Zion's mind raced at what he had witnessed; he clenched his heart as panic seeped into his mind. Adeline lifted her great sword as blood poured from her body and covered it. Light only shone where she stood; like the angel of death, she slowly walked towards Zion. The red fog she had cast quickly turned into a miasma as the soldiers who remained alive slowly colpsed, choking on their own blood. The four knights and around fifty soldiers who were strong enough to withstand her miasma remained. An astounding two hundred and fifty soldiers had seemingly died, most of them at Adeline's hand.

  In the now darkened battlefield, fear spread among the remaining soldiers. Some of them fell to their knees and started to pray, while others cried blood and mumbled random words as they became crazed. Alfred's huge shadow could be seen as he swept through the battlefield, devouring whole soldiers who were not even able to let out a cry. Tymon challenged the three weakened knights, leaving Zion to Adeline.

  “I am here to punish you for your transgressions. Now get up, show me your resolve.”

  Zion tried to clear his mind as he concentrated the mana on his sword. In a fsh, she disappeared, but his sword was stopped by Adeline’s skin, which was now as strong as stone. With one hand, she spped Zion away, sending him flying.

  “You will now feel the despair my people felt when you sughtered them.”

  “I didn’t know; I am sorry.”

  “You are not sorry. Now get up.”

  Bloody tears started to appear in his eyes as he got up. He tried the same attack over and over; the distinctive sound of a sword bouncing off stone filled his ears. His attacks were now filled with desperation as he tried to cut her down, but the results were the same. He fell to the ground, shaking, as he decided to run into the thick red fog.

  Adeline slowly walked in the direction; as she passed the corpses, blood slowly flowed towards her, leaving them mummified. Other desperate soldiers started to run towards the light but were met with her sword, which left no blood behind. Alfred's rge figure appeared before her with several humans in his mouth. With a light nod, she acknowledged her master and disappeared once more.

  Zion, on the other hand, ran with full force, staring back as he looked for the light. He tripped over the corpses of his brethren, but he got up and continued to run. The sound of swords colliding could be heard, and he thought maybe if the four of them teamed up, they could win. He saw a fsh of blue mana as the earth beneath his feet trembled. He approached closer, and in the dim light, he saw the body of one of the knights, nearly split in two, on his knees. He fell down in a panic. He then felt what was a head on his right hand; he turned to look and saw the dismembered head of another knight. The sound of footsteps could be heard as Tymon appeared, carrying the other knight on his shoulder.

  “Oliver, how can you align yourself with such monsters? Look around you!”

  “My name is Tymon, and this is your doing. All the Empire deserves is death.”

  His cold words shook him to his core.

  “I will do anything; please just convince that demon to spare me.”

  “My master will be the one to decide your fate.”

  It was then that light started to slowly creep up on him. He turned and saw Adeline slowly walking towards him. He tried to run, but in an instant, he was caught in Adeline’s hand. She slowly raised the man, who tried to break free.

  “You taught me an interesting trick.”

  “Please…”

  Adeline’s red eyes stared at Zion.

  “You are not sorry.”

  A crunching sound could be heard as she crushed Zion’s neck. Blood started to flow from his body towards hers. She let go of the mummified body as she once again slowly ascended. More blood started to rush into her once more as the red fog slowly disappeared like a veil. Tymon threw down the body and got down on his knees as the clouds cleared, revealing the sunlight. Alfred joined him as he reverted to his small size; around them were piles of corpses, all mummified. The red lines around her body retracted as her eyes turned back to normal; her horns remained the same, as did her enrged body.

  Melora descended in her new body, her tail moving through the air. It was then she realized it had developed small ridges at the end. The duo got up and faced Adeline. That was when vines started to grow around the bodies, and the grass around the forest started to glow a brighter green. The forest was indeed healing.

  “You two did a great job!”

  “Thank you, master.”

  The two answered in unison. Suddenly, Tymon turned to a nearby tree and tightened his grip on his battle axe.

  “Come out now!”

  A soldier appeared, who instantly fell to his knees.

  “Please don’t kill me.”

  Adeline stared at the frightened soldier as she knelt down and raised his head.

  “Go back and tell them all, this forest is no longer theirs! All who intrude in my territory will meet the cruel hand of the goddess of life and nature.”

  The soldier nodded as he bolted. Tymon slightly frowned.

  “Why did you let him go?”

  “To buy time; now the empire will be on full alert and won’t carelessly enter the forest.”

  “I see. The dwarves should be done.”

  “Yes, it seems the forest will conceal our movements. Let’s just make sure we destroy the tunnels; they should not know of the elven city.”

  Tymon picked up the prisoner as they made their way to the cave. Inside, the old dwarf was waiting for them, holding a stick. Tymon wondered why he always used that stick as a weapon, but nonetheless, they proceeded deeper. They saw the cleared tunnel and entered. The old dwarf tapped the supporting beams twice as the entire cave colpsed; Tymon once again stared at the stick.

  ‘Is it truly a simple stick, or am I overthinking?’

  His question was left unanswered as they proceeded through the tunnels. The system itself was simir to an underground railway line, but after a few hours of walking, they reconnected with the other group. The dwarves and orcs instantly got on their knees, with Joseph slightly bowing.

  “Let’s go back to the elven city.”