Volume 12 Chapter 5 The Hardship Elf’s Tale of Adventure ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
With a heavy sense of duty, and perhaps a childish rivalry still burning faintly in my chest, I searched the Elf Realm. At last, I uncovered an incident that seemed tied to the matter at hand.
That day, in one secluded settlement I visited, a tribunal was underway: someone had attempted to break the laws and dissolve the boundary with the Realm of Man. The thought sent a chill crawling down my spine, but I could not look away. I had to learn more, and so I asked the villagers for details.
As usual, Elf society showed its coldness toward outsiders. Yet this village’s chief had once met my father, and he already knew of the tragedy that had befallen my own home. Perhaps because of that, he invited me to give my opinion. I could hardly squander such a chance. Thus, I was allowed to attend the inquiry.
The accused was a young man named Azel, not even one hundred seventy years of age. His elder brother, I learned, had once broken the rules as Lucia had and wandered into the Realm of Man. A few years past, that brother had sent word back, carried on the strength of spirit power:
“On the night of the next new moon, I shall return. Will you open the boundary for me?”
The story made little sense. From all I had heard, this brother crossed between realms more than once before. Why then beg for the barrier to be lifted now? Questioned further, Azel explained: his brother had met with trouble in the human world, suffered grave injury, and could not break the boundary by his own strength.
From this, three possibilities emerged.
The first: the brother truly was wounded so badly he could not manage the crossing himself. Unlikely, yet not impossible. Few Elves capable of reaching the Realm of Man would be bested so easily, but there were warriors there—men like Soyuz—who could match even our trained kind. Perhaps he had clashed with them.
The second: an impostor, someone pretending to be him, trying to trick the Elves into opening the barrier. Impossible. A spirit’s voice cannot be forged. Azel swore it was his brother’s own spirit who had sent the words.
The third, and most dire: his brother had fallen under the control of those people… or worse, joined them. Unthinkable, but not beyond imagining. These were the same ones who captured Volodya and twisted him into that grotesque state. It was possible they had even devised countermeasures against Elves.
I prayed it was only my needless worry. Yet this might also be the proof I had pursued all along.
”May I speak? I believe I have an idea,” I said, facing the village chief and his grim council.
* * *
Time passed swiftly, and the new moon night arrived.
We took our positions and waited. After much discussion, my proposal had been accepted. For that, I could only thank the chief. He did not wish to see his village burned as mine had been, and even if I was wrong, no harm would come of caution. Yet more often than not, ill omens proved true.
”They’ve come. My brother’s Wind Spirit.”
A swirling breeze rose around Azel, who stood beside me. Eyes closed, he listened to the voice carried within. When the message ended, he gave me a solemn nod.
”Then I’ll open it. Please, follow the plan.”
He strode forward, raised his voice to those standing ready behind us, and spoke the ancient tongue. The spell shivered the air, and before us shimmered a translucent wall of force.
”Hah!”
I thrust my hand, charged with magic, into the barrier. With a dull resistance it yielded, a hole tearing open.
”Rrraaaaah!”
Clutching the edges, I pulled with all my might until the rift widened enough for a person to pass. Brutal, un-Elf-like, yes—but wisely designed. For only one with hardened body and training could rend the boundary. The frail would never manage, and so would be spared from being lured or captured by humans. Still, to be the one forced to tear it open each time… it was no easy task.
At last, the gap stood wide. I stepped back, fastening my chain whip, my slender sword, and a scattering of hidden blades upon me. Glancing again toward the breach, I readied myself—
”What… what are those!?” cried the chief.
My heart sank. As always, the worst came true.
* * *
From the rift they came—figures taller and thicker than any Elf, carved of neither stone nor metal, but of some uncanny substance. Golems, yes, but something was horribly wrong.
”These are no ordinary golems… such horror…” the chief muttered, his voice torn between fury and dread.
I understood. For embedded within their torsos were living beings.
A goblin, fused to stone.
An orc, its body sealed within.
A human, staring out with vacant eyes.
One after another they emerged. And then—
”No… Brother!?” Azel screamed, voice cracking in anguish.
For within the chest of one towering abomination was an Elf. His brother.
Golem and body, fused as one.
There was no doubt. This was their work. The same nightmare method as before. The same vile enemy who hunted us still.
If that was the case… then I pitied those imprisoned within, but there was no other choice.
We would annihilate them.
”Chief! These are the very ones who assaulted our village!” I cried.
The Village Chief, jarred back into clarity, barked his command. At once, elves hidden across the settlement loosed their assault. Dozens fired arrows in unison, others unleashed the power of spirit magic. Even golems could not withstand such a storm—several were reduced to riddled husks in moments.
And yet—
One golem still advanced, ignoring the rain of arrows and surging spells. I saw why: the Wind Spirit, Sylph, swirled about it in a fierce gale, shielding its body. That was the one… the golem with an elf buried inside.
”Be cautious! That one wields strange fire magic!” I warned, summoning Undine to raise layered shields of water before me.
As if in answer, the golem thrust forward its right arm. A scorching beam burst forth.
”What!?”
With a roar, the beam shattered through the water barriers. Impossible. In this world where spirits manifested their full strength, my defenses should have been absolute. Yet the blast erased them all, far stronger than the magic I once faced from my own brother.
But the colossus was slow, its bulk betraying it. My leap aside outpaced its lumbering pursuit. Unlike my brother, it lacked agility.
Before it could recover, I lashed a chain whip onto its right arm and pulled—not to topple it, for no strength of mine could overcome that mass, but to propel myself forward. Using the recoil of my own body, I slipped into its guard.
Between its arms, I glimpsed the elf’s hollow face embedded in the chest. And then—
”…Ki…ll… me,” he whispered, unfocused eyes glimmering with fleeting awareness.
”You are conscious?” I asked.
His brow twitched in sorrow. Perhaps drugs or spells chained his mind. He answered not with words but by attempting to crush me with the golem’s arm. I slid back, gaining distance once more.
”Chief… you heard. He is being controlled.”
The Village Chief, and all elves present, must have heard our exchange.
”Mikhail… forgive me, but grant him release,” the Chief said, voice strained with grief.
I understood. I had slain my own brother before; I knew that torment.
”As you command,” I murmured, facing the elf once more.
I realized then—his plea had been that last fragment of a sane heart. Now his eyes only stared, empty. Very well. I would free him.
”Gnome! Undine! Salamander!”
I called three spirits at once. Gnome bound the golem’s legs in stone. Undine engulfed its right arm to quench the fire. Salamander hurled forth a massive fireball.
The explosion consumed him.
* * *
”Brother!” Azel collapsed in tears, clutching a scorched fragment of the golem. I could say nothing. Whatever the reason, I had slain his kin.
”To command three spirits at once… you are a fearsome warrior indeed,” the Village Chief said softly to my retreating back. I could not discern all the emotions tangled in his tone. I simply replied:
”I am honored.”
Without turning to the speechless elves, I opened a barrier with the ancient tongue.
”You go after them?” asked the Chief.
”Yes. With Gnome I can still trace their trail. At last, the village’s enemy—I will not let them escape.”
”…Then may fortune guide you.”
His voice, nearly torn from his chest, followed me as I stepped toward the Realm of Man.
Notes:
• Volodya – A mysterious and powerful elf, never seen by Soyuz before, who seeks to purge Lucia. He exudes killing intent and is strong enough to intimidate Soyuz.
• Mikhail – Volodya’s brother and a guest of the guild, seeking to defeat Volodya for destroying his village.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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