In the middle of the night, when most of the camp had settled into sleep – the dark elves patrolled steadily around every single tent they had set up, keeping sharp watch to keep everyone safe from whatever dangers might be lurking nearby – a sudden thud rang out from somewhere close by, loud enough to cut through the quiet of the woods. One of the guards spun toward the sound and called out in a voice that was loud and clear, carrying across the dark clearing.
"Who's there?!, show yourself right now or you'll face the consequences of sneaking up on us!"
As the words left his mouth, his eyes fell on something that made every muscle in his body freeze up cold. Just a few steps away, one of their fellow dark elves lay motionless on the ground – they'd been run through the chest with such force that the wound had torn wide open, spilling their internal organs out like a butcher cutting apart a pig for market. Every guard there was struck dumb with shock; none of them had expected an enemy attack to come this sudden, not when it was so late at night and tomorrow they were supposed to meet up with the forest elves to stand together against the fire elves.
"Damn you! What kind of monster would do something like this!"
The figure responsible stepped out from behind a cluster of trees then, and what they saw was nothing like any enemy they'd faced before. He had hair as blue as a winter sky, strange white eyes that seemed to glow faintly in the dark, and he was dressed in a gray blazer paired with crisp white trousers and polished black shoes. It was an entirely unexpected visit, and no one had any idea where he could have come from.
"Oh, sorry about that. Did i interrupt something important?, my real apologies if I caused a fuss here. Because it kind of feels like you all just stood right in my way while I was walking through here – plus I sensed something odd lingering around this spot too"
They'd made sure to douse all the campfires hours ago, back when most of their allies were first heading off to sleep. So what in the world could have let this vile-looking man track them down so easily in all this darkness?
"State your name right now, and tell us exactly what your plan is for coming here!"
The man shifted his weight a little, looking around at all the guards with an expression that was hard to read.
"Why do you need to ask about my name and what I'm doing here anyways?, after all – we're complete strangers, seeing as we only just met a minute ago. Nevertheless... it's been getting quite annoying lately, how camps like yours keep popping up all over the place, scattered through every forest and plain I pass through"
"Well it's not like we're here just to get in your way – we're merely setting up to be ready for what's coming. There's a war about to break out just a few miles ahead of where we're standing right now"
"I see now. What a heroic little cover story you've got going on for yourselves. Well then, I suppose I should say my name out loud so all of you can hear it proper – and I want every single one of you to remember it too. My name is Sentar Hazien, and I'm just a fellow adventurer who's been roaming these lands looking for interesting stuff and–"
His words were cut off sharp before he could finish, when another voice rang out from the direction of the king's tent.
"You are not an adventurer. Don't even try to pretend you are"
It was Jyle who'd spoken up, and he was already moving forward, his hand resting ready on the sword strapped to his right waist – the leather belt holding it tight against his hip. This wasn't just some ordinary blade either; he'd first seen it tucked away in a corner of the king's royal room back home, and after watching Maximus handle it without any trouble at all, Jyle had been determined to learn how to wield it himself.
"I see how it is – you guys don't trust me one bit. Just because I look a little suspicious doesn't mean that I'm actually some kind of–"
"Shut your mouth. Eviest Cult. I know exactly what you are"
The moment Sentar heard his cult's name spoken out loud for everyone to hear, the casual act he'd been putting on dropped away completely. He didn't even try to hide himself anymore.
"I see... so I was already exposed then. Guess there's no point in playing nice anymore"
In less than a blink of an eye, he simply vanished into thin air, like he'd never been there at all. Jyle tensed up instantly, his eyes scanning every inch of their surroundings as his hand tightened on his sword hilt – but what he saw next made his blood run cold.
All around the camp, the dark elf guards who'd been standing watch just moments ago were falling one by one. Their heads were being torn clean from their bodies like it was nothing at all – spines are supposed to be strong and tough, but to Sentar they might as well have been made of paper. Then he was suddenly right there in front of Jyle, swinging his hand in a brutal arc aimed straight at his neck. Jyle barely managed to twist aside and block the attack with his armpit, but the sheer force of the blow sent him stumbling backward several feet before he could steady himself again.
"I see now... your power really is remarkable – extraordinary even. That's why you've kept winning every single fight you've been in, isn't it?"
Sentar just threw his head back and let out a loud, harsh laugh that echoed through the quiet woods.
"Whatever. I couldn't care less about all that stuff anymore. All my old stories are already gone and dead anyway. There was this one superficial powerful being who tried to stop me dead in my tracks not long back – somehow I managed to survive it, and now... well, now I dominate this whole forest by my own hand"
Jyle straightened up then, his face set in a hard line as he spoke in a voice as cold as ice.
"Not for long."