The blood of the elf in my grasp is rather good. Mmh. The best of the last few years, at least. The meat’s no good. Elves are all bone and muscle, no fat. Still, it’s fun to toss them off this Stone Tower. Landing with a splat below and becoming fodder for the wolves.
“Damn you... such outrage!”
“‘You’? It’s ‘M’lady’ or ‘Lady Golden’ to you, skinny twig.” No water whip would reach me. Yet they try again. So I grab it with one hand.
“G... Gaaaaah?!”
“Such a pathetic scream.” My Lightning Strike is just as effective through my hand. Elven magic, well, it’s not just something I can destroy, I can use it like this, too.
I am the Golden. My existence is to be on high above. To be respected, to be worshiped. That is the law of nature. My divine right. Even the elves who control the air must bow to the ground in my presence. As for the water wielding elves, well they can work on their party tricks. That one’s no good.
“D-Damned bloodsucker...” Huh, he can still move. To beat back the underlings sent to finish him. Not bad.
“I will not have... some woman look down upon me!”
“Not a line to say when looking up at a woman, dear.” I tap the ground with my toes, casting the earth magic Earth Hammer.
Go fly with the help of this earthen hammer. A fitting end for someone with his nose in the clouds.
To think this mere thing, a trap based on Flowing World, a trifle like that, to use it as a trap for I, the Golden? How disrespectful. Bridges are merely a convenience for letting my underlings and wolves into their feeding grounds.
As for me, I only came here because it seemed a little amusing. I came hoping for a little entertainment.
Well, it was a bit more trouble than I was expecting. Irritating Bell. Always using her trickery to block my lightning. What difference is there between cowardice and being focused on defense?
“Guh... I... I’m...”
“How pathetic. Weak, foolish, and ugly.” Mmh, this is good. Elves should just crawl upon the ground. The pathetic display is enough to provide a little comfort.
“Well, as a reward for your docility as you lose, I’ll teach you two truths about the world.” Listen, and die not only in body, but in soul.
“To the gods, the world is but a game board. Demon and Dragon. They’re simply testing their skills against one another using strong and weak pieces. And as part of that, you will end up as mere fodder for beasts.” The first truth. This realization removes any feelings of self-worth. A ruthless reality that allows no pride. And the second truth, the one provided by the gods... the second is one that denies the existence of fate.
Go into oblivion with both your blood and your hope depleted.
“What a boring, meaningless life. As the gods say, to the faceless masses, ultimately, living merely is a losing struggle.” Mmmh, such a lovely death mask. A once per decade masterpiece.
Ah, that was fun. And that’s a very important thing. To those of us selected by the gods, that’s the only thing that matters. To sort the things that look entertaining, and then enjoy them. That’s about all this world means.
Looking around, all I see is the usual boring scenery. The pathetic squabble for fodder. Vampires and elves fight, and humans are caught and crushed in the middle. The humans were a bit more trouble than usual, but only a little bit. The difference doesn’t matter. They’ll all be dead before dawn. This land will be consumed. Guess that’s about it. In the end, that’s all there is.
I clapped my hands in glee when they used fire magic. Watching my underlings turn to ash, I was hoping for a show of a sort I hadn’t seen in a hundred years. Especially that one human, the one who went on a rampage on her own. An aggression comparable to a vampire. An intensity that caught the eye. A burning gaze. I wonder what was that about... I thought maybe a vengeful spirit had popped out of the humans, but it was all over before I could catch her face.
Humans. A people my God decreed should be left alone. Weak prey. Victimized cattle. In spite of the fact they might be wiped out tomorrow, they plant seeds today.
God recently mentioned we could toy with them a little bit. I wonder what She wants us to do. I wish I could understand Her strategy. My own God, who has no interest in finding the quickest, easiest way to conquer this continent. Just what interests Her so... Hm?
My underlings are being pushed back. Seems the humans are raising a triumphant shout. I can hear the voices. Humans praising their god. Words of hope.
Among the throng emitting heat like molten lava... an Apostle. That’s the human Apostle. A warrior maiden with raven-hair and red eyes.
Mmmhm. Ah... so that’s it.
This was what you were waiting for, Oh God of Mine.
Humans. Those pathetic vermin we could have wiped out ages ago. The ones we’ve allowed to exist in the south of the continent in agreement with the elves. I couldn’t understand why... and now I do.
A sacrifice. A power bred from despair, raised by tragedy, and refined by obsession... the desire for a third, powerful alignment.
Oh dear. So my God is like a human! Planting seeds and waiting for them to sprout.
And? So I’m here to harvest it? I’m to do the serf’s work of plucking that fruit? How meaningless... yet interesting.
A wrong choice and I might suffer death from divine retribution. But if I do too well, vampires as a people are likely to be wiped out. Oh my. How lovely. I feel that’ll happen. How very exciting. So entropic and hedonistic.
“You there. Yes, you.” Then I may as well enjoy this. Play with all my might. I gather my magic to the limit.
“Identify yourself. As the leader of humanity. Do it with aplomb, with elegance, confidence, and beauty.”
“...Kuroi. The Hare of Flame. Apostle of the War God.”
“I see. I’m the Golden. I forgot my name ages ago. Apostle of the Demon God.” Even at this distance, we hear each other’s voices. Well, it’s to be expected. The voices of the chosen ring through this world. The world itself seeks to hear our voices.
“And what brings you here? To me, the Golden? The greatest there has been and ever shall be.”
“I think you know.”
“No, I don’t. If you were an Apostle of the Elves, I would laugh, and accept a battle of the fates... but you are a human. The arrogance.”
“...You mock me?”
“No, you are the one mocking me. Your head is too high, even upon the ground.” I gesture with my chin. My underlings attack.
Well, let’s see what you’re made of... Oh my. How lovely. To do nothing and let your red and black soldiers do the fighting. They look to be spirits or familiars of some sort. I feel fire magic from them. We can spend our pieces and... Oh, how odd. Their numbers aren’t decreasing. My underlings and wolves are getting spent, but those red and black soldiers are as plentiful as they started. In fact, they’re increasing. Summoning, I suppose? I smell the familiar stench of divinity, too.
“Why do you resist so?” Let me ask. And I shall examine your power.
Summoning is different from other magic. There’s a fundamental difference. The nature of your summons defines the root of your existence itself.
“Why were you born as a human, yet resist rather than accept being cattle or prey? It’s humanity’s place to be trampled underfoot, it matters not when or where.”
“...To live like myself, as myself, with pride.”
“Even if the fate of humans is tragedy?”
“Humans will determine what counts as human.” Oh, I see. So that’s what it is.
She thinks it’s some sort of counter-attack. She plans to resist, in spite of all that’s arrayed against her. In spite of having been preserved solely to serve as sustenance. You will form a faction against the night, and challenge me, the Golden.
“You need a bit of discipline.” Accept... Fulgrod.
Let me crush you with a weapon permitted only to me. This rod created to command creation will teach you to act as a human ought to.
“First... cower. Before the light of the Golden!” I point Fulgrod and cast lightning magic, Lightning Bolt.
Mmh, such a lovely sound. It’s an unavoidable impact, after all. Taste it. You won’t get away with just getting stunned. Perhaps your eyes and heart exploded? Collapsing in a smoking... no, only the red-black soldiers fell. They threw themselves in the path of it.
Where did...? Oh, there. She’s coming. Mmmh, how clever. Planning to climb this Stone Tower with her horse, is she? Or perhaps to jump up? She stabbed it! Stabbed the tower with a lance she summoned from the air... and destroyed my magic?!
Oh, so that’s the sort of thing you do. A thing so similar to what I do. Seems you succeeded in bringing me down to the ground. But that doesn’t put you on equal footing with me.
“Disrespectful whelp! Kneel in the depths of the ground!” Earth magic, Sink Hole. Fall into a giant hole. The ground around here is already under my... What?!
She’d already run through. Already jumped.
In front of my eyes are hooves and a lance blade. I can’t bring my Fulgrod up in time. I can’t meet it. The blade burns with fire magic...!
The heat I can feel simply from proximity.
“Now... you’ve done it...” My cheek is hot. The pain burns through my skin. A touch returns no moisture. No, just the dry roughness of burnt flesh.
“How dare you?! HOW DARE YOU?!” A point. I see a steel point. This is... the lance tip! Did she throw it at me?
I sweep it aside. I break it in two with Fulgrod. Now she’s lost her weap... No she hasn’t!
She’s coming. The horse comes closer. In her hand, a pole-arm. How dare she look down upon me from her mount? How dare she think she can attack me without so much as dismounting!
“You have gone, much... too... far!” I face her straight on, unleashing a blow from Fulgrod. A cavalry charge is useless against my Lightning Bolt.
The scattered debris is... just the red-black of the horse?
“Gyah!” An impact runs from my back to my bottom, a heated, yet cold, and fatal blow.
Black hair flutters in my view. Damn you. The pole-arm in her grasp is held, ready to sweep upward.
You! Not only did you slash down, you’re going to land a second blow?! Human! Your eyes, they seek my head!
“Eeeeyaaaah!” I swing my Fulgrod. I force the impact.
Maximizing the output of the lightning magic enhancement spell Lightning Body, I blast through the second blow aimed at my... throat... No, I can’t... to compare strength with me!
“Damn, you...!” With her burning gaze turned to me, this damned human Apostle!