“Dark Elf?”
The Dark Elf girl gasped at my words, clutching her hood. But, realizing it was futile now, she glared at me defiantly, even as the tip of my knife was pointed at her.
“H-How dare you…”
“That man is still alive.”
“—!”
The Dark Elf girl inhaled sharply at my words.
The man I had stuck an arrow into the face of was still alive. I assumed the arrow she shot was coated with the same poison as the man’s blade, but the fact that he was still alive meant that the poison wasn’t instantly lethal.
If I had seen his life force extinguished with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have shown this girl any mercy. But, if they deliberately used a poison that wasn’t instantly lethal, I figured they had a purpose other than taking our lives.
What was that purpose? Which one of us was their target?
“But, if you don’t talk, that man will die.”
“Guh…”
Judging from her earlier behavior, this would be more effective on her… But, if she still didn’t say anything…
“…”
“…!”
When I pressed the knife lightly against her throat, blood trickled from her dark skin.
I didn’t avert my eyes, to make her realize I was serious. Nor did I waver the blade. Just as I was about to press her further–
“…P-Please… wait…”
A blood-soaked arrow fell onto the rough ground, and the man with the arrow stuck in his face was standing. “Father!”
The Dark Elf girl involuntarily cried out. The man, holding his bleeding eye, glared at his daughter for revealing their identities, then turned his face towards me.
But, the face he revealed was not that of a Dark Elf, but a Cruz. An adopted daughter? Or are there surprisingly many mixed-bloods? It became even more difficult to identify their faction, but I could ask about that later.
“Guh.”
I pressed down hard on the fallen girl’s chest, using her as a hostage against the man, while also using the girl as a hostage against the man, who was still unsteady on his feet from the poison.
[Middle-Aged Man] [Race: Cruz♂] [Rank 3]
[Mana Capacity: 134/165] [HP: 212/350]
[Overall Combat Strength: 586 (Status: Poison – Combat Strength: 207)]
[Girl] [Race: Dark Elf♀] [Rank 2]
[Mana Capacity: 155/185] [HP: 152/210]
[Overall Combat Strength: 308 (Body Enhancement in progress: 344)]
There was a gap in rank, but it was clear that both of them were quite well-trained. The daughter aside, the father, who had crossed blades with me, should be able to understand the situation.
In this world, even missing limbs can be healed with 【Cure】 if you take the time. But, this man would understand what would happen if he fought me with an unfamiliar one eye and that poison.
“Please… wait. We are at least not aiming for your lives.”
“Father… guh.”
Seeing her father kneeling again, perhaps due to the poison, I pressed down even harder on the girl as she tried to get up.
“If that’s the case, why were you watching us?”
At my emotionless words, the man quietly opened his mouth, as if sensing something.
“I cannot say the details. But, our role is to protect someone. We have no intention of hostility from our side.”
“…”
The man and I stared intently at each other. He admitted to watching us, but said that they had no intention of hostility unless I attacked them first.
The daughter was glaring at me with gritted teeth for hurting her father, but I looked into the man’s eyes and took my foot off the girl.
“What…”
The girl, on the other hand, opened her eyes wide in disbelief.
“Go.”
“…Sorry.”
At my words, the girl rushed to her father, and the man, leaning on his daughter’s shoulder, bowed to me.
“…This land will be engulfed in war. If you are thinking of leaving this place, I recommend you hurry.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
With those words, the two disappeared towards the rocky area, and I picked up the arrow made of an unfamiliar material that had fallen to the ground.
It wasn’t that I trusted the man’s words, nor that I showed mercy.
They were monitoring us. Considering Elena and the children, it would be better to get rid of them. But, after that brief exchange, I decided it was better not to kill them yet.
“…”
That man’s eyes… those eyes that seemed to miss my figure, as if looking at somewhere far away through me, for some reason, bothered me a little.
That day, Camille and I headed to the ruins to procure materials.
I had left the procurement of potion and air balloon materials to Camille, but when it came to potion materials, it was better to have me, who had the 【Shadow Storage】 with no temperature change, as there would be less variation in the finished product.
It would be easier on my mind to go with Elena, but it was more efficient to allocate tasks according to aptitude.
[Camille] [Race: Dark Half-Elf♂] [Rank 4]
[Mana Capacity: 253/260] [HP: 252/280]
[Overall Combat Strength: 1064 (Body Enhancement in progress: 1298)]
Camille and I could handle even Rank 5 Monsters.
His combat strength was comparable to Viro’s. But the reason Camille could exert even more power was because of the two short swords at his waist–‘Demon Swords’.
Those weren’t just ‘Mana Swords’ imbued with mana like the ones made by the Magician’s Guild. They were probably something obtained from a Dungeon, with “something” dwelling within them.
They were apparently his mother’s keepsake, but if he possessed such things, his position could be imagined to some extent. It wouldn’t be surprising if that son was being protected by “someone”.
“Camille.”
“What’s wrong?”
I, who had been on guard, called out to Camille, who had brought back the belly skin of a Fire Lizard. Fire Lizards were edible, but they contained a slight toxin, so other than demi-humans with resistance, they weren’t eaten much. I took some for the meat-loving children, but the reason I called out was different.
Camille, who caught the crossbow arrow I threw in mid-air, changed his expression slightly when he saw it.
“This is!”
“Do you know it?”
Who was the target being guarded and monitored by that parent and child?
Chako and the children born in this town were excluded. Ron, who was apparently a nobleman from the Calfaan Empire, was also a candidate, but it was impossible for a Dark Elf to be guarding someone from the Calfaan Empire, which was a country of Cruz, a human race.
Then the answer naturally became clear. Camille, who saw the arrow made of a special sap that wasn’t metal or bone material, which I had never seen directly either, looked back at me with a difficult expression.
“…Does Aria know what this is?”
“Yes.”
It was the first time I had seen it, but I had heard about the weapons and tactics used by the Evil Race from my master (Serejula).
That knowledge was from decades ago when my master left the Evil Race Army, but the basic parts didn’t change much.
The fact that the arrow existed meant that it had been “used” by someone.
I didn’t know what he was hiding, but I trusted him to some extent. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have left Elena in such a place.
Camille, avoiding my gaze as if escaping from my silent stare, made up his mind and was about to open his mouth–
“I…”
“Wait.”
I stopped him and put my ear to the ground. Realizing the meaning, Camille also looked around and climbed onto the crumbling building in the ruins.
I also raised my face and said “Over there,” pointing west, and Camille, straining his eyes in that direction, raised his voice.
“Armored Dragon!”
Armored Dragons had the name Dragon, but they weren’t Dragons.
They looked like scaled chickens that were 2 meters tall, and were Monsters of the same snake species as Basilisks.
They were ferocious, fast, breathed poisonous mist, and could deflect weak arrows, making them troublesome Monsters, but their danger level was Rank 3, and if you were a warrior of the same rank, they weren’t difficult opponents as long as you dealt with the poison.
But that was only if there was one.
“Five are coming!”
“Understood. I’ll take the initiative.”
The most troublesome part of Armored Dragons was that they were timid. But because they were unintelligent, they didn’t run away, but rampaged and attacked.
I focused my mind and pointed my finger at the Armored Dragons approaching with a cloud of sand.
“–【Confusion】–“
Level 4 Dark Magic 【Confusion】.
The reason I didn’t use this much was because it was difficult to affect intelligent creatures. Especially against opponents of the same rank or higher than the user, it had almost no effect.
But it was different if the opponent was lower in rank and frightened by “something”.
The leading Armored Dragon, which was approaching, froze. Two Armored Dragons overtook it and ran past, but at that moment–
“Haaah!”
Camille, who had drawn his two Demon Swords, attacked from above, and with a flowing rotation, instantly slashed the necks of the two bodies covered in scales.
It would be difficult for me to cut through the hard scales that easily. But, I, who had experienced Adventurer party battles with the Rainbow Sword, could leave it to the vanguard if there was one.
My magic also took effect, and the confused individual was attacking the remaining two.
“Retreat, Aria.”
“Roger.”
Even so, we immediately chose to retreat. From behind the Armored Dragons that had begun fighting each other, several more Armored Dragons appeared, attacking and devouring their own kin who were engaged in the infighting.
It was clearly abnormal. They had completely lost their minds.
There must have been “something” that forced them to be that way.
“I’ll check in at the Guild. They might have some information.”
“Understood. I’ll head back to Ron and the others. Be careful.”
This was happening at the edge of the ruins where we were. Something might be happening in the central area.
Camille and I separated after putting a good distance between us. I hadn’t heard his answer from before, but right now, there was too little information to make a judgment, including the matter of the Armored Dragons.
For the time being, I thought there would be no problem with protection if Camille returned, so I allocated my Body Enhancement further to speed, and dashed across the rough desert terrain at more than twice the speed of an ordinary person.
I covered a distance that would take an ordinary Adventurer two hours in just one hour.
The beast-kin Adventurers who saw me near the town were surprised and tried to draw their swords, but before their Blades could be drawn from their sheaths, I had disappeared from their sight.
Maintaining that speed, I leaped across the rooftops and burst into the Adventurer’s Guild at an abnormal speed, causing several Adventurers near the entrance to turn around with shocked expressions.
But there was no further commotion. An even bigger uproar was happening inside the Guild.
“Rose!!”
A roar came from the back of the Guild, and a small, horizontally massive lump of muscle physically pushed through the crowd and leaped out.
“Jesha?”
“Perfect timing. How many Superior Potions have you made? I need as many as possible.”
“The Monsters in the ruins were acting strange too. What happened?”
“We’ll talk about it in the back.”
I was led through the bustling Guild, past the staff members crammed into the conference room. It seemed that something had really happened during the few days I was away from town.
Judging that this situation couldn’t be helped, I took out the dozen or so Superior Potions that had been made. Jesha took the Potions and began to continue where she left off.
“We’ve confirmed the strange behavior of the Monsters in the ruins here as well. It’s not confirmed yet, but it’s a Monster Stampede.”
A Monster Stampede. It’s a phenomenon that occurs once every few decades in areas with many Monsters or in Dungeons, where a large number of Monsters appear.
My parents were caught up in one and died. I frowned slightly as I remembered that.
But even if a Monster Stampede is happening, there must be a cause. It’s a phenomenon that occurs when the number of Monsters increases, but Monsters don’t Stampede just because of that.
Jesha paused, took a breath, and continued as if spitting out the words.
“The Earth Dragon in the depths of the ruins has moved.”
The sudden Monster Stampede.
Do those parents, Camille, and the Dragon have a reason for their actions?
Next time: Stampede