#56
Elf (4)
“Damn, where did that guy pop out from?”
The elder of the Oath of Reversal, Nurabe, gritted his teeth while watching the monster being ripped apart and his subordinates.
Was it that suddenly appeared human or maybe a lycanthrope, or some other unidentified creature?
He was the one who had stolen the carefully prepared offerings and made his escape.
“I thought I was on a lucky streak lately, but this happens at the end!”
It all started like usual when he rescued elves through a slave trader.
The faction he belonged to could bind stronger demons or summoned beasts through sacrificial rituals, and the more valuable the offering, the better the effect.
In the midst of managing the slaves, they discovered something.
That they had a high elf-qualified offering in their grasp.
“I was lucky. The demon I summoned happened to have the ability to recognize that.”
He immediately took advice from the demon and put a stronger sealing magical equipment around the offering’s neck than usual.
So that the World Tree wouldn’t easily expose the offering’s information according to the laws of causality.
Yet anxious, he hurriedly set a date for the ritual.
He was aware of what high elves were to the elves.
They would do whatever it took to reclaim the offering.
He intended to finish the ritual cleanly before that, but…
“Using the World Tree’s branch was greedy, wasn’t it?”
There was no way the value of “someone qualified as a high elf” could be equal to that of a “high elf.”
It was natural to want to utilize the top-tier offering he’d gotten more effectively.
So, he planned to use the World Tree’s branch, which was being stored in the organization, for the ritual with the offering.
While he couldn’t truly create a high elf, he could temporarily use it as a “pseudo high elf” through the branch.
It felt as if all the luck in the world was assisting him.
After he finished his work and was about to move, calling most of his troops, everything went smoothly during the ritual.
Until suddenly, a hole was pierced in the barrier.
“Could it be that the World Tree intervened at that moment?!”
It was an intervention aimed at the very brief moment the ritual trembled.
The World Tree’s branch had remained sealed until coming here, and after the ritual began, interference would have been blocked by the law.
The issue was that the ritual trembled.
However, due to various restrictions, the manifestation that had occurred through the World Tree’s branch wasn’t significant.
At best, it only moved the offering a little from the deepest part of the cave.
Considering the complex structure of the cave, the straight distance wasn’t much.
The real problem was that a guy took the offering and made off with it, but thankfully, he could chase right after.
“As the sealing barrier is still in place, the location shouldn’t have been discovered. Still, I must recover the offering as soon as possible to not miss the time for the ritual.”
At first, he intended to pour monsters to wear down the guy’s stamina and safely retrieve the offering, but looking at the current situation, that seemed impossible.
“Kahaha—! Bring it on!”
A full-body muscular form that mixed human and beast was before him.
Despite its wild appearance, the strangely refined movements left his dark knights at a loss.
“This can’t go on. I can’t afford to delay any longer.”
Considering the possibility that he might be a monster hybrid, he attempted to control him, but it was to no avail.
Still, the continuous recovery of strength from the flesh of nearby monsters was beyond monster behavior.
Nurabe signaled to the dark mages.
With his command, a summoning circle was rapidly prepared.
And then.
The battle entered a new phase.
*
“Kahaha—! This is troublesome! Really troublesome! Hahaha!”
The situation worsened rapidly.
To be precise, it was after new guys joined the battlefield.
He felt a piercing murderous intent again, and Harley’s “Wildness” immediately responded.
Clang—!
A black greatsword wrapped in dark magic was deflected off his axe.
At the same time, a bolt made of ore flew towards his head, but he wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.
Harley’s right hand curiously twisted as he snatched the bolt and shattered it.
“How troublesome. These guys are no joke.”
It seemed the dark mages were getting serious and intended to send formidable summoned beasts into the battlefield.
[Quite impressive, hybrid!]
Even demons.
Among the summoned beasts, a massive demon wielding a greatsword over three meters tall relentlessly pressured him, and he suffered considerable damage.
His entire body was soaked in blood, but…
“Yet it seems like I’m not lacking in battle power even with one eye gone, thanks to ‘Wildness.’”
The greatest damage was indeed the loss of his left eye.
The sudden entry of demons and summoned beasts led to a chaotic situation where he couldn’t evade, and a bolt from earlier pierced his eye.
“If that were the only issue, I could have restored it with ‘Regeneration.’”
The ore bolt exploded and he lost an eye without any chance to react.
Moreover, it seemed the dark mages, wary of him using “Gourmet,” had pulled back minor monsters, making it difficult to recover energy.
It was as if they only intended to oppose him with a few strong summoned creatures.
“That doesn’t matter; those guys have now all become my precious nutrition.”
Currently, the strong ones had mostly fallen.
However, he only managed to recover the magic stone, but with the insistent interference from the enemies trying to stop his recovery, he was nearly running out of energy.
The only relief was that he could worry a little less about Cecily.
From the branch of the World Tree wrapped in leopard skin, an ethereal energy flowed out, protecting her from shock.
“It could only absorb indirect shock, but without it, my movements would be even more restricted.”
Given the intense movements required, it was unavoidable.
Even though the enemies weren’t directly targeting her, the effects of the fight were piling up, and she’d suffer if she couldn’t avoid it.
“It doesn’t seem like this will last long either. The World Tree seems to be under significant strain.”
The branch sticking out between the jagged skins looked dry, as if it had never been watered.
It hadn’t looked like this when he first saw it.
Whoo—!
Just then, a greatsword engulfed in black flames flew towards him.
As Harley prepared to respond immediately…
“Ugh! Not again!”
A momentary stiffness.
But in a battle where a split second could decide life or death, it was a critical mistake.
He quickly summoned aura to deflect the greatsword, but he received a long wound on his forearm.
“Ugh, I have to take that guy down first.”
The most troublesome opponent alongside the demon.
A jewel human aiming a crossbow made of metal from behind.
“Looks expensive. It must cost quite a bit.”
The summoned creature in human form gleamed with a faint green luster throughout its body.
It was the one that had taken one of his eyes, a sniper using telekinesis.
“That forehead eye seems to be the problem.”
It had three green eyes, but the one on its forehead was unusually dark.
It sparkled whenever it controlled a bolt or exerted telekinesis, so he was sure of it.
“Heh heh… This is tight.”
Even though monsters surrounded him, the ones in front wouldn’t give him a chance to use “Gourmet.”
These guys could inflict greater damage than he could recover at the moment.
There was a limit to withstanding the curses from the dark mages with his “Biotic Aura,” as his body weakened and senses dulled.
He strained to conserve energy even suppressing “Regeneration,” and his whole body was soaked in blood.
“Heh heh heh. Are you giving up, hybrid?”
The demon before him mocked Harley while tapping its shoulder with the greatsword.
“Kahaha! You’re all talk; here you can’t even handle a one-on-one! What a waste of size!”
“Nonsense! If it weren’t for the offering in your arms, I would have chopped you up already, hybrid!”
The angry demon paused, then tightened its grip on the greatsword, sneering.
“It seems you’re trying to stall for time. Don’t even think about it!”
Then it swung the greatsword at him.
At the same time, a barrage of attacks descended on Harley.
“That’s not wrong; we’ve already achieved our goal, though! Hahaha!”
Harley skillfully used his senses from “Wildness” to counter the attacks from all angles, focusing on the dark mages gathered on one side.
He engraved their positions into his mind.
Right after that.
Bang—
“What the?!”
“Holy Power? Out of nowhere?”
A flash burst above the gathered dark mages, coinciding with their panicked voices.
And at that moment, Heinrich appeared, bouncing and spinning like a top.
Holding a massive sword of light drawn with holy power close to bishop-level.
Swish—
Sharply polished energy of oppositeness streaked multiple times, instantly tearing apart the surrounding defenses.
The archbishop’s enhanced holy law with “Blessing: Strong Body,” all the close combat skills honed to perfection.
Heinrich’s sword of light unleashed chaos upon the unprepared figures who were too slow to react.
“Gah!”
“What the…!”
Amid the raging storm of holy power, only one managed to evade in the split second.
The rest were those who were lucky enough to be on the outskirts.
“You! How…!”
One who reacted to Heinrich’s ambush looked like an elder, red-faced like molten lava, trembling with rage.
His “how” held many meanings, but…
“Haap—!”
Of course, Heinrich wasn’t obliged to answer and rushed toward the remaining dark mages, swinging his sword.
More than half of the dark mage group died instantly or was injured by the first ambush.
Monsters around them fell into confusion at losing their contractor.
Summoned beasts were disappearing and rushing to protect those who remained, turning the battlefield into chaos.
“Ugh! Ino—!”
The demon wielding the greatsword dashed towards Heinrich in panic.
And in that moment, Harley was momentarily liberated.
The sudden sense of freedom.
It was a golden opportunity to recover through “Gourmet,” but he had something to do first.
Harley’s leg muscles swelled, and he charged toward the jewel human in an instant.
He couldn’t afford to let that one slip away!
“Kahaha! Where are you looking away from?”
That guy was brazenly present even while looking in another direction!
Harley leapt toward the jewel human, piercing his right hand into it.
[——!]
Harley’s hand hesitated at the gleaming green eye on its forehead.
But the creature had only been protected by others from the back lines in combat.
The telekinesis of that long-range attack support type wasn’t strong enough to overcome Harley’s approaching might.
Crack!
Harley’s sharp claws quickly dug into the jewel human’s forehead, and liquid silver, like mercury, trickled down his hand.
“Kahaha—! Finally caught you, you bastard!”
It was because of that guy he lost an eye.
An one-eyed barbaric warrior!
Though that might sound cool…
“No, it’s still too early. I can consider that when I’ve gained more experience.”
However, as for other body parts, with his current regeneration power, he had no idea how long it would take to recreate a complicated organ like an eye.
“If it had been ‘Enhanced Regeneration,’ it would have healed instantly. But I have ‘Mutation,’ so a suitable eye transplant should suffice… Wait?”
Since he was going to implant a new one, wouldn’t it be better to have a higher performance one?
For example…
[——!]
Something like the one in his hands right now.
“Hey, you. You’ve got a nice eye, don’t you?”
It was quite an unreasonable situation, considering this guy had three eyes, whereas he had lost one because of it.
So, it should be fine to take one.
This was a matter of self-defense.
“Hahaha—! Let’s share the good stuff!”
Without hesitation, he yanked out the vibrant green gemstone.
[——!]
The jewel human trembled with a peculiar vibration, and its body made of ore lost its light and collapsed.
“Oh, it looked expensive when intact. What a waste.”
Now it only appeared to be a dull pile of stone.
It seemed that eye was the very essence of its existence.
“Is this silicon-based life or something?”
The traits were clearly different from any life forms he had seen so far.
Some knowledge he had picked up resurfaced, but given the fantasy world’s lack of common sense, it wasn’t a pressing issue.
Harley glanced at the jewel in his hand.
The smooth gloss and delicately carved pupil looked more like a gem than biological tissue.
He inserted the jewel directly into his empty left eye socket.
He didn’t know if it would work as he thought…
“Guess I’ll find out when I try!”
Though he was currently acting as a barbarian warrior, his essence was that of a creature pursuing evolution through the exploration of different genes.
His body’s composition was different, but if it was a life form, there was no reason Harley couldn’t accept it.
It clearly wasn’t just a mere jewel; the ‘Mutation’ activated, connecting his optic nerve to the gemstone.
But that was as far as it went.
Perhaps due to the vastly different structure, there was no proper compatibility.
His “Mind Hub” detected extreme pain in the eye area.
Veins surged around his left eye, and he could feel the muscles twitching.
“Guess this wasn’t going to work? The materials are just too different.”
For a moment, he thought that.
“Ha! Nonsense!”
How many beasts and monsters had he consumed until now?
When had they ever resembled his own materials enough to become his nourishment?
Though crystallized, this eye was still a part of biological tissue.
Moreover, it was already connected to him as one.
Then, this was already his.
Squeeak—
With Harley’s almost manic obsession and strong mental influence, the gemstone connected to the optic nerve began to change under the effects of “Physical Transformation.”
The region surrounding the sparkling green pupil faded to white and turned soft like a human eye.
And…
《A new body has been transplanted. Due to the influence of the special skill “Mutation,” the skill “Jewel Eye: Telekinesis” is acquired.》
“Wahaha—! There’s nothing in this world that can’t be done?”
Before he knew it, Harley had returned to the appearance of an ordinary barbarian warrior.
He threw his shoulders back and burst into hearty laughter, munching on monster meat to recover energy.
Of course, the reason he felt so carefree right now was that.
Whooosh—
A tremendous storm swept over the area in an instant.
Flash—
Brilliant light enveloped the surroundings, cutting off space.
“I’ll smash the skulls of those heretic bastards! Hahaha!”
“Haap!”
Even two paladins began to sweep through the battlefield.
[Roar—!]
At that moment, a massive demon engulfed in flames appeared from the dark mages and collided with them, but it didn’t seem like it could last long.
“Were they revealing him just to completely recover Cecily…”
Seeing the display of flames erupting all around, that guy didn’t seem suited for avoiding harming certain individuals.
If it was about destroying everything in the vicinity, that might be another story.
“But for now, it seems he’s the one being hunted… A pity that I can’t eat demons since they’re summoned beings. I wish I could at least consume that demon’s flesh.”
He had already attempted to eat several demons before, but they all vanished like smoke.
To eat those, he would have to venture into the Demon Realm and aim for their true forms.
As Harley sat down, lamenting over the missed opportunity…
“Oh! I almost forgot!”
He hurriedly unfastened the leather strapped to his chest.
The leather, holding remarkably firm and resisting breaking, unfolded, and out came a slumped elven girl.
She clutched what appeared to be a branch, now no better than a stick.
“Hey~ Are you alright, girl?”
She seemed to be breathing but was clearly not conscious, which made him worry as he carefully shook her.
How many times had he called out before?
“I feel suffocated… dizzy… I think I’m going to throw up…”
Cecily murmured, writhing weakly.
Fortunately, it seemed nothing serious was wrong.
“Hahaha! Thank goodness you’re safe!”
He laughed cheerfully while watching the enormous demon that had appeared grandly now dissolve into smoke.
“Goal accomplished. This mission was exciting.”
He had also grown considerably through the battle, so it was quite beneficial in many ways.
“Of course, what I could gain here isn’t over.”
As the battlefield settled…
Laforey and the elves, wrapped in wind, flew closer to where Harley was.
