Chapter 206: Flamme's Letter
To my dearest Teacher Rhodes and Teacher Serie,
I hope this letter finds you well, that the forest is still at peace, and that your own magical research is proceeding smoothly.
Sister Ela and I are doing well on our adventure. Please do not worry.
I am writing because there is something I must report to you, Teacher Rhodes. Do you remember, when we parted, you told me to visit the elven villages? I have kept your words in my heart, and I have been searching. But on our journey, we have not found a single one.
At first, I thought we had just chosen a remote path. So I began to ask the merchants and other travelers we met along the way. Some of them had passed through elven villages and were able to give us directions. But when we followed them, we found only... nothing. Just a deep and silent forest. No sign that a village had ever been there.
The strangest thing happened in a small town. We met a young elven adventurer, and he told us all about his home. We asked him for directions, and he gave them to us. But when we arrived, there was nothing. No village, no elves, not a single trace of life.
Sister Ela is also very confused. As an elf, her own magical senses are quite keen, and she could feel the faint traces of elven magic in the air, but we could find no other clues.
Teacher, it is too strange. Once is a coincidence. Twice, an accident. But three, four times... the result is always the same.
It is as if the villages never existed. Or perhaps... they all vanished at the same time? Or is there some powerful force that is preventing outsiders from finding them? The people who gave us directions... were their memories false? Even the elven adventurer?
I have tried to use detection spells, to search for any residual spatial fluctuations, but I have found nothing.
Teacher, you told me to seek out the elven villages. Did you know something was going to happen? Or do you have some other information? This strange situation... it is very unsettling.
Sister Ela and I will continue our journey, and we will keep an eye out for any clues. But I felt that you must be told of this.
I hope you can offer some guidance.
We will continue our exploration and our studies, and we will be careful. We will return to the forest before the appointed time.
Your student, Flamme.
(PS: Sister Ela also says that this is very strange, and that she has never encountered anything like it. She sends her best regards to both of you.)
"What does it say?"
They were resting in a small elven village. The magical letter had found them easily.
"Someone is targeting the elven villages," Serie said, her voice a cold and deadly sound as she handed him the letter.
"The demons," he said with a frown.
"Demons?" Her hand tightened on the cup she was holding, and a small crack appeared. "The insolence." A wave of a pure and unrestrained magical power radiated from her, and the very air in the room grew heavy.
"They are not being so bold," he said, shaking his head, and with a finger, he traced an imaginary map in the air. "They are being subtle. They are picking them off, one by one. Think about it. All the elven villages we have encountered on our own journey... they have been fine. But they have also been larger, and closer to the core of the Elven Kingdom. We have not been in their way. But she... she is far from the central continent, far from the influence of the kingdom."
"So even if they were to attack, word would not get out. They are being careful, choosing the weakest and most isolated targets. And for now, they seem to be focusing on the area where she is."
"A coincidence, or by design?"
She hadn't thought that their paths would have crossed with the demons' own plans. And the thought of her own students becoming a target... a new and even more intense rage now burned within her.
"A coincidence," he said, his own voice a calm and steady sound, a balm to her own, rising anger. "If they were after her, they wouldn't have bothered with the villages. But to be so... clean, so perfect... it must be the work of a great demon."
He remembered, from the original story, that a demon general had been in charge of this particular task. He couldn't recall his name, but he did remember that he had had the misfortune of running into both Flamme, at her peak, and Frieren, and had been summarily executed.
"A great demon? Of the same level as the Sages?"
She remembered the ones she had fought at the Demon King's castle. To her, they were nothing. But for her students... it would be a difficult fight.
"I don't think so. The general... he was not on their level. And the Sages... they were not the strongest of their kind either. That Riwal, for instance... he was at least as strong as any of them."
"Well, let's go, then," she said, and stood. The cup in her hand shattered, and a splash of a purple fruit juice ran down her arm. "Let's go and hunt them down, all those cowardly rats."
"Calm down," he said, his voice a low and gentle sound, but with a strange and piercing quality to it. He went to her side. "Sit down."
She glared at him, a question in her eyes. But he just took a towel and began to wipe the juice from her hand.
"With Ela and her... her skills, as long as they do not run into a Sage-level ambush, a normal demon, or even a great demon... they will be fine. You have taught them well. You have to have a little more faith in them," he said, and then continued, "and even if we were to go now, we might not be able to find them. They are constantly on the move. By the time we get there, they might have already dealt with the problem. We would have just wasted our time. And finally... this is a test. It is better for them to face the storm themselves than for us to always clear the path for them."
She just pursed her lips, a look of a deep and abiding conflict on her face. He was right, but she couldn't help but worry. The elven miss... she had a soft spot for her students.
"But what if it is a Sage? Or worse... what if the Demon King himself were to appear? They couldn't possibly handle that."
He smiled. So she did care. "I have already taken precautions," he said. He had not sent his little cubs out into the wilderness without a way to protect themselves.
"I placed a spatial magic on Flamme before she left. It contains a full-release of Org's power. It is in a completely dormant state, and cannot be detected, not even by the Demon King himself. But it will be instantly activated if her life is in danger. So, as long as the Demon King does not attack her himself... she will be fine. But..." his voice was now a cold and deadly sound, "...if he dares to lay a hand on her..." a wave of a pure and unrestrained killing intent, a power so great it made even her heart skip a beat, now filled the room. "...then I will no longer have any reservations. And even if I have to use my own body as a seal, I will erase him from this world."
She looked at him, at the cold and resolute look in his eyes, and her own worry and anger were now replaced by a strange and new sense of... calm. He was not just bluffing. But she was also a little annoyed that he had placed a spell on the girl without telling her. "I see," she said, her voice now a cool and level sound. "Then shall we send them a reply?"
"Yes. We should," he said, his own killing intent now receded. "Tell her to be careful, and that if she finds any traces of the demons, she is not to engage, but to prioritize her own safety. And... we should also warn the elven villages in this area. I'll go and speak with the elder. He should have a way to send a message."
He went to the window and, with a wisp of a golden magic, he created a magical messenger, a creature like a firefly, and infused it with their message. It then flew off into the night. "Come," he said, and held out his hand. "Let's go and visit the elder."
She took his hand without a word.
The conversation with the elder did not take long. The central villages, as he had suspected, did not have much contact with the ones on the periphery. But they did have some, which meant that the demons had not yet reached this far.
At first, the elders had been a little skeptical of his warning. But when he had told them of the disappearing villages, and had hinted that the demons were behind it, they had promised to report it to the Elven Kingdom and to increase their own patrols.
On the way back, the night grew even deeper. The lights of the village had been extinguished, leaving only the blue-green glow of the phosphorescent plants in the moonlight.
They walked in silence. She was quiet, her head bowed, her golden hair shimmering in the dim light. He could feel it, a coldness that was greater than the night, a chill that was born of a deep and troubled heart. "Are you still worried?" he asked.
"I was just thinking," she said after a moment, "what would the elves be like now, if not for you?"
"What do you mean?"
"The Great Elven Forest is gone. And the Elven Kingdom... if not for you, it would have been destroyed long ago. And now the demons... they are hunting down all the other elves. And they are only so careful because they are afraid of attracting the attention of the kingdom. And that... is all because of you."
(End of chapter)
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