Chapter 14: 14

Before the name ‘Mad Demon’ became known to the world, 

 

When I was a pale beginner of only C-Rank…

 

It was just a brief moment, but there was a time when I felt this game was going to end.

.

.

.

 

“Enough! You lunatic!”

 

I was besieged by the heroes from the Hero Association.

 

Under normal circumstances, I would have been able to escape immediately as soon as I judged that I was at a disadvantage.

 

Unfortunately, even that option wasn’t given to me today.

 

“An A-Rank hero has already sealed off the area! So stop the meaningless struggle and obediently surrender!”

 

“…”

 

The bastards from the Hero Association had brought as much as an A-Rank hero to catch me this time.

 

In addition, my skills were at odds with the heroes who made up their team, and each one of them was at least the same C-Rank as me or higher.

 

On the other hand, my physical strength, mana, everything was already exhausted. To be honest, it could be said to be a desperate situation.

 

However, instead, I threw a fireball at them.

 

Boom–!

 

“Keuk…Is that your answer? Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit in the end. You’ll regret your choice.”

 

“What regret. The fact that we’re already here. Don’t get cold feet now and let’s end it.”

 

“…As expected, you can’t reason with crazy people.”

 

I was determined to bring at least one more person down with me even though I was expecting to die.

 

With me in front of them, they had narrowed the siege carefully as if hunting a wounded beast.

 

The pressure was suffocating.

 

In order to resist their pressure, I squeezed out my remaining power and held up my knife.

 

As soon as we were preparing for our final clash,

 

Suddenly, a strange noise sounded from somewhere.

 

Shiii—!

 

A soft frictional sound as if a thick fabric was being dragged across the ground. At the same time, a huge shadow converged from all sides.

 

The midsummer sun that was burning brightly gradually disappeared as if it was covered by a veil, and the blue sky became colored by the darkness.

 

In the end, it had turned into a complete dark world with no light.

 

“Y-you punk! What the hell kind of trick are you trying to pull?”

 

Shocked by the bizarre phenomenon, the Hero Association bastards shouted at me in the dark.

 

“If you continue to resist, we’re going to kill you right here!”

 

“I didn’t do it.”

 

It was very unfair to me.

 

Because it was also my first time seeing such a phenomenon.

 

I had kindly explained to them so we could resolve this misunderstanding, but unfortunately, they didn’t seem to want to listen.

 

“Y-you! Shameless bastard! As expected, it’s best to kill you. Everyone, attack immediately! We can’t give him time for his tricks!”

 

The bastards fired indiscriminate attacks at the direction I was in. All kinds of abilities flashed and flew in the dark.

 

If my vision was fine, I would have at least pretended to avoid it.

 

But in a situation where I couldn’t even see my body, there was no way to avoid their attacks.

 

Was it finally going to end…?

 

My gut feeling told me that I was going to die. The moment I was about to give up all hope,

 

Shiii—!

 

The unidentified noise was heard once again.

 

Then, all the attacks that were flying toward me were sucked into the darkness.

 

“?!”

 

What the hell was going on?

 

I couldn’t grasp the situation, so I had no choice but to stand there motionlessly.

 

Meanwhile, in the dark, the screams from the heroes began to leak out.

 

“Kueaak!”

 

“Be careful! There’s something hidden in here!”

 

“Sh-show yourself…keuk!”

 

After some time passed. The scream that had continued for a while was cut off, and the darkness that had surrounded everything gradually dissipated.

 

Under the gushing sunlight stood a mysterious woman wearing a large cone hat.

 

Thick, dark hair like chestnuts, red eyes that resemble rubies. It was an elf who somehow gave off a somber air.

 

She walked towards me with slow and elegant steps.

 

For a while she looked at my face, and then soon after, with a sharp nasal voice, she spoke.

 

“Heung~ So this is how you look. You’re more handsome than I thought.”

 

She acted as if she had known me for a long time. But there was no memory of her in my mind.

 

I somehow felt that she was a suspicious woman.

 

Lifting her large cone hat, the woman greeted me.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Elizabeth. What’s your name?”

 

Instead of answering, I threw my knife at her neck.

 

Shiik–

 

The sharp blade pierced her white neck. It was the perfect outcome.

 

But strangely, she shattered like a mirage without substance and once again slowly took shape next to me.

 

“Baby…It’s our first time meeting, but even this is too much. I could have gotten a little hurt.”

 

As if she didn’t like my behavior, her eyebrows furrowed.

 

I threw another knife at her face, who looked to be sulking.

 

Shiik–

 

If once doesn’t work, then twice. And if that wasn’t enough, then three times.

 

I cut her down over and over again. But each time, her body would return to its original state. 

 

“Hmm…this isn’t working.”

 

“This isn’t working, what do you mean this isn’t working?!”

 

Looking at me with a dumbfounded look, she let out a short sigh.

 

“Haa…I know very well that you’re stronger than others. Someday, even the likes of me, will be a trivial matter to you. However, you best take better care of yourself before then.”

 

Was she telling me to hunt at my own level? Reflecting on her advice, I belatedly asked her.

 

“Why did you help me?”

 

“You’re quick to ask…I saved you today because you’re someone who will save me someday.”

 

“Save?”

 

What she said felt very strange.

 

Save? Wasn’t that a word that only appeared in RPG games? In fact, it was my first time hearing it.

 

When I gave her a suspicious look, she smiled strangely and spoke words that were incomprehensible.

 

“You don’t have to know now. Someday, you’ll naturally find out when the time comes. And…If that happens, please think of today. See you next time.” 

 

She vanished like smoke after having said that.

 

That was my first meeting with the ‘Black Witch’ Elizabeth.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

“Tu-turn your eyes that way! You can’t look here!”

 

I looked at Elizabeth who had quickly hid behind the curtains to put on her pajamas.

 

A pathetic display of blushing just by showing the naked body. She in the second round was certainly different from the ‘witch’ that I knew.

 

However, it was clear that the woman in front of me was ‘that’ Elizabeth.

 

If so…What she had said then, did it have something to do with the current situation?

 

I didn’t have the skill ‘One Coin’ at the time. In short, even I didn’t know that I was going to start a second round.

 

But could she have predicted the current situation?

 

It wasn’t completely baseless…

 

Witches could naturally travel around the ‘Astral’ world. In a place where there was no concept of time or space, it may be possible for her to predict what was happening now.

 

If I assume that was the case…

 

What did she want from me?

 

Did she really want me to save her past self?

 

As if on queue, Elizabeth walked out from behind the curtains while blushing after having changed into her pajamas.

 

I asked her directly.

 

“A few days ago, did noona ask me for help?”

 

“Wh-what? That, are you the beast that appeared in my dream?”

 

“Beast?”

 

I didn’t know what she was talking about, but with this, one thing had become clear.

 

As I had thought, this woman was the voice I had heard at that time.

 

Whatever she had done, it seemed it was her who had asked for help through the voice of a plant.

 

And at the time a new Challenge was created for me.

 

It felt as if a scattered puzzle was coming together.

 

I opened my status window and read the explanation again.

 

[Challenge – Flower of Shadow (Chain Quest)]

Condition: Save ‘Elizabeth.’

Time: 3 months.

Reward: 1x Random Box (Medium).

 

The words displayed in the Challenge. Save Elizabeth.

 

This…was it a coincidence?

 

[Because you’re someone who will save me someday.]

 

The voice she had left a long time ago lingered in my head.

 

I wasn’t sure if she knew, but the current situation seemed to be flowing as she had intended.

 

For some reason, I felt as if I was playing into the witch’s palm, so it wasn’t very fun.

 

Should I just give up and go home?

 

I thought seriously for a moment, but it was too wasteful to give up the task as it was.

 

Ultimately, it would only be me who would suffer a loss in the end.

 

Recalling the efforts I had invested so far, I suppressed the irritation that was slowly rising.

 

Huu…Since I have come this far, it would be best to finish up.

 

Anyway, what I had to do remained the same.

 

Whether this was what the witch had wanted, or whether everything was coincidental.

 

I just needed to save the woman in front of me and get the reward.

 

As I was regaining my composure, Elizabeth clung to me with a tearful look.

 

“P-please help me.”

 

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“Huu…How can I help you?”

 

“M-my uncle, please stop him. Everyone will die if nothing is done.”

 

Was she talking about the elf who left the room a moment ago?

 

I only saw his back, but I had noticed that his body wasn’t trained, and I didn’t sense much mana from him either.

 

If I just go by my sense of danger, the Yifret I had faced a while ago was much stronger.

 

The feeling he gave off was someone who was engrossed in books.

 

But it wasn’t enough to just judge someone by their appearance…I think it would be best to find out more information on him.

 

***

Reaper Scans

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

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***

 

So I asked Elizabeth to tell me about her uncle.

 

Soon, as soon as I learned about her uncle, I had no choice but to revise my evaluation of him from a moment ago.

 

“So…Your uncle’s name is Rastus, is that right?”

 

“Yeah, that’s right. B-by the way, do you happen to know my uncle?”

 

“Ah, ha…”

 

I was so speechless that a vain laugh leaked out.

 

Because…if I remember correctly, he was an S-Rank villain who was given the grand nickname ‘Elf King’ in the previous round.

 

Does the system want me to deal with an S-Rank villain now?

 

No matter how much I wanted the reward, this was an impossible task. It wasn’t something that could be done with just greed.

 

I would probably die without even realizing it if I attack an S-Rank now.

 

The first part of the Challenge was a task that had given me a long period of 3 months. Maybe it was meant for me to grow up during that time before doing this.

 

Ha…The quest sequence was twisted.

 

There were often moments like this while playing games.

 

When you clear a chain quest one by one, at some point you’ll wake up in a dangerous hunting ground without realizing it.

 

And in this case, even if it was regrettable, the answer was to just obediently give up.

 

Pushing away Elizabeth who was covered in tears, I spoke.

 

“Noona, I’m suddenly busy today, so next time…”

 

As soon as I was about to say no, a new message window popped up in front of me.

 

Ding–

 

[Challenge – Sapling of the World Tree (Chain Quest)]

Condition: Infiltrate the laboratory of the botanist ‘Rastus’ and steal the sapling of the World Tree.

Time: 1 week.

Reward: 1x Skill Selection (High).

 

“Heuk…A-are you really going to leave without helping me…?”

 

While Elizabeth was clinging to my leg with a runny nose, I stared blankly at the new Challenge that had emerged.

 

Then…

 

“…Come to think of it, I don’t think I’m busy. I’ll help you, noona.”

 

“Heuk! Uwu! Th-thank you!”

 

As if her sorrow had exploded, Elizabeth rushed to hug me.

 

I had a thought as I shoved her snot-covered face away.

 

The original Rastus that I knew was a one-man army who could manipulate the forest after having absorbed the power of the World Tree.

 

I couldn’t believe the World Tree was still alive…

 

In other words, it meant that it was still before Rastus had gained proper strength.

 

This will change the story again.

 

When attacking a tricky boss, it was the norm to kill it before the next phase began.

 

Frankly, wasn’t this worth trying…?

 

After finishing the calculation in my head, I approached Elizabeth with a light smile.

 

“Do you know where your uncle’s laboratory is?”

 

“Hic! Mhm. I go there every day, so I know it well.”

 

“That’s great. Can you take me there now?”

 

“Uh, okay! Hold on.”

 

Something has been bothering me since a while ago, so I had to let her know.

 

“Noona, the buttons on your pajamas are uneven.”

 

“Wah?!”

 

With Elizabeth leading the way, we headed to Rastus’ laboratory.

 

In any case, it was easier than I had thought. Perhaps I’ll be able to raid a future S-Rank boss.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

Rastus, who had come out of Elizabeth’s room, suddenly felt as if the world was spinning.

 

I have to quickly move to the next part of the plan…

 

To straighten himself, he forced himself up against a wall.

 

He was feeling dizzy because he hasn’t had a proper sleep the last few days. But he knew he couldn’t collapse here.

 

The next 3 months…

 

There wasn’t much time left until the plan.

 

If he could endure just that much, his greatest wish will finally come true.

 

“Keuk!”

 

Red blood flowed down his lips. He took a white handkerchief out of his pocket and casually wiped the blood.

 

This was the result of his excessive use of mana recently. He swallowed his blood-mixed saliva and gritted his teeth.

 

Damn humans…

 

Rastus was originally an ordinary scholar who studied plants. An introvert who was simply more curious than others when it comes to flowers.

 

And he had a sister who could be said to be the opposite of him.

 

A beautiful woman who was always lively and smiling confidently.

 

He loved his sister. To the point of cursing his own fate for being related to her by blood.

 

However, he never crossed the line beyond brother and sister.

 

Knowing well that it was something that would make his sister sad, so he just watched her from the side.

 

As if observing a beautiful flower, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction each day just from watching her every move.

 

He couldn’t have her, but he thought it was enough to live next to her like this.

 

But…this small happiness began to shake for reasons that were completely unexpected.

 

“N-noona! Wh-what are you saying?! What do you mean you’re going to live on Earth all of a sudden?”

 

“I’m sorry, Rastus. But I don’t want to live in this stuffy place anymore.”

 

His sister declared that she would migrate to Earth.

 

Even when numerous other elves had abandoned the forest and left, their tribe continued to protect the forest thus far…

 

As a free-spirited woman, she didn’t seem to like that fact.

 

For the first time, Rastus yelled at her.

 

He tried to persuade her by using all the knowledge that he knew.

 

But her will was too firm, and instead, he decided to follow her.

 

“All right! That’s good, Rastus! Let’s go to Earth together and have fun.”

 

“…”

 

Rastus was nervous. They, who had only lived in the forest all their life, were going to live in a city.

 

He thought the transition would never be smooth.

 

And soon his anxiety became a reality.

 

About a few years after moving to Earth. One day, his sister began to complain of abnormal health symptoms.

 

Unable to bear seeing her like that, he finally decided that he was going to take her back to the forest.

 

“Th-this won’t do. Like I thought, the air in the city doesn’t suit you, noona! If you don’t go, I’ll have to force you to go.”

 

“Let go of me! Rastus. Even if you’re my dongsaeng, you don’t have the right to interfere with my life when it comes to this.”

 

“Noona!”

 

As a result, their warm relationship drifted apart.

 

Meanwhile, his sister had married someone and gave birth, while he had no choice but to watch from afar.

 

And in the end…

 

His sister died after suffering from a prolonged illness.

 

From then on, he began to dream of revenge. Towards the huge gray city that took away his sister.

 

It’s time to end it once and for all…

 

All that was left was to erase the dirty city and build a large forest for the elves in its place.

 

And…from there, Elizabeth and I will open a new world for the elves.

 

He recalled the niece who looked just like his sister.

 

Elizabeth was the most perfect work he had ever created. Although numerous failures were born in the process, it was all just a stepping stone for his greater vision.

 

Because of this, he was able to create an ideal drug that no longer had any side effects.

 

Now…After one more experiment, I’ll be able to transplant the World Tree into my body.

 

The day when he absorbs the genes of plants into his body will be the day he makes a child inside Elizabeth’s stomach.

 

Then…

 

All children born between him and her would be able to hear the voices of plants.

 

Unlike the ‘fake’ elves who have abandoned the forest and chose to live in the city, they would be ‘real’ elves who can communicate with mother nature like in ancient times.

 

Elves…will rise again.

 

If it was his sister, she would have been a great mother in the new world.

 

He thought as such as he walked toward his laboratory.

 

But at that moment, the smell of something burning pricked his nose. And as he looked out of the window, he saw a huge fire burning the garden.

 

“?!”

 

He rushed outside in a hurry.

 

What the hell did the gardener do? Why is the garden suddenly burning? W-was it an intruder?

 

He had to hurry if that was the case.

 

If the intruder was after his research data, all the plans he had built up over the decades would all be for nothing.

 

His spine chilled when he thought of that fact. Leaving the burning garden behind, he ran straight to his laboratory.

 

I have to protect the research data.

 

In any case, he had to protect the data he had accumulated so far. For the success of his revenge, and for all elves.

 

The moment he arrived near the laboratory.

 

Boom–!

 

Along with a huge roar that resonated through the mountain, a towering cloud of dust rose.

 

“Th-the hell…”

 

The laboratory was collapsing. And along with it were his greatest wishes.

 

He had no choice but to stare blankly at the sight.

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