I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

90. The Curse of the Shell

“Alfred?!”

The voice I just heard was definitely Alfred’s.

There was no one here other than Alfred who called an elf an earl, and he was the only one with a voice that scratched that kind of person’s temperament in the first place.

Furthermore, from the moment the barrier disappeared, the area below was quietly silent.

That means only one thing.

“Ah, it’s finally the moment I’ve been waiting for.”

Orchestral music began to be heard from somewhere.

I wondered where on earth this sound was coming from, and then skeletons appeared from somewhere and were playing instruments.

Music that gives a calm yet grand feeling.

And then, a huge bone hand appears from the ground and begins to attack the observatory.

Cow wow!!!

In an instant, the observatory was crushed by a huge hand.

That also means that all those on the observatory were also destroyed.

“It was good to be a child, but it is better to walk than to be held in the arms of your parents.”

“…I guess it’s back to normal.”

Arsel closed his eyes and smiled slightly.

Immediately I relaxed and left my body to Alfred.

“Yes, it’s good to carry someone on your back or hold them, but I think carrying them on your back or holding them is still better.”

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Of course, Alfred brought Arcel in time.

Alfred was holding Arcel and flying through the night sky with his back to the moonlight.

The stars of the night were blessing that image, and the moonlight gave all of its light to Alfred.

“But you didn’t crush Stella, right?”

“Oh, I forgot.”

“Alfred?!”

Arcel was startled and opened her eyes wide.

“I’m just kidding, it’s packed well down there, so you can do whatever you want, whether it’s buried in the ground or cremated.”

“…I almost fell because I was startled for no reason.”

For some reason, Stella below seemed to be protesting that she wasn’t dead yet, but Alfred just ignored it and looked at the observation deck with smoke rising from it.

The observatory was trampled by a large and heavy mass.

The dozens of meters high observatory suddenly changed to the same height as the ground.

Some older elves would probably foam at the mouth and faint when they saw this.

Of course, at a time when even the World Tree has been cut down, what difference would it make if one of those old towers collapsed?

“Anyway, are you hurt anywhere?”

“No thanks to you. “Even though I almost died.”

“Even if you died, we would have brought you back to life as an undead, so don’t worry. It’s better to be alive and fresh if possible.”

Arsel smiled slightly at Alfred’s joke.

I’m already used to things like that.

Rather, it would feel unnatural if Alfred didn’t say something like that.

Of course, there was half sincerity mixed into that joke.

“Now that I think about it, where did the child go?”

“Oh, that’s right… I think he ran away. As soon as they saw that the World Tree was cut down, they ran away right away? He tried to hold on at first because this one came first.”

Alfred explained that Morrigan had run away.

In reality, it was true that he ran away.

“…I guess I didn’t even get to say thank you for helping me.”

Arsel expressed regret.

Even though the girl ran away, it was true that she helped them cut down the World Tree, and they wanted to say thank you for this, even if just briefly.

More than anything, there were things that didn’t make me feel like I was a stranger.

“It’s okay, we’ll meet again someday. “Because there are still things to worry about first.”

Alfred chuckled and looked down.

As they said, not everything is over yet.

Although the countless skeletons summoned by Alfred had already subdued all the elves, there still remained the most wary and dangerous opponent.

It is too early to feel safe unless you deal with it.

“Then just watch from a safe place. Now, I’ll finish everything that’s left.”

Alfred went down to the ground and gently put Arcel down.

“Is he still alive after all that?”

“Yes, the ghosts of the past do not attain Buddhahood to that extent.”

Arcel frowned her eyes.

“No, it’s okay to be angry or sad, but smile now. “There is nothing as cool and warm as drinking warm tea after eating a cold snack.”

Alfred says that Arcel’s smile is like an ice house on a hot summer day or a warm bonfire on a winter day.

I didn’t know exactly what that metaphor meant, but I knew that it felt good to be cool and warm at the same time.

“I understand. “Let’s try.”

Arsel smiled and stood on the floor.

Stella was being supported by skeletons next to her.

“Then I’ll go take care of the overly mature and rotten little ear over there. This is why you have to throw away trash on time on hot days. “Because I didn’t throw it away on time and left it there, it’s causing a bad smell.”

Alfred flew into the sky again and headed to where the World Tree was.

Perhaps what appeared at the observatory was not real.

It seems that they only sent a clone made of shadows, or something similar.

“Okay, I’ll leave the rest up to you. “Be sure to come back victorious.”

“There’s nothing to call it a victory, it’s just a hassle to throw away the trash.”

With those words, Alfred disappeared in an instant.

Arsel continued to look at the back of Alfred who had disappeared for a while.

†††

“Ah, it must have broken before I could even check what it was.”

I decided to remove the obstructionist.

The moment I finished preparing and was about to perform the magic, an unexpected interruption came.

Ten layers of the world tree’s barrier.

Each layer of it is a barrier strong enough to easily bounce off even a meteorite from outer space.

For this reason, originally, no one except the highest elder could approach the center of this World Tree, but he was able to approach it by accepting the magic power of the World Tree.

But the barrier was penetrated at once.

The cause was an unidentified bullet fired from a grave in the distance.

The bullet destroyed numerous barriers and even the self-defense function of the World Tree.

I had already noticed that something was trying to shoot over there, but could I have imagined that it would even penetrate the barrier of the World Tree?

Even more so is the fact that the bullet could even cut down the gigantic world tree in one go.

“I had no choice. I wanted to bring him back to this land as quickly as possible…”

God’s mercy once again on this land.

I wanted to give one more chance to the unfortunate elves who kicked away the mercy granted in the past.

But even that was interrupted, so I was a little annoyed.

Because of this, I tried to kill the disruptors first, but even that was interrupted by something unknown.

Now is the time to ask why.

An elf who was once called the Elder of the Branch.

To be exact, something wearing the shell of an elf sighed deeply and looked back.

“What do you think, the taste of the Holy Sword is quite sweet? “I was hoping to taste it for myself if possible, but unfortunately it looks like I only scratched the surface.”

There was a demonic youth there.

The young man, whose insides were filled with black things, walked through the sky and came down in front of the elf.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Alfred. I stopped by because I saw some trash on the way. “I’m a model citizen, so I take care of throwing trash on the side of the road into the trash can.”

“If you say it’s trash…”

“Of course you, you idiots, can’t even recycle. “You’ve rotted to the point where it’s even difficult to throw it away on the side of the road.”

When Alfred pointed at himself with his finger, the elf chuckled.

They came in out of nowhere and trampled on the sprouts that had bloomed seeds, so they ended up pouring a lot of concrete on top of them.

As if that wasn’t enough, they are not forgetting to drive in even the very strong rebar.

It didn’t seem like it was a skill that had been done once or twice.

“Don’t worry, I can make even rotten and smelly garbage without it being noticeable. “Of course, you will have to burn your bones and bury them in the ground.”

“…Are you neither a demon nor a human being, but an intermediate being?”

It seems that the elf immediately realized that Alfred was a mixed race of human and demon.

And most mixed race people harbor antipathy towards their own race, and when this point is pointed out, most of them become angry and their judgment becomes clouded.

The elf moved his tongue aiming for that.

“Yes, we don’t live in groups in the forest like monkeys like some devils do.”

But Alfred had nothing like that.

He simply reacted by saying that he was glad he wasn’t an elf.

“Why do you, who have nothing to do with us elves, want to interfere in this matter?”

“I told you, I’m just a model citizen who has smelly trash and wants to throw it away.”

In the end, I felt that there was nothing to be gained from talking with Alfred any further.

If possible, it would be good to use your tongue to cloud the other person’s judgment and make them lose their reason, but the other person is not one to suffer such a thing, but rather tends to do it themselves.

It doesn’t matter what Alfred is like anyway.

Even though the world tree was cut down, the sacrifices could have been replaced with the rotting humans outside, and the fact that the disruptors are alive means that they can be killed at any time.

There is no need to rush.

After all, elves have too much time.

I just had to move forward slowly, step by step.

“I see, then there’s nothing more to say-“

Quang!

At that time, a huge piece of wood suddenly fell on the elf’s head.

“Nothing. I don’t talk to trash anyway. Conversation is good, but it should only be done with someone you can communicate with.”

Alfred smiled broadly at the elf, his eyes sparkling.

Judging by the way his finger was lowered, it looked like he had dropped a fragment of the world tree that had been cut off by the holy sword.

Fragments of the World Tree that had not yet fallen from the sky were falling to the ground.

Jureuk-

Red blood leaks from under the fragments.

At first it was thought to be the blood of a crushed elf.

However, the blood that flowed out turned black and gathered in one place, and soon the elf returned to his original appearance with his red eyes flashing.

Although his entire body was clearly crushed, the elf showed signs of light regeneration.

As a bonus, there were a lot of shadows with sharp fangs swaying under my feet.

It looks like he will start dealing with Alfred in earnest from now on.

“….It’s fun-”

Bam!!

“Yeah, this is pretty fun.”

So Alfred drove the stake in once more before the elf could finish speaking.

Fragments similar in size to the wood fragments just now fell on the elf’s head again.

But this time, the shadows crept into shape, and the elf returned to his original state once again.

This time, the elf looked a little disheveled.

“Okay, I know what you’re thinking-“

Cow!!

“If you give me just one, I’ll be a little heartless.”

In the end, not just one, but two, three, four, Alfred hit all the debris on the floor.

Countless huge rock-like fragments flew and stuck at the base of the World Tree.

All the elves returned before they could even finish speaking.

Quaaang-!!

“…You will never die a nice death.”

In the end, the elf could no longer bear it and blew away all the fragments, turning into a shadow even bigger than the fragments.

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A shadow shaped like a giant with an eerie eye in the center.

The shadow was filled with fangs that grinded down everything they touched.

That is probably the body of an elf.

From the beginning, the Elder of the Branch was just a shell, and his body must have been swallowed up a long time ago.

In the first place, it is impossible for a being without a soul to be revived as an undead.

In addition, due to the nature of the shadow, there is a high probability that physical strikes will not be very meaningful.

“And then, right before your eyes, a hole is made in the chest of those bugs-“

Phew!

Nevertheless, Alfred threw one more piece of debris into the shadow’s eye.

Even though I knew it wouldn’t have any effect, I deliberately threw the fragments into the ground.

Then, as if it were natural, the shadow pulled out the embedded fragment and swallowed it.

This time, I couldn’t even finish what I was saying.

The shadow’s eyes were bloodshot and red, as if it was quite angry.

“Hey, are you eating well? So what does the World Tree taste like? “I’ve only tasted the Holy Sword, but I’ve never tried the World Tree.”

Of course, Alfred could only admire it or not.