Chapter 113
Isabela loosed her arrow. "W-we came to our senses and..." "I-I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
At Emiri and Skevin's words, I could see the Elf Queen Isabela's brow furrowing. I just watched her reaction like I was enjoying some entertaining spectacle.
A heavy silence weighed down on the elves. It was certainly something to celebrate—a normal couple emerging among elves, whose birthrate was notoriously low—but the timing couldn't have been worse.
"...We'll discuss this matter later."
Isabela addressed Emiri and Skevin, who hung their heads like criminals. Then she fixed her sharp gaze on me again.
With her face full of irritation, I said to Isabela, "Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, how about you lower that weapon first?" After all, she had no more pretext to grab onto me.
But Isabela was more tenacious and shameless than I'd expected.
"Ignorance doesn't excuse it. What about your unauthorized intrusion into our holy site?"
"No, those two fucked right here, didn't they? Why are you singling me out?"
At my words, Isabela bit her lower lip hard. She'd blown a golden opportunity because of Emiri and Skevin, and it seemed to piss her off more the more she thought about it.
"Hero. Admit your sin right now."
Isabela nocked an arrow to her bowstring, and the other elves began to ignite with battle fervor behind her. I stared at her in disbelief.
It was absurd—her, who had avoided fighting for petty reasons when it really mattered, now coming at me like this.
"I just don't get why you're going this far."
"...I see no reason to drag this conversation out any longer."
I let out a short sigh at Isabela, who glared at me with a cold expression. No matter how I racked my brain, I couldn't understand why she wanted to attack me.
All I'd done was trespass in their holy site, while other elves had been screwing around in it. Even if I was on the outs with the Empire, she wouldn't gain much from attacking me.
"What do you even get out of dragging me out here like this?"
Instead of answering, Isabela released her arrow. I heard it tear through the air, and it embedded precisely where I'd been standing.
Of course, I'd stepped aside to dodge it, and now I glared at her coldly.
She actually shot at me?
Naturally, Isabela's shot hadn't been full power. A serious arrow from her wouldn't be this easy to evade. But seeing her attack me was starting to boil my blood.
"That was a warning. The next one's for real."
As she nocked another arrow, I racked my brain. Calming down and piecing it together, I started to grasp her intentions in pinning the blame on me.
From the start, her pressure was to squeeze something out of me. But when we examined the facts, the elves were more at fault, and it was an embarrassment for their entire race.
In that situation, what the Elf Queen would want is to bury the incident in secrecy. Of course, with the Demon King's army battle looming, she probably wasn't planning to kill me outright.
No, someone in Isabela's position would already know I couldn't die. So, the smart bet was she planned to use her power to gain the upper hand and seal my lips.
Already pissed, that realization only fueled my anger more. I scowled deeply at her.
"Fine, bring it on!"
I drew my sword and bared my teeth at Isabela. Sure, I was outnumbered, but as she knew, I had an Immortal Body. Unless I died—which I wouldn't—it was obvious who'd be left standing in the end.
My reaction must have caught her off guard; Isabela furrowed her perfect brow, but it was too late to turn back now.
"Hero, you're overconfident."
With those words, she began summoning a spirit—one she wouldn't touch even on pain of death under normal circumstances.
A fierce wind whipped up in the quiet forest, gathering toward the arrow in her grasp.
A wind spirit?
Her unique archery, rare even in my first timeline, was about to unfold.
***
"Run! Hurry!"
"Is it true the Hero's under attack? Who the hell would—?"
"Who else? Those crazy elf bastards!"
Marian shot a cold glare at Jena, who was questioning her, and snapped back. If she had time to yap, better to move her feet—that was Marian's thinking.
While Jena voiced doubts, Karen was already sprinting busily toward the Hero.
"Why would the elves...?"
"How the hell should I know?"
Marian replied irritably to Jena's question. Truth be told, she didn't know why the elves and Hero were fighting either.
While surveilling the Hero—who'd told her to go to bed early and left—she'd lost track due to interference. The last she'd seen was two elves getting it on in the forest, and the Hero knocking them out.
Next time she checked, he was surrounded by elves, but then she'd been busy waking the others and hadn't been able to monitor properly.
"This the way?"
"Uh, probably!"
Marian quickly affirmed Karen's words. But forests all looked pretty much the same anyway.
The group halted just as they were about to dash in the direction Marian pointed. An eerie wind began blowing through the woods, heading in a specific direction.
"This weird wind... a spirit?"
"Isn't that the way?"
"...Let's go."
At Karen's words, Jena eyed Marian suspiciously. Marian blushed but answered anyway. Her pride stung a bit, but right now, the Hero's safety mattered more.
***
She's lost it.
I gripped my sword tightly, eyeing Isabela tensely. The wind's intensity suggested she'd summoned no ordinary spirit.
Most elves had affinity with spirits, but only the Elf Queen could command them freely. Spirits didn't manifest lightly; it required a price.
"Hero, prove your worth."
Isabela aimed her wind-infused arrow at me and spoke. Then, it left her hand.
The arrow streaked toward me like a beam of light, poised to pierce my body.
For a split second, I considered batting it away, but I quickly reconsidered.
What made Isabela's spirit archery terrifying was the arrows' erratic paths. Unless I shattered the tip completely, it'd still impale me no matter how I deflected it.
Sure, one hit wouldn't kill me, but no need to suffer the pain.
Jibo.
I unleashed the technique I'd stolen from the Mercenary Empress, darting swiftly.
Sure enough, her arrow curved after me like it had homing capabilities.
I kept dodging, and it doggedly pursued.
This much, I can handle with room to spare.
While evading the trailing arrow, I glanced at Isabela. If deflecting was a hassle, just take out the source.
But she seemed to anticipate that. After a flicker of surprise at me effortlessly shaking her shot, she drew another arrow.
No, aren't you pushing it too far?!
I gawked at her in disbelief, but she calmly loosed the second arrow.
Shieeeek—
It ripped through the air again, and I ducked urgently to evade both incoming arrows.
They nearly collided, then sharply veered around.
And Isabela was already nocking a third.
I could only grimace at the sight.
You're really coming at me hard today, bitch.