CHAPTER 11
Ravines crawled on the ground, energies rising up like gas from the depths of the earth, serving as light of various colors in the pitch black realm.
Kneeling, her sword plunged deep in the ground before her, a woman sucked air into her lungs. Her golden hair flowed like a curtain, blocking all but the lower part of her face. As she exhaled, golden breath seeped out through her blood-red lips, dropping gently and being absorbed by her chipped sword.
Gritting her teeth, she clenched the handle of her sword, using it as a cane for her to stand. Her broken armor clattered as she did, and with her back and legs straight, she glared at the pitch black sky.
“This won't do…” she muttered, her voice light like a soft melody.
“I need more power. Invaders shan't step upon our lands!” She yelled, memories flashing through her mind.
Memories of the old era, where a single tyrant ruled over the world. Memories…
…of the Onyx Era.
“Forgive me, departed friends,” she lowered her head, translucent gold energy wrapping around her body.
“I wish not to trample on your efforts, but it must be done. It's time to bring back the One Without Wings!”
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Arloum stared at the ground, scrutinizing the ashes of the queen elf. After absorbing all of the queen's energy, his dark energy stabilized and was easier to control.
[Dark Energy T2 - 3/11]
‘This thing can finally improve,’ he waved his branches around, relief washing over him.
With his dark energy entering the second tier, he was able to increase its density and thus, store more energy inside of him.
‘But…’
He closed his external vision, focusing on his inner body. There, his dark energy formed a sphere inside his body. However, this time, there was something in the middle of the energy sphere.
[Embryo - 1%]
It was a small figure, resembling a fetus, and was a translucent black—almost gray.
‘What the heck is this?’ He moved his dark energy, watching as the translucent embryo vanished. But after gathering his energy back into a sphere, the embryo reformed.
‘Is it a fairy?’ He wondered. ‘But fairies are formed from spirit energy. And… fairies are green.’
Perplexed, he controlled his dark energy and fed it to the embryo. Upgrading the majority of skills followed a simple pattern—simply dump energy into it!
‘Oh?’ However, even after his dark energy was about to run out, the embryo showed no change.
‘Do I need more energy?’ He almost laughed at the thought. ‘Of course I do!’
‘I told Enis to gather more sacrifices for me, but dark elves, they're not the most reliable. If it was before, I'd be assured, but currently…’
Enis told him that only a few of the dark elves could use magic, which was why they had to lay low.
‘Tsk. He could’ve just told me they’re weaker than common bandits! Enis said he sent out assassins, but without magic, what use could they have?’
Annoyed, a devious idea formed in his mind.
‘All I need are sacrifices. Who cares about where they came from? Elves are sacrifices, and so are dark elves… ahem!’
His roots squirmed, before straightening up, covering the entire cavern floor. Then, three dark elves entered the dimly lit space.
‘Oh?’ Arloum watched the three with intrigue. ‘I haven't seen these dark elves before. Why are they wearing cloaks inside?’
From his experience, the dark elves wouldn't bother having too much clothing on their bodies in the cave. Ventilation was limited, and with seven hundred of them cramped in the cave system, the heat could easily become unbearable.
‘Hold on,’ Arloum's branches paused, freezing in place. ‘Something feels off… Dark elves don’t possess innate spirit energy. These guys on the other hand…’
“So, this is a tree of life?” One of the dark elves muttered, staring at Arloum with his amethyst eyes.
Then, a heavy aura erupted from the dark elf, his eyes glowing brightly like a pair of stars.
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‘?!’ Arloum's consciousness and dark energy sank to his roots, the top of his body wilting at a rapid pace.
‘Enemy! Where's Enis?!’ He cursed, keeping his gaze fixed at the dark elves. After sensing the other's killing intent, he transferred his “soul” into one of his roots.
That way, even if his main body is eradicated, he won't die.
It was a simple trick that everyone in the old era knew, but it carried risks and disadvantages. The main being the fact that he has no access to the rest of his body—but Arloum wasn't concerned about it.
‘I can survive as an energy life form, but that's no better than suicide. I need a vast amount of energy to do it. Not to mention, my current body is unique.’
[Tree of Darkness - T2]
‘I don’t want to give this up so soon…’ Seeing the “dark elves” moving closer to his trunk, he ruthlessly cut himself from the rest of his body.
“Oh?” The amethyst eyed dark elf chuckled, stretching out his arm. “It seems that it's intelligent. No matter, the result won't change,” he humphed, translucent green energy enveloping his forearm and hand.
Then, like an arrow being shot, the energy pierced Arloum's wilting body and was sucked inside. Moments later, the wooden trunk started to compress, emanating a green glow that illuminated the cavern. Under Arloum's solemn gaze, his entire body, including his root system, was absorbed by the green energy.
He, on the other hand, squeezed himself in a crevice in the cavern. His body felt uncomfortable, and it was getting worse by the second. Inside his body, which was now a root barely longer than a palm and thicker than two fingers, his dark energy was uncontrollably rampaging around.
‘Not good! I need a bigger vessel to share this burden,’ he scanned the cavern. However, with his current body, he could barely see in front of him.
‘If Enis is nearby, I can parasitize him. That way, I’d be able to keep this root,’ he silently crawled toward the cave entrance.
Unbeknownst to him, as his body was swallowed by the green light, a small, translucent figure manifested, hovering mid-air. It has short hair, indicating that it was male, but its body showed no characteristics of any gender.
“King,” the green figure spoke, his voice light and fluffy, like the passing of the wind. You’d miss it without listening closely.
“This tree has no life. It’s just a husk,” he said.
The dark elf with amethyst eyes, “King,” frowned.
“Then go and search for it!” He yelled, prompting the green figure to cross its arms, pouting.
“Hmph! I'll get you back tonight!”
On the other hand, Arloum was carefully crawling out of the cavern. Though he couldn’t see the situation, he could hear their voices.
‘It’s a fairy! That dark elf is a druid, how?!’
In his knowledge, dark elves had their own magic system. It was impossible for them to be a druid, a profession focusing on spirit energy.
Just as he reached the entrance, however, he sensed another group approaching. This time, he felt the other party’s familiar energy.
‘Enis!’ He hurriedly crawled toward the source of the energy.
With the drumming of footsteps, he sensed the dark energy in Enis’ body clearer. Spending some of his dark energy, he propelled himself toward Enis and clung onto his ankle.
“Lord Arloum!” Enis yelled as he ran inside the cavern. Seeing the three ‘dark elves,’ as well as the empty cavern, his eyes widened.
“Who are you?!” He yelled, squinting his eyes. Of the three, only one of them revealed their faces—King.
“Enis Erneshium,” King spoke, his voice condescending. “You have violated his majesty’s bottom line. Thus, I am here to eliminate you rats.”
Enis clenched his fists, circulating green energy around his body. But then, he felt the energy in his body going awry. His face paled, but before he could notice what happened, several more dark elves rushed in.
Each of them raised their daggers, blocking him with their bodies. Meanwhile, a voice echoed inside his head.
‘Enis, can you hear me?’ Arloum spoke, connecting their dark energies together. It was an ability that Enis gained after he accidentally gave the latter a drop of his dark energy.
‘Lord Arloum?’ Enis replied with his thoughts.
‘Good. Now, run! That’s a druid, we’ll all die here. Sacrifice your warriors and escape, bring the others with you!’ Arloum ordered without pausing.
Enis took a deep breath. Of course, he knew the truth in Arloum’s words… but it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
‘Lord, the dark elves’ future is in your hands—’
‘Run, now!’ Arloum yelled, his senses blaring.
However, Enis didn’t turn around. Instead, he looked down, seeing Arloum’s root sticking to his ankle like a blood-sucking leech.
‘Please. Guide them to the light,’ Enis pleaded, before wrapping Arloum with green energy.
Unprepared, Arloum felt his body shoot backward, away from Enis and the cavern. He didn’t fly far and landed on a dark elf along the way.
‘Tsk, that damned accursed one!’ Arloum yelled, before using more of his dark energy to control his root.
He didn’t think anymore, the discomfort in his body slowly turning into pain. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting elf, Arloum slipped inside his mouth, before he crawled into the poor elf’s guts.
‘You, lead the others out!’ He yelled, connecting his dark energy with the dark elf’s innate energy.
“W-what? What was—” the dark elf stammered, dropping to the ground and gagging.
Arloum didn’t bother replying. His dark energy exploded inside the dark elf’s body, blood gushing out of the latter like a geyser.
“Hey, are you okay?!” The dark elves around him panicked, some stopping to help, while the others rushed forward. Even now, they could hear their patriarch yelling furiously at someone in Arloum’s cavern.
‘Ha… that feels much better,’ Arloum relaxed his tense senses. He was surrounded by decaying life energy, and the dark elf’s innards now an exotic smoothie.
‘Hmph, naughty,’ he flicked his root, absorbing the decaying life energy without halt. Then, he absorbed the dark elf’s remaining life energy, as well as his own dark energy that had exploded out.
“Urgh—?!” The dark elf buckled, holding his abdomen as more and more blood and bits of his flesh escaped his mouth and nostrils. His eyes rolled back, tears flowing out freely.
Inside, Arloum’s roots extended out, penetrating the rest of his body like a puppeteer putting strings on his puppet.
[Parasitism T1]
Arloum memorized the technique in his mind, before forcing the dark elf to his feet.
“Hey, lay back down. Don’t force yourself,” the other dark elves gently held him down, when the cave floor suddenly trembled.
A violent gust of wind blew toward them, forcing them to close their eyes lest they get dust inside them.
Of course, Arloum’s vessel didn’t have to do any of it, the dark elf’s eyes remained wide-open and bloodshot.
“I am,” Arloum controlled his energy toward the dark elf’s throat, and a gurgling sound echoed out. Nevertheless, it was enough. “Arloum… In Enis’ words,” a gush of blood suddenly escaped his mouth.
Meanwhile, the surrounding dark elves stepped back, their bodies trembling. Staring at “Arloum,” their eyes were filled with fear.
‘Damn it! This won’t work, they’d think I’m a zombie!’ He gnashed his teeth. Then, an idea formed in his mind.
Acting quickly, he grew a branch out of his vessel’s mouth, showing a glowing red leaf to the dark elves.
“Follow… me!” He said as loudly as he could, before trying to walk out. However, he tripped and fell face first on the ground.
Seeing this, the dark elves couldn’t get themselves to move an inch.
Meanwhile, Arloum was trying to regain control of his vessel.
‘Damn it! I need a better vessel! That damned Enis, this wouldn’t be a problem if he was my vessel!’
After all, Enis had absorbed a drop of his dark energy and surprisingly adapted well to it. The other dark elves weren’t the same, and even if they could adapt, they didn’t have enough time.
‘It’s no use, if it’s like this, I’ll just absorb them now and escape—’
Suddenly, he felt his vessel being lifted. Then, he was being carried out of the cave system.
“I-It’s the lord! Lord Arloum! It’s him, let’s get out!” The dark elf carrying him yelled as he ran. Meanwhile, the few dark elves who stayed behind looked at each other.
“Are-are you sure?”
“You saw it! It’s lord Arloum’s leaves!” The dark elf said, though his voice was shaking.
Meanwhile, Arloum wanted to cry. Only, his vessel could only let out rivers of blood.
‘My luck hasn’t run out! Someone’s brave enough to pick up a corpse!’ He celebrated.
Then, he crawled out of his vessel’s mouth, absorbing as much life energy as he could to grow several thin branches and a few glowing red leaves. Then, the dead dark elf fell to the ground, and he wrapped his branches around the dark elf’’s neck.
Seeing this, the dark elf carrying him let out a sigh of relief. Then, the dark elves behind exclaimed.
“It’s lord Arloum! Quick, let’s get out of here!” They said, quickly following them on the way out.
Meanwhile, Arloum watched the dark elves behind him in silence.
‘They followed so easily… then, if I had revealed myself earlier…’
Thinking of his needless stress and efforts, he almost wanted to bury himself.
Almost.
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King spat out blood on the ground, holding Enis by the neck. The latter was glaring at him, his body full of bloody cracks from his earlier attacks.
“What magic did you use?” King narrowed his eyes, squeezing Enis’ neck tighter.
Enis growled, blood bubbling out of his mouth. Before he could spit at King’s face, the latter twisted his wrist, snapping Enis’ neck.
“Rat,” King threw Enis’ body down, kicking it with disdain. “I don’t know what magic you used against me, but it’s futile. You rats, your days are numbered.”
Then, his amethyst eyes dimmed. A thin, red line forming on his neck before rapidly thickening.
The next second, his head rolled out, landing beside Enis’ hand that was still holding tightly to his blood-covered short sword. Wisps of black smoke flowed out of the sword, licking the severed head before fizzling out.