CHAPTER 17: THE FIRST CLEANSING RITUAL AFTER COMING BACK TO THE HUMAN REALM

"Have you prepared the stuff for the ritual?" Grell asked Kiin as he surveyed his surroundings. The dead land still looked dead. But at least it was slightly cleaner without the carcasses of animals and the bodies of the dead faeries.

The research team from the Underground Council had just arrived and were already busy running here and there, turning left and right, jumping up and down; it made Grell dizzy. He ran his fingers through his hair.

"It's done," Kiin said, pointing at an area in the middle of the clearing with his chin, as his hands were busy dragging some boxes and stacking them up. Grell looked up to the place Kiin pointed at and saw a very tall wooden pole. Taller even than the tallest tree in the jungle surrounding them. On top of the pole was a thick stone plate, wide enough for someone to stand on it. Grell stared at the pole, scrutinizing it for a while before nodding with satisfaction.

After making sure the preparation for the ritual was going smoothly- not that there were many things to prepare anyway- Grell walked away from the unpleasant place and walked back to the little village to look for his Goddess.

Amaya was helping the research team stationed in the village gather anything resembling magical instruments or anything that had traces of magic on them. They left no stones unturned. They even took some of the soil, plants and water from the area. To say that they were desperate was probably an understatement. It also wasn't quite right. They did, however, all felt rage, looking at the dead land and countless bodies of the fairies.

The biggest taboo for magic users especially and people of Kalas in general was to hurt anything of nature; To disturb the balance of the world. They were also disgusted by black masters who were once trampled over people and plundering the entire earth like they own it.

When Grell arrived back at the village, he looked around and asked around for Amaya. Some people pointed to the riverbank and there he went. When he arrived, Amaya was in the middle of picking some water plants to be brought back to the lab. She had a bamboo basket on one hand and she was bending down. The bottom of her long white dress was wet and stuck to her legs. The river wasn't too deep and the width was also not very wide. She calmly stepped barefoot and picked the plants carefully with a snap of her fingers. As she put them in the basket, she chanted a spell to keep them fresh. She looked serene but also absentminded at times. Grell frowned at that.

"What are you thinking about?" Grell asked and took the basket from Amaya's hand. She smiled at him gratefully before sighing.

"I was thinking about making a transportation spell," she told Grell who looked at her inquiringly.

"What brought this on?" he asked, also helping her pick some more plants and throw them in the basket carelessly. Seeing that, Amaya gave him a disapproving look but said nothing and just gave him a helpless smile.

"The human realm indeed had created some magnificent transportation means, and Kalas people had never really needed to pay any mind to those because we normally do not have a matter so pressing we have to be in another place in a snap of a finger," she began explaining her thoughts, "but having been back this time and knowing there are so many dangers lurking around, I just thought that it would be a good thing if we can transport ourselves immediately to our destination.

"However, making a portal was a laborious job in the first place. But then again, the portal was made for travel between realms. What if we make a portal just to travel in one realm alone? If we can create a spell or make an item that serves as a channel between one point and another, would it not be better?" she turned to Grell, asking with a slight smile.

Grell was silent for a while before his face scrunched up a little between laughter and bafflement, "did you get this idea after watching a certain magical movie on the plane here?" he asked after a while.

"Well, their ideas were very novel," Amaya admitted slightly sheepishly and she grinned at him, "I just need to find the appropriate spell or medium," she said with a shrug as she walked back to the bank, ready to hand in the basket to the research team.

"But wouldn't it be dangerous if every Kalas people had this spell, or medium? They will be traveling here and there in this realm unrestrained. Goddess knows how many people of Kalas had been to this realm and stayed because they couldn't get over the novelty of this place," he reminded Amaya.

Amaya was silent for a few seconds and stood there unmoving. "The council can then make the appropriate regulation after I manage to create it," she said afterward, seemingly determined.

"Well, then," Grell then just shrugged and followed Amaya to the makeshift headquarters of their operation. It was in the biggest building in the entire village. But even then, it was only a few hundred square meters and from the bottom to the top floors, boxes and luggage were scattered, packing the entire building full.

Grell and Amaya walked to the second floor and into a room filled with various glass bottles and cases lined up in the previously empty shelves. There was only one big table in the middle of the room and there were various testing equipment as well as a few crystals in various colors. A man with a dignified feature; tall and lean, straight back and sharp eyes, looked up from his microscope when Amaya and Grell entered. His previously emotionless eyes lit up when they landed on Amaya. He stood up in a hurry and bowed to them.

"My Lord, My Lady," the head researcher of the Kingdom of Kalas' Research Center, Klaus, stepped forward and received the basket from Grell who nodded at him in acknowledgement.

"Forgo the formality," Amaya said as she eyed the board behind the man. Her face was serious but also calm. She had told the researchers what they should be looking for and left the rest of the work to them. But since it had only been a night, there were for sure had not been any lead. But she wasn't really in a hurry. She knew the capability of these researchers.

After chatting for a while, Grell and Amaya walked back down and headed back to their own allocated house to wash up and change. The sky had turned overcast. After a quick dinner, they would have to start the ritual so that the souls of the fairies, the spirits, and the animals slain could be cleansed and enter the great beyond and continue on on their journey.

When the two were done washing up and changed into more formal clothes befitting of the ritual, they set off towards the dead land, followed by their subordinates. When they arrived, more people had gathered under the pole, waiting for Amaya and Grell. The atmosphere was solemn and a little gloomy. Looking at the neatly and respectfully covered bodies of the fairies, it indeed was quite heartbreaking.

Amaya looked towards those dead magical creatures. Once they were the protector of the jungle, maintaining order and providing the land with their blessings. Now they were about to be burned with the holy fire and their ashes would be scattered into the wind and their souls would be sent to the great beyond. Amaya silently sighed before walking forward and stopped below the pole. She scanned her believers, nodding at them with gratitude before looking up and slowly ascending.

When she reached the top and landed on the stone plate, the others on land already on their knees, heads bowed in humility, palms gathered in front of their chests. Amaya, on the other hand, stood ramrod straight on the stone plate. Eyes opened and no ripples could be seen inside the dark pupils. Her hand was raised halfway beside her. She took a deep breath and looked towards the horizon before slowly closing her eyes, letting the magic in her fingertips slowly floated out.

With her magic, she reached into every corner of the dead land, to everyone present, the dead fairies, deep into the soil, infiltrating every particle in the surrounding and picking up every filth inside and outside. She pulled them out and in strings, absorbed them into her body. The filth will be digested later on after the ritual was done. She took longer time with the bodies of the fairies and the carcasses of the animals because there were more filths since they had been contaminated with dark magic.

It took her almost two hours cleansing the entire area. When she was done absorbing all of the filths, she was undoubtedly weaker because she needed to destroy the filths from inside her body. But since it was only a small area, a few hours of rest would suffice. 

Meanwhile, the area she had cleansed was now back to its pristine condition. The soil was once again fertile, and even though the black masters have uprooted all of the plants in the dead land, once they plant something, the plants would grow lush. The air was cleaned and was refreshing and calming. The filths in the bodies of her believers had also been cleansed and everyone was now not only healthy, but also back to their best condition. Of course, in the first place, there wasn't anyone with a serious illness. 

The souls of the fairies and the animals had also been cleansed and she only needed to guide them to the gate of the great beyond so they could move on. Even though the fairies did die with the sins of engaging with black magic, since they were originally the creatures borne from earth, just like her, they should be able to plead their case with the Gods and Goddesses residing in the great beyond.

After a little over three hours, Amaya floated back down where Grell received her respectfully, but also with a little worry. Amaya looked at him, reached out her hand and smoothed out the crease on his forehead.

"Let us go back and rest. We still have plenty to do," she said with a smile, albeit a weak one.