"No need."

A towering and commanding voice answered Viers' demand.

"Elder Ydris?" The female elf elder didn't expect the old elder who had been silent all this time to respond.

His next action was similarly out of expectation; he attacked the other two elders with a green energy blast from his hands.

"Aghh… W-why?"

The two elders were incapacitated. After the injury they sustained, moss grew from the root walls to hold them in place.

The old elder transformed. His long beard vanished, as did his wrinkles. His droopy eyes became sharp. Other than becoming younger in appearance, his most noteworthy change was the color of his skin and hair.

Dark, glossy gray skin and white hair like spider silk.

"I killed that old fool Ydris and took his place. I am also responsible for spreading the sickness at this backwater hovel. A little bit more time and then it all would’ve ended properly but you kids just had to meddle, didn’t you?"

The dark elf aimed his hostility at Croix and the rest.

"The messy way it is then."

With a snap of his fingers, the elves were groaning in pain. Those with poison in their bodies, which was practically every elf in Liapris, were affected. In front of Viers' eyes, something emerged from the back of their necks. Tumorous spider limbs, distorted and twisted. Multiple pink eyes of various sizes were on the unnatural appendages.

The elves were no longer screaming after the tumor limbs emerged. They didn't seem aware either. They were twitching and salivating and moved like zombies.

To Viers' experienced eyes, they were controlled by parasites not unlike those of RE's. Were the parasites already inside the elves all this time, or the dark elf magically created them just now? Unclear, but the most important thing in his mind was there was no sign he and the others in Croix's group were changing. A silver lining.

"O Goddess… Protect us," Croix prayed to the Radiant Lady in the face of such horror.

"I won't kill any of you. There's a special place in my experiments for you. Oh, you'll wish for the sweet release of death."

The dark elf's power drowned them, making them unable to move as the infected elves drew closer. Viers, with all his strength, was no match against a Level 5. Croix and Alfred were struggling to resist. Boram also tried to break free of the magical hold but to no avail.

"My incompetent disciple," the dark elf said to someone who pretended to be the elf healer Eucenn. "Round up the rest of the elves for consumption. You have exhausted my patience with your failure. Are we clear?"

"...It is clear, Lord Lejek."

The disciple, naturally, was unaffected by the spider tumor. He was nursing the stump on his arm after Viers' slash. He picked up the fallen hand as he walked out of the council chambers, giving Viers a brief glare of schadenfreude. He was familiar with Lejek's experiments.

After his leave, Croix's group was left defenseless against the Level 5 dark elf and his thrall. The two Level 4 elf elders remained tumorless. They were able to resist the spider-tumor parasite somehow but they were injured and bound. No help would be coming from them.

"First, the one with arrogant eyes," Lejek eyed Viers. "I'll take out both of your eyeballs and pour various substances directly into your brain. We'll see what makes you tick soon. The kid with the giant bloodline can be a test subject for experimental medicines. They died so fast… Hopefully, you'll last longer."

Lejek started smiling as he thought about what he planned for Croix's group.

"The crippled Level 4 I'll fuse with a Necrofungus. I should be able to make a human bomb with satisfactory virulence out of you. As for the last boy… Hehehe, you're hiding something quite interesting, aren't you? The bond you two have is… unusual. Let me take a look."

Lejek's evil design encroached on Croix. Alfred was panicking. Boram was resisting with all his might. Viers was yawning.

"...This is funny to you?" Lejek squinted at Viers, bloodlust rising.

"You're lukewarm, Level 5."

At that exact moment, a fifteen-meter treant broke through the roof and stomped on Lejek. The treant had a familiar face. It was the old elf elder that the dark elf impersonated after murdering him, whose soul Viers met at the Cradle of Serenity, Elder Ydris.

"Your wicked deeds end now, plague!"

That was not enough to one-shot the dark elf, however. He fought back. After a short chant, Lejek spat out smoke from his mouth, which turned into a spider as big as the treant.

"Fine! I'll kill you a second time, stupid brother!"

A battle between two Level 5 began.

***

"Holy… I can't believe we survived that," Croix said while he ran. "What was that!?"

After the treant's stomping on the dark elf, Croix and the others were able to move again. Viers was the first to respond, ordering the gang to run. It was unwise to stay in such close proximity to a battle of those stronger than you.

It also helped that Viers knew the treant would make an appearance.

After meeting the soul of Ydris, Viers talked a lot with the deceased elf elder and learned a lot of things. Lejek, his brother who went off the wrong path and had been exiled a long time ago, came back a few moons ago and killed him in secret. Ydris was lured to the Cradle of Serenity where Lejek ambushed him and released the Foulfly, turning the area extremely poisonous. A pretty good cover scheme. Then Lejek masqueraded as Ydris and let the elves of Liapris fall sick.

There Ydris stayed, unable to pass on from his attachment to the mortal world stemming from the worry of his homeland. Then Croix and the gang came along to the Cradle. Just so it happened, Viers was included among that group; someone who could see the souls of the dead.

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Ydris saved Viers' life and they both had interests in preventing whatever Lejek was planning, so they teamed up. Viers helped carry Ydris' soul back to Liapris and assisted him in rousing an ancient guardian of Liapris, the treant. It was a success.

Then he went along with the elves' hearing until Ydris was ready before he got the show on the road.

"What now, Master?" Boram asked as he hammered an infected elf with his hammer, sending her out through the wall. The infected were attacking them.

"We get out of here first! We're still too close!"

Viers put the preservation of his life constantly at top priority. It was a logical thing to do.

"Avel, how did you know Eucenn was the enemy from the Cradle anyway?" Alfred asked.

"I didn’t. I planned on cutting every Level 3 elf in Liapris until I find out who. Starting from the most suspicious guy."

"Wha-?" Alfred was flabbergasted by Viers' reasoning.

"Hey, it was clear the elves got a rat in their house, alright? The poison inside the enemy's body is a clear giveaway. Cutting them up is the fastest way."

Croix could list a dozen diplomatic problems by attacking citizens of other nations in their nations, which Liapris basically was. But if Avel didn't act, what then? His diplomacy almost resulted in them being judged as criminals by the elves.

Just as they ran, an energy blast was very close to reducing them to dust, Alfred and Viers combined their power to reduce its power just enough so they all survived.

Liapris wasn't that big to begin with so after leaving the council of elders, they arrived at the village. They saw that most elves had a spider-tumor growing from the back of their necks. The ones who didn't were fighting their infected brethren. One group stood out among them all, a group of elf children. The normal elves were trying to evacuate them. Jessica and Tim were among them, the former was on her feet, fighting. They were outnumbered.

"Let's go!" Croix ran to their aid without a second thought.

The other three followed.

Viers didn't complain about doing the good deed. His investment was there and they all needed to get away from Liapris anyway. There was nothing wrong with saving elf children along the way.

***

Jessica had no idea what was going on.

At first, she thought Avel had killed her, but when she woke up she saw her son's happy face on the bedside.

Then the elves began to groan in pain.

Then spider legs with eyes made from meat emerged from their backs.

Jessica protected Tim as best as she could, fending off the feral elves without killing them. They were her neighbors for goodness sake, she met them every day and broke bread with them. She didn't have the heart to kill them, but she had to keep her son safe so she punched them even though she didn't want to.

A passing thought of how her body felt lighter and moved much better blitzed through her mind but the time and place didn't grant her the luxury of introspection.

As she retreated it was clear the situation was the same throughout the whole village. She linked up with the elves who tried to bring the children away in the crisis. Every child had been placed under special quarantine since the epidemic began so they didn't get sick. Jessica visited them as much as she could to lessen their boredom and loneliness.

"Namona, what's going on?" Jessica asked the elf caretaker.

"I do not know! At any rate, we must evacuate the young ones away from- AAAAH!"

"Namona! Damnit, Clesin, get away from her! Open your eyes, she's your wife!"

While she was trying to help her friend, another infected elf tried to attack the children from her blind spot. The children cried in fear.

"Stop!"

Someone came to the rescue. The children were safe.

"Alfred? Thank the Goddess!"

"Are you alright?" Alfred asked.

"Thank her later," Avel subdued Clesin with his lightning.

"A-Avel…"

Jessica had a lot of questions about the youth with bottomless depth but the words died in her throat.

"Master, I'll make a path."

"OK. Everyone, follow Boram. Kids, do not worry. Your guardians are tough. We're superheroes!" Avel said to the kids with a big smile.

The kids were a bit calmer so it was somewhat effective. Jessica grabbed Tim's hand close and they ran outside of Liapris. Fourteen children, seven normal elves, Croix's group, and her.

With this company, guiding the children into the forest was a much more manageable task. The abnormal elves chasing had been incapacitated too so it was only a matter of creating distance between them and Liapris. She almost didn't believe what Croix told her, that Elder Ydris was actually a dark elf imposter and now the real Elder Ydris came back as a treant, fighting him.

They carried the children who were too slow to run on their backs. Boram even carried two. But they managed to reach a guard outpost.

"Alright, this should be far enough," Alfred said. "Although, if the dark elf defeats the honored elven elder without injuries then we're screwed."

"We can only pray to the ancestors for Elder Ydris' victory," Namona said, hugging her child.

"Mommy, what happened to Daddy?"

Namona hugged the child tighter. "It will be alright. It will be alright."

Jessica hoped so too.

From where they were, they could see the great clash of Level 5s. It was still going strong. What terrifying energy they wielded.

"Hm?"

"What is it, Avel?"

"I see Eucenn. Or someone that wears his face."

"What? Where?"

Jessica looked at the rough direction Avel was facing and after failing to see the target, she looked at Avel again, only that he was no longer there.

"W-where is he?"

"Going after the enemy, most probably. Master will be fine, ma'am," Boram politely replied.

"I see…" Jessica could only believe Boram.

They watched the battle from a safe distance. Safe was a pretty relative word. There was no absolute guarantee against the other party.

After a while, what they feared came to pass.

The dark elf, riding on top of a giant black spider, was beating the treant-incarnation of the elf elder.

And the spider was flying over to them. Lejek's aura was rife with poison and killing intent.

"...Shouldn't we have run farther away earlier?" An elf asked.

"It's useless. We can't outrun someone that can fly… Is this the will of the forest?" Another elf sighed in defeat.

Jessica was similarly crestfallen. Now that it came to this, the least she could do was die earlier than her son.

"...Alfred, is it true what you said earlier? About the dark elf not being as powerful as a Level 5 should be?" Jessica overheard Croix talking.

"That is my gut feeling, Young Lord… Are you thinking about using 'that'?"

"It's our only way, isn't it?" Croix smiled. It was a smile that hid nervousness. "Then I just have to do it.

"Everyone," Croix called out to them. "It is too early to give up."

Croix's locket shone red and a winged lizard appeared beside the young boy.

A dragon! Are my eyes deceiving me?

"Shaaa!"

"Let's do this, Falmerion. Show everyone your power… Arte - Dragon Evolution!"

Jessica didn't know how Croix did it but he emitted a power that was beyond that of a Level 1, or 3. With that surge of power, the little red dragon transformed.

Before Jessica's eyes was no longer a baby dragonling but a magnificent dragon with red scales. Just one look at the dragon and Jessica's first instinct was to run. The dragon was stronger than her.

"Let's go, Falmerion," Croix climbed on top of the dragon. "Our hopes rest on your wings!"

The dragon gave a mighty roar and soared to the sky. No meekness came from the voice of the peak of monsterkind. The roar rekindled their dying hope. Before their eyes, a dragon would clash with a flying spider conjured by a Level 5 dark elf.