Chapter 93: Another High Elf

This time, I obtained two Sacred Relics.

The Sanctified Fragment boosted my recovery based on divine power, and the Comet Necklace increased both my understanding and the power of fire-attribute magic.

I needed to test the power granted by these two Sacred Relics.

A perfectly suitable opponent stood before me.

‘Naga.’

A half-human, half-beast race, with a serpent’s lower body and a human’s upper body.

On top of that, they possessed an affinity specialized for water.

The one leading them, their queen—Leah—was the strongest among the Naga.

【Are you trying to finish this quickly? You’re an amusing human.】

Leah’s expression twisted, her face contorted with ferocity.

‘Her personality is the complete opposite of the Vampire Lord’s.’

I thought she would be tricky to deal with, but unlike the frightened Vampire, she was fiercely aggressive.

That made things even better.

The harder she came at me, the more I could go all out with my magic.

“Come at me.”

I curled my finger, lightly provoking her, and Leah took the bait immediately, swinging her trident.

Water streamed from the trident, coiling as it shot toward me.

Three streams intertwined to form a powerful water cannon.

‘Let’s start light.’

I clenched my fist and channeled mana from the Dragon Heart.

A scorching flame burst forth.

It was definitely different from before.

Stronger, hotter, and more dazzling.

Pure white flames bloomed around my fist.

“Burning Impact.”

I thrust my fist toward the water cannon.

The white flames flashed, erupting in an explosion.

KWA-AAANG!

Seething heat surged in every direction.

The water cannon coming straight at me evaporated instantly, and the temperature around us soared, the air turning scorching hot.

The heat didn’t dissipate quickly.

Leah breathed within a shield of water, glaring at me.

【…Not bad. Really, not bad at all. You’ve got quite a mouth on you. But a human’s still just a human.】

The trident in Leah’s hand spun rapidly.

With the wind, water spread out, reaching in every direction.

In an instant, the heat that had filled the surroundings was cooled, and the flames burning everywhere were snuffed out.

Then she drove her trident into the ground.

The earth writhed, shaking violently, and a massive spray of water erupted.

PUWOOOOOM!

Exploding sprays of water burst everywhere, and with Leah’s gesture, a towering wave surged toward me.

An unimaginably high wave.

Leah let herself rise atop the wave, trident in hand, twisting her lips in a sneer.

【Now die.】

Then all the waves crashed toward me at once.

“Teleport.”

I moved to a high spot where the waves couldn’t reach me, then cast Fly Magic to float in the air.

From there, I extended my hand, beginning a chant.

Drawing mana from the Dragon Heart, I invoked the magic sealed in the Sacred Relic.

My understanding of the attribute was deep.

With the Blessing of the World Tree upon my magic, the chant didn’t take long at all.

WOOOOONG!

A Magic Circle formed around my outstretched hand high in the sky, and intense mana surged.

【There’s nowhere to run!】

The waves that had crashed where I’d originally been now swirled, forming a pillar of water that rose upward.

CRRACKLE!

A chilling wave of frost crept up from the ground.

I lowered my hand toward it.

A comet, summoned from the Magic Circle, plummeted straight down.

The comet fell into the midst of the frosty gale, radiating a bitter cold.

A comet, trailing a long tail, streaked down at high speed.

Before the frost storm could fully take shape, the comet consumed it, hurtling straight for Leah.

Leah’s eyes went wide as she raised her trident, sensing the comet’s fierce power.

KWA-AAAANG!

Everything around where the comet landed was scorched.

A fierce wind swept outward, uprooting trees, the ground collapsing and quaking as if dancing.

The Defensive Magic Circle around the castle wall shattered in an instant.

I quickly moved toward the wall, casting a wide-area Protection Magic.

Shielding my allies, I watched the power unleashed by the comet.

Yellow, red, and blue flames roiled and churned.

Amidst them, Queen Leah of the Naga and her followers, unable to withstand the full force of the attack, lay collapsed.

“…That’s insane.”

I was at a loss for words at the power, far greater than I’d expected.

It was like Meteor Strike, but on a completely different level.

And this was with me holding back a bit.

But that didn’t mean there was no backlash.

ZZZT!

A jolt of pain shot through my entire body.

Such overwhelming power inevitably strained my body.

The one I met in the Sacred Relic’s trial had used the necklace as a conduit for magic—clearly, this was not something an ordinary person could cast.

‘I really need to get stronger.’

Still, having a true trump card for dire moments was satisfying.

“All right, let’s wrap this up.”

I descended from the wall and approached Leah, the Naga Queen, who lay collapsed on the ground.

For a moment, I wondered if she was dead, but she was still breathing.

Even I was surprised at the power—yet she survived it.

Truly befitting the Lord of the Forest.

I took a potion from my pouch and poured it into the Naga Queen’s mouth.

As she opened her eyes with difficulty, I spoke.

“Will you submit, or die?”

【…I’ll submit.】

“Take me to the Tablet.”

Then, I glanced at the Elves gathered on one side.

“Go tell your leader—I’ll be visiting soon. Be ready.”

The second Lord of the Forest.

High Elf Pedrias.

In his private space deep in the woods, he sat with his eyes closed, focusing on the sounds of Nature.

The sound of the wind.

The sound of the grass.

The sound of sunlight.

Each made a different sound, each had something different to say.

Being able to hear all these voices was a privilege reserved for High Elves.

A special being, born within Nature.

“…Hmm?”

Amidst this, a restless noise reached Pedrias’s ears.

Nature was both startled and afraid.

Curious about the cause of such a reaction, he inquired—and learned it was because of a war raging at the heart of the forest.

“Don’t worry.”

Pedrias smiled, soothing Nature’s trembling voice.

After all, the Naga Queen had gone herself.

The commotion wouldn’t last long.

Soon enough, all would return to normal.

But things didn’t go as Pedrias expected.

“…Hmm?”

The tales Nature now shared were nothing short of shocking.

“There’s another Elf?”

“Leah lost?”

“You experienced the mysteries of Nature?”

Though he’d lived in harmony with Nature for ages, for the first time, he couldn’t fully comprehend its stories.

Still, one thing was certain.

The battle at the forest’s center hadn’t unfolded as expected.

Before long, the elite Elves returned to explain everything.

“The Vampire betrayed us, and the tides of battle turned.”

“The Vampire betrayed us? She’s selfish and stubborn, but Rinne isn’t the type to betray. Keep talking.”

Pedrias listened as the report continued.

A special Magic Circle that robbed power.

Yet, despite that, the Naga Queen had overwhelmed the enemy with sheer force.

And then, a human appeared.

“He was no ordinary human. He summoned something strange from the sky and defeated the Naga Queen with it.”

“Something strange?”

“A type we’ve never seen. Hard to describe… beautiful, but destructive…”

It was exactly as Nature had told him.

“So, what happened to the Naga Queen?”

“She admitted defeat, and moved with him to the third forest to hand over the Tablet. She also told us to relay a message to you, Lord Pedrias.”

“What message?”

“That he’ll be visiting soon, so you should be ready…”

At the sheer arrogance of those words, Pedrias’s lips twitched.

Since the forest was founded, he had held the seat of the second Lord of the Forest, never once losing it.

Compared to himself, the Vampire and the Naga were children, having lived but a fraction as long.

“To think a mere human would dare speak that way to someone who has lived for thousands of years.”

“He wasn’t an ordinary human.”

“He’s still human.”

Pedrias murmured quietly, activating the Tablet.

He first tried to contact the Vampire Lord.

He sent a signal, hoping to learn the reason for her betrayal, but received no reply.

“What is going on?”

While Pedrias frowned in annoyance, the Tablet displayed that the alliance had been dissolved.

The Vampire Race and the Naga.

The two races that had once joined hands with the Elves had left the alliance.

“…So it wasn’t betrayal, but defeat.”

With cold clarity, Pedrias assessed the situation and issued orders to his subordinates.

“This place must be protected, no matter what. Return and prepare for battle. The moment that bastard sets foot here, I’ll put an arrow through his brow.”

“…Understood.”

Watching his followers depart, he retrieved the Bow of the Firmament.

A weapon crafted from the oldest sacred tree.

A weapon imbued with the power to maximize the strength of Nature.

Armed with it, he stepped outside.

“…Already at the doorstep?”

He climbed to the highest peak, guided by the voices of Nature, and drew back his bowstring, focusing his gaze on the approaching enemy in the distance.

At the very front, a man.

Wearing a strange mask and draped in a black cloak, he walked with an air of authority.

‘That’s him.’

Indeed, just as his subordinates described, he didn’t seem like an ordinary human.

There was a power in him no human body should be able to contain.

And that wasn’t the only surprise.

Behind the man, a myriad of races marched.

Orc, Goblin, Wyvern.

And even Elves.

‘Elves?’

All the Elves in this forest were those under his command.

No other forest housed Elves.

If outsiders had entered, he would have known immediately.

“……”

Using his exceptional vision, Pedrias scrutinized the Elves in the distance.

The one leading them.

If he could persuade that leader, incite betrayal, taking down the enemy would be simple.

As a High Elf himself, he was confident in that.

“Hmm…”

Then, a female Elf caught his eye.

Noble and beautiful.

She embodied the Blessing of the World Tree itself.

An Elf who made his eyes widen in awe.

He had many beautiful Elves in his care, but there was something indescribably different about her.

“A High Elf.”

She was another High Elf—just like himself.

His heart pounded.

It was strange to feel this just from looking at her.

His hand trembled, experiencing something for the first time in his life.

As his taut bowstring loosened and confusion swept over him, the masked man far in the distance reached the Elves’ domain.

The man halted his army for a moment, then instantly crossed space to appear before Pedrias.

【Are you the Lord of the Second Forest?】

“…Who gave you permission to come here?”

【Looks like you’re interested in Irellin. Want me to introduce you?】

“Is that High Elf’s name Irellin? Even her name is beautiful. Ah… no, that’s not right. I’m not interested. So if you don’t want to die, go back.”

【Then I guess I’ll just take you down and introduce her to another Elf. There was a pretty sturdy one back on the battlefield.】

“There isn’t an Elf in this forest sturdier than me!”

Without realizing it, Pedrias shouted and then clapped a hand over his mouth.

The man approached Pedrias, slinging an arm over his shoulders.

【Just hand over the Tablet. I’ll make sure things go well for you two. How about it?】

“…Can you really guarantee that?”

In response, the man grinned broadly, his smile visible even beneath the mask.

【The Tablet. Hand it over.】