Elmera provocatively thumped her bicep, a playful challenge in her eyes. It didn’t seem like she was joking; after all, she had easily twisted Ryoho and the others around. She didn’t appear to be lacking in combat skills.
“What’s wrong? Are you scared of this Elmera-chan’s unknown power?”
“Yeah. It’s strange how you look like you lack strength.”
“Is a warrior like Lua-chan really trembling?”
“If I didn’t think it was scary, I wouldn’t have survived in the Abyss Cave.”
“Exactly! Speaking of the Abyss Cave, I just heard that Lua-chan conquered it, and I’m a little curious about something… right?!”
There was no excuse for being caught off guard. She grabbed both of my hands and slammed them into the ground, pinning me down.
“How’s that?”
“S-strong…”
This was beyond unexpected. No matter how much strength I exerted, I couldn’t break free. I couldn’t even budge Elmera, who was sitting on top of me. Instead, she pressed down on my chest with her left hand, forcing me further into the ground.
“Lua-chan!”
“Ah, please don’t interfere. I want to keep this a one-on-one. Read the room, okay?”
“…Fine.”
As I noticed Kurinka’s expression soften, she retreated, sitting down to watch the scene unfold. Balbus, Nice, and Aslat, who had all been so frightened earlier, now seemed completely calm, observing without any visible emotion.
“What’s wrong, Kurinka?”
“Ah-ha! I’m just reading the room.”
“…Did Elmera do something?”
“Wow, you figured it out already? I wanted to stretch it out a bit longer!”
“What do you mean…? Of course, I can tell.”
The fact that they were watching this situation with blank expressions meant that they had either been manipulated by Elmera or something similar. That mysterious power of Elmera was truly something else.
“It’s magic, isn’t it?”
“Correct! By the way, this power is Enhancement Magic.”
“T-That’s not just regular Enhancement Magic…”
“Yep. It’s ‘a magic that enhances beyond Lua’s strength.’”
Elmera was always joking around, making it hard to tell what was true, but this was genuinely baffling. One thing I did understand was that it wasn’t entirely wrong. I was putting all my strength into crushing her slender arms, yet she didn’t even flinch.
“Wait, am I actually going to win? Am I really going to win?”
“Not a chance!”
I poured on even more strength, going all out. I pushed Elmera back with a force that had nearly incapacitated Getou. She spun in the air, landing gracefully as if it had all gone according to plan.
“Whoa!”
After rolling, she bounced and executed three spins in mid-air before landing. Despite being pushed, she looked like she was enjoying the flow of it all, standing with her arms wide open as if receiving applause.
“I went through all the trouble to create Enhancement Magic, and yet?! Why?!”
“Why do you think?”
“You’re the type who grows stronger through battle!”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
I was starting to lose patience with this playful banter, so I answered casually. On the other hand, Balbus’s words that no one could win began to seep into my mind. The magic she created was probably just as it sounded.
“Can Elmera create magic?”
“Correct! This Elmera-chan can create any magic in an instant; she’s a master of Cooking Magic! Oh, wait, that’s not right. It’s ‘Imagination Magic,’ not Creation Magic.”
“So you created a spell that boosts your strength beyond mine…”
In the midst of this playful exchange, it might be best to settle the match quickly. If she could create any magic, that meant she could potentially create a spell that would stop my heart. I didn’t know if that was possible, but there was no way to gauge how far her abilities could go.
“Well then, let’s see how this goes!”
Lua’s Attack!
I charged forward at full speed, holding nothing back. I slashed at Elmera with a speed that even Vandalsia wouldn’t recognize. If I didn’t fight with the intent to kill, I’d be the one getting killed. The tension I felt now was something I hadn’t even experienced when battling Lord Daigami or the Dragon God.
“Transparent Magic: ‘Scape Ghost!’”
Elmera became semi-transparent, and the blade of Disballade sliced through the air. I couldn’t shake the doubt of whether I had enough time to chant the spell before she used her transparent magic.
“When in a pinch, a random magic activates automatically: ‘Help Sitter!’”
A cold sensation trickled down my forehead and back. Cold sweat; I had never felt anything like this before.
“That’s why… no one can win.”
“How did I win against the Beastkin? Oh right, this! A magic that weakens the stronger ones: ‘Anti-Might Anti.’ By the way, I’m still looking for a name for it. Elmera-chan really struggles with this kind of thing.”
Balbus’s completely defeated mutterings had a level of conviction that was hard to ignore after witnessing Elmera’s power. If she used her current magic, I would be rendered powerless too. Even if I attacked Elmera now, some magic would activate through Help Sitter, allowing her to evade it. Not to mention, I might receive a painful counterattack.
“Ah, come on, you’re ruining your cute face. Let me wipe that sweat off for you.”
Elmera approached me, playfully brushing her fingers across my face. I didn’t move. Any careless action could be fatal. If I was going to settle this, I needed to strike with a single blow.
“Lua-chan, aren’t you relying too much on brute strength? You probably managed to get by with that until now. But you know… even that Enhancement Magic from earlier can be achieved in an instant if you have the right magic.”
A rainbow-colored light enveloped Elmera, seeping out of her body like steam.
“I was called a dropout, but you know, after my sister was taken away and everyone in my village was killed, I kept pushing myself to get stronger. I even tried becoming a slave to the strong. I observed endlessly and made it happen with magic. Then that guy pushed me down, and I just… felt so sick that I killed him.”
Elmera, who had begun to murmur in a sickly manner, was no longer the same person. The playful atmosphere from earlier had vanished, her voice devoid of inflection. The light in her eyes seemed to be fading.
“One day, I realized something. Magic is simple; you can actually do anything. I’ll set aside the complicated stuff, but in the end, it all comes down to magical power, and then you create fire, ice, and so on. Some people talk about spirits and other nonsense. But then, suddenly! Light burst forth! And my surroundings turned into a sky full of it!”
Just when I thought she was speaking in a dark tone, she suddenly switched to excitement, as if her emotions were flipping in an instant.
“I heard a voice. ‘O most talented among elves, wait for your time to rise again, but now is not that time. Wait alongside those who are destined for destruction.’ It was so ridiculous! And then, before I knew it, I was back in my original place!”
Balbus and Nice had their eyes closed. They had no idea what Elmera was talking about.
“I had no intention of following some nonsensical being, but when I calmed down, I realized I didn’t know if I could win against Vandalsia. It was better to gather as many allies as possible to increase my chances of winning. I quickly figured out the races destined for destruction. Elmera-chan is smart, you know? Beastkin, Giant Race, Dwarfs. The Demon Race was a real pain; they resisted like crazy.”
I could only listen as Elmera spoke without taking a breath.
“After hiding underground for hundreds of years—though I didn’t intend to stay down there that long—Vandalsia was long gone from this era, but humans were still around. They were still breeding like bugs. I tried to use those who called themselves the Demon Lord Army to infiltrate the Demon Race, but they lost spectacularly. They had no value at all. Seriously.”
“Are you talking about Eeks and the others from the Demon Lord Army? Do you understand how many people became victims because of that?”
“Eeks? I don’t know anyone like that.”
She picked her nose with her pinky, openly mocking me. Her attitude was anything but ladylike.
“But you know, even if the Demon Race had infiltrated as the Four Heavenly Kings, the outcome would have been the same. They were even crazier than the Demon Race.”
Elmera might have been right. When I fought against the Demon Lord Army, there were hardly any Demon Race members present, and more than anything, their obsession was terrifying. What kind of words could reach those who would go so far as to abandon their humanity to annihilate humans?
“To go that far… Elmera, you must hate humans.”
“No, not at all.”
“Huh?”
“I just want to return the world to its rightful state. If there are races far stronger than humans, like elves, beastkin, and giants, then they should thrive, right? The dwarfs are gentle and don’t like fighting, but their actual strength is far superior to humans. It’s just ridiculous that we’re being oppressed.”
“Just because they’re strong… that’s the same as the Demon Lord Army and those Demon Race members from earlier.”
“Shut up! What do you know, you brat?!”
【Elmera cast Flame Shot!
Lua took 12,302 damage! HP 30,710/43,012】
“Whoa!”
It felt like my skin was evaporating, and the heat surged through my entire body, causing me to stumble. Elmera’s gleeful laughter was infuriating, but it had been so long since I felt such intense heat—ever since the Abyss Cave.
“Ahahahaha! Lua-chan, you’re feeling the heat from my magic ‘Fire Jeal,’ huh? It’s pretty intense, right? And yet, I still can’t take you down in one hit. Isn’t that terrifying?”
“E-Elmera…!”
“That was quite a bit of damage. About a third of your health, I’d say?”
“A-About a third…?”
Elmera made a circle with her thumb and index finger, holding it up like glasses. I had no idea what she meant; I had never been thrown off my game like this before. It wasn’t just her Imagination Magic; her silly personality played a huge role too. One moment she was laughing, and the next, she was furious. Her emotions swung wildly, making it hard to see through her.
“Now then, what kind of magic do you think I’ll unleash next?”
【Lua unleashed Sonic Ripper! But it missed Elmera!】
I thought I could get it off before she dodged, but she slipped away like a scapegoat. I didn’t want to admit it, but at this point, Elmera was invincible. No matter what attack I threw at her, the Help Sitter activated and she dodged effortlessly. If Sonic Ripper had high enough power, it should just disappear; if it was too fast, then her magic should activate even faster. It felt like a childish fight. I remembered having similar squabbles back in the day.
“A magic that nullifies everything—’Reset.'”
【Lua’s level has been reset to 1! Lua HP 1/12】
“Ugh… w-what… I feel so weak…”
Disballade suddenly became too heavy to hold, crashing to the ground along with everything in my item pouch.
“Well, considering the damage you just took, you should’ve been dead by now.”
I felt as if the world had been painted over. Suddenly, it felt like the entire sky was pressing down on me, and it was all because I had become weak. Even running left me breathless; I wouldn’t make it to the Royal Capital like this. Punching wouldn’t do me any good either; I could easily imagine how painful it would be.
“I can even use magic that stops your heart in an instant, you know? But then you’d just regenerate right away. You’re a monster after all. But with this, you’re completely helpless.”
Elmera’s mischievous laughter reminded me of a child trying to squash a bug. I couldn’t help but think about how to deal with her. I felt like I had become that bug, ready to be crushed by Elmera.
“How does it feel? Now you’re experiencing what you’ve done to others, huh? Remember this—this is what it means to be trampled. Now then, let’s see…”
【Elmera appeared! HP 1,455】
“Her level is 153. After all that effort, it seems elves aren’t cut out for fighting, huh? What do you think, Lua-chan? Oh, sorry, I forgot you were level 1.”
“…Elmera. Do you think you’ve won?”
Elmera, who had been flapping her arms joyfully, suddenly froze. The weight of Disballade was too much for me to bear, and I recalled that feeling. At this moment, I could easily be killed by a Cave Rabbit. It felt like I was back to that time when I cried at the entrance of the Abyss Cave.
“Hey, Elmera-chan. There’s just one magic you can’t use. It’s reading someone’s heart. Animals have simple mental structures, so it’s not impossible, but humans are a different story. So, could you say it more clearly? Is that a provocation?”
She placed her hand to her ear, teasing me to repeat myself. It seemed she didn’t understand, so I decided to teach her. Even if I had lost my strength, I still possessed the power I had since then. I just hadn’t realized it.
“Thinking back, it was this power that allowed me to conquer that place.”
Elmera felt victorious, but being in a dire situation was more than just this. My limbs were paralyzed, blood wouldn’t stop flowing, and a monster with fangs was right in front of me. That’s what being in a desperate situation meant. In contrast, my limbs still moved. Elmera was foolish. If she was going to do this, she needed to go all the way.
“What’s that?”
“There was a time when I fled the Village and was attacked by monsters. Back then, I was definitely level 1. And yet, I managed to defeat them. I wonder why?”
“…!”
Elmera shivered as if she felt a chill. I had no idea what kind of life she had lived, but had she ever been close to death even once?
“No, right? Because you can do anything with magic. But I couldn’t do anything at all.”
“I don’t get what you’re saying at all!?”
“Then let me tell you. I have a lot to say to you, Elmera.”
I watched with amusement as Elmera took a step back, clearly unsettled.
◆ Shin Report ◆
What?! Lua’s level is 1!
Kukuku, this is the chance of a lifetime!
I never expected such an opportunity to arise.
Now I can get my revenge for last time!
To think I would lose my strength after being so confident at level 2000.
From now on, I’ll be more demure and kind to Shin.
This isn’t the time to be writing reports like this!
Now is the moment!
Ah, wait, something feels off. I’m getting chills again…