Chapter 69 - The Sixth Evolution (1) (1/2)

The Sixth Evolution  (1)

As if it was waiting for the battle to end, rain began to pour down as soon as I lowered my weapon. ‘Did the elves make this as well?’ The rain fell in mana-laden droplets, clearing the air of the evil wind that had been blowing just moments before. I looked up to let the rain wash over my soiled face filled with corrupted blood and monster flesh. It cooled my head down, bringing me a blessed moment of relaxation after the heated battle.

“Caesia, this can’t be!” I turned, surprised to see Mireina heading toward me. A translucent film had formed around her to block out the rain, but the more surprising thing to me was that she was even alive in the first place. Hundreds of those monsters had been swarming these plains. ‘Even if most of them had been focused on me, it’s a bit strange none of them went for her…’ She blushed and bowed her head down as my gaze settled on her.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry. I wasn’t even a little helpful. If I hadn’t been injured earlier, maybe I would have been able to help…”

“How did you survive?”

“I don’t know… I was hiding, and the monsters just passed right by me. It was like that before…”

‘What sort of talent do you have?’ If it were so easy for the elves to survive in hiding, they would have nothing to fear from these monsters.

“But first! Get into this shield!” She grabbed onto my hand and pulled me to her, into the translucent shield protecting her from the rain. I almost retaliated out of instinct, but I didn’t feel any hostility from her actions.

“This is the rain that follows that wind of Eutinus. It’s bad news to be caught in it for long. How do you not know… well, I suppose I know why you don’t.” She let out a sad sigh. I quietly retracted the bloody fangs I had used earlier back to my waist.

“Caesia, have you already broken free so fast?”

“…Huh?” What she was saying made no sense.

“There were hundreds of monsters here! There’s no way that you’ll stay bound to the Rookie’s Battlefield. You must’ve killed the monster that was your partner in that final wave.” The words she was saying didn’t make much sense, but it gave me thought.

‘Did the stronger elves escape from here early after the Great Fusion?’

Perhaps in the early days of the Great Fusion, these monsters roamed about but weren’t hostile as they were now. Maybe the elves had plenty of chances to come face to face with the monsters that were once their partners? ‘That has to be it.’ I heard from Lee Chan-yu that natives had begun to appear around that time, and more hadn’t since then.

“…”

“I suppose it makes sense, you haven’t been here for long.” I looked at her again, meeting her gaze. Mireina’s eyes were steady; I was confident she wasn’t trying to lie to me or trick me.

“After this rain stops, the Wind of Eutinus will be done. All the monsters around here have already been killed, so it should be safe here.”

“Then?”

“Then you can return to Earth. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine here.” My legs became weak at her words; the thought of killing her right here and now crossed my mind. She still didn’t seem hostile, though, and seemed to be concerned that I would be worried about her if I left her alone. ‘If this is all some act… she’s got skill.’ I struggled with the idea of trusting her. Still, I had to act with caution. She must’ve seen me do something that an ordinary elf couldn’t, and I had to figure out what.

“You… did you see me eat those monsters?”

“Was that to prevent them from fusing? Those monsters are hard to deal with even using advanced magic, so I was surprised you could just eat them! Then you were using that weird black smoke. That must be some special ability you have?”

“…”

“But is your stomach okay? Those are some dangerous monsters, I don’t know how you will fare after eating so many of them.”

“No, I’m alright.” This woman was undoubtedly, very weird. But she was starting to win over my trust; I was beginning to believe that she wasn’t dangerous. ‘Just a weirdo.’

“Mireina, as you said I’ll be heading back to Earth soon. But I have something I want to ask of you before I do.”

“Yes? What is it? Is it important?”