The Mutant Elf Euris (3)

Riella couldn't believe what she was seeing.

A mutant elf steeped in toxic malice, the aura billowing off her so savage that even at a distance Riella could barely draw breath. She was under complete control. This was the power of Kbalt, First of the Four Heavenly Kings — a force Riella had only ever heard about in stories. To think a devil like that was the weakest of the Four. She was beginning to understand, all over again, just how extraordinary the previous Hero party's achievements had been.

And yet the more astonishing sight was the Hero party itself. They weren't shrinking back from a Heavenly King at all. They were meeting him head-on, fighting with everything they had.

Selen, the Hero, blazing with radiant light. Breny, the Sage, boldly weaving her magic. Ruel, the Great Warrior, taking the enemy's most lethal techniques on their own body. Each of them was performing at the absolute peak of their ability. You'd never have guessed this party had been formed less than a month ago.

The tide of battle was swinging their way. Kbalt's defeat was drawing closer — barely a day after he'd been designated a Public Enemy.

Riella kept watching the three of them fight. Or rather, the three of them plus one more.

That does not look like someone who wants to lose.

Clitia. Her friend, supposedly obsessed with defeat, was fighting harder than anyone. She was holding back Kbalt's magic all by herself, intercepting the massive thorns and blades raining from the sky, taking most of them on her own body. Blood sprayed. Flesh was carved away. She didn't care. She just kept moving.

The way she threw everything she had into protecting the Hero party was a struggle that somehow looked heartbreaking. Was she still unable to forget the pain of losing her companions? She was wrecking her own body so that no one else would die.

Hang in there.

Riella wanted to help, but dropping the barrier Euris had raised would put the citizens of Serda in danger. For now, all she could do was cheer — and that was a miserable feeling.

My whole body throbbed. I'd lost count of how many times I'd been run through.

"Are you all right?" Sun-bask asked.

"I'm fine. Just focus on the repairs."

I'd underestimated Kbalt. The magic he was throwing around was on a completely different level from when we'd fought in that white space. Maybe he just hadn't adapted to the body he'd stolen yet. Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. I already knew what I had to do.

"Upper right diagonal!"

I threw myself into the air at once. The giant blade that had been falling toward Breny punched into my body instead. It hurt like hell. I grimaced through the agony and landed.

"Clitia, are you—"

"Focus on the fight."

Breny hesitated, then ran back to help Selen. She'd gotten a lot more composed since I'd last seen her.

"You're being way too reckless."

"There's no other way."

Some of Master's spells triggered even stronger follow-up attacks if you shattered or deflected them. So taking the hit myself was actually the best defense. Crude, but effective. The Hero party hadn't been exposed to a single one of Kbalt's spells so far.

"Still hurts like hell, though."

I crushed the blade lodged near my chest with Aura and surveyed the battlefield again.

There were two enemies. Kbalt, possessing Master's body. And a clone he'd fashioned using Master's abilities. An elf wreathed in flickering green Aura was hammering out attacks — a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠technique that coated a magically generated clone in Aura to reinforce it. A realm I'd never reached, having no talent for magic. Without thoroughly honed martial power, it would be nearly impossible to face. That was why the Great Warrior had taken sole responsibility for it, keeping it separated from the original.

Meanwhile, Selen and Breny were handling the original. They weren't just holding their ground — they were pressing him hard. Kbalt couldn't even counterattack; he was being driven back by their combined assault. He was pouring his mana into both his magic and the clone, so his focus was split. Using an ability and mastering it were two different things. Even he couldn't wield it fluently right off the bat. These were techniques Master had stacked up layer by layer over hundreds of years. He'd need more time to adapt completely.

Which meant we had to take him down before that happened.

"They're all doing so well!"

"They'd better, for when I'm not around."

This favorable situation was only possible because I was intercepting every last spell. If it had just been the Hero party, they probably would've been wiped out already.

"You brats!"

Kbalt seethed and unleashed a cloud of venomous miasma, thick as smoke from a burning building. Both of them took to the sky to dodge it — Selen with the help of Pyrate, the Fire Spirit, and Breny by sprouting wings of her own magic.

A sizable magic circle materialized in front of the two of them as they rose side by side. I didn't stop to think — I just leaped. A massive crow erupted from the circle, a grotesque thing bristling with thorns. I caught it with an Aura-wrapped arm and slammed it straight into the ground. The crow shrieked and thrashed. Ugly as hell, no matter how you looked at it. Master's taste, maybe. I ought to respect that.

I spread my Aura and bound it. The crow, lashed in dark crimson energy, struggled violently before finally going limp.

"That's all you've got?"

I walked toward him with a light sneer, toward a Kbalt whose rage had already boiled over.

"You bitch!"

"What? Getting mad?"

Mockery was the privilege of the one who was winning. I needled him for all I was worth.

"Revenge? Please. You're just going to get beaten to a pulp and die again."

His face twisted with fury. One more push and he'd explode.

"If I'd only had a little more time..."

"What, you stole a great body and you're still losing? Frustrating?"

The truth was, Master had stopped training even before she started teaching me. She'd already reached the peak, she said — no lingering attachments. So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of course I'd surpassed her.

"That's because you're incompetent. You're a fifty."

Of course, when you're taunting an enemy, distortion works better than the truth.

"Go back to hell. I'll beat the Demon King bastard to a pulp and send him after you."

"How dare you!"

As expected — insult the one they revere and you get a violent reaction.

Master's body pitched forward, and Kbalt's true form emerged. A hazy, footless phantom. The chill unique to spirits spread through the air.

"I'll make you regret this."

He shot toward me and burrowed into my body.

"I wonder if you'll still be laughing when I use your body to kill the Hero party."

The words came from my mouth, but they weren't mine. An utterly alien sensation. I'd experienced this before, and it was still repulsive. My body felt wrong. He was seizing control. Discomfort settled over my mind — that uncanny feeling of sitting in someone else's seat.

"Sun-bask."

By now, he'd synced with me enough. Time to execute the plan.

"Yes!"

Sun-bask summoned a small dagger into my hand. A weapon that existed for desperate situations, when you were surrounded by enemies. I drove it into my heart without hesitation.

"Gaaaaah!"

Kbalt screamed through my mouth. Then he fled back out of my body, weakened by the sudden mortal wound. The perfect opening.

"Finish him."

The Great Warrior flew in and threw a punch. The life force radiating from a body that was mana itself sent the fleeing spirit crashing down.

An adorable battle cry. Breny locked Kbalt in midair.

"Kbalt, First of the Four Heavenly Kings."

Then Selen faced him.

A longsword concentrated with sunlight traced an elegant arc. The spirit's form split cleanly in two, as easily as cutting paper.

Kbalt's weakness. He could only be harmed by a limited set of means — but in exchange, his defenses were extremely fragile.

"This is absurd..."

His body began to dissolve. A pathetic end, unworthy of a Heavenly King's stature.

"I will return."

"I'm sure you will."

A dying declaration similar to last time. Not that I was particularly worried. By the time he resurrected again, the Hero party would have grown even stronger.

"Excommunicated Saintess! The Demon King is watching you!"

Then the chill unique to spirits vanished, and warm sunlight took its place. As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if blessing our victory.

"We did it..."

Selen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠started to collapse, and Breny caught her. The Great Warrior flew over and clung to the top of her head.

"We won!"

"We have done it!"

They hugged each other, overjoyed. Their first victory as a Hero party. They'd never been happier.

I used to be like that. Even Liam, who'd always been a pain in my ass, had looked almost endearing back then.

My victories had become private memories that would never come back. But these kids were different. Starting with a resurrected Heavenly King and ending with the Demon King himself — everyone would remember this as a chronicle of great victories.

This battle had confirmed it for me once again.

I had to die at those kids' hands.

"Clitia!"

The barrier Master had raised vanished, and Riella came running over, her face tight with worry.

"Are you okay? Your body?"

"Obviously."

I said it lightly, but I had no strength left. I'd burned through far too much of the Holy Power inside me.

"Riella, let me borrow your shoulder."

"Then come to me."

Eluke, who'd appeared from who-knows-where with her robe hood pulled down, stepped up and slung my arm over her shoulder. I couldn't put any strength into my body, so I leaned on her without protest.

"You go take care of them."

"Got it."

Riella ran straight to the Hero party.

"Let us go."

Supported by Eluke, I slowly left the area.

"Are you certain we can simply leave?"

I glanced back. Damon, who seemed to have been summoned sometime during the fight, was casting healing holy spells on the Hero party. Master would get treated too, no doubt. Nothing I needed to worry about.

"Just go."

That wasn't my stage. Attention should fall on the leads, not the supporting cast.

"Don't you have something I can hide my face with?"

"Why would you hide it? Look at those spectators."

Even after all this chaos, the stands were still more than half full. A constant murmur of voices. The atmosphere was completely different from when I'd first arrived. Everyone was looking at me — and what they sent my way wasn't fear. It was curiosity.

"Great. Now I can't even lose however I want without feeling self-conscious."

The worst-case scenario I'd been dreading. I'd gone into the fight prepared for it, and it still left a bitter taste.

"That is not so."

The corner of Eluke's mouth lifted slightly.

"You have actually become freer. Euris has released you from your constraints."

"Master did?"

"Think about it. You have just accomplished something tremendous, but that does not mean the infamy you have already accumulated will vanish overnight."

That was true enough.

"But your image will change completely. You will be seen as someone who does not concern herself with good or evil."

"......"

I'd become a being who lived as she pleased. Like Master, who refused to bow to anyone's gaze and defined for herself who she was.

"Euris used her specialty to tear down the boundaries. So that you may live doing whatever your heart desires — whether that is losing, or doing good."

And I'd gone and resented her without even realizing it. I really was a sorry excuse for a disciple.

"I should apologize."

"You ought to get on your knees, at least."

I left the magic arena still reflecting on it. My legs kept giving out along the way, and I ended up having to be carried on Eluke's back.

"Kbalt intervening in the middle made things strange, but the result turned out well."

I'd ended up fulfilling Master's wishes after all. He'd lived up to his title as the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings right to the end.

"That's a relief."

"But could you not walk on your own by now?"

"You already picked me up. Might as well carry me the rest of the way."

"You are dozens of times sturdier than I am..."

We arrived at the Magic Tower branch before I knew it, still talking.

"Enjoy today's rest. Starting tomorrow, you will be the Hero of Darkness."

"Don't give me a nickname like that."

"Is there anything you would like to do? Besides slaying the Demon King, I mean."

The same question I'd been asked on the day I became a disciple. Now I had a greater wish than I did back then — thanks to the new path Master had opened for me.

"We ended the Nightmare of the West, and we just killed Kbalt too."

"That is true."

"Might as well keep this momentum going."

A smile formed, full of anticipation.

"I'm going to challenge every Public Enemy."

Winning would be fine. Losing would be fine. They were the perfect opponents.

Naturally, no answer came.

"I am certain She is watching."

But this time, it didn't end as an empty echo.

A dark room where you could barely make out what was in front of you. A man sat in a chair with his legs crossed, gazing out the window. Heavy rain that had lasted for days was pouring down — a driving downpour accompanied by fierce wind.

"My Lord."

An old man approached from the darkness and bowed respectfully.

"I have come to make a report."

"Speak."

"Kbalt has fallen."

The man showed no particular reaction, then looked back out the window.

A rumble of thunder briefly swallowed the sound of the rain.