Chapter 208
Chapter 208
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 208
Chapter Title: Reunion (3)
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Crunch.
I put strength into my hand, and the arrow snapped powerlessly. For a moment, I thought I'd seen an illusion, but the broken arrow remained firmly gripped in my hand.
Not an illusion. Real.
Which was why I examined the arrowhead closely.
"...Ha."
A hollow laugh slipped through my gritted teeth.
An arrowhead and shaft with a unique shape, different from ordinary arrows. The familiar form brought someone to mind.
「Elf arrows are different from human ones.」
「Humans go through all sorts of tedious processes to reduce wind resistance, right? Elves don't need that. We're not like you inferior humans.」
「Ah, except Kyle. Kyle's special.」
A racial supremacist who viewed her own kind as superior and all others as inferior.
'Remia.'
This looked just like the arrows that bitch used. Not her signature moonlight arrows, but I'd seen this type plenty of times.
I raised my head without a word.
I turned my gaze toward where the arrow had come from. What entered my sight was a spiral staircase. And on those stairs lurked someone watching us, body hidden.
Long ears.
Green ranger garb.
And cheap-whore blonde hair.
An elf whose appearance matched perfectly the person I'd recalled upon seeing the arrow. Staring at the pointy-eared freak clinging to the stairs, I let out a hollow laugh.
"Wow."
The distance was far, but there was no way I wouldn't recognize that damn face. My brows furrowed on their own, my expression twisting like I'd bitten into a bug.
'What the fuck is this...'
No coincidence could be this absurd.
I had no idea why that lunatic was in this godforsaken place, but the broken arrow in my hand confirmed this was all too real.
Why was that bitch here?
How had she even gotten in?
What the hell was she after?
No, but why the fuck was she shooting arrows?
A barrage of thoughts raced through my mind, but only one lingered in the end. Nothing else mattered.
'Is she actually insane?'
My head grew hot.
I'm not the petty type who flies off the handle easily—at least not with people. But when the opponent wasn't human... or rather, possessed a personality so shockingly vile... well, that changed things.
Crunch.
I crushed the arrowhead under my thumb and tossed the mangled remains to the floor, grinding out the words.
"You crazy bitch?"
The reunion with my old comrade was a disaster.
Assuming I could even call that crazy bitch a comrade—this encounter was utterly the worst.
2.
'...Did she catch it?'
Remia furrowed her brows.
It was a situation she couldn't comprehend. The arrow had come from her blind spot, aimed squarely at the woman. There was no blocking it, no dodging it.
Just good instincts?
Or something more?
There was a simple way to find out. Remia nocked another arrow. This time, she drew the bowstring even tighter than before.
'Should I blow her head off?'
Near-fatality, followed by Sara's blessing to revive her and wring out information—that had been the plan right up until that first shot... but.
「Wow, you crazy bitch?」
Now, after hearing an insult she couldn't just brush off, things were different. Remia narrowed her eyes. For some reason, she felt an inexplicable familiarity from this total stranger.
'Familiar my ass.'
It pissed her off.
Remia aimed the arrowhead at the woman's head. The robed figure still hadn't budged. She was just staring this way.
"...Arrogant bitch."
Muttering under her breath, Remia released the arrow. The taut bowstring went twang! with a light snap.
Screeeee!
But the sound of the launched arrow was anything but ordinary. It sliced through the air, zeroing in on the woman's head.
Crunch!
Yet once more, it was caught.
The woman had simply extended her hand and snatched it mid-flight. As if she'd predicted the trajectory and target with perfect precision.
"What're you doing?"
The woman sneered.
The distance was great, but the elf's keen hearing picked it up crystal clear. Remia's eyebrow twitched.
'Not luck, then?'
Not coincidence. Not sharp instincts.
This opponent possessed the physical prowess to snatch a flying arrow barehanded, the dynamic vision to track it, and reaction speed far beyond the ordinary.
'...A superhuman?'
That was what the world called humans capable of such feats.
Or the executives serving under the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings had that sort of skill.
"Who the hell are you?"
Remia hurled the question.
Her mana-infused voice echoed through the cavern.
Whoosh.
In response to Remia's question, the woman silently flipped her off.
Remia's face crumpled at the gesture. Unfamiliar with human vulgarities, she didn't grasp the exact meaning of the middle finger.
But she knew damn well it was an insult.
「Fuck you, pointy-ears.」
It was the exact same gesture a certain cheeky gray-haired mage had flashed her way time and again.
"You wanna go?"
Opponent's identity no longer mattered.
An elf didn't suffer face-to-face insults. Repay them double—that was the way of the proud elf.
Remia reached for her quiver.
She wedged arrows between her fingers, nocking four at once onto the bowstring. That's when the woman finally moved.
The woman dropped into a low stance.
Remia drew the bowstring taut.
"You're dead."
She released.
Four arrows launched simultaneously. Four streaks of light bore down on the woman, who kicked off the ground with deceptive ease.
Pabababak!
The arrows slammed into the spot she'd just vacated. Remia furrowed her brows and steadied her breathing. Fast—but no issue.
'I've nailed the Black Dragon's eye before.'
If she couldn't hit a moving target, the title of Divine Archer would be a joke. Reading the woman's movements, Remia drew the bowstring again.
Shik!
The arrow cut the air. But this time, its path wasn't straight. Some arced downward in curves, others twisted in bizarre spirals.
Yet every arrow had the same target.
'Ankle.'
Remia aimed to pierce the ankle first. Toying with a prey that could only crawl was always a delight.
Whooo!
The arrows curved mid-flight.
Missiles that seemed off-target sucked toward the woman's ankle in parabolic hooks.
Boom!
But the woman stomped.
The ground quaked, and a shockwave erupted from her foot, shattering every incoming arrow.
"...How?"
A motion like she'd known exactly where they'd fly. Remia narrowed her eyes.
'She knew?'
No time for fluster.
The woman had closed the gap in a blink and kicked off the ground, leaping. Distance vanished in an instant. Remia kicked the stairs and vaulted up.
Kwaaaaang!
No sooner had she left than the stairs exploded. The woman clung to the half-ruined railing, staring down. Her blue eyes gleamed eerily in the dark.
For an instant, Remia felt fear.
It stung her pride.
"...Annoying."
She spun and mounted one of the cavern's pillars. Foot braced on its ornate ledge, Remia tossed her quiver into the air.
Chrararak.
Dozens of arrows rained down.
Before they could plummet, her hands snatched them midair. Four at a time, relentless, her fingers danced.
Elf's razor senses.
Superhuman physique.
Beast-like eyes piercing all.
Harnessing it all, Remia unleashed rapid fire. Not mere speed. A Divine Archer's arrows never missed. Bizarre trajectories, but one target.
Dozens dominated the space. Arrow rain choked the prey's breath like a downpour.
But the prey didn't evade. The woman on the railing kicked the wall and hurled herself straight into the barrage.
'...Suicide?'
Hardly.
The woman clenched her fist. Blue mana erupted like an explosion. Only then did Remia sense the oddity in her silhouette.
'...A mage?'
Explosive mana volume.
Ripples of incantation in her fist.
And Remia saw it.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Smash The shockwave bursting from her swung fist.
Kagagagagak!
The shockwave devoured every arrow. They crumpled and shattered, scattering in the air. The gale shook Remia's pupils.
"...What the hell are you?"
She'd expended every arrow.
Hunter and hunted had swapped.
Now she was the prey.
"...Ugh!"
Remia kicked off the pillar and leaped.
Twisting midair, she gauged her window. It wasn't long.
'Once.'
Just enough time for one draw.
In the end, she drew the arrow she'd hoped to avoid. The nocked shaft glowed faintly.
Rising was moonlight.
Remia plucked the bowstring lightly.
Moonlight cleaved the darkness and shot forth.
3.
'Moonlight Arrow.'
Raniel scowled at the approaching glow.
'Wondered when you'd finally break it out...'
As expected, she hoarded it until the bitter end.
With that thought, Raniel narrowed her eyes. Forcing Remia to resort to her Moonlight Arrow had been effortless.
Because she knew Remia inside out.
When operating as a single party, Raniel had always been the one devising and executing every strategy. Which meant she had a precise read on Remia's combat habits.
Limits of her abilities.
Quirks and tics.
The timing, the tells.
Knowing it all made her an easy mark. Truth be told, even without that edge, Remia was a pushover for Raniel.
'She's a handful with Kyle around.'
But now? Just a backliner without her tank.
True to form for rearguard types, Remia's solo prowess paled against other superhumans.
Except for one thing.
One trump card that flipped every matchup.
'Blessing of Moonlight.'
An arrow only a World Tree-blessed Divine Archer could craft and fire, defying all reason.
'Moonlight Arrow.'
Raniel knew its destructive power intimately.
Where her own signature Ashes to Ashes swept foes by the meter-wide swath, the Moonlight Arrow was optimized for piercing a single target.
Which meant.
Against one opponent, it massively outpowered even Raniel's spells.
'Straight-up broken, that thing.'
Grumbling, Raniel spun her body. She locked the incoming Moonlight Arrow in her sights and splayed her hand.
The Moonlight Arrow was undeniably a threat.
A head-on block would carry some risk. But Raniel knew its secret: it didn't always fire at full strength. Its power came with glaring weaknesses.
'Block the light, and it weakens.'
Her right hand spread wide.
Stocked spells ignited simultaneously at every knuckle.
Chain.
Spell-Nesting.
Spell-Bunch.
One base spell multiplied into dozens. Dozens of chain bundles coiled around the Moonlight Arrow's tip. Naturally, mere chains couldn't stop it.
Keeing!
The chains strained and snapped clean.
But for that split second, they'd perfectly sealed the moonlight leaking from the head. And Raniel didn't waste it.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Smash Her swung fist met the chain-bound arrowhead. The light-starved Moonlight Arrow crumbled under the shockwave from her knuckles.
Kwaaaaaang!
The belated shockwave roared, flinging Remia's hair. She shielded her face and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again...
"...Ah."
Raniel was right in her face.
Remia couldn't process the Moonlight Arrow's destruction. Her reaction lagged by a fatal instant.
Jjeok!
Raniel's knee drove into Remia's gut. A crack echoed as fissures spiderwebbed the pillar she'd been leaning on.
"Keuk...!"
All the breath she'd held blasted out.
Remia's vision lurched, but Raniel pressed on without mercy.
Kwak.
Raniel's hand clamped Remia's head. Slender fingers dug in like a vise.
"Uk, uuk!"
Remia flailed belatedly, but the grip belied her delicate frame. Agony from her crushing skull tore a scream from her.
"Let go right...!"
"Shut your trap, pointy-ears."
Raniel yanked her arm back. Remia's body trailed after. For a moment, she felt weightless.
She spun in midair.
Amid the float, she glimpsed the scene through her captor's fingers and grasped the peril.
'Falling.'
Off the pillar, plummeting below.
Weightlessness enveloped her. Her prized blonde locks whipped wildly. The ground rushed up, but the grip held fast.
It tightened instead.
Remia felt her head squeezed like a fruit. The instant the ground neared, Raniel whipped her drawn-back arm downward. Full force.
Kwaaaaaang!
A deafening boom as Remia's head cratered the stone. Cracks radiated across the floor. Her body jerked in brief spasm.
"Keuk...!"
Her vision blacked out for a beat. Dizzying pain hit, and dark red blood trickled from her nose.
"Eou."
Remia peered up through blurry sight.
A human loomed above, looking down.
"Feels so damn good."
Like she'd coughed up a century's worth of bile, the human gazed down with a sneer. Rage boiled in Remia at that mocking stare.
Utterly humiliating.
Remia ground her teeth and forced out words.
"You, what the hell do you think...?"
"Told you to shut up."
The human reached out.
Remia flinched hard and clamped her eyes shut. But no pain came. Raniel was merely pointing at her with a finger.
"Hey, Cardi."
She glanced elsewhere and spoke.
"You were curious about the Divine Archer, right?"
"...Yeah, I was."
A forgotten presence drew near.
Footsteps echoed in Remia's ears. They stirred an inexplicable dread. Her instincts screamed alarm.
"You lot, whoever you are—you're all dead. Kyle's gonna kill you all. Can you handle that? Don't you recognize my face? Do you even know who I... who I am...?"
Remia shrieked in terror-fueled frenzy.
But the footsteps kept coming.
Tok.
They halted at last. Silence fell as someone peered down. The man who'd stood beside the woman moments ago—now barefaced.
"...Elf confirmed. Pity."
Golden eyes.
Cascading silver hair.
And long ears, the elf hallmark.
"Uh...?"
Remia's eyes flew wide.
She'd heard tales of the silver-haired elf.
'Elder Orbel's mentor and guardian—the sole elf who remembers antiquity.'
King Orbel had said it himself.
The silver-haired elf predated modern elves, hailing from ancient times... teacher and savior to their entire race.
「She even created the World Tree, our sacred home. By her measure, every elf today is a mere pretender.」
The proudest of elves.
An ancient straight out of legend.
Remia's pupils quaked facing the living myth. Ignoring her shock, the silver-haired elf continued in a voice thick with lament.
"No nobility. No respect for foes. No pride. None of it. Is this really an elf? I can hardly believe it..."
"A Divine Archer, no less. Astonishing."
"The world's in its end times..."
Her tone dripped with disillusionment.
The golden eyes that flicked her way brimmed with undisguised contempt. Remia spoke in a trembling voice.
"If I might... your name...?"
"Shut your filthy mouth."
Cardi snapped.
"I won't exchange a word with tainted kin."
Her gaze was pure disgust, like eyeing vermin.