Wolves of Hader

Chapter 86

I was standing on the shore.

Urald and Wundbark had also heard the news and came by landing craft. We were all beneath a sheer cliff.

The leader of the Elin, wearing a floral crown, had come to this beach as well.

The leader Elin guided us to the spot where they had died, which was at the base of the cliff we had seen from the ridge.

When we left the sanctuary of the demons, the evil spirits had gone completely berserk.

They said that if it hadn't been for the barrier, even we might have been tainted by the power of darkness.

"Truly overwhelming."

"Is the whole island like this?"

"Yes."

Urald and Wundbark clicked their tongues at the sight of the Elin's remains.

There was an enormous number of bones swept away by waves, not just along the beach.

― Follow me, please.

We followed the leader Elin up to where the bones were piled. Even along the cliff's slope, countless bones lay in layer upon layer.

The leader of the Elin went to the cliff's slope and stood.

We, too, climbed up with care not to damage the remains and looked down at the spot beneath the leader's feet.

There was an Elin in silver armor, blackened and rusty.

The armor was slashed in many places, showing that the Elin must have fallen after a fierce battle.

― The staff and dagger are still there.

Indeed, those items lay next to the remains.

So, I carefully took the staff first, and then detached the dagger stuck behind the armor.

"What kind of weapons are they?"

― The staff is for a mage, and the dagger is a spirit's dagger that flies by itself.

I examined both weapons.

Each had a luminous gem set in it, but they were so corroded they could no longer be used as weapons.

― That gem is the Elin's stone. A high-rank elemental with that ability resides there, and the Elin and the elemental harmonize to use magic and abilities.

"So, if I mount this gem on a newly made dagger, that should be enough."

― That's right. Though the elementals are gone now, I believe they will gradually return to their place. We have sent our prayers to the elementals that journey with you.

A gem from the Elin was embedded in Lok's bow as well.

Lok's bow creates Arrows of Light, and Elin's magic weapons seem to operate that way generally.

Not all elementals possess abilities, so it should be only the elementals residing in the Elin's stones that have such powers.

Gems like these, which might only exist in Aindel, are numerous on this island.

All we need to do is take the gems from these weapons and set them into new ones.

"This is a great gift."

― I'm glad it's of help.

"Are we allowed to take all the weapons?"

― Of course. They mean nothing to us anymore.

I expressed my gratitude respectfully.

"Is there a reason you wish to inform Aindel of your situation?"

The leader of the Elin smiled.

― We've been tainted by the power of darkness. Because of that, we've become beings that can neither die nor live. Only Aindel can grant us eternal rest.

"Isn't there another way?"

― If you could find the holy sword imbued with the blessing of the gods... you could save us.

"Where is this holy sword?"

― We do not know. The divine sword was once in the hands of Sir Hanuk, the great holy knight. Only such a sword could purify the power of darkness.

I looked at Urald and Wundbark.

"Have you ever heard of this?"

"This is the first I've heard."

"Holy knights were the knights of the ancient temples, but I've not heard that name before."

I spoke to the leader of the Elin.

"I doubt Aindel will open its doors, but I will try. And I'll also attempt to find the holy sword."

― Even just hearing those words is enough to be thankful.

"By the way, why did the demons seal you away?"

The leader of the Elin shook na's head.

― It was not the demons who sealed us away, but ourselves.

"Why?"

The Elin looked over the countless bones, briefly lost in regret, as if recalling memories na had long forgotten.

― There was a fierce battle on that ridge. There were far too many demons on this island. Still, we fought to the end, because the Elin who came to this island were gradually corrupted by the darkness.

"What happens if you're tainted by darkness while still alive?"

Urald asked.

The Elin still smiled as na answered.

― Whether alive or dead, the demons aimed to corrupt our souls and use us as their soldiers. That is why we sealed ourselves first.

"So that's why there were so many corrupted warriors in the ancient war."

I asked again.

"Are the Elin corpses I saw on the way here those who were corrupted while alive?"

― Yes. If you're tainted by darkness and cannot leave the island, that's what happens.

"You tried to stop your kin from becoming demon soldiers."

― I am the chief of the Silion tribe and a mage. As such, I had to seal the spirits of all my kin. It was the only way not to become demon soldiers.

The Elin looked down at the bones for a moment.

Though something seemed to well up in na, Na's expression did not change.

― Even if the seal breaks, we can only rest here. Until the power of darkness that invaded our souls is purified, we must remain wraiths.

"You are no wraiths."

― You are simply unaffected because you have elementals. But the darkness that seeped into us would corrupt ordinary people.

"Can you not leave the island?"

― We could, but the sun's light would burn us up. The darkness of this island... has now become the strength we must uphold.

Perhaps due to the sunlight, the leader of the Elin seemed to struggle.

So I led the Elin's leader back to the demons' sanctuary.

With so many wraiths outside the sanctuary, these spirits of the Elin would have to remain in the underground of the sanctuary for a long time.

Neither could they go to Aindel, nor was there any hope of finding the holy sword of the ancient holy knight called Hanuk.

I returned to the beach.

All the crew had landed on the island.

"We'll be collecting weapons embedded with gems from now on! It's dangerous inside the island, so no one is to go in!"

The former pirate captain asked,

"It's really all right if we pick them up, right?"

"Of course. Only collect weapons, armor, and accessories with stones. I'll pay one gold coin for every ten stones. We'll work together and share fairly."

"For real?"

"Ancient coins will be rewarded separately."

"Understood! Hahaha!"

The crew headed toward the cliffs.

I shouted again.

"It'd be better to move the bones!"

"We're planning that too!"

"Don't step on the bones carelessly!"

"Aye, Captain!"

The faces of the crew, who once wondered why they had to do this, brightened.

There weren't that many weapons studded with gems, but if they found them all, it would be a tidy bonus.

Urald spoke slyly.

"Do we get anything?"

"Let's head into the island with our team."

"Let's do that."

Only those with elementals headed into the island.

Starting from the reed field I first entered, thirteen of us gradually spread out to search for the Elin's stones.

Over the many years, a great number of Elin remains had been buried in the swamps and earth.

But as our group spread out and I ended up searching alone,

I felt, strangely, as if the power of darkness was seeping into my body.

The power of darkness was much weaker than my own magic power, so it did not affect me.

Standing still for a moment and looking around, I saw that a smoky wisp-like darkness was indeed seeping into my backpack.

Then, a sudden realization hit me.

'The ring?'

I took out the demon commander's ring from my backpack.

It showed no particular response, but the aura of darkness was soaking in.

As I thought, it was no ordinary ring.

Back in the demon cave, when I obtained the demon's essence. I also found a necklace.

For years, I didn't know what kind of necklace it was, until I learned that it held a subspace gate.

Currently, both the power of flame and frost reside in that space.

I wondered if this ring also held such authority.

The necklace had also been an ornament of the deceased demon commander, so it likely contained the demon's essence too.

So I returned to the demon sanctuary.

I wondered if the Elin would know about the authority of this ring.

But contrary to my expectations, they knew nothing about it.

"Then who killed the demon commander?"

― We sealed him ourselves while he was alive. So we do not know.

After the demon commander died, someone else took the demon's essence.

Seeing the dead demon commander enshrined in a stone coffin, it occurred to me it was likely another demon.

"Before you died, did anyone else come here?"

― Only we Elin were here. We heard that Holy knight Hanuk was on his way to save us... but in the end, he never came.

"Is Hanuk a human—one of the seven heroes of the races?"

"Yes."

The human hero's name was Hanuk.

Not just any warrior, but a holy knight.

"Who is the hero of the Elin?"

― Her name is Ellendel. She went somewhere even more dangerous than this island, and we know nothing after that.

"Do you know the names of the other heroes?"

The Elin's leader shook na's head.

"We Elin only know the names of Ellendel and Holy knight Anuk."

"Then, do you know where the demon gates are located?"

― There are three places I know. Central Beltern, a cave in the northern sea, and this island.

The cave in the northern sea must refer to that demon cave. I'm not sure where exactly central Beltern means.

I asked the leader of the Elin various questions, but since these were events after they died, they knew little.

The Elin also seemed hesitant to answer about Aindel.

At any rate, there was no demon's essence in the underground sanctuary, so I bid farewell to the Elin and came up to the surface.

/ / /

We spent three days on the island.

The crew collected the Elin's weapons scattered not just along the shore, but even diving to recover those washed out to sea.

Except for the crew, we searched every corner of the island, retrieving all that we could find.

There was no demon's essence. Nor were there any remains of humans or other races.

I never found out anything more about the demon commander's ring.

I only learned it absorbed power into a subspace, like the necklace I wore.

If the authority of this ring only works with the power of darkness, it is useless to me.

After all, it was originally a demon's belonging.

So I decided to leave it on this island.

Since the demon gate was closed, the power of darkness would no longer flow out.

But it seemed likely the ring would absorb the darkness pervading the island.

Thus, I hid the ring where even my companions didn't know.

I had no attachment to it.

I had no need for the power of darkness, and if I kept it, I might even be corrupted.

I decided to come back and check after a few years.

"Young lord! It's all moved!"

"Good work! Now, let's depart!"

We boarded the landing craft and headed to the ship.

The collected Elin weapons were stowed divided into two holds.

During the voyage, we would extract the Elin's stones from the weapons.

Urald asked,

"Now are we headed to the volcanic archipelago?"

"Northeast from here, right?"

"Yes. We already crossed a great distance because of the Storm barrier."

"Since we have to go east, then west again, let's go to Beltern first. We can stop by the volcanic archipelago on our return and head to Ta-iki after."

"That makes sense."

We must wipe out the Red Beard Pirates, whose base is in the volcanic archipelago.

Only then can our trade ship safely conduct commerce with Beltern.

According to the former pirate captain, Red Beard is one of the three great pirates and possesses one of the three legacies of the pirate king.

It is said that if you have even one pirate king's legacy, you are without equal; I was curious which legacy Red Beard had.

Everyone boarded the ship.

Elin weapons were spread all over the deck. Even with just the magical weapons used by high-ranking Elin, there were over 300 pieces.

"When extracting the stones, record what kind of weapon it came from and assign a number to each stone!"

"Absolutely!"

"Hoist the landing craft!"

"Hurry up with the preparations to depart!"

Soon after, we set sail again.

It seemed we would not be troubled by storms anymore—there wasn't a single thundercloud in the sky.

/ / /

"We've sighted the port!"

It was the shout of a crew member atop the mast.

As I happened to be resting with my companions on the deck, I walked out to the bow.

Out at sea, countless ships came and went.

It was a rather large port city.

There were defensive fortress walls along the shore, and a substantial number of navy warships docked.

At last, we arrived at Beltern.

That port city belonged to the Robe Republic, located in central Beltern.

It was the country of my father's old friend, who once visited our house, and bordered the ancestral village of the Dran.

I speculated that the Emperor's hidden heir had likely gone to the Robe Republic.

Would my guesses prove correct?