BXBX NOVEL Chapter 6 – The Elf (2)
Chapter 6 – The Elf (2)
Chapter 6 – The Elf (2)
It didn’t take long for Ketal to arrive at the elves’ village.
And the reception he received was the complete opposite of what he expected.
“Ah!”
“Could it be a human here too!”
“No way! My child!”
Countless shocked and hostile gazes turned towards Ketal.
With a troubled expression, he looked back at them.
‘…This is different from what I expected.’
The elves were undoubtedly incredibly beautiful.
Each and every one of them was more beautiful than anything Ketal had ever seen, and even the aged ones had flawless appearances.
Under ordinary circumstances, he might have been filled with admiration and awe, but the situation wasn’t ordinary.
The elves were hostile towards him.
“My child!”
The mother of the child in Ketal’s arms cried out with despair on her face.
It was then that Ketal realized they saw him as an outsider who kidnapped a child.
The elder looked at the child in Ketal’s arms with a stern face.
“This is unacceptable!”
This place was undoubtedly a remote area untouched by humans, so how could a human be here?
Despite being oddly large in stature, the opponent was clearly human.
“There must be a barrier! How!”
“Elder! There’s a rift in the barrier….”
“Is that so!”
Their location had been discovered.
The elder frowned.
The barrier was made by ancient elf magic.
It was impossible to approach it with a clumsy method.
The fact that it was broken meant that the humans had come prepared.
“When did they start tracking us!”
No.
There was no time to think about that.
The elder asked urgently,
“Where is the queen! The humans will arrive soon!”
“The queen is currently away for reconnaissance in the vicinity!”
“Of all times!”
Disaster upon disaster.
As Ketal listened to their conversation, he scratched his cheek.
The distance was quite far, but he could hear as if they were chatting right next to him.
‘Kidnapper.’
Thinking rationally, there was nothing strange about it.
They were elves, and he was a human.
It was quite a famous story for humans enamored with the beauty of elves to kidnap them.
With an elf child in his arms, even more so.
At least, that’s what they would think first.
First, he needed to clear up this misunderstanding.
“I am not your enemy. I am…”
“You bastard! If you don’t return the child, I’ll chase you to death!”
Ketal’s words were cut off mercilessly.
There was no sign of believing whatever he said.
Then, actions had to speak louder than words.
The child, who had suddenly awakened, was trembling in Ketal’s arms.
Carefully, Ketal put the child down.
“Go. Return to your kin.”
Click.
Ketal forced a bright smile as much as possible.
The child, upon seeing his face, couldn’t help but burst into tears.
“Waaaaah!”
The child ran towards the village, crying.
Ketal felt deeply saddened.
‘…Am I really that scary?’
Anyway, the child was returned.
Ketal stood up and raised his hands.
“Elves. As you can see, I am not your…”
“The hostage is released!”
“Everyone, attack!”
The elves, as if they had been waiting, tightly pulled their bowstrings.
Sharp arrows flew towards Ketal.
Thunk!
The arrow collided with Ketal’s body and bounced off.
The elves did not hesitate and continued to draw their bows.
“He’s wearing a protective artifact! There must be a limit! Keep attacking!”
Now, not only arrows but also blades made of flames and water flew towards him.
Ketal shook his head with a melancholic expression.
‘…Elves are more savage than I imagined.’
They loved nature, yearned for peace, and were a race of gentle order, or so he thought.
But they weren’t.
In reality, elves were more wild and savage than that.
His fantasies and illusions were shattered.
‘…Is this what reality is like?’
Well, elves were a race that lived in nature.
And nature was a world of survival of the fittest.
Peace was far from their reach.
So, it wasn’t surprising that they were savage.
Of course, in reality, they weren’t.
Elves were not a savage race.
They were, in fact, gentle and peace-loving beings.
If Ketal were a typical human, they might have been startled but would have been grateful for returning the child and would have shown gratitude in return.
But the problem was that Ketal was Ketal.
Ketal was a barbarian of the White Snow Plains.
He was a presence of terror.
The intense aura emanating from him was overwhelming the elves.
For them, it felt like when a herbivore was exposed to a carnivore.
Elves, being beings of nature, were extremely sensitive to such sensations.
The instinctual fear was paralyzing the elves’ rationality.
It was like when a lion intrudes into a rabbit hole and stares at them intently.
That was the situation for the elves.
Desperately trying to drive away the lion was a natural act from the rabbit’s perspective.
But from Ketal’s perspective, who didn’t know that, he could only think of the elves as savage.
‘Alright!’
Let’s accept without prejudice.
Because this was the fantasy world he had been yearning for!
It was also somewhat enjoyable to find differences from the books.
As he organized his thoughts, he found something to watch.
Swish!
He caught the flying arrows.
Examining the arrows closely, he noticed a faint whirlwind rotating sharply at the arrowheads.
‘Elemental magic?’
Blades made of flames and water were also flying towards him.
Ketal’s eyes sparked with interest.
Strange forces like that were quite common in the snow plains.
But thinking of it as elf elemental magic or sorcery made it seem somewhat different.
As Ketal watched their attacks with fascination, the elves were shocked.
“Why does he have such an artifact!”
There was a limit to the damage even a defensive artifact could withstand.
But even though they all attacked with full force, the artifact showed no signs of breaking.
“Hmm.”
While it was somewhat amusing to watch, he wanted to start a proper conversation soon.
But no matter what he said, they showed no signs of listening.
‘I guess I have to calm them down.’
Ketal raised both arms.
Thinking it was an attack, the elves cast protective magic.
The two arms collided like clapping.
And a shockwave spread.
Kwaaaaang!
“Aaaaaah!”
“Ugh!”
The protective magic shattered like glass.
Trees roots were uprooted, branches swirled and fluttered far away.
The elves who couldn’t withstand it tumbled on the ground.
With just one clap.
That was enough to end the battle.
“What…what is this?”
The elves were astonished.
That clap wasn’t some magical attack; it was pure physical force.
The shockwave created by the clap had overturned everything.
“Oh my.”
But Ketal was also bewildered.
‘Is this too much power?’
Perhaps because he had always faced either monstrous foes or disgustingly weak ones, he couldn’t grasp how much force to use.
Still, he had reached a state of temporary calm by force.
Ketal cleared his throat and began speaking again.
“I am not your enemy. Elves…”
As his words continued, the sound of wind echoed.
With a sharp sound, a translucent arrow flew towards Ketal.
A very beautiful trajectory.
Ketal stared blankly at the arrow.
Kwaaaaang!
The arrow collided with Ketal’s body, and an explosion erupted.
Flames roared and engulfed Ketal.
One elf landed in the middle of the battlefield.
Blonde hair swayed, and blue eyes shone sharply from a sharp face.
“Ohhh!”
“It’s the queen!”
“What’s going on?”
The queen asked calmly.
The elder rushed over in a panic.
“Humans have attacked!”
“…I expected as much.”
The queen’s gaze sank.
“Is nowhere safe?”
“That man is only a vanguard! The main force will arrive soon.”
“Hmm?”
The queen’s expression was puzzled.
“I scouted the entire area, but there was no sign of humans.”
“Yes, yes?”
“So.”
A voice echoed from within the flames.
The elves recoiled in terror.
Soon, a hand emerged and swept away the flames.
“I hope you’ll listen to the story.”
Ketal was still in the same position as before.
“T-this can’t be!”
“How can he withstand the queen’s blow without a scratch!”
“What kind of artifact does he have!”
“Artifact?”
The queen’s eyes narrowed.
Ketal’s attire was very light.
A hatchet hanging at his waist.
A necklace made of wood.
And a leather pouch hanging from his leather belt was all there was.
If it was an artifact to block her blow, it should have had enough power, but there was none of that.
It meant that Ketal had overcome it purely with his own strength.
“Is even a strongman like you targeting us? Humans are truly despicable.”
“That’s not what I—”
“In that case, prepare to regret your choice.”
The queen drew her bow.
“I am the queen of the Brown Tinged Leaf tribe. Human, dare you face the consequences of daring to covet us.”
***
‘…Can’t we communicate?’
For a moment, the conversation didn’t flow to the point where such doubt arose.
But he was speaking the same language as the elves.
It was understandable, so it seemed like they were ignoring Ketal’s words as if they weren’t worth listening to.
‘Isn’t the relationship between humans and elves good?’
He said he was not an elf hunter.
Even if they were a race that kidnapped his child as a slave, he shouldn’t think well of them.
Ketal became very gloomy.
‘It can’t be helped.’
One of the common senses he learned in the snow plains.
If you hit, they listen.
Of course, he wouldn’t resort to violence.
Hitting elves?
It was an unthinkable option for him.
‘Just make them listen to me.’
Ketal came to a conclusion, and the queen drew her bow.
A translucent arrow hung from the bowstring.
The bow was released, and the arrow was shot.
It was truly swift.
A speed that surpassed the speed of sound, impossible to follow with the eyes.
As the arrow was about to collide with Ketal’s body, Ketal’s hand moved.
He caught the flying arrow.
Naturally, it exploded.
Flames rose fiercely and tried to engulf Ketal.
“Hmm.”
And Ketal responded very simply.
He just clenched his fist.
With a soft sound, the flames vanished.
The pupils of the elves dilated.
“Huh?”
“…What?”
The queen was astonished.
Her arrows were not just ordinary arrows.
They were arrows imbued with the spirits of nature, with flames’ spirits imbued in each arrow.
Even if he was a superhuman, it was impossible to stop it without a scratch, yet he simply clenched his fist.
‘Then!’
She drew the arrow sharply.
“Burn.”
Whoosh.
The bow itself was tinged with flames.
Controlled to the extreme, the flames distorted the space wildly.
“Go and shoot him dead!”
With a rough shout, she let go.
The thing made of flames rushed forward at a dizzying speed.
As it rushed, it gradually took on a form.
A phoenix with dazzling wings.
“Ohhh!”
The elves exclaimed in admiration.
It was the queen’s ultimate technique.
An arrow of a phoenix that would never extinguish until it turned the opponent into ashes, the ultimate technique that had never been blocked.
But the queen could only be bewildered.
Even though she had displayed her strongest technique, the barbarian’s face remained incredibly calm.
“Amazing!”
Ketal exclaimed.
An arrow of a phoenix.
Truly a fantastical technique.
Moved by it, he simply clenched his fist.
And he launched his fist towards the phoenix.
Kwaaaaang!
Everything in the trajectory of the fist exploded.
Branches snapped and created a vacant space in the dense thicket in an instant.
Forced the flames that wouldn’t extinguish to go out.
“Aaaaah!”
The pressure didn’t stop and overwhelmed the Elf Queen.
The queen rolled on the ground with a face full of injuries.
Ketal clicked his tongue with a face of realization.
“I should have adjusted the power more.”
“……”
The Elf Queen’s face, full of injuries as she rolled on the ground, stiffened.
Through this encounter, she realized.
The opponent was a strong one.
And it was incomparable to her.
‘Superhuman or higher.’
A strong person like that was here!
The queen gritted her teeth at this.
She was confident in her own strength.
But there was another wall beyond the wall.
Her opponent had reached a level she could never reach.
She seemed determined and shouted loudly.
“Everyone! Get away from here right away!”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
“Now!”
“…I understand!”
The elder, realizing what the queen was about to do, gritted his teeth and shouted.
“Everyone, run away!”
“Yes, yes!”
The elves fled in a hurry.
The queen stumbles to her feet.
“Human… I acknowledge your strength. But you will never achieve your goal!”
“…”
Ketal looked at the queen with a trembling heart.
‘It’s not working.’
He was getting a little annoyed.
If it were him in the snowfield, he would have smashed all their heads and forced them to listen.
As they continued not to understand, he felt like slowly raising his fist.
‘No.’
But Ketal suppressed himself like that.
This was the fantasy world he had so longed for.
He wanted to be relaxed and act calmly.
Ketal calmed his mind.
And while Ketal was doing that, the queen put her hands together.
The flames began to gather and take shape.
“I call upon you! The one who holds the pure origin! I call upon you! The one who burns the dark darkness!”
It was a spell.
Ketal forgot about the situation and was impressed.
Of course, if it was magic, there had to be a spell.
He felt his heart pounding as he watched real magic.
He was glad he had taken it easy.
“Oh, come! The one with horns that hold the pure flame. Piego!”
The shape made of flames becomes a door, and a beast jumps out of the door.
A flaming bull.
“Oh!”
Ketal let out a cheer.
The reason was simple.
The bull that appeared was so cool.
Red flames gleamed all over his body.
The mere existence of it raised the temperature of the forest itself.
The most distinctive feature was the horns that rose above its head.
The bull itself was very powerful, but the horns were of a different order.
It was a difference that even Ketal, who was seeing a spirit for the first time, could tell.
‘That’s a spirit, and this is fantasy!’
The things in the snowfield were very gruesome and alien.
They were closer to nightmares than fantasy creatures.
There were cute ones like black slimes and somewhat fantasy-like ones like snakes, but they were in the extreme minority.
The vast majority were things that even looked bad.
On the other hand, what about the bull in front of him?
A bull with horns that burned with flames.
It was a creature full of romance.
While Ketal was moved, the bull exhaled with a rough face.
[Hmm. Did you call me?]
Piego scratched the ground with his foot in an annoyed tone.
[I have to help you according to the king’s orders, but it’s still not worth the contract. It’s full of annoying things.]
“Shut up.”
The queen said gruffly.
Piego.
The highest elemental spirit of fire.
A being with unparalleled power.
And as such, he did not easily follow the orders of the contractor.
Just as a trainer cannot perfectly control a carnivore, so too were the spirits.
The stronger the spirit, the older it was, and thus the stronger its pride.
And there, too, the highest elemental spirit of fire.
Piego was a being with horns that held the pure flame, the very concept of fire itself.
Originally, it was a spirit that was even difficult for the queen to call.
She had barely managed to contract it with the help of another tribe.
“Fulfill the contract. Piego.”
[It’s annoying, but that’s the contract. So this contract is to kill the human in front of me?]
Piego exhaled and looked at the human in front of him.
The human, who was strangely moved and looking at him, made him doubt his eyes.
[…Is that a human?]
It was a body so perfect that it made him doubt.
If it wasn’t for the thorax moving with his breath, he would have thought it was a statue.