Chapter 50: The Definition of Adventure

KWAANG!

A breath attack exploded amidst the cluster of pirate ships.

The Dimension Ship that took a direct hit vanished without a trace.

The surrounding Dimension Ships erupted in chain explosions.

Those struck by the lightning spreading from the breath attack had their mana engines break down and drifted aimlessly across the Sea of Dimensions.

Soon, a massive Apocalid arrived, crashing down onto the pirate ships.

“What is that…?”

“We asked for salvation, didn’t we? That’s the one who came to save us.”

“Is that thing inside that big Dimension Ship?”

“No. They’re probably elsewhere.”

“Where?”

“That, even I don’t know.”

“I thought you knew them well?”

“Of course I know them well! But that doesn’t mean I always know where they are. Do you know where your younger sibling is right now?”

“In that tunnel…”

“That’s only because you sent them there!”

“R-right.”

Dielka’s sharp retort left Sierra flustered.

“Anyway, the pirates are done for, so focus on restoring order first. Calm the Dark Elves, treat the wounded, and hold funerals for the dead.”

“I heard the Dark Elf funeral involves burying everyone in a single pit, is that true?”

“Who spouted that nonsense?”

“That guy over there.”

Sierra pointed at the corpse of Overseer Malta, hanging from up high.

“That’s a disgrace to the Dark Elves. Don’t believe a word that bastard ever said, understand?”

“Then what’s the proper funeral method?”

“Funeral at Sea, of course. There isn’t a single Dark Elf who doesn’t love the sea and adventure.”

“Hmm… Should I love it too?”

“If you travel on Dimension Ships long enough, you’ll start to like it. You always liked adventure anyway.”

“Adventure?”

Sierra scratched his cheek.

He’d never thought of himself as someone who liked adventure.

“Just think about what you did today. You risked your life and your friends’ on something that wasn’t even certain.”

“It’s not like I did it because I wanted to.”

“If you really hated it, you wouldn’t have done it.”

“Is that so?”

Sierra let the words pass him by.

He didn’t believe that someone who’d only seen him for a moment could really understand his personality.

“Sierra!”

“Brother!”

“Hyung!”

Sierra’s family came running out from the tunnel.

Sierra spread his arms wide and hugged his family tight.

Beneath the exploding Dimension Ships, tears of joy and relief poured out.

With her face streaked in tears and a happy smile, Kylie asked,

“You’re okay, right?”

“I’m fine now. The world ruled by pirates and overseers is over.”

“Not that, I mean you. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Even siblings didn’t always think the same way.

“No. It’s thanks to this person’s help.”

“Who is it?”

“He’s called Nahrromel. A High Dark Elf.”

“Oh my. I’m Kylie. Thank you so much for saving my son.”

“Dielka Nahrromel. So you’re the one who made Sierra blossom even in this harsh place.”

Kylie was delighted by Dielka’s praise.

“Sierra, would you like to become my vassal?”

“What would I do if I became your vassal?”

Sierra asked.

“Adventure, of course! Sail across that sea, fight monsters, defeat pirates, and liberate the Dark Elves—a life of adventure!”

Thump, thump.

The word ‘adventure’ made Sierra’s heart race, even though it never used to.

Only then did Sierra admit it.

That a brief encounter could reveal more about himself than he’d realized.

Just imagining it was exciting, but there was something that worried him.

“Would I never be able to see my family again?”

“Do you think I’m a pirate?”

“What about all the Dark Elves here?”

“They’ll all be returning home.”

“Home…?”

“Marsala. The place where the Dark Elves began.”

“In that case, I’ll do it.”

“Good. For now, it’s temporary, but once we reach Marsala, let’s hold the official investiture ceremony.”

The battle on the Sea of Dimensions was already over.

Every Dimension Ship had been destroyed, and the Dark Elf pirates floundered helplessly before being captured by the Walkers.

The Central Command Giant descended to the surface.

The Dark Elves, thinking disaster had befallen them, were gripped by terror.

Only after Dielka and Sierra explained that they were allies did everyone finally calm down.

-Dielka.

“Thank you for dealing with the pirates.”

-Wasn’t that a little reckless?

Choi Kangjoong guessed that it was Dielka who’d started the revolution.

“I wasn’t the one. This kid did it. His name’s Sierra. Greet him.”

“T-thank you…”

-Good.

The conversation ended there.

Choi Kangjoong was not a man of many words, and Sierra, overwhelmed by the Central Command Giant, didn’t know what to say.

“Now that we’ve secured the Separate Sea, we should be able to locate Dark City soon.”

-Didn’t everyone who knew about it die?

“A few are left, and with the information here, we can estimate Dark City’s location.”

-Great. Anything else you need?

“Just having you nearby is more than enough.”

-I’ll help you get to Marsala.

“Thank you!”

The sooner the Dark Elves emptied the dimension, the sooner Choi Kangjoong could devour it, so it benefited him as well.

-How many pirates are there in Dark City?

“We estimate 4 to 5 million. Why?”

-Just a shame.

“You can’t eat these guys!”

Knowing Choi Kangjoong was always hungry, Dielka waved her hands with all her might.

“We’ll find the location of Dark City soon! There’s plenty to eat there!”

-Got it.

The Central Command Giant ascended and left the Sea of Dimensions.

With the power of warp flight, escaping the dimension’s pull was no challenge.

“Phew. Shall we get things sorted?”

“Y-yeah, let’s do that.”

Sierra looked at Dielka, who was finally able to relax, with nervous eyes.

Dark City, Great Hall.

A Dark Elf weighing over 500kg sat on the enormous throne.

She was none other than Charigna, the ruler of Dark City and Pirate Queen.

Charigna was in a foul mood.

She’d just received news that the Separate Sea was lost.

“You idiots! What are your heads even for? You lost the Separate Sea to a monster?!”

“It’s not exactly a monster, and it had Gate Stones…”

The pirates, whose hairstyles and clothing were wild and whose bodies were covered with white tattoos, fidgeted nervously.

“Shut up! If it’s not a monster, what is it then? A magical beast? A demon?”

“I think it was a magical beast raised by the Elves…”

“That’s a monster!”

Charigna waved her hand.

A mana wave lashed out and struck the pirates.

“Keurgh!”

“Urk!”

“Gah!”

“Guh!”

Some pirates vomited blood or retched as their insides churned.

Charigna struck them several more times before her rage finally subsided a little.

“Take the Dimension Ships and retake the Separate Sea immediately! Kill every slave who resists! Start by killing a million! If that doesn’t wake them up, kill another million!”

The pirates, careful not to provoke her further, slipped out of the Great Hall as quietly as possible.

“Useless scum. Not a single one of them worth anything.”

Charigna grabbed food from a plate and stuffed it into her mouth.

Elves and Dark Elves were more sensitive to mana than humans and thus felt pleasure more strongly.

This made it hard to escape, or even become addicted to, certain pleasures; in Charigna’s case, she was addicted to eating.

Chomp, chomp.

The pleasure of chewing and the rich flavors on her tongue soothed her anger.

“The Duke Royal’s envoy has arrived, yes?”

Duke Royal was a Demon of Chaos, a master of teleportation magic.

He had even opened Gates to Earth several times while researching magic.

“Shall I show them in?”

The attendant, busy refilling her plate, responded.

“Hurry.”

The attendant trotted off, and soon the Demons of Chaos, envoys from Duke Royal, entered.

They presented high-quality wine produced in the domain of Duke Akirif.

Charigna popped the cork and gulped down the wine, satisfied.

“What’s the matter?”

“I heard you were troubled by the Separate Sea incident.”

“You heard already? Should I have the gossips’ heads cut off?”

“We are also very interested in the monster that attacked the Separate Sea.”

“And?”

“Her Majesty wishes to reclaim the Gate Stones.”

“That’s right.”

“We’ll help you attack the monster. We’ll send a fleet of 200 ships, commanded by Count Chakor.”

“Count Chakor, you say.”

Charigna knew the name well.

A master of chaos magic, the Mage Battalion he led wielded destructive power on par with the dragon’s Dragon Speech Magic.

“And the price?”

“Just allow us to study the Gate Stones.”

“You don’t mean to take them with you, do you?”

“No, in Dark City.”

“Hmm.”

It was an excellent deal for Charigna.

Just for allowing them to study the Gate Stones, she’d receive a fleet of 200 ships.

She was gaining everything and giving away nothing.

Though Demons of Chaos were fond of scheming, there was no way they would cause trouble inside Dark City.

In fact, the lawless and chaotic Dark City was a favorite haunt of the Demons of Chaos.

“Fine.”

“Thank you for granting our request. The fleet will arrive within two weeks. Then, we’ll take our leave.”

The envoys withdrew.

“I’ll have Duke Royal’s fleet take out the monster, then kill all the demons, and the Dimension Ships will be mine. Two birds with one stone! No, three birds! Hehehehehe.”

She wasn’t worried about turning Duke Royal into an enemy.

“With the power of predation that was bestowed upon me, I could devour everything, even if Duke Royal himself came.”

Charigna opened her mouth wide and swallowed the huge plate whole.

It wasn’t enough, so she grabbed the attendant beside her and gulped him down as well.

Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp.

To transport the Dark Elves to Marsala, Iselin’s transport fleet arrived at the Separate Sea.

Thanks to the Gate that Choi Kangjoong had widened, it didn’t take long.

“That’s pretty big.”

There were ten 500-meter-long military transports and even a hospital ship.

There were many cargo ships as large as a kilometer.

One ship was packed to the brim with food and daily necessities.

The Dark Elves, using the high-quality goods produced in Marsala, were constantly amazed.

They tasted crops grown by the Elves, who were passionate about farming, and were astonished again.

Even with the huge Dimension Ships lined up, moving the 10 million Dark Elves took nearly a month.

They had made full use of the Gate Stones; without them, the transport would have taken two or three times as long.

Thus, all 10 million Dark Elves settled in Marsala.

There was much to resolve—education, integration, debts—but it was a hundred times better than living as slaves in the Separate Sea.

All of them wished to remain under Dielka, becoming residents of Nahrromel.

It was like belonging to the Nahrromel family in a nation called Derrael on Earth.

The Elf society still maintained a class system, so administration was family-based rather than regional.

Dielka, who once led only a handful of Dark Elves, suddenly became the head of a sizable house.

Sierra, after the investiture, became Dielka’s Knight.

His mother received intensive care at the hospital, and his siblings, freed from forced labor, began attending school.

Sierra and his family’s faces brightened, but Dielka’s dark circles grew deeper.

She was overwhelmed, juggling the Dark Elves’ settlement and the pursuit of Dark City.

Neither task could be taken lightly.

“We’ve found it.”

Sierra, the most devoted in the search for Dark City, reported in.

He spread several photos across the table.

A blurred structure, as if random blocks were piled together, was visible at the center.

“Now, at last, we can tell the Outer Mind the coordinates of Dark City.”

“It’s on the move right now, so we have to let them know quickly.”

“You think I wouldn’t know that?”

Dielka relayed Dark City’s location to Iselin.

So far, only Iselin had a direct line to the Outer Mind.

No matter how much Dielka requested, Iselin never budged, so she planned to set up a separate contact channel.

“So Dark City is… right here. It was closer than I thought. Let’s go.”

“Krrrk.”

“Kuong.”

The Apocalid set course for Dark City, where Pirate Queen Charigna awaited.