Reborn As An Evolving Monster



"Mm." The Commander nodded. "I'll be taking this, okay?"

Lin walked forward.

He lowered his body towards the unconscious Mark and, the instant his hands were about to come into contact with the white-scaled Monster's body, a trembling Lioness growled.

Her legs refusing to get closer to a Commander, Elisa took hold of her bow.

Wind Arrow-

"If you're this bent on making my job harder then," Lin said after dodging the attack with ease. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?" The Commander leaped forward. "I'll have to work a bit harder."

Elisa jumped back while taking aim.

'I feel like I can't step closer to him. A Commander's Aura... Still, even if I have to keep my distance...'

With each step forward that Lin took, Elisa took one backward.

'The wound made by my arrow earlier is still bleeding. I can do this. Even if... Even if... I can't get closer.'

She let go of the Wind Arrow before quickly Condensing the Wind to make a new one but, unlike what had happened before and what Elisa had expected, the Commander didn't dodge.

Extend-

Grasp-

A small shockwave was set free as the Wind Arrow was stopped and compressed by Lin's Gauntlet.

"Mm. I won't have to work that hard it seems." He whispered before running forward.

But before he could take his third step forward,

Freeze-

Lin quickly lowered his body and slammed his fists against the Frost-covered ground.

'I'll have to keep an eye on this one too?' He asked himself, slightly surprised.

The trembling Lioness was standing.

"That one isn't your Underling, huh?" 

"That's none of your business."

"You're shaking, but can still move. That's understandable. But for a Moonlit Feline... Mm. That Monster's Underling then."

Without wasting time, Elisa quickly shot two arrows. So quickly that it seemed both had been shot at once.

One was aimed at the Commander's chest. The other was aimed at his already injured leg.

'What... Reacting to a frontal attack I would understand but... Keeping up with two arrows at once...'

Elisa clenched her teeth.

'What is it?' She asked herself as three Wind Arrows were shot in quick succession. 

Lin's right foot drew half a circle as his left arm was extended.

Two arrows passed by, the third collided with his Gauntlet, and his positioning allowed him to move his right arm properly.

The incoming Ice Spike was crushed.

'My first arrow, and the Frost laid by Krista... Those two...'

'The Elves' attacks move faster. They're shot quicker too. The Feline's are much slower. Priorities...' A slight smile appeared on the Commander's face. 'Priorities.'

"You can't use Magic, can you?" Elisa took aim once more. 

"What of it?" The Commander ran forward.

'In a straight line? When I'm already aiming-'

Lin turned his head to the side as Elisa let go of another Wind Arrow.

Grasp-

Crush-

"What of it, I asked." 

The Commander's punch connected with Elisa's defensively bent arms.

"Argh...!"

He had aimed for her side, but the power was enough to launch her a dozen steps away.

"Oho. You got it? Already?" Lin asked, slightly surprised. "Stand up already," He smiled. "We both know that didn't hurt."

'Tsk.' Elisa, who had jumped back at the moment of impact, clicked her tongue internally. 'He won't drop his guard again. Even when an arrow is coming straight at him, he still takes the time to look in Krista's direction.'

She pushed herself off the ground.

'This is a pretty bad matchup for me.'

While most of the force had been avoided, her elbow, on which the hit had landed, still felt numb.

'The only arrow that connected wasn't one made of Mana. I'd think Magic Attacks are the issues against him but...' A thin layer of Frost could be seen covering the inferior portion of Lin's foot. 'Krista's Magic did work. But her Ice Spikes...'

The Commander's Aura flared up.

Green and deep.

'If that Feline is the Monster's Underling, it would explain why it can still move. A Moonlit Feline shouldn't be able to lift a finger in front of a Commander. Oh... Candidate, the Lord said. Candidate...' Lin thought to himself before turning around and gazing behind him.

'Tsk. I'm supposed to be protecting him...' The knocked-out Monster lay a dozen steps behind the Commander. 'Now it looks like the opposite.'

'He looks like he's sleeping peacefully, even though a Commander is... Huh. White-scaled, white-scaled...' Lin turned back to face Elisa, a smile on his face. 'A Candidate for what, I wonder...'

"Think you can take him back from me?" The Commander sneered.

"I just need to buy time, don't I?"

Lin's eyes narrowed.

Four Wind Arrows were shot at once.

An additional two were shot, but they didn't move in a straight line. Each of the two was shot 45 degrees off target. One, 45 degrees to the right. The other, to the left.

'Curving arrows?'

'Even if I can't get closer...'

Elisa raised her foot and stepped in the air.

"Phew..." Lin whistled. "A staircase made of Wind..."

She ran as she rose higher and higher into the air, before jumping up once she stood right above the Commander.

A volley of Curving Wind Arrows was shot.I think you should take a look at

'Huh...'

The arrows Elisa had shot before taking to the air were dealt with but,

'I don't like this.' Lin thought as he raised his gaze.

A cloud of dust rose, as the volley of Wind Arrows hit both the area on which the Commander stood and the area surrounding him. 

'Now... This should tell me.' Elisa took aim.

She shot the arrow while the Commander was hidden.

One of the arrows that she had taken from the fallen Corrupted Dark Elves inside the Dungeon.

The smoke slowly faded away, and the Commander was revealed.

'Well... This feels insulting.'

"You got it." Lin said as he stared at the hovering Dark Elf.

From all the Wind Arrows shot, all the Mana that had been used, no damage.

"And if you got it..."

Only one arrow had pierced Lin's body. It remained, embedded in his right shoulder.

'Surprise attacks... And magic? What's the Link between-'

The Commander extended an arm forward.

"I'll have to finish this."

The Commander's Aura flared up further, taking up so much space that it enveloped both Elisa and Krista.

"Shit-"

"Get back down here."

Immediately, an incredibly heavy and imposing pressure weighed down on the two.

The platform made of Condense Wind below Elisa's feet started fading.

'Shit. Shit. Shit!' She cursed internally.

The weight of being in a Commander's presence.

The weight of that it meant to be in a Commander's presence.

'Fuck!'

The platform broke and Elisa started falling.

Lin turned his gaze towards the Moonlit Feline.

It had collapsed, and seemed about to pass out.

He turned his gaze towards his shoulder, before pulling the embedded arrow out.

'Mm.'

A drop of blood went down his arm.

'That was slothful.'

Elisa's knees hit the ground.

Thankfully, she was able to use the Wind to break her fall.

A cloud of dust rose and surrounded her.

'If I can an arrow in through his chest-'

Her body wasn't trembling anymore.

It was twitching or shuddering.

It couldn't afford to do those things.

'...!'

Not even the smallest movements were allowed.

'I can't... Move?!'

Not in a Commander's presence.

Not when surrounded by a Commander's Aura.

CLANK-

Lin's Gauntlets were struck together, and the cloud of dust ran away.

'Huh...'

Elisa's eyes widened.

'That's what it was?'

"You got it." The smiling Commander said. "A bit late though."

'Those eyes...'

For the first time since the beginning of the encounter, Elisa got a good look at Lin's eyes.

"I hear some Elves have eyes similar to mine. Funny, isn't it?" The Commander sneered.

Eyes that Elisa wished she had time and time again.

Eyes that she had only forgotten due to the Corruption.

Their shine, the motif on those pupils. There was no doubt in her mind.

"Why... Do you have those eyes?"

"I'm surprised you can talk-"

"Why do you have those eyes?" Elisa repeated.

"Oh. I was born with them. Lucky, aren't I?"

Elisa's gaze dropped to the ground as long-forgotten memories resurfaced.

The Eyes that only a select few Elves were born with.

The Eyes for which they were hunted and killed.

A Blessing and a Curse.