Meanwhile, on the other side, in a dark place without the slightest trace of light. A puff of brick-red smoke was taking shape into the figure of a man in brick-red clothing with long hair, sitting beneath a large tree.
The man leaned his back against the tree while clutching his leg. "The power of that weapon is truly extraordinary. Even with the abilities I possess, that sword could still wound me this badly," he muttered.
Right at that moment, a puff of green smoke appeared before him. Slowly, the smoke transformed into the figure of a man dressed entirely in black, with shoulder-length hair. "You lost?"
"I want to stop," whispered the figure, who was the three-tailed wolf prince, Xander.
Not long after, the sound of laughter echoed, piercing the ears of anyone who heard it. He then paced back and forth in front of Xander. "You've already started, there's no way back, prince."
"But you tricked me! The moon necklace of the wolf race was never in Elvendria. They didn't steal it!" Xander was truly furious. If his body weren't injured, he would have already attacked the figure before him.
The man raised one eyebrow. "Why are you blaming me? Wasn't it you yourself who volunteered to seek my help?"
Xander coughed, blood spilling heavily from his mouth. Not to mention, one of his legs had been slashed by Isaura's sword. His wolfish gaze fixed sharply on the devil standing before him. "You cunning bastard! I will tell my entire race about this."
But the man lowered himself until their faces were level. He then lightly touched Xander's face, if only the prince hadn't turned away. The man only smiled at Xander's reaction. "No, Xander. I have a far more interesting offer for you."
The wolf demon spat and glared at the man before him. "I will never cooperate with you again."
"Unfortunately, from the beginning, we were never cooperating, Xander. I needed you to trigger a war between the fairies and devils once more. Thousands of years of peace—isn't it far less enjoyable than when there is war?"
"Why are you doing this?"
Silence lingered for a moment before the man answered again. "I am the Devil King. Of course I enjoy battle. Besides, I need a distraction while I attempt to obtain the most precious thing from one of Elvendria's disciples."
Xander weakly shook his head, though his sharp glare didn't waver. "I will never let you do that."
"Before you can do anything, you must help me once more."
After saying that, his green smoke radiated across Xander's entire body as if binding him. It locked Xander's movements, even lifting him into the air.
"Release me! Am I not one of your people? As a king, you have no right to treat me like this!" the prince kept struggling, enduring the pain in his injured body.
But the smoke binding Xander ignored his protests. It dragged the wolf prince along, down into the deepest abyss leading to the Darkhold portal—the dwelling place of the devils.
---
The time had already reached midnight. But Isaura had just finished making potions to heal the fairies who had been attacked by beasts earlier. As the only witch in Elvendria, Isaura often prepared remedies and assisted the healers in their work.
One thing had been troubling her mind since earlier that afternoon. Why had that creature come into Elvendria's territory, when it had never once set foot in their lands before?
The bright brown-haired girl, sitting on the balcony's edge, tilted her head back to gaze at the sky. With a sword lying beside her, she murmured, "I don't know why that wolf came to attack us today. The elder said every event must have a reason. So today, too, must not be mere coincidence."
Isaura didn't remember her birth clearly. All she remembered was that the first time she opened her eyes, she was already in the forest with a sword and a red falcon beside her. But lately, Isaura hadn't seen that falcon anywhere around her.
While the girl was still lost in thought, a sturdy elf in pastel blue clothing approached and stood beside her, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "You need to recover your strength, Isaura."
The girl flinched but managed to compose herself. "I'm fine."
"I wasn't asking about your condition. I'm telling you to recover your strength."
"I'm sorry, Darius."
The elf, called Darius, looked at Isaura, who now had her head lowered. "Sorry isn't enough to heal your wounds, Isaura. Don't be childish. If you're hurt, our formation will fall apart. And after what happened earlier this afternoon, I'm certain this isn't the end but the beginning. So you must make sure you won't become a liability."
In Elvendria, every fairy and elf had their own place according to the level of power they had mastered. Darius, Isaura, Eliot, and Evelyn were among the fastest in honing their strength, so the four of them formed the most important unit here—the guardian formation.
Yes, even though Isaura was the last to join, her talent was impressive enough to place her in this crucial formation.
Darius and Isaura formed a team in the offensive formation, while Eliot and Evelyn handled the defense. So whatever happened to Isaura became Darius's responsibility—otherwise, their team would be deemed disqualified and forced to start over.
Without another word, Darius climbed onto the balcony edge and sat across from Isaura. "Sit properly. I'll help you with your healing."
Isaura actually wanted to refuse, but her courage always vanished whenever she faced Darius. The elf always carried such an intimidating aura that it shrank Isaura's resolve.
Thus, Isaura now obeyed what Darius commanded. She turned around, sat cross-legged on the balcony edge—about a meter wide—with her back to Darius. Her eyes closed, and her hands pressed together, one palm facing up and the other facing down.
Once Isaura was ready to receive his power, Darius began moving his hands, channeling a blue light speckled with white that immediately seeped into Isaura's body.
The girl winced from the pain caused by the wolf's tail strike earlier, but she endured it. Being born into a supernatural world, this wasn't her first time receiving such wounds.
Moments later, Darius finished the treatment. He looked at Isaura, who slowly opened her eyes. "Elder Carlos already warned us not to act recklessly. I know our duty is to attack, but that doesn't mean you can go and fight on your own."
Hearing that, Isaura slowly turned around to face Darius, though she still hesitated to look directly at him. "I was only thinking of how to capture that creature. All I could think of at the time was to find out why it suddenly attacked. Even though the fairies and the evils have never made peace, neither side is at war right now. I wasn't thinking about the consequences, and I'm sorry for that."
Taking a slow breath, Darius spoke again. "Isaura, if you had harmed it, that would have created a new problem for Elvendria. This isn't the first time you've been reckless like this. From now on, try thinking before you act."
Darius's explanation left Isaura silent. It wasn't something she could deny. "I'm sorry, Darius. I truly regret it."
Darius sighed and turned his face away. But his eyes narrowed when he saw a red light shining in the sky above Darkvale Gorge.
Without a word, the elf flew to a higher point to get a clearer view of the light. Isaura followed him immediately.
Without asking, Isaura aligned her gaze with Darius's. Her eyes widened as the strange light entered her sight. "Darius, now I'm truly certain I've made a huge mistake, and I don't think I can make up for it."
"We don't have time to dwell on your mistakes," he turned to face Isaura. "Sound the security bell. Tonight we must welcome a guest, even though we never invited them."