"Malice…?"
Kurose Akira narrowed his eyes slightly, fixing his gaze on the Elf Queen in the distance.
Even now, dressed in a black gown and a golden crown, she could not conceal her noble and sacred bearing. Yet compared to before, she felt different—less approachable, stripped of warmth, and instead exuding an overwhelming authority that made one instinctively keep their distance.
"Since you're already here, why don't you come inside?" the Elf Queen asked coldly, her tone devoid of emotion, as though she were issuing an order to a subordinate.
Hearing this, Kurose Akira frowned faintly. He understood very well that the Elf Queen he had encountered over the past few days had only been child's play. The one standing before him now—controlled by malice—was the real problem.
After a brief moment of consideration, he still walked toward the wooden cabin. Since the Elf Queen herself had entrusted him with the task of purging her malice, he naturally intended to fulfill his duty—and take this opportunity to see exactly what kind of "malice" the Elf Queen harbored.
Seeing Kurose Akira approach, the Elf Queen turned away indifferently and entered the cabin. She seated herself on a jade chair. When Kurose Akira moved to sit across from her, a sharp reprimand suddenly rang out.
"Who gave you permission to sit on equal footing with this queen?!"
"?"
At those words, Kurose Akira's expression instantly hardened.
Elf Queen's malice—did you really think you were the real Elf Queen?
No. You're nothing more than a wicked thought born from her soul.
Besides, this was a dream. What did Kurose Akira have to fear? Even in the game world, the real Elf Queen could easily suppress her malice—there was no reason to let it run rampant here.
Unbothered, Kurose Akira sat down right beside the Elf Queen.
This action immediately stirred a flicker of anger in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and said coldly, "You should already know why I am here."
Faced with her words, Kurose Akira remained silent, his gaze drifting over her figure. He had never imagined that the Elf Queen's malice would appear before him so brazenly, attempting to seize control by reshaping his way of thinking.
Was her idea simply naïve?
"You're nothing more than a fragment of the Elf Queen's malice," Kurose Akira said firmly. "You should understand that fact."
The moment he finished speaking, the Elf Queen shot to her feet, fury blazing as she snapped, "Foolish! Do you really think the Elf Queen's kindness alone is enough to guarantee the eternal prosperity of the elven race? Only absolute power can allow a race to stand unshaken amid endless war! If not for her weakness and incompetence, I would never have been born thousands of years ago—nor would the Dark Elves ever have emerged as a separate branch!"
"But the elven race today isn't as miserable as you imagine," Kurose Akira retorted. "Among all races, they've always ranked in the upper-middle tier. Under the Elf Queen's rule, both their economy and military strength are in no way inferior to other races."
Maybe slightly weaker than humans and beastfolk.
But humans and beastfolk were divided into multiple nations, while the elves were different—they believed in only a single ruler.
"The elves are a race blessed by the Goddess of Elements and the Goddess of Nature!" the Elf Queen declared sternly, her ambition laid bare. "The potential of the elven race goes far beyond this! We should stand at the pinnacle of this world, on equal footing with dragons and angels!"
Her words allowed Kurose Akira to grasp the true nature of this malice.
Thousands of years ago, during a great war, the elven race had been thrown into turmoil. That unstable era caused the Elf Queen to yearn desperately for greater power—and that yearning eventually condensed into this single strand of malice.
At its root, this malice manifested an aggressiveness fundamentally different from the elves' natural disposition. The Elf Queen's malice rejected peaceful coexistence with other races, instead seeking to exploit the elves' formidable combat talents to seize more resources and solidify elven supremacy.
From a certain perspective, her ideology wasn't entirely wrong—she had simply chosen a different path to lead the elves.
However, she had likely become too obsessed with power, forgetting that although elves were born with elemental affinity and enjoyed long lifespans as a long-lived race, they lacked the ability to reproduce rapidly.
Without sufficient population support, what war could they possibly fight?
It would only result in the pointless consumption of their people, ultimately leading to total collapse.
In comparison, the elves' long-standing policy of peace was far better suited to their racial traits.
"Your ideals are fundamentally impossible to realize," Kurose Akira said frankly. "The elves' low fertility is an unchangeable fact. Your method of leadership would only lead the elven race to extinction."
"Are you saying this queen is wrong?!"
In a burst of rage, the Elf Queen grabbed Kurose Akira by the throat. Dark-golden pupils blazed with fury.
A suffocating sensation surged instantly, his cheeks flushing crimson. Even within a dream, Kurose Akira could clearly feel the threat of death closing in!
As expected—malice was nothing more than malice, not true life.
Its existence was founded on obsession. It could think, but its reasoning was shackled by that obsession. Just like now—mere opposition to her views was enough to send her into a rage.
But Kurose Akira had no intention of reasoning politely with a strand of malice. And if he wanted to deal with a level-96 Elf Queen, there was only one way.
[Do you wish to apply a Forced Trait to Elf Queen (Malice)?][Available Forced Trait]: [Corruption]
"Yes!"
[You have applied the Forced Trait — Corruption — to Elf Queen (Malice)!]
[Corruption: Sinking and decay are only the beginning. Falling into the abyss is the true end. You may bestow upon her various elements of corruption, slowly shaping and taming her…]
As the system notification sounded, a new [Corruption] trait instantly appeared in the Elf Queen's trait panel.
The moment [Corruption] was applied, her body shuddered uncontrollably. At the same time, the hand choking Kurose Akira's throat loosened at once.
"Cough—!"
Kurose Akira clutched his neck. Even in a dream, the lingering suffocation was agonizing!
"What did you do to me?!" the Elf Queen demanded, her thoughts in chaos, indescribable emotions surging and colliding within her heart.
Kurose Akira took a deep breath and issued a stern command, "Kneel."
"Are you courting death?"
The Elf Queen glared at him angrily, refusing to obey. Blue flames even ignited at her fingertips.
Only then did Kurose Akira realize—he hadn't yet added a corruption element.
"You are corrupted by my command."
The instant the words left his mouth, the Elf Queen's knees trembled violently—then with a thud, she dropped to the ground.
"How is this possible?!"
She froze, utterly stunned. She could not believe her body had actually obeyed his command.
How could this be?
Seeing her truly kneel, Kurose Akira was struck with shock and exhilaration. Was the power of Forced Traits this tyrannical?
Compared to this, wasn't it far stronger than some princess's domination magic eye?
At the same time, he noticed she hadn't completely fallen—her body was still resisting.
After all, corruption was only a state. A powerful will could overcome it, unless one willingly sank into it.
Besides… this was a dream, wasn't it?
If a trait was used within a dream, would the [Corruption] trait still persist in the real game world?
While Kurose Akira was still thinking, the Elf Queen struggled free from the corrupted state.
"What exactly did you do to me, you despicable insect, shameless scoundrel!" she snarled, her slender body trembling.
Hearing her rage, Kurose Akira frowned and said coldly, "You are corrupted into sincerely kneeling and apologizing."
Bang!
The Elf Queen slammed to her knees again. Her voice emerged brokenly, "I… I'm sorry…"
"!"
Kurose Akira's heartbeat quickened. The effect of Forced Traits far exceeded his expectations!
No—more precisely, the power of [Corruption] was terrifyingly strong.
"You vile insect!"
Suddenly—
The Elf Queen tore herself free once more, staggering to her feet. This time, she seized the timing perfectly, manipulating mana in the instant before Kurose Akira could issue another command.
In a flash, the dream world twisted like a distorted canvas, space plunging into chaos—
"!"
Kurose Akira jolted awake.
"Kurose Akira, did you have a nightmare?" Ivsha's gentle voice sounded.
"More or less…" he exhaled deeply. But when he looked at Ivsha, his brow twitched.
First thing in the morning—and she was stealing his holy light again!
After thoroughly disciplining Ivsha, Kurose Akira opened his trait panel.
He discovered that the [Corruption] trait was still present in his trait library!
In other words, what happened in the Elf Queen's dream didn't count.
He could still use [Corruption] one more time—on someone else.
...
Meanwhile, far away in the Elven Kingdom.
The Elf Queen lay quietly upon a crystalline jade bed. Suddenly, a violent surge of emotion burst across her face like a raging storm, shattering her dream and jolting her awake.
"What… just happened to me?"
Her brows knit tightly as an inexplicable unease settled over her heart.
At that moment, another Elf Queen appeared within the mirror before her. The reflection spoke gravely, eyes deep and solemn, "We've been influenced by malice. That child was just conversing with our malice."
Hearing this, a shadow of worry fell over the Elf Queen's face.
"How could this be? My seal on her should have been extremely stable."
"Obsession!" the mirror Elf Queen said heavily. "Your obsession is still too deep! You're still blaming yourself over that incident! Their deaths were beyond redemption—it was an unavoidable tragedy of war!" Her tone grew sharper. "A thousand years have passed, yet you remain trapped in that past! Tinas—where the true source of the malice lies… you know it better than anyone!"