Chapter 43. The Expedition Nears Its End (8)
“How did that brat know about this?”
“My, I was just thinking something similar.”
The one who responded to Raviata’s muttering was Priscilla, the Elf Queen.
After Priscilla finished dealing with the Chimera Parent Bodies and briefly introduced herself, she and the expedition continued forward until they encountered a pitch-black boulder at the end of the passage.
However, it was no ordinary black rock.
When Adam and his knights cautiously attempted to approach it, Raviata stopped them.
“If you underestimate that thing and get too close, you’ll be consumed by it in an instant.”
“Consumed? Raviata, do you know what this thing is?”
“Yeah. It might look like that now…… but it’s still a Dragon Heart.”
“……?!”
Every knight immediately froze.
That object before them—
Was the Dragon Heart they had come all this way to find?
“For something like that, it looks like nothing more than an ordinary rock.”
“Well, if you have to see it to believe it.”
Raviata conjured a small ball of fire at her fingertip and sent it toward the boulder.
A sinister energy immediately flowed out from the motionless rock and swallowed the flame whole.
“Wh-What in the world……?”
Adam and his knights hurriedly retreated at the sight.
“You’re telling me something like that is a Dragon Heart?”
The image was completely different from what Adam had imagined.
Raviata gave a faint laugh.
“I don’t know what you expected, but strictly speaking, I should say it ‘used to be’ one.”
“Explain properly.”
“To put it simply, it’s been contaminated. By something.”
“Is that connected to what’s happening now?”
“Yeah. From what I can tell, there’s a high chance whoever did this is also responsible for creating those Chimeras.”
“And that is not all. My brothers and sisters were also Corrupted into Dark Elves by that contaminated Dragon Heart.”
Originally, the Dragon Heart had rested within the central region of the World Tree that the Elves regarded as sacred.
However, while the Elves were in their Dormancy Period and even Priscilla, their Queen, had been considerably weakened, Nameless stole the Dragon Heart and relocated it to a place known only to them.
Priscilla had attempted to locate the Dragon Heart by sensing the forest, but whatever means Nameless had used had made it impossible for her to find.
Then, not long ago—
The masked man named Shane had visited her and told her where it was.
He had also advised her that there would be little she could accomplish alone and told her to come here together with the expedition.
Now that she had arrived personally, she understood why.
“It has been contaminated by Mana that we Elves cannot resist.”
“Hmm. So it has.”
Shane had anticipated even this situation and had given Raviata considerable advice beforehand.
‘That brat…… What exactly is he?’
Raviata herself had been monitoring Nameless.
Yet even she had failed to gather information about them to this extent.
And Shane continued acting as though he already understood every part of the situation.
Her suspicions regarding his identity deepened further.
Then Adam’s question pulled Raviata from her thoughts.
“What does that mean?”
“……Another Dragon’s Mana has been mixed into it. This Dragon Heart belonged to a Dragon that died and returned all of its Mana to nature. Someone tampered with what remained.”
“Then doesn’t that mean there’s another Dragon behind this?!”
Adam’s conclusion was entirely plausible.
Raviata, however, shook her head.
“According to the records, Dragons can no longer interfere with this world. They probably used some ancient Dragon Artifact to do this.”
Even after Raviata spoke so decisively, Adam’s expression remained grim.
“An Artifact containing the power of a Dragon……”
“Anyway, brat. It’s your turn.”
“Brat— No, I have a name. It’s Delilah. Why do you keep calling me that?”
“Because I feel like it. Either way, this problem depends on you.”
“Urgh…… Why does it feel like all the work keeps getting dumped on me……? Are you really sure I should do this? The expedition is already split apart.”
Raviata laughed heartily as usual.
“You’re the only one here who can even touch that thing. Besides, the Teleportation part was part of the plan from the beginning anyway.”
“What?”
“There’s a reason. Do not worry about it. For now, just try to understand what’s happening. From the looks of it, that Dragon Heart has completely taken control of the surrounding area. We’ll have to break that control before the rest of us can do anything.”
“Okaaay…….”
Something still felt suspicious.
But there was no reason to delay any longer.
Delilah began by carefully attempting to resonate with the surrounding earth.
“Ah……”
The earth around them feared the Mana implanted within the Dragon Heart.
Overwhelming Attribute Dominion.
Its authority was so powerful that calling it violent would not have been enough.
It was arrogant.
And that overwhelming Dominion caused the earth itself to tremble in fear.
Perhaps because of that, the information Delilah could obtain was limited.
But she did not give up.
Unlike before—
She now understood what her own talent truly was.
‘Follow me. Come on!’
As a Subterranean, she possessed Dominion over the Earth Attribute.
But that alone was not enough to overcome the Mana before her.
Even without a master controlling it, the level of Dominion contained within that Mana stood far beyond Delilah’s own.
However—
Delilah possessed something that Mana did not.
Attribute Affinity.
Delilah pushed the emotion of fear away from the surrounding earth and gradually drew its influence away from the Dragon Heart.
The earth was familiar with her.
And little by little, it was also drawn toward Delilah’s forceful leadership.
She coaxed and reassured it while maintaining an unwavering presence, gradually pulling the earth’s trust toward herself.
Before long—
It began responding.
‘Good. It’s working. Slowly, just like this…….’
As Delilah concentrated completely on resonating with the surrounding earth, Raviata found herself admiring her once again.
Was it because she truly was a Subterranean?
The surrounding earth was visibly beginning to purify.
There was no need to explain how exceptional her talent was.
“She really is fast. If we Elves attempted this, there is no telling how long it would take.”
Priscilla was equally impressed.
The Dragon Heart held several forms of significance for the Elves.
That made Delilah’s performance even more astonishing in Priscilla’s eyes.
Something that would require years—perhaps even more than a decade—for Elves to accomplish was being done within this brief span of time.
Just as everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly—
“Ah, damn.”
Raviata clicked her tongue.
Dark crimson tentacles began writhing out from the Dragon Heart.
“So they did prepare a countermeasure after all.”
“Wh-What is that?”
The translucent tentacles continued growing larger.
Adam stared at them in alarm.
Raviata let out a short groan.
“Remnants left behind by some idiotic followers from ancient times.”
“Ancient times? What do you mean, remnants of followers?”
“There have always been bastards exceptionally skilled at turning other people’s possessions into their own. Those things were created by people who worshiped them.”
They were fanatics obsessed with stealing what belonged to others.
Naturally, there was no possibility that they could ignore something like a Dragon Heart.
If they allowed this to continue, there was no telling what might happen to the Subterranean brat.
And to make matters worse—
“My. We have unwanted guests approaching.”
Through the trees of the Great Forest, Priscilla received word that the Chimera army was advancing toward them.
The situation was deteriorating rapidly.
“Urgh. I’ll deal with those tentacles myself. Handle the rest.”
“……We will try.”
Delilah was still occupied purifying the Dragon Heart and could not assist them.
Raviata, too, would have to concentrate fully if she wanted to fight the tentacles without being consumed herself.
“Damn it. I really didn’t want to use this. I wonder how long I’ll be bedridden afterward.”
Raviata muttered while rubbing beneath her chin.
But if they lost the Subterranean girl now, there was no telling when they would get another opportunity to purify the Dragon Heart.
Fortunately, with Priscilla present, dealing with the approaching Chimera army should not have been exceptionally difficult.
However—
“Haah. This has become troublesome. The trees here will not move according to my will……”
Priscilla herself could not use her full power because of the contaminated Mana permeating the area.
Left with no other choice, she released the magic placed upon the bracelet around her wrist.
The bracelet transformed into a longbow.
“I cannot remember how long it has been since I personally held a bow. I suppose we must hope my skills have not rusted?”
“……I certainly hope so.”
The Elf before him was beautiful enough to make anyone’s head turn at a glance.
She tilted her head and smiled.
Yet Adam could not bring himself to feel his heart race.
The situation simply did not allow for it.
KIEEEEEK-!
A Chimera’s cry echoed from far away.
It almost sounded as though it were announcing that their long expedition was finally approaching its end.
Adam forced his exhausted body forward and stepped onto the front line.
“The summit is not far now, comrades! Raise your swords and show them the strength of our kingdom!”
—
“Aneis. It appears the time has come for you to act.”
“……Me?”
Aneis had little difficulty understanding why Dominic had said that.
The Hexahedral Orb in Dominic’s hand emitted waves at fixed intervals, freezing Mana throughout its effective range.
However, the Imperial side’s Mana was frozen as well.
From this point onward, they would have to continue the battle using nothing but their physical abilities.
The Lampert Adventurer Party had suffered heavy losses during the battle against Alpha.
But the Hexahedral Orb could not remain active for very long.
That was why Dominic needed Aneis—
A member of the Judgment Knight Order who wielded Origin rather than ordinary Mana.
She would naturally be weaker than when she could use Mana freely as well.
But against ordinary people who could not use Mana at all, she would possess an overwhelming advantage.
“Aneis. This is for the Imperial Family’s vision of Unification(合一).”
“……What is that?”
“……A humanity completely united as one. A future where people no longer point blades at one another as they do now. A world created solely for humanity, where people neither hate nor despise each other.”
That—
Was justice for humanity.
Dominic tried to persuade Aneis.
Justice.
What a difficult word.
Aneis turned around.
The Lampert Adventurer Party looked clearly exhausted after the battle they had just endured.
Klein, on the other hand, appeared to have some strength remaining.
The Imperial Knight Order stood in stark contrast.
Because they had only engaged a few particularly threatening Chimeras during the previous battle, they remained relatively unharmed.
But Aneis did not care about those advantages or disadvantages.
Whichever side she chose—
Her presence would bring that side a tremendous advantage under the current circumstances.
Dominic’s words returned to her mind.
For justice.
Of course, Aneis understood something clearly now.
Klein had absolutely no reason to die.
The Lampert Adventurer Party might have become entangled with the Imperial Family because of their own interests.
But Klein had nothing whatsoever to do with that.
He was merely an Academy cadet who had joined the expedition because he followed his older brother.
Even in the future Dominic described—
There was no reason Klein should have to die unjustly here.
Therefore—
What Dominic called justice was nothing more than pretense and hypocrisy.
Even so, Aneis struggled to make her decision.
If she sided with Klein here, there was no guarantee that the Imperial Family would never learn of her choice.
Until Aneis uncovered the lies of the Imperial Family that so loudly proclaimed justice—
And until she possessed enough strength of her own—
She wanted to conceal her true intentions.
But the moment of choice had finally arrived.
And Aneis reached a conclusion.
‘I’m the same.’
Pretense.
Hypocrisy.
The truth hidden beneath the words of those who proclaimed justice, including the Judgment Knight Order.
If she once again chose the Imperial Family’s side here—
Then she would be no different from them.
Aura blossomed over Aneis’s sword.
Her spotless, pure-white Aura—
Finally pointed toward the Imperial Knight Order.
“……So that is the choice you make in the end. What a pity. If circumstances had unfolded only slightly differently, the Imperial Family might have embraced every talented individual here. I suppose we can only blame the Empire for being blind……”
Dominic and the Imperial Knights stepped backward.
“……?”
“Still, you should be grateful that we do not need to dirty our own hands any further.”
“……!”
“Heehee…… Humans, humans really are fun. Can I join too?”
Aneis swung her sword behind her even faster than the voice that suddenly emerged there.
CLANG-!
“Heeheehee! Good, I’ll join in too. Yes─?!”
Alpha, whose wounds from Klein and Aneis had already healed considerably in that brief span of time, was knocked away by Aneis’s sword and leaped backward.
“Deal with them quickly, monster. The Imperial Family’s favor will not last forever.”
“That’s a shame, but heehee! Fine!”
Alpha did not particularly care.
It would have liked to play longer.
But killing such strong humans as easily as snapping branches sounded entertaining in its own way.
Rather than wasting time fighting Aneis, Alpha shifted its attention toward the Lampert Adventurer Party, who were barely holding themselves together.
“Ugh…… The Imperial Family is as filthy as ever.”
“I will accept as many insults as you wish. But the outcome will not change.”
Ilexa glared at Dominic with murderous eyes.
Dominic calmly accepted her gaze.
“Now let’s play agaaaain!!”
Alpha launched itself toward the Lampert Adventurer Party.
WHAM-!
Something shot in from Alpha’s side with tremendous speed and kicked it so hard in the ribs that its side caved inward.
The wounds Aneis had inflicted earlier tore open again.
Alpha screamed in agony as it crashed into the wall.
“What?!”
Golden Aura.
Dominic’s face filled with shock at the sight.
Though faint, Klein was unmistakably emitting that brilliant light.
His eyes, gleaming the same radiant gold as his Aura, remained fixed on Alpha where it had been sent flying.
‘So this was the moment.’
Klein suddenly remembered.
[When that moment arrives, do not worry about anything. Release every last bit of Mana you possess. Then you will understand what I mean.]
Those words Shane had spoken several days earlier—
Had been meant for this exact situation.
‘Brother knew.’
He had identified the traitor within the expedition.
And he had entrusted the current situation to Klein.
Klein had no idea how his brother predicted something like this.
But that did not matter.
For the first time in his life, Klein had forced out as much of his Mana as he possibly could.
Using its overwhelming quantity, he had barely overcome the Anti-Mana Wave.
But now he could feel the Mana that had always overflowed like a spring rapidly draining away.
‘I need to end this quickly.’
In his current state, he could barely display even his usual level of strength.
Still—
Against an Alpha that had yet to fully recover from its injuries, he would not be pushed back one-sidedly as before.
While Aneis fought the Imperial Knight Order, Klein decided that he had to kill Alpha completely.
But Klein was not the only one undergoing an anomaly.
CRACK-.
Unable to withstand Klein’s enormous quantity of Mana, a fracture appeared across the Hexahedral Orb.
“……?!”
Dominic sensed something beneath his feet.
But before he could even lower his head—
His own shadow swallowed him.
“Commander!”
The Imperial Knights recoiled in horror and attempted to rush toward Dominic.
Aneis had no intention of allowing that.
Meanwhile, the shadow that had completely engulfed Dominic writhed as though savoring something.
Then it withdrew from his body and assumed a humanoid shape.
[Delicious. The hypocrisy of a disgusting human truly is this sweet.]
The shadow—
The Dark Spirit—
Had effortlessly subdued Dominic while his Mana remained frozen.
Wearing a satisfied smile, it disappeared soundlessly back into the darkness.
All of it happened in a single instant.
