While waiting for the two to come out, the three received a message Enrico already knew would happen. It would take some time for the blessing to synchronize with Elaris, so they were asked to follow the original plan of launching the first attack without her.
He turned to grab the chest behind the stone and placed it in front of where the portal that took the two had appeared.
"I'll leave this here, Lady Skadi. When she comes out, please deliver it to Elaris."
"Oh? So you took something so important without even knowing what's inside and you're going to give it to her? Your confidence in her surprises me."
Skadi's voice echoed throughout the entire area, so Kai and Valença heard it as well. The two were curious about what was inside the chest, but since Enrico was leaving it behind, they decided to ask Elaris later.
"Leave it to me. Both the chest and Elaris will be safe in here."
"Thank you very much, Lady Skadi. And please, could you allow me one thing?"
The chest disappeared from in front of them. Without a doubt, it was now beside the two in the place they must be. That place was known as the White Mind—a location where everything was white and only the blessing existed within it. It was literally an entire world created by Skadi to keep anyone away from the blessing.
After speaking mentally with Skadi for a while, because he wanted to know if what he intended would be possible, Enrico seemed to receive something, which he stored away.
"Let's go. It's time to meet our invasion companions."
"Right, Enrico."
"I won't lie—I'm a little excited to meet other elves."
The three were released when a new portal appeared before them. Upon entering, they were pushed forward and emerged in the middle of Lake Thalanor. Kai was surprised to see that dawn had already arrived. It would be better to rest for the attack that would happen once they returned.
"That was faster than entering."
"That's the best thing that could've happened. Imagine having to climb all that… wait, actually that would've been good training. If I put some weights on my body and—"
"No way. Did you forget we might not even make it in time to recover the first city?"
When Valença heard Enrico's words and saw Kai getting excited about that possible training, she immediately dismissed it. The mission was what mattered now. Later, she would accompany him in training while flying on Incandis. He hadn't asked her to get involved, but she would definitely follow anyway.
Now she wanted to know something else—what Enrico had discussed with Skadi must be what she was thinking.
"You got her permission to…?"
"No. I got permission to release them in there, but I'll release them as something even better somewhere else."
With his confident smile, Valença sighed in relief. Finally, they would fulfill the promise they made to Val'Drakar.
"What are you two talking about?"
Kai, right beside them, was confused. It seemed to be something between the two, and he wanted to know. If it was important, he could try to help them as much as possible. With a wave of his hand, Enrico simply said he would find out later.
The three stepped out of the lake and only then noticed several bodies of Sairao cult mages on the ground. Valença approached the place where the items had been made while looking at the corpses.
"Did more appear?"
"I think so. But why did they send only circle six?"
"That's because it seems they had to decide whether to send them to the enemy's main base or here."
The one who spoke was Malunes, finishing an apple in the distance. It seemed she had already completed the improvement to the experiment she had done. Enrico couldn't deny that he liked the idea of bringing her, because Malunes had never had the chance to use Lúmen'Thyr as material in the original story. That was a good gain that could bring great benefits in the future against the evil gods.
"Before we return to the base, I'd like to go back to our world. Could you open one of the Elven Kingdom invitation stones?"
"Of course. We have several."
The invitation stones for the Elven Kingdom were the way to enter without risking rejection by that dimension. The only ones who could enter without that risk were circle eight and above. These stones could be created by any elf skilled in item construction, which was why some humans who had allied with the corrupted elves years ago managed to enter to try to seize mana.
That invasion had been mainly carried out by corrupted elves, since the humans brought along were merely mercenaries who wanted money and were paid well to help. The only problem was that Elaris's father had been there to assist.
'It was a temporary alliance, just like what's happening with the cult now.'
Pressing the stone, they all left the place and appeared in the human world beside a tree that couldn't even compare to the ones in the Elven Dimension. It was only better than the corrupted trees.
Valença, doubtful, approached him.
"Why leave the dimension? I thought you were going to release them anywhere."
"That's because if I can't release them in the place I wanted, it's better to release them here. It's very possible Sairao would sense the dark elves as soon as they emerged in the Elven Dimension, and that would be a disaster."
Hearing the name Sairao, Valença's eyes darkened. She had already realized those hooded figures were followers of the evil god who caused the disaster in Val'Drakar's dungeon, so her feelings toward them were grim.
"I understand. That really would be a disaster."
"Dark elves?"
Kai and Malunes were confused for a moment. This was the first time they had heard that dark elves existed.
"You'll understand once you see."
Enrico took out what Skadi had given him. It was an item made for elves who had lived for a very long time. It could amplify mana that had remained stagnant and unused for years. It was very rare for elves to live many years without using magic, but those who managed to avoid using even a drop were rewarded by the World Tree.
'And now, within this seal, there are several elves who have remained unconscious for years.'
This mana amplification worked better the longer they lived. Of course, since they had been unconscious, the increase wouldn't be as high, because there was a small rule—they had to actually live those years.
'Even so, it will still be very useful for the war that's approaching.'
He threw the cone-shaped item into the middle of the field in front of him. They were in a place with a beautiful meadow, especially with the sunlight beginning to grow stronger. Extending his hand forward, the seal that had been invisible on his hand all this time began to glow.
"It's time to fulfill my promise."