Martial Elf

“What’s the matter? Feeling bad because things aren’t going as you thought?”

Terato’s gaze, which had been looking beyond Pohelrn, turned towards Gal Dragon, who was smirking.

It was a beautiful creature.

If not for its nasty taunts.

And if it wasn’t for dragging out the battle for so long without really fighting against him.

The sight of the arrogant Gal Dragon warily observing his every move was quite amusing, but…

Terato looked down again at the city of humans below.

From the high perspective of the transcendent beings, the desperate war of the insignificant creatures entered his view at a glance.

Among the many Titans that stood like moving city walls, many of them lay as corpses scattered throughout the once lush forest.

At first, the charge of the Titans seemed unstoppable as they trampled through the forest, but now their advance had halted at the very edge of the forest and the city.

Some had crossed into the city of humans, but their numbers were not that great.

The damage to the Elves was also significant.

Moreover, while the Elves’ attacks were effective and deadly against the Titans, the wounds left on the Titans’ bodies were not that large, leaving their corpses looking relatively tidy. However, perhaps due to the difference in size, the bodies of Elves killed by Titans were horrifically mangled.

Because of those brutal scars, Elves who charged in anger faced severe injuries or death, increasing the casualties that were already supposed to be there.

However, although there were clearly over 300 participants on both sides, it now appeared that fewer than 80 Titans were standing properly, while nearly 200 Elves were still acting like seasoned hunters throughout the remaining parts of the forest.

The forest, which had greatly aided the Elves, had already become a wasteland due to the aftermath of the battle, but far too many Titans had perished. Although there were injured Elves, the fact that nearly 200 Elves were still intact meant that the outcome was essentially decided.

“How satisfying. Terato. Did you dedicate 100 years to those insignificant creatures? It all seems to have been in vain. This was your first and last chance.”

Though its wings didn’t move in the sky, the Gal Dragon hovered in the air through some unknown law and sneered further.

“I will not sleep again until I have undone all the tricks you’ve played on me and erased even the last piece of your flesh from this world. I will watch you without a moment of carelessness.”

Below, one Titan, filled with fear, turned and fled.

The sight of a Titan that had always experienced the role of the hunter fleeing in fear, only to be hunted down by the pursuing Elves, was quite unsettling.

“It’s unpleasant.”

For a hundred years, everything had gone smoothly.

It was the arrogant Gal Dragon that had taken advantage of the moment it fell into a deep slumber to create the Titans.

Binding itself, the Titans, and the Gal Dragon with magic to seal their powers.

Even pushing the Gal Dragon to the brink of death without suffering great losses.

Everything seemed to flow in order without difficulty.

But now, down below, one of a hundred years’ worth of efforts was crumbling miserably.

“It’s all because of that Elf girl, Araya.”

The Gal Dragon that was supposed to have died had not perished.

The Gigantes, which had never been wounded even once except for the Gal Dragon, had fallen.

Unable to go forward even with that mass of power before him, which could just stretch out and grasp or destroy, all of it was absurd. In the end, a mere follower that wasn’t even a transcendent being was the culprit behind it all.

“My pride.”

In that proud utterance of El Prigion, Terato felt envy.

If only a being like that Araya had been created for him.

The situation would have been completely reversed.

“It seems everything is coming to an end, Babel Terato.”

Once the balance began to crumble, the number of Titans started to decrease rapidly.

Before long, there would be not a single Titan left standing below.

If all the Titans were to disappear, even if Terato dealt with those two transcendent beings that were stalling for time, forcing his way through the power that was rejecting him from the center of the city would not be easy.

No, he would need another period of patience.

In a situation where his effort built over a century was collapsing, Terato’s endurance was not long.

“Do I seem so easy to ignore? Do you think I want to retreat?”

“If you won’t retreat, what more can you do? You big monkey.”

Terato’s hands rose towards the sky and slowly came down to clutch his chest.

From his fingers, sharp claws emerged, enveloping his body like iron armor.

“Gal Dragon. Whether you like it or not, we’ve spent a long time together.”

“Though this experience is truly unpleasant.”

“El Prigion, do you still hold onto old memories? Memories before we gained real bodies on this world.”

“They are distant and faint memories.”

“Though imperfect, it was a complete time. Before becoming a single being walking this land, we were part of a colossal law that encompassed this world. A single law that absorbed all the energies of this star.”

Terato’s fingers crossed over his body.

From Terato’s form, a stream of blood poured out like a small river.

“…What!?”

“It was because I wanted to be the ruler of this world. For the origin of the lives that exist on this star to converge upon me. To become a being one step further, not just this body. Yes, I wished to become a god.”

From the river of blood, masses of blood rose.

“We are like the largest shards that have fallen from the law. Nevertheless, that alone is not enough to become a god, Gal Dragon. My arrogant old rival. You understand, don’t you? That’s why I strived as closely as possible to that time.”

“…”

“Do you remember? When beings like us gain bodies, small fragments always break off. You and I are what are called ‘dregs’.”

Dregs.

At those words, the Gal Dragon’s eyes widened.

Terato began to realize what he was saying.

Dregs.

If the existence referred to as Elder Roa by Araya and the humans is them, then those once called dregs were the Roa that were birthed alongside beings like himself as shards.

“Did you not feel odd after awakening? The north is where you and I were born. There should be more ‘dregs’ than anywhere else. Excluding the dregs that lost their lives at your hands, there were still many as of a hundred years ago. So where do you think they all went?”

The mass that rose from the river transformed into various shapes.

Many took the form of Titans, but some were Titans wrapped in flames, and others emitted a cold aura.

Others transformed into gigantic beasts that could not be seen in the natural world.

El Prigion remembered familiar forms from its forest domain, and the Gal Dragon recalled shapes from its distant memories.

Dregs, wild gods, land gods, Roa.

And in recent human-made religions, they were called demons.

“This power was originally meant to ascend to the next existence. Yet, given that we’ve come this far, clinging to it seems foolish. Besides, it might not matter.”

Terato’s eyes gazed at the center of the human city.

“Since there were insignificant creatures that shared similar thoughts to mine, if I organize this whole situation and gain that, it would be a worthwhile calculation. It may take a long time to absorb, but in a situation where a century of patience has collapsed, isn’t it a luxury to care about that? Hmm? What’s the matter? My old rival. My brothers born from a single place.”

As the forms that emerged from Terato’s body completed their physical forms and stood, intelligence radiated from their eyes.

Hundreds of newly born beings, each exuding an unusual aura, looked up at Terato.

As if waiting for a command.

“Go.”

As Terato’s words echoed, a massive procession headed towards the crumbled city wall.

Watching the Gal Dragon and that procession, he held a small hope in his heart.

These were forms emerged from Terato’s body.

If the barrier were to reject these substances, Terato’s trump card would lose that power.

But shattering Gal Dragon’s expectation, the procession stepped forth without resistance towards the devastated forest beyond the collapsed city wall.

The Elves, who were engaged in combat with the remnants of Titans, were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the incoming enemies.

“…Gal Dragon.”

El Prigion’s thoughts rang nervously.

Wanting nothing more than to rush into that barrier and save its children.

The Gal Dragon read El Prigion’s thoughts to a degree.

Even if it meant sacrificing some, it intended to weaken and bind Terato here, so that Araya could succeed in finishing him off.

But as the entities newly birthed from Terato’s body headed towards its children, El Prigion’s reason began to waver.

“…Damn it.”

The Gal Dragon too, gazing at Terato, was silent.

Having revealed even its trump card, Terato looked at them like a beast driven to the edge of a cliff.

With that enormous body, it watched them like an injured beast.

If the balance on this side were to falter, it would pounce and tear them apart in an instant.

“I can feel the end approaching.”

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