111-112

Chapter 111: Dwarves 2>

Demon King

Dwarves – 2>

Dwarf. It was a term referring to the dwarven race, commonly found in fantasy novels. They were known to live deep in mountain ranges and known for their excellent metal handling skills. When Earth and Hater were connected for the first time, dwarves became known to humankind just like the elves.

"But after the Great Fusion, their appearance of partners between elves and dwarves couldn't be confirmed. Elves appeared as an advisor and supporter of humanity, but not as peers. Dwarves, and the other intelligent races, have kept themselves secret." Jia Han, the high school girl who had been slightly depressed to not hear news about the goblin fallen, told me this.

"So the dwarves that appeared this time are unusual. Were any of them humans in the past, or are they like the elves? I need to know why they're appearing now, and how it's related to the dungeon outbreaks." Erkindra's thoughts on the matter were obvious. They worried about nothing but how the dwarves were accepted by humanity. If there was someone among them who was once human, it would get more complicated.

Would they be accepted into the new human society? If that happened, it would go no further. They would gain a companion against the threat of the elves, and the dwarves would as well. Elakatra viewed everything other than themselves as disposable; the dwarven race would be no exception. But if humans couldn't accept them… I'd like to believe that it wouldn't happen, but it was hard to, given how I had seen the way they treated the fallen.

'No.' I thought that would go too far. It was too different to compare them to the fallen.

"Should we pick up speed a bit?"

"More than this?" I stopped running down the empty mountain path. When Cain's thumping footsteps stopped, everything went quiet. I activated my Belkena Spell, casting invisibility on all of us. Following that, I activated Lunatic Trickster to set a trap that would spread the effect to people around us when magic or a skill was activated.

"Go." With Ubiquitous, the surrounding environment changed in an instant. Thanks to the trap, all of us were able to move together.

"What is that?!"

"It's magic. Continue." Though it had improved, moving more than three kilometers at once was too difficult. Going from Seongbuk-gu to Incheon took me twenty-eight uses of Ubiquitous.

"Uh, how is this possible? It took us only three minutes…"

"I know. Go." We were only at the entrance of Namdong-gu, Incheon, but I already could feel an extreme flow of mana. I looked back, but none of the others seemed to notice it.

"Cain, I apologize, but I have a favor to ask."

[Ask. My will moves according to the will of the captain.]

"…" Jia Han stared at Cain, the gears turning in her head.

"I wasn't really paying attention to it, but that's Cain Russell, right…?"

"Yes." Perhaps she had also received a request from my sister to look into how we treat Cain. Perhaps she was trying to justify how I used my power to save the fallen. However, for Jia Han's honor and pure heart, I decided not to show I knew of her secret mission.

"So you said that you were sick of it!" A rough crackling sound filled the air, two minutes after we continued moving.

"We're not hostile to you."

"What are you talking about? They're inhabitants of the underground, an evil to be eliminated." I knew the owner of the voice right away. It must've been Elakatra. Mireina also noticed it, touching her ears anxiously.

"What if they scold me? They're scary."

"They're an enemy, but we'll take care of them."

"If Fate says so, then it must be true." If only those with a peaceful mind like Mireina were more common among the elves, things would be much easier. I sighed and hurried my pace. At a glance, it was surprising to see the situation hadn't exploded yet.

"Hm…"

"Unbelievable." The surprise of the Elakatra was natural. We arrived on the scene, landing in a vacant lot without any interference among the gathered people. It looked to originally have held a large department store that had collapsed.

"Who are you?"

"The guild Rebellion, from Seoul, Seongbuk-gu."

"Seongbuk-gu? That would take at least twenty minutes…" It seems that Erkindra's information handling ability had reached a special level. It was a worthy alliance, after all.

"Leave. What happens in Incheon will be solved here."

"No." There were a whopping two Elakatra here, followed by hundreds of people. In the middle of them were the dwarves. They were just as I had read about, probably only about a meter tall at best, with arms covered in thick muscle. They were also armed to a fair degree.

"Did you say you're Rebellion?" A younger-looking male Elakatra spoke up, wearing that same red scarf. His outfit resembled a merchant's more than a warrior's, but I intuitively noticed that he was disguising himself. It was meant to give humans a sense of comfort, the idea that they could trust this man for help.

"I've heard of you. You were taming the fallen, correct?"

"Yeah." He was talking to me, but his eyes were focused on Cain. They stayed there a long time before sliding over to Mireina. I was confident I could protect them, but nothing was absolute in this world. If things went wrong, at the very least, killing all of the Elakatra here should solve the worst of it. But that was the last resort. Fortunately, and a bit surprisingly, he nodded.

"You are quite beautiful. Humans sometimes surprise us, they have countless possibilities." I wondered if this was a play to appeal to the humans, but it didn't appear to be. His voice was sincere. He honestly believes in the possibilities of a human, which is why he hated them. It scares them. Cain and I could sense his mana changing according to his emotions, revealing hostility.

"Who are you again?" This time, a dwarf spoke up. The oldest looking among them, a middle-aged dwarf in the lead, was staring straight at me. However, before I could respond, the humans who felt they had been deprived of the initiative came out—specifically, ones who were from guilds here in Incheon.

[Kwoooo.]

Cain cried out loud as if he had given in to his anger, extending his fist forward only slightly. The effect was great, however, as none of those gathered here had reached the higher system. No human here could match Cain's power. Even now, humans knew to be frightened of powers they couldn't grasp.

"I should've arrived here sooner…"

"How the hell did you come so quickly in the first place? Have you mastered that level of magic?"

"Seongbuk-gu…no one should be here from there yet, but these Rebellion guys are?" The humans clicked their tongues, realizing that this monster was under my control. Of course, they didn't back down completely.

"I ran as soon as I heard that dwarves had appeared, but what the hell is this?" I penetrated through to the heart of the situation, playing the best hand I had available.

"I will explain. Dwarves are inhabitants of the underground, which means they come from the same place as the monsters."

"This elf says some annoying stuff." The dwarf, who was still staring at me, seemed to have a bit of a temper. I decided to be blunt.

"Were you a human?"

"I've been saying I'm an Earthling over and over! Call Mikhail, he knows!"

"This is Korea."

"I've heard that already!" The place fell into chaos. I had forgotten about the existence of dwarves. After all, more than 99% of Earthlings were connected to humans from Hater, and most of the remaining 1% were connected with elves.

"It's a lie. In the Great Fusion, Hater was subjugated by Earth. All Earthlings synchronized in the place they were born and raised. These are just intelligent monsters trying to deceive you." The purpose of Elakatra was so clear I couldn't even laugh. I turned toward the dwarf.

"My name is Fate. What can I call you?"

"…Alec."

"Alec, do you know the total number of dwarves?"

"How would I know? When I opened my eyes, I was in a small village. The only ones I know are my colleagues here."

"But now, other dwarves are appearing in the world besides you."

"Their numbers are at least…"

"Shh." I cut off the Elakatra from speaking, which the guilds in Incheon seemed happy about. It was easy to see who had been taking charge here until I showed up.

"I see."

"Hopefully, we could form an alliance…" I ignored the humans too. No one moved, but tensions were building just under the surface. It would only take one spark to set it off. Cain was doing his best to suppress all of them with his terrifying size. It was a funny situation when I thought about it.

"Ah." The dwarf, Alec, tilted his head and let out a short exclamation.

"I felt the underground opening. We got out of it, so maybe the same happened with others. It was a big gap, as if someone tore down the wall. The land that we couldn't reach before opened right up to us." I let out a laugh. The dwarves, who hadn't even been aware of us, seemed to have been affected by my realm's expansion last night. Lee Chan-yu quietly messaged me with an awkward smile.

[Captain, the underground battlefield.]

[Yeah.]

I let out a sigh and looked up, noticing a huge plane floating above us.

It was the appearance of the guild One Flag, the last to arrive on this stage.

Chapter 112: Dwarves 3

Demon King

Dwarves – 3

The plane had an odd shape, with an oval body at the center of dozens of jagged wings. Each wing seemed to be emitting powerful mana, which meant they each had an engine. The overwhelming size of it was intimidating, with just its presence being enough to stop the others from moving. The guild representatives already gathered here didn't seem happy.

"It's too fast."

"Maybe their talks with the US and China are over."

"The disgusting old friends."

The Elakatra, on the other hand, seemed to welcome their appearance. That alone was enough to get an idea of the type of people aboard this plane. It was slowly descending to the ground, resembling a dying human almost. Mireina grabbed my shoulder.

"What is that? I can feel an ominous energy in there."

"Ominous energy?" I watched the plane but felt no sign of what she said. The plane was like a moving fortress covered in artifacts. But as soon as the door opened, I could tell what she had been sensing.

"President."

"Hmm." Escorted by countless people, several old men walked out. It was the chairman of a famous company known around the world. The title of Korea's best guild was certainly fitting. Wouldn't they be the best among the best? I recalled my days as a human, but there was a problem more urgent than my reminiscing. I found the source of the sinister energy Mireina felt. Red eyes, and dark mana. It was a transformed soul. It stank like the monsters of the soul.

I had been wrong about the Elakatra. Their purpose wasn't so simple. They weren't simply studying the monsters to destroy humans; that would be a waste. Their true goal was much more terrible. These were by no means a finished product. They were full of flaws, with a hole in their soul. Perhaps these Chaos Souls, and the monsters that occupied elven bodies, were all incidental products from their primary purpose. But what was their real purpose? What were they trying to achieve, what sort of bloody miracle did they hope to produce?

I couldn't know. To figure it out, I had to make Mireina, who was currently trembling with her hand on my shoulder, stronger as soon as I could.

"They are…"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." I looked around while comforting Mireina, who was afraid of the monster. I wondered how humans could accept such a disparate existence. Were there any people who were aware that they were just one step away from humans?

"The old man is here."

Lee Minha…the master of One Flag."

"Looks like he's not even interested in us. Damn it…"

Out of all the humans gathered here, were we the only ones to understand that they were connected with the soul monsters? Maybe it was because we had fought on the Rookie's shoppingmode Battlefield that we could sense it. With that in mind, I felt fortunate I had been able to evolve into an elf as I grew.

"Who…yes. Dwarf? Who should I listen to?" Lee Minha opened his mouth, acting as if no-one had talked to the dwarf before this moment. His arrogance was expected, but it was curious that he didn't immediately try to kill the dwarves, given his ties to the elves. Alec ignored him, and the Elakatra kept quiet. The representatives of the Incheon guild came out of the crowd.

"We were talking first, so let's skip it."

"Hm? Hahahaha." It was a laugh that felt more appropriate in a comic book.

"If you wanted to act like a rat, you should've been faster."

"…"

"This damn…"

The eyes of the humans were momentarily focused on me. Is this what I really interrupted? How shameless. Lee Minha's gaze stayed on me, and I stared back. As I looked at his red, bloodshot eyes, I got a sense of how much power he had. He hadn't reached the higher system, but his mana was surprisingly strong. But I had a sense of where it came from.

"Did you say Rebellion? The ones spreading lies about taming the fallen."

"The One Flag…right? It's my first time I've seen one in person but seeing as they can't admit their own lack of abilities and claim others to be liars, they seem to have the mental age of elementary school students. Nice to meet you, my name is shoppingmode Fate. Even if you're young, can't you remember a name?" It was an exchange of jabs rather than words. I was well aware this person wouldn't take active actions against me.

"This has become an incredibly fun world. As power becomes visible, it becomes a lot more challenging to use."

"It would've been nice to be able to wield your power when it wasn't visible to others. It's regrettable now, isn't it?" I had to figure out what I couldn't see. How was this man, with a soul monster inside of him, connected to the elves…

"…" He clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers. The melee combat troops who were protecting him and members of the One Flag stepped forward, pushing the humans from Incheon away. He was planning on ignoring me and contacting the dwarves directly.

"Huh." Alec laughed, and the other dwarves joined him. I couldn't help myself either, joining them in laughing at the humans quarreling.

"This world has changed so much. It might've been nice if we had been stuck in that dark tunnel." He lifted his hammer.

"I will not listen to any of you unless you send me to my home country of Russia. We have no intention of being caught up in your fights. I'd rather go back underground! Those who try to stop us will be our enemies." It was a valid statement, but there were some stumbling blocks in his way.

"I can't. For the sake of cooperation between humans and elves."

"We'll converse first." There were those who started a show that made no sense in front of us. It was the Elakatra and the One Flag. It was too obvious that the One Flag was in cahoots with the elves, with that soul monster in his body.

"There will be no dialogue. I only want to go back to my homeland!"

"I do too."

"I'm the same. Let us move freely!" The feelings of the dwarves rang clear. In my eyes, the future was set. The dwarves, who would be unable to stand the situation, would pull their weapons and attack. The humans, who would feel as if it couldn't be helped, would retaliate. These confrontations were their intention from the start. They would complicate the situation and rob the dwarves of their rationality.

"Don't attack first. Don't give them a justification." I whispered quickly to Alec, who paused.

"Justification?"

"The justification to kill you."

"Kill…?" He was stunned, his confidence faltering. He didn't understand what I was saying.

"We are humans. Are you saying us humans will be killed by humans?"

"What if you were to attack?"

"We just want to go where we want to. We have no intention of killing humans like us! What do you think human dignity is?" Alec struck down my words, and I glanced at the elves.

"I see."

"Just pretend to bend down, you're at the disadvantage."

"I will not bend to anyone!" Alec exploded, and the moment his hammer lifted up, the elves' eyes lit up. I pulled out my Twilight Sword and swung it, his hammer clattering to the ground. It had happened instantaneously, so all but Alec and those near us were unsure of what had occurred.

"A unique weapon…" Alec muttered quietly. As if they had been waiting, the two Elakatra began to move.

"I told you already, they are enemies!"

"They were provoked by you guys!" The Incheon guild representatives shouted in annoyance, but they had no power to stop the Elakatra. If a casualty occurred, the dwarves would undoubtedly be turned over to them. The hostility toward dwarves would only increase. Like-minded people to me were moving to stop the Elakatra as well, but it didn't seem like they had enough time. I stepped forward, taking the blow of the Elakatra's magic meant for Alec's head. It was the magic of a parent entity, piercing through my Blood Baptism. Mireina let out a shriek.

"Will elves attack humans too?" What I had wanted was not such an obvious ploy, but I would take what I could get.

"I wasn't trying to attack you, I was trying to kill the dwarf."

"Why?"

"He has a weapon."

"Just because of that? Then, are you saying that I can kill you because you attacked me?" I could heal the wound instantly with regeneration, but I didn't dare to use healing magic now. Alec moved forward, intercepting the other Elakatra who was trying to stealthily attack the dwarves.

"Who is the bad one now? A dwarf, who just returned to society? Or an elf who defines dwarves as evil and tries to kill them?"

"How did you…" He couldn't have conceived of the idea he would've been caught. The elf was astonished, unable to respond. Everyone on the human side, except for One Flag, now noticed how strangely they were acting. I was fortunate that the Elakatra's arrogance blinded them into only seeing their goal straight ahead. Now it was my turn, as I held my sword to my side as if to protect the dwarves.

"Cain, go ahead."

[Okay, captain.]

Cain stepped forward, changing everything.