Vol 4: Chapter 56
** Dark Elf Village **
No one knew why the Forest Eater appeared.
The dark elves recognized that the giant species are in the undeveloped land of Canion, and if they did not approach it, they could live in peace without having to get involved with a walking natural disaster.
It was larger than the large trees that held the treetop village.
With every step it took, the ground shook.
When it closes its jaw, an entire meadow disappears.
When it runs, an entire forest is erased.
When it howls, a tempest is formed.
When it roars, lightning strikes the earth.
Even from a distance, it seemed like a walking small mountain. And it was heading straight for the Dark Elf Village.
(This is the end.)
Anastasia absentmindedly thought so.
She didn’t even feel like trying to fight it like she did with the early summer birds.
The creature, whose each step shook the ground, heralded the end of the village.
Knock and the others rushed back to the village because they discovered the Forest Eater.
However, even the skilled warriors who are obsessed with strength and muscles, did not have the slightest thought to “fight”.
——This is the end.
Such an expression was plastered across all of their faces.
《oaaaAAAAAAAooooAAAAAAEEEEEE》
The Forest Eater was angry.
No, he could only be described as angry. For example, when expressing a typhoon, people use “raging” instead of “smiling”. Thus, the Forest Eater’s howls and thunderous roars could only be described as “angry”.
The waves from the roar reached Anastasia and the dark elves, who were a few kilometers away, and blew them off their feets.
Thunderous clouds gathered in the night sky and rained lightning on the land.
It was a natural calamity.
(This is the end…)
Anastasia repeatedly thought in her mind.
(…Is it really the end?)
A small question arose.
「KNOCK!」
On the other hand, the chieftain called out to the village’s most incredible tall warrior.
「Take the High Elf-sama and run. We will stay here and try to buy at least a second of time–」
Anastasia stopped the chieftain with her hand.
「Chieftain, everyone. It’s too early to give up.」
「But we…」
「We may not be able to beat it. There may be a lot of casualties, but… we may be able to drive it away… with my magic.」Anastasia said, resolved.
「!」
(I won’t let it end. I don’t want it to end.)
It would be easy to escape from here. If they scatter away, a few of them might be able to survive.
But isn’t that the same as the “end”?
It would be impossible for the dark elves to continue as a race when the surviving few are scattered.
If so, they have to make a last stand here.
「Everyone, prepare yourselves.」
She wanted to fight with people who believed in her.
「I will fight the Forest Eater with all my power.」
The flames left by the early summer birds illuminated the dark elves.
Anastasia, who stood at the center of them all, was the “Leader of the Elves” no matter who said what.
** Underground City Urume Mansion **
The Marshal walked into a room of the Urume Mansion. 9 out of 10 members of the “City Council” were present there.
One of the nine was the Marshal’s father. The vacant seat belonged to Sarume.
「Why are the council members…」
「Sit down first, Marshal.」one of the council members said.
And the Marshal took a seat. Then–
「I haven’t talked to you before because Sarume-dono said she wanted to do something about it on her own.」the Marshal’s father said.
「Father?」
It was the first time in weeks that he was talking to his father—both himself and his father were busy with public affairs.
(But, was father always so old?)
The Marshal wondered. His gray hair grew thin, wrinkles running deep, and his body was shrinking. His fingers on the table were thin and bony.
「A “Covenant” was imposed on the Urume head family, the representative of our race.」
「…Covenant?」
The Marshal’s father talked about the Covenant.
It’s like a curse imposed upon the entire race, inherited by the leader of the race.
Obligations are given along with privileges.
「Privileges means being able to meet the mediator freely.」
The Marshal was taken aback.
When the boy who kidnapped Sumeria invaded the city, Sarume summoned something called the mediator.
「What is a mediator, father?」
「I heard that it is a being who manages and maintains this world. Sarume-sama was forced by the mediator to fulfill her obligations.」
「Obligation?」
「To offer a “pure blood” of our race.」
The Marshal blinked at the incomprehensible words.
「We don’t know what that means. It seems that the obligation was fulfilled hundreds of years ago in the past, but… no records of it remain, so we have no idea what to do.」
「…What did the mediator say?」
「It said nothing else but to offer “pure blood”. That’s why Sarume-sama was in a plight. Sarume-sama’s blood wasn’t good enough, so she wanted to have a child, but that didn’t work either.」
「W-Wait… So the reason she had young men attend her is…」
The Marshal’s father nodded with a bitter face.
「To have a child. The men who agreed to cooperate knew of the circumstance, but they were also told to keep it a secret. Sarume-sama, however, didn’t want to reveal the existence of the mediator and the consequences of failing the obligation to the people in the city. She pretended to dress it up as fooling around with men because she didn’t want to worry the people.」
Shocked, the Marshal was speechless.
Sarume, whom he thought fooled around with young men, drinking alcohol, and living in luxury, was fighting for the survival of the race–.
What was unfortunate for Sarume was that she was drinking alcohol to dispel her stress, but she didn’t know that the excessive drinking itself was causing the harm.
「If so, we have to stop Sarume-sama all the more.」
If she really cared that much about the Underground city, she shouldn’t be allowed to die.
The Marshal was frustrated as to why his father and other members of the council were idling in this place instead.
「Sarume-sama thinks that the emergence of the Human Mimic is a reaction to the failure of obligations.」
「That giant? So, we have to defeat it? If that’s the case, it is strange to let Sarume-sama go alone!」the Marshal slammed his fist on the table.
「Calm down! You fool. Only a 6-star skill orb has the potential to defeat it, no, at least drive it away. Therefore, Sarume-sama pulled out all the skill orbs she had with【Orb Detachment】and replaced it with【Body Enhancement ★★】.」
「I know that! Are you telling us not to go because we would just be a burden!?」
「There is also that, but the reason is that Sarume-sama didn’t want it.」
「…No way…」The Marshal predicted his father’s next words.「Sarume-sama… does she intend to die?」
His father nodded.
「Sarume thinks that by dying, the head of the race will be transferred to another person. Then, the obligation might be temporarily reset. Or if another person becomes the head, that person might be able to fulfil the “pure blood” condition. No, if it is transferred to a family with a young person, they would have time to bear children. …In order to break through the current checkmate situation, Sarume-sama had no choice but to die. That is how grave the obligation is. Sarume-sama thought there is no way for us to survive if we do not fulfill the obligation.」
When those words left his father’s mouth, the Marshal felt choked as if the whole room was filled with poison.
Various thoughts were racing in his mind.
What was the right thing to do?
What should he do?
「It has begun!」
A soldier rushed into the room.
「Sarume-sama has begun fighting the giant!」
The Marshal sprang up to his feet like a spring, and he started running.
「Where are you going!? Wait!」
The Marshal ignored his father and jumped out the room.
He ran down a narrow corridor, down the stairs, and rushed outside.
He was going to stand witness to the battle.
「If I can’t even bear witness to the final battle of a sole woman who continued to fight her predestined fate to the very end, I can’t call myself the ”Marshal”!」
The Marshal ran through a narrow, dark passage leading to the outside.
He knew nothing.
Nobody told him anything.
He looked down on Sarume from the very beginning and never looked at her properly.
He didn’t understand her frustration properly.
Sarume was furious when the patrols were defeated in the airship investigation because she knew there are “incomprehensible and unreasonable evils” in this world, and she was afraid of her people getting hurt due to approaching the unknown.
「I was thinking of nothing but bringing a “new era” to the Underground city…」
He knew nothing.
But that does not absolve him of his sins.
「——Marshal!」
The staff officer and multiple soldiers were beyond the iron gate.
His friend called out.
The Marshal ran through the dark passage and jumped out.
