Chapter 187

The site of the old plaza in Gangneung.

At the Elf’s words that she had the Cone Hat of Pride, Bruno furrowed his brow.

"Hey, do you believe those words?"

"..."

Even in the face of Bruno’s unilateral suspicion, the Elf’s expression did not change.

It remained the same cold, emotionless face.

I spoke.

"Let me ask you one thing."

"Anything."

"How are you going to prove that you have the hat? I do not see anything on you that could be called a hat."

"There are two ways to transport a magic tool. To be dominated by its mana, or to dominate it completely."

"Dominate... Which is your case?"

"I am barely holding onto it."

"Holding onto it?"

"It would be better to see it for yourself. Follow me. I will guide you to where the hat is."

The Elf turned her body halfway.

At that moment, Bruno stepped forward and spoke.

"I was born in Gangwon-do. Therefore, I have heard things about the different races that lived here. I have to rummage through my memories since I heard them when I was very young, but I clearly remember the words people said as they referred to those fellows. ...Crafty, cold-hearted, treacherous fellows who would betray humans at any time."

I could understand as soon as I heard his words.

It must have been a distorted rumor that spread after they failed to keep their promise with Hyun Yuyeol.

Bruno said he was born in Gangwon-do, but since Gangneung was the only place that maintained a complete city at the time, his parents must have been from Gangneung.

Therefore, his suspicion was reasonable.

However, in this situation, there was not much time given to not trust the Elf.

It was a situation where I had to at least uncover what she was hiding.

I placed my hand on the shoulder of Bruno, who was aiming the MA13.

"You... don't tell me..."

"Yes, this opportunity is the best gamble we can make."

"I cannot trust a different race. Furthermore, how can you believe the words that she has a magic tool?"

"I am not believing her. I am trying to confirm it."

"Damn it..."

Once our conversation was settled, the Elf immediately turned her body.

Then, she began to move toward a place where the bushes were thick.

She might have looked back at least once to see if we were following well, but she walked looking only ahead until she entered a derelict building overgrown with vines.

At a glance, she appeared to be in a hurry.

When she entered the building, we stopped our steps at the entrance.

"Are you truly going in?"

"If you are scared, wait outside."

"Tsk, I told you it's not a matter of fear."

"Then?"

"It is a matter of trust. Because the different races merely watched the destruction of Gangneung. I thought you would know this too."

I nodded.

"Even if we face the worst, it cannot be helped."

"What if that worst threatens our lives?"

"Do you think I will just stand there and take it?"

"..."

Bruno was silent.

It was not so much that he could not deny my words, but rather as if he realized that persuasion was difficult.

I cautiously followed her traces into the building.

This was a derelict building that would have been used as a small warehouse in Gangneung at the time, and objects such as boxes were still messily spread out.

Furthermore, all sorts of plants occupied every bit of space like the thorny vines that filled the outside of the building, and in the depths of the warehouse, there was a woman sitting on a rotten stump.

"Hey..."

"Yeah."

The woman before my eyes was dead, wearing a very elegant cone hat.

The mana of that hat, reflected through my Demonic Eye, was unmistakably the dark attribute.

Therefore, that would be the Cone Hat of Pride.

Leaving everything else aside, the identity of the dead woman was the Elf we had been following until just a moment ago.

It was a situation that was not easy to accept.

However, it was not incomprehensible either.

I had already met the thoughtform of Cha Jaehee at the Hyeonseong mansion before.

"Leaving behind mana while alive to perform a specific purpose."

"...I do not know what you mean."

"To put it simply, she is a ghost who left behind a grudge."

At that moment, the Elf’s thoughtform approached us from the side.

The woman who had guided us until just a moment ago.

She spoke in a somewhat chilly voice.

"That is correct. As you can see, I no longer exist in this world."

"To guide a person who possesses Hyun Yuyeol’s mana here when they appear. Is this your purpose?"

"Yes."

"Then what is that purpose? What do you plan to do by bringing me here?"

I already vaguely understood her purpose.

Just as the Dwarf had done to me, just as the dragon Rachel had made such a choice.

She likely wanted to regret and make amends for the incident thirteen years ago.

As expected, she answered after a long pause.

"I have been waiting for you. I thought you would come looking for the hat someday."

"On what grounds?"

The Elf gazed at me fixedly with her large, crystal-like eyes.

It was a burdensome gaze, as if she were peeking into my inner self.

"We can see the past and the future. Whether it is a desired future or a regretted past, it appears in our eyes whenever an inexplicable time and occasion meet."

We are soon Elves.

I never gave such an ability to the race that would likely have been exterminated with her as the last one.

I had only described them as using mysterious powers with nature as a friend and not being hated by nature.

Even so, it was meaningless to question the truth of her words.

I had truly set foot in my hometown in search of the hat, and she had remained as a thoughtform and waited for me.

"What do you plan to do with this?"

"Nothing."

"That is a foolish answer."

"Actually, I plan to put it in a place where no one can reach it."

"That is quite arrogant."

"..."

What was she trying to say?

She continued her words as if she had read my question.

"I held onto the hat for you, but I cannot hand the hat to you by my will alone."

"What does that mean?"

"As I said, the ways to transport the hat are only to be dominated by it or to dominate it. If you do not receive the hat’s recognition, you will meet destruction like the other beings."

"You said you see the future. How is my future in your eyes?"

The Elf shook her head.

"I am sorry, but I cannot see the future by my will. However, I can guess through the past."

"The past?"

Could it be that she was referring to Hyeon Jaejun, who was the head of the Hyeon Clan at the time of the Gangneung incident?

No.

Nonsensical rumors had circulated through the Bureau that Hyeon Jaejun had touched the hat, but this was a lie.

If so, whose past was she talking about?

The story of someone who met destruction by the hat...

"Could you step aside for a moment?"

The Elf cast her gaze at Bruno.

Of course, there was no way he would move obediently.

"I refuse."

"If you value your life, it would be better to go outside the building quickly."

"What does that mean?"

Bruno flared up.

I stood in his way.

"Let us do as she says."

"What?"

"In the first place, was there no camaraderie between us? You said it was over once you guided me to Gangneung, didn't you?"

"That and this are entirely different things, aren't they?"

"Then let’s do it this way. I will bind your shadow and knock you unconscious. It will be a hassle to move you outside, but it will be easier for both of us that way."

"Insolent..."

"So give me a moment."

"Tsk..."

Bruno left the building.

But at that moment, a bizarre mana covered the entire building.

Simultaneously, the thorny vines came alive and soon bound my body.

It was a loose pressure, too weak to be an intent to attack.

"Forgive me. I had no choice but to use the thorny vines because I cannot use a physical body."

"I do not know what you are trying to do, but I would like it if you gave me a prior hint."

"What I am trying to do is answer your question. About the past."

About the past?

"Whether you can dominate the hat, or whether you will be dominated by it."

"...?"

"Everything will be decided by the hat’s will."

The hat’s will meant that the magic she would perform on me would use the hat’s mana.

Since she was wearing the hat, the fact that she had left behind a thoughtform must have also utilized the power of the hat.

"The past you will see from now on is the story of the Sword Saint, the Phantom Thief, and the Witch."

"The Witch..."

"The disparity between your consciousness and your body will be like a split second. You will dream a long dream, but in reality, you will just be closing and opening your eyes for a moment."

Soon, she, the thoughtform, approached me.

The thorny vines began to flow a bizarre mana, and I began to lose my senses as if I were being anesthetized.

The last thing I took into my eyes was that she vanished as if she were being absorbed into my body.

"..."

I could see nothing.

I could not hear, nor feel.

How much time had passed like that?

Soon, my eyes brightened, and the conversation of strangers tickled my ears.

"Do you think the Head of the Shrine will accept that obediently?"

"Does it matter if the likes of her refuse?"

"Hey, even so, she is the owner of the shrine; is it okay to speak so carelessly?"

"The owner of the shrine?"

Soon, my vision cleared completely.

The people talking were members of the shrine dressed in priest's clothing.

They whispered secretly while watching their surroundings.

"You know it too; having crossed the rift, what else would we have done to make a living besides this."

"Hmph, we were revered beyond the rift, but here she is nothing more than a girl whose blood hasn't even dried on her head. How long are we going to live as that girl’s servants? We also have to find our own way to live, don't we?"

"But still, the war on this land has not ended for long."

"If you stand idly by like that, you will be caught by the humans. You saw it too, that massive lump of iron crossing the earth resoundingly. The civilization of this land has already reached its golden age. Where is there a place for us to set foot in such a world?"

"Th-that is true, but."

"Do I sound like I am saying this for my own good right now? We must take the initiative as soon as possible before the civilization of this land develops further. That fellow named Gen said it back then. If we end up fleeing from here too, there will be no place for us to stay anymore."

"Gen? Who was that?"

"The fellow who crossed the rift recently. He said he would go look around the edge of the land, so has he not arrived at the South Sea by now?"

"Ah, right. There was such a fellow."

"Enough, we must reign over these stupid humans as he said. We cannot make the same mistake as beyond the rift again, can we? Whether here or beyond the rift, it is the same world of the law of the jungle."

"Sigh... My goodness..."

It was not difficult to understand the subject of the conversation.

They were the first Demonic Beings who had crossed the rift due to conflicts among Demonic Beings.

And the person they referred to as the Head of the Shrine...

—The Head of the Shrine, the only person who could handle magic tools during this period.

A voice heard out of nowhere.

When I turned to the side, the Elf was standing next to me in the form of a thoughtform.

—Called the Source of Gray, the Root of Chaos.

With those words, my vision was dyed black again.

But light soon erupted, and a new person appeared in a new place.

This time, it was a woman in her late teens sitting modestly in the center of a solemn shrine while wearing the Cone Hat of Pride.

I looked at that appearance and muttered instinctively.

—The Witch...

The Elf spoke.

—Witch in the expression of humans, her name called on this land is Hye.

Hye.

It was not a name I had given her.

In the original work, her title as the Witch was sufficient.

—What is she doing right now?

The Witch was sitting alone in the dark and quiet shrine.

She looked sad somewhere, lonely somewhere...

The vestments of Do Minyeong I had seen in District 10 flickered in my mind.

She was a person who was that beautiful and exuded an unapproachable atmosphere.

I momentarily thought of my Demonic Eye, but I could not use mana, let alone the Demonic Eye.

Should I consider this as a memory dwelling in my consciousness?

After a moment, the Elf’s words continued.

—She is facing the fate given to her.

—Fate?

—Yes, as one who inherited the power of the Head of the Shrine, who led numerous Demonic Beings beyond the rift. And to lead the Demonic Beings and survive in a new world.