What does the elf signify for humanity?
They were demons of the ground and enemies of the empire. Corrupted fairies who slaughtered kind and innocent subjects and plundered resources.
A race once known as the practitioners of bows and spirits has fallen so low.
In the eyes of humanity, elves were closer to monsters than to the Aine race. They were merely objects to be dealt with, managed, and avoided.
In truth, no one thought that elves were threats to humanity’s survival.
The power gap between humanity and elves was clear.
Although elves might conduct small-scale raids, when real battle commenced, they had to tuck their tails and flee. This sturdy belief supported the pride of humanity.
However, this was solely a story belonging to “humanity.”
At this moment, I recalled a question that had been left unasked.
Then what about the elves?
What do elves think of humanity?
The answer to that inquiry was already approaching me.
A heavy silence.
The atmosphere felt as if it were pressing down on my lungs. The expressions of all my companions, aside from me, had hardened. And what of their bleached faces?
They could rival the snow blanketing the snowfield.
To elves, humanity was the very essence of terror.
These were beings capable of erasing their existence from the world at any time; they would better be described as moving natural disasters.
Elves had no means to resist humanity.
Especially in the village where I resided, it was small. If there were armed forces, they would be easily subdued.
It was a fact I sensed immediately.
The parties involved were not ignorant of this. Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of the elves.
A tension-filled silence persisted for a while.
Pope Eyong maintained a heavy silence, while the others waited for the advice of the experienced elder. Being one who wasn’t even an elf, I decided to keep my silence.
It was time to condemn humanity.
There was no reason for me to recklessly step in and ruin the atmosphere. Pope Eyong didn’t seem inclined to provoke me either.
His low voice began to seep out.
“…It has been quite some time since they left.”
It was a casual remark while stroking the thin layer of snow with his finger.
He was a man who had hunted for hundreds of years. It was reliable with his testimony.
Someone in our party could be heard swallowing nervously.
Pope Eyong let out a long sigh.
“There’s no need to be too frightened. It’s been said that it takes half a day to search a radius… experienced guides would be needed for that… and time as well. Most importantly, this area is a hunting ground.”
“Can the snow leopards stop them?”
“We can only hope they do their best to hold them back. As you know, snow leopards have a habit of calling for their comrades when their territory is invaded.”
To be precise, it wasn’t a characteristic of the snow leopards, but rather of the corrupted monsters.
The corrupted monsters infect similar beings. In the process, possibly due to the emergence of a collective consciousness, even solitary animals sometimes live in groups.
Even if that weren’t the case, they would usually call for their companions when faced with danger. Perhaps snow leopard monsters belonged to such cases.
At Pope Eyong’s words, Ishya and Abiyang let out sighs of relief.
The fact that there was still time to prepare was essential.
It was better to return to the village and share our opinions than to be ambushed without knowing anything. In doing so, we would surely find a solution.
Whether to migrate collectively or defend the village, even if it meant death.
Pope Eyong was already furrowing his brows deep in thought. Ishya followed suit.
It was to be expected.
Though Abiyang and I had not been residents for long, the two had. The weight of the years spent in the village wouldn’t be light.
But what could be done?
To survive, there was no choice but to flee.
It was an undeniable truth that it made no difference whether one had lived in the village for decades or centuries. Facing an army with barely a dozen inhabitants was impossible.
The only glimmer of hope was the fact that there weren’t many footprints remaining at the campsite.
I asked out of curiosity.
“Can’t we just chase after them and cut off the root of danger beforehand?”
It sounded cruel at first glance.
Pope Eyong’s and Ishya’s eyes widened in surprise at my suggestion, as if they were unaccustomed to hearing talk of exterminating their own kin.
Even I regretted saying it afterward.
The owner of the footprints had yet to be identified. What if that owner was the Urjina Army?
I was essentially asking if I could kill my allies.
But since the topic had arisen, I decided to press on.
Feigning a calm voice, I asked again.
“There are many monsters around anyway. Just because someone went missing in the forest doesn’t mean they’d send out search parties…”
“Absolutely not.”
Pope Eyong refuted while shaking his head.
When my eyes subtly turned to him, he added an explanation.
“As you said, there are too many snow leopards around here. And the intruders are currently scratching their nerves… Do you know what that means?”
“They must be looking for something to vent their frustration on.”
“Or they might have already finished venting and are searching for food.”
A deep sigh escaped from Pope Eyong’s lips.
“We have to retreat. It has become too dangerous.”
I silently nodded.
In such times, it was wise to follow the advice of an experienced hunter. Abiyang, trembling at the mention of “snow leopards,” immediately agreed.
It was Ishya, on the other hand, who presented the opposing view.
“B-but Pope Eyong!”
In her desperate voice, the movement of our party came to a halt.
Pope Eyong and our gaze shifted towards Ishya. For a moment, she hesitated under the sudden scrutiny but soon raised her voice again.
It was a heartfelt appeal.
“We’ve run out of food… If this continues, the young elves will start to starve. Besides, there are humans around. That makes it harder to go hunting!”
“Ishya….”
Pope Eyong chewed on his lips, visibly hesitating.
But time teaches the virtue of restraint.
The judgment of a man who had lived for hundreds of years was always precise.
“No, if we die now, there will be no elves to hunt next time. We can only manage to survive on tree sap for now.”
“But…”
“Ishya.”
In the end, Ishya could not overturn Pope Eyong’s will.
She merely bowed her head in a gloomy manner. It was a sign of submission.
Turning his back to this, Pope Eyong resumed his steps. His final request was as follows.
“Be careful to leave as few traces as possible. Don’t give the human bastards any clues.”
His tone was still laced with faint fear.
Following the leading Pope Eyong, we began to retreat, all the while trying not to leave any traces behind.
Of course, our party did not remain completely silent.
I threw a lighthearted comment to Ishya, who looked dejected.
It was an attempt to console her.
“Ishya, can’t you loosen up a bit? If the snow leopards attack, it’ll be dangerous.”
Half of it was sincere, and half was a joke.
After all, if I really set my mind to it, I could shed these restraints at any time. I just chose not to do so to earn the trust of the elves.
Ishya, unaware of my inner thoughts, retorted fiercely.
“Absolutely not!”
Her intense glare was quite fearsome.
She seemed to blame me for something.
Perhaps her animosity towards humans was directed at me. I simply shrugged my shoulders.
“Who knows, you might end up siding with the humans?! You’re never going to loosen this! So don’t even dream of it!”
It was merely a venting of her frustrations.
I decided to willingly become a scapegoat. Perhaps that was why I felt Ishya’s mood lift slightly.
After all, there wasn’t much she could truly do in her anger.
Still, I felt a bit wronged and voiced my defense.
“No, didn’t you just hear? I’m on the elves’ side. That’s why I even suggested dealing with our kin…”
“Don’t say that.”
That was Pope Eyong’s advice.
As Ishya and I had been whispering, our gazes turned to him instantly. However, he showed no signs of looking back.
He merely continued to forge ahead through the snowfield, reiterating.
“You’re a human. You shouldn’t casually speak of killing your kind… One day, you’ll regret it. Even if you are on the elves’ side now, who knows?”
And then came his scornful laugh.
From the cracks in his words, I felt something deeply jagged, as if I were touching a worn shard of glass.
It was a fragment of lament that had burrowed deep enough to feel like a wound.
“…How long can we hold out?”
Afterward, the forest fell silent once more.
Ishya and I exchanged lingering glances before shaking our heads and resumed our steps.
It wasn’t the first time Pope Eyong had spoken in a manner that made no sense.
However, the stillness couldn’t last long.
A rumbling sound made my body freeze in place.
Ishya frowned slightly and asked.
“What are you doing? Let’s hurry.”
No answer was needed.
Not long after, Pope Eyong’s steps came to a halt. Next was Abiyang, and finally, Ishya.
Soon, the scratching breaths of a beast could be heard close by.
It was the snow leopards.
A green glint flickered between the shadows of the trees. Without making a sound, they seemed to encircle their prey.
Abiyang’s face turned pale again.
She had always been terrified of snow leopards. There was no way her body wouldn’t freeze seeing a dozen of them.
In a desperate bid, Pope Eyong yelled.
“Everyone, run!”
The sound of footsteps echoed across the snowfield.
In truth, I had no intention of fleeing, but since Ishya was pulling me frantically, I decided to play along for now.
An afternoon chase began.
As the snow and moss swallowed our feet, the sound of the wind resonated. The snow leopards pursued us.
No matter how fast a two-legged beast might be, it could not outpace four-legged ones.
Before long, a scream echoed out.
“Ahhh!”
It was Ishya.
She was delayed because she was dragging me with both hands.
The moment the leopards couldn’t hold themselves back, they pounced. The first to react was Pope Eyong.
“Ishya!”
Pope Eyong clenched his teeth and muttered an incantation. Suddenly, a fierce wind blew, and roots rose from the ground, wrapping around Ishya and me.
Abiyang had already fallen into a state of panic.
She was burying her head in the ground and trembling. I couldn’t even understand why she was so afraid of the snow leopards.
Just before snow leopards attacked Pope Eyong, I spoke from within the roots.
“Can I be freed now?”
“W-what…?”
Ishya asked, stammering. In the background, screams continued to ring out.
There was no time.
So I mustered every effort into my arms and asked again.
“You said not to let go of this restraint.”
As I raised my wrists, Ishya shouted, flustered.
“Are you stupid?! Is this really the time to worry about that?! Run now!”
With a snap,
the tree branch shattered, and Ishya’s eyes widened. Immediately, I brought my hands to my waist.
Three snow leopards targeted Pope Eyong.
That was just right.
White beams of light pierced through the air.
The stopped time depicted the silver trajectory on the drawing paper; at its end, fresh red blood gushed forth.
It was the result of one of the snow leopards attacking Pope Eyong being shot in the head.
And with a bang, another bullet veered off and exploded.
Only then did the remaining leopard slowly move its blue pupils.
Reflected in those eyes was the glint of my blue blade.
With a thud, an axe pierced between its eyes, and the pupils bulged out.
It was unable to withstand the pressure. The result, of course, was instant death.
It didn’t take even a second, less than that, for the three snow leopards to be dealt with.
Silence descended.
Even the leopards, which had been burning with hostility, showed no movement. They merely lowered their postures, staring with frozen gazes at a single point.
And at the center stood me.
With a crunch, I pushed through the tree trunks and faced the cold air.
A breath that I exhaled scattered white in the air. It had truly been a long time since the last battle.
And as I raised my hands, the axe came plummeting back.
Blood and brain matter dripped from the blade, soaking my hands, but I paid no mind.
I would be cleaning for a while longer, after all.
I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
“Only about ten…”
The first monster I had ever faced was a wolf.
Did I manage to take down ten back then?
“Not bad.”
Then today, I would catch five more than that.
The monsters that met my grim gaze recoiled in fear. I could still hear their cries for help.
Yet, my body did not budge.
Today, I would hunt.
It was my resolution to take up arms for the elves for the first time.
