IRE 15

Chapter 15

“Urgh!”

It was by a hair’s breadth.

The branch I had intended to land on was shattered by Martikan’s hammer, falling along with the collapsing tree. But just barely, while tumbling down, I managed to step on another branch and leap once more into the air.

“Keh-heh, persistent bastard.”

Says the one to talk.

Landing on a tree right next to him, I quickly scanned my surroundings—and only then did I realize.

The tree I stood on now… was the last one left.

All the countless trees had been smashed apart by his hammer.

To think he could turn a place that had thrived with nature’s vitality for thousands of years into a wasteland…

Everywhere, fallen trunks and splintered wood lay strewn about.

The sheer thickness and length of them, heavy with the weight of their years, filled and cluttered the surroundings, making the ruin all the more overwhelming.

Truly, “wasteland” was the only fitting word.

I gave up on a strategy that had now become useless and dropped to the ground.

Martikan, the one who had created this sight, looked at me with a savage grin. His tusks, typical of an orc, gleamed as they jutted forward menacingly.

“What’s this? My heart’s still beating just fine.”

“…You wouldn’t die no matter what, so I came down here to end it myself.”

“Grahahaha! You really are to my liking!”

At first, the duel had been somewhat in my favor, but after five straight rounds without rest, the tide had turned overwhelmingly against me.

Though the trees had been destroyed, making aerial combat impossible, there were still enough fallen trunks around to use for cover.

I still hadn’t lost all advantage from the terrain.

“So then, I’m your fifth opponent, am I? I wonder how many more of us you’ll be able to satisfy.”

“Shut up. I’m going to kill every last one of you.”

At my venom-laced words, the warhammer warrior laughed again.

“Unbelievable. To think among the pointy-ears I’d find one I like this much! Hrrm, young elf—you’ve earned the favor of eight great warriors. Do you understand what that means?”

“Don’t care.”

What did it matter? Kill or be killed—that was all this was.

Martikan just kept smiling.

“It means your death will be blessed by Ka Hwaran.”

“Crazy bastard.”

Like I’d ever want the blessing of some war-mad god.

If it had been some kind of skill, sure, I’d have taken it without hesitation. But what good would a war god’s blessing do an elf? At best, it’d just produce some kind of twisted mutant—another Dark Elf, perhaps.

“Hrrm. What began as a simple pastime has become a delight beyond imagination. I don’t know how long this will last… but I hope it goes on. For us—and for them as well.”

“…What?”

As I caught my breath, those words snagged at me.

“What did you just say?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Was he playing dumb?

I clenched my teeth.

“You said them. Just now. What did you mean?”

“Ah… that.”

Martikan scratched the back of his head, as if he’d slipped up.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. The outcome won’t change anyway.”

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

The wind went still.

The silence of the forest deepened, amplifying the turmoil rising in my chest.

And then Martikan said, as if it were nothing:

“It’s simple. There are nine of us in this forest, including myself.”

“……”

“Just as you sensed us, we sensed you. You came to us as bait of your own accord. We found it amusing—and so one of my brothers was sent to fulfill his destiny. Hrrm, though he seemed more interested in fighting than anything else… but what can you do? A wager’s a wager.”

“Then… all this time, you were just stalling…”

“Ahh, yes. You really fought desperately to buy time without even knowing. Ironically, that only stoked our battle-lust and made it more entertaining!”

Martikan laughed loud, pounding his chest with a fist.

“But buying time won’t help you. By now, my brother will have reached those little kittens you were hiding… and most likely slaughtered them all.”

“…Atir is there.”

“Atir? Ah, the spirit?”

His laughter rang through the silence.

“You think that pathetic spirit can stand against us?”

“Atir is there, you bastards.”

Uncontrollable tremors seized my body.

Rage.

Blinding rage that blurred my vision.

Warm drops trailed down my cheeks.

“That spirit is probably dead by now.”

Martikan now looked at me in puzzlement.

But I only prayed, desperately, silently.

Prayed again and again.

Please, please let that damned spirit be safe.

Spirits share their thoughts with their contractors, resonating with their minds.

The longer the bond, the deeper the understanding, turning them into true partners and companions.

That bond only strengthens both sides, so elves call it a blessing.

But I call it a shackle. Because if one dies…

Then the other’s fate is obvious.

The death of one is no longer just one death. Their minds are already bound as one—what meaning is there in separating them?

Eshiria.

My mother.

The only one who gave me a reason to live in this world.

I fell silent.

And the forest was silent with me.

I had always hated that silence. Every time I walked the village, I wanted to drown it out with noise.

But never…

“ALL OF YOU!! I’LL KILL YOU!!”

Never like this.

My mind went blank white.

[Confirming user’s will.]

In that instant, a sound pierced me.

A ringing?

A machine’s voice?

I didn’t know.

But it didn’t matter.

My hand moved, clutching bow and arrow.

Though I had no idea what it was doing.

Was I even firing arrows? Was my bow aimed at him? I couldn’t tell.

The hammer came flying.

Did I see it? Or did it simply appear in my vision? My thoughts no longer processed the situation.

Wait—did I just catch the hammer he swung?

“Hrrm.”

A snort.

It should have come from him, yet it felt impossibly close.

As if it had come from my own lips.

My vision shifted.

The hammer became an axe.

Thrown? Swung up close? I didn’t know.

I dodged because I saw it, climbed onto a massive fallen tree, and swung my bow.

…Wait. Swing my bow?

I dodged again as the hammer flew. Hid behind a tree and loosed another arr—

No. Not an arrow.

Hammer? Axe?

Still, something flew.

I didn’t check what it struck.

Hammer. Axe. Arrow. Flying, swinging, splitting—

BOOM!

A thunderous crash—and my thoughts were cut off.

Agonizing pain seared through my skull.

“Guh…”

As if boiling water had suddenly frozen, the hazy numbness cleared into sharp awareness.

Blood.

My left ribs were shattered—I knew instantly.

I’d been struck in the side.

I couldn’t move.

“Huuhh… huuhhh…”

Ragged breathing filled my ears.

I rolled my eyes as far as I could. There he was—the warhammer, wheezing, arrows jutting all over his body.

Ah…

So in the end, I’d lost.

I’d die without vengeance.

But then I noticed something strange.

That wasn’t Martikan.

It wasn’t the fifth warrior I had been fighting.

“Amazing… truly amazing, warrior.”

The warhammer rasped.

After coughing, he spat bloody phlegm.

“Truly splendid. I have no other words. To think you could face all of us alone…”

“……”

I wanted to ask what he meant, but no voice came out.

My body wouldn’t respond. I just lay there, pitifully, staring.

“Khhrk… hahah, khhrk, HAHAHAHA!”

Blood spewed from his throat with each laugh, yet he still managed to roar with mirth.

He laughed and laughed, as if he couldn’t help himself, even while drowning in his own blood.

“Be proud, warrior!! You fought eight brothers and slew half! You have offered Ka Hwaran a battle worthy of history!!”

Half.

Half of them?

“You said you would kill us all! True, you only slew half—but no!! To kill half is already a triumph! You did as you vowed!”

Nonsense. But I had no strength left to argue.

Did I really rampage so fiercely?

I rolled my eyes around once more, trying to find the others. But none of them were in sight.

“Hrrm… young warrior, any last words?”

“……”

“Heh, no strength left even to speak? Khh-hah!”

He coughed more blood, spat it out.

“Pfah! A satisfying fight, young warrior. Eternal victory—that is the duty of Ka Hwaran’s priests. I can feel His smile. He urges me now to claim your life. Hrrm… such battles always set a warrior’s blood aflame. Surely you feel it too…”

Bullshit.

Who the hell would enjoy something so twisted?

Even so, I reflexively tried to respond—but all that left my lips was a faint hiss, meaningless.

I gave up, and only in my heart did I spit my retort.

Eternal victory? What crap. That’s not Ka Hwaran’s teaching at all.

“It’s a shame I won’t hear your last words… but we can’t linger. The time has come. Hrrm.”

He raised his hammer high, ready to smash it down with earth-splitting force.

“Farewell.”

But before he could strike—

An arrow pierced his head.

“…Huh?”

That was the last word he ever spoke.

“Elldmir!!”

“He’s alive!!”

The cries of the sentinels rang out.

I heard voices I recognized from my village, and others from nearby settlements.

At last, I let out a sigh of relief. My strength drained away completely.

So in the end…

Yes, in the end—

I had won.

Tears welled up.

A faint voice, barely more than a whimper, slipped out.

Mother.

My mother.

Was she safe? Why had she come here? What had happened to her?

I wanted to ask, but no words formed.

And so, frustrated, I only wept hot tears.

“By Elrdarel…”

“The forest…”

I heard the mourning voices of elves witnessing the devastation.

But among them, I never heard my mother’s voice.

I closed my eyes.

“That’s not important right now! Heal Eldmir!”

Healing power flowed into me.

I accepted it, but had little will to recover.

I simply let fate carry me.

To survive these wounds would be nothing short of a miracle.

“Pursue them! Some are still alive! Hunt down those hateful children of strife!”

“Remember, they are high-blooded! Even near death, do not underestimate them!”

Shouts and chaos filled the forest.

This was not the kind of noise I had ever wanted.

I never wished for the forest’s destruction.

Never…

Ahh…

Drowsiness overcame me.

My consciousness blurred, the sounds of the forest fading like I was sinking underwater.

And in that haze…

“Elr!”

I thought I heard a beloved voice.