The terrifying killing elf, who had broken free from a 1,200-year seal, was the follower of the Evil God, Xisha.
She had come.
Standing in front of everyone on the path, she resembled a reaping demon.
Celes swiftly drew her longsword, while Vina, unusually serious, took out her small magic wand, ready to act.
Zero immediately slipped into the shadows, poised to launch an attack at any moment.
Liraleah instinctively reached for Ella’s hand.
Just as she was about to pull her away, she realized that the pink-haired Thunder was neither the target nor someone they needed to protect.
But facing such an enemy, risking life and death, was it really possible to be distracted protecting a powerless elven girl?
“Miss Ayla.”
A gentle voice from behind whispered to her, “We’ve been counting, there are only ten minutes left, right?” It was Tereka’s voice.
“Yes.”
Only ten minutes—but it felt like an entire century.
“If we can hold on for just ten minutes, we’ll succeed. The future of the Elven race… protect her!”
Suddenly, Tereka broke away from the group and ran in another direction, shouting as she ran, “Damn demon! Killing my mother wasn’t enough? Now you want to kill me too? No! No!”
She pretended to be the target, sprinting back the way she came.
Whoosh—
Xisha’s body flew like the wind.
Celes reacted quickly, slashing her sword, but she didn’t even graze the corner of her robe.
Too fast!
Tereka hadn’t gotten far before Xisha caught up to her. Her shoulder was crushed directly, sharp claws digging into flesh.
“You demon, why… why do you do this?”
Even with her voice distorted by pain, she insisted on speaking to her.
“Why kill those villagers? They were your family once.”
“Yes, they were my family.”
Xisha nodded seriously.
“Precisely because they were so important were they the price for my wish. I killed them to make full use of them, isn’t that right?”
“Why…”
“There’s no ‘why’—it’s time to move on. I still need to carefully consider how to make my wish~”
With a soft pop, her palm passed through the elf girl’s chest.
Tereka’s eyes widened as she spat out a mouthful of blood.
With her last strength, she said, “I’ll be waiting for you down there, just a few minutes from now!”
Her pride lasted until the very end of her life.
Xisha stood still for a few seconds, her expression darkening.
“Not you? Pretending!”
At that moment, two elven boys exchanged a glance and silently resolved themselves.
They darted off in two different directions.
“Ahhh! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”
“Mother! I will avenge you!”
But Xisha wasn’t fooled again.
She casually plucked two branches from nearby and threw them toward the fleeing boys.
Whoosh—!
Whoosh—!
Ella felt a pang of sympathy.
It was this very throw that could kill a Dragonhawk Rider with a single strike; two half-grown elves wouldn’t stand a chance and would die instantly.
“Not you. Not you either.”
Xisha pulled another branch and threw it again, this time targeting Silitya.
Danger!
Celes raised her longsword, weaving an impenetrable sword dance, stepping in front of the elven girl.
This was the sword technique she had recently trained with Vina in the Royal Capital, [Oath of Protection]!
Bang—!
A flash of icy blue sword light exploded like shattered ice crystals, scattering in all directions.
The shockwave forced the Sword Saint Maiden to stagger back a step.
Though they seemed evenly matched, Silitya was sent flying backward, crashing to the ground over ten meters away, coughing up blood.
“Miss Leah, help…”
Celes was about to raise her sword again when she noticed something wrong.
Looking closely, the longsword she had wielded for years had snapped.
Liraleah couldn’t offer a blessing in time, because Xisha moved faster—she had already reached the elven girl.
“Looks like it’s you, Sally’s child.” She smiled.
“I’ll send you to reunite with your mother. Be polite and say thank you.”
Ella almost held her breath.
Was this the end?
Only a few minutes left and everything would be over?
Though it was a hopeless game, why had Yiselis placed her here? She had promised a way to stop Xisha, so why hadn’t she given it?
Or… had she already?
Silitya forced herself to stand, gritting her teeth as she stared at the demon in front of her, swallowing the iron taste of blood.
“Go ahead and strike. I’m not afraid of you.”
“Oh?”
Xisha tilted her head all the way around, “Why?”
“Because my father said death isn’t scary—it’s just changing into another form to continue walking the world.”
Silitya inhaled deeply, her gaze sweeping toward where Tereka and the other two boys had fallen, her expression resolute.
She finally understood her origins, who her parents were, and that her birth was not born of love but a secret last resort to save the Elven race.
A tiny bit of resentment, but no hatred—the reason was grand enough.
It was just a pity she couldn’t…
“All right then…”
Xisha raised her hand.
“You’re so right, little sister!”
A pleasant alto voice suddenly sounded, “Big sister will help you transform into another form!”
The next second, a bone-white sword stabbed through Silitya’s body from behind, blood splattering onto Xisha’s face.
The light in the elven girl’s eyes dimmed.
“What are you doing?”
Xisha looked puzzled.
“Sacrifice without killing yourself? Isn’t that helping me? Maybe she wants to make a wish with me? That won’t do.”
Ella ignored her and, after killing Silitya, withdrew the Necromantic Sword and ran back.
She paid no mind to Xisha or her companions’ confused expressions, nor did she explain to the only surviving elven girl who looked like she had seen a ghost. She just ran.
Until an angry voice shouted, “Why isn’t it counted as complete? What do you mean by soul retention?!”
Yes, Silitya’s last words had inspired Ella.
The method to stop Xisha’s sacrifice—Yiselis had indeed given it.
[Compulsory Summoning]!
It was difficult to protect a powerless elven girl amid the chaos, but if you held her soul with you and endured for a few more minutes, then…
Sht!
A tree branch pierced through Ella’s body.
“No!”
“Don’t!”
Don’t what?
Don’t be so quick to despair!
Ella yanked the branch out of her body and casually tossed it aside, then spat out a mouthful of blood.
She shouted at the stunned Saintess, “Leah, heal me!”
The long-practiced coordination of the brave team showed.
Liraleah immediately leapt forward and embraced Ella tightly.
Vina then drew her wand and pointed it upward.
“Fire Dragon’s Roar!”
Flames surged into the sky, burning through the forest canopy overhead, leaving no barrier between this area and the Sun.
“Goddess above, please, please—”
Panicked, Liraleah couldn’t recall the blessing incantation, feeling the blood welling in her chest.
She simply shut her eyes—
“If she dies, I won’t live either!!!!”
The highest form of prayer required only the simplest threat.
In the Human Kingdom, in the Royal Capital, at the Church Headquarters, the bishop on duty sniffed the air, puzzled, and looked up toward the sun in the sky.
At that moment, all Church branches throughout the kingdom, including the Harbor City Branch Bishop who was reading the Gospel in the newly built chapel, simultaneously looked up.
They witnessed the most brilliant holy light in the history of the Church of Light.