like this, there's no way their stance won't break.

"I'll eat your speed! Let's restart from here, tail-less!"

Shoved hard on the back by a loud pang, Kashu tumbles out of the ring without a sound.

The surrounding audience bursts into laughter.

"D-dammit!"

"Easy now, easy now. It's a festival, so don't take it too seriously, you tail-cutter."

"That dash was pretty good, hey tail-cutter!"

The audience coaxes Kashu's frustration with jokes. Heeri approaches him laughing and gives his head some gentle pats.

"Ogres are strong, aren't they? Kashu wins the Fighting Spirit Award!"

"Damn it! Even though I'm a warrior too!"

"Yeah yeah, we know Kashu's actually strong—"

"I miss that beautiful girlfriend of yours, lizard man uncle."

"Martial arts ain't as important as judging which wife has the better figure, you tail-cutter. That old ogre guy's wife is something else."

"Don't badmouth my wife! I've got devil ears!"

The laughter doesn't stop. Kashu sticks his tongue out while enduring the shame, but only another lizard man would recognize that this isn't a face of true embarrassment.

This commotion continued until well past midnight.

When the bell rang to announce it, the crowd suddenly stopped their fuss, packed up their shops, and began heading home.

"Huh? Where's everyone going, Kashu?"

"Ah... The second half of the Spirit Festival starts after midnight."

"The second half...?"

"Yeah."

Patting himself on the head slightly with a breath that reeked somewhat of alcohol, Kashu gently runs his hand through Heiri's hair like he's stroking her.

"The Spirits enjoy our rowdiness until midnight. From here on out is their blessed time..."

"?"

"This is a time blessed by the spirits' mercy, starting now and ending with tomorrow's dawn. It's when family and lovers watch over each other as they nurture their love."

"Eh?"

"Well, from your perspective, you've been dragged into a raucous row without asking and then billed out of hand, so it's hardly fun, is it? But that's okay. Everyone just wants to be affectionate about it."

"...Yeah, I get it. They're all pretty shrewd, wouldn't you say? Pretty well put together."

"...Come on, Hee-ly. Shall we nurture some love too?"

Gush whispered with a mouth smelling of cheap liquor.

Usually, he never speaks of love, but rather excuses himself into intimacy by citing each other's lustful natures. Yet even if it's just a formality, even if it relies on the atmosphere alone, hearing Gush murmur words like 'love' made Hee-ly's face flush red.

"W-what are you saying...?"

"Are you not going to grow any love yourself?"

Gush took a small sip of sake from his wooden cup with a look of slight regret. Once he'd finished that last drop, the stall would have to pack up and leave.

"No one said anything like that, did they?"

"You're such a complicated fellow too."

"...Hey, you seem to have forgotten, but I'm a spirit, aren't I?"

"Oh yeah. That's right."

"...And isn't what I have to do the 'blessing' part?"

"Hmm?"

"Because..."

Leaning her lips close to Gush's unclear ears, Hee-ly whispered.

"...If it's like that, there's nothing for it but for me to bless you."

"So pretentious with all your formalities."

Gush's wide-open lips met whether or not they touched Hee-ly's small ones.

Then, thunderous noise and screams erupted.

"!?!"

Both looked up at the sky simultaneously, casting around them.

"Gush!"

Hee-ly pointed out towards the north, where the sky was turning murky.

"What the heck is that?"

"...A sandstorm... maybe?"

"No, it's different from that... there's weird sounds and screams."

The sound of something heavy striking the earth. An explosion-like noise.

"This isn't good."

Gush's warrior's intuition warned him: It's a calamity.

It's the kind of calamity a warrior must stand against, his intuition stimulated at the base of his limbs, suddenly accelerating his blood flow.

"Hee-ly, let's go!"

"Gush!?"

Gush bolted away. His family heirloom Twin Tomahawk was still on his back.

He untied the chain and leather restraint binding it together from above and manipulated the axe with both hands. He could still feel his arms merging with the weapon.

"That's... not good at all!!"

Gush's speed quickly turned that of a beast. After all, warrior lizardmen are inherently strong.

On the outskirts of town, people were being attacked by monsters.

A giant snake... no.
「Sandworm?! And what the hell, it's HUGE!!」
It was a sandworm, a massive annelid unique to deserts. Even an average specimen was a nuisance at five meters long and several centimeters thick, plus they were omnivorous—they ate scorpions, snakes, cacti, and occasionally monsters too.
Even this one had grown into something major, over a meter in thickness, and it was terrorizing the residents.

「Help me, help meee!!」

「Damn it!! If Lady Lyra was here, I'd never have to deal with something like this!!」

「Go back to the Ogre inn and wake them up!! Go to the military police station and summon anyone there!!」

「Can even those MPs handle this?!」

「Better than nothing!! At least I can guide people to shelter... Ah, eeehhhhh!!」

Besides, it wasn't just one. From beyond the grove of palms, a grotesque mass could be seen writhing into view.

「Tch... how jealous I am of races with night vision.»

Ghash whispered as he sprinted at full speed, bringing both tomahawks down upon the sandworm that was mauling a townsman.

「T-thank goodness!!」

「Get away, run now!!」

「B-bloody hell, there's no way I can just leave him behind...」

The townsman's leg had been broken. Sandworms have no teeth, but their suction power could crush and shred animal flesh into paste.

Heili approached the man as she chased after him, holding her hand over his broken foot.

A sickening squishy sound came from his leg, and the man grimaced in disgust, but the next moment, his foot had returned to its original shape.

「W-what?!」

「Go! You should be able to run!!」

「O-okay!!」

The townsman fled, running away as fast as he could.

「Heili, you too, get out of here!!」

While striking the writhing sandworm repeatedly, Ghash noticed that his blows were barely having any effect thanks to its tough outer skin that resisted blade penetration, and frustration began to creep in.

「I've always said it, right? My true body is that water you're carrying, so running with just this form is pointless!!」

「Tch...»

Ghash glanced at the silver-water flask strapped to his waist. It was a luxury purchase, filled with water infused with nuclear elements mixed in—something Heili calls her "true body," though Ghash still doesn't fully grasp it, sensing it as something akin to a soul.

This is what anchors Heili's existence; even if the girl herself were torn apart while manifesting in human form, she could revive without issue as long as those nuclear elements remained intact... That was the deal.

She hasn't pushed things that far out of fear yet.

「It might not seem useful, but it's better than nothing, right?!」

When Ghash shouted, Heili retorted with a shrill 「Of course!!」

「Because tonight our role as spirits is to show mercy to the people!!」

「I'm saying if this thing can help us crush these bastards, then use it!! If you're going to 'show mercy,' do that over there!!」

With an axe swing, Ghash smashed the writhing sandworm that had turned toward Heili. Had it been a normal creature's neck, that single blow would have sent it flying already.

But the sandworm showed no sign of being affected.
「Damn it, as long as it has its tail!!」
Ghash gritted his teeth in frustration.
Had Ghash's own tail remained intact, that full-powered horizontal slash might have delivered a killing blow to the sandworm. Unlike slashing attacks, an impact strike converting pure body strength into shock force is nearly impossible to dodge.

But right now, Ghash's tail had been severed just fifty centimeters from its base and was useless as it hung there.

"Hold your horses, you Water Spirit! Don't get cocky!!"

Behind Gash, Heriyi thrust her hands forward and unleashed a lance of water.

The sharp stream struck the sandworm's mouth square on, forcing it to recoil.

"It's working!!"

"Not even a little!"

"Well, at least it works better than on Gash!"

"But we can't seem to kill it!!"

While bickering, both fought desperately to keep the sandworm at bay, and by some miracle, their clash produced a surprisingly good combination.

"Damn it... We need to smash this thing with raw power alone... Haven't those ogres shown up yet?!"

Gash growled in frustration. But apparently, the sandworm wasn't the only threat; screams and explosions rang out from all directions now, yet no reinforcements for Gash and his companions had made an appearance.

"Damn it... If only General Vincent were here right now!!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Why're you so mad?!"

"For crying out loud! The spirits are on our side!"

"Don't say anything so stupid until after we've taken these things down, you jerk!!"

Once again, Gash cast his mind back to the last of the military allies he'd had.

Even though hoping for Overnite's aid in such a pinch was wishful thinking, he craved that nonsense attack power of his own.

"Damn it... One or the other. I'm gonna jam my tomahawk straight into its damn mouth!"

"What if it swallows you?"

"Yeah, probably will."

The sandworm's mouth, boasting a diameter of over one meter, would swallow a tomahawk with zero trouble. Even though they were tied together with silk chains, once inside that gullet, extracting anything would be no simple task.

"Water Spirit, haven't got some kind of special move?"

"There isn't one! What the hell do you expect from me regarding water?!?"

"...Something like poison that makes you want to throw up?"

"I did feel a bit warm just now. I'll definitely add extra poison next time I fuck you. Enough to make you unable to use the toilet for a whole day."

"Got it. Never fucking with you again."

"My bad! It's just a lie, so please don't say mean things like that!"

"You weak bastard!!"

This shameless couple was flirting nonstop while repeatedly pounding the sandworm's head. If anyone were watching, they'd probably burst out laughing: "Of course, it's Spirit Festival night after all."

No.

"Hahahaha! How sweet! You two are perfect for each other!!"

Indeed, someone was laughing at them loudly.

"Who is that?!"

Gash and Heriyi spun around in alarm.

There stood a woman with dark skin and silver hair, exuding an ambiguous, almost中性 (androgynous) aura.

"Yeah, I suppose so."

The woman continued to giggle while pointing at the sandworm.

As Gash and Heriyi reflexively prepared to attack the approaching monster—

"A hint for you... No fireworks users have visited this town today."

"Huh?"

"Hint #2."

The woman flicks the hand pointing at the Sandworm sideways.

Instantly, the Sandworm splits into rings with a sharp chun sound.

"!?"

Gash and Heili stare dumbfounded.

The woman breezes past them without breaking stride, spreading her arms toward the remaining Sandworms.

"Hint #3. Tonight, I have a duty to cherish lovers like you two."

Then, she spins halfway in an elegant whirlwind. She turns her back to the writhing creatures and faces Gash and Heili head-on.

A dazzling glow adorns her swelling form like fireflies dancing upon it.

Like massive beetles suddenly taking flight, the light scatters across them and surges toward their backs, heads, and mouths.

As if fireworks dancing at dusk, the brilliance rips the Sandworms apart into dust under its crushing footfalls.

"Pleased to meet you, warrior lizard and water spirit in love."

Explosive thunder, swirling sandstorms, and splashes of green viscera flying from the Sandworms.

"My name is Bright Light. I am a spawn of the Light Spirit."

Unblemished by all that chaos, the elf who looked like a dark elf smiled softly at them.

(To be continued)

"Sigh, a festival to appease the spirits looks like nothing more than an excuse to get drunk when it turns out this way."

"Turns out this way?"

"Well, it’s become a known fact that the real spirit lords have never actually seen such a festival before."

"W-well, just because I haven’t seen one doesn't mean fire or wind spirits haven't!"

"...Is there any?"

"Yes, they're definitely around! ...I just haven't seen them personally."

"...That doesn't really reassure me much."

Helicon was a town with lakes to the south and a desert to the north.

Hearing that many lizardmen had recently been visiting, Gash Zappar, a tailless lizardman axe-warrior, and Heery Water (a pseudonym), a water spirit in the form of a half-elf, arrived just as the end of the year was drawing near.

Fake coniferous trees stood here and throughout the town (since there are few south of the desert, each made by hand), adorned with red decorations. Green and red—the image colors of the Winter Spirit Festival.

Well, even calling it winter is a stretch since it rarely snows south of the desert; frankly, it wasn't the kind of winter festival one might imagine, like what the Trots would picture. It was a town with coolness comparable to autumn in the north, where all-night rowdy brawls were unfolding.

Spending without hesitation on festivals and such money earned day by day as if a spark lit their claws was one of the virtues of Celesta merchants. Economic stagnation was a nearby evil; only a shrewd merchant would spend lavishly in showy places.

True to this creed, the town's merchants had planned the greatest banquet in the town's history since its founding.

"It’s amazing how a place so obscure can have that much money."

"If there are so many lizardmen coming, they must be making a decent profit, right?"

"Ah... well, speaking of which, rumors of a dragon arriving as the cause sound fishy to me."

Gash was also one of the lowly lizardmen who worshiped dragons, but he had never met a single one in his life. He didn't want to spoil the fun for his own kind while they were happy, but dragons could shape-shift to look exactly like humans, so he suspected they were being tricked.

Gash, a former soldier, was well acquainted with the power of recent phantom magic from military mage demonstrations. He wondered if it wasn't impossible for talented kitsune-beasts or elves to pull it off if they really tried.

"Anyway, doesn't matter. If the economy's this good, the Spirit Festival should be a grand affair."

"Yes. I can't wait."

Heery snuggled up against Gash, resting her head on his shoulder.

Gash wasn't short for a lizardman, but thanks to the species' characteristic hunched posture, his height wasn't very tall. It was a small delight for both of them that even with Heery leaning on him—she could be considered slightly short—the scene didn't look unnatural.

And so, on the day of the Spirit Festival.

As evening fell, the town's festive atmosphere reached its peak.

"Gash, what's that?! That!!"

"They say it's fireworks. The student caravans from the Capital University sometimes put them on... do they do them in a town like this too?"

"Incredible! You can do something like that even without fire or light spirits!"

"...Can fire and light spirits really do that?"

"...I don't know, but I think I could make an equivalent spectacle with water."

"That was a good idea. Let's show it off somewhere sometime and earn some money from it."

"N-no, wait, no way! You'll totally get us found out!!"

"It's a joke."

Every few minutes, magical pictures of light were drawn in the sky, while temporary beer stalls sprang up all over the town's streets.

Non-stop, someone would buy up casks of ale shouting, "My treat, everyone drink!" and distribute it to those present, with rivals competing against each other.

Enthusiastic ogres started a sumo tournament, with dark elves, humans, and lizardman merchants joining in, being thrown around with poi-poi sounds to induce laughter, though some really put in the effort, leading to cheers like "Hah, which ace knight is that?"

It was truly a chaotic, energetic festival typical of Celesta.

"Gash, do your best—!"
"Watch this."
Gash joined the sumo tournament. His opponent was a middle-aged ogre male.
He felt good after drinking and challenged him in high spirits, but facing a race with ridiculous strength sobered him up a bit. He muttered to himself, wondering if he had made a mistake.

"Hey, tailless lizard, you think you know how to take a fall? You better figure out your technique before you break something."

"Hah. I may be an ogre, but I'm not ancient yet. At this rate, my lower back's going to give out on me any day now."

"Wha—how would you know that... No, never mind. Even so, I ain't about to get pinned by someone your level."

"We'll see about that. Don't underestimate a lizard's strength."

Incidentally, given their massive bulk, ogres typically suffer from knee or back problems as they age. It wasn't that Gash had some special insight; he was just plain talking nonsense.

However, lizardmen have facial expressions vastly different from those of humans and ogres, so this kind of psychological warfare works surprisingly well.

"Alright, C-Stage, Match 27... Fight!"

"Uwaaaaah!!"

"Sshaa!!"

Gash grappled with the middle-aged ogre. Determined to show Heilly a bit of good form, he pressed forward with intensity.

But the ogre, seemingly wary of his back as pointed out, didn't even bother adopting a proper stance against Gash's charge; he just vaguely waved his arms in front of him. It was a wide-open invitation.

Thinking this was his chance, Gash accelerated and surged forward, but the middle-aged ogre deftly sidestepped, brushing Gash aside with a light flick of motion.

"!"

There was originally a physical disparity of nearly two to one, which made locking into a proper hold in itself a struggle.

With arms as long and huge as an ogre's, it was entirely possible to prevent other races from even getting a grip on their body.

That is why opponents from other races would frantically rush forward to avoid being blocked.

Once that momentum was deflected, their balance was inevitably broken.

"You've got some oomph to you! Now get out of the ring with that tail of yours!"

With a resounding thwack, he was shoved across his back. Gash tumbled helplessly outside the boundary line.

The surrounding audience burst into laughter.

"D-damn it!"

"Chill, chill. It's just a festival, don't take it so personally, Tailless."

"You had some serious speed there, Tailless!"

While Gash grumbled in frustration, the nearby spectators calmed him down. Heilly ran over to him, laughing as she gently patted his head, soothing him with her hand.

"Ogres are really strong, huh? Good effort award for you, Gash."

"Goddammit! I'm a warrior, too, y'know!"

"Mm-hm, we know you're strong deep down, Gash."

"Lucky to have such a beautiful girlfriend, you old lizard fellow."

"Sumo's got nothing on winning over your wife's heart, Tailless. That old ogre back there? His wife is an absolute powerhouse."

"Don't badmouth my wife! I've got ears like a dog!"

The laughter wouldn't stop. Gash stuck his tongue out, enduring the humiliation, but anyone who could tell that he was actually mortified would have to be another lizardman.

This kind of commotion continued until past midnight.
When the bell chimed to mark the hour, the crowd suddenly fell silent, and people closed their stalls and began the journey home.
"Hey? Gash, what's everyone up to?"
"Huh. ...From nightfall onward, it's the second half of the Spirit Festival matches."
"The second half...?"
"Yeah."
Pon, pon, exhaling breath that was slightly tinged with alcohol, Gash patted Heilly's head lightly.
"The Spirits enjoyed the rowdy noise up until midnight. From here on, it's time for the Spirits' blessings... something like that."
"?"

「From now until tomorrow morning is the time of benevolent protection bestowed by the satisfied spirits. They watch over us as we nurture love with our families and lovers, you see」

「Eh?」

「Well, from where you're standing, it probably feels like you've been partying your ass off only to get hit with a bill afterwards, so it's not exactly amusing. But that's how it is. Everyone wants to make out, one way or another」

「……I see. Everyone's just as shrewd as each other, I guess」

「……Well then, Heely. Shall we nurture some love?」

Gashu murmured with an alcohol-scented mouth.

Usually, they never spoke of love; instead, they used their mutual lewdness as an excuse to casually sleep together. But hearing Gashu whisper the word "love," even if it was just a pretense, even if it was left to the atmosphere, made Heely's face turn red.

「W-What are you talking about…?」

「So does it not grow?」

Gashu took a small sip of his wine from the wooden cup, looking slightly disappointed. If he finished this glass, they'd have to leave the open-air tavern.

「Nobody said anything like that」

「You're just as complicated as usual」

「……Listen, you seem to have forgotten, but I'm a spirit?」

「Ah. Right」

「……What's required of me is to be the one who showers mercy, no?」

「……Hm?」

「Therefore」

Heely leaned close to Gashu's hard-to-understand ear and whispered.

「……If it's a day like this, I have no choice but to show some mercy」

「You're putting on a pretentious act all of a sudden」

Whether Gashu's split lips and Heely's small lips would touch or not.

And then, a deafening roar and screams erupted.

「!?」

The two looked up at the sky simultaneously, scanning their surroundings.

「Gashu!」

Heely pointed. To the north, the sky was murky.

「What the hell is that?」

「A sandstorm…maybe?」

「No, for a storm, it's…there's strange noise and screaming…along with it」

The sound of something heavy striking the ground. An explosive sort of sound.

「This isn't good」

Gashu's warrior's instincts told him. It was disaster.

Disaster that demanded a warrior stand his ground. His instincts stimulated the bases of his limbs, rapidly rushing blood through his body.

「Heely, let's go!」

「Gashu!?」

Gashu took off running. He still carried the twin tomahawks passed down in his family line.

Unfastening the fetters sealed with chains and leather from the top, Gashu handled the axes with both hands. His arms still remembered the sensation of becoming one with the weapons.

「That thing…is no good!!」

Gashu's speed quickly became that of a beast. After all, lizardmen who were warriors were strong by nature.

On the outskirts of the town, people were being attacked by monsters.

A massive serpent…… no.

"A sandworm!? And a goddamn big one at that!"

It was a sandworm, the desert’s notorious giant annelid. Even an average specimen was a pesky beast, measuring five meters in length and several dozen centimeters in thickness, with a carnivorous-to-omnivorous diet. Not only did it feast on scorpions, snakes, and cacti, but it occasionally devoured monsters as well.

One of the larger specimens among sandworms, its girth exceeding one meter, was currently attacking the townsfolk.

"Help! Help meeee!!"

"Goddamnit!! If only Lady Lyra were here, this bastard wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Someone run to the Ogre Inn and wake up the others! Get down to the Constabulary Post and drag someone out, anyone will do!"

"What good will a constable do against something like this?!"

"It's better than nothing!! In the worst case, at least get people evacuating…… Ah, shriiiik!!"

And it wasn't just one. Beyond the grove of palm trees, another grotesque, bulky form could be seen slithering into view.

"Tch…… I'd give anything to have a race that sees in the dark right about now."

Gash muttered while sprinting at full speed, bringing his twin tomahawks down on the sandworm latching onto one of the townsfolk.

"I, I'm saved!!"

"Get moving and run!"

"Crap…… sorry man, but I can't! It's no use!"

The man's leg was broken. Sandworms may lack teeth, but their suction force is potent enough to crumple animal flesh into a pulp.

Heery, who had been closing the distance on the man, rushed over and held her hand out over his broken limb.

From the wound came an unpleasant crick-crick sound, and the man's face contorted in pain, but in the next instant, his leg had returned to its original shape.

"W-What……?!"

"Go!! You should be able to run now!"

"Y-Y'know what!"

The man took off running.

"Heery, you get out of here too!"

Gash struck repeatedly at the lunging sandworm, but due to its tough hide, the blades seemed to have little effect, and he was starting to feel a sense of bewilderment.

"I've told you before, my main body is that water you're carrying! There's no point in this body running away on its own!"

"Tch."

Gash looked at the silver water flask tied to his waist. It had been an expensive purchase, containing water mixed with Core Elementals (though Gash still didn't fully understand them, he grasped the concept as something akin to a soul).

This water was the axis of Heery's existence; even if the girl’s physical form were shattered into pieces, she could seamlessly revive so long as the Core Elementals remained secure…… that was how it worked.

Though they hadn't tested anything quite that dangerous yet, out of fear.

"If you're staying put, at least be somewhat useful!?"

Gash shouted, and Heery called back with a "Obviously!"

"Tonight is about showing mercy to people, spirit-beast style!!"

"I'm asking if you can help crush these bastards! If you want to show mercy, do it over there!"

He swung his axe, knocking away the sandworm lunging at Heery. Against a normal creature's neck, that single blow would have sent its head flying clean off.

But the sandworm showed no signs of being affected.

"Damn it, if I just had my tail!"

Gash gritted his teeth.

Had Gash's tail been intact, that full-power horizontal slash might have landed a lethal blow on the sandworm. A strike that purely converted his body's entire power into impact force was different from a cutting attack—it couldn't be dodged.

But now, Gash's tail was just a fifty-centimeter stump severed from his lower back. It was useless as far as combat went.

「Water Spirit, don't you get cocky!!」

From behind that Gash, Heery thrusts out his hand, firing off a spear of water.

The pointed jolt of water strikes the Sandworm squarely in the mouth, rousing it from its daze.

"It's working!!"

"Nah, it ain't working at all!"

"It's working better than Gash is!"

"But I don't see how we can kill it, though!!"

Trading insults, the two of them fought with their wits to keep the Sandworm away from each other, ultimately displaying a fine combination.

"Goddamn it... with pure power, you could just smash these things flat... where are the Ogres when you need 'em?!"

Gash cursed. But it seemed the Sandworms hadn't appeared here alone; screams and booming sounds echoed from all directions, yet there was no sign of reinforcements for Gash and his party.

"Damn it... if General Vincent were here, this time would be...!!"

"Who's that?!"

"Why are you getting mad?!"

"What kind of jealousy is that when a Spirit is on your side!"

"You can save that kind of jealousy for after we take these guys down, dummy!!"

Once again, Gash let his thoughts drift to the final reinforcement from his days as a soldier.

Wishing for an Overnight in a pinch was perhaps too much to ask, but he missed that chaotic attack power.

"Damn it... it's a gamble, but should I slam a tomahawk into its mouth?"

"Wouldn't you just get swallowed?"

"You're probably right."

The mouth of the Sandworm, with a diameter of over one meter, would easily swallow a tomahawk whole. Although connected by chains of silk, it was easy to imagine that once swallowed, extracting it wouldn't be easy.

"Do you guys not have some kind of special move? Water Spirit!"

"I don't! What do you expect water to do?!"

"...Like a poison that ruins your stomach?"

"I'm losing my patience. Next time we do the dirty, I'm definitely putting in enough poison so you can't get out of the toilet for a day."

"Got it, I'm never doing it with you again."

"Sorry, I was just kidding. Please don't say mean things like that to me."

"You're really weak!!"

Continuing to bounce the Sandworm's head off while flirting like this, the lovable couple had a bad habit of acting like lovey-dovey idiots. If anyone were watching, they'd probably burst out laughing, saying something like "Only on the night of the Spirit Festival."

No.

"Hahahaha! You two are so close!!"

They were indeed being laughed at.

『Who is it?』

Gash and Heery turned around with a start.

There stood a woman with tanned skin and silver-white hair, possessing somewhat androgynous aura.

"Yes, well..."

The woman continued to giggle, pointing at the Sandworm.

Faced with the monster rushing them, Gash and Heery reflexively tried to attack.

"It's a hint. ...No one who uses fireworks has come to this town today."

"Huh?"

"Hint Number Two."
The woman flicked her finger at the sandworm.
In the next instant, one of the sandworms was sliced clean in two with a squelch.
"!? "
Gash and Hiel stood dumbfounded.
With effortless grace, the woman overtook the pair, spreading her arms wide toward the remaining several sandworms.
"Hint Number Three. Tonight, I have a duty to cherish lovers like you."
Then, she executed an elegant half-turn. With her back to the sandworms and facing Gash and the others again, a dazzling light bloomed across her figure.
It burst out like a giant firefly scattering into the air, swarming onto the backs, heads, and mouths of the sandworms.
The light danced just like the fireworks they had seen at dusk, grinding the sandworms to dust as it trampled them.

"Nice to meet you, warrior lizard and water spirit who love each other."

An explosion’s roar. Plumes of sand smoke. The green bodily fluids of the sandworms gushing upward.

"My name is Bright Light. I am a humble servant of the light sprite."

Untouched by any of it, she smiled brightly—she who, in appearance, looked no different from a dark elf.

(To be continued)

"Phew, with the spirit festival being what it is, it just looks like an excuse to drink."

"What do you mean by 'it's that way'?"

"Well, now that we know the real spirits have never actually seen a festival."

"But, I've never seen one, but maybe the fire and wind spirits have?"

"...Is there?"

"There are! ...I haven't seen them though."

"......And what does that matter?"

The town of Helicon, with its lake to the south and desert to the north.

Recently hearing that many lizardmen had been visiting, Gash Zapper, a tailless lizardman axefighter, and Heili Water (a pseudonym), a half-elf in the guise of a water spirit, visited around year's end.

Fake evergreen trees stood everywhere in town (there are almost none south of the desert so each one is handmade) and red decorations. Green and red, these were also the image colors for the winter spirit festival.

Well, even though it's winter, in the south of the desert snow never falls. In other words, this isn't what Trot people would imagine as a winter festival. It’s more like an autumn celebration in cooler climes with all-night revelry.

Celesta merchants are known for their generosity during festivals, spending without hesitation money they earned by working hard day and night. A sluggish economy is considered a personal evil; it's only right to spend freely if you're going to be a merchant.

True to this belief, the merchants of this town were planning a grand feast since the founding of the city.

"Who would've thought there'd be so much money in such an out-of-the-way place."

"If lots of lizardmen are coming, they must be making some good profits?"

"Well... I mean, it just seems suspicious that dragons have come here at all."

Gash is a lizardman who worships dragons but has never seen one himself. He didn’t want to dampen his fellow tribesmen’s spirits, but the rumors of dragon sightings seemed too far-fetched.

As a former soldier, Gash was well aware of how powerful recent illusion magic had become from military demonstrations by magical soldiers. He wondered if even an excellent foxkin or elf could pull off such a deception.

"Well, whatever. If things are this lively, it should be quite the grand festival for the spirits."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."

Heely snuggles up to Gash and rests her head on his shoulder.
Gash isn’t small for a Lizardman, but thanks to their characteristic forward-leaning posture, he’s not as tall as one might think. It was a pleasant surprise that Heely, who is somewhat shorter than average, could lean against him without looking unnatural.

On such a day of the Spirit Festival,

as evening falls, the town's festival mood reaches its peak.

"Hey Gash! What's that?!" "That!!"

"It’s fireworks," he says. "The student caravan from the capital university sometimes does it… but I didn’t think they’d do it in this kind of place."

"That’s amazing! You don’t even need a fire or light spirit to make those!"

"…Can fire and light spirits really do that?"

"...I don't know, but if it were me, I could probably put on something like that with water."

"I got an idea. We should try putting on a show somewhere and earn some money."

“W-Wait, no way! They’ll find out for sure!!”

“It’s a joke.”

In the sky, magical lights painted pictures every few minutes. On the streets of town, makeshift taverns popped up everywhere.

People kept buying barrels of alcohol and shouting, “It’s on me, everyone drink!” causing others to compete in generosity. The excited orcs started wrestling matches that drew dark elves, humans, lizardmen merchants, and more into the fun with laughter and cheers. Some even got competitive enough to make people wonder if they were ace knights.

The festival was a lively, energetic mess, typical of Celesta.

“Go Gash!”

“Watch this.”

Gash joined in on one of the wrestling matches. His opponent was an orc middle-aged man. Even though he felt good after drinking some alcohol, seeing such a strong brute sobered him up immediately. He wondered if he had bitten off more than he could chew.

"Yeah, Tailed Lizard, can you take it? If you don’t think about how to fall, it’ll hurt."

"Hey, I may be an Ogre, but I’m not your dad. Your stance is starting to strain your back, isn't it?"

"W-Why would you say that... Anyway, even if you were at your level, I wouldn’t get flipped over."

"We'll see about that. Don’t underestimate a Lizardman’s strength."

By the way, because of their massive bodies, Ogres usually suffer from knee or back problems as they age. Gash’s eyesight wasn’t particularly keen; it was just a bluff.

However, since Lizardmen have completely different expressions than humans and Ogres, this kind of psychological warfare works surprisingly well on them.

"Alright, C Stage, 27th match... Begin!"

"Uoohhh!!"

"Gaaaaahh!!"

Gash engaged the middle-aged Ogre with all his might, determined to show Heely a good fight.

But the middle-aged ogre, perhaps concerned about his own stance after being pointed out, did not even bother to properly brace himself for Gash’s charge; he merely shook his arms halfway in front of him. He was full of openings.

Gash thought this would work and put more force into his charge, but the middle-aged ogre casually deflected him.

“!?”

Their original body size difference made it difficult even to properly grapple with each other.

With the ogre’s long and massive arms, he could easily prevent any other race from grabbing onto him in the first place. So they hurriedly charged forward to avoid being blocked.

When their momentum was deflected like that, there was no way for them not to lose balance.

“Even if you have some speed, I’ll buy it! Go back and bring your tail next time!”

Gash was pushed away with a thump on the back and rolled out of bounds. The surrounding audience burst into laughter.

“Shit!”

“C’mon, c’mon. It’s a festival, so don’t take it seriously, Tail.”

“You ran pretty well, Tail!”

The spectators around Gash tried to console him as he sulked. Heeley laughed and ran up to him, stroking his head.

“Ogres are strong, aren’t they? You did great too, Gash.”

“Damn it! I’m a warrior too, you know!”

“Yes, yes, we all know how strong you really are, Gash.”

“You must be jealous of my pretty girlfriend, Lizard Man.”

“A wife’s worth is more important than sumo matches, Tail. You should see the Ogre’s wife; she’s amazing.”

“Don’t badmouth my wife! I have ears like a demon!”

Laughter never stopped. Gash tried to endure his humiliation by licking his tongue, but only a fellow lizardman would recognize this as an expression of shame.

The commotion continued until past midnight. When the bell rang announcing the hour, people suddenly quieted down and began closing their shops before heading home.

“Huh? Gash, what’s everyone doing?”

“Oh—… It’s the second half of the Spirit Festival after midnight.”

“The second half...?”

“Yeah.”

Gash patted Heely’s head with slightly stinking breath.

“The Spirits enjoyed the commotion until midnight. From now on it’s time for their blessing…”

“?”

?

"From now until tomorrow morning is the time of mercy under the protection of a satisfied spirit. They'll be watching over families and lovers as they nurture their love,"

"Huh?"

"Well, it might not be fun for you since it's like someone threw a wild party in your place without asking and then sent you the bill, but that's alright. Everyone just wants to get cozy."

"...I see. You guys are pretty shrewd or something, huh? Or maybe it's just well done?"

"Hey, Heelee, how about we nurture our love too?"

Gash muttered with his mouth full of alcohol.

Usually he wouldn't talk about love and would just slip into intimacy under the guise of each other’s lewdness, but even if it was just for show, even if it was just a matter of atmosphere, Gash had said ‘love’ and Heelee blushed.

"W-What are you talking about..."

"Does that mean it's not growing?"

Gash took a sip from his wooden cup. If he finished the alcohol in this cup, they'd have to leave the open-air tavern.

“Nobody said that, did they?”

“You’re such a complicated person.”

“…You seem to have forgotten, but I’m an angel, you know?”

“Oh yeah. Right.”

“…So, my job is to comfort people, right?”

“…Huh?”

“So,”

Heieryi leaned close to Gash’s incomprehensible ear and whispered.

“If it comes to that kind of day, then there’s no choice but to comfort you.”

“You’re such a hypocrite.”

The large gash in Gash’s lips and Heely’s small ones almost touched.

Then, a deafening sound and screams erupted.

“!?”

Both of them looked up at the sky and around them simultaneously.

“Gash!”

Heely pointed north. The sky there was darkened.

“What is that?”

“A sandstorm… maybe?”

“No, it doesn’t look like one… plus those weird sounds and screams…”

The ground shook as if something heavy were hitting it. Explosive-like noises.

"Something's wrong," Gash’s warrior instinct warns him. A disaster, it says.

The instinct tingles at his limbs’ roots and starts pumping blood rapidly, telling him this is a disaster that warriors should face.

"Heelee! Let’s go!"

"Gash?!"

Gash takes off running. He still carries the family twin tomahawks with him.

He unfastens the locks and straps binding them together and wields both axes in his hands. His arms are still accustomed to merging with these weapons.

"That is... not good!!"

Gash’s speed quickly turns feral. Lizardmen warriors are naturally strong.

In the outskirts of town, people were being attacked by monsters.

A huge snake… no.

“Sandworms!?” And they’re big!!

It was a giant sandworm, unique to the desert. Even an average-sized one would be around five meters long and several dozen centimeters thick, making it a troublesome creature that’s omnivorous—eating scorpions, snakes, cacti, and even monsters at times.

Even this large specimen of sandworm, with a diameter over a meter, was attacking the residents.

“Help me! Help meee!!”

“Damn it!! If only Lady Rila were here to deal with this thing!!”

“Go to the Ogre Inn and wake up everyone there!! Go to the garrison post and get anyone you can find!!”

“What good are they against something like this?!”

“They’re better than nothing!! At worst, we can at least guide people to safety… ah, hiiiii!!”

And it’s not just one. A monstrous body can be seen writhing from behind the palm trees.

“Tch… I envy races that have night vision.”

Gash muttered as he ran at full speed, swinging his tomahawks at the sandworm that had latched onto the townsman.

“Y-You saved me!!”

“Get out of here now!”

“I-I can’t! It won’t be that easy!”

The townsman’s leg was broken. The sandworm didn’t have teeth, but its suction could crush an animal’s body into a pulp.

Healer caught up to the injured man and ran over, placing her hands on his broken leg. A disgusting grinding sound came from it as she healed him, and he grimaced in pain, but the next moment his leg was back to normal.

“W-What…?!”

“Go!! You should be able to run!!”

“Y-Yeah!”

The townspeople ran away.

“Hey, Heelee! Run too!”

Gash kept hitting the Sandworm that was thrashing around, but its tough outer skin seemed to make his attacks ineffective, and he started getting frustrated.

“I always tell you, my main body is in that water bottle you have. So running off with just this body won’t do any good!”

“Tch.”

Gash looked at the silver water flask strapped to his waist. It was an expensive item, but it contained water mixed with Heelee’s core element (which Gash still didn’t fully understand, but thought of as her soul).

This was the axis of Heelee’s existence; even if she were torn apart, she could easily be revived as long as this core element was kept safe.

He hadn’t done anything so risky yet because he was too scared.

"Fine, but you better be useful!" Gash yelled. Hei-ri replied with a shout of "Of course I am!"

"I'm the spirit that pities people tonight!!"

"What good are you for beating these guys up? If you want to pity someone, do it over there!"

He swung his axe at the Sandworms lunging at him and sent them flying. The blow would have decapitated any ordinary creature.

But the Sandworms didn't seem fazed in the slightest.

"Damn it, if only I had a tail!" Gash growled.

If he still had his tail, that full-force horizontal swing might have been a fatal strike against the Sandworms. The sheer power of the blow would have made it impossible to evade or deflect.

But Gash's tail was severed just fifty centimeters from his rear end. It was useless.

"Hey, water spirit! Don't lick me!!"

Heely thrusts her hand out behind Gash and fires a spear of water.

The sharp blow hits the Sand Worm right in its mouth, making it flinch.

"It's working!!"

"No way, it’s not!!"

"At least it’s better than what Gash is doing!!"

"But we can't seem to kill it!!"

Though they’re still trading insults, Heely and Gash are also trying their best to keep the Sand Worm away from them, resulting in a surprisingly good combination.

"Damn it! I need some pure power to crush this thing... Where the hell are those Orgs?!"

Gash curses. However, it seems that the Sand Worm appeared not just here but elsewhere as well, and with screams and crashes echoing around, there’s no sign of any reinforcements coming to help Gash and Heely anytime soon.

“Damn… If only General Vincent were here now…”

“Who’s that?!”

“What are you so mad about?!!”

“We’ve got the spirits on our side, what more do you want?!”

“You’ll get to be jealous after we take these guys down, moron!!”

Gash thought again of his last reinforcements when he was in the military.

Even though hoping for an overnight rescue during a pinch might be unrealistic, he missed Vincent’s crazy attack power.

“Damn… I guess I could try stuffing my mouth with a tomahawk.”

“You won’t get it down.”

“That’s true.”

The sandworm's mouth, which is over a meter in diameter, seems like it could easily swallow something the size of a tomahawk. Even if they’re connected by silk chains, once inside, it’s easy to imagine how difficult it would be to retrieve them.

"Hey, don’t you have some kind of killer move, Water Spirit?"

"No! What do you expect from water?!"

"...Something like poison that ruins your stomach?"

"I’m pissed. Next time we’re doing it, I’ll definitely poison you. Something that keeps you in the bathroom for a day."

"Got it, I won’t be with you anymore."

"I’m sorry, that was a lie, please don’t say such mean things."

"You’re weak!"

While they continue to hit the sandworm’s head over and over again, this couple is flirting nonstop. Anyone watching would probably burst out laughing at how it’s nighttime during the festival.

No.

“Hahaha! You guys are so close, huh?!”

He was actually laughing out loud.

‘Who?!’

Gash and Heely turned around in shock.

There stood a woman with dark skin and silver hair, her appearance somewhat androgynous.

“That’s right.”

She continued to giggle as she pointed at the sandworms.

Just as Gash and Heely were about to attack the monsters reflexively,

“Here’s a hint… There are no fireworks users in this town today.”

“What?”

“Hint No. 2”
The woman swings her finger, which had been pointing at the sandworm, to the side.
In the next instant, the sandworm is suddenly sliced into pieces with a chun sound.
“!?”
Gash and Heely are dumbfounded.
The woman calmly passes by them and spreads out her hands toward the remaining few sandworms.
“Hint No. 3: Tonight, I have the duty to cherish you lovers like yourselves.”
She then elegantly spins around halfway, turning her back on the sandworms and facing Gash and Heely again.
A dazzling light illuminates her back as if it were swelling up.
The light scatters like a giant firefly, swarming onto the backs, heads, and mouths of the sandworms.

The light danced like fireworks at dusk, pulverizing the sandworms.

“Hello, warriors of lizards and spirits of water.”

A deafening boom, a cloud of dust, and green liquid spraying from the sandworms.

“My name is Bright Light. I am but a fragment of the spirit of light.”

She smiled sweetly, her appearance indistinguishable from that of a dark elf, untouched by any of it.

(To be continued)

"Good grief... This 'festival to comfort the spirits' is starting to look like nothing more than an excuse to drink."

"What do you mean, 'starting to look like'?"

"Well, because we found out the truth: the real spirits have never actually seen this festival."

"I-I mean, just because I haven't seen them doesn't mean the fire or wind spirits haven't!"

"...Have they?"

"They have! ...Though, I haven't personally seen them."

"...That doesn't really help your point."

Helicon, a town overlooking a lake to the south and a desert to the north.
It was near the end of the year when Gash Zapper, a tailless Lizardman axe warrior, and Heely Water (a working name), a water spirit in the form of a half-elf, arrived, having heard that many Lizardmen had recently been visiting.
The town was decorated with red ornaments and fake coniferous trees standing here and there (since there are almost none south of the desert, everyone makes them by hand). Green and red—the signature colors of the Winter Spirit Festival.
Well, even though it was called "winter," it almost never snows south of the desert; to be blunt, it wasn't the kind of winter festival a Trot person might imagine. It was a town with a chill roughly equivalent to autumn in the north, where boisterous celebrations unfolded all through the night.
One of the virtues of a Celesta merchant is to spend lavishly during festivals, even with the money earned through painstaking effort. Economic stagnation is a common evil; a true businessman knows to spend vigorously when it's time to put on a show.
True to that creed, the merchants of this town had planned the largest banquet since the town's founding.

"I don't know how a town in such a remote place can afford all this."

"If there are so many Lizardmen coming, it must be quite profitable, right?"

"I don't know... actually, the rumor that caused all this—the one about a dragon arriving—sounds a bit fishy to me."

Gash was a lowly member of the dragon-worshipping Lizardmen, but he had never seen a dragon in his entire life. He didn't want to dampen the spirits of his kin, but since dragons were said to be able to disguise themselves as humans, he couldn't help but feel they might be being deceived.

As a former soldier, Gash knew well the terrifying power of recent illusion magic from demonstrations by military mages. He thought that if they really put their minds to it, highly skilled beastmen like foxes or elves might be capable of such things.

"Well, whatever. If business is this good, the Spirit Festival is bound to be grand."

"Yeah. I'm looking forward to it."

Heely leaned in close to Gash, resting her head on his shoulder.

Gash was not small for a Lizardman, but due to the characteristic forward-leaning posture of his race, his total height wasn't particularly high. The fact that it didn't look awkward for Heely, who was a somewhat petite woman, to lean on him was a small, shared joy for them both.

On that very day of the Spirit Festival.

As evening approached, the festive mood in the town finally began to peak.

"Gash, look! What is that?! Look!!"

"They call them fireworks. Sometimes the student caravans from the Capital University set them off... but I didn't think they'd do it in a town like this."

"Amazing! Even spirits of fire and light can do something like that!"

"...Can spirits of fire and light actually do that?"

"...I don't know, but I think I could put on a show like that using water."

"That's a great idea. Let's turn that into a spectacle somewhere and make some money."

"Hey, wait, no! We'll definitely get caught!!"

"I'm joking, I'm joking."

Magical pictures of light were drawn in the sky every few minutes, and open-air taverns lined the streets of the town.
Constantly, someone would shout, "This one's on me, everyone drink!" as they bought up barrels of ale to distribute to the crowd, sparking a competition among companions.
Enthusiastic Ogres would start sumo wrestling matches, and Dark Elves, humans, and Lizardman merchants would join in, being tossed around to draw laughter. Occasionally, someone would try unusually hard, prompting the crowd to cheer, "Whoa, look at this guy, he's like an Ace Knight!"
It was a truly characteristic Celesta festival: diverse and energetic.

"Go for it, Gash!"

"Just watch me."

Gash decided to enter the sumo tournament. His opponent was a middle-aged Ogre.

Though he had stepped up with confidence, bolstered by the alcohol, his intoxication sobered slightly as he faced the brute strength of the race before him. He found himself muttering inwardly, Maybe I made a mistake.

"Hey, Tailless Lizard, do you even know how to break a fall? You'd better think about how to land, or it's gonna hurt."

"Heh, you might be an ogre, but you're just an old man. That stance of yours... isn't your lower back starting to ache yet?"

"H-how did you know that...? No, no—even so, I'm not about to be flipped over by someone like you."

"We'll see about that. Don't underestimate a lizard's raw strength."

As a side note, because of their massive frames, ogres almost always suffer from knee or back issues as they age. It wasn't that Gash's intuition was particularly sharp; it was simply a loaded question. However, since lizardmen have entirely different facial expressions than humans or ogres, this kind of psychological maneuvering worked surprisingly well.

"Alright, C-Stage, Match 27... Begin!"

"Waaaaaaagh!!"

"Let's gooo!!"

Gash grappled with the middle-aged ogre. He charged in with everything he had, determined to show off a little something for Heely.
But perhaps preoccupied with the lower back issue he'd just been called out on, the middle-aged ogre didn't even take a proper stance; he merely swung his arms forward halfway. He was wide open.
I can do this! Gash thought, putting even more momentum into his sprint, but the middle-aged ogre easily parried him with a light movement.
"!?"

The physical disparity—being nearly double in size—meant that even initiating a proper clinch was a struggle. With arms as long and massive as an ogre's, they were even capable of preventing other races from grabbing hold of them in the first place. Seeing this, Gash rushed forward desperately to avoid being blocked.
But once that momentum was neutralized, his balance was doomed to collapse.

"I'll give you credit for the spirit! Now go home and bring your tail with you!"

With a heavy shove to his back, Gash was unceremoniously sent tumbling out of the ring.

The surrounding crowd erupted into laughter.

"D-damn it!"

"Easy there, easy. It's a festival, don't take it so seriously, Short-tail!"

"That was a pretty good dash, Short-tail!"

The spectators teased the frustrated Gash. Heely ran up to him with a laugh, patting him affectionately on the head.

"Ogres are so strong! Gash, you get the Fighting Spirit Award!"

"Dammit, I'm a warrior too, you know!"

"Yes, yes, I know you're actually strong, Gash~"

"Man, I'm jealous of you, lizard-bro. Having a beautiful girlfriend like that..."

"Winning at sumo matters less than winning the lottery with your wife, Short-tail. The wife of that ogre guy is something else!"

"Don't go badmouthing my wife! She's got ears like a hawk!"

The laughter was endless. Gash endured the humiliation, flicking his tongue in irritation, though the only person who could tell he was actually mortified was likely another lizardman.

---

The commotion continued well past midnight.

When the bells rang to announce the hour, the people suddenly ceased their revelry, closed up their stalls, and began heading home.

"Huh? Gash, what happened to everyone?"

"Ah... the second half of the Spirit Festival starts after midnight."

"The second half...?"

"Yeah."

Gash gave Heely's head a light, rhythmic pat, his breath smelling faintly of alcohol.

"They say the Spirits enjoy the festivities until midnight. From here on out, it's the time for the Spirits' protection..."

"?"

"From now until tomorrow morning, we are under the period of the Benevolent Spirit's loving protection. It is a time when the Spirit watches over families and lovers as they nurture their love."

"Huh?"

"Well, I guess to you, it probably feels pretty unpleasant—like everyone's throwing a party without your permission and then sending you the bill. But it's fine. That's just the excuse everyone uses so they can get all lovey-dovey."

"...I see. So, everyone's either pretty crafty, or the system is just working perfectly."

"...So, what do you say, Heery? Shall we nurture our love, too?"

Gash muttered through a mouth smelling of booze.

Normally, they never spoke of "love"; they usually just drifted into intimacy, using each other's lecherousness as a pretext. But even if it was just a formality, even if it was just following the mood, Heery blushed at Gash's whisper of such a word.

"W-what are you talking about...?"

"What, you're not interested?"

Gash took a small sip of the liquor in his wooden cup, looking slightly disappointed. Once this was finished, the open-air tavern would have to close up for the night.

"No one said that."

"Man, you're a complicated one."

"...Listen, you seem to have forgotten, but I am a Spirit, you know?"

"Ah. Right."

"...The role I'm supposed to play is the one who bestows affection, isn't it?"

"...Hm?"

"So..."

Leaning close to Gash's difficult-to-reach ear, Heery whispered:

"...If it's one of those days, I suppose I have no choice. I'll cherish you."

"Using formalities to act all fancy..."

Whether Gash's wide, parted lips and Heery's small lips would meet or not—

At that moment, a roar and a scream erupted.

"!?"

Both looked up at the sky and scanned the surroundings simultaneously.

"Gash!"

Heery pointed. To the north, the sky had turned murky.

"What is that?"

"A sandstorm... maybe?"

"No, even for that... and that strange sound, and the screaming..."

The sound of something heavy striking the earth. A sound like an explosion.

"This isn't good."

Gash's warrior instincts warned him. A calamity.

His instincts pricked at the very base of his limbs, sending blood rushing through his body, signaling a disaster that a warrior must face.

"Heery, let's go!"

"Gash!?"

Gash took off running. He still carried his family's heirloom twin mahawks.

Unlocking the bindings of chain and leather that held them together, Gash gripped the axes with both hands. His arms still retained the sensation of the weapons becoming one with his flesh.

"That... is bad!!"

In an instant, Gash's speed shifted to that of a beast. A lizardman warrior, by nature, was a powerful thing.

On the outskirts of town, people were being attacked by monsters.

A giant serpent... no.

"A sandworm!? And a massive one at that!!"

It was a sandworm, a massive annelid unique to the desert.

Even an average specimen is a nuisance, measuring five meters in length and dozens of centimeters in thickness; to make matters worse, they are omnivorous. They consume not only scorpions, snakes, and cacti, but occasionally even monsters.

And this particular sandworm was a large specimen, with a thickness of over one meter, and it was currently attacking the residents.

"Help! Somebody help me!!"

"Dammit!! If only Lady Lyra were here, we could handle this!!"

"Go to the Ogre Inn and rouse them!! Go to the military police outpost and call anyone you can find!!"

"Do you really think the MPs can do anything about something like this!?"

"It's better than nothing!! At the very least, they can guide the evacuation... Ah—gyah!!"

And it seemed there wasn't just one. Beyond the palm grove, more eerie, massive shapes could be seen writhing.

"Tch... I'm jealous of the races that have night vision."

Muttering to himself, Gash sprinted at full speed, bringing both of his tomahawks down upon the sandworm that had latched onto a townsman.

"I-I'm saved!!"

"Get out of here, now!!"

"Ugh... sorry, but I can't!"

The townsman's leg had been broken. While the sandworm lacked teeth, its suction force was capable of crushing and snapping animal flesh.

Healy, who had caught up to the townsman, rushed over and held her hands above the broken leg.

A sickening cracking sound emanated from the limb; the man's face contorted in pain, but in the next instant, his leg had returned to its original shape.

"What...!?"

"Go!! You should be able to run!!"

"O-oh, right!"

The townsman scrambled to flee.

"Healy, you need to run too!"

Gash struck the writhing sandworm repeatedly, but due to its difficult-to-pierce hide, the blows didn't seem to be doing much, and he was beginning to grow bewildered.

"I tell you this all the time—my true self is that water you're carrying! There's no point in just this body running away!"

"Tch."

Gash looked down at the pure silver canteen strapped to his waist. It was an expensive item, containing water mixed with the "Core Element" that served as Healy's true self (Gash didn't quite understand it yet, but he understood it as something akin to a soul).

This was the axis of Healy's existence; as long as the Core Element was kept safe, even if the girl's physical form were torn apart, she could be resurrected without issue.

Though, out of fear, he hadn't attempted anything so dangerous yet.

"You can stay, but you'd better be of some use!!"

When Gash shouted, Healy yelled back, "Of course I will!"

"Because tonight, the spirits are meant to show compassion to the people!!"

"I'm asking if you're useful for beating these things up! If you want to show compassion, do it over there!"

He swung his axe, knocking away a sandworm that had been writhing toward Healy. Had this been the neck of an ordinary creature, the blow would have already decapitated it.

However, the sandworm appeared unfazed.

"Dammit, if only I had my tail!"

Gash gritted his teeth.

If Gash's tail were intact, that full-strength horizontal swing might have dealt a fatal blow to the sandworm. Unlike a slash, a strike that converts pure full-body power into kinetic impact cannot be easily deflected.

But currently, Gash's tail had been severed, leaving only about fifty centimeters of stump. It was useless.

"Don't you underestimate me, Water Spirit!!"

Standing behind Gash, Heely thrust her hand forward and launched a spear of water.

The pointed watery strike hit the sandworm's mouth directly, causing it to recoil.

"It's working!!"

"It's not working that much!"

"It's working more than Gash is!"

"But we still can't seem to kill it!!"

Even as they bickered, the two fought desperately to drive the sandworm away from one another, ultimately demonstrating excellent teamwork.

"Damn it, we need something that can just crush this thing with pure power... Where are those Ogre guys?!" Gash cursed. However, it seemed the sandworm wasn't the only thing that had appeared; with screams and thunderous roars echoing from all directions, there was still no sign of reinforcements for Gash and his companions.

"Dammit... If only General Vincent were here right now...!!"

"Who the hell is that?!"

"Why are you getting mad?!"

"The spirits are on our side, so what's your problem?!"

"Save that jealousy for after we defeat these things, you idiot!!"

Once again, Gash thought back to the last reinforcements he had during his days as a soldier. Wanting an "overnight" stay during a crisis was a tall order, but he truly missed that absurd offensive power.

"Dammit... It's all or nothing. Should I ram the Tomahawk straight into its mouth?"

"You'll probably just get swallowed whole."

"Yeah, you're right."

With a diameter of over a meter, the sandworm's mouth looked capable of swallowing the Tomahawk with ease. Even though it was attached by a silk chain, he could imagine that once swallowed, it wouldn't be easy to get back out.

"Don't you have some kind of special move, Water Spirit?!"

"I don't! What exactly are you expecting from water?!"

"...Something like a poison that gives you an upset stomach?"

"I've had enough. Next time we're being intimate, I am definitely poisoning you. I'll use something that keeps you in the bathroom for an entire day."

"Fine, fine, I'm never doing it with you again."

"I'm sorry, I was joking! Please don't be so mean!"

"You're too weak!!"

The idiot couple continued their flirting while repeatedly knocking against the sandworm's head. If anyone were watching, they would likely burst out laughing, thinking, 'As expected of a night during the Spirit Festival.'

No.

"Hahahaha! You two certainly are close!!"

Someone was, in fact, laughing loudly.

"Who's there!?"

Gash and Heely spun around in shock.

Standing there was a woman with dark skin and silver hair, possessing a somewhat androgynous aura.

"You certainly are," the woman said, continuing to giggle as she pointed toward the sandworm.

As the monster lunged toward them, Gash and Heely instinctively moved to attack—only for her to interject.

"A hint for you... No Firework Users have visited this city today."

"Huh?"

"Hint number two."

The woman swung her pointing finger to the side.
In the next instant, the sandworm was suddenly sliced into rings with a sharp chirp.
"!?"
Gash and Heely stood there, stunned.
The woman leisurely overtook the two of them, spreading both arms toward the remaining few sandworms.
"Hint number three. Tonight, it is my duty to cherish lovers such as yourselves."

Then, with an elegant half-turn, she turned her back to the sandworms and faced Gash and his companion once more.
A dazzling light began to expand, coloring her back.
Like massive fireflies, the lights burst forth and scattered, swarming the backs, heads, and mouths of the sandworms.
The lights danced like fireworks seen at dusk, ruthlessly pulverizing the sandworms into nothingness.

"Nice to meet you, beloved lizard warrior and water spirit."

There was a thunderous roar, a cloud of dust, and the spraying green fluids of the sandworms.

"My name is Bright Light. I am but a fragment of the spirits of light."

Unsoiled by any of it, looking like nothing other than a dark elf, she offered a gentle smile.

(To be continued)

"Seriously, this spirit festival looks like nothing more than an excuse to get drunk," Gash muttered.

"Like what?"

"Well, it turns out the actual spirits haven’t even seen a festival before."

"W-wait, just because I haven’t doesn’t mean the fire and wind spirits might have!"

"...Really?"

"Yeah! …Though I’ve never actually seen one."

"...How can you be so sure?"

In Helicon, a town nestled between lakes to the south and deserts to the north, the half-elf water spirit Heili Water (alias) and Gash Zapper, a tailless lizardman axe warrior, arrived as the year drew to a close. They’d heard rumors of many lizardmen visiting lately.

The town was adorned with fake conifers (handmade since they’re scarce in the desert south) and red decorations—green and red, the colors of the Winter Spirit Festival.

Well, "winter" was relative; snow rarely fell in the southern desert, so it wasn’t quite the winter festival Trott people imagined. It was more like autumn in the north—a town with mild coolness where all-night revelry unfolded.

Ceres traders were known for spending freely what they’d earned by the sweat of their brow, a virtue among them. Economic stagnation was a close-up evil; a merchant’s worth was proven by lavish spending during festivals.

True to that creed, Helicon’s merchants had planned the biggest banquet in the town’s history.

"How does a backwater town like this have so much money?"

"If there are tons of lizardmen coming, they must be making a killing."

"Yeah… but that rumor about a dragon showing up? Sounds fishy to me."

Gash was a lizardman who revered dragons, yet he’d never met one. He didn’t want to dampen his kin’s spirits, but dragons could perfectly mimic humans—was everyone being fooled?

As a former soldier, Gash knew the power of illusion magic from military mage demonstrations. If they tried hard enough, even skilled foxkin or elf-blooded mages could pull it off.

"Well, whatever. If things are this lively, the Spirit Festival’s gotta be something."

"Yeah! I’m excited."

Heili leaned against Gash, resting her head on his shoulder.

Though not short for a lizardman, Gash’s forward-leaning posture kept his height manageable. Heili, slightly petite, could lean on him without looking odd—a small but pleasant detail for the two of them.

Then came the day of the Spirit Festival.

As evening fell, the town’s festive mood reached its peak.

"Gash, what’s that!? What is that!"

"Looks like fireworks. The Capital University student caravan does them sometimes… but in a place like this?"

"Amazing! Even without fire or light spirits, they can do that!"

"...Can fire and light spirits even do that?"

"...I don’t know, but I bet I could put on a show with water that’s just as impressive."

"Now you’re talking. Let’s do a sideshow somewhere and make some cash."

"W-wait, no way! People’ll find out!"

"Joking, man."

In the sky, magical light paintings appeared every few minutes, while street stalls popped up everywhere.

Someone would buy a keg of ale, shout, "It’s on me, everyone drink!" and pour for the crowd—sparking friendly competition among groups.

Elven ogres, fueled by excitement, started a sumo tournament, with dark elves, humans, and lizardman merchants getting tossed around for laughs. But some took it surprisingly seriously, prompting cheers: "Whoa, is that Ace Knight from the north?"

It was a truly Celesta-esque, chaotic and energetic festival.

"Go get 'em, Gash!"

"Just watch this."

Gash decided to join the sumo tournament too. His opponent? A middle-aged Ogre.

He’d been drinking and felt pretty good about it, but facing a race of pure brute strength sobered him up a bit. Did I mess up? he thought silently.

"Hey, tailless lizard, can you even take a fall? You better think about how to land, or it’s gonna hurt."

"Hah, an Ogre, sure, but still just an old man. That stance of yours is killing your back, ain’t it?"

"W-why’d you have to say that…? Well, I still won’t be flipped by a scrub like you."

"Is that so? Don’t underestimate a lizard’s strength."

By the way, Ogres tend to get knee or hip problems as they age due to their massive size. It wasn’t that Gash had any special insight—it was just a bluff.

But Lizardmen have such different expressions than humans or Ogres, making this kind of banter surprisingly effective.

"Alright, C-Stage Match 27… Begin!"

"WOOOOOOOOH!!"

"SHIIIIIIIIII!"

Gash grappled with the middle-aged Ogre, determined to show Heili he still had it.

But the Ogre, perhaps concerned about his creaky back as pointed out, didn’t brace himself properly against Gash’s charge—just waved his arms weakly in front of him. Wide open.

This is doable, Gash thought, powering forward even harder… but the middle-aged Ogre casually sidestepped him.

"!?"

The original two-fold size difference alone made grappling a struggle.

With those long, massive Ogre arms, he could easily prevent other races from even grabbing him in the first place.

So they’d rush in desperately to avoid being blocked.

If that momentum was deflected… well, there was no way their stance wouldn’t collapse.

"Nice hustle, though! Come back when you’ve got a tail!"

With a thump, Gash was shoved backward and tumbled out of the ring.

The surrounding crowd burst into laughter.

"C-crap!"

"Easy now, it’s a festival, don’t get so serious, Tailless."

"That was a pretty good dash, Tailless!"

The surrounding spectators tried to console the frustrated Gash. Heili even ran over, laughing and patting his head.

"Ogres are strong, huh? Gash should get an effort award."

"Damn it, I’m a warrior too, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know you’re strong, Gash."

"I-I’m so jealous of your beautiful girlfriend, Lizardy."

"Sumo’s nothing compared to how well your wife measures up, Tailless. That Ogre’s wife is amazing, you know?"

"Don’t badmouth my wife! She’s got ears like a bat!"

The laughter never stopped. Gash endured the humiliation, lolling his tongue out, but only another lizardman could tell if that was a face of shame or not.

The commotion continued until past midnight. When the bell rang to announce it, people suddenly stopped their revelry, closed up shop, and began heading home.

"Huh? Gash, what’s with everyone?"

"Ah… from midnight onward is the second half of the Spirit Festival."

"The second half…?"

"Yeah."

Pfft, Gash exhaled a slightly boozy breath as he ruffled Heili’s hair.

"The spirits enjoyed the festivities until midnight. From here on out, it’s time for the spirits’ blessing… or so they say."

"?!"

"Now until tomorrow morning is the time of the spirits’ benevolent protection, having been satisfied by tonight’s revelry. They’ll watch over families and lovers as they nurture their love, or so the story goes."

"Ehh?"

"Well, from your perspective, it probably feels like you were just letting everyone party like crazy, then suddenly getting billed for it—probably not that fun, huh? But hey, that’s how it is. Everyone wants to get all lovey-dovey, you know?"

"...I see. So everyone’s pretty crafty, or well-organized, I guess."

"...So, Heili. How about we nurture some love of our own?"

Gash murmured with his boozy breath. Normally, they didn’t use words like "love"—they’d just exploit each other’s lewdness and gradually end up together—but even if it was just for show, even if it was based on atmosphere alone, Heili blushed at Gash muttering about love.

"W-what are you saying…"

"So, you don’t want to?"

Gash sipped his drink from the wooden cup with a slightly disappointed look. If he finished this, the open-air bar would have to pack up and leave.

"No one said anything like that."

"You’re such a complicated one."

"...Listen, you seem to have forgotten, but I’m a spirit, okay?"

"Ah… right."

"...I’m supposed to be the nurturing one, not—"

"...Huh?"

"That’s why—"

Heili pressed her lips to Gash’s hard-of-hearing ear and whispered.

"...If it’s that kind of day, I guess I’ll have to nurture you."

"You’re putting on a weird act."

Gash’s wide split lips and Heili’s small lips either touched or didn’t—just as the earth-shattering roar and scream erupted.

"!?"

Both looked up at the sky and around them simultaneously.

"GASH!"

Heeley pointed. To the north, the sky was clouded over.

"What's that?"

"A sandstorm… maybe."

"No, even for that… and those screams…"

The sound of something heavy striking the ground. An explosive boom.

"Something's not right," Gash thought. His warrior's instinct told him—trouble.

Trouble a warrior should face. The instinct prickled at his joints, blood rushing through his veins with sudden urgency.

"Heeley, let's go!"

"Gash!?"

Gash sprinted forward. He still carried the family heirloom Twin Tomahawks.

Unfastening the chains and leather bindings that secured the cursed weapons, Gash toyed with the axes in both hands. His body still remembered the feeling of merging with his weapons.

"That's… bad!"

His speed escalated rapidly, becoming bestial. Lizardmen warriors were naturally strong to begin with.

On the outskirts of town, people were being attacked by a monster.

A giant snake… no.

"A Sandworm!? And a huge one at that!!"

It was a sandworm—a colossal annelid unique to deserts. Even an average specimen measured five meters long and several tens of centimeters thick, a troublesome creature that was also omnivorous—eating scorpions, snakes, cacti, and sometimes even monsters.

This one was a particularly large individual, over a meter thick, attacking the townsfolk.

"Help! Help meee!!"

"Damn it!! If only Lady Lila were here—"

"Go wake up those Ogre lodgers!! Go to the gendarmerie and call anyone you can!!"

"How are the gendarmes supposed to handle this?!"

"Better than nothing!! At worst, they can direct an evacuation… Ahh—hiieee!!"

And it wasn’t just one. Beyond the palm grove, a grotesque, lumbering mass was visible.

"Tch… I envy those who can see in the dark."

Gash muttered as he ran at full speed, swinging his twin tomahawks down at the sandworm that had latched onto a townsman.

"Y-you saved me!!"

"Get out of here quick!"

"I…I can’t just leave you—"

The townsman’s leg was broken. Sandworms didn’t have teeth, but their suction power could crush and distort flesh like putty.

Heeley caught up to the injured man, hovering her hands over his broken leg.

A sickening crack-crack echoed from the limb, and the townsman’s face twisted in pain—but in the next instant, his leg had returned to its original form.

"Wh—!?"

"Go! You can run!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

The townspeople flee in a panic.
"Heili, you get out of here too!"

Gash lands blow after blow on the writhing Sandworm, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much—probably because of its tough outer shell. He’s starting to get frustrated.
"I keep telling you, my main body is that water you’re carrying, so running away with just this body is pointless!"

"Tch."

Gash glances at the silver water bottle strapped to his waist. It was an expensive purchase, but it contains water mixed with Heili’s "main body"—the core element (which Gash doesn’t fully understand yet, but thinks of as something like a soul).

That’s the axis of Heili’s existence—the girl-shaped Heili herself can materialize and even if she’s torn apart, she can revive without issue as long as that core element is intact… or so it goes.

Though he’s too scared to try anything that dangerous yet.
"Fine, but you better be useful!"

Gash shouts, and Heili yells back, "Of course I will!"
"I’m talking about how useful you are for beating these guys up! If you want to be all loving, do it over there!"

He swings his axe at the Sandworm, which is thrashing toward Heili. A normal creature’s head would’ve been flying off with that hit.

But the Sandworm doesn’t even flinch.
"Damn it—if I still had my tail—"

Gash grits his teeth. If his tail were still intact, that full-force sideways swipe could’ve been a killing blow. The pure power of his entire body converted into impact—unlike a slashing attack, there’s no way to dodge it.

But now, Gash’s tail is just a stump, severed about fifty centimeters from his butt. Useless.

"Water Spirit, don’t you dare underestimate me!"

Heili thrusts her hands forward behind Gash, launching a spear of water.

The pointed water strike hits the Sandworm right in the mouth, making it recoil.

"It’s working!"

"It’s not working at all!"

"It’s working more than Gash’s!"

"But it doesn’t look like it can kill it!!"

While bickering, they both struggle to keep the Sandworm away from each other, resulting in surprisingly good teamwork.
"Damn it—something that can just be crushed with raw power… where are those Ogre guys already?!"

Gash curses. But it seems the Sandworms aren’t just here—the sound of screams and explosions is echoing from all directions now, and there’s still no sign of reinforcements for Gash and Heili.

"Damn it… if only General Vincent was here…"

"Who’s that?"

"Why are you getting mad at me?!"

"The spirits are on our side! What’s your problem?"

"You can save the jealousy for after we beat these guys, you idiot!"

Gash, once again, reminisced about the last reinforcements he'd had as a soldier. Hoping for an Overnight in a pinch might be asking too much, but he missed that haphazard attack ability of hers.

"Damn it… maybe I should just swallow a tomahawk, all or nothing."

"You’d get swallowed whole."

"Yeah, true."

The sandworm’s mouth, over a meter in diameter, could easily swallow a tomahawk without breaking a sweat. Even if they were connected by silk chains, retrieving them once swallowed would be no easy task.

"Hey, Water Spirit, don’t you have some ultimate technique?"

"Nope! What do you even expect from water?!"

"...Got anything that’ll just mess up my stomach?"

"Okay, I got one! Next time we get it on, I’m definitely poisoning you. Something that’ll keep you stuck in the bathroom all day."

"Alright, I’m done with you."

"Sorry, I was kidding, don’t say stuff like that!"

"You’re so weak!!"

While they kept bashing the sandworm’s head relentlessly, the couple continued their flirty banter. Anyone watching would probably burst out laughing, thinking, Ah, it is indeed the Night of the Spirit Festival.

Nope.

"Hahahaha! You two are really close!"

They were actually being laughed at.

Who!?

Gash and Heili turned around in shock.

There stood a woman with tanned skin and silver hair, exuding an almost androgynous aura.

"Yeah, we are."

The woman continued to giggle as she pointed at the sandworm.

Just as Gash and Heili reflexively tried to attack the incoming monster…

"Hint. …No fireworks user has visited this town today."

"Huh?"

"Hint number two."

The woman flicked her wrist, dismissing the sandworm with a wave of her hand.

The next instant, the sandworm was sliced cleanly in half—chun!

"!?"

Gash and Heili stared in disbelief.

The woman leisurely passed them by and spread her arms toward the remaining sandworms.

"Hint number three. Tonight, I have a duty to cherish lovers like you two."

Then, with a graceful half-turn, she faced away from the sandworms and back toward Gash and Heili.

A dazzling light bloomed across her back like an expanding aura.

It burst forth like giant fireflies, swarming over the sandworms—onto their backs, their heads, their mouths.

Light danced like the fireworks I’d seen that evening, shattering the Sandworms to pieces.

"Nice to meet you, lovers—the Lizard Warrior and the Water Spirit."

A deafening roar, sandstorm, and the Sandworms’ green ichor erupting into the air.

"My name is Bright Light. A mere spark of the Light Spirit."

Unblemished by any of it, she smiled—a Dark Elf through and through.

(To be continued)

"Man, this Spirit Festival's turned into nothing but an excuse to get drunk."

"What do you mean by 'turned into'?"

"I found out the truth: the real spirits haven't actually seen this festival before."

"W-wait, just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean Fire and Wind Spirits haven't!"

"……Are they here?"

"They are! ……I've never seen them, though."

"……So what does that even mean?"

The town of Helicon overlooks a lake to the south and a desert to the north.
Recently, rumors had spread that many lizardmen were visiting. It was around late autumn, just before year's end, when Gash Bell—a tailless lizardman axe warrior—and Heili Water (a pseudonym), a half-elf water spirit, arrived in town.

Fake conifer trees stood scattered throughout the streets (since true conifers are nearly nonexistent in the southern desert, each one was handmade by locals), adorned with red decorations. Green and red—the official colors of the Winter Spirit Festival.

Well, even though it's called a "winter" festival, snow rarely falls in the southern desert. To put it bluntly, it bears little resemblance to how Trot people imagine winter celebrations. In this town, where temperatures barely dip into autumn-like coolness, all-night revelry unfolds instead.

One of the virtues of Celesta merchants is spending lavishly during festivals, even on money they've earned by keeping a flame lit under their fingernails day after day. Economic stagnation is seen as a personal failing; true businessmen thrive only when they can show off their prosperity in public.

Staying true to this creed, the town's merchants had planned an unprecedented grand banquet since the town's founding.

"This backwater town has got quite a bit of money for itself, huh?"

"If so many lizardmen are coming through, they must be making some serious cash, right?"

"No way... I mean, even the rumor that a dragon caused all this feels suspicious as hell."

Gash Bell himself is part of the lizardman race that worships dragons, yet he's never met one in his entire life. He can't bring himself to dislike them when his own kind rejoices, but since dragons can shapeshift almost perfectly into humans, he suspects they might be pulling some kind of scam.

As a former soldier, Gash Bell is well aware of the terrifying power of Phantom Magic through military demonstrations. He'd often thought that even a skilled fox-beast or elf-type could probably pull it off if they put their minds to it.

"Whatever. If the economy's this good, the Spirit Festival must be going full blast."

"Yeah. Can't wait."

Heili leaned close to Gash, resting her head on his shoulder.

Though Gash isn't particularly short for a lizardman, his species' characteristic forward-leaning posture keeps his overall height modest. It was a small but pleasant surprise that Heili, whose stature could be described as slightly petite, didn't look out of place leaning against him.

On the day of the Spirit Festival itself:
As evening fell, the town's festive atmosphere reached its peak.

"Gash, what's that?! That!!"

"It's fireworks! Student caravans from the Capital University sometimes bring them... I didn't think they'd do it in a place like this."

"Amazing! Even spirits of fire and light couldn't pull something like that off!"

"……Could spirits of fire and light really do stuff like that?"

"……I don't know, but if I could, I'd say water could create a spectacle just as impressive."

"That's great. Next time, let's put on a show and make some money."

"W-wait, no way! That'll get us exposed for sure!!"

"Just kidding."

Every few minutes, magical lights painted pictures across the sky. Taverns sprang up along the streets, offering open-air drinking spots.

One after another, someone would shout, "I'm treating everyone—drink up!" buying entire barrels of alcohol and serving them to those nearby, turning it into a friendly competition among friends.

Enthusiastic ogres kicked off a sumo tournament, while dark elves, humans, and lizardman merchants joined in, tossing each other playfully to elicit laughter. Yet some went all out with surprising seriousness, prompting cheers like, "Hey, who's the ace knight from over there?"

Truly a chaotic and energetic festival befitting Celesta.

"Go for it, Gash!"

"Well, just watch."

Gash steps into the sumo ring. His opponent is a middle-aged ogre.
Though he'd challenged with a bit of courage fueled by alcohol, facing a brute race like the ogres sobered him up instantly. He muttered to himself, wondering if he'd made a mistake.

"Hah! Tailless lizard, can you take a hit? You better think about how you're gonna fall, or it'll hurt."

"Heh, but even an ogre is still just an old man. Isn't that posture starting to ache your lower back?"

"N-no way... No, no, I'm not saying you'd flip me over like that!"

"Who knows? Don't underestimate a lizard's strength."

By the way, ogres tend to suffer from knee or back problems as they age due to their massive frames. Gash's sharp eyesight wasn't the issue; it was just playful banter.
However, since lizards have expressions so different from humans and ogres, this kind of psychological play works surprisingly well on them.

"Alright, C-Stage Match #27... Let's go!"

"Uoooooooh!!"

"Shaaaaa!!"

Gash grapples with the middle-aged ogre. Determined to show off a little for Heeri, he charges forward with renewed spirit.
But the ogre, mindful of the sore lower back he'd been warned about, doesn't brace himself against Gash's advance. Instead, he half-heartedly waves his arms in front of him—leaving himself wide open.

"Now's my chance!" Gash pushes harder, charging with full momentum. But the middle-aged ogre sidesteps him effortlessly.

"!?!"

Even though the ogre is nearly twice their size, simply getting into a proper grip proves difficult. With his long, massive arms, he could easily prevent other races from even making contact.
So the opposing race frantically charges forward to avoid being blocked.
Once that momentum is neutralized, there's no way they can maintain their balance.

"I'll buy your speed! But you're out—get back in the ring!"

With a sharp shove against his back, Gash tumbles helplessly outside the boundary line.
The surrounding audience bursts into laughter.

"D-dammit!"

"Come on, come on, it's a festival, don't take it so seriously, Tailless One."

"That was quite a dash, Tailless One!"

The crowd soothes Gash's frustration. Heeri approaches with a smile, gently patting his head.

"Ogres are strong, huh? Gash gets the Spirit Award!"

"Grrr... Even though I'm a warrior too!"

"Yeah, yeah, we all know you're actually strong."

"You know, it's more important to win at marriage than sumo, Tailless One. That ogre guy's wife is incredible."

"Don't talk bad about my wife! My ears are super sensitive!"

Laughter never ceases. Gash, sticking out his tongue with a chattering motion, endures the humiliation, though only another Lizardman would recognize that expression as one of shame.

The commotion continues well past midnight.

When the bell tolls to announce the hour, the crowd suddenly quiets down, closes their stalls, and begins making their way home.

"Huh? Gash, what's everyone doing?"

"Ah... From now on, it's the second half of the Spirit Festival."

"Second half...?"

"Yeah."

Panting slightly with a breath that smells of alcohol, Gash gently strokes Heili's head as if tapping it.

"The Spirits have enjoyed the festivities until midnight. From here on out is their time under divine protection... that's what they say."

"?"

"Now, from this moment until dawn tomorrow, the Spirits will bestow their benevolent grace upon those who have been thoroughly satisfied. They'll watch over families and lovers as they nurture their love."

"Eh?"

"Well, for you, it might seem like you were just made to cause a ruckus without permission and then billed for it afterward, which isn't very fun. But that's exactly how everyone wants it—they want to be all affectionate."

"...I see now. Everyone's pretty shrewd, or rather, they've got this figured out quite well."

"...How about us too, Heili? Shall we nurture some love?"

Gash murmurs with a breath reeking of alcohol.

Normally, he never speaks of love; instead, under the guise of mutual lust, they gradually give in to their desires. Yet even though it's merely a pretense and relies on atmosphere, hearing Gash whisper "love" makes Heili blush deeply.

"W-What are you saying...?"

"Why wouldn't we nurture it?"

Gash takes a small sip from his wooden cup, looking slightly disappointed. Once he finishes this drink, the open-air bar will have to close up.

"Nobody said anything like that."

"You're such a complicated one too."

"...Hey, you seem to have forgotten, but I'm a Spirit, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"...And isn't my role to show compassion?"

"...Huh?"

"So..."

Pressing her lips close to Gash's ear, Heili whispers.

"...On days like this, there's no choice but for me to show you compassion."

"What a pretentious way to put it."

Gash's widely parted lips meet—or nearly meet—Heili's small ones.

Then, a deafening roar and screams erupt.

"!"

Both look up at the sky and glance around nervously.

"Gash!"

Heery points. To the north, the sky has turned murky.

"What's going on?"

"Maybe a sandstorm..."

"No, it's not quite that... there's some strange sound, screams..."

The sound of something heavy striking the ground. An explosive noise.

"That's no good."

Gash's warrior instinct warns him: disaster is coming.

It's the kind of disaster where a warrior must stand ready. His instinct prickles at the base of his limbs, rapidly pumping blood through his veins.

"Heery, let's go!"

"Gash!?"

Gash dashes forward, still carrying his family heirloom twin tomahawks.

He unties the lock and leather binding that seals them together, gripping both axes with both hands. His arms still retain the sensation of being one with the weapons.

"That's... no good!!"

Gash's speed quickly transforms into that of a beast. After all, warrior lizards are strong by nature.

On the outskirts of town, people were being attacked by monsters.

A giant snake... no.

"A sandworm!? And it's huge!!"

It was a sandworm, a massive annelid unique to deserts.

Even an average specimen is a nuisance, measuring five meters in length and several centimeters in thickness, and they're omnivorous—eating scorpions, snakes, cacti, and sometimes even monsters.

But this one was a large individual, over a meter thick, attacking the residents.

"Help us, help us!!"

"Damn it!! If Lady Leila were here, she'd handle this kind of thing!!"

"Go to the Ogre Inn and wake up those guys!! Go to the gendarmerie station and call anyone you can find!!"

"How are those gendarmes supposed to deal with this!?"

"At least they're better than nothing!! Worst case, they could at least guide us to safety... Ah, yikes!!"

And it doesn't seem like there's just one. From beyond the grove of palms, a grotesque giant can be seen writhing.

"Tch... I envy races that can see in the dark."

Gash mutters as he sprints at full speed, swinging both tomahawks to strike the sandworm that has already latched onto a townsman.

"T-thank goodness!!"

"Hurry and run!!"

"I... I'm sorry, but there's nothing else I can do!"

The townsman's leg had been broken. Sandworms have no teeth, but their suction power can crush animal flesh into a pulp.

Heery runs up to the townsman as she catches up, placing her hand over his broken leg.

A sickening squelching sound emanates from that limb, and the townsman grimaces in pain, but the next moment, his foot has returned to its original shape.

"W-what...!?"

"Go! You can run!"

"Oh, okay!"

The townsfolk sprint away in panic.
"Heely, you too, get out of here!"

Gash tries to strike the writhing Sandworm repeatedly, but its tough outer skin resists the blade's edge, rendering his attacks ineffective. Confusion begins to cloud his expression.

"I've told you before—my true form is that water you're holding! If this body escapes alone, it means nothing!"

"Tch."

Gash glances at the silver flask strapped to his waist. It was an expensive purchase, filled with water infused with elemental cores—the very essence of Heely's existence (though Gash still doesn't fully understand them, he perceives them as soul-like).

This is the axis of Heely's being; even if her manifested form were shattered into pieces, she could revive without issue so long as those elemental cores remained intact...

Though fear has kept him from testing such dangerous possibilities yet.

"You can stay here, but at least you're useful now, right?!"

Gash shouts, and Heely retorts, "Of course I am! Spirits are meant to show mercy to people tonight!!"

"I'm talking about whether you'll help us crush these bastards! If you want to show mercy, do it over there!"

With a roar, Gash swings his axe at the Sandworm lashing toward Heely. A blow that would have decapitated an ordinary creature instantly.

Yet the Sandworm shows no sign of being affected.
"Damn it... as long as its tail remains..."

Gash grits his teeth. Had Gash's own tail remained unharmed, his full-power horizontal slash might well have delivered a fatal blow to the Sandworm. Purely converting all his strength into impact, this strike would be impossible to dodge—unlike a simple cut.

But now, Gash's tail hangs severed at about fifty centimeters from his hips, utterly useless.

"Water Spirit, don't you dare underestimate me!!"

Behind Gash, Heely thrusts her hand forward, launching a spear of water. The sharp projectile strikes the Sandworm's mouth directly, causing it to recoil in shock.

"It's working!!"

"It's not even close!"

"At least it works better than Gash's attacks!"

"But we still can't kill it!!"

While bickering, both struggle to keep the Sandworm at bay, inadvertently forming a surprisingly effective combination.

"Damn it... something like this requires pure brute force... where are those Orcs supposed to be?! They're late!"

Gash growls in frustration. Yet the appearance of the Sandworm wasn't isolated to this location alone; screams and explosions echo from all directions, but no reinforcements for Gash and his companions have yet arrived.

"Damn it... if only General Vincent were here right now..."

"Who's that?!"

"Why are you getting angry?!?"

"She's on our side as a spirit—what's the problem?!"

"Don't say things like that until we've defeated these monsters, you idiot!!"

Gash, once again, reflects on his final act of aid as a soldier.
Though it was an overreach to hope for Overnight in such a desperate situation, he still craved that absurd offensive power.

"Damn it... All or nothing. I'll smash the tomahawk into my own mouth!"

"You're going to swallow it whole, aren't you?"

"I guess so."

The maw of the sandworm, over a meter in diameter, could easily have swallowed the tomahawk whole; even though they were bound by silk chains, once inside, extraction would be no easy task.

"Do you have any kind of ultimate move, Water Spirit-sama?!"

"There isn't one! What do you expect from water, you idiot?!"

"...Something like a poison that makes your stomach turn?"

"I've got it ready. Next time we're intimate, I'll definitely serve you some poison—enough to keep you stuck in the toilet for a whole day."

"Understood. I'm never going to sleep with you again."

"I'm sorry! That was just a joke, so please don't say mean things like that!"

"You weakling!!"

While relentlessly pounding the sandworm's head, this affectionate couple had been bickering and flirting nonstop. If anyone were watching, they'd probably burst out laughing: "This is the Spirit Festival night after all."

No.

"Hahaha! You two are so cute together!!"

They were indeed being laughed at aloud.
"Who's there?!"

Gash and Heili turned sharply, startled.
Standing before them was a woman with dark skin and silvery hair, exuding an androgynous aura.

"That's right."
The woman continued chuckling softly as she pointed toward the sandworms.

As the monsters closed in, Gash and Heili instinctively prepared to attack—

"Here's a hint... No fireworks users have visited this town today."

"Huh?"

"Hint number two."

She swung her pointing finger sideways.
In the next instant, one of the sandworms was suddenly sliced into rings with a sharp chun sound.

"!!"

Gash and Heili stood stunned.
The woman calmly passed between them, then spread her arms toward the remaining sandworms.

"Hint number three: Tonight, I have the duty to cherish couples like you two."

With an elegant half-spin, she turned her back to the swarm and faced Gash and his companions.
A dazzling light bloomed across her back as if swelling with brilliance.
Like a giant firefly suddenly scattering its glow, it erupted around them, swarming over the sandworms' backs, heads, and mouths.

The light danced like fireworks seen at dusk, pulverizing the sandworms into a thousand fragments.

"Nice to meet you, warrior of the loving lizards and spirit of water."

A deafening roar, clouds of sand smoke, and the green bodily fluids of the sandworms shooting upward.

"My name is Bright Light. I am one of the spirits of light."

Unblemished by any of that chaos, she smiled warmly, though her appearance was indistinguishable from a dark elf.

(TBC)

"Ah well, the festival to comfort the spirits has turned into nothing more than an excuse to drink."

"What do you mean, 'turned into'?"

"We’ve found out that the real spirits haven’t seen the festival before."

"Oh, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t seen fire or wind spirits!"

"...Huh?"

"They’re here! ...Though I’ve never seen them myself."

"...That’s a bit dubious."

The town of Helicon, with a lake to the south and a desert to the north.

It was nearing the end of the year when Gash Zapper, an axe-wielding lizardman without a tail, and Hilly Water (pseudonym), a half-elf who appeared as a water spirit, heard that many lizardmen had been visiting recently. They arrived just in time for the winter festival.

The town was lined with fake conifers (since there are almost none in the desert to the south, each family crafts their own) and red decorations. Green and red—those are the colors associated with the winter spirit festival.

Well, even though it’s called winter, it rarely snows in the desert to the south, so it’s not exactly the kind of winter festival Trot people imagine. It’s more like autumn coolness in the north, where a lively all-night celebration unfolds.

In the Celesta merchants’ tradition, they save up their hard-earned money but don’t hesitate to spend generously during festivals. Stagnant economy is considered a close-by evil; businesspeople are meant to show their worth by splurging in such moments.

As with their usual tenacity, the merchants of this town had planned what would undoubtedly be the grandest feast since the town’s founding.

"Of all places, how did a town like this manage to have so much money?"

"If there are a lot of lizardmen here, it must be quite profitable, right?"

"No… well, actually, that whole rumor about a dragon coming is pretty suspicious."

Gash was a lizardman who worshipped dragons, but he had never once seen one in his life. He didn’t want to dampen the excitement of his fellow lizardmen, but he couldn’t help feeling that they might be being deceived. After all, it was said that dragons could shape-shift into humans.

As a former soldier, Gash knew firsthand the incredible power of illusion magic, having witnessed it during military demonstrations. He thought it wasn’t impossible for skilled fox beastmen or elves to pull off such a feat if they really wanted to.

"Well, whatever. If the economy’s this good, the spirit festival will probably be quite grand."

"Yeah. I’m looking forward to it."

Healy leaned against Gash, resting her head on his shoulder.

Gash wasn’t particularly short for a lizardman, but his forward-leaning posture meant he wasn’t particularly tall either. It was just a small thing that made it seem natural for Healy, who was slightly petite and stood a bit shorter than average, to lean against him.

And so, on the day of the spirit festival…

Evening arrived, and the festive atmosphere in town began to intensify.

"Gash, what’s that!? What!!"

"It’s fireworks, apparently. The university students do them occasionally, but… they’re doing it in a town like this?"

"Wow, even without fire or light spirits, you can make something like that!"

"...Wait, can fire and light spirits really do something like that?"

"...I don’t know, but I think I could pull off something like that with water."

"That’s a good idea. Let’s try making a show for some money sometime."

"Hey, wait, no way! It’ll totally get us caught!!"

"Just kidding!"

In the sky, magic lights drew patterns every few minutes, and the town’s streets were filled with temporary alcohol stalls.

Someone would buy a barrel of alcohol and shout, "It’s on me, everyone drink up!" then pour it out to the crowd, and it’d turn into a competition among groups.

The excited ogres started a sumo tournament, while dark elves, humans, and lizardmen merchants joined in, being tossed around for laughs. But some of them surprisingly tried their best, and people would get excited, saying things like, "Oh, that’s the ace night of so-and-so."

It was truly a chaotic and energetic festival, very Celesta-like.

"Gash, do your best!"

"Ah, just watch."

Gash decided to join the sumo tournament. His opponent was a middle-aged ogre.

After drinking some alcohol and feeling good, he thought he’d give it a shot. But facing the brute species of ogres, his buzz wore off quickly. He muttered under his breath, "Did I mess up?"

"Hey, tailless lizard, can you take a fall? If you don’t think about how to fall, it’ll hurt."

"Ha, even if you’re an ogre, you’re just an old man. That stance of yours is gonna give you back trouble soon."

"What… why do you know that? No way I’d get knocked over by someone like you."

"How about it? Don’t underestimate a lizard’s strength."

By the way, ogres tend to develop knee or hip issues as they age due to their massive size. It wasn’t Gash’s sharp eyesight that gave him away—it was just some teasing.

However, since lizards have expressions completely different from humans or ogres, this kind of banter works strangely well with them.

"Alright, round 27 of the C-stage… begin!"

"Woooooooooah!!"

"Shaaaaaa!!"

Gash clashes with the middle-aged ogre. He puts on a show for Healy, charging in with determination.

But the middle-aged ogre, seemingly concerned about the spot pointed out to him, doesn’t brace himself for Gash’s charge and merely sways his arms weakly. It’s an opening full of flaws.

Thinking he can pull it off, Gash gathers more momentum and charges forward, but the middle-aged ogre casually deflects Gash’s attack with a single flick.

"!?"

The already massive size difference between them makes it difficult to even engage properly.

With its long, powerful arms, an ogre can easily keep other races from even getting close.

Other races, desperate not to be stopped, rush forward recklessly.

But once the momentum is deflected, there’s no way they can regain their footing.

"Your energy’s impressive, but you’re done for! Start over with your tail!"

With a sharp thrust to the back, Gash is sent tumbling outside the bounds of the arena.

The surrounding crowd bursts into laughter.

"Damn it, you bastard!"

"Now, now, it’s a festival. Don’t take it so seriously, Tail-End."

"You had quite the dash there, Tail-End!"

The onlookers tried to soothe the frustrated Gash. Healy also came over, laughing, and patted his head soothingly.

"Ogres are strong, huh? Gash, you deserve a commendation for your bravery."

"Damn it, I’m a warrior too, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah, we all know you’re actually strong, Gash."

"You’re lucky to have such a pretty girlfriend, lizard boy."

"Instead of sumo matches, the real competition is about who’s got the better wife. That ogre’s wife is something else."

"Don’t talk crap about my wife! She’s got ears like a hound!"

The laughter never stopped. Gash licked his lips in shame, but only another lizardman would recognize that as a face of embarrassment.

The commotion continued past midnight.

As the bell announcing this rang out, the people suddenly stopped their commotion, closed up their shops, and began heading home.

"Hey? Gash, what’s going on with everyone?"

"Oh. …Well, it’s the second half of the festival from now on."

"The second half…?"

"Yeah."

Gash puffed out a slightly drunk breath and lightly patted Healy’s head.

"The spirits enjoyed themselves until midnight. From here on, it’s the time for their blessing… or so they say."

"?"

"From now until tomorrow morning, it’s the time of the blessing from the satisfied spirits. They watch over families and lovers as they nurture their love."

"Huh?"

"Well, to you, it probably seems like they’re just partying on their own and then charging you for it. But it’s fine. That’s how everyone gets all lovey-dovey."

"...Makes sense. Everyone’s being sneaky, I guess, or maybe they’ve got it figured out."

"...So, Healy. Shall we nurture love?"

Gash muttered with a breathy, drunken voice.

Normally, they didn’t talk about love; instead, they’d sneak around each other’s lewdness and end up together by default. But even if it was just for the sake of appearances or the mood, Gash’s sudden mention of "love" made Healy’s face flush red.

"What... are you saying?"

"I thought we weren’t going to do that."

Gash took a small sip from his wooden cup and looked slightly disappointed. Once he finished this drink, the open-air bar would have to close up.

"Nobody said anything about that!"

"You’re such a complicated one, you know that?"

"...Hey, it seems like you’ve forgotten, but I’m a spirit, you know?"

"Yeah. That’s right."

"...What I’m supposed to do is nurture it, right?"

"...Huh?"

"So, then..."

Healy leaned in close to Gash’s ear, which was hard to hear, and whispered.

"...Well, if it’s one of those days, I’ll just have to cherish you."

"Making a big show out of it, huh?"

Would Gash’s wide-open lips and Healy’s small ones meet or not?

And then, a loud roar and screams erupted.

"!?"

Both of them looked up at the sky and scanned their surroundings.

"Gash!"

Healy pointed. To the north, the sky was cloudy.

"What is that?"

"A sandstorm... maybe."

"No, that doesn’t make sense… and there’s a strange sound, like a scream…"

The sound of something heavy striking the ground. A sound like an explosion.

"It’s bad."

Gash’s warrior instincts told him. It was misfortune.

Misfortune that demanded action, and his instincts stirred at the base of his limbs, sending blood rushing through his veins.

"Hyreei, let’s go!"

"Gash!?"

Gash began to run. He still carried his family’s twin tomahawks.

He loosened the chain and leather bindings that sealed them, gripping the axe in both hands. He could still feel the sensation of his arms becoming one with his weapon.

"That’s… not good!!"

Gash’s speed rapidly approached that of a beast. Originally, as a lizardman warrior, he was strong.

Outside town, people were being attacked by monsters.

A giant snake... no.

"Sandworm!? And it’s huge!!"

It was a sandworm, a massive annelid unique to the desert.

Even an average individual could reach 5 meters in length and be several centimeters thick, making them troublesome. Not only did they eat scorpions, snakes, and cacti, but they even devoured monsters on occasion.

Even among sandworms, this one was a large specimen, with a diameter of over 1 meter, attacking the residents.

"Help me, help meee!!"

"Damn it!! If only Lady Lyla were here, we could take care of this thing!!"

"Go to the Ogre inn and wake up everyone!! Go to the military post and call for whoever you can!!"

"What kind of soldier could handle something like this!?"

"It’s better than nothing!! At least get them to lead an evacuation... Ah, ahhh!!"

But it didn’t seem to be just one. From beyond the palm grove, a disturbingly massive body was thrashing around.

"Damn it... I wish I were a species with night vision."

Gash muttered while running at full speed, swinging his tomahawks and slamming them down on the Sandworm that was attacking a townsfolk.

"T-thank you!!"

"Run! Get out of here!!"

"Ugh... Sorry, but I can't just leave it at that!"

The townsfolk’s leg had been broken. Sandworms have no teeth, but their suction power is strong enough to crush animal bodies into a pulp.

Hilly, who had caught up to the townsfolk, ran over and placed her hand over the broken leg.

From there came a loud, creaking sound, and the townsfolk’s face tightened in pain. But in the next moment, their leg was back to its original shape.

"What...!?"

"Go!! You should be able to run now!!"

"Yeah!"

The townsfolk ran off.

"Hilly, you get out of here too!"

Gash repeatedly struck the writhing sandworm, but its tough outer skin made it hard for the blade to penetrate, and it didn’t seem to be working. He was starting to feel frustrated.

"Like I always say, my true form is that water you’re holding! It doesn’t matter if this body runs away—it won’t change anything!"

"Tch."

Gash looked at the silver canteen strapped to his waist. It was an expensive item, filled with water mixed with the "true form" of Healy—the nucleus element (though Gash still didn’t fully understand it, he thought of it as something akin to a soul).

This was the core of Healy’s existence. Even if her physical body were shattered, as long as the nucleus element remained intact, she could easily revive herself… or so it was said.

Though Gash was too scared to try such a dangerous thing yet.

"Fine, but you better be useful for something, right!?"

As Gash shouted, Healy called back, "Of course I will!"

"This is the night when spirits are meant to nurture people!!"

"I’m talking about being useful in taking these guys down! If you want to nurture them, go do it over there!"

Gash swung his axe at the sandworm, which had turned toward him and was writhing. This would’ve sent a normal creature’s head flying.

But the sandworm showed no sign of being affected.

"Gah, if only I had a tail!"

Gash gritted his teeth.

If Gash’s tail had been intact, his full-power horizontal slash might have dealt a fatal blow to the Sandworm. Unlike a regular cut, which could be dodged, a pure physical attack converted all of his body’s power into shockwave was unmissable.

But now, Gash’s tail was roughly 50 centimeters long, cut off from his rear. It was useless.

"Water Spirit-sama, don’t underestimate me!!"

Hiei stood behind Gash and thrust out her hand, launching a spear of water.

The pointed water strike hit the Sandworm’s mouth head-on, stunning it.

"It’s working!!"

"No, it’s not!!"

"At least it’s better than Gash’s!!"

"Though it doesn’t seem like it’ll kill it!!"

While bickering, the two of them struggled to keep the Sandworm away from each other, ultimately displaying a good teamwork.

"Goddamn it, I need to crush this with pure power... Where the hell are those ogres?!"

Gash cursed under his breath. However, it seemed the Sandworms weren’t just here; screams and explosions echoed from all over, yet there was still no sign of reinforcements for Gash and his group.

"Damn it... If only General Vincent were here...!!"

"Who’s that?!"

"Why are you angry?!"

"We’ve got the spirits on our side, what’s the problem?!"

"Don’t complain about jealousy until we take these guys down, idiot!!"

Once again, Gash reminisced about the last time he had received reinforcements when he was still a soldier.

While hoping for an overnight rescue might be too much to ask in a pinch, he missed that absurd attack capability.

"Goddamn it... Either way, I’ll just ram a tomahawk down their throat."

"Isn’t that just asking for them to swallow you whole?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

The mouth of the sandworm, which had a diameter of over one meter, seemed like it could easily swallow a tomahawk. Even though they were connected by silk chains, it was easy to imagine how difficult it would be to extract them once swallowed.

"Doesn’t it have some kind of ultimate technique, Water Spirit-sama?"

"No it doesn’t! What are you even expecting from water?!"

"...Something like poison that’ll make your stomach hurt?"

"I’m pissed. Next time we do it, I’m totally putting poison in you. The kind that’ll keep you out of the bathroom for a day."

"I get it. I’m never doing it with you again."

"Sorry, I was kidding. Don’t say mean stuff like that, please."

"You’re so weak!!"

The couple kept hitting the sandworm’s head over and over while being all lovey-dovey. If someone were watching, they’d probably burst into laughter, thinking, "This is just like the night of the spirit festival!"

No.

"Hahahahahaha! You two are so close!!"

They were actually laughing out loud.

Gash and Healy turned around in shock.

Standing there was a woman with tanned skin and silver hair, giving off an androgynous aura.

[Woman]: "That's right."

The woman chuckled softly and pointed at the sandworm.

As the monster charged, Gash and Healy instinctively tried to attack it.

[Hint]: "...There are no fireworks users in this town today."

[Hint]: "Hint #2."

The woman swung her pointing finger sideways.

In the next moment, the sandworm suddenly split into thin slices with a sharp thwack.

"!?"

Gash and Healy stood dumbfounded.

The woman calmly passed by them, spreading her arms to the remaining few Sandworms.

"Hint #3: Tonight, I have a duty to nurture lovers like you."

Then, with a graceful spin, she turned her back to the Sandworms and faced Gash and Healy.

A dazzling light enveloped her back as it swelled.

It scattered like a swarm of giant fireflies, showering the Sandworms on their backs, heads, and mouths.

The light danced like fireworks at sunset, reducing the Sandworms to dust.

"For the first time, I meet you, lovers of the lizard warrior and the water spirit."

The explosion, the sandstorm, and the gushing green fluids from the Sandworms.

"I am Bright Light, a fragment of the light spirit."

Without being tainted by any of it, she smiled warmly, looking every bit like a dark elf.

(To be continued)