Chapter 66: Rescue the Elders (1)

The elves had no interest in exchanging pleasantries with the knight company.

The cave was chaotic with elves clamoring to beg the Giants for mercy and others trying to calm them.

“Wow… just a bunch of regular lunatics. Their eyes are spinning. Not the elves I imagined,” Zieg sighed.

Semir glared at him.

“Sir Zieg, watch your words. Elves have sharp hearing.”

“If they heard, they’d have swarmed us already. Look, they’re too busy trying to rush out of the cave.”

“They’re crazed right now. Once the elders are rescued, then you can call them lunatics. Elves are a proud race.”

“I’ve got some sense, you know? Would I call a sane elf crazy to their face? Geez, such a nag.”

Zieg grumbled.

Zieg and Semir, childhood friends due to family ties, weren’t detailed in Hunter and Hero. Ion was reminded how cursory and cold the novel was.

While Elrin calmed the elves, the human command group and Ellen gathered.

“We should infiltrate the stronghold without the pureblood elves,” Ion said.

Minwi frowned. “Without them? Master Ion, their support is crucial. I hate to admit it, but elves surpass humans in strength and magic. With dozens of awakened ones, they’re a major asset.”

“Of course, Ellen and Elrin’s help is needed. But pureblood elves are useless with elders captured. They’re like kimchi stew doused with a jug of vinegar—completely irrational.”

“Vinegar in what?”

“They’re not in their right minds.”

Ion glanced at the elves—bloodshot eyes, disheveled hair, shouting for elder rescue like madmen.

“They’ll drop their weapons and grovel if the Giants use the elders as leverage. Right, Ellen?”

Ellen sighed. “I’d argue, but you’re correct. Still, excluding them from battle won’t be accepted. They’ll distrust humans, thinking we won’t truly try to save their elders.”

“They can still help. Elves are born with innate mana control—let’s use that.”

“You’ve got a plan,” Ellen said.

“Yes.”

Ion shared information only he knew at this moment.

“The black powder doesn’t create gates—or fields. It moves their entrances.”

The one-way teleportation crystal Ion used to reach Idea was made of blue powder. The Giants, stealing spatial transfer particles, altered them for their purposes, turning them black. Their effect: relocating field entrances.

“Giants targeted fields under oceans or deep mountains, especially those with seals near breaking, and moved them. That’s why it seems like more fields are spawning.”

“That’s possible…?” Minwi gasped.

“I suspected it wasn’t natural,” Ellen said calmly. “What’s the solution?”

“The black powder binds to mana, and elves can naturally manipulate mana.”

“I see—collect the tainted mana. But we tried; the powder slips through nets and barriers.”

“It’s drawn to coordinates. I’ll neutralize those, then you can collect it.”

Minwi nodded, but Ellen and the magically knowledgeable were stunned.

“Neutralization magic?” Ellen asked. “Canceling active magic violates magical principles.”

“Not exactly neutralization. Erasing preset coordinates is physically impossible. I’ll apply an opposing force to alter them.”

“You casually talk of casting wide-range magic alone. How…?”

How? “Well” was the only answer.

Ion called it magic, but it was something else—perhaps mixing vitality with mana let him perform feats ordinary mages couldn’t.

Minwi pondered. “So, even with coordinates neutralized, it’s still a field-bearing teleportation crystal?”

“Yes.”

“Could we scatter it in the Giants’ stronghold?”

“That’s Master Ion’s plan, Uncle,” Zieg grinned, adding that Minwi didn’t need to spell it out. Minwi cuffed him, and Zieg muttered.

With the plan clear, they moved to specifics.

“How much Solminium do you have?” Ion asked.

Dungeon byproduct names were identical in Earth and Idea.

“Our village’s Solminium is all used for barriers,” Ellen said.

“We didn’t come prepared for Giants, so we’ve got none,” Minwi added, noting Kuka would struggle to supply more. “Solminium’s mostly for barriers, and mining’s down—mermaid nests in undersea fields are empty.”

“As expected. Demonkin are likely wiping out mermaids. They need Solminium to counter Ulto.”

Onil was probably guiding Demonkin to mermaid nests, keeping them busy.

The stronghold holding the elders was a day’s ride from the hideout—very close. About twenty Giants resided there.

Ulto, once used, took thirty minutes to recharge. Besides Solminium, only Sanctuary and Carpet of Light could block it.

Bringing Earth hunters wasn’t an option.

Ulto was unavoidable. Ten seconds after a Giant opened its mouth, it emitted silvery-white matter, turning anything nearby to ash—why Giants were called “Lords of Ash.” A devastating beam, impossible to block or dodge.

“Then we attack relentlessly to prevent Ulto. If a Giant’s head glows silvery-white, signal and focus all attacks to disrupt it.”

“Offense is the best defense. Let’s do it!” Zieg clenched his fist, standing.

But he was the only enthusiastic one. The others were subdued, eyeing Ion suspiciously.

Minwi spoke for them. “Master Ion… how do you know all this? Black powder, field coordinates, Ulto…”

“…”

“You trained in isolation yet know about the Giant-Demonkin war. You seemed shocked about the capital’s collapse but know Solminium and Ulto like it’s obvious.”

“…”

“What’s your deal?”

A natural question. Ion’s extraordinary magic, ignorance of Idea’s state, yet deep knowledge of Giants—without him, they’d never have known the black powder’s spatial properties.

Ion expected suspicion and had prepared an answer.

“I’m an aura user with the Revelation attribute.”

“…!”

Idea’s awakening system rarely included attributes, granting special aura abilities. Healing attribute users could heal with aura; darkness users could curse. Even at Lord level, a darkness user couldn’t heal, nor a healing user curse.

Minwi was attributeless, Zieg had wind, Semir earth. Eighty percent of aura users were attributeless, fifteen percent had natural attributes (light, darkness, wind, earth, fire, water), and five percent had special attributes (joy, sorrow, revelation).

Revelation attribute users were exceedingly rare—only one known elf until now.

Now, another appeared.

“A Revelation attribute Aura Lord…!”

“Why didn’t you say sooner, Master Ion!”

Suspicion vanished, replaced by awe.

“An Aura Lord who secluded in a forest, returning to the world after a revelation.”

Ion settled on this identity. As a revelator, he had a reason to meet Sarah Harundas, already hailed as a hero.

Onil would approve of posing as a prophet.

The Revelation attribute excused everything—no need for elaborate lies.

After the strategy meeting, Ion stepped outside to cast the neutralization spell.

Shwaaa—

Mana winds swirled around him, ruffling his brown hair. Soil particles began glowing green. By applying a force opposite to the black powder’s coordinate-driven movement—anchoring it to the current location—the particles turned green. Like stopping a rolling stone with equal force.

Pop! Green specks sparkled, spreading outward. They’d cling to the black powder-tainted mana, slowing it.

Done.

Ion turned but paused.

“…!”

“…! …!”

Mages stared at him, eyes gleaming with questions they couldn’t voice. Ion turned away.

“It’ll take an hour to fully apply. Then gather the halted black mana.”

“Got it. Easy for us,” Ellen said.

Ellen and Elrin left to assign the frenzied elves the task.

They decided not to unleash the black mana’s fields in the target stronghold, as it was conquerable. Instead, they’d send it to another. The Giants’ altered teleportation crystals required Giant coordinates, which Kuka would obtain via inter-nation command.

Kuka rejoiced at a new revelator, saying the gods blessed them for the Giant war.

Idea worshipped Elida, the creator god who breathed light, water, and fire into a speck of dust. Their scripture was history, not religion, chronicling Elida’s conflict with the Demon God Hegis, creator of the Demon Realm.

Thousands of years ago, an Idea hero sealed the Demon King in the Demon Realm—a history all Ideans learned. But as victor’s history, its truth was uncertain.