"Wait… those people are…" Ren muttered, narrowing his eyes as he recognized a few familiar faces among the swarm of players charging toward the Forest Elf camp.
At the head of the force, with cactus-like spiky hair and that perpetually resentful scowl, was none other than Kibaou.
Right behind him marched the members of the ALF Guild, their uniforms and insignias glowing clearly in the flickering firelight. Their arrival was like a dagger stabbing straight through the fragile silence of the encampment.
Before Ren could piece it all together, another scene unfolded: from inside the Forest Elf camp, another group of players burst out, weapons drawn, ready to meet them head-on.
In an instant, the entire area descended into chaos. The clash of steel rang out, mixing with war cries and the shrill blare of alarm horns.
The scattered fragments finally fit into a single picture in Ren's mind. "So that's it…" he whispered, cold sweat dripping down his temple.
It turned out that Kibaou's group had been assigned to stage a midnight raid on the Forest Elf camp, while Lind's faction had coincidentally been tasked with guarding it that very night.
Too convenient, too precise to be called coincidence. If not for their conflicting assignments, the two sides might never have crossed paths.
But everything lined up far too perfectly. Someone had been pulling the strings from the shadows, pushing both factions into an unavoidable collision.
Ren recalled Kirito's words, and that calm, knowing look in his eyes. Now it all made sense: Kirito had anticipated this scheme, which was why he had sent Ago to investigate.
If his guess was right, Kirito wasn't inside the Forest Elf camp with the others at all. He was likely moving to intercept the puppeteer behind this plot.
Because if Asuna and Kizmel were drawn into this battle, the mastermind's plan would collapse completely.
That was why Kizmel had gone ahead without waiting for Ren and Aisen.
The raid had been sudden, but her rushed departure didn't suit the patience of a seasoned warrior like her. A realization crept into Ren's chest, sharp and cold as a dagger.
It wasn't impatience, it was vengeance.
"She… wants to avenge her sister," Ren whispered, clenching his fists, the weight in his chest pressing down like an invisible stone.
"Aisen, could I ask you for a favor?" Ren said, his voice hesitant, as though he wasn't even sure he had the right to make the request. "Could you… not kill those players?"
Aisen froze mid-step. His eyes darkened, his usual half-mocking, half-indifferent expression replaced with rare gravity.
For a brief moment, silence hung between them. Then he spoke slowly, his voice hoarse, as if echoing from some distant memory. "Never show mercy to your enemies, Ren. On the battlefield, mercy is suicide."
Ren shivered at the weight of those words, yet he held firm, teeth clenched. "No, you don't understand. I need them. People like me...we all need them. If you kill them, everything falls apart."
He lifted his head and met Aisen's eyes, his gaze unwavering, stubborn, defiant, the look of someone wagering everything he had.
Ren knew Aisen never held back against those on the opposite side. Still, he pushed on.
Aisen was silent for a long moment. Then, with a sigh that was half exasperated, half sardonic, he muttered, "You know, Ren… you're just like that damn stubborn friend of mine."
He drew in a slow breath, as if weighing reason against something buried deep within.
"Fine. I'll spare them… but only on one condition. As long as they don't touch what cannot be forgiven. And remember this...." his eyes flashed, sharp as a drawn blade glinting in the dark, "....my goal isn't forgiveness. It's vengeance."
Ren let out a shaky breath, his shoulders easing as though a great burden had been lifted. He bowed his head, murmuring, "…Thank you, Aisen."
There was no time to linger. The two of them slipped deeper into the camp, moving along a path left nearly unguarded.
All eyes had been drawn to Kibaou and his men, leaving this side a rare pocket of emptiness amid the chaos.
Ren had barely oriented himself when a sudden rush of wind tore overhead.
A massive shadow cut across the moonlit sky, wings spanning wide as it swooped low.
"Damn it…" Aisen looked up, eyes sharpening with caution. "The Falconer's bird."
The beat of its wings was so strong it made the air itself vibrate, stirring the dust from the ground into swirls.
Ren looked up to see the great beast circling overhead. For a brief moment it swooped close, revealing razor-sharp talons clutching a scroll of parchment.
Without a moment's hesitation, Aisen darted up the wooden palisade, his body shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
In a blink, he was atop the barricade. His legs pushed off, blade flashing as he swung in a single, vicious arc.
Steel gleamed under the moonlight.
The bird shrieked, a piercing cry of alarm, beating its wings frantically as it pulled up into the sky.
The strike hadn't landed, but its sheer force had been enough to throw the beast into panic, forcing it to veer off.
Aisen landed lightly, his body hitting the ground as if it weighed no more than a fallen leaf. Without missing a beat, he sprang forward in pursuit, his shout rising above the cacophony of battle.
"Quick! After it! In its claws is the scroll, if it reaches the Forest Elves' Soul Tree, we lose everything!"
Ren froze for a moment, his heartbeat pounding wildly. Everything happened so fast he could barely breathe, from slipping past the barricade, to the sudden appearance of the massive shadow, and then Aisen darting off like the wind.
He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to follow close behind. Even if he didn't yet fully understand the importance of that scroll, he knew one thing: it could not fall into enemy hands.
"Who are you!?"
Suddenly, two Forest Elves burst out from the side, blocking their path.
The clang of metal rang as they drew their swords, eyes gleaming with suspicion and killing intent.
Without another word, they had already chosen their targets, charging straight at Aisen and Ren.
The first blade came down like a thunderbolt. Aisen slid aside, his heel skimming across the dirt, dodging effortlessly before leaping back to gain distance.
He landed next to Ren, who still stood frozen behind him, gripping his sword but too overwhelmed to react.
"They're just knights… recruits," Aisen muttered firmly, never taking his eyes off the enemies. "Confident enough to handle it?"
Ren bit his lip, lowering his stance. "Not sure… but I'll try."
As if to prove Aisen's words, the two Forest Elves rushed forward again, but their movements were clumsy compared to the hardened fighters Ren had faced earlier that day.
They had training, but lacked sharpness.
When one swung a wide slash, Aisen darted forward like a shadow, moving so smoothly Ren almost thought he vanished in an instant.
A curved blade flashed, knocking aside the strike and sending the foe stumbling.
"Duck!" Aisen barked.
Before Ren could think, a strong hand pressed down on his shoulder. He instinctively crouched low, obeying without hesitation.
In that instant, Aisen's curved sword carved a merciless arc right above Ren's head.
The sound of steel tearing through air shrieked.
The furious slash swept across both enemies at once. Their swords flew from their hands, crashing into the dirt as their bodies were hurled back.
Pixelated blood burst into the air, their HP bars plunging to half in an instant.
Aisen landed lightly, tilting his head with disdain. "See? Not worth wasting time. Finish this quickly, we still have a bird to catch."
Ren drew a deep breath, fingers tightening around his sword. This time, he refused to stay in the back.
The two Forest Elves roared in rage, the wound from Aisen's strike spraying bright pixels across the ground.
One staggered, nearly collapsing, but held himself up by driving his sword into the earth.
The other pressed forward recklessly, eyes blazing with ferocity.
Ren raised his blade just in time to block the thrust aimed at his chest. The impact rattled his arms, his boots digging into the dirt to keep from being knocked down.
Another slash came from the side, but Aisen was already there, slipping in between and raising his curved sword in a swift arc that intercepted the blow entirely.
"Don't let them stall us!" Aisen growled, then surged forward.
His blade flashed like lightning, crossing twice in an X that shredded the enemy's guard.
More pixelated blood sprayed, the foe's HP bar tumbling down.
The second Elf tried to counter with a desperate strike at Aisen's back, but Ren, forced backward until now, suddenly found an opening.
He pivoted, swinging an upward slash from below. His blade tore across the foe's side, halting him with a cry of pain.
Aisen seized the chance. Leaping into the air, he spun and brought his curved sword down like a thunderclap on the enemy's shoulder.
The crash of steel split the night as the Elf's HP bar bottomed out. With a silent scream, he shattered into shards of light, vanishing from the battlefield.
"Well done. You're getting quicker at this," Aisen said curtly, though his eyes stayed fixed on the last opponent, who staggered back, pale from blood loss.
Ren gripped his weapon, forcing steady breaths. "I just… don't want to be dead weight."
The surviving Elf snarled, letting out one last roar before charging in desperation.
This time, Aisen was ready. He sidestepped cleanly, his curved sword cutting a gleaming arc that slashed across the foe's neck.
The body dissolved into fragments of light, scattering into nothing.
Silence fell once more, broken only by the pounding of Ren's heart.
Aisen flicked his blade clean of false blood before glancing at Ren. "Let's move. That bird won't have gotten far. If it reaches the Soul Tree, everything we've done will be for nothing."
Ren swallowed hard, nodding firmly. Without another word, both of them sprinted forward, their shadows vanishing into the dark forest, chasing the faint glimmers of light.