WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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Chapter 133: Parent of the Elves (10)

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The Owner of the Index Finger slowly retreated, as if they had fulfilled their role.

Elbridge focused on the tremors he felt through his feet.

'How far away is Starwave?'

Elbridge had encountered Starwave several times.

He had felt Starwave's tremors from far away like this, and he had even stood in its path before. Thanks to those experiences, Elbridge could roughly gauge Starwave's distance through the vibrations.

'At this distance... there's still a little time before Starwave arrives. If I'm really lucky, I might be able to eliminate the Owner of the Index Finger.'

Having made his decision, Elbridge took a step in the direction the Owner of the Index Finger had retreated.

Then someone grabbed him from behind.

When he turned around, Orion stood there.

Elbridge could tell what Orion was thinking just from Orion's expression.

Orion said,

"Not now."

To Elbridge, Thornbush Forest was only one of many bases.

Orion was different. Orion had lived in Thornbush Forest their entire life and had never left the surrounding area. To Orion, Thornbush Forest was the whole world.

That was why Orion put Starwave before the Owner of the Index Finger.

"Starwave comes first. We need to get out, Elbridge."

Elbridge looked toward where the Owner of the Index Finger had vanished.

There was no chance Orion would follow Elbridge in pursuing the Owner of the Index Finger.

That left two choices.

Should he leave Orion behind and pursue the faint possibility of eliminating the Owner of the Index Finger alone?

Or should they retreat together?

Elbridge made his decision quickly.

"...All right."

In Elbridge's experience, greedily trying to catch two rabbits in a desperate situation usually meant losing both.

This was the time to retreat.

To have Sonia seal it, Elbridge gathered the fragments of the plant-type demon's demon core.

This might be all they had gained from the battle. No, it was almost certainly all they would gain.

Elbridge, Rombel, and Orion ran out of the small forest created by the plant-type demon.

With the demon that controlled the forest gone, the small forest could no longer obstruct them. It was merely a little inconvenient.

Just as they were nearly out of the forest, Rombel casually spoke up.

"Elbridge."

"What?"

"Still, isn't fire the only way to stop Starwave?"

Rombel casually brought up the need to set a fire.

The problem was that Elbridge sensed a faint note of expectation in Rombel's voice.

He suddenly remembered how Rombel had acted a little foolishly in front of the Owner of the Index Finger.

'...Surely not.'

As far as Elbridge knew, Rombel was not someone who enjoyed the misfortune of others.

He couldn't say that was always true, but it was true most of the time.

Orion jumped at Rombel's words.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Fire is absolutely out of the question!"

Still, Rombel did not seem ready to give up.

"But isn't that the only way to stop Starwave?"

"Stopping Starwave that way wouldn't mean anything! What do you think will happen to us elves if Thornbush Forest burns? Don't tell me you think the fire will burn just enough of the forest, then conveniently go out on its own once Starwave turns back?"

Contrary to what most people thought, a forest fire did not slowly burn its way through the forest from one end.

Sparks rode the wind in every direction, setting fires everywhere at once.

Besides, this was dry autumn, not humid summer.

It had been at least half a month since the last rain. If a fire started now, there would be no way to stop it.

Orion trembled.

"The forest is one thing, but if the sacred tree catches fire..."

If the sacred tree burned, the Goddess of Thornbush would lose her divine throne and have to descend to earth.

Then the divine power bestowed by the Goddess of Thornbush would cease to function.

"I'm nearly a thousand years old. And I spent six hundred of those years serving Jin and Bella. I can't die like this, not after all that..."

As Orion spoke, the group reached the outskirts of Thornbush Forest.

Jin and the Pre-Sentinels stood at the edge of the forest, waiting for Elbridge's group. Just as Elbridge was about to explain what had happened inside, Jin spoke first.

"I heard the Owner of the Index Finger eliminated their own group and drew in Starwave."

"That's right. Did you confirm it through an oracle?"

"Yes. Bella should be on her way here too."

The Goddess of Thornbush wanted to reclaim the divine power she had bestowed on Jin and Bella.

Yet in this most urgent moment, the ones she could ultimately rely on were Jin and Bella.

Kugugugugung-

The tremors drew closer.

Elbridge looked in the direction they were coming from.

Tearing through the earth's surface faster than most people could run, Starwave approached.

"..."

Once again, Elbridge felt the sheer enormity of Starwave.

It moved deep underground like a mole, yet it could leave such massive traces aboveground.

In truth, a demon's size was not usually a major concern for a Paladin.

Just as there were dangerous demons with small bodies, like the Owner of the Index Finger, there were demons larger than ordinary buildings that were not particularly dangerous.

But that only held true up to a certain point.

Once a body surpassed a certain size, it became a disaster in itself. Whenever Elbridge looked at Starwave, he thought of it less as an enemy to defeat and more as a moving phenomenon.

Jin watched the direction Starwave was traveling and muttered, "It would have been fine if it had passed along the edge of the forest, but it's coming straight for the sacred tree. As if it were aiming for it."

Rombel casually made a suggestion to Jin.

"Shouldn't we set a fire before it's too late?"

"That's a bold idea. How do you plan to put it out?"

"That part must be left to heaven's will. Who knows? It might rain at the right time."

Jin smiled faintly.

"I reject that suggestion. Elbridge, Marcus. Do either of you have a better idea?"

Marcus shook his head.

Elbridge thought for a moment, then prayed to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield.

"Goddess. Can we stop Starwave with the sealing authority or the No Retreat divine power?"

- The sealing authority is impossible. As for the No Retreat divine power... that would also be difficult.

The responses to the two divine powers seemed similar, yet slightly different.

Elbridge prayed again.

"Is there any possibility of stopping Starwave with the No Retreat divine power?"

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield hesitated before answering.

- I can pour the divine power of all four seats into you, so it isn't entirely impossible. But realistically, it cannot be done.

"Why not?"

- The No Retreat divine power keeps you from being pushed backward. If you want to stop Starwave, you must wait at the point Starwave will pass through.

Starwave moved deep underground.

And there was not even enough time left before it reached Thornbush Forest to drink a cup of tea.

There was no way for Elbridge to get deep enough underground to block Starwave in that time.

- And if my divine power fails to stop Starwave... you will be crushed to death by Starwave, Elbridge.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield let out a short sigh.

- I will be blunt, Elbridge. It would be better to set the forest on fire, even if it means going against the elves. This time, Rombel is right.

It was the conclusion Elbridge had expected.

As he let out a quiet sigh, Jin asked, "Well?"

Elbridge explained the situation to Jin.

Jin shook his head.

"As expected, there is only one way."

"You have a way?"

"Yes. It's a foolish way. Perhaps I should call it a possibility rather than a method..."

"Please explain."

Elbridge had barely finished speaking when an answer came from behind him.

"Jin and I will go underground ourselves."

Bella stood behind them.

Unlike her usual dignified appearance, her hair was a mess. She had clearly rushed here after receiving her daughter's oracle.

"How do you intend to get underground?"

"We'll aim for a gap."

Bella pointed in the direction Starwave was approaching from.

The ground's surface was being violently torn apart.

Elbridge remembered seeing Starwave in Dickens Viscounty not long ago.

At the time, he had caught a glimpse of Starwave through a crack in the ground. Seeing Starwave meant the gaps formed on the surface had reached all the way down to it.

The problem was that those gaps were unstable.

They only appeared briefly while house-sized boulders flew in every direction.

'Surely she doesn't mean to enter through one of those gaps.'

But that was exactly what Bella intended.

"Starwave passed near the edge of the forest once before. I saw it then. If I saw it, there was a gap."

"You saw it, so you know. It will almost certainly end in a pointless death."

"If we're very lucky, we may be able to reach Starwave."

But reaching Starwave would not solve the problem.

"What do you plan to do after reaching Starwave? If you don't have a suitable method, you'll only climb onto Starwave's surface and get crushed to death."

"We'll tear through Starwave's surface and enter its body. We'll attack it from within and make it thrash, drawing Starwave to the surface. Then you, Elbridge, must use your divine power to redirect Starwave. Your role will be important."

It was a mad idea.

The role Elbridge had been given was extremely dangerous, but the role Bella was taking on went beyond that.

"That's insane."

"But it's the only possibility. I have no intention of turning away from a possibility."

After saying that, Bella looked at Orion.

"Orion. Your Authority of Lifespan has been cut off, hasn't it?"

Orion nodded.

A little earlier, when they had left Thornbush Forest to search for the Owner of the Index Finger, Orion's divine power had already been cut off.

Still, Orion had not been too worried, knowing the Goddess of Thornbush would bestow divine power again.

Bella spoke to Jin.

"Honey."

"Yes."

Jin and Bella were different.

The Goddess of Thornbush would surely not grant divine power to the two elves again.

Yet Jin and Bella calmly stepped out of the forest.

As if the thousands of years they had spent within it had been a lie.

"It's been a very long time since I came outside the forest."

Jin muttered, and Bella smiled.

"Doesn't it remind you of the old days?"

Elbridge understood why Jin and Bella had left the forest.

They had willingly cut off the Authority of Lifespan they had desperately maintained until now.

Bella muttered, "Rita. Give your mother and father strength. Anything is fine as long as it isn't lifespan. Don't worry, this is the last time. All right?"

Meanwhile, Jin placed one knee on the ground and aimed his bow at the sky.

The muscles in his arms swelled as though they might burst.

Twung-

The next instant, an arrow filled with divinity soared into the sky.

Bella did not look up.

Instead, she walked toward the violently churning ground and muttered, "Of course. Did you think your mother did all this without thinking?"

"Your mother thought that someday, a day like this might come. It took much longer than expected, but..."

Bella was talking to the Goddess of Thornbush.

It was less a prayer than a mother's earnest request to her daughter.

House-sized boulders leaped wildly around Jin and Bella.

Yet the two stood calmly, maintaining their balance.

Then the arrow that had soared into the sky came plunging back down.

Tukwak-

Until now, the arrows Jin had shown had been thin beams of light.

This arrow was different.

Filled with the divinity Jin had slowly gathered over thousands of years, it blazed like a shooting star as it struck the earth.

Boulders flew up in every direction.

The instant they touched the arrow, they vanished without leaving even a trace.

Jin's arrow pierced the boulders and the surface of the earth.

At last, it pierced Starwave.

The arrow possessed unimaginable power, but it was not an attack capable of subduing the enormous Starwave.

Wouldn't Starwave see the wound as nothing more than a small scratch?

That did not matter.

Jin's arrow had accomplished exactly what it was meant to do.

It created enough space for Jin and Bella to enter Starwave's body.

Bella muttered something.

From the movement of her lips, Elbridge could guess what Bella's final words had been.

"Why are you making such a fuss over this? Did you think it was a lie when your mother said she loved you?"

With those words, the two Sentinels leaped beneath the churning ground.

Had the two Sentinels safely reached the inside of Starwave's body?

Elbridge had no way of knowing.

But this was not the time to worry about that.

Now, he had to hope they succeeded and prepare for his own role.

"Let's go."

Elbridge ran at full speed toward the sacred tree.

Footnotes:

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