I Picked Up the Hero Who Banished Me - Chapter 55



54 – [In the Land of Elves – 22]

“Titania! You mustn’t die! If you’re gone, Elvenheim will be!!”

The elf healer was crying, trying desperately to heal Titania.

Sylphy kept firing arrows at the sky, trying to bring down the wyverns.

The numbers had briefly dwindled after Olivia went up, but somehow, Olivia had vanished from the sky.

Which meant there was a monster up there strong enough to keep Olivia tied down.

Is there really a Demon Lord’s Commander out there?

Olivia had said herself that she was currently at the level of a Demon Lord’s Commander, and even among those commanders, she wasn’t sure if she could defeat those in the upper ranks.

A third of her head blown off, a hole through her heart, one arm gone, her body completely ravaged by curses… it was absurd to call her a Demon Lord’s Commander class, but Olivia was remarkably objective about her own power assessments.

In other words, there was a high chance Olivia was fighting at her full strength right now.

“There’s no end to them! The wyverns aren’t decreasing, they’re increasing!”

“How can there be so many wyverns…!”

‘The timing is just too perfect.’

The fact that the World Tree was in a weakened state and Olivia was at her best, this situation could only be seen as having impossibly good timing.

“Look there! Over there!!”

“W-what is it?”

“What on earth is that!?”

Silphy, startled by everyone’s reactions, looked up and saw something huge.

A burning rock.

A magic of destruction that scorches the earth.

“Meteor!”

If even a meteor was appearing, a Demon Lord’s Commander had to be involved.

What to do?

A meteor was originally a magic that wasn’t meant to be used alone, and only the very best mages of both humans and monsters could cast it.

Furthermore, even for those powerful mages, it took a considerable amount of time to cast, so dealing with an already-launched meteor was no easy task.

It’s not for nothing that the best way to deal with a meteor is said to be to flee from its impact zone as soon as you realize it’s been cast.

‘But that’s too big, even for a meteor.’

Escaping Elvenheim wasn’t easy amidst this battlefield, and even if they *did* escape, how would they outrun *that* meteor?

What should I do?

Olivia might be able to do something, somehow.

But Olivia isn’t here now.

So.

How?

“Ti, Titania!”

“……Grandmother?”

Titania, a hole torn through her chest, staggered to her feet and stood beside Sylphy.

“Are you uninjured?”

“Ah, yes… no, Titania! Why did you get up?! You need treatment!”

Titania gently smiled, touching Sylphy’s cheek.

“Sylphy, I am Titania.”

“Huh?”

“To become the king of a nation, one must prioritize the nation over oneself. Even if it is a life that is not human.”

These were weighty words, coming from Titania who had experienced war, and then become the queen of a chaotic Elvenheim.

Abandoning her name.

Abandoning her life.

Abandoning everything, and sitting in that position solely as Titania.

That was Titania’s oath with the World Tree.

Hooom.

Suddenly, a bow materialized in Titania’s hand.

“Meteor Bow.”

A legendary bow passed down only to the Titanias of the past.

The World Tree.

A treasure of the elves said to be crafted by the divine tree.

“Titania?”

*Tap,* with a flick of Titania’s fingers, the ceiling of the building vanished, clearly revealing the meteor. Watching it, Titania, bleeding, drew the bowstring.

Kuuung!!

An absurd amount of magic was gathering in that small arrow. Sylphi had lived a long life, but she had never seen such a massive accumulation of magic.

The magic of Titania combined with the magic the Meteor Bow generated on its own harmonized, creating even more explosive power.

“Titania! No! The Meteor Bow is not something you should use in your condition!!”

The elf who was treating Titania screamed as if she sensed Titania’s fate, but she was only stumbling, unable to penetrate even the gale created by the magic.

Just.

Titania seemed to understand her destiny.

“Titania is one who protects Elvenheim.”

“No, Mayo…! Grandmother…! Grandmother!! No! There’s a way… I, I’d rather draw it! Or I’ll bring Olivia-nim right now!!”

“……”

At Sylphi’s cries, Titania smiled.

She smiled, as if she were overjoyed to hear those words.

For that moment, she was not the lonely queen sitting on the throne for ages, but certainly a grandmother looking at her grandson.

She had believed that the hatred and sin built over long years would not be resolved even after her death.

But.

It was resolved.

It was enough.

“Meteor Palace!!”

*KWAANG!!!*

The flying arrow grew larger, swelling to a size comparable to a meteor, and collided with the meteor falling through the sky.

For a moment.

Light spread.

Before the sound.

And.

The meteor that had seemed to cover the sky completely vanished, and the blue sky revealed itself once more.

‘Come to think of it.’

Titania thought at that moment.

‘I never really had a proper conversation with Reina.’

If there was regret, that would be it.

As a queen, it might have been ‘not bad,’ but as a family member, Titania was certainly the worst.

But.

“Grandma!!”

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

You must know that most of the pain I’ve endured in my life has been because of Titania’s misguided choices.

Even Silphy herself said it would be a lie if she didn’t resent you.

And yet.

That face, reaching out with both hands, calling me Grandma.

It looked like it was about to cry.

I was happy.

“hhh… G, Grandma. B… Blood… ! My magic nerves exploded…”

“Reina’s sins…”

“Grandma?”

“I will leave it all to Olivia… to deal with.”

“Wh, what are you saying? No, this can’t be… This shouldn’t be happening! Don’t close your eyes!”

Titania’s life was entirely devoted to Elvenheim.

She did everything for it, sacrificed everything for it.

She couldn’t even properly remember her own name anymore, and over the long years, she’d made many mistakes and committed many sins.

Titania, who had committed sins in the name of Elvenheim, was surely destined for hell in the afterlife.

I wished there was a hell.

Wouldn’t it be unfair if those who had sinned and those who hadn’t reached the same place?

“Huh?”

Before she knew it, the Meteor Bow was in Sylphy’s hand.

It felt like Titania, collapsed in her arms, had placed it there.

Titania’s body was limp.

She was just leaning against Sylphy, eyes closed as if asleep.

“Hah, ah… Haaa….”

Her breaths came ragged.

Sylphy fought to suppress the emotion threatening to overwhelm her.

She checked on Titania’s condition.

“Not yet.”

“Huh?”

“Her heart is still beating!! Hurry!!”

Forgetting all formality, Sylphy yelled.

The elf using healing magic snapped back to reality at her words, rushing over to begin treatment again.

Either way, Titania was no longer capable of anything in this fight.

She had already been pierced through the chest and then, using the Meteor Bow, had shattered a falling meteor in the sky.

She’d have over-exerted her magic, and there was a high chance of her magic circuits being damaged.

‘Stay calm.’

Anyone skilled enough to be a match for Olivia must be a high-ranking demon army officer.

But they wouldn’t be able to use a meteor – something that takes time to cast – while fighting Olivia.

From noble mtl dot com

‘In other words, there’s one more besides the officer Olivia is fighting.’

A monster capable of using Meteor.

That guy had to be a Demon Lord Army executive for sure.

Demon Lord Army executives, they’d probably killed more than half during Olivia Reinhart’s journey.

And of the remaining Demon Lord Army executives, at least two had invaded Elvenheim?

No matter how I looked at it, this situation was far from normal.

‘Lord Royce is at the World Tree, and Olivia is probably held up by a Demon Lord Army executive.’

And Titania was on the verge of death.

In this situation, who else would have to deal with another Demon Lord Army executive?

Reina and Les came to mind.

Both had excellent skills among the Elves, and Reina, especially, had faced several Demon Lord Army executives, no matter how powerful Olivia was.

The difference in experience, Silphy thought, was definitely not something to ignore.

First, she had to find Reina.

Whether she was a criminal or not, that could be dealt with after this crisis was resolved.

“aaah!!”

“This is, magic…!!”

“Magic?”

Looking down quickly, she saw Elven soldiers falling one by one.

A purple aura had enveloped them, and it was instantly draining the life out of the Elves.

“To think you could stop Meteor.”

Someone was leisurely walking in the center of it all.

The air thick with a foul, festering presence.

That corpse-like face, rotting, screamed that it was Lich.

“But you were already badly injured, what a stupid choice. Isn’t this too foolish and meaningless for Titania’s last stand?”

“…….”

A vein throbbed, ready to burst, at Sylphie’s temple.

Sylphie found it absurd to even say it, but she’d never once wanted to kill anyone.

The loathing of humans.

The loathing of elves.

Even under its weight, Sylphie knew it was their sin, but she’d never hated the people, only the sin itself.

She considered it a pathetic existence to be consumed by that hatred, cursing others.

But.

“Hss.”

Sylphie jumped, facing Lich directly.

“Hm?”

She felt as if the Meteor Bow in her hand was a part of her.

An excessive amount of magic seemed to activate inside her.

“Don’t you dare judge *him*…!! I’ll kill you…!!”

For the first time in her life, Sylphie’s eyes blazed with murderous intent.