Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Elf (3)
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Change of plans.
He'd originally intended to just wreak havoc as best he could, then cancel the summoning and bail if things got too dicey...
"Um, excuse me..."
The elf girl that both the Elven Kingdom and the Church of the Main God were searching for.
'This situation could be useful.'
His mind raced in an instant.
It was a two-birds-one-stone opportunity: boost Harley's reputation while letting Heinrich rack up some credit with the Church.
"Hmm! The name's Harley. Anyway, miss, you wanna get outta here, right?"
"...Yes!"
The stench of black magic was growing thicker by the second.
A massive horde of enemies was swarming out from deeper in the cave.
"Then pardon the intrusion!"
"Huh? Whoa—!"
He slung the axe in his hand onto his back, scooped Cecily under his arm, and bolted.
His leg muscles bulged as his body accelerated explosively.
"Huuuuh—!"
Cecily squeezed her eyes shut tight, dangling from Harley's side.
She was still clutching that tree branch to her chest.
"Come to think of it, miss, what's with that branch? Something precious?"
He had a moment to ask as they sped toward the entrance.
It didn't look particularly special at a glance.
"Eek? Oh, this... it's a branch from the World Tree. Thanks to it, I was able to slip out from the ritual site all the way here safely...!"
She winced against the wind whipping her face but answered earnestly.
He'd wondered how she'd escaped from the heart of the ongoing sacrifice ritual to reach him.
Looks like the World Tree had lent a hand.
He had no idea how the branch had ended up in the hands of the would-be sacrifice, though.
'Speaking of which, I glossed over it amid the chaos, but she's been awfully compliant from the start.'
Cecily had been friendly toward him from their first meeting right up to now.
Even in a situation where she'd have every reason to be on guard.
A ripped, naked brute she'd run into in a black mage's lair.
Blood splattered all over his body, twin axes dripping fresh gore from both hands.
'Jeez, I'd freak out too.'
Subjectively, he dug the style, but objectively, he knew it wasn't much to look at.
Yet she'd only seemed a bit cowed, nothing more.
'Right, they said high elves get guidance from the World Tree once they qualify.'
It would show them the path safely to where the World Tree resides.
Seems the World Tree had pegged Harley as Cecily's ticket out of this mess.
'If she's this cooperative, it makes my life easier. But that thing around Cecily's neck...'
Professor Hans, black magic expert, rapidly analyzed it.
'A sealing magic tool using black magic. Pretty advanced. Forcing it off with brute strength could be risky. Hans could've undone it, but...'
Releasing a magic tool required delicate mana control, which Harley lacked.
'I get it perfectly in theory, but can't do it myself.'
That was probably why High Elf Rapori couldn't locate Cecily.
'The World Tree reacted to me the instant I arrived, so it must know where she is.'
Well, it was a divine being revered by elves, second only to the Main God.
There were probably constraints preventing it from telling her directly.
"Hahat! Doesn't matter now!"
He could feel the black magic surging like a tidal wave from behind, but the cave mouth was right ahead.
Once outside, his monstrous stamina would make him hard to catch.
That's when it hit.
Something was rapidly approaching from underground.
This time, it felt unmistakably hostile—unlike before.
The problem was it was coming from the forest outside, where they were headed...
And that its massive bulk, erupting right at the entrance, completely blocked the cave.
"Don't get in my way!"
Harley didn't hesitate, charging at full speed into the giant worm sealing the exit—an earthworm.
"Eek—?!"
He swung Cecily around from under his arm into a proper embrace, securing her to minimize impact...
And launched himself into a dropkick against the beast.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 [Kwaaaang—!]
The earthworm writhed from the impact.
But its sheer weight and the parts still anchored to the ground left no gap at the entrance.
Harley, flung back by the recoil, landed smoothly and let out a chuckle.
"Heh... Too easy, I thought."
Clearly, breaking through would take time.
And that meant he couldn't avoid fighting the horde closing in from behind either.
"Miss, snap out of it. Looks like we're gearing up for a fight."
"Huuh~? Y-Yes?"
Even as she reeled dizzily from the rough handling, Harley was already prepping.
He set Cecily down and used his sharp nails to tear a long strip from the panther hide connected like a cape to his black panther helmet.
Split it down the middle into two flaps, then cut the upper parts to make them longer and connect better.
"Here, over here!"
"Y-Yes!"
He pulled Cecily close and wrapped her cocoon-like in the two flaps, binding her securely to his body.
The hide that had covered his back was huge enough to encase her completely, leaving only a breathing hole.
Like a baby swaddled in a carrier, strapped to the massive musclebound warrior... or rather, the tiny elf girl.
'Better protection than just piggybacking. Monster hide won't tear easily.'
As Harley finished prepping and gripped his axes, the earthworm just guarded the entrance without budging.
Far too deliberate for a instinct-driven beast.
Someone was definitely controlling it.
"Haha! Let's get serious! You're first on the chopping block!"
Harley unleashed his energy freely, channeling Bio-Aura through his entire body.
To punch through the entrance before dealing with the rest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Pardon? What did you say, Sir Heinrich?"
The Saintess blinked in confusion.
The others around her weren't much different.
Archbishop Latios, the paladins, and even the elves led by Rapori.
"That Cecily person. I think I know where she is right now."
Heinrich repeated himself firmly, undeterred by the stares.
"Er... do you have some blessing that lets you track specific targets, Sir Knight?"
Archbishop Latios asked cautiously.
It was hard to believe, no doubt.
How long had it been since the High Elf spoke up? And he'd already found their target?
But they couldn't afford to bicker now.
"Not a blessing, but I can definitely sense her. The elf with light green hair and orange eyes—Cecily. But she's in serious danger right now."
The mood in the room shifted instantly.
The elves shot urgent looks at the Saintess and the Church's higher-ups.
They had no idea how much to trust this sudden claim from what seemed like an escort.
The Saintess gazed steadily at Heinrich, then turned a serious expression toward the elves.
"You can trust Sir Heinrich. Even the Main God takes interest in him. If he senses it, there must be good reason."
"We'll follow the Church's judgment."
The elves nodded gravely, and she sprang to her feet, looking to Heinrich.
"Then let's move. Where is it?"
Her eyes met his squarely, brimming with trust.
"The northern mountains on the border of the Tulk Kingdom in the western continent. Using the gate to the Tar拉克 Temple in Aonia County will cut travel time significantly."
"We'll talk on the way."
They rose as one and hurried toward the gate.
Even then, the Saintess murmured a quiet prayer over her holy symbol before glancing back at Heinrich.
"I've prepped the gate for immediate use. We can go right away."
"Sir Heinrich Landgard, can you pinpoint the exact location?"
"Once we're close, I think my 'blessing' can take us straight there... but right now, all I know is somewhere north of the Steel Citadel."
Everyone was moving on the assumption that Heinrich was right.
The Saintess's full backing had swayed them.
Deliver on that trust, and his standing with the Church would soar.
They reached the gate room swiftly.
Though a brief squabble did break out en route.
"The Saintess can't go."
"Two paladins, an archbishop, and a High Elf? No need for the Saintess too."
"Hahaha! Leave the heretics to us!"
The Saintess, naturally heading for the gate, was stopped by Church members.
Her cheeks puffed slightly, but she held her tongue in front of the outsiders to maintain dignity.
It was a snap decision—no time to muster more—but their current group was overkill already.
"If you know the location, we're more than enough."
High Elf Rapori added confidently, forcing the Saintess to nod reluctantly and step back.
But she still had a role.
Wuuung—
It wasn't as far as the far-western Thalia Kingdom, but the distance from the continent's heart to Tulk in the west was no joke.
The holy power drain for such a jump was massive; the Saintess's aid was essential for a one-shot teleport.
"Then, everyone, be safe."
"Don't worry. It won't be an issue."
Heinrich nodded seriously to the concerned Saintess.
With their firepower, they'd wrap it up without losses.
'The real question is timing.'
Harley could hold solo for now, but if the enemy went all-out, who knew?
Signs were already showing.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hahahaha!"
Harley smashed his axe into the head of a charging dwarf-like monster—a gramlin—and laughed ferociously.
The area around him was carpeted in corpses, no room to step.
From monsters he'd hunted crossing the forest to bizarre new ones, plus the black mages' minions to boot.
He cut them down relentlessly, but more kept pouring from the woods on all sides.
'Got out of the cave—good.'
He'd broken past the earthworm, but the black mages had caught up in the process.
Worse, these mages specialized in monster control.
In the monster-infested northern mountains, their synergy was off the charts.
'They hunkered here factoring that in!'
Not just forest summons— they called in exotic varieties too.
At least the enemies didn't want the sacrifice harmed, so they avoided targeting Cecily directly.
But he couldn't use her as a shield.
No guarantee the monsters would obey like robots.
Just a tacit mutual agreement to play nice.
'This won't do. Harley's edge is reckless charging without regard for his body, but protecting her limits mobility.'
Setting her down meant they'd snatch her; staying like this would drain him dry eventually.
Heinrich's group had gated to Tar拉克.
A wind spirit summoned by the High Elf was speeding them along, but they still needed time to arrive.
'Fine, all or nothing.'
A black mage controlling monsters off to one side caught his eye—surrounded by guards and a barrier.
"Hup!"
Dark aura condensed on his right axe blade; his waist twisted in a full spin on the spot.
The centrifugal force traced a grand, beautiful arc...
Whiiish—crunch!
"Gah—!"
It rocketed like a missile, shattering the barrier and embedding in the mage, carrying him out of sight.
The monsters faltered as control slipped.
Harley seized the gap, roaring with laughter as he dove into their midst.
Splurt—
His left axe danced graceful lines, shredding foes; his monstrous right hand ripped out monster cores and hearts, shoving them into his mouth nonstop.
Endless energy refills, overflowing stamina.
He could go all day like this.
Assuming the enemy let him.
Clang—!
He swatted an incoming spear with aura-clad claws.
The spearman melted back into the monster crowd after the failed ambush.
"Lycanthrope? Kinda off... a variant?"
A voice drifted from one side.
Cling!
An arrow from the opposite direction ricocheted off his axe face.
"No beast blood—our control wouldn't fail otherwise."
Another attack flew from elsewhere mid-sentence.
Amid it all, monsters kept charging, chaos reigning.
'Damn, these guys fight dirty.'
Harley praised them inwardly while moving without pause.
The intensifying battle forced him to burn Body Transformation freely too.
"Kuhuhuhu."
His muscles swelled savagely; shark-like teeth protruded, jaws hypertrophied.
Eyes, nose, ears—long gone from human shape.
'This okay? She's already a sensitive kid.'
He could feel his body growing feral as the fight dragged on.
He'd been chuckling nonstop lately.
Full control meant no accidents, but he didn't want to end up unable to appear publicly like Hans.
As he pondered briefly...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The individual has met the conditions and attained enlightenment. You have acquired the skill Feral Instinct. Sensations flipped in an instant.
The sudden disconnect made him freeze a split second—but his body moved on instinct alone.
His head snapped sideways.
Crack—!
A sword exploiting the opening jammed between his saw-like teeth.
Then his left axe cleaved the attacker in two without delay, letting him grasp Feral Instinct fully.
A skill maximizing aggression via pure instinct.
Yet ingrained techniques remained etched in muscle memory.
Freer and wilder, but rooted in his axe and body techniques.
Harley ducked low in a flash; nose and ears twitched nonstop...
Flash—snap!
"Gurk!"
He burrowed through the monsters, wrenching the spearman's neck with his right hand.
Instinct hadn't missed what reason dismissed as trivial.
'...This could work.'
Feral Instinct differed vastly from his prior style.
His strength was cool-headed calculation, like a game—third-person view, iron will parsing all variables.
But that didn't suit Harley.
To fully harness his evolved body from devouring countless monsters, he needed a non-human approach.
Like this.
And above all...
'I can control the activation!'
He could channel his mania fully into the skill.
A berserker raging only when needed!
'This'll hold till backup arrives.'
The deadline the enemies didn't know was steadily closing in.