Chapter 153 – Ancients

Dream and the elf stood across the table from each other. 

Having come to this point, none of the other elves chose to stop the conflict. The male and two female elves didn't believe Dream could put up a fight. And they didn't know why, but Idona didn't stop Dream either. Either way, none of them had any thoughts of interfering.

With nobody getting in their way, the two quickly floated in the air over the table.

Dream had a smile that irked the already angry elf even more. Despite his confidence though, he understood that he would need to put in some effort.

'Aegis.'

'Understood.'

Aegis responded to Dream's mental command and quickly formed into a 'solid' liquid over his skin. His body soon had an opaque gray color drape over it like a fog. He looked like a ghost.

"So, elf, how strong are those skinny muscles of yours?"

Dream spoke derisively at the elf, who snorted.

"Stronger than yours. And faster."

When he said that, the elf suddenly zipped over to Dream's side, throwing a fist towards his side. 

'A+ Agility. He's as fast as me.'

Dream smirked, but he didn't turn. Instead, he let the elf hit him.

*Thud*

"Argh!"

The elf grunted as he made contact. All the impact had been dissipated and it felt like he was hitting a steel wall with a slab of meat. The bones in his fist didn't enjoy the feeling.

Right after he hit him, Dream lifted his arm to the side and threw a punch of his own straight towards the elf's chest. The elf barely reacted and raised his arms to block.

*Boom*

*Thud!*

The elf was sent flying into the wall of the building after his fist made contact. The wall didn't break though and the elf quickly recovered. He looked over at Dream with a bit of surprise, but soon scowled.

"*Cough* You think that's my fastest?"

"I'm pretty sure it's your strongest. I guess those skinny muscles really are as weak as they look."

"That won't matter unless you can block them!"

Yelling out, the elf flew over. But this time, it was faster than before. Dream instantly accelerated his perception, slowing down time. 

In only a split second, the elf appeared next to him and threw punches. But just like last time, all the impact was dissipated and Dream didn't go flying anywhere.

Dream couldn't do anything either though as he sat there getting hit. This elf was indeed fast, and although he wasn't fast enough to escape Dream's perception, he couldn't respond with punches of his own. At least, not in this state.

'Time to kick up the heat then. Sophia.'

[Going into overdrive.]

When she said that, Dream's body started heating up. And not just a few degrees, but hundreds of degrees. He quickly began radiating heat.

The elf noticed this, but merely thought it was a lousy way to hurt him. But as he was throwing another punch, Dream suddenly spun around.

*Ting!*

Dream grabbed the elf's hand within his palm. The elf's eyes went wide.

"Your speed..."

"You'll need to try harder if you want to beat me."

With those words, Dream swung the elf like a ragdoll, throwing him across the room with massive strength.

*Bang!*

The elf crashed into the wall, causing tremors through the building, but still not breaking the wall. 

Dream clenched his fist, feeling the bursting power coursing throughout his body. His muscles operated through heat and electricity, so when one increased the heat, it naturally increased the power. Dream had the ability to increase heat so he could easily put his body into overdrive at will. 

After the elf slumped down the wall, he looked over at Dream with a maddened glare.

"Try harder? Fine! How do you like magic?!"

Saying that, liquid mana suddenly exploded out from the elf's body. He also equipped a staff that was entirely wooden. It had a wooden crystal sitting on top of it as well.

'That's one of those crystals I pulled out of the tree.'

[Guess it really is a magical item. But watch out. His magic is definitely more powerful than yours.]

'We'll see about that.'

With a snort, Dream began to infuse massive amounts of his own mana into Aegis. All the environmental mana began rushing towards him like a tsunami. At the same time, he flew straight towards the elf at high speeds.

"Hahh!"

With a shout, the elf pointed his staff. Then, all his green liquid mana began to form into a solid figure. It was a green wolf, and like it had a life of its own, it snarled at Dream before dashing to him.

"The hell?"

Dream was confused at how that worked, but he didn't stop his pursuit. Instead, he redirected towards the wolf and threw out a mana filled punch.

*Boom*

When the punch landed, it caused a hole to appear on the wolf's hard body. The liquid mana was dispersed, but only a second after, the mana recoallesed and fixed the wolf back up. It quickly turned around and lunged at Dream.

"Hmph. Time to employ one of Iris' tactics."

Huffing, Dream quickly dodged the wolf before attacking again. He threw out more punches filled with mana, and when they dissipated the liquid mana of the wolf, he took control of the mana, converting it to his own. 

Eventually, the wolf was destroyed. Dream stood there after killing it, looking at the elf as his own liquid mana floated around him.

"You think that's all I can do? Try this."

The elf smirked before creating even more animals. Instead of just one wolf, he created 30. He also made over a dozen bears, and 10 birds with sharp beaks.

Dream looked at all the animals and smiled.

"You really are an elf. Nature based mana attacks."

As he said that, all the animals began to charge him. 

Dream's arms, or more specifically Aegis, quickly formed into long blades. He then dashed into the animal horde, slashing each one to pieces.

Dream's two blades pulsed with mana as they slashed at the animals. And as his mana came into contact with the animals, it overwrote the soul signatures of the elf's mana and turned it into his own. The mana was therefore turned into his.

Though this came at a cost. It took soul energy to overwrite and convert mana. Especially for liquid mana coming from a class 4. It wasn't easy converting the mana, but it took away mana from the elf, forcing him to have to regenerate mana slowly from the surroundings.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as Dream skillfully slashed through the mana animals. Though they weren't impressed by the sword skills, but the intricate mana control Dream was employing. His control surpassed that of the elf who was attacking him by many times, and this was despite him having less mana pool density.

Eventually, all the animals had been killed, and the elf had an ugly look on his face.

"Grr, that's not all I can do."

"Ok, I'm not gonna chop at your pretty little animals all day."

Suddenly, Dream's eyes sharpened. He then took his railgun out, and a reactor appeared on his back alongside some other boxes attached to it. The reactor whirred to life, charging the supercapacitor boxes in only a split second. After that, arcs flew across the rails of the gun.

*Dsh*

"Arghh!!"

Dream fired at the leg of the elf, and the projectile punched a large hole straight through. Everyone was stunned, and the elf with a new hole in his leg fell to the floor.

"Ahh!! Y-You... You dare?!"

"Yup."

*Dsh* *Dsh*

"Ahh!"

Dream fired two more rounds into the other leg and his arm holding the staff, causing the elf to scream once more. At this point, everyone stood up, but Dream didn't mind them and appeared in front of the elf, placing the gun against his head.

*Tss*

"Ahh..."

The elf winced as the hot rails touched his skin, leaving burn marks. 

"I can end your life instantly."

"Y-You can't."

The elf stuttered as he looked at Dream. After being so easily injured, he felt that the ghostly armor flowing around him looked much more terrifying. 

"'True. Not if I want to get your support, at least. Plus your friends wouldn't be happy either. So I won't."

Saying that, Dream pulled the gun away and walked towards the table. His gaze then landed on the other male elf.

"Apologize."

"W-What?"

"Apologize to Xyla."

"...Why should I?"

"Because you were a condescending asshole to her. And because if you don't, I'll beat an apology out of you."

"..."

The elf went silently as Dreams railgun began to charge. He could see the powerful arcs flying across the rails and saw exactly what that weapon did to his friend. He pondered for a moment. 

"...You're not a class 3."

"I don't care what I am. Apologize."

"...Xyla, I hope you can forgive me for my earlier attitude."

"I-It's okay."

The elf turned and slightly bowed to Idona in apology, then sat down a bit unhappily. 

"Well well. Is everyone having fun without us?"

At this moment, a vice sounded out from the door to the building. Everyone turned and looked to see 8 other powerful and majestic elves walk in.

'Class 4's. These must be the missing 8 leaders.'

Dream scanned these people as they walked over. One of them went over to the injured elf, letting out a light green light which quickly healed the wounds. The others went and took a seat at the table. 

"We couldn't help but notice the mana fluctuations and came to look. Who would've thought that an envoy had come from the Church and was teaching one of our own a lesson."

"Obviously not my intention, but I'm glad you enjoyed the show."

Dream responded to the female elf who spoke as they relaxed at the table. He also went back over to Idona, standing beside her chair.

The elf that spoke along with 3 others in the group seemed much older than the other 8. Their aura was ancient, and Dream guessed they had lived for hundreds if not thousands of years. He wasn't sure how he could sense it, but it just came off in their aura.

The woman smiled at Dream and continued.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Vythica, and I am one of the Ljosfar Ancients."

"Ancients?"

"One who has lived for over 5,000 years."

"Damn. That's a long time."

"Indeed it is. But even in all my years, I've never seen anyone quite like you."

As she said that, Dream could feel that powerful ancient aura wash over him. That aura couldn't be stopped by his own, and it totally bypassed his ever-present defenses, seeping into his body. He quickly realized that before this person, he couldn't hide anything.

"Although I don't understand that thing on your back, your body is truly a marvelous piece of work. To be able to subject yourself to such intense heats that only magnify your physical abilities, all the enchantments that provide resistances and mana-enhanced power, and your pathways created from intricate liquid mana systems."

"...I try my best."

"Oh, you do more than just try your best. Your level of understanding and control over the material world is unparalleled, surpassing my own as well as everyone I've ever encountered. You're obviously not from here."

"...No, I'm not."

Dream narrowed his eyes at this elf who seemed to enjoy revealing secrets. She noticed his unsettled gaze and pulled back her aura.

"Mm. Anyway, let's get back to a more peaceful discussion. I know why you're here."

As she said that, Dream finally put his gear away and sat down. 

"So you know we're here for the demons?"

"Yes. In fact, we've known about the demons for some time. I myself often communicate with those from the United Empire."

"So what's your stance on this alliance?"

"We're willing to assist. Actually, the church had already come to us a month ago, preparing for this exact scenario. Though you had yet to become a factor as you have now, so things are different."

"I hope my presence makes things different in a good way."

"From what you discussed earlier, about how you wish to provide intelligence and logistical support for the armies of the world, you are indeed a welcome factor. 

"Good. So you're willing to come into an alliance?"

"Yes. You can expect our support in the upcoming war."

"Then that makes things easy for me. I'll have a cardinal or some other church delegates come here. I'll also give you guys plenty of bracelets for communication, but for now, start with these."

Dream took out a few cylinders and tapped them, splitting them into bracelets. He handed them to the 12 Ljosfar.

"What are these?"

"They are what's going to allow me to communicate and manage the forces of the world. These things are capable of contacting anyone from anywhere, allowing you to speak to them. All the class 4's of the human Empires and the Church are equipped with these bracelets. In fact, you could talk to them right now."

"Amazing... Something like this would truly be invaluable in a war. You could give orders to your troops from anywhere."

"Mhm. Anyway, you can all equip them, connecting to the network. Then you'll be able to talk to others who have this bracelet."

"How many of these do you have?"

"Millions. Right now the human armies are equipping them and I've got batches on the way to equip the animal armies as well. In fact, there are some ships on their way over here right now with a couple hundred thousand for you guys."

"...Truly?"

"Mhm."

"...Well, since we're going to assist, we would appreciate the bracelets."

"Sure. I'll give them to you, you guys handle distribution. I'll let the Pope know about your decision and you can talk with him more about the details whenever you like."

"I will indeed talk with him."

"Great. Though before that, there's one thing I could use your help with. I've heard about the dark elves, and I'm planning on meeting them too. For the same reasons, obviously."

"Actually, you can leave that to me. I'll go talk to them."

"Oh, well thank you. If you have any trouble, you can contact me with the bracelet."

"Of course."

"Last thing. I've also heard that the dark elves have a good relationship with the Dwarven Empire. Going there through the dark elves would help me get in contact with whoever the Dwarven king is."

"Hmm, I believe one of the other Dark Elf Ancients knows the current king. I can bring it up. How long are you planning to stay?"

"Not sure. I haven't thought that far. Though Xyla here wants to go see her family, so we'll be heading over there next. Other than that, I'll probably stay within the vicinity, waiting for your call."

"I see. If you need a place to stay, you can just talk to me. If not, then I wish you a pleasant stay here at the Empire."

"Thanks."

Dream nodded and they exchanged goodbyes. A minute later, Idona and Dream were flying down the Tree.

"...Dream?"

"Yea?"

"Thanks. Although I have no idea how you were able to beat that elf, thanks for taking the risk."

"It was no problem. I was itching for a good fight anyway. If his body were tougher, he would've made for a better punching bag."

"He was one of the weaker elves, but still, the fact that you as a class 3 were able to fight a class 4 is insane. What was that weapon of yours?"

"A railgun. Although it wasn't very powerful at first, after I added supercapacitors, it greatly increased its instantaneous power output."

"Superca... What?"

"Science stuff."

"Science?"

"Anyway, you were planning to visit your parents, right?"

"Oh, they're near the tree actually. Follow me."

Suddenly remembering, Idona began leading Dream to a different portion of the Empire. Soon, they stopped in front of a large, castle-like building.