**[Outside the Barrier — Elven Camp]** If you asked an elf what the most dangerous duty was, the majority would say the patrols outside the village barrier.
The barrier woven around the village had never been broken once in its long history — an absolute defense.
And yet, that didn't mean they could let their guard down.
Even in peacetime, the elves stationed soldiers outside the barrier to patrol for anything suspicious.
The reason this duty was the most dangerous for the elves came down to a certain species of Monster that lived beyond the barrier.
Its name was the Queen Taratect.
One of only five said to exist in the world — a Monster of mythological power.
One of those five made its nest in this very forest.
Right beside the elven village, no less.
The Queen Taratect produced its subordinates through Skill spawning.
Those Monsters relentlessly targeted the elves, attacking again and again.
The lesser ones weren't much to worry about strength-wise.
But the Taratect species underwent dramatic leaps in power through Evolution.
A Taratect that had Evolved into an adult was a fearsome Monster on par with Dragon-kind.
Within the forest outside the barrier, Taratects — including those Evolved individuals — lurked in hiding.
Even among the lesser ones, some built nests, and if you got caught in one of those, even a seasoned elf couldn't escape and would simply perish.
Inside the barrier was safety. Step outside, and you entered the spiders' hunting ground.
The most dangerous place for an elf.
But now, a different threat had gathered beyond the barrier.
An allied army of the Human race.
A military force centered on the Lengzant Empire.
Where the Taratects normally roamed, soldiers of the Human race had set up camp and were standing by.
Not a single Taratect in sight.
The elves assumed they'd been driven off by the army. Unlikely they could bring down the Queen, but the Queen rarely moved on its own anyway. It seemed to have been left alone.
The very thing that had been threatening the elves had now been slain by a different thing threatening the elves.
The type of threat had changed, but for the elves, it was equally unwelcome.
The elven watchers observed the army's movements.
What drew attention was the mage corps — surrounded by tight defenses and having spent several days preparing a large-scale spell.
The elves, with their long lifespans and deep intellect, naturally possessed knowledge of Skills at least equal to the Human race's.
Even cross-referencing that knowledge, they couldn't identify the spell being constructed. It was an unknown magical construct.
Its sheer scale easily surpassed even tactical-class magic known as grand magic, boasting roughly twice that magnitude.
The preparation period of several days was abnormal as well.
Even with the elves' knowledge, they couldn't predict what would happen when such a colossal spell was unleashed.
The elven watchers considered whether they might find an opening to sabotage it.
But that opportunity never came.
The basic tactic in the Gallam Forest was to climb the trees and rain down magic and arrows on ground targets from above.
The Gallam Forest was made up of enormous trees, so the gaps between them were wider than a typical forest. But it was still a forest, meaning the terrain was far narrower and more complex than open ground.
Moving an army through it was extremely difficult — marches were inevitably slow, and formations got disrupted and scattered as units avoided the trees.
Being attacked from above in that situation would be devastating.
Elven tactics were guerrilla warfare — they knew the forest intimately and had received specialized combat training.
They moved individually yet cooperated to corner their enemies.
The watchers had spread out, observing the army from multiple angles.
Their heads fell almost simultaneously.
They didn't understand what had happened.
They didn't even realize they were dead.
"Hah. If I can take their backs this easily, the elves really aren't all that impressive, huh?"
The one who took the elves' heads was a single boy.
Anyone who saw him would have called him a ninja.
Black garments, a blade at his hip.
That blade must have been what severed the elves' heads.
"That old bastard really dumped a pain-in-the-ass job on me, didn't he."
The boy scratched his head with a thoroughly annoyed expression.
Reflected in his eyes was the sight of the spell — constructed over several days — activating.
"Ah well, winging it is always the best approach anyway. It's all a farce in the end."
A single boy who had simultaneously wiped out the scattered elves all by himself.
He watched the spell collide with the barrier, watched it bend, watched it crack unnaturally — and let out a wry smile.
It looked as though the barrier had cracked precisely because the spell hit it.
But the boy didn't miss the unnaturalness.
Something other than the spell had destroyed the barrier.
That was how it looked to the boy, and he knew for a fact that it was true.
"Well then, time to go. Sorry to Ken and all, but I value my own life a bit more."
The boy looked down at the army marching onward.
With contempt. With disdain.
"Things went well on my end, so I'm sure the others are doing fine too. Actually, is there any way this doesn't go well at this point?"
The boy vanished into the forest with a carefree air.
And then, as if following his lead, the Monsters lurking in the darkness began to stir.