Reunion in Alfheim
"...You... son of a bitch..."
With a soft whoosh, Belial collapsed forward. Staring at the hole punched clean through his own heart, he muttered a low curse and toppled face-first onto the ground.
"Hoo."
Watching Belial die, Do-ha reined in his energy. In the end, Belial's decision to ignore him had created the opening he needed.
My internal energy has definitely reached the early stages of Hwa-gyeong now.
But raw internal energy alone was never enough. He had to raise his realm as quickly as possible if he ever wanted to reclaim the martial prowess of his past.
Something rolled free from the dead Belial's robes.
"Hm?"
Do-ha's eyes lit up. He snatched it up at once.
"This is... a Dragon Heart?"
Why would someone like Belial be carrying two of these priceless things?
"There's no way this bastard killed two dragons himself..."
Belial was only a sub-baron-class demon. He couldn't even handle a single dragon, let alone two.
"Maybe a grand duke-level demon could pull it off, but Belial? He could barely fight one."
Do-ha slipped both Dragon Hearts into his subspace bag.
A distant explosion thundered across the forest.
"There they are."
He launched himself forward.
Far off, Canteas was almost certainly holding off the demons that had followed Belial out.
Lightning crackled. In a single burst of Noeryeongsinbo, Do-ha crossed the distance and looked down from the sky at the swarm of demons below.
"These bastards never learn."
Levitation
The demons' bodies rose helplessly into the air.
Myeol-hwang Sword Technique — First Form: Blood Cloud
Do-ha swept his blade. Crimson lines bloomed across every floating body; a heartbeat later they burst apart in a rain of gore.
"Why the hell did it take you so long against trash like this?"
"Because you won't let me summon undead, that's why!"
Canteas snapped back the moment Do-ha landed and started scolding him. The injustice of it all was almost too much. Inside Alfheim he couldn't freely use his power—or rather, he could, but the elves would try to kill him for it. How was a lich supposed to fight under those conditions? And the enemies were demons. Even low-ranking ones were A-rank by hunter standards. Dozens of them had charged him, and he had held out this long without magic. That alone was a miracle.
"What about Cheon Seol-gyeong? Why'd you leave him behind?"
"I left him to guard the elves. Another noble-class demon could show up any second."
"Oh... good call."
"Hehe, right?"
Canteas scratched his head, basking in the rare praise.
Leaves rustled.
"Do-ha-ssi."
With the last demons gone, Selenia pushed through the undergrowth and approached.
"Selenia."
She walked closer. Do-ha squeezed his eyes shut. Dimerof, Namgung Je-u—every friend who reunited with him had punched him first. She would probably do the same.
Instead she threw herself into his arms.
"You're alive..."
She buried her face against him and quietly began to cry. Do-ha said nothing, only stroked her back in silence.
"Ohh, His Majesty the Emperor has returned!"
"Thank you once again for saving us, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty! Do you remember me?! When I was little—"
"Hey, move!"
"You move!"
"Haha..."
Do-ha offered an awkward smile as the elves of Alfheim swarmed him. He had deliberately tried to avoid entering the kingdom for exactly this reason, but Selenia had insisted on escorting him to the Elf Queen, and now he was stuck.
"What?! That's a lich! You foul creature, begone!"
"They always do this the second they see me! Don't talk like those bald Shaolin monks, you pointy-eared bastards!"
"Booo, go away~"
"Why does this happen every single time I show up?!"
Canteas immediately started bickering with the elves. Yet for all their demands that he leave, smiles played across every elven face. They knew perfectly well that Canteas was trustworthy—how many times he had helped Alfheim. Still, a lich was a lich. So they welcomed him the only way they knew how: by teasing him mercilessly.
"How many elves died?"
"Honestly, very few fell to the demons themselves."
While Canteas traded insults, Do-ha walked beside Selenia and spoke quietly.
"Cultists slipped in through paths even we didn't know. More elves died stopping them than fighting the demons."
"Hmm."
Do-ha's eyes narrowed. That had to be Alteir, boss of New Age. The cultists Cheon Seol-gyeong had killed were all non-combatants. Meaning Alteir had been protecting them.
So the Pope hired Alteir as an escort.
A thought struck him. He recalled the Dragon Hearts now sitting in his subspace bag. Hiring someone of Alteir's caliber would have cost a fortune—especially for a mission to infiltrate Alfheim.
They paid him in Dragon Hearts... then got betrayed and lost them to Belial.
Selenia suddenly leaned her face right in front of his furrowed brow.
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
She had called his name twice already and he still hadn't answered.
"Just someone back on Earth."
"Your grandfather?"
She tilted her head, hands clasped behind her back. Canteas had already told her everything that had happened.
"No. A criminal organization on Earth."
"Ah."
As they continued walking and talking, every elf around them suddenly snapped into formal posture.
"It has been a long time, Your Majesty."
"Have you been well, Dearopia?"
Do-ha greeted the Elf Queen. How long had it been? He hadn't seen her since long before he left to fight the Demon God.
"And I'm not emperor anymore. Just call me Do-ha."
"That I cannot do."
Dearopia shook her head with a gentle smile. Not only she, but every elf in Alfheim still regarded him as their emperor. It wasn't that they refused to acknowledge Dimerof—Baek Do-ha simply held a uniquely special place in their hearts.
She glanced at Selenia, her smile softening further.
"I can't remember the last time my daughter's face looked this bright."
Even before the demons appeared, a shadow had always hung over the girl. Now she shone brighter than anyone.
"Mother! I—I mean, Your Majesty!"
Selenia jumped in flustered protest. She had always worn a bright expression—what was her mother talking about?
"Hehe. I'm simply glad my daughter has found her light again."
In truth the Elf Queen had no blood children of her own. She had simply taken Selenia in as an adopted daughter. Most elves were born from the World Tree and barely understood the concept of parent and child. That didn't mean they couldn't bear children, of course—roughly half the elves of Alfheim had been born from the World Tree, the other half through ordinary birth. And so the queen had chosen to call Selenia her daughter.
"If you ever make my daughter cry again... I may just start hating even Your Majesty."
"Mother... please."
Selenia covered her face in embarrassment. Why did her mother have to act like such a doting parent?
"Come inside. I suspect we have a great deal to discuss."
Dearopia led them toward the queen's chambers.
"Hmm... you must have suffered a great deal."
After hearing everything, Dearopia closed her eyes and nodded. Even back when Do-ha still lived in Belhart, he had occasionally claimed to be from another world. At the time she had dismissed it as a joke.
"The Demon God... so that god still lives."
"Yes. I failed to kill him. And plenty of demons remain as well."
"Even so, thanks to you we were able to protect the World Tree and our people once again."
She meant every word. It wasn't only that he had restored her daughter's smile—once more he had saved Alfheim. They had grown far stronger than in the past and overhauled their entire training system, yet a single noble-class demon had still pushed them hard. They would have won if the fight had continued to the end, but countless elves would have died.
"Do you know why Belial tried to destroy the World Tree?"
"Most likely because of the World Tree that grew on the Northern Continent."
"A new World Tree has grown?"
Do-ha's eyes widened slightly. Until now there had only ever been one World Tree. And it had sprouted on the Northern Continent—the very land conquered by the Demon God Cult.
"Over a long span of years the World Tree granted us a seed. We snuck into the Northern Continent and planted it."
"And that angered the Cult."
"It seems so. They destroyed the tree we planted there, then learned that seeds could still be produced..."
"So from their perspective, the logical next step was to destroy the original World Tree."
"Exactly."
Dearopia nodded. Protecting the World Tree had become more critical than ever.
"Why plant a seed on the Northern Continent in the first place? All you did was tip the Cult off that seeds even exist."
Canteas stared at the queen. Why not plant it somewhere the Cult had never touched?
"Not every living thing on the Northern Continent belongs to the Cult."
Ordinary farmers tilling their fields. Animals racing across the plains. Plants that purified the air. All of them were being corrupted by the Cult's miasma. People fell sick, animals lost their fur and teeth, plants twisted into monster-like forms. She could not simply stand by and watch. Even if the Empire or the Martial Alliance moved, they lacked the strength to confront the Cult across the entire Northern Continent. Their forces were already stretched thin; if the emperor or the alliance leader left their posts, the Western or Eastern Continents could be invaded in the gap.
"So I planted the seed myself—knowing full well the information would leak."
"...That was a hell of a decision for you."
Canteas patted Dearopia's shoulder. Only now did he understand the resolve and the heart behind her choice.
"But I really have to say this."
In the quiet that followed, Canteas opened his mouth again.
"What?"
"Got any beer instead of tea? Seriously, why are you elves turning into martial artists? Everything's tea!"
Smack!
Do-ha clipped him upside the head. Canteas shuddered.
"Pfft. You never change."
Dearopia burst out laughing.
"Follow me. I made beer precisely for a day like this."
"You made it yourself?! Nice!"
Canteas clapped and shot to his feet. The usually stiff Dearopia, of all people!
"Do-ha, stay here a while with my daughter."
Do-ha had been about to rise as well, but at the queen's words he sat back down.
The door closed behind them with a soft thud.
"Uh... the tea smells nice."
An awkward silence settled. Do-ha forced the words out. Being alone with Selenia had never felt strange before—why now?
"Do-ha-ssi."
"Yeah?"
He turned at her call. She stepped closer. Do-ha gently closed his eyes.
Suddenly she took his hand.
"?"
His eyes flew open in surprise.
"Hehe. What exactly were you expecting when you closed your eyes?"
"I—I just... you came closer, so..."
She smiled; Do-ha coughed awkwardly, flustered. In the quiet she had approached, and he had somehow assumed she meant to kiss him.
"I have something to say."
"What is it?"
"I want to go to Earth with you, Do-ha-ssi."
From the moment she saw him alive again, her heart had already decided.