Chapter 299: Elf Idols!
"What is that?!" A centaur knight shouted, drawing her sword. "Are we under attack?!"
"Poisonous gas!" An orc bellowed, covering her nose with one massive hand. "Everyone, hold your breath!"
Hands flew to faces. Cloth was pressed over mouths and noses.
The mermaids in their small pond covered their gills as well, desperate to keep any trace of the vapor from entering their bodies.
The leader of the titans, spun toward the dark elf matriarch.
"Is this poison?! Is the gas they’re letting out poison right now?" She spoke through fingers clamped over her nose.
The dark elf queen, who hadn’t bothered to cover her face at all, shrugged lazily. "I have no clue."
"What do you mean you have no clue?" The ogre leader snapped. "You’re the poison expert! You should know something about this!"
Other leaders turned toward her, hope and accusation mingling in their eyes.
But the dark elf queen just rolled her eye.
"Just because my race specializes in poison doesn’t mean we know every single thing that exists in the world."
She grinned, revealing teeth that were just slightly too sharp as she added,
"If you really want to know, send one of your people out there. If they drop dead on the spot, it’s poison. If not, we’re fine—it’s completely safe."
The ogre leader glared at her, her nostrils flaring.
The others felt their irritation rise. Here they were, possibly facing a deadly attack, and the supposed expert was treating the whole situation like a joke.
Everyone was about to take another step back—to retreat, to regroup, to do anything but stand here and breathe whatever was in the air—
—when suddenly, music began to play.
But was unlike anything they had ever heard.
The melody was upbeat, unfamiliar, carrying a rhythm that seemed to bypass their ears and speak directly to their bones.
At the same time, the lights began to shift.
Massive beams of colored light swept across the valley—blue, pink, purple, gold dancing in patterns that seemed almost alive.
The disco lights mounted on the stage spun and twirled, casting shimmering reflections on the fog, on the grass, on the faces of the gathered races.
"W-What is going on?" Someone asked, their voice cracking with confusion.
"What sort of magic is this? I’ve never seen anything like it before!"
The mermaid queen tilted her head, her webbed fingers tapping against her scaled hip in time with the beat.
"I’m more curious about the music?" She murmured, her voice carrying a note of genuine wonder. "I’ve never heard anything like it. It’s so upbeat and melodious at the same time."
As someone whose race specialized in song, she found the tune especially enthralling.
Behind her, the other mermaids swayed in the pool, their bodies moving almost unconsciously to the rhythm, their earlier fear forgotten.
The giants on the other were far more interested in the lights.
Their massive heads turned, following the beams as they swept across the sky.
"How does it work?" One murmured. "How is it possible that such colorful lights are being projected like that?"
Another giant crouched low, studying the stage with intense curiosity.
"Is this something the Hero brought from his world? The craftsmanship is...remarkable."
For a moment, they looked less like the barbarians the ogres had accused them of being and more like scholars, researchers, scientists studying a new phenomenon.
The vampire queen, however, remained vigilant.
Her crimson eyes narrowed, scanning the stage, the fog, the lights, the crowd.
Something was wrong. She could feel it.
She opened her mouth to order a retreat into the forest—
Then she froze.
Her eyes locked onto the stage and her body went rigid.
Other races noticed her reaction and followed her gaze.
Immedietly, pointing fingers rose. Voices called out in surprise.
"Look! It’s the elves! They’re over there, emerging from the mist!"
Sure enough, as the fog began to clear, figures appeared on the massive stage. Row after row of elves, standing in perfect formation, their bodies silhouetted against the colorful lights.
A fairy gasped, her tiny hands clasped beneath her chin.
"Oh wow! Look at all those pretty dresses they’re wearing!"
"They look so beautiful! I want one too!"
It was true. The elves had abandoned their usual green forest attire.
Instead, they wore colorful skirts that flared and swirled, adorned with sparkling jewels that caught the light and scattered it in every direction.
Their hair was tied with bright ribbons and glittering accessories—flowers, stars, tiny bells that chimed when they moved. Elegant shoes, polished to a mirror shine, completed the look.
They looked like idols. Like performers. Like something out of a dream.
And they weren’t just standing there.
They were positioned across the entire stage, some at the front, some at the back, some on elevated platforms, all arranged with careful precision.
It was clearly a formation designed for a performance.
But not everyone was happy about it.
The elder elves, the ones who had been dragged into this against their will looked deeply uncomfortable.
They shifted their weight from foot to foot, their expressions pained.
Some were blushing. Others were staring at the ground as if hoping it would swallow them whole.
One elderly elf, her silver hair braided with ribbons she clearly didn’t want, tugged at her collar.
"I can’t believe I’m doing this." She muttered. "At my age. In front of all these people."
A tiny hand grabbed hers.
"But Granny, you have to participate!" Fefe said, her round eyes shining with determination. "You can’t leave right now!"
The elder elf looked down at the child, her expression softening despite herself.
"Fefe, dear, I’m already so old. I can’t be indulging in such things. Let the young ones have their fun."
Fefe shook her head firmly. "You have to! Or else I’ll be angry at you, and I’ll never talk to you ever!"
The elder elf sighed. "That’s quite a threat."
"I mean it!"
Similar conversations were happening all across the stage.
Young elves tugging at their grandmothers, pulling them back into position.
Little ones lecturing their elders about responsibility and teamwork.
Children using every weapon in their arsenal—pouts, tears, the dreaded "I’ll never forgive you"—to keep the older generation in line.
But despite the embarrassment and the reluctance, every single elf remained in position.
The entire village had gathered. Young and old, tall and small, they stood together on the massive stage, united for the performance to come.
The queen of the arachnid race, a woman with eight gleaming eyes and fingers that moved like spiders could not take her gaze off the elves’ outfits.
Her people were masters of cloth and design, and these costumes were unlike anything she had ever seen.
"The craftsmanship." She murmured, her multiple eyes blinking in wonder. "The stitching, the fabric, the way the jewels catch the light..."
"Who made these? I must know."
Then she saw a familiar face among the performers and she froze.
"Wait..." Her voice rose, trembling with excitement. "Is that...is that actually Leona over there?"
The dryad queen, who had been standing nearby, immediately perked up.
"Oh my god, it is!" She bounced on her heels, her leafy hair rustling. "It’s Leona! I can’t believe she’s here!"
The dark elf matriarch also spotted her. Her single visible eye went wide, and she practically jumped up and down.
"Look, look! It’s my baby sister Nyx! She’s there too!" She pointed frantically. "And Leona’s kids—Lulu and Luna! They’re all together!"
All eyes turned toward the smaller stage that extended from the main platform.
Standing there, in a cluster of their own, were Leona, Nyx, Lulu, and Luna.
Murmurs spread through the crowd like wildfire.
"Oh my god, it really is them!"
"Who would have thought they’d be here?"
"I can’t believe it!"
On the stage, the four women stood together, each holding a small device—a microphone, though the demi-humans didn’t know what to call it.
Luna and Leona looked deeply embarrassed, their cheeks flushed, their eyes darting around as if searching for an escape route.
They clutched their microphones like lifelines, clearly unsure why they were there.
Nyx and Lulu, on the other hand, were beaming.
And seeing this sight, the vampire queen, who rarely showed emotion, found herself genuinely surprised.
She had known Leona for many years. She remembered the cold, distant woman who treated even her own villagers harshly, who seemed to exist behind an impenetrable wall of ice.
But the Leona standing on that stage—dressed in a beautiful outfit, her hair adorned with ribbons, her cheeks flushed with something that looked almost like shyness—was a completely different person.
"She’s changed." The vampire queen murmured.
The lamia queen heard her and nodded slowly.
"Yes. She has changed quite a lot." She paused, her slitted eyes thoughtful. "Is it because of the Hero?"
Before anyone could discuss it further, the music shifted.
The melody that had been playing softly in the background grew louder, more insistent.
The tempo increased. The rhythm became something that demanded attention, that begged for movement.
The lights also grew brighter, their colors more intense.
The beams swept across the stage with renewed energy, painting the performers in shades of gold and pink and blue.
"W-What’s happening?" A harpy asked, her wings twitching.
"Something is starting." A fairy said, hovering higher to get a better view.
"Are they going to perform something?"
"It looks like a performance, right?"
"Are they going to sing? Are they going to dance?"
The dark elf matriarch smiled, her eye gleaming with anticipation.
"Oh, I think they’re going to sing and dance right now."
As if on cue, the lights cut out.
Complete darkness.
The crowd gasped, but this time there was no panic. Only anticipation.
Fog began to rise again, thick and white, rolling across the stage, obscuring the performers from view. The shapes of the elves became silhouettes, ghostly figures hidden behind a curtain of mist.
The crowd leaned forward, holding their breath.
Then—a single spotlight pierced the darkness, illuminating the center of the stage where Leona stood alone.
Her hands trembled around the microphone, her heart pounded against her ribs.
She had faced curses, conspiracies, forty years of isolation.
She had stood before her entire village and confessed her deepest secrets.
But this? This was somehow more terrifying.
Beside her, Luna shifted uncomfortably, her cheeks flushed crimson.
She could feel the eyes of hundreds upon hundreds of demi-humans staring at her—beings from races she had only read about in books.
Cat-folk, wolfkin, dragonkin, vampires, lamias, centaurs, and so many more. All watching. All waiting.
Lulu, on the other hand, was practically vibrating with excitement. She gripped her microphone like a sword, her eyes gleaming.
Nyx stood calmly at the edge of the group, her posture relaxed, her smile knowing. She caught Leona’s eye and nodded.
’You can do this.’
The music began.
Soft at first, a gentle melody that seemed to rise from the earth itself. The background elves, positioned across the stage in careful formations, began to sway—a slow, synchronized wave of motion that rippled from the back to the front.
Then Leona who had found courage in her sisters words opened her mouth and...sang.
—
Author’s Note: The next part might really be funny or cringey, or maybe some of you will really like it or hate it.
But I just really wanted to do this scene, so I hope it isn’t too bad.
The actual song has been uploaded in the Discord, so please go there and read the Chapter with the listenable track.
It will be a much better experience that way, with the rhythm and melody carrying the words straight into the heart of the moment.
