'Born with dark mana from the start.'
This statement was difficult for Florin to comprehend.
As far as she knew, no living being in the world was born with innate dark mana.
Dark Mages didn't reproduce.
Yet, the reason they were so prevalent in the world was that they exploited violence, war, poverty, anger, despair, and fear - negative emotions - to corrupt humans and transform them into Dark Mages.
As long as positive emotions existed, so too would negative ones.
Unless everyone became emotionless robots, negativity could never truly disappear.
'Born with dark mana? The Dark Elves...?'
Florin stood up and approached Dalion. He raised his head, his gaze clouded, and met her eyes.
"I can't believe your claim that you were born with dark mana. The World Tree would never allow it."
"It's... a misunderstanding..."
"A misunderstanding?"
Dalion nodded and reached out toward her. Startled, Florin instinctively stepped back, causing Dalion to look distraught.
"In the beginning... the World Tree embraced both life and death..."
"Life and death? Are you asking me to believe that?"
The World Tree symbolized life.
Never in history had it been associated with death or any negative energy. From the time the World Tree bore its first fruit thousands of years ago, it had always been a symbol of creation and vitality.
"But... when the first life was born from the World Tree, it took death away with it..."
And that... was the Dark Elves.
That was Dalion's claim.
'I can't believe it.'
Florin bit her lip.
The World Tree was believed to create all life, not just for the fae, but for the entire world… essentially, the whole Aether Continent.
It was thought that all life had extended from this first World Tree, becoming flowers, animals, insects, and eventually even humans.
This was not merely because she was an elf. Even human and dwarven history textbooks often included similar narratives, claiming that the World Tree played a significant role in the creation of life when the continent first emerged. Few would deny the World Tree's contributions to the birth of life.
The World Tree symbolized life.
The World Tree always represented purity, symbolized by its white essence.
But now, to claim that the World Tree also signified black death?
How could anyone believe such a statement now?
Even if the Dark Elves had worshipped the World Tree since ancient times, and even if Dalion was in a state where he could only speak the truth, Florin found it hard to accept his words.
"Fine. Then let me ask another question."
Dalion's pupils wavered.
Using the Enchantment of Pink Spring Moon to completely capture someone's mind was reaching its limit. While simple seduction was manageable, pushing this far into the realm of brainwashing was exhausting, even for Florin.
The only reason she could maintain this level of control was because they were in the Baekryun Tree Pavilion, a place filled with pure energy, and she carried the blessings of the World Tree.
'It will break soon.'
So, she quickly asked her question.
"Why have you remained hidden all this time? Why have you stayed in the shadows?"
It was the question she had been most curious about.
Dalion tilted his head blankly at her words, as though trying to process the question.
Suddenly—
"Grr... Aaaargh!"
He clutched his head and let out a scream.
"Your Majesty! What's happening?"
"Aaaaah!"
"Grrrrk!"
"Aaaaaaah!"
The five elven guards heard the commotion and burst into the reception hall, raising their staffs at the Dark Elves.
The Dark Elves were writhing on the floor, clutching their heads and screaming in agony. Seeing their state, Florin's heart sank.
'C-could this... could this be my fault? Did I overuse my abilities...?'
— It is not your fault. Be at ease.
A calm voice from nearby interrupted her panicked thoughts, and Florin quickly turned her head.
There, she saw a translucent woman reclining on a white cloud, nine soft, light pink fox tails swaying gently behind her… Pink Spring Moon.
The sudden appearance of one of the Twelve Divine Moons caused the elves to immediately kneel and pay their respects.
— Ah, that's a bit overwhelming, so you really don't need to do that…
Pink Spring Moon sat up, letting her legs dangle below the small cloud she was resting on. Resting her chin on her clasped hands, she tilted her head in thought.
— How peculiar.
"What seems peculiar to you...?"
— Their minds are restricted by some sort of limit. Even for us, the Twelve Divine Moons, executing such a technique would be difficult. It seems to go beyond mere divine power... it's a kind of 'technology,' you might say.
That was the crux of it.
The abilities of the Twelve Divine Moons had a defined limit… if one were to assign a scale from 1 to 100, they had already reached the absolute peak of 100.
It was the highest level of ability that any living being could achieve.
However, while they could manifest power within that range from 1 to 100, their abilities were innate and could only be slightly modified. There was little room for advancement.
Human technology, on the other hand, was different.
Humans might only wield abilities ranging from 1 to 50, but they had learned to develop techniques like 10-2 or 14-8, subdividing and refining their abilities into countless forms.
— From what I know, the human soul is incredibly complex, making it nearly impossible to completely brainwash someone. What we're seeing here is likely a system where the moment they try to say a specific keyword, their minds trigger a seizure. Even so, this is an impressive technique.
"Then…"
Florin took a deep breath and spoke firmly.
"They aren't truly 'Dark Elf royalty,' are they?"
— That's likely the case.
If they truly were members of the Dark Elf royal lineage, no one would have dared place such a restriction on them.
In other words, these individuals were likely nothing more than pawns, cast aside even by their own kind.
"It seems the Dark Elves are far more formidable than we assumed."
Her own reputation preceded her… known as the 'King Who Hides Her Face.'
Most people did not know why she chose to conceal herself, and Florin suspected that even the Dark Elves before her were unaware of the truth.
However, anyone with even a faint connection to the underworld would find it easy to uncover Florin's abilities.
She had never gone out of her way to hide them.
Yet, for the Dark Elves of all beings to claim they had never heard of her?
— Reconnaissance. That sounds about right.
The existence of Dark Elves was undeniable.
And perhaps, true royalty existed among them elsewhere. Their ultimate goal? To reclaim the World Tree.
To achieve this, they had sent these three Dark Elves to test Florin's abilities. By that measure, their mission was a success.
After all, Florin had revealed her Enchantment of Pink Spring Moon to them.
How the Dark Elves would act now that they understood her powers was anyone's guess.
"Pink Spring Moon…"
— Speak, child.
"Were their claims true? That in the distant past, the World Tree also carried the aura of death?"
— Hmm…
Pink Spring Moon scratched her cheek nonchalantly before responding.
— I don't know for sure. Perhaps it did in the past. But does it matter now? Today, it only holds life.
"Is that really all…?"
— Where there is life, there must also be death. The World Tree carried both at one point… it simply discarded one. Where that discarded death went, I cannot say. But regardless, the World Tree remains your mother, does it not?"
"Yes, you're right."
Indeed, what difference did it make to uncover some hidden truth about the World Tree?
The World Tree had always been there, unwavering, creating life for everyone.
— So, be prepared. To protect the World Tree, you'll need to remain vigilant.
"I will. I promise to protect it."
With that, Florin hurriedly left to attend to her duties. The Dark Elves, following her orders, were taken into custody and placed in the underground prison.
The crime they were charged with was attempting to harm the king while wielding dark mana.
— How worrisome.
Pink Spring Moon, leaving the now-empty reception room, gazed up at the towering World Tree.
— I wonder if their goal is really as simple as reclaiming the World Tree... or if it's something else entirely.
Dark Elves, who had been living in hiding for so long, now emerged from the shadows, seemingly joining forces with the dark mages. Could they be plotting something far more sinister?
Could Florin truly protect the World Tree against such threats?
These thoughts weighed heavily on her mind.
***
Jeliel was rich.
Very, very rich.
So, it was no surprise that all the equipment she used was far from ordinary.
"What… is all this?"
"When entering combat mode, one must always be fully prepared."
Jeliel's combat robe was more of a dress. In fact, could it even be called a robe when it didn't even come with a cloak? A scarf draped over her shoulders might have been a more fitting description.
Her staff, however, was quintessentially elven, crafted from Black Spiritwood, a material more valuable than diamonds. At its tip was a gemstone known as the Transcendence Stone, renowned for containing mana as dense and pure as that of celestial realms.
The Transcendence Stone was so rare and intricate that even Alterisha, with all its advanced magic, had failed to create an artificial replica after several attempts. Only seven of these stones were known to exist in the world.
In addition to her staff, Jeliel's bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and other accessories were all of an equally luxurious caliber, enough to elevate her combat ability by at least one full class.
"So, how skilled are you with magic now?"
"I've mastered class 6 spells."
"…That's impressive for someone so young."
Elves developed their magical abilities faster than humans. It wasn't uncommon for prodigies to achieve Class 5 magic by their teenage years. On average, elven magic warriors were significantly more advanced than their human counterparts.
Among elven prodigies, Jeliel was considered exceptionally fast, even by their high standards.
'If not for the fact that Stella currently has a generation of protagonist-level monsters, Jeliel would have been hailed as a once-in-a-century genius.'
Of course, when compared to Stella's three protagonists, Jeliel didn't seem to fall short in any way. On top of that, she possessed both wealth and power.
'… What's this?'
Jeliel pretended to stare blankly into space while focusing her senses on Baek Yu-Seol. He had been watching her so intently for a while that even changing her expression felt burdensome. The muscles in her cheeks were on the verge of cramping.
'I've never felt this kind of pressure from being stared at before in my life…'
The emotion she was feeling now was strange and unfamiliar. Perhaps it was because she had rarely felt emotions at all, and now she was experiencing one so intensely for the first time.
"… What are you doing?"
Eventually, Jeliel turned to him, speaking in her usual blunt tone. Baek Yu-Seol shrugged in response.
"Shall we head out then? Are the others ready?"
"Yeah. Five guards will be coming with us."
"Perfect."
"But we'll be the first to clear the gate. I still need to earn credits for school."
"Oh, right… you're a student too, huh."
She was still enrolled at Astral Flower Magic Academy. While her wealth likely allowed her to skip classes without consequences, she probably didn't want to tarnish her graduation record.
"By the way..."
"Yeah?"
"I've prepared some gear for you. Want to see it?"
"My gear? Nah… I'm good, honestly."
Baek Yu-Seol usually customized and crafted his own equipment with Alterisha. He spared no expense when it came to his gear, so it was likely as good as, if not better than, anything Jeliel had to offer.
Still, that wasn't the point here.
"Alright, sure."
Seeing Jeliel's slightly disappointed expression, Baek Yu-Seol realized it wouldn't hurt to accept a gift she'd gone to the trouble of preparing.
"Actually, I only hesitated because accepting it outright felt shameless. But how could you just give up the moment I said no?"
"...Fair point."
At his words, Jeliel snapped her fingers, and ten workers appeared out of nowhere. They began unloading wooden crates from a massive truck, stacking them neatly.
Clank!
The magical wooden crates opened simultaneously, like a unfolding staircase. Inside were magical materials and equipment so rare that even Baek Yu-Seol couldn't help but widen his eyes. He felt like punching his one-minute-younger self for almost rejecting this outright.
"Th-This is all…?"
As expected, Baek Yu-Seol immediately bypassed the equipment and approached the magical materials. Seeing this, Jeliel smiled with satisfaction. She already knew he was obsessed with alchemy.
She also knew that Baek Yu-Seol had considerable financial resources, enough to acquire most items he desired.
She knew everything.
That's why Jeliel went the extra mile to procure incredibly rare magical materials that couldn't be bought with money alone.
"This is insane…"
Jeliel still didn't fully understand how to win someone's heart, how to truly make someone hers.
So, as always, she relied on a familiar method: throwing money at the problem.
Of course, meeting Baek Yu-Seol had taught her that money wasn't the solution to everything...
But still, wouldn't having plenty of it always come in handy?