Chapter 014

Watching Atir tilt his head in the air as if hearing it for the first time, Kelis clenched her lips tightly.

"That's…"

"Found it."

At that moment, the fur on Kelis entire body stood on end as she tried to continue speaking.

Her tail swelled, and her ears stiffened.

The unique senses of the Beastmen filled her mind.

Run away; it was screaming at her.

"Kittenlings."

Warhammer.

A monstrous figure with a sinister appearance was forming a chilling smile on its face.

-Run!!

With a shout, the fiery spirit Atir lunged at the Warhammer.

Flames unlike any seen before engulfed his entire body.

A bright red crimson overflowed as if that would devour the entire forest.

Frozen in place, the Catkin sisters were unable to do anything as Atir shouted once again.

-Run, you foolish little brats!!

Splosh

"Kuwaaaak!"

The flames burst one after another, and Warhammer let out a painful scream in response to the sudden attack.

However, the scream soon turned into a roar, and the roar turned into a sinister laugh.

"Hahaha! It's warm, little raccoon! You haven't offered a spirit to Khalaran yet! I'm looking forward to sacrificing you!!"

The Catkin sisters began to flee.

Esrin hesitated until the end, sending a worried glance to Atir, but Atir only kicked at the air with his hind legs as if urging them to run.

Seeing that Esrin had fled, led by Kelis, Atir turned his attention to the Warhammer, who was now swinging the massive double-edged axe ferociously across his shoulder.

-I'm grateful for your patience, but I have to say this.

Atir bared his teeth fiercely and growled.

-Don't act all high and mighty. You're no better than a beast, you monster's child. Who sacrifices whom? I'll turn you into skewers.

It was closer to Eldmir's than Atir's natural voice, but Atir didn't care.

He just believed that tailoring his provocation to match his opponent's style would be more effective.

Warhammer chuckled at Atir's provocation.

"Looks like we've got some prey."

'Guess I should be worrying about my own life, not that guy.'

Atir thought of a half-elf warrior who would likely be fighting by now.

-Your hunt ends here.

As the words ended, the monster and the spirit clashed fiercely.

・・・❈・・・

"Huff… Huff…."

"Quite impressive, young elf."

Warhammer praised him with a chuckle.

He licked the blood on his axe and continued speaking.

"I thought even a little resistance would be fine, but I didn't expect it to be this much."

Warhammer smiled satisfactorily, twirling the axe he held in his hand.

"Hey, brothers, don't drag this out unnecessarily. Isn't it taking too long?"

"Kukuk. Matikan. Speaking like that against this young elf is hasty talk. Which warrior would dare belittle a battle with this elf like that?"

"Well, at least in my eyes, you seem more eager to enjoy the immediate fight than fulfill your destined honor."

"…This is ridiculous. Then why don't you fight him? How is this elf so confident?"

These crazy battle maniacs.

Unknowingly, I let out a chuckle.

Those guys who seemed ready to rush at me any second and tear my throat out were now engaging in one-on-one combat.

Some honorable ritual to dedicate themselves to Khalaran or something.

Anyway, it seemed like a duel, and duels were always conducted one-on-one.

But you see, it's easy to say it's one-on-one, but when I ended up fighting with one guy for a while, those who had been sitting down and resting suddenly wanted to give it a try, as if saying, "Let me have a go too".

For me, who was determined to somehow gain the upper hand, it was nothing but bullshit, and Warhammer, who was fighting against me, was spouting crazy gibberish like, "This young elf is a far superior warrior than you can imagine. You should fight him once, too. You'll surely be satisfied", and engaging in a tag match.

These lunatics even started doing rock-paper-scissors when they were supposed to be having a duel.

No, when I was playing, the Orcs never had such a custom. What kind of fucking brainless nonsense is this?

Naturally, I protested against the situation where my attire was falling apart, but the only response I received was that if I fought and endured against all eight of them, they would spare my life.

They said they would gang up on me if I refused.

So, when I asked how long I had to fight against each one, I received another insane answer, saying, "Fight until you're satisfied."

It felt like blood was rushing to my head, but what could I do?

If I fought against all eight of them, defeat was certain.

Anyway, all I had to do was endure, and their policy aligned quite well with my goal.

Though I cursed inwardly, I had no choice but to reluctantly accept their proposal-not-a-proposal.

"Sigh… Is it the next turn?"

Hoping to move on somehow, I asked, and the Warhammer, called Matikan, lit up his eyes.

"Kukuk. Yeah. Alright. Next is my turn then, I guess."

Seeing that, Warhammer, who had been facing me, spoke with a disgruntled expression.

"Tch. Was this your intention from the beginning?"

"What the hell. Didn't you ask me to fight with my mouth? You seem quite satisfied already, so you should back down. Isn't that right?"

"Dammit. Warriors with needless eloquence."

"To achieve the boiling blood of battle, one can become eloquent at any time."

Chortling, Matikan swung his hammer through the air, producing a tearing sound.

Upon witnessing his actions, the warrior who had been facing me just moments ago switched places with him and spoke.

"Take it a bit easy. That guy, who was already exhausted, has finally reached the point where he can't dodge my axe. I suppose he'll yield his turn to the next brothers?"

"Well, if that guy's lucky, he might survive my hammer. If not, he won't."

As I listened to their conversation, I pushed the intestines that were about to come out into my stomach again.

Then I tensed my abdominal muscles, stopping them from flowing out again.

"Ohh… You really should have chosen an axe and a hammer instead of a bow. That's truly a warrior's companion."

The Warhammers watching me in that state sent exclamations of admiration.

The guys who used to only speak briefly were now approaching me in a friendly manner.

"…It's not that I don't know that."

Sword and fist, axe and hammer, spear.

Ferocious combat and brutal strikes, a feast of blood and flesh as they clashed back and forth.

I was originally someone who admired their style.

Still, I'm an elf now, and considering racial bonus stats, archery is superior.

"No matter how much I think about it, the bow feels right."

Even if I relaxed my muscles slightly, it felt like my insides might flow out again at any moment.

But if I kept straining my abdomen, my body would stiffen, greatly hindering my combat ability.

Excruciating pain throughout my body and various injuries causing continuous bleeding were just an added bonus.

Even now, blood was dripping down from my forehead to my chin, and there were axe or sword wounds all over my body, including my back, arms, thighs, and calves. Not to mention, I was worried if my fingers on both sides, from left to right, which had been crushed by the hammer, could still serve their purpose.

Yet, despite all this, my body was still moving, I could still hold a bow, and I could still draw a shot.

The fact that I could still fight meant there were no immediate issues.

Whether I could continue fighting if it had been an axe or a sword is another matter.

"Hehehe."

Suddenly, I found myself laughing uncontrollably.

As I began to laugh, the Warhammers started laughing along, one by one.

Their inexplicable laughter triggered my amusement, turning my chuckle into a hearty laughter.

"Hahaha!"

Look at my form!

Covered in blood-soaked armor and standing before eight monsters, I continue the battle without a hint of fear.

Gripping the bow.

Quiver hanging on my back.

Fighting.

Fighting!

A battle for my life!

"I am!!!"

I shouted defiantly.

Anger that refuses to accept this version of myself.

Clashing fervor to shoot down the monsters before me.

"I am none other than Eldmir Arhitea!!"

The clash instantly subsided, and the two emotions swelled endlessly into a rage that lost its place of expression. Tears welled up.

Why.

That question had long been buried in a rotting abyss.

Why it isn't important.

Yeah.

Why wasn't an important question.

Why must I go through this ordeal, that question turned into a faded, ashen doubt buried deep within.

What's crucial is that I have to survive.

I must live.

I will live.

── I want to live.

In this insane world.

In this goddamn game-world.

In this wretched world, it still feels like a never-ending game.

"Come at me!!"

Whenever I was faced with death, there was always a thought passing through my mind.

At first, it was "why."

After surviving the crisis, I buried the word "why" deep in my heart.

Next, the image of my family emerged.

Not my current family, but the family from a past life.

I couldn't bring myself to ask them, so I tucked them away in a corner of my mind.

Then thoughts about my current life emerged.

Elf.

Forest.

World Tree.

Me, Eldmir Arhitea.

After letting go of all doubts and obsessions about past lives, thoughts about attachment to life surfaced this time.

"Slay them all!!"

I didn't want to die.

So, knowing I had to become stronger, I continued to grow stronger.

That's how I survived.

I was no longer a 30-year-old recluse obsessed with games.

I became an elf who clung to life and struggled to live somehow.

Casually donning blood-soaked armor, picking up my entrails if they spilled, unflinching in committing murder.

"You fucking monsters──!!!"

I became a being almost indistinguishable from the monsters before my eyes.

"Waarrrgh!!!"

Warhammer roared as he charged towards me.

It was a strange sight, as if the forest was lifting him up, not him sprinting across the forest.

It seemed like the forest itself was submitting to his forceful presence.

"Ugh."

Holding my breath and gritting my teeth in pain, I nocked an arrow on my bow, and simultaneously, the world began to move in slow motion.

This was my own elven sense, pure and unaided by any skills.

As the world flowed by in a seemingly halted manner, even the arrows of the three sentinels seemed to stall, while that monstrous creature-like figure continued charging towards me without slowing down.

The overwhelming momentum was pushing me to the brink, yet my hand held the bowstring firmly, and I released an arrow toward him.

An arrow the sentinels could not even react to, the warhammer struck down effortlessly with his own hammer, and as I struggled to move my creaking joints, I climbed onto a branch between two trees.

But this tactical maneuver was already seen as tiresome by the previous four warhammers, and it wasn't particularly effective against the one I now faced.

"Warrrgh!"

With a roar, the warhammer shattered the tree I was on with a swing.

This tree, nurtured by the life force of the World Tree, was over a thousand years old and as thick as a group of grown men standing side by side.

Yet that sturdy tree, with a single strike, let out a scream and extinguished its life's spark.

Watching this, I kept shifting from one tree to another, shooting arrows in the process.

Even amidst a rain of arrows from the treetops, the warhammer pursued me, breaking tree to tree like a bolt of lightning.

"Hahaha! How long will you keep playing this hide-and-seek, Eldmir Arhitea!!"

"Until the moment you die!"

"That means you won't come down until you die!"

The warhammer laughed heartily as he brought down the tree.