Chapter 3: Dark Elves
DARK Elf Warrior Captain Gia Nageev Mazaram trudged heavily down the unbeaten path. His body, once touted as being Steel by the neighboring countries, had wasted away, to the point he might even lose a fight to a child. The several warriors accompanying him were in similar decline.
The forest was endless and gloomy, dominated only by a dark atmosphere and a lifeless chill.
“There really isn’t anything here, is there?”
“Captain Gia, um, don’t you think we should leave the Accursed Lands now…?”
Gia shook his head, yet again rejecting the same suggestion that he’d heard one too many times by now. He wanted to tell them not to keep making him repeat himself, but he intimately understood his subordinates’ feelings as he felt the same. But their current circumstances would never allow for it.
“What do we achieve by leaving the forest now? We have nowhere to go after being driven from our land. And I highly doubt the children will survive this aimless travel much longer… Vegetation is abundant here—there must be food somewhere. Push through for our brethren.”
The smile he plastered on his face was far from convincing. But his subordinates had no choice but to obey. They would have no reason to keep pushing forward if they gave up hope now. But, contrary to their greatest wish, what they sought—food—was nowhere to be found.
“But this damn ominous forest definitely gives you the chills, doesn’t it?”
Searching in silence was terrible for morale. Gia decided to start up a conversation in light of everyone running low on stamina. He felt as if he might go mad if he didn’t say something—the fathomless depths of the still forest didn’t help.
“The Cursed Sea of Trees lying at the edge of Idoragya’s Uncharted Territory—also known as the Accursed Lands. Ancient records speak of a great evil sealed here. Whatever it is, they say it won’t allow life to prosper within its realm…”
“Hahaha. That’s just superstition. If it were true, there wouldn’t be so many trees everywhere. Doesn’t the vegetation that won’t let us see more than a few feet ahead count as life?”
It was Gia’s adjutant, a woman well-versed in legends and folklore, who broached the unsettling topic. She was an avid reader who used to spend most of her wages on books, lending her knowledge and words a certain degree of credibility. But Gia deliberately laughed her off. Everyone prayed her fears wouldn’t become a reality. As Warrior Captain, he couldn’t show weakness.
“Don’t give up. Never give up. The noble spirits of our ancestors will surely show us the way to overcome this trial.”
The reason why Gia was revered as a warrior captain was not only due to his skill but also his mental fortitude. He accomplished his missions without ever being crushed by impossible circumstances. This fortitude was why he remained Warrior Captain and continued to take the vanguard, even as his race teetered on extinction.
Motivated by Gia’s encouraging speech, his subordinates marched into the unknown darkness, believing a path would open for them and that they’d be saved from this desperate situation, as he said.
At long last, the world opened up before them.
Perhaps they expected a miracle to happen. The clearly man-made space was enough to incite hope just for being different from everything else they’d seen thus far. Maybe a recluse lived there in secret. Or maybe it was a location where edible plants grew en masse. It might even be a nest for wild animals. Or, just maybe, it was where God would mercifully grant them comfort from their suffering.
However, all their hopes were shattered. For only ruin existed there.
We’re doomed…!
Regret washed over Gia the second he saw it. A stone dais loomed in the center of the clearing that seemed to be carved out of the dense forest. At first glance, the scenery might be viewed as sacred and meaningful, but what existed there was a problem.
First, there was the girl standing directly beside the dais, assessing them with an unrelenting gaze. Mousy, ash-colored hair stood out alongside her dress decorated by gold embellishments twisted in distorted directions.
The eyes sizing Gia up were the living embodiment of abnormal, and they told everyone present that she wasn’t of this world, that she was connected to the root of darkness, and the danger she engendered was fatal.
But the girl was the lesser of the two evils. The problem was the other person present. Nay, Gia wasn’t certain the other could even be called a person.
The second being was a paradoxical phenomenon that seemed to have stepped right out of the legend Gia’s adjutant spoke of.
Its shape was human—but the rest was indistinguishable. Blacked out of view, as if rejected by the world itself, it was undoubtedly the manifestation of the great evil spoken of in the legends. The being was so dreadful, so abominable, it made him wonder: did something go wrong to break the natural law of the world, which would make it crumble and fall to ruin?
I don’t know what it is. But my instincts can’t stop screaming that it’s nothing good.
The girl’s gaze never moved off of Gia and his subordinates, and it was likely that the evil being was also watching them. Gia’s subordinates didn’t so much as breathe. Understanding his next move would determine the fate of his race, Gia chose his words carefully.
“I-I am the Warrior Captain Gia Nageev of the Dark Elf Mazaram Clan. I can see you are a powerful and noble being! Please allow me to first apologize for entering this forest without permission!”
Gia slowly kneeled, head bowed, careful not to provoke the evil being.