"Wait a moment…"
Derek's voice suddenly dropped.
"…You agreed to help the Dark Elves?!"
The sheer volume of his voice shattered the cold silence like glass.
He shot to his feet in one blur of motion, snow flying up from his boots as he stormed toward me, his eyes blazing with something between rage and complete disbelief.
Which... was normal, considering that I was going to go against the entire Elven Kingdom if I wanted to help them.
But the location of the Ygdrassil was simply too important for me.
"Are you out of your FUCKING mind?!" Derek roared, grabbing my shoulder. "Do you seriously think you're some kind of god?!"
His hand trembled as it clenched into a fist by his side, but I didn't move. I didn't flinch.
"Maybe you're strong enough to kill the fucking Emperor," he shouted, his voice cracking with emotion.
"But don't pretend you're strong enough to take on the entire Elven Kingdom just because someone told you to!"
The snow around us fluttered in silence.
