episode_0043
by fnovelpiaWedge!
A fierce wave attack can be heard in the forest.
Once that sound rings out, the subsequent sounds are identical, like a woven melody.
grasp!
A winding, curved orbit that follows the wind.
And yet at the speed of light.
An arrow flying from somewhere hits the elf archer’s bow. The bow breaks and the ribbon flutters.
Elf village.
The spirit who had been watching everything relays the situation. Evelyn, the elf in charge of the relay, shouts at the top of her lungs.
“Dancing Flame Ellowyn Talaak! With this, there are already eleven warriors left! This is the fastest progress ever!!”
The Fairy Dance Festival is a multi-day competition, with hiding, searching, and ambushing throughout the forest, until the last warrior is standing.
But already nearly twenty contestants have been eliminated, and the unusual pace of the competition means it will end in just one day.
Evelyn checked the remaining personnel.
Serene Wings Leon.
Singing bird Irene.
Whispering Leaf Irina.
.
.
.
The candidates were as expected.
And one sticking out rock.
Playful flower Arphia.
***
“Ugh, gasp. Gasp.”
Heavy breathing.
Irina was running around the tree busily. Her breathing was irregular, and her hands holding the bow were clammy with cold sweat.
Perhaps because of that, Irina’s hand slipped as she tried to climb the vines to move the tree. Irina, who had drawn a diagonal line instead of a parabola, fell face first to the ground.
Iron Fist.
Fortunately, the impact wasn’t great because the place he fell was a swamp, but his pure white face was covered in swamp water.
Even though mud entered her mouth, Irina didn’t think of spitting it out. She turned around in a panic at the sound of rustling leaves and grass.
A fairy slowly approaching, clearing the grass.
“Arphia… !”
Arphia, who was believed to be the first to drop out, is still alive. Not only that, she was the one who pushed Irina into a corner.
how?
There was no need to ask that, because a bow-shaped light was radiating from above Arphia’s hand.
“What, what is that? It’s ridiculous for you to handle that kind of power!”
Irina screaming in agony.
Arphia’s reaction was indifferent.
“Actually, I still wonder if it’s true. Could this be a dream? Could it be that I lost consciousness because it hurt so much?”
But it’s not a dream.
There are chains in my soul that he has filled. My soul, dyed in his colors, proves that this is not a dream.
Arphia lost in reminiscence.
Irina glances around and controls the spirit. Whoosh! Irina easily escapes the swamp as the wind blows. The wind swirls and peels away the mud.
“Shoot!”
A shout that seems to signal to someone.
Irina’s group, which had been hiding in various places, simultaneously launched protests.
Dozens of arrows swirling through the wind.
A concentrated barrage of fire was launched, targeting only one Arpia.
It was an attack that went beyond the scope of removing the ribbon, but I didn’t really care. As the competition progressed, it was inevitable that one or two elves would have an accident.
The arrow turns Arphia into a hedgehog, and the wind tears her skin.
───It should have been so.
“… … Huh?”
The arrows that were shot with great momentum suddenly stopped in the air.
Completely disregarding the laws of physics.
It was blocked by a wind curtain that spread out from around Arphia. The wind spirits used by the elves could not penetrate the curtain.
“Not an inferior species.”
There was no innocence in Arphia’s eyes. Instead, a pale red anger took the place.
The heads of the arrows aimed at Arphia turn 180 degrees.
Kiiing!
A howling, whirling wind.
A spiral wind caps the arrow.
“Don’t insult that person so carelessly.”
Phew!
Arrows were shot in all directions like a crouching hedgehog shooting its thorns.
Pavabak!
Plop!
“Ugh!”
“Huh?”
Before they can react, an arrow hits their bows. The wind blows more. Kwak-kwak! The bows grind like a mixer.
To elves, a bow is not just a weapon.
The link between elves and nature.
Another clone created by melting the soul.
The clone disappeared without a trace. It wasn’t something that could be created overnight, nor could it be summoned again like a shadow clone.
“You! You… !”
“Be grateful. If that guy had told you to get rid of the elf, it would have been you who disappeared, not the bow.”
“You traitor! You wag your tail under the inferior species. Don’t you have any pride? And you’re still an elf?”
“It is my pride to repay that person’s trust.”
Anything Karami orders will be carried out.
Arphia raised her head. The spirits bowing to the servants conveyed information about the forest.
A tree that seems to reach the sky, and a person standing on it.
The last survivor of the Fairy Dance Festival.
‘Lion.’
Arphia quickly rose to the surface, riding the wind.
***
Leon climbed the tree right after the competition started.
If you are in a high place, you can see the battle situation at a glance. Read the situation and snipe from a place where the enemy’s attack cannot reach.
This could be said to be the basics of hunting.
‘what?’
But something was strange.
We’ve got a spot, but there’s no prey.
No, a prey was coming at me on its own two feet. And at a speed that rivaled running on flat ground. Leon’s eyes widened in surprise.
grasp!
A fairy flying through the leaves with her bow drawn.
It was different from the forest fairies I had seen before. The green wind shaped wings resembled a butterfly.
Become one with the wind, not assisted by it.
The Wind Servant’s wind-wrapped Arphia releases her bow. The wind arrow tears through the air.
Leon’s eyes sparkle. Leon’s ability to sense danger, honed as the captain of the watchtowers, was superior to others.
The penetrating power of the arrow is unstoppable. His spirit is not enough. Leon, who made a quick decision, threw himself under the tree.
Percussion.
Fall Grab a branch and spin around in the air. Climb onto the branch with ease.
A gust of wind is blowing.
When I look back, Arphia is chasing me, flapping her wings. The blades of wind generated by the flapping of her wings cut the large trees blocking her path into pieces like tofu.
“Lion! Don’t run away! Fight back!”
This is crazy.
That’s not spirit magic or archery anymore.
It was a natural disaster.
A natural disaster caused by butterflies.
A butterfly so strong it can cause a storm.
One man’s small actions brought about a storm. It was Leon who was properly hit by the aftermath of the butterfly effect.
Leon poured all the experience he had accumulated into his escape. He ran away from the storm at full speed.
But it is impossible for an individual to escape from a natural disaster.
Soon after, Leon was caught in a storm.
It was the day when the flying and crawling elf warriors were slaughtered by a single slave.
***
Is it a festival?
No, it’s a funeral.
A village situation that naturally brings such a documentary program to mind.
It was clear that there was a festive atmosphere on the outside, but it wasn’t on the inside. The elves’ expressions were all blank.
All the warriors who participated in the competition became like Arphia. What this meant was that they no longer had bows.
The weakest moment in Elf history.
But there were bound to be those who benefited from this, so the craftsman who made the elves’ weapons smiled brightly.
The corners of the elf’s mouth, which rarely expressed its emotions, were hanging over its ears, so if it were a different race, its mouth would have been torn long ago.
“Hmm, I guess I’ll be busy for a while.”
The craftsman entered the workshop carrying a load on his back.
Soon after, an awards ceremony was held to honor the winners.
All the elves gathered, regardless of age or gender. From the forest guards to the elven elders and their monarch, the elven queen.
Although they only numbered two thousand, the little elves had powers far beyond those of full-fledged wizards. Each was a walking combat weapon.
And Arphia is the strongest elf.
If they were cannons, Arphia would be the Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon.
“How is it? Does it suit you well?”
Arphia, who had been awarded the laurel wreath by the hand of the Elf Queen, returned to Karami with bouncy steps.
A prize that can be obtained by winning the Fairy Dance Festival. The official name is [World Tree Laurel Wreath], and it is made by weaving together the leaves and stems of the World Tree.
An in-game item that spreads the energy of the World Tree when worn, reducing the amount of fatigue gained by elf slaves and increasing their work speed.
At the same time, it is also a symbolic item that announces that the final step towards complete liberation of Arpia has been climbed.
“It suits you well. You look like a princess.”
“Huh~ Is that so? I was going to take it off because it was awkward, but I guess I’ll have to wear it.”
***
That evening.
A simple celebration party was held for just the two of them to celebrate Arpia’s victory.
The location is a shabby hut outside the barrier. It was like a remote island in the vast ocean, and it was the house where Arphia lived.
“It’s too plain to be the home of the elves’ greatest warrior.”
“Well… I guess that’s true.”
“To celebrate the victory, he asked me to build him a house. A magnificent palace.”
“I don’t know the house, but I think they said they would make a bow for the winner. A bow made from a branch of the World Tree.”
A World Tree Bow that can draw out the power of the spirits even more strongly.
It was the perfect item for Alphia, who happened to be without a bow. After all, weapons made by servants consume a lot of strength.
“Kya~”
Arphia takes a sip of alcohol.
After getting the brand, I no longer feel pain thanks to beating the spirits. I am now in a state where I don’t need to drink alcohol, but on such a nice day, how could I not drink and die?
Drinking alcohol when you’re in a good mood is even more special.
“This reminds me of when we first met.”
“That’s right.”
As soon as I came to my senses, I got into a drinking game with a guy I didn’t know.
Did he say he’d let you go if you won? At the time, I thought it was nonsense, but now that I think about it, I think Karami really did let you go.
“It seems like it happened in an instant, but so much has happened.”
Kidnapped and enslaved.
Training, fighting dark elves.
I returned to the forest and entered the competition, and even won.
Even if you calculate it by human time, it is not that long, but for an elf who lives for a thousand years, how short must it be? It passed by in the blink of an eye.
But Arphia is confident. The few months she spent with Karami were more valuable and precious than the hundreds of years she spent alone.
“Excuse me, I have something to say… .”
So, I want to tell you.
Words that were kept in secret.
Things I want to do with Karami.
Now that I’ve become a full-fledged elf, I think I can say that with confidence.
“We’re here… … .“
My face is burning. Are you already drunk?
But we can’t back out here.
Even though we are a human race with a short lifespan, time is a waste!
Arphia closed her eyes tightly and spoke forcefully.
“Won’t you make a soul pact with me?!”
A thousand-year-old vow between lovers.
An elven ritual where each person’s heart is engraved into the other person’s soul.
If I tie the knot with Karami, it’ll only be for a few decades at most. I’ll have to spend the rest of my time alone, but that’s okay. Isn’t my soul already chained up?
At first, I thought my soul was tainted. I thought I wouldn’t be able to have a normal love. But when I’m with Karami, there’s no problem!
… .
Be quiet.
Are you really shocked?
Or maybe Karami doesn’t have the heart to do that? What if I’m the only one who did this by mistake?
Arphia, who had been trembling, slowly opened her eyelids.
“… Huh.”
I found Karami sleeping with his forehead resting on the table.
Last time, he drank several bottles of strong alcohol and was fine, but now he’s passed out? Is he acting because he doesn’t want to answer?
It was a result that was hard to understand at first, but it was a natural result since Karami didn’t use any items this time.
Because Karami doesn’t have a high alcohol tolerance.
Arphia, who is completely exhausted from the emptiness.
I wanted to wake you up and confess again, even now.
‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’
Because there’s still plenty of time.
I don’t like the way he talks when he’s drunk. I’ll try again when I’m sober.
Arpia, who was looking at Karami, who was sleeping soundly, as if she were a loving lover, touched his bangs with her fingers.
A quiet dawn.
Arpia, who had been playing with Karamiro for a while, also fell asleep. Perhaps it was because he had had such a pleasant day and drank alcohol. His expression was bright, as if he was having a good dream.
The other side.
Karami’s body, which had been lying face down, shook.
Karami slowly began to wake up.
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