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chapter 33
“Kraaaah!”
It happened in that instant.
One of the trackers pursuing the vanished Essyria suddenly burst into flames without any warning.
The other trackers nearby were shocked by the unexpected phenomenon.
Before anyone could react, the tracker engulfed in flames was consumed entirely, turning into a charred lump.
“Gyaaaah!”
And that was not the end.
“Sa-someone… help… Kraaaah!”
“What… what is happening?!”
The flames continued to flare.
Though the intensity wasn’t as high as the initial burst that consumed the first tracker, the fire quickly burned two more trackers and was now devouring a third.
‘Spirit flames…? No, no. This isn’t that kind of gentle flame.’
Irian felt a surge of confusion.
The flames clearly carried the aura of a spirit, yet their nature was far too different.
These flames revealed a horrific and malicious intent, far beyond the calmness associated with spirits. It was as if the flames were not from a spirit at all but from a demon escaping the depths of hell.
“Wyverns! Everyone, mount the wyverns!”
Irian wasn’t foolish enough to let an unknown hostile entity harm them further.
Under his command, everyone scrambled onto the saddles of various wyverns.
The high elf climbed onto the largest wyvern, which Irian led personally.
The other wyverns, carrying the dark elves, took off immediately as well.
“Ugh! What in the world is that?!”
“I don’t know either! We need to fall back…!”
At that moment, a terrifying sound of an arrow slicing through the air rang out.
Before they could even react, an arrow flew from somewhere and pierced the neck of a wyvern.
The impact left a massive hole, and the wyvern’s head dangled loosely, barely attached.
Irian stared in horror at the falling wyvern, unable to comprehend the scene.
“That… that can’t be…”
The arrow, if he wasn’t mistaken, carried spirit flames.
“A spirit mage…? How could a spirit mage of that caliber suddenly appear here?”
Looking down at the hole in the falling wyvern’s neck, he noticed it radiated a red heat, as if seared by fire.
From what he knew, only supreme spirits or divine-level beings could produce such heat.
Irian gritted his teeth.
Could Eldmir have secretly summoned reinforcements?
Regardless, the identity of this figure was a total mystery. But anyone with such a foreboding aura could not be a normal being.
‘But how? They couldn’t have known my identity… yet they predicted this situation and sent reinforcements?’
Amid the chaos, Irian and the dark elves fired in the direction the arrow had come from, while the wyverns all roared simultaneously toward that point.
“That’s… the last place their trail led!”
One dark elf shouted, tracking the signs.
Hearing that, Irian began doubting his hypothesis that Eldmir had sent reinforcements.
No way.
But…
“Damn it… denying reality won’t change a thing.”
Irian ground his teeth.
“Eldmir…! Is that you…!”
He had remained cautious and vigilant, hiding his intent completely. He had concealed his presence like a well-trained assassin, preparing only the strike necessary to paralyze him, never intending to kill.
If he had even the slightest desire to kill Eldmir at that moment, things would have turned out very differently.
He had acted decisively to ambush Eldmir, ensuring he could turn him into a dark elf, demonstrating remarkable cunning.
Yet…
“…we have to retreat.”
He couldn’t deny his impending defeat.
“What?”
The high elf glared.
“You dare order me to flee? The royal…!”
“Enough! Listen to me now!!”
Ignoring her, he turned the wyvern’s head.
The other dark elves, though surprised, quickly grasped the role they were to play and followed suit.
They realized and accepted that they were the sacrificial pawns.
Meanwhile, Irian desperately maneuvered the wyvern with the frozen high elf aboard.
The plan had failed.
He could sense total annihilation.
If the high elf could hear his thoughts now, she would have scoffed at them as delusional, but he trusted his instincts.
He trusted the ominous presence he felt—it was an entity capable of killing everyone there and more.
“It’s transformed into such a being.”
“Irian… you… betray us?!”
The high elf shouted in rage.
Irian let out a bitter laugh, thinking the word fit him perfectly but never expecting to hear it in this situation.
He whispered to the person he served:
“Princess, if we’re not careful… we could all die.”
Before she could respond, a sudden explosion behind them sent three wyverns screaming.
The high elf turned, but all she saw were the wyverns plummeting as lifeless bodies.
The dark elves aboard would share the same fate as the wyverns.
“…Could it really be Eldmir?”
“Yes.”
The high elf, seemingly comprehending the situation, muttered in disbelief.
“Even with the El Lure fragments implanted in his heart… that aura is alien and foreboding, not influenced by the El Lure. And although it isn’t gentle, there’s still a trace of spirit energy. This is purely… Eldmir’s own power.”
Irian smirked inwardly.
So that overwhelming, ominous aura came purely from Eldmir. His earlier unease had been correct.
“Attempting to contain him from the start was the mistake… Irian, you may be disagreeable, but you are right. We should have focused solely on killing him from the beginning.”
She lamented, and Irian agreed silently.
When the high elf decided to implant the El Lure fragment, he should not have thought it was a good idea. She let her ambition cloud her judgment.
He should have convinced her, and if he failed, he should have struck decisively the one time opportunity he had.
This terrifying monster was never meant to be contained by them.
“Where are you rushing to, Irian?”
The voice was chilling.
Though it sounded distant, it seemed to whisper directly beside him, unnerving him.
“Don’t you have unfinished business with me?”
Instinctively, Irian sharply turned the wyvern mid-flight, twisting it to the right.
“Kyaaaah!”
The high elf screamed, clinging tightly to the saddle as the wyvern performed a 360-degree rotation.
The air pressure was intense, but they endured it together.
Meanwhile, the fiery arrows that had pierced the other wyverns’ necks left behind devastation.
Irian, observing this, felt a fear beyond mere dread.
Yet, as long as they could keep fleeing this way, there was still a glimmer of hope.
The wyvern flew at considerable speed, quickly exiting the valley.
He thought that with just a little more flight, he could fully escape.
“How far do you think you can run?”
The mocking whisper came again, and Irian squeezed his eyes shut.
“Princess.”
“Uh… yes?”
The high elf, startled, replied in a dazed voice, clutching her head from the dizzying flight.
“Steer the wyvern. I will buy us some time.”
“What… you!!”
Ignoring her protest, Irian leapt from mid-air.
The previous turn had lowered their altitude slightly, but the height was still dangerous.
“Please stay safe.”
The high elf bit her lip silently, understanding the gravity of what she must do.
As she always said, she was royalty, and survival was paramount—even at the cost of her subordinates.
“…Alright.”
Irian successfully landed, feeling his knees weaken, but he concealed it.
He drew the bow from his back.
Eldmir still had not revealed himself, but Irian could sense his gaze—a powerful intensity that made the hairs on his body stand on end.
“So… you answered my call. That saves me some effort.”
Again, his voice reached him, unsettlingly close, brushing his ear like a whisper.
“I could not ignore you running for me.”
“Is that so.”
Eldmir no longer addressed him politely.
“Honestly… I never expected it. A traitor, rotten from the inside of the forest. I noticed something was off, but I never thought it would be a wound maintained over countless years, like mold.”
“…Your tone has changed somewhat.”
“Does that matter?”
Irian kept his thoughts to himself. His focus was on delaying time, drawing Eldmir’s attention, and, if possible, inflicting psychological shock.
“Congratulations, Eldmir.”
At those words, a wave of hot air struck him, like Eldmir questioning him.
Feeling the masterful spirit magic, Irian wondered: why had someone capable of such power never used it before?
But now was not the time for questions.
“Finally, you’ve given me the chance to kill you, haven’t you?”
Eldmir smiled brightly.
