Chapter 268
Chapter 268
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Altered Thoughts (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Rishir, are you alright!?"
The elves rushed toward Rishir immediately after subduing Nad'ga.
He had been sent flying out of the tent by Nad'ga's attack.
"My god..."
As they drew closer to Rishir, the elves' expressions grew increasingly grave.
They had followed the exact path he had been thrown along, and the traces of the attack were vividly etched there.
Not physical marks like scorched or gouged earth.
Remnants of the power infused in the attack.
Even sensing it indirectly made the elves feel as if their skin was being crushed under immense pressure and torn apart at the same time.
Some elves unwittingly froze in place.
A single blow containing the full might of Nad'ga, the embodiment of superiority—its mere traces evoked terror and awe.
Other elves felt the same terror and awe but harbored even greater fury beyond that.
"Even I would have—"
Lunadien grimaced, imagining herself in Rishir's position.
She could easily picture herself suffering a fatal wound from Nad'ga's sudden ambush.
It even sparked a sudden question.
With such power at her disposal, why choose that foolish approach?
Prior to temporarily losing her rank by invoking her authority, Nad'ga could have surely pressured the expedition with that strength alone.
"She must have thought that eliminating Rishir alone would let her manipulate the situation as she pleased."
In truth, the answer to that question was simple.
As Caroer said, Nad'ga had been confident.
Confident that even if she recklessly subdued Rishir, her actions would be understood!
It was an arrogance born of her status as the incarnation of beauty, who received the reverence of all races—arrogant yet justified in her mind.
However.
This time, she had miscalculated badly.
The elves were a race willing to burn themselves alongside the World Tree if the entire continent sought to torch it.
As they hurried toward Rishir, their steps grew urgent yet heavier.
"Ah, it's—it's fine!"
Fortunately, Rishir's condition wasn't as dire as they'd feared.
No, he was far sturdier than they'd hoped, to the point of startling them.
Even Ratshil, who rushed to support him, was taken aback.
"Truth be told, I approached her anticipating this exact reaction from the start. I figured she'd seize the moment I gave her an opening and act accordingly."
At Rishir's explanation, they replayed the scene in their minds.
When Nad'ga pulled something from her bosom and began to unleash her power, Rishir had dashed in to stop her.
It had looked like he'd been caught off guard by her sudden move and swept up in it.
But in reality, he'd fully prepared his defenses and deliberately baited the attack.
"Why take such a reckless risk...?"
"In that moment, I thought it was the best way to put Nad'ga in a disadvantageous position."
"..."
The elves stared at the young human with a mix of revulsion and admiration.
A temperament worthy of a hero reborn.
The cunning to casually wield assassin blades or elderly noble schemes beneath a mild, harmless demeanor.
How could those two traits coexist?
It often sparked questions more profound than those of demonic sword arts.
"You foresaw all this in that brief time? Even us coming to your aid?"
"Ah, no, I didn't anticipate that far. I expected intervention, but not that she'd go straight for the kill..."
Rishir had poured everything into defending himself.
Even so, it wasn't enough to fully offset the shock from Nad'ga's power.
"If this friend hadn't helped, I wouldn't be unscathed like this."
Rishir pointed to the dragonkin girl beside him—Aletzan.
"The moment I was hit, I felt her power protecting me."
"..."
As the elves' gazes focused on her, Aletzan ducked her head and hid behind Rishir.
The horrific power of a dragon.
She thought she'd be held accountable for using it recklessly.
"Then, we owe you our thanks."
"Eh?"
"For protecting Rishir."
Caroer bowed his head to the dragon.
The other elves followed suit, bowing toward her.
"W-What? Why are you all...?"
Aletzan flinched in surprise and checked her body.
What?
Do I not look like a dragon right now?
But I do?
Her horns, wings, tail—everything was fully exposed from using her power.
The dragonkin girl, utterly unaccustomed to others' goodwill, couldn't stay still.
"..."
Rishir smiled as he watched them.
He judged that Nad'ga's curse had weakened its hold, at least on the elves present.
Their actions—helping him despite the curse and showing respect to the dragon—were proof.
'At this rate...'
It was a good momentum.
To solidify it, Rishir addressed the elves.
"Everyone, amid the confusion, may I ask one thing? Sir Caroer?"
"I'm fine, so ask away."
"Thank you. Then... could you tell me how you're feeling right now? Your state, if possible—"
"May I ask your intent?"
"Ah! Well, you might have sensed it too—you were all under Nad'ga's curse but have now broken free."
"Curse..."
"Yes. You remember how she incited you against me, calling me a devil. That was her curse. It made you believe I was a devil. But—as you know, you've escaped it and helped me."
"..."
"Sir Caroer? Everyone?"
Rishir sensed something off in the elves' reactions.
Soon after.
Caroer exchanged glances with the other elves before speaking.
"Rishir. Apologies, but I can't follow your story. So, is this what you're saying? That you're actually not a devil?"
"..."
Now Rishir exchanged looks with Alenza.
He carefully addressed the elves.
"Everyone. Do you... still think I'm a devil?"
"...Then, if you're not a devil, what are you?"
"..."
It didn't end there.
Rishir noticed some elves repeatedly glancing at the fallen Nad'ga.
They seemed worried about the backlash from opposing her.
"My god..."
Rishir sighed unwittingly.
Contrary to expectations, the elves were still under the curse's influence.
In their minds, Nad'ga remained a great being.
And he—
"Then why—"
"Hm?"
"Why help me, a devil, instead of Nad'ga?"
The elves answered without hesitation.
"Because it's you."
Words laden with profound meaning.
Their unwavering eyes fixed on Rishir.
"Wh-What did you do to these elves...?"
The dragon girl stared at the human in fear.
The incarnation of negation, a devil.
Faith stronger than their repulsion toward him.
"..."
Rishir felt a mild headache.
Was it all an illusion that things were resolving?
'That curse... just how powerful is it?'
Nad'ga's curse.
Its depth and mystery far exceeded his expectations.
'In a way, it's only natural... It's the power that toppled dragons, after all...'
Frustrated, Rishir's gaze naturally turned to the fallen Nad'ga.
Hera.
Near her lay an unidentified object resembling a platinum egg.
"Alenza. Do you know what that is?"
"Of course. It's Nad'ga's relic, the 'Shell.' The source of the curse."
Alenza had dreamed for ages of finding that relic and destroying the curse.
Her reptilian eyes gleamed as she stared at the Shell.
"As I thought."
Rishir confirmed his intuition once more.
Ending the curse.
Normalizing perceptions.
The answer lay in that relic.
The only answer.
"Sir Caroer. For now, I'd like to take possession of Nad'ga's item. Is that alright?"
"...Subduing Nad'ga was possible only because they crossed the line first."
"Taking her relic would mean we're the ones crossing it."
"Exactly. If word spreads, many will rise up. Nad'ga... They were once great guardians who sacrificed themselves for the continent's harmony and peace. If things go awry... the whole world might turn against us."
"..."
Caroer's words shook Rishir's resolve.
'Not just me, but all elves...'
Caroer asked once more.
"Rishir. Are you certain? Are Nad'ga truly deceivers hiding behind a curse?"
"..."
Rishir nodded.
"Yes. They are usurpers who stole the mantle of true guardians."
"And who are those true guardians?"
"The dragons."
"W-Wait...!"
Alenza reflexively tried to stop him.
The good momentum shattered the moment he mentioned dragons.
As much as she hated to admit it, invoking dragons did nothing good in this situation.
'I should have vaguely glossed over it—'
The elves' gazes confirmed it.
Laced with undisguised contempt.
A scenario dragons had faced throughout history.
Even they had allies.
Sages who, despite the curse, offered understanding and respect to the loathed dragons.
They appealed to the world on dragons' behalf.
Yet the response was always the same.
The dragons—those wicked beings—had bewitched them.
For dragons were mighty, yet grotesque.
"..."
The elves reached the same conclusion, showing unease.
But only briefly.
"Very well."
They nodded.
Caroer spoke.
"If that's your truth... we'll take it as truth."
The truth had prevailed.
"..."
Alenza covered her mouth.
Her cold, sharp eyes welled with pitiful tears.
"Dragon... no, Alenza, was it? Alenza. Do you know how to destroy this relic? Meaning, how to neutralize its power—"
Caroer's question made Alenza's expression stiffen.
If she'd known, she wouldn't have endured such humiliations all this time.
"Wait! Stop! You can't come in!"
"Best not to block us. We sensed something wrong with Lady Hera from out here."
At that moment.
A commotion erupted outside the tent.
The culprits ignored the guards at the entrance and forced their way in.
They were Nad'ga Hera's followers.
"Lady Hera!!!"
Already convinced of her misfortune, they approached her calmly and directly.
"..."
Hmm.
Caroer and the elves let out heavy sighs.
As expected.
The feared scenario unfolded immediately.
"Guardian Caroer! Star of the Flower Garden Lunadien! Did you attack Lady Hera!?"
As befitting Nad'ga.
Her followers' composition was far from ordinary.
Recalling their reputations from their first encounter, Caroer closed his eyes tightly.
Individually, their fame and power couldn't compare to the great guardian or the star of the flower garden.
However. They were renowned across the continent.
If these followers, gathered from all corners to serve Nad'ga, scattered back with news of the elves' expedition ambushing Nad'ga amid current buzz...
"I, Ares Ye Devrian! I demand a formal explanation from you!"
Among them, the one troubling the elves most.
The second son of the great noble house Devrian.
Originally out leading knights on family business, he'd encountered Nad'ga en route and joined her group.
Not a devotee, but as a great noble's blood, he held due respect for the continent's guardians, Nad'ga.
Nad'ga's followers, including the Devrian Knights.
If they wished, they could join Hera here and force a decisive battle before spreading tales of elven atrocities—mutual near-annihilation.
A powder-keg situation.
"Lady Hera! Pull yourself together!"
In that tense moment, a healer among the followers worsened it.
Using healing power, he awakened Nad'ga.
"...!"
Briefly dazed, Nad'ga quickly regained her senses.
A gasp escaped her lips.
The Shell.
She saw her relic in the vile human's hands.
Rishir.
He'd anticipated complications and secured it beforehand.
"Ares!!!"
Hera feigned the image of a startled beauty, clinging to the great noble knight.
"Rishir attacked me and stole my relic and slave!!!"
"What—explain in detail!"
"That loathsome dragon conspired with him, bewitched the elves, attacked me, and stole Nad'ga's relic!!!"
"...!"
Ares drew his sword upon seeing the wound on Hera's face.
Shing!
Shing!
As the signal, everyone present entered combat stance.
"Guardian Caroer! Star of the Flower Garden Lunadien! What is the meaning of this!? Attacking Nad'ga alongside a dragon!!!"
"..."
Caroer and Lunadien bit their lips, each showing distress in their own way.
It was Rishir's will, so they followed, but convincing them was beyond them.
As the elves hesitated, the followers pressed harder.
"W-Wait a moment!!!"
Then, Nad'ga cried out.
"Ares! Calm down! The elves are merely being manipulated by that wicked dragon and human! We mustn't antagonize them! We have to help them!"
"Lady Hera...!"
Such magnanimity toward her attackers.
The followers' eyes burned brighter toward Nad'ga.
"Guardian Caroer! Star of the Flower Garden Lunadien! Explain! Why!? Why believe that human over me!?"
Hera interrogated the elves, bolstered by their momentum.
In the end, knowing it wouldn't sway them, they had no choice but to answer.
"Rishir. He is the Mother of the World Tree."
"..."
A brief silence fell over the tent—
"Wh-What—"
"Are you sane?"
"Hey, Holland. Did I hear right? The elves just called that guy—"
"Mother of the World Tree... clearly."
The followers began murmuring.
"As I thought..."
"Lady Hera?"
Now, Hera's suspicion turned to certainty.
She understood why the elves sided with the human over Nad'ga.
She shared the revelation with her followers.
"Everyone! See!? The elves aren't in their right minds!!! That human—no, devil—is controlling their spirits!!!"
"A-A devil!?"
Yes. A devil.
Hera believed a transcendent being's mental interference dominated the elves.
Otherwise, it made no sense for them to aid Rishir despite seeing him as a devil.
"..."
The elves' confusion only bolstered her assumption.
Under the curse, they outwardly denied it but inwardly believed Rishir a devil, conflicted by it.
"Armien!!! Rapion, Dora, Muradin!"
"""Yes, Lady Hera!!!"
Her called followers responded.
They were kin directly granted authority by Nad'ga.
"Prepare the ritual! The Gazing Eyes!!!"
"The Gazing Eyes...!!!"
Caroer and Lunadien recoiled in shock.
An ancient lost magic—
One that pierced truth from falsehood.
Nad'ga and her followers completed the grand ritual in an instant.
Fierce winds arose, sweeping the tent inward.
A massive eye materialized in the space.
An eye capable of piercing even transcendent essences—
"Kyahahahahahaha!!!"
Amid the whirlwind vortex, Nad'ga's "beautiful" laughter echoed as backdrop.
The elves' bewilderment grew by the second, solidifying Hera's conviction.
She already sensed victory.
"Rishir!!! You wicked being!!!"
Nad'ga called the "devil's" name.
"Speak! Are you truly the Father of the World Tree!?"
"...Yes."
!!!
The massive eye fixed on Rishir.
Proof his words were false.
Thus, all events would be revealed.
"Ah, no!!! Wait!"
Rishir shouted desperately.
Nad'ga Hera.
She couldn't comprehend what had happened.
Suddenly, the gazing gaze withdrew from the human.
"I'll say it again! I'm not the Father of the World Tree—I'm the Mother!"
It happened when the human corrected himself.
"That's why the elves trust me!!!"
Nad'ga repeatedly checked the ritual.
It functioned normally.
Then why?
Why wouldn't the Gazing Eyes refocus, even as the human spouted nonsense?
It meant one thing.
"L-Lady Hera!!! Something's wrong!!! Issue with the ritual—"
The followers panicked, but that was all.
As they say, the knowledgeable see more.
"..."
Hera was different.
She fully grasped what it signified.
Hera's eyes shook violently.
Shaking, shaking, shaking again.
Nad'ga.
The superior being's world was crumbling.
"Eh!?"
Rishir startled, looking down at his hand.
Crack!
The Shell split in half, revealing an empty interior.
That instant.
"...Kyaaak!?"
The followers seeking answers from Hera paled and staggered back.
"Human... World Tree's Mother... human male... World Tree's... Mother... human as World Tree's...? How?"
Unfocused eyes.
Scattered voice.
Disjointed sentences.
Nad'ga Hera.
Today, that superior being's world collapsed.
The altered thoughts began returning to their rightful place.