Chapter 64
The Mausoleum of Moonshadow (6)
“I’m the one who ate the fruit! S-So… let’s talk.”
Shocked by Raguel’s outrageous declaration, every monstrosity stopped dead in its tracks.
They all stared at him.
Countless emotions swirled in their eyes.
Bewilderment, anger, frustration, resentment, shock, despair, grief… Their emotions churned too violently to contain.
One by one, the demons gathered around Raguel. Clambering over one another, they completely surrounded him.
It was as if he had been imprisoned inside a massive dome.
Within the darkness, only their jade-colored eyes glowed.
—Ah… Ah! That vile human has finally stolen even our last hope!
—Tear open his stomach and rip it out!
—Wait! Look closely at him!
—His ears!
—It can’t be!
Doubt and suspicion began to seep into the voices that had previously held nothing but rage.
—He’s an elf!
—H-How?!
A commotion spread through the crowd.
Although frightened and nervous, Raguel silently waited. If everything happened as Mapheltan had predicted, they would soon react in a particular way.
—A brother untouched by the Moon’s curse? Impossible!
—A pure elf cannot exist!
—It must be an illusion! Tear him apart!
Every elf remaining in this world had fallen and become a demon.
They had even lost the ability to reproduce, making it impossible for them to give birth to ordinary elves.
The same was true of the World Tree, which had fallen into becoming an Apostle.
The World Tree had originally produced high elves, but it had now completely lost its reproductive abilities.
In other words, a pure elf could not possibly exist in the present era.
Yet the impossible had happened.
An elf—and a high elf at that—stood openly before them all.
The demons were utterly bewildered.
—You want to kill him?
—Of course!
—Wait! This isn’t for us to decide!
Just as an argument broke out among them, a voice steeped in resentment came from somewhere nearby.
“Stand aside, my brothers.”
Its peculiar tone carried a distinct presence even amid the deafening commotion.
As soon as the voice rang out, the demons forming the dome around Raguel scattered in every direction.
His surroundings opened once more.
Raguel swallowed dryly.
Before him stood a darkness even deeper than Mapheltan’s.
The being resembled a shadow that had been pulled upright and planted upon the ground. It stared fixedly at Raguel.
Zalkarin murmured from within Raguel’s clothes.
“That is the dark elf the End spoke of.”
Like Raguel’s, the creature’s eyes glowed jade, while its two pointed ears stood upright.
An inexplicable pressure emanated from its thin, gaunt body.
The dark elf was fundamentally different from the other demons within the mausoleum.
Having once been a high elf, it possessed an unapproachable air even after its fall into demonhood.
The surrounding atmosphere grew oppressively heavy.
The dark elf slowly opened his mouth.
“How hollow. The fruits of five hundred years have returned to nothing.”
The elves had protected the World Tree’s seed for five hundred years.
They had intended to nurture it into a new World Tree.
Now their entire plan had come to nothing.
All because of the boy before them—Raguel.
The dark elf’s gaze was empty as he looked at him. Rather than hatred or rage, it contained a sense of futility.
In fact, he appeared almost detached.
Raguel stammered nervously.
“Th-That’s not true. The seed gave birth to a high elf.”
The dark elf’s expression did not change.
“By ‘high elf,’ do you mean yourself?”
“…Yes.”
“And what significance does that hold?”
“As long as I exist, our brethren may someday be born upon this land once again. Pure elves untouched by the Moon’s curse.”
One of the dark elf’s eyes narrowed.
“Did you just say ‘our’?”
“W-Well, I’m an elf now too… I witnessed your memories and pain, and I sympathize with the wounds you suffered…”
The dark elf cut off Raguel’s rambling explanation.
“My brothers and I are demons. We are no longer elves. All we desire is humanity’s extinction. The restoration of the elves? Revival? Such things do not truly matter.”
Raguel spoke in a trembling voice.
“That’s a lie. Otherwise, why would you have protected the World Tree’s seed for five hundred years?”
“Lingering attachment and obsession. The seed would never have germinated anyway. There are no nutrients within this barren graveyard.”
“B-But!”
“It was all a futile hope. Only now that the seed is gone have I finally realized that.”
The dark elf looked strangely relieved.
“There’s still a chance! Someday, I’ll restore this land—”
“Do as you please. There is no need to declare your intentions to me.”
The dark elf walked past Raguel.
“W-Where are you going? I haven’t finished speaking!”
“Young elf, I will not harm you. The horned fiend, however, must pay the price. I assume he also possesses the Key of the Abyss?”
As soon as the dark elf finished speaking, a commotion swept through the demons.
—Does this mean we can finally escape this prison?!
—Let us tear those vile humans apart!
—Vengeance! The day of vengeance has come!
Now that the seed was gone, they had no reason to remain within the mausoleum.
All they had to do was obtain the Key of the Abyss and escape.
Like other demons, they would then live for the sake of bringing about humanity’s end.
Everything was proceeding according to Mapheltan’s intentions.
There was only one problem.
The demons intended to kill him.
Raguel had to stop them.
“…Do you intend to kill me?” Raguel asked.
The dark elf turned to look at him.
“As I said, I have no intention of harming you.”
Raguel was the only elf remaining in this world.
The dark elf could not bring himself to kill him.
Deep within his heart, he still longed for their race’s former glory.
Raguel slowly opened the eye he had kept closed.
The image of a baleful figure wielding a scythe was engraved within his left eye.
“If you kill Mapheltan, I won’t remain unharmed either. He is my master—and someone I am bound to protect.”
In addition to their contract of servitude, Mapheltan and Raguel had formed a covenant of protection.
Each was the other’s heart.
It was the same kind of relationship shared by Ilea and Mapheltan.
The dark elf narrowed his eyes.
“…The horned fiend has thoroughly ensnared you.”
It would be difficult to harm Mapheltan without being prepared to kill Raguel as well.
“A-Are you willing to listen to me now?” Raguel asked.
Raguel intended to persuade the demons to join Mapheltan.
Assuming they could actually be persuaded, of course.
Mapheltan had warned him not to push himself too far on that front.
“We have nothing to discuss,” the dark elf said. “If the horned fiend attempts to use you to control me, I will kill him even if it means losing you. The same applies if he refuses to surrender the Key of the Abyss.”
His calm declaration was entirely sincere.
Raguel had no idea how he could possibly persuade the dark elf.
For now, he would have to settle for achieving their secondary objective.
“…What if he willingly hands over the Key of the Abyss?”
“Then nothing will happen.”
The dark elf wanted to kill Mapheltan regardless, but the matter changed if Raguel’s life was also at stake.
He was willing to take a step back.
Naturally, only on the condition that they received the Key of the Abyss.
Raguel steadied his breathing.
“All right. Please keep that promise.”
“Then where is the key?”
Raguel pointed in the direction from which he had come.
“Mapheltan has it. He is probably waiting for you.”
Without answering, the dark elf turned and walked away.
Countless demons followed behind him.
Raguel collapsed to the ground.
All the tension left his body at once.
Zalkarin poked his head out from Raguel’s clothes.
“You did well for a brat. The End will take care of everything from here.”
***
Within the ashen forest, Mapheltan leaned against a rotting ancient tree and stared straight ahead.
A pitch-black shadow was slowly approaching him.
Even after decaying for five hundred years, a dark elf is still a dark elf.
The quality of the demonic energy emanating from him was extraordinary.
By the standards of horned fiends, he would have been a high-ranking demon possessing at least three horns.
The dark elf stopped before Mapheltan.
“The key?”
“Why are you in such a hurry? There are still several days before the full moon. Why don’t we have a little conversation?”
The gate to the Abyss would not open until the full moon returned.
The moment Mapheltan finished speaking, the dark elf vanished.
Damn it!
Before he had time to react, the dark elf seized him by the throat and lifted him into the air.
“Young demon, stop wasting my time and hand over the key. I have no intention of playing along with your foolish games.”
Murderous intent filled the dark elf’s jade-colored eyes. They contained a rage that was difficult to suppress.
Even through the pain, Mapheltan raised the corners of his lips.
“What are you so afraid of? Could it be that you’re already wary of me because you fear being ensnared? Ha! How amusing! You have existed for countless ages, yet you’re frightened of a mere novice like me!”
The dark elf’s eyes narrowed sharply.
He hurled Mapheltan to the ground.
A dull impact rang out, sending ash billowing through the air.
“I should silence that mouth of yours first.”
Black light began gathering in the dark elf’s hand.
Mapheltan nonchalantly raised both hands.
A small wooden plaque rested in one of them.
It was the Core Token—the key to the First Domain of the Abyss.
The dark elf strode forward and extended his hand.
Just as he was about to seize the Core Token, Mapheltan spoke.
“A witch visited this place several months ago.”
At the time, Ilea had harvested sap from the World Tree while visiting the Abyss.
The moment Mapheltan mentioned that day, the dark elf froze.
“A witch?”
Mapheltan smirked.
“Yes, a witch. Are you finally willing to talk?”
The dark elf snatched the Core Token from Mapheltan’s hand.
His business should have been finished, yet he remained rooted in place.
“Are you allied with the witch?”
Mapheltan shrugged at the question.
“I thought you had no intention of playing along with me. It seems you’ve already changed your mind.”
The dark elf frowned, his intense displeasure plainly visible.
“Answer the question, young demon.”
“Well, we are far too close for the word ‘allies’ to adequately describe our relationship.”
After all, they shared their lives.
“Do not tell me that you are the witch’s familiar.”
Mapheltan chuckled.
“That would be the World Tree, not me.”
The dark elf’s eyes trembled.
“…Young demon, how much do you know?”
“At the very least, more than you do.”
When Ilea visited the Abyss several months ago, she had entered into some sort of contract with the World Tree.
As payment for that transaction, the World Tree had become the witch’s familiar.
The dark elf knew only that the World Tree had become the witch’s familiar, while Mapheltan even knew the terms of the transaction they had made.
Ilea had never told him directly.
But having read the original novel, there was no way he could not know.
The dark elf was visibly shaken.
“Speak. Why did the Earth Mother submit to the witch?”
The Earth Mother referred to the World Tree, Alquines.
Mapheltan’s lips curved into a long smile.
“I cannot simply tell you for nothing.”
“Enough of your insolence. Tell me at once—”
“Let us make a deal. What will you give me in return?”
An ominous smile spread across Mapheltan’s face.