Chapter 627 A Bet Laced With Cruelty
"Y-you… you're so cruel."
Gratiana was left at a loss for words as she looked at Rey with shocked eyes. It would have been filled with nothing short of disgust in the past, but right now it showed nothing but downright confusion.
She didn't know what to think.
"H-how can someone… of your stature… I don't understand…"
All her life, she had been taught of how sacred the Divine territory was. The Oracle was in that realm, and they guided the Elves on the path of Nature.
No other entity of such a stature was a member of H'Trae, and that was the truth.
And so, the emergence of an entity that oozed divinity was something that discombobulated Gratiana and altered a lot of her perceptions of reality. She wouldn't have believed it if she didn't feel it in her body and soul.
… Especially in her body.
Even though she now recognized this individual as a higher entity than she was, she could not understand why he was acting in such a cruel and fiendish manner.
"Why would you go that far? Why punish those girls like that?" She murmured, unable to grasp the process of his mind.
"Do you really consider it to be a punishment?" His response was so nonchalant, almost as if was completely detached from the severity of what he had just proposed. Did he truly not implications of his actions?
"Yes. Life is sacred for us Elves. Placing those girls in a situation where they have to take a life, even if it is staged, is tortuous for them."
"Is it, really? I can't help but wonder about that…" Gratiana couldn't help but be further confused about his response. Surely, he had to have a reason for his confidence.
"I've been observing them for some time now. They're a bunch of bumbling idiots who have no idea what they're doing. That's because they've always been told what to do all their lives." He began, his voice smooth as silk.
Gratiana fell silent as she listened intently.
"Even with those qualities, I can see what they really are inside. They're curious and inherently sadistic in nature. They've been deprived of violence their whole lives that, after being exposed to it for such a short period, it has become so intriguing to them."
"W-what are you trying to say?"
"That taking a life will be easier for them than you realize. It isn't punishment, but release from their ever-growing thirst for it." He smiled at her.
Gratiana didn't know this, but when Rey was testing out the Divine Tier weapons with the Elves, using himself as their target practice, he could see the looks on their faces as they sent all manner of normally lethal attacks to him.
He was certain that they had never been exposed to such power before.
"Their wild grins, widened eyes, and amused expressions as they sent volley upon volley of assault to me… I could tell that they enjoyed it."
It was reminiscent of how Esme suddenly snapped and killed so many people during the Dark Undertaking Arc—at least, that was what Rey thought.
"I-I don't believe that. They're not like that…"
"Then you have no problem making the bet with me." Rey threw his arms in the air as he chuckled amusedly.
"I could always be wrong, you know? If you have such faith in them, then surely you don't mind being on the winning end."
Gratiana gulped as she looked at Rey, who was now waiting for her response.
Normally, she would have taken the bet with such confidence in her Little Sisters, but… after hearing some of the things he observed, she was beginning to panic.
'When I was a Young One, I remember the sinful cravings I felt. It was a secret struggle for me, but I managed to hold it in and only fantasize about it… until the day I became an Elder.'
After meeting the Oracle, those urges of hers vanished, and she never again desired to take any life.
'What if some of the girls are also going through similar struggles?' She couldn't help but wonder.
No one spoke about such things in the Elf Community, so she thought it was a problem only she had to deal with. But what if she was wrong?
What if some of the Young Ones were secretly being tempted by the allure of violence?
"If you agree to the bet, I'll let you sniff me. I'm sure you're curious about—"
"F-fine. I agree. I'll believe in my girls."
Rey smiled as she said this, and Gratiana looked away with blushing cheeks. She couldn't even look him in the face.
"Let's… let's just get it over with. I'm just curious, a-and… it's only because you insisted." Gratiana didn't know who she was trying to convince with her murmurs—the man before her, or herself. She fidgeted more on her seat as she braced herself for the reward of the bet.
"Ready?"
She gulped hard as soon as she heard those words, preparing herself for what would hit her next.
'My dear girls… please be strong.' Shutting her eyes tight, she swallowed her saliva once again.
The bet she made with Rey was simple:
If the Young Ones executed the Boss Monster, rather than finding another way to escape, then it would be his victory.
However, if they preserved their dignity and the rules of Nature, escaping without sullying their hands, it would be his loss and her victory.
'If he loses the bet, I'll be able to have access to more Items that'll aid us in the war against the Dragons, and they will leave this land.' Gratiana thought it was a very generous offer, especially considering the simple reward for his victory.
'If he wins, I will have to lead him to the Community myself, and I will personally guarantee his safe passage—as well as an audience with the Esteemed Elders.'
It wasn't that difficult to do, but it was also too big a risk.
Still…
Gratiana couldn't help but take the risks, given what was placed on the line.
"Aaah…" She moaned slightly as she began to feel the aroma he emitted reach her nostrils. Even though she sat a considerable distance from him, she could feel its intensity permeate her body.
"I'm only letting it leak out in small doses, so I don't overdo it. Tell me if you want—"
"More." She whispered, feeling her legs go weak.
"Alright. Tell me when to stop."
"M-more…" She fell to her knees, her hands clasped, as if in prayer. Gratiana's shiverings continued as tears slowly began to leak from her eyes and her body grew accustomed to the sensation.
Her mental faculties began to get overwhelmed, and she slowly began to lose all sense of reason. 'I feel it… I… I feel it…!' Her tongue was out now, and her body arched forward, moving towards the source of her pleasure.
She could feel herself so close to the new peak she so desperately craved.
Then—
"Ah! It seems the girls are here already." —The sensation suddenly stopped, and Gratiana was deprived of a climax she had nearly attained.
"A-ahh… n-no…" She mumbled, her face fully distraught as she watched Rey rise from his chair with a sinister smile on his face.
"Why don't we go out to meet them?"
Chapter 628 Change Of The Youngs
Gratiana gritted her teeth as she walked behind Rey Skylar.
She had her head somewhat lowered, as it hung shamefully on her shoulders while she contemplated everything that just happened.
"Haa… haaa…"
Steamy breaths escaped her lips with every step she took, and every second or two, she would lift her gaze to look at the man who walked a couple of inches from her. She desperately wanted to close the gap and access what she was denied, but—
'No! What am I thinking? Why am I… what would the girls think?!'
Gratiana tried her best to hide the immense guilt that was bubbling up within her, but it was getting too much to bear. A few moments ago, when Rey told her about the return of the Young Ones, she was disappointed.
It was only for a split second, but she certainly thought:
'Why did they have to return now?!'
As an Elder, she should have been elated by their safe return. Yet, she selfishly indulged in a bet that put so much on the line. Instead of rushing to rescue them, she instead conversed with the perpetrator of all these evils.
Gratiana felt awful beyond measure.
'They're my responsibility… yet I abandoned them.' Her thoughts trailed as she watched Rey exit the Fortress. She felt reluctant to do the same.
'How can I even face them?'
She simply wanted to stay back and hide herself in the shadows; at least, until she had worked up the courage to face her little sisters.
Unfortunately—
~VWUSH~
—She had no choice in the matter.
In a fraction of a second, she stood right beside Rey, who placed his arm around her as he smiled confidently at the Elves who were fast approaching, right outside the barrier's boundary.
The sudden change in scenery stunned Gratiana so much that it was difficult for her to render a single word or action in reaction to it all. She could only take everything in with a gasp and widened eyes.
"Do you see now?" She heard Rey whisper to her, and instantly her body shivered.
Her heart sank even lower than ever as she looked at the incoming girls and the menacing expressions on their faces.
Their bodies were stained with blood, and they were dripping with all manner of entrails. Still, they remained unfazed by it all.
The way they tightly clung to their lethal weapons as they approached with a battle-hardened glare proved just how ready they were for combat—perhaps something even more.
"Do those eyes look innocent to you now?"
Gratiana saw it—even felt it within her—but she didn't want to accept it.
"N-no… I don't believe this." She whispered, staring at the group that now reached the forefront of the barrier.
"You don't believe it even if it is right in front of you?"
"I… I can't…"
She saw Rey smile as he turned back to look at her.His glowing red eye made her body react accordingly—almost as if it completely knew what to do with just a single glance.
"I figured as much. Which is why I'll show it to you—right here and now." Gratiana didn't know what he meant by that, but he simply stood still, allowing the girls to approach even further. They walked through the barrier like it was nothing, approaching him and Gratiana with unchanging expressions on their faces.
"W-what are you planning? Girls! My sisters! Are you oka—?"
The Young Ones walked past Gratiana without uttering as much as a single word. They didn't even glance at her—or Rey for that matter—but kept walking straight towards the Fortress.
It puzzled Gratiana instantly.
"They can't see or hear us. I wouldn't want you to interfere with what you're about to witness with your own eyes." He narrowed his eye as he watched them.
Gratiana gulped as she joined the spectating; observing as her little sisters stopped short of the Fortress and then stretched out their expensive-looking weapons.
For a moment, they were still.
Almost as if choreographed, they all stopped moving, and Gratiana didn't understand why. She was able to know every little thing that went on in the minds of her Youngs, but this time she was completely confounded.
"What are they doi—?"
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~
Before she could conclude her question, bright bursts of energy in many forms—fire, lightning, light, or sheer explosions—charged from the weapons of these girls as they fired their attacks at the same time.
The result was a deafening eruption, as well as the utter obliteration of the towering construct that both Rey and Gratiana previously occupied.
"They didn't know we had left that place, yet they blew it up. Shouldn't their first thoughts be to save you through non-lethal means?" Rey spoke in a low tone as Gratiana covered her louth with both hands.
She trembled at the horror she was seeing.
Despite seeing entrails on the girls, and observing their expressions, she didn't want to believe her girls had gone that far yet. After all, the entire test was staged by Rey.
But this? What excuse could she have for them?
"T-they know you're powerful! You won't die so easily from that attack!"
"But you would…"
"What are you trying to say? That they wanted to hurt me? There's no way!"
"I'm not saying anything, Gratiana…" Rey slowly turned to her again, causing her body to freeze up.
"But maybe their desire to kill me has overshadowed their intent to save you."
She gulped as she watched the girls continue to fire their energies at the crumbling building—using elemental abilities, Skills, Magic, anything that would let them continue their display of destruction.
And the strangest part of it all? They were cackling all through the experience.
The innocent faces of the Elves were now marred by ugly laughter that seemed to spread to the corners of their faces.
It was horrifying.
"Ah, I forgot to mention something." As Rey said this, a flapping sound began to echo, and a figure in white emerged from the debris.
"There was someone else in the building."
The figure had long white hair and bright blue eyes. She remained unharmed by the attack, so her skin was as fair as ever. With her beauty untainted, she descended on the sandy ground—a small distance from the Elves and the crumbled building—while wearing an annoyed expression on her face.
"What the hell have you done now, Rey?"
Chapter 629 Esme Vs The Elves [Pt 1]
"You might have to fight a few people later today!"
Those were the words that Rey told Esme earlier that day, and she figured that would be the case-considering how Rey had been having some deep thoughts on planning and strategy since they settled in the Eastern Continent.
That was also why he was talking more with Kara and less to her.
'I understand all of that. It's all for the mission. Esme constantly told herself, so she didn't particularly mind.
She spent most of her time trying to connect with the 'Oracle' figure that Ater mentioned, so she was busy meditating while the others did whatever concerned them.
It wasn't safe outside thanks to the discrimination against Half Elves, and her companions were really too busy to consider her.
Kara was running an errand for Rey somewhere, and Emil had her own business to attend to. Rey was also occupied with his whole plan. That left her all alone, pretty much the most useless in the bunch.
'Should I not have come?' She even began to wonder to herself.
Objectively speaking, there were many other alternatives to Esme tagging along which made sense, so her presence in the group wasn't very vital. The only reason she was here was due to Ater's endorsement.
'I don't even know why he did that. Maybe he has something in mind...' Either way, the only way she could prove useful was to connect to the network that all Elves seemed to share.
But, while she was busy with that, she couldn't help but notice Elves approaching the fortress.
Esme didn't pay them any mind at first. After all, there was no way they would get past the barrier, so she could just continue with her meditation.
But-
"T-they got in?!"
-Much to her surprise, she was wrong!
It was at that moment that she gave them a lot more attention. Of course, she wasn't seeing the Elves or anything. It was more of a sensory interaction with their presence.
'Also... this feeling. Are they wielding Rey's Divine-Tier weapons? Is this the further experiment he wanted to run with it?' She sighed and shook her head.
She could understand his rationale, using them to test out the holes in his theory until he arrived at a satisfactory conclusion, but wasn't it risky to give the Young Ones such weapons?
At this point, Esme could no longer continue her meditation.
She simply sat in her room and waited for what the Young
Ones would do next. She could even make a guess on what their next course of action would be.
'Do I need to use Magic to block my ears from all the screaming and shouting that will soon follow the-?"
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!~
The buildup of energy caused Esme to cease her thoughts, but it was the explosion that truly made her stop the line of logic completely.
'Hold on... what?!'ƒгeewёbnovel.com
She swiftly reacted to the falling building by creating a barrier around herself, while also flying with Magic. Of course, she was in no danger whatsoever.
Except that of shock, of course.
'Why in the world are they attacking out of the blue?!' She didn't understand it, but she knew the best way to do so.
~WHOOSH!~
In one swift motion, she exited the falling building and landed away from it before everything finally crumbled.
Now a small distance from the Elves, who were staring at her with nothing but purely murderous intent, while dripping blood and entrails, she couldn't help but leak out her thoughts.
"What the hell have you done now, Rey?"
The forty-eight Elves were pulsating with power at the moment.
After killing the Boss Monster, they went on to kill everything else within the Dungeon on their way out. At some point, they all lost count of how many lives they had taken, as well as the consequence of their action.
They now understood that this was the course of Nature, so they became free from the guilt or significance that came from taking the life of an enemy.
Their lust for battle-or rather, death-was yet to be satiated, though.
Merely finding the Half-Breed vermin present was more than enough to set them off again, and they directed all of their murderous intent towards her.
She was unscathed by their attack, which meant she was clearly strong. Still, she was only one Half Breed, while they were forty-eight true Elves, with Divine-Tier weapons to boot.
All in all-both in terms of quality and quantity-they were the superior ones.
"What's going on with you people? Your Alignment seems to have changed too. I see, so this is what Rey's plan was from the start."
The Elves heard her speak, but none of them listened to her.
Instead, they fanned out and began to take formation. Like predators who were after a single prey, they kept their eyes on her as they prepared themselves.
"Haa... so it looks like I'll have to fight you people." As she said this, sighing in the process, she summoned a staff from seemingly nowhere.
"I won't kill you, but it'll hurt a good deal. Then again, that seems fair considering what you're about to do to me."
Once again, they weren't paying any attention to her.
Instead, their eyes were wide open, same as their mouths, displaying their teeth as they grinned.
"Half Breeds are an abomination."
"Nature dictates the rules."
"Death to the Half Breed vermin..."
They all began to chant, making their voices echo into the air, and throughout the beach.
"DEATH TO THE HALF BREED VERMIN! DEATH TO THE HALF BREE-!"
-BZZZZTT!~
In a sharp flash, bolts descended from the sky and struck about half of the Elves who faced Esme. The blast of lightning that rained down covered the entire area in an overpowering blue hue, and the surrounding vibrated in response to its descent.
The Elves who were struck by the crackling attack instantly fell to the sandy ground, darkened and unconscious.
The rest stared in shock.
"Don't worry, that wasn't enough to kill them." Esme's still voice reverberated as she tightly held her staff and gazed upon the Elves. "Still, since I don't appreciate being called a Half Breed, the next person who says that will be killed for real."
Silence and tension mixed into the air, and an aura of dread began to emanate from her.
"So... who's next?"
[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
Looks like Esme reached some new realm of badassery! Awesome!
Also, thanks to everyone who bought the new Privilege Chapters. Y'all are really the best, fr!