Chapter 89 : Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Beneath the Branch of the World Tree (2)

The elf standing before me, unable to hide her agitation, was she Gawen’s descendant?

I was curious, but I couldn’t get an answer right away.

Whoosh—!

An arrow shot toward the elf.

While we were facing off, the fairies must have caught up.

I manipulated my will and immediately deployed [Intangible Armor].

Pop!

A translucent barrier formed in the air.

The arrow, aimed precisely at the elf’s head, was successfully blocked by [Intangible Armor].

But it wasn’t that simple.

Even after being blocked, the arrow trembled violently.

It seemed imbued with a will to pierce its target despite being stopped.

Fwoosh.

Suddenly, flames erupted from the arrow.

I swung my sword, cutting through the flaming arrow.

Only then did it lose its power and fall to the ground.

“The fairies chasing us now seem stronger than the ones before.”

“….”

“A fairy shooting flaming arrows? Something strange is going on.”

The elf turned and fled.

Beyond the burning forest, I saw a much larger group of fairies approaching.

I began running after the elf, who was speeding away.

I deflected incoming arrows with my sword or blocked them with [Intangible Armor].

Now, the arrows weren’t just targeting the elf.

They must have thought I was with her, as arrows came for me too.

Pop!

A silent arrow grazed my cheek.

If I hadn’t dodged just in time, I could have died, and the thought sent chills down my spine.

Truth be told, I had no real reason to help the elf.

We’d only just met, and no bond had formed.

I had vowed to stop wars, so I’d do my best, but that didn’t mean I had to side with the elf.

For now, the fairies, who seemed stronger, might be persuaded if I joined them instead.

If my goal was to recruit a skilled ranged dealer, the fairies in this battle were more than capable.

Silent arrows, guided arrows—they seemed to have mastered the fairies’ secret techniques.

But I chose to help the elf simply because it didn’t sit right with me to abandon her.

Seeing her flee reminded me of Gawen.

She looked so much like Gawen, so I decided to help her.

I wanted to hear the story from this Gawen-like elf.

I unleashed [Termination].

Even if it couldn’t block the physical force of the arrows, it could weaken the mana within them.

And when arrows entered its domain, I could read their trajectories.

I fled alongside the elf.

Strangely, we were moving farther from Kipaso’s heart, the elves’ domain near the World Tree.

I had assumed she’d head there for support from other elves, but my expectation was wrong.

This elf, moving alone, truly reminded me of the old Gawen.

The exiled elf, Gawen.

The one who silently followed Adjak, planting arrows in the heads of countless demons and beasts.

“Where are you going?”

I asked the elf while dodging arrows.

Naturally, she didn’t answer.

By now, she must have realized I was helping her, yet I’d learned nothing.

Not the reason for the war, nor her destination.

I needed to know something to form a plan.

But I had to make it work.

Adjak had once intervened in a racial war and mediated it, earning considerable fame.

Though that war was among beastmen, following his legacy was the same.

Whether she knew my tangled thoughts or not, the elf kept running silently.

I sighed once and quickly followed.

Helping her was my choice, but whether she accepted it was up to her—that thought made it easier for me.

The elf headed toward Kipaso’s outskirts.

The number of burning trees gradually decreased.

Like the human village, the war’s sparks hadn’t reached this area yet.

‘Flaming arrows from fairies? That’s strange. Elves and fairies should cherish nature.’

My questions grew. And the fairies’ attacks intensified.

Within [Termination]’s domain, I could sense the arrows’ directions, but blocking them was entirely up to me.

[Intangible Armor] was already being torn apart by countless arrows and their flames.

Soon, it would switch to recovery mode and become unusable.

I shouted to the elf.

“Stop running. Let’s fight!”

We had already covered a lot of ground.

The elf and the fairies must be tired.

The number of pursuing fairies had dwindled.

The elf ignored my suggestion and kept moving, then stopped in front of a massive tree.

Crack—!

An arrow finally shattered [Intangible Armor].

Now I had to deflect them with my sword alone.

I positioned myself to protect the elf.

Three fairies surrounded us.

Their eyes burned with hostility, aimed not just at the elf but at me too.

Four fairies simultaneously drew their small bowstrings.

Clang—! Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!

I hurriedly deflected the arrows and used [Fear].

As I prepared to [Rush] through the stunned fairies, the elf grabbed my clothes.

She pulled me back firmly.

Despite her delicate frame, her strength was immense.

But before I could process this,

Crunch—!

A massive wolf burst out of the forest at high speed.

It swallowed the lead fairy, who was shooting guided arrows, in one bite.

Grrrr…

The wolf glared at the fairies, blood dripping from its jaws.

“Why is Kipaso’s sacred beast hostile to us?”

A fairy, bewildered, questioned the wolf.

But it only bared its teeth and growled.

The panicked fairies began discussing.

“Even if it’s a sacred beast, it’s not above our mission. Should we kill it?”

“…No, don’t attack. It’s the beast that protected Kipaso after the expedition weakened it.”

The fairy ordered her subordinates to stand down and snapped at Gawen.

“You’d better keep hiding, exiled elf. You can’t escape the fairies’ wrath.”

“….”

The elf didn’t respond to the fairies either. It wasn’t human prejudice, then.

Soon, the fairies let out uneasy groans and left.

I looked at the wolf and murmured.

“…Nihel?”

The name came to me suddenly.

Hearing its name, the wolf turned to me.

A massive wolf with dazzling white fur, its jaws stained with red blood.

The elf looked at me too. Nihel was once Gawen’s mount.

After Gawen’s death, it refused to follow anyone in the expedition and left Myeolji.

Was it still alive?

But asking wouldn’t get answers from either the elf or the wolf.

So this time, I chose silence.

Grrr—

Nihel approached, baring its long fangs menacingly.

The wolf that had devoured a strong fairy in one bite sent a chill through me.

But I didn’t show fear. I calmly met Nihel’s silver eyes, never looking away.

The elf stroked the wolf’s neck.

Nihel turned, hiding its teeth, and nuzzled her like a puppy.

“How does a human know your name? Strange, isn’t it?”

The elf spoke while petting Nihel, seemingly to the wolf but almost like a question to me.

I asked the elf, who was focused on the wolf.

“Are you Gawen’s descendant?”

Her face showed no surprise this time.

She calmly groomed Nihel’s fur and countered with a question.

“How do you know about Nihel and Gawen?”

Ignoring my words and answering a question with a question.

She spoke to Nihel, which irked me slightly, but I had plenty of questions too.

“Since we’re both curious, I’ll answer if you do.”

The elf nodded subtly.

“My name is Polarin Adjak, Adjak’s heir. Through his mysteries, I know about Gawen and Nihel.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at me.

“Indeed… It seems another mysterious phenomenon has unfolded in the human world.”

“Answer my question. Are you Gawen’s descendant?”

“Yes. My name is Bea Hellinger. I’m Gawen Hellinger’s granddaughter.”

Gawen died 300 years ago, so even as a granddaughter, she wouldn’t be young.

Elf ages were hard to guess.

“Why did you cut your ear like Gawen? She led the elf army in the expedition as their commander.”

“My grandmother was the commander of all elves. But before that, she was an exiled elf.”

A somber tone crept into Bea’s voice.

I didn’t fully understand.

The Adjak family’s persecution by the Empire was, strictly speaking, their own doing.

They chose to oppose the Empire, believing Adjak outshone the Emperor.

The Empire had wanted to work with its heroes and their descendants.

But Adjak’s heirs, convinced of his superiority, rejected the Empire’s hand.

Thus, the Adjak family lived in autonomous regions within the Empire, but their current situation wasn’t exactly rosy.

No Adjak heir had matched Adjak’s heroism, and time had passed.

The Empire never forgot the family’s arrogance, always watching them closely, making them a target of internal scrutiny.

But elves were different.

They weren’t as numerous as humans and were tightly united.

If Gawen was the elves’ commander, her granddaughter should be treated as such.

Bea seemed to have inherited much of Gawen’s blood.

Her archery was impressive, and her judgment in combat seemed exceptional.

Someone like her should hold a high position among elves, yet she cut her ear and was exiled.

Bea pointed to her hair.

“Elves despise ash-gray hair. Until my parents’ generation, Gawen’s glory shielded us, but even that faded.”

Ash-gray hair. That was the reason?

“No matter how heroic my grandmother was, she couldn’t change the elves’ deep-rooted prejudice. To escape baseless discrimination, I cut my ear and left the elves.”

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