Chapter 386: Bread and Dagger (84)
Chapter 386: Bread and Dagger (84)
“I have a plan.”
Those were the words Elder Pope uttered during our meeting with the village elves.
At the time, I was in the middle of a warm reunion with them.
Seeing me for the first time in a long while, the elves reacted dramatically.
Isha, who was surprisingly soft-hearted, burst into tears, while Luguet and Elder Dolph went as far as to pull me into a tight embrace. They acted as if they had found a long-lost family member.
And then there was Avian, who was closer to me than anyone.
The young girl’s clear eyes brimmed with tears the moment we locked gazes. Only after I spent a good while wiping them away did Avian manage to greet me in a trembling voice.
She told me she had missed me.
I patted the elf girl’s shoulder in silence, offering what comfort I could.
I didn't go out of my way to ask how she was doing.
Her younger sister had been absorbed by a monster of unknown identity. And that monster was currently covering the earth, endlessly bloating its own mass.
It was as if it intended to devour the entire world.
I could guess, at least roughly, how Avian must be feeling.
To make matters worse, there was nowhere for her to vent that bitter resentment.
The enemy was one whose strength couldn't even be measured.
In fact, did a means to kill that monster even exist in the first place?
The opponent was a mass of flesh overflowing across the horizon. The term 'natural disaster' suited it far better than 'living being.'
I even questioned if the concept of 'death' could be applied to it. There was likely no way to wipe out a mass of flesh that occupied such a vast area.
No matter how I calculated it, the possibility of Avian getting her revenge was slim.
It was in the midst of these despairing thoughts that Elder Pope spoke up.
At that brief declaration, everyone’s eyes turned toward him.
As always, he wore a stiff, stubborn expression.
This was despite the fact that, outwardly, he looked like nothing more than a young boy.
Of course, his insides had long since rotted and withered away.
He was a man who had lost his wife and daughter to a human raid long ago. It would have been only natural for him to resent the hardships of the years he had to endure alone.
Since that day, Elder Pope said he had never forgotten his family for even a single day.
And perhaps that was why he could not age.
Elder Pope’s time had stopped back then.
‘An aged boy.’
I looked at Elder Pope as that phrase naturally came to mind. My gaze was a mix of half-expectation and half-disbelief.
Elder Pope was a veteran hunter. Furthermore, he was a resident who had lived in the coniferous forest for a very long time.
It wouldn't be strange if he knew of a move I hadn't thought of yet.
There was just one question remaining.
Exactly how?
This was a battlefield that even an army of tens of thousands couldn't turn around. It was hard to believe a masterstroke existed that could reverse this situation.
Nevertheless, Elder Pope looked confident.
“It’s thanks to you. That we were able to survive… and that the safety of the village elves could be guaranteed. That blonde woman decided to look after them.”
“Are you saying you want to repay that debt?”
“Bread for bread, a dagger for a dagger.”
It was a phrase I had heard so many times.
At first, it was advice given by a captured elf. After I fell into the elf village, it became a part of my life, and eventually, it became the final piece for victory.
It was a strange feeling.
To think that such a short phrase could intertwine and create so many connections.
While I was lost in that brief sentiment, Elder Pope continued his story.
“The villagers no longer need a hunter. The time for retirement I’ve longed for has finally arrived… so helping you is my final mission.”
“No, do you actually have a plan? Just how do you intend to—”
“You don’t need to know.”
My brow furrowed slightly at that firm answer.
I couldn't help it. If we were to assume we were preparing for a decisive battle against that Agent of the Evil God, I was the one in charge. Hadn't the Saintess said as much just the other day?
The forces gathered in the North, including the Yurdina family, were waiting for a specific helper.
The Sword Duke and the Saint.
An agreement had already been reached to maintain the front lines until those two arrived.
And yet, he suddenly wanted to go face that monster on his own whim?
Naturally, I would have to shoulder the burden that followed.
Furthermore, the Agent of the Evil God was an opponent that couldn't be faced alone.
At the very least, an army had to be mobilized, and thousands or even tens of thousands could lose their lives at a single word from me.
Checking the details of the plan beforehand was a necessity, not an option.
And yet, he said I didn't need to know the details.
I couldn't help but voice my complaint.
“Elder, I know very well that you don't like me because I'm human. But what we’re doing isn't playing soldiers; it’s war. We need to share the plan in advance…”
“I’ve decided to trust you.”
That sudden confession left me speechless.
It was something the old Elder Pope would never have said. As proof, everyone else in the room stared with wide eyes, clearly taken aback.
Only Elder Pope remained calm.
He spoke to me once more.
“It’s been that way since I recognized you as the village hunter. In the village, being a ‘hunter’ is a very honorable duty… protecting the village and providing food.”
Every word carried weight.
I fell silent and gazed intently at Elder Pope.
He looked exceptionally peaceful today.
Perhaps it was because he had been liberated from a long-standing duty.
“There isn't a single task that isn't directly linked to the lives of the residents. To be honest, I wasn't sure back then… but now I know. I know that you will become a magnificent hunter.”
“Elder…”
“Trust is especially important for a hunter, as it is for anyone. It’s the same for me.”
He wasn't beating around the bush.
The meaning was so clear that I had to let out a small sigh.
He was asking me to trust him.
Normally, it was an absurd request. Even for me, there was a limit to how much I could push things.
To ask people to entrust their lives to a single old elf?
How many would agree to that?
But after meeting Elder Pope’s eyes, I eventually gave up on arguing.
His eyes were filled with strong conviction.
If he still refused to lay out the details to me despite that, it was right to interpret it as him having his reasons.
In the end, only a single question escaped my lips.
“Is there a reason you can't tell me?”
“Yes.”
Then there was nothing more for me to say.
Just as Elder Pope trusted me, I had no choice but to trust him.
The task of persuasion was my responsibility anyway.
I offered a simple word of surrender.
“Fine. I’ll trust you.”
I had a debt to pay back to Leoric.
The price for the lives of the elves, including Avian, and everyone else who had fallen victim to his schemes.
I decided to go and deliver that bill.
*
Pope stood upon the plain.
A storm was blowing in from afar. His vision was blurred by the blizzard, but the veteran hunter understood it instinctively.
The final battle was at hand.
Now it was his turn to step forward.
Isha and Avian stood by his side. It was because Pope had specifically called only those two.
Isha didn't seem to find that fact particularly questionable.
Originally, she was the talent Pope had handpicked and raised to be the next hunter. Though it was said that Ian would take over as the next hunter, he was a hero of humanity.
He couldn't stay in the North forever just to protect a few elves.
In that case, Isha was the only one left to naturally carry on the lineage of the hunter.
It was only proper etiquette for a successor to witness their master’s retirement.
If there was any question remaining, it was Avian’s presence.
Avian looked like she had no idea why Pope had called her.
She was merely staring into the distance with an anxious and restless expression.
This was a battlefield where lives were on the line. It was natural for her to be worried about Ian’s safety.
So, Pope decided to finish his business as briefly as possible.
“Isha, I leave the village in your hands.”
“Yes, Elder. I’ll be counting on you in the future as well.”
At Isha’s easygoing reply, Pope couldn't help but let out a short laugh.
He couldn't even guess how many years it would take for this young elf to become a proper hunter.
But it was fine.
Time was always on the side of the elves.
The next person he made a request to was Avian.
“And Avian, young elf… I ask this of you as well.”
“Why me?”
The question was immediate.
The elf girl, who had been staring beyond the horizon for a long time, looked at Pope with eyes that couldn't understand.
Avian had no particular connection to the village.
She had stayed for a few weeks by chance, but that was all. Nor did she possess outstanding skills like Ian.
Nevertheless, Pope did not withdraw his claim.
“I hate humans.”
It was a fact every elf in the village knew.
Avian was about to ask what that had to do with anything, but she soon closed her mouth.
It was because Pope’s tone was different from usual.
A voice steeped in lamentation followed.
“It was like that even before I lost my family. Countless neighbors were killed at their hands. I couldn't help but hate them… no, in truth, I couldn't have endured it without hating them.”
With that, the old man took a step forward.
Night, and death.
He had been afraid of burning flames for a long time. On the day his family was murdered, Pope vowed to curse humans for the rest of his life.
But deep down, he knew.
It wasn't humans he had cursed.
He hated and loathed his own powerless self, who had to shed tears before the corpses of his family.
“I have lived my whole life that way. Hating and loathing others… while on the other hand, I tried everything I could to be forgiven by the family I couldn't protect. I wanted to believe that death was salvation, or that continuing this harsh life was atonement.”
“……Elder.”
Isha’s expression changed by the second as Elder Pope’s words were spoken.
Having spent over a hundred years with him, Isha realized instinctively.
She realized what decision Pope had made.
Though Avian still had a face full of unresolved questions.
“Avian, little one… but you won't have to live like that. Do you not love a human?”
Since she couldn't pretend not to know the intent behind that blatant question, Avian’s face flushed crimson in an instant.
The blush was so intense it looked as if steam might rise from the top of her head.
Just before Avian could stammer and wave her hands in denial.
Pope took another step forward without even waiting for an answer.
“Cherish that heart… for I will take the old grudges with me.”
Immediately after, the sound of wind whipped past their ears.
Pope’s body kicked off the ground and shot forward. His limbs, racing as they crushed time, screamed under the overload.
A sound like a scream echoed from behind.
It was likely Isha’s voice.
She was an unnecessarily affectionate woman. She was the pillar who would lead the village elves from now on; he wondered how she would manage with such a soft heart.
No, perhaps it didn't matter.
Wasn't a world coming where no one would have to hate or resent anyone else?
The war was over.
The coniferous forest had fallen entirely into the monster’s hands, and the majority of the elves had been devoured. Even Pope was not free from that sin.
For he, too, had been one of the believers serving Leoric.
The ‘blessing’ remaining on his body proved it.
His vision gradually narrowed along with his ragged breathing.
It was a lack of oxygen.
His body should have stopped listening to him by now, but Pope felt a strange sense of lightness.
His body was becoming lighter.
The pain subsided, and a languid sensation dominated his entire body. From a certain point, Pope fell into a kind of delirium.
Was he stepping on the ground himself?
Or was he flying through the sky?
Within his blurring vision, the scenery of that night was replaying.
He had lost his wife and children.
It had been a wretched life, fueled by the hatred he used to replace that miserable feeling. Every night was painful, and his self-loathing was so excessive that he sometimes made wrong decisions.
Nevertheless, Pope did not regret the decision he made that day.
On the day he received the ‘blessing’ from Leoric, the priest had said to him:
“Brother, this is proof that we have truly become one. This ‘blessing’ will grant your wish on the day your atonement ends.”
Hearing those words, Pope had swallowed a hollow laugh.
Because the wish he would harbor was all too obvious.
Flash! A white bolt of lightning struck his mind.
Before he knew it, Pope was rolling on the ground. His body, covered in snow, was rapidly losing its temperature.
But it didn't matter.
Because he had finally arrived.
Ahead of him, he saw the hideously boiling flesh.
Pope crawled forward and placed his hand upon that flesh.
Recalling an old desire.
My wish, yes.
It is.
“I, an… Per, cus…….”
Muttering the still unfamiliar name, Pope reached into his shirt.
His hand grasped the dagger he always carried.
Tentacles rose threateningly from the mass of flesh.
As if they wanted to devour Pope right this instant.
Seeing that hideous sight, Pope wore a faint smile.
To think that this was the god I once served.
It was truly a pathetic faith.
So today, Pope decided to plant another belief upon the grave where blind obedience was buried.
“……I believe.”
At the same time, strength entered the arm holding the dagger, and a dull pain pierced through his spinal cord.
But that, too, was brief.
Pope felt a refreshing sensation filling every bone and joint. Pope’s soul, escaped from the prison of the flesh, scattered into the sky.
And only now could he see them.
His beloved wife and children.
The bright faces he hadn't seen since that day the village burned and Pope shed tears of blood.
Ah, yes.
He had been desperately wishing for it.
To go back.
To that day when he could see his beloved family.
The world was dyed in monochrome, and time began to flow backward.
Along with the scream let out by the mass of flesh covering the earth.
The volume of the monster, which couldn't even be measured, was rapidly shrinking.
*
“What, what is this… Gwaaaaaah!”
Listening to Leoric’s howling, I curled my body.
The flesh surrounding me was disappearing in an instant. The same went for the flesh elves that had encircled me.
Leoric was also unable to resist that overwhelming tide.
After howling for a long time, Leoric’s body collapsed and was swept away.
Far off, somewhere into the coniferous forest.
As if I had been waiting, I pulled a potion from my shirt.
It was a reagent Emma had developed while I was kidnapped.
“Let’s end this now.”
The end of this tedious battle was in sight.