Chapter 2 - Lord Estes vs Blood Demon Queen Alice

***

A rainbow colored ground and a rainbow colored forest.

When the world received the light of the sun, each and every angle reflected completely different colors, everything was shining rainbow colored. Rather than calling it fantastical, it was rather a psychedelic scenery.

There were flapping sounds, small birds were flapping their wings towards the sky from the trees of the rainbow colored eucalyptus. One's attention would surely be taken away by the rainbow colored trees and ground, enshrouded in pale blue light.

However, what would come into the sight of any individual now would be wholesale desecration of nature. Burned blackened trunks littered the ground.

Two Elves crouched together behind a bush while observing their surroundings.

One of them spoke--

"... ...O flickers of torch, o string of constellation. Please guide me to the thing that I seek... ..."

Witch Guidepost!

One of the Elves invoked his unique spell.

A thin veil of red light overflowed from his left ring finger as it pulled a trail behind while flying to the other side of the forest.

The other Elf also spoke an incantation.

"See through the path of a thousand ri, expose here the evil that is lurking in the darkness... ...Detect Ambush!"

His eyes glowed with magic power.

"Then I am heading ahead first!"

The Elf whose eyes glowed with magic power nodded once before rushing out to the forest ahead and he was soon swallowed by the magic power cloud enshrouding the rainbow forest and soon vanished from sight.

The trail of red light followed after.

Not long later, the Elf returned with a panicked look on his face.

"This is bad. The Orc Leader Balmond is advancing rapidly. We have to report this to Lord Estes immediately!"

***

Enchanted Forest ~

Around the Elvish table, a noble Elvish Marshall, Galrad finally spoke out : "Lord Estes, we will fight them all to the death! But, there is no sighting of the Blood Demon Queen yet. Our scouts have been unable to pinpoint her location."

At the center of the Elvish table, sat another Elf. However, one look alone would allow one to determine that he was something special.

A noble being.

An Elf clad in majestic armor, with the divine shape of a crescent moon behind him. The impression he gave off was the colour white--Or rather, silver white. The colour of his skin was also white as snow. His silver hair sparkled. That posture, regardless whether he was male or female, was simply too beautiful, as the crescent moon behind him spread out like a fully-bloomed butterful. An Elf of his glen had a way of looking right into a person's soul, as though it were an open book for reading.

Truly, he possessed the qualities only found in the status of a 'King'.

And this person, was none other than Lord Estes, the High King of the Elves.

When he spoke, the room became quiet instantly. His voice was as though it was a peculiar magic that heals just for the listening.

"No, Alice will surely come for me. She want's nothing more but my head in her hands and will surely head to the Lunar Temple and the Tree Of Life."

As Estes stood up--

"Normally, I will have to preserve my strength but I am afraid that this time, Alice will not back down easily. Now that she has gotten the power of the Orcs as well...I am not sure we will be able to last another onslaught. The battle has to end today. In that case, I will head out to settle Balmond first."

The other Elves started to persuade Estes to conserve his strength and leave Balmond to them but a single stare from him managed to quiet them down immediately.

"Are you planning to sacrifice yourself, Estes?"

Estes turned towards the female Elf who spoke.

An Elf beauty. As though the essence of earth had entwined itself around her, the butterfly wings that sprouted from her back granted her the characteristic ethereal aura of both serenity and fear. The shade of her hair was the color of acorn caps, yet her eyes were bright like the acorns themselves. Her wings fluttered like confetti, swirling in the gentle 'tornado' the world can ever know. As they dance in their airborne way, the breeze takes on a floral fragrance, one to send the mind into a heady stupor.

In Estes's gaze, all she saw was resolution; not resignation, nor defeat.

"Do not spend your life here Chantal. You must stay alive in order to lead the next generation."

Finally, Estes left the room.

However, as he headed out, he felt a light bump behind him.

Turning around, a young Elf girl had hugged her small hands around his legs.

Although she was but a small girl, she already possessed the beauty to rival some of the most beautiful Elves in existence. Her long silvery-white hair, just like Estes, fluttered just like the moonlight. Her eyes were sharp but yet contained traces of affection and warmth.

She spoke in a small but questioning, and yet somewhat pleading tone--

"Lord Estes, where are you going?"

Smiling gently, Estes rested his hand upon the girl's head.

Although he had no children of his own, he had long treated this girl as though she were his own daughter.

"Miya, as the Elven King, it is my duty to protect my people, including you. One day, I'm sure you will understand the meaning of those words. Miya, you are one of the bravest and strongest Elves I have seen, even among the adults. One day, you will grow up to be a fine woman and lead the Elves. And, surely, when the day comes, you will also meet the boy who will not only protect you, but love you with all his heart as well."

However, although Miya was somewhat reluctant, she knew that she had to let him go. From a young age, Miya was calm and insightful, showing noticeable maturity for her age and knowledge on how to deal with every situation.

She looked up at Estes and just by taking a single glance into his eyes, she knew that he would sacrificng his everything in order to save them.

A true Elven King.

Revealing back a fearless smile at him, Estes knew in his heart that someday, this young girl would be the one to bring back their glory and lead their people.

With a firm resolution in his heart, he finally set out to meet his enemies.

* * *

As Balmond advanced steadily to the Lunar Temple, he massacred anything that stood in his way.

"Die!"

A single swing of his axe that was gripped in his right hand was exactly like the Scythe of a Grim Reaper.

"Dosun!"

As he stepped on the ground, a crater formed beneath him as he swung the axe like a guillotine falling down.

*Kats!*

With a satisfying sound, that blade bisected the bodies of three Moon Elves right into two.

"Stop him!"

Without knowing who was the one who even gave out that command, the other Moon Elves rounded upon Balmond without a single regard for their own lives; their only thoughts were to stop this beast from advancing even further.

"Ha! Ha ! Ha! Taste my axe!"

Alas, their attempts proved to be nothing more than a futile effort as their bodies were cut clean in half by a single stroke.

An Elf, who saw the massacre of his own people, was overwhelmed with anger as he raised a sword and charged towards Balmond.

However, with a single flick of his left hand, the Moon Elf was blown back by a dynamic force as he fractured into a nearby tree.

"Another reckless fool."

[That is enough. It is time for you to disappear from this battlefield.]

--Suddenly, a voice resounded around the Balmond.

Enemy!?

Balmond quickly turned around and behind him, a gigantic old woman that was like a mountain was towering over him.

She was gigantic, but she was half assimilating with the surrounding forest as if overlapping with each other.

The red eyes that were opened round like a fish were looking straight down at Balmond. She was an eerie old woman. The remains of her mostly falling out white hair was hanging down like a fleeing ghost, her cracked skin had uneven bumps swelling all over.

While looking quite repulsive, the old woman's arms that were covered by old rags were stretching out to Balmond.

Sensing danger, Balmond snapped to his senses as he attempted to escape. However, the old woman didn't leave him for even an instant, as if she was an evil spirit haunting him.

"Die!"

Frustrated, Balmond swung his weapon of mass destruction upon the mysterious entity. However, his attack simply passed through her.

"Impossible..."

What kind of magic is this?! This isn't physical, something more conceptual... ...!

The arms of the old woman embraced Balmond and the same voice resounded.

[Although it won't do any harm to your body, this magic will transfer you away, leader of the Orcs.]

Balmond finally recognized that voice.

"This voice...! The Moon Elves King, Estes!"

While still inside the old woman's embrace, the figures of Balmond and the old woman were fading starting from their legs.

"I will remember this, despicable Elf!"

Within moments, the great Orc warrior had disappeared from the battlefield.

***

As Estes stood in front of the Temple of the Moon, he breathed heavily.

Hah...

Hah...

He had exhausted a great amount of magic power to teleport Balmond away using a sacred spell that involved the spirits of the forest.

However, fate was not going to let him rest for even a second longer.

A blob of red that levitated slightly off the ground slowly advanced a few meters away from him.

This is--

Estes knew what that huge blob of red was.

Blood. The blood of her enemies.

Instantly, as though switching places, the blob of blood was soon replaced by a bewitching woman.

The woman curved her lips into a slight sneer as she spoke.

"Finally we meet, Lord Estes."

Estes, who was shown to rarely display emotions of anger, glared back.

"Yes, and this will also be the last day we see each other again. You will perish here today, Queen of Blood Demons--"

***

"Alice!"

***

Wings the color of pure blood.

Two horns sprouted from the top of her head.

Dressed in a rather scantily clad outfit, with a cape drapped behind.

A witch that symbolized desire, clad in ominous magic power.

The Queen Of Blood Demons, Alice.

"Alice, I suggest you to leave. I have already sent Balmond away from the forest. If you fall back now, I will still show you mercy."

However, Alice simply laughed at Estes words.

"Kukuku... your reality will perish, Lord Estes. My power is Hell's judgement that rules over life and death. Very soon, the Abyss will reach out to every continent, every part in this Land Of Dawn. Whether it is the Moniyan Empire, Azrya Woodlands or the Northern Vale, the Abyss will rule it all."

Estes shook his head.

"Light will always truimp over darkness. Like you said, Hell's power of judgement is the ability to rule over life and death. ...It is therefore possible to not only grant punishment, fear and destruction, but also mercy, compassion, and hope. Graduating from illusion, gazing at reality, working hard to progress; those are qualities the Abyss will never be able to understand."

"Hmph, such naive thinking. Those who gaze at reality and possess strength, they ended up becoming the originators of illusion. They scatter illusion that is convenient for themselves to the surroundings and coaxed the weak who are looking for someone to cling to. And then, exploiting those weak people. That is exactly the power of the Abyss."

"A person's calibre is dictated by the kindness that it allows to reach the people beside them, that kindness should be able to spread until far away. The widening of that extent is progress. People can sympathize with others at far away too. Even with your intention to represent the despair of the whole of mankind, the collective will of the people that believes in hope will dispel the darkness from this world."

"It seems our thinking will never match. In that case, I'll simply pass the last judgement on you."

The Queen Of Apocalypse who spread her wings seeking the seat of the absolute being... ...

Her face warped in a smile.

Alice was chanting a spell. Magic power was whirling as it manifested.

"Flowing Blood!"

A blob of pure magic power condensed in Alice's palm as she thrust out her hand.

Instantly, her figure vanished.

Her power that utilized the blood of her enemies.

An ominous attack by itself.

It was a special ability of hers that completely switched the position between the blob of blood and herself after casting it. The blob of blood would then lose it's form.

But, for Estes, it was a technique he had seen many times before. Using foresight, he was able to dodge Alice who exchanged places with her spell with paper thin difference.

Alice, whose first attack was dodged stepped in powerfully with both legs and put a sudden break on her phenomenal acceleration that raised clouds of dust. Suppressing the opening from hitting empty air into zero, she took a stance that was ready for Estes's counterattack.

Estes similarly pushed out his left shoulder to the front as a book of scriptures materialized in his right hand. The crescent moon that seemed to revolve behind him glowed brightly.

"SCRIPTURE OF THE MOON ELF!"

A pure condensed form of magic that glowed white expelled itself from Estes palm.

Alice's eyes flickered red as it automatically detected that preparatory movement and dervied a response; she created another blood orb as she exchanged places again.

However, her speed proved to be an impulse. Alice's body was already shifting to the wrong direction in evasion intend. A twist in the waist was created from the movement of the left shoulder and the second chanting spell had already finished.

Estes had already predicted where Alice would teleport in order to escape his first attack; he had simply created a diversion as he calmly laid out his second spell.

Estes raised both his hands upwards as a flood of pure moonlight appeared above Alice as it crashed down upon her.

It was as though his attack was a form of gravity magic itself. A sphere of moonlight that simply rained down upon the enemy. One would feel as though it was a blanket of enormous and immense weight crushing down upon.

Kuh... The gravitational pull of the attack that stopped at a cursed arrangement caused Alice to stumble to her knees.

The special ability of this spell did not simply lie in dealing massive damage to the enemies, it also incorporated the elements of slowing them down, as though gravity was weighing upon them.

However, Alice made her body clad in pitch black aura of transcendental power as she forcefully endured the shower of moonlight. A pitch black aura and power of dark red blood wrapped around her body in marble pattern as she generated another blood orb.

She launched her attack trajectory right at Estes but this time; it was with much greater speed and intensity.

!!!???

The Blood Demon Queen instantly materialized before Estes.

***

"Blood Awe!"