The great mage who transcends by returning, episode 163
Aether’s grave.
Legend has it that she did not stop hating her sister until the very end.
– I will curse!
– Everything that betrayed me!
With those words spoken, Aether spread hatred and malice throughout the forest.
Due to its soggy energy, the Dark Forest became an area inaccessible from the outside, and no one dared to live in the forest except for the fugitive elves.
And as time passed, the elves living in the forest slowly accepted Aether’s bondage.
Not as much as she was, but they could no longer be called pure elves.
Then, as they produced offspring and accepted the new ‘fugitives’, kingdoms sprung up in the forest.
Dock Alphaheim.
The kingdom of the Dark Elves was created that way.
“It runs really dirty.”
Lian frowned and wiped the monster’s blood from his sword.
The corpses of monsters who had fallen out with their tongues sticking out were piled up around them.
From goblins to ogres.
All kinds of monsters have been continuously raiding.
“Even the condition of the monsters is strange. Should I say that everyone ignores life and rushes?”
“Insanity is the right word for it.”
Aileen and the butler also looked uneasy.
Mia cautiously asked everyone.
“Hey, are you guys all right? Problems such as headaches or violent behavior… ….”
“hmm? There is nothing like that.”
Ryan tilted his head.
“Come to think of it, aren’t you approaching the source of that curse? It’s not as big as I thought.”
“It’s nothing.”
I looked around and shook the staff with a sad expression.
“What do you think I am holding right now?”
“What was it? There were only three in that world, no, you made one more, so did you say that there are only four of them?”
“Yes, as a bonus, the material used here is part of the ‘World Tree’, which is reputed to have strong vitality.”
The world tree is the mother of ‘elves’.
Strictly speaking, even Aether, who is currently treated as the mother of the Dark Elves, is the world tree that should be worshiped as the founder.
As long as there is a part of her, the malice and hatred of this place cannot reach us.
Although he has been using his staff for bizarre purposes lately, it was originally something like this.
[If you know that, please use it for normal purposes now….]
‘I’m writing quite well.’
If you ask me if I’m using it entirely for staff use, that’s not necessarily the case.
But that doesn’t mean I’m forgetting that this is a ‘staff’.
i am a wizard
I’m not the kind of person who solves everything with violence.
[That’s right. I just need to know… ….]
Set broke out in a cold sweat.
Anyway, when I saw the number of monsters that attacked, it seemed clear that they were getting closer to the grave.
The malice grew stronger.
Malice took the form of ‘Black Mist’, but even that looked a little different now.
At first it was just a fog.
But as if we were almost at the tomb, the mist was now taking on a fairly specific shape.
– Ugh… …Black! Hehe… ….
hmm? this is also interesting
I couldn’t even tell her exact appearance, but the fog in the form of an elf was crying.
desperately and grudgingly.
There is no need to worry about what this elf really is.
‘Aether.’
If there is anything related to these things, there will be none other than her.
Mad Hatred of Evil… ….
In the end, things that start with emotions.
Naturally, the shape will resemble the original owner.
Even if they have now been distorted to such an extent that their original form cannot be recognized… …
“What are you looking at?”
“The source of this catastrophe.”
I answered Lian’s question without taking my eyes off it.
I am the only one here who can see this.
The rest just looks like an eerie haze.
Of course, just because you can see this doesn’t mean that communication is possible or not.
However, the fact that it has begun to be seen so clearly means that the further you go, the ‘other memories’ of Aether will be visible.
“The source of the disaster is…Are you talking about the elves who say that this forest is the cause of this?”
“Oh right.”
Ryan didn’t ask me why I could see it or what I was looking at.
Mia said cautiously.
“…If it were those memories, there would be nothing but extremely disastrous things.”
“I’ll have to see it though.”
You can’t understand unless you see it.
If you don’t understand, this matter will never be solved.
‘Whether it beats me up or whatever.’
In any case, understanding of the other party should come first.
And my feelings don’t really matter.
We kept moving forward.
Each time malice took shape and showed me information.
– Why why… ….
– I didn’t do anything wrong.
– You just accepted what he gave you!
The life of an ‘elf’ called Aether.
Of course, there was nothing positive about it.
She was betrayed, devastated, and broken.
What I see is that record.
A life that ended in tragedy.
“…Did this happen?”
It is interesting to know the inner circumstances that were not known before returning.
But apart from that, it can’t be pleasant to watch a tragedy.
And around the time I watched the end of Aether like that.
“ah.”
The black fog lifted, slowly revealing the ‘grave’ in front of us.
that.
“…under.”
It was a more horrifying sight than I had imagined.
* * *
‘Now.’
Heddos moved slowly, feeling that the surveillance around him had weakened for a moment.
Master Assassin’s Stealth.
The reason he was obeying as a guardian here was not because he had lower abilities as an assassin than the Dark Elves.
It’s just a curse that has been inscribed since childhood.
That curse had been shackles on Hedos until now.
But those shackles are gone now.
He walked through the shadows and approached Ruina.
The closer I got, the more I could see her miserable condition.
‘…Damn it.’
Even when he left this place at Louisa’s request, his condition wasn’t this serious.
in just a few years.
The fact that the elf, a long-lived species, was damaged to this extent in a short period of time meant that it had suffered terribly.
Know.
It is known and accepted.
He carefully moved closer to Ruina and checked her face.
I was unconscious, but fortunately I could feel my breathing.
‘But the vitality is weak.’
As an assassin, he was also good at sensing the vitality of others.
Looking at it calmly, Ruina’s current condition is so serious that it would not be strange if she died at any time.
At that thought, his breathing quickened.
Even if he was a Master Assassin, he couldn’t be cold-hearted about Ruina.
‘Calm down. If you take the prepared potion, you will be able to buy some time.’
Of course, even that is not enough.
However, Hedos had a corner to believe.
Hero Mikhail Walpurgis.
If that were the case, he would be able to greatly alleviate Ruina’s condition and definitely help.
Thinking so, as she was about to take out the potion from her bosom, Ruina groaned and moved her body.
“…Uhm.”
“Is Ruina coming to her senses!”
Ruina slowly opened her eyes and widened.
“Hey Hedos?”
“You don’t have to force it. You are not in a position to move properly right now.”
“How do you… ….”
Ruina looked at Hedos with an expression of disbelief and asked.
He replied with a wry smile.
“No need to worry. I have been helped by someone I trust.”
“Mia Mia…! What happened to the kid?! That you are here… …!”
“It’s okay, Louisa.”
Heddos tried to reassure her somehow.
“As I said, I am getting help from someone I trust. I came because I have the confidence to solve everything.”
“What is that….”
Ruina shook her head in disbelief.
It was a natural reaction for her.
She doesn’t know about Mikhail, let alone the fact that Hedos’ curse has been resolved.
So, rather than being relieved, I had no choice but to be anxious and agitated.
“Anyway, I’m glad you’re sober. Let’s talk about it after we get out of here.”
“It’s dangerous, Hedos! You shouldn’t have come here. Now here… …!”
“it’s okay.”
Saying so, he held Louisa in his arms.
He doesn’t care what happens to the other dark elves.
First of all, getting Ruina out of this hell is his first priority.
But that was then.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, kid.”
A voice came from behind.
“Ahhh….”
Ruina, who was hugged by him, let out a sigh mixed with despair.
‘enemy!’
Hedos moved right after.
sense as an assassin.
slit the neck with a single blow
The moment he stepped out, he was already standing behind the elf.
He swung the dagger in his hand without hesitation.
but.
“It’s fast. If it was a decent existence, my neck would have been blown off at once.”
“…!”
Hados widened his eyes.
Now his blow is blocked by something and he can’t move further.
‘Darkness’ was holding the dagger.
It was like black clay, but very hard and solid.
“Master Assassin. hmm that’s funny Are you free from the curse?”
Suddenly, the elf was holding a staff in his hand.
The ‘darkness’ blocking the dagger must have come from the staff.
Hedos felt a cold sweat pouring down his face.
‘Not good.’
At that moment, the elf raised his staff high.
Then the wand trembled and the shadows around it wriggled.
“…Damn it.”
With a brief complaint, he neatly gave up the dagger sealed in the darkness and stepped back.
The wind blew as frighteningly as he disappeared.
The wind whirled around the shadow at the same time.
and at the same time.
Chew!
The ‘something’ wriggling in the shadows was cut.
That was the beginning.
A fair wind raked the area.
Quiet but sharp.
Dozens of attacks slashed through the darkness all at once.
seconds.
The time it took him to negate the attack of the elf ‘Aether’.
Hedos calculated quickly.
How can I get out of here with Ruina?
I was able to intuit that the elf in front of me was the ‘Aether’ I had heard about from the hero.
The previous attack pierced one of the exits.
The shadow blocking the ‘exit’ of the hacked attacks also disappeared.
However, ‘Aither’ did not lose its composure.
“There is no answer. Are you a quiet person? Either way, it doesn’t matter to me.”
She tapped the ground lightly with the staff she was carrying with the horse.
Then, the ‘shadows’ that Hedos had cut a while ago reappeared.
“This…!”
“You didn’t think that the ancestors my children worshiped so much would not have this much power, right?”
“…ancestor?”
Heddos’ face twisted.
something like this?
no no
A ‘dark elf’ is obviously a foreign being with darkness as an elf, but it was never evil.
But now this is different.
It is fundamentally different from the hatred and madness that attacked this dark forest.
If they are simply things that started from passionate ’emotions’, this is… ….
‘devil!’
From the root, they resemble them.
A feeling of rejection that can be naturally felt by a being with life.
“It feels good. Well, it doesn’t matter to me.”
‘Aether’ raised his staff.
All retreats are blocked.
With that simple action, even the light that was like a thread just before completely disappeared.
“Ahhh….”
A look of hopelessness crept over Louisa’s face.
‘Aither’ aimed his cane as if it were natural.
In the dark, invisible something wriggled and approached the two.
“Don’t kill me. There is plenty of space available.”
Darkness approaches.
‘Aither’ was confident of his victory.
For her, Hedos’ existence was just a predictable variable.
‘Damn it.’
Hedos closed his eyes tightly.
Certainly, things seemed to be going the way she thought.
At least.
Hwaaak!
“…hmm?”
Until just before that.
A bright light began to emanate from Hados’ arms. Hedos hurriedly loosened the arms.
“I got this from him….”
The light lit up the surroundings and then enveloped him and Ruina.
Seeing this, ‘Aether’ widened her eyes.
“This can’t be…!”
She belatedly tried to use her powers to completely capture them both.
But it was too late.
The light swallowed them both.
“ah.”
Because the two completely disappeared in front of ‘Aether’.
