I don't want to be an elf!

But on second thought, what she said didn't seem to be wrong.

Just as the brain is the most crucial organ for many organisms, not everyone has a clear understanding of what the brain is about.

The same is probably true for her as well.

It can be used, and we know it exists, but that's all.

Even so, Tohka Yatogami was his only hope.

“In short, you have to give it a try.” Black Candle said with a slight headache. “Swan is the only person on the floating continent islands who is qualified to cooperate with me. Although his strength is weaker than mine at its peak, he is still an undeniably strong person. To deal with the mess he left behind, only someone as strong as him, or even stronger than him, can do it.”

"Is there no one else on this huge floating island archipelago?"

“William is fine, of course, I mean the William of the past.” Black Candle Lord said with a wry smile, “As for now, apart from William and Swann, all the heroes of the past died five hundred years ago. My other two companions, Marquis Emerald Nail and Earl of Red Lake, are also said to have been wiped out. The only person who can help me is you.”

"Well......"

“I must tell you, my power cannot suppress this room full of curses indefinitely,” Black Candle warned. “After the curse in Swan’s body reacted with the spiritual power of the spirit crystal, the combined power has far exceeded my current power. I can only suppress it temporarily, and at most for another month or two.”

Seeing Tohka Yatogami's conflicted expression, Kuroshō paused before continuing, "Two months from now, it will completely break out of control and gradually spread to the entire floating continent archipelago. Unlike the Sixth Beast, this is a crisis that even the Golden Fairy cannot resolve... Do you want to watch your companions die after being cursed?"

"Of course not!" Yatogami Tohka blurted out.

"Then come and help me. Only the two of us together can solve this disaster."

"......it is good."

Yatogami Tohka's expression gradually hardened, and she nodded heavily.

Upon seeing that she was willing to help him, the flame of his soul flickered a few times in Black Candle's eyes.

“Don’t worry, you can come in,” Black Candle Master said. “I have suppressed the power of the fusion of the curse and the spirit crystal. Although ordinary people will be infected as soon as they come in, you, who have the same power as it, have a certain resistance.”

"What should I do?"

"Come to my side."

Yatogami Tohka put away the Executioner and mobilized her spiritual power to form a shield-like field in front of her.

She slowly walked into the dark room, taking careful steps.

Although she could see nothing, she could see the soul fire in the Black Candle Lord's eye sockets in the darkness, so she quickly came to his side.

"Now, take three steps to the left, then five steps forward."

Following Kurokatsu's instructions, Yatogami Tohka took a few more steps.

"Raise your hand."

Tohka Yatogami raised her hand.

But as soon as she stretched her hand out halfway, she felt herself touch something cold.

However, before she could ask what it was, the Black Candle Lord's next instructions came through.

"The final step is to pour all the spiritual power you can muster into the thing you touch."

Chapter Sixty: Consciousness Space

The sensation in my hand was cool and delicate; I couldn't tell what it was.

But Tohka Yatogami is certain that whatever she is touching now is the source of the curse's spread.

Although she didn't suspect that the Black Candle Guild had harmed her, she still asked out of caution.

"What...is this thing?"

"I think you'd feel better if you didn't know."

"If you don't tell me, I'll be itching to know."

“Alright,” Black Candle said helplessly, “This is, well, the product of the curse going berserk within Swann.”

Upon receiving this answer, Tohka Yatogami was so startled that she almost pulled her hand back.

This thing sounds really ominous.

Although the thing's aura was stable and it didn't show any desire to corrode under the suppression of Kurozuki, placing her hand on it still caused Yatogami Tohka to feel a strong resistance.

She could clearly sense that what she was touching was not Swan's corpse, or anything like that.

It's more like a twisted source formed by fusing the curse within Swann's body with Kurumi Tokisaki's spirit crystal.

The Black Candle Master is right.

Of all the floating continents and islands, only she could solve this problem.

“Under my suppression, this thing will not invade your body,” Black Candle Master said. “All you need to do is pour your spiritual power into it and slowly guide the spiritual crystals inside out. Once the spiritual crystals are separated, I will be able to control the remaining curse power.”

"Okay, I see."

Yatogami Tohka nodded nervously and began to mobilize the spiritual power within her body.

Magic and spiritual power belong to two different power systems.

Although they have similarities, it is still easy to distinguish between the two.

Therefore, when Yatogami Tohka poured her spiritual power into the source of the distortion she touched, her spiritual power quickly resonated with the spiritual power within it.

The Black Candle Master did not teach her how to draw out the spirit crystal.

But this is actually not considered difficult.

Yatogami Tohka handed over control to her instincts, gradually calmed down, and slowly began to search for the spirit crystals hidden among them.

Soon, she reaped the rewards.

"what?"

When she followed the spiritual power within the source of the distortion and found the spirit crystal fused with the curse, she couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.

Although she couldn't see anything, she could sense from the fluctuations transmitted through the spiritual energy resonance that something seemed wrong with the spiritual crystal.

Magic power and spiritual power are different, and there are also differences between different spiritual powers.

Each elf has its own unique energy wavelength, which is an important element that symbolizes their identity.

Having played the role of Kurumi Tokisaki in the previous world, she naturally knew what Kurumi Tokisaki's spiritual energy wavelength was like.

However, at this moment, this spirit crystal belonging to Kurumi Tokisaki exuded an unfamiliar feeling.

Is it because of the curse?

This situation was clearly beyond her knowledge.

In any case, the spirit crystal in the source of the distortion has now been located, and all that is needed now is to guide it out.

Without further hesitation, Yatogami Tohka manipulated her spiritual power and made contact with the spirit crystal located at the center of the source of distortion.

"Buzz!"

Just as she was about to envelop the spirit crystal with her spiritual power and slowly move it outwards, the spirit crystal suddenly began to vibrate.

As if a switch had been flipped, the entire source of distortion erupted like boiling water as the spirit crystal vibrated.

The Black Candle Lord, who was in charge of the suppression, had his soul fire trembling wildly in his eyes.

Before he could ask Yatogami Tohka what she had done, in order to stabilize the curse here, he mobilized all the remaining magic power he had and summoned all the black mist that shrouded the castle into this room.

The boiling curse subsided slightly.

But it's only temporary.

"Use whatever means necessary to extract the spirit crystal immediately!" Black Candle Master's voice was strained. "I can't hold on much longer!"

Upon hearing this, Tohka Yatogami gritted her teeth and stopped holding back.

Purple spiritual energy emanated from her hands, illuminating part of the room shrouded in black mist.

A massive amount of spiritual energy surged toward the spirit crystal. Yatogami Tohka mobilized the most spiritual energy she could release at once, attempting to shake the spirit crystal within the source of distortion.

"Buzz!"

Under Tohka Yatogami's influence, the spirit crystal vibrated at an even higher frequency.

As if reaching some kind of critical point, the spirit crystal, which had been merely resisting movement, suddenly released a massive amount of spiritual power.

It's like two people who were tug-of-war, and one of them suddenly gave up and lunged at the other!

The spiritual power from the source of the distortion rapidly devoured and assimilated Tohka Yatogami's spiritual power.

This spirit crystal is actually pulling on Yatogami Tohka's spirit crystal in the opposite direction!

Yatogami Tohka's expression changed, and she instinctively wanted to sever the connection between the two spirit crystals.

But she was still a step too late.

"bite----!"

The spirit crystal in the source of distortion made contact with the spirit crystal inside her body with lightning speed, thanks to the spiritual power of Yatogami Tohka.

Yatogami Tohka felt dazed, and her consciousness gradually drifted towards the horizon amidst the crisp dinging sound.

Her body, clad in divine armor, swayed, and she lost control of it, quickly collapsing to the ground.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

She vaguely seemed to hear the urgent voice of the Black Candle Master.

But she was no longer able to respond.

As her consciousness completely faded, she closed her eyes.

----------

----------

When Yatogami Tohka opened her eyes again, she was in a different place.

The once dark room had vanished without a trace.

Instead, there is a spacious library.

Rows of books are neatly arranged on the bookshelves, and you can't see the end of them at a glance.

It's like an ocean of books.