Chapter 88 : Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Beneath the Branch of the World Tree (1)

The outskirts of Kipaso were ablaze.

But the interior didn’t look any better.

Flames were rising across the forest.

Why was Kipaso burning?

I couldn’t even guess.

Elves and fairies cherished the forest dearly, so there was no way they’d stand idly by while someone set it ablaze.

For now, instead of rushing to the heart of the World Tree, I decided to figure out why this was happening.

This was to avoid getting caught in the flames, whether figuratively or literally.

‘Fortunately, there are human settlements in Kipaso’s outskirts… Should I start there?’

Kipaso was as vast as the Empire’s capital.

Though known as the land of elves and fairies, those two races occupied only its central region.

The heart of Kipaso was divided into the elves’ domain near the World Tree and the fairies’ territory, while other races lived in the outskirts.

I decided to visit a human village in Kipaso’s outskirts.

Whoosh.

I unfolded a map.

I confirmed there was a human village not far from where I stood.

Moreover, it was the village where Narima’s brother, Axon, lived.

I folded the map and tucked it into my pocket.

I fingered the lizard-shaped trinket from the Hamudalun tribe attached to my sword’s hilt.

If I showed this to Axon and asked for his cooperation, I could better understand what was happening in Kipaso.

‘Even if I don’t meet Axon, humans should be easier to talk to. But what is Arandir doing?’

Aside from Kipaso burning, another thing nagged at me: I didn’t know where Arandir was or what he was doing.

Throughout the journey here, I tried calling out to Arandir, but there was no response.

He was linked to me, so we could communicate anytime, yet no matter how much I called, he didn’t answer.

I could feel his life force, so he was definitely alive, but I worried something had happened to him.

‘…Still, nothing too bad should have happened to Arandir.’

I had to believe that.

Arandir was a high-ranking spirit and a close friend of the Sand Spirit King.

Though he struggled against demons in past battles due to unfavorable matchups, there weren’t many in this world who could truly threaten him.

Hoping Arandir was simply focusing on recovery, I moved forward to do what I could.

* * *

Damn it.

Nothing had gone right since arriving in Kipaso.

Finding the human settlement in the outskirts wasn’t hard.

But it was pointless.

I had hoped to meet Axon, talk about Narima, and gather information.

But not only did I not find him, the entire village was deserted.

Using what I’d learned from Tello, I began examining the village closely.

I traced the clues to figure out what had happened here.

‘No signs of an attack… But they definitely fled in a hurry. Why?’

Fortunately, the flames hadn’t reached the village.

Most human homes in Kipaso, like those of elves and fairies, were woven from nearby grass and wood.

If the fire had spread here, the houses and belongings would have been reduced to ashes.

Thankfully, the traces of the residents were still well-preserved.

But seeing the belongings scattered carelessly, it was clear they had left in a rush.

Was there even one person left?

As I searched deeper, I found a familiar object.

A lizard-shaped trinket, half-buried in the dirt.

I picked it up and brushed off the soil.

It seemed Axon had indeed lived here.

I pocketed the trinket as well.

Around where it had fallen, numerous footprints were scattered chaotically.

Following the tracks, I saw most led toward the village entrance.

‘That’s the direction out of Kipaso.’

I pressed a finger into the ground where the footprints were.

The soil wasn’t fully hardened yet.

They hadn’t fled long ago—maybe a few days at most.

‘Should I track them?’

I weighed the value of tracking the humans versus investigating Kipaso’s burning forest myself.

—Clang!

A faint metallic sound came from the distance.

Though carried faintly on the wind, my sharp senses caught it.

I heightened my awareness.

Soon, another metallic clang rang out. It was far, but I pinpointed the direction.

I dashed toward the sound.

The deeper I went into the forest, the more burning trees I saw.

Running quickly, I got small scratches from branches grazing my skin.

But I couldn’t stop.

The closer I got, the clearer the sounds of metal clashing and screams became.

A fight was happening nearby, so I slowed my pace.

Crouching low, I approached cautiously.

I activated [Ghost Eye]. Though the forest was burning, it teemed with life, making my vision dizzying. I focused on finding a larger presence.

‘Fairies and an elf?’

I spotted an elf being chased by six fairies.

I confirmed that a fight was breaking out between two races that had coexisted in Kipaso for ages.

Both the fairies and the elf seemed highly skilled. I watched their fight a bit longer.

‘They’re both fighting well… But why are fairies and an elf fighting?’

It would have been easier to understand if fairies or elves were fighting humans or beastmen.

Elves and fairies had settled in Kipaso long before recorded history.

Even if they weren’t close, I thought they shared a neighborly bond.

Unlike my confused mind, the battle was straightforward.

Despite the one-versus-six odds, the elf held her ground.

She moved nimbly, stepping lightly on unburned trees.

Wielding a sword as tall as herself, she kicked a charging fairy, knocking it down, while dodging arrows raining toward her.

All the while, she steadily fired her own bow to keep the fairies at bay.

“Argh!”

A fairy struck by an arrow fell from a tree.

The elf pulled her bowstring again, finishing it off.

‘Her left ear is cut?’

And she had ash-gray hair, rare for an elf.

Seeing her brought someone to mind.

Gawen, a named NPC from the Tune World game and a companion of Adjak.

She looked just like this.

Could it be?

Elves lived long lives—some as long as dragons.

…But I dismissed the thought that this elf could be Gawen.

Adjak’s companion Gawen had died during the expedition.

Among the expedition members, Gawen was a skilled leader who led a special unit alongside Adjak but didn’t survive Myeolji.

In the brutal fight against Baal, the toughest enemy before the Demon King, Gawen was lost.

Her death had meaning, though.

Adjak used the opening she created to sever Baal’s head.

A wave of nostalgia and guilt washed over me.

Rustle.

A faint footstep sounded nearby.

Turning, I saw a fairy cautiously approaching the Gawen-like elf.

Focused solely on the elf, it hadn’t noticed me.

I moved silently and crept toward the fairy.

Thwack!

I struck the fairy’s neck with the edge of my hand. It collapsed without a sound.

I gently laid the unconscious fairy on the ground. But the elf, her severed ear twitching, spotted me as I did.

Our eyes met.

She didn’t thank me.

Instead, she fled into the forest, leaving the disoriented fairies behind.

I followed her, keeping a reasonable distance.

She glanced back at me while running, then sped up, slowed down, changed directions, and leaped between trees to shake me off.

Her movements showed she knew Kipaso’s terrain intimately.

But I had trained hard.

My speed and endurance matched hers.

My Dragon Heart pounded fiercely.

Mana surged from my heart, coursing through my veins to every corner of my body.

It also radiated outward, boosting my movements further.

I used [Rush] intermittently to keep up with her.

After a long, high-speed chase, we put some distance between us and the fairies.

Confirming this, I kicked off the ground and used [Rush].

Whoosh!

I blocked her path.

The elf frowned, staring at me, and swiftly nocked an arrow.

“I’ll help you.”

“….”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m on your side.”

The elf didn’t respond.

It didn’t matter—I hadn’t expected her to.

Building rapport with elves was never easy.

They rarely interacted with other races.

Their cold expressions and sparse words were traits other races found off-putting.

Even Gawen, despite spending much time as Adjak’s close ally, had little interaction with others.

Though she stayed silent, I kept talking.

“Why are fairies and elves fighting?”

“….”

“I thought you got along better than with other races.”

“….”

“Something’s clearly happened. Can’t you tell me? I’ll help. Really.”

“….”

…The conversation was going quite well.

‘For talking to an elf,’ that is.

I continued asking the Gawen-like elf various questions.

But she didn’t utter a single word in response.

Her expression remained stiff, making it hard to guess her thoughts.

I wasn’t a mind reader, after all.

Still, it was somewhat positive.

Despite my incessant talking, she didn’t flee.

Knocking out that fairy had been worth it.

But I couldn’t keep monologuing forever.

Aside from why elves and fairies were fighting and why Kipaso was burning, another question lingered.

“You look a lot like Gawen.”

I’d only seen her as a pixelated image, but an elf with a severed left ear and ash-gray hair was rare.

“….”

The moment I said Gawen’s name, a crack appeared in the elf’s stoic expression.

A rather large crack, at that.

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