Bab 34: Blood elves

Sitting on a throne made entirely of purple flames in front of the town square, with Sylianner in her usual place on my shoulder, and Naesala also by my side, sitting on her own throne, I observed the humans that my army had gathered.

All of them were terrified, shaking out of fear, crying, begging, and trying to comfort each other, while corpses of other humans that had begun to rot lay beside them, giving off an awful stench.

Taking my gaze away from the humans, I looked at the knights that had formed a circle around them. Some were averting their gazes, some were looking at them with pity, and some were indifferent. It was a pathetic sight to watch, but I can forgive them for now since the army I brought with me was composed of young ones who didn't experience what humans did to elves; they just heard. However, a small number of them that I was able to notice had hatred in their eyes.

While the rangers stayed behind, covering our rear, I noticed a group of rangers who had their bows drawn and were ready to kill humans at any moment.

"Kill them all." I gave my order.

"But my prince, you said that we would spare those who surrender." Hearing my order, the knight captain protested, while most of the knights and rangers showed hesitation.

Most knights hesitated, apart from those who I saw were filled with hatred. They drew their swords without any hesitation and thrust them into the hearts of the humans. The small group of rangers who had their bows drawn, the ones who had joined me in my hunt half a century ago, put their bows on their backs and took out their daggers as they slowly severed the heads of the humans, dyeing the ground with their blood.

"Well done, my elves. Come to my side." Yet, giving another order, I halted their movements as they approached my side.

Twelve knights and four rangers stood in front of me, their backs straight, proud, and with content looks on their faces since I called for them specifically.

"All of you possess the spirit of a true elf. Your blood is pure; your hatred is great. I wish to create a force that will represent the true nature of the elves - our cruelty, our bloodlust, our madness. A force that will spread fear and despair across the realm, even bringing gods to their knees out of fear. A force that will become a nightmare itself."

As I continued to talk, I could feel the spirits of the 16 in front of me burning with passion. Holding my hand up, I indicate for them to wait in case they speak.

"Know this, that if you were to join, you will not be hailed as heroes or mighty figures. You will be called monsters, butchers. Our tales will be the reason for our younglings to lose their sleep at night. There will be no glory for the path we will walk. None of you will be respected, but feared. No one will welcome you. You will be outcasts, shunned upon, unappreciated, all while you protect them, kill for them, die for them... Now, do you still wish to join?" I asked, with each word releasing my aura slightly. The elves around me began to sweat, biting their lips or piercing their palms with their nails to keep themselves awake, while all of the humans had already passed out from pressure. Sylianner also helped me as I continued to talk; dark clouds covered the sun shining upon us as the purple thunder danced within it.

"ALL HAIL PRINCE MALGATH," the elves in front of me shouted as they kneeled before me, showing their loyalty and acceptance of my offer.

Taking out my dagger, I deeply cut my palm, using blood magic to draw a large amount of blood.

"Rise, my elves, my blood elves, as you are reborn anew. Drink my blood and become what you were always meant to be, become pure-blooded." With each word, I actively released my aura as the ground beneath me began to crack like spiderwebs and poured magic into my eternal shield as the thick, dark red mist covered my body. I wanted to show off a little.

By manipulating my blood, I sent it in front of them. Without hesitation, they drank it, and the moment my blood entered their bodies, they fell to their knees, vomiting black blood as the veins on their bodies turned green.

When I took Archon Lyrei's elixir, I became immune to poison, but it also turned my blood into poison. It's not as deadly as the one she gave me, but still quite lethal. However, I know they will survive this. What they are currently vomiting is not blood, but rather their impurities. Once they have finished purifying their blood, they will emerge as pure elves.

While my blood elves were transforming, I decided to begin the ritual, a ritual to dedicate those human souls to my goddess.

Gathering my magic power with mystic art, I covered 2123 humans, excluding children, out of the 4000 that were left alive. I expected the number to be far lower since when I landed on the barracks, I killed close to a thousand myself.

"Wait, wait, wait, Elvy," Sylianner, who was sitting on my shoulder, began to jump up and down excitedly as she felt my magical power.

"Are you going to do the 'thing'? Please tell me you will," she said with an excited tone as the thunder's strikes intensified in the clouds, as if responding to her emotions.

"Indeed, Sylianner, but I am still far too inexperienced in mystic art. I have to focus, so do not distract me."

"Okay, okay, hoooh, it's going to be so much fun hehehehehe."

With Sylianner finally stopping her movements but still giggling like crazy, I returned my attention to the humans. Slowly enveloping all of them with my magic, I made sure that they did not move. Then, I guided my magic to their spines as I covered their spines. I began to slowly rip their spines out while the humans screamed in pain and agony, their blood creating a small pond beneath them.

After ripping their spines out, I made a tree similar to Ygrsdiall out of their spines, while I controlled their blood to carve runes into the ground.

[IMAGE]

After I finished carving runes, I opened my eyes and looked at my blood elves. All of them were unconscious, but they had also survived. Turning my head, I glanced at Naesala, who had a calm expression on her face, unaffected by the scene. Nodding at her, I stood up and walked towards the tree, disregarding the horrified looks of the elves around me. They trembled in fear; some fainted from the bloodshed, and others vomited. It was truly pathetic sight, but it also made me realize that it was my fault. I had changed them; I had made them weak and pathetic by shielding them from any harm. I had transformed this once fearsome, savage, and fierce race into naive and nature-loving fools. It is my responsibility to restore them to their former selves.

Standing in front of the tree, I took off my robe, becoming completely naked. I nodded to Sylianner, who responded by laughing wildly as the human corpses around us burst into purple flames.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, blocking my senses and fully immersing myself in the ritual. I started to dance around the tree while chanting, as the runes shimmered.

[Meanwhile, in the Elven Goddess's realm]

The realm of the Elven Goddess, once full of life and kindness, had changed completely. Flowers no longer bloomed, and thick fog hid the sun, making it hard to see. The trees were barely visible through the dark clouds. Life had faded from the land, taking the blooming flowers with it. The beautiful lake under the giant tree had lost its clear, sparkling water and turned dark. In its depths, one could see the souls of humans, writhing in pain as they tried to escape the whirlpool in the center. In the midst of this desolation, the Elven Goddess was missing. Instead, a figure resembling her stood at the lake's edge, but this being had gray skin and red eyes.

"Hasn't he endured enough, sister? Doesn't he deserve peace after being your servant for ages?" the red-eyed woman asked, gazing into the center of the whirlpool.

After a moment, a head broke the surface, revealing beautiful silver hair and golden eyes filled with warmth. It was the elven goddess who emerged as souls were drawn into the whirlpool.

"My beloved is no longer a servant, Elanil. He is my lover, my husband, my equal," the elven goddess declared to her twin sister, the drow goddess, as she opened her arms and continued to absorb the souls.

"Yet you still treat him like one. Let him rest; he has suffered enough," Elanil, the drow goddess, replied coldly, staring at her sister.

"Why do you care, Elanil? You forced me to send him to the mortal realm," Ildilynra, the elven goddess, challenged.

Elanil was the one sent the prophecy about the fall of the Elven guardian to her creations, the drows.

"I did it to prevent you from destroying the universe. You became too powerful after our creation-" Elanil attempted to explain, but Ildilynra interrupted her with a fierce glare.

"He is my creation! You have no right to claim him after what you've done," Ildilynra said through clenched teeth, her voice filled with hatred as darkness thickened around them.

"you can't deny me from him,he is our creation, and he carries my essence too," Elanil continued, ignoring Ildilynra's growing fury as the realm darkened, obscuring everything.

The elven guardian was indeed created by an elven goddess; it's just that he wasn't created by a singular elven goddess. He was created by elven goddess Ildilynra and elven goddess Elanil, that's why he possessed red eyes despite not being a drow.

"He was supposed to protect our children, not the mindless killer you turned him into. He was meant to be cherished, not exploited, sister," Elanil said sadly, gazing at the gate in the massive tree. It showed Malgath dancing around the bone tree, singing a tune that mixed a mother's lullaby with cries from the abyss, appearing like a gentle spring breeze while human corpses burned nearby.

"SILENCE!" Ildilynra shouted, causing the realm to tremble and a shockwave to clear the mist, revealing the grim reality. Countless animal bones littered the ground, and human bodies hung from the gnarled trees. Nail marks stretched from the lake to deep within the forest.

"No, I refuse to be silent any longer, sister. You took his love from me once, but not again. While you reveled in the glory of his every kill, I suffered for each wound he bore. I cried tears of blood when he turned away from his own soul. While you wandered your realm, lost in your power, I was the one who watched over him. Your actions forced me to betray my love and leave him behind," Elanil said, her voice filled with hatred, guilt, and sorrow as tears streamed down her face.

Her choices led to the downfall of the Elven guardian, igniting attacks from all races against the elves and their gods against Ildilynra. This pushed Ildilynra into war with the other gods, ensuring that the elven guardian would not awaken in time and would fall into a well-deserved eternal slumber.

"I am the one who loves him the most. It was me who created him in my image.I cared for him deeply; my love for him is unmatched. You never truly wanted him. To you, he was merely an experiment, a fleeting interest. But for me, he was everything. I never left his side. I was there for him, even in his sleep. For ten thousand years, I watched over him while you didn't even care to check on him,"Ildilynra said, her eyes filled with hatred and disgust as she glared at her sister. To Ildilynra, Elanil was not the true creator of the Elven guardian. That's why it angered her so much that Elanil even dared to claim to be the creator of her beloved.

"Don't pretend I'm the villain here. You cast me aside, erasing my presence from his life to be his only 'light,' so he would love you alone. You twisted his feelings for your own selfish desires. You took him from me. You were the one who caused his death," Elanil shot back, her eyes narrowing as memories flooded back. It was Ildilynra who had whispered war into the ears of titans and dragons. She was the one who sent a prophecy to the elven king, urging him to side with the titans.Ildilynra secretly united the realms to attack the elves when others hesitated,and it was Ildilynra who secretly united the realm to attack the elves, when other races hesitated, not being sure about the elven guardians' abilities.She knew her creation could destroy them all, and since Ildilynra had linked her aspects, including death, to the elven guardian,every soul he claimed would became hers to consume, making her even stronger.

"That's enough. You are not welcome in my realm, begone, traitor!" Ildilynra declared with a frosty look, waving her hand to tear the fabric of space and expel Elanil from her realm. Turning to Malgath, her cold expression melted into a warm smile as she watched him. Although souls were being pulled into a whirlpool, she ignored them; to her, a few thousand was nothing compared to the countless souls she had consumed in the past.