Chapter 62
The Mausoleum of Moonshadow (4)
Darkness descended upon the elves’ sanctuary. With the seed that had served as its sun now gone, the underground cavern was once again buried in pitch-black darkness.
The only sources of light were the red eyes flashing in midair and the jade-colored eyes covering the ground.
The two sides stared fixedly at each other.
The red eyes appeared almost relaxed, but the green ones did not.
Dark shadows had fallen over their once-innocent jade light.
“Keeeeeeeeeeeeek—!”
Every elf on the ground released a chilling scream.
They were grief-stricken and hollow.
They were overwhelmed by despair.
The terrible sense of loss made their bodies tremble.
The World Tree’s seed had been their only hope. Had it germinated and grown into a new World Tree, the elves would have regained their former glory.
Pure brethren, untouched by the moon’s curse, would have been born, and they would have exacted vengeance upon the moon in their stead.
The elves had endured for five hundred years solely for that day.
Yet those centuries of perseverance had been reduced to nothing in an instant.
Their one remaining hope had been buried beneath the moon’s shadow.
It had been swallowed by a human.
Once again, it was a human.
Their despair began transforming into rage.
An indescribable fury surged within them.
The elves howled in a frenzy. Their heartrending wails echoed throughout the sanctuary.
Hundreds of evil spirits began racing along the World Tree’s roots.
They were pursuing Mapheltan and Raguel in the air.
“Keeeeeeeeek—!”
Their bodies began breaking apart. Their shriveled legs could not withstand the impact of their charge and crumbled beneath them.
But the elves did not stop.
Even as their bodies shattered into pieces, their rampage continued.
The fragments of their collapsing bodies turned into grayish-white dust and scattered through the air.
Several elves leaped through the drifting ash.
Their murderous gazes and razor-sharp claws closed in on Mapheltan.
—Hand over the human!
—Tear open his stomach and retrieve our mother!
Just before their hands reached him, Mapheltan soared higher.
The elves that had lunged at him plummeted helplessly.
Even as they fell, they did not take their eyes off Raguel.
Unfathomable obsession smoldered within their gazes.
Mapheltan clicked his tongue as he looked at Raguel.
It seems he has no intention of waking up.
From this point onward, he needed Raguel’s power.
Frustratingly, the boy remained unconscious.
Although the sight of Mapheltan’s appearance had startled him, the true reason was the backlash from absorbing the seed.
Digesting the World Tree’s seed would take a considerable amount of time.
It might even require an entire day or longer.
Until then, Mapheltan had to buy time.
He immediately began condensing his demonic energy. An enormous spear shaft materialized within his black hand.
The Calamity Spear, Turavak.
It was currently Mapheltan’s only means of exerting physical force.
He swung Turavak without any particular technique.
He knew neither refined forms nor special maneuvers. He merely struck with brute force.
Crack! Crunch!
Several elves that had leaped toward him were struck by the spear shaft and sent flying.
Their bodies slammed straight into the World Tree’s roots.
The elves climbing along those roots tumbled down beneath the heavy impact.
“I shall assist you!”
Heat gathered inside Zalkarin’s mouth.
He spat out a burst of flame.
The tiny flame, no larger than a mouse dropping, washed over the horde of elves.
Nothing happened.
Hundreds—perhaps thousands—of elves continued climbing the roots.
Their screams echoed without end.
This will never end.
Just as irritation began rising within him, Mapheltan heard the sharp sound of something tearing through the air.
He looked down.
Countless tiny points were hurtling toward him.
Arrows!
Mapheltan hurriedly beat his wings.
His body instantly escaped the barrage.
The arrows decorated the empty air behind him.
First, I need to get out of this cave.
The elves on the ground were already nocking another volley.
Meanwhile, countless evil spirits continued leaping from the World Tree’s roots in pursuit of Raguel.
Sooner or later, one of their attacks would land.
Mapheltan needed a larger battlefield.
He turned his gaze toward the cave’s exit.
At that moment, the earth shook.
The entire underground chamber trembled as though it were about to collapse.
The deep-green forest beneath him split apart with a deafening crack.
A sour, fishy odor wafted from the fissure.
Before long, an enormous cylindrical mass of flesh erupted through the forest.
It was an earth wyrm made from rotting flesh—a mythical beast that had once cultivated and enriched the elves’ land in ancient times.
Now, it was nothing more than a corrupted demonic beast.
The creature opened its enormous maw and surged into the air.
Its stench and hideous roar engulfed the space above.
The corners of Mapheltan’s mouth rose.
His hearing and sense of smell were nearly paralyzed, and his mind was reeling, but a path had opened before him.
He intended to make use of the earth wyrm.
Mapheltan did not evade the enormous creature hurtling toward him.
Instead, he held the Calamity Spear vertically.
The demonic beast’s jaws closed around Mapheltan, but it could not swallow him.
The long, vicious spear became wedged between its jaws, preventing the creature from closing its mouth.
Blackish-green blood sprayed from the roof of its mouth.
The revolting fluid drenched Mapheltan from head to toe.
The demonic beast began convulsing in agony.
As its enormous body thrashed, the elves were swept away and sent flying.
The earth wyrm twisted violently from side to side, unleashing deafening roars.
It exerted all its strength in an attempt to swallow Mapheltan.
…I have to hold on.
If he entered its stomach, it would be over.
Its digestive fluids would dissolve him completely.
Mapheltan tightened his grip on the Calamity Spear.
Faced with his desperate resistance, the earth wyrm changed tactics.
Putting its immense weight behind the attack, it slammed its open jaws against the cavern wall.
BOOOOM—!
A section of the stone wall collapsed.
The tremendous impact struck Mapheltan.
Black blood burst from his mouth.
“Ghh—Haaagh!”
But Mapheltan did not release the Calamity Spear.
He was merely activating his authority.
“…Insignificant creature, carry me out of this sanctuary.”
Pitch-black demonic energy billowed around him.
Mapheltan’s command began transforming into the ancient language of demons.
『The insignificant creature shall guide the Thirteenth End outside.』
Zul’mek thar’kai vel Thirzen’dal, kar’az vel uth’vakar.
A tremendous quantity of demonic energy drained from his body.
Powerlessness swept through his limbs.
Mapheltan could feel that he was approaching his physical limits.
Using it twice in one day is too much.
Numerous restrictions governed the use of the authority known as Commandment.
One was the vast amount of demonic energy it consumed.
Every Apostle could use Commandment, but they could not all wield it with equal efficiency.
Issuing specific and detailed commands—especially several times in a single day—required sufficient skill.
Mapheltan’s rank was still far too low compared to Apostles such as Ganish, the Second Apostle.
Mapheltan swallowed a groan.
Did he need to find another way?
As he pondered his options, the earth wyrm abruptly stopped rampaging.
“…Could it be?”
The creature went limp before suddenly launching its body toward somewhere else.
It was heading for the cave’s exit.
It worked!
The Commandment had taken effect.
Having lost its reason, the earth wyrm rammed its head into the exit.
The opening, which had been tiny compared to its enormous body, widened instantly.
Chunks of rock came crashing down.
The shattered debris battered Mapheltan’s body.
He immediately wrapped his wings around Raguel.
Mapheltan’s entire body was drenched in black blood, but that did not matter.
Protecting Raguel was the most important thing right now.
Mapheltan stomped on the inside of the earth wyrm’s mouth.
“You idiot! Be more careful!”
The creature did not understand him.
It merely burrowed through the stone wall even faster.
Wounds spread across Mapheltan’s entire body.
BOOOOM—!
Rubble exploded in every direction.
The enormous mass of flesh forced itself through the shattered rock face and burst outside.
Mapheltan immediately pulled the Calamity Spear from the creature’s mouth and spread his wings.
Now that the Commandment had ended, the demonic beast would begin targeting him again.
He needed to put as much distance between them as possible.
As high as I can.
He flew all the way up to the mausoleum’s ceiling.
The entire ashen forest came into view beneath him.
He would be able to catch his breath, if only for a moment.
Suspended in the air, Mapheltan looked at Raguel.
The boy’s appearance had changed considerably.
His brown hair now shone with a vibrant amber hue, while his once-dry skin glowed with vitality.
Most striking of all were his ears.
They rose into sharp points like those of the elves from ancient times.
He was now an elf.
A being unique in this world.
He had been reborn as a High Elf.
Mapheltan sighed.
“So, when do you intend to wake up?”
Raguel needed to regain consciousness before they awakened.
The moment the corrupted elders stirred from their long slumber, Mapheltan’s chances of survival would plummet.
They were fundamentally different from ordinary elves.
Each one had been a mighty warrior who represented their entire race.
Most of the elven elders had perished five hundred years ago, but a few had survived and remained buried here.
With his current strength, Mapheltan could not even hope to oppose them.
It would be best not to encounter them, but…
If they did meet, he would have no choice but to use his final resort.
Mapheltan stared at Raguel.
“So hurry up and wake up.”
Unfortunately, his desperate wish went unanswered.
Mapheltan’s expression suddenly contorted.
A chill permeated his entire body. Sensing overwhelming malice, his demonic energy fluttered ominously around him.
Already?!
He looked down at the ground.
Within the withered forest stood a solitary being that still possessed color.
A darkness as dense as Mapheltan’s—no, even denser—stared fixedly up at him.
“Fuck!”
Mapheltan immediately shot through the air.
That unfathomable presence undoubtedly belonged to one of them.
His instincts screamed a warning.
He must not even face that creature.
Mapheltan increased his speed, intending to buy as much time as possible.
He held Raguel tightly against himself.
“You must open your eyes—as quickly as possible.”
He began beating his wings desperately.
He would not be able to endure for much longer.
***
Raguel’s brain felt as though it were boiling.
Every one of his brain cells convulsed.
Countless memories and fragments of information forced themselves into his mind.
A history of being trampled and violated flashed before him like a panorama.
Fire and iron ravaged the deep-green forests.
Before humanity’s greed and malice, the earth wailed.
The fairies’ breath turned into acrid smoke, and the children of nature screamed instead of singing.
Beneath the ominous moonlight, countless elves groaned in human captivity.
Their screams echoed without end.
Tears flowed from Raguel’s eyes.
Every scene appearing before him tormented him.
He was beginning to resonate with the elves’ emotions.
He felt as though he might come to hate humanity.
He was even ashamed that he himself was human.
Hatred for the moon welled within him.
His sense of self began to distort.
He wanted to drain every drop of red blood flowing through his body.
“O Great Saint! How could you be so cruel?!”
No answer came.
Instead, the entire panorama vanished in an instant.
His surroundings slowly began to brighten.
He saw dense foliage.
It was not a vibrant green.
The leaves had withered into an ashen gray.
His chest ached.
“Ghh… Urgh.”
Clutching his heart, Raguel pushed himself upright.
At that moment, a chilling voice reached him.
“…Raguel, you’ve taken more than enough time.”
A vicious being entered his vision.
It was leaning against an enormous tree, groaning in pain.
Raguel’s green pupils trembled.
“M-Mapheltan…?”
The demon smirked.
“Yes, it’s me. This is the first time you’ve seen me like this.”
Mapheltan’s entire body was covered in wounds.
He was nearly dead.
The last traces of fear within Raguel’s heart vanished completely.
Concern took their place.
Raguel rushed toward Mapheltan.
“W-What in the world happened to you?!”
Mapheltan coughed as he replied,
“Keeping you safe took quite a bit of effort. It’s your turn now. Show me that my investment was worthwhile, Raguel.”
Even as he lay dying, the demon wore a faint smile.