Elf Tensei Kara no Cheat Kenkoku-ki

Vol 05 Chapter 24-1: The End of the Battle

「What is that monster!? Aahh, it's insane! What have I been fighting against!?」

In the dimly lit forest, Duke Voldeck was running, leading a small group of his subordinates. He no longer had the will to fight. His sole focus was on escape. He had ordered his subordinates to destroy the seal and had planned to watch from a distance as Erucy was overrun by monsters. But suddenly, a gigantic dragon appeared, sweeping away everything, even the mountains.

After that, a storm of light and flames exploded, annihilating every single monster, until the seemingly endless spawning monsters ceased to appear.

Voldeck’s thoughts raced. There was no doubt about it, it was him, the leader of the elf village had done it. He had thought him to be like a demon, but he never imagined he would be an actual demon. He needed to flee, or he would be killed.

「Where do you think you're going?」

In front of Voldeck, a beautiful girl with golden hair blocked his path. Her emerald eyes shone brightly. On the surface, she wore a calm face, but beneath it, Voldeck could sense bottomless anger.

「Ashno-sama! You are safe! We must flee quickly. Erucy has a monster that… aahhh, it hurts!!」

Voldeck crouched down, clutching his ear. Blood flowed from his hand, which was pressed against his ear. Ashno had cut off his ear with a wind blade made of her magic power.

「Voldeck, you know, don't you? I have spent most of my life protecting the seal. By breaking it, you've made me your enemy, but did you do it knowing the consequences? I did warn you, thought.」

「Ah, aaahh, no, it's not… like that.」

「I was too naive. I never truly believed you would break the seal… No, that's not it. I thought you might do it, but I procrastinated. I should have killed you from the beginning.」

「What are you…」

Voldeck, without attempting to stand up, desperately tried to crawl away. But it was far too late. His subordinates didn't even try to protect him. They knew how futile it was to oppose Ashno.

「I didn’t want to end the war, I hated the idea of making the bet void and not being able to see Dad again. I was complacent, thinking that as long as we won, the seal wouldn't be broken. Because of my stupidity, the seal was broken, and I lost Dad.」

Voldeck, with tears streaming down his face, tried to put distance between himself and Ashno. The overwhelming aura of killing intent from Ashno made it clear what was about to happen.

「Please, help, forgive me.」

「That's why, at least, I must end this properly with my own hands. You must die. Half of it is just taking out my anger. I'm sorry.」

An invisible blade of wind swung. Voldeck's head was severed, rolling to the feet of his subordinates.

「Ah!」

Voldeck's subordinates screamed.

「You were Voldeck's subordinates, right? Take his head back and report his death to the Empire. Also, I’ll have you relay a message. From now on, I’m siding with Erucy.」

Hearing Ashno's words, the faces of Voldeck's subordinates turned pale.

After all, in addition to the unidentified monstrous being, Ashno, the strongest hero in the world surpassing even the Empire’s Hero, had become their enemy. For the Empire, there could be no worse nightmare.1

「Wait, please. Ashno-sama, are you abandoning the Empire?」

「Abandon? I was only in the Empire because it was convenient for maintaining the seal. With things like this, there's no reason for me to stay there… Besides, Dad asked me to take care of “him”.」

With those final words, Ashno disappeared into the darkness. Voldeck's subordinates stood frozen on the spot and eventually, cradling Voldeck's head, began to trudge towards the Empire with heavy steps.

◇

「Welcome back, Cyril.」

「Welcome home, Cyril-kun.」

「I'm back, Lucy, Kuu.」

I dragged my battered body back to Erucy. The moment I arrived in Erucy, like a taut string snapping, I collapsed forward. Lucy caught me and held me in her embrace.

「I'm glad you're safe, Cyril.」

I heard Lucy's relieved voice. I smiled in Lucy's embrace. She was the same Lucy as always. Even knowing that I was a monster, she treated me the same as always.

「Cyril-kun, let's go home quickly. The flow of your magic is irregular, and your complexion is terrible. Aren't you barely maintaining consciousness?」

Then Kuu looked into my face with a worried expression.

「Yes, I pushed myself a bit too much.」

Using [Samsara Recursion] repeatedly at the cost of sacrificing many “Me’s”. After doing all that, it was impossible to remain unscathed. My magic circuits were overloaded and partly burnt out, and my soul was screaming in pain. I was hardly able to use any magic properly now.

「Then let's go quickly, Cyril.」

Lucy offered her shoulder to help me to our home.

「No, the battle isn't over yet. I have to take command…」

That's right, the war wasn't over. Though Ashno's defeat had caused a temporary retreat, the enemy was still nearby. I couldn't collapse until the fight was completely finished.

「It's okay. You defeated the person who had complete control over mana, right? Mana can be used normally now. We can take care of the rest ourselves. After all, you've taught us a lot about fighting.」

「Yes. No matter how numerous the enemy, if the elves and fire foxes combine their strength, we can manage.」

Their words were reassuring, but I couldn't rely on them. As I contemplated this, a breeze caressed my cheek.

「This war is over. We have lost. After seeing the spectacle of the monsters being mowed down, all the imperial soldiers have started fleeing.」

Ashno descended from the sky. The surrounding elves immediately aimed their crossbows at her.

「Everyone, hold on, let's talk first.」

I signaled the elves to lower their crossbows.

「Ashno, you said the war is over, but I can't be sure if your words are true. It might be a trap to catch us off guard.」

[1. TL Note: The first hero is eiyuu, and the second one is yuusha. As you probably know already, the two words can be translated as hero in English, but have different connotations. The meaning of the two terms changes depending on the lore of the novel, but usually, eiyuu could be translated as military hero, while yuusha would be more of a Chosen One.]