Ch.205Iris, Reclamation

Tracking the dark elf who escaped using teleportation magic was remarkably simple.

Mina’s goggles, the “Magiascope,” captured the vast magical residue left behind by the teleportation, and clear footprints remained between each trace.

This indirectly hinted that there were limitations to both the distance one could travel in a single jump and consecutive uses of the spell.

The dark elf’s hideout was a small dugout with its entrance meticulously concealed by thick vegetation.

Without the magical residue and the increasingly shorter strides in the footprints, discovering it would have been no easy task.

It took about 5 minutes from the one-eyed man’s self-destruction that brought down Ancestor, our decision to split into teams, and our all-out pursuit of the teleportation traces.

To confirm our swift actions weren’t in vain, just as we surrounded the entrance and prepared to storm in, two dark elves emerged through the vegetation.

The teleporting woman who had plunged the dark blade into the one-eyed man, and another woman carried on her back like a patient.

Though the carried woman’s face was hidden by her hair as she hung her head, there was no question about who this person was—the one they had desperately tried to extract even at the cost of such extreme measures as self-destruction.

“Well, well, nice effort there.”

“TANG—!!”

That was the end of the unnamed dark elf woman who possessed teleportation abilities.

“…Was it really necessary to kill her without even questioning her?”

“I usually don’t go this far. But in this case, given her particular ability, we couldn’t risk her teleporting away even on the slimmest chance.”

Considering she had chosen to exit through this cramped entrance while carrying Iris, the possibility of her escaping via teleportation was probably low, but I wasn’t willing to gamble Phyllis’s family reunion on that chance.

At this point, with the other three already dead, our relationship with this woman was already at its worst, and above all, she was the only one among the four dark elves we’d encountered today who wielded a dark blade.

Facing an enemy with the dangerous combination of teleportation and a dark blade, I couldn’t afford to show even a moment’s vulnerability, which is why I eliminated her without giving her the slightest opportunity.

“Seti, check if there are any other enemies inside the hideout. Phyllis, confirm if that woman lying there is indeed your sister. Mina and I will keep our guns trained on her.”

“Okay.”

“Understood.”

Seti passed by the fallen teleporting woman and entered the hideout, while Phyllis turned over the body of the other woman who had been carried on the teleporter’s back and was now sprawled on the ground.

Contrary to our expectation that she would be asleep or unconscious, the woman was fully awake, her eyes wide open despite being face-down on the ground.

Her delicate features, though smudged with dirt, and her flowing purple hair like silk, along with her emerald eyes—unfocused yet still beautiful—were unmistakable.

Phyllis’s face, covering her mouth with both hands and brimming with tears, confirmed the woman’s identity.

“Iris… Sister Iris…!”

Overwhelmed by emotions at their reunion after five years, Phyllis tried to embrace Iris, but I was quicker, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back.

“Will?”

“I understand how you feel, but wait a moment. Your sister is now a dark elf.”

“Ah… right. I’m sorry.”

Elves who have transformed into dark elves cannot maintain their original personalities and become hostile toward their former kin, the elves.

This was why Phyllis had hesitated to search for Iris—she feared that without finding a way to restore her sister, they might end up in a life-or-death struggle.

This time, we had prepared a contingency plan to confine Iris in the Prisoner’s Doll House until we could find a way to restore her, but… Iris’s current condition was concerning.

“She doesn’t seem capable of attacking, let alone controlling her own body… but we still need to confine her in the Doll House as planned. You understand that, right?”

“Of course. Even if she doesn’t show aggression, we can’t let our guard down if she’s under mind control.”

Although Phyllis felt sad about having to imprison her sister in the Doll House without even being able to share the joy of their reunion after five years, this was something she had repeatedly committed to since leaving Moon Lake, and there could be no compromise.

As harsh as it might sound to Phyllis, even Iris’s current helpless appearance could be an act.

If we carelessly approached her or failed to confine her in the Doll House, we might end up with a dark blade hidden somewhere suddenly plunging into us—a very real possibility.

“Mina. Put Iris in the Doll House.”

“Got it. Prisoner’s Doll House, activate.”

As Mina took out the Doll House from her bag and pointed the front door toward Iris, Iris’s body floated up from the ground, instantly shrinking before being sucked into the Doll House.

The mansion’s front door closed firmly, and just as we confirmed the miniaturized Iris lying on the carpet inside, Seti returned from inspecting the hideout.

“Will, there’s no one else inside.”

“Good work, Seti. We’ve secured Iris, so let’s gather any useful items and head back to the carriage.”

“I’m sorry, sister… please wait there just a little while until we find a way to restore you.”

The interior of the dark elf hideout was surprisingly barren, suggesting they hadn’t been hiding there for long.

A few pieces of dried fruit and meat, two crude mythril ingots, and roughly carved wooden tables and chairs.

It was such a shabby and impoverished environment that even slum dwellers would likely have better living conditions.

After completing our search of the hideout, we returned to the carriage and, together with Jessica, took care of the dark elves’ bodies.

According to Phyllis, although dark elves manipulate black magic, their life essence is similar to that of elves, and if their bodies are left unburied, they might mutate into monsters.

While nothing could be done about the one-eyed man who had exploded without a trace, we made sure to bury the tall man who used chakrams and the large man who controlled the magic barrier.

“The urgent matters are more or less taken care of. Now the question is what to do about Ancestor.”

“Ugh~ If I had known this would happen, I should have pushed myself to analyze Ancestor’s magic circuit.”

“Come to think of it, Mina, you like researching artifacts but never touched Ancestor. Were you being cautious about damaging it?”

“That’s part of it, but to extract and analyze the circuit, I’d have to disassemble the head. I didn’t know how many days the analysis would take, and it would be disastrous if someone saw Ancestor with its head split open.”

“That’s true. We were trying to keep Ancestor’s automaton nature a secret as much as possible.”

Although our understanding of Ancestor’s structure was limited due to our efforts to protect its secret, it was ultimately the right choice—if we had tampered with it carelessly and broken it, we might not have made it this far.

“Mina, if you had enough time and resources, could you recreate Ancestor’s magic circuit from scratch?”

“To be honest, I’m not confident. I might somehow manage to replicate the parts that control movement, but the intelligence aspect is completely uncharted territory for me.”

“It doesn’t have to be right away. I’m trying to decide whether to abandon Ancestor here or try to repair it later.”

“Hmm, if we could get our hands on a similar automaton somewhere to use as a reference, I might be able to recreate it? Though the chances of success would be low.”

“I see… Then my next question: if we extract the artifact from the Black Label and connect it directly to the mana supply, could we maintain the mock barrier tower or the Doll House?”

“Yes. The mana supply was designed from the beginning to allow direct insertion of artifacts, so it’s possible right away.”

“Heh, that’s reassuring. The situation isn’t too bad after all.”

We have the means to survive the black magic.

We still have ample food supplies, and we can produce drinking water as needed.

We can maintain Iris’s confinement for a sufficiently long time.

The destruction of Ancestor is a painful loss, but overall, we’ve gained more than we’ve lost, and the possibility of repairing it hasn’t completely disappeared.

So there’s only one thing left for us to do now.

“Great. All things considered, phase one of the Iris rescue operation was a splendid success, so let’s celebrate with a feast tonight.”

It’s time to rejoice in successfully rescuing Phyllis’s precious family member.