I'm Actually Not Overpowered!

Asa was beyond surprised to see Dustinel in such a state, as well as to receive such a reaction from him.

His tear-filled eyes caused her heart to ache, and she sensed sincerity in his eyes. Thus, she realized right then and there that Dustinel felt guilty for all he did.

'I was going to appeal to him to cooperate, but it seems there might be no need for that anymore.' She smiled softly to herself

Hopefully, this next strategy of her's would work.

"Why did you do it?" She asked in a whisper, her voice thick with emotion.

She looked intently at the pleading Elf, condescending and detached.

Asa didn't really feel that way, but she had learned a lot from watching the Hero's interactions.

'I have to exert dominance. I have to—!'

"I was selfish, I know!" Dustinel began, his body trembling.

"I... I didn't want to die. You know of my body's condition. If I go through any hard labor like the rest, I'll die!"

It wasn't an exaggeration. Dustinel had been very frail and sickly from birth.

Due to this, even his Magic and Skills were in pitiful states, compared to his peers.

He could barely use two Skills before running out of stamina, and any slight physical exertion would leave him terribly exhausted.

'That's most likely why his infected condition is worsening faster than the other Elves.' Asa reasoned, recalling what the Hero mentioned to her and the others.

Dustinel was weak, and so he allied himself with the winning side in order to preserve his own life.

That was probably what was going on at the moment.

"Did you have a hand in my father's—?"

"NO! NO, I SWEAR!" This time, his tone was loud as he protested vehemently.

His widened eyes displayed conviction, and it seemed like he was at least being honest about that one fact.

"I never had a hand in your father's death, or your mother's capture. I never helped Samiel to seize the position of Chief. All I've done is simply to assist his administration of—"

"Simply?" Asa's indignant voice interrupted his plea.

Her eyes narrowed on Dustinel, and a deep frown formed on her face. It immediately sent shivers down his spine.

"Eeek! I apologize! I apologize!"

Asa sighed tiredly, feeling depressed. She was happy that her plan was working, and that Dustinel was bound to cooperate with them.

However...

'This is so disappointing.'

She had known Dustinel to be a noble Elf—a very intelligent and prudent person worthy of admiration.

She knew her people had fallen on hard times, and everything had changed for the worse. However, it seemed her perception of Dustinel's character had been false. She had misjudged him completely.

He was merely a frightened, cowardly Elf, concealing his fear underneath a veil of confidence and elegance.

Just how many things had she been wrong about?

'This is all too much.' She thought sadly to herself, wondering how much of a fool she had been for so long in her life.

Fortunately, there was a silver lining to her gloomy situation.

'At least, I know the Hero is true and genuine.' Asa smiled.

Her uncle, Dustinel, her kin, they had all shown her how fallible people could be. It was in their nature.

However, the Hero had never for once let her down. He never wavered, and his choices were always in the best interests of others.

Even though she was skeptical about his plan to split them up, he stuck to his ideals and explained the plan exquisitely well.

He showed her that he wasn't the one who was wrong, it was she.

'And look at how well things are progressing. It turns out his plan was perfect, after all!'

Asa could feel the fog lifting from her eyes, and the scales dropping off.

Why had she been so blind to the truth before now? She had no idea.

However, it was too obvious to deny, at this point! Everyone was fallible, everyone except the Hero!

The moment she realized this, her disappointment in Dustinel began to fade away.

"Dustinel, I believe you. However, you must already know why I have returned." She smiled at the cowering Elf.

"N-no way! You mean you're going to—?!"

Asa's smile grew broader and she nodded in response.

"That's right. I'm going to take the Sanctuary back."

"T-take it... back...?" Dustinel's eyes widened in surprise.

"And you're going to help me!"

"H-help you...?" His eyes were as large as saucers at this point.

Sweat drenched his entire body, and he shivered uncontrollably.

"What's this? You're not giving me the reply I want, Dustinel." Asa's voice was firm and hard, making him croak in fear.

Even though he knew the only option was to accept, he hesitated—for several reasons, in fact.

Why did he hesitate? What made him tremble and refuse to comply, despite having no other choice but to do so?

Well...

"B-but what about the Supervisors?"

... He had good reasons.

"S-supervisors?" Asa almost yelled at the cowardly man before her, but she quickly controlled her voice and her expression.

"Who are these Supervisors?" She asked, gritting her teeth with barely concealed menace.

'U-uh...?' Dustinel was frankly shocked.

"Y-you don't know?"

He had expected his capturers to know about the consequences of their actions. After seeing Asariel, he had surmised that the scary human he had seen earlier was working for her.

That was one of the reasons he had been so frightened, despite also genuinely regretting his actions.

The Elf Chief, the Supervisors—he thought they could handle all the enemies and put an end to everything.

However, why did she look as though she was ignorant about the Supervisors?

"I don't. Who are the Supervisors?"

"T-they are demons. While he won't admit it, the Supervisors are the ones who are really in control of Samiel and the resources of the Elf Sanctuary. H-he works for them."

Asa remained calm upon hearing all of this. She wasn't really shocked, considering the Hero had already mentioned the likelihood of the demons being involved in everything.

She, however, felt disgusted to confirm that her uncle had actually sold her people to demons in order to satisfy his lust for power.

"You don't have to worry about them. We have a plan to handle the demons." Asa's response caused Dustinel, who was still terrified, to heave a sigh of relief.

"Haa... thank goodness. I was wondering what you were going to do when they arrived tomorrow."

This time, Asa was the one who looked terrified as her confidence slowly fizzled out. Dustinel just said something she wasn't expecting.

Something that wasn't in the plan.

"T-they're coming tomorrow?!"

Once the truth sank into her head, Asa realized just how ignorant she had been, and how the victory she had imagined, suddenly became out of her reach.

Beads of sweat slowly began to form on her face, and her heart was pounding like a drum.

'T-this is bad! Very bad!'

*

*

*

[The Elf Sanctuary]

Five shadows emerged from the darkness.

They had various shapes and sizes, and their faces also differed from one another. The only similar features they shared were the twisted horns that malevolently stuck out from the sides of their heads.

They floated in the air, refusing to tread the dirty Elf settlement.

It was night, and all the denizens would be asleep. So, although their presence was clearly visible, no one was awake to see them.

Their glowing eyes took cognisance of everything around them—the Mill, and the Mine included.

Something about how their eyes narrowed in distaste showed they weren't too pleased.

"Teleport." One of them whispered, and the tall figure beside him nodded in response.

Instantly, black and red flashes of energy appeared, and within moments the figures vanished into thin air.

*

*

*

Elf Chief—Samiel Lucielle—was muttering to himself in his office.

He had grown tired of pacing across the room, so he was now seated. His face was red and angry, and he kept clenching his fist in frustration.

Unable to do anything but murmur and complain, he continued to whisper to himself.

>VWUUUUUUUUSSHHHHHH<

Crimson flashes of energy suddenly manifested at the center of Samiel's office. Space twisted, and a terrifying pressure permeated the room, causing the Chief's expression to warp from anger and frustration to darker and primal...

... FEAR!

"N-no..." His voice quivered as five beings emerged from the spatial rift that now warbled in the room.

They were demons.

One was fat and short, completely red in color. His horns were also the largest in the group.

Another was tall and very thin. The spatial rift was made by him, and his very bored expression told of his cold nature.

The third was a woman, completely white, with fangs like a serpent, and the shortest pair of horns in the group.

The fourth was a four-armed monster-like demon. His hunky body and murderous expression was a tell-tale sign of his violent tendencies.

Finally, the fifth—also appearing to be the leader of the bunch—was a lady whose red hair was long enough to reach the floor.

Her dark outfit resembled that of a detective. She wore a dark cloak and a formal shirt.

Her crimson eyes glowed bright, and her grin was wide enough to display her sharp teeth.

"Oi, fatso..." Her voice echoed confidently in the room.

In response, the Elf Chief shivered and rose from his seated state. His pale face showed just how much these five demons frightened him.

The terrifying demons moved closer to his desk, and his head slowly bowed in submission.

"We need to talk."

*

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[A/N]

I'm going through a hard time irl currently, so it's really difficult to write a chapter. I apologize for all the clone chapters recently

I'm really not feeling very well with all that's happening around me.

Hope you enjoyed the read.