The term ‘Mage’ was synonymous with terror.
It was impossible not to fear the monsters leading the surrounding beasts and taking the vanguard in the Delphrium Army. Each of them was a horrifyingly strong adversary.
They had made a contract with the evil gods for the sake of power.
Without a rightful price, there would be no Mages. For instance, there was Guildford, whom I had faced at the orphanage.
He was strong even as a human, but he was even stronger as a Mage.
It was doubtful whether I could match him in a fight now.
Nonetheless, Guildford was among the comparatively easier opponents for me.
This was because I had trained and familiarized myself with his skills and fighting style over several days prior. Even as a Mage, the fundamentals of a swordsman did not change.
However, the Snowfield Mage I faced now was different.
This was the first time I encountered such an opponent. It was only natural that I would have no clue how they would initiate an attack on me.
In silence, my blade gleamed in the blood-red eyes of the Snowfield Mage. Their breath was already ragged.
It was as if they were eagerly anticipating the taste of blood.
That was when the muscles of the Snowfield Mage contracted.
Their brutish body curled up in an instant like a spring. It was a truly surprising sight to see muscles that looked as solid as stone glide so smoothly.
Of course, I had no time to admire the spectacle.
Boom! An explosion erupted at that moment.
A sudden hot wind swept over the Snowfield. The impact of the Snowfield hitting my body was all I felt, despite having absorbed that shock with the surface of my sword.
The power was beyond imagination.
As I staggered backward, the Snowfield Mage immediately swung their forepaws fiercely. A sharp line was drawn between the intersecting trajectories.
It was a nearly textbook response.
I narrowed my senses, which I had kept open just in case.
In the instant when my vision blueprint scanned the space and the dazzling threads of light entered my eyes—
My swaying hand violently grasped a thread of light. Then, my hand axe leapt out like a flash.
Splatter! Blood sprayed into the air.
The axe, enveloped in aura, effortlessly pierced through the monster’s skin. Though it did not cut through to the bones, it was clear I had struck a solid blow.
GRAWWW!
The Snowfield Mage howled like a beast, as if they had lost their mind. They rolled backward, using their distinctive springy muscles to leap far away.
I had heard that the creature known as the “Snowfield” did not die when it fell from heights. It was said that this was due to its developed flexibility, which it seemed to have inherited even after becoming a Mage.
Could it be that they had no other noteworthy abilities?
It was at that moment I thought to myself that this was reasonable enough.
“Grrr, grrr…”
Suddenly, the Snowfield’s mouth began to move, and before long, its snout shortened a bit.
Only then did human language begin to flow from the Mage’s mouth.
“To think it would be difficult to face me even in a blessed body, humans are indeed strong… So, it’s no wonder we’ve ended up in such a wretched state.”
“I think it’s just bad luck.”
I said, fastening the hand axe back at my waist.
“Today, the Urjina Army has an unusually large number of special guests. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t be of a level that could target us… so let’s leave it at that?”
It was a sincerely meant piece of advice.
There was not a hint of wavering in my expression as I faced the Snowfield. I wouldn’t be defeated by a Mage who had only slightly better physical abilities, even if they were as strong as Guildford.
Of course, I had to be wary of excessive confidence.
“You’ve already seen enough blood. Just go back and tell your leader… that they shouldn’t dare step outside the coniferous forest for a while.”
“Then are we Elves meant to live endlessly in deprivation?”
At the rough breath-tainted question, I momentarily fell silent.
The Snowfield Mage wore a forlorn smile.
It was an expression that did not at all match their fierce exterior.
“Ever since we were trapped in this cold and barren coniferous forest, we have never attacked humanity first… But who was it that stole our food and drove us to the brink of death if not your kind?”
“Nonsense.”
I cut off the Snowfield Mage’s words with a wry smile.
“What reason do we humans have to provoke the Elves living safely in the coniferous forest? Morale among the soldiers stationed at the front lines is already at its lowest, after all…”
“It’s a question we should be asking!”
A deafening sonic wave erupted that made my eardrums throb.
The Snowfield Mage was now drooling in excitement.
“Why have you tormented us?! We no longer even have the intention to resist! It’s not like we want to die quietly in the coniferous forest, we simply don’t want to suffer anymore!”
Nonsense, indeed.
I was about to retort once more when I hesitated at the desperate cry filled with pain.
Was that the gaze of someone lying?
How I wished a Princess was here. I felt like the Elves’ true intentions could only be discerned through her.
So far, the Elves’ strategy for survival had been simple.
To kill and steal to survive. This was evidenced by the countless households pillaged during their migration to the North.
But now, suddenly claiming they would do otherwise, it was only natural to be filled with suspicion.
The Snowfield Mage growled, spitting words filled with hatred.
“And there’s a misunderstanding on your part… that you’ve seen enough blood already?”
Grr, a tragic laughter escaped the Mage’s lips.
They staggered forward, gazing at the sky. The North’s night sky, devoid of any light, was extraordinarily brilliant.
So much so that a solitary figure looked pitiful in comparison.
And once again, as the Snowfield gazed at me, there were veins visible in their eyes.
“Don’t be mistaken. We are not here to survive.”
At that moment, I felt a strange presence.
Several Elves were staggering together behind the Mage. With faces worn by the hardships of life, only deep despair could be seen in their eyes.
I shuddered involuntarily at the gloomy atmosphere they were creating. It was a primal sense of rejection.
They were closer to the dead than to the living.
“…We came to be ‘liberated.’”
I couldn’t let things go on like this.
My intuition rang alarm bells right after that. My hand reached for the hand axe.
With a whistling sound, the hand axe traced a long trajectory.
But the Snowfield Mage’s actions were more immediate.
They grabbed two Elves by their necks. The intention was clear.
To throw them.
My eyes widened, unable to fathom throwing kin. I could have expected them to perform a multi-casting instead at the very least.
The more terrifying fact was that what I had expected was still only scratching the surface.
One of the thrown Elves clearly pierced through the trajectory of my hand axe.
Without a whimper, the Elf’s body split apart, spilling innards everywhere.
The futility of their demise as they flopped onto the ground was utterly disheartening. For a moment, cognitive dissonance took hold of me.
Could a life end in such utter simplicity?
The answer to that question wouldn’t take long to reveal itself.
The moment I was about to strike down the flying Elf with my sword, I managed to make brief eye contact.
He looked sad yet content.
And only when the man’s mouth opened did I finally understand the Snowfield Mage’s intention.
A grotesque eye rolled around on his tongue.
Around it, the surrounding space began to distort.
Instead of swinging my sword, I instinctively shrank my body as much as possible.
Enveloping my entire body with the magical power meant for my sword was incidental.
It wasn’t long before my choice was proven correct.
With a thunderous BOOM, explosive sounds pummeled my eardrums one after another. Soon after, they transformed into a high-pitched ringing in my ears.
My body was flying through the air.
The distance was quite long. Several trees splintered with a resounding crash.
With each occurrence, a heavy impact rushed into my body.
Even the sensation of pain felt distant.
When I came to my senses, I found myself rolling on the Snowfield.
Despite the magical power enveloping me, my vision blurred for an instant.
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, I staggered to my feet.
A faint heat was rising in the spot where I had landed. Burn marks were left all over my clothes.
It was fire.
The thick, acrid smell rising from behind verified this fact.
An Elf set fire to the forest? Even using their kin as offerings?
They were not the Elves we knew.
I found it hard to believe this reality.
But at the same time, it was an undeniable truth.
Backlit by flames, a hulking mass trudged forward. Several Elves were already draped over its shoulders and arms.
I quickly glanced around.
I had been pushed far back. The airborne duration had been long, and the ground was slippery in this Snowfield.
Even after hitting the ground, it felt like I had rolled a considerable distance.
The metallic clash echoing from behind validated that fact. I had somehow been pushed closer to the boundary where bottles met.
The sheer force of it made cold sweat pour down my back.
It was a level of power that couldn’t exist without sacrificing a life entirely.
While gazing at the Mage for quite some time, a presence approached.
It was Yulen.
He rushed to my side, standing next to me with a dazed look, staring at the burning coniferous forest.
“…What is that?”
“A monster.”
It was the most carefully chosen word in my meager vocabulary.
No other word came to mind that could define one who brutally killed their own kin.
I said to Yulen.
“We must run immediately. First, we should fall back to the rear and have the comrades waiting there support us.”
“Is that all?”
Yulen’s voice was thick with disbelief as he asked.
I didn’t bother to explain.
Because in the distance, another Elf was soaring towards us.
The Snowfield’s resilient muscles were also useful for throwing. With that elasticity, the throwable range widened beyond imagination.
I shouted in a panic.
“Yulen, dodge!”
But Yulen didn’t retreat.
Worried about my injuries, he leapt forward a step and spread his aura thinly.
It was a protective barrier.
I still didn’t know how to handle my aura with such precision. It was an excellent choice for defense.
Though, after all, the power of an ‘Elf sacrifice’ had already far surpassed any threshold.
After that, it was a repetition.
The only difference was that I stayed behind Yulen, flying a shorter distance. This allowed me to mitigate additional injuries to some extent.
Beside me, Yulen had to cough up blood as he fell over as well.
He looked no different than I did after suffering the first strike.
The only contrasting point was that unlike the first explosion causing flames, the second explosion generated a shockwave.
Even now, faint currents coursed through Yulen’s limbs.
His conclusion was simple.
“Alright, let’s escape.”
My friend had a thirst for battle, but he was no suicidal person.
That alone was a relief.
In the distance, flames licked upward, consuming the very hellscape before us.
