Chapter 174 174: The Last Stand [Pt3]



There was envy and jealousy in Master Hana's voice when she spoke to the elf queen. 

On one hand, she appreciated the way the elf queen was recognizing the Grandmaster. The expression of awe on her face was worth looking at and Master Hana could feel her heart swell in pride.

But on the other hand, she hated it when someone else looked at her man. There was a possessive streak inside her that did not want to share her man with someone else.

"That glow! This is impossible. How could a human hide that divine glow for so long? I need to know more."

The elf queen took an unconscious step toward the Grandmaster, but it ticked off Master Hana more than before.

"Hey, no, stop. You do not get to do that. Grandmaster is a person and he is public property. Kindly do not try and take him for yourself."

Master Hana's sudden interruption did not sit well with the elf queen. 

The sudden poison attack Master Hana faced was quickly combated by her strings. But it had only been a tactic to drive her attention away from the elf queen and her quick actions.

The elf queen ran past Master Hana and toward her target. She needed to see that divine glow up closer and then find a way to capture it.

She had a feeling that the grandmaster's divine glow would help their pained god.

Otherwise, they would all die a painful death a second time.

She made it quite far before she was caught in a web of strings. The elf queen felt her circulation being cut off in various parts of her body and it was going numb.

She tried to circulate her mana through her body to try and break free. But the more she tried, the harder it became to move and feel her mana.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay back? Grandmaster is not a person the likes of you can meet. You need to learn your place."

Master Hana's eyes were dark when she spoke. Her aura shined with unknown danger and the elf queen felt her heart skip a beat in fear. 

"Y-You will not dare kill me. Your clan is associated with our people. You will not dare upset the ancient balance of things, right?"

The elf queen had assurance in the form of that ancient treaty. Master Hana's clan needed her clan's help to prosper. If that was the case, the elf queen was sure she would not die.

As expected, Master Hana put her hand down and did not kill her. But the cruel light did not fade away from her eyes even at that moment.

"You are right. I cannot kill you right now. But not because we have a treaty or it would upset things, but because your life belongs to someone else. I think it would be a sweeter revenge if your 'lovely' daughter was to off you."

The elf queen froze as soon as she heard those words. She watched the direction Master Hana's hand was pointed toward and her heart dropped.

"You will not dare. No way. Kill me if you must but do not make me suffer that humiliation. A half-ling like her does not deserve to even see my face."

The elf queen raged suddenly. She watched as the divine beast on the other side of the forest was being pushed back. 

The divine beast was already utilizing all it had to keep this illusion going for its master. It will not be able to handle any more interruptions.

"Oh, won't I dare? Then, let us try that theory, shall we? Oi, Shimi, hurry up and come here."

The elf queen watched as Shimi looked up with a frown. Her eyes met a pair of calm blue ones and the elf queen could not help but keep on looking toward her 'daughter.'

"Master Hana, do you want something from me?"

It insulted the elf queen how Shimi did not even look at her. The elf queen was being treated as an object by her daughter. 

"I do want you to do something. I want you to kill the elf queen for me. My hands are tied due to diplomatic reasons so I cannot do that. You will have to be the one to land the finishing blow."

Shimi's eyes widened a little as soon as she heard those words. She looked at her tied-up mother with complex feelings.

But the most prominent ones among them were hate and repulse. There was no way the elf queen would be able to get away alive.

"I see. If that is the case, then I do not mind dirtying my hands. It would also be good for Himeko to be separated from such a bad influence."

The elf queen jolted in her binds, now angry suddenly. She did not like how the name of her actual daughter rolled off Shimi's tongue.

"You filthy bastard. Do not you dare take her name with your mouth. Himeko is my true-born, my real daughter. She is the one I chose to give birth to. She is unlike you and-"

"But she is a half-elf as well. Elves are a purely female race and cannot give birth alone. So, I am sure even Himeko's father is from another specie. And yet, you treat her so differently from me. You are such a hypocrite."

The elf queen fell silent. She knew what Shimi had said was the truth but there were a lot of things covering up what happened.

"She was *my* choice. You were something forced upon me by the greatest of evils. And one day, you will show your true greedy form, just like your sire did. You cannot get away from your destiny, you filthy bitch-"

The elf queen did not get to say much. Her stomach was pierced by a sharp wind blade and her eyes were wide in shock.

Life drained slowly out of the elf queen's eyes and the pair in front of her watched it happen.

"H-Himeko, my d-dear. Please, a-avenge your mother."

The elf queen reached out for her beloved daughter. Himeko was watching the elf queen die a slow but painful death. Life was draining out faster and faster out of her eyes.

The elf queen's outstretched hand fell, but Himeko did not reach out even once for her during all this time.

"So, you made your decision in the end. Good to see that you knew which side you needed to stand on."

Shimi's voice was still cut and tense. Her body was even shaking ever so slowly but it was impossible to tell.

"Hmm, I am not happy about what happened. But I can understand why you did what you did. Besides, my mother was already dead quite a few days ago. This illusion is making a mockery of her memory and I do not like it."

Himeko's reply was short but firm. She seeded to have made up her decision.

As soon as the elf queen was dead, something seemed to have changed in their environment. It was as if the last straw keeping the Fenrir beast in check was gone.

The beast let out a fierce cry when where it was lying down and it seemed to have regenerated it is energy,

"Shit, this place is collapsing. It will come down on our heads any second now. What shall we do now?"

Master Hana asked as she watched the illusion shaking. It was so bad that the illusion was beginning to break away in parts.

"We need a way to bring the Fenrir beast down. But if even the grandmaster cannot keep it down, then what chance do we have? Our mana and magic do not seem to work on that creature."

Himeko questioned with an almost scared voice. She had seen the kind of destruction a Divine beast could do. And she was afraid that they would all die at its hands.

"Well, if we cannot harm it with magic, then we will have to improvise. I am sure that the grandmaster would take care of it before we need to do something."

Hana assured the other two and she got ready to plan something out.

But as soon as she did, she felt a thick shield covering the space she and her companions were and it pulsed with energy. Grandmaster walked into that shield as well and his expression was one filled with determination.

"You all should brace yourself. I am not sure if I will be able to control my power from here on."

Grandmaster warned the trio and they did as instructed. They watched as a golden ball of divine power formed above the Fenrir beast's head and Hana could swear, she watched the grandmaster sweat as he held that magic in place.

And then the divine ball fell on the Fenrir beast, shredding its body in pieces. Hana did not know what kind of magic the grandmaster had used, it but was highly effective against the said beast.