Blood flowed along the blade of Draupnir and splattered onto the capital of Renford Kingdom.
“Ugh…!”
However, the one bleeding wasn’t the elf of the Eiwass family but Khan, who had made the surprise attack.
Drip.
The long wound running from his knuckles to his forearm wasn’t caused by a blade. It was more like a beast had clawed him roughly. Khan couldn’t be certain because he hadn’t caught the moment of the attack clearly.
‘No, there wasn’t even a proper attack.’
Though the elf’s reaction was quick, it shouldn’t have been fast enough to counterattack. The elf had merely leapt backward lightly to create distance. Khan had pursued immediately, and just as he sensed danger through his battle intuition, he was struck.
It wasn’t a matter of speed. The attack and the hit happened almost simultaneously. Plus, it was a strike that wasn’t even visible. Khan knew all too well what this technique was.
“Spirit…!”
“Inferior being. It’s too late for regret!”
The elf of Eiwass shouted loudly. Around the elf, natural mana in the environment was converging. Khan felt the danger despite not sensing the flow of mana and leapt forward.
In the next instant, he crossed the gap swiftly and arrived right in front of the elf.
Using a leap to charge, it was a move so fast that ordinary eyes couldn’t even react. In contrast, the body of the ancient elf was clearly not built for close combat—it was the typical physique of a mage unaccustomed to melee.
Yet Khan’s strike didn’t connect.
Boom!
Even as his middle sword strike split the ground of the capital, the elf evaded deftly and laughed.
“I told you it was too late.”
Slash—!
Once again, blood sprayed from Khan’s body. Though he managed to protect his upper body with Draupnir in time, he couldn’t completely fend off whatever had clawed at his shoulders.
“My lord…!”
“Hold them off!”
Maya raised her shield to intervene, but Khan, bleeding and charging again, stopped her. The reason became apparent soon enough. Unnoticed until now, the bodyguards of Eiwass charged toward Khan.
“Elves…?!”
“Shields of Eiwass, tear these inferiors apart!”
Eiwass was one of the six families that supported the elven nation of Paradise. Of course, they wouldn’t have sent their aged kin without protection, especially when handling a Paradise Bank division.
Five elven bodyguards, unknown even to the Renford Kingdom, now attacked. These weren’t just ordinary elves but first-class warriors who had honed Eiwass’ techniques longer than a human lifetime.
Crash!
‘So fast…!’
Though Maya Eldred was a skilled spear wielder with exceptional talent, she hadn’t reached the domain of masters who broke the limits of their species.
The impact from the elven swordsman’s strike against her spear nearly buckled her knees. The sheer force from the elf’s slender limbs was unimaginable.
As the elf lightly stepped on Maya’s bent knee, he flipped through the air, leaping over her entirely, and then lunged, aiming directly at the crown of her head.
Clang—!
She managed to deploy a force field just in time. However, she couldn’t prevent her stance from collapsing. Another blade then targeted her lower body, a swift slash that seemed to meet no air resistance.
Given Maya’s speed, she couldn’t possibly counter this simultaneous attack. The two elven swordsmen seemed so certain of Maya’s demise that they nearly rejoiced.
‘Accelerate.’
Exceeding all expectations, Maya accelerated once more and charged forward, thrusting her spear. The elf appeared to dodge in shock, but the Yorun’s Spear made a mechanical noise and shot out an extended shaft, piercing the elf’s heart with precision.
“Roel!”
There was no doubt about the instant death. The elf who had leaped over Maya was enraged and attempted to stab her exposed back. However, this was a clear misjudgment. Maya was not defenseless at all.
“Oh my, an opening.”
At some point, the presence of Ludmilla, who had been somewhat insignificant at the start of the fight, had vanished. Even the elves, with their superior senses and mana sensitivity, failed to notice her.
And the elf swordsman had to pay with his body for missing Ludmilla’s presence.
Crunch!
The beautiful and elegant form of the elf was crushed beyond recognition into something resembling a ball of meat, and it fell to the floor with a splat.
“Lady Ludmilla…!”
“Focus ahead, will you? Those pretty quasi-humans are quite furious now.”
“Leave it to me!”
“Just don’t overdo it.”
Ludmilla floated a series of enticing artifacts around her and laughed.
“We just have to hold them off until things are settled over there.”
“Come at me, you pointy-eared bastards—!”
“Honestly… You’re not normal either.”
Ignoring the suggestion to fight defensively, Maya charged towards the Eiwass guards instead. It brought a wry smile to Khan’s lips. The guards didn’t matter as much anyway.
The elf swordsmen were indeed threateningly strong, with strength that belied their slender forms and incredibly fast reactions. If a different mage stood in Ludmilla’s place, no spells would have likely landed a clean hit.
‘Indeed, they have earned the right to be arrogant.’
Ludmilla concealed herself again, her form gradually taking shape through the ‘spatial techniques’ she had begun mastering, manipulating the spatial orb. She loaded another spell, her eyes fixated on one person.
On the barbarian’s back, who charged towards the ancient elf while covered in wounds and blood.
***
“You charge at me like a mindless beast!”
The Eiwass elf, E-Urel, dodged Khan’s strike with the characteristic graceful movements of an elf, mocking him while commanding his ‘spirit.’
With that, new wounds appeared on the barbarian’s body.
‘A primitive race.’
Of course, E-Urel had been genuinely surprised by the barbarian’s initial attack. The speed at which the barbarian moved made him appear like a blurred afterimage, even to an elf’s eyes.
When E-Urel realized that this was the pure physical ability of the barbarian, without the aid of magical devices, he even doubted his own eyes. And what about his ability to overturn the ground with such brute force?
There was no doubt the barbarian was a strong man who had entered the realm of ‘superhuman’ by human standards. But E-Urel was an elf. Although his personal abilities weren’t focused on combat, the power naturally accumulated over the years was enough to handle most threats on his own.
Just like now—.
Slash.
E-Urel made a deep wound on the barbarian’s left leg and smiled his peculiar grin.
‘The limits of an inferior race are pitiful.’
It was a stark reminder of the limitations of inferior races that couldn’t survive without the help of the great elven race. And how benevolent the elves must be to leave their paradise and establish a ‘bank’ for the preservation of humans.
E-Urel’s interest in the ‘artifacts’ held by the young mage girl was of the same nature. The intense scent of mana naturally attracted his attention. These artifacts were undoubtedly the legacy of a bygone era when these inferior beings still remembered their potential.
‘No doubt, he doesn’t even understand the true value of his treasure.’
Most humans were like that. From the perspective of the great elves, it was deeply regrettable to see the fruits of an entire race falling into the hands of those who couldn’t even recognize their worth.
That’s why he proposed taking the treasure—extending even the mercy of paying in gold.
“You’re the one who spat on that mercy. Now it’s too late for regrets!”
Responding to E-Urel’s fury, the spirit that only he could see flashed its eyes. The embodiment of the elves’ greatness. The blue, giant wolf visible only to the elven spirit mages, raised its claws.
‘Now!’
E-Urel had positioned the spirit on the barbarian’s charging path, predicting a straightforward charge. As expected, the barbarian lunged forward, seemingly bringing his head into the wolf’s maw.
The wolf spirit, with its fang-like claws imbued with the cold wind, struck down. At the same instant, E-Urel smirked.
‘After I tear that arrogant barbarian’s body to shreds and then deal with the strange mage girl who erased her presence, I’ll claim the treasure—’
But contrary to E-Urel’s expectations, the barbarian’s body was not torn apart.
“He dodged…?!”
With eyes that seemed to see the future, the barbarian had precisely evaded the wolf’s strike. Seeing the murderous intent in those eyes, E-Urel faltered and quickly employed his spirit magic.
“You’re lucky!”
It had to be luck.
Spirit magic attacks were absolute. How could one avoid an attack that was invisible and left no trace of mana?
Even the highly sensitive aquatic folk of the south could not do that.
‘Let’s see if that luck holds out again!’
In response to the spirit magic, the wolf spirit’s body dissipated into blue smoke. Spirits were products of nature and could always return to a natural state.
Of course, they could also freely reconstitute into their spiritual forms.
The blue wolf, reconstructed to block the barbarian, silently roared. Dozens of claw shadows, imbued with the power of the spirit, surged toward the barbarian like blades of wind.
A secret art of the Eiwass family’s spirit magic.
It had a flaw: if the method to counter it was known, it could easily be defeated due to its unchangeable attack pattern. But discovering the counter would require battling an Eiwass elf over a hundred times.
And in the present era, where most elves with spirit contracts lived in paradise, could such an experienced individual even exist?
No.
Thus, the spirit magic of the Eiwass family was essentially a flawless technique.
“This time, it’s over! Inferior species—!”
E-Urel laughed maniacally. In contrast, the barbarian facing him had a gaze that was calm and cold.
‘Now’s the moment.’
He had suspected the general nature of his opponent from the beginning. If you progress through quests in Paradise, a character from the Eiwass family will inevitably appear to obstruct you.
Especially as the head of the Paradise Bank’s external business division, he’s a major antagonist who causes significant trouble in the future.
‘That’s why he must be killed here.’
Khan had broadly figured out E-Urel’s pattern. Having fought this named character countless times in the game, and with even more experience against the spirit magic of the Eiwass family, he could predict E-Urel’s attacks.
He deliberately avoided E-Urel’s blows to provoke the elf into using the family’s secret art.
‘I can see it now.’
The strength of supposedly unperceivable spirit magic became useless from this moment on. The counter to Eiwass’s secret technique, ‘Razor Wind Assault’, was straightforward: step into a predetermined blind spot.
Following the visualized claw shadows in his mind, Khan moved.
Whooosh──!
The razor wind, fierce enough to tear his earlobes, grazed past Khan.
“What…!”
E-Urel’s face twisted upon witnessing his secret technique being perfectly countered. He had no time to be astonished. Khan closed the distance with a leap and swung his sword down.
Slash.
It was a moment that clearly showed E-Urel’s lack of combat experience. He was slow to react, and one of his arms was severed, making him shriek in pain—a clear indication of his unfamiliarity with suffering.
And now, the single thought dominating his mind was simple. He had to survive no matter what.
“If you kill me, the elves of Paradise won’t forgive you! Aren’t you afraid of the Eiwass family…?!”
“So what?”
“You wretch—!”
When the threat didn’t work, E-Urel seemed to shift tactics, his pain-contorted face forming a twisted smile.
“Well then. I’ll give you Paradise Bank’s gold! As the head of the external business division, I can give you more gold than you could spend in a lifetime…!”
As if even the lure of gold couldn’t be ignored, the descending red blade halted abruptly. E-Urel, relieved, quickly continued speaking.
“And! I’ll give you the human treasures that the elves possess! I swear on my name, E-Urel…!”
“Lies.”
It’s not a lie…! E-Urel desperately claimed with a genuinely aggrieved expression, but Khan coldly retorted.
“No, it’s a lie.”
The only good elf is a dead elf.
Crunch…
Feeling the solid impact of Draupnir piercing through E-Urel’s head and planting into the ground, Khan murmured to himself.
‘Another good elf added to the count.’
TL’s Corner:
So in this world, the only good elves are dead elves???