Not was standing quietly inside the tunnel, alongside Oul and Yord, patiently watching the rumors spread throughout the continent of Mira.
There was nothing they could do at this moment except wait.
The plan had already begun, and things were no longer entirely under their control.
Not had released thousands of shadows throughout the continent. Those shadows had taken the forms of humans, elves, and various other races inhabiting the continent, and they had begun spreading the information he wanted them to deliver.
And indeed...
The rumors spread rapidly.
Within a very short period of time, the news had reached distant places, passing from one person to another until it eventually reached the elves and their elders.
It did not take long for the elders of the elves to realize that this was no longer just a passing rumor.
Therefore...
The elders of the elves held an emergency meeting.
The most influential elves gathered in a hall to discuss the rumors that had reached them, and they began talking about what they had heard.
The news was clear.
The Dark Elves possessed a seed capable of growing into a Sacred Tree, similar to the Sacred Tree possessed by the elves.
But...
Not all of the elders were convinced that the information was true.
One of the elders shook his head and said:
"I don't believe this."
Then he looked at the other elders and added:
"Clearly, this is a trick by the Dark Elves. Perhaps they are trying to confuse us and distract our forces so that they can attack the Sacred Tree again."
Some of the elders nodded, appearing convinced by this possibility.
But another elder disagreed.
He said seriously:
"I don't think this is merely a rumor."
Everyone looked at him.
Then he continued:
"Even if it could be a deception, we cannot ignore the possibility that it is real."
Then he added:
"If the Dark Elves have truly managed to obtain a seed capable of becoming a Sacred Tree, then this is extremely dangerous."
Silence fell over the hall.
The problem was that the elves did not have a unified opinion.
Some believed that it was merely a deception.
Others believed that it was a genuine threat that required them to act quickly and investigate.
The discussion among the elders continued for some time, but they were unable to reach a clear decision.
Finally...
The Chief Elder of the elves raised his hand, causing everyone to fall silent.
Then he said:
"Let us consult the Saintess."
The other elders looked at him.
He continued:
"We will inform her about these rumors and leave the matter to her."
Then he said seriously:
"We do not want to act recklessly, nor do we want to leave something this dangerous unresolved for too long."
He paused for a moment.
Then he said confidently:
"I am certain that the Saintess will give us the answer we seek."
The other elders agreed with his proposal.
And indeed...
A message was sent to the Saintess.
The message contained everything they had learned, along with all the rumors that had spread about the Dark Elves and the seed capable of becoming a Sacred Tree.
And so...
The matter now awaited the Saintess's response.
In another place...
Far away from everything that was happening in the continent of Mira...
In the ocean...
The Human Emperor had already escaped from the Fallen Islands.
He had taken the form of a phoenix and used that form to flee the island so that he would not die alongside the knights.
He flew over the ocean at tremendous speed.
But despite his speed...
His mind was working just as quickly.
He was thinking about what he should do next.
He had never expected things to reach this point.
He had not thought that those knights would be able to hold out against that mysterious figure and her creatures for very long.
And so...
He had made his decision to flee.
He believed that staying on the island would only lead to his death.
But...
He did not know that what had happened behind him was completely different from what he had expected.
The Fallen Islands
On the Fallen Island...
The Captain of the Guard and the ten knights were still staring in shock at the place where the Emperor had fled.
They had never expected the Emperor to abandon them and leave.
But the greatest shock was not the Emperor's escape.
It was what happened afterward.
For the moment they were preparing to face the monsters...
The dark creatures that had been about to attack them suddenly disappeared.
Their bodies began to fade away.
They transformed into black mist, which then rose into the air.
And within moments...
Those dark creatures gathered inside the palm of the mysterious figure hovering in the sky.
The Captain of the Guard and the knights stared at the scene in astonishment.
They could not understand why the monsters had suddenly stopped attacking them.
Then...
The Captain of the Guard heard the mysterious figure's voice.
Her voice was calm, but it carried clear mockery.
"Hmm... Running away?"
She paused for a moment.
Then she said:
"Do you think you can escape your fate, you wretch?"
The Captain of the Guard's eyes widened.
He immediately understood that the mysterious figure was not talking about them.
She was talking about the Emperor.
As for the knights...
They continued staring at the sky in disbelief.
Suddenly...
A terrifying dark aura erupted from the mysterious figure.
The aura spread around her at incredible speed.
Then it began to gather.
The black aura condensed in the air, gradually taking on a clear shape.
And within moments...
A gigantic black raven appeared.
Its size was enormous, nearly matching the size of the phoenix that the Emperor had transformed into.
The giant raven looked toward the sky for a moment.
Then it moved in the same direction in which the Emperor had fled.
It was following him.
The Captain of the Guard immediately understood what was happening.
One of the knights watched the mysterious figure leave and said:
"Did... did we really survive?"
But no one knew the answer.
Everyone was still in shock.
They did not know why the mysterious figure had left them alive.
But the truth was...
The Emperor himself did not know either.
When he had fled the island, he had no idea that abandoning the knights would not distract the mysterious figure in the slightest.
Quite the opposite.
The mysterious figure had never been interested in pursuing the knights.
She had deliberately left them alive.
Then she immediately set off after the Emperor.
The Emperor had believed that escaping would guarantee his survival.
But he had failed to realize that fleeing the island was not the end of the pursuit...
It was its true beginning.
And while the phoenix flew over the ocean at tremendous speed...
The enormous black raven was chasing it from behind.
The distance between them was gradually shrinking.
The mysterious figure...
was pursuing him calmly.
As if she knew exactly where he was going.
As if the Emperor's escape had been nothing more than the path she had wanted him to take from the very beginning.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]