On the dawn of the second day since the Mangja Seongnyeo Isia came to the Elf Kingdom, the elves were busy packing their weapons and gear, moving around even before the sun rose.
Elves in the forest could truly be considered masters of speed and stealth.
Leaning slightly, the elves passed silently among the trees and flowers as if slipping into shadows, and soon enough, armed elves began to arrive at the borders of the Daesanrim.
It was the opposite side from where Shia’s airplane had landed.
High above in the tallest tree, a blonde elf narrowed her eyes as she scanned the forest filled with the dim light of dawn.
Elanar Siamirunae.
The leader of the Lotus Lake Knight Order, guarding the land and peace of the elves. She was considered the strongest elf among the current generation.
Though the forest seemed peaceful, Elanar knew that behind the hills, at the edge of the cliffs, and beneath the tree stumps, unsightly creatures that reeked of rot and consumed all were brewing.
“Is there still no word from the Bellflower Watch?”
“Yes, Elanar.”
An elf in the tree across from her responded to Elanar’s words.
“Could it be that the watch fell prey to the Chaos Ants?”
“Come on, Mirinae and the kids may be inexperienced, but surely…”
“Those kids are strong, but they’re just good at spotting danger from afar and running fast. We need to consider the possibility that they were surrounded while playing around or being careless.”
“If that’s the case, we must incinerate them immediately. At least before bringing any corpses to the Queen…”
Chaos Ants were originally just giant ant monsters.
However, what made them frightening was not just their overwhelming numbers, but the peculiar nature of their queen.
The queen of the Chaos Ants devours the random traits of any living creature it consumes, making them its own. All Chaos Ants, aside from the queen, merely served as hands and feet to bring meals to the queen.
The worker and soldier ants of the Chaos Ants were manageable. No matter how many different species they consumed, they remained unchanged.
But what if soldier ants managed to corner the elves with their sheer numbers and offered fresh elf meat to the queen? That’s when the danger level of the Chaos Ants would instantly rise.
The elves had previously witnessed a powerful Chaos Ant queen devour countless humans in the ‘previous world,’ demonstrating high intelligence and magic.
What was once merely an ant queen rose to play the role of the Demon King’s right hand, feasting on many kingdoms and humans to expand its influence.
Thanks to the hero’s efforts, they managed to kill the ant queen before it could gain more power, but had it been given some time, a disaster greater than the Demon King might have been born.
Anyway, the humans of this current Earth did not see the Chaos Ants as a significant threat.
But the elves knew all too well how these damned ants could turn into a horrific nightmare and disaster.
“Trust them. They may be young, but they can definitely do their part.”
By the way, the Bellflower Watch referred to three elves who attempted to hijack Shia’s airplane.
Although still young and inexperienced, they had considerable ability to spot and report omens of danger from afar.
Of course, they had lost in an instant to Shia, but they were skilled at handling spirits and controlling the wind enough to attempt hijacking an airplane mid-flight.
And shortly after, a butterfly with long, tail-like antennae passed before Elanar’s eyes.
“…!”
It was not a naturally born butterfly.
It was the materialized form of a low-level wind spirit.
“A butterfly has flown from the Bellflower Watch!”
“Chaos Ant surge detected! Chaos Ant surge detected! All sisters, illuminate the dawn!”
SWOOSH!
“Let’s prepare for the harvest. Let’s get ready to reap these pests that are devouring the land.”
The elves hiding between the trees all simultaneously readied their arrows.
They didn’t need training.
Having lived for countless years, warriors who had stood back-to-back knew exactly what needed to be done without saying a word. They understood what their fellow compatriots’ roles were and what their own roles entailed.
Wind, water, fire, frost, stone and earth, along with tree trunks and vines, spiraled around the elves’ arrows, and everyone held their breath in anticipation of the impending vibrations.
KUKUKUKUKUNG…!
BZZZ!
From the ground, from between the trees, from the soil corrupted and desecrated by these bugs, the Chaos Ants began to surge forth.
KIIRIK!
SCREEECH, ARGH!
GRAAH!
“They’re coming.”
The land beyond the Daesanrim shimmered softly in the dawn light, but soon dark, wretched shadows began writhing and overshadowing the horizon.
The power they exuded was truly horrific and nauseating, as if one were looking at raw sewage backing up from a drain, and their grotesque form that seemed to be an oversized pile of ants evidenced their lack of the World Tree’s and nature’s blessings.
“By the name of Elanar Siamirunae, captain of the Lotus Knight Order, I will relay this to my comrades.”
Elanar could not hide her unbearable disgust as she drew back the bowstring made of the dawn’s web.
“Let the harvest begin. Sisters, raise your bows.”
“I will purge the insects. Brothers, draw your swords.”
“There is no mercy for the bugs that desecrate our mother’s land.”
“”Mother World Tree, watch over us!”””
○○○
“Ahahaha, I’m late.”
“…Isia? You’ve come late.”
At 9 AM, Shia arrived at the scene, scratching her head awkwardly.
Most of the Chaos Ants had long been swept away by the elves’ arrows and swords, and everywhere was filled with the intense heat and vitality brought forth by arrows imbued with spirit power.
“The Chaos Ants have all been taken care of. As I said on the first day, this forest is under our protection. We likely won’t need any external help.”
“Sorry for being late. Are there any injuries?”
“Just minor scrapes.”
Indeed, the elves were strong.
Of course, given their small population, comparing them with the humans of Earth was meaningless, but the elves here had power exceeding that of a C-grade Hunter, even the ordinary housewives doing laundry and young elves not yet a century old.
The combined strength of the Lotus Knight Order, gathering the mightiest elves, meant each one possessed potential from B-grade to at least A-grade Hunters, and the captain, Elanar, seemed no less than an S-grade Hunter in Shia’s eyes.
With such power backing them, it surely wouldn’t have been difficult to slice through the dumb Chaos Ants that only relied on numbers.
‘Ugh, I overslept after making leaf pancakes until dawn… Maybe I should have just stayed up all night…’
Shia’s original plan had been to fight alongside the elves against the Chaos Ants, building at least a rapport with them, so that she could win over the elf population suffering from a serious case of human distrust.
If she could show them an overwhelming scene of her crushing Chaos Ants as a saint, at least the elves wouldn’t harbor doubts or questions about her strength. This would also subtly convey a message, “I’m this strong, so don’t mess with me.”
Anyway, once the issue with the Chaos Ants was resolved, Shia planned to address the disease spreading among the elves and the troubles concerning her valuable director, Olgania, but now her first step had already gone terribly awry.
“Speaking of which, Olgania mentioned you have the ability to heal wounds?”
“Yep, I’m a saint.”
“A saint, you say?”
Hearing the term saint, Elanar scanned Shia from top to bottom.
…That grotesque tentacle writhing out from her waist?
How could she self-identify as a saint with such a thing?
‘How could this… be a saint…?’
Moreover, Elanar was one of the few who had actually seen a saint in the previous world.
Saints were supposed to be pure and noble, women untouched by the dirt of the world…
“…Hah, it doesn’t matter what outsiders are like. If you’re late, just help with the cleanup over there.”
“Okay, got it.”
While it was unacceptable to treat guests of the World Tree this way, the elves, including Elanar, generally had a negative view of outsiders.
In fact, they had a serious aversion to the human race.
Among them were children who had witnessed the devastation of their mother World Tree burned by humans.
Although Shia found this to be unfair and unreasonable, it was a tough issue since elves couldn’t shake off the trauma imprinted in their souls.
In truth, it would be more accurate to say that the elves were the ones holding it together while facing Iisia, an outsider.
“Oh, by the way, Elanar… Captain? What should I call you?”
“As you’re an outsider, you can simply call me Elanar.”
“They say that being allowed to call someone by their name signifies closeness. Hehe.”
“Don’t apply human standards to me. Being called by your name holds no meaning.”
“Wow… You’re so prickly.”
Shia sighed inwardly at Elanar’s unexpectedly frosty reaction.
Shia knew that her appearance was quite alluring.
Whenever she got into a hassle, she could usually gloss it over with a bright smile, and even Teresa or Menelapie would let it slide if she cried or laughed like a fool.
However, Elanar was the first to completely ignore the saintly smile.
From Shia’s perspective, she felt this was a bit of a challenge.
“Anyway, Elanar. How many members are currently here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like the Lotus Knights taking care of the Chaos Ants?”
“Indeed.”
“So, how many Lotus Knights are here now?”
“I don’t understand the meaning of your question. There are 62 members in the Lotus Knight Order. Today, everyone has come out to purge the filthy bugs.”
“That doesn’t count you and me, right?”
“Haah, yes. Is that enough now?”
“Yep, thanks.”
Elanar sighed at Shia’s incessantly odd questions.
“Stop wasting time with useless chatter. If you want to help, go assist with the restoration work for the other members…”
“Ah! Over there, is there a moment?”
“…..?”
Ignoring Elanar’s words, Shia seized an elf passing by.
How can an outsider sleep in late while claiming they’re here to help? Sigh.
“Yeah, come on over here?”
Elanar mentally downgraded her assessment of this outsider named Isia.
After all, she was said to be a guest of Olgania. Quite frankly, she didn’t seem different from any other human.
What was she doing now?
Touching their precious elven hair as if it were an object? Doesn’t she have any basic manners?
‘Huh, let it go. I wasn’t expecting much from outsiders from the start…’
CRACK!
Then, in the next moment, the elf whose hair Shia had grabbed exploded with a loud pop.
…What? What just happened?
There was no time to intervene, nor was there room for shock—the event unfolded far too quickly.
However, before her reason managed to process it, Elanar’s body had already moved.
“You filthy abomination!!!!”
Furious, Elanar strung her bow made from the dawn’s web and fired at Shia in less than a second.
WHAM!
“GAHH!?”
“W-what happened!?”
The elves who had been busy with restoration work grasped their weapons and began to rush toward the noise, converging at the center, where Shia remained.
THUD, THUD, THUMP!
“Oh, delicious.”
However, despite receiving Elanar’s arrow, Shia seemed unfazed.
The arrow, imbued with spirit power, crafted with lethal intent by the captain of the Lotus Lake Knight Order, would surely have been identified as an S-grade Hunter’s attack outside. Yet, in the current situation, it was being chomped on by Shia as if it were a snack.
‘Is the arrow made from the life of the Daesanrim? It’s surprisingly tasty…? So it’s true one can even eat weeds and tree bark here? If I roasted this, it might taste like a baguette.’
CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH!
The elves, engaged in restoration work, sensed the anomaly and began to surround Shia.
“What’s that woman doing?!”
“That, that abominable creature is…!”
“What the hell is going on, Elanar?!”
“GAHH! A compatriot is dead…!”
“It must be the outsider’s doing, right?! I knew it!”
“Surround her!”
“An abomination! A monster! She must die!”
From all sides came shouts of anger and hatred from the elves, but Shia merely tilted her head, bemused.
Chewing… Oh, why are they suddenly like this?
“Hah…!”
What?
After bursting the head of her kin,
…and chomping my arrow like it’s tofu biscuits, you’re questioning my actions?
“This abominable creature! How dare you look down on us to the point of killing our compatriot right in front of us? Did you think you could hope to survive here after doing that?”
“…Huh…?”
Elanar’s words were accompanied by the powerful energy of the elves’ arrows, now imbued with spirit power and intent to kill, aimed straight at Shia.
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
“Is this what elves consider kin?”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Watch closely.”
Shia casually tossed the head of the elf she had just burst into Elanar’s feet.
The way that even their own kinsmen are treated this way…!
“Eh?”
In that moment, as Elanar and the other elves gazed at the deceased elf’s body at their feet, they froze.
The shell was shattering.
The appearance of an elf shattered into pieces, and as the shell broke, the hard ant jaw and grotesque green blood seeped out, staining the ground.
It looked like an ant wearing an elf’s shell.
“…W-what the…?”
“You can tell by looking. It’s a Chaos Ant. Your kin—the Chaos Ant disguised as an elf.”
“…….!”
“You should have found it odd. Even after several counts, the numbers Elanar provided didn’t add up. The stench was also horrendous…”
At those words, Elanar’s eyes widened in horror.
This was a comrade from her Order, someone she had fought alongside for a long time… and yet, she hadn’t even realized it?
What on earth had happened…?
“Do you happen to know that elf?”
“………”
“You know of them?”
“…..I’ve never seen that elf before…?”
“Then why didn’t we notice?”
What was this?
Why didn’t we recognize that elf?
It was clearly an unfamiliar face, yet why hadn’t they caught on all along?
As Shia saw the perplexed elves, she instinctively understood.
Merely the Chaos Ant disguised as an elf that she had just burst was already quite a serious situation.
Mind control, hallucination, disguise, and that bug held enough abilities and intellect to remain undetected among the elves.
Fortunately, Shia had the ability to sense malice as a predatory entity, separate from her sensory organs, but the very fact that a wannabe S-grade Hunter like Elanar had been fooled left a critical issue unaddressed.
Of course, the worker ants of the Chaos Ants didn’t have such abilities.
The one with anomalous abilities was solely the queen.
However, the entity that had just disguised itself in the elf’s shell was not the queen, but a mere soldier ant.
And the amount of malice contained within, along with the mana in its body, was too small and negligible to consider it a queen.
Yet, that insignificant soldier ant managed to deceive the elves and effortlessly disguise itself, indicating that the anomalous ability-bearing queen had manipulated this soldier ant.
“Oh, wait a minute….”
And an ant disguised as an elf in the Elf Kingdom…
Could it really be just that one?
Yikes. This has gone sideways…
It seemed that the situation was about to get a bit more severe.
