Nausicaä's red hair stirred without a breeze.
The wreckage of the barn, which had fallen silent, began to crackle faintly.
Mu En, who was concentrating on Nausicaä's physical condition, knew that her spiritual power had grown strong enough to begin interfering with physical matter.
Just as in the original story of Valley of the Wind, the spiritual power unleashed by tens of thousands of enraged Ohmu could still the wind and fill the air with a stinging sensation.
Now, driven by extreme emotion, Nausicaä had touched that realm.
Silently, she hoisted Pao onto her back and walked out of the barn's ruins, one step at a time.
Nausicaä had always been a good-tempered person.
Even when she had a disagreement with someone, she would always laugh it off. Almost no one had ever seen her act willfully or lose her temper.
But this time, facing a barn guard whose name she knew but whom she could hardly call an acquaintance, Nausicaä felt anger spilling uncontrollably from her heart.
Because all of this was her failure.
If she had noticed the sabotage sooner, if she had exposed that "traitor" sooner... none of these tragedies would have happened.
Fortunately, with the power of the Erdtree, she still had a chance to save them.
Several strong women wearing brown robes and leather pouches at their waists pushed their way in from the edge of the crowd.
They were the "Grannies," who specialized in medicine for the tribe. The title had been passed down from ancient teachings and had nothing to do with age.
When the Grannies arrived, the crowd stepped aside of its own accord, letting them direct the treatment of the injured.
Thanks to Mu En's modifications, Nausicaä had gained considerable resistance to the elements, and the flames from earlier could hardly hurt her.
But the villagers who had rushed to the front and risked their lives to fight the fire had not been so lucky.
Many had gotten too close, and the skin beneath their clothes had been scorched bright red. The smell of burnt fabric hung in the air.
The scene quickly grew chaotic.
The most severely injured firefighters were naturally the two guards who had nearly been swallowed by the exploding fireball.
"Quick, save them! They were trying to put out the fire too..." Yiduo, who had remained at his companions' side, shouted for help when he saw the Grannies arrive.
Several Grannies bent down to examine them, but when they saw that there was scarcely a patch of uninjured skin on either of them, they silently shook their heads.
Burns this severe were beyond their ability to treat.
"Let me try."
The princess's voice came from behind them, and the Grannies immediately stepped aside with respect.
For some reason, a bone-chilling cold accompanied the young woman as she passed them.
And when the onlookers saw the body on her back, burned black all over and barely able to be called alive, they gasped.
The Valley of the Wind had been at peace for a long time, and such horrific sights usually appeared only in stories told by veterans returning from war.
Nausicaä gently laid Pao on the ground beside the other two gravely injured men.
By now, she had forced herself into an absolutely rational state, casting aside her emotions so that anger would not interfere with her judgment.
Pao had been lucky. No fuel had been spilled where he had collapsed, and apart from the pillar he had been leaning against, there had been almost nothing flammable nearby.
Even so, the heat and toxic fumes around him had nearly cost him his life.
Fortunately, Nausicaä had rushed into the fire and found him, then used the power of Erdtree's Favor to keep him clinging to his last breath.
But she had not healed Pao outright.
When she saw the growing crowd of villagers outside, a thought rose clearly in her mind: this was the perfect opportunity to show everyone the Erdtree's power and strengthen their faith in it.
Besides, Pao had long since fallen unconscious, so a little delay would not add to his suffering.
And so the present scene had come to pass.
Now, more than half the villagers were gathered in the open space in front of the barn.
The fire had broken out on the edge of the village and caused such a commotion that they could not have pretended not to see it even if they wanted to.
Once the fire was out, a wave of whispers swept through the crowd.
Some were still astounded by the miraculous golden light that had dispersed the flames, while others worried about the injured firefighters.
Of course, there were also those who were secretly relieved that they had not rushed to the front.
Seeking benefit and avoiding harm was human instinct.
Now, everyone's eyes turned as one to the princess in the center of the square and the three gravely injured people at death's door before her.
Seeing the princess tell the Grannies to step aside, the people wondered if she had a way to save them.
Nausicaä raised her right hand and gently tucked her somewhat disheveled red hair behind her ear.
Then she solemnly raised her left hand to her forehead.
Golden radiance flowed from her palm and slowly cascaded over the injured people before her like a warm golden waterfall.
"Look at the ground!" someone cried out.
People looked down and discovered that an intricate pattern had appeared on the ground, and they were already standing within it.
A golden canopy and roots enclosed it from above and below, while a trunk passed through four interlocking rings at its center, forming a unified Erdtree Mark.
Streams of light that seemed alive flowed through the lines of the mark.
Everyone present held their breath.
Then they witnessed a sight they would never forget.
Pao's skin, burned almost to charcoal, began to slough off rapidly, and fresh granulation tissue grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In just a few moments, the horrifying burns had vanished, replaced by pale pink new skin covering his entire body.
Although he remained unconscious, the steady, powerful rise and fall of his chest told everyone that the princess had snatched the dying young man back from the hands of death.
The other two guards also recovered and woke up. They stared blankly at the golden light on their bodies, not knowing what had happened.
Just then, Nausicaä raised her left hand high above her head, and her voice reached everyone's ears.
"Lord Erdtree, please bestow your blessing and heal these injured people!"
As she spoke, the Erdtree Mark on the ground suddenly expanded, and dazzling golden light enveloped everyone present in an instant!
Bathed in the sacred radiance, their injuries vanished without a trace, no matter how serious or minor, whether they were gruesome wounds licked by the flames or bruises and sprains caused by overexertion.
Even those who had no injuries felt a warm current surge through their bodies.
It was as if they were soaking in a hot spring at just the right temperature. Every pore relaxed, and the fatigue of days of labor was swept away.
The Grannies watched the miraculous healing with awe in their eyes.
The medical skills they had passed down through generations seemed so insignificant before Nausicaä's power.
The light gradually faded, but silence fell over the square.
Almost all the villagers stood rooted to the spot, confusion, shock, and longing mingling on their faces.
What kind of power was that?
They had heard the name "Erdtree" spoken by the princess.
Could it be that the reports circulating in the valley over the past few days, about a divine tree descending upon the Valley of the Wind, were not the usual idle gossip, but... a true miracle?
The seeds of faith began to take root and sprout in their hearts.