CHAPTER 109: 109 "FATHER" (3/3)

"..."

The last of the legendary figures looked at the glow of the fluorescent plants all around, silently frowning.

Among all the Dark Elves, his appearance was considered outstanding. Although he appeared to be in his early twenties, his every movement exuded a special mature charm.

This Dark Elf hesitated for a moment before walking deeper along the path between the trees.

He quickly leaped through the forest and soon arrived at the giant tree in the center.

That is...

He stopped his steps, hesitated for a moment, and did not rush closer. From a distance, he said loudly, "Svanni! It’s me, your father!"

He waited for a while, seeing no movement from the treehouse, moved his lips, suppressed the unease in his heart, and continued to shout:

"I know you resent me, think I was the one who killed your mother."

"Your mother’s death... it certainly wasn’t an accident, but it was not my fault!"

He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and shouted towards the treehouse:

"It was her fault!"

"She defied the Matriarch, refused to obey the Clan’s orders, and even assassinated the Clan’s Priest, ultimately leading to her execution by the Matriarch’s decree."

"I was reluctant to do it back then, but you know the Clan’s rules, if I didn’t act, we would all die! All of us would die!"

"I did it all for you!"

"Don’t you understand all this!!?"

The forest remained deathly silent, "Father" could clearly hear the increasingly fast beat of his heart in his chest.

Thud, thud, thud, thud——

A nameless fear constantly enveloped him, making him unable to relax, unable to forcibly enter the treehouse to take her away.

Why?

What on earth happened to her? Why do I feel so uneasy?

Finally, after finally suppressing the anxiety in his heart, "Father" changed tactics, speaking with sadness:

"Your sister, Stella, she’s gone mad. She killed all my relatives with her own hands, now... you’re the only family I have left."

"Svanni, can you really bear to see me killed by her?"

"Come with me! We can surely reclaim everything that belongs to us!"

After "Father" delivered his impassioned speech, the treehouse finally responded after a moment.

Crack, crack, crack...

A thick tree root emerged from the ground, swaying the giant tree’s branches and leaves, slowly approaching "Father" like a hand.

"Father" sighed with relief and reached out to gently touch it.

Finally, I deceived her——

"Cough!?"

Whoosh!

Just a meter away from "Father," the root suddenly extended, ruthlessly piercing through his chest and swiftly binding him.

"Svanni, what, are you, doing?"

After being wounded, "Father" immediately tried to escape, attempting to use the shadow jump ability of a legendary assassin to escape death.

But he failed.

At this moment, in this Fluorescent Forest—— there were no shadows at all!

!!!

The oppressive fear exploded at this instant, causing "Father’s" feigned expression to crumble completely, letting out a shrill wail.

"No!"

He had considered that Svanni might not agree with their approach, but had not expected she would want to kill him... no!

Didn’t you agree!?

In that moment, "Father" suddenly understood everything.

This was a trap.

All of this was a trap to draw them in!

"You deceived me!"

He tried to escape but found himself unable to.

More vines erupted, entwining his wrists, ankles, neck... slowly yet irresistibly tightening.

Crunch, crunch!

Death.

Cold death tightened around "Father’s" neck, causing him to tremble uncontrollably with fear: "I! Cough, am your father!!?"

"I have no father."

Svanni’s phantom avatar finally emerged before the giant tree, looking indifferently at the "Father" entwined by roots, frowning slightly.

"What have you been saying all this time?"

In a matriarchal society that revered motherhood, identifying the child’s true father was relatively difficult.

After all, a father might not be your biological father, but a mother is always your biological mother.

So in the Dark Elf Clan, children have only a mother, with no concept of a father...

As for the males expected to be called "biological fathers," in the Dark Elves’ eyes, they were only companions of the mother, toys, or communal slaves.

She looked at the gradually lifeless "Father" and suddenly said, "Doris."

"...What?"

Getting strangled, the weakening "Father" was already on the brink of death, almost unconsciously looking at Svanni.

Why did you bring her up now?

"You forcibly sacrificed Doris’s soul to [Sinful Desire], using its power to bypass the Monastery to relay messages to me."

"Ha, you..."

Is this revenge for her!?"

"No, I don’t care about her death."

"I brought her up just to tell you something—for me, she was merely a clan member with similar blood. "

"Whether in life or death, I remain unmoved."

Svanni slightly shook her head, staring into "Father’s" eyes, calmly saying:

"You are the same."

The Forbidden Scholar’s expression remained unchanged from start to finish.

No anger, nor sadness.

Only faint disdain in her eyes.

Looking at the father connected by blood, it was as if observing a piece of meat on a laboratory table.

Watched by a cold gaze, the "Father," unable to speak any more, shed mottled bloody tears from his eyes.

Not only did it fail to move Svanni, but it made her eyes grow more disgusted.

"Put away your clumsy performance. I am feeling a bit bored."

"If you truly cared about that so-called blood kinship, then why only appear in front of me today?"

"It’s not remorse you feel, only the realization of your impending death."

The final whimpers were strangled in the throat.

"Father" could no longer reply.

The roots drained his blood, devoured his flesh, and sealed his soul.

Svanni gazed calmly at the "Father" pierced by several sharp spikes, dead at last, then slowly shifted her gaze away.

"Alright, with the data from the previous-generation specimen, my research can continue."

Only at the mention of research did some ripples appear in her eyes.

"I will surely find the most correct path."

...

[You, oh, my father.

In that sad height.

Now curse me with your tears, bless me.]

"Sigh..."

As everything concluded, Herbert stopped writing, looking out at the distant sea.

The blood moon hung high in the sky, its slightly dark reflection mirrored on the sea surface.

The night was blood-red but seemed exceptionally serene here.

He turned to look back at the misty mountains behind him, the lightless peaks resembling crouching giant beasts, silently watching him too.

Suddenly, a fierce cold wind swept from the misty mountains, blowing down his hood, revealing his pure white hair.

Herbert shook his head, letting his hair drift in the night wind, his white hair dyed with a bewitching crimson by the blood moon.

"Heh heh..."

He laughed, shaking his head, lowering it, steadily writing down the last stanza of the poem.

[Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.]

Bam.

With the final force, the tip of the charcoal pencil broke, leaving a fierce diagonal line on the manual.

Like a sharp scar embedded within the story.

Thus...

Total elapsed time, twenty-five minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

A total of twenty-five heretical intruders.

Including five legendary and twenty high-tier professionals.

All have been completely executed.