CHAPTER 75: DARK ELF KATRIA (1)

0% Kieran was dead. That’s why Katria couldn’t afford to look back.

She squeezed her eyes shut and started running through Bondalles, the accursed city of accursed humans. The scenes of its back alleys flashed by quickly.

Strangely, images of her homeland Kehlryn overlapped with them. She was sick and tired of everything, and for that very reason, it felt nostalgic.

Then a thought struck her suddenly: why was she here? How did it all come to this?

One day, her younger brother had vanished without a trace, and then she received a light-hearted letter from him.

Katria had been certain this journey would be exhilarating, a grand adventure—but now, at its end, she had nothing left. Not her beloved brother, not the honorable knight Kieran.

Not even the person she once was.

“Ah...!”

Suddenly, her surroundings and thoughts screeched to a halt as something made her stumble.

Then, something slashed at her ankle.

“AAAHH!!!”

The dark elf’s piercing scream filled the filthy back alley of the human city.

Katria crawled on the ground, turning her body over. And so, she saw the face of her attacker.

“...!”

Contrary to her expectations, standing there was not a human, but a dark elf.

The attacker extended a sword instead of a hand toward the fallen Katria, issuing a demand.

“My lady. Please hand over Verdandes’ Hand.”

Katria realized why she was here, and how it had all come to this.

...How foolish she had been, blindly hating humans.

***

[Title : currently pushing fate quest for this black tree thumper called Katria but got a question]

Post : so why the hell did her brother leave home sweet Kehlryn just to run off to the human world?

doubt he suddenly realized his identity and thought it’s time to become a slave

: his gf lured him out

-[OP] : so she whispered some shit like ‘HAA I find it so sexy when you’re in chains, wearing a collar and gettin’ whipped...’?

: bruh wtf

: apparently it was more like “ooo~ babe you just so sexy when you help free devils~”

: A devil worshiper called Kella seduced him so she could break the seal on the devil imprisoned by the Sahila family.

-[OP] : what does turning him into a slave have to do with freeing a devil?

what do devils get a power hard on from seeing a dark elf slave bro?

fffffuck this

: To put it simply

devil’s seal keeping this up actually requires maintenance

Katria was in charge of that

=her mind is directly linked to the seal.

-[OP] : ah ffs LOL

-[OP] : can’t be this?

-[OP] : Katria’s mind snaps = the seal breaks?

they kidnapped her little bro just to screw her over?

: ya and as a plus they wanted to retrieve the second sealing stone he had

-[OP] : so is that why humans kept screwing Katria over in particular?

: ya about half of it was done by those devil worshipers

-[OP] : about half?

: Kella: “Huh? Those guys aren’t even mine.”

: just pure homo shitpien bs

***

[Title : bruh this fate quest makes zero fkn sense]

Post : [lol the dude u killed was actually an innocent victim] ok fine imma bit used to that sht now

but then they go n dump straight capsaicin extract triple shot in my eyes

[the dude u killed was actually an innocent victim lol u actually helped the bastard that ruined their life Lol now thanks to u that bastard’s gonna go commit mass murder LOl gg ez scrub LOL] nah bro this is crossing so many fkn lines fr

this be like naming your restaurant dish ‘Dead Man’s Cutlet’ ya might as well call it ‘RIP, Boss’ fr

: like why tf do they GOTTA shove katria’s tragic end in ur face the moment u step into Kehlryn??? makes zero fkn sense

: “thx dude. since u killed her knight kieran i kidnapped katria, tortured her, freed a devil n now kehlryns gonna get nuked hnnnnnnnnggg”

-[OP] : wait tf i thought she was some psycho black tree thumper that went around attacking innocent ppl

: those innocent ppl = slave trader who snatched up somebody’s bro n auctioned him off in the black market + the sick fks that drugged her bro n had their way w him before dumping him

: psycho black tree thumper = she just hunted down the mfers that fkd over her bro n got revenge, thats literally it

-[OP] : AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

***As if blanketing the sky, a yellow cloud of sand engulfed Kehlryn. The sandstorm swallowed the city whole.

Then, a single crack of thunder. A deafening roar echoed throughout the city, carried by the storm.

-Bow your heads before Verdandes, the Sand Mountain That Shrouds the Sun, you insects—the true master of this desert has returned.

In the storm’s wake, sand and chaos consumed the city.

The desert night had fallen.

[Region: Kehlryn]

***“Ugh.”

Risir frowned, and Meltas looked at him with concern.

“What’s wrong, Risir?!”

“It’s a bit...noisy.”

“You mean the devil’s voice?! This is serious. I warn you, you must never heed their words! Such beings are beyond what a mere mortal body can handle. If you let your guard down, you’ll be consumed by madness!

Moreover, it will try to deceive you in any way possible! So, always! Always consult with me first when conversing with it! Tell me the content of the conversation, and we’ll discuss how to deal with it together!”

“That sounds like big trouble. In that case, should I tell you everything it has said so far?”

“Let’s hear it!”

***-Can you hear it?! Can you finally hear my voice?!

“Mm?”

-Good! You worthless worm, bow your head before the Sand Mountain that Shrouds the Sun. Answer your new master’s call!

“Hmm...!”

-I told you to answer me! Go on!!!

“Mm?”

-Should you not answer me this instant, I shall have you devoured by sandstorms for eternity! You will suffer the agony of your flesh and organs being worn away while you’re still alive!

“Mm...!”

-...Fine! Then just listen!

“Hmm?”

-Release me from here at once! Elsewise, all you love will be swallowed by the sands and ground to nothing!

“Mm...!”

-No, no! I misspoke!

“Mmm?”

-Should you set me free, I shall grant you limitless power and glory! Now, hurry Please!!!

-Kraaagh!!! You cursed wretch!!! What the devil are you doing to me?!

-Stop—please, just stop!!!

***“...”

“This was the conversation we just had. I suppose it’s showing such weakness to try and deceive me, right?”

“...Poor thing.”

“Yikes! Have I already fallen victim to it somehow?!”

“I meant the devil, not you.”

“?”

“Another name for devils is deceivers. They take great pleasure in toying with mortals at their whim.”

“So you’re saying all of that was an act.”

“At the same time, they are incredibly arrogant beings. Even when faced with imminent destruction, they never bow their heads to mortals.”

“Eh? Then what’s with this one?”

“Hmm...”

Meltas fell into deep thought.

“I wonder if it’s because of your power—the power of normalization.”

“So, you’re saying that my normalizing power is causing such pain that even an arrogant devil is forced to bow its head?”

“That’s preposterous.”

“Right?”

“But you’re Risir.”

“?”

“Which means, I’ll say it’s entirely possible.”

“Just what do you think I am?”

“I think you’re Risir. Unfortunately, I can’t think of a stronger expression than that.”

With those words, Meltas fell into deep thought again.

A devil powerful enough to possess a name was trapped in a human body and suffering as a result.

As already mentioned, the five letters R-I-S-I-R were sufficient to explain the situation. But conversely, it was also a situation that couldn’t be explained without those five letters.

As a scholar, Meltas tried to draw a somewhat rational conclusion.

“Perhaps the records were exaggerated.”

“The records?”

“It happens sometimes. Achievements are embellished to elevate a family’s prestige.”

“Oh! I see. A mighty devil that ruled the desert for centuries—just hearing that, you’d think it had dominion over an entire city. But in reality, it might’ve just been a troublemaker camping on a hill, blocking travelers!”

“Exactly. You could say it’s a classic flaw of historical records.”

The two nodded at each other in satisfaction.

-Risir! Risir?! Risir!!!

-...RISIR!!!

Breaking away from a barbaric mindset, like escaping the crude linguistic system of primitives, and embracing reason gave them the sweet illusion of being true intellectuals.

“Putting that aside, what on earth is really going on here?”

At that moment, the maid Tia stirred as she was lying asleep on the sofa.

“Why is a devil that should be far away in the southern desert inside your body? This is a situation that can’t be explained even with the five letters R-I-S-I-R. My lad, do you have any idea?”

“Hm...Shall we ask the entity in question?”

The entity in question referred to Verdandes.

But someone else responded to those words.

“...I can explain.”

“Hm?”

The maid Tia joined their conversation. She had regained consciousness without them realizing.

“Oh, you’re awake, Tia. Are you feeling alright?”

“...”

***Katria staggered toward Risir and reached out hesitantly, as if to caress his face.

“...!”

But the moment her fingers brushed against him, she jerked her hand away in alarm. As if she couldn’t bear the thought of someone as filthy as herself sullying something as pure as him.

Her expression was a tangled mess of emotions. It seemed like too many feelings were fighting for space on too small a canvas.

“You’re asking if I’m okay? You’re the one who—”

“Huh?”

“You...Are you really all right?”

Nope. I feel a bit heavy. Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten so many of those Didoa-brand sandwiches earlier. But hey, I managed to protect her smile, so I’m happy.

Risir had been about to blurt out his habitual nonsense, but the look on Katria’s face stopped him.

He took a moment to truly consider her words, then answered carefully.

“I really am. I don’t know what you’re worried about, but as far as I can tell, I’m completely fine.”

“...”

Katria’s delicate face twisted, shifting from moment to moment. At times, she looked as if she were holding back tears. Other times, as if she were suppressing a laugh.

Her lips trembled, parting slightly, over and over again.

Thank you, or I’m sorry. Which was the right thing to say?

“...It was me.”

This was the choice she made. She confessed everything she had done to Risir.

How she had fed him the Clouded Truth and the Desert White Lotus, and how she had let a devil possess him.

And that was it. She didn’t say a word about how humans had treated her kind. What they had done to them.

She didn’t explain how that shaped her prejudice against humanity. Nor did she tell him how that prejudice had led to the terrible misunderstanding between them.

She spoke nothing of the efforts she had made to undo her mistake.

Katria never once mentioned what lay beneath it all—the story that might have made her actions understandable.

“...Why?”

“Does it matter?”

Katria met Risir’s question with a shameless smile.

He’s safe...

That was enough. She had no right to hope for anything more. She wouldn’t interrupt the contempt that was surely coming to her.

“Intentions, reasons—what do they matter? In the end, only the result remains. And that result? I tried to hurt you.”

“...”

“So, what will you do now?”

Katria told herself she was prepared. That she was waiting for him to glare at her in disgust. To slap her, to point a finger in accusation. To demand she atone for her crimes, to bind her in chains.

That she was simply content to finally pay the price.

But the truth was different. In reality, she was terrified of his scorn. Terrified of becoming nothing more than a wretched stain in his memory.

If she could, she would do anything to set things right.

“What, are you going to just stand there again? Just like when you let me fool you?”

But outwardly, she only sneered, provoking him, trying to draw out his disdain. It was a defense mechanism of sorts, born from the belief that forgiveness was impossible.

And so, Katria resigned herself to the contempt she was sure would come.

***Over the past few days—while Katria was busy at the Gray Tower, fighting to save Risir—Kieran, the captain of the Moonshade Order, had been combing through Bondalles alongside the slave trader Reisha, uncovering the truth behind everything.

“This way...”

“In the manor courtyard?”

“Yes...When I stepped outside that morning, Lord Drian was here...in an  unconscious state...”

Judging by the circumstances so far, Kieran grew certain. This wasn’t just a case of Drian, the third son of Sahila, acting out. A third party with far more sinister intentions had intervened.

With Reisha’s cooperation, Kieran methodically pieced together the clues.

Then one day, a letter arrived at Reisha’s manor.

-If you wish to save Drian, come to the location below.

It led them to an abandoned house tucked away in a back alley. In its basement, a dark elf in a hooded robe was waiting for Kieran.

He knew her, a woman named Kella. She was a noble lady of high standing from the Sahila family, one Drian often associated with...Or at least, that was how she appeared.

Kieran’s instincts screamed at him—that thing was not Kella. Even at the 7th rank, he couldn’t fully comprehend the ominous energy suffusing the basement.

Kella’s crimson lips curled into a grin—a smile so unnatural, it was as if something was mimicking human expression.

“Congratulations. You successfully retrieved Drian.”

“...”

The phrasing irritated him. By now, it was undeniable that she was behind everything.

Kieran wanted to cut her down where she stood, but he was wary of her unknown power. That inexplicable confidence of hers unsettled him.

Noticing his hesitation, Kella’s smirk deepened.

“A wise choice. If you kill me now, you won’t be able to save either of the Sahilas you serve.”

Either Sahilas. This meant not just Drian, but even Katria had fallen into her filthy grasp.

“Do you see this?”

Kella rolled up her sleeve, revealing a topaz-studded bracelet on her wrist.

It was Verdandes’ Eye, a treasure of Sahila that Drian had taken from the family’s vault before leaving Kehlryn.

If Verdandes’ Hand was the prison that bound demons, then Verdandes’ Eye was the prison that sealed that very prison—an artifact that served as the core of the binding.

“...!”

Kieran’s eyes widened as he took in the state of the Eye. The topaz was clouded, its interior completely obscured.

That meant only one thing: Katria, the one maintaining the seal, was nearing her mental limit.

“Considering the state of the artifact despite retrieving Drian, she must have realized the truth. That Drian isn’t quite himself.”

“...What have you done to my young master?”

“Who knows?”

Kella’s lips curled into a sinister, manic grin.

“All I’ll say is that until I allow it, he will never regain consciousness.”

***A guest chamber in the Gray Tower, reserved for esteemed visitors.

There, a dark elf who had been asleep for days finally woke. He sat up and stretched as far as his body would allow.

“Uuugh~”

Drian had slept like a log.

Despite finding himself in an unfamiliar place, he felt nothing but content.

***“If you fail to save Drian, the esteemed Sahila heiress—so highly revered by the dark elves—will be beyond saving.”

Kella flaunted Verdandes’ Eye as she spoke, making sure Kieran took note of it.

“So, Captain Kieran of the Moonshade Order. I’m sure you’ll be happy to grant me a favor, won’t you?”

Her words were polite on the surface, but her tone dripped with mockery.

Kieran’s expression twisted in barely contained fury—until something caught his eye.

“?”

His expression turned odd as he stared at Verdandes’ Eye.

Wondering what it was, Kella looked down at the artifact in her hand.

“?”

It was sparkling.

The previously clouded topaz now gleamed with an untainted radiance, shining in the darkness.

At that very moment, Katria’s heart had settled into complete tranquility.

And neither of them knew why.

***Finally, Risir spoke.

Katria couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

“What did you just—”

A disbelieving laugh escaped her lips.

***

▷ Fate 17: ‘A Despicable Species’ has been deactivated.

Corresponding perks will be awarded

***