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Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈

Chapter 62: The Moonshadow Mausoleum (4)

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Darkness descended upon the Elves' sanctuary. When the seed that had replaced the sun disappeared, the underground was once again buried in darkness.

The only light came from the red eyes flashing in the air and the jade-green gazes on the ground.

Two sets of eyes were locked on one another.

The red eyes appeared relaxed at first glance, but the green ones did not.

Dark shadows had fallen over their once-pure jade glow.

Kieeeeeek!

Every Elf on the ground let out a chilling scream.

They were grief-stricken and empty. They were overwhelmed by despair. The terrible sense of loss made them tremble.

The World Tree Seed had been their only hope. If it had sprouted and become a new World Tree, the Elves would have regained their former glory.

Their pure brethren, untouched by the moon's curse, would have been born. They would have carried out the Elves' vengeance against the moon.

They had endured for five hundred years for that day alone.

All those years of hardship vanished in an instant.

Their only hope had been buried beneath the moon's shadow.

It had been swallowed by a human.

A human again.

Their despair began to turn into resentment.

An indescribable fury rose within them.

The Elves went mad and howled. Their agonized cries echoed through the sanctuary.

Hundreds of fiends began racing along the World Tree's roots. They glared at Mapheltan and Raguel in the air.

Kieeeeeek!

Their bodies began to break apart. Their shriveled legs could not withstand the force of their charge.

Yet the Elves did not stop. Even as their entire bodies shattered, their rampage continued.

Fragments of their collapsing bodies turned into gray dust and scattered through the air.

Several leaped through the drifting ash.

Murderous eyes and sharp claws flew toward Mapheltan.

"Hand over the human!"

"Tear open his stomach and take out our mother!"

Just before they could reach him, Mapheltan flew higher into the air.

Several of the charging Elves fell helplessly.

Even as they fell, they did not take their eyes off Raguel.

An unfathomable obsession had gathered in their gazes.

Mapheltan clicked his tongue as he looked at Raguel.

'It doesn't seem like he plans to wake up.'

From this point on, he needed Raguel's strength.

Frustratingly, Raguel was unconscious.

He had likely fainted from the shock of seeing Mapheltan's appearance, but the true cause was the backlash from absorbing the seed.

It would take quite some time for the World Tree Seed to be digested.

It might even take a full day or longer.

Mapheltan had to buy time until then.

He immediately condensed Demonic Energy. A massive spear shaft emerged from his black hand.

Dread Spear Turabak. It was Mapheltan's only source of physical force at the moment.

He swung Turabak wildly.

He knew nothing of refined stances or special techniques. He simply struck with brute force.

Crack!

Several leaping Elves were struck by the spear shaft and sent flying. They slammed straight into the World Tree's roots.

The Elves climbing the roots tumbled down from the heavy impact.

"I shall help as well!"

Heat gathered in Zalkarin's mouth. The creature spat fire. A flame no bigger than mouse droppings washed over the Elves.

Nothing happened.

Hundreds, even thousands, were still climbing the roots.

Their screams continued to echo.

'This will never end.'

As he grew irritated, he heard a piercing sound tearing through the air.

Mapheltan looked down.

Dense dots were rushing toward him.

'Arrows!'

Mapheltan hastily moved his wings. His body escaped the barrage of arrows in an instant.

The arrows filled the empty air.

'First, I need to get out of this cave.'

The Elves on the ground were drawing their bowstrings again.

Countless fiends were still leaping from the World Tree's roots, staring at Raguel.

Sooner or later, their attacks would reach him.

He needed a wider space.

Mapheltan turned his gaze toward the cave entrance.

At that moment, the ground shook. The underground trembled as though it were about to collapse.

The dark green woodland beneath them split apart with a Crack!

A sour, fishy stench rose from the fissures. Before long, an enormous cylindrical mass of flesh burst through the woodland.

An Earth Dragon made of rotten flesh. Long ago, it had been a fantastical beast that cultivated the Elves' land.

Now, it was nothing more than a corrupted monster.

It opened its massive maw and shot into the air.

The foul stench and monstrous roar consumed the sky.

Mapheltan raised the corner of his mouth.

His hearing and sense of smell were numb, and his mind was in chaos, but a way out had appeared.

He planned to use that worm.

Mapheltan did not avoid the massive body flying toward him.

Instead, he held the Dread Spear upright.

The monster's maw closed over Mapheltan, but it could not swallow him.

The long Dread Spear caught in its mouth, preventing it from closing.

Dark green blood sprayed from its palate.

Disgusting fluid drenched Mapheltan.

The monster began convulsing in pain.

As its huge body writhed, the Elves were swept away.

The Earth Dragon let out a thunderous roar and twisted its body in every direction. It did everything it could to swallow Mapheltan.

'...I have to endure.'

If he entered its stomach like this, it was over.

He would dissolve in its stomach acid and disappear.

Mapheltan gripped the Dread Spear tightly.

In response to his desperate resistance, the Earth Dragon changed its method.

It threw its heavy weight forward and slammed its maw into the cave wall.

Booom!

Part of the stone wall collapsed.

The tremendous impact struck Mapheltan. Black blood burst from his mouth.

"Cough, hkkk!"

Yet he did not let go of the Dread Spear. He was simply activating his Authority.

"...Insignificant creature, take me beyond the sanctuary."

Black Demonic Energy rose around him.

Mapheltan's command began to transform into the ancient demonic language.

"An insignificant creature shall guide the Thirteenth End outside (Zul’mek thar’kai vel Thirzen’dal, kar’az vel uth'vakar)."

Demonic Energy drained from him in great waves. Weakness washed over his entire body.

Mapheltan was reaching his physical limit.

'Twice in one day is too much.'

There were many restrictions on using the Authority known as the Word of Authority.

One of them was the immense consumption of Demonic Energy.

Every Apostle could use the Word of Authority, but not all of them could achieve the same efficiency.

It required considerable skill to issue specific and detailed commands several times a day.

Mapheltan was still far beneath Apostles such as Garnish, the Second Apostle.

Mapheltan swallowed a groan.

Should he find another way?

As he considered it, the Earth Dragon's rampage stopped.

'...Could it be?'

Its body went limp before suddenly shooting toward somewhere else.

It was heading for the cave entrance.

'It worked!'

The Word of Authority had taken effect.

Having lost its reason, the Earth Dragon rammed its head into the exit.

The opening, small compared to its massive body, widened in an instant.

Rubble poured down in a torrent. Broken debris struck Mapheltan's body.

He immediately wrapped Raguel in his wings.

Mapheltan's entire body was drenched in black blood, but that did not matter.

Protecting Raguel was what mattered most now.

Mapheltan stomped down inside the Earth Dragon's mouth.

"You idiot! Watch where you're going!"

The creature could not understand him. It only burrowed into the stone wall even faster.

Mapheltan's entire body became covered in wounds.

* * *

Booom!

Rubble scattered in every direction. A huge mass of flesh forced its way out through the cracks in the collapsed rock wall.

Mapheltan immediately pulled the Dread Spear from its mouth and spread his wings.

Now that the Word of Authority had ended, the monster would target Mapheltan again.

He had to put as much distance between them as possible.

'As high as possible.'

He flew to the mausoleum's ceiling. The gray forest spread below him at a glance.

For a brief moment, he could catch his breath.

Suspended in the air, Mapheltan looked at Raguel.

Raguel's appearance had changed greatly.

His brown hair now shone with vibrant amber, while his once-rough skin gleamed with life.

Most of all, his ears. Raguel's ears had risen into sharp points, like those of the Elves from ancient times.

He was now an Elf. A one-of-a-kind being in this world. He had been reborn as a High Elf.

Mapheltan let out a sigh.

"So when do you plan to wake up?"

Raguel had to regain consciousness before those bastards woke up.

The moment the corrupted Elders stirred from their long sleep, Mapheltan would struggle to survive.

They were clearly different from ordinary Elves.

Every one of them was a powerful being who represented their race.

Most Elf Elders had been destroyed five hundred years ago, but a few had survived and remained buried here.

Mapheltan could not even hope to fight them with his current strength.

'It would be best not to meet them, but...'

If he encountered them, he would have no choice but to use his last resort.

Mapheltan stared at Raguel.

"So wake up already."

Unfortunately, his desperate wish was not granted.

Mapheltan's expression suddenly twisted.

A chill seeped through his body. Demonic Energy, having sensed malice, fluttered ominously around him.

'Already!'

He looked down at the ground.

Within the withered forest stood a single being that still possessed color.

A darkness as deep as Mapheltan's, perhaps even deeper, stared into the sky.

"Fuck!"

Mapheltan immediately sped through the air.

That distant presence had to be one of them.

His instincts warned him never to face it.

Mapheltan increased his speed. He intended to buy time somehow.

He held Raguel tightly.

"You have to open your eyes. As quickly as possible."

His desperate beating of wings began.

He would not be able to hold out much longer.

* * *

A mind was boiling. Every brain cell convulsed.

Countless memories and pieces of information forced their way in.

A history of oppression and violation flashed past like a panorama.

Fire and iron ravaged the dark green woodland.

Before greed and malice, the earth cried out.

The breath of fairies became choking smoke, and nature's children screamed instead of singing.

Beneath the sinister moonlight, countless Elves had been captured by humans and groaned in pain.

Their cries echoed without end.

Raguel shed tears. Every scene before his eyes tormented him.

He was becoming one with the Elves' emotions.

He felt as though he would come to hate humans.

He was ashamed even of the fact that he was human.

Hatred for the moon filled him.

His sense of self began to twist.

He wanted to drain every drop of red blood flowing through this body.

"Great Saint! How could you be so cruel?!"

There was no reply.

The entire panorama vanished in an instant.

His surroundings slowly began to brighten.

He saw thick leaves. They were not lush green, but withered gray.

His chest ached.

"Kh, urgh."

Raguel clutched his heart and raised his upper body.

At that moment, a grim voice reached him.

"...Raguel, you've dawdled long enough."

A vicious being came into view. It was groaning as it leaned against a huge tree.

Raguel's green pupils shook.

"M-Mapheltan...?"

The demon gave a faint laugh.

"Yes, it's me. This is the first time you've seen me like this."

Mapheltan's entire body was covered in wounds.

He was nearly dead.

The fear that had remained within Raguel's heart completely disappeared.

Worry filled its place.

Raguel rushed toward Mapheltan.

"W-What happened?!"

Mapheltan spoke through a cough.

"I had a hard time looking after you. Now it's your turn. Show me you were worth the investment, Raguel."

Even while dying, the demon smiled faintly.

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