Celestienne's curious gaze suddenly turned cold and menacing as she stared at the young child.
The elf boy panicked, fearing for his sister's safety. Trembling, he hastily aimed an arrow at Celestienne.
"Don't hurt my sister!" His voice shook, but his determination to protect her remained firm.
"Who dares to harm her?"
Selene, intrigued by the connection between Celestienne and the little girl, stepped closer. But suddenly, a surge of crimson light erupted from Celestienne's body.
"What's that? Why is there something like a spirit inside Celestienne?"
"Hey, kid, if you don't want to get hurt, you better back off… and all of you, step away," the figure said.
"But she's our friend! We can't just leave her alone," Velissandra retorted, her gaze unwavering.
"Princess Celestienne is furious because of that child," the figure explained.
The elf boy, who was about to shoot Celestienne, was stunned, as were Celestienne's friends.
"What? What kind of relationship does this woman have with my sister?"
"You want to know? But before that, I have to stop Celestienne from destroying this world."
The being at the tip of the sword began chanting a magical incantation to calm the enraged Celestienne.
Celestienne's friends watched as the figure chanted over her head, and suddenly, Celestienne's expression shifted back to one of happiness and tranquility.
"Whew… finally, it's over, Princess Celestienne. Now, answer the question."
"Oh, you're the soul at the tip of the sword? You must have calmed me down, right?"
"Yeah, but don't do that too often, I'm running out of energy. Hahaha." He gasped for breath, as if completely drained.
Celestienne gently approached the elf boy. All the elves were surprised—the human was actually a kind person.
"Um, do you know my sister?" the elf boy asked curiously.
"Yes, I know your sister. In fact, she accompanied me in the Forest of Death for 500 years after I met the soul at the tip of the sword."
"WHAT…?" The elf boy was shocked by Celestienne's story, as were her friends. "I thought you were dead… but it turns out you made it home."
Celestienne covered her face with a cloth, then headed towards the boy's house, inviting her friends and the elf boy along.
"Hey, tell me why your family was destroyed, but first, introduce yourself."
"Alright. My name is Rion, and this is my sister, Luna. We have a different power than other elves—we can see through someone's lies."
His eyes shone with pride, causing Celestienne's friends to give him a cynical look.
"Okay, I've introduced myself. Now, I'll tell you why my village was destroyed."
500 Years in the Past.
Celestienne had escorted Luna to the exit of the Forest of Death, but her smile held both sadness and happiness.
"Sister Celestienne, are you crying?"
"No, these are tears of joy because you finally made it out of this terrifying forest."
"Oh, can't you leave, Sister? Not until you've killed all the monsters?"
"Yes, that's right. So you can go out first, and then I'll meet you again."
Luna smiled at Celestienne. Her smile made Celestienne's heart unable to let her go.
"Ah, I don't want to let Luna go. But if I don't, her family will worry," she thought to herself.
Luna ran towards the light, but Celestienne remained in the darkness. Luna waved her hand with a smile.
"Bye-bye, Sister Celestienne."
Celestienne smiled, but her heart wasn't willing to let her go. She returned Luna's wave.
"Be careful, Luna."
As Luna watched Celestienne wave her hand, she turned her gaze towards the sun.
"I'm going to tell everyone about the kind Sister Celestienne," her smile eager to share her story.
She ran as fast as she could to quickly reach the elf village, where Luna lived.
Even though her feet were bleeding from the rocks, she continued to run non-stop because she wanted to go home quickly and tell her family about Celestienne.
"I have to get home quickly, even though my feet are bleeding. I'm going to tell my family everything about Celestienne."
As Luna continued to think about Celestienne, she remained enthusiastic, like someone who wanted to tell everyone.
She saw a barrier in the forest. She knew that the barrier was the elves' barrier. She sped up her pace.
"I'm almost there."
When she reached the entrance to the barrier, she was out of breath. She opened the barrier and saw her village burned to the ground.
"Huh? Why is my village like this? Who did this?"
She screamed. Members of the Union saw an elf with an extremely powerful force.
"How can an elf have such power? Let's grab her, our lord will surely praise us. Hahahahah."
The members ran quickly towards Luna with faces full of hope for praise.
"Little brat, now you belong to us."
"Don't you dare hurt my sister, you bastard humans!" Rion shouted loudly.
As the Union members touched Luna's skin, the necklace Celestienne had given her suddenly lit up. The necklace exploded, and the Union members didn't have time to dodge.
BOOM!!
A pillar of green light reached the sky. Luna's body suddenly transformed into a deity. Her hair, which had been yellow, turned white and long.
In the Forest of Death.
"Princess Celestienne, the sealing necklace you put on her has been destroyed. Luna must be in trouble," the soul at the tip of the sword spoke in her mind.
"Yes, I know, soul at the tip of the sword. And the world will know, elves are not a weak race," Celestienne smiled, waiting for the world to find out.
The Elf Forest.
The Union members who were hit by the pillar of green light were thrown back by Luna's terrifying aura.
"This elf brat is a candidate for the Tree of God. If we get that brat, the leader will praise us."
The Union members wore impatient expressions and ran quickly towards Luna, wanting to be praised by Caelvorn.
"Lowly creatures, you are not fit to fight me."
"Wind Magic Level 7: Thousand Wind Storm!!"
The entire elf forest was filled with an extremely strong windstorm, so much so that the Union members couldn't believe it.
"How can a brat who has been chosen by the Tree of God need to be trained?"
The Union members realized that someone was watching from far away, as if from the Forest of Death.
"Don't tell me, you're the one who trained this brat?"
"Oh, you just realized that now? Yes, that's right. I'm the one who trained Luna and gave her a sealing necklace to be able to use her power in times of emergency."
"What? Now you want to escape from the elf forest?"
The Union members could only remain silent because they couldn't get out of the elf forest. The exit was blocked by Luna's windstorm.
"Now you can die, you filthy creatures who defile my home."
"What should we do, Boss?"
"I don't know either. Oh yeah, I forgot, we have a teleportation scroll from the leader."
The Union member took the scroll out of his pocket. His eyes were full of happiness because he had finally managed to escape from the elf forest.
"Hahahahah," he laughed arrogantly. "We'll be back, and we'll make sure you become our enemy, Celestienne Aurelith," his eyes full of hatred.
"Oh, feel free to try and kill me. But remember, when I get out of here, if you disturb my peaceful life, you know the consequences," Celestienne's gaze was cold and terrifying.
As Luna's storm magic was about to reach the Union members, they tore the scroll and teleported away.
"Enough, Luna," Celestienne said, snapping her fingers.
Luna was calmed down by Celestienne with just a snap of her fingers, but Luna fainted because she used too much power.
"Luna, I will give you a message so you can accommodate the power of the Tree of God. Practice to be able to use the power of the Tree of God completely."
Back in the Present.
"Wait… wait, that's not the story of why your forest was destroyed, Rion?"
"That's not the story of why my village was ruined by those so-called Union members."
Celestienne's friends laughed because Rion didn't tell the story of his village being destroyed.
"Idiot. I told you to tell me why your village was destroyed, not to tell me about Luna coming home 500 years ago. I already knew that."
"Also, Sister, why did you say 'I thought you were dead'? Why did you answer like that?"
"That's because I accidentally erased my memories about Luna's power. Heheheh."
Rion gave her a mocking look, as did her annoyed friends. Apparently, Celestienne used memory-erasing magic.
"Quick, what happened to your village? Tell me in great detail."
Rion sighed. His previously annoying gaze now turned cold.
"Alright, I'll tell you."
Epilogue
Rion took a long breath, his gaze still cold. "Alright, I've told you everything. Now, what are we going to do?"
Celestienne paused for a moment, then stared into the distance. "We're going to find out what Caelvorn really wants."
Selene frowned. "But where can we find clues about him? We don't even know where their base is."
Celestienne smiled mysteriously. "Maybe… we've had that clue all along. We just haven't realized it yet." Her eyes glanced briefly at the necklace around Luna's neck. "Sometimes, memories can be the forgotten key."
---
Chapter 13 Completed.