Dark Elf Elder Stelln
Dark elf elder Stelln furrowed his brow.
"When the hell is he coming out?"
"He said we couldn't get in for a week, so... he'll be hiding in there for at least that long, won't he?"
At one dark elf's words, Stelln let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Cunning bastard. I never imagined he'd be sitting on exclusive dungeon rights. And of all the places to run, a hidden dungeon... The kid's luck is ridiculous."
"Elder. Isn't it terribly inefficient to just keep waiting here?"
"No. What if that's exactly what he's counting on? Then we'd be doing nothing but opening a hole for him to slip through."
"But... the elves will be here soon."
"That's the problem."
"We did call for reinforcements, but if we're not careful, we may have to go to all-out war with the elves."
"If that's what it takes, then that's what we do. Things with them have already gone past the point of no return."
Stelln fell silent, and for a moment the quiet hung over them. The dark elves' faces were grim. The situation was anything but good.
The human who held the World Tree Seed had fled into a hidden dungeon and used those exclusive rights to cut off their pursuit. For dark elves who had slipped into the mine in secret, a week was far too long.
"Once the scouts bring word of the elves, it won't be too late to decide then."
"And then we retreat?"
Stelln gave no answer. A complicated look crossed his face, and he tapped an innocent dagger with his fingers.
That was when it happened.
Not far from Stelln, in a stretch of empty air where there had been nothing at all, a shadow took shape. The dark elves went rigid at the sight of it. Stelln was no less tense. Whatever had been only a shadow began to settle into a body: a hulking, muscular man with thick black hair. What set him apart was the pair of tall horns rising from his head.
"Well, well. Already thinking of throwing in the towel? That won't do."
A chilling bass. At the words of the man who had appeared from nowhere, every one of them went quiet.
"I'm sure I made myself clear. Bring me the World Tree Seed, no matter what it takes."
"All-out war with the elves will be unavoidable."
At Stelln's reply, the giant—Pierre—let out a cold sneer.
"You think I don't know that? What I'm telling you is to kill every last elf if you have to, and take it."
"Our strength and the elves' are evenly matched. If we clash like this..."
"Which is why I said I'd help you, remember? You just do exactly as I say."
"...Demon scum! Know your pla—"
One dark elf shouted, then his eyes went wide. A shadow that had formed without warning had closed around his throat.
"Ghk..."
"Forget that your queen's life is in my hands? What exactly are you so confident about, yelling at me? Next time, a warning won't be the end of it."
"Khak! Khak!"
Released from the shadow, the dark elf collapsed to the ground and dry-heaved. Pierre watched with a thin, contemptuous smile, then spoke again.
"Anyway, I'll back you from behind as much as you need, so you dark elves just have to get me the World Tree Seed somehow. Understood?"
"If we obtain the World Tree Seed, release Her Majesty, as you promised."
"Of course. I keep my promises, as a rule. As a rule, that is. Heh heh..."
With that, Pierre vanished. Only then did the dark elves let their resentment spill out.
"A demon, of all things..."
"Holding Her Majesty hostage to threaten us. Filthy bastard."
"How did it come to this..."
"Elder. What should we do?"
"We cannot abandon Her Majesty."
Stelln said it without hesitation.
The queen of the Karamtan tribe was a dark elf said to possess a talent that appeared once every two hundred years, if that. She had fallen for the demons' scheme and been taken hostage. The dark elves valued her life above their own, above even the safety of their village. It was a will to protect the queen even if every last one of them died for it.
After a long silence, Stelln spoke again.
"We seal the road that leads here."
"Understood."
Right on cue, fully fifteen dark elves arrived as reinforcements, and among them was a mage of considerable skill. They called up an earth spirit and closed off the path that had been there. Even that was not enough. A dark elf elder other than Stelln stepped forward and laid a barrier over the whole of it.
The human with the World Tree Seed meant to endure a week inside the hidden dungeon. Whether he could actually get out was anyone's guess, but they had to be ready for the moment he cleared it, or found an exit and came walking out.
"Now we hold for at least a week."
"A week..."
And then, in that very moment—
Vmmm.
From the hole bored into the ground, the entrance of the hidden dungeon, two human silhouettes appeared without warning. They were none other than Yujun and Mei.
"Huh. Quite the crowd."
Yujun said it with a perfectly calm face, and the dark elves could not hide their bewilderment.
"What? How is he already..."
"It's barely been a few hours since he went in, hasn't it?"
"What's going on?"
Yujun and Mei had shown themselves again less than two hours after entering the dungeon. Stelln was every bit as dumbfounded.
"What possessed you to escape the dungeon?"
He asked it outright. He assumed Yujun had not cleared the hidden dungeon at all, only found an exit and slipped out. The Tower of Infinity was full of things that defied common sense, but clearing a dungeon in two hours was close to impossible.
"Were we ever close enough that I'd owe you an answer?"
"...Fine. Killing you will do."
Stelln poured mana into his dagger. A vast, blue-green formless aura erupted from the blade.
The Target Designation Item Scroll was already active on Yujun. There was no need to threaten him or talk him around. All Stelln had to do was kill the human.
Tak!
Dagger in hand, Stelln kicked off the ground and shot forward. Yujun did not so much as flinch when the elder closed the distance in a blink. Stelln drove the dagger out, that blue-green aura—mana—riding the point.
A feint.
Yujun took a single step back. The real attack was at Stelln's feet. A kick whipped savagely for his head, and Yujun stopped it on his elbow.
Boom!
Yujun swung. Stelln rode the recoil and flung himself clear—though not quite clear enough. A thick lock of his hair sheared away.
Stelln, who had nearly lost his life in a single instant, stared with wide eyes.
What just happened?
He had definitely sensed the sword coming. He had not been able to see its path at all. That was why his hair had been cut even after he leapt back. One exchange, one clash, and Stelln understood that the human was far stronger than he was. It was absurd.
The level I measured a few hours ago was around 110, wasn't it?
Then what in the world was that skill?
Did I get careless?
The thought crossed his mind, but he knew himself that it wasn't so. Cold sweat running down him, Stelln looked around. Dark elves were loosing arrows and hurling magic at the human. Those confident in close quarters had drawn daggers and were closing a ring around Yujun.
No. If they throw themselves at him...
Just as arrows steeped in every sort of magic and attribute seemed to strike the human, the dagger-wielding dark elves rushed in as well.
And in that instant—
Shhk!
The blue aura clinging to Yujun's sword stretched long and scythed through the dark elves closing in. Five of them died where they stood.
"..."
"..."
"What..."
Coming through magic and arrows unharmed was one thing. A sword strike the eye could not even follow?
Even those standing well back could not tell what stance Yujun had taken, or which way he had swung.
"Wait!"
Stelln stepped forward.
"Hm?"
At his words, the dark elves were more shocked than Yujun.
"Elder! What are you saying?"
"Surrender? To a human?"
"That's absurd!"
Then Yujun spoke.
"You sure you can fold that easily? You've still got a dark elf queen to save, don't you?"
The dark elves' eyes went wide.
"...How do you know that?"
"Human. Why would you know—"
"That's not the important part."
Yujun, smiling, cut them off.
"It's tied up with the demons, right? The queen. That's why you're after the World Tree Seed."
He said it so flatly that the dark elves flinched. How did that human know? He had clearly come out of the dungeon after the demon appeared. Had he been peeking from inside? Was that even possible?
Stelln glanced sharply this way and that. His eyes landed on a transparent orb, and his face went stiff.
"Don't tell me..."
"That's right. I could see everything you were up to, clear as day. Every word, too."
"You set that up in the meantime?"
"I've put in the hours. Something like that isn't hard."
"What's your game?"
"The game isn't with you. It's with the queen and the demons."
"...What?"
"I came to that conclusion by thinking about what I can actually get. There's nothing in particular for me to take from you."
"So you intend to be greedy?"
"No. I pay a price and take a reward. If I bring the demons down, isn't that the two of us helping each other?"
He wasn't wrong. The dark elves' expressions grew complicated. If things truly worked out the way he said, nothing could be better—but would it really be as easy as the words made it sound?
"Bring the demons down? Is that possible? The one holding Her Majesty hostage is strong. That's why we're struggling."
Stelln said.
"Want to see for yourself? Fight me a little longer and I think you'll get it. If a few of you die along the way, well, that can't be helped."
"...No. I'll choose to trust you."
Yujun sent him a messenger exchange request. Bewildered as he was, Stelln accepted it.
Stelln pressed his lips shut, as if his pride had taken a hit. There was nothing else for it. With the dark elf queen held hostage, Yujun did not think the dark elves would be much help—and the odds were high he was right.
So that was it.