Chapter 187. Excuses (3)

"Of all times... why now?" Motsbi Darkwood, the captain of the dark elf patrol, scowled as he arrived at the entrance of Nenya Village.

They had suddenly lost contact with the soldiers they sent to Nenya Village to harvest the elves. It was a village that had always obediently offered elves every week.

He wondered if the elder had betrayed them, but that thought didn't last long.

Impossible,

Motsbi thought as he pictured the face of the greedy elder, Rakaon.

Rakaon was a man who had always cooperated with the dark elves, driven by his desperation to survive and his desire for power. The number of elves he had sacrificed over time had already exceeded one hundred.

With that much blood on his hands, he wasn't foolish enough to betray them now.

"Captain, the number of demonic monsters stationed at the forest entrance has decreased significantly," one of the subordinates said.

"You're saying there was an intruder?" Motsbi asked.

"It seems likely," the subordinate answered.

The situation was clear. This was the work of an outsider. Whomever dared to infiltrate the Eastern Great Forest had chosen the worst possible moment.

Why now, of all times?!

Motsbi thought.

The dark elves had gathered all their forces. They were in the final stages of preparing to take Aileen, the capital city of the Eastern Great Forest elves. If their rear were compromised now, it would be a disaster.

Could it be the beastfolk?

Motsbi wondered.

The only ones who were likely to launch an attack on the Eastern Great Forest were the beastfolk. The dark elves had already intercepted information that the elves had requested help from them.

But further intelligence suggested that the beastfolk had their own problems to deal with. Motsbi recalled that they had deliberately sent their monsters toward the Plains of Rest to keep the beastfolk in check. The beastfolk weren't even unified, so waging war was practically impossible for them.

"Summon the elder at once," Motsbi ordered.

"We've been trying to contact him through the communication orb, but there's been no response," the subordinate replied.

"...Tsk tsk. We have no choice. We're going in," Motsbi said.

"Should we disable the barrier?" the subordinate asked.

"Begin right away," Motsbi instructed.

Rakaon had once revealed the method to disable the village's barrier, claiming it as a sign of trust. That made it so the dark elves could enter the village whenever they pleased. Until now, they had left Nenya alone, treating it like a goose that laid golden eggs.

But that time had passed. Any potential threat had to be eliminated. For the great victory of the dark elves, every variable had to be controlled.

At Motsbi's command, the dark elves immediately began drawing a magic circle—one designed to dismantle the barrier.

"There's no need to leave any uncertainties. The moment the barrier falls, move in and inject them with dark mana," Motsbi ordered.

"Yes, Captain," the subordinate responded.

The experiments had already been successful. There was no reason to waste any more effort on a backwater village like this. Their focus needed to be on the siege of Aileen.

Once Aileen fell, repopulating their kind would be simple. That city was teeming with elves, after all.

Perhaps it would be best to simply wipe out this village...

Motsbi thought.

But just as Motsbi reached his decision...

Squelch!

Before his eyes, something unthinkable began to unfold.

"Die!" one of the subordinates cried out.

"What the hell is wrong with you bastard—Arghhh!" another subordinate shouted.

Some of the soldiers who had been drawing the magic circle suddenly pulled out daggers and drove them into their comrades.

But that was just the beginning. At first, only one or two of them went mad, but the frenzy spread like wildfire.

Squelch!

Boom!

Some of the dark elves unleashed magic without hesitation, attacking their own comrades. A sudden outbreak of fratricide erupted before Motsbi's eyes.

"What in the world...?" Motsbi murmured as he stared at the scene, utterly horrified. He couldn't understand what madness had suddenly taken hold of his subordinates.

...Illusion magic?

Motsbi wondered.

But that thought didn't last long, because he came to a conclusion that it couldn't be magic. If it were, he would have sensed the flow of mana.

Out of nearly thirty soldiers, only five hadn't succumbed to the frenzy.

"You bastard! I've wanted to kill you for so long!"

Even Lakazet, Motsbi's right-hand man who had been relaying his orders just moments ago, lunged at him with bloodshot eyes. His gaze was unnatural.

Without hesitation, Motsbi cast dark magic at Lakazet, whose eyes gleamed with an eerie dark blue light.

Crackle!

A lance of condensed darkness pierced through Lakazet's chest. He died on the spot, freezing in place.

Motsbi felt no remorse. Anyone weak enough to fall victim to such sorcery had only themselves to blame.

We need to retreat for now,

he thought. This wasn't a problem a mere patrol unit could handle. He had to call for reinforcements from the elite forces.

Making his decision swiftly, Motsbi gathered dark mana and began casting a short-range teleportation spell.

But then...

Ssshhh.

Motsbi's vision was swallowed by darkness.

At the same time, within that darkness, countless petals of deep blue light began to flutter. Even as he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it.

The petals blooming within the shadows surged forward like an unstoppable tide.

Squelch.

There was no time to resist.

The petals, raging like a storm from all directions, tore through Motsbi mercilessly. His tendons were severed. Blood gushed uncontrollably from his throat.

"Gah...!" Coughing up blood, Motsbi collapsed onto the ground.

The teleportation spell he had been casting shattered, causing his dark mana to violently recoil inside him. A crushing sense of powerlessness consumed him.

...Who is it?

Motsbi wondered.

He wondered who dared to interfere with this great plan. Only after he had fallen did he fully grasp what was happening. His subordinates were still tearing into each other.

Motsbi didn't know exactly when it had started, but somewhere along the way, a deep blue mist had seeped in.

At that moment, a voice whispered into Motsbi's ear, "This is how you conduct live experiments. While improving my cultivation technique, I refined Rabies a little and made it more elegant. Thanks to that, I've got some fine specimens now."

A figure emerged from the shadows. It was a human, shrouded in a dark blue aura. The sword he held glowed with an ominous, chilling radiance.

"The ones who came here last night were nothing but lowly grunts. They barely knew a thing," the human, Caron, said.

Squelch.

The cursed blade plunged into Motsbi's shoulder. A searing pain exploded through his body, clawing at his mind like fire.

"I hope you're different," Caron said, his voice dripping with cruel amusement. "Now, just stay right there and watch. I'm about to show you something fun."

Moments later...

Slice. Slice.

The mist that had engulfed the battlefield began to turn red with blood.

***

The battle with the dark elves ended as nothing more than Caron's one-sided slaughter. He had taken care of every last one of them by himself.

Consumed by the madness of Guillotine, the dark elves continued attacking one another until their final breaths.

Out of the dark elves, only one of them survived: Motsbi Darkwood, who had identified himself as the patrol captain.

Even he, however, was far from unscathed. Caron had severed the tendons in his arms and legs and shattered his core to ensure he couldn't use dark mana.

"Leo, about that ability Caron used earlier..." Adina trailed off as she replayed the battle in her mind. She wondered if it was even appropriate to call that a battle.

The dark elves had been utterly consumed by madness, unable to distinguish friend from foe, slaughtering each other in a frenzy.

It was a power Adina had never seen Caron use in Reben. That ability wasn't something a human can pull out.

...It felt demonic,

Adina thought.

It was closer to dark magic than anything else.

"How did he acquire that power?" Adina asked.

Leo shrugged and replied, "Caron absorbed a portion of the Demon King's power. We call it Rabies."

"Rabies?" Adina repeated.

"Yes, just like it sounds. If you're affected by it, you turn into a rabid dog," Leo explained.

"Ah..." Adina murmured.

It was, in every sense, a terrifying power. For now, it had only been used in a small skirmish, but if that ability were unleashed on a large-scale battlefield...

It could throw an entire war into chaos on its own.

Caron had a power that forcefully created fractures within enemy ranks.

Adina realized just how dangerous Caron's Rabies truly was.

If Caron were our enemy...

Adina's thoughts trailed off. She didn't even want to imagine it.

Caron had overwhelming strength. And now, he'd displayed a terrifying ability on top of that. If he ever turned against them, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Caron said.

They were in a secluded clearing on the outskirts of Nenya Village. Caron settled into position and unceremoniously tossed Motsbi's body onto the ground.

Perhaps it was because his dark mana had been completely drained, but Motsbi's face was utterly devoid of life.

"...It's pointless," Motsbi muttered. It seemed he had even let go of his attachment to life. His voice carried nothing but resignation.

"I don't know what you hope to learn from me, but we are bound by geas," Motsbi said.

"The dark elves I tortured last night didn't seem to have that issue," Caron pointed out.

"They had only recently become dark elves. Do you think low-level grunts like them would know anything important?" Motsbi replied.

Giving up made things easier. And just like that, a strange sense of composure settled over his face.

"Kill me. You'll gain nothing from this," he said.

"You know, I've made even those inquisitor bastards spill their guts. Are you confident?" Caron asked.

"This geas was placed by the king himself. Someone like you cannot break it," Motsbi said.

"Well, we'll see about that. Though, I have to admit, the conditions for proper interrogation aren't exactly ideal," Caron replied with a smirk, studying Motsbi's condition.

The man looked as if he'd die if touched too roughly—harsh interrogation would be difficult.

But for situations like this, Caron had something prepared.

"Guess it's finally time to use this," Caron said as he reached into his pouch of dimensional space, pulling out a small box.

Inside was a ring, inlaid with a deep purple gemstone.

It was an artifact crafted by the first Master of the Magic Tower, forbidden for use within the empire: The Ring of Betrayal. Over fifty years ago, it had been used to extract every last shred of information from traitors.

Its function was simple. The ring was engraved with an 8th Circle level mind interference spell. All Caron had to do was slip it onto the target's finger and infuse it with mana. That was it.

I know because I used it myself over fifty years ago,

Caron thought.

Back when Caron served as the Imperial Guards' knight commander, he had used this artifact on a rebel from the frontier.

There was only one reason why this artifact was now banned in the present era. It carried the risk of completely shattering the target's mind.

Magic Tower Master Cor had agonized over handing over the ring until the very last moment.

"Leo, Adina. Stay close to me," Caron said.

After delivering the instruction, he wasted no time slipping the ring onto Motsbi's finger.

And then...

Whoosh!

As he poured his mana into it, the purple gemstone turned an eerie, dark blue.

At that moment, Motsbi's memories began pouring into Caron's mind.

About Aileen...

Caron thought.

One of the most overpowered aspects of this artifact was its ability to extract only the specific memories Caron sought. All he had to do was speak a keyword, and the ring would sift through the target's mind to retrieve all related information.

There was a reason rumors linked this ring to ancient magic.

Moments later...

...Got it,

Caron thought.

The dark elves' plans began flooding into his consciousness. Their target was Aileen, the capital of the Eastern Great Forest's elves, and they were preparing for a full-scale siege to bring it down.

I wonder what their goal is?

Caron wondered. There had to be a reason the dark elves were mobilizing on such a massive scale.

As Caron delved deeper, Motsbi began convulsing violently, frothing at the lips. "Grrrkkk...!"

"Owner, the geas is activating. He won't last much longer,"

Guillotine informed Caron.

Can't you hold him together for just a little more?

Caron asked.

"I'll try my best, but there's only so much I can do,"

Guillotine replied.

Time was running out, so Caron hurriedly sifted through Motsbi's memories, but there wasn't much valuable information. He wasn't high enough in the chain of command.

Caron was also looking for the reason for the dark elves' war. He wondered,

Why would they choose this moment...?

Just as Caron was racing through the memories, a vast darkness unfurled before his eyes.

Ssssshhhhh!

It wasn't the darkness of Pluto. It was a twisted, corrupting void.

Caron knew instantly what it was.

"Did you like the gift I gave you?"

a voice echoed in Caron's ears.

A sinister will, lurking within Motsbi's consciousness, had now bared its fangs.

"Even in this life, you remain close to us. Even after reincarnation, you are bound to us. What a wretched fate you carry,"

the voice said.

It was a voice he had never heard before. And yet, the sheer weight of the mana behind it told him exactly who it belonged to.

In that moment, Caron realized who was truly pulling the strings behind this war.

"...The Demon King of Sloth," Caron said.

Just speaking the name ignited his rage, because this Demon King was the very one who had tried to turn Ugo into a death knight. Caron wouldn't be satisfied even if he tore this being apart into a thousand pieces.

"Such splendid malice. I must commend you for it,"

the Demon King of Sloth said.

And right now, that being was here, in the Eastern Great Forest.