It was a place that common elves could barely approach.
Only those with permission could enter deep into the roots of the World Tree, where the elders of the elves gathered.
"We must succeed this time."
"Of course, Great Elder."
The tension on the faces of the elders who looked ahead could not be hidden.
This would likely be their last chance.
Because there were neither enough materials nor enough time to keep holding out.
The elders, who were looking at the sword, had solemn expressions because they knew that the sword now visible was their last hope for establishing a barrier.
"Everyone, prepare."
It was the place where the Sword Master's blade, the Silver Knight, had once been embedded.
But now, a sword of a completely different color occupied that spot, and above that sword, complex magical symbols painstakingly drawn by the elders floated, glowing as if they were paintings.
"…Let's begin."
Following a beam of light descending from above, the magic circles began to float in the air.
Great Elder Geronimo, who was watching them, raised his finger with a firm voice, as if he had made a decision.
Guuuuuung-
As the spell was chanted by the elders, the magic circles began to slowly rotate, forming a pattern of circles of various sizes and colors.
The longer the chant continued, the more cold sweat appeared on the foreheads of the elders in charge of each circle.
"Slowly!"
The larger circles descended, and the smaller circles rose.
Following the old fingers of Geronimo, the circles starting from the surface began to align, gradually forming a huge cone.
"Now!"
Under Geronimo's command, the world created by the elders began to slowly descend.
To the place where the Sword Master's blade had once been.
But now, to the place where a completely unknown sword stood.
Rumble-!
When the cone descended towards the sword, an enormous vibration that could not be seen from the outside began to ripple within the World Tree.
The most important and final step in executing the closing ceremony.
Finally, the world created by the elders began to inscribe itself as a single line through the sword.
"We've done it…"
Someone who saw this began to shout in joy.
They had failed many times, but this time, there was hope that it would work.
Indeed, the sword embedded there was glowing differently from before, and the resonance it emitted was completely distinct.
Crack! Crack crack!
If it weren't for the ominous sound that followed.
"Damn it."
As if something had gone wrong, the bright conical world began to slowly tilt.
Accompanied by the cry of the sword that was supporting it from below.
"Everyone, get down!"
"Protect the Great Elder!"
Realizing the failure, one of the elders shouted, and everyone began to crouch.
And everyone began to crouch, protecting the Great Elder in a familiar motion.
Gududududuk-!
As the elders shouted, the brightly shining sword began to flicker and burn white.
Burning its own body as if it could no longer shine this way.
The old Geronimo could only watch, unable even to blink as he observed the scene heading toward destruction.
Boooom!
Finally, the sword, unable to withstand the power of the elves' world, exploded with a deafening roar.
Geronimo lowered his head with a sigh of sorrow as he watched it burst like a falling star.
Because the sword that had exploded was not just a sword but a fragment of the hope that the elves desperately needed.
"…Perhaps we should have used the Sword Master's blade."
The World Tree had permitted it, and the oldest elves had poured all their essence into creating the forest's barrier.
That barrier must have been such a heavy and difficult task since it was responsible for the survival of a species.
That's probably why it couldn't hold out and broke.
"…"
Geronimo looked at the cold fragments of the sword cooling in front of him and, without saying a word, began to carefully caress them in front of him.
Under the roots of the World Tree, now dark, Geronimo remained in place, curled up, unable to leave for a long time.
***
A young girl was walking through a wide hill, holding a long branch, followed by a group of disheveled-looking refugees.
Several of the guards protecting the priestess were very nervous, as if the current situation was quite frightening, but for some reason, their appearance from a distance seemed quite reliable.
"I've been waiting for you. Lately, my brother… No, I mean, Lord Baradis has been having a tough time."
Waving the branch through the foliage, the young girl seemed like a child playing.
But Vlad knew that beneath that innocence lay a mysterious power that could not be ignored.
"Lord Baradis?"
Vlad asked in a voice that seemed a bit surprised by the girl's words that Baradis was going through a difficult time.
The elf Baradis, the leader of the rangers.
This was because he knew that Baradis was not someone easily shaken by any adversity.
"Yes."
The priestess turned her head in response to Vlad's question coming from behind her.
In doing so, the childlike appearance she had shown just moments before completely disappeared.
"Because there was no one to help him."
Vlad stopped when he saw the sudden change in the girl's expression.
The girl's eyes were clouded, as if she were dreaming, but he still felt an intensity in her gaze.
"But now it's okay. Because Vlad has brought many people to help."
However, as soon as the words ended, the young priestess returned to her innocent appearance and slowly began to walk forward again.
It seemed she was quite excited as her quick steps seemed light.
"There are many more people than I saw in my dream. Back then, there weren't even half as many people as there are now."
"A dream?"
The girl, who continued to look at Vlad, slightly tilted her head to the side and continued speaking as she looked at the people of the Ruga tribe following her.
"Yes, a dream. In the dream that the World Tree showed me, I saw this scene."
The World Tree is the tree closest to the will of God, and the young girl, as its representative, saw the future through dreams.
However, the future she saw through the existence of the World Tree had already passed through various stages, so it was somewhat blurry and incoherent, like a child's drawing.
"But this mole didn't appear in the dream I saw."
Therefore, when she encountered the future she had seen in reality, it was very different from what she had seen in her dream, which surprised her.
Like the time when Vlad saved the dwarves while wielding his sword over the sea, or like the mole that hadn't appeared in her vision now.
"It must be that Vlad brought it with him. Maybe that's why there are more people."
"…"
The girl's tone was lively, but there was a strange tension on Vlad's face as he listened to her words.
What she said now sounded as if she were implying that if there hadn't been a mole, the number of refugees from the Ruga tribe would have been halved.
[This city is strange, Vlad.]
Behind the girl who uttered meaningful words, the Elven city of Ausurin was slowly coming into view.
However, the Elven city that had returned after a long time looked very different from when Vlad left.
[Looking at the wooden fence surrounding it, it seems they are probably preparing for a battle. And on a large scale.]
Following Kihano's words, Vlad inspected Ausurin from a distance.
Indeed, just as Kihano said, the now visible Elven city was filled with clearly erected wooden fences.
Creeeeeak-
Perhaps because they saw the refugees from the Ruga tribe, the gates of the city of Ausurin began to open slowly.
In a place as majestic as human walls, there stood a man with navy blue hair, looking at Vlad with his arms crossed.
"So it was you, after all. Vlad Aureo."
Baradis, the leader of the rangers.
He smiled bitterly as he looked at the crowd of people brought by his younger sister, who had sneaked out, and raised a hand slightly towards the familiar blond hair.
***
"As always, you're doing unpredictable things."
"Thank you for opening the door for us, Baradis."
"I opened it for you, not for the Ruga people."
After leaving the Ruga refugees in a temporary shelter, Vlad followed Baradis as they walked toward where the elders were.
The elven residence built within a large tree was something amazing to see even after all this time, but at this moment, Vlad didn't have time to be impressed by the elven style.
"So, there's no need to thank me. My authority here is temporary. For them to be allowed to stay in Ausurin, you'll need the approval of the Council of Elders."
The elves were a race that didn't easily allow access not only to humans but to other races as well.
For the elves who had survived until now thanks to such an exclusive attitude, the hundreds of refugees who suddenly arrived would not be welcomed.
"They are people without a place to go. And I'm also responsible for their situation."
"You'll need to explain all of that clearly to the elders you're about to meet."
Baradis, who had been walking down the hallway for a while, stopped in front of the large door he had seen before and looked at Vlad.
"Are you ready?"
"…Yes."
Vlad silently placed the still-sleeping mole from his head into his arms and took a deep breath as he looked towards the door to the conference room where the elders were waiting.
"Then, I wish you luck."
Creeeeak-
With a gesture of Baradis's hand, a bright light began to enter through the opening door.
As Vlad grew accustomed to the light, the vast meeting hall was revealed before him.
More than ten elders, seated here and there upon the massive tree roots entwined like stairs, were all looking at Vlad.
"…It has been a long time, young human knight. Vlad."
The old elf seated highest among them gestured toward Vlad and smiled faintly.
The old Geronimo, the eldest of the elves, remembered the young knight who had saved their World Tree and was pleased to see Vlad return.
"It seems you've been through a lot. You've grown much more than before."
The potential that had shone when Vlad struck down the dragon Nidhogg had now fully developed.
However, the way Geronimo saw Vlad now was incomparable to back then, and the elder's heart seemed somewhat satisfied with the young potential that had grown so rapidly.
"…I hope you've been well, Great Elder."
However, as the child grows, the elder becomes older.
Even while sitting there, Geronimo's energy was clearly low enough for Vlad to notice.
"I would like to say we've been well, but that is not the sad reality we face."
Watching Geronimo's fingers tremble slightly, Vlad began to quietly observe the other nearby elders.
"Something has happened."
Although it wasn't as severe as Geronimo, all the elders seemed to have been drained of energy.
Seeing them like this, Vlad could tell that something significant was happening in Ausurin at that moment, even if it wasn't for the wooden fences surrounding the place.
"I don't know what has happened, but I believe I can help. So please…"
"You must take the Ruga far away from here."
It seemed that Baradis also wanted him to be here.
Because of this, Vlad thought that if he handled things well, he could wrap up the situation with the Ruga people, but the words that came out of Geronimo's mouth were surprisingly firm.
"If possible, it would be better if you leave soon. That would be better for them as well."
Geronimo coughed with difficulty as he asked them to leave, but his attitude showed neither annoyance nor rejection toward anyone.
"Soon, a human lord will attack this place."
"A human lord?"
"Yes. I'm sure you know him. Count Vitskaya."
Count Vitskaya was definitely a familiar name.
"And moreover, the resurrected ones are targeting our forest with their horrible forms. In other words, this place cannot be a safe refuge for the Ruga."
And the "resurrected ones" was another expression that was also familiar.
"…The resurrected ones."
Names he didn't expect to hear in this place.
Vlad had sought out the Ruga tribe in his struggle against Frausen, and now he found traces of them here, in Ausurin.
"Are they coming here now?"
Nobles, clerics, and even the imperial family, the owners of the empire.
It was Vlad who had arrived in the city of Namarka in search of their presence, only to be ignored by all those in charge.
Even though he was driven out by the oldest dragon there, Vlad didn't lose sight of his original purpose, not even when he was crushed.
"Yes. They are staining our forest black as they approach."
Hearing Geronimo's words, Vlad clenched his fist around the hilt of his sword.
"…"
His anger was conveyed through the hand he gripped tightly.
The Dragon Slayer Sword, which understood the anger because it mirrored its owner, began to tremble slowly as Vlad held his hand firmly.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-
Vlad's sword began to tremble even more as it resonated with the beating of its owner's heart.
A silver light shone through the blade of the dragon-slaying sword, which was gradually emerging from its sheath.
"…Hmm?"
Geronimo's eyes began to widen as he recognized that familiar light.
Not only Geronimo, but also several elders beside him began to slowly lean forward as if they were hypnotized.
"Even so, I beg you, Great Elder. Please allow the Ruga to stay here temporarily. They have nowhere else to go."
The young knight wasn't the only one who had grown since their last farewell.
Vlad's sword was now wrapped in a glorious silver light instead of the blue light it once had, and the elders who recognized it stood up one by one.
"If you do, I will also repay you with my sword."
Do what you have to do where you need to be.
The only thing I can promise is with the sword I hold.
The young knight who had raised the most honorable sword to protect the World Tree now spoke as he raised his own sword.
"…The Silver Knight."
Just like back then, he promised to fight with a sword of the same color.
Just like the Sword Master's blade that had protected the young World Tree that day, the sword Vlad held now shone in the same silver color.