Ch.150Chapter 150 – Everyone Makes Plausible Plans

Eldran, the Pope of the Demon Cult and the first demon race.

He sensed Tellio’s energy disappearing near the World Tree.

“So, it failed in the end.”

Eldran’s plan was to completely corrupt the roots of the World Tree while Shreka was away from it.

However, for some reason, Tellio’s dense demonic energy that had been strongly felt near the roots of the World Tree suddenly vanished.

Among all the elves Eldran had seen so far, Tellio was the most suitable candidate to become a demon race.

That’s why he had spent a long time persuading her and even provided her with an ascension stone to help her become a demon race…

“Sigh…”

The disappearance of Tellio’s demonic energy meant that she had failed in her mission for some reason.

But Eldran did not despair.

While losing a valuable talent like Tellio was regrettable, he couldn’t just sit around doing nothing, could he?

Eldran concentrated his mind to check if everything he had prepared beforehand was still in place.

Thanks to the traitors hiding among the elves, Eldran could exert some influence even in Alpenrium.

This was because he was the first demon race.

Being the first demon race, he could use both mana and demonic energy simultaneously.

In other words, he could use mana to monitor what was happening in Alpenrium without being detected by the World Tree’s surveillance.

He had lived as the High Elf Grand Elder for a full 2,000 years.

This was four times longer than Shreka, who had only maintained the position of Grand Elder for about 500 years.

Moreover, he had trained as a Grand Elder candidate for 1,000 years before his predecessor retired.

Therefore, his mana control abilities were superior, precise, and discreet compared to any other being.

“They’re still well hidden.”

Eldran confirmed that the things he had strategically placed throughout Alpenrium remained well concealed.

They were “bombs.”

These were powerful devices that could cause numerous casualties with a single command from Eldran.

Naturally, these weren’t made by elves but were obtained from dwarves who lived in another land.

They used these for tunnel excavation in mines, but Eldran had discovered how to use them as weapons.

It was simply a matter of changing the target of the explosives.

When used on rock, they became tools for breaking through stone, but when directed at people or monsters, they became weapons capable of inflicting harm.

Having realized this, Eldran had planted explosives throughout Alpenrium 500 years ago during major road reconstruction projects and various repair works.

Of course, those who planted the explosives were all traitors who had followed Eldran and abandoned their duty to protect the World Tree.

With the help of these followers, Eldran had been able to install explosives everywhere.

And he could sense that all of them were still active.

Eldran prepared to detonate the explosives he had planted in the plaza first.

Of course, he didn’t forget to carefully order his loyal elves to evacuate from the plaza beforehand.

After all, those who followed him would rule this land alongside him once the world order was reorganized.

Conversely, he considered the elves who didn’t follow him as sacrificial lambs necessary for ushering in a new era.

In a way, it was a truly contradictory and selfish mindset.

He regarded those who followed him as good people, while those who didn’t were merely tools to be used as he saw fit.

This was Eldran’s way of thinking.

For him, the elves who would die from the explosives in the plaza weren’t worthy of consideration.

Rather, he hoped their deaths would spark discontent toward the World Tree among the elves.

‘Our mission is to protect the World Tree, but the World Tree doesn’t protect us!’

If elves with such thoughts gradually increased in number, eventually their numbers would grow enormously.

This would be equivalent to increasing the number of elves who could be drawn into becoming demon race.

The belief among the demon race, including Eldran, was that the World Tree wasn’t a great divine being, but merely a pump that drew mana from beneath the earth.

“I shall liberate you.”

Eldran used his will to detonate the explosives in the plaza.

With a deafening blast that tore through the air, he sensed the lives of the elves present being extinguished.

Despite feeling the deaths of his kin, he did not grieve.

Instead, he rejoiced.

Because of the deaths of his kin, fear would spread, and the elves would begin to resent the World Tree for its inability to protect them.

However, his joy was short-lived as he sensed Shreka’s energy moving from the World Tree toward the plaza.

“Oh my.”

He observed Shreka’s movements.

He sensed her summoning spirits and then moving toward the library.

“As expected, she’s going to the library to investigate the records.”

Eldran was impressed with Shreka.

It seemed she was trying to identify who had planned this incident based on the records in the library, rather than seeking help from others.

“But I’ll show you that things in this world don’t always go according to plan.”

Eldran detonated the explosives he had planted in the library.

He did so just as Shreka’s energy was sensed not far from the library.

This incident would certainly convince Shreka that someone was interfering, but that was exactly what Eldran was aiming for.

He wanted Shreka to realize that someone was involved.

Only then would she doubt everything, over and over again.

Eldran’s intention was to make Shreka doubt everything, preventing her from taking appropriate measures.

But there was one thing he hadn’t anticipated at all.

That was the presence of Pathos in Alpenrium.

◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈

When I heard an explosion identical to the one in the plaza coming from the direction Shreka had rushed toward, I instinctively stood up.

“What happened?”

“An explosion was heard from the direction where Lady Shreka went.”

I answered the guard captain’s question.

The guard captain’s face turned pale upon hearing my response.

“Oh no! The library is there!”

“The library?”

“The library is where all records of our elf race are kept. It stores documents recording when, where, who, and what work was done to contribute to our race’s history.”

Only after hearing the guard captain’s explanation did I realize the gravity of the situation.

What if that explosion occurred in the library?

What if all the records there were destroyed?

‘All records of the elves’ past would be lost!’

“Etherna! I’m heading to the library! Please come to the library as soon as you finish healing!”

“What? Oh, alright!”

After telling Etherna where I was going, I ran toward the library with the guard captain.

The distance to the library was quite far, and it took us quite a while to reach it.

“Damn, are we too late?”

Looking at where the library stood, I saw that the building had collapsed, likely due to the explosion.

I wasn’t sure what was inside, but seeing the stone structure collapsed, I could tell the explosion had been powerful.

But the bigger problem was that I didn’t know what records were in there.

“Lady Shreka! Are you alright?”

I approached Shreka to check if she was okay.

“Ah, yes. I’m fine. But the library…”

Shreka’s gaze was fixed on the library.

The library was completely destroyed, beyond any hope of restoration.

“Why did you come to the library?”

“This place housed all the records since elves were first created in this world. I came here to investigate a few things…”

So all of that is gone now.

Honestly, I would have targeted the library too if I were them.

If all records were kept there, then surely among those records would be information about those who caused this incident.

“Can you… fix the library too?”

Shreka looked at me, asking if I could repair the library.

Honestly… I’m not sure.

I’ve fixed people, diseases, weapons, but never a building… wait, that’s not true.

Come to think of it, I had already repaired a building at the Academy.

If that’s the case, perhaps my ability applies not just to single entities but also to collective entities like buildings?

“Huh?”

Wait, if I think about it, even the items I’ve fixed so far weren’t single entities but collections of multiple components?

I felt a flash of insight cross my mind momentarily.

Some realization was dawning on me, but I couldn’t precisely define what it was.

As if entranced, I approached the library and transformed my bracelet into a hammer, swinging it toward the library.

An intense flash of light erupted, and I fainted from the aftermath.