Bab 29: Elven Prince vs Human Hero

[3RD POV]

Hearing the sound, Clarette rushed towards the window from where the sound came. Looking outside, she saw in the distance dozens of fireballs appearing out of nowhere and raining down, while a magic barrier slowly formed around the town.

"GUARDS, CALL FOR THE STEWARD!"

Meanwhile, Baron shouted to call the guards outside the dining hall to inquire about what was going on.

"Husband, w...what's going on?" Baroness Claude asked with a panicked face and fear in her voice as she snuggled closer to Baron for safety, despite hating the man.

"That's what I'm trying to find out, woman. Stop clinging to me," Baron looked at Baroness with indifference, finding her panicking state pathetic compared to Clarette's calmness. Not even taking into account that Baroness was just a knight's daughter from a city and lived a sheltered life, while Clarette was trained from the moment she was born to be a warrior.

As the dining hall doors opened, an old human entered and bowed to Baron.

"My lord, we are under attack."

"Wh-"

"Who dares to attack this shithole when I'm here?"

Before Baron could ask who was attacking, Clarette, who was watching the onslaught from the window, asked angrily.

"My apologies, Lady Hero, but we have yet to find out," the steward said shamefully as he bowed even lower.

"Incompetent fuckers! This is what happens when all you do is eat and shit," Clarette said with pure disgust in her voice as she looked at the Baron, who was staring at her in disbelief.

"HOW DARE YOU SHOW ME SUCH DISRESPECT! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A TOOL FOR THE EMPIRE!" Baron shouted angrily as he pointed at Clarette.

Clarette ignored the baron as she opened the window and jumped out. The baroness cried and called out for her to stay to protect them. However, her call for help was ignored as Clarette, in mid-air, created a pair of wings made out of fire using her magic. She rushed towards the fireballs that were appearing in the air.

While flying, she looked at the town beneath her and saw giant humans in red armor slaughtering soldiers and peasants, or she thought they were humans since she had never seen elven knight armor. Hooded figures on the rooftops were firing arrows at anything that moved. Screams for help echoed throughout the town, but she ignored them. The wings she had created allowed her to fly and move at an astonishing speed, but they also consumed a significant amount of her magic. She thought that it would be better to eliminate the biggest threat instead of stopping to save a few peasants.

***

Arriving near the source of fireballs within the blink of an eye, Clarette saw nothing but fireballs being created in mid-air. She poured magic into her eyes to see if the enemy was using magic to turn them invisible, but it didn't work since she still couldn't see what was summoning those fireballs. They continued to rain down on the town.

Gritting her teeth, she reached for the elixir in the pouch of her belt and took it out. It was an elixir exclusively made by the archmage, an elixir of true sight that would allow her to see what mortal eyes could not see. However, she didn't drink it immediately since she was only given a single bottle and had no second chances. The elixir was far too valuable to waste in a place like this, but she was also a hero woven to protect humanity.

While she was debating whether to drink the elixir or not, the fireballs didn't stop raining down. Realizing that it wasn't the time to think, Clarette cursed her luck and drank the elixir in one go. Everything went dark before she blinked and saw an elf-like creature with wings the size of a palm summoning fireballs with a wide smile on its face. Seeing that the creature had yet to notice her or so she thought, Clarette pointed her sword forward and rushed towards it. But just as her sword was inches away, it stopped.

Sylianner slowly turned her head towards the human hero, feeling a little irritated that an ant was disturbing her fun.

While Clarette tried to move with all her strength, she wasn't able to, no matter how hard she tried. Just as she was about to unleash all her magic in an attempt to free herself, she noticed Sylianner, who came so close that she was inches away from her face, looking at her with a tilted head.

Looking into Sylianner's eyes, Clarette felt a chill that shook her very soul. In Sylianner's eyes, she saw nothing but pure madness and chaos, filled with destruction.

Deciding that the monster in front of her was a threat to humanity, Clarette prepared to unleash all of her strength to take it down. But just as she was about to do it, the monster in front of her smiled mischievously.

"You are the human hero that the vile elves talked about," Sylianner began to circle around Clarette's head.

While Sylianner was talking and circling around Clarette's head, her voice sounded like it would normally sound to anyone - like thousands of different melodies being sung at the same time. This caused Clarette to urge her magic power to break free from restraint because she thought that Sylianner was casting a spell.

"I love to play with you, but you are far too weak for me to even entertain the thought of it. Hmm...I'm going to send you to Elvy." And with a flick of her finger, Sylianner sent Clarette towards where Malgath was.

***

'BOOOM'

Crashing against the ground on the other side of town, Clarette slowly got up from the hole created beneath her. She was mostly unscathed since she was able to create a fire shield around herself.

Waving her hand and clearing the dust gathered from her crash, a strong smell of blood hit Clarette, and she heard the sound of flesh being torn apart. Looking around, Clarette couldn't see anything since this side of the town was far darker. She used magic to enhance her sight to see more clearly in the pitch black of the night.

She saw a giant elf, much larger than any man she had ever seen, ripping apart humans with his bare hands and tossing them around like toys. Meanwhile, the corpses of disfigured humans lay around him as far as the eye could see.

Seeing this gruesome sight in front of her, Clarette froze for a second before feeling a twinge in her stomach. While she had seen gruesome sights before, what lay before her was too much even for her. But she forcefully composed herself and got up.

Realizing that the giant elf hadn't noticed her or was not paying attention to her, Clarette knew that it wasn't time for her to rest or think. So, she summoned her fire wings, aimed her sword, and rushed towards the elf as she left a hole in the ground beneath her.

Tossing aside the human soldier that he had ripped in half, Malgath turned around to see a tiny human woman rushing towards him.

He didn't dodge her attack; instead, he stood and let her sword touch his armor. But thanks to his armor being made of elven steel, the sword only left a small scratch on it.

But Malgath didn't care about any of this. He lifted his hand to catch a powerful arrow that was coming towards the tiny human from the right side, catching the arrow that destroyed everything in its path and even left cracks in the air as it nearly destroyed the space in its path. He forcefully changed the arrow's direction upward as the arrow pierced through the magic barrier and disappeared into the darkness of the night. While he extended his left hand behind the tiny woman, a dagger stabbed into his palm. He didn't have time to worry about it, though, as he kicked the tiny human and jumped backwards. A red blur slammed against the ground where they were as it created a crater and pushed away all of the human corpses.

Malgath looked at his right hand, which was completely limp, with every bone shattered from catching the arrow and changing its direction. Then he looked at his left hand, which had a dagger with a green blade piercing through his gauntlet made of elven steel and stabbing through his palm. Lifting his hand, he bit the handle of the dagger and pulled it out of his palm.

Spitting out the dagger, he caught it with his left hand as black and green blood dripped from it. He was poisoned, a powerful and unique poison coated on the dagger's blade that was strong enough to kill a dragon in less than an hour, but it had less effect on him thanks to the elixir Archon Lyrie gave him.

"Malgath, what in the name of the goddess are you thinking, catching my arrow like that!?" Sylvanas said with a little fear and anxiety in her voice as she rushed to Malgath's side with panic in her face and hurriedly checked his condition. "Look at your arm. If it weren't for the armor you are wearing, your arm could have been ripped off."

But Malgath wasn't able to answer her as Alleria forcefully pushed a bottle containing the antidote into his mouth.

After drinking the antidote, Malgath looked at his right arm and tried to move it. However, he realized that it was completely useless. Knowing that he was not proficient enough in healing magic to heal it, he decided to freeze his arm to keep it completely still during the fight. This way, it wouldn't hinder his actions. Then he turned to his sisters.

"Do not interfere," Malgath kissed Alleria and Sylvanas on the lips and started moving towards the clarette.

"Malgath, come back here right now," Sylvanas reached out to stop Malgath. She knew that with the injuries he had suffered and his broken arm, it would be suicide for him to fight in that state. However, Alleria grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"We can always kill that human. Let our beloved brother have his fun," Alleria sat on a throne made out of shadows that appeared behind her.

"What do you mean 'fun'? Look at this arm. He can't go against that human like that."

"Sit, Sylvanas. I'm as concerned as you are, but if we go against his wishes any further, he will hate us. You know him," Alleria said as she saw Sylvanas still standing and looking at Malgath with concern in her eyes.

"What about his arm? Are you just going to let him go like this?" Sylvanas asked, glaring at Alleria. She found Alleria's lack of concern for Malgath disturbing.

It's not that Alleria wasn't concerned about Malgath; she was just as, if not more, concerned about him than Sylvanas. It's just that she wasn't able to show it with her words. Knowing her brother, she knew it would be better to let him be and only interfere when his life was in danger.

"Muscle brain will handle that," Alleria said, looking at Naesala, who was standing in front of Malgath and blocking his path.

Sighing, Sylvanas created a throne made out of wind beside Alleria and sat on it. She still looked alert, ready to interfere at any time.

"You can't fight like this, Malgath," Naesala said as she held and inspected Malgath's right hand.

"Perhaps, but my comfort means nothing to the enemy," Malgath glanced at Clarette, who was looking at them warily with her guard up, trying to listen to their conversation but failing miserably since she didn't know Elvish.

"Forget about that weakling. We need to heal your arm, but knowing you, you won't wait for a priest," Naesala reach out into the pouch on her belt and take out a glowing marble.

"This is a healing leaf made by a master alchemist in the magic district. It essentially has the same effect as a healing potion or magic, with the only difference being that instead of magic, it utilizes the stamina of the consumer. This means it will heal you, but you may feel more tired. However, with your monstrous stamina, it probably won't affect you much and-" Naesala showed the healing leaf to Malgath, who simply took it and threw it into his mouth without a second thought.

'Crack'

"And you will feel immense pain, so be careful," Naesala said with a deadpan expression and tired voice as Malgath's arm began to emit smoke and heat while the bones in his arm began to move into their places. "Listen to what others are saying for once in your life, you big oaf."

Gritting his teeth, Malgath withstood the pain of his bones moving and returning to their places while his muscles were being repaired. It didn't last long, as his arm healed in a few seconds.

"Haaaahhhh." Exhaling the breath that he was holding, Malgath moved his right arm around and squeezed it, seeing that it was functioning normally. He slightly bent and kissed Naesala's lips, then finally made his way to face the human hero.