Mana deficiency.

An illness that was only possible within the confines of the realm that had lacked the support of the spirits. Elves, with mana making up their bodily constitution, could only replenish themselves through communion with the wood spirits. It was the elves that this particular illness targeted.

With regular replenishment of mana, the length of their life-expectancies would have extended well into the centuries. Save for the elders who had already built up an accumulation of mana, mana deficiency dictated the lives of young elves to last only a bit longer than a healthy human's lifespan. This became a heavy issue for the declining population of elves. And if it were not bad enough, creatures that fed on mana roamed the perpetual darkness of their city.

It was a nightmare.

Nifyr attacks. There were only two possible outcomes; becoming a lifeless husk to be reclaimed by the earth's embrace, or being lucky enough to survive.

Humans afflicted with mana deficiency are less affected as the possession of a mana seed would allow them to draw mana and gradually recover what was lost. Elves who survive a Nifyr attack, however... there was a thin hope of them ever recovering by themselves.

“So it was an elven child that stole Neia's mirror?”

“Yes. Grandpa Ashur, could he be planning to use it to undo the tower's seal?”

Urie had returned to the Varethe residence without confronting the thief. It was enough for now that he knew where to find him. He had waited to consult with Ashur about how to handle the mirror thief's matter.

“Child, I'm not sure. As I have said before, knowledge of the mirror's use is privy only to members of the Elder Council...” Ashur stayed silent for a few seconds before stating, “You said that the culprit was caring for a patient with mana deficiency? One way or another, information seems to have found its way to him. His theft of Neia's mirror would make sense. Considering the previous events, however, and with the greater fire spirit in slumber— now is not the time ideally for the tower's seal to be undone.”

True. Just bringing the mirror within Erden Tower's vicinity triggered a massive response from the Nifyr. Urie couldn't imagine how it would have gone if it were not for Volcanus' help.

“Then, what should we do about it? Should we take the mirror back?”

“Yes. It would be for the best if we can take back custody of it, but it must not be kept in my person. The council hasn't cleared me of suspicion and have the elven guard take me in regularly for questioning. Demeaning as it is, I have no choice in the matter.”

“...I'm sorry, grandpa Ashur.”

“It isn't your fault, child,” Ashur stood up and gave Urie a light pat on the head, “We are all just victims of troubled circumstances. Things that are out of our control. This is my own way of wading through it.”

He wasn't just talking about the current matters but also the issue of Stella's deep-seated resentment towards him. Urie felt the sadness lingering within Ashur's words and more so saw the need to mend the family's relations. He empathized with him. He also longed for his family who he had been separated from unwillingly.

“I don't understand mama Stella...” Urie pondered deeply, but he knew it was not his place to understand. He had only been with them for a short two years. The only thing he could do was to gradually ease tensions between them and to not force it.

“Child, it's up to you to handle the matter with the mirror thief. I trust your judgment. Once you have the mirror in your hands, it will be best if you keep it hidden.”

“Alright, I'll try my best.”

A few moments later, Ashur left under the escort of the elven guard. There was still some time before the hours of the evening and Urie was not keen on spending it alone in the house. He set off as well to figure out how to handle the matter of the mirror thief.

“How should I confront him? Should I just knock on the front door and explain everything to him?”

“Maybe I should investigate first?” This time of day would usually be allotted to patrolling for Nifyr or physical exercise, so if he could use that as an excuse to circle the mirror thief's house.

“Hmmm... What about the mana deficiency patient in the house?” he was curious.

He decided to go through the front door instead and to settle things amicably, find out what the thief knew about the mirror and what led him to take it.

“Right, might as well practice this on the way,” Urie began walking with his eyes closed, cutting off his own sight and relying only on his senses.

“World of flames” he whispered, and his vision which he had severed returned to him in a different light, much brighter than before and with shades leaning towards the warmer half of the color spectrum.

'World of flames,' was what he decided to call his recently gained ability. It was as the name suggested, he could perceive the world through the mana attributed with fire, and present within almost every being. 'Almost' being that there were objects and creatures which didn't possess mana attributed with fire.

“T-This is—!?”

And Urie was now suddenly faced with one such creature which lacked the attribute of fire. Rather, a monster that craved for it, so much that it would assault people who possessed it. It rose eerily from the ground and reached for him the same way many like it had done before.

“Nifyr, it looks identical.”

Within Urie's world of flames, the Nifyr had an appearance similar to what it had when seen through naked eyes. A threatening shadow, an apparition from the dragon's nightmare— with an additional detail that made a huge difference in how Urie perceived it.

“Is that a mana seed?” Urie muttered.

In between the glow of the Nifyr's eyes was a concentration of mana which closely resembled a mana seed, and countless threads coming from it that spread across its entire body.

“No, it's more of an imitation of a mana seed and mana roots. And it's fire attributed...”

Urie made a conjecture. If they possessed a mana seed, how exactly did the Nifyr absorb mana?

The answer was they didn't.

They stole and absorbed mana from others through the use of touch.

The Nifyr lunged at him as soon as its legs fully emerged from its own shadow. Strapped on his waist, Urie unsheathed a curved, thin blade and poured his mana onto his wielding arm. The mana slowly spilled onto the handle and continued onto the full eighty centimeters of the blade, coating it in a red hue with small flames wantonly sparking around it.

With the weapon half the length of his height, Urie gracefully executed a diagonal slash upwards and lopped off the Nifyr's arm while avoiding its tackle.

Towards individual Nifyr, as long as he didn't act carelessly, they posed a minimal threat.

“Looks like the mana roots disappear once it separates from the body.”

He was intrigued at the sight. The numerous threads of mana in the arm dispersed as it was cut off from the main body.

“But even if I pierce its head, it doesn't easily die...”

Disconnected from the mana seed, the threads disappeared. Then what if he pierced it?

Urie approached the lumbering Nifyr and quickly thrust the tip of his blade at its head, “Fascinating...” he mumbled, and stepped back to avoid the whip of its remaining arm.

He stared at the hole he'd made in its head. Some of the flames scattered on his blade stuck to the hole and were burning it from the inside. Within the world of flames, however, it showed that although the Nifyr was burning, its mana seed was absorbing the mana of the fire.

Urie did another sweep of his weapon and promptly brought down the Nifyr. And at the moment of its demise, its mana seed had flown up into the air and was caught between Urie's fingers.

He was surprised that he could even hold onto it. There was no sense of touch but he could feel a vague feeling of heat within his hand.

“Can I absorb it?”

Urie willed his mana roots to absorb the small mana seed imitation. There was the familiar warmth and refreshing feeling of absorbing mana, a smooth operation that required no effort on his part.

Soon, however, his hand that had taken in the seed burst into wild flames, and then his entire forearm was clad in fire.

“Aaaah!!!” screamed Urie as he waved his arm around to try and suppress it, and when he'd finally calmed it down, he sighed with relief that nothing in the surroundings had caught on fire.

“That was a surprise,” he chuckled, “It's been a while since I last covered myself in fire.”

After the bout with the Nifyr, Urie continued on his way to the mirror thief's house while keeping an eye out for any more prowling shadows. He welcomed the opportunity to explore his abilities as well as the discovery of the Nifyr's possession of fake mana seeds.

To his disappointment, as he neared his destination, there were no more Nifyr that he had come across. Ever since that surge of them two years ago, their numbers had scaled down; although this allowed for more activity from the citizens as they gained the courage to step out of their homes.

The Flame Brigade which was tasked to handle Nifyr related affairs— the amount of work for them didn't lessen, however, as they had to become even more vigilant to preserve the safety of the people.

“I guess I'd have to run around the city to have any chance of spotting another one. Anyways— “

Urie was now at the front door of the mirror thief's house. He could tell that the residents were inside from the two mana signatures he gleaned with the use of his ability.

“So... how should I bring it up?” he recalled the only two interactions he had with the green-haired boy, “Would he be willing to listen if I explained it to him? I hope he doesn't just run away this time.”

Urie knocked carefully on the door and announced his presence. He could tell from the figure inside that the boy was startled and didn't expect any guests.

“Wait. What is he doing?” he furrowed his eyebrows and just before the person inside opened the door, he spoke up with a light tone, “H-Hey, I just want to talk, can you put down the chair?”

Yes. The green-haired boy inside was holding up a chair and appeared as if he was going to throw it at him once the door was opened.

“Let's start off with some introductions. My name is Urie Loeth and I'd like to talk to you about the mirror you have in your possession.”

After Urie spoke, the door was slowly opened and showed the hesitant appearance of the owner of the house. He appeared fidgety, scared, and grasped tightly behind him was the chair he had planned to throw at Urie.

He stuttered as he replied, “Th-There aren't any m-mirrors in this house. Please, go away...”