I don't want to be an elf!

However, things turned out well.

The beast tide was successfully stopped, and the Chessy was finally able to take off after its engine was repaired.

At everyone's call, Yatogami Tohka quickly flew towards the soon-to-accelerate Chempanzee and landed steadily on the deck.

"Tohka, are you alright?" Chtholly asked worriedly. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, no, I'm just a little tired. I'll be fine after resting for two minutes."

Tohka Yatogami raised her arm in a powerful gesture, reassuring everyone that there was nothing to worry about.

Seeing that she was indeed alright, though she looked a bit disheveled and dirty, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With her AAA-level Divine Might Gear, as long as the enemy is not a hero or a god, the damage she suffers is almost negligible.

Rather, she was more worried about the unprotected golden fairy.

The Golden Fairy's armor was made of refined steel. Although it was the highest level of defensive equipment on the floating continent islands, its defensive effect was not excellent against the attacks of beasts.

Most of the time, the Golden Fairy relies on its agility to dodge attacks, rather than on its armor.

Yatogami Tohka's gaze was fixed on the five Gold Fairies.

Although they were all injured to varying degrees, at least none of them were missing limbs.

Originally, before rushing into the entrance of the ruins, she was worried that putting all the pressure on the beast horde on them might overwhelm them.

Seeing that they were all alright, Tohka Yatogami was relieved.

"Clang-!"

However, her worries had barely subsided when her heart leaped into her throat again.

The holy sword fell onto the deck with a crisp clanging sound.

Nephren, who had been holding on, could no longer endure it after seeing that Yatogami Tohka was safe and sound.

Halfway through the beast tide, her mind felt like it was filled with lead, making her thoughts sluggish. She almost couldn't even hold the Holy Sword. If it weren't for her other companions covering her, she probably would have been hit by the beasts long ago.

Although she gritted her teeth and persevered until now, she ultimately could not hold on any longer, revealing her vulnerability.

"lotus......?"

Seeing Nephren clutching her head, looking like she might collapse at any moment, Yatogami Tohka didn't realize what had happened for a moment.

However, the golden fairies around her all showed serious expressions when they saw Nephren's appearance.

"Sorry, I probably used a little too much magic just now, and I feel a bit dizzy." Nephren tried her best to keep her voice calm. "Don't worry about it, just let me rest for a bit."

"open one's eyes."

Landoruko walked up to Nephren and said in an irresistible tone, "Len, let me see your eyes."

Knowing she couldn't get away with it, Nephren sighed softly and lowered her hand from her forehead.

Then, everyone saw a crimson tinge gradually spreading from her pupils.

Upon seeing this, everyone's expression changed drastically.

Chtholly looked sad, Asya remained silent, Naf stared in disbelief, and Landoruko bit her lip.

As golden fairies, they certainly understood what this meant.

Erosion from past lives.

Being necromancers by nature, once they overuse magic and reach a certain limit, they will enter this irreversible state.

Memories from their past lives will gradually integrate into their consciousness, while memories that do not belong to them will merge, conflict, and dissolve with their original memories.

In the later stages of the Past Life Erosion Syndrome, all memories, whether from the past or present life, will vanish, leaving only an empty shell without any memories.

But why now of all times?

The golden fairies clenched their fists in resentment.

Yatogami Tohka brought them a great gift: the appearance of the Spirit Crystal might be able to create a new weapon to replace the Golden Fairy.

The hope of freedom was within reach. They only needed to wait a little longer to change their fate of dying as weapons, to stop fighting for anyone, and to live in this world as equally as other orcs.

Even if it's just one possibility, it's still a possibility full of possibilities.

Nephren's face was expressionless, neither sad nor happy, just as always.

She is the weakest of the golden fairies, and also the one most afraid of death.

She had pondered countless times how she would cope if one day she were also entangled by the influence of her past life.

However, when that moment actually arrived, she felt no fear.

There's just a slight sense of regret.

"I'm sorry, everyone, I won't be able to witness the future of the Golden Fairy with you."

Nephren lowered her eyes and spoke softly.

"I'm sorry, Tohka, I can't keep our promise either."

Chapter Fifty-Six: Even a Clay Bodhisattva Has a Bit of Temper

Compared to the Golden Fairies, Yatogami Tohka clearly has less knowledge about the corruption of her past life.

But even the most oblivious person, after seeing Chtholly and the others' expressions and hearing Nephren's words, should understand what happened.

For the Golden Fairy, the erosion from her past life was tantamount to a slow death.

Although there have been long-lived fairies in the past five hundred years, the vast majority of golden fairies will show symptoms of past life erosion before the age of twenty. The more magic power is used, the earlier the time will come.

Once symptoms of past life erosion appear, the person may live for several months at most, or only a few weeks at least.

Tohka Yatogami took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing her anxiety and tension.

Because the symptoms of nephrine are not incurable.

"Luckily, the first spirit I played was Tokisaki Kurumi," she thought thankfully. "If I had played a different spirit in the previous world, there would have been no way to solve the problem of being corrupted by the past life."

Among all the spirits, in terms of the performance of angels, Kurumi Tokisaki's Zafkiel is clearly among the top.

In the current situation, Zafkiel's Fourth Bullet, which has the ability to rewind time in the body, will definitely come in handy.

If the Fourth Bullet can be used on Nephren to revert her body to a point in time before the beast tide, the symptoms of her past life's corruption will naturally disappear.

“I have a way to resolve the symptoms of past life erosion.”

Looking at Nephren, Yatogami Tohka said seriously, "Do you remember the spirit crystal I gave to Swan and Kurozuki? As long as I can get it back, Nephren can be saved by borrowing its power, but we must hurry."

Although they didn't understand the reason, Tohka Yatogami's confident tone convinced everyone.

After all, she had no reason to lie.

Perhaps, this being from outside the world really does have the ability to reverse the erosion of its past life.

Rather than waiting to die, let her try her own methods and take a gamble.

No one had any objection.

"Let's go find the captain."

After deciding on their destination and preparing to head to the second floating island, the others took Nephren back to the lounge so she could get some rest.

Chtholly and Yatogami Tohka then went to the engine room where Shiki was.

Although the engine has been repaired, he is still sitting here, seemingly exhausted from the emergency repairs.

The two golden fairies walked aggressively toward him, and the short, pretentious purple demon couldn't help but feel a sense of vigilance and apprehension.

"What do you think you're doing? Without orders, Golden Fairies are not allowed to move around on the airship," Purple Demon reprimanded sternly. "The beast tide is over. This is not a place for you. Go back immediately!"

“Sir, we need to go to the second floating island,” Chtholly pleaded. “Our partner has developed symptoms of being corrupted by her past life during the recent battle. Only by getting there can we have a chance to save her.”

"Past life corruption? Isn't that incurable?" Purple Ghost asked with a hint of disbelief. "Don't try to lie to me. In all my years in the military, I've never heard of a golden fairy who can cure this condition. What exactly are you planning to do on the second floating island?"

“There wasn’t one before, but there is now,” Chtholly replied sincerely. “Every day we delay, her chances of being cured decrease. I beg you, sir, for the sake of my companion, please detour to the second floating island.”

"I don't have that much time to worry about your partners! I already have enough headaches to deal with!" Purple Ghost said impatiently. "Maintenance of the Plantain, treatment of the wounded on board, and communication with the Wing Forces headquarters—as a first-class military officer, I'm very busy!"

"Hey, you idiot, can't you have a shred of humanity?!"

Yatogami Tohka, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but speak up, glaring angrily and rebuking, "Ren suffered from the corruption of his past life to protect you, and you won't even give him the slightest bit of help?!"

"Protecting the orcs and the floating islands is your duty!"

The purple demon was clearly annoyed by the disturbance, and raised his voice, glaring at her as well: "Don't forget your place. Your existence is meant to be sacrificed for us. I have no reason to delay my journey for a golden fairy who is about to be scrapped!"

"you!"

The anger in Yatogami Tohka's eyes was almost tangible, and in an instant, a powerful pressure was released, pressing down on him from all directions.

Purple Ghost's heart tightened immediately. He coughed twice and composed himself.

Within the Winged Army, very few first-class military officers, like Gray Rock Skin, respected the Golden Fairy as a warrior. Most, like Purple Oni, were indifferent to the Golden Fairy.

Even so, they wouldn't show this indifference.

After all, the Golden Fairy is not a real weapon, but a creature with feelings and intelligence.

If you really provoke them, their power is something that orcs can't contend with.

The failure of this investigation mission had already put Zi Gui in a bad mood, making it impossible for him to hide his true feelings that he couldn't openly express.

"Ahem, what I said just now was a bit inappropriate."

Ultimately, however, he couldn't bring himself to apologize. Purple Ghost said vaguely, "Anyway, the corruption of past lives isn't new to you. I have more important things to deal with than this. You should go back now..."

However, before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a tightness around his neck and his feet left the ground.

Yatogami Tohka simply grabbed him by the collar, lifting this purple-faced demon, who was less than half her height, into the air. Her eyes and tone were as cold as ice.

“I’m not consulting you,” she said, enunciating each word clearly. “Now, immediately, head to the second floating island.”

"Tohka..."

Seeing Tohka Yatogami's reckless behavior, Chtholly also became anxious.

Her kind nature prevented her from coercing others, but it also prevented her from standing idly by regarding Nephren's illness.

So she could only stand there with a complicated expression, not knowing what to do.