The Great Elderwood Forest.
It was where the majority of the elven race resided, shrouded by nature.
This sacred territory of theirs had boundaries beyond the other races.
Hence the name that was officially mapped, 'Forbidden Forest'.
The elven-kind are of a peaceful kind.
They idly enjoy their long-lasting lives in the secluded forest, causing them to pay little attention to the outside world around them.
However, just like any civilization, they would occasionally stand up against whatever that oppresses their ways or homeland.
If taking this fact in mind, no one had bothered the docile elves unless they decided to do so first.
Once again, this was until the recent events where a beastman was shot dead by an elven hunter.
It was an 'accident' that had triggered the currently on-going small-scale warfare.
The one neither Vixella nor Xenthur was currently informed about.
The carriage wagon paved its way up the hillside road surrounded by gigantic skyscraping elderwood trees.
The light that shone through the leaves on the large branches above glinted upon the carriage's window panes.
Behind that specific windowpane sat Vixella who glanced outside with a tedious look.
She leaned forward to slide open the shutter, revealing Xenthur who was peddling out front.
However, before Vixella could even speak, an elderwood-tipped arrow came through the shutter hole.
PLUCK!
And jammed right into the back seat interior.
Unsurely opening the carriage door, Vixella stepped out with her hands raised high.
Xenthur, on the other hand, was already down on his knees beside her.
"Xiveall... We can easily take them."
"Hey, they're not here to kill us."
Upon large tree branches above them.
Around the bushes and hedges below.
It was a simple yet perfect ambush from all angles.
"Ah, indeed... Unlike last time..."
"Yup... Last time was a bit..."
The two then laughed softly, reminiscing of times unbeknownst to others.
"Humans! State your purpose of treading upon our sacred grounds!"
"Aah, sightseeing...?"
Vixella casually replied.
"So you're here to scout out which elderwood tree to cut-!?"
"Ahem! My Lady here means that we've come to learn about your culture, purpose some trade deals, and enjoy the view!"
Xenthur quickly butted in.
"Even if that was true, other races are not welcome here during times of war! We shall escort you out of the forest-"
"He just said 'war'... Xenthur, why didn't you inform me about this? You should've known, right?"
"Xiveall, are you implying I have telepathic communications with our company spies...?"
"Aah, so you don't?"
"..."
"Wait... She's an emissary from one of the human nations! Look at the pin on her dress!"
One of the elves pointed out from afar.
Well, they had a keen sense of vision and hearing, after-all.
"Hohoho! That's right! Just who do you think I am-!?"
One of the more mature looking elves rappelled down with a rope from a branch above, landing in front of Vixella.
"I humbly apologize on behalf of my lookout team!", He bowed apologetically, "We shall escort you to the nearest village."
Just like that, a day passed by like an arrow fluttering through the air.
To speak of which, the said arrow landed a bit short from its target.
"Aah, I can't do this anymore... My arms..."
"Human! Didn't you want to learn about our elven ways? Draw the bow again!"
A quite fine-looking blonde elven man shouted out sternly from the side.
"Look, I'm not that great of an archer... Can you please just give me a Crossbow? I'll show you-"
"Crossbows-!? It brings shame to use a dwarvish weapon!"
"Hey... Been wondering... What's up with the elves and dwarves not getting along...?"
"Human, you think of such things as well?"
"Any normal person would, right?"
The elf snickered slightly as Vixella pivoted to face him.
"I have nothing against them, but it's in our culture."
From the look in his leaf green eyes, Vixella could see that he wasn't lying.
"I see... Then I suppose I'll head back-"
"What? We're not done yet! Pick the Bow back up!"
Hours of arrows wishing through the air passed by until the sound of someone collapsing onto the forest floor was heard.
Just like that, another day had passed.
Everything was swept away by a harsh fiery flame.
To speak of which, the current reality was just like that.
Vixella kicked open the door of her cabin as she quickly ran up to the ledge of the balcony.
Being about a hundred meters above the ground, she took note of the developments below.
Most noticeable amongst the smoke and ashes were the beastmen raiders pillaging the place.
"Emissary! Over here, hurry! We've come to escort you to safety!"
The two elves on the other elderwood tree across ran over the hanging bridge connecting to Vixella's platform.
What they elf didn't expect was to suddenly be blown away by Vixella's Wind Magic.
The two flew across the air and the shorter eared one nocked an arrow against her, however-
CRASH!!!
A flaming branch smashed away the hanging bridge where they had tried to cross earlier.
If that had come down on them while they were still on the bridge, it would've surely been over.
The shorter-eared elf lowered his short bow momentarily before nodding apologetically.
In return, Vixella nodded back before taking a glance at the fire slowly catching up on the platform behind her.
"Stay put, human! we'll come over to save you soon!"
The longer-eared elf, the same one who trained Vixella yesterday, shot a roped arrow across the gap between the two of them.
At this point, Vixella was trying her best to remember what was the difference between short-eared and long-eared elves.
This thought, however, was thrown aside as the roped arrow jammed onto the platform in front, snapping her back to reality.
Vixella then quickly but carefully ran across the gap between them by using the rope as a foothold.
Upon arriving on the other side and seeing the dumbfounded looks on the elves, Vixella raised an eyebrow.
Well... Running across with the rope just like that... It was what they wanted her to do... No?
"She's quite skillful for a human-"
Before the shorter-eared elf could finish his sentence, a crossbow bolt pierced his temple and tumbled him over.
On the far side of the same platform was a monkey beastman with a crossbow who had just climbed up the side.
The remaining elf spun around with his short bow and fired off an arrow, ending the monkey beastman's life.
"Hey, you're just going to leave him behind like that?"
"It's okay... He has already become one with the forest."
The elf then quickly scuttled off towards the elderwood tree's bark, gesturing Vixella to hurry after.
She nodded and ran over to retrieve the dead beastman's crossbow, ripping off his bolt-bandolier in the process.
Wait, so where was Xenthur in another situation like this?
He went to ask his nearby assets what this 'war' the elves spoke of was.
Vixella, on the other hand, was experiencing the so-called 'war', first-hand.
The current enemy was only the beastmen militia who went ahead to skirmish and pillage for spoils though.
The two slid down the bark of the elderwood tree before landing onto a lower balcony platform.
The elevators' ropes were either burnt or disabled so they just had to resort to such measures.
After going down some more levels, they were now about fifty meters above the ground.
Vixella and the elven archer landed onto the balcony platform below that was full of varying beastmen raiders.
"Grrr! What's a human doing in a place like this-!?"
"Leave her out of this, nya!"
"That's right, you filthy animals! Your opponent is me!"
The elf diverted all their attention towards him.
"It's an elf! GAAAR-!?"
The kobold beastman scuttled forth just to get shot in the gut as he tumbled away.
"Aah, this elf's not half bad-"
Vixella's sentence was cut short as a dagger suddenly came against her throat.
In return, she let go of the loaded crossbow in her arms.
"Drop your Bow, nya! This human is quite important, no-!? If she dies, the humans will come to attack!"
The cat beastwoman warned out.
"If I happen to die I'm sure no one would--- Aah... She's right! Help me! Please!"
Vixella pretended as she flinched and weakly flailed about with a desperate look.
The elf hesitated to take another shot, backing off with a few unsure steps.
Before anyone could react further, Vixella elbowed the cat beastwoman, toppling her over the balcony's ledge.
The whole crowd of beastmen froze as they all watched her sigh in disappointment.
"And here I thought cats had nine lives?"
A nearby cat beastwoman, presumably the earlier cat beastwoman's friend, angrily growled and pounced at Vixella.
The concealed arm-blade in Vixella's sleeves expanded out to impale her with a single movement.
She then shoved the convulsing Catwoman down onto the ground before kicking her away while putting up a mocking sneer.
"Aah, is this all you beastmen can do?"
A resonating roar then trembled the balcony as a hulking figure reassembling a bear came forth with heavy thuds.
He rushed straight towards Vixella, crumbling the wooden balcony with each slow yet heavy step he took.
"As if I'll let you!" ("Saseru mono ka!") ((WEEB TIME))
Shooting an arc of arrows at the beastmen surrounding him, the elf nocked a roped arrow and aimed for the bear beastman.
PLUCK!
The hulking beastman roared out as the arrow jammed right into his bum.
"I commend you for still going despite being shot in the ass..."
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Vixella mumbled as she rolled over to retrieve the crossbow she had dropped earlier.
The elf who was restraining the Bearman with the roped arrow backed away from the other combatants as he kept on tugging.
Growling out in pain, the Bearman crushed the roped arrow apart with his paws before continuing unsteadily towards Vixella.
"Take another one... You stubborn--- Ttch!"
The elf drew another roped arrow but was interrupted as a crossbow bolt grazed past his cheek.
He leaped back but panicked upon seeing another bolt fluttering through the air at him.
Caught in the middle of a dodge attempt, he realized it was futile and squinted his eyes for the upcoming impact.
CLANK!
Much to everyone's expectations, the said bolt was shot away by another bolt coming from an entirely different angle.
Having sniped away the bolt mid-flight, Vixella gave him a thumbs up from the distance.
"So you weren't boasting about your skills with the Crossbow? You have my gratitude, human! And good luck against that beast!"
The elf kicked away to avoid a throwing ax that slammed down into the wooden balcony as it sent splinters a-fly.
Vixella reached for her bandolier and strung out the five remaining bolts in her left hand.
She then repeatedly loaded the crossbow and fired off multiple times at the Bearman.
It didn't seem to have much effect as the Bearman covered his head, taking on full hits as the bolts jammed into his arms.
"Gyraaah!! It's useless to struggle, human! Back in my tribe, I was called the invincible! Today... You will die-------!?"
A bright flickering flash of light came by as the Bearman fell onto his knees before tumbling over with a crash.
There was quite a sizable roasted cavity that was charred straight through the center of his torso.
Upon realizing that Vixella could use powerful magic, the surrounding beastmen who were trembling gripped their weapons tighter.
"Aahahahaha! Fascinating! Fascinating! Roasted Beastmen smells so good! I'll make sure to gobble you all up after I'm done!"
Vixella maniacally laughed and creaked her head at the remaining beastmen.
"Eeek!!! I don't want to die!!!", "Awooo! M-Monster!!!!!", "N-Noooo!! Don't eat me! Nyaaaa!!!"
All of the beastmen on the platform squirmed away like animals desperately escaping from a nightmarish slaughterhouse.
The elf grasped his cheek wound slightly before walking up to her.
"Nice one... Human... Or should I say--- MONSTER-!?"
In a panic, Vixella expanded her arm-blade and took a defensive posture.
"Dragon-!? Where-!?"
"No... I was saying that's how they felt when you scared them off."
"Aah, so no dragon."
Vixella sighed and retracted the blade.
"Enough with jokes, human! We must descend and get out of here before we get caught in the real battle!"
"Real battle...?"
"When the main Elven and Beastmen armies arrive and clash here, there will be nothing left."
"That sure does sound troublesome... Let's go then."
The two then together descended the rest of the elderwood tree's bark.
Landing softly on the squishy forest floor below, they ran behind a crumbled building to hide.
"I'm surprised, human! You are complete trash at archery yet your agility surpasses most of our scouts!"
"I heard elves were much more agile than us humans though?"
"Perhaps most humans? Yet you seem to be faster than any of us?"
"Right, what was your name again?"
"My calling is Ethairé."
The two stayed low, ignoring the raging fires and beastmen in the background as they hid their presence in the scenery.
"Then, Ethairé... Do you remember my name?"
The elf nodded stiffly.
"And?" she rolled her eyes, "You still call me 'HUMAN' despite that?"
The elf nodded stiffly again.
Finding a large enough bush to hide in, the two watched as many beastmen stragglers passed by.
Despite having heightened senses the beastmen had quite a hard time smelling or hearing anything.
When under the presence of fire and smoke, even the keenest of senses became nullified to great extents.
The two waited for a few long minutes before they ran past the open area to disappear into the distant treelines.
"Uncle! I have safely brought the human lady back!"
Ethairé shouted out as the two approached what would seem to be an elven encampment.
"Ooh, Ethairé! Good work!", he then turned to face Vixella, "You must be tired from running all the way here! Please!"
They then casually entered through the wooden palisade walls surrounding the encampment.
The elven guards upon the watchtowers were constantly on the lookout with their longbows at the ready.
Ethairé's uncle who talked normally while showing expressions on his face made Vixella smile wryly as she followed on.
His niece, on the other hand, did not show many expressions on his face at all when he was talking with her up close.
At least it was better than John who lacked basic humor and always spoke about in a mundane tone.
"The secluded children sure have a hard time expressing themselves, huh?"
"I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"Aah, don't worry about it."
They walked through the refugee camp where the many wounded elven families were huddling together in fear.
The medical tents where the elven herbalists and healers tended to the heavily wounded weren't too well-off either.
Vixella squinted her eyes, glancing at the ones with rather major burn marks on their once elegant faces.
If not treated with a specialized herbal ointment or healing magic soon, these wounds will become permanent scars.
The resources and manpower to heal all of them properly just weren't enough to spare.
The more adept healers were already sent to join up with the main force that was heading to the earlier village.
It seemed as if the less prominent ones will have to end up baring these soon-to-be scars for the rest of their lives.
A grim reminder of a certain conflict that will last till the day they pass away from this realm.
Because they will live extremely long lives, Vixella frowned at the rather regretful thought.
An elven healer collapsed down in the background yet struggled back up to continue healing.
The nature spirits began to fly astray, seemingly about to disperse as the healer forcefully held them back.
"I-It's okay!! You've healed me enough..."
The elven refugee shook the healer's shoulders.
"N-No... If I don't treat the rest of your wounds now... They will become scars... Agh-"
Before the elf could finish her sentence, she passed out due to Magical Exhaustion.
"SOMEONE BRING HER TO THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL TENTS, NOW!!"
One of the other healers nearby who was busy healing another refugee demanded out loudly as he gasped for breath.
Magical Exhaustion.
The phenomenon occurs when one depletes their Magical Power.
No matter how strong you were, if not careful, Magical Exhaustion can lead to fatal consequences.
This occurrence was much more extreme than losing one's Life Force from whatever harmful means.
Overuse of Magical Power was considered extremely dangerous to any being, even if they were ethereal, in the known realm.
This phenomenon was also used to wear down the Greater Demons by dragging out fights by repeatedly skirmishing beforehand.
"Lady Vixella... Please do not mind us... This is our fault for stirring up trouble with the beastmen factions..."
Ethairé's Uncle turned around at the Vixella who grimaced at the sight of injured elves around them.
"Did you bring my wagon back safely?"
"Of course, we wouldn't dare leave your belongings behind."
"There are Magical Jars in the wagon that can be used to restore Magical Power, provide those to your exhausted healers."
"Understood..."
"Also, I'll help cure all of your wounded in the meantime."
She turned to face the crowd of injured elves behind her.
"I can't! No... We- We couldn't possibly strain someone of your importance with our responsibilities!"
The village chief who feared for her also getting Magical Exhaustion shouted out.
Vixella ignored him and brushed Ethairé's uncle aside.
"This is out of my own volition."
A CENTURY LATER
(Determined Transition Music)
"T-Thankyou!", "M-My wounds?", "The pain... It's... Gone-!?"
Hours passed by as the elven healers slowly collapsed one by one.
They were all dragged away to rest beside Vixella's Magical Jars that were flushing out Magical Power to rejuvenate them.
Empty and shattered Jars were scattered around everywhere amongst the medical and refugee tents.
Vixella, despite being a mere 'human', became the last one standing amongst the healers.
"All of the injured refugees are cured...!? This is... Unbelievable!"
The village chief just couldn't believe it as he glanced around at the many elves who sorrowly cried as they hugged each other.
"Human! You..." ("Ningen! Omae...") ((WEEB TIME PT.2))
Ethairé's ineffable words of gratitude just wouldn't come out.
Vixella panted heavily as she staggered forward to smile weakly.
"Please buy my Magical Jars... They're good... Right...?"
"Of course! Please say no more! You need to rest, now!"
"Good Idea... Aah...?"
The view of the world then fell upward as Vixella collapsed down onto the leafy forest floor.
Everyone nearby gasped as Ethairé and his uncle quickly knelt to check on her condition.
Much to their worry, it turned out that Vixella was still alive and kicking as she scoffed at them.
"Say no more, human! Just rest! We will handle the rest!"
"Then, I'll be leaving the rest to you guys..."
She then wearily closed her eyes before dozing off.