The High Elf's Gambit
“This operation is a noble mission, one upon which the lives of all our people—no, the lives of everyone on this continent—depend.”
Before departing for the Demon King’s kingdom, the dungeon, Diana spoke to the group of elves she had personally selected. It was a march toward death. Aside from Diana, who carried a ring crafted from the branches of the World Tree and the essence of the spring, it was certain that everyone else would perish. They would either be killed by the Demon King’s soldiers, corrupted by demonic energy, or, in the worst-case scenario, defiled by them. Because of this, the expressions of the elves were grim before they even crossed the border.
Everyone present remained silent. There was not a hint of laughter to be found. How could one walk joyfully on a path destined for death? Diana understood this, so she said no more.
“Thank you. I will ensure your sacrifices are not in vain.”
“We volunteered for this. Please, do not trouble yourself, High Priestess.”
They bowed their heads in return. At their solemn response, Diana closed her eyes. She had wanted to go alone. Even if she were to die, she wanted to die alone. She had no desire to drive innocent lives into the jaws of death. But if a High Elf went alone, the Demon King would never trust her. That much was certain. She had heard he was a meticulous individual. The conclusion she had reached after reviewing countless reports was that he was by no means an easy opponent. That was why she had steeled herself to be even more thorough.
The simulation was already complete. Within a week of crossing the border, they would encounter the corrupted Hero’s forces, and Diana planned to be captured alive. After that, she would continue to converse with the Hero, reconstructing her corrupted psyche. She intended to gather the shattered fragments of justice broken by the Demon King and plant a new seed within the Hero’s heart.
Since ancient times, High Elves possessed the power to heal the wounds of the soul. If she was a corrupted Hero, the size of the wounds within her must be immense. If she could heal those wounds, the Hero’s mind would return, if only slightly. Of course, the condition for this was difficult.
‘To hear her name from her own lips.’
If she could hear the name spoken by the Hero, Diana could use the power inherent in that name as a medium to reach the Hero’s soul. If she succeeded, the Hero would become a powerful asset. It wouldn’t be easy, but...
‘If only I can plant the seed…’
The small seed planted in the Hero’s heart would germinate and return her to her original self. Diana believed in this. She believed in the power of the High Elf. ‘And in the restorative power of the Spring of Life…’
The Spring of Life, contained in a small vial hidden in her robes. It possessed the mysterious power to purify evil and revive the dying. These two things were the secret weapons Diana had prepared.
“I must succeed.”
Only if this succeeded could she realize Plan A. Plan A: to escape the Demon King’s castle with the purified Hero and join the Allied Forces. As long as she didn’t fail, this was the best course of action. At that moment, the thirty elves escorting Diana’s carriage crossed the border.
‘Too fast.’
It had only been two days. Just two days after her party crossed the border, the Hero and the Demon King’s forces were already hunting Diana.
“Aaargh!”
“Diana-nim!”
“Please, complete the great task…”
One-third of the thirty elf warriors had already fallen to them. ‘I am grateful to you all.’ Offering a silent prayer for the fallen elves, Diana stepped out of the carriage.
“Stop this!”
Diana blocked the monsters and the Hero who were attacking the remaining elves. Her shout carried power—enough to make everyone present freeze in their tracks, their swords momentarily stilled.
“Oh, you’re the older sister? A being who possessed such strong power.”
Among them was a young girl who laughed like a child, her silver hair fluttering. Even clad in iron plate armor, her steps were light and airy. She was the Hero. The one said to have been corrupted by the Demon King.
“Are you going to fight, too, sister?” she asked with a bright smile, swinging the holy sword that had just slaughtered ten elf warriors.
“Papa told me to capture any woman as strong as you alive, so this might be a bit difficult. Can’t you just be captured quietly here?”
“Understood.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes. As you say, I will give up the fight.”
Diana nodded. Being captured was the plan from the start. Her appearance was earlier than expected, but that was actually for the best. It meant more time to plant the seed in the Hero’s heart, more time to speak with her. Though things had gone slightly off-course, it was still within the scope of her plan.
“However, I have a condition.”
“What is it?”
“Please capture the elves who are still alive along with me.”
“Hmm… If you don’t resist, sister, I suppose that’s fine.”
“And there is one more condition.”
“One more?”
“Yes.”
Diana nodded, feigning calmness. “I wish to hear your name. A powerful person who could capture me must surely have a wonderful name.”
“Oh? That’s the condition? It’s easier than I thought!”
“Because on my own, I cannot defeat you and your subordinates.”
“Alright. If that’s the request, it’s enough. My name is…”
Diana focused all her mental energy on Sage’s lips. If she could just hear the name. If she could only hear her name.
“Oh-ho, no you don’t.”
“Mmph!”
Suddenly, a large, thick hand shot out and covered the Hero’s mouth. It was the hand of a massive warrior covered in black scales. The hand, appearing with an energetic voice, was all too familiar to Diana. Only the color was different.
“To think you’d try to tell a High Elf your name—how careless can you be?”
“Mmph!”
It was the Dragonkin warrior, Frederique.
“Frederique! Why are you here!”
“Long time no see, Diana.”
Frederique had once been a prominent candidate for the Senate of the Non-Human Alliance. She was a Dragonkin, the strongest among the beast-folk, and even among them, she was counted as one of the most powerful. Because she was so headstrong, she had been a headache for both the beast-folk and the Alliance. But Diana knew the potential she possessed. She knew that if Frederique became a senator, she would be a powerful force by her side. She was a woman who was lonely because she was too strong. Because she shared common ground with Diana, she was one of the few beings Diana considered a friend.
-I have no interest in boring positions like the Senate. I’m just going to leave.
Frederique, who had vanished into thin air over a decade ago, had not been heard from since. Why was she here?
“What brings the Senate Chairwoman to our dungeon?”
“That is what I should be asking you. Why are you here?”
The plan had gone awry. She was a woman who knew of the High Elf’s power. She might not know the exact details, but she knew at least that the moment a name was called, Diana could reach into the soul. Diana had told her so herself. She was one of the few who knew the secret—a secret known only to four people, including herself and Lucy. And one of them was standing right in front of her, siding with the enemy.
“I decided to stick with the strong. You know, didn’t I tell you before I left? That I was going to go find strong people.”
“Is that the Demon King?”
“Yeah. Thanks to him, I got this new body. Look, these black scales—aren’t they shiny and cool?”
Frederique laughed, shaking her scale-covered hand and tail. Diana could not laugh.
“It seems you were aiming for our cute little Hero, right?”
“That is not the case.”
“Hmm, really? Then why did you ask for her name?”
“It is a procedure for us to get to know one another.”
“Is that so? Well, let’s say that’s the case.”
Frederique let go of the Hero, who had been struggling with her mouth and nose covered. “Phew! I thought I was going to die. Frederique-unnie!”
“I just saved our cute little Hero, didn’t I?”
“I almost died!”
“Hahaha, let’s just say that. Anyway, Hero, never tell this woman your name.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Sage blinked, looking up at Frederique. She’s so cute. No wonder the Demon King is smitten.
“What do I mean? If you tell this woman your name, well…” Frederique pondered how to scare the cute Hero. “She’ll turn into a ghost and eat you.”
“R-really?”
“Of course. Later, you’ll be eaten and the Demon King won’t even recognize you.”
“I don’t want that…”
“Right? So be careful. Strange power dwells in that woman’s words, and she might make you weird.”
At Frederique’s words, Sage distanced herself from Diana. “S-strange sister…”
“Yeah. Good job. Hahaha!”
“Frederique!”
Diana shouted, bristling at Frederique. She was ruining everything. The plan to protect the continent, the plan to save the elves—that woman was destroying it all. She couldn’t let her say any more. Absolutely not.
“Did I hit a nerve?”
“Stop it!”
“Fine. I’ll stop here. Now, our cute little one, cover your ears, get far away, and report to the Demon King. Tell him you’ve caught something amazing.”
“But this is my achievement. Isn’t the dragon-sister trying to steal it?”
“I’ll report to the Demon King that you caught her. If you’re anxious about just that, stand at the front of the formation and brag to everyone you meet that you caught her. In the meantime, I’ll be the one marking this woman.”
“Okay. I understand!”
The Hero reported to the Demon King. Through the crystal ball, the Demon King’s face appeared. His eyes shone as he looked at Diana—the look of someone who had discovered an interesting piece of prey.
-Understood.
The moment she heard that one word spat out while he glared at her, Diana felt her heart drop.
“You felt it too, didn’t you? What kind of person the Demon King is.”
“Be quiet.”
“Well then, please board the carriage quietly, High Priestess.”
There was no choice. For now, she had to listen. It was fine. There was still time. There was plenty of time to hear the name. So, for now, she could still maintain Plan A.
“Alright, once the elves are all tied up, we depart!”
Frederique shouted after confirming that the monsters had bound all the elf prisoners, and a group of soldiers began to move, taking Diana and the elves as captives.
“Frederique.”
Diana, now inside the carriage, called out to Frederique, who was riding alongside at the same speed.
“Why?”
“You… what are you doing here?”
“What does it look like? I’m acting as a lackey for the Demon King’s army.”
“What on earth are you thinking…”
“I told you before. I’m a woman obsessed with fighting strong guys. And for the first time in a while, I met a strong male who could beat me. Isn’t it natural for a defeated female to submit?”
“Are you joking right now?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
Frederique’s lively voice turned cold. She had seen this look only once before. It was the expression she wore when Diana had touched her soul to try and stop her from leaving the Senate because she found it boring. It was the face of a woman who followed through on her choices.
“You’re serious.”
“Yeah. So don’t try to do to me what you were going to do to our cute little Hero. You won’t get anything out of touching my soul. I’m genuinely submitting and being loyal to the Demon King. It’s not because I have a wound in my soul or because I’m broken that I follow him. I might look like a ditz most of the time, but you know, right? How I change once I set my mind to something.”
Diana closed her mouth. She realized that with her power, she would not be able to turn Frederique back. No, she even began to wonder if this was the original Frederique all along.
“You’d better give up on the idea of planting something in our cute little one’s head. I won’t allow it.”
Frederique’s red pupils split vertically. She could even feel the killing intent. As long as she stood in the way, Plan A might be impossible. But to give up now—there were too many lives hanging on her shoulders.
‘I cannot give up until I reach the Demon King’s castle.’
As Diana steeled her resolve, the carriage carrying her headed toward the heart of the dungeon.