Ch.233233. The Great Trial (5)

Rising in the air, the Elder was being constricted by telekinesis, occasionally dripping blood. Below him, a High Elf gazed arrogantly at the crowd. Her voice was low but clear, ensuring that not a single person in the grand plaza failed to hear her intent.

A prestigious family that had maintained the highest position for hundreds of years. The downfall of Ianet and their collusion with demons had been publicly revealed, and a High Elf had even passed judgment before their very eyes. Yet those gathered in the plaza could only hold their breath, unable to utter a single word.

The reason was simple.

‘She’s exuding a murderous aura. Elves worship High Elves like gods, as if they were the World Tree. There’s no way they could speak up.’

Indeed, Edelin did not want the voices of these numerous commoners to be heard.

While she had reduced the Elder to pulp, preventing him from offering any resistance or speaking a word, she still seemed unsatisfied with her task.

Once again, she walked majestically to stand before another member of the Ianet family.

“Airine Ianet.”

The one she sought was Airine Ianet, the only daughter of Aina Ianet and the sole heir to the Ianet family. She was one of the very few elves who had ultimately tried to deny and resist the Ianet family’s schemes.

“As you hold the position of eldest daughter of the Ianet family, from this moment on, all benefits bestowed upon your surname will be revoked.”

“…I humbly accept.”

“Furthermore, while you too should be held accountable for your actions and connections, though perhaps not as severely as your mother—”

Airine’s long hair covered her eyes. Edelin gently brushed aside her bangs with her own hand to meet her gaze.

“With this trial, your family may collapse, but considering your commendable attempt to expose the truth alongside Arielt by following the hero, I’m inclined to give you a small opportunity.”

A small opportunity. Perhaps a chance for Airine Ianet alone to escape her sins and bring about personal redemption. Or maybe a foundation for rebuilding her family.

At the mention of this opportunity, life gradually began to return to her dark, clouded pupils.

“Swear absolute obedience under my command and establish sufficient merit. Strive to reduce your sins through sacrifice and effort made with your own blood. You will face appropriate punishment afterward.”

Having finished speaking, Edelin let Airine’s bangs fall back into place. Airine simply bowed her head in reverent gratitude.

With this, Edelin turned and slowly returned to her seat of honor. After sitting down in the plush chair and crossing her legs again, she surveyed her guards surrounding her—no, surrounding the entire courtroom.

She spoke to the elf standing right beside her.

“Royal Guard.”

The woman immediately bowed her head with disciplined movement, indicating her attentiveness.

“From this moment, begin with the vassals and subdue all the Ianet elves immediately.”

“I shall obey.”

As soon as the order was given, the royal guards began to move instantly.

Watching the guards’ efficient movements, I thought to myself.

‘Whether Arielt or Ianet, I felt the Forest Keepers were somewhat lacking.’

The Forest Keepers from the three families whom I had observed firsthand while living with the subjugation team—they were certainly outstanding hunters and worthy of being called knights individually, but truthfully, they fell short of what I knew to be the elite forces of the pointy-eared ones.

The true elite forces of the pointy-ears were monstrous units that could alter terrain and weather to annihilate all enemies the moment they decided to employ violence. Those Forest Keepers didn’t match that image.

But now, seeing Edelin’s forces in action, I realized:

‘These pointy-ears are the real deal.’

These elves that Edelin commanded like her own limbs were truly worthy of the Great Forest’s pride.

Some hot-tempered pointy-eared bastards were more bothered by the royal guards trying to magically restrain them than by the distant Grand Elder. They had already forgotten about the Grand Elder and tried to cause a disturbance, but the royal guards easily suppressed such resistance.

With magical abilities and close combat skills far surpassing ordinary elves, they pinned numerous Ianet elves to the ground. The crowd could only watch as members of a family they could barely look up to, objects of their admiration, rolled in the dirt with soil-covered faces.

“…I thought the Ianet were the Great Forest’s proud family.”

“Did they really make deals with demons…?”

Public opinion began to solidify.

The masses began to define Ianet as evil and us as their absolute good. Soon, curses against Ianet and praise for us began to spread widely among the people.

The spark that had been ignited seemed to have been waiting for this moment. It spread widely, becoming an uncontrollable great flame that engulfed the grand plaza, showing no signs of cooling down.

It was victory. A valuable victory wrested from the pointy-eared bastards who weren’t true elves.

Feeling like we could finally relax a bit after all this, I said to Sione, who was catching her breath beside me:

“We can finally take a breather now. Good work.”

“Ray, you did well too.”

A weak smile that suggested fatigue. Then, suddenly, she asked anxiously:

“But… I wasn’t trembling or anything when I spoke earlier, was I…?”

“Not at all. You memorized it well, so don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“Yes, far from trembling, you spoke with a suitably grave tone.”

“Phew… that’s a relief—”

Just as Sione was about to relax with a sigh.

For some reason, Sione tightly closed her small mouth.

When her silver hair, which had been shining brilliantly in the sunlight, darkened as clouds momentarily blocked the sun, I could see her blue eyes, which had been filled with relief, gradually turning cold.

No, that wasn’t all.

“…Lady Sione?”

“……”

Cold, but not coldness. Deep in her pupils was an emotion I couldn’t recall when I had last seen in her—an emotion that had been absent from her recently.

“…It’s dangerous.”

Sione, who had suddenly turned pale, was terrified.

She wasn’t the only one who sensed something in that moment.

“How annoying.”

The High Elf, Edelin.

The moment she uttered those words filled with anger.

Strange phenomena began to occur for me as well.

『Danger.』

『Quest Failed』

『Readjustment』

『External Entity Interference』

『Content Modified』

That’s when it happened.

A fierce wind began to blow.

Rustle—

The forest leaves began to scream. Leaves swirling and pouring down in the wind. Coincidentally, the leaves contained Magia as intense as the half-human half-demon that had properly crushed my leg previously.

“This shit.”

I knew exactly which bastard was emitting this unpleasant Magia that seemed to press down on my skin.

“Why now of all times.”

We barely had time to feel the joy of winning the trial.

And now the fifth demon shows up? What the hell.

I feel nauseous. As expected of the pointy-ears’ territory, misfortunes here seem to be thoroughly intertwined.

That’s when it happened.

“…We need to get away.”

Sione grabbed my hand.

Perhaps instinctively feeling that it wasn’t good to be exposed to this Magia for long.

Sione started pulling me to get as far away as possible from where the wind was coming from.

But we were stopped before we could move even a few steps.

“Heroes, please don’t worry and remain calm.”

Edelin suddenly appeared before us, giving us a warm smile. Looking calmly at the source of the wind, the edge of the eastern forest, she whispered:

“I haven’t just been standing idly by the World Tree. First, take this.”

“Is this… Moonlight Herb?”

“Yes, these are the most fragrant ones. The scent will help you calm down.”

After handing Moonlight Herbs to Sione and me, Edelin stood with her back to us in a confident posture.

“Please wait a moment. I will block this foul-smelling wind.”

With that, Edelin began to fully unleash her power, which she had not easily revealed until now.

Bang—!

She lifted her right foot and brought it down forcefully.

Crack—!

The stone floor of the well-maintained grand plaza cracked around her right foot.

Her mana began to rise intensely over the crack, creating heat haze.

Supreme and unrivaled.

As she began to unleash her dignity as a High Elf, she started to display the majesty of one who could command the continent.

“Heroes need not worry.”

As her hair began to float, white pillars of light appeared on the towers and turrets at the outskirts of the city, piercing the sky.

I know this magic. Barrier magic that theoretically requires drawing large, precise high-level formulas at regular points and gathering multiple elite mages to barely establish. A type of magic used to create a dome to protect strongholds.

However, this magic was different in scale from the ordinary.

“Ha—”

This insane elf was trying to manifest magic that would perfectly shield the entire city by herself.

“Monster.”

As I praised her in fluent Korean, I watched to see exactly how she would complete this magic.

“Already starting to feel strained… I must be getting old.”

Contrary to her words, she raised the corners of her mouth into a smirk and whispered with gleaming eyes:

“World Tree—”

After that, Edelin began to recite incomprehensible ancient words.

—!

As a strong presence was felt from the World Tree, countless leaves began to flutter down over the city.

At that moment, Edelin’s magic reached its peak. Standing right beside her, I could feel it on my skin. Just what kind of being this elf truly was.

Edelin. She was a monster who had achieved a dignity surpassing any High Elf I had seen so far.

As a transparent veil with geometric patterns completely enveloped the city and the World Tree’s leaves settled on my shoulders.

A new quest appeared.

『@**, *—』

The characters that had been incomprehensible until now finally appeared in letters I could understand.

『A quest is generated by the intervention of the World Tree, Eriantina.』

『Defense Battle — Desperate Struggle』

At last, an irresistible air of war descended upon the Great Forest.