VRMMO: My first Contractee is Yandere
Chapter 39 The Elven Prince

The insect zombie vanished into thin air—just as a massive swarm of insects began emerging from the remnants of its body.

"Fufu... This is just the beginning—"

"—Empress Flare!"

"—Tempest Hurricane!"

While it may have seemed like Liora was the only one standing out in this battle, the truth is, this was a large-scale party fight.

Liora had already been retrieved by Samurai's tentacles.

Massive spells rained down on the boss.

The fact that Liora had been able to fight on her own meant that the Elves had been able to conserve their strength.

All their firepower was now concentrated.

The insect zombie, already defeated once by Liora, had no way to defend itself.

"...Fufu. It ends here," the insect zombie muttered contentedly before its body finally disintegrated for good.

[Zephyr has leveled up]

[Zephyr's Dark Magic has leveled up]

[Zephyr's Darkness Creation has leveled up]

[Zephyr's Regeneration has leveled up]

[Zephyr's Appraisal has leveled up]

[Liora has leveled up]

[Liora's Scythe Arts have leveled up]

[Liora's Moonlight Scythe Arts have leveled up]

[Liora's Landscaping Skill has leveled up]

[Liora's Light Magic has leveled up]

[Liora's Flash Magic has leveled up]

[Liora's Summoning has leveled up]

[Liora's Chant Extension has leveled up]

[Samurai's Mimicry has leveled up]

[Samurai's Ambush has leveled up]

[Samurai's Restraint has leveled up]

[Samurai's Sonic Wave has leveled up]

[Samurai's Iron Defense has leveled up]

[Samurai's Tentacle Enhancement has leveled up]

Thus, the unexpected boss battle came to an end.

"Here, I offer the blood of the Elven King. I, who have received one of the Seven Divine Artifacts from the Goddess The World, shall take it in hand to defy the apocalypse."

Seated on the throne, the princess slashed her own wrist.

As her blood flowed from the throne, it rapidly stained the floor crimson. A loud, rumbling sound indicated the activation of a massive mechanism.

"Gar! Tar...hum!"

"…"

"DDDaaaNN…GUNNN!!!"

"…"

After about ten minutes, the painting that hung in the throne room transformed into a door.

"That door leads to the place where we Elves have hidden the Divine Artifact. It's the innermost sanctum of the sacred realm—The Catacombs."

The princess spoke reverently, as if she were a narrator of history. However, Liora, being just a little girl, had no interest in history.

There was a group on the message board dedicated to verifying the game's history, but... I kind of feel sorry for them.

"So, what should I do?"

"Please accompany us. I don't expect there to be any danger inside... but I'd like the Hero to witness the Elves' secret weapon."

"I'm not a Hero. I'm a Priestess."

"Haan, alright my cute priestess~!"

The princess began to walk carefully.

Liora followed behind her absentmindedly. Given her personality, it wouldn't be surprising if she charged ahead, but I had instructed her to always follow someone in the dungeon, so she behaved.

Usually, I use Samurai as a lady-first shield in the traditional sense.

But today, it's the princess leading the way.

Liora and the others followed the princess inside.

What lay before them was a vast chamber.

It was a treasure vault, though not only filled with riches but also with a massive stone tomb shaped like a tree.

At the far end—

In the place where the throne would have been in the throne room, there was a pedestal with a sword thrust into it.

"Oh, I like stuff like this, especially in RPGs."

"If you like it, I like it too!!"

"I like you too, Liora."

"!! ...Hehe."

While Liora grinned foolishly, the elves maintained serious expressions. The princess was slowly and cautiously approaching the sword when—

'…We were too late. Ah, we were too late. Goddess. Goddess. Why did you not wait for us? Goddess, why did you let me live?'

"...Brother?"

As the princess murmured, a thick aura of death suddenly surged from the ceiling.

"Samurai!"

'—!'

Samurai extended her tentacles and grabbed the princess, pulling her away just in time. A massive sword plunged into the spot where she had just been standing.

A mangled mass of flesh.

That flesh bore faint remnants of an elven face. The zombie elf's body, wielding the massive sword, swayed unsteadily.

'Intruders. I will not forgive you. This is my place to guard. My mission is to protect the hope of the elves. The hope that remains... My mission that remains.

I... Why couldn't I make it in time!?'

"It really is you... Brother," the princess whispered.

"What's going on?" Liora asked, readying her scythe.

The elves were all struck silent, seemingly forgetting to even take up arms.

Only the princess stood resolute, staff in hand, her eyes filled with determination.

"...Just before time was frozen, we went to retrieve the Divine Artifact. The royal family member who went was my brother. But the goddess activated the time freeze without waiting for the artifact to arrive."

"He was left behind?"

"Yes... The catacombs were outside the range of the time freeze."

Probably, the steward, who had regained his composure, raised his katana, though it trembled in his hands. Its tip was pointed at the royal—an elven undead.

Blood dripped from between his clenched teeth.

"You have my deepest sympathies, Young Master. You must have defended this innermost part of the catacombs for centuries, keeping it safe from the Demon King's forces."

"He was sealed?"

"There are ways to deceive seals. Doppelgangers can impersonate royalty, steal their blood, or pick up their descendants... The Young Master likely fended off all those threats."

Yet judging by the state of his body, he must have been struck down at some point.

Even so, the prince couldn't let go of his duty, so he transformed his body into an undead and continued to protect the treasure vault.

For centuries—driven by his obsession.

Though it's supposed to be just a game setting, the resolve of the elven prince leaves one speechless. His body is in ruins.

He's lost an arm, and half of his face is missing.

He drags his right leg because his thigh is deeply gouged. His appearance, with his intestines hanging from his abdomen, evokes a pitiful sight.

The undead form retained the semblance of its living self, with added decay.

This means the elven prince, even before becoming undead, spent centuries in this state, alone in the treasure vault.

Clinging to the hope that one day, his elven kin would return to retrieve the Divine Artifact—

"Even after becoming undead, he never lost sight of his purpose. As expected of the brother who was once destined to be king. As your unworthy younger sister, Remelia Elfland, I shall face you with my staff."

'The elves will not be defeated! I won't allow anyone to be lost!'

"Indeed, I will not allow you to kill any elves, Brother. The elves will not know defeat, and Brother, I will cleanse you here and now."