"A Demon?! How can this lowly creature be here?"

"This Demon... Wasn't he the one who killed that useless Hero?"

Putting aside the fact of how self-absorbed these pricks are, they are pretty dumb for discussing in the middle of a battle. I, like usual, am glad for my opponent's idiocy, and use it to my advantage.

Swiftly pulling Rexorem out of the ground, I use one of my rarely used self-made Skills: [Senbonzakura]. The name of the Skill literally translates to a thousand cherry blossoms, and it represents what the Skill does.

"Let's see how fearsome this Skill of mine is."

Swinging Rexorem at the Dark Elves encircling me, with my Skill, I discharge a thousand of Mana Blades. These Mana Blades are so thin and small, it is simply impossible to detect them in a battlefield that is overwhelmed with Mana.

By the time the Dark Elves realize they have been shredded by my Skill, a few seconds have passed. Their look of shock and bewilderment is something that I can enjoy all day.

Afraid of being the next victim, they immediately make a distance. I use this as a chance to join Haletha's rank.

Being a competent enough slave, Winerva managed to keep up with me. By the time I join the rank, she has even let go of Arieda to let the kid hug her mom.

"Mother! Thank goodness you are safe!"

"This stubborn lass! Why are you here?!"

While Haletha genuinely sounds angry, she still runs toward Arieda and hugs her tightly. She doesn't even bother to reprimand Arieda afterwards—contrary to my expectation—and just keeps hugging her as if she is going to lose her if she lets go.

"That is sweet, but please save that moment for later." I don't like ruining the mood, but what needs to be said must be said. "You have two choices: come with me to Verniculos Kingdom or die here."

Whoosh!

An arrow is coming at me at an insane speed. I can luckily detect it thanks to my mask, so catching it with my hand is a piece of cake.

I don't even know why I have to catch it with my bare hand. I just instinctively raise it because raising it is easier than lifting Rexorem.

"These annoying archers," I mutter.

Throwing the arrow that I have just caught, I click my tongue in annoyance the moment a hundred more coming at me at once. I can see some of Haletha's Guardians run toward me, then prepare to block them.

Stabbing Rexorem into the ground as I channel my Mana into its Magic Stone, the Magic Stone generates a Magic Barrier that is big enough to protect me, the Guardians around me, and the people behind me.

Boom! Boom!

"Well, look at that. Makes me wonder what those arrows contain," I comment as I see each of the arrows explode upon contact with my Magic Barrier. Turning to Haletha, I say, "Choose, Haletha. Live as a nobody or die as a dethroned Queen."

Haletha looks slightly distraught for whatever reason. I can see that she has a lot in her mind though; I can totally understand if the development is too overwhelming for her to immediately register.

Having lived for hundreds of years certainly has its perks. Regaining her composure in the next moment, she stands up and looks at me in determination.

"Make me a nobody."

"... You don't have to word it like that," I say in amusement after blinking my eyes once.

Dispersing the Magic Barrier the moment there is no longer any arrow coming at me, I take Rexorem out of the ground, and let the Dark Elves taste another [Senbonzakura]. Again, they realize their body has been shredded late.

"Get on your Varadome, and get the hell out of here!"

Due to the new mission Ilschevar suddenly gave me, I instinctively take on the role of the leader even though I am supposed to be a mere guide. I am, however, pleasantly surprised to find none of them show any discontent.

They willingly follow my instruction without any question—even the Guardians treat my words as if they were their Queen's. I see this as them giving me a pass to order them around, so I don't want to waste this chance.

"Calean!" I shout.

"Yes, sir!" Comes the most annoying but friendliest Dark Elf among the group.

"Can you take this girl with you?" I motion to Winerva. "She has jelly feet."

"Of course, I can, but what about you, sir?"

Waving my hand nonchalantly, I say, "My feet are faster than your Varadome's."

I do admit I sound arrogant, horribly so, but rather than being a jerk, I am being a braggart here. I didn't say it because I just wanted to look cool—I said it because that was the truth.

I can't emphasize enough how good I am at running. Prior to my fight with Yūto, I am just a couple of miles per second slower than the Varadomes; now that I am way stronger than the two previous versions of myself, I am naturally faster.

"Our goal is escaping! Avoid fighting back—just dodge and focus on running away," Haletha shouts as she leads the way, while riding on her impressively fast Varadome.

The reason why I chose to run in the very first place is because I want to be the farthest away from the rebel army. I didn't know that Haletha's Varadome was fast enough to impress me, so I am quite tempted to join her now.

p Regardless, in the end, it is still slower than me, so I prefer running than riding on it.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Hundreds of arrows are coming at us. For the past few minutes, I count there have been 27 arrows that have whizzed past me.

"You guys are very fond shooting arrows, huh?" Since I am running right beside Haletha's Varadome, I decided to express my dissatisfaction toward the situation to her. "I mean no offense, but I'm glad you guys can't aim properly."

Looking at me in amusement, she replies, "I am astonished that you can still enjoy yourself in this life-threatening situation." She sighs. "I... I can't even accept this is really happening."

'It's fine. It's not any worse than my hellish days of training,' is what I wanted to say, but I hold myself back, and stay silent. I have been getting emotionally duller these days, so I am fully aware how bad my consolation is.

Whizz!

Another arrow whizzed past me, and it almost hit my Indigo Rank Mask. I am pissed, so I turn around, and use [Senbonzakura] as a payback.

"Kuagh!"

"W-Watch out for invisible—gahak!"

"H-Hey, fall back! You will die if you move any further!"

I just used [Senbonzakura] thrice consecutively, resulting in the death of a satisfying amount of Dark Elves. My mind unconsciously stopped me from doing that before, so I slightly regret that I had listened to my mind given the result.

See, this Skill of mine was invented when I was still a mere human with Magic. I had a limited knowledge about Magic and a very miniscule amount of Mana back then.

The Mana consumption of this Skill was so absurd to me at that time, Millonia even attested I was always out for hours due to Mana Exhaustion.

My body remembers that feeling well, which is why I am still using it carefully even though I am already a lot stronger now. My rapid growth, of course, also plays a huge role; if my growth was natural, this instance where I forgot how strong I was would never happen.

"How long until we reach outside?"

"Since we can't use any Teleportation Gate, I am afraid it will be two hours from now on," Haletha replies. "On top of that, I am afraid there are people waiting for us at the exit of the forest."

The situation is not in our favor. I have never expected it to be, but I feel disappointed regardless.

Iorael really has no intention to let Haletha go this time. Our escape feels much harder now, and I can't help myself beginning to doubt if we will ever make it out alive.

'Layland! I have regained my connection with the land!' Luxia's exclamation awakens me from my thought. 'I can feel the surrounding clearly and control the land!'

"What? What is happening?" The news is something that I am glad to hear, but the suddenness makes me feel sceptical. "Are you sure it's not just a trap?"

'No, but I have to say this is but a fluke. Anyway, do you need my help?'

Given the possibility of us getting killed if we keep taking this way, Luxia's offer is too enticing to refuse. Without skipping a beat, I immediately say yes.

"Lead the way."

'Let the forest guide you.'

I am confused by Luxia's response, but before I can even ask her what she means, the ground I am stepping on suddenly sinks in.

"Uwah! Have we fallen into a pit?"historical

"Watch out! The ground is sinking!"

Judging how bewildered the Dark Elves are, like me, this must be their first time experiencing it. None of us know what is actually happening, but we keep running regardless.

"There is a tunnel in front of us!"

Unlike the special eyes of the Dark Elves, my eyes can't see the tunnel yet. We must be, at least, 30 feet away from it, which is not that far of a distance.

'The forest has shown you the way, Layland! Follow it!'

I don't actually know where the tunnel will lead us to, but from how sure Luxia sounds, I am inclined to believe it will lead us outside.