From Human to Skeleton: Revived with Infinite System Crystals

Both guards looked at each other and shrugged. "Oh, okay. Just make it quick because the outpost is being broken down and pieces are being moved to other fronts to deal with monster sightings increasing at different entrances to the kingdom."

Nana tilted her head in confusion. "I thought the monster appearances would have died down with us finishing off that cave?"

The guard shrugged again. "No idea. If anything, they have started sprouting up more and seem to all be heading toward a single direction. But please, just make it quick, Lady Nanako, and we both apologize for wasting your time." They both bowed before turning and walking away.

"Right, now let's get focused on collecting everything," Nana said as they walked past all the bunkers until they came to an open field stretching for miles.

Nana paused for a moment, startled. "Oh, it's so peaceful now," she remarked, looking out at the long stretch of ground that was once war-torn and bloodied, now replaced by green grass and fresh patches. "The cave is also gone now as well. I wonder if it just went back into the ground or permanently left?"

Elithira glanced around thoughtfully. "Given he was a Shinigami, it's likely the Shinigami King took it upon himself to plant forces on this planet to ensure the strong curses never got too strong or go away. It's normal for their kind, much like the vampires, to overstep their abilities to easily traverse different universes."

Nana nodded, still absorbing the serene transformation of the battlefield. "I guess it makes sense. We need to stay vigilant, though. If they're keeping tabs, it means there's always a chance something could come back."

Elithira agreed, her eyes scanning the horizon. "Absolutely. Let's gather everything we need and head back. The sooner we regroup, the sooner we can act."

Nana nodded as they walked toward the nearest bunker. She pulled open the handle, revealing dozens of untouched beds. As they walked in, Nana was hit with a wave of memories, seeing Ty as he spoke softly to her.

Gripping her chest, she thought, "Please be okay," before snapping back to her senses.

"Hey, you okay?" Elithira asked, noticing her distraction.

"Yeah, just some random floating thoughts is all. Sorry, but when Ty and I linked up, we decided to do a raid on the kingdom to see if the sword was really turned to stone. And in fact, it was. We didn't want to risk pulling it out or anything in case it would break or cause more problems," Nana explained.

Elithira nodded, listening intently. "That makes sense. So, what else did you find?"

"Ty did manage to find a lever that opened a wall, and we found this book at the end before we got attacked by one of the King's guards," Nana continued.

"Oh, and what happened to this guard?" Elithira asked, bending over as Nana pushed a bed out of the way. Nana broke down to her knees, pushing aside a chest and a few cinder blocks.

"We had to fight him off. Ty was amazing, really. He managed to disarm the guard and get us out of there without any of us getting seriously hurt," Nana said, her voice softening with the memory. "But it was close. Too close."

Elithira helped Nana move the last of the obstacles, her expression serious. "It sounds like you two went through a lot. But you made it through, and that's what matters."

"Yeah, well, I sure hope so for Ty. But for a skeleton, he has always been rather durable," Nana replied with a chuckle.

Pulling a thick book out of the floor, Nana lifted it with both hands wrapped around it before tossing it to Elithira. "I thought this might be of some importance."

Elithira's eyes widened as she caught the book. "Yeah, this is almost the same type of book that has the sealed away Dragoon."

"However, this one has yellow letters on it and has an odd glow to it," Elithira added, examining the cover.

Nana nodded. "What's strange is it was actually blank, and every page was empty when Ty and I first stole it from the King's courtroom."

Elithira inspected the letters closely. "It is an old dialect of this world's language. It's likely no one here can read it now. I have had the pleasure of meeting a few people from this world after they died, so I know a bit of it."

Nana tilted her head. "Mad Sword God? What could that even be?"

Elithira pondered as she flipped through endless blank pages before coming upon an inked pattern that grew larger with each page flip. "It's likely he was one of the first to be sealed away when they learned how to seal curses, I assume."

"This is good and can be used as leverage at some point. Also, Father mentioned he wanted to collect the curses from this planet for some reason, so this is all the better."

Nana nodded. "Perfect. Let's go ahead and get back so we can get the day started. It's nearing 6:30 a.m. at this rate."

Elithira nodded in agreement. As they walked out, she called out, "Hey, sister, I'm sure you're around here somewhere."

Nana looked around, confused. "Who are you talking to?"

Elithira stated, "Just wait."

Moments later, footsteps crunched as a woman became visible and stated, "How could you see past my disguise? I didn't think you'd be able to see me sneaking up."

Elithira smirked. "Fiera, you should know better than to think you can sneak up on me."

"Ah, shucks, I wouldn't have guessed you noticed me," Fiera said with a playful smirk.

Elithira laughed lightly. "Come on, I know almost all of your tricks. But thanks for coming.

Here, take this," she said, throwing the book in Fiera's direction. Fiera caught it effortlessly.

"What is this?" Fiera asked, inspecting the book.

"This is the book that Nana managed to steal from the Kingdom. It contains the first curse of this world, so it's an amazing feat, first off. However, it seems to have activated in some capacity. Before, it was blank, and now, well, you can see for yourself."

Fiera looked at the book top to bottom, her eyes widening slightly. "Oh, Vector, this is the guy sealed away in here," she murmured.

Nana nodded. "That's right. The book started revealing its contents recently, and it mentioned something about 'The Sealing of the Mad Sword God.' We think it might lead us to important information about Ty and Erebos."

"Well, regarding Erebos directly, Vector won't be of any use," Fiera said, flipping through the book's pages.

"But if Father is requesting the curses be collected, it's likely he wants to use them for some other purpose. The fact that the letters are revealing themselves probably means the seals are weakening. This could be related to Erebos in some regard, or someone with a lot of power is putting a release on the curses. I'll see to it that this one gets put in for safekeeping for the meantime.

Once you're ready to head back to the Demon King, just make sure to come collect it."

"Right," Elithira stated. "Now let's go ahead and get back before it gets too late in the early morning."

Nana nodded. "We'll probably need to sprint a little bit to get back on time before 7:00."

Elithira chuckled. "Nonsense," she said, grabbing Nana by the collar before jumping high into the sky and dashing toward the inn. "I was only going slow for you, sweetheart. I'll teach you to up your speed eventually."

The wind whipped past them as Elithira soared through the air with ease. Nana held on tightly, her heart racing from the sudden speed. The landscape blurred beneath them, and the fresh morning air filled Nana's lungs, invigorating her. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting a golden hue over the horizon.

Within moments, they landed gracefully near the inn. Elithira released Nana, who stumbled slightly but quickly regained her footing. "That was... intense," Nana said, catching her breath.

Elithira grinned. "You'll get used to it.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

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Elithira nodded and said, "You can go ahead and head back inside. I will go to the King's chambers to retrieve Ty's finger and meet you back in a bit. If anything goes south and you don't hear from me by, say, 8:00 a.m., don't hesitate to come check on me."

Elithira threw Nana a brown rusted key and stated "hold on to this for me it might come in handy."

Nana nodded. "Of course, I will be ready. In the meantime, I will prepare Todd and the others to be ready to depart from this world."

"Right, I will also take the stoned sword, and we will be off," Elithira confirmed.

As Nana headed inside to gather the others, Elithira took a deep breath and made her way toward the King's chambers. The early morning air was cool, and the streets were starting to fill with the hustle and bustle of daily life. She moved quickly, her mind focused on the task ahead.