The silence accompanied Chiyeon and Aeri who followed the narrow path set out in front of them. Though they were of the same race and had gotten acquainted, there was a visible distance building between them.   Chiyeon tried to ignore her inability to read Aeri as much as she tried reading her. It used to intrigue her and pique a certain part of her curiosity. However, seeing the brief grimness twist over Aeri’s lips earlier, she perceived it as a bad omen. Aeri didn’t think anyone would notice, but Chiyeon did.   “Is something the matter?” Aeri suddenly asked, halting her steps. She turned to Chiyeon with her signature blank expression.   “Uh.. Ah…” Chiyeon never thought she’d be fearful of her own comrade. Seeing the confrontation between the wolves earlier proved alliances wouldn’t last forever. “I wonder where Hoseok is.”   “Hoseok?” The name was so foreign to the princess and she tilted her head sideways.   It crossed Chiyeon that Aeri never got introduced to the other elves, or any of the other players for that matter. “He’s a… Fellow elf.”   “Someone dear to you?”   “W-what? Uhm… Eh… He’s just a friend.”   For the first time, Aeri’s lips tilted to the slightest resemblance of a genuine smile. It graced her face in the way a painting had finally come to completion.   “I understand. You must go to him,” she said.   “What about you?”   Aeri faced the ground, feeling a blush appear when someone popped in her mind. “I have someone else to go to.”     The damage to the surrounding was courtesy of Namjoon’s doing. As Hoya and Yoongi gained clarity of the earlier incident, they realized they were lucky to have been spared. Namjoon was too powerful and unpredictable, which in itself was a strength.   Hoya helped his wife steady herself, realizing she had hurt her ankle during a fall. Without her Adamas staff, she had nothing to support herself with. He slipped his arm behind her waist and became her new support.   “Can you walk?”   His face was too close, and his voice was nothing but a breathy whisper gushing against her face. Even after being married for several months, he never failed to make Biah flutter from the inside. A single touch intoxicated her to fall for him over and over again.   “Should I carry you?” He asked when he received no reply.   “No, you’ll get tired,” Biah quickly said, heavily shaking her head. She didn’t want to burden him.   “I’ll never get tired of carrying an angel,” Hoya said with a playful grin. He slipped his other hand behind her feet and easily lifted her like it was their wedding day all over again. Their joyful giggles filled the air, seemingly forgetting about the horror of the game and the wounds scarring their body.   Maerin shyly gazed to her feet, trying to put her focus on anything but the lovey dovey couple. A part of her thought of Taemin. What would they be like if they were a couple?   Then she glanced sideways, observing Yoongi who kept his eyes locked on the couple. It was a mixture between hatred or worry—Maerin could not quite put her fingers on it.   But whatever short moment of joy remained was quickly shattered by harsh reality. When Baekhyun, Yeonji, and Bacon came running out of the bushes, looking completely blanched and out of breath, the others realized danger was chasing close behind.   “What happened?” Biah asked, tapping Hoya to put her on the floor. She worried about the dirt on their face, wondering whether they were hurt anywhere.   “We met Namjoon before he was about to eat-” Baekhyun abruptly stopped when the girl jerked him against the ribcage. He stared at her with disbelief, but her eyes demanded him to stop.   “Eat?” Maerin questioned, her eyebrows raised. Soon a grin crept on her face, not knowing the type of food wendigos usually consumed. “Since he is eating, he must be distracted. I say we go to him right now and charge!”   “Yeah, we can attack him now,” Biah said, for once agreeing to an attack rather than a defense. She knew the wendigos were evil, and would willingly refuse her healing expertise to them.   “Yibyul is there too. She was dragging Myungsoo’s corpse with her, beheaded and all,” Baekhyun spoke carelessly.   Yeonji slapped her forehead, wondering how she was going to fix it this time.   “What? They’re eating elves?” Maerin gasped in horror, and felt her body shivering from the sole of her feet to the top of her head.   “They’re wendigos. What do you expect?” Yoongi uttered, folding his arms with zero interest.   Hoya remained quiet the entire time and tried to put things together in his head. “Did you,” he stole a small glance from Maerin, “happen to see Taemin?”   Though Yeonji was used to showing her disinterest for others, it was clear she did care. Her eyes darted to Maerin, afraid how she’d take the news if she knew the truth. “We saw him,” she confirmed.   Hoya shut his eyes, knowing what it meant. Taemin was dead. He was Namjoon’s dinner. There was no way to save him now, and Maerin would be extremely devastated.   As they both unconsciously stared at the girl in question, Maerin turned to them with a wide, hopeful grin. “I bet Taemin is trailing the wendigos right now and trying to ambush them! He always had a hero complex,” she spoke with such pride.   Yeonji didn’t want her to break—it was still too early in the game. So she did what she thought would be best for now.   “I’m sure he is.” Her voice carried a serene tone. One wouldn’t know whether her words were one of reassurance, or one that planted false seeds of hope for the time being.   “We’ll go find him and fight by his side,” Maerin nodded cheerfully. She picked Bacon up from Yeonji’s shoulder and began twirling him around in circles for a celebratory dance.   The game was getting more and more interesting, Yoongi noticed. He kept his eyes on Yeonji, seeing some guilt written on her face. “Do you think you are protecting her this way?” He asked the goblin who seemed the most rational of all.   Yeonji’s gaze hardened and returned his stare. “Should I have admitted her crush was the wendigo’s dinner?”   He smirked. “She’ll find out sooner or later, anyway.”   Some people possessed a heart far darker and filthier than a wendigo. Though he had never eaten any of his victims, Yoongi was notorious for having murdered and tortured more people than anyone could have imagined. With the decline of wendigo attacks in the land, Yoongi was quickly becoming a far greater threat.   Baekhyun interrupted her thoughts “Don’t let him get to you. He likes to break his enemies.”   She knew he meant well, but for the sake of maintaining her emotional distance, she rolled her eyes and walked away.   “I was only trying to help,” Baekhyun mumbled to himself. When he heard a light feminine giggle next to him, he jumped up in surprise and saw Biah.   “She is probably just shy,” the girl said, smiling so brightly he had had a feeling she needed a favor. Soon enough she unveiled her hands from behind, showing the two broken pieces of her diamond filled staff.   “Did Namjoon do this?” He assumed, and she nodded.   “I heard you’re the best blacksmith in the entire land. Could you help me fix this?” Biah asked, batting her eyelashes with hope.   Baekhyun hummed to himself, changing to a posture more appropriate for a legendary blacksmith. He placed his hand on the staff and began assessing everything there was to know about it.   “It uses the Saluber, an ancient stone that is seldom found nowadays.” He couldn’t help but to treat this favor as a business prospect. When profit was at stake, his tendency to bluff resurfaced. The human did not have to know the Saluber was as easy as obtaining rice grains. “Luckily, I managed to secure some of it myself and have some stock. I could help you fix the staff. But considering all my equipments are at the shop, I will require a great amount of compensation for my manual labor.”   Biah smiled with such happiness and nodded without thinking. “I’ll give you anything.”   “Alright, it might take a while,” he said. He took the broken pieces in his hand and tugged it in his clothes. Then he was met by Hoya’s piercing glare.   “Don’t you dare rip her off,” he warned with fire burning in his eyes.   “Never,” Baekhyun spoke with an exaggerated laugh. “I am the best blacksmith in the land.”   “Perhaps because you’re the only one,” Hoya pointed out, and this made Yoongi scoff.   Odd, but the crown prince seemed to enjoy these lame jokes. It could be a biased opinion he had formed of his friend, but he believed Hoya was too good to be hindered by Biah. She would only bring down his reputation.   “We need a staff that could defend us from the wendigo’s attack,” Hoya continued.   The words sank Baekhyun’s heart. He had seen what Namjoon was capable of, and how easily Yeonji’s hypnosis was nullified. They needed more than a powerful healer to truly stand a chance.   “Well, let’s quickly go and find the hideout of those evil wendigos!” Maerin shouted to no one in particular. Bacon was her only audience as he also chirped in excitement.   Without waiting for the others, they slashed through the bushes blocking their path and ventured further. Unt