Deep beneath the Elven Palace, in a chamber known only to the Queen, Irwin, and the kingdom's highest researchers, a lone prisoner slowly opened his eyes.
Ickar.
For several moments, he stared blankly at the stone ceiling.
"...Where am I?"
As he attempted to move, iron restraints tightened around his wrists, ankles, and chest.
He frowned.
"Chains?"
A smile appeared on his face.
"As if these could hold me."
Dark mana instinctively surged through his body.
Or rather...
It tried to.
The smile slowly disappeared.
His eyes widened.
"...What?"
The familiar torrent of Demonic energy that had always answered his call was gone.
Only a faint trace remained.
No matter how hard he searched, it refused to respond.
"This... impossible..."
He closed his eyes, concentrating.
Deep within his body he found it.
A tiny black nucleus.
The core of his corrupted power.
Almost every strand of Demonic energy surrounding it had vanished.
For the first time since accepting the Dark's blessing...
He felt weak.
Separated from him by a thick crystal observation window stood Irwin and several Elven researchers.
Arcane symbols glowed across the glass.
The chamber itself was designed to prevent even magical fluctuations from escaping.
The elderly chief researcher adjusted his spectacles.
"The Light Cannon exceeded our expectations."
Irwin crossed her arms.
"But it didn't kill him."
"No."
The researcher nodded.
"It destroyed almost every particle of Dark mana surrounding his body."
He pointed toward several magical diagrams.
"However, the nucleus remained untouched."
Another researcher continued.
"The nucleus continuously regenerates Dark mana."
"Slowly... but inevitably."
Irwin studied the sleeping giant.
"So unless every trace is removed..."
"He will recover."
"Exactly."
Silence filled the laboratory.
Then the chief researcher smiled.
"But this is still the greatest breakthrough humanity has achieved against Dark mana."
He looked proudly toward the massive weapon resting inside another chamber.
The Light Cannon.
Months earlier, Lucian had finally learned to consciously release the Light mana sleeping inside him.
After countless experiments, he had willingly filled hundreds of empty mana cores with his own power.
Those mana cores had become the heart of an entirely new generation of weapons.
Not weapons against flesh.
Weapons against corruption itself.
The first prototype had worked.
Now...
It merely needed refinement.
Far above the laboratories lay another place.
Hidden deep within the royal gardens.
A sanctuary untouched by politics or war.
An ancient tree stretched toward the heavens.
Its branches shimmered with soft emerald light.
The air itself seemed alive.
This was the place the Elven Queen cherished most.
Irwin quietly approached.
The Queen stood beneath the enormous tree, gently touching its bark.
"You came."
Irwin bowed respectfully.
"I have news."
The Queen smiled sadly.
"I suspected as much."
Before Irwin spoke, the Queen's eyes drifted toward the tree.
"You know..."
"...your mother loved this place."
Irwin became silent.
Queen Martha.
Even after all these years, her name still carried warmth.
The Elven Queen continued.
"When your father first came seeking our alliance, we refused."
"The Elves wanted nothing to do with mankind."
"We believed your wars were your own."
She smiled faintly.
"But then Martha arrived."
The memories returned vividly.
Unlike the diplomats...
Unlike the generals...
Martha had never spoken about politics.
She had walked through the forests.
Played with Elven children.
Listened to ancient songs.
Helped elderly gardeners.
She had treated every Elf not as another race...
But as people.
Slowly...
The walls around their hearts crumbled.
The princess who would one day become Queen found herself laughing beside the Human Queen almost every day.
When the Great Demon War began...
The Elves did not march because King Dan asked.
They marched because Martha asked.
And when Martha passed away...
The entire Elven Kingdom mourned.
For many Elves...
They had not lost a human queen.
They had lost family.
The Queen smiled sadly.
"I still miss her."
Irwin lowered her head.
"So do I."
After a long silence, Irwin finally spoke.
"We have intelligence."
"The Dark intends to attack the palace."
The Queen's expression immediately changed.
"I see..."
"Then let us prepare."
The attack came sooner than expected.
As the sun disappeared below the horizon...
A strange mist rolled across the forests.
At first, the guards believed it to be ordinary fog.
Then the mana detectors began screaming.
Dark mana.
Everywhere.
The palace bells rang.
Citizens were immediately evacuated toward hidden sanctuaries.
Only soldiers remained.
The Elven Palace transformed into a fortress.
Then...
Shapes emerged from the mist.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
The leaders of the Dark.
Walking calmly toward the palace.
Behind them came hundreds of followers.
Some carried no corruption at all.
Ordinary people.
Brainwashed.
Others overflowed with Dark mana.
Among them marched Demonic beasts.
The sheer number stunned even Irwin.
"So many..."
The reports had underestimated them.
This was not an assault.
It was an invasion.
The target was obvious.
At the center of the palace rested the Evergreen Machine.
An ancient masterpiece combining Elven magic and Dwarven engineering.
Its roots stretched beneath the entire forest.
Every day it absorbed natural mana.
Purified it.
Then returned it to every tree, flower, and river throughout the kingdom.
It was the heart of the Elven Forest itself.
If corrupted...
The forest would not simply die.
It would become another land of Demonic corruption.
A second cursed continent.
The Dark wanted exactly that.
The battle began.
Arrows rained from the palace walls.
Mages unleashed storms of magic.
The Dark answered with Demonic beasts.
The battlefield became chaos.
Irwin gave one strict command.
"Do not kill the civilians."
Many attackers were innocent villagers whose minds had been manipulated.
The palace guards used enchanted weapons coated with sleeping toxins.
Rather than killing them, they rendered them unconscious.
But not everyone was controlled.
Some followers laughed as they fought.
They had chosen this path willingly.
Those enemies received no mercy.
The battle reached the palace gates.
Suddenly—
Two of the four leaders disappeared.
"They're inside!"
Irwin shouted.
Shadow Guards immediately pursued them.
Within the palace corridors...
The assassins struck.
The Third Leader moved like a phantom.
Every swing of his twin blades claimed another guard.
No one could match his speed.
Beside him walked Tena.
She barely fought.
Her black mist silently spread through the halls.
Wherever it passed...
Soldiers became confused.
Some attacked allies.
Others collapsed unconscious.
It was impossible to tell illusion from reality.
The two leaders finally reached the Evergreen Chamber.
Waiting before the great machine...
Stood Irwin.
Beside her rested the newly improved Light Cannon.
Researchers desperately redirected mana into the weapon.
"Charge faster!"
The machine hummed.
The mana core glowed brighter.
Behind Irwin, the remaining Shadow Guards engaged the two leaders.
Steel clashed.
Magic exploded.
Yet the Dark leaders steadily advanced.
Then—
Someone stepped forward.
A young woman.
Short.
Broad-shouldered.
Silver hair tied behind her head.
The Third Leader paused.
"...Interesting."
She carried both an Elven curved blade and a Dwarven war hammer.
Her name was Tina.
Half Elf.
Half Dwarf.
Something rarely seen upon the continent.
The Third Leader smiled.
"Finally."
Someone worthy.
The two vanished simultaneously.
Their battle shook the chamber itself.
Even the Shadow Guards stopped to watch.
"Ready!"
The researchers shouted.
The Light Cannon was fully charged.
Irwin aimed.
"Fire!"
A beam of pure white Light erupted.
The Third Leader twisted at the final instant.
The beam grazed his shoulder.
His Dark mana evaporated instantly where the light touched him.
The flesh beneath was burned black.
For the first time...
One of the Dark leaders screamed.
The researchers stared in disbelief.
"It worked!"
But victory lasted only a heartbeat.
Tena stepped forward.
She gently raised one hand.
Dark mist exploded outward.
Unlike ordinary Demonic energy...
This mist attacked the mind itself.
One by one...
The guards collapsed.
Researchers fell unconscious.
The Light Cannon operators dropped beside their machine.
Even Tina staggered before finally collapsing.
Irwin fought to remain standing.
But eventually...
Darkness claimed her as well.
When silence returned...
The Evergreen Chamber belonged to the Dark.
The Third Leader held his burned shoulder, glaring toward the Light Cannon.
"They've learned..."
Tena nodded.
"They're becoming dangerous."
Far away, Irwin and the Elven Queen had managed to escape through an ancient emergency passage while the leaders secured the chamber.
They could only watch from the hidden tunnels as black mist spread around the Evergreen Machine.
The Queen's hands trembled.
"The forest..."
Irwin clenched her fists.
"If they corrupt it..."
Neither woman finished the sentence.
They already knew.
The Elven Kingdom had not yet fallen.
But unless the Evergreen Machine could be reclaimed...
Its fall was only a matter of time.