Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 566

566

“Ell!”

There wasn’t even time to respond to the urgent voice. After parrying the force that tried to grab me roughly with my sword and cutting it down in one swift motion, attacks immediately followed from the other side. It was difficult to respond to, and the number of attackers was too great to handle at once. And for some reason, I felt like they were relentlessly swarming me.

With a sinking feeling, I deliberately broke away and distanced myself from the group. As I did, I could see that most of them were following me. It wasn’t a misunderstanding. They were really after me.

“What are these things?”

Sibilius, who had been flustered when I created distance, also noticed the monsters blatantly following me and realized their target, looking bewildered. Even for ordinary beasts, it’s natural instinct to target the weakest individual when hunting. But it didn’t make sense that they considered me the weak one. After all, I was openly using sword energy. If they were high-level monsters, they should have enough intelligence to recognize that.

“It looks like there’s a commander controlling them.”

Lapis muttered, sounding intrigued. There are only a handful of beings capable of controlling high-level monsters. Could one be nearby? I ran forward, increasing the distance between myself and Sibilius. If I was the target, whoever it was would have to get their wish.

“Ell!”

“Don’t come closer!”

The monsters’ attacks became even more relentless. I kicked off the ground, leaping into the air to cut down one that was trying to shoot a strange sonic wave, and kicked away another that grabbed at my clothes. The slight opening that created allowed a swarm of monitor lizards to surge in.

“Secryuel!”

A stream of water wrapped around my body, quickly knocking away the clinging monitor lizards. With Secryuel providing support, my movements became much easier. Then, the monitor lizards began flying towards the others.

“Kyaa!”

“Weldy-nim!”

“Not so fast!”

Startled by the sudden attack, Sibilius slashed at a monster trying to snatch Weldy. As he turned back in alarm, a sharp sensation grazed his side. He blocked it hastily but couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling. The flow just now was clearly meant to attack the others and create an opening for me. It couldn’t be attributed to the monsters’ thinking.

“How annoying, really!”

A stinging sensation ran across my cheek as a claw grazed it. I swung my sword energy, cutting down a group, and heightened all my senses.

“Sibilius! I’ll leave them to you for a moment!”

Without waiting for a reply, I climbed onto Secryuel’s back and soared into the sky. While cutting down the pursuing monsters and circling around, I sensed a presence in the dense fir forest in the distance.

‘Found it.’

I confirmed that someone was peeking around, glancing this way, and shot off towards them. The hidden figure, probably not expecting to be discovered, screamed and muttered something in horror. A surge of magical energy indicated that they were using magic.

“Looks like they’re trying to escape. That type of magic is spatial teleportation.”

Soon, as Lapis predicted, a whirlwind of magic enveloped the figure. Fortunately, however, mages as talented as Lapis are very rare. For most, there’s a delay before the magic activates.

“I won’t let you escape!”

I immediately threw my sword, disrupting their concentration, and used the moment of hesitation to pounce from above. “Ugh!” The person who missed the chance to escape by a hair’s breadth screamed. Only after climbing onto the body thrashing on the ground and pinning them down could I properly see their face. It was a young man with black hair.

“Who are you? Did you use the monsters to attack me?”

“Ugh, you crazy! What is this! Wait! Just wait a minute! Are you really human? How can you…!”

The man seemed utterly shocked, probably not expecting to be discovered, let alone captured. His face was ashen as if he’d seen a ghost. But it was his face that startled me.

“What is this now.”

Lapis muttered in an exasperated tone. Seeing that he was reacting exactly as I felt, it seemed he was seeing the same thing. Was the magic activated earlier a hallucination spell instead of spatial teleportation? Why does this stranger’s face look so familiar?

“…Diagon?”

“Huh?”

The man’s eyes widened. There was no mistake. He was much younger than I remembered, but it was definitely him.

“Wh-what? How do you know me?”

Even so, my mind went blank when I heard him acknowledge it. Really, Diagon? Why is he here? Why did he attack me? He shouldn’t even know me in this era?

I stared blankly at him with indescribable feelings. The Black Dragon Diagon. The father of Lapis and his brother, and the man who would become Lantasha’s partner… and Trowel’s contractor.

“Did you receive a request?”

“Huh? What? Uh?”

“Did he tell you to target me?”

Did Trowel tell you to do that?

Diagon, blinking his eyes, looked utterly confused. He didn’t seem to understand what was going on, but I didn’t give him any leeway and grabbed his collar, pulling him up.

“Where is he?”

Diagon, dragged along by my grip, swallowed hard. His dark black eyes clearly reflected my image, distorted with anger but unable to hide my agitation.

“Where is Trowel now?”

* * *

“Why are you looking for me?”

My body stiffened at the soft voice. Somehow forcing my unresponsive body to move, I barely managed to lift my head. A boy was sitting on a small rock a short distance away. His dark skin, disheveled black hair—everything was so familiar it was almost surreal. Even the golden eyes that seemed to see through everything were watching me as if appraising me.

“Troweeeeel~!”

Diagon, taking advantage of my pause, pushed me away and rushed to hide behind him. It was ridiculous to see him trying to conceal his body, which couldn’t be hidden behind someone smaller than him, but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh. Soon, the sound of loud flapping echoed in the sky. It was the sound of the large winged monitor lizards, which had been unable to attack while I was grappling with Diagon, scattering quickly.

“Diagon, I’m disappointed.”

Trowel, gazing at the sky, lightly clicked his tongue.

“Is that all you can do to threaten her?”

“All? That’s a high-level monster, you know? What is she anyway? You said she was human!”

“She is human.”

“What kind of human just plays around with a horde of high-level monsters? And not just any high-level monsters, but flying monsters! Even a Sword Saint would usually be inexperienced in aerial combat, so they’d struggle if they all attacked at once! She even blocked my teleportation magic! She blocked me from using magic!”

“That’s why I said she was strong.”

“Is that something you can just describe as ‘strong’?”

Diagon, much younger than I remembered, also had a noticeably childish way of speaking and acting. The adult Diagon had an undeniable gravitas [seriousness] that couldn’t be hidden even when he spoke lightly, but this Diagon felt like a high-spirited teenager.

“Just so you know, I only resemble Lantasha.”

Lapis, unable to accept his father’s younger self, quietly drew a line. I could easily imagine his serious face, but I couldn’t laugh this time either.

“It’s because you were trying to be moderate from the start that you failed.”

“But what if I accidentally killed her by touching her directly! You said I just had to injure her!”

“So all you managed was a scratch on her cheek? You’re my contractor, but you’re quite incompetent.”

“It’s because she’s too strong, okay?”

The conversation continued with me as the subject, but I had no chance to interject. It was as if I was watching from beyond a screen, my existence completely excluded from the two of them. The only thought occupying my mind was: So that’s it. Trowel really did order this. He really was trying to harm me.

As I stared blankly, our eyes met. No, he had been watching me all along. Or rather, observing me. It was a gaze that seemed to be searching for something within me. I didn’t know what it was.

“You look like you have something to say.”

“…Trowel.”

“Yes, Ell?”

He replied with a smile. Affectionately and familiarly. As if nothing had happened. But it was different. There wasn’t a single part of him that was the same as the Trowel I knew.

My throat felt dry, and I simply closed my mouth. It wasn’t like I didn’t know. There were times when he had grabbed me by the neck. Why did all of this feel so unfamiliar now? His gaze was so dry that it was frightening. I couldn’t remember what kind of expression he used to make. Or how he used to smile, or how he treated me.

“Hey, get a grip.”

It was only when I heard Lapis’s voice that I realized I had been holding my breath.

“I’ve told you countless times that he’s got a nasty personality. Don’t be shaken. That’s what that psycho wants.”

His calm voice gradually cleared my head. That’s right. I need to pull myself together, especially now. The future was originally supposed to go in this direction. I was the one who changed it. It couldn’t be easy to change the grand scheme of things. I barely managed to nod, suppressing the urge to cry. I tried to get up somehow, but my legs wouldn’t support me. My hands were so cold that I felt like I had lost all sensation. I heard voices calling me from a distance. Sibilius and the unicorns were running towards me.

“Ell, are you okay?”

He rushed over, looking me over as I stood there awkwardly.

“You’re injured on your cheek! Wait, I’ll get a healing potion right away…!”

“Ah… I’m okay. It’s nothing.”

“Nothing? This needs to be treated immediately. The claws of a winged monitor lizard have venom!”

Ah, so that’s why it was hard to move my body. Now that I think about it, my tongue feels a little stiff too. As I belatedly realized my condition, Sibilius hurriedly gave me a sip of the healing potion he had taken out. He soaked the rest on a handkerchief and pressed it against my cheek. Meanwhile, Weldy and Karian noticed something that Sibilius had missed: the presence of Trowel and Diagon, who were watching them with interest.

“But who are those people?”

Sibilius, who had just noticed Trowel, looked flustered.

“You are…”

“A unicorn.”

Trowel muttered nonchalantly. Weldy and Karian were startled by his immediate recognition and showed their wariness, but Sibilius’s attitude became more relaxed.

“Were you the one who drove away the monsters?”

He still doesn’t know the complicated story between me and Trowel. He only remembers the times when we were like brothers, so he naturally seemed to think that Trowel had appeared to help me.

“Well, which one could it be? Anyway, it’s a bit of a shame that you’re not human.”

But when Trowel smiled after saying that, Sibilius seemed to sense that something was wrong. His face hardened, and just as he was about to say something, a strong tremor shook the ground. I reflexively looked down and saw the ground cracking. Sibilius confirmed the same sight. Our eyes met almost simultaneously. Soon, the gap widened rapidly, quickly increasing the distance between me and the unicorns.

“Kyaa!”

Weldy screamed, horrified by the sudden situation. Sibilius grabbed the two flustered unicorns and immediately prepared to leap. He was going to jump over and come back to this side. But the rocks rising from all directions were faster. The towering rock pillars covered them in an instant, as if they were alive.

“Sibil!”

I tried to run, but an immense force blocked my path. Rock pillars also rose around me, lashing out like whips. As I barely dodged and retreated, Sibilius and his group were trapped in a prison made of rock. Through the thick stone bars, I could see Weldy, who had lost her mind, collapsing. Sibilius quickly checked her condition and gripped the bars, grinding his teeth.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t touch the unicorns.”

“What on earth is that supposed to mean…!”

At that moment, the surroundings shook, and I felt a chilling, sharp pain. Pointed rocks that had risen up pierced my legs like thorns. As they pulled in that state, I couldn’t muster any strength in my body. I fell over without being able to resist. “Heuk!” I tried to stifle a scream, but only a strange, boiling sound escaped from my throat.

“Ell!”

I heard a desperate cry, but I didn’t have the strength to respond.

Wow, this is a bit much. Not only can’t I move my legs, but it hurts too much. I could feel my whole body drenched in cold sweat. The pain is in my legs, but it’s hard to breathe.

“See, I told you.”

I heard Trowel muttering from above.

“I thought I might be too heavy-handed if I did it myself, so I entrusted it to him. Well, it might be better this way.”

“You, are you crazy? Why are you doing this! What on earth are you doing!”

Sibilius shouted and slammed against the bars. But the prison that confined them didn’t budge.

“It’s just a tantrum.”

“What?”

Trowel, as if he had no intention of dealing with them any further, turned around cheerfully and knelt in front of me. His face, looking down indifferently, was expressionless. It was hard to tell if he was in a good mood or a bad mood.

“Does it hurt?”

“Trowel…”

“Well, I asked something too obvious. I didn’t intend to kill you, but even if you die, don’t be too upset. That’s what we agreed to do, right?”

Think of it as keeping the promise I made with you. A soothing voice whispered gently in my ear.

“If I had known it would be like this, it would have been better to just die instantly without pain, right? That’s why avoiding immediate anger doesn’t necessarily lead to a good ending. Don’t you think?”

I didn’t know what to answer, so I just gasped for breath. In fact, I didn’t even have the mental capacity to answer. Even at this moment, the stone thorns embedded in my skin continued to wriggle and dig deeper. It felt like all my nerves were being cut into pieces. Physiological tears continued to flow. I bit my lip to somehow suppress the screams, but it was not enough.

“Anyway, you’re a very strange human. Even at times like this, I can’t read your thoughts. Well, that’s why I’ve kept you alive until now. I’ve always thought it was an advantage, but now I think it’s a bit annoying.”

“Trowel… this hurts too much.”

In the end, I couldn’t hold back and let out a groan. Sibilius’s shouts grew louder in the distance.

“Of course it hurts, that’s what I wanted.”

The answer that came back after a slight pause was still nonchalant. He grabbed my chin and forced me to lift my head. His gaze, searching intently, was full of dissatisfaction. He still hasn’t elicited the reaction he wants. The thought that it might have to hurt even more made me dizzy.