Just as the hoof of the minotaur started its descent toward the unmoving body of Jaegar, the ground where the other leg of the monster was standing on suddenly blew up. There was an explosion that seemed to be caused by a bomb of some sort.

This then caused the minotaur to lose its balance and fall down sideways, away from Jaegar. Then, additional explosions appeared around the monster while it lay on the ground. Its view was now clouded by the black smoke surrounding it.

From a distance, Kryllo saw a silhouette of a person moving about inside the black smoke. And then it suddenly disappeared.

There was also someone standing around the spot where Brittanya got buried. The figure seemed to have taken her out of there and then disappeared as well.

While Kryllo was watching all of these unfold, someone with a male voice shouted from the trees behind him.

"If you want to live, then follow me! Hurry up before that monster gets its bearings!"

Both Kryllo and Leonze looked at the direction of the voice. The person was standing on a branch atop a tall tree. The two of them then nodded at each other and ran toward the person, who was now jumping from tree to tree, away from the fallen minotaur.

---

Kryllo and Leonze ran for what seemed like a long time. Kryllo was still carrying Syrenne in his arms. They had no time to stop and worry if the monster was chasing after them. They just followed the person jumping from tree to tree above them.

After a while, the person stopped on a very large and tall tree. Upon looking around, they saw that the trees were all taller now than what they previously saw when they first arrived at the island. The person then looked down at the two of them.

"Wait here."

The person then disappeared.

"Who is that?"

Leonze kept looking up at the trees.

"He's not… alone… Someone else… helped Jaegar… and Brittanya…"

Kryllo looked down at Syrenne. She was unconscious but her face was slightly grimacing.

"Is she alright…?"

Leonze also looked at Syrenne.

"I… don't know… but… I hope… they help… her…"

Kryllo then looked up and waited for someone to appear again.

Suddenly, the large tree that the man last stood on shook. Then, a door opened on its trunk. There was a spiral staircase leading upward inside the trunk of the tree. A person then emerged from inside.

"Hurry. Go inside so we can treat her."

The person was a male with long, blond hair. He was wearing light clothing with minimal leather armor on his chest. He also had leather gloves and boots. His skin was fair with a white glow. But the most distinguishable feature he had was that he had long, pointed ears.

"Y-you're an e-elf!"

Leonze pointed at the man standing before them.

---

Kryllo and Leonze followed the man upward the staircase, all the while staring at him. They then reached the top of the tree, and exited through an opening that led to the branches of the tree. There were several wooden bridges hanging and connecting a few trees together.

Wooden houses were also built on the branches of the trees, but they were all hidden under the leaves, so the roofs of the houses would not be seen from outside of the forest. The doors of the houses were made of wood and metal frames. There were glass windows on most of the houses.

The sunlight cut through the leaves of the trees to give just enough lighting around the cluster of houses above the trees. There was also almost no wind that passed through, as the leaves were motionless.

They then crossed a bridge and headed toward one of the houses. The man led them inside. Once Kryllo and Leonze were inside, they saw Jaegar and Brittanya lying down on a makeshift bed made of leaves covered by a large cloth.

Jaegar was clearly beat up, as his face was covered in scratches. Brittanya, meanwhile, was covered in bruises. She also had blood run down her face.

There was another vacant bed beside them.

"Let her lie down here. Our healers will attend to them shortly."

The man pointed to the vacant bed beside him. Kryllo slowly placed Syrenne down on the makeshift bed.

"Please hurry… I don't think… she's doing… so good…"

Kryllo stared at Syrenne as he knelt down on the floor.

"I know you have a lot of questions, but let's save it until these three are out of danger. By the way, my name is Elwyrn."

He moved away from the two and stood in front of a cabinet of sorts. He started to pull out bottles of liquids and other medicinal-looking items.

"You really expect me to wait?! Y-you're an elf! You're supposed to be extinct!"

Leonze raised his voice as he pointed again at Elwyrn.

"Clearly, I'm alive—"

"A-and what was that monster?! W-why is a minotaur running around in this island?!"

Leonze kept on bombarding him questions.

"I said we'll talk later."

Elwyrn didn't bother to look at Leonze. He kept on preparing the items he took out.

After a short while, two female elves and one elder male elf entered the house. The two female elves wore long, dress-like clothes while the elder elf wore a robe and held a staff like a cane.

Elwyrn, together with the two female elves, tended to the wounds of Jaegar and the others. They made the injured party members drink some type of concoction.

Then, one by one, they were healed through magic as the bodies of the two female elves were surrounded by a white aura. Elwyrn and the elder elf stood and watched as the two female elves were doing their task. Leonze and Kryllo were now sitting on the floor as they looked on with bated breaths.

"The special medicine we had them drink would strengthen the effects of the healing magic on their bodies."

The elder elf finally spoke as he saw the two's worried expressions.

"Thank you…"

Kryllo looked up at the elder elf.

"I'm sure you two have a lot of questions. Let's talk somewhere else."

The elder started to walk toward the door. Leonze and Kryllo looked at each other and nodded.

---

The elder elf led the two of them to another house. They crossed another bridge to reach the house on top of a nearby tree. Elwyrn followed behind them.

Inside the other house, there was a table made of a tree trunk cut in the middle lengthwise. There were four chairs around it, with two on each side.

Kryllo and Leonze sat on the chairs on one side, while the elder sat on the other side. Elwyrn then went toward a small kitchen and prepared some sort of hot beverage. He served it on wooden cups to everyone on the table. He then sat beside the elder elf.

"First of all, I would like to introduce myself. I'm Aegroth. I am the current elder and leader of the elven clan."

The elder elf then drank from the cup in front of him.

"I'm Leonze, and this guy here is Kryllo."

Leonze used his thumb to point at Kryllo beside him.

"How do… you do—"

"So now answer my questions! How come you elves are alive when it was said you're all dead?! And what was that monster doing here?!  Where are all the Diamede that's supposed to be abundant?! And most importantly, what do you know about the Legendary Artifacts?!"

Leonze slammed the table with his two hands as he ran off succeeding questions without pausing. The two elves only visibly reacted when Leonze uttered the words Legendary Artifacts.

"Oh… That was unexpected. For you to be interested in the artifacts… All that I can say about that is that the Legendary Artifacts are… real. As to their location or what exactly they are, I have no idea, I'm afraid."

Aegroth closed his eyes and shook his head.

"We have lived far longer than you humans, and even that information eludes us. What was passed down to us was only the fact that they existed."

Elwyrn looked straight at Leonze, who was now clenching his fists.

"That's… that's more than enough for me! Just confirmation from a supposedly extinct race that the artifacts exist! This trip was way more worth it than I hoped!"

Leonze jumped off his seat and grinned as he pumped his fists in celebration.

"Um… are you still interested about your other questions…?"

Elwyrn scratched his cheek as he watched Leonze celebrate.

"Ah, yes, yes. Those are important too, I guess."

Leonze sat back down and drank the beverage in front of him. He then spat out the drink while looking sideways away from Kryllo.

"I'm guessing it's not to your taste. There are different plants and other ingredients in that healthy drink."

Elwyrn nodded with a smile on his face.

"Maybe humans have better working tastebuds than you elves. Anyway, I’d like to know some other answers now."

Leonze placed down his cup on the table and looked at the elder elf.

"Well, then. You didn't ask about this, but I suppose I should start there."

Aegroth stared at Leonze.

"Which is?"

"Why we saved you."