Chapter 99

**Grand Temple of Pohelrn**

The holy site of the immigrant faith, primarily observed by the majority of the citizens of Pohelrnia.

A great architectural marvel, enhanced by not only human strength and wisdom but also the might of giants.

The temple, built far more grandly than the palace of Priegoss, the first king of Pohelrnia, appeared majestic even to the elves.

In such a revered place, an elf, one of the seven noblest high elves, walked with a heavy heart toward a certain location.

As Palas approached the intended destination, his heart grew heavier.

At last, Palas stood before a large room.

Feeling a rare tension as he entered a state of harmony, he took a deep breath and pushed open the stone door that suited the large room, stepping inside.

Following Palas, the darkness of the room, void of any light, was slowly infiltrated by the light from outside.

A chill ran down his spine as he took a step inside the room.

It was not a physical cold.

Spring had not yet fully passed outside.

Only a fresh breeze wafted through the clear weather.

Even if there was a nip in the air, it could not reach the depths of the grand temple with its thick stone walls, especially not to Palas, a being who had clearly reached the limits of biological life.

This was a presence.

A mental state created by an absolute being, taking a step further into the realm of superhumans than Palas himself.

However, it was an extremely cold and sharp force that felt somehow mournful.

“…Araya.”

“…Is that you, Palas?”

As the door opened and slowly allowed light in, a quiet voice echoed from within, pushing back the darkness.

Palas surveyed the room with his eyes.

A massive giant lay there, dressed in white robes with a gentle expression, as if peacefully asleep.

Next to him sat another giant, his upper body entirely wrapped in bandages, silently seated, while a small figure seemed to be calmly caressing the face of the sleeping giant, undisturbed by Palas’s presence.

And before them, a large plate bore a sweet-scented massive honey confection.

From the perspective of an elf, the confection was so large that it resembled a statue made of sweets.

However, considering the original owner, it would be an appropriate size.

This giant elf’s honey confection, made by Anart, belonged to the giant who now lay sleeping peacefully.

“…The king of humans, Priegoss, has sent word. The giant has decided to hold a national funeral a week from now.”

“…I see.”

Only then did the small figure, which had been caressing the giant’s face, turn its head to look at Palas.

Seeing Araya turn toward him, Palas felt a bittersweet sensation.

While the exterior appeared cold and detached, the inner self was entirely different.

Due to the gap between inner and outer appearances, what had originally seemed like a fool now appeared truly fitting.

Just like the powerful aura filling the room, a sharp energy lingered around Araya’s face.

‘…Even this is better than before.’

When Palas had arrived first in Pohelrn with his sisters and forty forest guardians, he had heard the news of the giant’s warrior, known as Silv.

When he received that sudden news, the energy of Araya, which had seemed unnoticeable as natural as the surrounding air, had violently swayed.

And at the place he moved to, under the guidance of a woman named Antrea, Golb leaned against one side of the temple’s wall, and next to him lay a giant with a serene expression.

However, that giant, despite his calm demeanor, was soaked in blood, making it appear as if he wore a dark red garment.

“…Ah.”

Araya and Palas, as well as those with keen senses, could guess.

The clothes that clung to his body, written in blood, expressed the lines of his physique.

Silv’s body, among other things, was so damaged that his upper body was barely holding form.

And after staring blankly at it for a moment, Araya exclaimed.

“Wait!”

“Araya!”

A chilling energy radiated from Araya, overwhelming the entire temple and even reaching a small lake, encroaching into the realm inhabited by humans.

Perhaps it would have been better for the humans to faint outright.

With at least some of their strength intact, they wouldn’t have to experience the horrors that those who had accompanied the forest guardians had endured.

It wasn’t that they were weak enough to faint immediately, but that inability to be strong enough to endure was a poison.

Several holy warriors, pale and breathless, could only gasp, their faces growing ashen, and others, filled with incomprehensible terror, became completely white-haired.

Not only humans.

Antrea and the forest guardians simply broke out in cold sweats, unable to speak, gritting their teeth as they sought to overcome the energy, while only the high elves could barely resist this dreadful force, attempting to calm the enraged Araya, whose reason was slipping away.

Among them, only one was free from Araya’s overwhelming presence: the Gal Dragon.

“Are you planning to kill everyone here? Get a grip!”

At those words, the energy threatening to slaughter all life around began to dissipate.

“…I am sorry.”

Regaining her composure, Araya quietly covered her face with one hand and closed her eyes.

“Antrea.”

“…Yes, Master.”

Antrea, who had felt as if she was on the brink of death, took quick breaths, trembling as she finally calmed herself and bowed to Araya.

‘You have grown stronger.’

Antrea recalled the fearsome energy emanating from Araya and remembered Roa Ul Kanadiel of Night and Death, who had once been her master and now had become an object of veneration in a different sense.

“…I have been lacking, causing damage to the minds and bodies of my disciples. Since you are the eldest among us, could you help manage this? My mind is a bit disordered right now, and it’s hard to handle.”

“…Leave it to me.”

“…We will perform Silv’s burial. Clean him with pure water, and keep people away as much as possible.”

“Such matters will be handled by us.”

“I will do it.”

Seeing the firmness in Araya’s voice that allowed no further dissent, Antrea quietly complied and began to organize the surroundings.

The forest guardians also silently followed Antrea’s lead.

“Gal.”

“Here.”

“Gold, do you have anything left?”

“Um.”

With Gal’s positive response, Araya quietly looked at Silv’s body.

“…Truly… not a single part is intact. There are many places that need to be mended. Normally, he was a clever one, how could he endure this so relentlessly… pushing his body to its limits under the master’s teachings?”

Not long after, Golb, who had awakened, met Araya’s gaze in silence, and together in one corner of the current temple room, they began the burial for Silv.

The massive honey confection on the plate, in the meantime, was something Araya, having heard tales from Golb, had requested Anart to make.

Now that Silv had become a lion, he could not eat it, but perhaps it was out of yearning.

“There were four blades that had pierced his body. One had ripped through the lung, and the sharpest had penetrated the heart before it shredded it. The remaining blades had also clashed, tearing through bone and muscle, leaving up to a hundred such marks on his body.”

Araya spoke in a quiet voice.

“Among those, a hundred twenty didn’t seem too remarkable, but eighty were significantly strong strikes. It bore traces made by a being one level or even two above Silv, who had trained in martial arts.”

Araya gently stroked Silv’s neatly prepared face.

“Silv was not particularly intelligent.”

His fingertips glided silently across the face, touching the edges of the giant’s broad, thick lips that were softly smiling.

“But he was a child who greatly craved companionship. Like I did in my past. He reportedly did not get along well with other giants even before he was exiled from the village. After coming under my tutelage, the ones he wanted to befriend were humans. I thought it would be difficult. And rightly so. They were just beings who spoke our language and walked on two feet, yet they were so different in size, like adults compared to children.”

Regret filled his green eyes.

“So I told him to serve as a fence to protect the humans, to become their city wall. His massive form was intended for that purpose. Living beings naturally feel goodwill toward those who protect them. A relationship of mutual benefit where each gives what the other desires. Quite idealistic. Yet because of that, it seems that he ended up loving humans too much. We could have simply waited until I arrived, but he stepped forward against more than twenty of his old comrades to save humans. Moreover, it seems the one who reduced Silv to this state was a being similar to our high elves.”

“…As wild gods said in the forest, there are many born strong. But how many with such great strength carry such responsibility? Most misuse the power they were born into through nothing more than luck, like the Fenril who died by your hand. But your disciple Silv did not. He stepped forward for the pitiful lives that would perish meaninglessly, wielding the power he was gifted at birth. It was a courageous act. A warrior’s attitude. He did splendidly in fulfilling his role before he departed. Your sympathy is an insult to that disciple of yours.”

At those words, the giant who had been seated jumped slightly.

Araya wore a bitter smile as she spoke.

“Yes. Silv acted rather commendably and… proudly. But isn’t it strange? Hundreds of humans were saved thanks to Silv, and if we count the potential saves, it may be close to thousands. He did something so commendable, yet… I cannot feel proud; rather, my heart aches even more.”

Araya turned to look at the serene face of Silv.

“…Farewells are sudden. And regrettable. After his death, the things I couldn’t do linger with me like yearnings. This honey confection was something I had promised long ago when I first met this child.”

Slowly closing her eyes, Araya spoke in a voice that seemed to bubble with emotion.

“It feels like my insides are being torn apart. Palas.”

Palas remained silent and listened quietly.

As a moment of stillness filled the room, Araya slowly turned to Palas and said.

“I will kill the giants, Terato, Palas.”

“Araya.”

“…It’s not just because this child died at their hands. The giants, Terato, and their kin are dangerous.”

“…”

“You have your own deep-seated certainty, don’t you? The mission of the elves, the giants’ objectives, and their destructive impulses cannot coexist. If we turn a blind eye now and the humans fall helplessly, can we be sure the steps of giants won’t head toward our forests?”

“…That might be the case.”

Palas quietly agreed.

Not only he but also Saraswati and Alia had received reports after arriving about the devastation caused to the villages along the giants’ path—concerning Terato and the giants, their judgments had largely been formed.

Excluding the city of Belvas and the last village where the giant brothers stood, twelve villages had been “completely annihilated.”

Not a single survivor remained.

This was not a hunt for sustenance.

There were countless signs of humans having been toyed with as well.

While there are indeed occasions where big feline beasts play with and kill prey they wouldn’t even eat, this instance had crossed the line.

If Saraswati collected all information and conveyed it to Demis, he would, while agonizing over the harm elves would suffer in war against the giants, ultimately grant approval.

For elves created by the World Tree were such beings.

“We must go to war.”

“…”

When the word “war” was spoken, Palas’s face hardened quietly.

The giant, who had kept his head down, listened to their conversation and raised his face.

While it wasn’t a war between elves and giants, he had indirectly witnessed the horrors of human conflict by intruding into a war between humans.

If elves and giants were to go to war, similar horrors would befall the elves as well.

Palas carried the role of protector of the elves, gravely accepting the notion of war.

“But from this incident, I realized something. I am not yet ready to lose.”

Araya slowly approached Palas, reaching out to gently stroke his face with her fingertips.

“I don’t want to lose you, Saras, Anya, my other siblings, our mother, or any other elves if I can help it.”

“…You have seen the war of humans.”

“Yes. I have.”

Araya’s hand slowly withdrew from Palas’s face.

“Therefore, I will prepare. Preparing to minimize potentially forthcoming damage in the war ahead.”

“…What do you intend to do?”

“I will return to the forest with Gal for a while, to our mother. In the meantime, please guard this place with Saras and Anya against any enemies that may approach at any moment.”

Palas’s expression grew grim.

“…That lizard? In the forest? Have you lost your mind?”

“I am of sound mind, Palas. Gal has the longest relationship with Terato. He is proficient in magic and logic, and more importantly, is similar to our mother and Terato.”

“…That’s precisely the danger. If that lizard were to cause chaos in the forest…”

“You are precious to me.”

With Araya’s abrupt words, Palas halted his previous argument.

“Taking Gal into the forest is to infinitely lessen the possibility of losing you. But if Gal poses a threat to what I cherish… then yes.”

A chill ran down his spine.

An eerie energy danced around Araya’s cold exterior.

“Then Gal will die by my hand this time.”

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