Chapter 193
Chapter 193
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: The Flames of Karmic Fire That Scorched the World's Forest
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The karmic flames that had scorched the Forest of the World.
The shadows and waves of blood that blanketed it swept everything away.
Tssshhh―
The flames died out, and the remaining smoke rose into the sky.
Dark clouds soon gathered overhead, unleashing a torrent of raindrops.
Amid the downpour, the elves began to grasp their surroundings one by one.
The Yggdrasil that had blazed fiercely just moments ago.
Though scorch marks remained, the flames engulfing Yggdrasil had been completely extinguished.
"It's out......"
The elves started coming to their senses one after another.
"The fire's gone! It's out!"
"We're alive. We survived!"
Belatedly, the elves embraced each other and cried out in joy.
Yggdrasil was directly tied to their very lives.
Tears of relief streamed down their faces at the knowledge that it was safe.
In front of the weeping, joyful elves.
Leyzon released his undead fusion and adjusted his mask beneath his robe.
He raised his hand, and Syria perched there in the form of a small bat.
"Syria, Iden, you two did great."
"It was nothing compared to being with you, Leyzon-nim!"
"It wasn't a big deal~."
Iden appeared as well, echoing her words.
In the meantime, Leyzon turned to gaze at the cheering elves.
'I wonder if these guys even realize.'
The bloodline of the dark elves they had rejected.
And the pinnacle of necromancers had saved the elves.
It was an event of eternal shame in elven history.
But right now, they were too busy crying to care about such things.
What mattered was that Yggdrasil was safe and they had survived.
"......Leyzon-nim."
At that moment, Zid approached Leyzon once more.
He bowed deeply to Leyzon again in gratitude.
"Thank you so much, once more."
"Of course you should. I'll collect on it later."
He had put out the fire for his own purposes as a bonus, but he would take what was due.
Leyzon decided to milk it for all it was worth.
"So, you're the noble soul who extinguished the flames."
Then, a voice reached Leyzon's ears.
He turned to see a group of elven warriors.
They were all singed and battered by the fire, but the pride in their eyes remained unbroken.
From the center of those elven warriors, a single girl stepped forward.
Silver tiara rested atop hair interwoven with lime green and gold strands.
The slender, fragile-looking girl appeared exceedingly young.
'This kid... don't tell me.'
Leyzon realized who she was.
"Greetings, noble one. I am Silea High Agrasil."
Silea High Agrasil.
The title bestowed only upon the elven chieftain: High Elf.
Leyzon's eyes narrowed slightly.
And for good reason—she looked far too young at first glance.
Leyzon had heard of Agrasil in the past.
It was the day Iden had rampaged and come to the Forest of the World searching for him.
The situation had been so dire then that even the High Elf had evacuated, leaving Agrasil empty.
He hadn't crossed paths with a High Elf since.
Fitting for elves, they saw no need to thank a dark elf bloodline.
So this was his first time seeing a High Elf.
'The High Elf position is usually held by a seasoned elder elf.'
Something was clearly wrong.
If he was curious, he might as well ask.
"You seem awfully young for a High Elf."
He just came out and asked.
At the casual question, the elven warriors frowned in unison.
A half-breed dark elf had dared address the noble High Elf so freely.
Benefactor or not, their instincts rebelled.
The moment Zid—the only one who knew Leyzon's temperament—went pale.
"Everyone, compose yourselves."
Silea sharply rebuked the elven warriors.
They faltered and straightened their attitudes.
Leyzon watched this intently.
'Still, a High Elf is unmistakably a High Elf.'
Young as she was, she knew her authority well.
"I understand why you would say that, noble one. Not long ago, our people faced a certain incident."
Leyzon guessed what that incident was.
"The mass elf suicides."
"Yes. The previous High Elf and the one slated to succeed her were among them."
They must have been family to Silea.
Yet her expression remained composed.
'She's deliberately maintaining her calm.'
Among elves, it might pass, but outsiders were present now.
She conducted herself with the poise of a High Elf.
She had the qualities for it.
'A High Elf's suicide.'
Leyzon felt this situation made even less sense.
Elves rarely suicided to begin with, and a High Elf even less so.
'Just look at how they never even showed their face to me after I stopped Iden's rampage in the Forest of the World back then.'
They were undoubtedly people who valued authority and tradition.
"What sparked it?"
Silea shook her head.
"We're still investigating. It may even be connected to this fire."
While probing the mass suicides, the Forest of the World had caught fire.
So they had prioritized extinguishing the blaze over everything else.
That was Silea's explanation.
Leyzon understood the situation and slowly stroked his chin.
Something was brewing that didn't bode well.
"Noble one, did you come here for that matter, by any chance?"
"No, not that."
Leyzon denied Silea's question.
It would be trouble if she misunderstood and dragged him into it unnecessarily.
"I see. In that case, if it's not too presumptuous, might I propose a commission to you—a necromancer?"
Leyzon caught her intent.
As a necromancer, Leyzon could uncover the truth of the incident.
By resurrecting them as undead, it would be resolved.
But.
"Lady Silea!"
"Even so, that's going too far."
Naturally, the elves wouldn't approve.
This wasn't just any elf—it was the High Elf.
They couldn't stand by and watch her become undead.
However, Silea was no pushover.
"Is there anyone who can uncover the truth of the incident in the scorched forest now through spirit arts?"
At Silea's point, the elves fell silent.
The flames that engulfed the Forest of the World had spread to the surrounding woods.
The Forest of the World endured at the epicenter thanks to its immense vitality and massive trees.
But ordinary forests were different.
They had burned to ash in an instant.
As a result, even the site of the mass suicides had been completely incinerated.
No matter how skilled a spirit shaman, they couldn't question spirits burned along with the forest.
For the elves, it was a situation where virtually no clues could be found.
"If there are objections, speak them."
Silea said this while looking at Leyzon.
"But if not, we'll proceed with my decision."
Her eyes burned with unwavering resolve.
"Fine. I've been getting curious about who's behind this mess anyway."
During the Judgment Sovereign incident, he had extracted himself, but now he was already entangled.
Leyzon had no intention of pulling out anymore.
"I'll take the commission."
Leyzon acknowledged Silea as High Elf.
She was the High Elf leading Agrasil.
Her promise of compensation was sincere.
"Including your salvation of Yggdrasil, I will reward you to the fullest extent."
Leyzon smiled at Silea's confirmation.
The elven warriors scowled at the sight, but it was too late.
Your High Elf had just traded with a half-breed dark elf.
"Before that."
Leyzon thumbed over his shoulder.
"Let me handle my business first."
Siliel's data took priority.
The scorched Forest of the World.
A acrid stench of charred earth lingered in the air after the rain, vibrating from spots here and there.
The elves threw themselves wholeheartedly into restoring the burned trees.
This was their eternal homeland and foundation.
They were desperate to revive their home.
Yet the elves could smile at this.
The flames had blazed as if proclaiming the world's end just moments ago.
The mere fact that they were extinguished now was what mattered.
Leyzon watched them from beyond the window.
"......You lot can smile. All we can do is cry."
Bitter undertones laced Leyzon's words.
Siliel's residence.
Most of it had burned pitch-black.
"I salvaged what I could, but......"
At Leyzon's side, Venom Spider wore an equally dejected expression.
In her arms were various research items.
But even those were mostly charred and ruined.
"So this is Daddy's house."
Piran gazed wistfully at Siliel's home.
She was reminiscing about her father from long-buried memories.
Hanok patted Piran's back.
Both had lost their parents, kindred spirits in misfortune.
They seemed to understand each other.
Leyzon watched them and let out a sigh.
Then he quickly shifted his darkened expression.
A bold smile formed on his lips.
Deny briefly, affirm at length.
"It's fine. It's not like there's no way."
It would take some time, but a method existed.
"Iden, let's work for it together."
"Yeah... I'll do my best~."
Iden weakly raised her arm.
Leyzon rolled up his sleeves roughly.
"Venom Spider, from now on, point out items mainly related to Siliel's research."
"Ah."
Venom Spider realized what Leyzon intended.
Leyzon's special skill.
Restoration [Special].
It was optimized for repairing damaged items.
Even burned ones were no exception.
Provided no trace remained; otherwise, recovery was impossible.
So Leyzon set priorities.
"Right away."
Leyzon began restoring items in the room with Iden.
Some were too thoroughly burned for restoration to work.
But Leyzon persisted without discouragement.
After half a day had passed.
Siliel's home had largely returned to its original state.
It was filled with eco-friendly materials.
Among them were the documents Siliel had researched his entire life.
"Quite a bit was lost."
Venom Spider eyed the documents regretfully.
Paper was highly flammable.
Thus, much of the data had burned beyond repair.
Leaving gaps throughout the contents.
Such incomplete records offered no solutions.
"Leyzon-nim, sorry for the wasted trip."
As Venom Spider apologized, Leyzon waved it off.
"It's fine. Thanks to this, I got one over on the Agrasil folk."
The situation wasn't all bad.
"Worst case, we can head to where the dark elves lived."
Searching for Siliel's soul directly might work.
'Honestly, prospects here are slim anyway.'
The ones who hunted them were the Creeping Mausoleum.
They were likely fully devoured by the transcendent evil already.
Still, a new goal beat moping around.
"Yes, I'll investigate further."
"Thanks."
Leyzon gathered the research documents as he replied to Venom Spider.
Even with gaps, they might prove useful...
"Hm?"
Leyzon paused while glancing at the first page of the research documents.
A line of text he hadn't noticed during restoration caught his eye.
"Leyzon-nim?"
As Venom Spider asked quizzically, Leyzon stood frozen, holding the paper.
"......This name—it's the Gravekeeper's real name?"
The name listed under co-researcher.
Gorgodon.
A figure from ancient times, who had lived in the same era as the Watchman and Groundskeeper.
The moment the waves of blood and shadow reaching the heavens crashed down.