"Only the strong survive in this world."
That was the philosophy of the Elf King.
Having witnessed the existence of his own father, one of the Eight Greed Kings, he became obsessed with proving a single idea: that Forest Elves could surpass every other race in strength.
He believed every Forest Elf possessed the potential to become powerful.
And he carried a grand ambition.
He would build an army from the descendants who inherited his bloodline, sweep across the world, and prove that Forest Elves were the most superior race of all.
His relentless reproduction was also driven by this goal. He hoped that among countless offspring, truly powerful children would be born.
But what frustrated the Elf King was that not a single one of his children possessed even half his strength.
In his eyes, they were all useless failures. Almost none of them were even worth remembering by name.
Out of what he considered his own form of "mercy," the Elf King personally instigated the war with the Theocracy.
He sent female Forest Elves onto the battlefield, hoping the fighting would help identify strong mothers.
He sent his own offspring to war as well, hoping the pressure of battle would awaken their potential and make them stronger.
He deceived and imprisoned the Theocracy's trump card, "Faine" (the mother of Zesshi Zetsumei), and forcibly took her as well. All of it was for the sake of his dream.
If the bloodlines of the Six Great Gods and the Eight Greed Kings were combined, would it produce exceptional offspring?
That question fascinated the Elf King greatly.
And the result did not disappoint him.
On a battlefield decades ago, the moment he first laid eyes on Zesshi Zetsumei, the Elf King immediately knew that this child possessed the qualities of a true powerhouse.
"If I can take that child back and have the two of us unite, we'll surely produce even stronger offspring!"
Once that thought appeared in his mind, it quickly spiraled out of control.
The Elf King had no concept of conventional morality. To him, there was nothing wrong with mating with his own daughter.
All he cared about was producing stronger descendants.
Unfortunately, Zesshi Zetsumei had been stationed in the Theocracy for many years, leaving him with no chance to act.
That fact filled the Elf King with deep regret.
Just as he was considering how to bring her back to the Elf Country, a piece of news reached him.
The Theocracy was preparing to launch a full-scale war against the Elf Country.
When the Elf King heard this, he was briefly stunned.
But instead of worry, overwhelming excitement surged through him.
This was an opportunity.
An opportunity to bring his rebellious daughter back to the Elf Country.
He never believed he could lose.
Although his offspring had grown powerful, they still carried his blood in the end.
As her father, the Elf King could not imagine that she could surpass him in such a short time.
Filled with hopeful fantasies, the confident Elf King charged forward without hesitation.
But after only a brief clash…
He realized a very serious problem.
He might have been… too careless.
On the battlefield where the two armies collided, dark clouds churned overhead.
Blinding lightning tore across the sky, while rolling thunder echoed through the heavens.
"Cough… cough… How is this possible?!"
Looking down at his wounded body, shock and disbelief filled the Elf King's face.
The intense pain told him clearly that this was no illusion.
He was injured.
The Elf King coughed violently.
He raised a hand to wipe the corner of his mouth. When he saw the blood on it, the calm composure he had shown earlier completely vanished.
"Damn it… How could mere humans be this strong?"
The Elf King stared toward the battlefield not far away.
The Primal Earth Elemental was desperately holding back the relentless assault of two figures.
His gaze shifted away from Zesshi Zetsumei and settled on the other person.
The Captain of the Black Scripture.
At this moment, he had fully unlocked the God of Wind's Armor. Six pairs of hidden wings spread out behind him, radiating a sacred light.
He held a spear in one hand and a shield in the other.
His stance was unmistakably that of a Paladin ready for battle.
As he watched this human, a dark shadow flashed through the Elf King's eyes.
The magic he had always been proud of was practically meaningless against this opponent. That white-gold shield could easily block his spells, even reflecting their power back.
If Behemot hadn't stepped in to defend him just now, he might have been severely injured by his own magic.
That would have been an unbearable humiliation.
"No… the situation isn't in my favor right now. I should retreat first and make plans afterward."
With that thought, the Elf King didn't hesitate.
He turned toward the forest, glancing at the surrounding Forest Elf warriors.
"Move out. Hold them back."
Individually they were weak, but with enough numbers they could still slow the enemy down and buy him time for a strategic retreat.
The Elf King's command echoed across the battlefield.
The Forest Elf soldiers who had been watching the fight froze for a moment.
Huh?
Us?
Seriously?
They looked at Zesshi Zetsumei and the Captain of the Black Scripture, who were relentlessly beating down the Primal Earth Elemental, and involuntarily swallowed.
"Useless trash."
Seeing his subjects hesitate, the Elf King cursed inwardly.
These worthless fools. All the effort he had spent raising them had been wasted.
If even one of his offspring had been comparable to Zesshi Zetsumei, he wouldn't be stuck in such a miserable situation.
Yes, he was not the one at fault.
The problem was these weak and incompetent children of his.
"Get up there and fight already!"
The Elf King shouted again, frowning deeply.
He considered himself a benevolent ruler.
But benevolence had its limits. The weak were meant to obey the strong and follow the rules set by the strong.
Disobeying him meant breaking those rules.
And that was a crime punishable by death.
The hesitant elf soldiers trembled when they heard the anger in the Elf King's voice. Though unwilling, they still rushed forward.
Given the Elf King's temperament, they had no choice.
Going into battle at least left a slim chance of survival.
Disobeying orders meant certain death.
...
On the battlefield.
Behemot silently endured the combined assault of Zesshi Zetsumei and the Captain of the Black Scripture, buying time for its summoner to retreat.
Its body of earth was battered like a sandbag, repeatedly blasted away.
"Heh. Running away, are you?"
Zesshi Zetsumei stepped on Behemot's head while casually cutting down the Forest Elf soldiers rushing toward her.
Her gaze followed the Elf King's retreating figure as he disappeared into the forest. A trace of disappointment flashed in her eyes.
"No need to rush. Our objective has already been achieved. All we need to do now is seal off this forest."
The Captain of the Black Scripture spoke calmly beside her.
From the beginning, their target had never been the Elf King.
It was the summoned creature currently suppressed beneath their combined attacks.
To prevent the summon from disappearing due to excessive damage, they had deliberately held back and put in quite a bit of effort.
[Sacrificial Contract]
The Captain of the Black Scripture took out a prepared scroll and placed it against the Primal Earth Elemental named [Behemot].
The moment the scroll made contact, it silently burst into flames.
A faint sound of something shattering echoed through the void.
Behemot, which had been struggling moments ago, suddenly became still.
Seeing this, the Captain of the Black Scripture quickly produced another scroll.
[Contract Establishment]
A flash of fire flared.
A completely new connection began to form.
Behemot instinctively tried to resist, but its heavily injured body left it powerless. In the end, it had no choice but to accept.
A familiar sense of restraint once again wrapped around its form.
The Primal Earth Elemental's emotions became rather complicated.
"I look forward to working with you from now on."
The Captain of the Black Scripture said with a light smile.
At the same time, he nodded toward Zesshi Zetsumei, signaling for her to lift her foot.
Behemot slowly stood up.
It said nothing.
It simply moved to stand silently beside its new contractor.
"I can't wait to see that beast fly into a rage."
Watching this scene, Zesshi Zetsumei's lips curled slightly.
She could already picture it.
"Perhaps… we'll meet again very soon. Just in a different way."
A glint flashed in the Captain of the Black Scripture's eyes.
The phantom of the God of Wind residing within his soul looked toward the distant sky.
Heh. What a cautious fellow.
...
At the same time, deep within the forest, inside the Elf Country.
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
Inside a bright and spacious room, the Elf King, who had just returned, was smashing everything around him.
An unprecedented fury filled his heart.
The contract.
His contract with [Behemot] had disappeared.
Back when he first formed that contract with the elemental spirit whose strength exceeded his own, he had paid an enormous price.
He had even used a magic item left behind by his father to force the creature into becoming his summon.
And now it was just gone?
Unacceptable.
Completely unacceptable!
"I'll kill you. I'll kill every last one of you!"
The king's rage demanded blood to calm it.
A trace of hesitation flickered through the Elf King's eyes, but it was quickly swallowed by his anger.
Just as he was about to take action, ripples suddenly spread through the space beside him.
A dragon-scaled arm extended from the distortion.
One punch.
Just a simple punch.
Yet it carried such overwhelming pressure that the Elf King felt he could not dodge it no matter what he did.
When the fist struck his body, he heard the clear sound of his ribs breaking.
"The descendant of the Eight Greed Kings… even weaker than I expected."
Through the intense pain, the Elf King vaguely saw two figures.
Then a force suddenly pulled upward from behind his head.
Someone had grabbed his hair.
"Search his memories first. We might get some useful intelligence."
"Tch. Deep Darkness, you really haven't changed at all."
Those were the last words the Elf King heard before losing consciousness completely.