Shattering the Choker
Choice (2) ================== It exploded. On the verge of exploding. Ardena felt a dagger-like anxiety piercing her chest. Yushin right now was like a thundercloud poised to strike down.
He was probably furious about his subordinates being attacked. He had a personality that cherished his men terribly. Wasn't one of the reasons he stayed in the Elf Kingdom for his subordinates?
"It wasn't me. I never gave such an order. There's no way I'd take such a reckless gamble right before negotiations."
Ileina waved her hand dismissively. She knew exactly why the misunderstanding had arisen. The authority to command the Shadow Tribe lay with the High Priestess. But she truly had no knowledge of it. Ever since the second High Priestess's untimely death, the Shadow Tribe had been acting like wild colts with loosened reins. Their blind loyalty to the High Priestess remained, but their reckless lawlessness gave her endless headaches.
"Shut your damn mouth, you bitch."
Yushin raised his hand. At the same moment, Ardena, her hand on her sword hilt, stepped in front of him. The warrior captains sensed the killing intent and came rushing over. The other knights did the same. The priestess's escort knights surrounded Yushin completely.
"Don't come closer. No, don't move."
Ardena said, her face twisting. She didn't want to fight. Not because he was strong. Though she always maintained her composure, Ardena wasn't cold-blooded enough to swing her sword without hesitation at someone she'd spent so much time with. But she had no choice. If he ultimately showed hostility toward the High Priestess, as the Elf Kingdom's warrior captain, she would stake her life to fight.
"Move."
Yushin said. The Stigmata had started from his shoulder, creeping up his neck to his face. Psssh. Blue lightning spread out around him like a guardian, crackling sharper and sharper, expressing raw hostility.
Ileina, faced with the lightning flying right at her, lost her leisure and jumped up from her chair.
"It's not too late yet. Take it back now."
Ardena said, grinding her teeth. She drew her sword. Holding the sharp blade pointed downward, she blocked Yushin. It wasn't too late yet. If it was now, it could still be undone. There would be backlash, of course, but if she stepped in personally to defend him, it could be smoothed over. So Ardena sincerely hoped Yushin wouldn't cross that final line.
"I told you clearly, Ardena. I'm in the Elf Kingdom for my men. Now that their safety is threatened by your kind, there's no reason for me to help the Elf Kingdom—or to stay with you."
Yushin placed his hand on the choker. Then he gripped it as if to forcibly rip it off.
"Stop... Stop right now!!"
Ardena shouted. If a slave branded with the Obedience Seal tried to forcibly remove the choker around their neck, the spell would activate. Before Ardena could reach out to stop him, Yushin had already torn the choker halfway off in an instant. The choker, suffering damage close to half destruction, automatically triggered the spell. It had nothing to do with the master's will. The choker had a trigger that activated the spell if it took a certain amount of damage.
"You elves broke the promise first."
Kwarrrgh!! Lightning struck Yushin's body. Starting from his neck, it first slammed into his head, then ravaged his entire body. It executed slaves trying to forcibly break free from obedience with massive currents. Ardena was stunned by the elves' viciousness in electrocuting slaves to death without a shred of mercy. Of course, it was a technique that originated from humans, but the elves, repaying what humans had done to them in kind, were no different.
"He tore off the choker himself...?"
"Normally, his brain would be scorched to a crisp."
Yet Yushin, having torn off the choker himself and paid the spell's price, was unharmed. He writhed in agony only briefly; freed from the choker's suppression, he stood tall once more. Instead, he expelled the current inflicted by the choker outward, venting it completely.
"High Priestess...!"
Sharp bolts lancing out in all directions targeted the High Priestess. Ardena blocked them. She swung her blade down, slashing through the lightning. But unable to fully cancel it, a scorched wound was left on her shoulder.
If it had been Ardena alone, she wouldn't have been injured. But to protect Ileina, who was only at the level of an ordinary person, she had to shield with her body—and thus took the wound inevitably.
"......"
Yushin, looking at the injured Ardena, hesitated for a moment. But he soon turned his head away. He no longer wanted to get involved. Through this incident, Yushin realized that deep involvement with the Elf Kingdom could endanger his men instead.
After once more expressing his refusal to the High Priestess, Yushin turned his gaze away from even Ardena.
"Urk!"
"S-Stop...!"
The elf knightesses surrounding Yushin shouted, swords raised. But their hands gripping the hilts trembled pitifully. Their opponent was the Diablo Slayer. He possessed absurd strength, freeing himself from the choker's bonds on his own. Having witnessed him radiating swirling lightning, the elf knightesses retreated a step each time he advanced.
"For daring to harm the High Priestess, you deserve death!"
"Sister!"
Warrior Captain 9th Seat, Seira Leon, aimed her sharp rapier at Yushin. Emily Leon—10th Seat warrior captain and Seira's twin younger sister—tried to stop her sister with a trembling voice.
Their opponent was the Diablo Slayer. The hero who achieved the feat of subjugating the Tyranny Demon King, Agares. Knowing her sister couldn't win against the Diablo Slayer, Emily saw her action as reckless bravado.
'Damn it, I know! But if we just let that human go, what happens to our faces...? If I'd known he was such a bomb, I should've just let the Valua guys take him back in Urhel village!'
Seira's legs shook. But steeling her trembling limbs, she blocked Yushin's path. I am the Elf Kingdom's warrior captain. A knight sworn to give my life for the High Priestess. Just as Seira charged at Yushin in a suicidal assault, Ileina's shout made her fall back.
"Just let him go! That's enough!"
Ileina didn't want to make an enemy of the Diablo Slayer. Of course, negotiations were already dead in the water. She could sense ill will toward the elves in his eyes. That anger-tinged malice could turn to hatred at any moment. So Ileina ordered all the warrior captains and knights blocking his path to stand down.
"Everything's gone to hell.... All our plans up in smoke. I'm going to purge those damn dark elves responsible for this right now."
Watching Yushin's retreating back without hesitation, Ileina ruffled her hair and let out a deep sigh laced with fury.
Having the Diablo Slayer confront the Raging Flames Demon King, Sabnack—that plan had failed. Without the Diablo Slayer's aid, they couldn't win the war against the Demon King Army. She could mobilize all warrior captains to defeat the Demon King's kin, but there was no way to kill an immortal like the Demon King herself. If Sabnack moved personally, the capital would drown in flames.
"Is the wound okay...? I'll fetch a healer."
"I am fine...."
Ardena reached out and picked up a fragment of the choker. Her shoulder bore a severe wound from the lightning. Even with hasty healing magic, it was deep enough to leave a scar. The high elf warrior captain clenched her teeth, enduring the pain. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. The searing agony persisted, but before the High Priestess, she couldn't show weakness.
"I will... persuade him again later."
Ardena forced down the pain, feigning nonchalance before Ileina.
* * *
After the news spread that dark elves had raided Santander Castle, Ileina faced heavy criticism from the Yetzirah Council and provincial nobles. When it further leaked that negotiations with the Diablo Slayer had failed because of it, the High Priestess's soaring influence plummeted to rock bottom day by day. Conversely, the Yetzirah Council seized power again amid her downfall.
"The High Priestess's high nose has finally been broken."
"But it's worrying. Isn't the Raging Flames Demon King still gathering forces?"
"I agree with the High Priestess that we need the Diablo Slayer in the Elf Kingdom. We've sent a messenger to Santander Castle, where he's presumed to be. Let's await good tidings."
The high elf nobles spoke loudly as they exited the adjourned council chamber. The Yetzirah Council's nobles attempted contact with Yushin, who had caused a commotion in Maheritt Palace and vanished. He had threatened the High Priestess. But the high elf nobles greatly supported his actions. They secretly cheered him on. In the end, his outburst had broken the High Priestess's power and restored the council's prestige and authority.
"I never liked the Shadow Tribe blindly following the High Priestess anyway. With her power crashing down alongside theirs, it's like eating the pheasant and getting the egg too, right?"
"But the Diablo Slayer's left...."
This incident would have left the Diablo Slayer with a bad taste for the Elf Kingdom. They needed to win him back. The shrewd nobles sought to contact Yushin and seek reconciliation. A hero who obeyed the council's orders and slayed its enemies. For him, the nobles offered better terms than Ileina's conditions. If he subjugated the Raging Flames Demon King, they promised a portion of the territory currently occupied by the Demon King as a fief, wealth beyond a lifetime's use, and even rare artifacts from Maheritt Palace's treasury.
"The Diablo Slayer is no longer a slave of the Valencia family. Didn't he break the choker himself? That means he's cut ties with the Valencias."
"His staying at Santander Castle now suggests ties there, no...? We can use that to positively influence recruitment."
Some nobles worried Yushin Gilliard might return to Valua Kingdom. But there was no need for concern. Yushin had already severed ties with Valua. Valua might reach out upon hearing the news, but the high elf nobles brimmed with confidence they could persuade the Diablo Slayer before that.
"If we can persuade the Diablo Slayer, I'll give my daughter as his bride. I hope you appreciate my sacrificial spirit for the Yetzirah Council's peace."
"What nonsense? Don't cut in line!"
The nobles' conversation grew heated. An elf came rushing desperately toward the nobles chattering noisily in front of the council chamber. He was a servant of the Santander family; Bilen Santander had sent him to relay urgent news to the high elf nobles. That news once again rocked Maheritt Palace to its core.