Martial Elf

“…Lady Araya?”

Kyle muttered to himself, sensing a change in the surrounding air.

The dense flow of air, like being submerged in water, returned to its usual state.

‘Is something wrong?’

With a hardened expression, Kyle rushed into the room where Araya was recovering.

Having learned some breathing techniques from Araya and having lived as a merchant for a long time, he was well aware of the importance of staying focused.

Before long, Kyle arrived at the room where Araya had been staying. He looked at the slightly disheveled bedding and the empty bed, his expression blank.

“Lady Araya?”

Kyle’s murmurs echoed unanswered, drifting down to the underground.

◈ ◈ ◈

“Antrea.”

“Yes, Chancellor.”

“From now on, call me Alia.”

“Okay. Sister Alia.”

“Are you getting used to your arm?”

Alia looked at the sleeve of Antrea’s loosely hanging left arm as she spoke.

“It’s still difficult to wield a sword, but with the shadow there, daily life isn’t too tough.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Antrea.”

“…What’s with that expression, looking like I’ve never seen it before?”

“Pfft. Right. Could you gather my sisters, including Lamia, toward the Room of Worlds?”

“…Is something really going on?”

“Isn’t there? There’s a giant outside the city, fighting with the Earth Goddess and the Gal Dragon, while giants are wandering around inside the city.”

“I know that’s not what you meant.”

“I know.”

Alia patted Antrea’s head.

“…Sister, do you realize how strange that is?”

“Is it?”

Alia smiled sweetly and pushed Antrea’s back gently.

“Go now.”

“…I don’t know what it is, but you have to tell me later.”

Seeing Antrea vanish in an instant, Alia turned as well.

There was much to do.

◈ ◈ ◈

“…What is Alia thinking?”

Priegoss quietly murmured as he looked at the lined-up soldiers.

Five hundred soldiers who had been with him for a long time.

But behind them were fourteen hundred soldiers, captured from Mutuk during this expedition.

Their equipment appeared to be the same as Pohelrn’s soldiers, not the poorly armed troops from the south.

Moreover, they were positioned behind Priegoss’s soldiers.

Mutuk’s troops weren’t fools.

At first, when they were gathered in one place, they had looks of resignation.

If they thought the situation was manageable, they would have used them as slaves as they had in the past, but in this chaos, they believed they wouldn’t leave any risks unchecked.

They thought they would either be slaughtered on the spot or serve as meat shields during the fight against the giants.

However, after bringing them together, they shared decent armor and weapons among them and even positioned them in the rear.

It was easy to understand that now, being armed, they couldn’t simply subdue them if they started to fight.

Thus, it made no sense.

Why?

Priegoss felt the same way but showed no outward signs of this as his own soldiers were also tense, conscious of the captives.

A strange tension hung in the air among the soldiers.

In that atmosphere, Priegoss’s lieutenant, Buker, approached him and whispered.

“…What is Alia thinking?”

“I don’t know well, but Chancellor Alia has asked me to relay this to Your Majesty.”

Priegoss maintained as expressionless a demeanor as he could while glancing at the small note Alia had sent.

‘Remember what Lord Priegoss has longed for. Dream of the impossible. Just as I was captivated by you. I will always be there to assist you from behind.’

It was not the clear-cut words Alia usually spoke but rather a vague, dreamy message.

However, for some reason, Priegoss felt he understood what Alia wanted to express.

‘…What was longed for.’

To stand upright as a race of humans possessing agency in this world.

A simple statement, yet a tale that felt so distant.

They had built a vast city, subjugated many human villages to form one, and erected towering city walls.

They had cast down the Loas who had dominated humans, turning their history into a mere falsehood written in scripture.

Beasts and monsters remained threats, but unlike in the past, they could no longer recklessly invade human territories.

Yet, even after making it this far, look!

Even in a situation where giants and elves battled right in their presence, humans were still mere bystanders.

Around the village, the windows were filled with people clutching each other in fear, searching for a god to protect them, while some merely cheered for the luck of the elves, with no one stepping forward to defend their home.

Despite having gained the special power of martial arts, the significant gap between individuals still meant that the fates of the human race were determined by the whims of superior beings.

Priegoss carefully tucked Alia’s note into his chest and gripped his sword tightly.

‘I had become dull.’

In a time when the villages had histories of their own yet had vanished due to mere whims, and where they entrusted their safety entirely to the Loas to protect themselves.

To break those shackles, he had been willing to do anything, becoming reckless at times.

In the midst of it all, he met Alia and her sisters, the succubi, and together they had developed Pohelrn within this one-sided boundary.

Perhaps it was a promise made with Araya that could have been a disaster.

All of it was fundamentally a choice that resembled gambling.

‘I must have forgotten in my comfort. Something I didn’t want to lose because I hadn’t had it before.’

At some point, he began to select only those options that seemed plausible.

Rather than what could be gained, he only chose those with lower risks.

But that shouldn’t have been the case.

‘…It’s for the future humans.’

Regrettably, it seemed that he was destined to roll harshly.

Priegoss smiled.

His eyes scanned over his soldiers before finally landing on the captive soldiers.

The captives, who were wary, flinched at the sight of Priegoss’s bright smile.

‘Don’t think about what you might lose; like a fool being robbed by a gambler who secretly infiltrated the market, let’s only crave the fruits that await at the end.’

Even if everything were to be lost and reduced to ashes, somewhere, those who shared the same intent as him would build a new nation.

‘Of course, I don’t intend to end as just a stepping stone for you.’

Priegoss drew his sword from its sheath and raised it, shouting.

◈ ◈ ◈

“You’re a bit late, huh?”

“Sorry. I was dealing with things outside.”

“Well, the ominous energy hasn’t dissipated all day.”

Saraswati turned her head, as if losing interest, and gazed at the core of the Deus Ex Machina.

“Aren’t you worried about the other elves?”

“…To be honest, this is the first great incident since our elves came into existence. But what can you do? Worrying doesn’t change the outcome.”

“You’re quite cold.”

“I hear that often.”

Saraswati’s pupils moved frantically, following the energy of the core that shifted constantly.

“Do you think you can use it?”

“Huh? Use what? This?”

When Alia nodded, Saraswati, without turning her head, sensed her presence and chuckled.

“Since I haven’t been able to do it until now, there’s no way I could do it just because it’s an emergency.”

“I see.”

“…What’s wrong?”

Sensing something strange about Alia’s demeanor, Saraswati stopped examining the core and narrowed her brow at Alia.

Then instinctively directed energy towards her heart.

Thinking that she’d kill her immediately if she did something strange.

Though Alia had lived for hundreds of years as an Einherjar and probably felt that, she merely smiled slightly.

Yet, that expression seemed exceptionally mournful.

“…What are you thinking?”

At Saraswati’s words, Alia opened her mouth.

The more Alia spoke, the more Saraswati’s face stiffened.

And when Alia finished speaking, she let out a hollow laugh.

“…Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t get it.”

“You’re supposed to be intelligent, aren’t you? I think it’s a theory that’s completely plausible.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

Saraswati messed up her golden hair and glared at Alia.

“…As you say, it’s entirely plausible.”

“Then that’s not a problem. Will you help me?”

“…Why are you going this far? Didn’t you like that human named Priegoss?”

“…It can’t be contained simply by saying I like him.”

Alia’s eyes grew misty as if recalling something.

As her fingertips lovingly stroked her lower abdomen, Saraswati widened her eyes as if she sensed something.

“…You!?”

“Priegoss needs weapons, and so do the humans he loves. They need to stand confidently, not as weak beings swept around this land.”

“…You crazy woman. I don’t understand.”

“Honestly, you’re not exactly ordinary either, are you, Saraswati?”

“Do you think you’re the only one like that? On the surface, you’re composed, but you’re completely insane in your head.”

“Will you help me?”

“…Do whatever you want. But what will you do about them?”

Saraswati gestured with her chin toward Alia’s sisters, who stood dazed in front of the Room of Worlds.

“You should explain yourself well.”

“This isn’t a family that will understand easily after hearing that just now.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Look.”

The dazed succubi.

No, among the succubi, Lamia was the first to snap out of it and asked Alia.

“…That’s what you meant. Lamia.”

“…What the hell does that mean?!”

Lamia immediately rushed towards Alia.

Alia embraced Lamia.

“It’s happened. I’m sorry for you all.”

“What is… what does that even mean?!”

As she stroked the head of Lamia, who was crying in her arms, Lamia looked up and said.

“…What does that monkey named Priegoss mean to you? Why are you, the queen of demons, going this far for him? Is that stupid monkey more important than us?”

At Lamia’s words, Alia smiled bitterly.

It wasn’t just because of Lamia’s words, as it seemed the other succubi felt similarly.

Especially Antrea, who seemed to sense something, had her expression deeply hardened.

“Antrea. From now on, as the eldest, please take good care of these children.”

“…Sister.”

“I won’t tell you to help Priegoss. After this fight is over, live as you wish.”

“I won’t! If you disappear… I’ll definitely kill Priegoss!”

“Saraswati.”

“…Do we really have to go this far? Honestly, it would be fine if that human Priegoss just took the worst-case scenario and ran away.”

“That would be meaningless.”

“Ugh. You might as well not have brought them along. It feels like I’m the only bad one.”

“Fufu. I’m sorry.”

“You! What are you planning to do?!”

Feeling ominous from the conversation between Alia and Saraswati, Lamia momentarily sensed dread and attempted to leap from Alia’s embrace towards Saraswati.

“Ugh.”

Alia gently held her.

But despite that softness, the pressure was immense, keeping her in place no matter how much she struggled.

“Sister! Sister! Queen!”

Seeing Lamia desperately calling with a foreboding future in mind, Saraswati sighed and said.

“It’s fine to let go. If you keep holding on, you’ll get hurt.”

At those words, when the bindings were released, Lamia attempted to leap away at once but found herself trapped.

“…Huh?”

The succubi all stood transfixed at the threshold of the Room of Worlds.

“Sister! Sister!”

When Lamia tried to cross the threshold, she couldn’t move past an invisible wall, remaining stuck in the same spot.

“Antrea.”

“…Yes, Sister Alia.”

“Are the priests and paladins praying outside?”

“…They are.”

“Good.”

Alia nodded and, with a final affectionate expression, locked eyes with her sisters one last time, especially with Antrea.

“I’m placing a great burden on you.”

“…No, it’s not that.”

“Sisters. I’m counting on you.”

Alia turned her body and approached Saraswati and the core of the Deus Ex Machina.

“…How about stopping now, even at this moment?”

“I thought you were very interested in completing this, Saraswati?”

“……”

“In a sense, it’s just about returning to where I was born.”

“That doesn’t match your expression at all.”

“…You’re starting to be quite annoying now that you’ve come this far.”

Lamia cried out like a beast as she called for Alia.

Yet Alia did not turn.

“…Love is quite terrifying. I don’t really understand it. No, perhaps I’m afraid because I can’t.”

“I hope you find a good match someday, Saraswati.”

As she watched Saraswati’s expression of disgust, Alia smiled and slowly released the power she had been suppressing for so long.

From her neatly groomed black hair, magnificent horns resembling a goat’s horns rose.

Huge bat-like wings spread from her back.

A black tail, unlike any beast, rose up.

“Is that the true form of a succubus?”

“It’s my true appearance in the manifest world.”

Her razor-sharp claws touched the core of the Deus Ex Machina.

The greatest energy at the center of the core rose friendlily up her hand.

“…I’ll leave the rear to you.”

“Okay.”

With that statement, Alia’s other hand extended toward the center of the core.

---