Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Red-Eyed High Elf (4)
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~Neutral Stage~ Asral City Outskirts Wall Asral City's outer wall.
Right now, the area was in as much of a crisis as if a demon had breached the defenses.
RUMBLE... A massive cloud of dust rising from the plains, accompanied by vibrations shaking the ground beneath their feet—it was clear this wasn't just a sandstorm or strong winds.
Something, a whole lot of somethings, was charging straight toward the city.
"Oh, damn it all."
Guard Frank confirmed the identity through his spyglass from atop the wall and bit his lip hard.
He bit too hard, drawing blood and stinging like hell, but he had no time to worry about that now.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Soon, bells began tolling throughout the city.
"Monsters! They're heading this way!"
"Kieeeek...!!!"
The bells signaled a monster invasion.
With the city's guards stretched thin blocking the giant undead demon, monsters were taking advantage of the gap to attack!
"Damn it! Max! What do we do about those things?!"
Most guards and adventurers were tied up stopping the undead demon's advance, leaving no one to spare for the outskirts.
"No idea! What do you think? Blast 'em from all sides!"
The only ones left were the injured or those unfit for frontline duty. In truth, only Frank and Max stood against the hundreds of charging monsters.
If the two had the power of a hundred men each, they might hold, but expecting that from city guards was a stretch.
BOOM! The pair hurriedly loaded the wall's ballista and fired, but two people could only manage one shot at a time.
"Ugh...! They're not thinning out at all!"
"Screw that—if we bail, they'll pour into the city! Even with every adventurer, an endless horde like that would be impossible to stop!"
They reloaded frantically, but the monsters closed in relentlessly.
Most were goblins—not the weak ones, but evolved ones that had absorbed the forest's essence over years, attacking alongside other forest beasts.
⚔ MONSTER ⚔ Watchman Goblin with Rough Skin – Lv.65 HP: 8,000 MP: 100
▶ Forest watchman goblin. Low stamina, but high agility and intelligence make it incomparable to regular goblins. "Keeeek!!!"
"Damn it! Why are they stirring up trouble now of all times?!"
"That's why they're doing it now! That demon Kraken-thing is causing chaos in the east!"
Honestly, it was only a matter of time before they broke through.
Unless it was that high elf from the alley, how could a handful stop a horde like that? Overwhelmed by sheer numbers, defeat was inevitable.
Even all the city's adventurers might not suffice against that scale.
In a word: there were just way too many.
"...O earth, O earth, great mother of all life. Descend upon this place, we beseech you. Aid us."
THUD! "What the hell is that? A spirit?!"
To fight, they needed numbers first.
⚔ SUMMONED ⚔ Guardian of the Earth – Lv.50 (Summoned) HP: 500,000 MP: 10,000
▶ A golem formed from an earth spirit. Low agility, but boasts high stamina and durability. A massive earthen golem appeared before Asral City's north gate.
It was a powerful guardian summonable only by an advanced earth spirit, requiring immense affinity—far beyond most.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Dwarf Mage 'Thomas' - Lv.55 "Rain! I'll handle the gate! The wall-climbers are yours!"
Likely a highly skilled dwarf.
But plugging leaks in a bursting dam was just a stopgap.
To fully halt the flood, raise the dikes higher—or use the overflow to solve the root cause.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Swordsman 'Rain' - Lv.64 "I'll handle the wall-crossers! Aria, buffs! Even if Cyan's magic fully healed us, don't push too hard!"
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Priest 'Aria' - Lv.41 "O-Okay! Rain, please be careful!"
Even bailing ocean water with a paper cup had value in the act itself.
Rain's party had been bedridden with headaches from dungeon aftereffects, but the scroll from the beastkin girl cured them instantly.
Thanks to that, they could fight now.
"Who... are you guys?"
The guards blinked at the unexpected reinforcements.
"Cyan said not to go after the demon—focus on monster breaches elsewhere! Monsters are smart; if everyone's fixated on one spot, they hit the opposite side. And that demon said it'd handle itself!"
"...No idea who this Cyan is, but thanks. We might hold a few more minutes now."
Who was Cyan? No time to wonder.
Whoever it was, sharp mind—commanding stubborn adventurers flawlessly and understanding forest monster habits.
'Feels like I've seen her somewhere.'
Alex loaded the ballista, a flash of snowy silver hair crossing his mind.
"...Who the heck is she?"
"Stop daydreaming about your dream girl and grab the ammo!"
"You bastard! I'm getting married next month?!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2. BOOM! The giant undead demon's tentacle smashed the wall.
Dozens of meters high, yet mere makeshift before this colossal horror.
"Grrr...!"
Its roar didn't just deafen—it ruptured eardrums, an infuriating assault.
-Tap.
"I've gathered the city's remaining mages!"
They couldn't let this beast rampage further.
"These are all that's left? Not even half... They must've fallen to that demon."
With that resolve, the Adventurer's Guild Master stepped up personally.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Adventurer Guild Master (Elf) Lv.200 A seasoned elf, renowned as the city's top mage.
Of course, that was now history...
Days ago, a high elf woman appeared—beauty drawing even women, matched by extraordinary magic.
Considering Cyan was a high elf, it made sense.
Once, the guild master dreamed of becoming one too.
High elves: sages pursuing truth, legends who glimpse cosmic secrets.
Drawn by that allure, she spent ~100 years in solitude, but couldn't endure the isolation.
She fled, settling in a human village.
And now: not perfect, but happy. Her century made her a fine mage.
What of a high elf who endured it all?
'...No sign of that high elf.'
The realm demanded grueling solitude, brutality—erasing one's self from the world.
High elves erased 'self' fragments, reborn anew...
...Culminating in wiping even 'memory' of self.
No one remembers them; they forget themselves.
'Did she already leave the city?'
Many high elves suicided.
Even grasping cosmic truth, living nameless bred ennui, futility, apathy—ending in self-destruction.
She was stable by comparison.
Most high elves she'd seen enslaved themselves magically against suicide or drowned in pleasure drugs.
THUD! "Demon approaching!"
"Mages to positions! Weak spells bounce off—focus fire on its head to vaporize it!"
But Cyan was different.
She felt ennui yet retained identity and sanity.
Fortunate... yet worrying.
...She wasn't 'high elf-like.'
~1000 years ago, a shocking event: a deranged high elf annihilated a 50-million nation.
Her husband's kingdom, her beloved family—burned by her hand.
No survivors; motive unknown.
"Prepare! Even if casualties occur, I'll take responsibility! We can't let damage spread further!"
Elf tales described her as gentle, stable.
Her method: seal ego, create new persona, body acting independently while true self dreamed eternally.
...Until the seal broke.
New persona vanished; seal-less body rampaged, unleashing high magic indiscriminately—a continent swallowed by sea. Famous legend even among ignorant humans.
That's the worry.
What if Cyan used similar means? A ticking bomb, exploding any day...
✨ MAGIC ARRAY ✨ Dozens of magic circles unfolded in the air with light.
"Grroooar...!!!"
"Now! Fall, Meteor Str—"
Aimed solely at the eastern demon, nearly complete.
[Vanish.] ZZZT... The circles vanished in an instant.
"Huh? Why'd it stop suddenly?"
"Wait... This is weird. Someone deliberately erased our arrays!"
The mages panicked.
Simple reason: their lifelong pinnacle—mightiest high-rank spells—nullified instantly.
Who could do this? Who could even attempt it?
⚙ MAGIC CANCEL ⚙ (Magic Cancel) – Wide-Area Magic Attribute: Darkness Range: 100m Max Targets: ∞ ▶ Cancels all magic below 6th rank in range. "Explosion Volcano and Meteor Strike...? You lot planned to wipe out that beast—and the whole city—with it?"
A woman's voice from the sky, laced with irritation, glaring down at the mages.
"You...!"
Snow-white hair like fresh powder, flawless skin, eyes redder than blood.
Only one such woman in the city.
"H-High elf! It's that high elf from before!"
"Pathetic. High elves that novel? Just one every few centuries."
It was Cyan.
"You down there—keep staring up, and I'll rip those eyeballs out and shove 'em down your throat..."
"S-Sorry!"
The male mage bowed hastily as Cyan ascended toward the demon's head.
No one knew what she planned.
-Plop.
"...What the? Something fell from the sky? Snow?"
Soon, fine white powder drifted down.
"Wait, this isn't snow—ack! Why's it so salty?!"
Fine, soft white flakes.
For whatever reason, snow-like flakes began falling from the sky.
"...Huh? Rain! It's suddenly snowing!"
"What? Oh, it is... Real sn—argh?! Snow in my eyes, stings...!"
Not just Asral—nearby areas got abnormally salty snow.
Well, not full winter yet. Just entering late autumn; not weird.
THUD! BOOM! RUMBLE! "Look! The demon's acting weird!"
"Yeah, touching this snow makes it thrash—"
"Keeeek...?!"
But the snow was bizarrely salty...
And the demon writhed in agony from it.
(Tentacle monsters have snail-like tissue—steel-tough, but otherwise similar.)