A few hours after the battle on the previous night.
Morning of December 19th. The first light of dawn slipped through the misty forest canopy, glimmering on dew drops clinging to the leaves before slowly rolling down to the cold ground.
The air still carried a faint scent of smoke and steel, a lingering reminder of the clash that had just taken place.
The entire Forest Elf force at the forward camp had been wiped out. Tents burned down to bare frames, broken arrows scattered across the ground.
And yet, it wasn't completely over. A significant number of enemies had escaped in the chaos, vanishing into the dense northern woods.
Orders for reconnaissance and pursuit were issued that very night. Aisen, along with his squad of scouts under his command, was tasked with hunting down and eliminating the remnants before they could regroup, to prevent any chance of a counterattack.
He accepted the order and left almost immediately, without the slightest hesitation.
As for Ren? Aisen handled him in the most blunt and irresponsible way possible: by dumping him on Kizmel.
It felt as if he had just tossed a kid he happened to pick up on the roadside into an unfamiliar daycare, with no explanation, no consideration.
Aisen's attitude practically said: "I'm busy. Figure it out, kid."
Meanwhile, elsewhere, the two major guilds weren't letting time go to waste either.
They had already begun intensifying their efforts to explore the remaining sections of the labyrinth leading to the Boss chamber.
The tension hadn't eased in the slightest since the battle with the Forest Elves; if anything, the hidden rivalry between the two guilds was now fiercer than ever.
While Aisen was busy wiping out the remnants, Ren's group, along with Kizmel, Kirito, and Asuna, continued their arduous questline.
"No, no, no! Don't make me fight that thing!" Asuna practically screamed, gripping her rapier so tightly her knuckles turned white. She quickly backed away until her shoulders nearly hit a moss-covered tree trunk.
The creature blocking their path… was a gigantic butterfly. Its wingspan was so wide that with just a single flap, the entire area seemed to shudder.
The glow from the luminous patterns on its wings cast strange reflections across their faces, creating an atmosphere that was both haunting and breathtakingly eerie.
According to Kizmel, this was the target of the quest [Butterfly Collection], a creature used by the Forest Elves for reconnaissance. But looking at it, no one could think of it as a mere "scout."
Ren stared up at the monster, the blue light from its wings reflected in his eyes. Its long, coiled proboscis slowly uncurled, twitching faintly as if "sniffing" out the intruders.
'What kind of lunatic thought using something this huge as a scout was a good idea? It's more conspicuous than an ice cream truck in the middle of a highway.' Ren sneered inwardly, tightening his grip on his sword.
"Fighting giant spiders is one thing, but this... this is a big NO!" Asuna shook her head frantically, her voice breaking.
"Aren't they both just bugs? What's the difference?" Kirito was already in position, his blade gleaming with a cold metallic sheen. He tilted his head toward Asuna, raising an eyebrow in a teasing smirk.
"There's a difference! Look at that proboscis… and those tiny hairs on its body… just imagining it touching me makes me..." Asuna cut herself off with a shudder, retreating until she was practically hiding behind Kizmel.
Kizmel blinked at the butterfly, her long ears twitching with each flap of its wings. After a moment, she nodded in agreement, her voice low and restrained, "Indeed… It is rather… unsettling."
Ren glanced at the two women, one a seasoned Dark Elf warrior, the other a strong human swordswoman, now both cowering from a butterfly. He exhaled quietly, resting a hand on Windslash's hilt.
"Looks like it's up to us to do their share." he muttered, stepping forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Kirito.
The giant butterfly slammed its wings down hard, sending leaves swirling in a mini-cyclone, before charging straight at them. The bizarre battle had officially begun.
....
Chapter 08: [The Eastern Spirit Tree]
After completing the butterfly collection quest, they thought things would calm down—but the real nightmare was only just beginning.
The Dark Elf camp was repeatedly struck by ferocious attacks from the Forest Elves. No more organization, no more command structure, they attacked like rabid beasts.
It was like a shattered beehive, except instead of dispersing, the bees without purpose had become more dangerous than ever.
Amidst the chaos, the Dark Elf commanders made a critical decision: the Sacred Relic had to be moved to a higher floor as soon as possible, preferably back to the royal capital, Lyusula.
Keeping it here would only turn the camp into bait for their enemies.
But escorting a Sacred Relic in the middle of a war was never an easy task.
The convoy had barely left the forest before it was ambushed. Not by the Forest Elves this time, but by an unknown band of thieves, the kind of opportunistic scum that always emerges in times of turmoil.
They struck fast, clean, and precise, so much so that the escort team barely had time to react.
The result? The Sacred Relic was stolen right under everyone's noses.
What followed was like a raging storm brewing in the Dark Elf camp, and at the very eye of that storm was none other than Asuna.
"Stolen AGAIN?! How many times do I have to say it?!" Her voice boomed like thunder as she stood with hands on her hips, rapier pointed at one member after another, dressing them down without mercy.
For over thirty minutes, Asuna scolded the entire team relentlessly. Every word was a razor-sharp blade. No one dared raise their head. Even Kirito stayed silent, retreating to a corner to weather the storm.
Ren stood frozen, cold sweat trickling down his spine. He wasn't even directly at fault, yet he couldn't escape her wrath.
It was just that… normally, Asuna was so gentle and kind...but when she was angry, it was like she became an entirely different creature.
Ren sighed inwardly, one hand covering half his face as if that could somehow ease the pressure. 'I just hope I never end up marrying someone like this…'
Kizmel stood silently nearby, her long ears twitching slightly at each sharp word from Asuna. Her expression carried both astonishment and… an odd sense of amusement at such fiery resolve.
Fortunately, thanks to outside help, specifically a few timely information brokers, the group managed to shorten the arduous path ahead.
They skipped the troublesome ninth chapter and jumped straight to the final stage of this floor's questline:
[Retrieving the Key] – Recover the Key.
And it was here that everything finally became clear. The ones behind the raids, the ambushes, the chaos, they weren't just Forest Elves. They were Fallen Elves, the betrayers.
Once Dark Elves, once Forest Elves, but out of greed or hatred, they severed their roots, abandoned every bond, and formed their own faction, a chaotic group loyal to no one.
For them, there was only one rule: "Profit is everything."
They were war merchants. And this time, they had leaked the artifact's transport route to the enemy. Every drop of blood spilled, every failure before this moment… all traced back to that betrayal.
When the Fallen Elves appeared, the battle took on an entirely different tone. They came without noise, without overwhelming numbers.
Yet every movement was precise, like a blade striking through the gaps of armor, cold and merciless.
Ren's group was forced into a desperate fight to reclaim the artifact, the Jade Key, which had now become the very heart of all this chaos.
Swords clashed under the dim light, steel ringing like the growl of the deep forest. And amid the darkness, the faces of the Fallen Elves emerged, half-hidden in shadow, half-gleaming with a cruel, mocking light.
At last, through sheer strength and perfect coordination, the group managed to take the key back.
But the victory tasted anything but sweet. For the appearance of the Fallen Elves left behind a single looming question: Was this only the beginning of another war, one deeper and far more ruthless?
The artifact still had to be delivered to a higher floor, entrusted to Kizmel, who now bore this responsibility with eyes that could not hide their unease.
They finally reached the Eastern Spirit Tree, a colossal tree rising amid the misty forest, its trunk twisting like an ancient stone pillar, glowing faintly with light from the etched patterns running along its bark.
Its branches draped down like cascading veils of green silk, each leaf swaying gently, releasing sounds like the distant echo of an ancient harp.
Kirito stood still for a long while, his gaze fixed on the majestic canopy as if feeling the mystical energy pulsing through its every breath. He exhaled softly, his voice low.
"We really wish we could keep going with you… But there's no other way."
Kizmel lowered her eyes, regret shadowing her gaze. "I feel the same. But… only those of the Lyusula Kingdom can travel through the Spirit Tree. This is an ancient law, even our queen cannot break it."
Ren leaned against a nearby tree, his eyes locked on the radiant gateway opening among the giant roots—a passage leading to a land forever beyond their reach. A fleeting thought crossed his mind.
'If only I could walk through that gate… I'd skip the boss fight and move straight to the next floor.'
Kizmel's fingers tightened around the hilt at her side, her breath heavy. "I'm sorry… This mission is too important. I must deliver the artifact to the Celestial Altar, no matter the cost. But…" Her voice trembled, cracking into a whisper. "What am I supposed to do…?"
Asuna lowered her face, shoulders quivering, her eyes clinging to something her hands could never hold.
Kirito placed a hand gently on her shoulder before turning to Kizmel with a faint smile. "Come on… It's fine. With our levels, the Floor 3 Boss won't stop us. You know that."
"I know." Kizmel raised her head, her gaze sharp as a blade yet behind it, an unseen unease flickered. She stepped closer to Kirito and Asuna, her warm hand resting on their shoulders, her voice steady but heavy.
"This isn't advice… it's my request. Kirito, Asuna, watch each other's backs."
She paused, drawing a deep breath. For the first time, her voice bore the faintest fracture of vulnerability.
"Since the day I lost my sister, I've let hatred guide me… made vengeance my only reason to live. But because of you two...because of this bond, I've found the meaning I thought I'd lost. I don't want… to lose anyone else."
Asuna couldn't hold back anymore. Tears shimmered beneath the green glow of the tree as she threw her arms around Kizmel, clutching her as if the mere act of letting go would make her vanish.
"Kizmel…" Her voice trembled, breaking into the wind.
Kirito stood silently, scratching his head out of habit whenever emotions overwhelmed him, his eyes cast down to hide what stirred deep inside.
Their farewell ended with Kizmel stepping through the luminous gateway. The glowing lines on the trunk flared, spiraling into a vortex of light that sealed shut as her silhouette faded beyond the radiance.
Only the Spirit Tree's eternal hum lingered in the misty forest.
Asuna stared for a long time, whispering as if to herself: "She's gone… I just hope I'll see her again."
"You will," Kirito replied with a faint smile, an assurance for her… and for himself.
Asuna clenched her fists, wiping her tears. "Then… let's crush that Boss and climb to the next floor. I want to see her again as soon as possible."
"Right." Kirito nodded. The two turned away, only to realize Ren was still leaning against the tree, watching them with a calm expression.
"What?" Ren arched a brow at their look. Then he shrugged, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Good luck, you two. I'll be waiting for good news… from you."
A gentle breeze stirred through the giant tree's canopy, carrying with it a deep, mournful hum, like the last notes of a farewell song.
(Sorry, everyone. I've been skipping meals for days out of sheer laziness, so my stomach's a mess right now. Couldn't publish this chapter any earlier. One chapter today, three more tomorrow.)