A Wyvern's Lament and the Shadow of the Meteor
I concentrated my mind completely.
A wyvern swarm was a truly threatening force. While each individual wyvern in Elvenheim might not pose an immediate danger, a coordinated group—lacking a supreme leader—naturally displayed the disciplined behavior of an army.
But if the formation leader fell, it would change everything.
I worried about Sylphy and Les. Lois would too. And Titania... I couldn't be certain she would survive.
Many elves in Elvenheim were in danger, yet the only thing I could do right now was one thing.
To kill the enemy.
In this Elvenheim, aside from Titania herself, no one else was better at this than me. But Titania had taken a strike meant for Sylphy and suffered serious injuries.
She had said earlier that the situation was perilous. So I had no choice but to act.
"Hoof!"
I leaped high and sliced through the wyvern without hesitation. Before it could land, the sonic boom of "swish swish swish!" echoed from above as I continued carving through the sky. I soared upward and looked down at the wyvern.
'My body isn't responding properly. I barely managed to fell twenty-one in a single pass.'
Among them were ones that didn't die instantly.
The seizures hadn't arrived yet, but I knew my body was on the edge of collapse. I couldn't hold back my strength, but at least I didn't need to unleash everything against a wyvern.
Without full commitment, the extermination rate would drop dramatically.
In this case, there was no alternative but to pray for the elves of Elvenheim. Fortunately, this Elvenheim was full of archers, so they could pick off flying wyverns.
Then there was the matter of sniping.
Who would fire a projectile like a spear? And turning it into a mana-formed shape was something humans only did if they had special bloodlines or exceptional talent. For monsters, however, it was a basic ability for any powerful creature.
A power level like that pointed only to Demon King Army Cadres.
'The Demon King is dead, and I've already slain more than half of the Demon King Army Cadres.'
I had killed five of the Eight Divine Stars— the Demon King Army Cadres.
After capturing the Demon King, I had planned to search for the remaining three, but decades of monster incursions had been rare, so I figured there was no rush.
They were weakened and desperate, after all.
I wasn't about to leave them alone, of course, but compared to the sacrifice happening right here and now, it ranked lower on my priority list.
Yet a Demon King Army Cadre—unweakened—had brought wyverns to invade Elvenheim?
How mysterious.
Incredibly mysterious.
'There was something I was missing.'
Something important.
A decisive something.
"Are you the Hero?"
"...!"
As I sliced through the wyvern, a voice boomed from behind.
And right away, a mana-formed spear vibrating at high speed appeared.
It was the same kind of strike that had hit Titania earlier. Sniper technique, wasn't it?
Why had it revealed itself in front of me?
No, monsters were proud creatures who lived by the law of the jungle and craved validation of their strength.
So...
The possibility that it had come to crush me head-on couldn't be denied.
Whoosh!
Clang!
'Fast... and powerful...'
Boom!
I was slammed backward by the force and crashed to the ground.
I rose immediately after hitting the dirt.
No bones were broken, and my body showed no major abnormalities.
'Demon King Army Cadre, and one of the higher ranks at that. Strange. If all the higher-rankers were dead, I should have slain them all.'
I had come close to death many times, and in the end, I grew stronger. The final Demon King Army Cadre I faced was one-sidedly slain by me.
I didn't even remember its name.
"Impressive. You held up well."
"...!"
"That kind of appearance doesn't sit well with me at all, but since you've slain the Demon King, shouldn't I at least carry out a revenge battle?"
"Hmph."
I exhaled in disbelief, and the monster's face twisted.
"What part of that is funny?"
"When I came to kill the Demon King, I wasn't the half-broken cripple I am now. I didn't even show my tail back then. Now that I've revealed myself, why are you acting so superior while trying to kill a half-broken me?"
"...!"
"Pull yourself together. There's only one thing you elves are supposed to do."
"Want to hear what it is?"
"Surrender and die. You pathetic livestock that only die over and over again for the sake of gaining power."
"That's prejudice."
"Then let me ask. Have you ever killed a human?"
"I have not."
"You insolent brat. The scent of blood is all over the place! Berserk Wyvern!!"
An evolved monster.
Among monsters, those that evolved into top-tier beings gained absurd power.
Among them was the wyvern. The exact conditions for a wyvern to evolve into a Berserk Wyvern remained unclear, but the fact that it required countless lives to achieve evolution was certain.
The words of this Berserk Wyvern were nothing but lies.
"Hah, it seems your joke was a bit too much. My name is Garfield, the current Demon King Army Cadre, sent to exterminate the Hero..."
I charged forward without pause.
It was meaningless.
No need to listen.
Clang!!!
Garfield, the Demon King Army Cadre, blocked my attack with a pained expression.
"You lack dignity."
It was clear that my interruption had annoyed him.
"Clean the blood off your mouth and speak properly. Who has the right to talk about dignity? You creatures who can't even survive with slaughter and raw power."
Our spears clashed, and we tried to pin each other down with strength, but it didn't work.
I said those words, yet Garfield was strong.
At least right now, he looked unbeatable.
Even if I won somehow, it would cost me dearly, and most importantly, time would run out.
With so many wyverns, the risk of civilian casualties was high.
Damn it.
It would take longer than I thought.
'But abandoning this brat now is even more dangerous.'
Because Titania had been ambushed, no one in Elvenheim could handle Garfield.
Even if we won by sheer numbers, it would cause national loss.
National loss meant human casualties.
Countless people would die.
I couldn't allow that.
I had to corner this creature somehow, crush it as quickly as possible.
"Indeed."
Garfield laughed.
"The Hero worries about his people, I see."
Don't fall for it.
I stayed silent and deliberately ignored Garfield's words.
Clang!!!
Our spears struck and rang out loudly.
Swish!
I swung my sword, and the ground split as a powerful slash raced toward him. Garfield's eyes widened as he dodged sideways at the last moment.
"A monster like you..."
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Concurrently, Garfield frowned and dodged my flying slashes with rapid movement.
"Hah."
"Annoying. This is what the weakened me is like? The Demon King wouldn't even bother."
"The Demon King is dead, yet why isn't he hiding like a coward? And why does his power still flow so abundantly? If the Demon King dies, shouldn't monsters lose their strength?"
That's why in the past, I had planned to wipe out all monsters during the Demon King's defeat, but they just kept coming.
Only later was it discovered that monsters were born from accumulated mana, and their existence could never be stopped as long as that fundamental natural generation remained unchecked.
Unfortunately, I had no head for such matters and couldn't grasp truths that would take centuries to study.
I only wanted to save the lives I could while I still lived.
"Do you have any explanation?"
"That's all I need. Just know that there's something I'm missing."
Lois would figure out the rest.
I would pass this information to Lois.
Whoosh!
As I quickly retreated, Garfield corrected his stance defensively.
I changed my grip on the Holy Sword and swung again.
"Like this!!"
"Shadow..."
"Huh?"
Garfield's eyes widened.
Chop!
The thing I had blocked was the shadow I had created, and the real attack had already passed him.
But it was shallow.
He retreated quickly while flapping his wings, but I didn't stop—I lunged forward.
'The Berserk Wyvern's special trait is its tough vitality.'
It regenerates from almost any attack and won't die easily.
Even if its head is severed, it keeps attacking like nothing happened for a while. Unless the entire body is destroyed, it won't perish.
Then what was the way?
Just kill it until the end.
Any enemy.
This was the most effective method.
Clang!
Chop!
"Cry! Another shadow!"
This guy really was overwhelming, relying on sheer physical ability and talent to pin me down.
Weak against strange techniques.
"Even the Hero uses underhanded moves?!"
"Hmph."
Where was the legitimate technique for killing an enemy?
A technique to kill everything.
To split its head fairly with a sword.
Or secretly ambush and cut its throat in one stroke.
A technique to kill everything.
The skill was exactly the same.
"...!"
A strange sound echoed in my ears with a whoosh. I unconsciously stepped back.
Instinct.
And I looked up.
What... was that.
'That...'
A rock.
A rock surrounded by flames was falling.
It would strike directly in Elvenheim, and it would be dangerous.
Was that a meteor?
"...!"
Ting!
Garfield charged at me with his spear as if to block me, and I raised my guard with a scowl.
"You brat...!"
Garfield was clearly not a mage.
Very few beings could use advanced magic like a meteor.
Among monsters, there were those who could use magic.
But...
"...No way, another one?"
"Hoo, you're sharp."
Another Demon King Army Cadre?
"You seem unsettled."
Chop!
A slight cut to the cheek made Garfield smile awkwardly.
"You dodged it even in that situation?"
Titania's serious injury.
The meteor.
Two Demon King Army Cadres.
Absence of the World Tree's protection.
The situation had become extremely serious.
No, first...
'That meteor...!'
Whoosh!
Mana spears came flying at me, and I deflected them quickly.
But more spears kept coming, and I frowned.
"You think I'm going to let you?! Hero guy!! With that tattered body, can you even worry about anything besides me?!"
I clicked my tongue.
And in that moment.
"Cough...!!"
"Hoo, the curse is causing a seizure?"
I staggered, spitting blood.
But at the same time, I opened my remaining eye wide.
Looking at Garfield, I muttered.
"You... how do you know about my curse?"
It was a fundamental question.
I had no idea about my own body condition, yet he was acting as if he knew everything.
Something.
A strong sense of unease settled over me.