.Thunderspear!
Fired from the Chiefs palm, a spear of lightning ran through the sky.
Its thick ray was like that of a battering ram. Just how much mana and might had been poured in there?
Its velocity was as if it was literally a lightning bolt. That lightning, which seed to mock even the wind itself for being slow, struck its target without giving the target any room to dodge.
GUH, GAH!
Fem, who was shocked throughout her entire body, leaked out a strange groan and twitched for a mont.
However, she managed to shake it off using sheer force, and drew close to the chief. She brandished her destructive fist at him once again.
Attack, comnce!
The air split.
Fallen leaves danced around before they fell back, while more leaves were torn and blown off from its trees.
Disregarding the fact that she did indeed wear gauntlets, what was brought forth from her girly thin arm the force of her re fist created a windstorm that seed to mow the forest down.
Blink Move!
The scenery of the forest was distorted as the Chiefs body disappeared, before he reappeared behind Fems back a single mont later.
Rather than teleporting the chief to another space, the spell worked to bend the space and quickly move him within a short distance. And since it was different in concept compared to teleportation, it was hard to jam it. Therefore, the chief could use the spell to evade.. but its mana consumption was large. In the first place, spells that interfere with space were already considered to be high-tier spells. If he were to use it continuously, hed be running out of mana in a blink of an eye. Normally, Blink Move counted as a spell that people would avoid, due to the difficulty of learning it and its effect that did not live up to its mana consumption. But his forr teacher, Old Gran, had said to him so centuries ago, there will be a ti when youll find a spell handy, no matter what spell it is. Those words were etched in him and thanks to that he barely managed to hold on to his life.
Though, he didnt know for how much longer could he afford to keep it up.
.. Bloody monster.
The chief, an Elf who had lived since ancient tis that predated the human calendar itself, muttered in horror.
He saw the aftermath of her brandished fist. The ground was upturned and the trees fell down.
If he were to receive the blow no, if it even were to graze him, he was sure that his flesh would be plucked off his bones while his bones would break, rendering him incapable to fight. In the other hand, no matter how much he tried to fire his spells at his opponent, it appeared that she wasnt even scratched because of it.
What absurdity was that? However, if he couldnt hold on against this absurdity, he would die here. The village would follow too.
Let ask you once again. What are you?
The chief asked Fem.
For a while now, his spells had been hitting her directly. It would an that whatever magic equipnt she had wasnt the kind that interfere with and defend her from the spells itself. She could endure the chiefs attack only by relying on her toughness alone. That way, there was no way that she was a human, and the chief did not think that she was a fellow Elf either. He didnt want to think about the possibility, but could she be a demon? Or probably, so sort of an avatar of an evil dragon?
Without responding to the Chiefs question, Fem readied her fist yet another ti.
Verifying data. Correcting deviations. Changing pattern. Self-improvent application test, comnce!
You just wont listen, huh!?
The fierce attack started then.
Just when he thought that Fems figure was moving, her fist ca flying in without pause. Then another, then another, then another.
Right. Left. RIght. Left. Right. Left. The chief then made a big move to protect his right side. Fem responded by hitting his left side, left side, left side
Instead of the intense but unrefined punches that she threw a while ago, her consecutive attack was now lighter, but sharper. The weight of each blow was indeed reduced, but its basis her herculean strength was still that of a giants. The barrage of fists finally grazed the chief, who could only manage to avoid them within a short mont, and scraped his flesh off to be eaten by the birds.
UGH, AGH.!?
He couldnt bear it, so he blink-moved. He moved towards her back she turned around. The way she turned her trajectory, it was as if she was dancing. It was so graceful to the point of it being cruel. She resud her attack, but just before that, he grandly blink-moved again. As if she had already predicted that, Fem rushed at him. The chief blink-moved thrice Fem followed after him each ti.
Did she read ? Theres not enough ti to do it the fourth ti. Defend, defend, defend!
De, Defender!
The torrent of fists rushed against the makeshift defensive magic barrier. Sparks of fire flew all over as his magic barrier and her tal gauntlet collided.
GAH, AAH, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!
The chiefs feet was dragged backwards, forming a furrow on the ground in the process. He couldnt completely cancel the impact. His wall raised a shriek. At this rate, his protection would be smashed to pieces, and the chief surely would be attacked from his rear and be killed.
But, during the several seconds before that finally happened, the chief saw a way for him to prevail.
Heed my call! Thunder spirits of the heavens, lightning spirits of the earth! Gather ye in this place and be my arms
Ever since the beginning of the battle, this was the first ti for the chief to chant regular spell.
He had been pressured by Fem and was compelled to use only chantless spell because of that.
However, instead of attacking him with heavy strikes, Fem chose instead to attack him with lighter fists now, and as these fists were chipping the barrier little by little, the chief had only a few seconds, but that was enough opportunity to cast the chant.
Co manifest, ye great lord who presides over the eighty thunders. Dwell ye in the tip of my spear and strike my enemy.
! I wont, let you!
His mana ran amok as lightning surged.
Realising the Chiefs intention, Fem pulled her fist to a great extent.
She was changing her style to single heavy punches again, with that kind of ridiculous strength, surely she would manage to break through the cracked barrier and land a hit on the Chief.
The chief laughed. No matter what she chose, it was all the sa. She would need to amass a lot of energy to pack that punch. A mont to amass the energy to exhibit its perfected might.
That single mont was enough for him to complete his chant.
For here in this place, in this mont, with the might of the heavens I shall crush the wicked! Keraunos!
Her fist crushed through the barrier, fragnts of glass-like light danced around wildly.
At the sa ti, the Chief released his spell.
Even among the spells that he had learned, this was the strongest among them yet.
Oh, Great Forest. Please do not forgive who could not even strike the enemy without resorting to ans like these, not even a bit.
Life and death intersected each other, in a single mont that seed to have lasted for an eternity.
In that mont, such was the chiefs penitence.
The might of that spell also threatened the forest that he was supposed to protect. But if he didnt use it, he wouldnt be able to protect the forest either.
While what he used were only chantless spells, it was still a fact that his enemy was a monster that could take mid-tier spells like they were nothing. Then if he used a top-tier spell, that spell shouldve been able to destroy her completely. And then, unless he destroyed this enemy of his, he wouldnt be able to protect the forest nor the village.
I will bear the bla for this. Therefore, please, protect the people that have received your blessing!
The might of the released lightning strike. If Thunderspear had the force of a battering ram, then this one was like an avalanche. The spell, whose electric discharge could even distort space itself, beca a torrent of flash that swallowed Fem and burned the entirety of the chiefs field of vision.
A top-tier lightning spell? In the forest? Turns out that even the White Elf Chief is more senseless than I thought.
There, above the village, with the light of the moon on her back, a woman grumbled.
As her body was laden with presence-concealing magical equipnt, probably not even the trained eyes of the Elven hunters could catch the sight of her.
Below her, the fire in the furrows that the lightning strike had left were burning the forest in a grand manner. There were fires blowing up here and there. In other words, it was a wildfire.
Well, anyway, its probably because his opponent is that one. Even for , I dont think I can match her unless I do sothing like this. Doesnt change the fact that the whole affair is unsatisfactory, though.
The woman snickered.
An Elf that received the divine blessing of the forest their chief, of all people would burn it down on his own volition after he found himself to be at his wits end. She found this so ironic and hilarious, she couldnt bear to suppress her laughter.
However, she couldnt afford to be laughing all night. This outbreak of this fire was unfavourable to the fulfillnt of their objective. If the prey that they had carefully selected were to catch fire and die, then all would be lost. And no matter how much deep in the forest they were, if the fire were to continue to spread in a flashy manner, then chances were that it might catch the attention of the hairless apes outside of the forest as well.
She needed to take an action, quickly too.
The woman thought about sothing for a while before she broke into a smile, as if she had co up with a good idea.
Well then, lets have a break, literally.
TL Note: This is a pun that I unfortunately couldnt properly translate to English. The word that was used for break was . The pun is, she said literally. So it translates as lets get so water in there.
The Old Gran saw that light.
That dazzling, ominous flash of lightning that fell from the skies. She instinctively recognised its true nature, and for that, her eyes went wide.
Boy you actually used that.?!
A complicated feeling rose in her heart.
Sympathy for the man who had lived his life caring for the trees for so long, only to burn them all together so that he could burn his foe as well.
Remorse for her own powerlessness, for she couldnt be a helping hand for him, to the point that he was driven to do sothing like that.
And the conviction that he shouldve won, for he had chosen to use that.
Woaaaaah Isnt that a top-tier lightning spell? As expected from the Elven chief, he sure knows amazing stuff! Will this be okay, though? Releasing sothing like that in a middle of a forest like this. See, see, the trees caught fire, and now we have a wildfire, you see?
The vampire jeered.
His boots were currently trampling on the forests soil. Then what about the chiefs residence that had both of them until while ago? That place was already gone. It was, after all, a battleground between a High Elf and a Lord Vampire. Of course the aftereffect of the spell exchanges between the two of them would wipe it off from existence.
Old Gran stared at the vampire sternly.
Thou how dare thine lot stand to speak that way!?
Woah. Scaary!
He moved both of his hands to cover the sides of his face as he said nope, nope while making an exaggerated show of how frightened he was. The vampire kept fooling around unsparingly.
But the reason why Old Gran was able to maintain her life until now was precisely because that Vampire had been fooling and playing around. Elves are born with excelling magical prowess, but not only do Vampires have that, but they also excel in physical prowess. In one-on-one combat like this, her defeat was supposedly already a given.
Surely, her opponent thought so as well.
The vampire ceased fooling around and shrugged.
Well then, lady. How long are you planning to keep this up, again? Are you perchance thinking that if you can keep until dawn, the morning will burn to ashes?
Unfortunately, she didnt think that was likely.
Vampire Lords have extraordinary self-regeneration ability. Even if the sunlight a vampires weakness were to get to them, surely they would have so kind of a feat to bring them back from the brink caused by the damage they received. And most of all, she wasnt confident that her supply of mana could last in a battle of spells with a Vampire until then.
Old Gran suppressed her anxiety and smiled confidently.
Humph I have no need to wait that long. Keraunos was the sign of the chiefs victory. At this mont, he hath already left to save the village. He will ride on that montum and co here eventually. It may take a while until he arriveth here, but I do not suppose he would be so leisurely as to co only until dawn breaketh.
Eeeeeh? Hmmmmm? Ooooooh?
The vampire grinned broadly.
Is that so? Really, is that so? Then itll be weird if we dont start doing sothing as well, dont you think?
Kuh.
What he said was true. It was the sa power that had breached the white birch forests barrier and perford large-scale summoning to attack the village. If they were that proficient in magic, surely they would be able to do sothing like telepathy, and it wouldnt be odd if they carry around magical equipnts to communicate with each other. With that, they were bound to be in touch in case of ergency.
Well then, as you wish, guess Ill take you on. Itll be fun to see if help really is coming for you, too! . Shadowlance!
He sneeringly shouted as he thrusted a lance made from a mass of shadows and approached Old Gran. With dark magic, he manipulated the virtual existence, then he added void elent into it- a multi-elental spell. An advanced spell that superimposed a rare elent onto another rare elent. And for him to chantlessly use it without effort, as expected from Vampire Lords, the existence that is said to reign supre over the night.
Of course, the Old Gran were not planning to take this lying down.
Ray of Light!
What she produced from her palm of hand was a thick assembly of rays of light. It pierced through the Shadowlance, along with the Vampire that stood behind it. Reason dictated that light vanquished shadows, and as such, in that clash of the two, light would prevail. A vampire was a creature of the dark. She wasnt as versed as humans in terms of holy magic, but she could expect that she landed a severe blow there. or so she thought.
The vampires chest absorbed the rays of light,
GRAAAAAAAH! .. Juuuust kidding. Did you think it worked? AHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!
and then disappeared while not affecting him at all.
Was he able to excel against it because of the magic defence imbued on the magical equipnt he was wearing, or was it because of his innate resistance from his high magical prowess? or perhaps she didnt want to think about it, but, perhaps was it because of both?
Damn monster!
Old Gran glared at the abomination that stood a few tres away from her with bitter regret.
Even for Elves, light spells which did not belong to the four classic elents typically were not their strongest suit. She was the most proficient caster in the village, but chantless spells werent enough to land effective damage against the vampire.
There must be another way to take this monster down. A weak point that I can exploit to kill him in one fell swoop, sothing, anything.
Weeeeelll then, what should I do now? Shall I increase my magical prowess one step further hm?
The vampires complacent smile froze for a mont.
He brought his fingers to his cheek and swiped sothing.
Eh? Its raining?
As if taking that word as a cue, droplets of water began to fall from the skies.
It started raining.
Tis raining?
Old Gran flickered her eyes.
It was a full moon night. Not even a single cloud was in view until a while ago.
But now, it was raining?
Sure enough, when she looked up, dark clouds suddenly spread all over the nightly sky, to the point where they conceal the full moon itself.
Old Gran intentionally disregarded that enigma.
Even though if this was her usual self, she wouldve already realised sothing like this, sothing like soone, sowhere was manipulating the weather in a grand scale.
This was aid from the heavens. The flas of the Chiefs battle aftermath were being extinguished.
Nay, anyway, my utmost priority now is to sohow deal with this Vampire, the Old Gran strengthened that will and started chanting.
Oh, trickles of water falling from the skies, flowing to the earth. I order thee, water spirits, far and wide!
Th that incantation!?
The vampire went into blatant panic.
Of course he would.
What she was chanting was a spell to summon the water spirits. The rain had started falling, and if the water spirits were to act in conjunction to it, it wouldnt be impossible for her to generate an enormous water current.
And Vampires were weak against running water.
Hearken unto my voice. May thee wash over and cleanse all impurity!
S, stop! STOP IIIIIIIIIIT!
Old Gran laughed at the vampire who abjectly pleaded at the mont he was exposed to his weak point.
If he had the spare ti to do that, then he wouldve jumped in and stopped her chanting.
Blasted moving corpse, did the rot go all the way to thine brain cells, too?
Hydrostream!
A raging stream of water gushed out from the seal of the spell. Even in the darkness of the night, the cascade of white foam flooded everything before her eyes.
SHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!! IF ONLY THE RAIN HADNT FALLEN! GRAH, BLLLLLLARRRGH!
The Vampires figure and his muffled curses were all subrged in the water.
Fuh, fuhahahaha! Thou might be an immortal, but it was still not enough to surpass the ages I had passed, it seeth.
Old Gran gasped for breath as she released herself from the stance of the spell.
She could feel that her body had suddenly beco weak. Her body had run deficient of mana.
Her opponent was a Vampire. In the unlikely chance that the Vampire could escape its weak point that was the stream of water, she had to mow down a considerably wide area with the spell. The price for that was this sudden depletion of mana.
Wheeze. wheeze.. This was not sothing soone my age should have undertaken. se, seriously
Besides, Truthfully, there was another cause of this fatigue of hers.
Guh not good, the spell..
Her magic was undone.
As the caster suffered from both the recoil of forcing herself to cast a high-tier spell and deficiency of mana, the invoked spell vanished away.
As if to wash her adornnts off, the rain kept falling.
Hmmm I suppose its about ti.
TL Note: Yes, thats it for this section Rumble, rumble. The sound of the giants footsteps.
In the rain that fell all of a sudden, the battle was still raging in the village.
The monsters did not force their way through to attack, instead they cunningly rounded up the Elves and hunted them one by one.
Curiously, the monsters were mostly aiming at adults. They would deliberately leave the younger ones, while striking down those from the eldest in order of their age.
These things.. could it be that theyre intending to capture the youngsters alive?
Verches father shouted his speculation.
Certainly, if they were to think that way, then it was easy to understand this situation. They cull the adults, whod be difficult to handle, and then sweep the children and the youngsters away.
That line of thinking, it was as if.
Father are you implying that a human is behind this raid?
Indeed, capturing Elves as slaves is how humans would think.
Her father nodded at his daughters question.
I dont think humans have the ability to manipulate the monsters this far, but from the way they act it certainly seems like it was them. After all, theyd usually go after the weaker ones first, right!
He shot an approaching ogre dead, then tutted.
Hey! Im out of arrows! Has anyone got so spare?
Im out too! Try the others!
I havent got any as well! To begin with, who the hell still have so with them anyway?
Coming this far, the Elves were running out of arrows.
As Verche had ran out of arrows herself, she had been supporting them with magic, but she was at her limit as well. Her mana was now mostly exhausted.
She had used up too much arrow and magic in the beginning of the battle against the cyclops. The monocular giant, who was kept under the protection of the spell of an unknown person, was still able to maintain that impregnable barrier. The only mages who could dispel it were probably just the chief or the Old Gran. It wouldve been better if people could understand that and preserve themselves though.
More importantly, what is the Chief and Old Gran doing?! Arent they supposed to be rushing in here?!
Surely you saw that flash of lightning a while back. That was the Chief! Theyre in the middle of combat there too!
It seed that both of them were being kept by sothing and thus couldnt co their way.
Then,
Rumble, rumble.
EEEEEKKK!?
As if to strengthen the pressure, the cyclops took another step towards them.
Verche couldnt tell whether that shriek was hers or soone elses.
Do, dont be afraid! Am I, am I not a hunter of this forest?!
Even though she desperately persuaded herself, her body just wouldnt stop shaking.
The Elves around her had a similar look as well.
Uuuuuh...
The difference of strength between them was overwhelming. The Chiefs aid was still not in sight. All in all, their situation was hopeless.
The Elves morale were breaking down.
So, its all over.
No.
Drip, drip. Tears were starting to fall from her eyes.
How unsightly, was that an appearance a hunter of the Witte clan would expose in the sight of others?
But it seed that no one would criticise her over this.
In fact, she had held well to be one among the survivors so far.
Ehehehe were finished. were all going to die.
Among them, it seed that there were those who had already went past their limit long ago.
Taking that into account, a young girl crying alone would surely count as innocent.
She was making do just by crying silently, shed probably be praised as a brave kid for that.
Verche.
The voice when the father called out to his daughter was a lonely one.
If his conjecture that the enemys aim was to capture the young Elves was correct, then this would not result in Verches death. But when an Elven woman got captured, there could be a fate crueler than death waiting for her. And even if his conjecture was incorrect, the only possible outco was for her to die here.
With that in mind, as a father, just how hard for him to say sothing at this mont?
There was also the thing about her mother as well. Although they had sent her away to escape under the pretext of liaison, the village proper had already turned into a hunting ground for monsters now. Her life was probably already forfeit. With that in her mind, she could feel that her chest were being crushed. Surely her father felt the sa way as well.
Rumble, rumble
The giant drew near.
Along with that, the monsters encirclent against them grew narrower.
At last, the coup de grce was coming.
No.!
She had no bow nor arrows, and her mana had already exhausted.
At this rate, would she be et her end by the claws and fangs of the monsters, or just as her father thought, would she fall captive to the person who had been pulling the strings behind the scenes?
Neither was desirable for her.
I havent even t Chaga yet..!
Her mind was occupied by the thoughts of him, the one she had a fall-out with half a month ago.
If that was to be the last of their conversations, then that would be too sad.
She wanted to et him one more ti and make ands. At the very least, she wanted to see his face.
Chaga!
The monsters steadily drew even nearer.
So which one among them will leap out first?
The manticore? The direwolf? The orc? The ogre?
Verches body was petrified at the sign of the approaching evil.
Then, at that ti,
.. Verche!
A spell broke through the house-wall behind her back.
Then, the face that she had missed for the last half month leapt into her vision.
Cha, ga?
She cried the na of the person who clumsily landed near her side in disbelief.
Heh, heheh, I thought the demons cant fit their figure indoors, so I went through the houses seems like I was right.
And on top of that, he even uttered such bravado.
His forced smile was stiff, and his voice and limbs were trembling all over, but still, she could feel that there was sothing encouraging about him.
Why
Hey, brat! What on earth have you been doing up until now?!
She ant to say why are you here?, but it was interrupted by her fathers shouting.
To answer that question, Chaga pointed at the hole on the house that he broke through from.
Dear.!
Mom, you!?
The one who appeared from there was Verches mother who was supposedly running towards the outskirts of the village.
So, she made it alive.!
I wondered when I saw auntie running about outside with a strange look on her face, so it was because that huge thing I thought that I should rush here sohow, but the village proper has already been riddled with demons.
For the ti being, I gathered all the arrows I could grab when I was running here and there with Chaga.
She said as she presented the bundle of arrows that she brought in her arms.
Ooh!, the surviving Elves raised their voices.
Arrows! We can still continue to fight!
. First, as the demons couldnt pass through the houses easily, lets go through there and head steadily for the outskirts! The white birch forest should be too narrow for the large-sized demons to traverse and the spirits blessing will hasten our mana recovery.
Wait, Chaga. Arent you worried that they might just anticipate us when we leave the houses?
And that is why. we have this guys nose.
What ca running towards Chagas feet was that wolf familiar.
It was impossible for Verche to suppress her complicated feeling about that sight, but given the circumstances, there was nothing she could do. With a stern look on his face her father, too, asked him,
.. Can you depend on it?
It was because of this child that we could get here without harm, you know?
Her mother stroked the familiar wolf to thank it. Surely it was fine to believe it now.
Then, Chaga turned towards Verche.
Verche, take this too.
What he handed over as he said that was her bow and arrows.
Cha, Chaga? This, how di-
When I went to the armoury to retrieve the arrows, I took it along with . Thought youll be troubled without it.
As if being shy, he scratched his cheek as he was saying so.
As expected, the bow, which she hadnt held for a while, fittingly felt familiar in her hands.
Vitality returned to her droopy ears.
There were both her bow and arrows in her hand. Her companion, who she spent years together with, was also by her side as well.
The pieces that she lost half a month ago up until now were now restored.
The senses of a hunter the will to fight returned to her.
Chaga.. thank you.
Dont ntion it. Im weak, so if I can help you, whos strong, then its fine.
And, Im sorry. I said sothing cruel to you then.
Im sorry too. I was so engrossed in my attempt to be dependable to you, I couldnt get a hold of whats important to you.
Just with that exchange of words, the ill feeling she harboured lted away as if it was never there.
So she couldnt do sothing so simple as this, and she was troubled for half a month because of it? In spite of herself, she thought the whole affair was silly.
Hey, you two! Dont idle about! The battle is still going on!
YE, YES!
At her fathers scolding, their voices intertwined.
While gazing at the bitter smile that he floated, she nocked and fired.
- One arrow.
First, the direwolf- one fatal shot aid at the throat of the demon whose appearance was a profane mockery of a wolf.
I havent lost my touch yet, half a month might have passed, but this bow still precisely works as an extension of my limbs!
She released the next arrow as she found joy in that.
Her aim was the ogre. The arrow pierced through its eye socket and struck its brain, killing it instantly. Elven bows were enchanted with magic. If a divinely blessed user shoots an arrow with it, its power would surpasse even that of a crossbows.
Oooh, oooh!, the Elves around her livened up.
We can do this. The cyclops is still tough to face, but its not that difficult to cut a way through the other guys. Well escape according to Chagas suggested route. First, well go to the forest. Well join up with the Chief and Old Gran, and using the combined war potential as a leverage well push the enemy back. I ca to feel like that isnt impossible. No, we can do this!
All right, we can still do this! Theres still hope for us!
One in her company cried out.
Verche felt the sa as well.
Thats right, we can still do this!
. But then, that ca.
Hey, hey, isnt it a bit too early to get excited now?
A voice rung out from above.
The rain had stopped. It had stopped abruptly, just like how the rain broke. The rainclouds had already disappeared as well.
The light of the moon ca back and illuminated their surroundings.
There, floating in the midair and glaring at the villagers, was a certain soone.
A,,, Dark Elf?
Her silver hair was dazzling even in the dark, in contrast of her dark brown skin that dissolved into the shades of the night.
A pair of long ears similar to that of an Elfs extended from the sides of her head.
Certainly, that person was a Dark Elven woman.
And Verche knew this woman.
That woman, whose left eye was covered by an eyepatch.
Miss, Drei?
The Dark Elf who introduced herself as a slave of an adventurer, who had saved Verche when she wandered into the Black Forest two weeks ago.
Then, why was she here?
No, that was fine too. Verche knew that she was a terrific expert of a mage. If they could get Drei to help, then surely it would be possible to exterminate this horde of demon.
Verche, you know that person?
Chaga asked her in his confusion.
Of course, she answered promptly.
Yeah, that person
Answer,
Eh.? Ah.?
Answer,
Huh!? Huh.! ..!!
Answer, she could not.
Suddenly her breath was seized, her voice couldnt co out.
Only her lips was flapping and moving about, there was no aningful words that ca from her tongue.
Wh, whats wrong, Verche!? Get a hold of yourself!
What is it!? What the heck is happening!?
Chaga shook her shoulder.
Her parents gazed restlessly between their abnormally behaving daughter and the unexpected intruder.
Drei pleasantly stared the suffering Verche down.
Her single eye, warped with joy, gave the sa impression as the giants eye.
Kuhuhuhu, what a foolish girl. If youre having trouble talking about , then perhaps you should talk about sothing else.
Hhh! Hhh!? Hhhhhhh!!
They couldnt get it.
What on earth was Drei saying?
Why was she laughing at Verche, who was suffering?
You what did you do to Verche!?
When Chaga shouted angrily at her, Dreis laughter grew even more intense.
Her laughter felt as cruel as that of a cat when it was torturing a rat it had captured.
My, my, what are you getting so worked up for ah, I see. So youre the Chaga brat, arent you?
Wha, why did you know my na?
Verche was as surprised as him.
She hadnt spoken about Chaga with Drei at that ti. There shouldve been a topic about him since he had always been with her, but sohow she found it embarrassing to talk about so she didnt bring it up.
Then how co did she know about Chaga?
Hmph. Its a bother to explain. Ill just undo my spell now, you can guess however you want when you see the girl then.
Drei said before she snapped her fingers.
At the sa ti, sothing burst open inside her mind.
A mory of what really happened that night was coming back.
And if you do that, youll be able pass through the barrier and enter the village.
While her head was feeling fuzzy and her thoughts were muddled, Verche was obediently answering the questions directed at her to the extent of her knowledge.
The villages scale, its population, its notably powerful people, and the way to pass through its barrier.
Most of them was supposed to be kept secret, but for so reason that she couldnt understand, she felt that she couldnt conceal them.
When Verche saw that left eye, she felt that she must comply with whatever she was ordered to.
Drei nodded in satisfaction after Verche had told her the whole story.
I see. Ive heard the gist of what I wanted to know.
. Thank you.
But, theres sothing that still makes curious. Shall I hear about it, then?
. Yes, please ask anything.
After she acknowledged that, Drei began to scrutinise her with dangerous eyes and asked away.
When we talked about idle things before I used this eye, I felt that you were hiding sothing in your words. Most likely its nothing important, but Im just making sure. Spit that out as well.
Verches body trembled.
.. Im sorry. That, I cant tell.
What? Why are you hiding it? Speak.
Dreis left eye emitted a purple light.
When Verche saw that light, the resistance that she felt in her heart began to gradually disappear.
What I hid, was about Chaga.
What is that?
. My hunting mate.
I dont get it. Why would you hide sothing like that?
Because.. its embarrassing.
At that answer, Drei made a dubious look.
I just dont understand, it seed that her look was saying that.
However, Verche, who had lost her resistance, slowly began to continue on her own.
. I, really hold him dear, I just couldnt say it well. Im afraid.. Im embarrassed that, Id say sothing weird, about him.
Thats not a reason at all. Apparently the girl herself hasnt settled the matter as well.
Im, not good, with words I cant put, his good side, to other people. But Im embarrassed sad because of it.
So long story short, its just a brats love affair. Tsk, I wasted mana for this? . Thats enough.
From the way Drei was speaking, it seed that she couldnt care less about what she kept in the depths of her heart.
She tossed the secret that she held dear in the bottom of her heart away just like that. Verches chest was hurting.
The woman who stood before her eyes didnt pay that any mind and continued to talk,
For the ti being, lets just keep your mouth shut.. alright? Your village is an exclusive one, so I have no idea about how the other villagers would feel about outsiders. Surely youll feel bad if the others think were to think ill of the person who saved your life, yes?
. Yes, Ill feel bad.
There, there. good child.. So, Verche. Absolutely dont ntion anything about to the villagers, alright? Ah, besides that, forget everything that happened since I showed you my left eye. Got it?
Thats it.
Verche was made aghast by the mories that she regained.
She told Drei everything by herself. The location of the village. The thod of entrance. The details of their war potential. Everything related to this raid, it all ca from her.
So. everything, everything is because of that..?
The miasma from the monsters that encircled them.
The terrible sll from the husks of Elves who had fallen in the battle.
Both of them joined up and furiously agitated the insides of her heart.
- Your fault.
She felt as if soone was whispering that to her.
She felt as if one of the scattered bodies, one of her dead companions eyes, was sending the bla her way.
- The reason that they ca. The reason that we died. It was all your fault.
Verche felt as if she was tightly grabbed by the stomach.
An acrid sourness welled up from the back of her throat. She couldnt hold her vomit in.
Urkh..!? Blergh.!
Verche!? Are you alright!?
Chaga rubbed her back gently, but it couldnt offer her any comfort.
She kept throwing up and throwing up, and even when there was nothing left to throw up, her stomach was still cramping.
Drei glared down at her.
Aw. And here I thought you were a bit of a gutsy girl. It turns out youre frailer than I expected.
Bastard! What did you do to our daughter!?
Upon hearing her fathers cry, the woman culprit sighed deeply.
Didnt I tell you just a while back? From the look of your girl over there, take a guess however you want, that I told you. And yet you still ask to take the trouble to explain it for you? That takes effort. So nope, no can do.. Sigh, you lot are slow on the uptake. Im starting to doubt whether you people will be able to work properly if I were to take you back with .
So youre the ringleader behind this incident.
. You really are slow on the uptake. What are you saying now? You saw all that and you still cant understand?
She said as if she was admonishing her underperforming students.
As they saw the way she behaved, the surviving Elves around her began to get a hold of the situation.
So the ringleader is that Dark Elf?
She manipulated that many demons? Thats absurd, what is she aiming?
No, rather than that.
Soone among them stared daggers towards Verches direction.
She cast a spell on Verche, and dragged out everything about this village from her, huh? So the cause of this
Its your fault. VERCHE!
Several people affixed their glare her way.
Her father and mother gazed at her with a look of disbelief on their faces.
Chagas hand, which was placed on her back, was shaking as well.
St, stop it!
She couldnt bear being stared with that kind of look in their eyes.
Did, did you deceive .?
She could bear it no longer, and thus without thinking, she called Drei out with imploring eyes.
She still couldnt believe that she was the culprit behind all of this.
She wanted Drei to tell her that this was a joke. She wanted this nightmarish night to be all just a lie.
However, Drei was just callously laughing.
Deceive you? Dont say things that may sully my reputation, now. I havent told you a single lie, you know?
Arent you an adventurers companion? Th, this, isnt what ordinary adventurers do!
What a silly one you are, little White Elf girl. I have no mory of telling you that he was a proper adventurer. I just saved you from a monster once, and you dropped your vigilance on your own just like that. Kuhuhuhu.. besides, arent normal adventurers already harmful enough for the village?
Your village was destroyed, right!? And yet why would you do the sa thing yourself?
I told you back then, didnt I? I dont mind it anymore, so you dont have to worry about it.
Yo, you told that your companions were important.. and yet, why are you doing this?
Its not strange, I suppose? My action is in the interest of my companions. Elves have a variety of uses. If I can capture a lot of you people, itll please and my companions.
When you said, you went to the forest, to hunt..
Yeah, I was planning to capture these demons. Since theyre this many, even I had to work my fingers to the bone. Especially that cyclops, it really took its sweet ti before I can get it under my control. Thanks to that, I made you saw sothing scary. Yeah, guess I really am sorry for that part.
The one-eyed giant returned Dreis words with a low laughter.
That cyclops was the sa cyclops that encountered her when she wandered into the black forest. So at that ti, it had already beca the familiar of that Dark Elf. That was why it pulled back simply with just that.
All of this you were planning this from the beginning.
Why are you bad-mouthing ?
The Dark Elfs face was distorted with even more malice.
discovering about your village was totally just a coincidence. Surely I wouldnt notice any of this had that day soone didnt foolishly chase a boar too relentlessly and leave the barrier of her ho because of it.
. Kuh.
Huhuhuhu, I am thankful, Verche. Thanks to you, not only that I could produce good results for my master, I can get a hold of you people as an extra too, you know?
Ah
Strength left her body.
VERCHE!?
Chara promptly supported her collapsing body.
Even so, she still couldnt find the strength to stand.
In other words, Verche ca to conclude that this was all her fault alone.
a forest hunter that protects her village what a joke.
This happened because she t Drei that day.
Because she had wanted to hunt the boar down on her own, she wandered into the Black Forest.
It was because even though she was a woman, she put her all towards sothing like hunting.
- That ant, because of who she was, this happened.
Because I fancied myself as a big shot, things beca like this.!
Regret, guilt and self-disdain were endlessly swelling up inside of her.
She was so afraid, her body couldnt stop shaking.
She wasnt afraid of death, nor she was afraid of pain.
She was afraid to admit that her life was aningless and worthless no, rather, she was afraid to admit that her life brought nothing but harm.
After all, through their eyes everyone is saying that this is my fault.
Her surviving companions were already glaring at her as if she was their enemy.
Its your fault.
Just because youre skilled with the bow, you think youre clever and now this happens.
Youre unfit as a hunter. no, youre unfit as an Elf of the proud Witte clan.
Such thoughts were loaded behind their silent glare. They pierced her entire body.
Her father didnt say anything as anguish-filled look warped his face.
Her mother who still couldnt understand all of this seemingly wanted to say sothing, but she was at a loss of words.
The hand Chaga placed on her shoulder gripped her so hard it hurt her.
Now, the only thing she was afraid of was to lose this warmth that seed to be disappearing from her any second now.
Huhuhu. It seems that youve co to hate being shad by your fellow tribesn than the enemy before you, huh? What an incorrigible White Elf. This is why it was easy to ruin you.
The Dark Elven woman laughed gleefully.
She took her hand onto the eyepatch that covered her left eye,
Well then, lets wrap things up.
And exposed the purple-coloured eye that was hidden behind it-
! WATCH OUT, CHAGA!
Ve, Verche!?
Verche was moving out of reflex.
She covered both of Chagas eyes with her hands, then she grabbed his hand and rushed to the back.
It was that eye. That ominous left eye was the source of Dreis unnatural power. Verche, who had been struck by its spell once, learned from her restored mories and tried to avoid seeing it as much as she could.
Even though she appeared to be suffocating to death a while back, it seems like the decision to undo the spell ca back to bite . So she still has so energy with her.
Dreis irritated voice ran through her back.
Verches parents and the remaining Elves were all petrified when they saw the glint in Dreis purple eye.
Dont, dont look at that eye! Its an evil eye! You wont be able to resist it!
So thats what she has up her sleeve!
She was pulling Chagas hand and escaping that place in desperation.
It wasnt that she didnt feel bad for leaving her parents behind, she just couldnt help it now.
And besides. she didnt want to lose Chaga, she didnt want him to be taken from her.
Soone who would remain with her until the very end. Her precious partner. Perhaps more dear than just that.
For her, who had just lost her duty, her pride, and her everything, only he remained.
Her mind was in chaos and her heart was in tatters, but the feeling of not wanting to lose him remained.
At, at the very least, Chaga alone must make it away!
Truthfully, she didnt know what would beco of her if Drei were able to capture her.
But if she were to follow the demons the she shouldve hated and fall to the hands of the the lot who killed these many Elves. Surely shell et a crueler fate than living as an ordinary slave.
She no longer cared about what will happen to her though, so at the very least, Chaga alone must make it.
She firmly held that in her heart as she pulled him away.
Tsk. I wont let this force to shed any effort on my part. I can make the demons to chase after them, but theres a risk that an accident will happen if I do that, I guess?
The pair was rushing to the hole that Chaga made to co to this place earlier.
Just before that,
Hmmm. If its this spell, it should be able to stop them without hurting them
Sothing. Verche could feel so unnatural spell engulfing her entire body.
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