Even with all his confidence in himself...
Ren was quickly pushed back, step by step, by the enemy's seamless, almost flawless coordination.
Their overwhelming strength, lightning-fast speed, and battle-hardened experience swallowed up every counterattack he tried to mount before it could even begin.
There were moments when, if he had been even half a beat slower, that cold blade would have pierced straight through his thin armor… armor that, thankfully, had already saved him from taking far more lethal damage.
Several times, Ren nearly took a fatal blow, but Aisen was always there at the last second, knocking the enemy's blade away and opening just enough of a gap for them to escape the suffocating encirclement.
The battle raged on without pause.
Time seemed to stretch and distort, each second passing heavier than dozens of normal ones.
Though Ren had been fighting for less than ten minutes, sweat soaked through the back of his shirt, and it felt as though he had been battling for hours, trapped in a nightmare with no way out.
The sharp clang of steel rang through the mist, like the sound of a broken bell falling into a bottomless chasm, fading into the thick, oppressive air of the forest.
The ancient trees stood motionless, like timeless witnesses, silently watching the clash unfold, neither intervening nor judging...only listening to the heavy breath of blood and steel.
Ren was forced back a few steps, his toes slipping on damp moss. Just as he regained his footing, a Forest Elf lunged at him.
His body reacted as if the motion had been carved into his bones, Ren pulled his sword back and met the blow head-on.
The impact reverberated up his wrist like a sledgehammer strike, numbing his entire arm. For a brief moment, Ren thought the sword might be knocked from his grasp.
He leaned back to avoid the horizontal slash still coming at him, but his footing faltered, sending him stumbling.
That moment was just long enough for another blade to slip in. From behind, a second Forest Elf closed in, the cold tip of his sword cutting through the mist, aimed straight at Ren's throat.
It felt as though the blood in his body had slowed. A chilling sensation crawled across his skin. Every instinct screamed at him to dodge.
But… there was no escape.
That blade was too fast. Ren knew...no matter how hard he tried, he would never make it in time.
The cold steel swept through the fog, cutting through the air, ready to pierce Ren's neck.
But just as the blade was less than an inch away from him, suddenly… a gust of wind carrying a wild, frenzied breath tore through the space.
The hiss of air being ripped apart came first, followed instantly by a black shadow plummeting from above like an arrow.
The heavy impact smashed straight into the Forest Elf's head, making him stagger violently. The sword's trajectory veered sharply away, the edge slicing past Ren's shoulder with nothing but a razor-cold gust.
Ren seized the chance instantly, twisting out of the sword's path, his hood slipping off as if caught by the wind.
He swung his blade, knocking back the charging enemy, and his eyes flicked toward the black shadow that had just appeared. The Forest Elf had collapsed, half his face torn apart by a savage bite, blood spilling out like crimson mist dissolving into the air.
The one responsible… the Wolf Messenger, emerged from the wind, its jet-black fur gleaming with a cold, eerie light. It stepped forward slowly, each movement pressing down on its prey, golden eyes locked onto the enemy in front of Ren.
From far away, the sound of rushing footsteps drew closer. Ren exhaled a slow breath, but his shoulders remained taut like a bowstring not yet released.
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze meeting the wolf's blazing golden pupils.
"Thanks," he said softly, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint smile, half teasing, half sincere gratitude.
The wolf growled low in its throat, then took a few steps back, its hackles still raised, eyes never leaving the enemy.
The wind whistled through the forest's gaps, carrying the sound of pounding footsteps. Ren turned his head slightly, and from the mist, the familiar figures of three people emerged, sprinting toward him.
"Ren!" Kirito's voice rang out, urgent and worried.
Behind him, Asuna gripped her rapier tightly, darting quickly over the rough terrain. Kizmel, eyes sharp like a blade drawn from its sheath, already had her hand on the hilt of her longsword, ready to exploit any opening in the battle.
The air seemed to thicken, as if the entire forest was holding its breath, watching this confrontation.
Behind them, another squad of Dark Elves was closing in fast, their dark cloaks whipping in the wind, the sound of armor clashing mixing with their pounding footsteps.
"Faster than I expected…" Ren murmured, his breath still heavy.
A strange feeling welled in his chest, as if every ounce of fear and exhaustion was swept away by the cold wind, leaving only relief and razor-sharp focus.
The arrival of reinforcements shifted the battle instantly.
The ranks of the Forest Elves began to waver, their once-sharp gazes now tinged with panic.
Some tried to flee, but the encirclement had already closed, leaving no gap.
Ren hesitated for a brief moment as he looked toward Kirito and Asuna.
Under the dim light of the misty forest, the two moved like a perfectly synchronized pair of twin blades—one of Kirito's strikes opening a path, instantly followed by Asuna's rapier delivering the finishing blow. In the blink of an eye, a Forest Elf fell, its body dissolving into tiny red pixels scattered into the mist.
A scream tore from another Forest Elf as he was slammed into a tree trunk, pixelated blood scattering like shards of crimson light in the air.
Ren's eyes gleamed with an indescribable light… This wasn't the first time he'd fought a humanoid creature, but he had never tried to kill one that looked this much like a human being.
It was a strange, hard-to-describe feeling, but Ren still had to point his sword toward them.
The sound of steel clashing against steel echoed across the forest's edge, mingling with the roars of Forest Elves driven into a desperate corner.
Arrows from the Dark Elves tore through the mist, piercing straight into the backs of those trying to flee.
Ren twisted aside to avoid a slash from the flank, his sword spinning before driving deep into his opponent's chest. A spray of red pixels burst out, dissolving into the cold air.
Kirito and Asuna, still moving like a flawless combat machine, attacked as they advanced. Kirito blocked a stabbing sword, creating an opening for Asuna to dart in, her rapier flashing before punching through the enemy's armor in the span of a heartbeat.
Kizmel led the Dark Elf warriors, her eyes cold and sharp, her blade sweeping through targets with deadly precision. Her voice rang out like a battlefield command:
"Don't let a single one escape!"
Ren glanced at her briefly, then at Kirito and Asuna.
The tension from moments earlier had vanished completely, replaced by a surging heat that drove him forward into the fray...into the space where steel flashed and cries of victory were already beginning to echo.
The battle ended swiftly. All eight Forest Elves fell, their bodies scattering into countless fragments of red pixels before fading into nothing.
The clashing of weapons gave way to the heavy breathing of the surviving warriors.
A wounded Dark Elf was helped away by his comrades, his slow steps leaving a faint trail of blood on the ground that quickly faded.
In the distance, the sound of wind rustling through the forest canopy reclaimed dominance, as if the battle had never happened.
"Thank you. If it weren't for you all, I'd be dead," Ren said, bowing slightly to Asuna, Kirito, and Kizmel.
"Wait… wait, you too." He flinched as the Direwolf Sentry slipped in beside him, circling his legs as if demanding credit.
Asuna and Kirito only smiled faintly, saying nothing, this was simply what they were meant to do.
"I should be the one thanking you," Kizmel spoke, her voice slow and steady. She paused, her gaze sweeping over Ren. "If it weren't for you, my kin might not have been saved."
"I didn't expect you to be such a stubborn, persistent… and extremely hard-to-handle one," Aisen's voice came from right behind Ren, casual but laced with his usual mocking grin.
Before Ren could turn around, Aisen's firm hands dropped onto his head, ruffling his hair into a complete mess.
"Your hair was already a disaster after the fight, and now it's a curtain covering your whole face," Aisen said, leaning sideways to inspect his handiwork. "At this rate, the monsters won't even recognize you, they'll think a new creature's spawned."
"I've told you how many times not to tag along," he sighed dramatically, though the corners of his mouth curled upward. "You stick to me like this, people might think I've taken in a rebellious little brother."
Ren puffed out his cheeks, then hopped back with a sharp retort: "I didn't follow you just to watch you get yourself killed here, you know?"
Aisen crossed his arms and chuckled. "Who do you think I am? You think those weaklings could trouble me? If I'm going down, it's gotta be to a fire-breathing dragon or a seven-headed boss, those molting cicada-types don't even count."
"Then why did you look so worn out?" Kizmel suddenly interjected, her tone serious but her eyes glinting faintly with amusement.
Aisen spun toward her, eyes narrowing but smile still in place. "You just don't understand men, Knight Kizmel! In a fight, of course you have to pretend to be struggling so the enemy underestimates you. Maybe that's why you're still… single, huh?"
He finished with an exaggerated whistle, shattering the lingering tension like a soap bubble.