Slaughtering elementals in its wake, a black shadow darted around the village. His speed was unmeasurable. He danced among the flood. One enemy was used as a foothold to keep him floating, the other got stricken down. Not an ounce of hesitation. The sword cut deep into the body of the corrupted. One after another, lifeless bodies rained down from the sky.
Fearful screams rose. The scene horrified the elves. Etched deep into their souls were the rules and sins of their race. One shall never harm an elemental. One shall never-
Swoooshhh
Wooden arrows pierced the air, aiming at the largest of the enemies. Passing through multiple of them on the way, they landed perfectly on the targets.
Claus let out a suppressed gasp. Rain clouded his vision. Or maybe it was something else. The trembling fingers ran across another batch of arrows, placing them on the bow.
He was the one.
The one who started the annihilation.
SWOSHHHH
The batch of arrows was released from his grasp.
He would never be forgiven.
Even if the village was saved, he would never be forgiven.
Neither by the elves nor by his father. His deceased father. His foolish father.
Elves were the guardians of the forest. They had to protect other life forms at all costs.
They had to.
At all costs.
He would never be...
"Damn it!"
Wooooshhh
His hands moved on their own. Arrows launched at the elementals with no stop to them. The falling enemies increased in number.
'Who am I fooling?'
He knew things would come to this.
From the moment he agreed to take human warriors to the village, no, maybe since the day he decided to forget about his mission and change his course towards the boundaries of the jungle, he knew he'd eventually witness this scene.
For him to brutally murder the most harmless creatures in the world, the ones he grew to love and interact with every day...
For the first time, Claus wished he was a human.
Baaaaaangggg
Once a bright circle was formed, a huge blast roared in the area. Alaric retracted his hand and watched the outcome of his spell. Numerous lifeforms fell to the ground one by one.
"...This doesn't feel right."
He'd heard from Claus how adorable these creatures used to be. They weren't like monsters. They had their own consciousness and feelings. Superior to animals yet not as developed as humans and elves, they were filled with kindness.
He'd never even kicked a cat in his life. And here he was, killing innocent beings with his own hands.
'It's alright. They were corrupted. They couldn't be saved.'
Ian said so, so Alaric decided to believe it.
They couldn't be helped. They'd only spread agony and evil if left alive.
Splashh
Hearing the sound of water splashing, Alaric turned around, only to find his fellow mage surrounded by fiery red elementals.
"Gooo awayyy!!"
Splash
Doris cast multiple hydro spells, only to create a small amount of water barely enough to fill a glass. Some hot steam rose from the burning creatures and vanished, having no impact on them at all.
"Hahaha... My bad!"
Staring at the elementals surrounding her, Doris chuckled helplessly. She truly sucked at hydro spells.
"Leave them to me. You focus on the water elementals."
Hearing the voice, Doris nodded. That was the logical choice at the moment. She rushed at him, dragging the group of burning creatures behind her back.
"No, I don't want to join a contractttt!!!"
The voices in her head didn't die down no matter what.
Click
"N-no way..."
Finally opening the door of the house and taking a step back, the higher-positioned elves gaped at the massacre in front of them. No one could believe what their eyes were seeing. This scene couldn't be real. This was simply... horrible.
"This is madness. We've got to do something!"
"Elder, please!"
"That's... that's right."
"Elder, do something!"
In the absence of the village chief, the previous chief, the current Elder, Amelia's father, was the one with the highest commanding position among the elves. If anyone was to step up in this situation, it'd better be such a person.
"That's enough."
The elder's words though, weren't directed at the humans or Claus.
"Evergreen is benevolent." Their god was gracious. "She'll erase them of all sins once they redeem themselves later on."
Survival was their priority.
Even if they were taught to always put other lifeforms first, they couldn't just sit back and watch their village get destroyed and their race die down. Some might want to allow that to happen, saying that there should be other ways, but as the Elder and the previous village chief, he couldn't.
"Gather the warriors and join the fight."
The sin was already committed.
The violator of the rules must've accepted his fate.
That boy must've seen this coming, to end up being the one taking all the blame, all the burden.
That young elf was courageous. He was the strongest of them all. Despite being the elder and once a village chief, he could never be that brave. He never was. He couldn't change a tiny bit of this village's rules. He couldn't even stop her newborn daughter from being engaged with another toddler just for the cause of traditions.
Though he couldn't say the outcome of that engagement wasn't to his liking.
Thinking of the fate that his future son-in-law would face, a grim expression dawned on the elder's face. A man with such a bright future was throwing his future and past aside for the sake of those who'd blame him for his actions later. Blame him for saving their lives.
"Elves need to survive for this forest to survive."
He couldn't let that sacrifice to go to waste.
Elves are the keepers of this land. They must find a way to turn everything back to normal.
"Elder..."
"This..."
Hearing his words, the warriors hesitated forward. Despite holding their weapons tight, they didn't dare lunge forward. The elementals... They were like a family to them.
Killing elementals was a sin-
"We can't just watch while humans are fighting."
A deep voice spoke from behind. The muscular middle-aged elf picked up an axe and strode forward.
"And that sinner must be captured alive to receive his punishment."
BAAAMMM
Anton launched at a nearby enemy, cutting it in half.
Now that someone has volunteered to shoulder all the blame, nothing was restraining him from battling the corruption.
"A-Attack!"
"Forward!"
The spark ignited a massive blaze.
The taboo was broken.
In the span of a few minutes, corpses of countless elementals piled on the ground, each gradually turning into charred dust and dissipating.
Raven had been dancing around the battlefield nonstop, yet he didn't appear tired at all. The black-haired youth had a refreshed expression on, as if enjoying a party to its fullest.
BAAAMMMM
With a horizontal slash, more than ten enemies were cut in half. No blood gushed out from them. They fell down, turning to dust. He kicked the tree branch he was standing on. Raven darted toward a giant elemental. As he ran, the creatures used as his footholds crushed under his boots one by one. A trail of death was left wherever he passed.
"Argh, that's way too dangerous!"
Grumbling, Alaric reached out with his hand. A spell was cast; a shield appeared around Raven.
He didn't know how many times he'd repeated these actions. Being a beginner at magic, he could only cast low-level spells. They weren't strong enough. He wasn't strong enough.
SPLASAHHH
A massive amount of water formed in the air, shooting at a nearby burgeoning flame. The fire died down and an enemy turned to dust. Not giving him any room to rest, another fiery being jumped out from behind Doris, attempting to gobble up the girl in its rage.
"Gah, there is no end to this!"
She clenched her hand into a fist, punching right at the face of the enemy. Her physical strength slightly enhanced by magic was more efficient than hydro spells.
"Doris, your skin-"
"Don't come here!"
The girl stopped Eleen from getting closer, smashing another elemental's head. The heat in the area was intense. As if not in a rainy jungle but in the middle of a desert, both mages were sweating buckets. She was somewhat resistant to fire and heat, and Alaric kept casting spells on himself, but the others wouldn't be fine in this condition.
BOOOMMM
Spell joined spell, forming a stronger combination. The massive force hit the nearby enemies, pushing them back. The heat died down for a brief second, allowing the group to breathe.
"Huff... Huff... Maybe I should keep, huff, running around and drag them somewhere else?"
Doris wiped the sweat off her face, hissing from pain. Her clothes were tattered from head to toe; burned in multiple spots. The skin exposed through the holes was red and swollen. She grimaced upon seeing her precious outfit utterly destroyed. This was more painful to her that her injuries.
"Don't."
The voice belonged not to Alaric but to Ian standing far behind them. Leaning on a tree, he observed the whole scene with a relaxed face.
'They won't manage to defeat them.'
Their combined force was enough to take down all the present enemies. They might struggle a bit, but in the end, they'd be enough.
'But more of these things will come in no time.'
He'd experienced this event way too many times.
'And for one second I thought they might be able to pull it off.'
Raven was a great addition indeed, but he wasn't enough. Alaric and Doris were new to magic, and Eleen was a doctor. Not much changed from the time when he visited this place with Rosalyn in a few of his lives. She was even stronger than this group. But she too, wasn't enough.
He at first thought the group might be strong enough, but the moment the battle started, he was proven wrong. Raven did great. The problem was the mages. Alaric wasn't used to killing, and Dorist had zero fighting experience. Their movements weren't efficient. They wasted their mana and chances too many times.
'It's okay, still, since this'll be a nice practice for them.'
A good chance to use their skills.
-Master, shouldn't we do something?
Evil appears wherever light is lost.
'Should I step in this time again?'
He hoped to achieve another outcome this round. Corruption had to remain in the jungle. Elves needed to be depended on humans to wipe them out. The Resistance could do that all easily and reap huge benefits.
'How disappointing.'
In the end, he had to step up again.
'Still, it's fine. I'll make them indepted in one way or another.'
This wasn't his first time fighting this battle.
-Master...
Bending his knees, Ian put the little child down, hiding him well near the bushes.
-Don't leave this spot.
-Master, master, don't overdo it.
-I won't.
-Let me help you.
-Stay here.
Ignoring his pleading gaze, Ian looked away from the child and got up.
KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK
BBAAAANGGG
At that instant, a loud shriek rang out in the distance.