Monster Hunt (1)
In the onslaught of monsters swarming like mad, Liana had to brace for total annihilation.
Total annihilation. Everyone might die. An ominous alarm rang in her mind.
Liana swung her sword with all her might, desperately shaking off the threat of death. She couldn't die like this. She had to survive and complete the mission no matter what.
Too many…! I don't know how long I can protect Miss Alonne and Miss Leticia!
The elf knights fighting desperately began vanishing one by one into the dark shadows. The sound of bones crunching echoed. The sound of flesh being torn and swallowed down gullets followed.
The elves felled by the monsters met the most wretched deaths imaginable in this world.
The elf knights charged blindly toward a path that might be an escape—or perhaps a dead end—but they couldn't break through and fell to the monsters.
Liana averted her eyes from the gruesome deaths of her fellow knights as best she could, protecting Alonne and Leticia to the end.
Kyaaooooh!!!
From the shadows leaped a beast with razor-sharp claws raised high. She lifted her sword. The blade pierced the beast's jaw, and with all her strength, she hurled its thrashing body at the other monsters.
Liana drew a second sword. She unleashed a flurry of swings with her twin blades armed in Mana Blades.
The whirlwind of Mana Blades made the ferociously charging monsters hesitate for a moment.
I won't last like this… And my back keeps burning. Did a monster get me?
Sharp thorn fragments were embedded in Liana's back—shot from a spiked monster. The tips of those thorns were coated in deadly neurotoxin.
But Liana had no time to check her wounds right now. No leisure at all. She was so focused on shielding Alonne and Leticia that she even forgot her body was slowly going numb.
Unaware she was inching toward death, she terrified the monsters with her desperate frenzy.
"Miss Alonne!"
Liana shouted. In the brief lull, savage monsters turned on Alonne. Liana swung her sword to support her, but her body wouldn't obey.
Only then did Liana realize she'd been poisoned.
The monsters exploited the slowing speed of her strikes and lunged at Alonne.
"Please reach!"
Liana swung her sword with all her might at the monster about to pounce on Alonne. The beast collapsed with a longsword lodged in its back.
But there was more than one monster targeting Alonne. Several of them eyed the high elf girl.
And at that moment, lightning crashed from the high sky.
Craaaaaack!!!
"Master!"
A man emerged from the lightning. The human male swung a sword rippling with blue lightning, slicing through nearby monsters in a dazzling sword dance.
The lightning hadn't come from the high sky—it had struck from atop the hill. The human had probably leaped straight down from there into the slaughter.
The monsters engulfed in lightning turned to ash and vanished, and the scent of death that had stalked the elves' necks retreated in an instant.
Grrr…. Kroooogogogo!
The monsters growled lowly. They halted their charge, growling softly as they assessed the situation.
Their eyes met the human clutching the lightning.
The monsters' survival instincts were as strong as their ravenous hunger. Filling their bellies with prey was for survival too.
The monsters drooling over the bloodied elves decided, We can't beat that monster, and backed away.
"Alonne. Leticia."
Yushin spoke. Alonne, seeing her long-awaited master's face, threw herself at him.
The high elf girl's body crashed into his embrace. Her small frame was as light as it looked.
As Alonne flung her arms around him, Yushin instinctively caught her.
Holding Alonne close, he asked Leticia about the situation.
"We came to see you, Teacher."
"…I think I know why you came."
"We came on our own. You just vanished without a word to us."
That was too much. Yushin nodded at Leticia's words, feeling a pang of guilt. He looked troubled.
He felt like his disciples had gotten dragged into this because of him. And from their presence, he sensed deep anxiety.
He worried about how dire things in the Elf Kingdom must be for his two disciples—and high elf noble ladies—to come begging for help themselves.
"Master, that's not fair! You just disappeared without a word!"
"Sorry. Things got busy."
"What if we never saw you again…? I was so worried."
"Got it, sorry."
He murmured into Alonne's soft golden blonde hair.
Liana blushed at the steamy sight of Yushin and Alonne. For an elf warrior captain who'd never dated in her 29 years, it was far too stimulating. Seeing the man and woman sharing warmth made her lower belly heat up.
"Yushin Gilliard."
"The Diablo Slayer…."
The barely surviving elf knights approached Yushin and bowed their heads in respect to the Demon King killer.
They'd lost countless comrades getting here, but contacting Yushin meant half the mission success.
The knights were awestruck by Yushin's feat of summoning lightning to repel hundreds of monsters at once. With this power, even toppling Sabnack seemed feasible. They believed Yushin Gilliard was the hero to save the Elf Kingdom from crisis.
"Let's talk somewhere safe first."
All the monsters had retreated. Even those lurking nearby, waiting for a chance, sensed slim odds of success and fled at Yushin's gaze.
The elves, knowing nothing of the unexplored zone, followed Yushin's lead obediently.
En route, they heard about the Elf Kingdom's situation. Leticia explained plainly, without exaggeration.
"Sabnack stepped up front from the first battle. She's in a standoff with Captain Bariteon right now. Doesn't seem intent on pressing an assault—just maintaining the deadlock."
"Different from Agares."
"Yes. Agares used his minions up front while commanding from the rear."
Yushin looked surprised at Leticia speaking as if she'd witnessed the Agares fight firsthand.
Leticia grinned mischievously.
"I'll explain when we get there."
Yushin, carrying the tearfully exhausted, sleeping Alonne on his back, nodded with a puzzled expression at Leticia's teasing words.
Arriving at the hidden village in the unexplored zone, the elf group could finally rest easy. They rested and treated wounds in tandem.
The village, frequently raided, had plenty of herbs for treatment. The injured elf knights received proper care.
Meanwhile, Liana, poisoned by monster neurotoxin, was treated personally by chieftain Kalen.
Kalen's botanical knowledge rivaled her spirit mage prowess. She knew herbs to neutralize invasive neurotoxins.
"It'll make your body a bit hot when I apply it. There's a mild aphrodisiac component."
"Understood."
Liana lay shirtless, armor removed. Her back was a gruesome sight. In the frenzy of battle, she'd briefly forgotten the pain, but her injury was severe. Neurotoxin traces riddled her skin. Dozens of thorns had pierced her.
And moving vigorously with them embedded had deepened the wounds.
"Hah…."
Cool liquid dripped. It seemed like a paste of crushed herbs. The plant scent wafted, and her whole body heated up.
A moan escaped Liana's tightly pressed lips—from the aphrodisiac in the herbs.
Kalen had said "mild," but Liana's toes curled in ecstasy even lying down.
Had she been alone, she'd have screamed in pleasure.
"Ngh, hnnngh…!!"
All thorns were extracted from the wounds. Kalen carefully bandaged them.
Even as treatment ended, the aphrodisiac blatantly stimulated Liana's senses. Clear love juices gushed from her lower abdomen—she'd need to change her underwear immediately. It trickled moistly from her soft, peach-like folds.
What is this!? The effect's too strong…. When I head back, maybe ask for just a little…. No, no. She'd think I'm a slut!
Liana gritted her teeth, battling her desires nonstop. Tougher than fighting monsters.
For a 29-year-old virgin with zero romantic or sexual experience, the aphrodisiac's thrill was unbearable pleasure.
Unaware of Liana's writhing, Kalen left to give her rest.
The moment the dark elf chieftain exited, Liana's fingers reached for her labia.
"Haaah! Aaahn!!"
She succumbed to pleasure. With no tolerance for the drug, Liana masturbated frantically. She plunged fingers into her pussy, stimulating deeply—feeling her hymen with her fingertips.
Each thrust made sensual juices drip, soaking the bed.
Leticia said, "Your memories are stored here."
She offered small orbs. Memory Vessels—crystals born of dark elf sorcery. Memories stolen from Yushin's subordinates were sealed within.
"So, you mean you've seen our memories inside these Memory Vessels, Miss?"
"…Sorry for looking without permission."
"It's fine! If it's you, Miss Leticia…."
Yushin's subordinates all liked Leticia. They'd resent anyone else peeking, but…
Wasn't she the high elf lady who'd cared for them meticulously at Santander Castle?
Instead, they wondered nervously if she'd seen their sordid pasts—embarrassing acts, secrets that must stay hidden.
With so many such episodes, they were ashamed at the thought of her knowing.
"These are your memories. Yours by right. Here, take them back."
"Yep!"
Yushin's men received the Memory Vessels from Leticia. They eyed each other warily.
The moment she left, they'd smash these orbs forever, they thought.
No one but Leticia knew what memories lay inside. Only she'd opened the dark elf Memory Vessels.
Yushin, listening intently, spoke up.
"But how'd you access the memories in these? The dark elves must've secured them well."
"Easier than expected. The dark elves' unique mana was the key to opening the Memory Vessels. I used their blood containing it. Got the dark elves' blood from Lady Allen."
At Leticia's words, Yushin shuddered and glanced at Allen.