Gordon arrived at the hunter guild, and they began their routine of walking around the village, Souma casting his cleansing spells. But something was different. The dark clouds, which they had diligently dispelled the previous day, were back, thicker and more oppressive than before. Souma frowned, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"This is… concerning," he muttered, his voice low. "It's returning too quickly. It's as if… as if it's being replenished." He paused, his eyes narrowing. "We need to find the source. My teacher once told me, magical sicknesses like this often begin at the water source. We're heading to the river."
Souma and Gordon reached the riverbank. The water flowed smoothly, reflecting the clear sky above. To Souma's eyes, the river appeared pristine, its surface shimmering with sunlight. But Gordon saw something else. A subtle, almost imperceptible black discoloration swirled beneath the surface, a dark stain that seemed to pulse with an unnatural energy.
Souma knelt by the water's edge, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Visibly, it seems clean," he said, his voice thoughtful. "But… there's something off. I can feel it. A subtle disturbance, an… unnatural resonance." He dipped his hand into the water, his fingers tracing the surface. "It's not visible to the naked eye, but the energy here is… tainted."
Gordon, his gaze fixed on the dark swirls beneath the surface, nodded grimly. "I can see it," he said, his voice low. "It's… black. Like a shadow in the water."
"You can see it?" Souma asked, his surprise evident in his voice. He turned to Gordon, his blue eyes wide with curiosity. He hadn't expected Gordon to possess such a heightened sense of perception.
Gordon, caught off guard by Souma's reaction, quickly tried to downplay his ability. "Yeah, just… a lucky guess, I think," he mumbled, shrugging casually. "Maybe it's the light, or something." He avoided Souma's intense gaze, hoping the sentinel would buy his flimsy excuse.
Souma, though clearly skeptical of Gordon's "lucky guess," remained professional. He recognized that this wasn't the time for an interrogation. The corrupted water was the priority. He reached into an inner pocket of his robes and withdrew a small pouch containing a fine, white powder. He held it in his palm, closed his eyes, and began to chant in a low, resonant voice.
The powder in his hand began to glow, a faint luminescence at first, then growing brighter with each passing second. The glow intensified, becoming a blinding white light that seemed to emanate from within the powder itself. It was as if Souma was holding a miniature sun.
After a moment of intense concentration, Souma opened his eyes and, with a swift, graceful motion, spread the glowing powder across the surface of the river. The light dispersed, spreading out like ripples on the water, illuminating the dark swirls beneath.
Gordon watched in awe as Souma's magic unfolded. The spectacle was breathtaking, a display of power he had never witnessed before. But his attention was drawn to something Souma couldn't see. The moment the glowing powder touched the water, a swarm of creatures, like writhing, black worms, erupted from beneath the surface. There were thousands of them, their forms twisting and contorting in what appeared to be agonizing pain.
They writhed and thrashed, their dark bodies reflecting the fading light from Souma's spell. Then, as quickly as they appeared, they began to dissolve. Their forms flickered, then evaporated, leaving behind nothing but a faint, acrid smell that stung Gordon's nostrils. The water, now devoid of the writhing creatures, seemed to shimmer slightly, the black discoloration fading.
Souma lowered his hand, the glowing powder now completely dispersed. He stood for a moment, his chest heaving, clearly exhausted from the spell. The magic had taken a toll on him. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, his expression grim.
But before he could speak, Gordon gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief. "It's back," Gordon said, his voice strained. "The black… it's back."
Souma turned to him, his blue eyes filled with concern. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice sharp. "What did you see?"
Gordon explained, his voice trembling slightly. "The black stuff… the corruption. It's back in the water. Just as strong as before."
Souma gritted his teeth, his jaw clenched in determination. He wasn't going to let the corruption win. He raised his hand, the white powder reappearing, and began the incantation again, his voice strained but resolute. The powder glowed, building in intensity until it once again resembled a miniature sun. He spread the light across the river's surface.
The black worms erupted from the water, writhing and dissolving as before. But this time, Souma didn't stop. He kept the spell going, his body trembling with the strain. He poured every ounce of his energy into maintaining the cleansing light, refusing to let the corruption return. He was pushing himself to his absolute limit, his determination bordering on desperation.
After an extended period of intense exertion, Souma's power began to waver. The golden glow shuddered, flickering ominously. Just as it threatened to extinguish completely, something emerged from the depths of the river. It was a creature similar in form to the small black worms, but ten times larger, its dark, pulsating body radiating an aura of intense malevolence. It seemed to instinctively understand the danger, attempting to flee.
Gordon, his senses heightened by his unique abilities, recognized the creature immediately. He knew, with a certainty that resonated deep within him, that this was the source of the corruption. Without hesitation, he summoned his power, his eyes glowing with an eerie intensity. He opened his mouth, a dark vortex swirling within, and attempted to consume the creature.
The worm, sensing the impending doom, thrashed violently, its movements surprisingly swift. Gordon, however, wasn't about to let it escape. He focused his power, drawing upon the same force he used to consume the lingering hate in the village. He amplified the suction, creating a powerful gust of wind that whipped around the creature, forcing it towards his waiting maw.
With a final, desperate lunge, the worm was sucked into Gordon's mouth. He swallowed, the repulsive creature sliding down his throat.
"Eeeeewww..." Gordon exclaimed, his face contorted in disgust. The creature's taste was vile, a sickening mix of rot and decay. "That was… disgusting. A really disgusting big worm."
Fortunately for Gordon, Souma collapsed shortly after the large worm emerged. The strain of maintaining the cleansing spell had pushed him beyond his limits, and he succumbed to exhaustion. He was completely unconscious, oblivious to Gordon's dramatic consumption of the monstrous worm and his subsequent, rather vocal, display of revulsion. Souma remained slumped on the riverbank, his breathing shallow and even, unaware of the bizarre spectacle that had just unfolded.
Gordon, unsure of how to help the unconscious Souma, decided the best course of action was to get him back to the hunter guild. He carefully hoisted the limp sentinel onto his back, wincing slightly at the added weight. With a determined grunt, he began the trek back to the village, Souma's unconscious form swaying gently with each step. He hoped Elias would know what to do.
--------------
Gordon staggered into the hunter guild office, Souma's unconscious form draped across his back. Elias, upon seeing the limp sentinel, immediately panicked.
"Souma! What happened?!" Elias exclaimed, his voice high-pitched with alarm. He rushed towards Gordon, his eyes wide with fear. "What did you do to him?!"
Gordon, slightly bewildered by Elias's dramatic reaction, carefully lowered Souma onto a nearby chair. "He just… passed out," Gordon said, his voice calm. "He used a lot of magic at the river. Why are you so worried?"
Elias's face was pale, his hands trembling. "Passed out? At the river? Oh, the higher-ups will have my head if anything happens to him! He's a sentinel! A valuable asset!" He paced back and forth, muttering to himself.
"He was trying to cleanse the water," Gordon explained, his voice patient. "There was a… corruption. A lot of it. And it was really resistant. He kept pushing himself to clear it, and then... he just collapsed."
Elias stopped pacing, his eyes widening. "Resistant? What do you mean?"
Gordon shrugged, trying to sound casual. "I don't know, it just kept coming back. He drained himself trying to stop it. I think he got it in the end, though, the river feels... cleaner."
Elias visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumping in relief. "Oh. Thank goodness. I thought… I thought something terrible had happened. He just passed out from exhaustion. That's… manageable." He took a deep breath, regaining his composure. "Still, he should rest. Thank you, Gordon, for bringing him back."
After confirming that Souma was indeed resting comfortably, Gordon finally headed home, a strange mix of relief and unease swirling within him. He couldn't shake the memory of the large, writhing worm, and the unsettling ease with which he had consumed it.
Just like that, he thought, rubbing his stomach absently. No hesitation. Like it was… normal. He shuddered slightly. The sheer casualness of his action was disturbing. He wondered how his stomach was handling the indigestible looking worm. He didn't feel sick, but the memory of the taste, the texture, was enough to make his stomach churn. How am I so comfortable eating… that? he asked himself.