After leaving the A rank party, I aim for the deep part of the labyrinth with my former students
It began like a gentle murmur, and before long, it grew into a swirling resonance that filled the garden.
Words that sounded like silk-spun prayers—or perhaps songs—layered and shimmered in the air.
It seemed magical—no, more like a spiritual phenomenon. The issue was that in response, the Abyss Gate, the [Door of the Abyss], had begun to react.
Most likely, it was answering the call of the “Amber Eyes,” its designated overseer, resonating from the core of the World Tree.
"Ah, magnificent. I feel it. So this is what it means to become one of the Walkers, those who cross between worlds... Now, at last, I shall reign over the new world as the True King of the Forest!"
Ilwen looked up to the sky, his face aglow with ecstasy.
"I’m not about to go along with this nonsense!"
At that moment, Marina and Nene dashed past, moving at blinding speed.
"I don’t really get what’s happening, but I’m stopping it!"
"Silk-san, please stop this too!"
Chasing after the two of them, I cast reinforcement spells on them both.
If this was some kind of ritual, then precise control would be crucial.
Whether we were going to negotiate or persuade her, we needed to physically intervene first.
"It’s useless. This is both a bridal chamber and a throne room."
A fierce wind filled with leaves knocked Marina and Nene back, and I was forced to retreat a few steps.
Some sort of magical barrier to protect the administrator during the ritual?
"The moment Silk accepted me, your role ended. And yet, here you are, showing up all pathetic and clingy."
"You're right—I am a clingy man."
I said the words, glaring straight at Ilwen.
"Clinginess isn’t attractive, you know?"
"Maybe not."
But I steeled my heart.
I still haven’t properly talked with Silk.
And as a man, I simply can’t back down like this.
I don’t understand what she felt responsible for, or why she’s with him. I haven’t come to terms with any of it.
"Honestly, isn’t all this your fault?"
Ilwen stared me down as he spoke.
"I heard the guy who said all those awful things was your friend. A comrade who fought and lived alongside you for years, wasn’t he? So why didn’t you stop him?"
"What…?"
"If you had just rebuked him, he wouldn’t have lashed out at Silk. The whole incident with the elves rebelling wouldn’t have happened. Am I wrong?"
As his words sank in, a faint unease spread through me like a stain.
No—was it spreading, or was it dissolving into me?
Something was off.
"The war happened because of you. Silk lost her freedom to live how she wanted because of you. Isn’t it fair to say you’re the one who started her burden?"
"……"
Maybe he’s right.
But… is he really?
"──H… what…?"
"……wha……? Y-You…!"
I could hear the voices of my friends.
They were trying to object, to shout something.
But though I could hear them, I couldn’t understand them.
Only Ilwen’s voice echoed, sinking deeper into me.
"If that weren’t true, Silk never would have left you, would she?"
Something was trying to worm its way inside.
Something beyond words, trying to seep into the cracks of my heart.
Pouring through the fissures, trying to blur everything away.
It was trying to reach the deepest parts of me, slowly and surely.
So—I ripped it out of myself.
"Gah… grhh… AAAAAAAAHHH!!"
A searing pain, like my brain was being torn apart, burst through me, along with the shattering of some of my memories.
But it was better than letting this thing take over me.
So I forcibly cast a dark magic spell on myself, targeting my mind, and caught the source of the influence.
"……Wh-What!?"
Ilwen, who had been pontificating in front of me, let out a startled shriek.
Feeling the mark on my cheek pulse and throb, I stared intently at the thing I’d caught with my arm of dark magic.
It looked like some kind of soft-bodied creature, semi-transparent—barely substantial.
But even as it writhed, the inside shimmered with silver light, as if trying to whisper to me.
I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I knew one thing for sure:
It was something that damned sly elf had unleashed.
"Y-You… what are you, really!? You tore Luna, the Spirit of the Silver Moon, away by force…!"
"Spirit of the Silver Moon, Luna? This thing?"
I had imagined something more elegant when I heard “moon spirit”… but seeing it up close, it looked more like an octopus or a jellyfish.
Still, now I understood how this thing had bewitched Silk.
Anyone would be confused by delusions if their mind were being scrambled by this thing.
The moment I thought that, my dark magic reacted instinctively, and Luna, the Spirit of the Silver Moon, turned into dark, murky sludge.
It appeared to be just as fragile as it looked.
"You… killed a spirit? Seriously, what are you…? That was a spirit of the heart, you know? Something that dwells in everyone’s soul… And you just destroyed it like it was nothing…?"
Ilwen, shaken and kneeling, vomited onto the ground.
Perhaps the backlash from losing a spirit he had deeply bonded with through dark magic had taken its toll on him.
But there was no time to waste hovering over this man.
Next to the writhing Ilwen, Silk—who had stopped her chanting—turned her gaze toward me.
Our eyes met, but she immediately looked away, her head bowed.
Her shoulders were trembling.
"Silk."
I stepped forward and called her name.
Silk shook her head and shouted at me.
"Don’t come any closer! I’ve done something unforgivable…!"
"Then I won’t come to you. Instead, will you come to me?"
"I can’t. I have to take responsibility for what I’ve done."
She glanced back at the half-open Abyss Gate behind her and shook her head again.
Because of her chants, the gate had opened even further, and an even denser aura of another world was now pouring through it.
If left alone, it would eventually open completely—and when that happened, it would surely bring culling(selection). That much was clear.
"…Could you not ignore me so completely!?"
Ilwen suddenly lunged from behind, trying to grab and restrain Silk.
"It’s not over yet! It’s not over! My path to conquest—my destiny—isn’t finished!"
"Ilwen Pearlwood… it is over. For both of us."
"No it’s not! I—I'm going to reshape the entire world as its king! You could stand beside me! No one would ever mock you as a dark elf again!"
Silk shook her head in response to his rambling delusions.
"The 'True King of the Forest' isn’t what you think it is. It’s the name of a weapon of invasion, one that appears from the other side of this gate."
"Wha…?"
"It’s not something you become. It’s something that emerges. In this world, we call it 'Culling(Selection)'—a calamity."
To Silk’s quiet explanation, Ilwen shook his head violently.
Just like a child refusing to listen.
"Lies. You're lying."
"It’s not a lie, Ilwen Pearlwood. The 'True King of the Forest' is a cull released to counter another cull. We, the dark elves descended from the Golden Princess—those of us with the Amber Eyes—offer our lives as bait to summon this uncontrollable force from the gate."
Ilwen remained on his knees, head hanging…
…until a moment later, his expression twisted into pure madness.
"Then let’s just do it already."
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