Chapter 54: The Elf Queen’s Plea

A Moment of Crisis.

From somewhere appeared the Crimson Bird.

A legendary sacred beast seen only in myths.

A divine being said to save the world with the power of purification.

It was the Phoenix.

At its beautiful sight, Eillin unknowingly released her bowstring.

A small bird freely flying across the sky.

It circled above the heads of the corrupted monsters, then swiftly unleashed a burst of crimson flames.

Fwoosh—

The overwhelming difference in power.

The leaders of the monsters couldn’t resist at all.

Though they were toppled, the force felt similar to that of the Tianshan soldiers or the banded bears.

In terms of rank, around Grade A.

Yet it was no match for Grade S.

“Ahh.”

Eillin let out a small gasp.

But that was not the end.

Soon after, the rumble of thunder echoed.

Rumble—

A small figure clad in a black hood appeared.

The aura it exuded was nearly on par with the legendary Crimson Bird.

Accompanied by golden lightning, he instantly pierced through the enemy ranks.

A speed too fast to be tracked by the eye.

In an instant, he felled one of the monster leaders.

A combination of lightning and fire.

The small monsters weren’t even able to retaliate, collapsing before the assault.

It was around then that the situation was nearly over.

From afar, a blue wall of ice rose as someone ran toward them.

It was Seolha, the ice mage.

“Are you alright?”

Seolha asked Eillin, who was catching her breath.

But she was still dazed, only staring at the two divine beasts wreaking havoc on the battlefield.

“Eillin-nim?”

Only after being called again did she seem to regain her senses.

Then, she tightly grasped Seolha’s hand.

“Could those be the legendary Shinsu?”

“Huh?”

Eillin’s previously expressionless face flushed with excitement.

She was an elf warrior guarding the East.

Being drawn to strong power was an undeniable instinct.

Even if it was an elf.

She had never seen such noble yet powerful beings before.

Moreover—

Bow!

Bbiee!

Somi and Choco arrived late to the scene.

The entire Gyeolguk sibling group had gathered in one place!

***

Underneath the massive tree stood the grand assembly hall.

Everyone wore serious expressions as they gathered.

“So, you’re saying these Ibangin are all chosen by the Shinsu?”

Silpia, seated in the center, asked cautiously.

Eillin nodded without hesitation.

“That’s right. These individuals are the divine messengers who wield the legendary Shinsu.”

This was becoming stranger by the minute.

They had come for a peaceful break, and now they were being told they were divine messengers or some such.

“I understand that these sacred beasts possess great power. But I cannot agree with calling them ‘divine messengers.’”

Opposing Eillin, an elf sitting across her spoke up.

She was Aris, guardian of the West.

One of the elf extremists who believed the forest must be left behind to expand their territory.

In truth, the elves of the 10,459th Earth dimension were divided into two factions.

One group wished to protect and live within the forest—

Silpia and Eillin belonged to this faction.

They argued that protecting their precious home was safer than venturing out into danger.

The extremists, however, thought the forest was no longer safe.

Five thousand years ago, after human wars contaminated the Nine Territories, increasing numbers of corrupted beings had appeared.

At first, attacks came once every few weeks, but recently the frequency had risen.

Now it was every few days.

Some days even saw back-to-back raids.

“Aris’s words aren’t wrong. But these Ibangin were personally invited by the World Tree Lord and myself. Please at least show them some courtesy.”

Silpia gave Aris a cold glare at her attitude.

No matter their differences, Silpia was still the Queen Bee.

Her words were undeniable.

“…My apologies.”

Aris acknowledged her rudeness.

Though she disagreed with Silpia and Eillin’s stance, she was no villain or malevolent figure.

“Oh, no.”

We nodded to Aris, who was bowing respectfully and apologizing.

She wasn’t wrong.

Divine messengers?

We were nothing of the sort.

Just guests visiting out of curiosity.

Planning to rest for a few days in this beautiful land before leaving.

“I agree with Aris, but the abilities these Ibangin have shown are certainly remarkable.”

This time, Britael, guardian of the northern forest, spoke.

He was also among the extremists.

“But—”

Yet Silpia hesitated.

Should they inform these people about the dire situation the elves faced and request their aid?

She didn’t want to cause trouble.

But it was also true that now was no time to hold back.

Perhaps this was the most dangerous time in elf history.

The ever-growing hordes of monsters.

Their cause unknown, but the help of these Ibangin was desperately needed.

“I understand your worries, Your Majesty. There is a good solution.”

This time Larien, guardian of the South, stepped forward.

She was Silpia’s assistant and one of the eldest elders among the elves here.

“What is it?”

Silpia asked cautiously as Larien smiled gently and rose from her seat.

Then she slowly walked toward us.

“Ibangin, would you be willing to help us?”

“Larien-nim!”

Silpia was startled by Larien’s sudden action and stopped her.

“It may not be much, but if you help us elves, I assure you a proper reward.”

She held out a necklace embedded with a green gemstone.

[Necklace infused with the power of an ancient city]

A necklace containing the power of a city that was destroyed in the 10,459th dimension.

It holds the power to unlock sealed places.

Could it be?

“My mother… so this story is already over 5,000 years old.”

Larien began to speak slowly, like a grandmother from the countryside.

“Before humans were destroyed in our dimension’s Earth, elves and humans were not on bad terms.

They signed peaceful treaties and exchanged cultures.”

It was a tale from before humanity’s downfall.

I had been curious about this, so this was helpful.

“At that time, the Earth was in great chaos.

Attacked by unknown strange lifeforms, the Black Tower appeared, and soon the world where humans lived was destroyed.”

!!!

If it’s the Black Tower, could it be?

“That was when it happened.

Those with filthy and vile greed always exist.

Even amid the hardships caused by the Black Tower’s invasion, black desires steadily rose.”

Apparently, humans of this world were no different.

Whether comfortable or powerful, selfish people always existed.

And if they gained power?

They would reveal their worst instincts amid the chaos.

The rest was predictable.

Conflicts worsened, and eventually, with a massive explosion, the human habitat became lifeless.

“Then this necklace…”

“This necklace was a gift my predecessor, my mother—the greatest human guide—received.

She was so tired of human greed that she said it could open the place where all treasures are hidden.”

Wait a moment.

All treasures hidden?

“Over 5,000 years have passed since then.

Now, the treasures lie buried underground, but surely there will be a place to use this.

So please, will you help us?”

It was not a bad offer.

The reward alone was unbelievable.

No matter how much it was, it was surely a vast amount of treasure.

If we thought about the future?

Gaining the elves’ friendship and treasures would be a great help.

But where and how should we start helping?

We hadn’t been in this dimension long.

What dangers might lie ahead?

We didn’t want to get caught up in needless risks.

While pondering silently, Choco suddenly sniffed the necklace’s scent and started sniffing around.

Then—

Bow!

With a bright expression, he dashed forward.

As expected, our Choco.

Whenever something was blocked, he was always the first to step up.

“Choco!”

Wagging his tail, Choco ran on without stopping for a long time.

Seolha and the guardians of each forest followed behind.

They arrived at the coastline at the edge of the eastern forest.

The same place where Bbyak and Toto had been active earlier.

Round and round.

Bow Bow!

Choco circled the spot several times before starting to dig.

After digging for a while, a rusty iron door appeared.

“This is—”

Everyone showed surprised expressions.

Even those who had guarded this forest for a long time had never seen such a door.

It was really just a stone’s throw away.

If they had paid a little more attention, they would have found it easily.

But the one who found this door first was the Ibangin who had crossed over from another dimension.

At that moment, the necklace Larien gave began to glow brightly.

Bathed in a mysterious green light, the solid iron door reacted and with a strange sound slowly creaked open.

Screeeech—

As if inviting them in, the door opened, and the hallway’s lights turned on.

Yet somehow it felt familiar.

We had assumed that humans from another dimension would live in a medieval fantasy world like a web novel.

But that was a huge mistake.

It wasn’t much different from the place we originally lived.

Electric lights activated by sensors.

This place had even more advanced technology than the other dimension.

The original dimension had developed cutting-edge technology using magic stones for only about ten years.

But this place?

It seemed to have been studied for quite a long time.

There were still machines that operated automatically in response to magic stones.

Though not as systematized as this.

Initially, it was impossible to color magic stones and open only specific places.

Bow!

As the door opened, Choco led the way.

But this time, he didn’t just run recklessly like before; he escorted us as if on a stroll.

The deeper we went, the higher the ceiling became.

Something was there.

Our instincts told us so.

What exactly were these “treasures”?

Could it be gold bars or money?

No. If it were something that trivial, it wouldn’t be built with such a complicated structure.

Then what? A nuclear bomb?

If humanity was destroyed by a massive explosion, it wouldn’t be strange for hundreds of nuclear bombs to be stored here.

As we thought about this and moved toward the deepest part, we were met with a massive iron door.

And again—

Pat—

The necklace reacted.

It emitted a light far brighter than before, and the door began to open, something we had never imagined.

Inside was revealed a sight that left everyone speechless.

Who would have thought such a thing would exist in the elf world?

Who could have imagined a colossal mecha robot would be here!