Thousand Faces was naturally not intimidated by the little girl's threat. She fired three arrows imbued with adhesive magic in succession, pinning the girl directly to the ground.
"Foya!"
The girl struggled to break free from Thousand Faces' arrows, but it was pointless... this guardian of the ruins was weaker than Thousand Faces had imagined.
"Let's go take a look."
Thousand Faces ignored the girl and led Foya over to the woman floating in midair.
Just as Thousand Faces stepped forward to inspect the middle-aged woman more closely, the magic surrounding the woman suddenly vanished. Her body lost the magic's protection and fell to the ground.
In that instant, Thousand Faces nocked another arrow. She stared fixedly at the woman lying on the ground, guarding against the possibility that she might suddenly awaken and attack.
Several minutes passed, but the middle-aged woman on the ground showed no response at all.
Thousand Faces' ears twitched slightly as she listened for the woman's heartbeat.
But there was none. Thousand Faces could not hear even the faintest heartbeat from her.
"A dead person?"
Thousand Faces glanced at Foya, who was clutching the hem of her clothes behind her. Foya shook her head slightly, indicating that she did not understand what had happened either.
Another minute passed. Thousand Faces slowly approached the middle-aged woman on the ground, her arrow aimed at the woman's head the entire time. Yet even when Thousand Faces reached her side, the woman still did not react.
Thousand Faces knelt on one knee and touched the middle-aged woman's neck.
There was no pulse and no heartbeat. Physiologically speaking, she could be considered dead.
Yet from merely touching her skin, Thousand Faces was certain that this person had still been alive just a second ago.
There was not the slightest sign