Ch.981The Last Resort

======[ Alvheim ]======

The Council of Elders in Alvheim had fallen into panic.

All their carefully planned strategies and tactics had been rendered useless by the sudden appearance of a fire dragon.

“To think they would bring a fire dragon into the forest like this…!”

They had failed to eliminate the owner of Caliburn by luring him into a trap, and the tree spirits, their reserve and final defensive force, were being destroyed one by one by the rampaging dragon.

To make matters worse, the strongest monster of humanity had joined the fray and was charging toward the capital.

“What are we supposed to do about this?!”

“We must stop them somehow…!”

“How, exactly?! We don’t have the forces, we don’t have the forces!”

Facing their greatest crisis in eight hundred years, the council members wiped away cold sweat as they discussed countermeasures.

If the invaders broke through the tree spirits’ defensive line and reached the capital, everything could be lost.

The capital currently had no forces capable of stopping them.

“I never imagined the tree spirits would be destroyed so easily…”

“Even at that distance from the World Tree, they should have power exceeding that of a Guardian…”

Believing in the effectiveness of the tree spirits, photon cannons, and traps, the elders had deployed most of the Guardians and Patrollers to the front lines.

One couldn’t call it a careless decision.

The tree spirits of the World Tree weakened the further they were from it, but even in their weakened state, they were powerful weapons exceeding regular Guardians in strength.

With dozens of such beings, not just one or two, it had been a perfectly reasonable choice for the elders to send the Guardians to the front lines, trusting in the tree spirits.

Though now it was clear that had been a fatal mistake.

Their grand strategy had been to deploy all Guardians to the front lines to maintain a standoff, using that time to mass-produce irregular Guardians to recover lost forces.

And to eliminate Demian and Haschal, who would infiltrate through the underground passages of old dissidents, using explosive traps and tree spirits.

That had been Alvheim’s grand strategy for this war.

Just when everything seemed to be going well, the surprise appearance of a single dragon had shattered the entire plan.

“S-send a retreat order to the Guardians and Patrollers…!”

“In the middle of a chaotic battle? As if they could return! And even if they did, it would be too late!”

It was impossible to recall the Guardians and Patrollers now. More precisely, there would be no point.

Even if they urgently ordered a retreat and called all forces back to the capital, by the time they arrived, Alvheim’s capital would already be in ruins.

To begin with, a retreat order would hardly be effective.

How easy would it be to withdraw in the middle of a chaotic battle? The elders knew this much. Ordering a retreat during battle was essentially offering one’s back to the enemy’s blades.

In other words, all the elders could rely on were the few reserve Guardians and the tree spirits of the capital, which were stronger than those on the outskirts due to their proximity to the World Tree.

“…Shouldn’t we wake ‘him’ now?”

No. Actually, there was one last resort, one truly final measure they could call upon. The being the young elder referred to as ‘him’.

But…

“Hmm, that’s truly a last resort…”

“This is why young ones are so troublesome. They know nothing…!”

Despite the dire situation, the elderly council members showed clear disapproval of the ‘final measure’ proposed by the relatively young elder.

Their tone suggested the younger one was speaking out of turn, not knowing any better.

“But didn’t he himself instruct us to do so! He told us not to hesitate to wake him if Alvheim faced an insurmountable crisis…!”

“Councilor Orinemjius is right. Isn’t this exactly such a time?”

The relatively younger elders protested. They argued there was no luxury to be picky about methods when the nation was on the brink of collapse.

It was a desperate yet reasonable protest from the younger elders who didn’t understand why the older ones hesitated. After all, their own lives were at stake in this situation.

For them, the most important things were their power and their lives. With both about to be lost at once, the younger elders were frantic.

—-

After a meeting that bordered on chaos, the Council of Elders finally reached a compromise that satisfied both sides.

They would first try to hold off the enemies with the capital’s defense facilities and tree spirits, and if those were breached, they would immediately deploy the ‘final measure’.

This was a compromise that would have been impossible in the past.

However, Alvheim was currently in a generational transition period, with most of the elderly council members having retired or fallen into slumber as they reached the limits of their lifespan.

It was a time when the younger elders had more influence than ever before, making it impossible to dismiss a proposal they unanimously supported.

And then.

“Report! The enemies have reached the outer wall of the capital! They’re using the fire dragon to destroy the mana barrier of the outer wall!”

Soon after, the moment to make a decision arrived.

“Urgent news! Multi-elemental projection turrets heavily damaged! The enemies are entering the city!”

“Guardian Argilius and Guardian Menarsia have fallen! Five tree spirits destroyed! We cannot stop them!”

“The high-priority target has cast an unreported spell! All remaining forces and citizens in District 2 are…!”

“The streets, the streets are overflowing with horrific monsters! An army of monsters made from the corpses of our kin! A witch, that’s a witch!”

“Oh, World Tree, why has this…!”

“Defense system in District 4 completely destroyed! Two more tree spirits eliminated! We’ve taken down the fire dragon, but the owner of Caliburn is still active!”

With these relentless reports of despair…

“…I will go to receive him.”

As previously resolved, the Council of Elders finally decided to deploy the ‘final measure’. This decision was made with the consent of all elders, both those who understood what it meant and those who didn’t.

About ten minutes later.

In the center of Alvheim’s capital. Inside the strict security network, at the base of the World Tree that stood as a pillar connecting heaven and earth.

An elf opened his eyes.

From a long dream spanning two thousand years.

“This sensation… it’s been truly long. How long has it been since I felt the sensation of a physical body.”

A tall warrior with a body full of solid muscle.

Ash-gray hair grown down to his ankles covered the left side of his face, and in his visible right eye, a green light resembling leaves flickered.

Six roots of the World Tree hung behind him like tentacles, and his left arm had been severed near the shoulder, replaced by a prosthetic that looked like tree bark.

The man emerged from the cocoon that had kept him dormant and healing for a long time, looking down at dozens of elves prostrated before him.

“You have awakened, Lord Freyus. It has been two thousand years.”

An elven elder who stepped forward as representative paid his respects to the man.

Freyus. That was the ash-gray man’s title.

A name that was known to all two thousand years ago. But in the current era, a name known only to the elven elders and a few dragons.

The Great Guardian.

Varnir Freyus.

“That face… I remember. You were a young elder. Marcosius, was it?”

“Yes. You remember.”

The one who had been a young elder before Freyus went to sleep. But now an elder old enough to be considered the most senior nodded his head.

“What reason do you have for waking me, Marcosius? And this heavy air is…?”

“About that…”

The elderly Marcosius quickly summarized what Alvheim had experienced and the current situation to Freyus.

That all beings in the world were having their power suppressed by the machinations of those who followed the human deity Elpinel.

That the owner of Caliburn had been reincarnated twice.

That a superhuman who had killed at least four dragons had invaded the capital along with the owner of Caliburn.

And the bad news that they had tried to eliminate her before this happened by mobilizing the Guardians, but had failed repeatedly, resulting in the deaths of most of the Guardians.

“…I see.”

After hearing the whole story, Freyus looked up at the sky for a moment, then let out a faint sigh.

“Do you remember, Marcosius? Before I went to sleep, I told you all. That I would grant you the authority to govern this country.”

The Council of Elven Elders, the highest decision-making body that held all power in Alvheim.

The one who had given them such power was Varnir Freyus, who was then the Great Guardian—in other words, the leader—of the elves.

“So that you would achieve eternal prosperity for our race in my stead.”

Of course, power wasn’t the only thing he had passed on.

In exchange for receiving that power, the elders were given the responsibility of achieving prosperity for the elven nation.

“And this is the result?”

Freyus looked down at the elders with a heavy gaze.

Anger and disappointment pounded in his chest. He wondered how Alvheim had come to this state.

“That’s, we did our best but…!”

Sensing the suddenly hostile atmosphere, another elder hurriedly tried to make excuses.

He tried to explain that they had done their best in their own way, but the malice of the human deity and various misfortunes had combined to finally bring them to this limit.

He couldn’t finish his words.

“Your best?”

With Freyus’s cold retort, a green beam of light grazed past the elder’s neck.

– Swoosh!

A head fell helplessly. Red blood stained the floor.

The headless elven elder collapsed powerlessly, prostrating as if atoning for his sins with death.

“Huh, huerk!”

“No, what is this…?!”

The younger elders rose in shock at the sight.

It was a situation they had never even imagined. The first act of the reawakened Great Guardian of the elves was to execute an elven elder.

“I can see it. Your corruption. Your decay. The sin of causing Alvheim’s downfall after being intoxicated with power and authority, indulging in vulgar pleasures, and repeating only foolish and complacent policies.”

In Freyus’s right hand was now a sword. A one-handed sword emitting a green light. A divine sword given by the World Tree to its companion.

“You have disappointed me and abandoned the responsibility given to you. So, you must pay the price.”

Freyus, as the Great Guardian of the elves who had awakened after two thousand years, issued his first command to all the elders gathered before him.

A death sentence ordering them all to die right there.

“T-this is insane! I-I need to get out of here…!”

The younger elders, who had never imagined such a thing would happen, panicked and thrashed about.

In contrast, the older elders like Marcosius resigned themselves, lowering their heads and closing their eyes.

They had already known. The moment they woke the Great Guardian from his long sleep, they would all face death without exception.

They knew this but didn’t tell the others because, unlike the younger elders, they didn’t have much lifespan left anyway.

It was a form of revenge against the younger elders who had treated them as obsolete and raised their voices arrogantly. A truly elven mindset until the very end.

And so.

Six root tentacles and the divine sword of the World Tree mercilessly disbanded the Council of Elven Elders.