Chapter 39
Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Elf Empire (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As we approached the World Tree, the first one to sense something off was Rainy.
“There's demonic energy.”
Hearing her words, I stopped in place and circulated my holy power.
Sure enough, thick demonic energy was palpable.
It looked like we'd be jumping straight into battle.
“Hmm... well then, I'll just...”
Nania, who had been grinning cheerfully until just moments ago, subtly tried to slip back.
From the demons' perspective, she was a traitor human-lover they’d want to kill on sight.
Facing demons head-on in this situation must be daunting for her.
I could somewhat understand her feelings.
But that didn't mean I had any reason to accommodate her.
I grabbed her firmly to prevent any escape and dragged her toward the World Tree.
“Ugh...”
“Quiet. Make noise and you'll just draw more attention to yourself.”
“Yes...”
Dragging the sullen Nania, we arrived at the World Tree.
The World Tree towered as high as the skyscrapers I'd seen in my past life.
It truly had the majesty befitting the central guardian against demons in the western regions.
The only concern was that its condition looked worse than expected.
It still retained a sturdy bark worthy of the name World Tree, but there were plenty of wilted leaves, and holes pocked various spots.
The leaves weren't blooming vibrantly; they looked brittle and dry.
“The World Tree...”
Vine trailed off upon seeing its state.
Finding the cause of the World Tree's deterioration was important, but right now, dealing with the swarming demons took priority.
I lightly tapped her head and said,
“Let's focus on taking out the demons for now.”
“...”
Vine nodded with a troubled expression.
“Don't fall back!”
Phewing!
Boom!
The elves had formed a circular defensive formation to protect the World Tree and were resisting the demons, while the demons furiously assaulted it, trying to break through.
I'd heard that lesser demons couldn't even approach thanks to the World Tree's aura, so it seemed the tree had indeed weakened.
After all, the demon forces were mainly made up of goblins, the classic low-tier monsters I knew well.
“Clearing out these small fry is best with my magic. Ice Age... Mmph...”
I urgently covered Laura's mouth as she tried to unleash her ultimate move without warning, canceling her chant.
Laura turned to me with an irritated look, as if asking why I was interfering.
Her Ice Age would certainly freeze the main force of monsters assaulting the World Tree in one go.
But in any battle, you prioritize taking out the commander over the grunts.
In our party—where Vine, who couldn't shoot arrows, was essentially a support spirit user—the one true long-range dealer, Laura, needed to conserve her mana as much as possible.
Once I explained the situation, Laura seemed to understand and stopped her spell.
Unable to pinpoint the demon leader's position amid the horde, I called over Nania.
“Hey, spot it for me.”
Rainy was specialized in detecting demonic energy but clueless about distinguishing types.
Nania, however, had been a key figure among the demons.
She could pinpoint it in an instant.
“Ugh...”
Nania pondered briefly before pointing to one side.
“Over there.”
“Got it. You stay here.”
“Thank you!”
Leaving the beaming Nania behind, I dashed straight toward the suspected demon location.
Phewing.
Boom!
Vine fired an arrow despite the pain, exploding massively to clear a path.
“Ice Spear!”
Laura followed up with her ice spears.
“Well now.”
The massive boar-headed demon at the rear of the demon crowd looked flustered at the sight.
That had to be Kallos of Greed, the one I'd heard about before.
‘The boss shows up right at the start.’
In demon king armies, they usually send out weaklings first for a tag-team match before the boss steps in.
But this Kallos seemed to reject that unspoken rule.
It was a problem for me.
“Who the hell are you guys?”
I debated whether to respond.
In a standard WWE match, you'd politely reply to lines like that.
But Kallos had already broken the implicit rule that bosses appear last.
They violated WWE rules first—did I really need to play along?
“Blizzard!”
My dilemma ended with Laura's clear chant.
To the cool-headed Laura, Kallos attempting dialogue must have looked like the perfect opening.
Kaboom!
As expected of a genius mage, Laura unleashed a spell of tremendous power.
Even Kallos, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, struggled under her magic, writhing in agony.
While Kallos was dazed by Laura's spell, Yumi, who had slipped into the shadows, suddenly appeared mid-air.
Rainy, like a setter tossing for a volleyball spike, precisely shot holy power upward, infusing Yumi's dagger.
Yumi gripped the holy-infused dagger, bit her lip hard, and plunged it into Kallos's neck.
“Moooooo!”
With Yumi's dagger in his throat, Kallos let out a genuine cow-like bellow.
“Lord Four Heavenly King!”
“Protect him!”
Some intelligent demons, who had been ignoring us to push back the elves while trusting Kallos, panicked and turned their monsters around.
Kekeke!
The monsters, who had been aiming spears at the elves, now charged toward us.
Just as I thought it was finally my turn and drew my sword—
Plants sprouted from the ground like Jack and the Beanstalk in an instant, blocking the monsters' path.
The monsters desperately attacked the plants to aid their leader, but their claws and teeth weren't enough to break through Vine's growths.
“Gah! Who the hell are you people to be this strong?!”
Pushed back by our assault, Kallos screamed.
Feeling useless with nothing to do, I sensed my moment had finally arrived.
I'd had no intention of playing along with Kallos's lines, but if I didn't seize this, I'd truly become a useless hero.
At best, a pillar hero.
“We're the hero party.”
“Ah...”
But heartbreakingly, even my line got stolen.
If it'd been Laura or Rainy, I'd have understood.
What shocked me was that it came from Yumi.
Yumi, who had been steadfastly playing the silent assassin role, spouting such a cringey line.
I never saw it coming.
“A hero...? Never heard of...”
Even bleeding profusely, Kallos stubbornly kept up his lines.
His professionalism deserved applause.
I'd been a bit intimidated by the Four Heavenly Kings title, but Kallos was weaker than expected and seemed about to meet his end.
Now, only one way left to prove I wasn't a useless hero.
Landing the finishing blow.
In anything, the one who delivers the final strike is the one remembered.
I prepared my ultimate, the Heavenly Demon Death Beam, for that finisher.
It might draw criticism for being sneaky and underhanded, but a hero party revolves around the hero.
Me getting the spotlight was only natural.
Jealous? Then you be the hero!
Laura, who had been peppering Kallos with minor spells, lit up upon seeing me.
“Going for your ultimate? Then me too!”
“W-Wait...”
Ignoring me, Laura closed her eyes.
Powerful cold emanated from her.
“Guh... What...”
Sensing the ominous aura, Kallos's eyes trembled.
He was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, yet reduced to this pathetic state—it almost hurt my heart.
Whoosh.
A fierce chill swept in, freezing Kallos to the ground.
I'd felt a crisis when Laura used her ultimate, thinking she'd steal my flashy finisher.
But on second thought, her ultimate had wide range but weak direct damage.
Her Ice Age actually made a perfect side dish to highlight my ultimate.
I calmed my anxiety about missing the finisher, gathered mana and holy power at my fingertips.
I even tried shifting my mindset to that of a dragon loftily overlooking the world.
A powerful energy source amassed at my fingertips.
“Wh-What energy?!”
Just as Kallos regained his composure and spat a classic villain line—
“Raging Blow.”
Rainy suddenly burst in, holy power cloaking her fist, and swung at Kallos.
Splat!
Her uppercut severed Kallos's head clean off, turning it into prime material for a hearty boar-head soup.
“Whew...”
Having finished Kallos, Rainy looked triumphant as she turned to me.
“How's my finisher? Pretty badass, right? Feel the respect surging? Heh heh...”
“...”
I resented Rainy, oblivious to my feelings, bragging away.
You're demoted from best friend.