Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 133: The Elven Nation of Sylph(Part 3)

"Strange...it seems agitated," Raven thought to himself warily, before the Monster’s attention was diverted as a cry of fear rang out from the bushes, taking notice of the Elf children.

"Oh, no, you don’t!" Exclaimed Celia as it began to take a step towards the kids, firing off a rapid explosive projectile towards the Earth Dragon.

The Monster quickly backed away as the projectile closed in on it, which hit the ground and exploded fiercely, bits of dirt and grass flying out as Hart shot towards the kids and teleported towards them, grabbing them and teleporting to a safe distance as Raven fully tranformed, spread out his wings and flew up, before rapidly swooping down towards the Monster.

It let out a defensive snarl before extending several earth spikes up towards Raven, who swerved and veered across the air to evade them.

He then came to an abrupt halt in mid-air as the Dragon snapped its jaws at him, the force of the snap triggering an intense burst of wind as its snout missed the front of Raven’s body by a whisker.

Raven then lurched forward and drove his arms straight ahead, plunging his claws into the Monster’s eyes before jamming his hands in, blood bursting out as it roared in agony, before suddenly going quiet as Raven unleashed a devastating burst of lightning from his hands.

Smoke billowed out of the Monster’s mouth as its body went limp, before Raven pulled his hands back out and flew back as it began to fall over, hitting the ground with a thudding crash and slumping against the grass.

Raven receded his transformation as he floated back down and landed, letting out a slow exhale to compose himself, before glancing back as the others came rushing over.

"Impressive, you took down a Critical Level Threat in a matter of seconds," Remarked Tilda, as Raven brushed the scorched flakes of burnt blood off his hands.

"Yeah, it was over so fast that I didn’t even have a chance to jump in and help, way to go," Added Jacks with a wry smile.

"It’s good that you were able to take it down before it could do any real damage," Nodded Arren in agreement.

"No, it shouldn’t have been that easy, it must have been weakened or injured. Yeah, here we go, it’s-...hm?" Frowned Raven, as he took a look at the Monster’s corpse.

"Huh, that’s weird. Hey, look at these scars all over its body...they look like they were caused by a jagged, uneven blade, no Monster has claws that can inflict scars like this. In other words, someone, most likely an Elf, injured it. And these wounds are fresh," Noted Colt as he inspected several deep cuts across the Monster’s underside.

Raven’s nose then twitched as a breeze blew in from the direction in which the Monster had appeared, his brows furrowing as he picked up a scent...

"Wait, I think I smell an Elf that way, it’s-...," He began, before trailing off as the scent swiftly retreated of the range of his sense of smell, a grimace appearing on his face as he focused on his ability to detect Mana, "What’s going on? I definitely didn’t imagine that, I’m sure of it, but...I don’t sense any Mana in that direction."

"These wounds...I get the feeling that whoever inflicted them was just toying with the Dragon. Or maybe...they were trying to drive it straight towards us?" Frowned Celia warily, before turning her head across as several footsteps echoed out.

A group of Elves emerged from the shrubbery, with Hart trailing behind them, heading towards the Dragon.

"What happened here? What’s going on?" Frowned one of the Elves, staring at the dead Dragon.

"We were just relaxing on the grass when it suddenly showed up, so we killed it," Answered Raven, the Elven scent he’d picked up earlier still in his mind.

The Elves then questioned the kids to confirm the story, which the kids corroborated.

"I see, then it seems like this was just an unfortunate accident. Now, then...you young ones, I believe you were warned to stay clear of this area," Remarked one of the Elves with a frown.

"W-we’re sorry."

"Yeah, we won’t do it again, we promise."

"See that you don’t," Sighed the Elf, before turning to Hart and bowing his head, "We owe you our thanks, for taking the children out of harm’s way."

"Oh, you don’t need to thank me for that," Smiled Hart in response.

"Um, excuse me...there’s a bit more you should know. This Monster’s behavior wasn’t quite natural, it was strangely agitated. It seemed more fearful and afraid than aggressive or hungry. And the injuries on its chest and stomach, they weren’t caused by us, and they weren’t caused by Monsters either," Chimed in Tilda.

"Hm...yes, I believe you’re right. These wounds were almost certainly inflicted with a manmade weapon," Frowned one of the Elves as she walked over and took a look at the cuts.

"Another thing...I’ve got a really strong sense of smell, and right after we defeated the Dragon, I could’ve sworn that I picked up the scent of an Elf, a few dozen or so meters away in the direction that the Dragon came from, but it quickly disappeared right after I picked up on it. I can also detect Mana with a two hundred meter radius, and the scent was definitely well within that range, but I couldn’t sense any around the spot where the scent came from," Raven informed them.

Troubled looks appeared on the Elves’ faces as they exchanged wary glances with each other, clearly concerned over that bit of information.

"I see, thank you for letting us know. We need to report this to the Elders...it seems you all are quite capable of defending yourselves, so I’d say you don’t need us to provide you with any protection. At any rate, I believe it’s highly unlikely that another Monster will appear. We shall take our leave now...thank you again for saving these young ones, you have our gratitude," Said one of the Elves with a respectful bow, before they turned around and headed back.

Meanwhile, several hundred kilometers ahead in the direction the Earth Dragon had come from...

"Well, now, I’m quite surprised...it would appear that humans are much stronger than I thought," A mysterious figure mused to himself in fascination, before continuing, "Based on everything I’d heard about humans and the way most other Elves talk about them, I assumed they must be a weak, incompetent race. But clearly, that assessment was inaccurate.

And that one, the one who killed the Dragon...I wonder, was he really human at all? That monstrous appearance, and that immense power...it was quite impressive. But more than that, he actually noticed me...he must possess some rather remarkable senses, I was sure that I was at a far enough distance to avoid detection. I’ll need to reassess my plans."

The figure paced around while deep in thought, jumping up and plucking an apple off a branch before biting into it with a crunch, wiping the corner of his mouth as a trail of juice trickled down.

The leaves on the surrounding trees rusted loudly as a strong wind blew across, a smirk spreading out across the figure’s face as a gleam appeared in his eyes.

"Well, now...this should be quite interesting. Yes, I think I should be able to have a fair bit of fun with this," He chuckled to himself...