#219
Lycanthrope (4)
—“You cursed breed! Do you know where you are!”
—“It’s a monster! Kill it!”
—“M-monster! Somebody help me! Please, help!”
Throughout the continent’s not-so-brief history.
Lycanthropes had always been beings close to a kind of “plague,” oppressed and ostracized wherever they went.
An incomplete race, incapable of normal reproduction and able to increase their numbers only through infection.
Even those who had once been perfectly normal would have their minds begin to be tainted by dark mana the moment they were infected, and eventually, their egos, steeped in savagery and violence, would become so twisted that little of their former selves remained.
Even if they somehow managed to retain their sanity, they would often lose their reason to the madness that surged up every full moon, going on rampages of infection and slaughter.
It was only natural that people sought to exclude those bombs that might go off at any moment in order to protect themselves and their families.
And so it was, too, that an ordinary boy bitten by a werewolf ended up slaughtering, in turn, the villagers and family members who had tried to kill him before fleeing.
After that, following his instincts and causing countless victims, he finally became a complete monster—such a tale would not be all that strange in this world.
…Though the fact that he had survived for hundreds of years and grown so strong that he ultimately became a “king” was certainly something that could be called exceptional.
As was the fact that someone had intervened and helped him along the way.
Kwaaaang—!
“Khi-hi-hya-hah! Got you! You annoying little bugs!”
The Lycanthrope King, Vaukalakas, tore apart the earth spirit that had been ceaselessly obstructing his steps with a hand suffused with an eerie aura.
With that alone, claw-like scars, as if left by a beast, were carved into the ground within a five-meter radius. Faced with the tremendous essence of destruction dwelling in that hand, the spirit, despite its rank as a highest-grade spirit, could offer no meaningful resistance and was helplessly reverse-summoned.
“Urgh!”
“Lord Horut! Are you all right?”
“…Cecily, this much is nothing, so focus! If that thing takes even one step outside the formation, it’s over!”
In the aftermath, a thin trickle of blood ran down from the corner of High Elf Horut’s mouth, the spellcaster who had summoned the spirit.
Yet without showing much of it, he gritted his teeth and concentrated even more intensely on the remaining spirits.
At the heart of the battlefield where the two races clashed head-on.
The personnel mobilized to tie down the leader of the lycanthropes numbered no less than all four High Elves remaining in Drasha.
‘Kuh, to think all we can do is barely hold out even right beside the World Tree…! I never imagined a monster like that would charge in without any thought for what comes after. The difference in rank is one thing, but the compatibility is far too poor.’
High Elves were beings whose abilities rose by several times the closer they were to the World Tree, but the amplification of that creature’s power, fused with dark mana and madness, was no trifling matter either.
Above all, the authority of one who had reached transcendence—“partial disregard of attacks/defenses from those of lower rank”—combined with that horrific body had reached a level that was impossible to deal with.
No matter how much firepower they poured into it, it would ignore a fixed percentage outright, endure the rest with its body, and recover. And its already-powerful attacks pierced through their defenses as if they were nothing.
That was why, for now, their best option was to set up a formation like this, engage it in a war of attrition, and somehow keep it in place.
At the very least, in terms of recovery power, the High Elves beside the World Tree could be considered superior.
‘…No, is that really so? Looking at that monster’s state, I don’t feel that way at all. …If only we had even one opponent of equal rank on our side, this could be settled quickly.’
Given the absolute advantage of longevity, the elven race as a whole had an extremely high proportion of powerful individuals who had surpassed a certain line.
The fact that they had somehow been able to respond to the simultaneous appearances of the white giants and the lycanthrope invasion was all thanks to the forest keepers scattered throughout their territory.
Yet perhaps because there was some additional restriction in exchange when it came to surpassing their limits, there was not a single person in the current Elven Kingdom who had reached the realm of transcendence.
At least High Elf Lydia, the head of the Watchers, was evaluated as being right before the wall, but hadn’t she just boldly crossed the ocean and joined the Hero’s Party?
“Kakakak! Tired already? Huh? Is that it? Then let’s end this!”
Just then, with a frivolous laugh, the monster rushed toward where the High Elves stood.
The destructive mana erupting from its body shattered the atmosphere, and along the path traced by its outstretched fingertips, the air was torn apart, spreading the smell of burning.
“Kuh, I’ll stop it!”
“I will support you!”
Platina, a spirit swordswoman who had reached the peak in both spirits and swordsmanship, raised aura over her entire body and blocked the path of the creature charging toward them.
Her sword, imbued with starlight, cut through space and met the dark-red claws flying in.
Kaaaang—!
For an instant, she staggered under the overwhelmingly visible difference in physical ability, but once she received support magic from the queen, who was also an archmage, she was able to face it on somewhat equal footing.
But that, too, lasted only a moment…
Kwadeudeuk! Kuuung—!
“Khhup!”
Even with additional support from the others, the time she held out was only about a minute.
In the end, after enduring and enduring, she was only barely able to withdraw by throwing herself away as if she had been flung.
And even then, if Cecily had not covered her in a curtain of water at the last moment, she would truly have suffered a grievous wound from the follow-up attack this time.
“Puhit! I could’ve caught one, but now I’m starting to get a little annoyed! Without the World Tree, you lot would’ve been finished ages ago! Ah, I need to hurry up and burn that thing down!”
Perhaps his patience was nearing its limit, for the crimson light in Vaukalakas’s eyes deepened further.
His reason had likely been whittled away even more, but in exchange, his physical abilities would have risen even higher.
‘We have to find a way somehow.’
Cecily swallowed a sigh inwardly and bit her lip.
They were barely managing to hold out, while on the lycanthrope side, five more general-grade individuals had headed to the battlefield.
Of course, there weren’t no experts on their side capable of opposing them, but…
‘We’ll have to accept the damage. Wait, come to think of it, where is Lord Harris now?’
At that moment, she suddenly realized that there had been no word from him for some time.
The last report seemed to have been that he had entered combat with a general-grade enemy.
Since she had no leeway to maintain the World Tree network right now, she had no way of knowing what had happened afterward.
‘…Is he on his way back here by now? If he comes, things should be better than they are now. Let’s hold out as long as possible.’
And while Cecily was once again focusing on the battle.
Harris, whom she had just thought of, was just setting foot in Drasha.
***
Kwadeudeuk!
“Urgh! World Tree…”
Kwaaaang—!
“Kyaeng!”
Death was spreading from the center of the Enamel Continent, which had been the heart of peace for long ages.
Death that came equally to lycanthropes and elves alike.
The wooden walls hastily grown in preparation for the invasion had long since been breached, and the elves were slowly pulling the front line back while striving to reduce their numbers as much as possible.
With their superior physical abilities and instincts, the lycanthropes dodged or deflected every half-baked ranged attack, and even when an attack landed, not only did it have to pierce through their durability and magic resistance, their regeneration speed was so overwhelming that they did not die easily.
No matter how greater the elves’ numbers were, the enemy was an elite unit deliberately selected for this assault.
The elves needed immediate combat forces they could employ more reliably… and fortunately, Drasha had some truly excellent human resources prepared.
On the outskirts of the battlefield, a little removed from the center.
Kigigik—
Shapiron Silvesti calmly drew her bowstring and gradually raised her natural power.
“Kraaaah! I’ll kill you!”
Moving in a zigzag as if to avoid her line of fire, a warrior-grade lycanthrope approached.
Its body was swollen to the limit, a dark-red energy rose from its entire frame, its eyes were bloodshot crimson from madness, and saliva dripped from its vicious fangs.
Its rabid-dog-like appearance was terrifying at a glance, but maintaining her composure as much as possible, she waited until the very last moment…
And at the optimal instant when it could not evade, she shot a sure-kill arrow imbued with a wind spirit.
Swaeeek— Puck!
The arrowhead pierced precisely through its forehead.
If it had been an ordinary warrior-grade individual, it would have been an attack that killed it in one blow no matter how great its regenerative power was. But the lycanthrope, which had gained monstrous vitality through the collaboration of dark mana and madness, merely staggered in place for a moment.
Then, as if declaring that if it was going to die, it would take her with it, the creature charged at her again with the arrow still embedded in its head, exuding a murderous aura.
“Dieee!”
Even in that crisis, Shapiron’s expression still did not waver.
In truth, it did not matter if it had not fallen from that one shot.
Because, quite naturally, she was not alone.
Ssaeek— Puck—! Pupuck! Shwik—! Chwaak!
While she drew the prey’s attention entirely to herself, arrows and magic flew in from its blind spots and thoroughly tore the creature to pieces.
At this point, even a knight-grade, not just a warrior-grade, would not be able to survive.
And from the direction the attacks had come, her classmates Timer and Cury, who had once set up a festival stage together with Harris, quietly approached.
“Miss Shapiron, are you really okay with this? It’s effective, but it seems too dangerous for you to be alone.”
“…Should we change the plan?”
“It’s fine. After all, the only ones we’re dealing with are wounded soldiers or remnants that slipped through like this, aren’t they? This isn’t the time to be leisurely, so we have to accept a little danger.”
Drasha Academy was the finest educational institution in the Elven Kingdom.
Naturally, its students were all elites, high-grade personnel who could be used as immediate combat power at any moment.
In a crisis like this, they were reliable enough to be entrusted with rear support at the very least.
“If we move just a little faster, we can save even one more person. So from now on…”
Rustle—
At that moment, as if cutting off her words, the sound of someone pushing through the underbrush rang out.
The three of their expressions stiffened.
…They could hear the sound, and yet with their senses, which had been on alert at all times, they still could not feel anything.
As they exchanged subtle glances among themselves and slowly turned their heads in that direction.
There stood a rough-looking woman, gazing at them with a strange expression, as if she were the one who had deliberately shaken the bushes to make noise.
“At first, I was going to pass by quietly, but after thinking about it, you were right. If I’m just a little more diligent, I might be able to save even one more compatriot.”
She opened her mouth in a relaxed manner.
Short black hair, dense scars visible on every exposed patch of skin, from her neck to the backs of her hands, and a tall, muscular frame reaching one hundred eighty centimeters.
“…I suppose it’s fine to take out a few of you on my way.”
A faint smile revealed beast-like teeth within her mouth, and her nails slowly lengthened into sharp claws.
“Ah, perfect timing. I was just getting irritated that I alone had to sneak around while the others were having fun killing to their hearts’ content. Kheukheukheuk.”
The woman Shapiron’s group had happened to encounter was none other than—
A general-grade lycanthrope who had been moving covertly on a secret mission handed down by the king.
***
Harris immediately moved to Drasha.
Even if he flew at top speed, it was a distance that would easily take several hours, but wasn’t the technique called the “Forest Path” something he had practiced precisely for moments like this?
‘Normally, they call it a pilgrimage road and talk about taboos and all that… but this is a crisis!’
And it was a path he was taking to carry out a request directly entrusted to him by none other than the World Tree, so of course, this much was well within the permitted range.
Thus, he took the World Tree as his guidepost and moved.
About five minutes later.
When he emerged from the Forest Path, he was already standing atop a branch of the World Tree.
‘…I didn’t intend to come all the way up here. No, maybe this is actually better.’
From this wide-open view, he should be able to grasp the state of the battle more easily.
With that thought, Harris looked down toward the area around Drasha.
And at the sight of the war, which had progressed considerably, he furrowed his brow slightly.
For him, who remembered Drasha as always peaceful and beautiful, the current scene was something he could not get used to at all.
‘If the World Tree offered such an extraordinary reward, that means something must have gone seriously wrong.’
What he could see immediately was an evenly matched battle.
There was a slight sign of being pushed back, but it did not look as if they would collapse right away. If they could only buy time, forest keepers would arrive from all directions, leading the Watchers with them.
‘…I’m not sure. I’ll have to look more closely to know.’
Harris quietly adjusted his grip on his bow, Themis, activated 「Observer of the Stars」, and silently looked down below…
Then paused for a moment at the exaltation he felt at the same time.
‘What is this? Why all of a sudden?’
It was not a bad thing.
It felt as if, more than when he usually used the skill, he was closely connected to its subject…
‘Is it because I’m in contact with the World Tree?’
All of a High Elf’s abilities grew stronger the closer they were to the World Tree.
Naturally, if he was standing directly upon it, it was only right that he would feel things more clearly than usual.
…And on top of that, the current situation was special, so it also felt as though something more was being permitted to him.
‘…It feels insufficient. Then, let’s go just a little further.’
In that state, Harris activated 「Heir of the World Tree」 and 「Assimilation with Nature」 as well, raising his affinity with great nature—and among it, the World Tree—to the utmost limit.
And when he looked down upon the earth in that state—
‘Ah, this is…’
I.
《Special Skill 「Observer of the Stars」 has absorbed its subordinate abilities 「Stillness of the Clear Mirror」 and 「Insight」 and evolved into 「Observer of the Milky Way」.》
Was able to glimpse the world as the World Tree—as a god—saw it.