[Lv182 Elf Shadow Thief Phiria has died.]
When Yu IlHan stopped carving the holy stone he was holding, Na YuNa, who was supporting him with holy power on the side, called out to him. Seeing him biting his lips, her expression turned serious as well.
"Mr. IlHan?"
"What is it? Are you hurt? Do you want me to heal you?"
"I'm fine, but it looks like something big happened to my subordinates."
He tried to keep calm. Of course, he was doing the calculations in his head at the same time.
'Dammit. I can't revive an already dead person…..!'
The one who died was the thief-class elf among the 4 elves he had under him, Phiria. She was the most loyal to him and acted without hesitation when he gave her an order. And currently, she should be holding out against the 4th Great Cataclysm with the other elves.
The elves, including her, were not only much stronger than the people of Earth scattered across many worlds; Ericia, Flemir, and the other wolfkin had gone over to help them, and he thought that nothing much would arise even if he left them alone.
But if it was to the extent that Phiria died, it didn't seem so simple.
'Or, something out of the ordinary happened to her.'
Just why did she not use the communication device before she died? Did she think that it was meaningless to do so? Just who was able to harm Phiria?
The boiling doubts, agitation and rage made his body tremble. His subordinate that he had worked with for years had died, so it would be strange if he was still calm. Moreover, she died in a place where his eyes could not reach, for an unknown reason, so it was no wonder that he felt very stuffy right now.
However, he also knew that letting his body be taken over by instinct always called for the worst results. He had lost Phiria, but he still had others he had to protect.
Right now, he needed to become cool-headed. He had to sharpen his heart like a cold blade and stab it towards the place he had to proceed to.
"Fuu."
He calmly took a deep breath and put away his equipment. Although it was unfortunate that he still hadn't finished the holy region, it would be fine to do it there as well. It was fortunate that he could finish up on the equipment for Dragon's Army while he was at Breya.
Na YuNa silently watched him. Yu IlHan eventually put away all traces of work and spoke to her.
"Looks like we need to go to Dareu."
"Yes, I'll go with you."
"Did you say Dareu?"
"Are we going to Dareu, Dad?"
Liera, who was playing with Yumir in the garden, also came after hearing him. He nodded firmly and spoke in a whisper.
"Phiria in Dareu has died. ....Perhaps, we might need the army's power this time."
"…..Yeah, the kids are all ready."
"Yes, well done."
First, he would ensure the safety of the remaining elves and the wolfkin, and incinerate anything and everything related to Phiria's death.
Although it was highly probable that Dareu was in serious trouble, given that Phiria, clad in legend-ranked equipment, had died, Yu IlHan didn't plan to back off, regardless of the circumstances.
By this point, you might ask, "What's the difference between cool-headed and passionate?" But Yu IlHan was really cool-headed right now. He was going to wipe out everything cool-headedly.
"Dareu... the world that you came back from is so strong."
"If it's too much pressure, you can stay out, Mr. Kang HaJin."
"No, I'll do my work – protecting YuNa."
"Isn't that reliable?"
He did not need to ask the Dragon's army, and Yumir's words would suffice.
"We're fighting too."
"We'll fight."
"Okay."
With just that, the children accepted it, put on their equipment and prepared for battle. Although their life wasn't long at all, 99% of it was battle and war. Their busy movements were even reminiscent of those of highly trained soldiers.
"Hero, we're done preparing!"
"Captain, prepared for departure!"
Yu IlHan lastly looked at Liera. Clad in the Feather of Temptation, she was holding a straight spear of light pink in one hand, which seemed to represent her straightforward feelings.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah."
Liera spoke shortly as if she knew what was on his mind.
"Let's wipe them out."
"Yes."
Yu IlHan activated the Warp skill. Like how they went from Earth to Breya, and how they came from Breya to Earth, the Flying fortress naturally leaped between dimensions...
"Kugh!?"
...Or not.
[Kyaaaak!? The rebound, the rebound hurts too much!]
[Why are you hurt when you're a building!]
[I get tugged at everywhere! Whether it's the engine or the barrier!]
Mystic's screams represented their feelings. Yu IlHan definitely tried to teleport into Dareu, which he understood fully with his Record skill, but the rebound was too great.
"Aooh, so heavy. Did my breasts get bigger again...?"
"Just what is up with this mana density?"
Na YuNa and Kang HaJin, who were relatively ordinary, muttered, creasing their brows. Although they remembered feeling something like this before, they did not know when and where they did.
"The air is delicious!"
"Wow, my body is so light."
Meanwhile, the Dragon's Army, who were newtypes from the moment they were born, breathed deeply in joy. Perhaps they were born with the ability to become stronger in response to the environment, but they were growing stronger on their own while absorbing the surrounding mana!
"IlHan, did we really come to Dareu?"
Even Yu IlHan was stiff for a second, but Liera, the only one acting natural, checked with him.
"This is a higher world."
"So it's like that after all?"
"Yes."
"Tch."
Yu IlHan clicked his tongue. He finally grasped how the situation was turning out.
"Oh, so it was a higher world! I knew it was a little familiar!"
"A h-higher world!? Doesn't that mean the members of higher existences factions are here...?"
So he picked up some things here and there and came to the right conclusion, huh? Yu IlHan acknowledged Kang HaJin's words without hesitation.
"Even higher existences belonging to a faction can use their powers without limits here. Though, I still don't get why this place has been upgraded to a higher world."
"Then if we're unlucky to run into any of them, and they try to kill us...!"
"Then of course, they'll become a nice source of exp."
"...Ah, yes, of course."
"Higher existences give a shit ton of experience. Don't say anything if you haven't killed one."
"And so, please shut up."
With Yu IlHan, who judged things differently from other lower existences, in front of him, Kang HaJin felt that all his fear and worry was in vain.
Meanwhile, Na YuNa, who had stuck by Yu IlHan, was still all smiles upon learning that this was a higher world, and it seemed she was sure that Yu IlHan's side was the safest, no matter where she was. At least right now, she had come to a smarter conclusion than Kang HaJin did.
Yu IlHan thought back to when Dareu was still at its 3rd Great Cataclysmic stage, when he came here. Of course, he did hear that it had met its 4th Great Cataclysm before everyone was expelled from Earth, but to become a higher world, another Great Cataclysm was needed! The only one who could answer his questions was Liera, who was once among the core personnel of the Heaven's Army.
"Liera, were higher worlds this easy to become? Even Earth hasn't become a higher world yet."
"It's not that it's easy, but it's probably because Dareu is special like Earth. You didn't think that, even though Dareu was only in its 3rd Great Cataclysm, it was full of 4th-class dragons just because of the Destruction Demon Army, right? You can think it's similar to how the perverted demons are everywhere on Earth right now. It's just that the two worlds are special."
"That's true, but..."
"Moreover, Dareu is a world where the Garden of Sunset also interfered, isn't it? Uu, there were so many clues, but I still couldn't think of this."
Thinking about it, Liera was right. Dareu was a world that the Destruction Demon Army and the Garden of Sunset had reached out their hands to even before Earth.
Well, the Destruction Demon Army didn't actually want Dareu itself, but the dragons that composed it, and tried to turn it into a dragon-breeding den after wiping out the elves, but the Garden of Sunset took the opposite path, protecting the elves by poaching some of the dragons.
In other words, they were trying to protect mankind worldwide. And as long as mankind was in the world, there would be room for development.
"The Garden of Sunset desired Dareu as they looked further ahead than the Destruction Demon Army. I heard their leader has prophetic abilities; I wonder if it's true…"
"At that time, I didn't have the time to think all of that while I acted..."
Higher worlds could freeze over for all he cared. He hurried to Dareu because they said that dragons might invade Earth and wipe out all the dragonkin. As he arrived to wipe out the dragons, he was led by the nose by a strange dragon called Lecidna, who had formed an alliance with a portion of the dragons, including her...
Somehow, it ended with him taking the elves under his command, becoming their emperor. He taught them battle tactics, made them an elite force, and growth accelerated even more when the wolfkin came.
....In other words, to exaggerate a little, Yu IlHan was the main culprit behind raising Dareu into a higher world.
"Shit."
He should have taken them all to Earth rather than dig away in Dareu. But what would change just because he regretted it? There was no way the Yu IlHan of that time would consider ascending to a higher world.
"Although this is nothing new, Heaven's Army is really useless. If you told me something, anything that's related to this, things wouldn't have turned out like this."
"I also think so."
"Whether it's you, Erta or Spiera."
"A-anyone wouldn't know until it actually affects them! Anyway, it's the Heaven's Army's fault!"
"And now you're shifting your blame to them since you're not one of them anymore….."
Yu IlHan laughed at that. It looked like Liera also thought that it was because the Heaven's Army was incompetent. Of course, he thought differently.
'Well, who knows? I think it's the same for the Heaven's Army in wanting a higher world…..'
Yu IlHan, who no longer believed in the Heaven's Army, would naturally think of that as well.
Perhaps the Heaven's Army didn't care much, even if the residents of the world that had become a higher existence were endangered.
No, of course, they'd step up to 'protect them', but what would they value more? A higher world, or lower existences? – the question remained. In the first place, weren't they saying all those things about protecting lower existences, to smoothly procure a higher world into their ranks?
As Yu IlHan's thoughts drifted toward the negative, Kang HaJin's question broke his train of thought.
"Mr. Yu IlHan. Then, the higher existences are currently....?"
"In war in this world, probably."
At that time.
[Kwoaaaaaaaaaar!]
[How dare you, foolish beast!]
Not far from where the Flying Fortress was, a flash of light strong enough to blind an ordinary man and a shield that blocked it appeared at once. Since none here were ordinary men, everyone saw it with their eyes wide open.
The majority of them didn't know what the flash was, but only Yu IlHan laughed, as it was very absurd.
"Quite a familiar scene I see there."
"I don't know anything about that."
Liera denied with a pouty voice.
Yes. In the short time Yu IlHan and Liera were apart, while Yu IlHan was still in the 2nd class, they had seen this kind of magic over and over again when he came here with Erta. It was none other than dragon magic that was unfolding here.
"Dragons."
"Wao, was that really a lower existence just now? And it was already so strong?"
"Dragons...?"
Yumir, who had unexpectedly and suddenly met one of his own race, muttered in a dreamy voice. Yu IlHan stroked his head and asked.
"Do you want to meet one?"
"Yeah... no, I only need Dad here."
Yumir hugged Yu IlHan's arms while saying that, but feelings weren't so easily changed. As he had never met another dragon, despite being one, Yumir felt an unspeakable urge upon meeting a fellow dragon.
"Shall we go see?"
"No, it's fine. Dad is more important."
"Okay."
He was trying to be considerate of Yu IlHan, who had lost Phiria. Yu IlHan gave a bitter smile, patted him on the back, and took a deep breath of the mana in Dareu that had somehow survived the 5th Great Cataclysm in just a few years and had ascended into a higher world, before raising his hand.
"Everyone, grab tight onto the Flying Fortress. We'll be moving immediately."
"Move? Where?"
"The place where Phiria died."
No one in that place understood Yu IlHan's words and tilted their heads in confusion. However, Yu IlHan judged that it would be faster to show them and flicked his finger to activate 'that'.
'That' was the magic formation that covered the entirety of Dareu, which was still under Yu IlHan's control.