Chapter 449
Chapter 449: The Chief Officer must have written it well. (2)
Everyone looked puzzled at Ereness’ words.
Right now, Ghislaine was the one taking down the most rifts created by the Salvation Society. Plus, she was the one who killed that high priest, Raviere, revealing the Salvation Society’s scheme to the world.
So what kind of relationship does she have with the Salvation Society? That elf seemed a bit crazy.
Ghislaine twisted the corners of her mouth and asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“Your energy feels similar to that of the Salvation Society.”
At that, Ghislaine’s expression hardened.
Ereness had met her in a past life. Back then, she had made her a little uncomfortable, but she hadn’t been this hostile.
There was only one difference from that time.
‘Dark.’
Memories of killing Raviere resurfaced.
‘That guy had looked startled when he saw my power.’
When Ghislaine unleashed all her energy, Raviere was left dumbfounded. That’s why she was able to easily behead him.
Back then, Raviere had clearly tried to say something as he looked at her.
“Hey, I think there’s a misunderstanding here…”
Thud, thud, thud.
Without any intention of listening, the vines rising from the ground completely wrapped around Ereness’ body.
Thud, thud!
Soon the vines transformed into armor. Unlike the clunky armor of the knights, it fit Ereness like a glove, accentuating her elegant curves.
It was as if all of her skin was covered in tree bark.
Thud!
Her face was completely concealed by a helmet made of wood, and antler-like protrusions sprouted from her head.
Flash!
A shimmering green light began to emanate from her eyes. That same light seeped from the gaps in the armor.
Claude, who had fled on Wendy’s back, muttered while watching the scene.
“That’s totally cool, right? I want one too.”
“……”
Wendy barely suppressed the urge to throw Claude away.
Unlike Claude’s admiration, Ghislaine’s face grew more and more emotionless.
‘Oh no… to bring out that armor.’
That was the armor she donned when she was fighting “seriously.” Right now, Ereness seemed to be completely misunderstanding her as a priest of the Salvation Society.
‘While I can’t win right now…’
Ereness was a bit different from the Seven Great Powers of the continent.
Some, including Ghislaine, had fought the rifts and grown stronger, earning that title. Especially, Ghislaine rose to the position of the Seven Great Powers a bit later than others.
However, she had displayed that level of strength from the very beginning. It was said that she was, in fact, unable to wield her full power due to some limitations. She was an elf who had lived for a thousand years.
In other words, Ereness still possessed tremendous strength.
Recalling that fact, Ghislaine let out a fierce smile.
‘Second among the Seven Great Powers of the continent.’
That was a term that referred to Ereness. It meant that she was the second strongest on this continent.
Because of that, she had wanted to fight her in her past life. Realistically, it had been a difficult feat, and since she had left the coalition one day, it never materialized…
‘What luck. Such opportunities are rare.’
She had yet to reclaim her past strength. So she was well aware that her current ability was inferior to Ereness’.
But she had something different than before. It was the amplification from Dark.
If they had communicated from the start, it might have been different, but she didn’t want to make excuses while the opponent was intent on fighting.
“Fights are always…”
Boom!
Mana erupted from Ghislaine as if it were exploding outward. Her eyes turned redder than ever as a dark, crimson aura enveloped her body.
“We won’t know until we try. Right?”
Seeing Ghislaine transformed like a demon, Ereness took a step back, startled.
“You… that form…”
“Let’s see just how magnificent it is.”
Wham!
Ghislaine vanished, leaving behind a black afterimage.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Ghislaine appeared right in front of Ereness, swinging her Aura Blade.
But she had already moved behind Ghislaine. Ghislaine quickly turned around and raised her sword.
The green light extending from Ereness’ hand struck Ghislaine’s blade.
Boom!
Unable to withstand the force, Ghislaine was pushed back slightly.
The onlookers were stunned. They had never seen Ghislaine pushed back like that in a one-on-one scenario.
As Ghislaine surged back with a kick off the ground, she swung her sword again. But Ereness easily dodged and swung her hand once more.
Boom!
The clash between the two was so fast and powerful that nobody could easily keep up. Shockwaves radiated in all directions, causing everyone to take a step back.
‘Indeed, that’s impressive.’
Ghislaine thought as she barely managed to evade and block Ereness’s attack. She realized just how formidable the power of those dubbed the Seven Great Powers of the continent was.
Had those fighting against her in her past life felt this way? It felt like a massive wall was blocking her path.
But she herself had risen to become one of the Seven Great Powers of the continent. The experiences and realizations from that time remained intact. No, rather, she could say that she was now at a more mature level since her reincarnation.
Boom!
Ereness, also engaging in battle, was somewhat flustered.
“What in the world…?”
In a fight, she felt that her opponent seemed stronger than your average superhuman. But she thought she could suppress her easily.
Initially, she had believed that, but the bizarre movements of her opponent were infused with deeper realizations.
‘It’s not flowing; it’s forcefully being resisted. A purely destructive and practical power!’
This didn’t make sense. To exhibit such movements, one had to be stronger than now. Rather, it seemed her body couldn’t keep up with the insights of that force.
Whoosh!
“Ugh!”
As she momentarily fell into thought, her opponent seized the opportunity and attacked, aiming for a vital spot with lethal intent.
However, Ereness had endured countless battles in her life. The opponent before her was someone she could have never imagined waging a gigantic war.
“What a beast-like creature you are!”
Ereness evaded while countering.
Boom!
As Ghislaine was pushed back from the clash, she clicked her tongue inwardly.
‘She’s certainly different from the other elves.’
Not just strong in power, but her technique was also exceptional.
The spectators couldn’t believe their eyes; the reality unfolded before them seemed surreal. The Ghislaine they thought to be the strongest was being pushed back by an elf of the slave race.
They began to think that she could genuinely lose if this continued.
Boom!
As the two distanced themselves from each other, someone shouted loudly.
“Stop it!”
As the fight escalated, a desperate Vanessa stepped forward, reaching out. She had used an excessive amount of mana after witnessing Ereness’ overwhelming power.
Flash!
A bright light struck from the sky, descending like a bolt of lightning toward Ereness.
Boom!
Ereness’ legs buckled slightly under the shock. But that was all. Amazingly, she stood unharmed against the magic.
Vanessa frowned, biting her lip.
‘That armor…’
No matter how strong she was, she shouldn’t be able to endure a direct hit like that. It felt like that armor had absorbed the energy in an instant.
“Stop!”
The others might have been silent, but the elves following Ereness had already been surrounded.
If the skilled fighters present attacked, everyone would lose their lives in an instant.
Ereness lowered her hands for a moment and straightened up. She scanned the elves surrounding her briefly before fixing her gaze on Ghislaine.
A cold voice escaped her lips.
“For a greater cause, sacrifice is sometimes unavoidable. You will tell me everything you know. Don’t even think about running away.”
She displayed no signs of the elf who cherished harmony and peace. Her determination to push through any sacrifices for her beliefs was evident.
No, it was beyond mere determination. A hint of obsession was discernible in her attitude.
People had no choice but to revise their assessment of elves.
‘Indeed, the elegant and noble elves only exist in storybooks.’
‘I should have realized it when I saw what Ascon was doing.’
‘Why are these the only elves we get?’
Ghislaine grinned at Ereness’ rigid demeanor.
‘I can’t expand my core yet.’
In her mercenary king days, she had created up to five cores. To match Ereness, she would need that level of power.
But she was still slightly lacking to create two cores simultaneously.
She could create one, but the fourth and fifth cores must be made at the same time to achieve perfect balance.
Ultimately, she needed more dangerous power to match Ereness.
Ghislaine conveyed to Dark.
‘Amplify more.’
— M-Madness… here? More?
‘Now!’
— Whatever happens, I don’t care!
Crack! Crack! Thud!
Ghislaine’s bones and muscles began to twist.
Having trained daily, she had grown stronger than when she obtained Dark. The power she could unleash through amplification was greater than before.
For a moment, she could chill Ereness’s core.
Wooohhhh!
The black smoke engulfing Ghislaine thickened and began to blaze.
As her opponent’s strength suddenly surged, Ereness instinctively pulled more power from nature.
“Indeed, it’s a foreboding energy.”
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The earth shook and echoed as a colossal force warped the space itself.
People gasped, widening their distance. The elves who had followed Ereness did the same.
Only Belinda, Gillian, Vanessa, and Tennant lowered their stances and looked for any chance to attack Ereness.
Whoosh!
The two who had been glaring at each other unleashed their powers and clashed.
Ghislaine’s enlarged Aura Blade swung while Ereness emitted a brilliant green flash from her hands.
Just then, someone interjected between them.
“What!?”
“Whoa!”
Ghislaine and Ereness were startled, but they couldn’t withdraw their attacks as they had poured all their power into them.
Boom!
An intense shockwave exploded, collapsing the surrounding ground. But the one caught in between received no damage whatsoever.
Ereness looked at the one blocking her with a look of disbelief.
“You can withstand this? Divine Power… could it be the Goddess’ blessing?”
The one blocking the two radiated immense divine energy, and his silver hair shimmered.
Piote shouted toward Ereness.
“Stop! The Lord has no connection with the Salvation Society! Rather, he’s saving people from it! If not, why would he be blocking the rifts?!”
He then turned to Ghislaine and added, “This person isn’t a bad person. There must be some misunderstanding. I can tell.”
Piote was a priest favored by the goddess. Therefore, he could sense the darkness better than anyone.
To him, Ereness was pure nature itself.
Compared to Claude and Alfoy, like murky water, that elf radiated bright, brilliant light. It stemmed from her righteous beliefs.
Hearing Piote’s words, Ghislaine chuckled softly.
“Attacking out of the blue, and you call her a good person?”
“That’s…”
Piote looked back at Ereness. It seemed that her excessively strong beliefs made her dismissive of others’ words.
“So… right! She’s like an old coot. She thinks she’s the only one who’s right. That’s the feeling I get. She’s probably an elf who has lived for an incredibly long time. She doesn’t look it, though.”
“……”
For a moment, Ereness remained silent as she gazed at Piote.
“I can sense that you’ve surely received the Goddess’s blessing. A priest, and yet you don’t feel any of that ominous dark energy?”
“That has nothing to do with the Lord.”
“What?”
“That’s because of Dark.”
The people of the territory knew about Dark’s existence, so while they felt ominous energy from Ghislaine, they didn’t really care.
It was certain that Ghislaine had fully subjugated Dark.
However, Ereness, unaware of this, tilted her head.
“Dark… what is that?”
“Lord, just show her. Why do you insist on solving everything with violence!?”
“They attacked first!”
Taken aback, Ghislaine replied, but Piote turned away again.
“Why do you have to resolve everything with violence! What kind of elf does that!”
“……”
Silently, she raised her hand to her face.
Slowly…
The wood covering Ereness’ face disappeared. Keeping the armor intact, she revealed just her face and said while looking at Ghislaine.
“Tell me what Dark is.”
Ereness’ aura had significantly diminished. She couldn’t afford to dismiss Piote’s words, which held powerful divine energy.
Ghislaine also calmed her energy. To be honest, she felt a bit disappointed.
Swish, swish, swish…
The dark energy surrounding Ghislaine gathered into one place and formed a human-like shape as Dark appeared and opened its mouth.
“I am Dark. I live within my master’s body. Do you have business with me?”
Ereness didn’t care about Dark’s cocky demeanor. She only continued to observe it with a composed gaze.
“A spirit? No, it’s not an ordinary spirit.”
“Right! I’m the Spirit King!”
“……”
Ereness felt a sense of disbelief for the first time since emerging into the world.
