Even the brightest fire dulls with ti. After a short duration all the Fla Swallows t the fire. The resulting chaos left nothing but ash and smoke. No trace of any vegetation remained. Not even rocks or stones were left.
The air warped as steam rose from what was left. Only the light of the moon allowed Elian to see the extent of the damage. However, his eyes did see sothing he did not expect.
The earth and ash. They are all saturated with Mana!
At his realization Bianca placed her hand on his face.
"Indeed. Each ti a Fla Swallow ets the fire they bless their surroundings. It practically terraforms the land they fight in. This is why father wanted to co here first. So long as we have them with us, material will never be a problem."
"Then, why didn’t you tell earlier? All this ti I was worried where to get stuff for Father-in-law’s body. Didn’t you even say not to mind it and just prepare for the Ironwoods or whatever?"
Bianca made a brilliant smile, "And miss your genuine reaction to the Fla Swallows? Why on earth would I spoil the surprise? Admit it, they were spectacular, no?"
Elian couldn’t help himself from groaning.
"Fine, they were. But you know, Bianca, no one likes being played the fool."
"Ho? But you’ll be my fool," she teased, "isn’t that sothing to look forward to?"
"..."
Elian scowled, Bianca looked away awkwardly, "Ehem, right. Fla Swallows are semi-immortal. Basically, each ti they detonate, if they manage to burn enough, they get reincarnated."
"What? They do? How is that fair?"
"I don’t think you should be saying such things, Elian. Anyway, you may harvest the land and ash the swallows blessed. If we retrieve their cores and put it in a strong fla, they will all be reborn."
"So they really are natural born suicide bombers. Sohow, I pity those they face against. How did the Church even manage to subdue them?" Elian asked in confusion.
Chuckling, Bianca gestured to the devastated wasteland before them, "How else? Get them excited and wait for them all to bombard themselves to oblivion."
"Ah, that makes sense."
As the Fla Swallows had no concept of restraint, they could be prone to using all their resources haphazardly. In a short battle that would be good, but in a protracted war, it was one of the most foolish decisions one could make.
I an how could you fight a long engagent when your only way to win was sacrifice your own. The mont you fail to make the exchanges worth it you would be left with nothing but corpses and despair.
Bianca quickly got off Elian. He on the other hand spent no ti and began to harvest the mana rich resources. He put away his armor and used the spare ammunition as harvesters.
"Hmm, dedicating brain power to this seems like a waste. System. I want to automate this harvesting process, its goal is to extract mana rich resources for material. Convert a quarter to Living tal to Dominant and store the rest as onyx spheres."
[Understood. What should the skill be called?]
"Call it Resupply."
[Accepted. Skill creation in progress.]
In the minutes that followed, Elian devoured the terraford spoils. Like an excavator he dug up the mana-rich earth as if they were made of gold. The stores he lost to create Fluffy’s body were recovered due to the vast wealth the Fla Swallows gave.
As Elian waited, he saw Bianca cleaning her sniper rifle and the Ice VII mirrors. If one forgot that she was a ghost, you would not even notice that she was dead. Only that she could not touch objects not made from mana.
Even now, Elian did not feel her the weight of her body or the warmth of her touch. Only her mana that represented a chill that made his skin tingle.
"Bianca?"
"Yes? Elian?"she replied.
"The resupply will take so ti. Do you mind if we talk about the mind reading thing now?"
The witch froze, she tried to look away and stood up.
"I should go scout out the dungeon floor. Can’t be too careful, right?"
"Bianca," called out sternly. "We are going to have to talk about this."
"Sigh. It was worth a shot."
Bianca ca back and sat down on an ice stool she created. She crossed her arms and looked closed off.
"Bianca, I am not angry. But while you can read my mind, I can’t read yours. Please tell what is wrong."
She squird, "I-I just was curious. I don’t even do it much. I just listen in whenever you say things that sound too good to be true. You know what I went through."
"Okay, I will give you that. Did what you hear set your mind to rest?"
"It did,"she whispered, "You operated in absolutes. You remind very much of the Fla Swallows. I hold your loyalty, so you give your all to . But I also know that if I ss up you will leave ."
As Elian’s harvester serpents worked, he approached Bianca and sat beside her.
"That is not true, Bianca. I won’t leave you if you make a mistake. There are sothings you cannot do, but as for the rest, no matter what happens, I will support you."
Bianca bit her lip and reached out for Elian’s hand. He smiled; she grew clingier as the days went on. And he liked it. Feeling wanted had its own appeal.
"Please tell ."
"Huh?"
"Please tell ," she repeated. "I have never been in a relationship. I am terrified of losing you, Elian. Your pure hearted affection makes believe that the sun craps out rainbows. But I also saw your darkness. I am scared that one day, you will no longer want ."
Seeing her distress, Elian chuckled. He brought her hands to his and kissed it.
"Is that so? No one has managed to claim your heart yet. Even with how amazing you are?"
Bianca nodded, "I had a lot back then. So many approached with less than honorable intentions. You on the other hand..."
"Go on."
"You wanted even though I had little to nothing to give. So. I-I uhm... I knew you truly wanted . That or you were just crazy."
At her adorable conclusions, Elian smiled, "Well, I am crazy. Fluffy even calls a genocidal lunatic."
"Hmph, be serious. Please tell Elian. If you do, I promise to never eavesdrop on your thoughts."
Hmm. What do I want? Frankly I never even thought I would get this far.
"Why? Why would you think that?"
"Bianca, have you seen how beautiful you are? You also are overflowing with sex appeal. To , you are like a beautiful movie actress I could only worship from afar you know. In contrast look at , I’m a genderless mannequin who doesn’t even have any hair."
"Sigh. Elian your morals have been so warped you fail to see your true worth. I am the one who has less to offer. I am dead, I cannot give you children. At least not yet. I have many enemies, and all I can give you; you already have the power to get on your own."
Bianca then grabbed Elian’s hand with both of hers, "Plus, I am over ten years older than you. Are you really certain you want to be with ? You won’t suddenly leave for soone younger after you take my purity, will you?"
Hearing her absurd fear, Elian couldn’t help but laugh.
"Why are you laughing? This is serious!"
It was truly ridiculous; Elian was more concerned in being a golem. Yet the beautiful woman before him didn’t even care about that. She instead chose to focus on her age. It seed so silly, that it made no sense.
Elian thought for a mont, before gazing deep into Bianca’s eyes.
"Stay by my side, from now till the day we die. Tell that you need , despite all that I cannot give you. Trust even when I do not know everything. Care for when I am weak and praise when I am strong. Give your heart to alone."
Unknowingly the deepest desires Elian began to spill forth. His hand trembled, but she held it tighter, "I swear. To never leave your side, no matter where your path leads you. I need you, Elian. I trust you the most in this world. My heart is already yours."
Elian couldn’t stop smiling from everything he heard. He pressed his forehead to Bianca’s and whispered.
"Then what you fear will never co."
"Yes,"she smiled in bliss.
And then Bianca reached up and stole Elian’s lips.
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