Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Black Elf Queen Ariel
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- Hah… hah…
Dale fled, gasping for breath.
- Damn it… shit… shiiiiit!
He ran backward without even realizing he was yelling at the top of his lungs.
He probably couldn’t believe what had just happened. No, not even what he himself had done.
Beyond the fairy's blue glow, Dale locked eyes with the forest troll's gleaming gaze and froze in place.
Overwhelmed by terror, he lost control of his body.
And yet, in that moment, his body moved on instinct.
Thud!
Thump…
The two women were shoved aside by the man and tumbled to the ground.
- …Dale?
- No way, right?
Craaaash!
Dale didn’t look back as he bolted.
He didn’t want to know what happened next.
After the sound of the club, there were no agonized groans or screams from the women, so they were probably dead.
Guilt? Remorse?
Such lofty emotions didn’t visit in this blood-soaked hell.
Only fear. Pure fear.
* * *
‘Lost him. …Gotta catch him quick.’
The mage who could threaten the forest troll’s regeneration with her attack power was smashed in the first strike.
Even if those three were green, if the frontliner had kept his wits, they wouldn’t have lost two in the opening blow.
‘It was all intentional, though…’
I delayed the moment they grasped the situation as long as possible, forcing them to rely on instinct.
Human nature… is mostly ugly and selfish.
- Arrrgh! Fuuuuck!
Almost at the target destination.
One final kill on Dale, and the odds of my plan collapsing drop to near zero.
‘So right here, no matter what…’
Dale was probably freaking out at the sight of the flesh chunks stuck to the pursuing forest troll’s club.
- Stop right thereeee!
- Eeeeek!
The chase seemed smooth, but it wasn’t.
‘…Damn.’
Over five minutes since the first strike. Dale kept slipping out of the forest troll’s range without real danger.
The fairy chased Dale alongside, signaling his position to the troll, but there was a problem.
‘The terrain changes I made restrict movement.’
The troll’s massive bulk had to crush through dense trees, making pursuit impossible.
‘This won’t do…’
Knowing the forest layout perfectly, I instinctively knew this was the last chance.
‘Herd him there!’
- Damn it! Get away! Get…
Thud!
Dale tripped over a tree root.
- Ugh!
Swish!
The root that tripped him writhed like it was alive.
[★★★ The Man-Eating Tree reveals its true form.]
The tree-disguised monster gaped its maw to swallow Dale whole.
Slash!
- Gasp!
The root wrapping Dale was severed by someone’s sword.
‘…Damn it!’
It was Marwen, whose trail had been lost in the thickening fog zone.
- Dale!
- M-Marwen.
Crack!
The man-eating tree was shredded helplessly by the sharp blade. Like the mimic, this familiar’s base combat ability was abysmal, leading to this outcome.
Without steady growth resources poured in, there was no spare for a 3-star stationary familiar when resources were already tight.
- Priya and Roem?
- Marwen… save me.
- …What’re you saying?
- I don’t wanna die… I… I…
- Why would you die! Explain properly. Why do you think we’re dying?
- That thing, that thing killed them all. We’re… all gonna die…
- …No way.
Boom!
As they talked, the forest troll arrived.
- Marwen, behind…
The troll grinned and reached out. One grab from that hand would crush a human body in an instant.
But no expectations here.
Marwen joining meant Marus was with him.
Splurt!
- Groooar!
The forest troll’s arm sprayed blood as it was severed.
- You alright?
- M-Marus!
- Pull yourself together.
The enraged troll swung its remaining club.
Whoosh!
Marus leaped onto that arm.
Tap-tap…
Two powerful steps, then a graceful spin.
It looked like an elegant dance.
Slash…
Splurt!
The forest troll likely didn’t realize what happened until its head floated in the air.
‘…Plan’s gone off track.’
Not without a Plan B, but every fallback dents the plan’s perfection.
Tch.
What a shitty result.
The scene even looked like a heroic episode in Marus’s saga.
Nothing ever goes perfectly, huh.
‘Marus is even stronger than I thought.’
- Marus…
- The others… dead?
- …Yes.
At Dale’s answer, Marwen’s pupils dulled.
- No way… how… Dale!
- I couldn’t protect them… it’s all my fault… I…
From my omniscient view, it was comedy gold.
Marus, the natural actor, placed a hand on Dale’s shoulder.
- It’s not your fault, Dale. No one knows that pain better than I do.
- ……
- Shake it off. More importantly, seen any demons since entering?
Marwen flinched at Marus’s words and asked her uncle.
- Uncle? Roem and Priya are dead!
- That’s why I told you to turn back before coming here. It’s just the result of their choices. All we can do is mourn.
- Uncle!
- Then what? You came all this way for nothing?
Flinch…
Marwen froze at Marus’s roar—his first real anger.
- Let’s go back, Uncle. Dale and I… we might all die.
- Can’t do that.
- …What? Why!
Marus ground his teeth.
- Chased demons for decades. And now we’re finally here. Can you grasp this rage?
- …No.
- Marwen. If I back off now, regret will haunt me forever. Same for you.
- Me too…
- Can you live unscathed after losing comrades to a demon here? Branded a coward and loser?
- ……
- And that’s exactly what the demon wants.
Marwen asked dubiously.
- Any chance of winning…?
- Yes. I think I’ve uncovered this forest’s secret.
- R-Really? Marus?
- Is that true, Uncle?
- It’ll show itself soon.
He wasn’t wrong.
The fallout from Ariel forcibly twisting the forest terrain arrived.
Rumble rumble rumble…
Nearby trees withered rapidly. No, every tree in the forest lost vitality except around Marus’s group.
‘Shit…’
- Finally showed up.
- …What an unpleasant human.
- Dark elf!
* * *
“Dark elves… didn’t they side with the demons in the Hegemony War and get wiped out?”
Marus nodded at Marwen’s words.
“Heard some survived through tricks… but leeching as dungeon familiars? Disgusting.”
“Call it symbiosis. A noble method you humans, who only know pillage and destruction, can’t comprehend.”
“Nice speech from someone who crawled to demons like a dog. Yawn-worthy.”
“Any need to keep talking with this unpleasant human?”
Shing…
Marus drew his sword.
“Confident? Using that much power means a heavy price, right?”
“Whatever the cost, dealing with you is easy.”
“Hmph, followed the demon stench and found quite the spectacle.”
Though he said that, Marus warned the rookies anxiously.
“Stay alive. It might be holding back.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“Got it, Marus.”
[Boss battle commences.]
[Dark Elf Queen Ariel blocks the escape route.]
Marus gripped the rosary around his neck and infused it with power.
[Marus uses Lion Soul’s Blessing.]
[Slightly increases defense for self and nearby allies, reducing incoming damage by 10%.]
Swish!
At Ariel’s gesture, wooden spikes spawned around and flew at Marus.
[Ariel uses Verdant Spears.]
[Verdant Spears deal forest attribute damage to hit targets.]
[Verdant Spears’ number and speed scale with Ariel’s mana ratio.]
Just one wooden spear now.
Uncertain, but it signaled Ariel’s mana was low.
Screeech!
Marus, mid-swing to cleave the tree, flinched and deflected the spear with his buckler.
Boom!
“Monstrous strength.”
“Pity. On a better day, I’d have shut that mouth in one go.”
“Hmph, don’t get cocky!”
[Marus’s Steadfast Will activates.]
[On successful defense, next defense damage reduction increases by 20%.]
Crackle!
Green energy gathered in Ariel’s hand.
Boom!
She slammed it into the ground, green energy erupting as roots spread wide.
The area covered more than enough to engulf Marus’s group.
[Ariel uses Seedling Plant.]
[3 seconds later, thorns erupt upward over a wide area.]
[Thorns deal forest attribute damage and have a chance to inflict poison.]
3…
“This is… everyone, up the trees!”
No doubt.
Marus’s group leaped onto nearby trees at his shout.
2…
And one second later.
Pshhh!
Thorns shot up.
Then retracted swiftly to Ariel as if nothing happened.
“Hah…”
“Hah…”
Marwen and Dale shuddered in lingering terror even after dodging.
“Get it together!”
Screeech!
Marus deflected a Verdant Spear aimed at Marwen.
“Roooar!”
Marus closed in on Ariel and unleashed a flurry of sword strikes.
Slash!
Blood sprayed from Ariel’s shoulder.
“That blood’s as black as your heart!”
“Shut up, human!”
Swish!
Ariel formed Verdant Spears and swung them personally against Marus.
But against the battle-hardened Marus, she took hits repeatedly.
Plus, shaking the terrain weakened her further… she wouldn’t last long.
“Then…”
Ariel bit her lip.
Thud!
She blasted Marus back with a shockwave, then wrapped her body in tree bark.
Crackle…
“That’s…”
[Ariel uses Mother of the Forest.]
[Mother of the Forest form reduces all incoming damage to Ariel by 90%.]
[In Mother of the Forest form, Ariel recovers 1% of lost HP and mana per second.]
[In Mother of the Forest form, tree soldiers spawn. Tree soldiers mimic forms of all forest-terrain deaths, with 30% of the original’s HP and attack power.]
[Mother of the Forest ends if Ariel cancels it or all tree soldiers are destroyed.]
Ariel’s ultimate power.
It could change with weapons or growth later, but Mother of the Forest was her primal force.
Crackle…
Goblins spawned everywhere.
“Hurry! Cut them down now!”
“Yes!”
Marus grew urgent, directing Marwen and Dale too.
Slash!
Slash!
Weak race to begin with, reborn even weaker—they fell like wheat stalks.
Crackle…
Now orcs.
“I got this!”
As Marus charged them, Marwen and Dale handled others.
- Why… why us…
- Here…
The revived tree soldiers were the sacrificed Roem and Priya.
“Aaah!”
Dale, fearing more words, slashed their necks in ghost-struck panic.
First was hard; second was easy.
“Dale! Calm down!”
“Aaah!”
Meanwhile, Marus felled even the forest troll clone.
“It’s over, dark elf.”
At Ariel’s moment of defeat.
Swish!
Ariel shed Mother of the Forest and formed Verdant Spears.
Marus predictably raised his buckler; Ariel smirked.
“…What?”
Two spears.
Not at Marus—at Marwen and Dale.
Marus, seeing he couldn’t save both, dove one way.
Boom!
One spear blocked.
Craaash…
“Guh… guh…”
The other hit.
Dale’s chest gaped open.
“Daaaale!”
“Roooaaar!”
Slash!
Marus’s rage severed Ariel’s head, sending it floating.
Ariel smiled to the end.
“I… tried a little.”