Chapter 16

Bebanggu rumble rumble

Iris Selena.
That was the name of a fairy.

The surname Selena was one of a prestigious lineage even among fairies.
Even if the entire fairy race was currently heading toward extinction, there would still be many who recognized the name Iris Selena.

Compared to humans, she would be like nobility, but Iris’s life was far from luxurious.
She was an ascetic of the Great Forest.
She lived alone, separated even from the World Tree, which was essentially the homeland of all fairies.
Every day, she trained with the sword and honed her archery skills.
If it weren’t for the news that traces of Pelerian had been found, she wouldn’t have returned here.

Iris kept running.
Ever since she heard Pelerian’s name, her left eye had been throbbing.
But more painful than the ache in her eye was the hole in her heart.
She had a younger sister.
A sister who had been sacrificed to a mage. One who had been far too young.

As Iris dashed fiercely toward the World Tree, she suddenly came to a halt.
The deeper one went into the Great Forest, the closer to the World Tree, the larger the trees became.
The trees where she stood now were all over 100 meters tall.
Within the dark shade of life, she sensed killing intent.

Iris swung her sword.

Titing!

Sparks burst continuously in the air before her.
Something had flown toward her, and she had deflected it with her blade.
The entire sequence happened so fast that only the sparks were visible.
Iris identified her attackers.
A flock of parrots.
Instead of feathers, sharp, thorn-like spikes protruded from them, marking them as dangerous magical beasts.

They were Spinebone Parrots.
Creatures that traveled in flocks and were extremely dangerous.
One with especially vivid coloring flapped its wings and lunged forward.
Then, astonishingly, multiple spikes shot out.

Instead of dodging, Iris charged forward.
There were five Spinebone Parrots. Even high-level monsters would avoid a group like this.
The parrots cackled as they rushed at Iris.
The thorny feathers they scattered were coated in paralytic poison, making them highly dangerous.

However.
The broadsword, refined with fairy craftsmanship, traced a path of light.
The spikes were deflected, sparks bursting in succession.
And at last, it cleaved through the Spinebone Parrots.

It looked as though Iris had simply passed straight through the flock.
But the result was dramatic.

Thud-thud-thud!

Before even blood could spurt, the parrots fell apart into dozens of pieces.
Yet not even the sound of slicing could be heard.

The two parrots that had been behind her survived and fled in shock.
Normally, she would have chased them down and eradicated them, but Iris simply flicked the blood off her blade.

Hundred Flash .
It was one of Iris’s many unique skills.
A supreme sword technique that shattered opponents in an instant.

“Magical beasts, this close to the World Tree…”

Just ahead lay the city of the fairies.
Normally, magical beasts would never dare to operate in this area.
This was proof of decline.
Even creatures like Spinebone Parrots no longer feared the fairies.

“…Tch.”

Clicking her tongue, Iris began running again.
In the central region of the Great Forest, where the World Tree could be seen, stood the city.
Though she didn’t come often, Iris knew exactly where she needed to go.

The Elder’s residence.
A temple-like house, neatly constructed from white stone.
Inside stood the Elder.

Though nearly a thousand years old, the Elder did not appear wrinkled like a human.
Yet his color seemed oddly faded, almost plant-like.

“You’ve come, Iris.”
“Have you found Pelerian?”

The question came out immediately.
The Elder gave a bitter smile. It was expected.

“No. This time as well, we only detected signals from the dungeons he scattered across various places.”

Before the Elder was something like a crystal orb.
An invention of Pelerian.
An item left behind by that vile mage before he was exiled.
It was now being used to track his traces.

“…There’s still a chance he could be there, isn’t there?”
“Yes, there is a chance.”

They had already experienced similar situations several times.
Pelerian had created his dungeons all across the continent.
He seemed to conduct all kinds of suspicious research there.
The results of that research appeared to be transmitted to wherever he was hiding, and whenever that happened, the crystal orb here would also receive a signal.

“Will you go investigate?”
“I will.”

And each time a signal was detected, Iris volunteered to head to that location.
Unfortunately, she had never once encountered Pelerian himself.

“Very well. I grant you the authority of an investigator.”

The Elder handed Iris a brooch.
It was a golden brooch crafted in the shape of a leaf from the World Tree.

“Iris Selena, you are now an envoy of Elvenwood and an officially appointed Golden Leaf Investigator. Do not forget the dignity of a fairy. I trust you already understand the rest.”
“Yes.”

Since this wasn’t the first time, the Elder skipped the minor formalities.
Iris, already accustomed, pinned the brooch to her chest.

“When will you depart?”
“Now.”

With that, Iris leapt straight out the door.
Though the Elder’s residence was built high within a tree, he did not worry about her.

Letting out a sigh, the Elder muttered,

“That child… always in such a hurry.”

If only she could let go of the hatred accumulated in her heart.
For humans, hatred lasts only a few decades at most, since death eventually comes.
But for elves, hatred often endures for centuries.
Hatred aged over hundreds of years eventually becomes something beyond mere hatred.

The Elder fell into thought for a moment.

‘Why now?’

The newly discovered dungeon was located on the outskirts of the Great Forest.
It had been over twenty years since Pelerian’s last dungeon was found.
Before that, every dungeon within the Great Forest had been thoroughly hunted down and burned.
And yet, one still remained.

‘Was it hidden because it was especially important?’

The thought crossed his mind.
But there was no point dwelling on it.

Iris Selena had set out.
If it was her, no matter what Pelerian had left behind, she would surely burn it all to ashes.

The moment an elf set out wearing the golden brooch—
The night before that.

At Grayrim’s lord’s castle, a dinner gathering had been prepared.

Perhaps due to the alcohol, the lord’s face was flushed red.
He stood up with a pleased expression.
Then he lightly tapped his glass with a silver spoon.

As everyone’s attention gathered, the lord spoke cheerfully.

“For Knight Zain.”

He raised his glass.
All those present lifted their glasses filled with wine.
Even the lord’s daughter, Rania, held up a glass of orange juice.

“And for the hero, Gunter.”

Everyone drank.
Laughter and conversation filled the room.

Grayrim’s territory, being so close to the Great Forest, had not developed much.
However, for a territory bordering one of the five great danger zones of the continent, it was quite livable.

In the “mountains,” wyverns rampaged.
In the “plains,” orc tribes emerged to raid.
But in the “forest,” magical beasts rarely appeared.

Of course, many powerful named monsters lived deep within, but as long as one did not venture too far inside, it was not an issue.
For the lord, occasional investigations when problems arose were sufficient.

“This time, we truly received great help. To subdue a Medusa Serpent so easily…”

It had been the same not long ago when a Medusa Serpent appeared.
Other territories bordering danger zones were ruled by margraves and maintained their own armies.
But Grayrim was not, and so the hero Gunter had been dispatched from the capital.

“What did we even do? It was all Sir Gunter’s achievement.”

Knight Zain spoke modestly. In truth, it was indeed so.
After a drink, his face flushed red.

“Haha, such modesty.”

The lord lightly patted Zain on the shoulder.
He seemed to like this young and somewhat naive knight.

“When will Sir Gunter be returning?”
“Ah, that… I’m not exactly sure either.”

Zain looked troubled by the lord’s question.
Gunter had left, leaving behind his attendants, including Zain.
He had only said that he had something to take care of for a while.
Gunter often acted like that.

“He’ll probably return soon.”
“I see. I hope he stays a bit longer this time.”

The lord seemed quite drunk.
When people drink, they tend to say things they normally wouldn’t.

“What do you think of the Grayrim territory?”
“I think it’s a good place. Safer than I expected.”
“Yes, it is a good place… but you see.”

The lord paused for a moment.

“The kingdom underestimates the Great Forest too much.”

“… ”

“There’s a saying that has been passed down in our family for generations. Do you know what it is?”
“What is it?”
“Fear the forest.”

“Ah.”

“The Great Forest is deep. The number of magical beasts alone exceeds that of any other danger zone. There must be many we know by name—and many more we don’t.”
“That’s true.”
“Our ancestors warned us. That one day, the beast of the apocalypse would be born from the Great Forest.”

The lord spoke as if recounting a dreadful old tale.
Zain listened with as serious an expression as possible.
This wasn’t the first time he had heard such stories.
Those who lived near danger zones all feared magical beasts.
The “Beast of the Apocalypse,” said to one day devour all monsters and bring about the end of the world, was a story spread across the entire continent, not just Grayrim.

“…You don’t believe it. I can tell from your face.”
“No! The Great Forest is the danger zone that even Sir Gunter is most wary of.”
“Hahaha. Enough, enough. I’ve gone and ruined the mood on such a good day. More importantly—”

Zain, flustered, waited for the lord to continue, but for some reason, he didn’t.
Had he become displeased?
Just as Zain raised his head to apologize again—

“…Th-that.”

The lord wasn’t looking at Zain.
He was staring blankly out the window.
Beyond the balcony lay the territory, and beyond that, the Great Forest stretched out.

“Th-that is… what…?”

Someone let out a gasp.
From the Great Forest, a blue light was rising.

“… ”

The thin beam stood out clearly against the night sky.

“…An anomaly has been observed.”

The lord’s face turned pale.
As if his drunkenness had completely vanished, he spoke with a stiff expression.

“It is our duty to investigate any abnormal phenomenon observed in a danger zone.”

Everyone rushed to the window and looked toward where the light was rising.

“It looks like it’s beyond the outer forest. Damn it, where’s Oliver?”

Oliver was Grayrim’s best hunter and an expert of the Great Forest, trusted even by the lord.
The butler awkwardly informed him that Oliver was not in the territory.

“Then call the captain of the guard for now… Hmm.”

Zain raised his hand.

“I will join the investigation party.”
“Would you? That would be much appreciated.”

As Gunter’s attendant knight, investigating danger zones was also Zain’s duty.
The lord muttered as he watched the gradually fading light.

“This is ominous. Very ominous…”

Coming from you, that makes it even more ominous.
Zain thought so, but didn’t say it aloud.

And then, the basin.
The day after I escaped from Pelerian’s dungeon.

I began hunting in earnest.

A crocodile covered in rotting, foul-smelling aquatic plants crawled out of the swamp.

【Swamp Alligator Lv16】

That thing is strong.
Probably on a level similar to a cockatrice.
In a head-on fight, a small and adorable Serpent like me wouldn’t stand a chance.
That’s why it looked down on me and crawled out of the swamp.

Its sharply slit reptilian pupils were fixed on me.
Sorry, but I’m a reptile too, so I’m not scared.

As I stood still, it slowly began to approach.
It looked clumsy as it waddled, but only a fool would underestimate a magical beast.

As expected.
It suddenly opened its jaws wide and accelerated.
It was faster than my leap.

But now, I can use magic.
And a magic Serpent is invincible.

[Uses Basic Elemental Magic: Earth Lv3]

My earth magic had already leveled up.
All it really did was raise a wall of earth from the ground, but if used well, it was effective.

A wall of earth shot up beneath the charging alligator’s jaw.
Newton’s law of inertia applied here too.
The alligator was incredibly fast—and something that fast got uppercut by a wall of earth.

Bang!

Like a stunt car, the alligator flipped once in midair and overturned.
Its pale white belly was exposed.

Into that soft underbelly, I drove in my bebanggu—no, my Venom Fang Lv8.
As I steadily injected venom, it thrashed wildly.

Rumble! Peekaboo.

Whenever it tried to flip back over, I kept interfering with earth magic.
Before long, it twitched and died.

Heh, easy. Too easy.

That’s right.
I’ve grown stronger.

Ahahaha.