Chapter 18 — Don’t Burn Down the Elven Forest! What Kind of Villain Are You?!
Yogiri, Tomochika, and Mokomoko surveyed the landscape in every direction. No matter where they looked, the brush seemed to continue on forever. The Elven Forest was on the southern end of West Ent, which should have bordered the sea, but there was no water in sight.
“Nothing but trees, huh?” Yogiri commented.
“Are we even going to be able to get out of here?” Tomochika asked.
“Maanu said that people came here to scout it out, so you should be able to go in and out. Probably.”
“‘Probably’? I can’t help but feel like it looks hopeless.”
“We have no choice but to find a way,” Mokomoko said. “For now, let us select a new objective.”
They needed to find a new location to head to. Yogiri looked around carefully. Though there were nothing but trees around them, there were some things that stood out, like other enormous trees similar to the one they had climbed. There seemed to be five more, making six giant trees total.
“They’re laid out in a hexagon,” he observed.
“Hm. Now that you mention it, these enormous trees are clearly different, so there may have been a purpose to their placement. Maybe it is a little cliché, but perhaps they are arranged as a six-pointed star? It is possible they were needed for some sort of ritual.”
“In that case, maybe there is something...yeah, right in the middle.”
In the center of the shape made by the six giant trees was a space devoid of plant life, replaced by an array of stone structures, built up in levels like pyramids.
“Hm...it seems reminiscent of Teotihuacán,” Mokomoko said.
“Is it a city? Maybe that’s where the elves live?”
“Weren’t the elves you were imagining the kind that lived in harmony with nature, like fairies who love the forest?” Yogiri asked. He couldn’t help but feel that living in stone structures conflicted with that image.
“Stone is a part of nature as well, isn’t it?!”
“That seems like it’s pushing it to me.”
“Hm. I thought it unreasonable for the forest to continue forever,” Mokomoko interjected, “but now that I look more closely, I can see similar places here and there.”
“Meaning what?”
“In short, those two places may be one and the same. Space has been warped to make the forest seem immense, but in truth it may not be that large.”
They looked to where Enju was pointing. The two points looked exactly the same. In fact, the entire forest looked like a mosaic of a single repeating pattern.
“So something like the Lost Woods?” Yogiri said. “Where there’s a fixed route you have to take to travel through it, and it makes a chime to tell you that you’re going the right way?”
“Possibly, but how do we find the correct path?” Mokomoko wondered aloud.
Even taking into account the fact that space was warped here, the layout of the forest was rather complex. It didn’t seem like something they could get a grasp on just by looking around from where they stood.
“Why don’t we head to the center?” Yogiri suggested. At a glance, it didn’t seem like the section at the center of the six trees was being duplicated. Only the area outside that hexagon was repeating.
“So, maybe the Lost Woods part is just outside the hexagon, and we were able to get this far because the forest was destroyed?” asked Tomochika.
Once the area had been reduced to a barren wasteland, they could make out the enormous tree. They had made it there just by heading straight for it.
“Perhaps. If space is truly warped, reaching that far would be difficult. It may be a technique that depends on the forest itself.”
“So as a last resort, we can just burn down the entire forest?”
“Don’t burn down the Elven Forest!” Tomochika shouted. “What kind of villain are you?!” Clearly, she was opposed to that plan.
“Well, for now, nothing stands out except for those stone structures, so I guess we should head there.” He could always kill the entire forest, but that really was a last resort. He had no idea what sort of ramifications that would have, so he wanted to avoid that, if possible.
◇ ◇ ◇
Insect-repelling incense and a bell of guidance. These were the tools necessary to traverse the Elven Forest—treasures passed down by the royal family. Of course, they did nothing to stop the attacks of the elves. The reason the family could never obtain the legendary sword hidden within the depths of the forest was because of the elves’ interference. The threat they posed in the forest was overwhelming. It was virtually impossible for ordinary humans to make it through a territory that favored the enemy in every way.
But now, the elves offered no obstacle. The denizens of the forest who usually attacked anyone the moment they stepped foot inside were nowhere to be seen. For that reason, the royal family and their subordinates were able to make relatively steady progress. Gathering in front of the forest, they entered as a single group. The bell of guidance led them through by way of one of the few paths, taking them to the ruins they sought.
Despite being a group of thirty, they were able to move easily. Maanu led the way with the bell, with the members of the royal family behind her. To their left and right were spread other followers, carrying large amounts of supplies for the expectedly long journey.
“This is way too easy,” Vivian all but pouted. The elves didn’t attack, and the insects kept their distance. Even the abnormal climate was held at bay by magical barriers.
“Don’t let your guard down, Vivian. Don’t forget that we’ve never been able to make it this far,” First Prince Edward warned her.
“Why must we all come to a place like this?! Vivian was the only one who was discovered!” complained the first princess, Matilda.
“We only have one set of tools to get through the forest. Did you want us to leave you behind?” the second prince, Joseph, answered her.
“If you just sat around and did nothing while we reclaimed the kingdom, there wouldn’t be a place in it for you after we finished,” the third prince, James, added, a tinge of irritation in his voice.
Vivian was the second princess, the youngest of five. They were the only remaining members of the royal bloodline and had been hiding, scattered across West Ent.
“Well, if anything attacks us, I will stop them with my shield!”
“I wonder what made Lord Malnarilna bless her, of all people...” Matilda said, giving Vivian a suspicious look.
The young woman had demonstrated her shield powers for everyone. Though she had been seen as the most useless of the five, the blessing had afforded her a better position among them. She didn’t, however, explain that the power was for the sake of killing Yogiri Takatou, nor did she mention the details of being an apostle. It was a problem too far removed from their current situation, so she didn’t want to complicate things.
“We’re here.”
The thick brush vanished. Paving stones covering the ground in front of them. A number of buildings of layered stone filled the clearing. These were the ruins they had been heading for. It was said that this was where the royal family had begun, but as their history was over a thousand years old, they couldn’t confirm the truth of it. Since tools had been passed down by the royal family specifically for reaching this place, however, it couldn’t have been totally unrelated to them.
They all stepped onto the stone pavement. The air seemed to change a little. They had been traveling through a hot and humid forest, but now a dry wind blew by them. Lining up, they entered the collection of ruins.
“So, where is our objective?” James asked.
“The bell of guidance is still leading us forward. It’s probably in the largest building, right there,” Edward answered. They were now walking down a large road leading through the ruins. Ahead of them lay a large, triangular structure. They didn’t know why the ruins had been built, but that structure was clearly the center of them.
“Should we perhaps set up a base of operations first? Or are we just going to head straight in?” Matilda asked, betraying her exhaustion.
“Good idea. Let’s find a decent building we can use.” They had been walking for quite a while. Edward stopped the procession, deciding it was time for a break.
And then Vivian went flying.
“Huh?” Striking something, she fell to land face-first on the ground, still unaware of what had happened. Lifting her head up, she saw a stone giant. It appeared she had been kicked by it, but she had no idea where it had come from.
“Enemies! The buildings are moving!” Vivian’s retainer, Gale, shouted.
More than half of the procession was already dead. The ex-royal guards had been able to respond to the giants’ attack, but the noncombatants like those carrying supplies and the barrier mages had no way of dodging, nor could they survive the hits.
“Why did you let them hit me, Gale?! You’re supposed to be my retainer!” Vivian shouted. Gale had jumped clear, holding Matilda in his arms. The rest of the royal family was being protected by their various subordinates.
“Because you’re invincible!” Maanu shouted back angrily, still alive. “You should be able to figure that out yourself!”
While Vivian wasn’t injured in the slightest and didn’t even feel any pain, she couldn’t help but be unhappy about their careless treatment of her. She gave a short cry, startled by the sudden movement of the building behind her, finally realizing that the structure itself had been what had impacted her. The building transformed, taking the shape of a person. Vivian hurried back to the group in a panic as stone giants began to surround them.
“I-I have to bring them back to life!” She remembered that she had the power of Shield Resurrection, but the bodies were scattered all about and completely mangled. The light of her power didn’t reach that far, and she didn’t know if it would work on someone who was that disfigured.
“Idiot! Run!” Maanu ran up and grabbed Vivian’s hand. Gale swung his sword in an attempt to drive back the stone giants, but even the techniques of a Heavenly Blade didn’t seem to have much effect on them. The slashes which should have had no problem slicing apart solid rock glanced harmlessly off them.
The stone giants pressed in, ignoring the attacks against them. Vivian shook off Maanu’s hand and jumped forward.
“Counter Shield!”
Holding a shield in both hands, she charged one of the giants. The giant was thrown backwards by her attack, but all she had accomplished was to knock it over, and it immediately rose back to its feet.
“Boomerang Chainsaw Shield!”
One after another, Vivian created and threw shields at them, but the chainsaws couldn’t even scratch the surface of the creatures, let alone cut through them.
“Retreat! Back into the forest!” Edward shouted.
Everyone sprinted back to the cover of the trees, Vivian following behind them. Leaving the stone pavement behind, they made it into the forest, the stone giants making no effort to pursue them. After they had retreated a safe distance, the giants returned to their original forms as buildings.
“So this is all that survived?” Edward said bitterly. The five members of the royal family had all made it through, but almost all of their followers had been sacrificed to accomplish that.
“Dammit! What the hell was that?! No one told us about this!”
“Guardians of the ruins, I suppose.”
“What are we supposed to do about them?!”
“Uh, if I go by myself, I might be able to do it?” Vivian suggested. “Their attacks don’t work on me, so if I go calmly and carefully—”
“And what do you think you can do by yourself?” Maanu asked with an exasperated sigh. She didn’t trust Vivian at all.
“I’ll go with her,” Gale offered. “If we focus on evasion, we should be able to make it through.” Their attacks wouldn’t work on the giants anyway, so that would probably be the best strategy.
“Better than sending her alone, I guess.”
“No, I don’t believe that is a good idea,” Matilda replied. “The person who releases the seal on the World Sword becomes its master. That would end up putting our trump card in Vivian’s hands.” The reason the five remaining members of the royal family had journeyed there was the legend stating that royal blood was needed to reach the World Sword. Vivian had only been brought along as a bit of extra insurance. No one really wanted to leave the sword in her hands.
“But in this situation...”
“Vivian may have been given that blessing because God foresaw this happening.”
“Is there no other way?” Although clearly pessimistic, the three princes seemed to feel that leaving it to Vivian was their only option.
“Well, let’s rest first,” Maanu said. They had run at a full sprint, so they weren’t in any shape to be going back in.
“I’m not that tired,” Vivian protested, freezing as she turned to ask what Gale thought. But before she could say another word, his head dropped to the ground in front of her.
As they stared in shock, Edward, Joseph, and James all met the same fate. Maanu leaped forward, slashing down with her Morning Star. Their attacker leaped backwards, dodging the strike.
“Don’t just stand there! You’re invincible, aren’t you?!” Maanu shouted.
“What? Oh, right!” Vivian jumped in front of Matilda to protect her.
The attacker was a woman Vivian had never met. Holding a blood-soaked blade casually in one hand, she seemed fairly unmotivated.
“I thought things would be easy if I took out the guy who looked strongest first, but I guess I was wrong,” she commented.
“Who... Who are you?!” Vivian demanded.
“This is... I’ve seen her. She’s an adventurer. If I recall, the hero, Kris.”
Vivian wasn’t familiar with adventurers, so the name Maanu mentioned didn’t mean much to her. But she did recognize that the assailant was an apostle like her.
“Why is an apostle doing this?!”
“I mean, there’s no reason I can’t do my work as an apostle and as an adventurer at the same time, right? As an apostle, I need to work hard to kill Yogiri Takatou, but as an adventurer, I should be taking the really rewarding quests, don’t you think?”
Kris carried the heads of the three princes in one hand, holding them by the hair. She must have retrieved them from the ground at some point, although Vivian had no idea when or how.
“Give them back!”
“Good point. I can get any reward I want with just one, so there’s no point in carrying all three with me.”
As she spoke, Kris tossed two of the heads to the ground. When Vivian rushed forward to grab them, she used the opening to vanish back into the forest.
“Nooooo! Edward!” the stunned Matilda finally began to wail.
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