The Wind Elemental King?
Tasha was surprised, but she couldn't doubt the identity of the small butterfly. Not only would her close friend lie, but there was also a calmness surrounding the small butterfly.
'Ah.'
The Wind Elementals, the winds, evaded the butterfly. No, they stepped aside. As if paying homage to the butterfly, the huge wind current created a space just for her.
'Gulp~'
Tasha forgot about the battle and stared at the butterfly in astonishment.
What is happening now?
What is happening to me now?
She remembered the words the Elemental King had said to her.
"Girl, can you save the wind of this world?"
Tasha was shocked.
"Are you asking me to save the wind of this world?" she asked, astonished.
The butterfly nodded, gently flapping its wings.
- Yes, girl.
The Elemental King.
Tasha, upon encountering a being she had only seen in records, couldn't help but respond this way.
"How can I... such a huge task?"
That was her honest feeling. Tasha didn't know the state of the wind in this world. However, not only was it not just a part, but asking her to save the wind of an entire world gave her an idea of the magnitude of the task.
Me, do something so big?
I'm not Young Master Cale. How can I do it?
Tasha decided to fight using her surroundings. For that, there was something she had to do first. It was to recognize her position. And measure her own vessel. Tasha admitted that she couldn't be like Cale, Choi Han, or her nephew Alberu. That's why she decided to do her best from her own position.
She didn't see it as a failure or a surrender. She was simply finding her place.
This is also part of the natural order.
All entities of nature have a role.
Accepting and acting upon that.
Tasha accepted it joyfully. That's why, even now, isn't she fighting the enemy she should face at her level?
- Hahaha.
At that moment, the butterfly laughed.
- You're an interesting girl, after all.
Interesting? What's fun about this?
Tasha didn't know how to interpret the words of the Elemental King, a being she couldn't judge.
Swoosh!
At that moment, a gust of wind blew.
It brushed past Tasha's face.
In the instant the cool breeze cleared her mind...
"!"
The butterfly suddenly came in front of Tasha's nose.
He stopped in a position where their eyes met.
And he said...
- Girl, why do you limit yourself?
Tasha's body shivered.
For some reason, she felt her heart sink.
Why?
When she couldn't understand why she was surprised, why she felt her heart sinking,
- Girl, why do you think you need to follow the natural order so strictly?
"!"
Tasha's pupils wavered.
- You think the only correct answer is to become an entity of nature, a being that follows order and logic.
Unknowingly, Tasha was startled. The butterfly's words made her realize something she hadn't thought about before.
"...T-That's not, right?"
That's why, was she unable to create this huge current?
Didn't the Wind Elementals help her?
Whoosh!
Another gust of wind enveloped her. Tasha felt like within her she could hear the laughter of the Wind Elemental King.
- Girl.
A kind and affectionate voice resonated.
- Nature simply exists by itself.
Nature.
All beings or states that exist by themselves in the world.
- Everything that exists by itself is nature.
A space of silence where no sound was heard except for the voice of the Wind Elemental King.
A warm voice reached Tasha's ears.
- That's why the wind is also nature.
- And those elf children over there are also nature.
Tasha's eyes trembled.
- That's why you are also nature.
'Why?'
- Because you exist by yourself.
Unknowingly, Tasha loosened the grip in her hand that was tightly holding the spear. Her eyes only gazed at the butterfly.
The Wind Elemental King.
Elementals are entities created by nature.
The Elemental Kings of each attribute that govern them could be considered as nature itself.
And that being was speaking.
- Your very existence is nature.
- No rules are needed to exist by oneself. No laws are needed. Not even a meaning.
He says that neither a reason nor a meaning is needed.
- It just exists.
The Wind Elemental King continued speaking with a gentle voice.
- Everything you live is nature.
- Because you exist.
Everything is nature because Tasha exists.
- Your nature is something that exists by your birth.
- And the Dead Mana you will leave behind after your death is also a force that exists by itself.
- That's why Dead Mana is also nature.
"Ah."
A sound of surprise escaped from Tasha's lips.
She understood it now.
The Dark Elves who grow stronger by absorbing Dead Mana.
The reason they are accepted as part of nature. Because Dead Mana and the Dark Elves exist, therefore, they are nature.
There is no reason for nature to reject them, since they exist by themselves.
Because by existing they are already nature.
- Everything in the world is nature.
Tasha closed her eyes.
Numerous landscapes came to her mind.
The many things she had to face as she grew up.
Are all those things nature?
The beautiful forests and meadows.
The free winds.
The countless fragments of relationships that passed by.
And also, the enemies she had to fight, including the White Star.
Are all those things also nature?
Suddenly, Tasha thought.
Is there any reason to say they are not nature?
The outcome may be the existence of good and evil.
- Girl.
- Dark Elves are not beings outside the natural order.
- Dark Elves are also simply nature.
Tasha opened her eyes.
She looked at the butterfly. She didn't accept the words of the Wind Elemental King as absolute truth.
To be honest, even after thinking about it a lot,
'I don't want to say guys like the White Star are also nature.'
The Hunters were cruel, and Tasha didn't want those kinds of beings around.
'But-'
However, she realized one thing.
'Dark Elves are not beings outside the natural order.'
'Dark Elves are also simply nature.'
Her lips parted.
"...Because they exist by themselves."
I am nature because I exist.
- That's right, girl.
Tasha's eyes, looking at the butterfly, no longer trembled.
- The nature of this world cannot exist by itself now. It's being suppressed and controlled.
The butterfly asked softly.
- Will you help them to be able to exist by themselves?
And added:
- In that case, I will lend you a part of my power.
Tasha's heart began to beat strongly.
The Wind Elemental King said he would lend her a part of his power.
It wasn't a contract proposal. He didn't say he would lend her all his power either. He just said he would lend her a part.
However, Tasha's heart beat stronger and stronger.
Because it was the power of the Wind Elemental King.
Even if she only experienced a part, Tasha could grow several steps more.
Hmm.
However, Tasha couldn't easily open her mouth.
Despite having accepted that she herself was part of nature.
Can I, do it? Will I be able to?
Will I be able to do something so big?
At the moment that thought finally crossed her mind...
- Look around you.
The voice of the Wind Elemental resonated.
"...Huh?"
Only then did Tasha realize. How strangely silent everything was.
Wasn't I in the middle of a battle?
And furthermore, in a tense situation with Inquisitor Peterson!
And in the midst of all this, she was distracted and engaged in conversation!
Even if the Wind Elemental had shown up!
Tasha's face wrinkled.
Swoosh!
At that moment, the wind blew.
"Ah."
Tasha could hear the sounds the Wind Elemental had momentarily silenced.
Kwaaaang!
Bang! Kwaaaang!
A rough roar resounded incessantly.
"Uwaaaah...!"
Peterson's cry was also heard.
"Why, why-! Why does the wind favor that Dark Elf?!"
Among Peterson's desperate screams,
Kwaaaang!
Bang! Kwaaaang!
Tasha saw the small winds fighting against a huge green gust of wind.
Some were a little stronger.
Others a little firmer.
Or some a little more flexible.
Each of the different winds fought to contain Inquisitor Peterson.
"You..."
The Wind Elementals were giving Tasha time.
The reason was obvious.
Because the Wind Elemental King had visited her.
The Elementals also knew that meeting the Wind Elemental King was a great opportunity for those who fought alongside the Elementals.
Of course, the Elementals also did that so as not to interrupt the conversation of the Wind Elemental King with Tasha, to protect her. Or perhaps in the hope that Tasha would hear the request of the Wind Elemental King and accept it.
It could also be that they were simply fighting to protect Tasha and the Wind Elemental King without saying a word.
It was then...
- "Tasha!"
The voice of an old friend resonated.
The Wind Elemental who had shared a long time with her.
- "You can refuse it!"
Without hesitation, this friend of hers uttered words that defied the Wind Elemental King.
Tasha clenched her teeth at her friend's next words.
- "You can also be free!"
- "Don't worry about the Dark Elves, the Elves, the natural order, or anything else!"
Strength returned to the hand wielding the spear.
- "To me, you're Tasha."
The Wind Elemental, Tasha's friend, told her:
- "You're you."
She was simply Tasha. No other adjectives were needed.
"Ha, haha-"
A laugh escaped Tasha's lips.
"...You're right."
If my friend says so.
I have to be free.
I'm just me.
I'm not going to put on other adjectives.
Forget about Dark Elves and all that.
I, too, like these winds, want to live freely for once.
- "That's it, that's it!"
And her friend, without her needing to express it in words, understood her heart and encouraged her.
Those were the words this friend could offer Tasha, who had long strived to improve the reputation of the Dark Elves.
Now, be free.
"Ha…"
Tasha gave a brief smile and looked at the butterfly.
The Wind Elemental King.
From this little being emanated a powerful breeze.
She felt like a small being in front of a great storm.
Yet, Tasha felt comforted.
And she said straightforwardly:
"I can't give a definite answer."
About the task of saving the wind of this world.
"How can I? I've never done something so big."
The words came out without hesitation.
"That's why, Wind Elemental King."
At that moment, Tasha thought of someone who always said what needed to be said and acted in their own way, regardless of the circumstances.
Had she inherited something from Cale Henituse?
"Lend me much of your strength. I need your help to fight these dragons. I'm facing a formidable challenge, and your strength will be invaluable in overcoming it."
"Then I will do all I can."
Saving the wind of Aipotu...
She couldn't give a grandiose answer like that.
That was Tasha's personality.
But as always...
"I'm sure I can do my best."
Swoosh!
The wind blew.
- Alright.
The butterfly only said that.
Instead, the wind blew again.
Swoosh!
It was a colossal wind, from another dimension.
Tasha inadvertently closed her eyes.
At that moment, she felt the wind enveloping her.
It was neither gentle nor affectionate.
It was rather cold and indifferent, like the cold winter wind.
- Girl.
A voice resonated in her head. It was the Wind Elemental King.
- To create the flow, you must be at the forefront. You must be the pioneer, be at the vanguard.
To create a path, someone must walk it first.
- And it seems you like that sort of thing. I'll give you a power that goes with it.
The voice of the Wind Elemental King faded away.
- So do as you please, fly free.
The wind enveloping her dissipated.
Tasha opened her eyes. The spear she held in her hand had disappeared. In its place, a huge whirlwind was engraved on her back, from hand to arm.
Kwaaaang, bang! Bang, kwaaaang!
The sound of battle became clear again.
No, it was getting closer.
"Hahaha! I've finally arrived!"
Tasha raised her head. She saw Peterson approaching her through the Wind Elementals.
In his hand, wielding the green wind, he held a sword made of the same green wind.
"Your insolent eyes will end too now!"
And the tip of the sword headed straight for Tasha.
- "Tasha!"
Her friend shouted as if in a scream and appeared in front of her.
Swoosh!
It was an exhausted whirlwind.
And Tasha's mouth opened.
"I'm fine."
- "Eh?"
Before her friend could react fully, Tasha took a step forward. She reached out her hand into the void.
Sssshh...
Like the wind coming down from the mountain on a cool morning. A cold and refreshing wind blew from her hand.
- "T, Tasha!"
As the Wind Elemental looked at her in surprise...
Kwaaaang!
A thunderous roar, unlike anything before, resounded in the air.
"Urgh!"
And it was Peterson who recoiled.
His pupils dilated.
"You..."
Tasha. In her hand, she held a lance. And that lance was wrapped in black wind. A wind the same color as her skin, with a beautiful sheen.
"..."
Tasha, observing her new lance, averted her gaze. She saw Peterson.
And she said straightforwardly:
"I could defeat them all."
With those words, her body moved. And her black lance moved with her. The voices of the Wind Elementals reached Tasha's ears.
- It's a storm!
- Tasha has obtained the storm!
- No, Tasha has become the storm!
The Elementals called what she wielded "Storm".
It was a powerful wind that could destroy anything in its path.
That was the essence of the wind that Tasha held in her hands.
* * *
"Human, Human! Tasha the Great has the powerful wind in her hands!"
Raon applauded in surprise at seeing Tasha, but then stopped and exclaimed with a different tone, full of concern.
"Human, Human! Why is smart Rosalyn like this?"
Argh!
Rosalyn groaned as she rolled on the ground.
"Mmm."
Just as Cale was about to open his mouth to speak...
"Well, they're just fighting fiercely."
Cale stood up surprised from his seat. At a signal from Cale, Raon deactivated his invisibility and he approached the approaching one, opening his mouth.
"Eruhaben-nim."
However, Eruhaben paid him no attention and looked at Rosalyn.
"Tsk."
Then, he shook his head as if he didn't like what he saw.
"Goldie Gramps! Are you okay? Don't be mad at Rosalyn. She's working hard. Let's help her! Human, let's save her! "
"Rescue? Rescue her from what?"
Eruhaben replied roughly and then told Cale and Raon:
"Leave her."
Then, he averted his gaze and looked at Rosalyn, covered in dirt and dust.
"That girl would probably get angry if we helped her."
"Goldie Gramps, are you saying Rosalyn is like that? Rosalyn isn't like that! Rosalyn is kind and smart! And she knows how to fight as a team!"
At Raon's words, Eruhaben smirked.
"...Goldie Gramps is making fun of me now! Human, did you see that?
Raon shouted, puffing up his cheeks.
"I know Rosalyn better than Goldie Gramps! I've seen her longer! Rosalyn isn't like that!"
"Hmm."
The Ancient Dragon snorted.
"I know her better than you, brat. Because..."
Eruhaben paused for a moment and swallowed the last words.
And muttered to himself.
Rosalyn would surely reject help if offered to her now. He knew that well.
Because she is my second disciple.
And Eruhaben's first human disciple.
Eruhaben's gaze fixed only on Rosalyn. And then, he discreetly averted it.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
"Me? I'm not smiling."
"Aren't you smiling right now?"
Cale looked at Eruhaben with a happy expression.
The Ancient Dragon felt strangely uncomfortable.
However, he soon looked away.
Kwaaaang!
"Urgh!"
Rosalyn was rolling on the ground once again.
* * *
If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.
Thank you for reading!
[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]
[Translator – Anowa]
[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]