Histori looked at the water splashing into the hole below her feet and nodded in realization.
“Good grief, so that’s why those two foolish elves managed to find a path just by slipping on the muddy ground, climbing all the way to the core of the Elven Royal Palace.”
She had been wondering why the Elven Royal Palace was so full of holes, but it turned out the elven ruler herself had left a backdoor open.
Clearly, Amir had the same thought.
She rubbed her chin lightly and raised an eyebrow at Fuleiyasi.
“…So, before those two elves followed this path to the palace and touched the Holy Grail, it had already lost its divine power?”
“Correct.”
Elven Queen Fuleiyasi nodded slightly.
She didn’t mind Amir’s bluntness and recklessness, merely a helpless, bitter smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
“A month before those two poor children arrived here, the Holy Grail had already completely lost its divine power.”
She lowered her eyes, looking at her own hands, which looked pale from overusing her life force.
“As for me, due to my position as the Elven King, I couldn’t explain anything to them. That would confirm the news that the Cup of Life was about to dry up.”
“So, when they thought they had broken the Cup of Life themselves and lived in anxiety and fear every day, you just watched?”
Hearing this, Amir cut in coldly.
“If that’s the case, you really are a dutiful clan leader.”
“…I have no choice. That is the duty of an Elven King. I must do everything to prevent my race from falling into crisis. Compared to the entire elven race, the temporary panic of two elves is nothing. Besides, if they truly had the character to come forward and tell me the truth, I would naturally reveal everything to them.”
Facing Amir’s sarcasm, Fuleiyasi lightly glossed over this topic that was disadvantageous to her.
After that, she extended her fingertips and lifted the Holy Grail from the fountain.
It had already become dim and lusterless, even the patterns on its surface were blurry.
This time, Fuleiyasi didn’t use any magic to hold it.
Instead, she carefully cradled the Holy Grail against her chest, wiping away the water droplets on its surface with her fingertips.
“However, no matter how hard I tried, things only got worse…”
“In recent days, the magical power inside the Holy Grail has been completely lost. Not to mention the sacred spring, now it cannot even flow the most ordinary water. It has almost become an ordinary cup.”
“Even if I continue to stand here and support its flow with my own magic, it’s useless. I can’t change anything anymore.”
As she spoke, Fuleiyasi silently closed her eyes and let out a sigh like a death knell.
“After some time, all the elves on this continent—whether they are elders about to die or newborn children—will probably realize this.”
“The favor of the Sacred Elven Tree, which the elven race has received from birth, is gradually being cut off.”
—
“…”
A heavy, deadly silence spread through this ethereal palace.
Histori stood behind Amir and sighed silently.
—How tragic.
Both were problems with sacred artifacts malfunctioning.
That hot-tempered old dwarf had gathered countless people along the way to try to restore the sacred artifact, with a bunch of dwarves worrying alongside him.
But when it came to Fuleiyasi, she had actually been enduring it alone, and had thought up all kinds of ways to try to save it, maintaining the false prosperity of the elven race…
Although Histori thought that anyone would be a little moved by Her Majesty the Queen’s selfless dedication, the cold-hearted black-haired Hero standing beside her remained unmoved.
Amir coldly crossed her arms, her pitch-black eyes showing no trace of pity, sympathy, or empathy for the elven race.
“…Sorry, Your Majesty Fuleiyasi, I have no interest in the fate of your elven race, and I cannot understand what it feels like to lose the favor of the deities.”
She pointed directly at the golden Holy Grail at Fuleiyasi’s chest, and in the coldest tone, declared her robbery claim.
“All I know is that even if your Cup of Life has become an ordinary cup, I still need it. Give it to me.”
“…I’m very sorry, honorable Hero.”
Facing Amir’s unreasonable provocation, Fuleiyasi’s originally seemingly gentle eyes finally flashed with the coldness and arrogance of an Elven King.
She carefully placed the Holy Grail back into the center of the fountain, then made a slight gesture toward the sky.
The Holy Grail instantly vanished into a ball of light.
Then, Fuleiyasi slowly raised her right hand and elegantly pulled out a luxurious scepter from the light enveloping the Holy Grail.
It was carved from jade-green wood, with a crystal-clear emerald embedded at the top.
“I cannot let you take it away.”
“Even if the Cup of Life has completely lost its divine power and become an ordinary cup, it is still a sacred object that has gathered the faith of our elven race for tens of thousands of years.”
“As the 132nd king of the elven race, I swear in the name of Fuleiyasi Wendefeier that I will never allow the sacred artifact of the elven race, the great Cup of Life, to be defiled in the hands of outsiders.”
Fuleiyasi grasped both ends of the scepter with her hands, and her light-golden hair began to sway without any wind.
Accompanied by a soft chanting, countless intricate and ancient green magic circles, radiating terrifying energy, began to glow on the pure white jade floor of the Elven Royal Palace.
“Hero Amir, if after all my earnest pleas, you still insist on stealing our elven race’s sacred artifact, then…”
Fuleiyasi gritted her teeth and slammed her scepter heavily onto the jade floor in front of her, shouting angrily at the black-haired girl before her.
“Then please, use your sword to take it!”
BOOM—!!!
With this angry shout, countless thick, barbed, dark green vines erupted wildly from the cracks in the floor, the palace dome, and even from behind the crystal pillars surrounding the palace!
They shot out from all directions of the palace, like hundreds of furious pythons with world-destroying momentum, coiling toward the two seemingly frail girls in the center of the hall!