Chapter 1047 — Book 2: Chapter 245: Lunacy, Worship. And the Way (7)
16 min read ·
The wind was gathering.
The residents of the village underneath the Erghe Mountain Range were hiding in their homes, only peeking out to see what was going on, as they were scared of the second subjugation squad.
One of the people who was looking out a window opened his mouth.
“Chief-nim, the wind is weird.”
Wind was blowing from the Erghe Mountain Range.
The wind that came down from the tall and dangerous mountain range was going past the village to the only visible field.
There were multiple strands of wind.
“…It feels like the wind is alive.”
Shaaaaa-
He felt the breeze brushing past his hand and opened his mouth.
“The situation does not seem to be bad.”
He looked down at his empty hand.
“The wind is not sharp.”
Although it was cold, the wind was not as sharp as a blade.
The Chief, with his years of experience, knew what kind of breeze this was.
He had his memories from his youth.
"They are Elementals.”
“Excuse me?”
"The Wind Elemental-nims are moving right now.”
The villager’s eyes opened wide.
“…Haven’t Elementals been difficult to see since the cataclysmic period?”
Until the cataclysmic period, Elves and Elementals were not such distant existences in Aipotu. Of course, it was rare for them to interact with humans, but they could run into them every so often in beautiful natural scenery such as forests and mountains.
Furthermore, there were merchants who traded with Elf villages as well.
However, Elves became difficult to see since the cataclysmic period. It was even more difficult to see Elementals.
The Elementals had disappeared.
People were saying things like that.
The Chief chuckled and shook his head.
“Elementals have always been difficult to see. However the wind exists no matter where you go.”
As a result, it only made sense for Wind Elementals to exist everywhere as well.
The Chief corrected what people believed to be the changed truth or common sense since the cataclysmic period.
“It looks like the Elf-nims on our side have started to move. Or maybe it was the Dark Elf-nims.”
A countless number of large and small strands of wind all moved in one direction.
The amazing thing was that the strands of wind were so gentle that even the winds on top of the roofs did not fall.
The Chief weirdly felt his heart shaking.
The blade-like gusts of wind usually roared through the Erghe Mountain Range in a wild and free manner.
The fact that those gusts of wind were gently and stealthily moving around brought even more fear to him.
“What is going on……”
His gaze headed out toward the distant ice wall that he could barely make out.
“Chief-nim, everything should end once that ice wall breaks, right?”
“… Probably.”
The strands of wind were moving toward the firm ice wall.
The Chief prayed in silence.
‘I pray that everything gets resolved well.
And that the winds of change blow in this world.’
He buried his wishes into the breeze.
It was at that moment.
A villager pointed out the window and subconsciously commented.
“Chief-nim, over there- over there-”
They saw something shooting up into the air.
"Snake-”
That was the only word that came to mind.
The Chief's eyes opened wide.
“…The wind-”
The wind, the thing that was shooting into the air, came into view.
Shaaaaaaaaaaa-
The wind that blew over all stopped in one spot.
Shaaaaaaaaaaa-
The large wind that gathered with Tasha at the center turned into a single whirlwind as it extended from the ground to the sky without end.
The winds that gathered together intertwined and crashed into each other as they became one.
They resembled a snake shooting up into the sky.
However, Cale was the only one thinking about an existence other than a snake.
"They resemble an imugi.”
It resembled the old stories he used to hear about an old imugi ascending to the sky.
“Human, I can't see Tasha!”
As Raon mentioned, they were no longer able to see Tasha.
However, Cale was not worried about that at all.
‘…The wind.’
At the center of this imugi that looked as if it was ascending to the sky…
He was sure Tasha was at the center of this wind.
“Ha.”
He subconsciously scoffed.
He couldn't believe it.
“When did she get this strong?”
Dark Elf Tasha.
Had she always been this strong?
“No.”
Cale changed his thinking.
It was not that Tasha was strong.
He could tell the choice that she had made.
‘She started to use her surroundings.’
Cale kept his mouth closed as he looked at the large wind whirlwind.
He then flinched.
Ssss–
Another wind was blowing.
No, it was shooting up.
Baaaaaang-
The snow on the field shot up into the sky.
The inquisitors.
Peterson, who was fighting against Tasha…
A large gust of wind burst out of his body.
“Human, human! I'm certain that a gust of wind burst out of that Elf!”
The gust of wind did indeed burst out of Peterson's body as Raon mentioned in a shocked voice.
Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
This green gust of wind swirled before shooting up into the air like the wind around Tasha.
“Raon.”
Cale opened his mouth to speak.
"Tell people to be careful so that they don't get swept up by the wind.”
“I got it, human! I'll go tell Choi Han!”
Wind and wind…
This standoff between these two large pillars seemed quite serious.
Cale observed them as he thought to himself.
‘I’ll get involved if things don’t look good.’
Despite his trust in his allies…
He did not want to see his allies getting hurt.
Cale’s gaze moved away from the gusts of wind for a moment to look elsewhere.
Slash.
Red mana was ruthlessly being sliced apart.
“Ugh.”
Rosalyn groaned before swearing.
“Fuck.”
Baaaaang!
After the loud explosion, Rosalyn was almost flung back and rolled on the ground.
She rolled through the snow before quickly getting up.
Her whole body was a mess, covered in snow and dirt.
Cale looked away from there.
Shaaaaaaaaaaa-
It was because the noise of the wind had changed.
The green gust of wind started to move first.
"Why do you think that the Dragons are strong?”
Peterson had a cheeky smile on his face as he spoke.
However, his gaze was deeply sunken.
He took a step forward.
Shaaaaaaaaaaa-
The green gust of wind moved with him.
He looked directly at Tasha, who was inside the large whirlwind.
He observed her handiwork as well.
“Dragons are born with amazing talents. That is why they are strong.”
Shaaaaaaaaaaa-
The two gusts of wind were roaring fiercely but Peterson was sure that his voice would reach Tasha’s ears.
"There is no special reason for their strength. They are just strong. End of story. It is like their attribute.”
Peterson longed for the Dragons.
"Truly, that is the reason that Dragons are beautiful.”
That was why Peterson wanted to be like them.
“I cannot become a Dragon. However, I can become almost as strong as them. I just needed to have the same true nature as them.”
Peterson heard someone else’s voice at that moment.
Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
He could clearly hear the voice despite not being able to hear anything because the two gusts of wind were crashing against each other.
“Is that why you infused the wind into your body?”
"That is correct.”
The foundation of this world.
Yanni chose to give a portion of it to her Elemental, strengthening both herself and her Elemental to get stronger.
On the other hand, Peterson made a different choice.
“It doesn’t matter if the Elemental gets stronger. Because it is not me.”
In the end, he needed to get stronger.
He needed to be like those dignified Dragons of this world.
He himself had to arrive at that noble place. Borrowing the strength of something else to get stronger was meaningless.
“I changed the foundation into the wind.”
A thick smile formed on Peterson's face.
“You could say I created my own attribute of sorts.”
Just like the Dragons. Unlike the other Elves, he created the wind inside his body.
The foundation of this world.
That foundation was the combination of numerous auras of nature. It was also the root of all things.
That was why it was up to Peterson to decide how to change that root.
“Oh Dark Elf.”
He spoke toward his enemy he could not see.
“It is meaningless to borrow the strength of something else to get stronger.”
This whirlwind created by his enemy was like a barrier of sorts.
It was an extremely thick and sturdy wall.
Most enemies would not be able to get past this wall.
However, he didn't need to think about getting across the wall.
“In the end, something that is not complete will have an opening.”
A castle wall, which is made of numerous rocks and bricks, would have openings.
Especially if this castle wall was made of bricks that were not all the same sizes but just a combination of all things from around the area.
There was bound to be a weak spot.
Basically, since this large whirlwind was not made by one thing…
Because it was the combination of numerous Elementals…
A brick made by a weak Elemental would break easily.
"That opening will eventually be destroyed by something complete.”
Basically…
“You will crumble.”
Peterson started walking.
The green gust of wind moved with him.
Baaaaaaaaaang—–!
The two gusts of wind started crashing against each other.
The green whirlwind and the half-transparent whirlwind smashed against each other.
To be more accurate, the green whirlwind was trying to push the other one back.
“Keke. I knew it!”
A smile formed on Peterson's face.
His eyes, which were cold unlike the smile on his face, could see it clearly.
“There is a weak hole!”
The green whirlwind focused on a weak spot of Tasha’s whirlwind.
Baaaaaang-
Tasha’s gust started to shake.
Peterson could clearly make it out.
“I can hear the screams of the Wind Elementals!”
One of the Wind Elementals was flailing as if in pain and the whirlwind shrank.
“My wind is not just the wind!”
It was a wind born from the foundation of this world.
“Mine is at a different level than those aimlessly wandering Wind Elementals!”
They were different down to the fundamental level.
Just like those noble Dragons, he too became a different existence with different fundamentals.
That was why no matter how much these winds gathered together, he just needed to aim for the weaker ones to create an opening to grab the enemy by the throat.
Although it could seem cowardly to aim for the weak…
‘Isn’t that the obvious rules of nature?’
Peterson was, in some ways, maintaining the rules of the world.
The strong eat the weak.
He believed in this obvious way of life.
Baaaaaang-
One of the weak Wind Elementals could not hold on any longer and was pushed back.
An opening had appeared on this large whirlwind.
The smile on Peterson's face became bigger.
Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
His green gust of wind started to move.
It would aim for and go through that opening to kill the Dark Elf hiding inside.
He would then punish the Wind Elementals and the Dark Elf that chose to fight against this foundational wind.
Swoooooooosh-
Peterson motioned with his hand and the green whirlwind pillar started to form with sharp thorns. Those thorns tried to charge toward that gap.
Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
It was at that moment.
Through the gap…
“!”
Peterson saw a pair of eyes looking at him.
The dark pupils that resembled the night oddly sparkled like the stars.
The Dark Elf.
Just as he was about to recognize that it was her gaze, Peterson flinched.
"What the……”
‘Why is she smiling?’
The Dark Elf was smiling.
She was also faster than him.
The gap created in the whirlwind…
Something burst out of it.
It was Tasha’s long spear.
Baaaaang!
There was a loud explosion.
The long spear crashed into the green gust of wind. No, it stabbed into it.
However, the green gust of wind was not injured at all.
Peterson was about to sneer when he heard Tasha's voice.
“I am weaker than you.”
Tasha was standing at the center of the large whirlwind surrounding her.
It was quiet around Her.
The Wind Elementals were no longer coming to her side.
Not a single strand of wind moved past her.
– Tasha, I'll block that gap!
She heard the voice of her close friend.
The gap that had opened up for a bit almost instantly disappeared.
Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
She could hear it because she was standing somewhere with the wind.
She could hear the numerous voices of the wind Elementals.
They all shared the same thought as her.
‘Although I may be weaker than you…’
There was something she had learned from Cale.
He was truly strong.
The way he used multiple powers of nature made him look marvelous and as if he was not human.
However-
‘Let's get ready.’
He still prepared for the fights to the best of his abilities.
He actively used his friends in that preparation.
Cale always said the following.
He liked overwhelmingly one-sided fights.
Tasha saw how Cale used and utilized everything around him and, in the end, pushed himself to his limits to achieve these overwhelmingly one-sided fights.
"An overwhelmingly one-sided fight is possible.”
She wanted to be like him.
‘It seems like that inquisitor sees us as the walls or something, but…’
“Pfft.”
Tasha chuckled.
“The wind being a wall?”
That could not be.
The wind was free.
“You can’t tie the wind down.”
Tasha shared her thoughts out loud.
“You don’t even know the basics about the wind, do you?”
She raised his hand.
Her long spear pointed at the sky.
She raised her head.
The large whirlwind that was reaching all the way to the sky…
She could feel the numerous winds at the center of it. She could feel her close friends looking down at her as she quietly stood there.
She spoke to the close friends who would help her and fight with her.
“You can’t overcome a numbers advantage.”
Her Wind Elemental called out to her.
– Tasha.
She responded to it.
“Let’s get started.”
Now that the enemy had shown his full strength…
Shaaaaaaaaaaa-
She had to do something fitting as well.
“It’s time for the full assault.”
The whirlwind broke apart.
To be more accurate, the winds that had gathered together as one split off into all directions.
The group of winds that had moved apart like a bomb all moved toward one spot.
Peterson's green wind.
Dozens, no, hundreds of Wind Elementals all charged toward it.
They all attacked with their sharp wind blades toward the green wind.
Tasha was riding on the wind and shooting forward in the vanguard.
Swooooooosh-
The long spear surrounded by her wind stabbed toward the green wind.
Baaaaaang-!
Bang! Baaaaang! Baaaaang!
There were small and large explosions here and there.
The noises weren't too loud.
However, there were hundreds of these explosions.
These explosions were endless unlike the other large explosions.
“You shitheads-!”
Peterson couldn't believe it.
His eyes had seen everything.
He even saw how small wind blades, how extremely small Wind Elementals attacked his green wind.
They were despicable. They would withdraw to the back whenever he tried to react to them, making room for much larger Wind Elementals to continue their attacks.
Furthermore, Tasha's long spear endlessly stabbed at the green wind as well.
“Fuck!”
Bang, bang! Baaaaang!
The endless attacks gave Peterson no room to move.
Tasha could feel Peterson getting anxious.
He should not be able to move even if he wanted to do so.
It was because the wind was swirling so hard that he had no chance to do so.
Swooooooosh-
The green wind rotated even more fiercely.
It was as if it was trying to brush off the winds around it.
However, the wind was not something that could be brushed off.
If something shook the wind, they just let it shake as they moved.
When the green wind moved back, they followed it as well.
Bang, bang!
Even the small winds attacked.
There were no rules in their movements.
It was free.
That was why he could not easily make any sort of judgments.
However, Tasha was able to move as she pleased within this freedom.
– Tasha! It said everybody can get on its back!
Tasha took a step forward.
She stepped on hundreds of wind as if they were part of the ground as she walked.
Sometimes she shot up into the air and sometimes she dipped back to the bottom.
She just stepped as her heart told her to go.
She swung her spear as she moved.
Bang!
Baaaaang!
The green wind… She could stab her spear into any spot in that wind.
Baaaaang! Bang!
Both she and the Wind Elementals knew.
They all knew that it was the right answer to relentlessly attack Peterson so that he could not move.
And-
"The wind does not rest.”
There was nothing easier than continuously moving for an existence that was always on the move.
“Heh-”
Tasha couldn't help but laugh.
‘Now I get it.’
Having this experience fighting together with hundreds of Wind Elementals allowed her to finally realize it.
How she should fight.
‘I need to mix into it.’
She needed to let this free wind take her body.
She needed to become a part of nature.
Even without talking about it, as long as she headed toward the same goal as them…
Even if they were just a collection of hundreds of different pieces…
"We are bound to become a large flow.”
Similar to how drops of water gathered together to eventually form a lake and then flow into the vast ocean…
The wind just had to do the same.
‘No, I myself can move that way as well.
While doing it freely…
And as I want.’
The wind had never forced anything on Tasha.
It simply pushed her from the back no matter where she went.
“Ha, haha-”
She couldn’t help but laugh.
She didn’t know why she was laughing. She just felt like laughing.
Although she had not even won the battle yet…
Leaving her body to the numerous Wind Elementals and fighting together with them weirdly made her feel excited.
She stepped forward.
A wind appeared under her foot.
It was as if it existed there from the beginning.
Her spear moved again.
The wind created a path for it.
It was as if it was always doing that.
‘Yes.’
The wind always existed and had always been like this.
Being within this wind made Tasha finally understand what it meant to mix into the wind.
She then truly realized something.
‘I really am a part of nature.’
I too existed and always acted like this.
I am someone who is allowed to do this.
“Pfft.”
Tasha wondered what kind of enlightenment she was having in the middle of a fight with an inquisitor, but it allowed her to feel certain.
“The flow has come over to me.”
The large flow was following her.
That was enough for her to win.
She didn't think of this as faith but as the obvious reality.
It was at that moment.
Shhhhh-
One strand of the wind approached her.
“!”
Tasha flinched.
– Tasha, Tasha!
A Wind Elemental urgently called out to her.
Raon, who had returned from seeing Choi Han and was lying down on Cale’s knees, jumped up.
“Human, human!”
“Huh?”
As Cale half-assed a response as he was focused on looking out the window…
“I can feel an intense wind!”
“…What?”
“I can feel a super strong Wind Elemental! This is my first time feeling such an Elemental power.”
‘A super strong Wind Elemental?’
As Cale was blankly trying to understand the meaning behind those words…
– Oh Dark Elf.
Tasha heard someone's voice.
– I can feel the wind coming from you. You are a child who creates the flow of things.
She could feel a small wind tickling her cheek.
She turned her head.
There was a butterfly made of wind existing without being affected by the numerous winds.
The butterfly asked her a question.
– Child, can you save this world’s wind?
Tasha heard her Wind Elemental's voice again.
– O, oh King-
The Wind Elemental King was the only one a Wind Elemental would call king.
—
Translator's Comments
Butterfree, is that you? Did you grow up into the Wind Elemental King?
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