Raising the Elf’s Genius Slayer

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Chapter

The history of Haken Welt is quite pathetic. No, to begin with, it hardly even existed.

Perhaps Tugi will end up being the first and last leader.

At first, there was no thought of forming a group. I was simply dissatisfied with the world and lived as I pleased, and then people began gathering around me.

Yekaterina joined Haken Welt before she even reached double digits in age.

I still vaguely remember the poison that lurked in the eyes of that young child.

Nameless. Yes, the ridiculous encounter with the swordsman who called himself Nameless was a matter of life and death.

He claimed victory, and thus Nameless entered Haken Welt, declaring himself my subordinate.

I vaguely recall those I met not long after wandering the world. Most of them are dead now. Until recently, only Yekaterina and Nameless remained.

Now, they are all gone.

“I had a faint feeling that a day like this would come.”

Blood-red bubbles boil in my clenched fists. The power of a demon gained through Yekaterina’s soul rushes through me as if it will burst my body.

Lilith. Wasn’t she the queen of succubi? I felt like I understood how to wield the power of seduction, but I didn’t need it.

I simply pressed my tightly clenched fists against my waist.

“I’m going to win. This time, once again, just like always.”

With a whoosh—! The air tore apart as Tugi’s body reached Enok in an instant. Enok’s eyes widened. He hastily reacted, raising his hand to strike, but it was a moment too late.

Boom—!

His fist was swatted away, but his stance was thrown off. Immediately, Tugi’s other hand shot forth.

[Eri.]

From Enok’s chest, Eri’s snout emerged, swinging the sword she was holding.

At the same time, Tsukiyo and the Marquis also sprang into action.

Tsukiyo’s nails were sharpened, and blue ki ignited on the Marquis’ sword.

“Hmm….”

Tugi exhaled, his red eyes scanning it all. The ensuing trajectories. Furthermore, the figure of a ghost observing from afar.

‘How bothersome.’

Frowning, he swung his hand. He pushed Tsukiyo’s forearm aside with his left palm and caught the Marquis’ sword with his right index and middle fingers.

Simultaneously, he leaped into the air, spinning. Using that force, he launched both of them away and swung his legs at Enok.

Clang—!

Eri’s sword collided with Tugi’s foot. Tugi’s eyes met Enok’s.

Screech—!

A purple ring spun and pierced through Tugi.

[Not bad?]

Enok chuckled, curling his fingers. His claw-like hands drew a chaotic trajectory.

Tugi met this with his fist.

Fists and claws entwined. Tugi’s crimson eyes continually analyzed Enok’s every movement.

The battle that opened like this had Enok at a disadvantage. After all, Tugi was a higher-level strong person among the Grandmasters, whereas Enok had only recently ascended to Grandmaster. It was only natural.

But he wasn’t pushed back too significantly. Once Tsukiyo and the Marquis joined the fray, a nearly equal battle unfolded.

Tsukiyo’s strength was particularly astonishing.

“Tsk.”

Every time Tugi twisted his body to evade, Tsukiyo’s claws found their mark.

She employed both magic and martial arts. Tugi’s unique eyes rendered her illusions ineffective, but the fact that she was a powerhouse to the extent of being called a black calamity remained unchanged.

This flow continued for about ten minutes.

[Got it.]

With his eyes sparkling, Enok lunged deep into Tugi’s embrace. Tugi reflexively raised his knee. Enok, seemingly expecting this, pushed against the knee and gathered ki in his palm.

Tugi’s eyes analyzed the ki. And Enok’s ki eye analyzed Tugi’s gaze.

[Not a ki eye… so you’re seeing the flow?]

Everything possesses a grain. If one could accurately slice that grain, even the weakest power could cut through anything.

However, that grain flows constantly, making it nearly impossible to slice through it by chance. Yet Tugi’s eyes were observing that flow.

Not the grain itself, but the flow of the grain. Seeing that flow means that one can see everything.

If that’s the case, it would be exhausting, but perhaps…

Crackle—!

Something like this would be possible.

Enok grinned darkly as he gazed at the dissipating ki. Tugi had sliced through the ki. While the ki vanished and gaps were exposed, that was inconsequential. There were others who could cover those gaps.

“Daddy!”

Tsukiyo, rushing in, stopped the punch that was about to bury itself into Enok’s abdomen.

Boom—!

In the midst of the violent impact, Enok’s eyes began to capture the flow.

And if Enok, being versatile, could see that flow, then this became possible.

Boom—!

Enok’s foot precisely struck the grain of the earth. The ground shattered into pieces, and combined with that action, power was added.

The earth turned into plasma, glowing purple. The Heavenly Carnage Thunder God Technique replaced motion with incantation and wove a magic formula.

Crash—!

Countless spikes of plasma erupted, targeting the gaps in Tugi’s defense. Tugi hurriedly turned his eyes, dodging and swatting the spikes away.

“…Indeed.”

Tugi gritted his teeth while watching Enok grow rapidly mid-battle. If it continued like this, the balance would break. He had to forcefully press forward.

Rumble—!

His entire body swelled like a parched earth splitting. Veins bulged grotesquely on his skin as red patterns began to etch themselves.

“Haah…!”

Simultaneously, he continued Yekaterina’s contract and offered his own soul to draw power from the demon.

He had seen countless techniques for wielding power. He danced lightly on his heels as if overlaying himself with her movements.

Swoosh—!

Chains spread through the space like it owned it. Enok attempted to converge space over his palms, just as Yekaterina had done, but Tugi was not easy to deal with.

His spatial manipulation ability was on par with Enok’s, maintaining a taut balance. In that state, Tugi pulled his fist back. All the boiling power gathered into one fist, causing the space to groan.

Kiiikkk───────────

Enok illuminated his eyes upon witnessing it. So, this was his technique?

A single misstep. Just one mistake unrelated to Tugi flipped the scales.

The ki eye, which had begun to contain the flow, pierced through Tugi.

As Tugi fired the fist he had pulled back, causing all the space caught in its trajectory to shatter,

[Mein Kampf.]

The essence of the punch previously delivered by Adolf, a member of Haken Welt. Its shape was there.

And to Enok, who already knew the technique, it became merely something that could be countered. As if to tease, Enok and Tugi’s fists collided.

Boom—!!

The wind rustled. Enok awkwardly smiled as he stared at Tugi’s fist, halted at the tip of his nose.

[…thank you, Choco.]

Enok shook off the hand he had thrown. One of Tugi’s arms, which had clashed with Enok’s fist, had completely vanished.

‘You can’t be serious, it was a bait….’

How he knew, Tugi didn’t understand. But with one arm as pay, he had nearly crushed Enok’s head.

“Next time, be a little more careful. Well… I guess it’s not something you can just be careful about.”

Before Tugi even knew it, Tsukiyo, who had approached from behind, withdrew the arm that had pierced through Tugi’s chest. Tugi’s stance wavered, and blood gushed from his mouth.

“Gah…!”

Staggering, Tugi fell from the air he had been standing upon, crashing into the ground.

After a few coughs, Tugi drew in colorless breaths while gazing up at the darkened sky. Enok’s face faintly overlapped above him. As their eyes met, Tugi smiled weakly.

“…Do you believe in that saying about good triumphing over evil?”

[Yes.]

Enok exhaled deeply, releasing his inner self.

“The one who wins is good.”

“Cough…! So, does that mean my evil deeds have been proven?”

“Maybe. I don’t really care about that.”

The notions of good and evil that the world arbitrarily presents are merely façades built up out of necessity. In an essential sense, the concepts of good and evil ultimately depend on one’s heart.

Tugi was not particularly curious if he were good or evil, so he didn’t bother to ponder it.

“Why the sudden interest? Do you have regrets?”

“…Maybe.”

As Tugi reached his hand toward the sky, he soon kissed the back of his own hand.

“…What a foolish act.”

With that, Tugi’s body turned to ash and disintegrated. In that brief moment, Enok’s ki eye illuminated something. It was the scene of a demonic woman radiating a seductive smile.

*

Enok stretched his sore body and gazed at the sky. More precisely, he was staring fixedly at a certain point beneath the sky.

“So, what are you?”

A grain exists in everything. And this is no different for the soul, making it so that Enok had little trouble seeing souls now.

Tugi’s eyes felt specialized not so much superior to the ki eye but rather specifically attuned to this aspect.

[Curious?]

“Somewhat? The sound of the shoes in the mansion was you, right?”

[Yes. Idalians lack that kind of power. So I have to help out, right?]

A hazy figure of a woman giggled.

“You were the one who leaked information to the Marquis, right?”

[That’s right. It was a bit frustrating. So, I helped a little.]

“Why?”

[Because it’s fun, of course!]

The woman descended to the ground, fully revealing herself. The Marquis and Tsukiyo gazed at the woman in awe, startled.

[Both bad endings and happy endings are not so bad. I assumed the little ones from Haken Welt would be a nuisance, but they provided unexpected entertainment.]

As the spinning woman spoke, the Marquis stepped forward as if entranced.

“Did the Idalian… resent me?”

[Well, I don’t know since you didn’t ask.]

The woman shrugged. The Marquis hung his head in despair. After contemplating for a moment, Enok spoke up.

“That’s something I believe I can help with.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Communication. With the Idalian.”

“C-can you truly do that…!?”

The Marquis dashed forward, grabbing Enok’s hand. Zikfrein, who had been quietly observing from the side, hurriedly approached.

“E-enok. Is that really true? I mean, can you do that?”

“Yeah.”

It should be possible. Originally, I had gauged the chance of success at around fifty percent, but having seen the flow of the grain, I gained confidence.

[Ah! But wait! I almost forgot this! It’s out of order!]

The ghost woman interrupted, waving her hands frantically.

[Aren’t you curious about the reason the Idalian died?]

“Was there a special reason?”

The Marquis asked, to which the woman nodded with a bright smile.

[Yes! I was the one who took the soul of the Idalian!]