Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 113

퓨쳐나이트 113

Elves from the Elf Forest typically maintain a youthful appearance, resembling humans in their twenties, until they reach 100 years of age.

That was the standard.

However, her life, marked by considerable hardship, had aged her prematurely, making her look well into her late thirties.

Deep wrinkles etched lines around her eyes, and her hair was brittle and lifeless.

Malnutrition had left her gaunt, her bones protruding sharply.

The dwindling number of customers meant she was no longer provided with adequate meals.

She was being discarded as if she were obsolete, slowly fading away.

All that remained within her were hatred and resentment towards those responsible for her condition, and a venomous spark flickered in her eyes.

Then, one day, a man entered her room, took one look at her, and cursed, demanding a refund from the pimp.

“Hey, you! She’s supposed to be an Elf, right? Is this supposed to be an Elf?”

“She is an Elf! Just look at her ears!”

“No! Even so, is this what you call an Elf? Give me my money back right now!”

He was already the tenth customer to reject her based on her appearance. The pimp sighed and conceded,

“Okay, I’ll refund you half. Deal? Now go and enjoy yourself!”

“Hey, hey! You!”

Bang!

The pimp didn’t even wait to hear his full complaint before slamming the door shut. The man attempted to argue further, but remembering the half-price offer, he reluctantly began to undress.

He seemed to be finding some consolation in the fact that he was, at the very least, engaging with a non-human race.

“Come this way…”

She served the customer, who had arrived after a long interval, with the utmost care. Satisfied with the service born from her extensive experience, he soon began to relax and enjoy her company.

“Ah… ah… ah…”

Just then.

A voice echoed within her mind as she emitted a seductive moan.

‘The moment has arrived. One who is capable of forming a contract with me…’

Startled by the clear and melodious voice that suddenly resounded in her head, she widened her eyes and inquired,

“Wh-Who is it?”

“Huff… huff… What’s this bitch babbling about now?”

“Who are you?”

“Suddenly you can’t recognize your customer? Huh?”

‘I am Naiad, the Water Spirit King. Do you desire my power?’

‘Water Spirit King? Power, you say?’

Power. It was something she desperately craved.

Without hesitation, she declared her desire for that power.

“Yes, I need it.”

“What? You want more money? I’ve never encountered such a brazen thief! What kind of woman are you?”

The man raised his hand to strike her.

However, the man’s head instantly detached and flew towards her dilapidated dressing table, shattering the mirror and landing on the floor.

The man’s headless body collapsed upon her, drenching her face in a torrent of blood.

She was completely covered in red blood.

Yet, the crimson liquid was absorbed into her skin and vanished.

Soon, vitality returned to her face, and her coarse skin transformed to become as smooth and supple as an infant’s.

Her hair, once dry and dull, morphed into glossy, dark, and beautiful tresses.

After a moment, when she opened her eyes, she was lying there, looking completely transformed.

Her eyes now radiated a newfound confidence.

Her body levitated, and she reached out, focusing her power on the old, shabby door that had been an obstacle in her path until now.

Then, Naiad, who was enveloping her body, blasted the door open according to her will.

Kwaaaaaang!

The building was instantly plunged into chaos.

A surge of water erupted forth, collapsing half of the structure.

The assault didn’t end there.

It swept through dozens of houses in front, demolishing them in a line.

It was as if an entire village was being destroyed, swept away by a raging flood.

She gazed at the trail of destruction before her, staring at her hands in disbelief.

Her hands were no longer the dry, withered hands of the past.

They were delicate and beautiful, as if she had reverted 50 years in age.

And now, she sensed a power within those hands capable of destroying anything in the world.

“This is the power of the Spirit King, Naiad?”

“No, it is your power now.”

Upon hearing Naiad’s words, she stared at the path of destruction she had wrought for a moment, then grinned and laughed maniacally.

“Ahahahahaha!”

She was laughing while simultaneously crying.

It was simply because she was so overjoyed.

She was that happy.

That she had acquired the power to exact revenge.

Knowing her heart intimately, Naiad posed a deliberate question.

“What would you like me to do?”

At Naiad’s inquiry, she smiled cruelly and responded.

“What do you think I desire?”

“Revenge on this world?”

Green was overjoyed at Naiad’s words, which accurately identified her deepest desire, and asked in return.

“Will you do that for me?”

“Of course.”

“Then first, kill everyone in this village. Leave not a single one alive.”

Naiad was in the form of water, so he had no discernible expression, but he was definitely smiling.

Cruelly, that is.

Because everything was unfolding according to their plan.

“I’ve been waiting for that answer.”

Instantly, Naiad’s transparent body transformed into ice and exploded outward.

Sharp shards of ice, like fragments of glass, soared into the sky. Soon, they began to swirl intensely, and then blades of ice spread out in all directions.

“Haaahm!”

As if just awakening, she opened her eyes to find it was already dark night.

The village, shrouded in darkness, was frozen solid, and countless corpses lay scattered on the ice, torn to pieces.

The village was gone.

The humans who had mistreated her had all vanished.

There was nothing holding her back any longer.

She was now free.

She reveled in the sensation of liberation, as if electricity coursed through her from head to toe.

“I’m free now! I’m free!”

Naiad spoke to her once more.

“Now, I have killed everyone as you wished. What do you want next?”

“What do I want next?”

At Naiad’s considerate question, she pondered. About what she had longed to do all along.

And soon, as if she had reached a decision, she clapped her hands together and declared.

“I want to see the sun rising above the clouds!”

“Above the clouds? That’s not a difficult request.”

Naiad enveloped Green in a transparent membrane and ascended into the sky.

And cutting through the darkness, she moved swiftly towards the east.

Beneath her feet, a vast world unfolded, a sight she had never witnessed before.

She felt an overwhelming sense of injustice at the sheer scale of the world.

Because her life, having been confined for 100 years in this vast and beautiful world, was so pathetic and miserable.

Soon, anger surged within her.

The fact that those wicked and vile races occupied this expansive world.

After a while, she was able to fulfill her second wish.

The distant dawn had begun to break.

She was able to witness the sunrise from above the sky as she had desired, something she had only been able to glimpse through a small window until now.

She couldn’t believe it.

It felt as if she were dreaming.

“I-It’s so beautiful…”

The massive clouds, brimming with the sun’s red energy and moving dynamically, were incredibly captivating.

Soon, the sunlight of the rising sun warmly embraced her entire body.

Tears of emotion streamed down her face.

“Naiad…”

“I’m listening.”

“The world is so beautiful, but why are all those who inhabit it so ugly?”

“Who knows?”

“Naiad, look at this sky. Isn’t it so beautiful?”

“Of course.”

“I know why.”

“The reason?”

“Yes, the reason why the sky is so beautiful.”

“What is the reason?”

“It’s because those ugly ones are not here.”

“Who are you referring to as those ugly ones?”

“All of them.”

“All of them?”

“Humans, Orcs, Dwarves, Elves… all those ugly beings who occupy this world.”

As expected, it was a model answer.

Naiad was very pleased to hear her words.

Because to him, they were all parasitic beings that disrupted the harmony of nature.

Well, Elves were an exception, but Naiad didn’t care much.

He didn’t care whether they existed or not.

What he desired was the purification of this world through her.

The destruction of nature caused by the exponentially increasing human and orc populations was already at a critical level.

The order of the natural world was being severely threatened by humans who misused mana [magical energy].

Furthermore, the reckless mining practices of the dwarves were causing the entire mountain range to suffer.

The most significant damage from their environmental destruction was, of course, inflicted upon the spirits, and those spirits were increasingly losing their place.

So their king, the Spirit King, intervened.

For the sake of purifying the world.

And Green was chosen by them.

She was a being created from the beginning according to his intentions. A creature born from the impossible union of Elf and Orc by Naiad’s will.

She was unaware that all of this was a script he had crafted, and she was proceeding smoothly according to their plans.

“So, what do you want to do?”

“I believe the world can only achieve true beauty if they are gone. So, I will make it happen.”

“Are you saying you’re going to drive them out of the land?”

“Yes, I will definitely do it.”

Naiad acted nonchalantly.

“I can do anything you, the contractor, command me to do, but I would never recommend that. Because it will never be easy.”

“I know that too. But I will never give up. Until I eradicate all those who have become rotten in this world…”

At Green’s unwavering determination, Naiad whispered in her ear.

“I hope you never change your mind.”

Thus, her blood-soaked journey began.

36. Life as a Prisoner

As the all-out war devolved into small-scale local skirmishes, there were beings within the Allied camp who became the focus of everyone’s contempt and oppression.

These were the Green Elves who had been captured as prisoners.

Today, a group of soldiers was tormenting them once again.

“You filthy bastards! Eat this! Kaaaak! Ptooey!”

A Green Elf glared at him with murderous intent.

The soldier was enraged by the Green Elf’s fierce gaze.

“You cockroach-like bastard, what are you looking at? What are you glaring at! Huh? Are you trying to pick a fight with me right now?”

The enraged soldier picked up a stone and hurled it through the bars of the cage-like enclosure, and blood trickled from the head of the Green Elf who was struck by the stone.

The soldier sneered at the wounded Green Elf and taunted.

“Why? Are you upset? Do you feel wronged? Don’t you want to kill me? Then shout it out loud! Please come and save me! Huh? Hahahahaha!”

The Green Elves lowered their heads, displaying a pitiful demeanor in response to the soldiers’ mockery.

“I’ll personally sever your heads when I execute you! Look forward to it, you buggers! Let’s go!”