"It's okay. Slowly use the power of purification around your body."
Since her abilities hadn't returned to her childhood state, Amelia, though slightly trembling, activated the incantation of purification around her body.
The blue dragons, whose eyes were clouded by darkness and curses, instinctively fixed their gaze on the light emitted by the purification.
"That's right. Just show the power you have."
Rune began to gather the dark power that had seeped into the dragons under the light.
The blue dragon rose to its feet.
As if drawn by the light, the two dragons, each heavy with their steps, slowly and wearily approached Rune, who was holding Amelia.
Two voices calling out to Amelia, muffled, reached her ears.
Startled, Amelia struggled to break free from Rune's grip.
"Rune, I have to go. Mom and Dad...!"
The darkness was still too thick for Amelia to approach.
Most importantly, the two adult blue dragons' bodies were filled with curses.
Rune, who had clicked his tongue in frustration, held the struggling hatchling even tighter.
The blue dragon's tail struck the spot where Rune had been standing in an instant.
"Lord Rune! Bakyah! Sister!"
Blackberry ran over, making a kyah sound.
At Rune's calm voice, Blackberry stopped in her tracks.
As the sand and small stones in the sea settled, Rune and Amelia's figures were revealed.
Rune stood inside a transparent barrier, surrounded by small sparks of multicolored light, holding Amelia.
A faintly glowing, transparent dolphin.
The Rune inside it looked completely at ease.
"This place has been waiting for you to come."
The galaxy embedded in the dolphin's body twinkled in response.
Amelia looked around, examining the translucent dolphin that enveloped them.
"It's a water spirit. More precisely, a sea spirit."
Even if it was just a tail strike, the fact that the dolphin had defended against an adult dragon's attack from the front meant it was at least a top-tier spirit.
Rune calmly observed the water spirit.
"Yes. Now that the sea has been purified, it seems it could finally come here."
'It was strange that I couldn't see any water spirits in the sea to begin with.'
Blue dragons were a clan naturally attuned to water.
However, Rune had long felt something was off about the fact that there were only monsters and marine creatures inside the lair, even in the innermost parts.
There were few places as suitable for water spirits to dwell as the deep sea.
There were no threats to the spirits, the water, the source of their attribute, was abundant, and the mana was rich.
In every way, it was a place with excellent conditions for spirits to live.
'The place had become uninhabitable for spirits due to the power of darkness and curses.'
Purifying the deep sea was to create a suitable environment to deal with Amelia's parent dragons.
He knew that once the darkness was dispelled, the spirits would eventually return.
Among them, this dolphin spirit had clearly been waiting to enter the lair.
Meanwhile, Amelia was looking up at the spirit in amazement.
"Amazing... I've never seen one before, but... it feels like I've known it for a long time."
"...It might be. It's probably the spirit your parents entrusted you to."
Christina had also attached a light spirit, Rai, to the young Rune.
Spirits do not know betrayal, so there could be no better guardian for Amelia.
'Even a top-tier water spirit, but it came here in just one day. It must have known Amelia already.'
At that moment, the dolphin offered its back to Rune and Amelia.
"It seems to be inviting us to get on..."
Despite her hesitation, Rune quickly climbed onto the dolphin's back, taking Amelia with him.
The dolphin, carrying the startled Amelia and Rune, swiftly dodged the breath attacks pouring down.
'Good luck. To think a spirit would try to keep a contract even with the contracted party in a state of madness.'
The dolphin must have been one of the two blue dragons.
Even though they were in no condition to maintain the contract, it had faithfully kept their request for centuries.
While Rune was impressed by its loyalty, the dolphin swam to where the rest of the party was waiting.
It then waited without moving, keeping a safe distance and watching the blue dragons warily.
Rune pulled up the corner of his mouth.
'With this guy's help, things will be easier than expected.'
Rune spoke to the dolphin.
Seeing the dolphin tilt its head, Rune took out all kinds of snacks he had collected from his subspace pocket.
Cookies with fruit jam made by Christina, puddings, jellies, candies.
Even the taffy and pretzels he had made as a test.
These were magical foods imbued with the mana of Christina and Rune.
"I'm going to feed this to them to bring them back. You need to cooperate too."
It was a brilliant negotiation, but the dolphin's eyes showed no interest.
As Rune and the dolphin were having a staring contest, Amelia, unsure of what to do, intervened.
"Spirit. I, I also... please. We... want to wake up our... parents."
The dolphin, hearing Amelia's words, looked at her intently and then slowly swam toward the blue dragons.
"It seems to have agreed!"
Although he was not entirely pleased, Rune focused on the fact that he could now proceed with the task.
"These are magical foods blessed by a gold dragon elder. Eating them will remove the curses."
The blue dragons were powerful.
But Rune had prepared enough magical dishes to fill a cart.
Moreover, these were magical dishes imbued with the power of a gold dragon elder.
'They can't completely reject the power of Christina contained in these.'
However, Amelia was still hesitant and cautious.
"Such... precious... things. Is it... okay to give... so many?"
"Originally, it's impolite to visit someone's home empty-handed."
'By doing this, I'll owe you a favor, which will help me get what I want later.'
Reclaiming the power of darkness was merely taking back what was originally his.
Rune planned to do a favor for the water clan and receive the water seal they possessed.
The party members, intuitively understanding their roles, gleamed with excitement.
Blackberry stood with her hands full of blueberry cookies, smiling.
The dolphin swam toward the blue dragon's face, carrying the party.
Just as the dragon opened its mouth to release a breath attack, Rune shouted.
"Now! Throw everything in!"
The party members threw the small snacks into the dragon's enormous mouth.
As if the little people were feeding a giant to fill its stomach, the cookies all disappeared into the blue dragon's mouth.
A moment later, the gold dragon elder's mana burst out from inside the blue dragons' bellies.
The golden blessing embedded in the snacks made the blue dragons' bodies shimmer.
The blue dragons began to twist their bodies as if they were in pain.
Especially, their innate purification ability activated instinctively, causing the power of darkness and curses to naturally separate and stabilize.
Rune gathered the separated darkness and curses.
The source of darkness, drawn by his call, shot out from the mouths of the two blue dragons.
As Rune extended his hand, the sources were absorbed into it.
At that moment, the pupils in the blue dragons' eyes, which had been drained of energy, disappeared, and their bodies collapsed to the ground.
The fallen dragons trembled and panted.
Amelia, startled, approached the blue dragons with the dolphin.
Amelia rubbed her nose against the blue dragon's snout, casting purification spells enthusiastically.
As Amelia's purification was accepted by the dragons' bodies, which still contained Christina's blessing, new flesh began to grow on the blue dragons' bodies, which had been rotting due to the curses.
'The blessing of the gold dragons restores and invigorates the target.'
Rune had experienced it himself, so he knew the effect was certain.
The blue dragons were being purified and healed, with the poison inside them completely drained.
However, due to their prolonged exposure to madness and curses, it would take quite some time for them to fully recover.
The rest was up to Amelia and their abilities.
Rune, feeling the deep and intense darkness now settled within him, smiled inwardly with satisfaction.
The power of the darkness clan, which should have come to him from the beginning.
Having swallowed the source, he felt a moment of regret as he looked at the blue dragons.
'It's a bit disappointing that I can't test this power right away.'
It wasn't the right time yet.
He would show this power later.
'Well, it's not entirely disappointing to have a trump card hidden away.'
Rune nodded slightly and spoke.
Amelia, who had been anxiously checking on her parents, turned to look at Rune.
"An elder of the light clan, the gold dragons, will come here soon. When you meet him, ask for help."
Rune explained in as much detail as possible what Amelia needed to do next.
'Soon, I'll resolve this issue, and if things go well, I might even visit the water dungeon.'
Rune, expecting a satisfactory outcome, took care of the party.
There was still a problem to be addressed.
Specifically, not in the water domain, but with Rune himself.
'Amelia needs to explain this well.'
Thinking of Christina, who would soon realize the situation and be furious, cold sweat trickled down his spine.
He prayed that everything would go smoothly.
Rune and his party returned home through the portal created by the mana key.