Ch.57Guardian

Having decided to help with the Demon Rose extermination, we headed to Willow Sanctuary, the Elven village, with Phyllis.

“If the Elven village is in crisis, should we really be walking there so leisurely?”

“We don’t have much choice. We can’t afford to buy horses for everyone, and Albert is out working, so we couldn’t borrow a carriage either.”

“There’s no need to worry about Willow Sanctuary. The Demon Rose is a plant-type monster that doesn’t move from its habitat, so there’s no danger of invasion. And the insects it might control would be at most Giant Bees, which the remaining subordinates at the sanctuary can easily repel.”

Despite her reassuring words, Phyllis was walking at a fairly brisk pace. She seemed eager to reach Willow Sanctuary as quickly as possible.

“For someone who says there’s no rush, you’re walking pretty fast. Earlier, you were desperately searching for adventurers too.”

“Even if there’s no danger of the sanctuary being invaded, the urgency of the situation itself is real. If we leave the Demon Rose unchecked, the surrounding forest will suffer serious damage, and Willow Sanctuary, without its Elder present, doesn’t have enough resources to restore a damaged forest.”

“The Elder is the highest authority managing the Elven village, right? Do such people ever leave their villages?”

“Hmm… I suppose you’ll find out when we reach Willow Sanctuary anyway, so it would be better if I explain the details while we walk.”

Phyllis began explaining the current situation of Willow Sanctuary as she continued walking.

“An Elven sanctuary is a space formed around a mystical tree called the ‘Spirit Tree.’ It not only protects against the threat of dark mana but also repels diseases and curses while supplying mana throughout the sanctuary.”

“That makes it much more powerful than a barrier tower. It’s almost a shame it only works for Elves.”

“The Spirit Tree is created when an Elven mage nurtures a young seedling filled with mana. The mage who raises the Spirit Tree becomes the first Elder of the newly born sanctuary, and together with dozens of Elves who joined the journey, they complete it into a proper village.”

So the Elder is both a farmer and gardener who carefully raises the young Spirit Tree, as well as a leader of pioneers building a new village. This explains the absolute position they hold as both the sanctuary’s administrator and the village’s representative.

“The first Elder, who consumes vast amounts of mana and life force to grow the Spirit Tree, devotes their remaining short time to nurturing the first successor to inherit the Elder position. And the one chosen for that glorious succession was my sister, Iris Aedra.”

“So when you say the Elder of Willow Sanctuary is absent… did something happen to your sister?”

“Five years ago, a horde of monsters led by Dark Elves invaded Willow Sanctuary. After a fierce battle, we managed to defeat the monsters and repel the Dark Elf leader, but we suffered considerable casualties, and my sister Iris, who was preparing to succeed as Elder, transformed into a Dark Elf and departed far to the west.”

“An Elf turned into a Dark Elf? Are Dark Elves monsters then?”

Phyllis shook her head at Mina’s question and continued with a grave expression.

“Dark Elves are our kin who branched from the same roots as us. When black mana covered Grantis, we Elves sought survival through the power of the Spirit Tree, while those who accepted the black mana and transformed into a new species became the Dark Elves.”

“Why would such kin invade an Elven sanctuary?”

“The minds of Dark Elves are filled with fanatical loyalty to an incomprehensible, unknown entity. According to Dark Elf logic, we Elves are stragglers who have strayed from the path of salvation, and their mission is to transform all Elves into Dark Elves without exception.”

“That’s quite the nuisance…”

I frowned involuntarily, reminded of religious groups on Earth that caused all sorts of trouble with similar logic. In a fantasy world where the gods they worship might actually exist, they could be even worse than Earth’s fanatics.

“The Elder succession at Willow Sanctuary was already about halfway complete. We can’t nurture a new Elder candidate now, and we have no intention of giving up on Iris. Our only option is to somehow rescue my sister and return her to her original Elven form so she can complete the Elder succession.”

“Is there a way to turn her back into an Elf?”

“We’re currently investigating. If there’s a method to transform an Elf into a Dark Elf, then surely the reverse must exist as well.”

“I see… I hope you find something.”

The situation at Willow Sanctuary that Phyllis described could only be described as dire. To compare it to a medieval monarchy, it was as if the sole heir to the throne had disappeared, and the king was too ill to produce any more heirs. Despite such a desperate situation, there was no sign of resignation or surrender in Phyllis’s resolute expression, and we could only hope that the Elves’ efforts would bear fruit.

After walking for about 30 minutes, Seti suddenly stopped in place with her tail straight up. It was her reaction when detecting an enemy attack.

“Animal scent. Probably a large predator.”

“Hmm! I’ve spotted it too. Eleven o’clock, in the tree.”

Looking in the direction Phyllis pointed, I could see a dark silhouette in a tree about 60 meters ahead. Upon closer inspection, I recognized it as a Shadow Panther, the black leopard monster we first encountered in Grantis.

“You spotted it well from this distance. I can barely see it because of the tree shadows.”

“Elves can see through darkness. Shadow Panthers specialize in surprise attacks, but now that we’ve spotted it first, it’s no threat.”

Saying this, Phyllis took out her rifle, broke it open to load a mana bullet, then knelt down and took a shooting position. There was something oddly sensual about a woman in a mini skirt with black tights underneath taking a kneeling position.

“This is a good opportunity to demonstrate an Elven Guardian’s combat style before we tackle the Demon Rose.”

“You’re going to shoot from here? That creature dodged mana bullets before. Shouldn’t we get closer?”

“No need… Lightning Bolt {Accelerated Thunder Shot}!!”

‘Crack!!’

Before I could even be surprised that Phyllis had uttered an Arcane Word, a silver-white lightning bolt extended from the long barrel of her break-action rifle. This lightning-fast strike, incomparable to a white mana bullet, hit the Shadow Panther right in the middle of its forehead before it could even react. The Shadow Panther fell slowly from the tree without even realizing what had happened to it, never to move again.

“Was that… magic shot from a gun instead of a mana bullet?”

“Yes, it’s a new magical system developed by Elves based on the human-invented mana bullet guns—Arcane Alter {Arcane Transformation Technique}. It has many constraints, so only Guardians can handle it, but as you can see, its power and precision are unrivaled.”

“If all Guardians can use this kind of magic, it seems like they could take care of something like the Demon Rose in an instant.”

“I would be confident if fighting within the sanctuary. But as you can see, outside the sanctuary, the strain on the gun is too great. After firing once, I need to let the gun rest for 5 to 10 minutes.”

The barrel of the rifle Phyllis showed us had countless thin lines running from the receiver to the muzzle, like an electrical circuit board. I felt that the pattern of these lines was similar to the mana residue pattern I had seen during the revolver test firing, and Mina was also staring intently at Phyllis’s rifle with wide eyes.

“You’re using the barrel as a conductor to offload part of the complex formula processing. That’s why mana residue builds up explosively inside the metal, which you’re enduring with mythril alloy coating while allowing it to naturally recover.”

“Impressive. I’ve heard that Dwarven technicians are excellent, but to grasp the principle of Arcane Alter just from seeing one shot.”

“I’m a gunsmith and magical item craftsman. But using it like this, wouldn’t it explode within a month?”

“We’re aware of that. Within the range of the Spirit Tree’s power, mana residue doesn’t seep into the barrel but dissipates immediately, which is why we only teach this to Guardians who defend the sanctuary.”

“Wow~ For a Spirit Tree to instantly neutralize this level of mana residue is completely unfair…”

Mina’s eyes sparkled like never before as she said this. From her ear-to-ear grin and tightly clenched fists, I could tell she had gained some inspiration from Phyllis’s rifle shot.

‘Well, well, I’m looking forward to the next stage of revolver improvements…’

With the pleasant anticipation of a groundbreaking improvement to the single-action revolver coming soon, I completely forgot the fact that Phyllis had used an Arcane Word.