Elsword did not have to wait long before the elven woman re-emerged from the crowd, carrying an oil lamp. With a new light source closer to her, the boy noticed that her hair tended towards an ashen shade of green instead of blonde. The elf slung a bow on her back, but she was unencumbered aside from her weapon and the lamp. Her green and blue top and skirt looked practical yet stylish, though not all her outfit seemed to be tailored to the conditions on the road.
'She won't get that far in those, will she?' Elsword thought as he looked at her long, heeled boots. Then, he began to make his way down the dark path. 'This is my chance to leave her behind.'
Thus, he set off into the darkness, accelerating until he comfortably jogged. The elf, being a head and a half taller than him, only had to walk briskly to keep up. Frustrated, the boy decided to sprint as far as he could. The cloudy, moonless night was far darker than he had anticipated, but even if he could not see past a few steps ahead, he knew more or less where the path lay.
To his dismay, the elven woman managed to keep up, doing so with such ease that she was not breaking a sweat. Elsword was the one who tired first; the boy came to a halt to catch his breath, begrudgingly accepting that elves were indeed as agile as the legends said they were.
"Where do you need to go in such a hurry?" She asked him, gracefully stopping by his side.
'She's not even a little winded, dear El…'
"To the Spirit Falls," he grumbled, not giving her as much as a glance. He took a deep breath and began to walk again, this time very slowly. He was not feeling sore, but he remembered he had to conserve his energy for tomorrow's expedition. Elsword reminded himself that his walk was just an excuse to clear his head, not to reach any destination in particular. However, he was not going to explain himself to a stranger because he feared the inevitable questions that would come with a truthful answer.
"The Spirit Falls?" she asked, easily keeping up with him without losing her balance for a moment despite the multiple tree roots that made the road uneven. "That's a long way from here. Are you planning on camping out like that?"
Elsword looked at her, somewhat taken aback by how casually she had accepted his unreasonable destination. However, he chose the wrong moment to take his attention off the dark road ahead. Something soft was crunched by his foot, making him slip backwards. The boy soon found himself on the ground, barely catching himself with his left arm. A dull pain spread from his wrist, but he paid it no mind. As the lamp drew closer and illuminated what he had tripped over, the dull pain in his arm became an afterthought.
"What in the…" Elsword gasped. His crimson gaze grew wide with shock.
The boy immediately leapt back, horrified at the bizarre sight that lay ahead.
The corpse he had stepped on was that of a bird whose beak was sharp, curved like a scythe, and whose plumage was covered by a strange, black, sandy substance. The boy could spot glimpses of red feathers underneath. Jagged bones jutted outward from the tip of its broken wings to antennae that grew over its dead, blue eyes. There was no blood, or at least no normal blood. The only thing that pooled underneath the corpse was a gooey, cobalt-blue substance. Some parts had cracked and turned to dust, especially around the edges. He had never seen a carcass of such a creature before.
Elsword rubbed his feet frantically on the ground, afraid to have any of the creature's remains on him. While he was busy inspecting the soles of his feet the best he could to see if he was clean, the elf approached the corpse and knelt in front of it. Only then did the boy see it was cut in half, with the other half missing. He shuddered at the thought of some animal eating the creature's corpse or, worse, hunting it down and eating half of it. What was more unsettling than the carnage was that the corpse did not smell, nor did it attract any of the bugs that were abundant deep in the forest.
"I'll lead you back to the village," the elf calmly said. "Come on, let's go."
She had to grab him by the shoulder to break his focus on the corpse, and even then, Elsword was only keen on going after getting some answers on what he had seen.
"What was that?" he asked the elven woman as he dug his heels into the ground, trying to get her to slow down with little success. "You know what that was, right?"
"Yes, I do," she sharply answered before stopping. Her green gaze briefly narrowed on something to their right before she turned her eyes back to the boy.
"It's nothing dangerous for you," she assured him, "It won't be there tomorrow, but for now, I need to escort you back to the village just to be safe. Okay?"
He squinted at her, though she paid him no mind. "Nothing dangerous?"
"It really isn't. Trust me."
"I trust my eyes more than I'd trust you!" Elsword countered, his fear quickly boiling into anger. "It looks very dangerous! So if it isn't, then what in the El's grace is it?!"
The elf pondered his question for a moment. Ultimately, she decided to drag him along, telling him to hurry back to the village.
"What is it?" Elsword insisted. "I have to know!"
"It's a curse," the elf finally replied, letting him go. The boy followed her pace, feeling more at ease to have answers. "It's already purified, so it's not dangerous for you or anyone else. It's just ugly to look at."
"What kind of—?"
Elsword paused. The memory of his sister fighting against a grey-skinned man with animalistic fangs and black and blue horns came rushing back to his mind. The bird was covered in a substance similar to what the man's horns were made of. After Elesis had defeated that man, she had called it something very specific.
"Is it a demon?" Elsword asked and noticed the elf tense ever so slightly.
"It might be a demon's doing." She sighed. "But it's nothing you should worry too much about. Your father and your mother will keep you safe at home."
Elsword glared at the sound of the word 'father'. He had no intention of being protected by a deserter he had never met, not now and certainly not later in his life.
"What do you know about me?" He hissed. "I'm a member of the El Search Party! I'm the one who's going to protect others."
The elven woman raised an eyebrow but still took him at his word. The fading lights of Ruben Village appeared through the dense forest, but the festivities had already ended.
"I see," she acknowledged with a slight nod. "I'll be around the Tree of El tomorrow. If we see each other again and you need my help, just call me. My name is Rena."
Once they reached the entrance to Ruben Village, the elf vanished, leaving Elsword with the lamp to find his way back home.
Rena enhanced her speed with the help of the spirits as she sprinted back into the dark depths of the forest. She had seen the silhouette of a demon near the corrupted corpse of the Ruchi. As unlikely as seeing a living demon in this era was, it was not the first time one of their kind had approached the location of the El. The elven ranger reached the area where the bird was in a matter of minutes and decided to hide in the foliage as she waited for the two people she had seen far in the distance about half an hour ago to emerge onto the main road. Luckily, she had been right to assume they had been resting.
The peridot-eyed elf hid in the tree branches, with her bow ready to strike the tiny demon she had seen. Two figures emerged from the other side of the road; one was a tall, indigo-haired man with twin swords on his hip, and the other was a girl, barely a teenager. Her snow-white, wavy hair was not what betrayed her true nature. The crown of black and blue horns that rose above her pointy ears was the only sign the elven archer needed to know she had been right; this girl was a demon.
Rena took aim, forming an arrow with her mana. The demon girl crouched in front of the Ruchi's corpse. Her hands called forth blue flames, and she hovered them over the antennae, perhaps expecting her flames to consume them. Rena knew it would not work, but she would take advantage of the demoness' confusion to strike from behind. She had the perfect angle to shoot her right through her head.
Her arrow flew, whistling through the cool air of the night. Rena barely heard the sound, so she was shocked when she saw the demoness leap away from the arrow's path. The man to her side took his weapons and aimed straight at her. The musket barrel underneath the blade weakly shone as the weapon fired. Without hesitating, she called forth the spirits again to leap away in time. The shot echoed to her right, sending splinters around her as the bullet pierced the tree branch she had been standing on. Rena counted herself lucky; should she have taken a second longer to act, she might have been killed or lost a limb.
Her respite did not last long after she landed gracefully on the ground. The demoness had donned gauntlets that made her hands look at least four times their normal size. The white-haired girl pounced on her, ready to grab her head, perhaps even crush it in the process. Since the spirits around her were still keen on aiding her, Rena used them once more to leap away from the demoness and evade another deadly shot from the enemy marksman.
The spirits created a wind current that helped her reach yet another tree she could stand on to fire three arrows. She let them fly towards the demoness, who had briefly lost sight of her. Yet again, the girl's senses were even sharper than Rena's. It was hard to believe a child of any species could have such a keen understanding of the battlefield, and this girl looked barely as old as the red-haired boy she had travelled with earlier. The demoness leapt right towards the arrows, setting her gauntlets ablaze with her blue flames. Rena saw the girl's gleeful grin and her ice-blue eyes; her pupils were shaped like a four-pointed star, giving her a surreal, almost beast-like beauty.
Rena's mana arrows disintegrated when they grazed the flames, and time seemed to slow down. The gauntlets grabbed her by the shoulders, and though the fire still burned quietly, it did not feel hot. Every bit of skin they touched felt increasingly cold, almost cold enough for frostbite to take over her shoulders. Yet, the flames waned, and only the icy touch of metal remained. The demoness and the elf fell, and the girl had kept Rena pinned to the ground. The elf could not see anything past her ribs, but she felt that the girl was using both arms, her legs, and her tail to keep her immobilised. No matter how much she struggled against the demoness' grip, Rena could not move an inch.
The girl's pupils widened, almost consuming her irises entirely. She seemed surprised to see Rena at her mercy.
"An elf?" the girl huffed before turning her head to where the man was. "Ciel, is this the target that the half-breed wanted you to kill?"
'She attacked me without seeing me?' Rena thought as she tried one last time to break free. It was as useless as she should have expected it to be. 'That's impossible.'
"Does she have purple eyes? Pink or silver hair?" the man inquired as he walked towards them.
Rena's eyes briefly widened at the mention of those features. She could have sworn that she had done everything to prevent the prisoner in the Forest Ruins from running amok.
"Not in the slightest," the girl sighed in defeat. "May I still crush her to pieces?"
"Nope," the man said as he finally emerged into the elven woman's view.
The armband on his sleeve identified him before he presented himself:
"I'm Ciel. The twenty-first Steel Cross from Fluone. Sorry for all this. We're a bit on edge on this road, y'know?"
The white-haired girl finally let the archer go and walked to Ciel's side, arms crossed and utterly indifferent to her. Rena dusted off her short, white skirt as she got back up, eyeing the white-haired girl apprehensively. As far as Elder Branwen had told her, demons only aged until they reached the peak of their power. For some, that meant their early adulthood, though some reached old age. After reaching their peak, all demons died of illness. This girl was accompanied by the twenty-first of Fluone. She still had the potential to become even more dangerous than the demon who had appeared three years ago.
'I wonder if he'll be strong enough to control her once she ages,' she wondered. 'Maybe he's ready to kill her soon.'
"If you're the twenty-first, then that means…" the elven archer mumbled to herself before turning her attention to the indigo-haired man. "What's the best of Fluone doing all the way here? And with a demoness in tow, no less."
"I suggest you keep your questions about my presence to a minimum," the teenage demoness snarled. "You would detest having your hands burned to a crisp, would you not?"
"Lu…" Ciel sighed, rolling his eyes. "We don't need to make enemies out of elves."
"I know her kind from my world," the girl grumbled. "Lawless savages, the lot of them..."
Rena's eyes narrowed at the demoness' remark. It seemed unlikely that any elves could survive in the Demon Realm. After all, the goddess had only banished foul creatures from Elrios into that realm two millennia ago. Elves were not on the list.
"Lu, don't lie. They're not the same kind."
"Same pointy ears, same annoying arrows," the demoness shrugged before she turned her back to Ciel. "They're similar enough. Make your talk quick, will you? My feet are sore, and we're both in dire need of a bath."
The demoness walked a few paces away before sitting by the edge of the dirt row, staring at Rena from a distance like a predator, ready to pounce at Ciel's call.
"I'm sorry about her," the Steel Cross apologised, turning towards the demoness and signalling her to calm down. "It's a long story, but we're here on a mission."
"Can you tell me what your mission is?" Rena asked, crossing her arms as she tried to ignore the demoness' cold stare. It was less menacing, but her piercing blue eyes and oddly shaped pupils were unsettling to look at in the dark.
"Yeah. You and your people need to know, anyhow. We're here to investigate a series of disappearances in the forests. Our only lead is a pile of complaints of creatures who've been attacking everyone on this road," Ciel explained before scratching the back of his head. "We also got attacked on our way here, and… Heh, well, those things are tougher than they look."
Rena did not fail to notice the glint of amusement in his eyes nor the tiny fangs in his crooked smile. Ciel was not too far away from enjoying violence in the same way a full-fledged demon would.
"But what's interesting is that when they flee," the Steel Cross added, "those creatures can cross the frontier of your territory."
"So, do you think it's an elf's doing?" Rena asked.
"We think a dark elf is doing it," the Steel Cross clarified. "I know it sounds like a long shot, but if demons still live on, then…"
He gave her a slight shrug, gesturing with his hands what he wanted to imply.
"That's horrifying to think about," the green-eyed elf noted, forcing herself to hide her genuine emotions. It seemed that the prisoner she had shackled herself was pulling on her chains yet again. As much as she was reluctant to deal with the dark elf again, she did not want Elder Branwen to know she had been too lenient the last time.
"Of course," Ciel added. "That's why I want to meet your Elders. I must get their permission to enter the Forest Ruins and eliminate that dark elf."
"I'll see to it," Rena lied with a nod before leaping into the wilderness, leaving the Steel Cross and the demoness behind. She relied on her own speed and strength this time; she knew the spirits would not respond well to the complicated mix of sadness, joy and shame that threatened to consume her heart again.
Elsword was already on the way to the El Search Party's base when the first rays of sunlight hit the hill. He had not slept well, but Lady Seris' special tea had pushed his sleepiness away. He was thankful that she did not question him at all for coming home that late, though explaining himself to the twins had been quite a challenge in and of itself. He regretted making the twins upset, but he promised to apologise when he got back home. Today, however, was too important to be weighed down by his thoughts. Thus, he focused on the road ahead.
In the distance, he saw two others emerge from the heavy, iron gates separating the dozen interconnected buildings that made up the base from the forest.
The two men were a knight and a recruit. They walked for a moment before the tallest of them – a dark-haired man from what Elsword could tell – yanked the other by the shoulder, forcing him to face him. Judging by the taller man's uniform, he was a proper knight instead of a simple recruit. His red shirt and the claymore he carried on his hip testified to his status.
The dark-haired knight was not yelling at the blonde recruit, but his threatening gestures were enough for the red-haired boy to understand he was far from praising him; the blonde meekly accepted the knight's harsh words, barely shaking his head or nodding now and then.
As Elsword approached, he began to distinguish the knight and the recruit better and even catch their conversation.
"And you think he's not gonna spread the word? Who do you think he lives with, huh? You never think things through!" the dark-haired knight exploded. "You just make everything worse for us!"
Under the sunlight, Elsword saw that while most of the knight's short hair was jet-black, some of it – especially around his temples – was lighter. His sapphire eyes were burning through the blonde's brown gaze. The boy recognised who the blonde was. It was Wyll.
The teenager looked at Elsword, and the older knight also turned towards him. Though their hair and eye colour differed, their long, slim noses and thin lips were similar. The blue-eyed knight scowled at Elsword before muttering something to Wyll that made his eyes widen. Then, the black-haired knight walked back to the base without another word.
"Hey, Els," the blonde weakly said as he passed his hand over the nape of his neck. "You're here way earlier than everyone else. Did you rest well?"
"Yeah, but what's up with you?" the boy asked. "Why was that senior so angry?"
"Ah, it's nothing serious," Wyll chuckled. "It's just a brotherly disagreement. You know how it is, right?"
"Ah, yeah," he answered with a forced chuckle. "It happens all the time. By the way…"
Elsword opened his bag and returned the water disk and the waterskin to Wyll.
"Thank you, Wyll," he grinned. "It really saved my life on the way back. Don't worry about the waterskin; I made sure it was super clean."
The blonde took the two objects, gave a grateful nod, and invited the boy to head into the base. After a couple of minutes, Wyll broke the peaceful silence between them:
"Els, do you live on your own?"
"Hm?" Elsword tilted his head at his friend, "Well, for most of the year, yeah. But I get to spend the summers with the Felfords, so it's not too bad."
Wyll furrowed his brow. "Ah, the Felfords. Isn't Lord Felford the Grand Commander of the Centurion Guard?"
"Yeah, Lord Owen is amazing! He's helped me train when my sister wasn't there. He tells me every time he used to be really sickly and frail when he was my age, but you'd never guess it from the way he fights," the boy rambled with a proud grin. "They call him the White Knight for a very good reason, you know?"
Though he had expected Wyll to share his excitement again, the blonde seemed lost in his thoughts as they crossed the camp gate.
"Wyll?"
"Hm?" the blonde finally snapped back to reality and offered him an apologetic smile. "Oh, sorry, Els. I'm just a little tired. I think I'll head back to—"
Right then, the loud horn signalling the start of the day for knights and recruits drowned Wyll's words. Their free time was over. They both had to head to the central training grounds to begin their day.
When Wyll and Elsword entered the primary training ground, most other recruits and knights were already there, at the ready. They were divided into two clear groups. The one to the left comprised all the knights and low-ranked officers. Their red capes and shining metal armour distinguished them as accomplished soldiers. Elsword spotted Liam right on the second row from the front, just behind Lieutenant Lowe. The boy supposed it was unsurprising that the black-haired man was of a higher rank, perhaps a Sub-Lieutenant.
Liam perhaps sensed his stare and glanced at him, furrowing his eyebrows. His glare was brief yet scarier than Lady Seris' rare moments of anger. The crimson-eyed boy turned his attention back to the front, expecting the Captain to leave the officers' barracks. However, the three people who emerged from the door and sat on a nearby bench were outsiders.
First was a silver-haired priest with a long white cloak decorated with a golden hem on the sleeves. His pants and shirt underneath looked to be made from thick fabric. Elsword pitied him; that priest would pass out from the heat hours before noon. Next was an indigo-haired man with sapphire eyes and pointy yet stubby ears. His long, black coat and pants were also not made for the heat to come. Elsword's attention was not drawn to the twin gunblades on his waist but rather to the man's armband. The eight-pointed cross of Illipia was embroidered in its centre, circled by a ring of flames. The indigo-haired man was a Steel Cross, likely from Lanox. The boy presumed the land of the Fire El was probably hotter than Ruben, so he wondered if the Steel Cross felt cold instead of the lovely, warm temperature he felt.
The last outsider was even stranger than the two men. It was a girl his age, her hair hidden under a long, black veil decorated with horns. Her sleeveless indigo dress was split on the side, revealing her thigh-high stockings. Her attire was complemented by strange gloves that went up to her elbow; whatever they were made of, they looked almost as shiny as metal.
"Who are they?" Elsword whispered, glancing at his friend. "Did they come here last night?"
"The priest came first, right before nightfall," Wyll whispered back. "He's apparently a pilgrim. The other two, well, he's clearly a Lanoxian Steel Cross, but who knows what he's doing here with that creepy girl. Her eyes are weird."
"Huh? How are they weird?"
Wyll shrugged. "Her pupils are, I don't know, shaped weird. I didn't get a good look last night, but they're not round, that's for sure."
Finally, the Captain emerged from the officers' barracks, donning pauldrons and a grey gambeson over his usual uniform. Elsword also noticed he wore thick, steel bracelets; they almost looked like cuffs. Lieutenant Lowe walked forward, as he usually did once Captain Evans appeared.
"Attention, soldiers!" the grey-eyed Lieutenant hollered as he took his place to the Captain's right.
Like clockwork, all the knights and recruits present straightened up, their chests puffed outwards while they kept their feet close together at a small yet precise angle. No one spoke; their eyes were fixed on their Captain, and all emotion left their faces.
"Good morning, lads," the Captain greeted them with his usual, confident smile. "I'll be honest with all of you. All these formalities bore me to no end, but it can't be helped."
Lowe frowned at his Captain's usual easy-going attitude but did not interrupt him. The Captain scratched the back of his head before gesturing vaguely at the three outsiders behind him.
"There are some important visitors with us," he announced. "The first is Ainchase, a pilgrim from Hamel. I know all of you can guess what Ciel's job is. What you may not know is that he's the strongest in Fluone. As for the girl here, she's the Steel Cross's assistant. If you feel like pulling pranks on any of them, please reconsider. I don't wanna be forced to kick you out for having a sense of humour."
"Now," the Captain continued with a single clap. "With that out of the way, you all know why today's an important day, don't you?"
"Sir! Yes, sir!" the troops said in unison.
"Alright! Squad Three, you'll take the youngest half of the recruits under your wing," the Captain ordered. "Squad Ten, you'll take the other half! Lowe and I will give all the Debrians and Rubenians a pair of these!"
The Captain pointed at one of the cuffs on his wrists, "The El exudes a lot of energy. These will help you keep your strength and mana for those who are magically inclined. That's all! Let's get going, lads!"
While Elsword was glad to be marching alongside Wyll, his enthusiasm was diminished whenever he looked at who the leader of squad three was. Liam Gesson led the group of twenty-five with a stern expression, and Lowe did little to break the tension.
'If I was my sister's age,' Elsword thought as he looked around the peaceful forests. The day was already warming up quite fast. 'I would've at least gotten to be with the Captain's group.'
A gust of wind blew in front of them, lifting a curtain of dust, dead leaves and small branches that forced the group to a halt. Elsword put his arm in front to protect his eyes, but even then, he had to close them and look away as the wind passed. He heard someone groan in pain to his left, and when he could finally look at what had happened, he saw that it was Wyll who had gotten hurt. A strange creature – a mix between a bat and a lizard – was biting on his arm, flapping its fleshy wings as hard as it could as if it was looking to snatch him up into the sky. Its fangs were so sharp that it tore through the teen's gauntlets and gambeson, making him bleed.
Without a second thought, Elsword swung his red and white sword to knock the creature out. To his surprise, he managed to cut one of its wings off. The flying monster screeched in pain, letting Wyll go. Another recruit approached the wounded blonde and immediately used a healing spell on his wound. The creature that had attacked them slithered away into the forest, but it did not get very far before breathing its last.
Every member of Squad Three took their combat positions: the knights on the front and the recruits on the back. The El Search Party faced the direction the creature had come from. The Ruchis screamed as they fled into the sky, and the bushes swayed and crumbled under the march of a dozen monsters. Their grey skin looked lustrous like a toad's, and while they stood on two legs, wore armour and wielded spears and swords, those were the only human traits they had. Their faces were more akin to the snout of a crocodile; their hands only had three thick and clawed fingers, and their golden eyes stared viciously at them.
"Goddess help us," Wyll muttered.
One of the armed monsters in front of them screeched, and the rest charged at the group, weapons raised and ready to strike.
I'm debating whether or not I ought to update the rating for this fic on this website. I like to write very messy and gory fights whenever I can, so I believe next chapter may require me to edit the current rating and turn it into an M rating for the graphic descriptions of violence that will come up soon. We will see...