Elphis.
According to the original development in the novel, for Richard, the main character, Elphis is a “villain” he encountered in the Black Mountain during his journey to get the Soul Sword.
Raymond knew that she was in the black mountains at this time, but he didn’t expect to meet her like this.
‘I didn’t want to encounter her here if I could…’
Unlike her playful expression and youthful appearance, she is the most brutal of the villains in the second half of the first book.
Her illusion magic could only function on beasts, so at least he didn’t want to run into her here in the Black Mountains.
The Black Mountains is the perfect battlefield for Elphis, though her powers are limited to a certain range.
If her mana was high enough, she could control the beast in the whole mountain range.
‘Wait, but she is not that powerful right now, right?’
Raymond’s eyes became sharper as he scanned his surroundings. There were no signs of any beasts in the cave right now.
Then this was a good opportunity to kill the villain, who will definitely interfere in his future.
Since Elphis blocked the way out, he had to defeat her to get out of the cave. Raymond signaled Casillas and Cron.
Two knights narrowed the distance at once between Elphis. Desia stood close to the sidelines and prepared a defense spell just in case, and Raymond used his mana to cover for Casillas and Cron.
“Fire Arrow!”
The Fire Arrow cut through the darkness and stuck straight into the Elphis.
The anticipated scream did not burst as if it were blocked by defensive magic, but Casillas and Cron didn’t stop. Two knights rushed toward the Elphis.
However, the expression of the Elphis was relaxed. On the contrary, she gave a mocking smile, as if she were watching two moths coming in.
‘I’m sure there’s no beast around here.’
He couldn’t find any Orcs that she would likely rule over.
“There’s nothing that could protect her. How can she be so relaxed?”
The Manasword in Casillas’ sword was about striking the mana shield of Elphis.
“Roaaar!”
With a roar, something coming through the walls of the cave hit Casillas’ body.
“Argh!”
Casillas, who was thrown away screaming, was stuck in the cave wall.
Fortunately, he seems to have protected his vital parts. Casillas, who would later become his supporter in the Imperial Army, could not be lost in such a place.
He may be a character close to being an extra, but he has his own name in the setting.
He is talented in swordsmanship and is also one of the characters in the novel who strives to rebuild the Pilias Empire after the Bloody Funeral event.
“Darn it, the Rock Predator is here!”
Cron stepped back. Rock predators are known to be among the most difficult beasts to deal with inside a cave.
It’s not the kind of beast that Cron, who can’t even use Manasword, can deal with.
It would be wise to step down, but there was a man of reckless courage among them.
“Gesteine.”
Raymond called it Gesteine. The one-armed Shadow Squad commander did not easily move forward. This is because he is worried that his lord, who showed him how to regain his lost sword skills, might be in danger.
“I have a shield that will never be pierced; so be my sword and strike the wizard’s neck.”
“Dame Desia, I ask you to protect the Fifth Prince.”
“Don’t worry, Commander. My shield isn’t as weak as you’d thought it would be.”
She is a defense specialist wizard with experience in completing the Absolute Shield while being a high-ranking wizard. Gesteine is well aware of that fact.
‘Did I feel a little relieved?’ The one-armed knight slowly stepped forward.
As soon as he faced the purple-haired wizard, he kicked the ground, attacked the Rock Predator like a lightning bolt, and swung his sword.
“Huh!”
Rock Predator, an ironclad beast, was cut through, and red blood spurted. The blood splattered on the walls of the cave and also on Gesteine.
“Wow, what do we have here, a high-ranking knight?”
Elphis said it in an interesting tone. She’s a high-ranking wizard, so it wasn’t uncommon for her to face high-ranking knights that use Manasword.
“But if you come forward… what will happen to the person in the back?”
When she aimed the staff at Raymond, a fiery hawk appeared and spread its wings.
Gesteine hesitated for a short moment, but Raymond was relaxed because he had a reliable ‘shield’.
“Desia.”
“Don’t worry. I will protect the Fifth Prince.”
As Desia took a step forward and shook her staff, a huge magic circle formed.
As soon as the mysterious blue magic circle activated, a huge mana shield unfolded.
The hawk failed to penetrate the mana shield and fell helplessly.
“Oh, this can’t be happening……?”
She used her most powerful magic spell that even Great Wizards would have trouble countering, but she couldn’t break through the Mana Shield done by a wizard of the same rank as her.
Elphis’ playful expression shook for a moment.
‘As expected of the descendant of an ancient Sage. The main character’s eyes are not wrong.’
A smile spread around Raymond’s mouth. Desia belongs to the Heli family, which produced the greatest Ancient Guardian Sage.
Although Raymond was the cause of her growth, she also possessed her family’s secret inheritance and ancient magic.
‘The shield will remain unshakable in any storm.’
This was the teaching that has been handed down to the Heli family for generations.
Raymond took his eyes off Elphis. His eyes soon looked at Desia.
Her height was less than 160 cm and she had a slender body, but right now she was more reliable than any other knight protecting him.
‘Did she feel my eyes watching her?’
Desia turned her head slightly towards Raymond behind her.
Her blue eyes sparkled, and a fresh smile formed around her mouth.
She saw his confidence in her shield protecting him that will never be shaken, this boosted her confidence very much.
Raymond uses his magic in order to keep Elphis in check.
“Fire Arrow.”
The arrow of fire penetrated the dark space, but it could not penetrate Elphis’ shield.
A smile appeared around the mouth of Elphis, watching magic as the fire arrow crashed into her mana shield and scattered helplessly.
She put on a mocking face. This Intermediate wizard dared to attack her, a high-ranking wizard?
While Elphis was busy in her own thoughts, Gesteine was already in front of her.
“Oh my, you are here already?”
On the muddy ground, a Rock Predator lay dead.
And Gesteine’s bloodstained body was running toward the Elphis, gleaming with gruesome eyes.
Even though he was wearing heavy armor, he could still move very fast.
“Huh? My beast is dead.”
The Elphis murmured. Her voice wasn’t shaken at all.
She still has her signature playful look on her face, even though the high-ranking one-armed knight was just around the corner.
“Then I should summon two this time.”
She waved the staff lightly, and two Rock Predators popped out through the walls and ceilings of the cave. Gesteine, who was three meters away from Elphis, was forced to step back in a hurry due to a sudden intervention.
Gesteine’s expression hardened when he saw two Rock Predators with mouths full of sharp teeth that could chew even rocks.
Gesteine and Cron looked surprised that two more Rock Predators appeared, but it was Raymond who was more shaken than anyone else.
‘Was I wrong about Elphis?’
Based on the description and setting in the novel, Elphis’s dominance over the beast is not that high.
Although she uses illusion to control them, in the novel it was described that she lacked understanding to even control one rock predator and that there were more considerable restrictions on the orders that she could make.
‘But this is… Wrong. Something’s wrong.’
Raymond’s eyes went cold. It didn’t occur to him that he may remember the settings and descriptions of the novel wrong because he really remembers it perfectly.
There is no way that the setting has changed. The setting is absolute in the novel. Then, how can this situation be explained?
‘The development has changed.’
From his experience so far, the bigger events have not changed.
In other words, although those events that had the biggest impact on the novel did not change, it was still possible that an unexpected variable would appear as he took over the Fifth Prince.
That variable is caused by the influence of his transmigration. There is no other way to explain other than this.
He may have lost some of the benefits of knowing the development, but he didn’t need to worry much.
The absolute ‘setting’ of the novel can never change, and Raymond recognizes this fact.
“Sir Cron, may I ask you to go with His Highness the Fifth!”
“Yes, sir!”
Gesteine thought there might be another Rock Predator, he wanted more protection for his lord.
Cron ran towards Raymond on behalf of Casillas, who was still unconscious. There might be Desia who could use her defensive magic, but the more escorts there are the better.
“Gesteine, you must kill her!”
If a single cog causes an anomaly, the system will eventually collapse. This unexpected variable must be removed completely before it can do more damage.
Instead of answering, Gesteine nodded and flew at the Elphis.
His Manasword shone, and a Rock Predator was cut, and blood spurted like a fountain.
Elphis was spending most of her mana on controlling two rock predators, so she could not keep Gesteine in check.
“Well, I guess I need to call it a day.”
Her voice tone did not change, but she bit her lip slightly as she finished her words, looking angry.
She thought she had grown much stronger, but she couldn’t even challenge a high-ranking knight yet. Besides, she just received a signal from her higher-ups.
“I have to attend the association today, so that’s it. Let’s have more fun next time.”
Once she stepped back, her body seeped into the darkness. At the same time, the sword wielded by Gesteine broke the other Rock Predator in half.
“I can feel a mighty man on the aisle.”
Desia said. Contrary to being a warning, she sounded relieved. Raymond was also relieved to hear it.
The powerful mana reaction was familiar. It was either from the master of the Red Tower or the Blue Tower.
Sure enough, it was the Red Tower master who appeared within the bright light magic.
His complexion was still pale because he set the entire forest on fire just a while ago, but it was still reassuring that a Great Wizard was back to protect Raymond.
“Sir Berenus, you came earlier than I thought.”
“I was worried about you, Fifth Prince. That Blue Tower master must be doing well by himself, so I thought I should prioritize being here first.”
“Thank you for coming. I’m so relieved to have the Master of the Red Tower with me.”
Raymond spoke frankly. Casillas and Marquis Crayer were seriously injured and they were inside the hideout of the Dark Troops. They may also encounter a Moon Knight.
The existence of the Red Tower Master was a great help because other greater enemies might emerge.
But it would have been great if he had come five minutes earlier. If he had, he could have killed Elphis on the spot.
‘There won’t be a second time. Elphis.’
Raymond had already set his eyes on Elphis just a little while ago.
‘I’ll kill you the next time I encounter you.’
There’s no need to leave any regrets behind; he must kill her the next time.
The one thing that greatly bothered him was the existence of the association she mentioned just before she disappeared.
There is only one enemy association in the novel “The Fallen Empire”.
Apocalypse association.
The mysterious group had only a single line of explanation in the novel.
‘They exist, but they don’t exist.’
A very puzzling explanation. That was it. Raymond frowned and bit his nails.
The author of “The Fallen Empire” has always been famous for writing down long and detailed settings, but this association was different.
He didn’t know how to deal with this secret group without any information.
‘If I don’t know about the apocalypse from the novel, I can use other means to get information.’
Raymond’s eyes glowed coldly. Although he has no information about the Apocalypse, he has memorized the novel’s settings.
Getting a clue from what he knows was enough to go against it.
‘Come when you’re ready. I’ll fight you with all my might.’
A cold smile spread around his mouth.
