I Became a Crazy Swordsmanship Instructor in the Game - Chapter 70:

“…It hurts… My head…”

A form like an arm emerged from the spirit.

“You are… human…”

“What? I am? You seem pretty angry.”

Philip looked straight at the spirit and asked. Privia blinked at his actions.

‘Is he trying to awaken his consciousness? What could he be thinking?’

The entity before his eyes was still a soul filled with resentment. However, if Philip were to awaken the soul’s consciousness in such a manner, it was clear that it would transform into a powerful evil spirit.

‘Elseyus? I’ve heard that name before. He was quite famous a thousand years ago.’

As a High Elf who inherited an ancient elven heritage and an Aura Master, he was a hero among heroes. He was also a contract holder of the Spirit King.

To the elves who had lived for a long time, he was a renowned name, but to humans, it was as good as forgotten due to the span of several generations.

He died in battle against the demonic dragon Nagev, who was the archduke of the demon realm at the time, and even Privia’s knowledge only went as far as that.

‘But on what basis is he claiming the spirit to be Elseyus?’

Even her exceptional intellect couldn’t determine that. While she might know of Elseyus’ existence, connecting that knowledge to this situation was an entirely different matter.

A smile formed on Privia’s lips. She liked this aspect of Philip.

Having lived for thousands of years in one land, she could predict most events as easily as reading her palm.

Philip was the only one who could deviate from her predictions like this.

‘What exactly are you trying to do? I’m dying of curiosity.’

And once again, Philip did not disappoint her expectations.

“Your name is Elseyus. A noble Half-Elf, an Aura Master, and the contract holder of the Wind Spirit King. A thousand years ago, you were betrayed by allies and died in battle against Nagev.”

“Ugh… My head… My head hurts… Yes… There… Like that…”

The distorted soul of the spirit seemed to writhe as it heard the information Philip presented.

Janice hid behind Philip, and looked at the scene.

‘Is that…true?’

Distant dark clouds rolled in on the previously bright night sky, and thunder rumbled loudly.

In a situation that seemed like something significant had occurred, Janice suddenly looked at Lua and Lisriel.

Lisriel was observing the unfolding situation with a faint smile. Her leisurely demeanor was enough to evoke admiration.

However, Lisriel’s inner thoughts were different.

‘Why did I say I want to come here?’

Staying in the elven village had pricked her conscience a little. The sudden magnitude of the event momentarily halted her sharp intellect.

Meanwhile, Lua, as always, was quietly observing what Philip was doing. Because Philip had instructed her to do so.

“I am…”

Soon, the form of the spirit changed. It compressed as if shrinking, and soon took on the shape of a human.

Pointed ears and long, neat hair were clear indications that he was undoubtedly an elf in his past life. However, a tainted mist and faint spiritual substance surrounded him, indicating that he had fully transformed into an evil spirit.

“I am… Yes. Elseyus… Guardian of the Elves… Royalty. A fool who was betrayed and killed…”

Clutching his head as if in severe pain, he knelt down, then rose after a moment. Philip had remained silent until he stood up and looked at him before finally speaking.

“Are you in your senses, Elseyus?”

Elseyus shot Philip a cold gaze.

“Thanks to you, I am, Human. I’ve been wandering through vague hatred for a long time. But now that everything I need to annihilate is right in front of me, it’s as if I were alive just yesterday.”

“Annihilate? Who are you talking about?”

When Philip asked, Elseyus lifted a finger without saying a word and pointed it at the entire group.

“Of course you’d ask the obvious question. I’m referring to you vermin-like humans… Hm?”

His finger, which had been moving resolutely, hesitated in front of Privia as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

At that moment, Privia quickly raised her hand to block Elseyus’ mental communication, ensuring that Philip and the others couldn’t hear it.

“Why is the dragon with the humans? Did it decide to protect those disgusting parasites again?”

Privia didn’t answer his question but instead looked at Philip.

“What do you intend to do? This fellow is quite dangerous. As a former contract holder of the Spirit King, he could corrupt the spirits using his affinity. It might be best to eliminate him right here. Waiting longer might complicate matters.”

Philip shook his head.

“It’s fine for now.”

“That manner of speech, that voice. You are the wise Silver Dragon, Privia. I owe you a debt from the battlefield, but I could consider you an enemy for protecting humans.”

Despite Elseyus’ hostility, Privia remained unfazed.

“What’s with the petty grumbling? The dead have no voice. Aren’t you ashamed? Once one of the Twelve Stars of the continent, now reduced to being a creature of evil… Tsk, tsk.”

In his former life, even if she were a dragon, it might have been somewhat challenging to defeat him, but he didn’t have the troublesome Wind Spirit King now.

‘… That person. He must have been truly kind in his lifetime.’

Typically, an evil spirit wouldn’t bother speaking like this. When confronted with an infuriating presence, they would immediately use all their power to kill.

If he was the type to speak even as an evil spirit, then in his previous life, he must have been genuinely good and kind.

‘Come to think of it, he was rather gentle even as the Archduke of the Demon Realm.’

When a comrade character died in front of other Archdukes, they would usually be torn apart into several pieces, and various gruesome methods of death were commonplace.

But Elseyus, wielding his favored weapon, the ‘Reverse Blade Rapier,’ would cleanly pierce their hearts. He didn’t display the corpse anywhere or mockingly keep the necks of fallen comrades for later challenges.

Given that there were Archdukes who used the protagonist’s comrade’s corpse to create a pair of chimeras and engaged in all sorts of outrageous behavior in front of the protagonist, he could be considered a gentleman in comparison.

However, a few words from Privia easily disrupted his composure.

“What do you know? My siblings and I were betrayed and killed by repugnant treachery. By those despicable humans who should have gone extinct!”

Elseyus was thoroughly enraged. He raised his hand, and summoned several corrupted spirits.

‘They said several spirits were missing, so that’s what happened.’

Corrupted spirits might not manipulate natural energy like regular spirits, but they amplify the power of evil. Philip turned his head towards Lisriel.

“Take the kids back to where Castler and Cynthia are. We’ll solve this quickly and return.”

“… Me? You want me to?”

“Then who else is here besides you?”

“Well… Is this really okay? Anyway, I understand.”

Caught in this strange atmosphere, not a battle yet not a safe situation, Lisriel couldn’t adapt. It seemed incredibly dangerous yet Philip and Privia didn’t seem overly concerned.

Lisriel glanced at Janice and Lua, realizing that they felt the same way.

‘… Is it just me being weird?’

“Don’t bother them; let’s go. Kids. Okay?”

Janice noticed Philip’s stern expression, as if he was annoyed that she was hesitating, and quickly moved.

“Quickly, let’s go, sis.”

“Who said you could go wherever you want?”

Elseyus moved the corrupted spirits to block Lisriel’s path. Just as the corrupted spirits, imbued with powerful curses, were about to attack the children, Privia spoke up.

“It’s my choice. If you don’t want to perish here, you’d better behave. Having been defeated once should be enough humiliation, wouldn’t you think? Dying twice would be even more unjust?”

With a pained expression, Elseyus had to watch as the human trio disappeared into the distance.

* * *

“So, why did you just become a soul? I’ve never heard that you were betrayed.”

Unable to suppress her curiosity, Privia was the first to ask.

“… Have I been forgotten to that extent? In the battle against the dragon Nagev, my siblings and I fought to the death. The spirits who were like family to us since childhood chose to perish to protect us, and we also fought to the end in that place.”

As Elseyus answered, Privia tapped her chest as if feeling frustrated.

“I know about that. So, I’m not asking who you were betrayed by. Isn’t the question about who betrayed you? This fellow seems a little off in the head. Wouldn’t it be better to just get rid of him?”

The last question was directed at Philip. Philip nodded once again.

Soon, Elseyus, in an angry voice, revealed the name of the culprit who had betrayed him.

“The Great Sage Areola. The weaknesses of the dragon he told me were blatant lies. That woman doesn’t possess any sort of weakness.”

Privia raised an eyebrow.

“Weakness? Is there such a thing for dragons?”

“That despicable fellow claimed there’s a scale that grew backward between the dragon’s heart and neck. In order to touch that scale, two hundred and twelve elves and five high elves vanished without leaving a trace, and my sister also sacrificed her life. Through those dreadful sacrifices, I managed to reach that scale, but the woman didn’t even flinch.”

“Is that all?”

When Philip asked, Elseyus nodded irritably, appearing uncomfortable with Philip, a human, addressing him.

If it weren’t for Privia, he would have probably attacked him already.

Privia chastised Elseyus with a snort.

“Hmph, that Areola guy spouts nonsense. It’s your fault for believing such rubbish and sacrificing your own kin. To hold a grudge over that and kill humans, what nonsense is that?”

“No, well….”

Philip wished he could smack Privia’s lips with the palm of his hand. He wondered how such hateful words could come from those beautiful lips.

Elseyus was about to lose his temper.

“… Even if I perish here….”

Before things escalated further, Philip intervened.

“No, wait a moment. That information is correct. Elseyus-nim is right about that. The dragon Nagev’s weakness lies there.”

As an evil spirit, Elseyus couldn’t just let that statement about his past trauma go unanswered.

“How would you know that?”

“How would you know that?”

Privia also voiced her suspicion.

‘Because I’ve tried capturing it five times.’

He wanted to say that, but he couldn’t bring himself to. Philip found a nearby twig and began drawing on the ground to explain.

“As is well-known, the dragon Nagev was kidnapped during her curiosity-driven exploration of the Demon Realm in her youth. Originally, there was no dragon species called Demonic Dragon,’ was there? The reason is the Dragon Heart, which can be seen as a virtually infinite source of pure mana generation. Therefore, to corrupt a guardian-born dragon and turn it into a corrupted one, you need to taint this source of power…”

“You’re spouting nonsense. Are you implying you understand dragons better than that supposed Great Sage Areola? More than Areola, who directly confronted that woman?”

“… If you don’t know something, then just shut up and listen. Is that insignificant human mage, Areola, more knowledgeable about dragons than I, an actual dragon? He hasn’t been wrong so far, so just stay quiet.”

As Elseyus interrupted Philip’s words, Privia, who had been attentively listening, became annoyed.

“……”

Elseyus immediately sealed his lips. Even as a deceased soul, he couldn’t escape the fear of vanishing.

At least in this situation, the absolute authority figure was Privia. If he didn’t intend to fight for life here, he had to heed her words.

——-

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