Long Live Her Majesty the Queen (1)
The Dark Elf Queen shuddered at the events unfolding within her own body.
Mana surged through her like crashing waves.
It had been fully twenty years since she last felt it so vividly.
'This should have been natural... How wondrous it feels.'
Raising her hand, the Queen marveled at the snowflakes dancing between her fingers.
The power of ice and snow had returned in full.
"Haa..."
Letting out a soft sigh, she gazed ahead.
The fractured Dark Elves were throwing the place into chaos.
It was considerable disorder, but a simple command would suffice to restore order.
"Cease. My subjects."
Her voice, cold as frostbite, rang out, and they all froze in place as if turned to ice.
Among them, the most bewildered was the witch Kalania Budura.
"Th-this... Impossible...?"
She was half-frozen already.
"The... the curse is broken...?"
Witnessing the Queen's long-forgotten power, terror crept up from the depths of her heart.
Meanwhile, the Queen leaped down from the dais and strode forward.
Seeing this, the Dark Elves cast aside their blades and hurriedly knelt.
"Your Majesty!"
The traitors, on the other hand, floundered in panic.
Just standing there choked the breath from their lungs.
Click.
The Queen unfastened her helmet's strap and tossed it aside without hesitation.
Thud!
As the heavy helmet hit the ground, her snow-white hair cascaded down.
It was unkempt, matted in places, stained with pus and blood from her leprosy-like affliction, yet it did nothing to diminish her majesty.
Soon, a sharp and beautiful crown of ice materialized above her head.
"Your Majesty!"
Orkeus, the steward of the Shadow Bat Family, cried out in rapture.
Her face, whiter than fresh snow unlike ordinary Dark Elves, marked her unmistakably as the Queen.
"Your Majesty! Long live!"
The other Dark Elves followed suit.
There was no doubt—she was the Queen.
She bore the mark of albinism.
Thus, her hair and skin were as white as snow.
Only her eyes, a pale purple, captivated like jewels fallen upon the tundra.
Hers was an ethereal beauty, half-spirit in appearance, yet to her enemies, it was pure terror.
As the Queen extended her hand, crystalline ice formations like columnar basalt erupted from the ground.
Crackle. Crack.
The crystals clashed against one another, producing a song-like melody.
It was clear and pleasing to the ear, but her foes perished alongside that sound.
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The witch Kalania knew this better than anyone.
'I must act now. She just broke the curse—she can't have recovered her full strength yet!'
Kalania sprang into action.
"Hellfire! Hellfire! Hellfire that weeps seven times—descend upon this sinner burdened with all sins!"
The spell she swiftly invoked was the advanced incantation known as Hellfire.
It unleashed flames that clung to the target like glue, burning relentlessly with horrific power.
Whoosh!
Flames dizzying to behold engulfed the Queen.
It was craftsmanship befitting a legendary witch.
Other witches would risk their lives to cast Hellfire, yet she chanted it swiftly even in this dire moment.
But despite her efforts, the Hellfire was blocked all too easily.
"Pathetic."
The Queen erected a massive ice wall to halt the blaze.
Whoosh!
The Hellfire clung to the ice surface, burning on, but the wall refused to crumble.
"Kalania. Flames cannot melt ice. Have you forgotten?"
The Queen clicked her tongue in disdain.
One might think intense heat would melt ice instantly, but reality differed.
The water from melting ice formed a barrier.
Hot water melted ice far faster than flames.
Thus, the Queen sneered.
But Kalania's true aim was not this.
"Foolish? This time will be different!"
Her real killer move was the second strike.
Astonishingly, while casting Hellfire, she had silently completed the next spell in her mind.
This feat would leave human mages like Bellatel slack-jawed in awe.
A secret technique: invoking a second spell mid-cast.
It was Kalania's ultimate skill, honed through bone-grinding effort—truly worthy of a legendary witch.
"It's over! Straw Queen!"
Even more astonishing, the follow-up was an even higher incantation.
The spell called Chaos Tentacles, borrowing power from a god of the chaotic realm.
Its method so vile, it was forbidden even among Dark Elves.
"Tch!"
The Queen grimaced and clicked her tongue.
That spell must never be touched.
Kalania had crossed the line.
Groooan!
Thick shadows blanketed the area, followed by sinister wails from some distant realm.
It sowed profound terror, driving onlookers into panic and mass hysteria.
Kalania cackled madly, intoxicated by her unleashed power.
"Kyahahahaha!"
Three thick, glistening tentacles burst from the darkness.
Each as thick as an elephant's trunk, covered in razor-sharp spines.
"Die! Queen!"
As Kalania thrust her staff forward, the grotesque tentacles launched like cannons.
They shattered the Queen's ice wall in an instant.
Boom!
Ice shards exploded outward.
The Queen's vaunted barrier was destroyed effortlessly.
The mighty tentacles pressed on, aiming to tear her apart.
A perfect plan.
The initial Hellfire was a feint to lower defenses.
The real blow was this second spell.
It had cost her ten years of life, but it was worth it.
'I've won!'
Just as Kalania inwardly shouted, a twist occurred.
The tentacles, poised to rend the Queen to pieces, halted mid-air.
No—they strained forward.
But they trembled violently, stuck in place. Soon, frost crept over their surfaces like hoarfrost.
"Impossible!"
Kalania paled in shock.
But the Chaos Tentacles froze solid in moments.
Crack! Craaack.
They turned white mid-flight and stopped dead.
The Queen casually examined the frozen tentacle before her, then lightly touched it with a finger.
"Repulsive."
At her signal, the frozen tentacles shattered en masse.
Shatter!
Shards rained down like a cascading stream.
The Queen had effortlessly crushed Kalania's secret technique.
Kalania cried out in a cracked, excited voice.
"This can't be! Queen! Your ice resists fire, but chaos is its weakness! It should be...!"
The Queen asked coldly of the agitated witch.
"Who told you that?"
"Urk!"
"I can guess even without an answer. The faction that taught you forbidden spells and schemed to drag me from my throne."
The Queen advanced leisurely. Kalania stumbled back, eventually toppling ignobly.
"Kuh!"
"I first suspected the Grand Matrons behind your rebellion. It seemed natural. But seeing that spell confirmed it—who pulls your strings."
"Wh-what are you talking about!"
"It matters not if you affirm or deny. Those vile ones schemed twenty years ago too, pitting me against Duke Glendower."
"More than that, I don't understand! How did you freeze Chaos Tentacles with mere ice?"
Kalania knew she was doomed but couldn't quell her curiosity.
"Curious?"
"Yes! Tell me! Why did I lose?"
"Even chaos freezes if you freeze it, no?"
"Is that your answer? It's not that simple— affinities make it no easy feat."
"True enough. But it's a matter of technique."
"Technique?"
"Between ice crystals lies a quasi-liquid layer. When freezing chaos, its impure nature tends to concentrate there."
"What?"
"That's the technique. Not just freezing blindly, but isolating and targeting the chaos gathered in those gaps during the freeze. Strike that, and even chaos freezes easily."
Kalania didn't fully grasp it, but enough to gape. She shook her head.
"I've never heard of such a method. Is it even possible?"
"Indeed. It didn't exist before. So I researched it myself."
"What! You call that an answer?"
"What do you think I did trapped in this cursed body for twenty years? If you imagined I merely passed the time, I'm disappointed."
The Queen knew demons had deeply intervened in Duke Glendower's death twenty years prior.
It wasn't just slaying the Empire's guardian—it plunged her and the Dark Elves into chaos.
Thereafter, she focused on demons, studying their chaos magic.
"I've devised countermeasures against chaos in my own way. Ironically, you're the first to face it."
"Ah! Mercy, I surrender...!"
"Silence!"
The Queen extended her hand, instantly freezing Kalania solid.
Kalania was trapped in ice like a massive stone slab.
"Kyaaaaak!"
Agony pierced her body; she screamed.
Magical ice—it paralyzed her form but left her mind sharp.
The Queen had entombed her alive.
Realizing the horror of her punishment, Kalania began to beg.
"Y-Your Majesty! Mercy, please! For my past loyalty!"
But the Queen had no such intent.
With a gesture, the slab tipped backward.
Boom!
Kalania screamed again.
"Kwaaaah! Please!"
"I tire of your voice."
The Queen conjured an identical slab in mid-air and dropped it atop.
Thud!
She summoned more, stacking them relentlessly.
Thud! Thump! Thump!
Unmelting ice slabs piled high, their weight burying Kalania alive.
Her mad screams weakened as they accumulated.
By the time the Queen erected ice pillars around it like a tomb, no voice remained.
She had buried the legendary witch alive.
The traitors watching trembled so violently they nearly fainted.
"Wh-what have we... done...?"
Only then did they grasp their dire straits.
They had defied the ruler all Dark Elves feared and revered.
That evening.
"Her Majesty the Queen ordered the immediate purge of the traitors, and their ends were gruesome. All were executed, and the rebellion fully quelled. Though chaos ensued, stability returns swiftly. Her Majesty stated she would provide a formal reply to Your Grace by tomorrow. I shall return with it—kindly await."
One of Surpuk Duke's stewards read the letter Owen had sent.
Listening with his heavyweights, Surpuk Duke clicked his tongue.
"That Owen fellow gets tangled in incidents wherever he goes!"
Bobert Count, beside him, wore a pleased expression.
"Still, it seems to have turned out favorably."
"Aye. If the Queen had died, this whole trek would've been for naught. Ha! Rulers must ever watch their backs. Any backstabbers here, speak now!"
Surpuk Duke glared jokingly, but none laughed.
His words carried weight.
Especially those who'd seen Russell Count's recent fate dared not speak.
The next day, Owen returned as envoy, bearing the Queen's personal letter.
"Your Grace! I have returned. Here is the letter."
"Good work. Even amid the swordplay. Fetching this alone is merit enough. Assuming the contents please."
"The Dark Elf Queen was amicable. We can expect good tidings."
"Let's see if your bluster holds, Owen."
This time, Surpuk Duke read it himself.
His face brightened visibly—clearly favorable. Soon, he burst into laughter.
"Unbelievable! The Dark Elf Queen herself will visit our camp! She proposes setting aside old grudges for friendship and amity, to discuss the future—a most courteous missive! Hahaha!"
Admiration and congratulations erupted around him.
"Congratulations, Your Grace!"
"Our felicitations!"
Coming to meet the Dark Elf Queen had brought naught but frustration and clashes.
A Grand Matron slapping a senior knight, Russell Count treated like cold rice, the leadership vexed.
Yet it all resolved at once.
With the Queen visiting personally, Surpuk Duke's prestige soared.
"We must host her with utmost honor! Understood? Bobert!"
"Yes, Your Grace. Leave it to me."
Surpuk Duke issued commands with a beaming face, then nodded at Owen with rare warmth.
"Hahaha. You rascal! You've earned great merit! Well done!"
But one more surprise awaited Surpuk Duke.
"Um... Your Grace."
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