Chapter 146

Chapter 146

“Hah, hah!”

Mariel and the Thorn Tree Attack Force gasped for breath.

The attack force, which had once numbered well over a hundred, had now been reduced to around twenty.

That was the price they had paid for passing through the indigo and violet supernormal spaces.

The indigo supernormal space had drawn out the yearning buried deep within the elves’ hearts.

Yearning came from intensely desiring something one did not possess.

The elves, who lived mixed into the human world, wanted a utopia of their own, and the indigo supernormal space had shown them their fantasy.

At that moment, desire bloomed in their hearts like poisonous mushrooms.

The desire to kill every human in Neo Seoul and have the elves take the empty places they left behind.

Desire drove the elves into a state of extreme excitement.

Somehow, they escaped the indigo supernormal space, but what greeted them next was the chaotic violet supernormal space.

Chaos made it impossible for the elves to judge anything properly, and it made them recognize one another as enemies.

They killed one another, and killed again.

After all that killing, when they finally escaped the violet supernormal space, the elves’ number had been reduced to twenty.

Faced with that unbelievable reality, Mariel and the elves trembled violently.

Only then did the memories of massacring their comrades return vividly to them.

“This...... can’t be!”

“I killed my friend.”

“Aaah!”

The elves screamed.

Above all else, elves cherished their own kind.

Their sense of inferiority from living as tenants in the human world, along with their delusion that they were being persecuted, had made them cling even more fiercely to their kin.

It was impossible to believe that those very elves, who treasured their own kind to a terrifying degree, had lost their reason and slaughtered their kin.

“This is a dream. It has to be a dream.”

“How could I have killed them with my own hands......?”

Some of the elves even denied reality. But Mariel knew.

This was neither a dream nor an illusion.

No matter how they dressed it up in fine words, and no matter how unavoidable the situation had been, they were great sinners who had killed their own kin.

“Do not cry. We do not even have the right to weep. The only way to cleanse our sins is to offer a requiem rite with that man’s blood and secure the Spirit King’s Crown.”

Mariel rebuked the elves and began walking.

There was no longer anything blocking the path between them and Damian.

“I’ll kill you and offer you to my comrades. Damian!”

“Uwaaah!”

Mariel and the elves launched themselves at Damian.

Looking down at them, Damian said,

“How many humans have died because of you? Are you pretending to be victims over just that much? If you barged into someone else’s world as you pleased and ruined it, then you should pay the proper price.”

“Do not spout nonsense, Damian!”

Mariel rejected Damian’s words and swung her sword.

JOLT!

Her sword stopped right in front of Damian’s neck.

Something invisible had bound her body.

It was not only Mariel. Every elf who had followed her in attacking Damian was unable to move, as if they had been caught in a spiderweb.

“What?”

“It’s the web of a Glass Spider. As you can see, the strands are transparent, so they can’t be distinguished with the naked eye. Once you’re caught, you can never escape by your own strength.”

“There’s no way such a thing exists......”

“Hoho! Don’t judge everything by your own common sense. Dungeons are home to all kinds of monsters you can’t even imagine. There’s nothing strange about a monster with such traits living in one of them.”

“Do not lie.”

“How many dungeons do you think I’ve cleared until now?”

“How dare you spout such bullshit......”

“Seventy-two. In eight years, I cleared a full seventy-two dungeons. I went into a dungeon roughly once every one or two months. It was madness. No one clears dungeons that insanely. It’s all because of you. I risked my life to take revenge on you.”

“You’re insane! We don’t even know you.”

“Maybe you don’t, bitch. But what about the elves, dwarves, and beastfolk in Elharun?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Elharun?”

“It seems the Elf Queen never told you about Elharun. To hide it even from her own kin. As expected, elves can’t be trusted.”

At Damian’s mockery, Mariel and the elves’ faces flushed red.

“Do not incite us with lies, human!”

“Elves! Whether my words are lies or not, you’ll soon find out. Your queen is coming over there.”

In Damian’s field of vision, Serian and the elites of North District were approaching the fortress.

SNAP!

When Damian snapped his fingers, the Spectrum Prison in front of Serian disappeared.

Damian had opened a passage for them.

Serian looked at Damian from in front of the passage for a moment.

She could see Damian smiling at her.

All kinds of negative emotions, including coldness, contempt, and hatred, were contained in his smile.

Why on earth is he looking at me with eyes like that?

That question rose in her mind.

She entered the passage.

Now was not the time to resolve her doubts, but to act.

Even at that moment, Mariel and the elves, bound in invisible spiderwebs, were swaying precariously.

She knew for certain that more than a hundred had come, but only about twenty were visible.

It was as obvious as day what had happened to the rest.

‘What sort of grudge does he have against the elves?’

Unless he had a grudge against the elves, he could not have gone this far.

‘The Spirit King’s Crown must have been bait to draw out the elves.’

At this point, she could not help wondering why Damian was so hostile to the elves.

Of course, before that, rescuing Mariel and the Thorn Tree Attack Force came first.

Serian and the elites of North District reached the top of the fortress in one breath. Then Damian exaggeratedly swung out his arm and greeted her.

“Welcome, queen of the nonhuman races parasitizing the human world.”

“As expected, you hate us.”

“Probably not only me. All humans who know the truth will hate you.”

“That happened more than a hundred years ago. The nonhuman races living in Neo Seoul had nothing to do with what happened then.”

“So you have no responsibility at all?”

“That is......”

Serian’s words caught in her throat.

At that moment, Eli, who stood beside her, shouted,

“What bullshit are you spouting? Even if it hadn’t been for us, Earth would have ended up this way. Your race was already walking the path of extinction.”

“Bitches like you are the ones I hate most. You clearly know it’s your fault, and yet you push the responsibility onto others. That’s why I can’t forgive you.”

“And what will you do if you can’t forgive us?”

“You’ll pay the price.”

“How arrogant! A mere human dares demand responsibility from us......”

When Eli grew angry, Serian restrained her.

“Be quiet.”

“There’s nothing more to say. That human must not be forgiven.”

“Eli!”

“I’ll kill him. In any case, all we have to do is secure the Spirit King’s Crown, don’t we?”

Before Serian could stop her, Eli rushed out.

In an instant, she reached Damian’s vicinity and swung her hand. Then white light shot out from her hand.

The light, reminiscent of a white spiderweb, spread out like a web in an instant and surrounded Damian.

Webbing Cutter (webbing cutter).

As its name suggested, it was Magic that used a web made of light like blades to cut a target into pieces.

It was Eli’s unique ability, and it was what had earned her the alias Spider Queen.

The light that had spread like a spiderweb became a tetrahedron and tightened around Damian.

“Damian!”

At that moment, Alexandro stepped in front of Damian and swung his fist.

BOOOOM—!

With an explosive roar, Webbing Cutter shattered into pieces.

“How dare you!”

Eli was furious at Alexandro for blocking her way.

She unleashed Magic one after another. But every spell was crushed by Alexandro.

“No one can lay a hand on Damian without my permission.”

Alexandro growled like a beast.

The wounds he had suffered while fighting Brickston were joined by the wounds he gained while crushing Eli’s Magic.

His entire body was dyed crimson by the blood flowing from his wounds, but there was not the slightest wavering in his eyes.

Eli shouted at the Awakened of North District,

“What are you doing? Hurry up and kill them. Save our comrades!”

“......”

But even at her shout, the Awakened of North District did not move an inch. Serian had not yet given an order.

Serian let out a low sigh.

“Haa! Eli. You truly do not understand the gravity of the matter. I’ll hold you responsible for this as soon as we return to Neo Seoul.”

“Your Majesty!”

Eli tried urgently to say something to Serian. But she was given no further chance to speak.

That was because Alexandro attacked her.

“Your opponent is me.”

He pushed Eli back like an enraged bear.

Alexandro had already resolved himself to die.

There was nothing for him to fear, and no reason for him to hesitate.

That was why he burned everything he had and attacked Eli.

Because of that, even Eli could not avoid a difficult fight.

Serian sighed and approached Damian.

She said to Damian,

“I understand that you harbor great hatred toward us. Even so, there was no need to make this matter so large. Do you know how many people have been harmed and killed because of you?”

“That must be a racial trait of yours.”

“What?”

“Passing off responsibility, trailing off before taking a clear stance, lecturing while pretending to be refined......”

“Your hatred for us pierces the heavens. Fine! I won’t evade the point any longer. Give me the Spirit King’s Crown. That object is far too dangerous for humans to possess.”

“I know. That’s why I brought it.”

“So you did bring it to draw me out.”

“I knew you would realize it, the true being sealed within the Spirit King’s Crown......”

The more ominous energy poured from Damian’s entire body, the darker Serian’s expression became.

“Your plan succeeded. You’ve drawn me out like this. But you should withdraw Spectrum Prison now. Originally, Spectrum Prison was a magic circle meant to seal the Spirit King’s Crown. If it is destroyed in this way, the seal will weaken as well.”

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE—!

The entirety of Spectrum Prison was shaking.

That was because Brickston, the Thorn Tree Attack Force, and others had shaken it from the inside, while Zeon was destroying it from the outside.

At this rate, Spectrum Prison would not last long before breaking apart.

If that happened, the being sealed within the Spirit King’s Crown would surely be released as well.

Because she had to prevent that at all costs, Serian’s eyes were desperate. But Damian ignored her gaze and spoke coldly.

“Then tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“The location of Elharun.”

“Did you do all of this because of that?”

“Yes!”

“You’re insane.”

“That’s right. I’m insane. So tell me. Where is Elharun?”

Damian’s eyes were as cold as ice.

But Serian could feel it.

The terrible madness hidden behind that coldness.

Serian looked up at the yellow sky for a moment.

A little over a hundred years ago, that sky would have been blue.

As the price for her race crossing over, Earth had come to possess that yellow sky.

‘Our fate should have ended in Kurayan. If it had, even the lives of Earth would not have had to suffer.’

If she had had the authority to decide, she would never have crossed over to Earth. But back then, she too had only been a young elf.

She had been in a position where she had no choice but to follow the adults’ decision.

In a way, she too had been a victim, but even if she said that, no one would believe her.

She had no intention of making excuses, and she had even less intention of telling him Elharun’s location.

Whatever their original sin, Elharun was the final bastion of the nonhuman races.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re not sorry, are you?”

“I hope you will understand that I have my own reasons for not being able to tell you.”

“I knew it. You pretend to be more compassionate than anyone, but you are the most selfish race of all.”

“Damian!”

“If you feel even the slightest bit sorry, then speak. Tell me the way to Elharun. You fucking bitch!”

The rage Damian had suppressed until now exploded.

At that moment, Serian gave an order.

“Everyone, subdue him.”