I Became a Foreign Worker Loved by Transcendents-Chapter 227: The Pinnacle Of All Beings

Elf.

A race that lives for a time equivalent to eternity among other races, taking pride in their lifespan.

However, the world, shrouded in calamity, had taken away the land where they could live, leading to a decrease in their population.

A decrease in the number of their kin directly led to a decline in authority.

The Elf leaders couldn’t overlook this fact, so they began to devote themselves to childbirth and child-rearing to maintain their authority.

They gave birth to children and raised them until they became adults after hundreds of years…

Yet how could a race that equates lifespan with authority devote themselves to a method chosen under duress?

At some point, they began to feel doubt about their actions, and they came to view living itself as a burden, rendering their long lifespan meaningless.

“Well, who would have thought I’d see the day Elves put effort into child-rearing…? With the world in such a state, it’s truly remarkable to witness such oddities.”

It was during such a time of endurance that a guest arrived from outside.

The Elves, including Auria, could immediately discern their identity.

Although they had latched onto humans, the ultimate victors of the race wars, when the Elves held power, they had lived as parasites among them.

“Well, even long-lived species like you must concern yourselves with future generations to survive. But it seems that doesn’t sit well with your nature; you must want to regain your former glory.”

Vampires.

Like Elves, they lived eternally but existed as parasitic beings, secretly hiding within the societies of other races.

“Will you not join us in the New Era?”

“New Era?”

“We are recruiting those who will lead the new era that is about to unfold. Those with noble and pure blood like yours would be the most suitable.”

While their arrival alone raised suspicion, the proposal they brought was a strong temptation for the Elves, including Auria.

Becoming the main players of the era meant that many would recognize their greatness, implying they would no longer need to concern themselves with trivial matters like child-rearing.

It simply meant their servitude would shift from kin to other races.

The moment such an opportunity arose, the Elves ultimately cast aside their worries and doubts, abandoning their children to join them.

There might have been some ulterior motives, but whatever they were, the Elves firmly resolved to seize what they desired.

“The vampires have been annihilated.”

However, what returned to them while waiting for the promised time was the news that the instigators who had drawn them in and plotted had been annihilated.

Filling that void was the detestable King of the humans.

Despite being the ultimate victor of the race wars, he was a foolish and weak leader who succumbed to vampires in a world engulfed by calamity.

“And soon, the Demon King’s army will invade this land.”

While it was intolerable for such weaklings to wield power over them, what he was actually doing with the members of the New Era was more akin to negotiations.

“That means the Empire, the only safe haven in this world, is soon facing destruction.”

“…Then what happened to the promise of making us the main players of the New Era?”

“Even if they are gone, the results of the research conducted under their leadership remain.”

Along with the proposal, he brought forth a cup filled with a red liquid.

This liquid was a potion made by mixing the blood of various races with that of a great being from another world.

By simply consuming it, one could acquire the characteristics of other races and enhance their own powers.

“Do you seek power?”

The leader of the humans spoke before them.

“Do you wish to stand above all others?”

By simply accepting it, one could transcend their original race and be reborn as the most superior being.

Such an opportunity to rise to the pinnacle of all creation rested in their hands.

“If so, drink this. By enduring the power emitted by the blood of a being you would call a god, you will seize the opportunity to reach the pinnacle of all living beings.”

“…What is the price for this?”

“All you have to do is pledge to protect this Imperial Palace from the Demon King’s army until the time comes… That is all.”

“That’s it? It doesn’t matter if other humans die??”

“Yes, just ensure that no one enters this palace. If you guard it until the time comes, you will seize an opportunity that far surpasses this potion.”

It was a story far too convenient for them.

Naturally, they suspected he had ulterior motives, but Auria and the other races ultimately decided to accept the potion he offered.

Everyone gathered there had come with the goal of becoming the rulers of the New Era, and it was undoubtedly true that the potion he offered would transform them into advanced beings.

“Yes, I am special.”

Most of them failed.

No, even among those who became advanced beings, most were not beautiful.

Their forms were grotesque, and their reason was submerged in instinct, reduced to beasts that consumed sustenance.

“I am more special than anyone.”

However, even among the members of the New Era undergoing such changes, a very small number succeeded in maintaining their complete forms and reason.

In fact, it was precisely because of the failures that the value of their perfection was elevated even higher.

As the greatest calamities of this world descended upon this land, Auria, who slaughtered them, believed herself to be a chosen being.

“With this power, I will surely place everything in this world beneath me.”

She would overwhelm even the Demon King, who would soon invade this land.

She had no doubt that she would absorb that power and be reborn as an even more perfect being.

“Ugh!!!”

At this moment, her appearance before the mobile fortress controlled by humans was merely a diversion until the Demon King made his direct appearance.

Seeing the human hero pushed back after a desperate fight, those behind began to wail out loud.

“Hero!!”

“We will join you now! If we fight together…!”

“Don’t come here!!!”

The male hero shouted, driving his shovel into the ground once more.

As he unleashed his power, the earth around him was reversed, and huge amounts of soil flew into the air, but Auria merely scoffed and pointed her finger at the spot.

With a bang, the mound of dirt scattered in all directions.

“Ah, this isn’t even entertaining.”

An attack that, in her past, would have easily overwhelmed her.

But now, being able to brush off such an attack only highlighted her superiority and growth.

“I thought I’d come to kill time until the Demon King arrives, but if it’s this boring, then it’s not even worth coming here.”

“Uwaaaaaah!!!”

The hero swung his shovel amid the cries.

Auria, who brushed away the waves of dirt with her wings, began to gaze at Ja-seong as if she couldn’t comprehend him.

“But why are you resisting so desperately?”

Though weaker than her, he was still one of the strongest among humans.

If he wielded that power, he could easily keep other humans beneath him and wouldn’t have to bear any significant risks or effort.

No matter how many humans he sacrificed, those with power deserved to be treated that way.

“With that level of power, you could easily let your subordinates handle things without stepping forward… Why are you exhausting yourself in a fight you can’t even win?”

Such actions were incomprehensible from an Elf’s perspective.

In the gentle pause stemming from such pure curiosity, Ja-seong raised his weary body and began to cry out.

“Shut your mouth, you monster.”

“Monster? Are you calling this beautiful body a monster?”

“Even if the ugly apricot looks good in the light, it’s still an ugly apricot!!”

Boom!!

The earth trembled with the force of his mighty shovel strike.

Even with his body reaching its limits, the intensity of his effort soared beyond comparison to before.

“If you have power, you must be ready to shoulder the responsibility that comes with it. Everyone treats me as a hero; it’s only natural I rise to meet that expectation!”

-Bang!!

The massive mound of earth surged forward.

Auria, having blocked a shock akin to that of a meteor with a single wing, twisted her lips into a grimace and prepared to swing her opposite wing.

“That’s quite an irritating worldview.”

With a gust, a boulder was sent flying backward.

The armor that collided shattered into pieces, and Ja-seong finally fell to the ground.

That was the last utterance of the hero who had tried to protect the mobile fortress by sacrificing himself.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. It looks like there’s nothing left to see here… So there’s no need to waste any more time.”

Auria showed no mercy in response.

For her now, killing a powerful human was less meaningful than stepping on an ant.

“But don’t be too sad. I’ll soon send your companions on their way as well~”

As she pointed her finger at the fortress, she wondered if such trivial sentiments would make it easier to crush humanity’s last hope.

However, she couldn’t flick that finger, and the power she wielded also briefly subsided.

“I tried to avoid interfering in children’s fights as much as possible.”

At that moment, the presence of a human emerging from the fortress captured her attention.

“You’ve gone too far, even for the likes of you.”

And Auria was not the only one who took notice.

Soon, the members who came out from the entrance widened their eyes in shock upon encountering her.

“Tashian… Great Mother…?”

Tashian Pheloi.

The craftsman responsible for the equipment within the fortress, known as the mother of the leader guiding the fortress.

“…She is not human.”

Auria sensed something extraordinary about her.

She appeared human, but within her existed something entirely different.

“What are you?”

In response to that question, Tashian replied quietly.

“I am a mother.”

“…A mother?”

“Yes, a mother of one child and a mother who must protect the place where that child will return.”

Her eyes grew vacant, filled with questions, as she turned towards Auria.

Those eyes bore an extremely cold hue.

Anyone who knew her gentle maternal affection would feel a deep dissonance.

“And you… You are trying to harm the place where that child will return and those she must protect.”

“…What are you talking about?”

She possessed the power to crumble the fortress in an instant, but would she really think to prattle on about trivial family ties in front of her?

With pride from having lived for thousands of years, she thought herself worthy of being revered even by newborns.

“Well, I have no intention of playing such games… But I find your power quite interesting.”

However, the aura emanating from her was impossible to overlook.

The feeling of alienness that arose from her was certainly due to the absence of any fragment of the countless races she held within.

“Very well. Out of my great magnanimity, I shall grant you special mercy.”

She wanted that power.

She wished to accept the power she possessed into her own body and succeed in maintaining balance to become an even more perfect being.

“Come this way, and I shall send you off without pain.”

At the sound of her voice filled with desire, Tashian sighed softly and closed her eyes.

“You are quite the rude child.”

“You’ve been given plenty of opportunities!”

How dare she defy her, a being that was barely special, a mere creature!

At that moment, as her hand, filled with power, was about to be unleashed, Tashian quietly opened her eyes and spoke.

“Bend your knee.”

Just one phrase.

A single phrase that could halt the actions of one who had defied her.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

-Boom!

In response, her knees slammed into the ground, and the power concentrated in her hands scattered as if it were a lie.

Auria, realizing this too late, widened her eyes and began to hold her breath.

‘Wh-what is…?’

Kneeling on the ground, her body wouldn’t move.

Not her limbs, nor her wings, nor even her magic, which she could normally control.

“Wh-what is happening?!”

“You seem to have gained power and grown arrogant, but you are far too reckless.”

As she approached Auria, who was bound and bewildered, she took slow steps forward.

Finally realizing that Tashian had bound her, Auria gritted her teeth, but Tashian ignored her, merely controlling the power that bound her.

“The concept of dignity as a living being is not based merely on being prettier than others or having a bit of strength.”

“You, what have you done to me?!?!”

“What do you mean, what have I done? It’s only natural to take responsibility for what you say!”

As she said, a dragon was a part of the world itself.

Each word uttered carried immense weight, and that weight could sometimes lead to the enforcement of oaths and commands.

That was the essence of Word of Power.

Even if one had fallen, the essence of being at the pinnacle of all creation proved itself.

“If you bring harm to others, you must expect retribution… It seems you haven’t been properly taught about this.”

Such laws would not become exceptions even if one accepted the power of beings from other worlds.

Beings from another world couldn’t always hold an advantage over those of this world.

To self-proclaim oneself as the pinnacle of existence, with only a body mixed with elements from another world, seemed incredibly foolish to a being like her.

“N-no way. Th-this can’t be…!”

Auria, failing to recognize her blunder, lost her grip on reason and began to unleash her rage toward Tashian.

“You think you are superior to me?! Don’t make me laugh! I am Auria, an Elf who has lived for two thousand years! I have become the pinnacle of all living beings, superior to any creature!”

Two thousand years.

For humans, it was history, and for Elves, it was a testament to their superiority.

“…Auria.”

To Auria, who proudly declared this.

The dragon stated, in a cold voice, the “difference in status” that she asserted.

“What stands before you is a dragon that has lived for ten thousand years.”

“Shut up! I refuse to accept this! I will not accept this!!”

Auria, believing that was a mere bluff, tried to resist.

The power that bound her was not perfect, as her wings bristled, and her body, previously slumped to the ground, began to rise slowly.

“How dare you humiliate me, Auria!!!!! I will never forgive this!!!! I will erase all of you, including you!!!!!!”

-BOOOM!

A powerful sound interrupted her vengeful curse.

Auria’s gaze turned to where a hot sensation was rising, realizing that her speech had suddenly stopped.

The wing that was meant to pierce through her opponent was half-embedded in her own neck.

“Auria, my patience is only allowed for my children and those they wish to protect.”

A voice as cold as ice.

And empty eyes that gazed at her unwaveringly.

“Yet, why should I show mercy to one who is not my child?”

“Wait, what…?”

A foolish intruder whose trembling hands reached toward her.

But the time to seek forgiveness had long since passed.

In this moment, the being who stood at the pinnacle of all creation issued a merciless decree.

“Take your own life, Auria.”

-SCHHHLCK!!!

The wing embedded in her neck exerted its strength.

At last, her head, hanging from above, fell in a parabola.