Chapter 1971: Hedlehash, The Sorceress of Parasitic Spirits

Once Meiji stepped out of the room with Kizuato, he was greeted by the rest of his friends there. Truhan and Celica's sizes had been reduced so they could fit inside the house, an innate ability of them, while Palami, Asure, and Raito were also alright, smiling after seeing their old friend.

"Meiji! Are you okay?!" Palami ran towards him, her eyes filled with concern.

"I-I am..." Meiji sighed.

"What happened was crazy, are you sure?" Raito raised an eyebrow. "Becoming a monster and all.."

"Raito! Would you shut up?!" Asure said angrily. "You don't have to remind him of that!"

"M-My bad..." Raito apologized.

"No, it's fine..." Meiji sighed. "Thank you for stopping me... I don't know what had happened to me but, it was dangerous. I couldn't control myself anymore, nor I could even speak. It was hell. Thank you for freeing me from such a curse, everyone."

"Well, what's done is done. Now we should try to find the culprit behind your transformation." Truhan said. "I remember detecting that thing around your monster form, it resembled some sort of huge crystal wasp, or something, right?"

"Yeah, it held a tremendous amount of power yet it seemed quite cowardly, instead of fighting us with such strength, it choose to escape." Celica said. "Perhaps although it has a lot of power, it doesn't specialize on head-on battles and might rely on controlling Spirit Beasts."

"A-A wasp, you said?" Asked Amethyst. "That's..."

"You know something, Amethyst?" Asked Palami. "We're outsiders here so what we know is very limited..."

"Yes, we do kind of know who that person could be. The Supreme Spirit Queen is served by several "Spirit Generals", which are powerful Spiritians that have come from different Kingdoms or Nations in the High Heavens the Empire had conquered and assimilated." Amethyst said.

"So that Wasp is a Spirit General?" Asked Celica, crossing her arms. "What an unoriginal title, seriously?"

"Hahaha... Well, ahem! That Wasp-like person was most likely a woman, the Sorceress of Parasitic Spirits, Hedlehash. She is... known for her sadistic tendencies. She comes from a now destroyed Empire in the Rainbow Sands Desert of the High Heavens. Her people is known for being insect-like, and they have the power to create Parasitic Spirits, and infect living beings with them to enhance their power." Sighed Amethyst. "She's a monster, really... There are many rumors of entire villages disappearing through her "experiments"... Of course, because we are not affiliated with any Country, we're left for monsters like her to do whatever they want with us."

"I guess we'll have to squash that damn bug once we find her." Truhan said while smiling defiantly. "Don't worry! I don't feel her presence her anymore! I think she might be chasing us around."

"As long as we leave quickly, you might not be targeted." Celica smiled.

"T-That's not what I was trying to say..." Amethyst sighed. "We're forever grateful for you saving our village!"

"It's fine, Amethyst, we were leaving soon enough anyways." Palami smiled.

"Thanks for your hospitality, despite us being completely foreigners of this world." Asure nodded.

"Yeah, thanks, the tea is pretty good too." Raito said.

"I wish... I could do more- Ah, right!" Amethyst said. "Didn't Lady Celica said there were more of your companions unconscious? Perhaps we could help them wake up."

"You can?" Celica was surprised. "But- Wait, now that I think about... How come you three are so perfectly fine?! You're not giants like us either! Hell, even we felt a bit tired but you guys are pristine!"

"Must be the tea!" Kizuato said. "I drank it earlier and my divine realm finally unclogged itself, I can access its powers and the people inside seem fine too."

"This tea... What is it made of?" Celica asked. "My Moon Elves have been trying to make a medicine using some of the crystals we've grabbed, but nothing has come out yet."

"This Tea is made using the Rainbow Spirit Water from the Lake near our village." Amethyst explained. "We also use extract of Spiritite Tea Leaves, and Roseheim Spirit Flowers. We grow them in our backyards usually. Come with me!"

Amethyst quickly led everyone to his backyard, sharing the beautiful crystalline leaves with Celica, as she nodded, while also going to grab some of that water. She quickly prepared some tea the way Amethyst taught him and made the unconscious Monkey-kin drink it.

The effects were almost instant! Kizuato and Meiji were filled with happiness as they saw their brothers wake up from their slumber, a slumber they believed would had ended lasting forever...

"What the hell... Huh? Ugh, my head hurts..." Goruden, a slim monkey-kin with golden fur and eyes woke up, looking around in confusion.

"Hahh... Ugh, it feels like I've been asleep for a century." Yukan, a bulky monkey-kin with black fur and several scars across his body opened his emerald eyes.

"Hm? This... Where am I?" A slightly silent and smaller monkey-kin covered on black robes wondered, Jinsoku.

"You guys are alive!" Kizuato cried in happiness, hugging them all.

"Kizuato?! What the hell are you doing?!" Goruden tried to push him away.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Yukan asked.

"Ugh, I'm hungry..." Jinsoku complained.

"It'll take a while to explain, haha." Meiji laughed. "But let's take our time..."

Like that, they explained what had happened to the three other monkey-kins, their eyes opening wide in shock. After the explanations, they instantly bowed their heads before Amethyst.

"Thank you so much for your help." Goruden said.

"Without your generosity, we might be dead by now..." Yukan sighed.

"Thanks." Jinsoku said.

"I-It's nothing, it is the least I could do." Amethyst smiled.

"Uncle, there's more mister monkeys now?" Little Emerald flew at the side of Amethyst.

Goruden, Jinsoku, and Yukan also thanked Celica and Truhan, and Asure, Palami, and Raito as well. They felt grateful to be alive, but this wasn't the end of it yet.

Amethyst had promised he would teach these foreigners how to create their own Spirit Hearts and cultivate the vast Spirit Energy of this World so they can better adapt to this world.

"Before you leave, I would like for all of you to create your own Spirit Hearts." He said. "It is the least I could do for our saviors."