Episode 239.
Swoosh—
Charlotte appeared in the center and knelt before the corpses of the elves.
Her face, as she gently caressed their faces, was filled with grief.
“I’m sorry. I… wasn’t good enough.”
– *Sob*
– The trash are the Adult Faction bastards;
– They’re like dogs, really.
– Are they all dead?
– Looks like the inside of the village is finished?
All the Adult Faction players remaining in the village had turned to dust and scattered.
It was more than enough to guess why she arrived late.
It was likely because the process of dealing with the enemies in the forest and rescuing the elves took a long time.
Charlotte was not the type to turn her back on them and run to the village.
“Uh…?”
Wendy, who had been running toward Rael, froze for a moment.
It was because the culprits who had killed the elves had died so futilely.
Her gaze naturally turned toward the human woman in the center.
“Charlotte…!”
Only then did Wendy recognize her friend and ran while shouting her name.
The investigation team leader was just as surprised.
“…Wendy?”
*Whoosh!
* Wendy lunged at her and threw herself into her arms.
Even as she held her tightly, Charlotte couldn’t quite grasp the reality of the situation.
It was because she had never encountered an elf who hadn’t gone mad before.
“Are you okay? Are you alright?”
“Yeah… but the other friends, h-h-h.”
Wendy continued speaking and burst into tears again.
Charlotte, patting her back lightly, looked up.
She met the eyes of Hanbit, who was approaching.
“…Black Dragon.”
Her gaze was filled with sorrow and desperation.
As Hanbit stopped close by, Charlotte patted Wendy’s back lightly and spoke.
“What could have happened? Why are the Forest of Illusions and the elves…?” The entire
forest was still stained with blood.
The village was slightly less affected, but the elves’ condition was dire.
Hanbit decided to convey what he knew.
“Technology from the Holy Kingdom was used. It is an object that drives the forest mad; even if they had known in advance, it would have been difficult to respond.”
“…The Holy Kingdom.”
Charlotte's expression sank coldly.
It was a suspicion she had vaguely heard from Ivela in Sector 8-35.
Since there was no evidence or anything, the investigation was still ongoing, but if this incident was their doing, the story would be different.
Looking at the corpses of the elves, she said,
“The investigators I didn't bring were killing elves while laughing. It wasn't a coincidence that they came from the Holy Kingdom.”
“What happened to those members?”
“…They were all killed by Dusk.”
The situation felt strangely vivid in her mind.
Even Charlotte wouldn't hesitate to execute them, but it was only natural that Dusk would make the first move.
“I heard there was someone targeting you in Nephelis as well; is this related to that?”
The identities of the investigators who had attacked Hanbit had been reported by Dusk.
Come to think of it, how were the dead members recognized?
This, too, needed to be verified.
“I’ll explain it to you later. For now, let’s return this place.”
“…Huh? Is there a way?”
As he spoke while looking around, Charlotte's eyes widened.
Hanbit nodded.
"It's tricky, but possible. How are the elves in the village? I'd like to find some survivors."
"The inside is fine."
Suddenly, a hooded man appeared behind Charlotte.
Kneeling, he immediately continued his report.
"It has been confirmed that all elves inside the barrier have survived. However, their condition is not good."
"That's a relief. That's enough."
"…Huh?"
While Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief, Wendy, who was in her arms, lifted her head.
"They… are alive?"
It was such good news that she wondered if she had misheard.
Meeting her gaze, Charlotte took her hand and slowly helped her up.
"Let's go inside. Dusk, check on the condition of the captured elves along with the other members."
"I obey your command."
Ta-da!
Dusk immediately vanished.
Since he had no way to put them to sleep like Hanbit had, it seemed he had bound the elves as much as possible.
It wouldn't be easy to move them to the village, given their continued high aggression.
*Thump*
—Charlotte, holding Wendy's hand, slowly walked toward the interior. The
fallen elf corpses along the path were still shocking, but she pressed onward nonetheless.
"Lord Black Dragon, what should we do about this?"
As she followed behind, Haneul, who had been watching from a distance, approached from the side.
Noeul and Pingpong also wore grim expressions at the horrific sight around them.
“…For now, we have to put it back to normal.”
They had never expected to use the blood-red mandragora head at this moment.
The fact that the damage had become so extensive was a painful blow to Hanbit as well.
*Thump*
—moving further into the village, the group arrived at a spot where two trees stood tall.
It was the entrance to a space where an elf barrier was installed.
“Ah…”
Wendy, who had been looking inside, slowly walked forward.
The elves visible from within. Their
eyes had turned blood-red and their appearances were the same as outside, but they could not come out beyond the barrier.
“…Mom.”
A silver-haired woman caught Wendy’s eye.
She was her mother, an elf who was one of the village’s prominent figures.
-Ah;
-Is that Mom?
-T_T
-Seriously, this is driving me crazy;
'About an hour.'
The effects of the blood-red color gradually worsen over time.
If it crossed a critical threshold, they could fall into a situation from which there was no return by any means.
It was a curse akin to a time bomb.
“Black Dragon, how is it? Do you think it’ll be okay?”
Charlotte asked in a heavy voice as she watched her friends.
Of course, the task at hand hadn’t changed.
“It’s fine. As long as I finish within the time limit…”
Ding—
Just then, a message popped up along with a sudden alarm.
[Sub-Quest]
The Forest of Illusions, tainted by a curse from the raid by the Holy Body Faction.
The elves who inhabit it have fallen into a tragedy of madness and death.
To prevent further damage, this place must be restored to its original state.
Objective: Remove the blood-red curse afflicting the Forest of Illusions and the elves.
Reward: Sub-quest settlement .
Time Limit: 1 hour.
-A sub-quest?
-The main quest is ruined anyway.
-The airship crashed;
-They actually saved it.
-But the quest difficulty is… …
-No hints?
Viewers started a discussion on their own regarding the newly introduced sub-quest.
Even though it felt like there were absolutely no clues, a clear solution lay in their memories.
'It gets sorted out by the quest.'
The abrupt halt in the episode's progression wasn't good for Hanbit, either.
However, as long as a side quest was presented like this, there was no need to worry.
Just as before, settling the quest had always played the role of getting the episode's flow back on track.
“The Black Dragon?”
While he was thinking this, Charlotte called his name worriedly.
Hanbit resumed his interrupted speech.
“We have to go to where the Essence of the Forest is. We need to purify it to restore things to how they were.”
“The Essence of the Forest? It really exists?”
Charlotte said with a puzzled expression. It was
a fairytale-like tale passed down in the elf village. It was said
that an essence like a heart was hidden within the living, breathing Forest of Illusions.
However, its true nature had never been revealed even once.
“Wendy, you know about it, right?”
“…Yes.”
Wiping away her tears, Wendy slowly nodded.
Looking at her mother inside the barrier, she continued in a choked voice.
“I… was originally a cursed child. They said the Elder told me so as soon as I was born.”
“The Elder? Are you talking about Uncle Roandel?”
“No, it was the previous Elder. He passed away 20 years ago, so he’s not here anymore.”
Wendy immediately shook her head and added an explanation.
She didn’t even want to compare him to the current Elder, Roandel, as he was her benefactor.
Charlotte, who had been listening, asked with a worried expression,
“What do you mean by a curse?”
“It seems I wasn’t connected to the Forest of Illusions. In fact, unlike my other friends, I’ve gotten lost in the forest and haven’t received many blessings. Because of that, my mother and I suffered a lot of persecution from the previous Elder.”
Wendy looked at her mother inside the barrier with a bitter expression.
The shackles of a curse placed upon an elf, no ordinary being.
It was an act orchestrated by the former Elder, who was now dead.
“-A curse?
” “-You looked fine;”
“-Were you weak for an elf?”
“-Persecution ㅠㅠ
” “…Are you okay now?”
Charlotte asked cautiously.
She hoped that the discrimination was not still continuing.
Fortunately, Wendy nodded with a faint smile.
“Elder Roandel helped us. He publicly declared that it wasn’t a curse. Oh, and the other friends have always looked out for my family. We all got scolded together because of them, though.”
Roandel ascended to the new leadership position following the death of the Elder, who had condemned him as a cursed being.
If judged by royal standards, he was a man possessing the qualities of a benevolent ruler.
Wisdom, virtue, decisiveness, and integrity—there was not a single flaw to be found.
“…That’s a relief.”
Charlotte placed her hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief.
It was because he was no different from the Elves she knew.
Watching her, Hanbit lightly added,
“The conclusion is that it’s not a curse, but the key to resolving the current situation. It is the only path to the Essence of the Forest, isn’t it?”
“I certainly learned that no Elves other than me can go to that space… but how do you know that? Considering how familiar you are with the Forest of Illusions, it’s as if you’ve been here since ancient times.” A
natural question arose for Wendy as she continued her answer.
Hanbit had not become a close friend of theirs like Charlotte had.
Yet, he possessed far too much information to be considered an outsider with no prior contact.
Of course, having anticipated that question as well, Hanbit offered the answer he had prepared.
“You know Serendel, right?”
“Huh? That adventurer sister?”
Wendy’s eyes widened at the sudden mention of the name.
An elf who had left the village years ago.
Although called an adventurer in the village, in reality, she was a wanderer belonging nowhere.
“I was friends with Serendel. I heard a lot of stories back then.”
“Ah…”
Despite the explanation being so simple, Wendy nodded. She had
a personality that seemed capable of getting along well with humans.
Her love for chatting was also vivid in her memory.
“So you knew Serendel? I haven’t even met her yet.”
Charlotte also reacted with a look of wonder.
She wasn’t worried at all about the situation when they actually met Serendel. After all,
with just one minute of effort, she could make it seem like they had known each other for ten years.
Having finished thinking, Hanbit spoke to Wendy.
“Is that enough of an explanation? Let’s move before it’s too late.”
“But what about the way to restore the forest to its original state? I haven’t learned anything about that…”
“I know. So just focus on going to the Essence of the Forest.”
“Ah, yes!”
Wendy’s expression brightened slightly at the confident answer.
Raising her head, she pointed to the ancient tree standing tall within the barrier and said,
“There are two things needed to reach the space where the essence is. One is the Elder’s box, and the other is the bead hanging around the neck of the mythical beast, the Blue Moon Bird.”
Kaaak—!
Just then, a bizarre cry echoed from the very top of the ancient tree. It
was a massive bird with silver-blue feathers flapping its wings.
It was the mythical beast Blue Moon Bird that had settled in the elf village.
Its faintly visible blood-red eyes indicated its dire condition.
“It… will be possible, right?”
Wendy, who knew his power well, asked worriedly.
It was certainly dangerous, but ultimately, it was a task that had to be done.
“I will explain how to proceed, so listen carefully. Charlotte, in particular, your role will be the most important.”
