Chapter 629 Esme Vs The Elves [Pt 1]
"You might have to fight a few people later today!"
Those were the words that Rey told Esme earlier that day, and she figured that would be the case-considering how Rey had been having some deep thoughts on planning and strategy since they settled in the Eastern Continent.
That was also why he was talking more with Kara and less to her.
'I understand all of that. It's all for the mission. Esme constantly told herself, so she didn't particularly mind.
She spent most of her time trying to connect with the 'Oracle' figure that Ater mentioned, so she was busy meditating while the others did whatever concerned them.
It wasn't safe outside thanks to the discrimination against Half Elves, and her companions were really too busy to consider her.
Kara was running an errand for Rey somewhere, and Emil had her own business to attend to. Rey was also occupied with his whole plan. That left her all alone, pretty much the most useless in the bunch.
'Should I not have come?' She even began to wonder to herself.
Objectively speaking, there were many other alternatives to Esme tagging along which made sense, so her presence in the group wasn't very vital. The only reason she was here was due to Ater's endorsement.
'I don't even know why he did that. Maybe he has something in mind...' Either way, the only way she could prove useful was to connect to the network that all Elves seemed to share.
But, while she was busy with that, she couldn't help but notice Elves approaching the fortress.
Esme didn't pay them any mind at first. After all, there was no way they would get past the barrier, so she could just continue with her meditation.
But-
"T-they got in?!"
-Much to her surprise, she was wrong!
It was at that moment that she gave them a lot more attention. Of course, she wasn't seeing the Elves or anything. It was more of a sensory interaction with their presence.
'Also... this feeling. Are they wielding Rey's Divine-Tier weapons? Is this the further experiment he wanted to run with it?' She sighed and shook her head.
She could understand his rationale, using them to test out the holes in his theory until he arrived at a satisfactory conclusion, but wasn't it risky to give the Young Ones such weapons?
At this point, Esme could no longer continue her meditation.
She simply sat in her room and waited for what the Young
Ones would do next. She could even make a guess on what their next course of action would be.
'Do I need to use Magic to block my ears from all the screaming and shouting that will soon follow the-?"
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!~
The buildup of energy caused Esme to cease her thoughts, but it was the explosion that truly made her stop the line of logic completely.
'Hold on... what?!'
She swiftly reacted to the falling building by creating a barrier around herself, while also flying with Magic. Of course, she was in no danger whatsoever.
Except that of shock, of course.
'Why in the world are they attacking out of the blue?!' She didn't understand it, but she knew the best way to do so.
~WHOOSH!~
In one swift motion, she exited the falling building and landed away from it before everything finally crumbled.
Now a small distance from the Elves, who were staring at her with nothing but purely murderous intent, while dripping blood and entrails, she couldn't help but leak out her thoughts.
"What the hell have you done now, Rey?"
The forty-eight Elves were pulsating with power at the moment.
After killing the Boss Monster, they went on to kill everything else within the Dungeon on their way out. At some point, they all lost count of how many lives they had taken, as well as the consequence of their action.
They now understood that this was the course of Nature, so they became free from the guilt or significance that came from taking the life of an enemy.
Their lust for battle-or rather, death-was yet to be satiated, though.
Merely finding the Half-Breed vermin present was more than enough to set them off again, and they directed all of their murderous intent towards her.
She was unscathed by their attack, which meant she was clearly strong. Still, she was only one Half Breed, while they were forty-eight true Elves, with Divine-Tier weapons to boot.
All in all-both in terms of quality and quantity-they were the superior ones.
"What's going on with you people? Your Alignment seems to have changed too. I see, so this is what Rey's plan was from the start."
The Elves heard her speak, but none of them listened to her.
Instead, they fanned out and began to take formation. Like predators who were after a single prey, they kept their eyes on her as they prepared themselves.
"Haa... so it looks like I'll have to fight you people." As she said this, sighing in the process, she summoned a staff from seemingly nowhere.
"I won't kill you, but it'll hurt a good deal. Then again, that seems fair considering what you're about to do to me."
Once again, they weren't paying any attention to her.
Instead, their eyes were wide open, same as their mouths, displaying their teeth as they grinned.
"Half Breeds are an abomination."
"Nature dictates the rules."
"Death to the Half Breed vermin..."
They all began to chant, making their voices echo into the air, and throughout the beach.
"DEATH TO THE HALF BREED VERMIN! DEATH TO THE HALF BREE-!"
-BZZZZTT!~
In a sharp flash, bolts descended from the sky and struck about half of the Elves who faced Esme. The blast of lightning that rained down covered the entire area in an overpowering blue hue, and the surrounding vibrated in response to its descent.
The Elves who were struck by the crackling attack instantly fell to the sandy ground, darkened and unconscious.
The rest stared in shock.
"Don't worry, that wasn't enough to kill them." Esme's still voice reverberated as she tightly held her staff and gazed upon the Elves. "Still, since I don't appreciate being called a Half Breed, the next person who says that will be killed for real."
Silence and tension mixed into the air, and an aura of dread began to emanate from her.
"So... who's next?"
[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
Looks like Esme reached some new realm of badassery! Awesome!
Also, thanks to everyone who bought the new Privilege Chapters. Y'all are really the best, fr!