Syl-Chapter 230: Squires

The trail led us away further from the battlefield. I was beginning to wonder if we were being led on a false lead, but Trixie urged us to continue following. Vee was recovering well after her rushed experience, and it looked like we would be in tip-top shape to face whatever we were about to meet.

The trail went through a large formed pillar, and so we went around it as quickly as possible using [Wind Step], hoping not to lose the trail. When we rounded the corner, it appeared we had reached our destination, although rather than kobolds or elves, it seemed to be a large group of humans, presumably adventurers.

I briefly considered it a coincidence that I witnessed one of their group members absorbing the strange Mana. I tried throwing out an [Identify] to clarify the situation, but the result was horribly worthless.

<Kaspar.> <Otto.> <Fynn.> <Hans.> <Zara.> <Helmine.>

"Trixie, they've hidden their levels and classes like you!" I said mentally to our group.

"Wow... That's insulting!" Trixie scoffed. "This is a terrible impression!"

However, before I could reply to my pixie companion, the knight of the group spoke up.

"Greetings, fellow adventurer! What brings you out here?" the armored knight, Otto, asked.

My guard was immediately up; if this guy was trying to put on an act, he was rather lousy at it. Or perhaps he was just socially awkward.

"You must be that famous elf adventurer I've heard so much about!" the group's spellcaster said. The man looked rather gaunt, which only added to the alarm bells in my head.

"I was attacked by strange monsters... And followed their trail here," I eventually spoke.

"Strange monsters, you say? How dastardly!" Otto responded.

"There's certainly no monsters around here," Kaspar added; he was the one who had absorbed the Mana we were tailing. I would have pegged him as a spellcaster, but he was dressed in almost noble attire.

"Holy shit, talk about bad acting! What is this crap?" Vee asked angrily.

"Gee... It sure would be terrible if someone threw a [Dispel] near that Fynn guy," Trixied said sarcastically.

"Yeah, the only monsters here are those kobolds. We were taking a Mana break before we got back into the action," one of the women replied. Her white robes led me to believe she was some form of cleric.

I ignored their ramblings, took Trixie's not-so-subtle advice, and threw out a [Dispel] as quickly and subtly as possible. The humans either ignored it or were caught unawares as the spell went off without a hitch, and I threw a boatload of Mana into it, causing a burst of dispelling magic to erupt around Fynn.

The entire area seemed to warp and shift around the six individuals, and the reality of the situation was abruptly revealed.

<Kaspar [Outeatus Knight]; Human LV 22; Summoner LV 30. Elemental Affinity: Blocked.>

<Otto [Outeatus Page]; Human LV 24; Reaver Knight LV 32. Elemental Affinity: Earth.>

<Fynn [Outeatus Squire]; Human LV 21; Mirage Duelist LV 33. Elemental Affinity: Fire, Air.>

<Hans [Outeatus Squire]; Human LV 29; Blackflame Magus LV 28. Elemental Affinity: Fire.>

<Zara [Outeatus Squire]; Human LV 17; Gale Stalker LV 38. Elemental Affinity: Air.>

<Helmine [Outeatus Page]; Human LV 21; Pale Apostle LV 31. Elemental Affinity: Water.>

A summoner!? So that's why those monsters were so strange and had identical levels. Talk about strange!

Fynn clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Now, why did you have to go and do that?"

"Who cares? It makes the job a lot more fun if they know it's coming," Zara cackled.

"I care; we were supposed to make it look like monsters got her!" Otto shouted, "How am I ever supposed to get promoted if we don't follow instructions to the letter?"

"Just feed her to the kobolds afterward; problem solved," Otto grinned fiendishly as he unsheathed a wicked-looking curved blade.

"Or burn her until there's nothing left," Hans said, a black flame forming in his outstretched palm before he snuffed it out with a clenched fist.

"Why?" I asked angrily.

"Yeah, why are a bunch of humans out to get you?" Vee asked.

"For the glory of the Outeatus Kingdom, of course! Once your little package is delivered to our Emperor, it'll be the downfall of all who crossed our kingdom!" Helmine preached dogmatically.

"I've never done anything to your kingdom. I don't even know where or what your kingdom is!" I snapped back.

"Don't play dumb, you filthy knife-ears!" Otto spat.

"All you had to do was die quietly in the forest, and everything would've gone smoothly," Kaspar said, sounding annoyed. "But I suppose the Stantons didn't really want to join our glorious kingdom as much as they pleaded."

"Of course, did you really expect anything from some backwater shit-hole?" Zara snickered.

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"Not to mention, you deliberately got in the way of our kingdom's negotiations; we were so close to getting the dwarves to submit their weapons to our future efforts!" Kapser continued ranting.

"I can't believe they're doing a villain monolog," Vee commented, sounding dumbfounded. "They are the villains, right?"

"To anyone not human, definitely," Trixie answered. "Hell, even most humans they also despise."

"I'm done," I said out loud, shaking my head.

"Done?" Zara snickered as she pulled out a curved blade. "I guess you are done. I've always wanted to kill an elf..."

"Make sure either I get the final blow or Hans, as a last resort!" Kaspar ordered. "The magic boost from the legacy emblem would be wasted on anyone else. Don't make us have to kill you to retrieve it."

"I'm done... I don't care anymore," I repeated, feeling a lot of built-up frustration.

"Syl?" Vee asked hesitantly.

"Really? She's just going to roll over and die?" Zara questioned, sounding disappointed.

I shook my head, "I'm done holding back. I don't care anymore. I'm tired of this shit that has nothing to do with me."

Trixie giggled, and it sounded downright nefarious.

"Any chance you can help us?" I asked Trixie mentally.

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"Not directly, but... I could certainly hide the area from any wandering eyes and ears," Trixie answered.

"Thanks," I replied with a nod.

Zara, the Gale Stalker, suddenly vanished. My senses picked up her behind me, coming in for a stabbing thrust at breakneck speed. I had some time to react, but rather than do so, I was fully willing to let it play out, as I had my newest explosive solution to anyone stabbing me, and I couldn't wait to see it play out.

But that didn't happen, as her arm was suddenly sliced down the middle, and her weapon was nearly ruined. She screamed in shrill agony and leaped backward, clutching her bleeding arm that looked almost like a peeled banana.

Everyone in the human party tensed, and the group's darkly jovial and arrogant attitude vanished. Zara retreated to the healer, who was already casting a spell in an attempt to close up the wounds.

I missed the mutterings of the healer Helmine over the shouts, but I did pick up on "impossible" and "What could cause wounds like this?"

"Seriously, if every assassin we run into goes for the immediate backstab without watching where they're going, then it's going to be very simple to defeat them," Vee said. I could feel the confidence brimming from our connected bond.

"I didn't even notice you casting your spell and deploying your [Rift Thread]," I replied mentally.

"That's 'cause I didn't!" Vee answered smugly. "I weaved it pretty much on the spot while they kept monologuing. Never waste a good opportunity to lay a trap!"

"You bitch!" Zara screamed, dangling her absolutely mangled arm in rage. "So much for giving up! I'll be sure to gut your entrails and string you up with them!"

"I'm definitely giving up," I retorted. "Giving up on this charade. I'm done with disguises and done with going easy. I'm going to effortlessly destroy you all, and when I'm done, feed on your corpses!"

"Woah... Sounding a little crazy there, Syl," Trixie said cautiously. "The perception barrier is up, by the way... But please don't go all crazy murderer on me."

Some of the humans gulped, and they exchanged utterances about "cannibal elves" and "the stories were true."

"Enough!" Kaspar shouted, slamming his scepter against the floor. Five magic circles formed and completed instantly, turning black and erupting with five shadowy centipedes. "Don't let her get into your head. We outnumber her by far, even with her two pets."

"Pet!?" Trixie and Vee cried together.

"On second thought, go full crazy monster on them," Trixie scoffed. "Bastard calling me a pet. He's not good enough to be gnome fertilizer!"

"You're right, boss," Hans said and began radiating a blackened flame. Legacy race or not, she will burn all the same."

"For the Emperor!" Kaspar shouted.

"For the Emperor!" the others replied in unison.

Wings and tendrils sprouted from my back in an abrupt and squelchy burst. The humans either gasped or stared in stunned silence as I began floating off the ground thanks to the fantastic [Enchanted Wings] trait.

"By the Emperor..." Helmine muttered and began uttering frantic prayers. She was radiating buffs and other positive boons shrouding her companions.

Vee teleported away with [Blink], but I could feel her close by, waiting to fight together. Our [Companion Bond] almost seemed to throb with newfound camaraderie. On the other hand, Trixie simply vanished, although I could swear I heard her giggles being swept along the breeze.

I was slightly enlarging my form but remaining relatively elf-like. I once again fought off the temptation to become a giant worm and potentially seal the deal. I worried that such a large form would notify everyone of the situation here, even with Trixie's assurance.

Plus, they might run. And I'd like to have some fun!

"The founding Emperor was right; the elves truly are monsters!" Otto stammered.

"It's probably just some trick or illusion!" Kaspar shouted.

"It's not. That's really her... Or it... Whatever the elf has become!" Fynn said.

"By fire be purged!" Hans shouted, and a column of blackened flame erupted from his combined palms.

I felt relatively safe with [Blaze Slime] at such a high level. I briefly contemplated adding [Fire Resistance] to my borrowed traits. Instead, I opted to grab [Tempered Reinforcement] and [Draconic Scales (Lesser)] while using [Equipment Swap] to stash away any of my non-slime valuables.

The two traits mixing together with my form caused scales to cover my entire body. However, perhaps thanks to [Metal Slime], they almost resembled the reinforced obsidianite scales on the worm perfectly. The familiar channels were running through the scales, and when the blackish flame hit me, they lit up like a bright furnace, and I could feel my outer layer molding and reinforcing itself.

Part of me was cautious about somehow ending up in my previous situation, where I was boiled alive for my own troubles, but I confirmed I was taking no damage from the blackish flames. On a heat level, they seemed to be a step up from blue, although almost artificially. Thankfully, my two traits together had no problem with this next level of heat.

"Ha! She didn't even try to dodge!" Zara shouted triumphantly.

"No! You understand nothing, girl!" Hans rebuked. "I can feel my flames; while they have struck true, they fail to burn away at her flesh."

"What? How!?" Otto shrieked.

"I do not know... Perhaps she is blessed with an extreme fire resistance or holds some form of fire immunity artifact..." Hans continued to explain.

"Helmine, ignore Zara's arm for now and assist Hans," Kaspar ordered. "Hans, burn lifeforce."

"As you wish, captain," Hans replied somberly.

With [Soul Sight], I watched Hans' life force immediately plummet drastically, as if someone had struck him. But with that dip, his Mana soared to a new bound, and so did the intensity of the magical flames. What was a blackish flame now became one of pitch darkness. [Thermal Vision] told me it was hotter than before, but strangely, the black flames felt cold as they washed over me.

Then I felt a strange tingling pain and noted that while my body was taking no damage and was continuing to be reinforced, what appeared to be my lifeforce was being very slowly burnt at the edges.

<Proficiency gained. [Soul Mastery LV 7] improved to [Soul Mastery LV 8].>

<Proficiency gained. [Magic Resistance (Lesser) LV 5] improved to [Magic Resistance (Lesser) LV 6].>

"Uh... Maybe don't sit inside that," Trixie's voice entered my head.

"It leveled up my traits, though!" I replied excitedly.

"Yeah... But you don't want something burning away at the edges of your soul; that kinda stuff isn't quick to recover from!"

"Fine..." I whined and triggered [Thunder Step], bursting out of the black flames in a jolt of electrifying energy.

I slammed down right in front of Hans and swung a rapidly formed blade of Mythril [Metal Slime]. Hans nearly shrieked in horror as the blade was inches from his face before a massive barrier formed between the blade and his flesh. It shattered in moments and sent Hans hurtling backward.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance and flourished my sword.

"By the Emperor... Is she a dragon?" Kaspar gasped.

"Or a demon?" Helmine said, gripping tightly on her golden holy symbol.