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Monsters began to swarm into the Great Forest.

Cursed creatures, once the mountain beasts of this continent, intoxicated by the magic exuded by demons, their flesh melting away into poison. Though alive, they burned with intent to kill in the form of the dead.

These were beings that originally did not exist on this continent. The damned cultists had summoned these abominable monsters from another realm, laughing as they heralded the start of the elf hunt.

“Just look at them.”

There was one supported by three thick tentacle-like legs, its wobbly body held aloft. And then there was the creature with a lizard head so burly that it could squeeze the juice out of even an orc, while its lower half was too weak to stand.

Ordinary people would be so frightened by merely seeing their heads that they’d hurry to look away. It was clear that the expression on their faces, damaged beyond recognition, made it impossible for them to register any emotion.

I had killed enough of these things to read their feelings.

“Just like their looks, their minds are twisted too.”

What they felt was a thrill derived from tormenting the weak.

To think they were now so giddy with the arrival of elves they could finally play with!

“But what can they do?”

These lowly creatures were less than dust compared to the monsters on our side—Edelin being one of them.

A high elf. And not just any high elf, but one with considerable experience fighting demons. Soon enough, their laughter would stop, and wails would echo through the forest.

And alongside this…

“Everyone, lay down your lives and clear a path for me and the heroes!”

The full-scale breakthrough was about to begin.

As I pulled an arrow from my quiver and nocked it to my bowstring, Edelin lifted her bow even faster than I could.

“Wow, that elf is amazing!”

“Ugh, you idiot. That elf isn’t just any elf; she’s a high elf.”

“But still, she’s impressive…”

Just like Tania and Changsik, who were teasing each other even in this situation.

When Edelin had spoken with the World Tree, she had summoned a spirit to discern the truth of my whistleblower’s claim. And now, pulling the string with the aid of that spirit’s power…

Her arrow, imbued with extraordinary strength, was aimed at the enemies.

“How on earth…?”

Shione stared blankly at Edelin’s back as if she were facing a massive wall.

Of all people, she alone was destined to prevent the world’s destruction.

But it wasn’t like she learned to shoot from some random nobody; she learned from me.

Just from seeing that one arrow, she made a face I’d never seen when I was shooting.

I gently tapped her arm and whispered quietly.

“I’ll be able to shoot like that later too.”

“Really?”

“As long as I’m here, you’ll be able to shoot just like her in no time.”

Boom─!

In that moment, a powerful sound erupted.

From the string pulled taut to its limit, a single small arrow was finally shot forth.

The arrow flew straight, adorned with light and a howling wind.

It tore flesh and bone, swallowing up its prey, splitting the sea of enemies to create a path for us.

“Those who gather in the name of Ianette, move quickly!”

As Airine Ianette’s command fell, the remaining Ianette elves, finally saved, pounded the ground without hesitation.

With the path created by Edelin, they began to push through the enemies who sought to block our way, alongside their spirits.

“How about properly nocking your bowstring first?”

With my comment, Shione, still dazed, looked at me blankly before nodding her head vigorously again, regaining her focus.

That’s right. No matter how reliable a high elf stood in front of us, we were surrounded by enemies in a battlefield. Just gawking at the high elf was not a good look.

“Taking old arrangements into account takes quite a long time. We also need to move quickly before those guys throw everything they have at us.”

Just as Edelin had said.

We couldn’t waste the lives of the elves holding the line ahead of us.

So we dashed along that narrow path they were guarding.

“Elvis, you’ll support me. Tania, if you see any elves nearby in danger, help them out. Orna, just do what you usually do.”

─Meow!

With that adorable sound unsuitable for the urgent situation, the spirits also found their places.

Elvis flew up into the sky, keeping watch from above. Tania lit flames to incinerate the oncoming foes, while Orna, as always, perched atop Shione’s head, proudly mewing as she helped channel winds into her arrows.

“I’ll sweep the front once.”

“No need to sweep too much. Just a quick clearing will do.”

“Understood!”

The Royal Guards and the Captain had moved ahead of us to clear a path.

The elves of the Ianette family, initially struggling as they became injured and fell behind due to the oncoming enemies, still had some energy left as long as they could pull their bows or swing their swords. Without hesitation, they threw themselves to protect the newly opened path.

“That way! There are more of them pushing in from that direction!”

Among them was a crimson elf making remarkable progress, refusing to be outdone by the Royal Guards.

‘Desperate, indeed.’

As expected, it was Airine Ianette.

Using her mana to manipulate three spirits, she poured effort into securing the path and supporting the Royal Guards, even while wielding her own bow and sword without rest.

‘A ruined family, but if they want to leave a name for themselves, they have no choice.’

Covered in blood and gasping for breath, she ordered her fellow elves. Who could possibly belittle her self-sacrifice in the face of that?

‘Well, whatever.’

As I nocked my arrow, I had to shoot at least once. I collected my focus and started searching for nearby enemies.

─Two hundred meters northeast… a hideous-looking monster!

Just in time, Elvis’s voice echoed in my head.

With the Pinch Style, I gripped the arrow with my index and thumb to channel strength into it, aiming precisely at the spot where Orna’s wind was directing.

─Damn it… how many times have I said to give me a signal before shooting?

As the arrowhead was aimed at the monster’s head…

Once again, Tania, timing it perfectly, added flames to the shot.

Fixing my gaze, as soon as an obstacle blocked my path…

Twang!

As I relaxed the previously tense string, I swiftly dodged to the side, spotting another opening.

Boom!

Sliding release.

The arrow flew forth, a fireball imbued with a chilling wind and unquenchable flames, slamming into the enemy’s head.

─Hit!

Boom─!

Immediately, under Elvis’s precise guidance, the wind contained in the arrow sucked in air and exploded, causing the monster’s head to burst apart.

“Nice.”

As I shot the arrow, my body began to relax, igniting determination against the ever-intensifying magic surrounding me.

Thud─ thud─

The ground started to shake.

Something massive—or rather, something incredibly heavy—was approaching this way, so close that I could feel it in my legs.

Shione and I glanced around, spotting something advancing from a distance.

“Ugh… that’s…”

Shione squeezed her face in disdain.

And it wasn’t just her; I felt the same.

“…It’s so annoying.”

As Edelin had said, it was a pest in my eyes too.

A devil’s plaything sewn together from corpses. The stench of blood perpetually clung to it. It was a cursed being created from the twisted fusion of hundreds or thousands of legs and arms, other beings’ torsos, and heads.

That damn second demon brat who had been sending us gifts crafted from the corpses of its minions was advancing toward us, cloaked in among dreadful malice and poison.

“It’s been a thousand years since I last saw that cursed being.”

It seemed to be a most unwelcome presence for Edelin.

With a calm yet chilling voice filled with unresolved rage, she growled.

Edelin stopped running to nock another arrow.

“Shianella.”

Shione, startled by her murmur, glanced at Edelin’s back.

“So that cursed demon you struggled so much to defeat is still alive, I see.”

Shione followed the remnants of the past shared between Edelin’s ancestor and the elf before her.

Edelin’s gaze fell upon the corpse monster, specifically on the remnants of an elf’s head and the decrepit armor scattered over its rotting body.

“I see the corpses of our comrades who died a thousand years ago once more.”

I recognized that second demon’s favored technique.

Collecting the corpses of fallen comrades, stitching them together to send them back to their former allies.

Through Edelin, who was visibly disgusted and filled with animosity, I was finally certain.

“I’m going insane.”

What on earth did the Great Forest do to deserve this?

Was it possible for beings that had once hated even breathing in the same space to come here?

In order to chop off their heads…

“…I’ll take charge. I can’t let the opportunity for an arrangement to escape again. Royal Guards—”

Edelin once again mentioned the need for an arrangement.

As she conveyed her voice filled with mana to the Royal Guards engaged in combat…

“Half of you will focus on sacrificing your lives to protect the heroes starting now.”

“However, securing an arrangement takes considerable strength; perhaps it would be best to leave this to us.”

“No. You lot will take quite a long time to defeat even that corpse monster.”

“Isn’t it just a monster made of stitched-up corpses?”

“No. It’s not that simple.”

Edelin chuckled softly.

“The materials used to create this are the warriors from a thousand years ago.”

And so she, perhaps seeking to vent her anger over past memories, or perhaps aiming for a quicker, more secure arrangement,

“I’ll take charge from now on.”

And she shot her arrow.

Towards that enormous pile of corpses.

 

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