The group is travelling on horseback through some narrow roads within the forest that's also known as the Dark Elves Country. The big roots on the massive trees often emerge from the ground, blocking off what would be a straight path, so travellers are forced to make a meandering path. However, the Capital isn't far from the border, so the group reach it in no time at all. The path they are travelling on is narrow, so they are often in contact with the greenery of the lush forest. Ren notices the aftermath of fires in parts of the forest as they work their way through the shrubbery, "what happened here?".
Elza, "a popular tactic of demons is to set fire to the forest. They collect as much screaming turtle oil as they can, place it in the forest, and then set it on fire. They haven't tried that in over a year though, so this part of the forest has recovered quite nicely". Ren, seeming given up on acting surprised, "do I need to know what exactly a screaming turtle is?". Lorilay, almost shocked, "have you never heard of a turtle before?". Ren, "I have, just not...screaming ones".
Elza, "there are other turtles, but screaming turtles are just turtles that lay their eggs on sand dunes along the north-western coasts. They produce oil from the bottom of their shells to slip back down to the ocean once they finish, screaming as they go. People collect this afterwards as it's a good fire accelerant. The oil is so thick that it doesn't seep through the sand, so it just needs to scooped up. Bits of sand naturally get mixed in so the aftermath of the burnt oil often leave behind specks of glass".
Ren tries to imagine the turtle, but it's hard not to imagine it in the form of an animal. Picturing it in real life is hard for him to accept, "There's so much stuff that I will just never understand". Lorilay, "since we live in this world, it's not that hard for us to understand...I guess? I've never seen a screaming turtles, but I can imagine it", I feel like I confused myself saying that. Elza, "undoubtedly. It's just natural for us", I can't even fathom things not being what I am used to them being...poor Ren.
Liza points to a gap in the treeline, a grass plain peeking through, "we've reached the border". A vast and flat plain now lies before them, similar to the plain from which they first entered the forest to get to the tournament, but less undulating. Elza, "this is still Vall's territory, but it's faster to travel along the border outside of the forest. It's dangerous due to the possibility of running into Demons, but since we're off to fight a Commander, I assume that's not a concern". Nobody says otherwise, so they set off galloping after a quick gaze at the scenery.
They travel along the treeline, their pace much faster due only having to go in basically a straight line. It doesn't take them more than half a day to reach Cairon's territory. Having entered it, Ren feels the need to say what's been on his mind for a while, "I thought there'd be patrols, but we haven't run into a single one. More monsters than anything. And we made quick work of those", a quick lightning bolt took care of them...lightning is really strong. Long range and powerful. It feels like I'm cheating.
Elza, "the border between my country and Cairon's territory is the one with the least amount of activity. There were far more reports of attacks from Vall's territory, but they're probably in disarray at the moment, so we shouldn't have to worry about them for a bit", but there should be more stronger monsters than what's been appearing. We don't know what paths to take to avoid them, so what's going on? Can we just be lucky? Or is this Ren's instincts at work?
Lorilay is a bit uncomfortable with the fast-paced horse ride, "how long until we reach the town where Cairon is?", riding like this takes a toll on people with big breasts. They will start to hurt like hell after a while. Elza, "we should be there by tomorrow morning if everything goes well. These horses were raised by the Dark Elves to be used in the forest, but on flat ground, there isn't a faster land animal. We call them 'Dark Steeds', and our people are very proud of them". Lorilay, "I can see why", she looks fine...oh, hers aren't bouncing as much. They must be way firmer than mine.
Liza, "we should probably ride for another hour or so before setting up camp". Lorilay, "I...agree", it's what's best for the overall journey, so I'll bear with it for now. Elza glances at Ren despite the shaking, who seems to be troubled by something, "what's wrong?". Ren, "I just don't get it. Why no patrols at all? They should be at least be on alert after what happened to Vall, right?". Elza, "maybe they had to send their resources to stabilise Vall's region. They might think that Cairon could deal with anything that happens around his territory, so they can focus their resources elsewhere. That could also be the reason why your instincts told us to come here". Ren, "I can't put my finger on it...but it's something different, that's what my instincts are telling me. Knowing that something's off but being unable to determine what is one of my instinct's downfalls".
Elza, "but we're not in danger at the moment, are we? I don't feel like we're being watched or anything". Ren, "yeah, I'm not feeling any danger". Elza, "then let's continue on. We can't afford to waste this opportunity". Ren puts his unease at the back of his mind and continues on, something's weird, but it doesn't seem like it will cause any trouble. What a weird feeling, it's like I have an itch in my brain that I can't scratch.
After an hour of riding, they set up camp for the night, each taking turns on watch with nothing noteworthy happening. They depart yet again in the morning, nothing of note happing on their journey this time either. Elza, "we should be in view of the town within the next couple of minutes or so. Feeling any danger, Ren?". Ren, "not at all". Elza, "me either. I thought they would at least be observing us by now, but I've seen no sign of it". Ren, "I thought they would too, but nothing. Still be on guard though, anything could happen".
After finishing talking to Ren, Elza lowers her pace a little so she is trotting alongside Lorilay at the back of the group, "did you notice Liza was the last on watch last night? The morning one". Lorilay, "she said she didn't mind taking the last shift just in case she would be sick like yesterday. That way, she would be ok before we departed". Elza, "I've been thinking about all the stuff that's happened with her since yesterday. And she was indeed sick again early this morning. Don't these symptoms remind you of something?". Lorilay, "I've been thinking about that too, but I started to think that maybe it's just that human bodies are different than ours when it comes to eating. Those symptoms are appearing way too early. They normally don't appear until towards the end".
Elza is profoundly confused by Lorilay's statement, "hm? What do you mean by 'way too early'? Don't they appear near the middle? She could just be a little early, and we don't even know when it happened". They look at each other, both equally confused by the others' remarks. Just as they are about to speak once more, Ren notices the town in the distance. He also sees a small outpost between them and said town, "we should probably leave the horses here, a safe distance away, and head in on foot".
As Elza and Lorilay are getting off their horses, Elza whispers, "actually, I'm sure Ren's instincts would pick up on if it. He wouldn't let her come here otherwise". Lorilay feels like this was a massive revelation, "excellent point. We must be overthinking things. It might really be that human bodies are just built differently". Elza, "hm...maybe, but let's err on the side of caution just in case and be prepared to protect Lorilay just in case". They both affirm with eye contact and a nod.
Having finished attending to their horses, the group starts to approach the outpost with caution. As they are examining from a decent distance, a bird flies out from inside. Once the group gets closer, a Wolf-kin with blue tinted fur emerges from inside. He has a hand on the sword sheathed on his hip, "you really came". Ren's raises an eyebrow at the remark, along with everyone else's interest, "expecting us? I don't think we made an appointment".
Wolf-kin, "Cairon thought you might come here. We kept the way clear, because unless it's an entire army, it's pointless to send numbers after someone who defeated a commander". Ren, "I see. Well, it certainly made for a comfortable ride", almost too comfortable. Wolf-kin, "now that you're here, there's only one option. Kill, or be killed", he says as he rotates his sword on his hip by the pommel with his palm. Ren, "are you sure? You certainly lack the bloodlust to be speaking those words", my instincts are perfectly calm. No danger.
Wolf-kin, "you'll understand once you meet Cairon. See that house up on the hill with the stables not too far away? That's where Cairon lives. I sent word once I saw you, so there's an ambush waiting". Lorilay can't stay silent any longer, "Ren, why are you just casually talking to the enemy?". Ren, "because I can tell he's not actually an enemy". Elza, "he has no intention of attacking us at the very least. I don't like that he's telling us there's an ambush though. I'm not fond of psychological tricks".
Wolf-kin, "believe if want you want. There's been something I've been wanting to do, but been unable to do so. Now that invaders have come, it's the perfect chance to make use of the ensuing confusion to blame it on you". Ren, "hm...now things are starting to become a bit clear. But will that be beneficial to us? I don't see why we should just let you use us like that".
Wolf-kin, "can't say it would be beneficial, but I have no obligation to get your permission". Ren, "I see...then I'll change the question. Will it be a fundamentally good or a bad thing that you're doing?". Wolf-kin, curious to the way this conversation has developed, "...that depends on who you ask". Ren, "I'm not asking anyone though. I'm asking you. I don't want to fight if it isn't necessary, but I will if needed. I'm determining if I should just let you go or not".
The Wolf-kin looks at Ren, he defeated Vall, so I probably can't get away from him if he chooses to chase. I thought he'd be too preoccupied with Cairon to care if I didn't want to fight him and just let me go. It's easy to lie...but my animal instincts are screaming to not make this guy angry, "it's good for me of course, but it probably doesn't matter to you. It'd come out as a plus if we really had to decide".
Ren, thinks for a moment before giving a small satisfied nod, "ok then, thanks for telling us Cairon's location. Hope what you want to do goes well". The Wolf-kin immediately starts sprinting towards the town as if he was never in any danger to begin with, his focus one and one thing and one thing only the second he sensed he was out of danger. Elza, "was that wise? Just letting someone on the opposite side go like that. Even if he's not hostile now, he could easily become so later". Ren, "that's a valid concern, but I don't think that will happen". Elza, "I pray that your instincts aren't wrong". Ren, "me too".
As the group resumes their walk to the town, an alarm starts going off. The banging of wood resonates from multiple places within the town, quickly followed by the sound of panicked citizens as they evacuate. Ren suddenly stops on the spot, they're acting as if a natural disaster has occurred, "let's give them some time. I have no interest in non-combatants". The group doesn't protest, silently watching as people evacuate from the other side of the town. A tension settles between them, the upcoming battle weighing on each of them.
Ren voices his thoughts to try and ease the tension, "clearing the way for us; leaving a single guard that has something he needs to do so he lets up proceeded uninhibited, the guard warns us about an ambush...this must be what has been feeling off. This is going to be an entirely different kind of fight from than the one with Vall", it's hard to determine what's happening. My instincts won't settle on any answer I think of. Lorilay, "I agree, it feels completely different. With Vall, it felt like a fight to the death right from the start". Ren, "nevertheless, let's stay sharp".
In the town, the residents are in a massive panic as everyone scrambles to evacuate. Among the chaos, a little girl with red hair, as well as a red tint to her skin, is holding the hand of a boy who seems to be a few years older than her. The boy has Red fox ears on his head in addition to his red hair. With his other hand, the boy is holding a young woman's hand. Said woman also has red hair and a red tint to her skin. They are evacuating with the rest of the town, walking as fast they can on the packed street. Woman, "don't let go you two, we need to get to the evacuation point!", this is the first time an enemy has come to us. Everyone is terrified. I need to get these two to safety no matter what!
The girl is full of worry, "but what about daddy?". The woman tries to reassure her, "you don't need to worry about your father. He's a big and strong Commander. He'll come get us after he's done protecting the town". Boy, "that's right, dad's super strong. He wouldn't lose to anyone. Let's go so we don't make him worry about us". Woman, "that's exactly right. We can't get in your father's way while he's working, so let's get somewhere we can rest and wait for him".
The girl can't stop her worry from showing on her face as she's being pulled along, but in the midst of the panicking people, the girl's hand gets separated from the boy's and they quickly lose each other in the crowd. The girl gets shoved around by the crowed before she's forced into an alleyway. As she watches the panic people run, her thoughts race. She knows that she should try to get back to them, to get to the evacuation point, but her legs won't move. However, it's not the fear that's stopping her from moving, it's worry. Instead of heading in the same direction as the crowd, she starts to run in the opposite direction, where everyone is desperately trying to get away from.
After some time, Ren and the others approach the stables that the Wolf-kin pointed out to them. Elza surveys their surroundings, "it was good we took a route away from the buildings to avoid being ambushed, but what's the point in having them all behind us now?". Ren, "since they're gathered in one place, it wouldn't matter what side we attack them from. This area seems to be the first evacuated, so there shouldn't be any non-combatants". Elza, "you're too considerate to the enemy". Ren, "only those who want to harm us are my enemies".
They can see hoards of Demons coming out of the town and marching towards them. One of Demons leading the pack, Random demon A, taunts the group, "to not analyse the situation properly, what a bunch of idiots! Even if you thought avoiding the town would avoid a possible ambush, you're out of luck. True, you're not surrounded on all sides because of that, but now you're between us and Cairon. That's far worse than being caught in an ambush! It doesn't matter if you defeated Vall in a scuffle, this is a pincer attack with an army on one side and a Commander on the other!".
Random Demon A's words cause a cackle to run through the crowd, prompting others to join in one after another. Random Demon B, "look at the women! Bet they'd fetch a high price". Random demon C, "after us guys have some fun with them first, hahahah". The whole crowd of Demons laugh without a care in the world, completely confident in their victory. The women in the crowd look indifferent to the men's vulgarity. Not disgusted, but also not proud of the fact...most of them. Some seem more happy than the men.
Liza glares at them in irritation, Lorilay looks at them in disgust, and Elza sighs at them with exasperation. Just then, a lightning bolt hits Random Demon C, completely charring him and causing him to fall unconscious as smoke rises from his collapsed from. This causes the crowd to go silent, allowing Ren's words to be easily heard by all in the vicinity, "you should respect women more. They're scary when they're angry, especially these ones". Ren turns back to the way he was facing and starts walking up a set of stairs carved into the hillside, "I'll leave the small fry to you girls. I'll take on the customer sitting on the stairs up there".
Liza and Lorilay turn to look up the stairs on the side of a hill. They see a middle-aged man with a solid build, his muscles substantial, but not bulging. Atop his head are a pair of red animal ears, a fox's to be precise. His posture, demeanour, the gaze in his eyes...anyone can tell from a glance that he's completely different from the rest of Demons around them. Elza, the only one still facing the crowd, snaps at them, "what are you two doing??? Never turn your back on the enemy!!!".
Liza and Lorilay quickly turn back to face the crowd, taking up their combat stances at Elza's command. Liza, "sorry. I'll take out as many as I can with a sea of flames, it should weed out the weaker ones. Lorilay, can you take care of any stragglers?". Lorilay, "no problem. It's been a while since I've been in combat, but I won't make the same mistake again". Liza, "Elza, can we leave our defence to you?". Elza, "as long as I'm not babysitting children on the battlefield, I've got your backs. Go wild".
The enemy look upon the group with confusion, wondering what they could possibly be murmuring about. Liza steps in front of the other two and then places one foot firmly in front of the other as she readies her attack. Cloaking her spear in flames, she makes a big wind-up gesture, aiming to thrust it with all her might...but as she goes to launch her attack, her flames suddenly dissipate, leaving her frozen on the spot, completely shocked from her core. The eyes of the Fox-kin at the top of the stairs widen at the sight. Ren half turns around, worried what happened upon hearing the crowd of Demons laugh hysterically.
Random demon D, "hahaha, she lost control of her magic! And she was trying to attack us with fire from that distance! They're a bunch of idiots! But even a bunch of idiots have their uses...Get them!". Random demon E starts to run up and attack Liza with their claws, "damaged goods sell for cheaper, so we'll have as much fun as we want until you're fit to sell!". The demon is quickly cut vertically in half by Elza before he could even reach within 10 meters of Liza.
The crowd of Demons are stunned into silence as the body of their comrade falls to two opposite sides. The Dark Elf at the back was out in front in a flash, cutting one of them in half in a spit second. And for most of the Demons present, it is their first time seeing a cross section of someone so...clearly. Elza stands menacingly over the body as all the innards and blood start spilling out onto the ground, painting it a grotesque red colour. Before, the Demons were lax thinking that this was going to be an easy one-sided battle. Now however, the display of their comrade being split in two so easily forces them all to acknowledge that this will be far more difficult than they thought. The cackle of the crowd stops, an intense silence filling the atmosphere as the Demons all start taking up fighting stances and proper combat positions.
Elza's glare keeps them in their place, not one of them daring to attack, "I'll take care of these guys. You know what to do Lorilay". Lorilay stands in Front of Liza, who was cautiously backing up with her arm over her stomach. Lorilay starts raising numerous thin but not too thin spikes around them, making it extremely difficult to approach them from the ground. Their reaction is swift and decisive, as if they've been working together for years. Ren, still only half-turned towards them to keep an eye on the man in front of him, what happened? Her flames suddenly disappeared. I didn't know that was possible. Did she lose control or something? She must be sick...did I mess up coming here? But my instincts...
The Red Fox-kin is examining Ren's reaction as he tries to make sense of the situation, is it possible...this guy doesn't know? Maybe this so called 'God' does exist after all, "it looks like it's better if we finish this up as soon as possible". He then gets up and starts climbing the last bit of steps, turning his back to Ren, "follow me". Ren quickly follows him up the steps, intent on taking him up on his invitation to talk. Arriving at the top, Ren is greeted by some impressive stables. The lack of horses makes him question if it's a trap or not, so he looks around to sense if there is anything amiss, no reaction from my instincts. Concluding it's safe, Ren approaches the man, but keeps a safe distance. They stand facing each other from afar in the middle of the stables.
The Red Fox-kin is the one to break the silence between them, "I had my informants dig up whatever information they could on you once I heard of Vall's defeat. I know it hasn't been long since then, but I can usually get some pieces of information, no matter how small. And yet, there's almost nothing. Apart from you blowing up a tree with Lightning, all I got from my multiple sources is only about Vall's demise. From a handful of sources, getting the same information is plausible. But from all of them? It's just not possible. There's only one thing I could think of as to why that is the case. That you didn't exist until recently. This is backed up by the fact that until recently, there wasn't even a single rumour about you outside of Endventure. Having a Unique that controls lighting would have caused quite the stir the moment you became an adult, but nothing. Given all this, it's natural to assume that you're not from this world. That's the only explanation. I won't even bother to ask if I'm right".
Ren is a bit unnerved by his investigation, I haven't been here long, but they're already able to deduce that I'm from another world. Gaining information from the lack of information is unsettling, but that's probably the limit of what they could deduce, "Nice deduction skills. It's true that I didn't exist here until recently, but you could find loads of people who's origins are impossible to determine. What made you come to that conclusion, Cairon? I'll return the favour and not bother explaining how I know that".
Cairon give a single chuckle, "indeed I am Cairon, not like I was trying to hide it In the first place. There are two additional reasons why I thought this. First, you looked like you had no idea what was happening with what just transpired with the spear girl below". Ren keeps a straight face, not bothering to refute the observation, "Guess I couldn't hide that I didn't know it was possible to lose control of one's magic".
Cairon, "unless you are overloaded from an external magic source, which there are very few ways to do so, there is only one way to lose control of your magic. It's something absolutely everyone in this world knows of". Ren shrugs, "you caught me. I'm completely ignorant when it comes to the matters of this world". Cairon, "you should know it when travelling with women because it's something that can only happen to women. She's pregnant".
Ren just goes completely silent from the revelation, not saying a word. He looks to the direction he just came from with his eyes, the sounds of battle reaching his ears, I know we've been going at it since we met, but it's still a shock to hear. Cairon, "of course you want to go to her now. That's the natural reaction. The majority of people would do the same. The fact that you didn't run straight to her when you saw her magic dissipate is what tipped me off. Now that you know, will you turn your back to me and go to her?".
Ren ponders for a few seconds before turning his eyes back to Cairon, "Lorilay and Elza are there. She'll be fine", but it'd be better to make this quick. As they were talking, Elza was rampaging through the crowd with a sinister smile on her face, cutting down every demon she can, regardless of race or gender with ease...is what she's making it look like, damn, there's so many of them. I can keep this up for about 15...no, 10 more minutes before I start to quickly tire.
Elza is able to completely focus on her rampage because Lorilay is protecting Liza within her layers of countless spikes. On each spike, Lorilay is forming tiny, razor-sharp spikes. The result is decimating for the Demons trying to get to them, spreading their flesh if they touch it. The crowd closet to Elza starts to cower at the sight of the merciless devil before them. There is another crowd of Demons hanging back, just observing the situation and showing no signs of intervening. They look on as Elza cuts down another one of their comrades horizontally at the waist.
Random Demon F tries to attack Elza from her blind spot, but is shocked once Elza suddenly turns around to face her, "h-how did yo-", she is cut short by her head flying off. Elza quickly moves onto the next target after kicking the woman's headless body into another oncoming Demon, I'm trying to keep them from grouping up, as well as predict when sneak attacks will come. If this was just them coming at me head on, I could last longer. I need to cut down as many as I can before I need Lorilay to guard me too, so I can rest up and...no, I can't do that. That will put us in a far more dangerous position. I also can't factor Ren into the plan because he's facing a Commander, but his lightning is the only thing than can turn the tide away from being overwhelmed by numbers. I need to cut down as many as I can to and much buy time as possible.
From the group of Demons observing, Random Demon G is livid, "why is a Dark Elf of her calibre doing outside the forest when they are such fucking tree huggers???". Random Demon H, "it doesn't matter! Even if she's leagues above any other Dark Elf we've fought, like always, we have the numbers advantage. We'll wear her down slowly but surely. Surround her! Send the women first since they're disposable". This earns the man some ire from the female demons, not that they can do anything about it. Some are tempted to flee, but all they have is angry men waiting for them. Screwed either way, the women gather their resolve and attack Elza, simply adding to the fodder.
Liza's frustration is palpable as she's stuck being protected as she herself protectively covers her stomach with her free arm. Lorilay tries to support Elza now that her spike fortress is complete. She attacks with spikes to disrupt formations and prevent attacks from Elza's blind spots when she can, alleviating some of the pressure, this is great for defence, but I can barely see out if it. It's hard to provide support. Random Demon H from the group who's just observing has an interesting idea, "one of you, go get the Naga venom from the storehouse. And two of you go get some screaming turtle oil". The group cackles as a three of them separate from the group, each of them having an unsettling smirk plastered across their face.