No Time for Stories
"Not interested~" Albert muttered, then called out, 'System.'
Yes.
Analyzing.
The knights' conditions aren't bad for now.
Fractures, bleeding, and traces of curses are visible, but nothing serious yet.
'That guy's arm got cut off though?'
Losing an arm isn't enough to kill him.
The bleeding seems roughly stopped.
What's the big deal about that much?
Hunters from that world fought while stuffing their guts back in.
'True enough.'
The knights belonged to the Rukri family. Their armor crests made that obvious.
'Aiden should be fine, right?'
Comparing the elves here with Aiden.
If we rate the elves, they're at the tail end of A-rank.
The village should be manageable with just Aiden.
'Then we're good.'
Aiden had come along when Albert arrived. If possible, he would have dragged Grating along too, to give him a taste of real combat. Experience was the fastest way to grow stronger, after all. But—
'He was completely wiped out.'
The hellish training had left him in no condition to move. Even Bakhass couldn't restore him, so Albert had brought only Aiden this time. He immediately dropped Aiden at the village and headed straight for the elf elder's head.
"What's fun about tormenting weaklings? Don't you agree?"
"Human…… Do not interfere with me……. Do not interfere with us!!!"
Black smoke billowed from Griel's body as an enormous surge of energy erupted.
"Kieeeek!"
"Keeek!"
The elves charged at Albert like frenzied wild boars.
"Be careful! They're strong!"
one knight shouted urgently as the elves rushed forward. Though they looked frail, their strength far exceeded imagination. Each elf possessed power between low and mid Expert rank. Over a hundred of them. A hopeless situation.
'With numbers like that, it's like facing the knight order of a count… no, a marquis.'
Impossible to handle alone. The other knights couldn't move either. Desperate.
'I have to move. I don't know who that man is, but as knights, we must protect him.'
Knights existed for the weak. They had sworn to become shields, throwing themselves into danger to save the powerless. To become swords that rescued others. So he had to move.
'He must be confident, coming here like this. But he can't possibly fight them all alone.'
"I'll…… help as well."
The knight forced his battered body upright, gripping his sword to fight alongside Albert.
"It's fine. You all rest."
"You mustn't underestimate them. They're strong. So……"
"Ah, no need to worry about that."
Albert extended his hand. A black rift opened, and a sword emerged. He drew it as if pulling a blade from its scabbard. The sword radiated a chilling frost that sent shivers through the knights.
'What is that……?'
'It's just a sword, but……'
Never before had a weapon carried such overwhelming presence. It was crushing.
Summoning Demon Eater.
Magi detected.
Demon Eater's ability activated.
When attacking a being with magi, all stats temporarily increase by 10%.
When attacking a being with magi, all attack power increases by 20%.
Can cut through magi.
Can absorb magi and convert it into the user's power.
In an instant, Albert assumed a stance and swung. A draw slash. Normally, a draw slash meant quickly cutting anyone within reach—a close-range technique. That was the standard. Common sense. The effective range of swordsmanship was where the blade could touch.
But Albert's draw slash was different. An EX-rank hunter's technique shattered ordinary understanding. A clean, beautiful, and terrifyingly sharp black line was drawn. It felt as if—
'The world itself was cut……?'
Space. For a moment, it seemed the world had been severed by the sword. At the center of that line stood the elves. The line became a perforated edge.
Swish.
Another slicing sound followed, and something unbelievable happened. The elves—whose bodies had been impossibly strong—had their heads and necks severed. The knights were stunned.
'Those elves……'
'That easily……?'
Countless knights, mercenaries, and mages had thrown everything at them and failed to kill even one. Yet this young man, barely past twenty, had slaughtered them without resistance.
Albert spoke as if it were nothing.
"I'm just stronger."
Strength beyond common sense. The knight felt a strange tremor watching him speak so boldly, as though defeat didn't exist. His chest stirred. Normally, such talent and power in someone so young would spark jealousy. But the only emotion he felt was awe. Who could possibly feel jealousy toward an EX-rank hunter, the strongest of them all? Only reverence born from an overwhelming gap.
"You've done enough. Take the injured knights and go back."
"W-we'll help too."
"It's fine. You'd just get in the way."
"……Understood."
The knights lowered their heads at his dismissive tone. Normally they would have protested—"Are you mocking us!? We are knights!"—but who would dare talk back here?
"Kieeeek!"
"Watch out!"
Swish!
"Huh? What was that?"
"Ah…… It was nothing."
He killed an attacking elf without even looking. Strength was relative.
'Were elves…… always this weak……?'
They had been strong. A wall the knight could never hope to overcome. Their combat instincts, bloodlust, killing intent, and that unique elven agility had toyed with him endlessly. Yet now—
"Stop bothering me with these trash mobs. Tormenting weaklings makes me feel a tiny bit guilty."
Before Albert, it meant nothing. Every swing of his sword guaranteed a death. At this point, the elves looked like they were moving just to be cut down—like children in a play, villains deliberately falling to the hero's blade.
"……We entrust this to you."
The knights supported their fallen comrades and retreated, carrying the dead over their shoulders.
"Kieeeek!!!"
Determined not to let them escape, elves from all directions moved to pursue. Albert looked exasperated.
"Where do you think you're running?"
Summoning Gluttony.
Bboing! Bboing!
The cute, squishy pink slime Gluttony appeared. Albert spoke as if assigning leftover cleanup.
"Eat."
Bboing!
Shwaaaak!
Dozens of tentacles sprouted from Gluttony's body and stretched out like a fishing net, snaring the fleeing elves. Some tried to dodge, but they were caught anyway.
"Kuh…… This is……"
"Don't…… interfere……"
The elves struggled desperately, but the next moment—
Whoosh!
Crunch!
They were sucked in at terrifying speed, like a vacuum devouring dust, and swallowed whole. Dozens of elves disappeared in a single gulp.
As expected of the Leftover Disposal Captain!
'When did Gluttony get that nickname?'
I gave it to him!
✿˘◡˘✿
"Well, that should do it."
Albert turned to Griel. She glared at him with murderous hatred, as if staring at the murderer of her parents. Her eyes alone seemed capable of killing.
"What are you glaring at? We don't have time to stare each other down. I'm busy today."
In an instant, Albert vanished and reappeared. Griel flinched and leaned back. His fist slammed mercilessly into the space where her face had been.
"Oh, you bent like a bow? Did some yoga? Not bad."
Surprised she had dodged, Albert didn't stop his next attack. He had no intention of taking it easy like usual. There was plenty he needed to hear from Ventri when he got back—the truth about his parents' deaths, and information on whoever had framed them for treason.
"I've got a lot to do, so let's finish this quick, yeah?"
Unlike his usual relaxed self, Albert drove Griel back with relentless fury. Flashes of light burst as explosive sword aura surged toward her.
"Kuh!"
Griel, still a High Elf Elder, held on. Her skin darkened, granting her far greater power than before.
"Don't…… get in my way!!!"
Her shrill voice echoed like a banshee's wail. At the same time, a pitch-black ice spirit was summoned beside her.
—Kieeeek!!
The ice spirit had lost its reason as well, shrieking inhumanly. Hundreds of ice shards flew at Albert. Griel weaved through them, charging straight for him, hoping to strike while he was occupied. But—
"I told you, I don't have time."
A black line was drawn. The moment it touched them, the fiercely raining ice shards shattered and vanished. Attack was the best defense. Albert's strikes became shields that blocked enemy attacks while hitting his target. Sword and shield—he performed both simultaneously, like two sides of a coin.
"Gluttony!!"
Bboing!
Gluttony's tentacles shot toward the ice spirit. Even as an ice spirit, it dodged nimbly between the tentacles. Confident that such attacks couldn't touch it, the spirit laughed and prepared its counter. Then—
—Kieeeek……
Thwack!
An arrow from nowhere pierced the ice spirit's forehead. It turned in disbelief toward the source. There stood Las, rattling his bones and grinning while holding a bow.
—……Kiek……
Thwack!
Another arrow struck, as if telling it to be quiet, and tentacles wrapped around the spirit, swallowing it whole. Rattle. Having confirmed the kill, Las quietly vanished back into the shadows.
"……What the……"
With the ice spirit gone, Griel reappeared in a terrible state. A black line had carved a deep wound across her body. Fatal for any normal person. Yet she lived.
The corruption is severe, as expected.
'Yeah.'
It's funny. They mocked the dark elves for falling……
Yet they themselves have fallen to the very bottom……
A Main created from a dark elf……
That was right. Griel was turning into a Main. If measured in percentages—
She's about 80% transformed into a Main.
She doesn't have the characteristic horns yet, but they'll appear soon.
Her immortality isn't that strong.
"Why…… why!!"
Griel cried out in anguish.
"Why do you keep interfering! I—my clan—must purify the corrupted World Tree! We must eliminate the Nebulers!!"
She had been so close. Just a little more and she could have cleansed the World Tree's corruption and wiped out every Nebulers on the continent. But Albert's interference had ruined everything. Even now, as she tried to destroy the Nebulers and purify the World Tree, he stood in her way again. She couldn't understand what grudge drove him.
'I must purify the World Tree. Yes, as a High Elf……'
Griel began to sink into memories—why she was doing this, why she despised dark elves so much. Everything came flooding back.
"We weren't always on bad terms. But the dark elves—"
"Ah, sorry."
Swish.
"……!"
Griel's eyes widened as she tried to speak. Before she could react, her head was severed. It rolled across the ground, staring at Albert in utter disbelief. Albert merely scratched his ear, looking annoyed.
"I don't care about your story or your sob story. I told you—I don't have time."
Why Griel hated dark elves so much didn't matter. Why she had fallen and become a Main, or why the World Tree had been corrupted—none of it mattered. She was an enemy. He felt no sympathy whatsoever.
'I…… I……'
The light faded from Griel's eyes as she sank into darkness.
"Ah, and I'm not sorry either."
Albert turned away without a second glance. His task was done. All that remained was returning to hear the full story.
"And I said I'd pay thirty thousand gold for every knight saved, right?"
Albert smirked. He had sent quite a few back alive, so he could expect at least three hundred thousand gold. Information was important, but he always collected his compensation properly.