CHAPTER 200: CONFLICT. [2]

Sephrina stared at the wall before she asked. "Who are you?"

The voice replied mischievously. "The representative of El Lunari."

Sephrina narrowed her eyes even though she was more or less aware of her identity.

"El Lunari...?" she repeated slowly, as if tasting the name on her tongue.

"Emm, it’s nice to meet an elf who doesn’t attack immediately." The voice said. "You outsiders sure are a rare breed."

"Calling us outsiders, huh?" She said, softly. "Who gives you the right to label us as one."

"Oh, please forgive me, your majesty, did I upset you?" The voice asked. "But what can I do? It’s your own people that labelled you as such."

"....What?"

"The elves from Vhagar continent call you outsiders." The voice replied as it began to distort. "In their own words...you are the ones who ran away."

The Vhagar Continent was the largest one in the entire world.

The Continent that has seen the most war, including the oppression of the elves.

Vhagar continent got its name from the First True dragon born in their soil.

Even though countless dynasties tried to change the name but none could...Not even the Soloman Empire.

"Our people didn’t want chaos and death all the time." Sephrina replied, though she kept herself in control. "If that makes us outsiders so be it."

The voice chuckled softly, echoing faintly through the dim room. "Spoken like someone who still believes there’s a clean side in war."

Sephrina didn’t answer right away.

Her gaze stayed on the wall, her fingers drumming lightly against her leg.

"And what about you?" she asked. "If you’re a ’representative’ of El Lunari, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just asked to keep the elves in this continent in check." the voice replied. "But looks like you guys don’t want to just remain still."

"What do you mean?"

The instant Sephrina asked the question, the air in the place shifted.

As if everything around her was simulated by the mood of the voice.

"The trade for the spirit herbs...." The voice said. "...You better stop doing it."

"Why shouldn’t I?" Sephrina asked. "I am doing it for the betterment of my people—."

"The betterment of your people is a threat to us in itself." The voice cut her off. "We don’t want the elves of this continent to be even mildly stronger than they already are."

Sephrina’s fingers stilled on her leg.

Her expression didn’t change, but her voice dropped lower.

"So... you’ve been watching us?"

"Oh, much more than watching," the voice replied, a hint of satisfaction bleeding through its tone.

"I know your allies. I know your trade routes. I even know how many spirit herbs leave your borders each month."

A slow breath escaped Sephrina’s lips. "You think threatening me will make me stop?"

"No," the voice said calmly. "But I think reminding you of what’s at stake might."

The dimness in the room seemed to grow heavier, pressing on her shoulders.

Shadows crawled along the walls, stretching unnaturally, as if the voice itself had weight.

"You elves here... you’ve grown soft. Peaceful. That’s why you’ve survived so long," the voice continued.

"But if you keep reaching for power, you’ll draw the same fate as those on Vhagar."

Sephrina’s eyes narrowed. "We are not like them."

"Maybe not yet," the voice said with an almost playful tone, "but power makes history repeat itself."

For a brief moment, silence stretched between them, broken only by the faint hum in the air.

Then, almost lazily, the voice added, "Consider this your only warning. End the trade. Or the next time we speak... it won’t be words I send."

The air abruptly lightened, as if the presence had vanished, leaving Sephrina alone in the quiet room.

Her gaze lingered on the wall, her mind running through the implications.

She didn’t believe in idle threats—but this one had felt different.

El Lunari are a considerable threat on themselves but what is even more concerning is the World Bank.

She was well aware that they are the ones who control the World Bank.

If they stop exchanging or, worst case, boycott the elves’ trading...her entire race will be in danger.

And if they truly were tied to El Lunari... ignoring it might cost far more than she was willing to pay.

’...Sigh, what should I do?’

At that moment, the air around her shimmered and a fairy arrived in front of her.

"Lili?" She beamed before she asked. "What is happening outside."

The fairy’s face was pale as she replied. "You should see it for yourself."

---

---

"Argh!"

He cut open his own hand and the blood began to sweep down.

"Come on, you pathetic being." He said with a strange smile. "Feed on my blood."

’Huh?’

Akamir couldn’t stop his astonishment as he saw the dead body move.

The corpse’s tentacles twitched first—small, unnatural jerks like a puppet learning how to move.

Then its head rolled to the side, jaw hanging slack before snapping shut with an audible click.

The pure white glow was still there but it was much more malicious than before.

The elf who had cut himself only smiled wider, his blood dripping onto the corpse’s chest in steady streams.

The body’s skin began to darken, veins blackening under the surface as if ink was spreading through it.

"Ah, this stupid elf." Nayomi mumbled from the side as she looked at the Lewin. "He has truly lost it now."

"What is he doing?" Akamir couldn’t help but ask. "I don’t understand."

"He is inviting the spirit of the Greater One inside his own body." She mumbled, rubbing her chin. "He is trying to subdue it in a mental battle."

Akamir frowned hard. "Is that even possible?"

"No, it’s not." She replied. "He is just doing something much more stupid that he doesn’t understand."

"Is he going to survive—."

"He will never survive." She cut him off. "But he will also never die for a while?"

Akamir tilted his head. "Why?"

"The Greater One will torment him with visions and dreams." She replied. "She will make sure Lewin will understand the pain of trying to convict for her powers."

"...."

Akamir didn’t reply as he kept on staring at the enormous body of the Kros.

Lewin’s breathing quickened, his eyes taking on a feverish light as more blood poured onto the corpse.

The air around them began to churn like invisible waves slamming into each other, warping the space.

Enough to make the hairs on Akamir’s neck rise.

Its head turned unnaturally far, those glowing white eyes locking on Lewin.

Akamir shifted his gaze as he felt something abnormal.

Looking up, the sky had now begun to change its colours.

The crimson had already begun to fade, replaced by the natural colour.

Akamir felt an instinctive pull to step back, but he forced himself to stand still.

’Something is definitely wrong right now.’

Lewin’s lips twisted into something that was half-smile, half-snarl.

"Come on, you parasite... let’s see who devours who."

The corpse moved faster than a blink, its body clamping around Lewin’s face but instead of breaking him, it froze.

Veins of inky black began to snake from Lewin’s skin into the corpse’s arm and back again, like two rivers trying to flood into each other at once.

Akamir’s eyes narrowed. "They’re merging?"

"No," Nayomi said flatly. "They’re fighting over who gets to wear the skin."

Lewin let out a ragged laugh, even as blood streamed from his nose.

"You... can’t... win..."

The corpse’s head twitched sharply, like it was disagreeing.

Then it slammed Lewin into the ground hard enough to crack stone.

Akamir finally took a step forward, his hand lifting ever so slightly. "If he loses—"

"He will lose," Nayomi cut in. "But he will never know that he did."

Akamir frowned. "What—?"

"Hahaha!!!" Lewin laughed like a crazed person as the body of Kros began to stop moving. "I am winning!!!"

Kros though doesn’t seem to have already lost.

Its multiple tentacles moved in a blink and attached themselves to all the dead bodies around it.

Even the elves’ soldiers weren’t spared from its cruelty.

"What is it doing?" Akamir couldn’t help but wonder as those moving bodies turned limp.

It was as if their bodies had lost their will to move.

"Akamir!"

A sudden voice made Akamir flinch as he turned back only to find Lili rushing towards him.

He frowned, looking at her. "Lili?"

"I was following you." She said with a smile. "Don’t worry, I brought Sephrina with me."

Akamir looked at her. "She is looking at everyone with your eyes right?"

Lili nodded. "Yes—!"

Her words halted as the window behind Akamir broke.

Before he could move, the tentacle latched itself to her body.

In an instant, Lili lost her ability to move as she lay limp.

"Lili—."

Akamir moved to grab her body but he felt something on his back.

He slowly moved his head only to find the tentacle....latched on his back.

"..huh?"

Akamir lost his consciousness in an instant.