The dryad helped with the process of burying the mermaid. With her ability to control nature, she managed to make a grave for the mermaid. Of course, I did not forget to take the Mermaid Orb that the seed said to be located on her forehead. The mermaid orb is the orb that is sticking out of her forehead. It was rather small than what the cores of the monsters usually have. It did have a bit of energy sticking out that I never expected to have more than the core of the monster. It was much purer than the core of the crab man I got from Volta last time.I pocketed the Mermaid orb which is going to be something that I will be using for later. After that, the dryad offered another help to allow my friends to recover. At least she can atone for her sins of allowing the darkness of the mermaid to control her. I did not decline and instead allowed. I can sense that she is sincere rather than having sinister thoughts of making my friends undergo another kind of illusion.
I look back to the river and sighed. This place will no longer be as sinister as it was...
...
I walk back to the location where I left Moonlight and the others. When Itazura noticed me, she quickly removed the illusion of the place but she growled at the dryad when she saw her behind me.
"Calm down Itazura. She is no longer the enemy. This is a friend," I said to Itazura.
Itazura looked at me and when she saw that I am not lying, she climbed up to my shoulder, still wary of the dryad. The dryad smiled but she quickly goes to focus on the rest. Miya is already conscious and the only one who is capable of defending the others. When she saw me, she approached me and smiled.
"I never expected that you would be able to befriend the dryad that is terrorizing the area," Miya said as she looked at the dryad that is currently healing Moonlight.
"I did not befriend her. She was grateful for me for defeating an enemy that caused the burden to others. Now that she is going to help us, we would be able to secretly go and sneak into the elven camp and find out the guys in there."
"An enemy? I thought it was the dryad."
"No, in actuality, it was the dryad that was a victim. She was never meant to be the one that caused the several disappearances of many people but another ent.i.ty. She was already defeated and Hikari helped remove the tainted place and restore it to its former glory."
"Hikari did?"
"Yeah. From the looks of it, she is able to balance the light and dark without any trouble."
"Looks like she is indeed really powerful to be able to do that. And if she can really do remove the darkness, she might be able to put the darkness too."
"It is indeed possible."
While Miya and I are speaking, Moonlight, Maple, and Catmod woke up one by one and from the looks on their faces, they looked like they have recovered from their drunken stupor.
"Wha? What did just happen?" Moonlight rubbed her eyes.
"Where are all the salmons I have caught earlier?" Catmod said as he searches where the salmons he has caught in his illusions go.
Maple rubbed her legs. "Ow, why did my legs are so sore right now? What did I just do?"
I sighed in relief. Looks like they were just mild things, not permanent damage to their brains. From the looks of it, I seemed to be just paranoid on them and I worry about Moonlight. From her reaction during the illusions, she seems to be suffering, luckily, she seemed to be fine now.
Then, the three suddenly got startled when they saw the dryad. They quickly go on an aggressive stance but I quickly s.h.i.+elded the dryad to stop them from doing something.
"Guys, be calm. She is not a harmful dryad. She helped lift off the effects of the illusions that the three of you are under. There is nothing to worry about." I ensured them.
"We are under illusions?" the three of them look at each other.
...
I explained all of the things that happened to them earlier with all the things that they have done and how I am immune to the illusion that the mermaid cast on them. When they heard about all the embarra.s.sing things they have done, they lowered their heads in embarra.s.sment. They never expected to do that kind of embarra.s.sment to themselves. Luckily, they sighed in relief since I left my phone back home. But if I brought it with me, they won"t be very lucky and I am sure they would be in trouble with the others. Of course, I didn"t tell what Moonlight"s situation occurred. I would be totally heartless that did not consider her feelings if I said what happened to her during the phase of the illusions.
After a few discussions and telling our situation to the dryad who is actually named Leto, she agreed to help us go to the forest and lead us to the elven camp. She too is against on darkness spreading, therefore, she decided to tag along in case we need her help in escaping to the woods. Catmod and the others did not refuse her generosity, instead, they agreed that Leto would be a valuable a.s.set for our team fight that might be occurring sooner or later.
While we are walking, Catmod keeps on blaming himself for being so easily manipulated with illusions. He did not expect that his very weakness would be illusions involving salmons. I just grinned by the thought of Catmod but it was not really a laughing matter. Due to the darkness creeping on the heart of the mermaid, it strengthens a lot of her powers including the illusions which made Catmod and the rest to suffer an utter defeat and if I am not resistant enough of the illusions, we would be all dead already and the mermaid is chomping us with a smile on her ugly face.