Grey thunderclouds slowly blocked out the sun, causing the day to darken with a gloomy atmosphere.
The world welcomed the arrival of the sprinkling rain and cackling lightning strikes, but the strong winds had yet to come.
It was only the first sign of an incoming storm.
Nevertheless, the initial light sprinkles from the sky were enough to scatter the gathering crowd around Aeliana’s tree. They quickly went back to town to seek shelter before the heavy downpour arrived.
Shortly after the crowd dispersed from the area, Aeliana exited the tree before she headed north into the mountains.
But not long after she left, a group of people returned with umbrellas and ventured into the mountains.
“Lady Solana didn’t bring an umbrella when she left, and she hasn’t been cured of the curse. She will get sick if she gets soaked in this cold rain.”
“Right, right. We better be quick before it starts pouring hard.”
“Agreed. Now that we have recovered our abilities, we can reach Lady Solana more quickly.”
“You also forgot that we won’t have to worry as much about bandits and goblins on the way.”
The witches and aura users chatted after they properly equipped themselves to look for Lady Solana in the mountains.
…
Sometime later, at sunset, when the day was darkening from the sun disappearing over the horizon that could be barely seen due to the heavy grey clouds, Aeliana arrived at the collapsed region in the northern parts of the Red Goblin Mountains.
It wasn’t hard for her to locate her mother.
Once she entered Dryad Transformation and connected with the forest in the area, her consciousness indifferently locked onto Solana’s figure.
At that moment, the sky was pouring heavy rain, but Solana was found digging through the collapsed region with three other people that came with her.
Their clothes were all soaked by the rain and stained by the muddy soil, and their bodies felt cold due to the falling temperature.
With the sun leaving, the cold rain would only get worse.
“Lady Solana, we can’t keep digging like this. We don’t know what we are looking for here, and it will take us forever to get anywhere with the rate we are digging.”
“That’s right, Lady Solana. Take care of your health. We might catch a cold if we continue like this. Furthermore, Lord Helia from Redpine City might know more about what happened here.”
“But even if Lord Helia knows what happened here, we have no means of learning anything from her. People afflicted with the Curse of the Purple Umbala are forbidden from entering Redpine City.”
“True that. Furthermore, I doubt Lord Helia would help us excavate this region to find traces of Lady Aeliana.”
The ex-Senior Witch and two ex-Aura Grandmasters that followed Solana were fully aware of why she was digging in the collapsed region.
She was looking for her daughter, Lord Aeliana of Sunpeak Town.
While many had blamed Aeliana for the curse that plagued their town and caused its decline, others like them remained loyal to Lady Solana and didn’t blame her daughter.
If they did, they wouldn’t be helping Lady Solana excavate the collapsed region to look for Lord Aeliana.
Nevertheless, they were slightly baffled by why there was a small forest within the collapsed region, which shouldn’t have a single tree standing.
That said, they vaguely guessed it had something to do with Lord Aeliana’s power after she turned into a Plant-type Abomination.
“Unless there’s buried treasure underneath this land, it’s unlikely for Lord Helia to mobilize her people to excavate this land,” Lady Solana calmly spoke before adding, “We can only rely on ourselves.”
“That said, you can all return if you feel the cold rain will make you sick. None of you need to stay and indulge in this selfish woman’s desire,” Solana added as she continued to dig up the soil with her sword.
Although she was worried about what may have happened to her daughter, she had some assurance that Aeliana was alright.
“How can we leave without you, Lady Solana?” an ex-Aura Grandmaster ruefully smiled before he said, “If you don’t leave, I won’t leave either.”
“That’s right, Lady Solana,” the ex-Senior Witch agreed and said, “You can’t get rid of us that easily. We’ll stay and help you find Lord Aeliana, even if it takes us weeks or months to do so.”
“Sorry for putting you all through this, everyone,” Solana apologized while feeling grateful to them at the same time.
“The curse is the only thing letting us know about Allie’s life status, but it’s uncertain how long it will remain that way. Something big happened here, and if Allie is trapped down here, I have to save her.”
“I won’t feel assured until I see her,” Solana firmly added.
When the ex-Senior Witch and two ex-Aura Grandmasters heard the resoluteness in Solana’s voice, they wryly smiled and stopped trying to persuade her.
Shortly after, they wordlessly resumed their excavation.
…
When Aeliana arrived nearby, she silently observed them from a distance for some time.
A few moments later, she merged with a tree and used the abilities of her Dryad Transformation to draw out the anti-magic spores from their bodies.
At the same time, she gained complete awareness of the region.
“Hm? This… This is…! I’ve regained full control of the mana in my body! I don’t feel any more obstruction!” the ex-Senior Witch exclaimed, pleasantly surprised by the discovery.
“You’re right, Lady Maria! My aura is flowing smoothly as well! I think the curse has been lifted!” one of the ex-Aura Grandmasters rejoiced.
But in that same instant, Solana’s face paled.
“No, no, no—! Allie! You can’t leave! Don’t leave Mother behind!” Solana sorrowfully cried as she tossed aside the sword and frantically dug up the ground with her bare hands. “I just wanted you to live!”
“Lord Aeliana… She…”
Solana’s gut-wrenching cry immediately washed away the Senior Witch and two Aura Grandmasters’ joy regarding their recovery.
At the same time, they felt guilty for celebrating.
Meanwhile, Aeliana impassively observed her mother’s sorrowful and desperate actions under the assumption that she had passed away.
She blamed her mother for letting her live through hell for the past three years.
But as she watched her grieving mother’s miserable state, she felt pained in her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Her resentment was slowly washed away, overwhelmed by a different emotion; sadness.
“Mother…”