The air is stiff like ice, blowing like a fan on the foggy night.

On the smooth, earthy ground, Fick lay with his eyes closed, his face pale and sunken. His upper body is bare, with only his pants covering his lower body. Fireflies were flying over him, while the dark elves knelt on the ground, surrounding him.

‘Is this a demonic sacrifice?’ Arloum wondered, watching the gloomy performance of his people.

‘Even though they'd rather curl up and try to sleep through hunger, they still got up to worship me.’

He didn't know what it was, but he felt as if he was watching his pet trying its best to stand, even with broken bones.

‘Haaa… well, this technique of mine does feel a bit demonic,’ he mused. ‘My body is that of a tree and I have a fairy within me, while the energy inside me is similar to demons. Quite the curious thing.’

The fairy was exclusive to elves, while demon magic is, well, the trademark of demons.

‘Heh, and now I'm trying to borrow the angels’ techniques.’

He crawled on top of Fick's torso, and then around his neck. When he stopped, the dark elves lowered their heads. Before long, a harmonized, quiet prayer echoed in his ears.

‘Angels can turn faith and prayers into magic. Although I don't know how it works, it's not bad to try. These dark elves aren't doing much, anyway.’

In theory, with the dark elves' prayers, the area would be saturated in faith energy. Of course, even if it didn't work, Arloum's plan would remain the same.

Using parasitism, he would be able to provide Fick a constant supply of dark energy. If his plans worked, Fick would be able to contend with the druids after them.

‘This way, we could either invade the elves, or leave the forest. Both are good. Speaking of which, it was a good call to slowly infuse Fick’s body with dark energy.’

Thanks to his unnoticed efforts, he and Fick could seamlessly communicate—when Arloum connects their energies. Doing so also increased Fick's affinity for dark energy, making Arloum confident in parasitizing him.

‘Make me proud, my second Onyx!’ Arloum inwardly yelled, before pruning most of his roots and branches.

After he was left with one strand of root and a branch with three leaves, he slipped into Fick’s mouth.

Fick’s eyelids trembled, resisting the urge to vomit as Arloum traveled down his throat.

Then… nothing happened.

The prayers lingered in the air. Fick's breathing was steady, his body relaxed and his mind calm. When he opened his eyes, his pitch black eyes pierced the clear, starry sky.

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But for a brief moment, a fiery red glow hovered over his black pupils, before vanishing like a phantom.

Inside his body, coiled around Fick’s heart, Arloum’s branch and root trembled.

‘It’s working…!’

He watched as his dark energy filtered into Fick’s heart, merging with his blood. Then, his blood spread the energy throughout his body, strengthening him passively.

Suddenly, Arloum saw the embryo shifting, as if wanting to enter Fick's body.

‘Should I let it merge with Fick as well?’ He pondered, watching the embryo for a while.

‘No, maybe in the future.’

In the end, he suppressed the embryo, letting it fall into slumber in his body. When his dark energy nearly ran dry, he connected his energy with Fick's.

‘Can you hear me?’ He asked.

Fick breathed in, before slowly breathing out. He closed his eyes, his mind blank for a few seconds.

‘Lord… I can hear you.’

Arloum paused, listening to Fick’s lifeless voice. ‘Do you feel anything different?’ He asked, a bit puzzled.

‘He wouldn’t suddenly kill himself, right?’

This time, Fick answered in a heartbeat. ‘I feel calm.’

‘Is that so… Then, lead the way to the half elves. It’s time to make you stronger. Back then, I promised Enis to give him strength. With him dead, you will receive this strength.’

‘As you wish,’ Fick answered, standing up. Looking at the dark elves still immersed in prayers, he chewed on his spit.

‘I can feel your hesitation,’ Arloum chuckled. ‘You are my Onyx. Soon, you will shine the Onyx light to your kin. Go, tell them that paradise awaits them.’

‘...thank you,’ Fick mumbled in his mind. Taking a deep breath, his voice exploded from his mouth.

“My brethren!"

The dark elves flinched, startled into opening their eyes. Staring at Fick, their hearts started beating rapidly.

All of them were emaciated, their bones showing through their skins. However, even though he was lean and wasn’t muscular, Fick looked healthier than a horse!

“Our Lord—”

‘God of Darkness,’ Arloum whispered, feeling a bit excited. Inside, he watched through Fick’s eyes as the dark elves stared back at him, their eyes carrying hope.

“Our God of Darkness is with us. And I, his Onyx, will lead you to paradise! My brothers and sisters, I ask you one thing,” he knelt, lowering his head.

“Wait for me. When I return, we will have a feast!” He raised his head, a faint, blood red smoke flowing out of his eyes.

----------------------------------------

Night falls, the hounds howling at the moon as two elves climbed a trees.

“Tsk, so noisy,” an elf grumbled, laying down on a tree branch wrapped in a blanket. His platinum hair was cut short, almost too short.

“Hehe, deal with it you manchild,” another elf sneered. He, too, laid down, lifting off the blindfold over his eyes. Unlike the first elf, his hair was long and reached his waist.

“Shut up, you man-whore,” the short-haired elf snorted. “How was your slut?” He snickered, licking his lips.

“Her? So-so. What, you're finally gonna try out those warm toys?”

The short-haired elf smacked his lips. “Maybe in the future. I haven’t found someone that suits my taste. I’m not like you who’d fuck a tree if it wore a skirt.”

“Oh, fuck off. What suits your taste, anyway? Don’t tell me…” The long-haired elf gasped.

The short-haired elf’s face was full of black lines. “Damn it, Roven, I’m not that kind of person! You don’t understand, those women are flatter than a board. All of them are!”

Roven huffed. “So what? The inside is still the same.”

The short-haired elf scoffed. “Uncultured man, you are,” he waved his hand, turning away from Roven. “Let’s—ow! Fuck!”

The short-haired elf jolted up, hurriedly pitching the upper side of his thigh.

“HAHA!” Roven guffawed, watching his friend struggle to take off his belt. “I bet it’s an ant,” he giggled.

The short-haired elf cursed, reaching into his pants and yanking out the bug that bit him.

“Che,” he clicked his tongue, squeezing the massive weaver ant until it was pulverized.

“Damn it, when did…” he muttered under his breath, when a strange light caught his attention.

“Huh? What’s that?” He squinted to the distance. There, a flickering red glow floated in the darkness.

“What’s where?” Roven looked over, squinting his eyes when—

“Agh?!” A rock hit him right in the forehead, sending him off balance and down the tree branch!

“Roven!” The short-haired elf jumped down, catching Roven mid-air. With a thud, the two of them rolled on the ground before they crashed into a tree.

“What happened to you?”

“Hiss—!” Roven wiped his forehead, then brought his hand in front of him.

It was covered in blood.

“Someone threw a—” He spoke, when the bushes rustled not far from them.

The two of them quieted down, the cold whistling of the breeze passing by their ears.

Step by step, dry leaves were crushed under someone’s foot. Roven stood up, followed by the short-haired elf.

The two shared a glance, before the short-haired elf shouted.

“Who’s there?!”

The footsteps halted. Then, he heard a thud next to him. Turning around, he saw Roven slumping to the ground, his forehead gushing out blood.

“Roven! Tch,” he ran behind the tree, quick footsteps rushing toward him.

“Fuck!” A shiver ran up his spine, his eyes darting around. ‘Damn it, I don’t have my sword with me,’ he inwardly cursed, straining his ears for any sound.

There was none.

Not even the cry of bugs.

That was all he knew when his eyes rolled back, his body slumping to the ground.

Meanwhile, Fick lowered his elbow, staring at the unconscious elf beneath him. Shaking his head, he turned to look at Roven.

“You’re that elf from earlier…”

He grabbed his dagger, gripping the handle tightly.