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chapter 29
The voice came from the saddle of the wyvern in the center of the five.
On that saddle sat twelve Dark Elves in total, and the one who spoke was a female Dark Elf standing at the front.
I instinctively knew she was a High Elf.
A small relief within the misfortune, perhaps.
The wyverns on either side of hers didn’t even have saddles attached.
That meant the Dark Elves here consisted of only those twelve, including the High Elf.
“…Hoo.”
My anxiety wouldn’t stop pounding.
Was it because I had just received the simultaneous pressure of five roars, or because of the High Elf’s appearance? My chest hadn’t calmed down since earlier.
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I kept repeating in my mind:
If I think about it calmly, the situation isn’t that bad.
All that’s left ahead is one High Elf and eleven Dark Elves.
There were still Dark Elves on the opposite cliff, but other than harassment fire, they couldn’t really do anything—unless they jumped the cliff like I had.
So really, the only opponents were one High Elf and eleven Dark Elves.
And I had already fought and defeated eight War Hammers…
‘Wait, wasn’t it only because those were one-on-one fights that I barely survived? The fact I killed four of them was just thanks to some mysterious skill.’
…Damn it.
Why do I always start thinking the worst?
I need to keep calm, but that doesn’t mean I should lose confidence.
I forced myself to reframe things.
From the start, I don’t need to beat them all.
What matters is that my mother has escaped safely and that I survive the hands of that damned High Elf.
It’s fine. Even with my injured ankle, I should still be able to run.
That’s what I need to keep telling myself.
Just then, I managed to cobble together a flimsy plan in my head, and I opened my mouth as calmly as I could.
“You really set up one hell of a trap.”
Even as I spoke, I kept wracking my brain—wasn’t there a better plan?
The one I just came up with was shallow, cowardly, pathetic.
Why is this the best my brain can come up with?
It felt like the blood leaking from my body was draining my intelligence too. My head spun.
“Fufu, when such a large prey walks right into your arms, of course you’d prepare.”
Graciously, the High Elf descended from her wyvern just to address me.
She leapt down gracefully, landing with poise, her bobbed hair fluttering.
She wore a tight black off-shoulder leather top and leather pants that clung to her figure like tights.
The snug outfit only emphasized her well-developed curves.
Unlike the other Dark Elves, whose clothes were similar to our Sentinels but simply darker in color, she stood out with an especially individualistic style.
“Wearing that, riding a wyvern must be chilly. Guess you run hot, huh?”
When I teased her, the Dark Elf widened her eyes and laughed in a high-pitched voice, covering her mouth.
“Worried about your enemy? How adorable.”
“No… I was mocking you.”
Her genuine laughter left me dumbfounded.
Is she clueless, or just simple-minded?
No, this wasn’t the time for that.
“Hey, lady.”
“L–lady…?!”
I could almost hear the sound of her forehead vein popping.
The sight was so ridiculous I couldn’t help but grin and start teasing her more.
“Come on, what’s the big deal? I don’t know or care how old you are, but you’ve lived long enough that being called a lady is fair.”
I just started babbling, mostly to buy time.
But honestly, I wasn’t wrong.
High Elves live for centuries. She must have lived plenty of years by now.
“You impudent brat, how dare you…!”
Her reaction was far stronger than expected.
She looked downright furious, to the point I felt awkward for provoking her.
To think she’d fall for such a childish taunt so easily?
And she hadn’t even caught the sarcasm earlier… yeah, this High Elf might be simpler than I thought.
Suddenly, my flimsy plan felt more feasible.
“Why so mad? Ahh, is it because I didn’t show proper respect? Oh dear, how thoughtless of me. My apologies… Granny.”
“Gra—…!”
At the word granny, her face twisted like a demon of rage, and she slowly pulled the bow from her back.
The pressure that exploded from her was overwhelming, enough to make me break into a cold sweat.
Just the aura alone surpassed the War Hammers.
Yeah… she really has lived long. Must be seriously sensitive about her age.
“Calm down, Granny! I’m injured, remember? I don’t want to fight!”
Since her drawing a bow was dangerous, I quickly raised my hands in surrender.
“What’s your game, brat?”
Brat? Isn’t that her admitting she’s much older?
Then why get mad when I call her old?
Women, I swear.
“No, no, I just realized something. There’s no way I can beat you all on my own.”
“Hmph?”
She tilted her chin, folding her arms as if daring me to continue.
The pose only pushed her already full chest up even more.
So she takes good care of herself, huh. A fine aging, if I may say so.
Though, High Elf or not, she’s still a granny.
“I surrender. I know my place now. Just spare my life. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
I paused—should I be using polite speech here?
“Oooh…?”
Her eyes curved into a sly smile.
Looks like she didn’t care much about my tone. Lucky me.
The Dark Elves on the wyverns looked at me sharply, but who cares? She herself wasn’t offended.
While I quietly breathed a sigh of relief, she gestured behind her.
The wyverns began to fold their wings and land softly.
Despite their huge, heavy bodies, their landing was light.
As the wings stilled, the storm-like winds died down, and the dust quickly settled.
She beckoned with her finger, and one Dark Elf rushed over, pulling something from his robes and handing it to her.
It was a dark crystal sphere, oozing with an ominous aura.
“Didn’t you say you’d do anything?”
She stepped toward me, one slow, elegant step at a time.
But instead of allure, only dread radiated from her.
I instinctively tried to step back, but pain flared in my ankle, making me groan.
Her smile softened at the sight.
But it wasn’t a pleasant smile.
She held the dark sphere out toward me.
“Swallow it.”
“…What is it?”
Her palm suddenly struck my cheek.
It wasn’t strong, so I let it hit, but the sting still pissed me off.
When I glared back, she clicked her tongue.
“Speak politely, child. I haven’t lived this long to be spoken to so rudely.”
So she was bothered by it.
Her reaction weirdly reminded me of how I scolded the Keris sisters for speaking casually to me. Instead of scary, it just felt silly.
Her speech made her sound like someone important, but her behavior was downright childish.
I thought of how I must’ve looked to the Keris sisters and bowed my head.
“…Sorry.”
“Good.”
Satisfied, she smiled again and held the sphere out once more.
Surprisingly easy to handle, for a supposed mastermind Dark Elf.
“This is a shard of El Lür.”
“…What?”
It was like a gong went off inside my head.
The shock was like getting hit in the back of the skull.
This… is that thing?
The one Irion had mentioned?
Seeing it with my own eyes jogged my memory.
It was as if the hazy silhouette in my mind finally came into focus.
‘That shard of El Lür… I’m pretty sure it’s an item that transforms Elves into Dark Elves…’
Sure, one could start as a Dark Elf from the beginning, but since their tutorial difficulty was brutal, many chose to use this item to turn later.
I never thought I’d see one here.
‘So that’s all it does? No other effects?’
I tried to remember more, but that was all I knew.
‘But Irion said they were using shards of El Lür to corrupt the forest. That was never in the game… so maybe there’s some hidden lore?’
Keeping my face calm, I asked,
“What happens to me if I take it?”
Her smile widened.
“You’ll gain a wonderful body. Freed from restraint, instincts unbound, limitless potential unlocked. The moment you consume it, you will be reborn.”
I frowned.
The game never described it like that. It just changed your race, nothing more.
“…Is that so?”
I accepted the shard.
Her smile deepened, and I matched it with one of my own.
Then I clenched the shard tightly.
“…What are you doing?”
“Eh?”
I’d planned to crush it, but it didn’t break.
Too tough—probably flagged as indestructible.
Feeling awkward, I hurled it right into her face instead.
“Urk…! You little!”
She staggered back, clutching her face in pain.
I darted forward, wrapped my arm around her neck, and locked in a chokehold.
“Kh…!”
She flailed weakly in my grip.
It was almost disappointing.
“What the hell? Why’s this so easy?”
Was she naïve, or were the other Dark Elves really just standing there as decoration? Or maybe she simply never imagined being taken hostage like this?
Either way, I’d take the win.
Tightening my grip, I shouted at the others:
“Nobody move! If even one of you twitches, this woman dies!”
This was my flimsy plan all along: a hostage situation.
‘Never thought I’d actually pull one of these… against a Dark Elf noble, no less.’
Luckily, it worked. The Dark Elves clearly panicked.
“Princess…!”
“You filthy son of El Rudarel, how dare you touch our princess!”
‘…Princess?’
So the Dark Elves had royalty?
In the game, I’d never paid them any attention beyond killing them.
Guess their culture diverged far from normal Elves.
Not that it mattered.
What mattered was that my hostage had just become far more valuable.
Grinning, I pressed my dagger to her throat.
Compared to just choking, the cold blade carried much clearer killing intent.
The Dark Elves grew more frantic.
“You… vile—!”
As my choke loosened, the High Elf regained her voice enough to curse me.
But I silenced her with a dagger to her temple, squeezing tighter around her neck.
“Ghk—!”
She writhed in agony, eyes rolling, as the Dark Elves panicked.
“If you so much as scratch our princess, we won’t forgive you!”
“Oh really? Then you’d better stay put if you don’t want to see her neck snap.”
Still, holding her wasn’t easy.
Even restrained, her strength was tremendous. My injured body struggled to maintain the choke.
I clenched harder until her thrashing slowly weakened.
She was fading.
“Princess!!”
The Dark Elves looked like they were about to lose it.
Some even aimed arrows at me, but I ducked behind her body, dragging her with me.
I pressed the dagger harder to her temple, drawing a bead of blood, and the Dark Elves froze.
She was about to pass out, so I eased the pressure—if she died, I’d be screwed too.
Released, she gasped desperately for air, coughing, drooling, tears in her eyes.
Watching her like that, I felt almost like the villain here.
“But really… a High Elf, supposedly so dignified, letting herself get taken down so easily? What were you thinking? Did you actually believe your enemy’s words?”
I asked without thinking, genuinely baffled.
She looked utterly wronged.
“Y–You… said so yourself…!”
“…How pampered must your life have been, to believe an enemy’s words at face value?”
Her expression twisted with fury.
Even with her throat sore, she forced words out.
“I’m not that old! Everyone assumes I am because I’m a High Elf, but I’m still under a hundred! A young woman! Why does everyone act like I’m some decrepit hag?!”
The outburst startled even me mid-choke.
Her eyes even welled with tears from pent-up frustration.
…What the hell is with this granny?
