"Raiders…" the voice said."What a terrible stroke of luck… to find you alive."
Eray pointed the dagger he had taken from Varen toward the tunnel entrance.His hand was shaking, but he did not lower it.
"Who are you?" he growled.His throat was so dry that his voice sounded like sandpaper.
A silhouette stepped out of the darkness.
Dim red sunlight struck the figure's armor.
Silver.
Perfect silver armor.Not a single scratch.It fit her body like a second skin.
The owner of the armor was tall.Her helmet was off.
Silver-blonde hair fell to her shoulders.
And her ears…
Pointed.
An elf.
But not the kind from fairy tales.Not gentle.Not kind.
Her face was cold, sharp, like carved marble.There was no mercy in her violet eyes.Only disgust, like a goddess looking at an insect.
"Lower the dagger, child," the woman said.Her voice was melodic, but commanding."Or I will remove that hand at the wrist."
Eray hesitated.
At that moment, three more figures stepped out of the shadows behind her.
Three elven guards.
Bows drawn.Arrows aimed directly at Eray and Junia's hearts.
This was not a rescue team.
This was an execution squad.
"We… are Raiders," Eray said, slowly placing the dagger on the ground."Our mission—"
"Your mission was to die here," the woman said, stepping into the tunnel.
Her boots made no sound on the stone.
She stopped beside Junia.
She looked at the broken leg.The exposed bone.The flesh beginning to rot.
She frowned.
"You smell like carrion."
She reached into a pouch at her belt and pulled out a small glass vial.
She threw it at Junia.
The vial shattered.
Blue liquid spilled over Junia's leg.
Junia screamed.
It was healing magic.But it was not gentle.
The liquid boiled like acid on the open flesh.Skin and muscle fused together at a visible speed.
Painful.Violent.
Junia passed out.
"You killed her!" Eray shouted, lunging forward.
The silver-armored woman did not even look at him.
She flicked her hand through the air.
An invisible force slammed into Eray's chest like a hammer.
The air left his lungs.He flew backward and hit the cave wall hard.
"I healed her," the woman said calmly, looking at Junia's unconscious body."The scavengers here follow the scent of blood.If she keeps bleeding, she gets us all killed."
Then she turned to Eray.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You… You are the one who killed that creature."
Her gaze swept over him.
"For a human, surprising.Shadow magic… dangerous."
She gestured to the guards.
"Bind them.With Leech Vine."
Two guards stepped forward.
Eray panicked.
"We are Raiders!" he shouted."You are forbidden from harming us!Unless you want your entire kingdom destroyed!"
The woman answered with a mocking smile.
From their belts, the guards released black, thorn-covered vines.
The moment the vines touched Eray's wrist, all strength left his body.
The vines were alive.
They clung to his skin, drained his mana, and paralyzed his muscles.
Eray dropped to his knees.
"Where… are you taking us?" he asked as his vision blurred.
The woman put her helmet back on.
"Not to your home," she said."That much is certain."
"We are going to Estos."
She paused.
"I could leave you here if you wish.But I doubt you would survive one more day."
The journey was a nightmare.
They had no horses.
The elves rode massive wolf-like mounts.
Eray and Junia were tied behind the saddles, like hunted deer.
The gray, ash-filled land of the Death Zone passed by for hours.
Eray felt dizzy.
The Leech Vines kept draining his mana, making him nauseous.
Slowly, the air began to change.
The rot and sulfur smell faded.
Green appeared.
Trees.Animals.
The air became clean.
Neither of them was fully conscious during the journey.The vines drained all mana, constantly.
He did not know how much time had passed.
With effort, Eray lifted his head.
Ahead of them stood a massive, trembling wall reaching into the sky.
A blue energy barrier.
Beyond it, emerald forests and silver towers rose high.
Despite its name, the Chaos Realm was not only chaos.
It held hundreds of races.Hundreds of different biomes.
Some were more beautiful than Eray's own world.
Estos.Capital of the Elves.
"We're passing the barrier!" shouted the woman leading the group.
Princess Aeliana.
"Hold your breath.Human lungs are not used to pure mana."
The mounts passed through the barrier.
Eray felt thousands of needles pierce his body.
Then he began to cough as extremely clean air filled his lungs.
It looked like heaven.
But for Eray, it was a prison.
They passed through the city gates.
The streets were silent.
Hundreds of elves stopped their work and stared.
There was no admiration.No curiosity.
Only cold disgust.
"Raiders…" whispers spread."Why bring them alive?""Killers… barbarians…"
The group stopped before a massive palace at the city's center.
Eray and Junia were thrown to the ground like sacks.
Junia groaned as she began to wake.
Princess Aeliana dismounted.
She walked to Eray and knelt beside him.
A shadow fell across her face.
It was the most dangerous expression she had shown so far.
"Pray, Shadow Mage," she whispered."Pray that my father is in a merciful mood today.
"Otherwise, those vines will be the least painful thing you feel when you die."
Eray clenched his teeth and lifted his head.
"We are Raiders," he said stubbornly."You cannot break us."
Aeliana laughed.
Short.Cold.
She placed her hand on Eray's shattered armor, over the faded Single Line insignia.
"A Raider?" she said with contempt."You're not even a soldier, child.
"You're just a lost rookie."