Log Horizon - Volume 9 - Chapter 4.2

2 
However, at this point in time, there was something that Leonardo, naturally, but also Chun Lu, who should have been familiar with the area, and even KR, had overlooked. 
This was the fact that Thekkek wasn’t the only village in the region. There were People of the Earth villages over toward the ruins as well. 
If, as Leonardo thought, villages in this other world were distributed randomly by an automated program, then there was a certain consistency to that distribution. The blasted wasteland of Aorsoi was dotted with many small, independent villages like Thekkek. 
By this point in time, the incident had already caused a lot of damage. 
Multiple gnoll units had crawled away from Tonnesgrave like tentacles, spreading out farther and farther, like wine spilled on a tabletop, until they’d engulfed several villages. 
No disciplined will was evident in their movements. They were aimless, haphazard, irresponsible, and wild. 
That was precisely what made their actions terrifying. After all, even if the gnolls had a mastermind or commander, that being obviously didn’t care about the current situation. 
It didn’t care whether the several thousand gnolls won or lost their invasions. 
It had no interest in how many People of the Earth died or were plunged into despair in the process. 
The will that was visible behind the invasion seemed to state this eloquently. 
“Rraaaaaaargh!!” 
For that very reason, Elias howled. 
He was an Ancient, and to him, this was an unforgivable evil. 
Elias was an Ancient who had been raised by the fairy tribe. Ancients were spontaneous mutations born among the People of the Earth, and their origins varied. In most cases, they were born into People of the Earth family lines by coincidence, but there were quite a few who had special backgrounds. 
However, whether they were born into ordinary families or, like Elias, came into the world as orphans, at a certain point in their lives, Ancients parted ways with the People of the Earth. 
Their powerful combat abilities made it difficult for them to live in regular society. Many Ancients’ talents appeared when they were in their teens, and they were welcomed into the community of Ancients before they turned twenty. Some became aware of their identity as Ancients while they were still happy, but many gained that awareness in the midst of sorrow and pain. 
One type of resignation all Ancients shared was a sense of isolation: the feeling that, while they had common roots with the People of the Earth, they were different beings. They probably got this idea from their combat abilities and their treatment by People of the Earth society, which, although it did respect them, treated them as aliens. 
What’s more, Elias was a “forbidden child” raised by the fairy tribe, and that loneliness had dogged him with particular intensity. 
As a result, he didn’t interfere in battles concerning People of the Earth. This was true of all Ancients. They had excellent combat abilities, and they had pledged to have nothing whatever to do with wars and political conflicts among the People of the Earth. To them, all such beings, from commoners to royals, were fragile creatures. There was no point in participating in their struggles. 
As far as they were concerned, People of the Earth who killed other People of the Earth were not evil. 
They were simply foolish. 
People of the Earth were frail, short-lived, and weak, and they fought with one another and died because of this foolishness. That was the general view among all Ancients, Elias included. 
To the Ancients, the People of the Earth were a bit like unwise children who had to be sheltered. When you watched them from a distance, they seemed precious and you wanted to protect them, but when you got closer to them, you were met with wariness and cold reservations. That was what they were like. 
Of course, there were those who were high-minded and worthy of support. There were others who were innocent and lived ethical lives. When it came to saving them, Elias felt no reluctance; however, lending his strength to their power struggles was something quite different and—to him—inconceivable. 
Ancients were guardians of the People of the Earth race, not of individual People. 
“Hiyaaaah! Spirits of clear water, transform yourselves into a ten-thousand-foot blade and shine! Aqua Thousand Rain!!” 
Elias’s roar became a long, crystal spear, blowing away the gnolls who stood in his path. 
In this incident, his nose had sniffed out “evil” for the very first time. 
This wasn’t the struggle for survival or predation that was seen among monsters, and it wasn’t based in greed, like the territorial struggles powerful People of the Earth sometimes conducted. Elias had detected the first indiscriminate evil he’d ever encountered. 
Killing from a desire to destroy and steal. 
He was familiar with that sort of murderous intent, but this was different. 
Killing because nothing really mattered. 

That disgusting sensation made the Ancient shudder. 
For that very reason, he’d been fighting with everything he had. 
Since he was under the fairies’ curse, he wasn’t able to finish off anything, even monsters. His attacks couldn’t drop his opponents’ HP to zero. 
However, as if to compensate for Elias’s weakness, Kanami raced over the ground. 
With smooth, feline motions, she leapt into the midst of the enemy, thrusting both her fists into separate opponents. From Dual Fist, she shifted into Wildcat Stance, executing a serial attack. 
Choosing opponents whose health had been pared down by Elias’s wide-range offensive sword techniques, Kanami steadily paid out attack after attack. By nature, Monks were Warrior classes. They were supposed to draw the enemy’s attacks to themselves, but Kanami had abandoned that role. 
Monks had very versatile abilities to begin with, and they were able to use “stances” to drastically change their own performance. By making skillful use of Iron Reno Stance, which was excellent for defense, or Tiger Stance, with its outstanding attack power, Monks could change their tactics to match the situation. This was one of their strong points. 
Wildcat Stance, the stance Kanami had chosen, improved her movement and the ability to execute serial attacks. From a low stance that nearly hugged the ground, she paid out sweeping kicks and punching attacks that used both hands, finishing off enemies whose HP was already low. 
Elias and Kanami advanced, moving ever forward, as if they were competing with each other. Fortunately, there was a ravine. A high river flowed along its bottom, and the banks on either side were about ten meters wide. Along these banks, a dense crowd of gnolls pressed toward the pair. 
Both Elias and Kanami charged ahead without thinking about what would come afterward. 
Not far from them, Coppélia was sporadically forcing her way forward. 
Coppélia was a Cleric. Since she was a Recovery class, her attack capabilities were low. However, Clerics were able to use heavy armor, and in terms of equipment, among the twelve main classes, their defense was second only to that of Guardians. 
Coppélia was currently wearing plate armor that was also reminiscent of a maid outfit. It was heavier than what she usually wore, and its “skirt” was reinforced with a series of iron plates. Even the puffed sleeves were made of magic-tempered metal, and they were distinguished by being lined with lace. 
Today, unusually, Coppélia had equipped a large kite-shaped shield to each hand. This combat build, which was known as Double Shield Style, boasted the mightiest defense among Clerics. 
Her move speed wasn’t anything impressive, but she used the weight of the gear she’d equipped to mow down the gnolls. 
Using the shields almost like walls, she protected herself, simultaneously pushing the dog-headed monsters together as if they were bread dough. The fate that waited for the compressed creatures was Elias’s range attacks and Kanami’s serial attacks. 
Their three-person combination was efficient, and the gnolls’ numbers fell before their very eyes. Coppélia’s presence on the front line likely contributed to the trio’s success. 
Elias couldn’t see it clearly, but when Coppélia closed in on a gnoll and touched it, an obviously savage energy dissipated. Of course, on its own, that wasn’t enough to defeat the enemy. Thanks to Coppélia’s participation, though, they were managing to keep this within the bounds of a normal battle. 
However, on the other hand, this also meant requiring Coppélia to continuously participate in close combat even though she was only a Recovery class. She was using plate armor and two shields, but that didn’t mean her basic abilities and special skills were suited to hand-to-hand combat. Even if they managed to recover damage, when their MP ran out, there was a risk that the battle line would collapse. 
Little by little, Elias was growing more anxious about the circumstances. 
True, the combat situation wasn’t bad at all. On the contrary, things were going their way, and they hadn’t taken much damage. 
However, it was built on a balance in which all three of them were giving everything they had. As proof, when his spirit, which was like a taut thread, disturbed that balance just a little, a gnoll raced past Elias and leapt at Coppélia, who’d had her back turned. 
Responding quickly, Kanami punched right through that gnoll with Wyvern Kick, but they ended up expending quite a lot of MP to repair the ragged battle line. 
“Vanish! Vanish! Disappear!! Aqua Stream Hurricane!!” 
The day his Ancient companions had vanished… 
A day his comrades, the thirteen global chivalric orders, had fallen. Howling Moon had lasted only a moment, but it had brought a long sleep with it. 
Half of his companions had departed, and the other half would probably never wake from their slumber. The Words of Death had destroyed the Ancients. 
Kanami had been the one who’d saved him from the deep sleep of loss. Her brightness had warmed him, her light had illuminated his footsteps, and her fingers had pointed out his path. 
However, he was still Elias, as he’d always been. 
Elias Hackblade. Guardian of the world. The strongest Ancient. 
In order to save this world… 
In order to protect the souls of all People of the Earth and Ancients… 
Elias used everything he had to carve his way into the throng of gnolls.