~Zzztttzzz~

As traces of electricity still buzzed in the air, Esme stood firmly with her staff as she watched the twenty four remaining Elves who gawked at her power.

It seemed she was waiting for them to make whatever move they desired, but at the moment no one was moving. They were merely engaged in a staring contest.

As Gratiana saw all of this by Rey's side, even she couldn't help but be shocked by what had just happened.

"T-that Half Bree" The moment she said this, a chill descended down her spine, and it came from the man who stood beside her. His hand was placed on her shoulder, and a gentle smile spread on his face as he stared at her.

"You heard the lady. Don't call her a Half Breed again."

The smile on Rey's face was so scary that the Elder quickly looked away, nodding obediently as she muttered, "Y-yes"

"Good. Now sit back and enjoy the show." He removed his hand while placing it in his pocket. "I've been curious about how well she fights for some time now."

"She looks strong. How powerful is she?" Gratiana murmured as she looked at Esme's unmoving figure.

Upon hearing the question, Rey shrugged.

"Based on pure Stats alone, you should be stronger than she is. However, her Items really boost her to another level. Also, she has pretty useful Skills, and that makes all the difference. I should know" Gratiana was surprised to hear Rey say that.

She was one of the strongest Elves in the Continent. Not counting the Esteemed Elders, she was definitely among the top ten fighters.

Yet, a Half Elf had managed to reach her level? How was that even possible?

"How old is she?" Gratiana asked, swallowing a little.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because Half Elves usually have the lifespan of humans, since they take on more features from them. Even though she looks more similar to an Elf, I doubt she has the same kind of lifespan that we do."

Once or twice, Gratiana had seen Half Elves that resembled her Race to a degreethough Esme's resemblance felt too uncannybut even they did not inherit the lifespan that Elves were born with.

"She also looks familiar, though I can't place it"

"Well, she's about the same age as me."

"And how old are you?"

"Sixte" Rey swiftly stopped himself from speaking as soon as he realized what he was about to say.

His eyes twitched a little, and he swiftly tried to salvage the situation.

'I can't tell her I'm sixteen! She's someone who's lived for hundreds of years! How exactly am I supposed to act the way I do if she's old enough to be my ancestor?' Taking deep breaths, Rey thought of a way to save himself from his current predicament. Thankfully, all of that was unnecessary.

"Sixty, huh? Younger than I thought. It still makes no sense, though. She's too young to possess such power"

Rey swallowed hard the moment he heard her speak. Her conclusion placed him and Esme at too high an age, and even then she thought they were too young.

'I think it's best I keep my true age to myself.' Upon resolving this within himself, he continued talking.

"That's because she has taken lives. By only taking the lives of her enemies, when necessary, she was able to advance in strength quicker than normal Elves would."

"That is an affront to Nature." Gratiana responded with a stern tone. Her face, unlike the looks of the protesting Elves, showed a kind of certainty that couldn't be argued against.

She had her mind made up, and there was no changing it.

"Well, your little girls don't seem to think that."

"T-that's because you corrupted them!" "Did I?"

"Y-yes! It's wrong for Elves to do that! The Oracle commands us with the will of Nature, and we should never do that!"

"I guess we all have to follow The Oracle's decree then"

"E-exactly!"

Rey's wry smile went unnoticed by Gratiana, who was watching Esme intentlytoo intently to notice the sarcasm in Rey's tone as well.

'Well, it's not like I'm foolish enough to actually disobey the Oracle now; not when I need them badly' He thought to himself as he stared at the brewing fight.

~Master, when will you be done? I want to come back already!~

Hearing Emil's voice suddenly pop into his head, Rey shrugged a little before responding.

"Just a bit longer. I want to prove a point. Once it's over, I'll bring you and Kara back from my domain. Is she done with her assignment?"

~Yes! She works very fast!~

Rey chuckled to himself as he nodded, once again grateful to Ater for recommending the girl. He was also grateful to his past self for rescuing her.

'It looks like this whole venture will turn out a lot easier than expected.'

~BOOOOOOOOOM!~

The resounding echo of battle woke Rey from his reverie, dragging his attention to the battle that was taking place before him.

There, the Elves had begun to attack Esmeand in droves for that matter. Their Divine-Tier weapons crackled with power as they launched their Spells towards her.

None of them were useful against her Skills, though.

Elemental attacks were useless against her due to her [Absolute Elemental Control] Skills and the nature of her new Class [Grand Elementalist].

Not only was she immune to those kinds of attacks, as long as they were at a certain level, but she could also hijack control over the attacks and control them however she desired.

In essence, almost all the attacks that were thrown at her were easily deflected in no time.

As for other kinds of Magic that she couldn't deflect with her Skills, she easily blocked them with a Magic Barrier, while also making sure to read the next moves they would make after she was finished defending against their current attacks.

Compared to the Elves, who were no more than bumbling fools with no real skill in combat, Esme was adept at combat in every facet, causing Rey to smile and Gratiana to gawk throughout her display.

"She's amazing" The Elder had to whisper as she stared at the young lady who truly seemed no different from a Young One.

No, perhaps there was a difference.

"She's more outstanding than I imagined."