Chapter 630 Esme Vs The Elves [Pt 2]
~Zzztttzzz~
As traces of electricity still buzzed in the air, Esme stood firmly with her staff as she watched the twenty four remaining Elves who gawked at her power.
It seemed she was waiting for them to make whatever move they desired, but at the moment no one was moving. They were merely engaged in a staring contest.
As Gratiana saw all of this by Rey's side, even she couldn't help but be shocked by what had just happened.
"T-that Half Bree—" The moment she said this, a chill descended down her spine, and it came from the man who stood beside her. His hand was placed on her shoulder, and a gentle smile spread on his face as he stared at her.
"You heard the lady. Don't call her a Half Breed again."
The smile on Rey's face was so scary that the Elder quickly looked away, nodding obediently as she muttered, "Y-yes…"
"Good. Now sit back and enjoy the show." He removed his hand while placing it in his pocket. "I've been curious about how well she fights for some time now."
"She looks strong. How powerful is she?" Gratiana murmured as she looked at Esme's unmoving figure.
Upon hearing the question, Rey shrugged.
"Based on pure Stats alone, you should be stronger than she is. However, her Items really boost her to another level. Also, she has pretty useful Skills, and that makes all the difference. I should know…" Gratiana was surprised to hear Rey say that.
She was one of the strongest Elves in the Continent. Not counting the Esteemed Elders, she was definitely among the top ten fighters.
Yet, a Half Elf had managed to reach her level? How was that even possible?
"How old is she?" Gratiana asked, swallowing a little.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because Half Elves usually have the lifespan of humans, since they take on more features from them. Even though she looks more similar to an Elf, I doubt she has the same kind of lifespan that we do."
Once or twice, Gratiana had seen Half Elves that resembled her Race to a degree—though Esme's resemblance felt too uncanny—but even they did not inherit the lifespan that Elves were born with.
"She also looks familiar, though I can't place it…"
"Well, she's about the same age as me."
"And how old are you?"
"Sixte—" Rey swiftly stopped himself from speaking as soon as he realized what he was about to say.
His eyes twitched a little, and he swiftly tried to salvage the situation.
'I can't tell her I'm sixteen! She's someone who's lived for hundreds of years! How exactly am I supposed to act the way I do if she's old enough to be my ancestor?' Taking deep breaths, Rey thought of a way to save himself from his current predicament. Thankfully, all of that was unnecessary.
"Sixty, huh? Younger than I thought. It still makes no sense, though. She's too young to possess such power…"
Rey swallowed hard the moment he heard her speak. Her conclusion placed him and Esme at too high an age, and even then she thought they were too young.
'I think it's best I keep my true age to myself.' Upon resolving this within himself, he continued talking.
"That's because she has taken lives. By only taking the lives of her enemies, when necessary, she was able to advance in strength quicker than normal Elves would."
"That is an affront to Nature." Gratiana responded with a stern tone. Her face, unlike the looks of the protesting Elves, showed a kind of certainty that couldn't be argued against.
She had her mind made up, and there was no changing it.
"Well, your little girls don't seem to think that."
"T-that's because you corrupted them!" "Did I?"
"Y-yes! It's wrong for Elves to do that! The Oracle commands us with the will of Nature, and we should never do that!"
"I guess we all have to follow The Oracle's decree then…"
"E-exactly!"
Rey's wry smile went unnoticed by Gratiana, who was watching Esme intently—too intently to notice the sarcasm in Rey's tone as well.
'Well, it's not like I'm foolish enough to actually disobey the Oracle now; not when I need them badly…' He thought to himself as he stared at the brewing fight.
~Master, when will you be done? I want to come back already!~
Hearing Emil's voice suddenly pop into his head, Rey shrugged a little before responding.
"Just a bit longer. I want to prove a point. Once it's over, I'll bring you and Kara back from my domain. Is she done with her assignment?"
~Yes! She works very fast!~
Rey chuckled to himself as he nodded, once again grateful to Ater for recommending the girl. He was also grateful to his past self for rescuing her.
'It looks like this whole venture will turn out a lot easier than expected.'
~BOOOOOOOOOM!~
The resounding echo of battle woke Rey from his reverie, dragging his attention to the battle that was taking place before him.
There, the Elves had begun to attack Esme—and in droves for that matter. Their Divine-Tier weapons crackled with power as they launched their Spells towards her.
None of them were useful against her Skills, though.
Elemental attacks were useless against her due to her [Absolute Elemental Control] Skills and the nature of her new Class [Grand Elementalist].
Not only was she immune to those kinds of attacks, as long as they were at a certain level, but she could also hijack control over the attacks and control them however she desired.
In essence, almost all the attacks that were thrown at her were easily deflected in no time.
As for other kinds of Magic that she couldn't deflect with her Skills, she easily blocked them with a Magic Barrier, while also making sure to read the next moves they would make after she was finished defending against their current attacks.
Compared to the Elves, who were no more than bumbling fools with no real skill in combat, Esme was adept at combat in every facet, causing Rey to smile and Gratiana to gawk throughout her display.
"She's amazing…" The Elder had to whisper as she stared at the young lady who truly seemed no different from a Young One.
No, perhaps there was a difference.
"She's more outstanding than I imagined."
Chapter 631 Best Of Both Worlds
"Tch! Just die!"
The Elves bombarded Esme with several shots of attacks, none of them daring to get close to her due to the superior mobility and overall combat experience she possessed.
Still, it wasn't like they were making much progress by keeping their distance.
In fact, they were losing all the same.
Elves were mostly taught Elemental Magic, since it was the most useful kind in overall utility. Of course, Commonplace Magic was also essential, but those were all at the basic level.
Since combat wasn't an essential part of their lives, Elves never really had the need to advance Spells or create a more intricate means of attack-making them amateurish in a sense.
In that regard, they were similar to Dragons.
However, the major difference between the two Races was their disposition towards violence.
Due to their lack of proper understanding of tactics, yet their immense abilities gifted to them by Nature, they were powerful but inexperienced.
As a result, compared to Esme, who was the best of both worlds, they stood no chance.
"Might as well end things now..." The salty breeze whipped through her hair as she gave a confident smirk.
Almost as if she finally snapped, one of the Elves lunged forward, a whirlwind of energy crackling around her fingertips. She held twin daggers and tried to twist and turn to create a swirl of lethal energy as an assault.
Esme sidestepped this attack with ease, the sand beneath her feet shifting as she moved.
With a swift motion, she countered, using wind blades to slice through the air and find their mark with deadly accuracy. Both weapons flew out of her hand, and one more blast of wind fell on her as she tried to regain her footing.
"Ack!" The Elf stumbled back, a surprised expression on her face as she crumpled to the ground.
As the other Elves surged forward, each unleashing their own unique brand of magic, Esme danced between them like a shadow, her movements fluid and precise.
Bolts of lightning crackled through the air, fireballs erupted from the palms of her adversaries, and tendrils of earth reached out to ensnare her, but Esme evaded them all with graceful agility.
It was all pointless.
Upon seeing all of this, the Elves, growing frustrated by her seemingly effortless evasion, redoubled their efforts. Their magic became more erratic and chaotic with each passing moment, and their desperation grew to its limits.
In contrast to them, however, Esme remained unfazed. And then, with a sudden burst of inspiration, she saw her opportunity.
Gathering her magic, Esme called upon the elements around her, summoning forth water and sand from the beach.
With a flick of her wrist, she sent the mixture swirling around the Elves, ensnaring them in a deadly vortex of quicksand. Panic flashed across their faces as they struggled to free themselves, but it was futile.
"L-let us go!"
"Kyaaaa!!!"
"Y-you Half.... You will pay for this!"
Ignoring them, she simply continued her dance to its conclusion.
-ZZZTTZZZ-
With a final flourish, Esme called forth a bolt of lightning from the heavens above, directing its energy down into the swirling mass of sand and water.
The air crackled with electricity as the quicksand solidified, transforming into a smooth, glassy surface beneath the elves' feet, and all around them as well.
In mere moments, the once fierce adversaries were trapped, their forms encased in a shimmering prison of glass.
"And so it concludes..." She murmured, looking at the massive construct of glass that now held all the Elves- both the conscious and unconscious hostage.
"I've always wanted to try that."
***********
"Unbelievable..."
Rey grinned as Gratiana looked at the Half Elf before her. The way she used her Magic, as well as the rest of her Skills, made the Elder forget about her racist disposition for a moment.
"She fights better than anyone I've ever seen."
"Of course." Rey shrugged. "Your people are very limited in many areas. Though, with the bet ending in my favor, I intend to change a lot of things."
"Y-you... we aren't sure the Young Ones killed the Boss!"
"Really? Even after seeing them covered in Entrails, and also witnessing how they fought my ally?" Raising his eyes, Rey directed a look of skepticism at Gratiana.
He already knew she was well aware of the Young Elves' perversion, but her pretense was something he didn't want.
'She should be honest about it. He thought.
"Rey! I know you're watching this, so just come out right now!" Esme's yelling voice interrupted whatever he wanted to say next, so he simply winked at Gratiana and stepped forward.
As he did so, the Magic he used to cloak both himself and Gratiana wore off.
"You got me." He smiled, raising both hands as he approached the Elf who was glaring at him, though playfully. "So did you enjoy yourself?"
"This guy..."
"Come on... admit it." He drew closer, reaching to touch her shoulders, but she swiftly used her staff to knock his hands off.
"Ow..."
Of course, Rey wasn't referring to physical pain. He knew such wouldn't work on Esme, so he placed his hand on his chest and faked being hurt.
"S-so cold..." He even whispered, to which Esme simply shook her head and hid her smile as much as she could.
While they did this, Gratiana went to the Elves, who were stuck in glass, her face depicting nothing short of worry. Esme noticed this and couldn't hold back her smile any longer.
"Just a little..."
"What was that?" Rey drew closer, his ear directly facing her.
"Fine! I enjoyed it a little." She smacked his shoulder with her staff again, and he laughed at it.
"Hehehe!"
As they both approached the prison of glass, Esme and Rey began nudging each other with their shoulders, laughing in the process.
No one would have even guessed that a fight had just gone down.
While this was happening, the Elves seemed to be in a state of both shame and fear, looking at Rey and Esme with understandable apprehension, while they looked at their Elder with humble disappointment in themselves.
Rey already knew the best way to banish the gloomy mood. "Now that this has all been resolved... it appears I owe you all an explanation