The morning came quickly, and Essairyn surveyed the demonic tainted ground right after breakfast. A good night's rest in good company had thoroughly revitalized Essairyn and the entire motley crew.

"So, do you think purification is possible?" Aispin asked the raven-haired girl who stood with her head thoughtfully tilted against her knuckles.

Essairyn dropped her pensive gesture, crossing the previously propped up right forearm with her left. "Perhaps. I definitely can't cleanse it all at once, but if I lay a spell that works over time, it just might work."

Aispin raised his eyebrows. Although he knew Essairyn was magically gifted, she was still a newbie in magic and spells. She couldn't possibly know how to cast complex spells that worked over a timespan. Those were some of the hardest spells to achieve successfully due to requiring a stable form of magic input after the caster had left the vicinity. Either that, or an enormous amount of energy before resupply.

From Aispin's expression and silence, Essairyn perceived his underlying doubts. She didn't blame him and felt grateful that he didn't at least question her. Now, she just had to answer those doubts, and her own misgivings, with action.

Lavender light sparked from her fingertips as she drew wide circles while walking forward. She flung them like lassoed arcs into loose shapes. And the magic ropes gradually grew and stretched out over the entirety of the tainted area. Like a spinstress, Essairyn spun the cords into a strange tapestry, seemingly dancing in a trance as she moved her body about. The peculiar yet graceful sight transfixed her curious onlookers who were confused by the unorthodox spell-casting. Her eyes closed in deep concentration and her lips quivered with soft incantations. To those watching, she appeared to be reciting a spell. But only she knew that it was just reflexive muttering to herself while she voiced her train of thoughts and commands.

Previously, she had made a long-lasting spell on the fence at the Welforts' farmhouse. So she drew from this experience as a blueprint for the current spell. Since a whole area was being covered rather than a perimeter, instead of wasting time by walking across every section, Essairyn emitted her magic over the whole space. She also went a short distance beyond the tainted area for the stratagem she had in mind.

"Permeate. Enforce. Purify. Capture. Retain. Dispel..." She mumbled as her arms, wrapped in luminescent strings, roved the air. Her fingers tugged and twisted on lavender threads that circulated her commands across the larger, interwoven cords. The formation hummed with energy as if coming alive with every additional instruction. Her onlookers felt as if she was a maestro of a silent orchestra standing in the open plain. Two rotating circles appeared out of the complex formation and configured the spell's circumference. The rest of the shapes within the circle also began spinning and taking on clearer forms.

After a couple minutes, everyone saw the formation fully develop into an intricate, magic circle. Unknown words and symbols were threaded into the fabric of each magical line. And a transparent, lavender film enclosed every gap. Essairyn stared at the structure for a few seconds before feeling satisfied to continue to the next step.

"Activate."

The enormous magic circle quaked and rose in the air. It speared ropes into the ground that hardened into fences when it halted at two stories high. Then both fence and magic circle faded into nothing. The magic show was quickly over.

Akari and the boys paused for a long moment, unsure whether it was complete. But as soon as they noticed Essairyn's wavering figure, they rushed over in alarm.

"Sairyn! Are you okay?" Darren exclaimed in worry as his eyes inspected Essairyn's slumped over condition.

The girl smiled weakly and pushed herself off of Airpin's arm. "Haha, I'm fine. Just a little light-headed after that release of magic. Don't worry! I'm feeling better already!" Not convinced, Darren continued frowning. As he opened his mouth to protest, Akari beat him to it.

"Let's get you to the carriage. We have a long way to go, so you have plenty of time to rest." She blinked with calm, hazel eyes while flicking her tail to the side.

Essairyn appreciated the fox's no fuss approach. She knew Akari was concerned, but they had more important affairs at stake. A large consumption of magic would cause the user to be momentarily faint as their body adjusted to the shortfall. Since Essairyn could roughly gauge her level of regular m'u, she made sure not to tap into too much of her daily capacity. They still had a whole day to go through, so it wasn't safe to deplete all of her magic.

Despite still feeling a little unwilling, Darren understood the situation. But that didn't stop him from wrapping a supportive arm around Essairyn's back to help her walk back. Stunned by the movement, and with Aispin still on her left side, Essairyn froze at the sudden closeness and tickle of their soft hair against her cheeks.

"Hey! My legs aren't injured. I can still walk myself!" She huffed with a creeping blush, slipped out of their arms, and stalked away moodily. Her straight arms that were stiff at her sides made Essairyn look almost like an angry robot.

Confused, the two men scratched their heads. "What was the about?" queried Aispin with a soft laugh.

Leœss only shook his head. "I may have three sisters, but don't look at me, man!"

Darren snorted and shrugged his shoulders, a lopsided smirk tugged the corner of his mouth. "Akari—"

"Paht! Idiots~" The fox harrumphed and stuck her tail up while trotting away snootily.

The three cast aside traveling companions blinked at one another blankly before smiling with a light-hearted sigh. They cast one last glance at the now secured area before turning to walk after the two funny girls.

Inside the carriage, Essairyn was back to her cool and collected, normal self. Inwardly though, she was still blushing while cussing at herself for not letting them just help her. She wondered why she reacted like this at certain times while other times, such close proximity didn't even register in her mind.

Akari sat comfortably in her lap, and she proceeded to pet the fox in order to clear her vexing thoughts. Darren and Aispin swung into the carriage while Leœss started the horses. As they proceeded on their journey, the group chatted pleasantly. At their inquiry, Essairyn explained how her spelled worked.

"I don't know the basics of casting magic circles because we're only taught the fundamental theory. Magic circles can only be constructed through incantations of ancient language. And since ancient language spells are advanced level magic, it's not taught at the regional campuses.

"But since coming to this world, I figured out that my magic can sometimes turn into magic circles by default. I'm not really sure why this happens, but it only occurs through certain non-combative commands. As such, I've never used them directly in combat.

"With this spell, I just imagined a lattice of sorts across the field that would purify the area slowly each day while obtaining the power to do so from the atmosphere and untainted ground."

Shocked at this simple conjuring, Aispin blurted out, "You tapped into the environment's magic flow with your spell?!" Based on his long-standing knowledge, one could only tap into the world's magic flow through natural, magical osmosis of their bodies. Using this principle, higher compatibility meant a higher influx of magic into one's body. This universal magic was then transformed into one's own personal power, marked by a signature hue of their magic type affinity.

Although surprised by Aispin's unusual outburst, Essairyn calmly replied in the affirmative. What followed was a pregnant pause and stare off from Aispin. She fidgeted, feeling like she was suddenly put in the hot seat. Just as she opened her mouth to ask what was the matter, Aispin answered her unspoken question.

"Sorry. I was just thinking of the demon-humans. If the way you tapped into an external power was in any way similar to how Hyd' Tyml might be accessing demonic power."

Intrigued, Essairyn straightened up in her seat to listen to Aispin's theory. But Akari jumped up on four paws and beat Aispin to the punch, hurriedly replying, "Maybe! Or they found some ancient spell that could extract and transmute the power into their own. But it looks like it's restrained to a small range..." She recalled how the chained demons were dragged ruthlessly around by their human captors. The deranged yet pained expressions on their faces struck a violent chord with Akari. It chillingly reminded her of a vague memory that was forgotten all but silently in her heart.

"Yes! That's probably the more likely theory considering Essairyn is a bit... of an unusual case."

Seeing Aispin's awkwardly apologetic micro-expression, Essairyn laughed blithely and waved her hand. "It's okay, I get it. If I could offer any more help on this, I would. But I don't even understand the full extent of my power. To be honest, I'm not sure who would know..." She scratched her cheek, feeling a little embarrassed. It almost sounded like she was bragging, but it was indeed true. Just why was her power so baffling to others? Coming into this world and coming into contact with the demons and Hyd' Tyml, was there some connection to her? This possibility plagued Essairyn's subconscious.

They discussed the subject for a little longer before moving onto lighter topics. Opting for getting to know one another, they resumed idle, sweet talk of family, friends, and notable past experiences in their life. Soon, late afternoon fell, and with evening approaching, they decided to detour from the main path toward the road that lead to a small village on their map of southern As'pyze.

As their carriage neared the village outskirts, the faint, foul stench of smoke and decay edged its way in their conversation, prompting them to peer out the windows. What greeted them was not a quaint little village, but a ramshackle, ghost town that seemed to have a deathly haze over it.

"What the hell happened here..." Leœss whispered in choler and growing alarm.

"Hell." Darren simply responded in dry humor while moving to step out of the carriage.

Aispin, Essairyn, and Akari exchanged glances. It looked liked today wasn't going to be a peaceful day either.