Zohar, a thousand years ago, was nothing more than a small city in the desert.
But it became famous because of a single man—the Demon King Solomon.
Though male, he possessed the ability to command spirits. To realize his ambition, he brought the seventy-two spirits slumbering across the world under his control and, in an extremely short time, swept across the continent.
At that time, the concept of using spirits for war didn't even exist. Thus, with his spirit army, the Demon King quickly crushed nation after nation, leaving them on the brink of collapse.
Yet just as his forces were about to dominate the continent, a shepherd girl appeared.
She formed a contract with the legendary Sacred Sword and organized a Salvation Army to fight against the Demon King. Thus began the three-year-long Demon King War.
In the end, the Demon King was defeated.
Defeated by the Sacred Queen Areishia, who wielded the Sacred Sword.
Afterward, both the saintess and the sword vanished from history.
...
This information came from an old book in the hands of a merchant—an ancient text, judging by its condition.
"So that's what happened, huh?"
As an anime fan, Elise usually only watched anime. Only when particularly interested in a series would she go after the original novel.
Unfortunately, there had been far too many harem academy anime at the time—so many she couldn't keep up.
Blade Dance of the Elementalers was one of those. Elise had only seen the anime, her strongest impression being of Est, the loli character. As for the story itself…
She only knew a bit of the worldbuilding and that the final boss seemed to be the Light Elemental Lord, Alexandros?
Other than that, Elise didn't know much.
But she did know the fate of the saintess Areishia.
Because she had slain many spirits, the Sacred Sword placed a curse on Areishia, corroding her body until she ultimately became a spirit crystal.
And that Sacred Sword was Est!
That was why Est bore the title of Demon King's Sacred Demon Sword.
"But if she didn't die, then one day in the future, Areishia will surely be freed, right?"
Elise thought of Kamito. Since this was a harem light novel, it wouldn't be surprising if the not-dead Areishia ended up in the protagonist's harem!
Many stories pulled this exact trick.
But Elise didn't mind—it had nothing to do with her. She was only here for Solomon's treasure.
"Miss Holiness, we'll be setting off now!"
The caravan's leader was a middle-aged man named Allen, who had worked in this trade for over ten years, well experienced in navigating the desert.
He was confident about the route ahead.
"Alright, let's go. If we encounter any problems, I'll step in."
Elise sat in the wagon, holding Est in her arms.
The desert heat was oppressive, as though it could melt a person. But under Elise's control, the temperature around them was pleasantly moderated.
"Excellent! With you here, I can rest easy!"
To ordinary people, Elementalists were held in extremely high regard. While common folk could only rely on their bodies to fight, Elementalists could wield the power of the elements.
Such people were naturally respected.
At first, Allen had not intended to take this desert route. It was indeed dangerous, and they might encounter many magical beasts along the way.
But after Elise revealed herself as an Elementalist, his mind changed.
With an Elementalist's protection, what was a desert route?
Wouldn't the monsters simply die upon appearing?
Thus, Allen agreed to Elise's request. He even offered to refund the original payment Elise had given him—and instead pay her a guard's commission, so long as she protected the caravan.
Naturally, Elise agreed.
So in the end, the caravan she had hired with Kamito's money was now paying her… with even more money.
"I feel a little sorry for Kamito…" Elise pressed her hands together. "I'll pray for you! Amen!"
Achoo! In the forest, the black-haired boy sneezed and muttered in confusion, "In this kind of weather, can you even catch a cold?"
After offering a brief prayer, Elise sat upright once more in the caravan wagon, expanding her senses.
Faith power spread through the air, drifting outward.
In her perception, aside from some weak monsters and spirits, only their caravan remained in the surrounding area. For now, there was no danger.
"Once I've obtained Solomon's treasures, I'll leave this world. There's really nothing else important to do here."
In this world, she had already formed a contract with Est—her main goal was accomplished. The Demon King's treasure was just a bonus, meant to help her cooperate with Est better.
If she managed to acquire it, she'd have no further reason to stay in this world.
"After that… I probably won't ever return here."
The world of the Elementalists had nothing particularly unique, aside from the spirits.
"Forget it. I don't plan to keep getting involved with the protagonist anyway. Let's just leave it at that."
Suddenly, a tremor rippled through Elise's senses. She immediately surveyed the area, but no enemies appeared on the surface. What's more—the tremors were only growing stronger!
Given the wide range of her perception, for something to escape it, it had to either be in the sky… or underground!
Underground!
"Everyone, increase speed! Get out of here!"
Sensing danger, Allen, the caravan leader, shouted urgently while whipping the reins to accelerate.
Before long, a whirlpool of sand appeared in front of them, widening rapidly.
"That's… a monster!"
With years of experience in the desert, Allen instantly recognized its type.
An antlion beast!
It dug huge pits beneath the desert. Any creature that slid into one would be impaled by its massive scythe-like jaws and devoured!
And now, the pit was expanding faster and faster!
If they couldn't escape the range in time, they would inevitably fall into the trap and be eaten alive.
"Miss Holiness!"
"I know!"
Elise grasped Est's hand, summoning the Demon Slayer Sacred Sword in a flash of light.
"I thought this desert journey might be boring, but I didn't expect to run into a monster!"
"How lucky!"