Ask, and you shall receive.

The time when the priestess, Salesaya, who had been beaten and kicked, became nothing more than a lump of flesh floating in the air felt elongated, as if everything were happening underwater.

"...The thoughts of all elven magicians are all similar. It was a dull fight that yielded nothing."

The soldier in gauntlets looked at Salesaya with eyes devoid of warmth, like stone.

The large gauntlets had more bloodstains, and blood dripped from them.

"Remains..."

"Ancestors, grant me the power of protection!"

Salesaya, tearing off one of the gems she wore, slammed it onto the ground.

Just as she thought the gem had disappeared as if melting, a thin greenish barrier, like the shell of an egg, unfolded and enveloped Salesaya.

"Oh?"

For a moment, the soldier in gauntlets observed it, then struck with lightning speed.

Salesaya instinctively tensed up.

The barrier trembled slightly, and the man's fist made a dull sound like hitting the ground.

Like humans, elven tribes also hoarded valuable magic items. They used them in crucial battles.

The one Salesaya had just used was a magic item called the "Crackling Shell's Secret Stone”. Barrier-deploying magic items were common, but the "Crackling Shell's Secret Stone" was particularly advanced. After extensive modifications and acclimating it to the forest, it could harness the power of the forest.

For a moment, Salesaya breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the soldier, realizing the barrier couldn't be broken, placed his right hand on it and then overlaid his left hand.

"...[One Inch: Fatal Contact]"

(TLN: Basically one Inch punch stuff.)

Thud!

An impact struck Salesaya, lifted from the ground.

Externally, the soldier appeared to be standing quietly, just raising his hands.

However, a powerful impact emanated from his hands, slamming Salesaya against the barrier.

The barrier wasn't shattered but it wavered.

The barrier immediately absorbed the magical energy from the earth veins and the life force from the forest to repair itself.

However...

"Suu..."

Thud! Thud! Impacts that reverberated through the depths of her body continued relentlessly.

With each strike, Salesaya felt the barrier becoming increasingly unstable. The reckless use of powerful magic had weakened the support from the forest.

Her blood ran cold.

Even this magical item, a precious treasure of the tribe, was only buying her time.

Salesaya quickly touched the grass at her feet and began to chant.

"《Insect Whisper》!"

At the same time, the thin vine bracelet on her wrist unraveled, extending its end and rooting into the ground.

This was a magical item called the "Bindweed Bracelet”. It activated and maintained the communication spell 《Insect Whisper》, which transmitted messages through plants and the ground.

The recipient of the message was the tribal warrior chief commanding the attack on the frontline.

"This is Salesaya! Imperial soldiers have reached my location! Everyone else has been defeated. Please, help..."

"What did you say!?"

A voice, turned upside down in shock, reached Salesaya's ears.

"...High Priestess, can you hold on for another five minutes!? Our tribal warriors bravely fought but were halted by the empire's despicable tactics..."

"That's... I'm barely protecting myself with the 'Crackling Shell's Secret Stone'!"

"Grr... There's no choice, retreat! Warriors, protect the High Priestess..."

A voice that seemed to crawl over the grass. However, it was abruptly cut off, accompanied by a sound resembling an explosion.

The magic maintenance of the 《Insect Whisper》 spell on the other side was released.

"...This is the end."

On the other side of the light barrier, the soldier, apparently understanding the situation from Salesaya's conversation, coldly remarked.

His shocks gradually eroded the barrier. On the ground, marks resembling ripples were engraved as the aftermath of the attacks.

"Please... Please, stop!"

"If you surrender and become a prisoner, the empire will treat you accordingly. Especially as a priestess, you shouldn't be killed without reason."

In response to Salesaya's desperate plea, the soldier retorted and then tilted his head slightly.

"...Or, could it be that you're going to say something like 'stop the fight'?"

Salesaya affirmed it with silence.

While looking into his stone-like eyes, Salesaya's hands were cold with sweat.

However, the gauntlet soldier, smirked.

"Pathetic. 'Gain all through strength, protect all through strength.' Those are the words of our Blue General... no, His Excellency the Grand General. Elves, you are powerless. But if you become the empire's flesh and blood, the empire will gain even more power. It should have been a mutually beneficial deal. Yet, even at this point, we will only take everything from you through strength."

"Soldier of the Empire! If you have a heart, please listen to my words! We, the people of the forest, only wish to peacefully live by the teachings of our ancestors and protect the forest! What have we done to you? Is there a reason why our lives must be taken!? Our tribe and your empire are creations of the same god, brothers and sisters! Please...! Don't shed more blood! Please don't take lives!"

What would such words achieve?

Salesaya herself didn't expect these words to change anything.

It was just a venting of accumulated emotions.

She couldn't help but raise her voice.

The elves hadn't attacked the Khenis Empire.

They merely lived where the empire decided to go.

If they had to shed blood for such a simple reason, it was too cruel.

Many warriors lost their lives.

The forest was damaged, and now it was on the verge of being taken away.

If conquered by the Khenis Empire, a path of hardship awaited. Some might suffer in poverty. Others might be forced into battles and die.

Why must they endure such a fate?

She couldn't help but lament the injustice of this world.

However, the soldier in gauntlets not only lacked sympathy but stared at Salesaya with an irritable, hateful gaze.

"To challenge a battle without recognizing the difference in power, and then cling to mercy when on the verge of defeat. Truly futile. If that's the only resolve you have, why did you rely on your own strength to challenge the fight? Powerlessness is a sin. Foolishness is also a sin. If that's the level of determination you possess, then know that this destruction is the punishment given to you!"

Such contemptuous words felt like a lightning strike to Salesaya.

Her beliefs.

The place she called home.

Her friends, blood relatives.

The future.

Was it a sin to want to protect them?

Must the weak endure silently and submit to any cruelty?

Was even raising a fist to defend oneself a crime deserving destruction!?

The faces of the people from her village flashed in Salesaya's mind.

The warrior she secretly admired, though as a priestess, she couldn't marry.

Her cute niece, who had just learned to walk.

Her kind parents, who had returned to the forest. Her close sisters, though they hadn't met recently, were still good friends.

The friends who, despite her public roles, were friendly and easygoing in private.

The vice high priestess who, despite competing for the position of the high priestess, supported her without harboring resentment.

All the people who respected and cherished Salesaya...

"Aaaaah!"

With the final blow, the barrier of light scattered into splashes, and the cold gauntlet grabbed Salesaya.

"Aah...!"

The soldier in gauntlets lifted Salesaya by the collar, while the other hand gripped her hand along with her staff.

Creaking, an unpleasant sound echoed. Salesaya's arm bones twisted, her hand crushed, and the staff bent.

---Frustration!

Salesaya bit her lip so hard that it bled.

The high priestess must be a role model and a norm for everyone as a leader.

Always calm, without resentment, anger, or hatred.

Following that norm, Salesaya had always disciplined herself.

But now, Salesaya's heart was filled with flames of resentment that could burn even her soul, and a thirst for power.

-- If only we had the strength! The horror we have experienced! The grief! Hell! We could have given it to them!

Power surged into the hand lifting Salesaya.

"[One Inch: Fatal Contact]!"

Violence invaded Salesaya's body.

Bones trembled, resonating in the depths of her body.

Her body was being torn apart from all sides.

Pain.

Death.

Senseless, meaningless, irrational, cruel death.

――If only I had strength! Even if I had to exchange my body, my soul for it, if only I had strength...

"No need for further words! Elven Priestess Princess!"

In the threshold between life and death, a voice reached Salesaya.

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