The two elves finished eating, looking much better now.
The girl stepped forward and bowed slightly.
"I'm Lora."
The boy nodded.
"And I'm Hum."
MC blinked.
Then, he whispered to himself.
"…Isn't that a food name in my world?"
He almost laughed but quickly composed himself.
And then MC flapped his wings and looked at them seriously.
"Can you guide me to your village?"
Lora and Hum froze.
"Divine Beast… are you going to help us?"
MC sighed.
"Yeah. I'm going to save your village."
Lora and Hum's eyes lit up.
"You really mean it?!"
MC nodded.
The two jumped in excitement, their once lifeless faces now filled with hope.
"Then follow us!"
And so, they led him through the forest.
After some time, they arrived at a dense bush.
From here, they had a clear view of the village.
MC peered through the leaves.
What he saw made his feathers stand on edge.
The once-beautiful elf village was in ruins.
Burned houses.
Collapsed structures.
Monkeysters patrolling with swords and armor.
MC narrowed his eyes.
"They… really look like that one movie I watched when I was bored… what was it called again? Planet of the—"
But A loud scream interrupted him before he even finish his word.
An elf man was struggling as a Monkeyster in armor raised its blade.
SLASH!
The elf collapsed, bleeding.
The Monkeyster growled.
"GET BACK TO WORK, YOU LAZY ELF!"
MC's blood ran cold.
Lora and Hum flinched, eyes wide in fear.
MC could feel their emotions.
The pain of seeing their people suffer.
Not Yet…
MC clenched his beak.
"…This is okay for now."
Lora and Hum looked at him, shocked.
"But—!"
MC shook his head.
"If we rush in now, we'll die. We need a plan."
The two hesitated.
But after a moment, they nodded.
MC turned back toward the forest.
"Let's go. We'll figure this out first."
And with heavy hearts, the three retreated into the shadows of the trees.