Dwarves – 3
The plane had an odd shape, with an oval body at the center of dozens of jagged wings. Each wing seemed to be emitting powerful mana, which meant they each had an engine. The overwhelming size of it was intimidating, with just its presence being enough to stop the others from moving. The guild representatives already gathered here didn’t seem happy.
“It’s too fast.”
“Maybe their talks with the US and China are over.”
“The disgusting old friends.”
The Elakatra, on the other hand, seemed to welcome their appearance. That alone was enough to get an idea of the type of people aboard this plane. It was slowly descending to the ground, resembling a dying human almost. Mireina grabbed my shoulder.
“What is that? I can feel an ominous energy in there.”
“Ominous energy?” I watched the plane but felt no sign of what she said. The plane was like a moving fortress covered in artifacts. But as soon as the door opened, I could tell what she had been sensing.
“President.”
“Hmm.” Escorted by countless people, several old men walked out. It was the chairman of a famous company known around the world. The title of Korea’s best guild was certainly fitting. Wouldn’t they be the best among the best? I recalled my days as a human, but there was a problem more urgent than my reminiscing. I found the source of the sinister energy Mireina felt. Red eyes, and dark mana. It was a transformed soul. It stank like the monsters of the soul.
I had been wrong about the Elakatra. Their purpose wasn’t so simple. They weren’t simply studying the monsters to destroy humans; that would be a waste. Their true goal was much more terrible. These were by no means a finished product. They were full of flaws, with a hole in their soul. Perhaps these Chaos Souls, and the monsters that occupied elven bodies, were all incidental products from their primary purpose. But what was their real purpose? What were they trying to achieve, what sort of bloody miracle did they hope to produce?
I couldn’t know. To figure it out, I had to make Mireina, who was currently trembling with her hand on my shoulder, stronger as soon as I could.
“They are…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” I looked around while comforting Mireina, who was afraid of the monster. I wondered how humans could accept such a disparate existence. Were there any people who were aware that they were just one step away from humans?
“The old man is here.”
Lee Minha…the master of One Flag.”
“Looks like he’s not even interested in us. Damn it…”
Out of all the humans gathered here, were we the only ones to understand that they were connected with the soul monsters? Maybe it was because we had fought on the Rookie’s Battlefield that we could sense it. With that in mind, I felt fortunate I had been able to evolve into an elf as I grew.
“Who…yes. Dwarf? Who should I listen to?” Lee Minha opened his mouth, acting as if no-one had talked to the dwarf before this moment. His arrogance was expected, but it was curious that he didn’t immediately try to kill the dwarves, given his ties to the elves. Alec ignored him, and the Elakatra kept quiet. The representatives of the Incheon guild came out of the crowd.
“We were talking first, so let’s skip it.”
“Hm? Hahahaha.” It was a laugh that felt more appropriate in a comic book.
“If you wanted to act like a rat, you should’ve been faster.”
“…”
“This damn…”
The eyes of the humans were momentarily focused on me. Is this what I really interrupted? How shameless. Lee Minha’s gaze stayed on me, and I stared back. As I looked at his red, bloodshot eyes, I got a sense of how much power he had. He hadn’t reached the higher system, but his mana was surprisingly strong. But I had a sense of where it came from.
“Did you say Rebellion? The ones spreading lies about taming the fallen.”
“The One Flag…right? It’s my first time I’ve seen one in person but seeing as they can’t admit their own lack of abilities and claim others to be liars, they seem to have the mental age of elementary school students. Nice to meet you, my name is Fate. Even if you’re young, can’t you remember a name?” It was an exchange of jabs rather than words. I was well aware this person wouldn’t take active actions against me.
“This has become an incredibly fun world. As power becomes visible, it becomes a lot more challenging to use.”
“It would’ve been nice to be able to wield your power when it wasn’t visible to others. It’s regrettable now, isn’t it?” I had to figure out what I couldn’t see. How was this man, with a soul monster inside of him, connected to the elves…
“…” He clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers. The melee combat troops who were protecting him and members of the One Flag stepped forward, pushing the humans from Incheon away. He was planning on ignoring me and contacting the dwarves directly.
“Huh.” Alec laughed, and the other dwarves joined him. I couldn’t help myself either, joining them in laughing at the humans quarreling.
“This world has changed so much. It might’ve been nice if we had been stuck in that dark tunnel.” He lifted his hammer.
“I will not listen to any of you unless you send me to my home country of Russia. We have no intention of being caught up in your fights. I’d rather go back underground! Those who try to stop us will be our enemies.” It was a valid statement, but there were some stumbling blocks in his way.
“I can’t. For the sake of cooperation between humans and elves.”
“We’ll converse first.” There were those who started a show that made no sense in front of us. It was the Elakatra and the One Flag. It was too obvious that the One Flag was in cahoots with the elves, with that soul monster in his body.
“There will be no dialogue. I only want to go back to my homeland!”
“I do too.”
“I’m the same. Let us move freely!” The feelings of the dwarves rang clear. In my eyes, the future was set. The dwarves, who would be unable to stand the situation, would pull their weapons and attack. The humans, who would feel as if it couldn’t be helped, would retaliate. These confrontations were their intention from the start. They would complicate the situation and rob the dwarves of their rationality.
“Don’t attack first. Don’t give them a justification.” I whispered quickly to Alec, who paused.
“Justification?”
“The justification to kill you.”
“Kill…?” He was stunned, his confidence faltering. He didn’t understand what I was saying.
“We are humans. Are you saying us humans will be killed by humans?”
“What if you were to attack?”
“We just want to go where we want to. We have no intention of killing humans like us! What do you think human dignity is?” Alec struck down my words, and I glanced at the elves.
“I see.”
“Just pretend to bend down, you’re at the disadvantage.”
“I will not bend to anyone!” Alec exploded, and the moment his hammer lifted up, the elves’ eyes lit up. I pulled out my Twilight Sword and swung it, his hammer clattering to the ground. It had happened instantaneously, so all but Alec and those near us were unsure of what had occurred.
“A unique weapon…” Alec muttered quietly. As if they had been waiting, the two Elakatra began to move.
“I told you already, they are enemies!”
“They were provoked by you guys!” The Incheon guild representatives shouted in annoyance, but they had no power to stop the Elakatra. If a casualty occurred, the dwarves would undoubtedly be turned over to them. The hostility toward dwarves would only increase. Like-minded people to me were moving to stop the Elakatra as well, but it didn’t seem like they had enough time. I stepped forward, taking the blow of the Elakatra’s magic meant for Alec’s head. It was the magic of a parent entity, piercing through my Blood Baptism. Mireina let out a shriek.
“Will elves attack humans too?” What I had wanted was not such an obvious ploy, but I would take what I could get.
“I wasn’t trying to attack you, I was trying to kill the dwarf.”
Only
“Why?”
“He has a weapon.”
“Just because of that? Then, are you saying that I can kill you because you attacked me?” I could heal the wound instantly with regeneration, but I didn’t dare to use healing magic now. Alec moved forward, intercepting the other Elakatra who was trying to stealthily attack the dwarves.
“Who is the bad one now? A dwarf, who just returned to society? Or an elf who defines dwarves as evil and tries to kill them?”
“How did you…” He couldn’t have conceived of the idea he would’ve been caught. The elf was astonished, unable to respond. Everyone on the human side, except for One Flag, now noticed how strangely they were acting. I was fortunate that the Elakatra’s arrogance blinded them into only seeing their goal straight ahead. Now it was my turn, as I held my sword to my side as if to protect the dwarves.
“Cain, go ahead.”
[Okay, captain.]
Cain stepped forward, changing everything.
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