Dark Elf
“Who the hell? Even the last time I saw this place, it was nothing but a bunch of stuffy old elves and fanatics lost in their own elven supremacy.”
They were a hidebound lot, sure, but their towering pride alone meant they would never worship anything except the World Tree. And yet—a traitor? If there was one, who?
“There is exactly one. You have probably never even laid eyes on her. She was elsewhere when the Hero Party visited.”
“Who, exactly?”
I had never seen any such person. An elf who had not been in the Great Forest while I was around?
At my question the Elf King chose his words with care.
“Piel, the one who competed with Shariel for the priestess seat. She is of noble elven blood as well. The moment Shariel was named the candidate, Piel simply stopped attending every major council.”
“And you just let her?”
With that long-eared temper of his, he left it alone?
“One cannot exactly force the issue. Originally the position had been hers, so it was meant as a form of consolation.”
Originally that seat had belonged to her?
“What a generous soul you are. In a situation like that, is it not normal to soothe her instead? At the priestess level she must have had real potential. You could have brought her into the Hero Party. Looking at Ella, that one is the real fallen elf—I am amazed she has not become a Dark Elf already.”
“In any case, this is no time for leisure. This matter—”
The long-eared bastard fixed me with a steady stare.
What did he expect me to do about it?
“I am washing my hands of it. I am leaving the Great Forest at once.”
“If the World Tree falls to corruption, it will be no blessing for you or the Empire either. The World Tree’s corruption can lead straight to the corruption of the elves themselves.”
“What the hell kind of—”
So the Great Forest could become an enemy?
If they fell they would become Dark Elves, and in the end they might join hands with the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings or climb into bed with the New World Group.
Just imagining it was sickening. Apart from the Demon King’s army, the only force that had ever truly given the Empire trouble was the Great Forest. Guerrilla warfare in the woods, of course, but the ancient records of defeat against the elves still weighed on imperial nerves.
Having to fight elves on top of everything else would be the absolute worst.
“Besides, the Taesa of the Empire that claims dominion over the world turns tail the moment a neighboring land falls on hard times? How would that look?”
Oh, so he was playing the blackmail card here?
“No—those are entirely different cases. On the contrary, are you prepared to leave a guest of a neighboring nation in danger?”
“That is one thing; this is another. Would it not still look as though you fled? You have already carved your name across the world by reclaiming Crad Castle. You are hardly a weakling, so of course questions would be raised if you simply refused to help.”
Damn this underhanded long-eared bastard!
“Ha. What a tiresome long-ear.”
“So it would be best if you helped.”
“I will not answer for a few trees getting cut down. And if I am not careful, even the World Tree might take damage.”
“If it is for the restoration of the World Tree, that will be fine.”
“Huh. You cannot handle this alone?”
Even setting aside the fact that he was using leverage to work me, this long-ear had enough pride that he would never normally ask for help. So what was the real reason?
He was strong enough in his own right. Simple exploitation of me could not be the whole logic. Then what?
“The World Tree has almost never been polluted. And once the World Tree begins to be eroded, the barrier weakens as well.”
“The Great Forest’s barrier weakens?”
So the barrier of the Great Forest was not the work of the elves, but of the World Tree itself?
The area around the World Tree was under its protection. It was a sacred tree, so I could believe it.
“Exactly. It means the advantages of the forest vanish and fire can take hold. Of course even without the barrier the elves are still here, so flames will not catch easily—”
“But?”
“Whoever set this in motion would not have acted alone. You mentioned before that the New World Group appeared in Ribelt.”
Ah. So that was how it all connected. The New World Group existed. The ones who had shown themselves in Ribelt were real and active.
“Fucking New World Group.”
“Precisely. This affair is a problem—for the Empire as well.”
Ha. He was tying me in neatly.
Still, it was true that things were about to become a royal pain.
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
“Good. That is the comrade I know.”
“Do not casually put your hand on my shoulder. This is urgent, so let us survey the situation. What exactly do you need me to do?”
Surely he was not about to tell me to guard the World Tree myself. That was elven domain. No matter how many spells I had crammed into my head until I was half-mad, I knew nothing about restoration magic for the World Tree—long-ears or not.
If I had to, the best I could manage was burning the thing before its corruption could spread to the elves.
“I would ask you to confirm whether any strange presence lurks within the Great Forest. I will watch over the World Tree myself. Finding Piel would also be welcome.”
“Aigoo. All right. But what does Piel look like?”
He at least had to give me a description if he wanted her found. That was how I thought of it, yet the Elf King’s expression turned strange, as though I had asked something idiotic.
What had I done wrong?
“You will know her on sight, will you not?”
“Because she is a Dark Elf.”
Just one brown-skinned elf, then.
Catch her, rip her ears off, and drag her before him. Easy enough.
“Correct. At least for now, no other elf has become a Dark Elf. So when you find her, take her alive.”
“Right. Let’s do it that way.”
With that, there was truly no way out.
I left the banquet hall with Celia. The urgent task now was exactly as the long-eared king had said: wipe out whatever force was trying to meddle in the Great Forest.
“What shall we do?”
“Simply walking away would be fine, but if something truly explodes in the Great Forest it will be a problem.”
The central region looked small, yet when one counted every elf across the entire Great Forest the numbers were considerable.
Their population did not even match a proper kingdom, but if beings with magic application far superior to humans turned hostile to the Empire again and sided with the Demon King, that would be catastrophic.
First I checked the surroundings of the World Tree.
The New World Group was not large enough to threaten an entire nation. If they were going to cause trouble inside the elven kingdom, it would inevitably be at the heart of the World Tree.
“Wait a moment. What are these in every corner? They look like summoning circles.”
I saw the same black summoning circles I had once encountered on Mount Haut in Ribelt.
Demonic energy was rising from them in thin, curling wisps. When the hell had these been planted?
They were not the sort of thing one could set down casually. Work this thorough required long, careful preparation—and either a broken barrier or someone who was already an elf.
Even if that girl Piel had planned the whole thing, something on this scale should have reached my notice earlier.
Strange.
That meant that while everyone enjoyed the banquet, a traitor or New World agent skilled enough to work in total secrecy inside the barrier was present.
Just who was it?
And they had drawn circles of this size in so short a time?
“It is the New World Group, all right. When did they plant these? Do you have any idea?”
“Then they must have been involved with the Great Forest for quite some time. Is that long-ear actually strong?”
Even Celia could not guess further.
The Elf King was strong—he had to be. Or was he? Looking at him now, the bastard truly seemed to know nothing useful.
An Elf King should have resolved this in an instant. Idiot.
Once this mess was over I would curse him to my heart’s content. That was the answer.
“He is strong. Wait—then this means the opponent may be unexpectedly powerful. Or perhaps it is that elf, Piel.”
“What do you mean? That her abilities are this exceptional?”
“They call her a Dark Elf. There must be things we do not know.”
Honestly the New World Group’s power seemed the strongest possibility, but one never knew. It had been a long time since I last saw a Dark Elf myself.
“Then what do we do? Is this not a crisis?”
“Who am I?”
“Lady Olivia.”
“Nothing is impossible for me.”
For an elf it would be extraordinarily difficult. For me, it was different.
“Then what do you intend to do?”
“Lucky we found them early. Hmm. Simply sealing them right now would only make the New World Group’s plan fail—their forces would remain intact.”
In the end these bastards could not stay in the Empire, so they had moved to the elven side.
Gathering them all in one place and slaughtering them was perfectly possible.
In that sense this was actually a fortunate turn. I still did not know who Piel was, but thanks to that foolish girl I could thrash the New World Group again.
Then another approach existed.
I let mana flow through the entire Great Forest.
With a body of fused mana the ability was more than enough. With it I detected every single circle scattered across the Great Forest.
There were a lot—roughly fifty.
If well-trained black mages poured out of them, if secondary summoning began, or if they started stirring up trouble from every direction, the World Tree would be in even greater danger.
“What do you plan to do?”
“For now I am examining the formulas of these summoning circles.”
What if I gathered them all into one place? Simply concentrating them would rob the New World Group of the mobility needed to invade the Great Forest.
They had spread the circles close around the World Tree. With their limited numbers, seizing the World Tree would still take time.
And that time was mine to devour.
“What if they summon something while you are working?”
“No. They will not be able to summon.”
“Pardon?”
“Because I am going to use time magic.”
“Habel’s Hourglass or whatever it is?”
Exactly. Right now I could use it. What would happen if I placed every one of these summoning circles inside the barrier of Habel’s Hourglass?
“And even though the circles are fully laid, they cannot actually summon at once. They need capable people, and even with the World Tree being eroded they will only emerge once the erosion reaches a certain point. In my estimation this is a pincer movement.”
“A pincer? Then the corruption of the World Tree is Piel’s responsibility.”
Sharp as ever. That was Celia. She would already understand my thinking as well.
“Once the corruption advances far enough the Great Forest’s barrier will collapse completely, and that is when the summoning will begin. Even if they force a summon now it will take time—to pierce the barrier.”
“That makes sense.”
“So I am gathering them all into a single space.”
That way I could force the summons into one location before they could spread and wipe them out.
“Is that even possible? No matter how extraordinary you are, moving every already-installed summoning circle—”
“I said it is possible. Do you not know who I am?”
“Lady Olivia. But moving these black-magic circles can only be done with demonic energy.”
“I handle demonic energy as well.”
I slammed my palm down onto the black magic circle.
Then I stretched demonic energy out like spider silk, weaving together every summoning circle scattered throughout the Great Forest.
Slowly. Very slowly. I began drawing them all toward a single point.
Now, then—this was where it truly began.