Don't Raise Strange Flags
Let's not raise strange flags. 'He's clearly defenseless.' The elf was confused. Albert had already closed the distance, close enough that a single motion could end his life at any moment. His back lay exposed, unguarded. Even the strongest opponent had vital points that could be pierced in one strike. Yet—
'There's an opening, but… why? The moment I attack that gap, I feel like I'll die.'
The elf's honed instincts, sharper than any future sight, blared a warning. Attacking meant death. Even twitching a single finger to reach for him could be fatal. No one could move.
"Good. Signatures are all done~ You're my subordinate now."
Once the contract was signed, Albert rose slowly from his seat and met the elf's eyes.
"Let go of that hand, unless you want to die."
His voice was sharp. Though the words carried a threat, his demeanor remained as relaxed and composed as when he had first appeared. The effortless confidence of the strong—the certainty that no matter what methods these people employed, they could never hope to win.
'…Should I back down? No, I still have Neviure in my grasp. If I just…'
With the dark elf held in his hand, a slight twist would snap her neck. No matter how powerful the man was, at this range he shouldn't be able to stop it. Killing intent flickered in the elf's eyes, impossible to hide.
"3, 2, 1, ding. Too late."
Swish.
"Graaah!!"
"You should've let go when I told you to."
"M-my hand!!"
The elf screamed. In the blink of an eye, the hand gripping the dark elf had been severed. 'When!? I—I didn't even see it!' He hadn't even registered the movement of Albert's hand. By the time he noticed the monstrous speed that ignored process and produced only results, his wrist was already gone.
Terror washed over him once more. 'I can't win.'
"Kgh…"
Blood poured from the stump as agony lanced through him, but the elf bit his lip and retreated. As he backed away, the others followed. He glared at the dark elf with venomous eyes.
"Neviure… We're retreating for now, but don't mistake this for surrender. We elves will definitely hunt you down."
Classic villain dialogue. Perhaps he wanted to leave some lingering threat, but the elf only succeeded in radiating a fierce aura. However—
"Are you idiots?"
It was an incredibly foolish move.
"If you say that, of course I'm not going to let you go."
"Hic!"
"What's with the 'hic'? I'm the one who should be saying that. Did you seriously not expect this?"
They would return and report this incident, possibly bringing an army. In that case—
"Better to thin their numbers in advance."
'Must be villain pride or something…'
"Doesn't concern me, though."
The moment Albert moved to act, the elves activated an item. A branch from the World Tree they had brought just in case. Using it would let them return to their village in one second.
'One second?'
"That's plenty."
To most, one second was barely the blink of an eye. But to Albert, it was different. As an EX-rank Hunter once called the strongest, one second held a different density for him.
'In one second, I can swing more than fifty times.'
Before anyone realized it, a sword had appeared in his hand. The moment someone gasped "Ah—", Albert's figure vanished. When he reappeared, he stood among the elves.
'……!'
'When did he—'
'I can't even react.'
'Counterattack… No! Defend…'
The quicker elves tried to respond, but before they could even twitch a finger, Albert's sword flashed like lightning.
"Kuhak!!"
"Aaaagh!!"
Precise cuts severed elven necks. The heads rolling across the ground stared upward with eyes wide in disbelief.
"See? Why raise strange flags? If I'd let you go, you could've left nicely. Why threaten me? It's not like I'm in a good mood or anything."
Albert stood amid the corpses of countless elves, surrounded by blood pooling from their necks. To anyone else it would have been a horrifying sight, but he remained calm. He was used to it. Back in that other world, inside Gates, blood and corpses were all he saw. Elves and monsters were different, but they shared the common trait of being 'enemies'.
"Incredible… How…"
The dark elf stared blankly at the scene, unable to believe her eyes. She had known he was strong, but to slaughter elves they themselves couldn't even touch in an instant—this was an overwhelming power she couldn't even dream of grasping. A shiver ran through her entire body.
'If it's this human…'
"By the way, the user died so the function stopped. Can it still be used? Does it only work for elves? What a waste."
After cleaning up, Albert picked up a fallen World Tree branch and approached the dark elf. He wasn't the only one who had come.
"Aigo! It's really far! You little punk! If you were leaving, you should've taken me with you! How are you supposed to go alone!!"
Hot pushed through the bushes and appeared, his ragged breathing making it clear how hard he had run on his short legs.
"Eek? What's going on here? Isn't that a black-ear? Why are they here and why are they dead?"
Looking to Albert for an explanation, Hot stared at him.
"You already caused trouble?"
"Trouble? It's not like that."
"Then why are those black-ear bastards dead? Whoa!? There are more dead ones over here! What the hell happened?!"
"Ah! That's…"
Just then, the dark elf made a small sound, drawing their attention. Under their sudden gazes, she gave an awkward smile.
"W-well, why don't we all head to my village together? I-I'll explain everything there."
* * *
"My name is Ivy."
The dark elf introduced herself briefly. Ivy buried the dead dark elves' bodies neatly in the ground, offered a simple prayer, and led them toward the village. Along the way, she made light conversation.
"This is probably the first time humans and dwarves have come to our village."
Ivy spoke carefully, trying to break the awkward atmosphere. To her, Albert was somewhat intimidating. She knew he was the benefactor who had saved her, but the indomitable presence radiating from him—the power that had slaughtered dozens of elves in an instant, the way he hadn't even blinked among the corpses—made it impossible to hide her instinctive fear, even knowing he was her savior.
"Maybe it's the first time any outsiders have entered at all. People rarely come to Helbram Forest."
"But you don't seem to get along with the elves?"
Hot couldn't hold back his curiosity and boldly asked about the sensitive topic.
'I don't care.'
Albert had no particular interest. The only thing he wanted from the dark elf was soap. If it weren't for the soap, he wouldn't have come here at all. Even if he'd witnessed a dark elf dying right in front of him, he wouldn't have interfered unless they attacked first. It might seem cold, but Albert had no intention of meddling in other people's affairs.
Albert merely shrugged as if to say 'So what?' Faced with Hot's question, Ivy hesitated to answer. Growing impatient, Hot barked at her.
"You damn black-ear!! We've already gotten dragged into this, so what are you hiding!? Just spit it all out! It's frustrating!"
'He really does act according to his looks.'
Persuaded by his urging, Ivy nodded, apparently agreeing. He was right. 'The dwarf aside, that man is already involved. Even if I tell the truth… it shouldn't be a problem.'
"The reason we dark elves ended up fighting the elves is because of the World Tree."
"The World Tree? You mean that giant sacred tree? Why?"
"Apparently the World Tree has become corrupted and is rotting away for some reason."
Hot was shocked. The World Tree was the colossal tree said to support the world, containing the elves' 'god'—the only deity that had descended into this world. The World Tree was the sacred tree that housed that god. And now it was corrupted and rotting?
"What do you mean? Don't tell me the demon race is involved? Or… ma—"
"No, I don't know. We don't know the exact reason, but the elves believe the World Tree's corruption is our dark elves' fault."
As Ivy spoke, her eyes filled with resentment. At the same time, a trace of sorrow lingered in her gaze at the thought of the World Tree—once like a mother to her—becoming corrupted and rotting.
"The dark elves corrupted the World Tree? Really?"
"Of course not! How could we corrupt the World Tree!? It's a ridiculous assumption! We've already lost our connection to the World Tree! No matter what we do, we can't possibly affect it! This is just the elves' baseless speculation!"
Ivy's clenched fists trembled. Countless dark elves had fallen victim to the elves' attacks, driven by this absurd theory. Even when they established new settlements, the elves pursued them relentlessly. They had only been settled in Helbram Forest for five years, yet the elves had tracked them down with obsessive persistence. It bordered on madness.
"On top of that, since we've lost our connection to the World Tree and can't use spirits, we don't even have the strength to fight the elves."
Her voice carried a note of despair. If they had possessed power, they might have resisted, but there was no way to overcome the elves' spirits. All they could do was buy time with their bows and flee.
"So we…"
"Stop."
"Eh?"
"Is the village straight ahead from here?"
"Ah, yes."
'I know.'
Having expanded his senses since entering Helbram Forest, Albert had already noticed.
"Wait a moment."
"Kyaa!?"
Ivy yelped in surprise. Albert had suddenly lifted her into his arms.
"Something seems to be happening in the village right now. If we take our time, we might be too late."
"Th-then I'll run too! I-in the forest, dark elves can run very fast!"
"No, that would still be too slow."
Albert glanced at Hot.
"We're going ahead. Just keep going straight and you'll get there."
"What?! You! D-don't tell me!!!"
"Let's go."
Albert kicked off the ground, and his figure stretched like taffy before shooting forward. It was as if space itself folded. He advanced at an incredible speed, as though living in a completely different time flow from everyone else. Countless trees blocked his path, but Albert ran without hesitation.
"……"
Suddenly left alone, Hot stood with a dumbfounded expression before realizing what had happened and exploding in anger.
"Y-you damn human! You left me behind and ran again!? Hey, you bastard!! Take me with you!!"
Hot had been abandoned once more.
"Abandonment is bad! You bastard!!"