Something tore through the peace in the village with such violent abruptness that even we were shocked. The Krepsunas came without warning barely hours after Ely got to the Village. They came in extremely massive numbers.
Some crawled along the surfaces of the great trees with unnatural speed while others tore through the open spaces. The first wave struck the outer edges of the Village with devastating force, ripping through everything in their path as though it had never been meant to endure.
The people didn't stand a chance.
Elves move faster than most races. Their reflexes are sharp. Their bodies are attuned to both agility and precision but none of that mattered when faced with something that did not follow the rules of combat they understood. Arrows were released and elements were invoked in flashes of radiant energy that lit the night in brief, desperate bursts, yet for every Krepsuna that fell, two more seemed to take its place.
I watched as one of the creatures lunged into a group of fleeing villagers. Blood sprayed across the interior of the tree behind them. Another slammed into one of the staircases. Its weight and force shattered the structure entirely, sending dozens plummeting into the hollow depths below. Their screams didn't last long.
The village that had once felt like a sanctuary now sounded like a grave being dug in real time.
I found her without difficulty because she stood out in appearance surrounded by six of her bodyguards.
They moved as one as they formed a shifting perimeter around her, intercepting threats before they could even reach her position. Their arrows immediately killed any Krepsuna that got close. Even though they were Warped and Sunderer Rank Krepsunas, their number was too much to handle. Fortunately for Ely and her bodyguards, they could protect themselves just fine.
Elyonari's shots were perfect. Each arrow found its mark and yet, it meant nothing. The moment one collapsed, another filled the space it left behind.
Around her, her bodyguards began to break their formation just enough to intercept attacks directed at others, pulling civilians from collapsing structures and cutting down Krepsunas that got too close to those who could not defend themselves. Their coordination did not falter. They were trying to save as many as they could but it was a losing effort.
Entire sections of the great trees gave way under sustained assault, sending shockwaves through the ground as they fell. Fires began to spread as well.
Before Veneri and I could see more devastation, the memory shifted.
The village no longer existed as it had before. What stood now were remnants that barely resembled the trees they once were. The group was now covered with hundreds of thousands of bodies. That was the first thing that stood out.
They weren't scattered. They weren't left where they fell. They were placed row after row, column after column, stretching as far as the eye could see.
At the center of it all, seven figures remained standing. Elyonari and her six bodyguards didn't move or speak.
Elyonari's bow hung loosely at her side. Her eyes were fixed ahead but there was no focus in them as though her mind had not yet caught up to the reality that had been forced upon it.
Eventually, she exhaled.
"I… didn't expect a Village to be gone in a single night."
Her gaze lingered where homes once stood within the hollowed structures of the massive trees and now there was nothing left but desolation.
"If I didn't learn the Arrangement Mystic Circle… we wouldn't have gotten a lot."
She didn't elaborate, but she didn't need to. We all understood what she meant.
Hundreds of thousands of souls would have simply vanished into nothingness that came when death was not guided. Also, it's what arranged the corpses into near rows.
A faint rustling came from behind her as one of her bodyguards shifted, clearly still struggling to even remain upright after what they had just endured. Elyonari's eyes flickered slightly before she forced her head to turn just enough to acknowledge them.
"When is the High Priestess supposed to arrive?"
The female bodyguard she addressed hesitated for a brief moment.
"Judging by the direction the Krepsunas retreated, they will encounter them."
"And?"
"They will be delayed. If they do not arrive in time… the souls will disappear."
Elyonari let the information settle for a brief moment before she exhaled again.
"Of course they will."
Slowly, she pushed herself up.
Her body resisted immediately but she forced it anyway. The bow elongated and straightened, reshaping into a staff that pulsed with a faint emerald glow.
"I'll handle it."
Immediate protests followed.
"Princess, you—"
"Don't."
She adjusted her grip on the staff as her gaze returned to the devastation around her.
"It's the least I can do."
Her lingered on a particular section of the ruined village where the damage was… worse. That was where she saw an Elf. Or rather, what remained of one. The body had been split cleanly with one strike. Her gaze did not waver as she stared at it. That same slash would have barely bruised her.
The realization settled in her chest not because she didn't already know the difference in power between herself and ordinary Elves, but because seeing it like this so plainly made it impossible to ignore just how vast that difference truly was.
"They really are fragile."
She raised the staff.
Am gradual, overwhelming presence began to form as energy gathered in a perfect formation. The Mystic Circle appeared. It started beneath her feet before it spread far beyond her and above the ruined village. The words left her lips in Elvish as the staff in her hands responded immediately. Its glow intensified as the ritual activated fully.
An emerald light rose from the ground. All the souls of the dead were lifted from where they had fallen and drawn toward the Mystic Circle.
Elyonari's breath shattered into a scream as her knees gave out beneath her, slamming against the ground as the sheer force of the ritual surged through her. She didn't let go. Her hands remained locked around the staff. Her entire body kept trembling violently as the energy coursed through her, threatening to tear her apart from the inside out.
"Princess!"
All of her bodyguards grabbed the staff.
Elyonari's eyes widened slightly despite the pain as she forced her head to turn toward them.
"You're not Divine Beings! Even if you're… Divine Rank… you can't handle—"
"Then we will endure!"
Their leader's voice cut through her words without hesitation. Her grip tightened on the staff as she met Elyonari's gaze directly. Her expression was unwavering despite what was already happening to her body.
"We are your bodyguards, Princess. We will not let you do this alone."
Blood slipped from the corners of their eyes and their ears. Their bodies were already beginning to fail under the strain. Even though they were Divine Rank Immortals and their limits were being pushed far beyond what they were meant to endure, none of them let go.
The pressure on Elyonari lessened but the burden didn't disappear. It was transferred and in doing so, it became something they all had to endure together.
"Idiots…"
The souls moved faster now. The combined effort stabilized the process as hundreds of thousands of souls ascended in a silent, endless stream. It was beautiful and unbearable.
They watched and endured. Their bodies were already beginning to give out under the weight of what they were forcing themselves to endure but they didn't falter. They held on until the very end of the ritual.
The Mystic Circle dissolved once the last soul was sent to the World Tree. Ely's body finally gave in as the staff slipped from her grasp. Around her, her bodyguards fell as well. All their bodies hitting the ground almost simultaneously. None of them were capable of remaining upright any longer.
Every body was gone. Only the land remained.
"At least… they're not lost."
She passed out.