Chapter 3: Strange Woman
'That was fast.' I widened my eyes, ever so slightly. 'However…'
I advanced swiftly, catching the figure off guard. Most would have dodged, but I am not one of the most; my speed surpassed its expectations. With precision, I struck my palm against the figure's wrist, forcing it to release the katana. A kick to the leg brought the figure to its knees, and I deftly locked its right arm in place.
Suddenly, "Wall of Flame." the figure uttered words that set my dangerous instincts ablaze.
I flinched, leaping away without hesitation, releasing my arm lock just in time. Dark blue flames erupted beneath the figure before gradually fading. Through the dissipating flames, I saw a grin on the figure's face, visible beneath the hood.
'It's a woman,' I realized. Although I had guessed it from her physique, seeing her appearance still surprised me.
'She wasn't human.'
Pointed ears, dark skin; she was clearly different from anyone I'd ever encountered.
"Well, well, what do we have here? Another otherworlder? A unique one at that."
"Another?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Yes, another." Her grin is inconceivable. "You know, people like you aren't uncommon on Ishtanmal. However, it is not what you would call common, either."
'What's wrong with her?' That was my first impression of her.
"So why did you attack us?" I cut to the chase, putting aside irrelevant thoughts for the moment.
"I merely tried to stop your friends from going in that direction," she explained, her smile taking on an awkward quality.
"Why?" I pressed for an answer.
"Scorched Earth. Can you guess what kind of place it is?"
A sense of unease settled over me. Still, I nodded.
"Vaguely."
"You know?
"Endren, the blue dragon you probably encountered earlier, rarely takes to the air. It has a peculiar habit of sleeping for long periods in its lair and rarely leaving it, see. Usually for several years.
"But it has only been a few months since it awakened from its slumber. Almost no living creature exists near Endren's lair behind the Phava Tree. Few, if any, can survive Endren's 'Aura.' Most individuals who come within a certain distance of Endren will die of suffocation. Of course, there are some exceptions, like elves."
It struck me then; that there were no other creatures near the Phava Tree. Not fish in the river, nor insects, or birds in the sky. The dragon's presence was a stifling force, it seemed, and our arrival had disturbed its rest, setting off a chain of events I had yet to fully comprehend.
"Including humans?"
"Not quite. Endren's harmful effects will not affect otherworldly inhabitants that arrive in this area. However, the otherworlders who have been transported to a place other than this one are unable to bear it. Perhaps you can resist it because of a type of adaptation that occurred as soon as you arrived in this world."
I absorbed the information thoroughly.
'Another world.'
'What kind? That I can't still know for sure.'
Humans still can't even figure out the exact reason why they exist. To know something beyond their dimensionality is something much more intricate.
Returning to the original topic after processing this new knowledge, I asked, "So, about this Scorched Earth. Is it possible that dragons reside there? Perhaps, stepping on that area will harm you?"
"Excellent observation. You are correct; to be more specific, it would be harmful to 'us.' And it's not just you; anyone who tries to cross will be killed," she replied solemnly. "Put that aside, shouldn't you stop your friends?"
Honestly, I wished to hear more. It seemed unlikely that she would divulge further information, unfortunately. There was a good chance she intended to catch up with the Ayanokouji Group instead of discussing things with me.
The enigmatic figure fell silent, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
'Was she a liar?' I can't say that with certainty.
She may have been a manipulative figure, but that doesn't mean she is necessarily bad. With limited knowledge and my current situation, it would be best to go along with her wishes, while watching all her movements to keep myself safe at the same time.
***
We caught up with the Ayanokouji Group, and as expected, the elf woman continued to follow us.
I couldn't trust her fully, of course. Her recent revelations could be nothing more than bait to intrigue me. While I didn't want to judge her solely based on her race, the knowledge I had gleaned from mythology and stories painted a dark picture of the elven race.
They were often depicted as aggressive, deceitful, and cunning, showing little mercy when it came to battles or life-and-death situations. In fact, they were known for having little respect even for their own kind, sometimes waging wars among themselves.
Given our lack of information about this world, however, we couldn't simply brush her aside. Her mysterious abilities, the information she had shared, and her invitation to her village all held a certain allure.
"Soooo, where are we going?" Haruka finally broke the silence.
The Ayanokouji Group had reluctantly decided to follow the elf's lead. I was the one who had agreed to it.
"Our village," the elf replied succinctly.
"Like, a dark elf settlement?" Akito asked.
He seemed to have some knowledge of her race, and it brought back a certain memory.
There was a time when Haruka had made a comment about Akito's "chuunibyou" phase back in middle school, and it had embarrassed him. I remembered looking up the term afterward, understanding that it was related to adolescent delusions. It seemed that Akito's fascination with elves and their various kinds, which he often discussed, was linked to his exposure to anime or other media.
At Akito's question, the elf simply shrugged her shoulders.
We continued to follow the river upstream in silence, the quietude becoming almost oppressive. Apart from the sound of the flowing river and our footsteps, there was little to be heard.
"There really aren't any living beings here besides us, huh?" Keisei muttered.
I decided to share with the others the information I had gleaned from the elf on the way. Knowing the direction we were heading in was met with instant apprehension.
"Soon there will be," the elf said cryptically.
Indeed, a few moments later, as we continued our journey up the river, we began to spot unfamiliar creatures. They looked nothing like the animals we were used to.
"Does anyone recognize these animals?" Airi asked hesitantly.
Keisei shook his head. "No, not at all. I've never seen any of these creatures before, but some do resemble animals from our world. That one, for instance, is similar to a deer."
He wasn't wrong there.
I observed a creature across the river that resembled a deer but was enormous, standing easily at three meters tall with golden antlers, hooves of brass, and a dappled hide. It was currently munching on plants on the ground.
"Golden Horned Hind. Don't get too close to them if you don't want to get burned," the elf, Ulvuna, warned suddenly.
"B-Burned?" Haruka asked in fear.
"Yes, burned. When they snort, fire comes out from them. Although, they usually prefer to run away rather than fight."
In addition to these, there were other animals that looked somewhat familiar, yet unquestionably alien. There was a creature with the face of a monkey and the body of a jet-black, shaggy sheepdog. Squirrels with a single horn and greenish skin resembling plants. There's even a bird with a dog-like face engulfed in literal flames.
"Even if we can see creatures on land, we can't see any inhabiting the waters at all," Keisei explained.
Again, he was right. There hadn't been a single creature visible in the water until now.
"Moreover, these land creatures we saw seem quite docile since they didn't attack us."
"Just wait for your first statement. Later, you'll understand why. And there's no need to worry about the second, as tame animals abound in this area of the forest."
"I see. Thanks for the information, um..."
"Ulvuna Wodrith. Call me Ulvuna."
"Right, Ulvuna-san. You seem quite knowledgeable about this forest. Are you a resident of this area?" Keisei inquired, attempting to gather more information.
"More or less."
"D-Does this forest have a name?" Airi chimed in.
"Call it Shadow Grove."
Then, Akito asked the most natural question.
"Why do you understand our language?"
"You're curious? Well, we elves are long-lived. Even if it's quite rare, there are elves who like to wander out from their habitat in the forest for various reasons. I'm simply one of them. Therefore, I've met and parted ways with many figures, gaining various kinds of knowledge from each one. Including your language, of course. Not that I can speak 'every' language that humans have. I can speak several languages other than human ones as well, though."
As we walked, the path climbed and descended. On the uphill path, we could see buildings on each side of the river – circular stone towers, each about four meters high, with wooden bridges behind them. A green ball of light floated above the river among them. The river took a sharp right turn from there. We were on the left bank of the river, as a reminder.
I let out an "Oh," without meaning to.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone