I Became the Elf Who Swallowed a Legend (2)

Past the grave and a little farther on, the sounds around me vanished as if by magic—almost as though someone had drawn a line across the earth. Save for the crunch of dead leaves underfoot, nothing remained but a silence so complete it bordered on unpleasant.

Withered, twisted trees stood scattered here and there, and the rocks still bore scorch marks as vivid as the day they were burned. Just as the rumors promised, a chill crawled up my spine. Fitting, for a place called Specter Cliff.

The village elders wouldn't so much as breathe this place's name. Something about it being where the Hero and the Demon King fought their final battle, in an age long past?

But the original story contained no such lore. In the game, Luen appeared only as a single background cut of a burning village. No matter how far back I rummaged through my memories, no legend like that ever surfaced.

There was exactly one spot in this cursed land where flowers bloomed: around the grave I had just turned my back on. Perhaps that was because Orbis had made his resting place here. He was a being of that magnitude.

The same held true for the Hydra. It had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never been foolish enough to trespass carelessly on ground where a primordial dragon once drew breath—but that breath had now been severed for good.

With the one existence that could threaten it gone, the Hydra had crawled back out into the world. And of all things, its first target was the village of Luen.

"So in the end, you're just a sneaky, cowardly bastard."

I hadn't equipped a single decent piece of gear. Everything he had ever taught me came down to how to swing a fist. Only the fur ornaments wound around my wrists stirred, swaying lightly in the wind. Well then. Time to get moving.

"My, what a noisy entrance."

THUD! The tremor climbed from the soles of my feet up through my knees. THUD!THUD! Footfalls hammered the earth at perfectly even intervals. The thing was closing in, as if to grind everything before it into dust.

Beasts came bursting out of the forest in a frantic stampede. Creatures that would normally have been at each other's throats bolted past in a tangled knot, not sparing me so much as a glance as they brushed by. They were running for one reason only—to stay alive.

Trees thrashed violently, some tearing loose from their roots and crashing down. Boulders rolled free, shattered, and rained outward in every direction.

The midday sky drowned beneath black clouds in the blink of an eye. Even the sun hid itself away behind them. A low rumble—then KRAKABOOM! Thunder crashed in from every side. Without a word, I clenched my fist tight.

"There you are."

Seven heads in all, each one the size of a house. Scale-armored necks writhed like serpents, and every gaping maw bristled with jagged teeth. A physique worthy of its dreadful name.

Up close, the size was one thing—the sheer hideousness of it was another entirely. Just looking at the thing was enough to turn my stomach. The me of my past life would have bolted in sheer terror. Yep. Without a doubt.

Seven pairs of eyes swung toward me in unison. Not a shred of intellect in any of them—nothing but boiling hunger and the naked lust to destroy. I did not retreat. If anything, I squared my shoulders and met it head-on.

"KRAAAAAAGH!"

The roar thundered across the cliff, and the shockwave alone split my cheek open. I wiped the blood away with the back of my hand.

"Eh. Still gentler than the old lizard geezer's yelling."

I walked out and planted myself squarely in the Hydra's path. And just then, unbidden, a voice from memory surfaced—the day I had pestered him with one question after another about the Dragon Martial Arts. The old man had answered with something utterly absurd.

[Little runt. What this venerable self gave you was the stars.]

"The stars? You mean the ones hanging in the night sky?"

[Indeed. The oldest and most primordial power in existence. Pour it into an ordinary body and it would burst the very instant it tried to contain such a thing. That is how perilous a power it is.]

"...Hold on a second! You put that inside me?!"

[KHAHAHA! There was a reason this venerable self beat you within an inch of your life until your body could endure it! All of it, every last thrashing, was preparation for this day. You did not truly believe I pummeled you out of sheer boredom, did you? Hahahaha!]

That geezer really did as he pleased right up to the bitter end.

Ever since I took in the dragon's blood, this body had ceased to be that of an ordinary elf. Bone, muscle, even the mana streaming through me—everything was slowly taking on the likeness of a dragon.

I drew a long, deep breath, and with the air, the energy of the world seeped into me. At the same moment, scattered threads of light drifted together and settled at the very center of my chest. There, tiny points of light blossomed one after another like flowers—the first stars I had inherited from him.

This was the first time I had ever truly wielded this power. And yet, strangely enough, I wasn't the least bit afraid.

My eyes burned hot, and white bled into the edges of my vision. There was no mirror, but I could feel it all the same: right now, a brilliant star was rising in my eyes. Let's go. Into the future. Together with the great star.

"This is not a star the likes of you can snuff out."

Every one of the Hydra's heads lunged at once. The old man's teachings flashed through my mind. Right. This is how he told me to slip past, wasn't it? Even with my life on the line, my body moved without a flicker of hesitation. It was almost eerie.

Flow. Like the wind, like water. And then—soar.

I guided the first maw sweeping in from the side, its razor teeth grazing the very tips of my hair. Slow. So slow. What, this is all you've got? Really?

The second head came plummeting down from above. I twisted aside with room to spare, ran up the back of its neck, and launched myself skyward—straight toward the third head, which hung before me with its jaws spread wide.

Even then, I didn't panic. If anything, I bared my teeth in something like a smirk. Couldn't see that coming? Lame.

"What, were you getting your hopes up? Idiot."

My right foot whipped upward, my instep catching the jaw dead-on and wrenching it skyward. CRACK—bone gave way, the massive head snapped back at an ugly angle, and crashed to the ground.

The instant I touched down, the fourth head rammed into me from the side. I hastily threw up an arm to block. THUD! The impact overwhelmed my guard and drove me skidding backward, my heels gouging deep trenches through the dirt.

"Huh. Heavier than you look. But hey, guess what?"

I drew back my elbow and coiled my hips.

"You're still lighter than the old man's tail!"

My fist buried itself dead center in its face. The Hydra's head snapped sideways, and the shock sent its mountainous bulk staggering, toppling end over end in a tumbling avalanche that pulverized the boulders beneath it.

For a heartbeat, I thought I'd finally done it. I hadn't.

The shattered jaw twitched. Broken bones slid back into their sockets, and torn flesh squirmed and seethed like something boiling as it knit itself whole again. In the time it took me to draw a single breath, every wound had vanished without a trace.

Hyper-Regeneration, huh. That's just flat-out dirty.

The Hydra was a mid-game boss in the original story. It proudly sported that insane regeneration where the health bar refilled no matter how many times you broke it—which was exactly why players heaped abuse on it, demanding to know what a boss like that was even doing in an eroge.

"...At this rate, this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will drag on forever."

The Hydra reared up again, wilder and more ferocious than before, all seven heads thrashing and flaring at once. Guess I'd better keep hammering away, then.

So I pounded on it for a good long while—then stopped.

What I'd been missing from the very start was one decisive blow. No matter how much I beat it down, it simply stitched itself back together; there was no end in sight. I had to erase the entire creature in a single attack.

I kicked the last onrushing head away with everything I had and rode the recoil into a backward retreat. Distance opened between us. Kneading my sore shoulders, I glared up at all seven heads. Tired. And so, so sick of this.

The star in my chest pulsed. Once. Twice.

The star nested in my eyes flared wide and bright.

A star came down from the heavens and wrapped itself around my body.

"I'll make you my stepping stone—and shatter the original story."

Just then, one of his sayings drifted through my head.

[Then let this venerable self teach you the first secret art.]

"Oh, finally! What kind of technique?"

[It is called the Evil Ghost Heavenly Punishment.]

"...That name is scarier than I expected."

[A secret art that gathers the Power of the Stars into a single fist and detonates it in one instant. The only catch is that once it is spent, you will not be able to move so much as a finger for some time.]

Then this is where I use it. Going by what you said, the power should be more than enough.

The starlight settled in my pupils wavered, then swelled.

Light surged outward in every direction—from my eyes, from my chest, from my fingertips. The radiance coiling around my entire body shredded the storm clouds and lit the darkness-drowned cliff bright as noon. More! More! MORE! This still isn't enough!

The Hydra flinched hard. Whether instinct had finally smelled the danger, all seven heads whipped around at once and scrambled backward in eerie unison. Real dignified, for a so-called legendary beast.

Too late. Where do you think you're running? You end right here!

I planted my left foot forward, and the ground split open beneath it. I seated my right fist against my hip, and every last thread of starlight in the world came pouring into that one hand.

In that instant, my body screamed.

It hurts. It hurts like hell! Damn it!

Endure it! Endure it! Hold on—you will not break to pain like this!

My joints creaked and groaned. Filaments of light spiderwebbed beneath the skin of my forearm. Something raged inside my fist like a living thing gone mad. I bit down hard until blood welled up and bittered my tongue.

And in that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠window, the Hydra changed its mind. Attack instead of flight—the choice of a cornered beast. All seven heads spread their jaws as one and came crashing down on me from above. The sky disappeared behind a wall of fangs.

No way to dodge. And no intention of dodging.

[The fist that holds a star does not waver.]

What he had told me on the last day of training.

[When fear comes to find you, remember this: what you clenched that fist for. If there is something you must protect, never take a single step backward. That is the resolve of the one who inherits this venerable self's will.]

Behind me—the grave in bloom. And beyond it, Luen. Grandmother. The baker aunt. The brothers at the forge, and the noisy, endearing little ones. As their faces rose before me one by one, my trembling fist went still.

That's right. Don't forget. Everything I carry.

A straight punch. The simplest, truest fist there is. With this, I will protect it. All of it. Even if the Gods themselves bar the way, I will climb over them.

Light lanced out from my hurled fist. Sound itself was severed—wind and thunder alike simply stopped. Blinding white flooded everything before my eyes.

The head at the very front vanished into that light. The heads chasing behind it lost their shapes one after another, wiped away without a trace.

"GRAAAAAAAGH! AAAAAGH!"

The Hydra thrashed in desperation. Fresh flesh came bubbling up from its melted stumps in a frantic attempt to seal the wounds—but the moment it sprouted, the light scoured it away. Erasing outpaced regrowing, every single time.

"Now get out of my sight. Vanish!"

I jammed one foot forward and shoved a step deeper, wringing out the last dregs of starlight and forcing it all to the tip of my fist. This much has to be enough. Mid-boss or whatever the hell you are—just fall already! ...Please!

The pillar of light roared up even fiercer. The sixth head melted away into the brilliance, and the final remaining head let out a shriek that split the air.

The light swallowed its colossal body whole. Scales burned off in sheets, flesh ran and sloughed away, and even the bones burst apart, scattering into nothing along with the glow.

Then the light died, and stillness settled over everything. Sunlight came pouring down through the torn clouds. It was over. It was truly, finally over. I had done it. The impossible!

"...Haah. Never figured I'd finish a boss off like that."

My knees buckled and I sat down hard. My right arm shuddered uncontrollably—I couldn't stretch out so much as one finger. Annoyingly enough, it was exactly as the old man had promised, but I couldn't bring myself to mind. A win's a win.

"Did you see that? I overcame it. Fate itself."

I murmured it up at the sky. No answer came back. But somewhere out there, someone was watching. I was sure of it.

I stayed like that for a long while before finally pushing myself upright, wiping the sweat from my brow with the only hand that still worked. Right. Time to head back and get some food. That was a bit much, even for a stroll. Everyone must be worried sick.

I turned around.

And froze.

At the edge of the ash-grey wasteland, right where the grass ran out, the villagers stood rooted to the spot. Grandmother. The baker aunt. The blacksmith brothers. Even Clover, whom I'd sent off on an errand not long ago. Every last one of them had their mouth hanging open.

"..."

"..."

Oh, right. I told everyone to wait at the community hall. When did they even get here? Did they see all of it?

And the plan's already off the rails. Now what? Aigoo... no excuse on earth is getting me out of this one, huh?

"Sis... that thing you just did..."

Clover was the first to speak. Her voice trembled.

"You said it was a walk! What is THIS?!"

"It was a walk. Just a slightly rough one."

"That is NOT a walk! You lied!"

Theron, one of the blacksmith brothers, murmured with a dazed look on his face, hammer still clenched in his fist. Drenched in sweat, he looked half ready to keel over.

"We... we couldn't just send you off alone, so... we each grabbed a weapon and came after you... Th-thank goodness it turned out we weren't needed. You scared me half to death."

"Pfft! With that hammer? Seriously?"

"...Uh, w-well. Yeah. I-is that strange?"

"Big bro! That's a nail hammer!"

The baker aunt was gripping a broom, dead leaves and black soot clinging to every bristle. That thing couldn't catch a mouse, let alone a calamity. She'd clearly grabbed the first thing her hands found in the panic.

"And what exactly were you planning to do with that, ma'am?"

"I—I grabbed whatever my hands could reach, all right?! The moment I saw you standing there all alone in front of that monster, my legs just wouldn't move... B-but never mind that—what on earth WAS that thing you just did?!"

Grandmother came walking slowly forward. She stepped into the cursed land she had never once approached in her entire life, leaned her weight on her cane, and simply looked at me. Again and again. Over and over.

"Silvia. Come here to me, child."

"...Yes, Grandmother."

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"My arm's a little numb, that's all. Everything else is fine."

Grandmother wrapped both hands firmly around my right arm. At their wrinkled fingertips, the faintest tremor ran through her. I said nothing and simply let that warmth soak all the way in. It's warm. The body heat of someone truly, properly alive. Yeah. It really is.

"So this is what you've been sneaking off to do all this time."

"...Yes. It is. I'm sorry."

"Why ever didn't you tell me? Aigoo, tsk."

"Because you'd have stopped me."

"Of course I would have! You little rascal! You could have SAID something!"

Grandmother's voice cracked out in a scolding shout—and then, just as suddenly, she pulled me into her arms. I tilted my head ever so slightly so the horn on my forehead wouldn't strike hers.

"...You did well. It's been hard on you, my Silvia."

My nose prickled. The rims of my eyes went hot, but I forced it all back down. Cry here and I'd never hear the end of it. Over Grandmother's shoulder, I flashed the stiff, frozen villagers a bright grin.

"You're all far too late, you know. It's already over and done with."

Someone let out a snort of laughter, and the stiff air melted on the spot. Some laughed even as they wept; others simply crumpled where they stood, their legs finally giving out. Clover, who had been hanging off my waist this whole time, wailed at the top of her lungs.

"Sis, you dummy! I thought you were gonna die!"

"Not dying. Didn't you see? Your big sis here is crazy strong."

"I know! I just saw! B-but still!"

"Okay, okay. No more crying. Let's go home. Come on, now."

In the original story, these people would have vanished the moment the tale began. And now, here they were, laughing at my side. A peace I had clawed out of the dark, at long last.

I wanted to keep these smiles safe, from this day forward.

That night, the village stayed loud and festive until late. A bonfire blazed in the square; the bread the baker aunt had rushed to bake vanished in no time, and the blacksmith brothers were already draining their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠third keg of ale. The smell of drink hung thick on every side of the plaza.

Someone improvised a song about me on the spot and sang it out loud. The lyrics were mortifying enough that I quietly slipped away. What on earth did everyone find so enjoyable?

Haah. Exhausting. Absolutely exhausting. Fighting the Hydra hadn't even worn me out this much. The one mercy is that nobody dragged me back to the party.

I sat down at the water's edge—the very spot where, a hundred years ago, I had first laid eyes on my own reflection. The sky was thick with stars, shining the same deep blue-white as the light on Orbis's scales. You're watching from up there, aren't you?

Then it came. Clack. Clack.

A sound rang out inside my skull. The sound of dice rolling.

Clack, clack.

I lifted my head. From between the stars, from the highest point in the sky, something was peering down at me. Far too vast to be an eye, far too cold to be light. What in the world is that thing?

—Oh? How strange. The story has come off its rails.

—Luen was supposed to burn. What is this?

—And who is that elf? She isn't even the protagonist.

Goosebumps erupted across every inch of my skin. Dice of the Gods.

Only now did I understand what that title truly meant.

The beings Orbis had staked his very life fighting.

So that—that is what the gods of this world are.

Clack. Before long, the sound faded away.

And once more, only the stars remained in the sky.