Hearing the red fox's words, the woman in gray frowned at her sword. Sensing something, the red fox looked up at her.
"What's wrong, Sister? Has something changed?"
The woman in gray shook her head.
"Not really. I just suddenly wondered whether that sharp streak of light that left through the sky earlier might have noticed us down below."
"Surely not?"
Just then, pain crossed the gray-clad woman's face, and she slowly sank to the ground. The sword she had braced against the earth slipped from her hand and fell beside her.
"Ugh... ah..."
A faint red glow emerged from her body, bringing with it a barely perceptible yet heart-chilling heat.
Under the influence of that heat, the red fox did not even dare approach. Getting too close might trigger her own injuries as well, so she could only pace anxiously around her.
"Sister! Sister! How are you feeling...?"
Night had already fallen. Perhaps the dark clouds had made her overlook something, for the red fox suddenly realized it now.
"Oh no, tonight is the new moon! You shouldn't have used so much magical power, Sister..."
The heavy rain kept falling. As the drops landed on the woman in gray, they hissed and sent up wisps of steam.
It was as though the rain were falling not on a delicate woman, but on a scorching iron plate...
Gradually, however, the rain seemed to grow colder and colder. Eventually, it even brought a chilly white mist, and falling on the woman's body, it eased her suffering considerably.
After a long while, the scorching heat around the woman in gray gradually faded. Only then did the red fox dare hurry closer, her eyes filled with worry and anxiety.
"Sister, wake up! Sister, don't scare me!"
Amid those repeated calls, the woman in