I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

68. A place that contains everything

“Run!”

“Watch out ahead!”

“I’ve already captured it! Let’s keep running like this! “If you catch up with them, you’ll be eaten alive!”

Arsel and Stella ran at full speed.

Behind the two, countless former elves are flocking in, losing their senses.

I managed to deal with the first one or two, but there were so many that I couldn’t handle them with just two people.

‘I heard that the number of elves is small… But I guess it’s easy to overcome a considerable number!’

It will range from hundreds to thousands.

It takes time to deal with them one by one, and they can pop out from all directions and anywhere.

In the end, if we continue like this, we will be caught up by those monsters.

Even if you are lucky and manage to escape the pursuers, you never know where you might run into another one.

I had to find another way to get out of this situation.

“This way! “If you go in there, you’ll be fine for a while!”

Stella ran and fired arrows at the protest.

Light is tied to the bow, and the essence of the forest is contained at the end.

As the arrow leaves the field, light like the sun shines in the sky, and sprouts grow under Arcel’s feet.

Kugugugugugu…!

Suddenly the ground shook.

The sprouts grew and turned into huge trees.

The pursuers were blocked by a barrier of trees and could no longer advance.

“…I understand why the elves had to leave their hometown.”

Arcel barely took a breath and leaned against his body, using his holy sword as a staff.

Actually, at first, I couldn’t believe that the elves had abandoned their hometown and ran away.

Elves are a race that places great importance on their hometown and traditions, and such elves would rather commit suicide and bury themselves in their hometown than abandon it.

“Even an old elf wouldn’t want something like that to happen.”

Stella said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Among the elves who just chased after me, some had already died a long time ago.

The soul has already died and left the body, but the black spot makes the body continue to move.

At that point, the body was as good as dead, honestly, it was in a more terrible state than a skeleton.

“Where am I, anyway?”

“This is somewhere in the middle where the branch tribe and the root tribe meet. Now, this is a shelter made just in case. “This is the place we used to evacuate the remaining elves.”

Arcel was located in something like an underground passage made of branches and roots.

According to Stella, this place was used by the elves to take refuge in the Root Tribe.

“Except for being a little wet and unpleasant, it’s better than on the ground. At least there won’t be monsters eating living things in the form of elves here.”

Stella speaks with a bitter expression.

There is no way I would be okay with my fellow countrymen, who were like family, turning into such monsters.

Although it’s already been more than 5 years, getting used to it doesn’t mean it’s okay.

“But wouldn’t it be safer if we went here? The entrance is tightly blocked so there’s no chance of breaking in.”

Arcel decided to focus on the fact that it is safe now.

The elves that come out from all directions cannot be dealt with unless they are completely wiped out.

Even the number is small.

According to Stella, most elves are concentrated in the root tribe’s territory, and if you use your stamina recklessly, it will become difficult to escape later.

Time to relax like this is like gold.

“…There is only one problem, because this place was built so long ago that I don’t know the structure of this place very well.”

“Can’t we go to the land of the Root Tribe through here?”

“You can go, but what I remember is that this underground passage is as complicated as the roots of a tree…”

But I don’t think this is necessarily a good thing.

Even Stella was unfamiliar with the structure of this underground passageway that we entered in a hurry.

At least it seems to lead to the destination land where there is a lack of roots, but in some cases, it means that you may end up in a blocked place where there is nothing.

If you do something wrong, you might end up stuck here and spinning around in circles.

“It must be difficult to move forward blindly.”

“Don’t worry too much, if things don’t work out, let’s go through the ceiling and get to the ground. The elves in the land of the branch tribes would have flocked to the leaf tribe or the root tribe.”

“You stupid idiot, you set it up for directions, but what if the guide doesn’t know the way?”

“What, what did you just do?”

At that time, I suddenly heard a familiar voice.

Stella looked around in surprise, but there was no one around.

“Ah.”

Wiggle!

“What is that?!”

At that moment, something stirred in Arcel’s chest.

Something small in size rose from the chest and came out of the armor, and then a beak came out, so Arcel could tell that it was a crow.

“Caw! Caw! “Caw!”

“It hurts! “Why is this crow acting like this all of a sudden?!”

As soon as the crow jumped out, it pecked Stella’s head.

Stella tries to shake it off by waving her hand, but the crow evades it all with amazing movements.

“…Surely it’s Alfred?”

“Caw!”

“That unlucky crow is that demon? “I’m sure he won’t be able to come in because of the barrier.”

His actions and voice seemed strangely like Alfred, so when Arcel called his name, a crow immediately flew over and sat on his shoulder.

Alfred had previously turned into a crow and visited Arcel.

However, back then it was a white crow, but this time it is a black crow. Is there a difference?

“Wait a minute, that’s important-“

Suddenly, a crow took out a map from Arcel’s clothes.

Then a small text was engraved on the map.

[This is like a message created based on my magic in your body, prepared to activate automatically if you have a problem.]

“…Alfred.”

As expected, Alfred was right.

It appears that they were worried about sending Arcel to a dangerous place, so they took some measures.

[Instead, in order to pass the barrier, I need to contain only the very minimum amount of magical power, so since my intelligence is lower than that of a crow, it won’t be of much help. If the devil dies in the middle, is it possible to provide directions?]

“You’re not dead yet, you damn demon!”

Stella glared at the crow and shouted.

Somehow it seemed like the crow was laughing at Stella.

[It’s a temporary solution so I won’t be able to keep it for very long, but I hope it will be helpful to you.]

Pazy!

A map that lights up when the text ends.

On the back page of the map, another picture of a tree root suddenly appeared.

On the map, there was a blue sign that said start and a red exit that said exit.

Every time Arcel moves, the blue mark also moves.

I guess it also indicates the current location.

“…Those demons. “What can’t you do?”

“Thank you. Alfred.”

As Stella studied the map, Arcel stroked the crow’s head with his finger.

The crow was petted for a moment with her eyes closed, then entered Arcel’s chest again and disappeared.

It seemed to have appeared from the magic circle on the chest.

“Anyway, nothing’s wrong now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“A long time ago, when a bug got into your clothes, you ran around screaming. But is the crow okay?”

“hahahaha. “It may be because there is a difference in size and familiarity with insects.”

Arsel said with a smile without realizing it.

“…I’m used to it.”

Instead, Stella’s expression was tearful with worry and anxiety.

From Noble mtl dot com

†††

The two barely managed to get out of the underground passage.

Since only a very small number of the older chieftains knew the structure of the underground, in some cases, one might have to wander inside for several days.

It might be better than being eaten alive by elves, but that wasn’t a particularly good scenario either.

Even with Alfred’s consideration, the underground was as complicated as the roots of a tree, so the path was confusing.

“Is this the land of the Root Tribe?”

“Yes, you came here somehow… I hate to admit it, but you are amazing, that demon. I can’t believe he ignored the elf’s barrier and penetrated the structure of the underground passage without any map left behind.”

According to Sion, the elf barrier repels the souls of the exiled.

Considering its characteristics, it is highly likely that Alfred sent some of his own thoughts into his magic.

Of course, that alone cannot explain everything, but one thing is clear: he is very capable.

“Now you can see how he kidnapped princesses from many countries. “If that guy were the kidnapper, he wouldn’t have been able to stop him even if he tried to kidnap you, not the princess.”

“That’s right, I was always anxious when I saw him as my enemy. But with you by my side, I couldn’t be more reassured.”

Arcel smiles brightly.

Stella frowned for a moment as she looked at the smiling Arcel, but soon relaxed her expression.

In the end, it cannot be refuted that Alfred is capable, and he himself received a lot of help right away.

Moreover, if Arcel himself liked it that much, it would not be good for him to continue to reject his demons forever.

In fact, rather than rejecting her demons, Stella simply did not like Alfred’s personal attitude.

Is it possible to like someone who is always talking about how cute and cute they are?

“I really envy the Demon King. What he did was that he manipulated such a bastard as he pleased. “If you think about it, every time he committed something, he acted as if it was the devil’s order.”

“That’s right. It is said that Alfred carried out almost all his actions in accordance with the devil’s orders. In fact, it’s safe to say that he is the devil’s agent.”

The only time Alfred acted out of personal will was when he came to see Arcel.

It felt a little strange.

In the end, if he could act according to his own will, why didn’t he escape from the devil? Looking at Alfred’s abilities, he may not be able to defeat the Demon King, but he is not at the level of being captured.

Maybe there was some other reason.

“Let’s move slowly, from here on I know the way. “The lack of roots is where I have lived since I was young.”

Stella held Arcel’s hand and made her way completely out of the underground passage.

There was an exit to an underground passage near the dried up roots of the World Tree.

The underground passage appears to be some kind of tunnel that passes directly under the giant world tree.

“…Although a lot has changed since the old days.”

“I guess so.”

The land of the Root Tribe was also destroyed.

As expected, most of the houses here are on fire, and the ground and sky are dyed black.

Is that all? There were so many elves gathered in this land below that it was clearly different from before.

If they were normal elves, I would be very happy, but they are no different from elves elsewhere.

“According to the map, the place where the magic book is located seems to be the tomb where the ancestors of the elves rest.”

“A grave?”

“Yes, I heard that there are records of various important magics stored in the tomb, but the elf elders actually said it was blasphemy and had no intention of using it even when their hometown was in this state.”

Stella complained loudly and said.

It is said that the ancestor’s tomb contains ancient elf magic and important research records that are now lost.

“I said that if there was something like that, let’s dig it up right away, but the elders were all freaked out. Could it be that they’ve hidden something there that shouldn’t be found out?”

“But seeing as the elders were so against it, there may have been a reason…”

Among them, there may have been a way to save the elven land in crisis, but even Stella’s father was opposed to it.

Due to the nature of elven society, which values tradition and courtesy, digging up the graves of ancestors is considered a taboo.

“But if this happens, won’t we have to go into the grave? Is that okay?”

“What do you think? All the old people who opposed it have already ended up like that. “Now that we have blown up the tombs and set fires, there are no more elves left to say anything.”

“…I see.”

Stella is bitter but also somewhat relieved.

It was my wish to change the blocked thinking and outdated social ideas of the elves, but I had no idea that my wish would come true in this way.

Anyway, thinking has definitely changed and the old-fashioned society has also changed.

It may be true that it has disappeared.

‘…Did the elf elders really oppose Stella’s opinion simply because of tradition and example?’

Arsel thought as he followed Stella.

It is true that elf elders are the ones who survive, but even so, it is not natural for them to oppose when the race is on the verge of extinction.

Perhaps, as Stella said, there really was another reason.

You will know the reason when you go into the tomb yourself.

…Obviously, you have no choice but to know even if you don’t want to.