Chapter 92
92. High Elf King
Using the cloak I got from Eleanor, I activated [Stealth] and quietly climbed the tower.
The High Elf keeping watch from the top of the tower didn't notice me at all.
Mercedes said to just knock them out, but unfortunately I don't have that kind of talent.
-Sshk!
I clamped my hand over the guard's mouth, stabbed him in the throat, and finished him off. But sentries always travel in pairs.
“W-What? Who are you—agh!”
I clamped my hand over the mouth of the guard who spotted me late, then snapped his neck on the spot.
That was close; I almost got caught.
After taking down the tower guards, I came back down and linked up with Mercedes, who had subdued the tower on the other side.
Mercedes frowned the moment she saw me; she seemed to realize I'd killed the guards.
Her glare looked extremely displeased, but she didn't press the issue, probably because she knew it couldn't be helped.
This infiltration route minimizes combat, but it's not so convenient that you can avoid getting blood on your hands altogether.
In any case, after clearing each tower, I used the equipment Mercedes had prepared.
It was a strange device that looked like a small glider, and apparently it could glide for a short while, though I had no idea how it worked.
“Let's go.”
I put on the gliding gear and jumped straight off the tower. Since we'd cleared all the watchtowers, there was nothing to interfere with the flight.
We streaked across the fortified Great Forest from the air, just like when we crossed into the Dark Elf village, and entered deep into the High Elf settlement with ease.
After that, it was even simpler. I activated [Stealth], picked up my speed, and sprinted straight into the castle where the king was staying.
-Crunch!
I smashed the castle window frame with my axe and landed lightly inside.
As soon as I entered the castle, I spread out my mana detection. At the same time, I sensed an enormous presence.
“No joke. So this is the World Tree?”
The overwhelming mana I felt from the World Tree on the 7th Floor left me breathless.
What can I say? I'm just glad it's coming from a tree and not a monster.
“It's already much weaker than it was a thousand years ago. Our World Tree is not something humans should even dare to covet.”
Mercedes clicked her tongue at the sight of me flinching from the World Tree's mana. Well, I agreed with her.
I'd only seen it from far away on the 7th Floor, but this castle was built on the very spot where the World Tree stands, so you can really feel it.
The High Elves only keep watch over it, but if it fell into human hands, they'd definitely use it somehow.
If a lump of mana this enormous were put to work in earnest, it would surely lead to terrifying results.
This is a crazy object that absolutely should not be used privately by any group or individual.
“I wonder if this is how people felt when they first saw a nuclear bomb.”
“A nuclear bomb?”
“There's such a thing, so where is the king?”
I pulled my wandering thoughts back. Mercedes pointed to the door over there with a finger.
The audience chamber with the throne directly linked to the World Tree: the High Elf King's audience chamber.
-Creak.
The door moved on its own and opened.
**
Mercedes and I quickly hid behind a nearby object.
But there was no sign of anyone trying to come out from beyond the open door. There was only one presence inside.
Familiar yet unfamiliar. That prince bastard I'd met on the 7th Floor was definitely in there.
But why the hell did the door open by itself? It couldn't be some kind of malfunctioning High Elf automatic-door sensor.
-Come in.
“What the hell.”
A voice suddenly rang out in my head. What the hell is this? This is insanely weird—more importantly, was it talking to me?
I crept out from my hiding spot and looked at Mercedes, and she seemed to have heard the same voice.
We exchanged slight nods as if to confirm it, then stood in front of the wide-open door.
-Come inside.
When we stepped into the audience chamber as the voice said, the king came into view seated on the throne far away.
“Your Majesty.”
Mercedes called to him with a mournful expression. I was dumbfounded.
So that was the prince bastard from the 7th Floor?
The face was definitely the same. He had the kind of pretty-boy looks that made it obvious he was terrible at fighting.
But his eyes were far too different. They were even more withered than the former Dark Elf queen's.
“You didn't have to sneak in so quietly... I was planning to call you here eventually. Come closer, all three of you.”
This time, the High Elf King spoke in his own voice instead of that unidentified telepathy.
But three?
“We've been found out.”
I was shocked by the powerful presence that suddenly burst out behind me.
“Who the hell are you? Where did you come from?”
Eleanor, appearing out of the shadows with a bitter expression, pointed at the ground beneath my feet.
“I opened a path through your shadow. I couldn't think of any other way to stop you.”
A chill ran down my spine. I knew Eleanor was a master of shadow magic, but I never thought something like that was possible.
That must be the application of the summoning she showed at the entrance to the 7th Floor; depending on how it's used, it could be an incredible assassination technique.
“Don't look at me like that, dear. The part you should be surprised about isn't here, is it?”
As she said that, Eleanor extended her finger and pointed at the High Elf King sitting on the throne.
“That one on the throne saw through both your infiltration and my shadow magic.”
“Even if a hundred years have passed, that idiot I knew would never be able to do it, even if he died and came back to life.”
“He had no talent for magic at all, so then—what on earth is that thing sitting over there?”
Eleanor was thinking the exact same thing I was.
The one sitting there was absolutely not the prince bastard from the 7th Floor. Everything except his face was different.
I thought back to the objective of this Epic Quest.
[Quest Objective]
1. Uncover the secret.
2. Expose the mastermind.
3. End the war.
Uncover the secret, expose the mastermind, and end the war.
The fact that these objectives existed meant there was definitely a mastermind and a secret to uncover. That must be it.
“Curious who I am? Then come closer. I'll tell you everything.”
I took a step closer to the king, who was beckoning for us to come in.
**
As I stepped forward, Eleanor and Mercedes also carefully moved.
Then the door that had let us in slammed shut with a creak. Just as expected.
None of us—neither Mercedes, Eleanor, nor I—was weak enough to be trapped just because the door closed.
“Welcome, noble knight Mercedes. Beautiful shadow Eleanor. And—nameless human.”
The High Elf King came down from the throne and slowly approached us.
“I greeted you, but there was no answer.”
“Oh, nice to meet you.”
“Good. I like a refreshingly direct answer.”
The High Elf King gave us a smirk. As expected, he only looked the same; he was a completely different person.
“Let me introduce myself as well: my name is El'rofen, father of El'Ryon, whom you came to meet.”
I knew it. The one inside was someone else after all. As expected, the former king had pulled some kind of trick.
But Eleanor frowned when she heard the name the High Elf King had given.
“The former High Elf king's name was definitely El'Ronabel, wasn't it...?”
I turned my head. Mercedes, who had silently drawn her sword, also looked thoroughly flustered.
“Don't get the wrong idea. I am El'Ryon's father, but at the same time I am also El'Ronabel's father.”
El'rofen grinned at us.
“I am the father of all High Elves.”
At that moment, a massive amount of mana surged out like a wave.
-Rumble!
The massive mana of the World Tree that dominated this area surged and trembled as if it had a will of its own.
“Ever since the old Forest Elves began calling themselves High Elves, I have been the king and father of all, at every moment.”
I drew my sword in tense silence. Then I gripped the pendant, ready to activate mana reinforcement at any moment.
The king looked at us and gave a small laugh. He seemed to find the situation very amusing.
He was blatantly acting like the mastermind. But why reveal his true colors at a time like this?
“You know the World Tree is a device that circulates souls. Then you must also know when that circulation started to go wrong.”
“Actually, the cycle didn't break. It just devoted all its power to circulating my soul.”
“Every High Elf king formally succeeds to the throne, and the instant he takes hold of the royal scepter and sits on the throne, he is replaced by me.”
The king was still looking down at us.
“No one has anything to say? Was it that hard to understand?”
There wasn't a single fool who couldn't understand that simple story. I just couldn't speak because it was so absurd.
“The only thing I don't understand is why you're telling us all this now.”
As I frowned and said that, the High Elf King chuckled and answered again.
“Why else?”
He smiled and pointed at the tightly shut door with a finger.
“Because all of you obediently came close when I called.”
Right. He'd blabbed because he figured it wouldn't matter even if he did.