The council meeting room doors burst open as Sinb and Yuna stepped inside, seeing Eunha and the mage at the center of the room surveying a map before them, “Sojung please tell me you dealt with the insiders.”

“We did.” she assured her, getting a collective sigh of relief in response, “But the threat is still on its way so we can’t relax.”

“What’s the plan?”

“We need to amplify our defenses first and foremost.” she answered, pointing to the areas in the map that indicated the outskirts of their realm, “It’s dark so we’ll have to deal with the dark elements prowling outside. Sinb, have the elves secure the perimeter while I'll have the mages cast some light spells on the surroundings to keep the dark creatures away.”

“What of the nymphs?” Sinb asked, concerned for their well-being. As Yerin was not around, that made the Queen their de facto leader almost immediately and she feared that the nymphs may be forced to fight against their will. She wasn't able to check on them herself since she was too busy spearheading the search in the other regions, but now that she thinks about it, she should have.

“They’ve opted to stay out of this fight.” Sojung answered, “And holed themselves up in their region. Yerin instructed it, and asked us to not involve the nymphs. She said it was better that they don’t choose any side than to choose to fight and end up being controlled by the Queen.”

The nymphs’ loyalty to Yerin was not to be questioned. It wasn’t a surprise, given everything that Yerin’s done for them, and it relieved Sinb knowing that they weren’t in danger. Still, there was a part of her that wanted the help of the nymphs in the fight. They were assets when it came to buffing up the realm’s defenses given that they were deities of the land and the majority of the forest where they live was under their protection.

The nymphs' homes were mostly within their realm, but the entire expanse of the surrounding forest and mountains were their domains and it was protected by a heavy barrier conjured by the forest spirits to deal with trespassers. It was why the enemy can only manage to attack from the north and east since those areas were outsider friendly.

“Right now the least they could do is warn us of invaders.” Sojung continued to say, “And that’s more than I could hope for since the mages are going to be too busy trying to put up spells for strengthening the barrier and laying down traps, we don’t really have the time to cast detection magic around the whole area.”

“Right. Then, I’ll be going on ahead to rally the elves. Thanks Sojung!” she yelled before rushing off, not noticing the stares the other representatives were giving her as they looked in slight wonder.

“What’s got her in such a good mood?” Sojung asked Yuna who just grinned.

The shapeshifter just grinned, “She confessed and Yerin confessed.”

The two’s eyes widened at the bit of news, “Well… there’s no way we can lose this fight then.”

“It’ll take quite a lot to take Sinb down at this rate.” Eunha mused, smiling happily knowing that the nymph and the elf have finally taken the first steps to bridging the gap that existed between them.

“By the way, I’m curious how you managed to deal with the insiders…” Yuna began to ask.

“I had Eunha’s help…”

“I chose to help.” the fairy quickly corrected, “She gathered everyone and had me sense and pick out the ones who didn’t feel right to me.”

“You sensed their emotions?” Yuna questioned to which they nodded.

“Given the Queen is already taking action, there were a bunch of us who would either be nervous but some more so than the others. There were others who had a weird emotional reaction to what was happening.” Eunha recalled, “When Sojung announced that we were under attack, some of them got a bit too excited.”

“You get the gist of it.” Sojung took over in explaining, “Once Eunha picked them out, I cast a truth spell on them one by one and plucked out the ones who supported the Queen. It saved me a ton of time and magic to be honest, so I’m very thankful.”

“Aww~ you spoke your true thoughts this time!” Eunha grinned, looking proudly over at Sojung, “I’m so proud of you~!”

Eunha changed to her fairy form and happily stuck herself against the mage’s cheek, looking like she was trying her best to hug her entire face but only managed to spread her arms and legs out to the expanse of her cheek. Eunha nuzzled against her further, a smile on her face, causing the mage to chuckle at her actions before gently patting the fairy’s head with a finger.

It looked adorable in Yuna’s eyes to say the least.

It amazed her how they can look so relaxed despite the situation they were in, but she was not the type who’d rain down on their parade so she let them be.

Everyone was getting along well together… and she was getting slightly jealous.

If they end this quickly, then she can go back to Yewon quickly as well.

“Any orders for me Sojung?”

“Oh right,” Yuna felt slightly bad for having interrupted a tender moment between the mage and the fairy but thought that she was also doing them a favor. If she’s sent away to do a task, then the two can have their alone time all they want.

“Yuna, you and Eunha go ahead and make sure all citizens have been evacuated. Meet me back here for our counter offensive meeting.”

Okay, so maybe she wasn’t doing them a favor after all.

Eunha pouted slightly, detaching herself from the mage’s cheek and fluttered over to Yuna, perching herself on the woman’s shoulder.

The two then set off after bidding Sojung a brief goodbye.

“Thanks a lot Yuna.” she whispered, grumbling.

“I didn’t know she’d do that!”

“How in the world did you manage to find me Sooyoung?” Yerin sighed as she stared at the witch currently sitting on the couch in the living room munching on some cookies that Yewon served. The human was currently out since she went off to buy some stuff for them. She had let the witch in after said person explained that she was Yerin’s friend and Yerin confirmed her words.

“I have my ways.” she just grinned, “Anyway, nevermind that. I guess it was about time that mother of yours finally took action huh?”

“I’m no longer surprised. She would've acted on her greed at some point.” Yerin took a seat on the chair across her, “I just didn’t expect her to cast me away in this manner.”

“Why? What’d she do?”

Yerin blinked, “You haven’t been in contact with my friends?”

Sooyoung grimaced, “You know after the whole fight with the coven, I don’t think your realm would be welcoming to witches like me.”

“I see…” Yerin nodded in understanding before proceeding to explain to her the entire situation as the witch listened attentively to every single detail provided to her. The more Yerin spoke, the more her brows furrowed and by the end of her explanation, Sooyoung was fuming.

“This is exactly why I left that place.” Sooyoung growled, “She already took hold of you, now she wants to hurt your girlfriend too!? That Queen is seriously, the lowest of the low. She’s dirt! And so are the coven!”

“Sinb’s… not my girlfriend…” Yerin timidly mumbled, her mind unconsciously focusing on that statement and not noticing the rest.

“Yet.” Sooyoung rolled her eyes, “We all know you’ll end up smooching after this. But never mind that Yerin. The fact that the curse provides the user an absolute order narrows our list of curses she may have used on you.”

“Not all curses have it?”

Sooyoung shook her head, expression serious, “But any of these spells require a huge price.” she mumbled, “It’s almost very hard to believe that she looks okay with that kind of curse.”

“What do you mean?”

“Curses are very tricky in a lot of ways, Yerin. That’s why there’s a lot of them because each spell has specific requirements and effects.” she explained, “For example: a simple curse, like bringing misfortune to an individual for a set amount of time requires a price of one extremely valuable item of the caster, usually an heirloom or sorts.”

“For a simple curse?”

She nodded, “Your case needs an extremely huge sacrifice. Not only is the witch casting the curse for the benefit of someone else, it also lasts for a lifetime and gives the person a power of absolute order. For that, the Queen must have exchanged something more than material things.”

“Wait, you’re not implying–”

“When I say sacrifice. I mean a sacrifice, Yerin.” Sooyoung raised a finger and pointed it towards her, “And the harsh part of it is that curses like this need a soul. A healthy one. A great power like that requires a big sacrifice, that’s why I’m having doubts. In order to plant a curse like this, the Queen should have lost something valuable to her. Memories? Emotions? No, that’s not enough.”

Sooyoung had begun to ramble to herself as she thought deeply concerning Yerin’s situation.

“You’re saying that in addition to a soul, the Queen must have given something of herself in return?” Yerin inquired, Sooyoung nodding her head in confirmation.

“Oh? You’re not calling her your mother anymore.”

“Please answer the question, Sooyoung.”

“Right, right.” the witch chuckled, “And yes, the requirements are one healthy soul and one other thing worth the sacrifice. But it doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t?”

Sooyoung frowned, “Your mother looks too okay. She’s… she should be suffering from the effects of the curse too. If there’s anything that’s worth sacrificing to this, it’ll be her life. If I was the witch, I guess I’d accept taking away a portion of her lifespan every week the curse stays in effect. She should be aging faster than she usually should, Yerin, and no spell will work to reverse that, but she looks even healthier than before. So it doesn’t make sense, unless…”

The witch stopped her rambling as she abruptly stood up, a look of realization on her face.

“She cast the curse herself!”

Yerin was dumbfounded, “What?”

“That changes a whole lot of things!”

“I am not sure I can follow…”

“Yerin, your mother’s the witch who cast the curse on you.” Sooyoung looked down at the nymph, “Ergo, your mother, the Queen, is a witch.”

“That cannot be possible.” Yerin stood up abruptly, “A witch cannot give birth to one that isn’t. That is the absolute rule of our realm.”

It was an absolute fact that all of the people of their world knew. A nymph will only give birth to a nymph, a witch to a witch and a child will only take the trait of one kind if their parents are of different origins. The one thing that convinces Yerin that her mother can’t be a witch is the fact that nymphs are born from the land they were from with the guidance of the nymph that forms them , and that person becomes their parent. 

A nymph who wishes to have a child prays to the spirits inhabiting their domain and if the spirits favor them, their wish will be granted.

Yerin was born along the boundary of the forest and flower fields, hence why she possesses both abilities and is considered a rarity amongst rarities.

“But… it’s the only reasoning that makes sense.” Sooyoung pouted, “If she cast it herself then there’s no need for her to sacrifice anything besides a clean soul.”

“That sounds too convenient.” Yerin shook her head.

“The witch is drained of power after it and can’t do any spell or curse casting for a long period of time.” Sooyoung shrugged, “I know it sounds impossible, but at least take it into consideration. There might be exemptions of anything anywhere but if it’s not the case then…”

Yerin tilted her head in wonder as Sooyoung fell silent, “Sooyoung?”

The witch just shook her head and smiled, but it unnerved Yerin how she looked sad instead of her usual happy-go-lucky tendencies.

There was something she was hiding from her. Something the witch knew but for some reason chooses to keep quiet about it and Yerin decides to respect that. Sooyoung has provided her  with information whenever she asked for it, therefore if she doesn’t say anything then it’s for a good reason and she doesn’t question it.

“Yerin, a curse has a lot of loopholes so casting them is a careful procedure. There are a lot of specifics too, and it’s not very convenient, especially powerful ones like this. I think the curse put on you is the Soul Binding one.” Sooyoung explained, “It allows the Queen an absolute order, doesn’t let you raise your hand against her since if she gets hurt, you get hurt, if she dies, you die. It’s why she sent you away instead of killing you outright. Of all the curses, I think this one suits the situation the best.”

“I see…” Yerin sighed, “There are no other curse like this that doesn’t allow me to harm her?”

“There’s another one that has an absolute order: the Puppeteer's Curse. But if she used that, she wouldn't have gone through all this effort since she can just control you. It's called the puppeteer's curse for a reason, the caster can easily control your movements at her will so long as she maintains a set distance from you, like the reach of a puppet's strings.

If she used that she would have just kept you from doing anything, even worse, make you fight against your friends. Seeing she didn't do anything like that, I'm assured it's not curse she used and besides, it only works if the witch and her target are of the same blood.” Sooyoung explained, the last part almost in a mumble.

Yerin stared curiously as Sooyoung sighed before continuing, “Just remember Yerin, curses have loopholes. If you wish to overcome them, I suggest you find the loophole and exploit it. It’s the only other way to win against a curse.”

Yerin nodded, “Thanks Sooyoung. A shame witches aren’t all like you.”

She flipped her hair playfully in a seemingly seducing manner, “Have you fallen in love with me yet?”

“Impossible.”

“That hurt more than it should.” Sooyoung laughed, then looked over at the clock placed conveniently on the side, “Only a few hours more before the order loses its effect then.”

“How were they doing…?”

Sooyoung just rolled her eyes at the question, knowing she was asking more about Sinb’s situation than the rest, but the witch knew her worries were not unfounded. It’s been nearly a day since she heard that the Queen’s forces have made their move and launched an attack on their realm. Since then, she hasn’t heard any news from any of her friends from the council.

“Your girlfriend’s raining hellfire on the enemies last I checked.” Sooyoung teased, cutting her off before she even tried to deny it, “They’re doing well at the moment, but the numbers against them are quite overwhelming. They’ve managed to survive the wave of enemies the previous night and the Queen hasn’t done anything during the daytime so far. My guess would be she would try again tonight, even now as we speak.”

Yerin grew worried.

Given that her fellow council members were strong and they can most likely take down armies if they were given freedom, their priority at that moment was to protect the realm. When it comes to defenses, she was the one trusted to strengthen it, but with the Queen having kept her away, their defenses were minimal at best.

“The trips that the Queen has been going on turns out to be her looking for allies…”

“Sadly.” Sooyoung agreed, “But they’re holding up well, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“I cannot help but worry since it is the only thing I can do at the moment.” Yerin mumbled, “They are fighting this battle because of me and I can only hope they can hold on until I can finally help.”

She glanced at the clock. Only three hours left.

“Fire!”

Sinb’s loud commanding voice resounded from the top of the walls protecting their realm and as soon as she did, flaming arrows sailed through the air, their trajectories keeping them aloft until gravity kicked in and they began to descend on the exact spot where their enemies stood. Seeing the small balls of flames, the enemy army raised their shields, thinking that it would be enough to protect them.

However, they failed to realize that each arrow carried a small explosive in them, deeming their shields useless as the arrows exploded as soon as they hit the ground, catching the enemy off balance. It wasn’t enough to end them, but the second volley of arrows that followed were able to penetrate through their defenses easily, dwindling down their numbers considerably.

Meanwhile on the other side of the wall, Yuna headed the shapeshifters as they engaged the enemies on the Eastern side in combat.

Yuna kicked off from the ground as she bulldozered her way through a line of enemy magicians getting ready to cast a large scale spell that has the potency to break down their walls. Once she was finished with that lot, she bounded into the forest along with a select few shapeshifters and began to scour the area for any enemy in hiding.

The enemies that attacked them were as follows: kobolds from the north, magicians and furies from the east and a bit further were the centaur archers and warriors that Sojung was dealing with.

The Queen was nowhere to be found.

And that unnerved Sojung as she cast spell after spell with no plans of stopping, her mana reserves  were still capable to last her for hours, just enough time for Yerin to finally be able to join them. The centaurs were immensely stubborn creatures, choosing to attack than think causing them to be a big disorganized group as soon as they galloped within their sight.

They didn’t even bother to check for traps, and soon enough they all fell into a ready-made hole in the ground that mages created and was deep enough so that they couldn’t escape.

Sojung handled the remaining centaurs who managed to avoid the trap.

The invasion itself made her feel uneasy. It was too disorganized for something that has been planned for a long time. Surely, a Queen as meticulous as she should have thought well on how to go about invading their realm, or perhaps the other creatures refused to listen and just attacked on their own devices?

Was she missing something? There wasn’t anything of value within these walls, so it wouldn't make sense for this to be a mere distraction. The only people inside were Eunha and the rest of the fairies who tended to the wounded as well as the nymphs. Other than that, there was nothing else she could think of.

Before she could think further, another herd of centaurs invaded and the mages were quick to act, doing the same procedure as before and getting the same results as expected. Sojung noticed how some of the mages backed away after, showing how tired they are after doing the same spell over and over without break and that’s when it finally dawned on the mage.

“She’s wearing us out…” Sojung mumbled.

The ones being sent to them were mere pawns meant to exhaust them, after that the Queen will most likely send in the bigger threats and at that point she and the rest will have too little energy to continue on. Even with Yerin arriving, there was no way she can handle a huge invasion alone.

Opening the communication stone, she connected with Sinb and Yuna, “Yuna, head back to the wall. Sinb, use as little arrows on the threats as you can.”

“Something happening Sojung?”

“Unfortunately,” the mage sighed, “They’re trying to exhaust us, making us deal with the easier threats while we unconsciously use our strongest attacks on them. The Queen is planning to send wave after wave of enemies, not giving us any rest.”

“Now that you mention it, we’re starting to run low on arrows…” Sinb mumbled, looking over at her kind.

Yuna huffed as she bounded up the wall in her dog form, her kind following her movements, “Where in the world did she get all these enemies?”

“Years of planning lead to this. She has more in store up there, so we need to deal with each threat as efficiently as we can.” Sojung explained, “I don’t know how long we can still hold on, the barrier isn’t doing well since the furies are raining down hard on it…”

“You should rest too, Sojung.”

“I can replenish my energy just fine.” the mage answered, taking out a round piece of candy and began chewing on it. As soon as she did, she felt her strength return gradually.

She smiled a bit, all the research she’s been doing on creating a mana candy is going well. It’s good that her research turned into something useful after all.

Perhaps there really were benefits in going to the human world.

An eagle then swooped down from the skies, shifting into human as soon as he reached Sojung, “Leader! Centaurs and chimeras coming in from the east!”

“Chimeras?” Sojung blanched at the news.

“Wait, chimeras? With an ‘s’? How many?” Yuna asked, also alarmed.

“There are around three of them that I’ve spotted.” the shifter reported.

“Seriously, where did she venture off to just to get those beasts?”

Chimeras were creatures of lore, known for their destruction. They’ve ravaged homes, forests, and villages, bringing catastrophe wherever they went. With the heads of a goat and a lion and a snake as its tail, they were nearly magic resistant and could only be killed through physical means. But their fire-breathing abilities made it nearly impossible to approach, posing a problem to anyone who encountered them.

“I’m more surprised they can be controlled.” Sojung remarked, “Nevertheless, we focus on this first. It’ll be bad if the forest gets burned to nothing. Sinb, I’m sorry, can you deal with it?”

Sinb was quick to oblige, “Alright. Yuna, can you get me someone to send me up the highest tree in the area?”

“I’ll have one of the shifters take you up there.” Yuna agreed.

“In the meantime, I’ll send over some mages to help your side out.” Sojung assured her, knowing that the elf needed it.

“Thanks!”

The communication was then cut off, meanwhile Sojung asked the eagle shapeshifter to keep her updated on any other invasion along the perimeter. With a nod, he shifted back into an eagle and flew off.

Sinb surveyed the east, her eyes gleaming a bright silver as she watched a large herd of centaurs and the aforementioned chimeras closing in rapidly towards the walls of their home. She was thankful for Sojung’s offer in trying to hold off the enemies at the north that the elves were handling since she knew that she would be expending a large portion of her energy in eliminating the threat. This meant that she wouldn’t be able to assist the elves for a short period of time. This was why Sojung immediately sent help.

Chimeras were extremely resilient, despite physical attacks being a weakness, so normal arrows will not work.

Training her eye on one of her targets, she lifted her bow off her shoulders, her grip tightening as she focused. The bright light of the moon behind her acting as a protection from the dark elements as well as a guide, allowing her to see clearer in the night.

One of the chimeras soon entered the clearing giving her a clear view of the enemies. Not wasting any time, Sinb pulled the string, her gaze unwavering as a silver arrow appeared in her hands already trained on her first target. As soon as the arrow materialized completely, she let go, the silver arrow sailing through the air in a perfectly straight trajectory, the wind further powering it forward the farther it traveled.

A loud screech could be heard despite the loud trampling of the centaurs’ hooves against the solid ground. She watched as the chimera raised its body with a cry of pain before collapsing on its side, immobile.

The silver arrow had zipped straight through the herd of centaurs, blowing away ones that were near enough, piercing in and out through the monster's heart , and embedding itself on the ground before disappearing into whisps of light.

Sinb breathed out before pulling the string again, beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she felt her energy drained trying to supply power into her next arrow. The second chimera appeared, and Sinb disposed of it with the same result. By the time she had dealt with the third one, half of her energy had been drained out of her. She would normally only use half for the entirety of the fight since using up all her reserves would render her incapacitated for days. It wasn't a good idea, given they were constantly being attacked.

She tiredly slumped against the tree trunk, opening communication with the two leaders, “Mission complete~” she said to them.

“Unfortunately…” Sinb’s brows furrowed sensing a grim tone in the mage’s voice, “They’re not the only chimeras.”

Standing up abruptly, Sinb’s eyes glowed again as she focused on the mage’s side. There were three… no, four chimeras currently being held back by the mages, but it was proving futile with the chimera’s resistance to magic making it nearly impossible to hurt the creature.

Sinb wielded her bow again, and not a second after, managed to get rid of one the chimeras. But the other three were closing in fast and fire was beginning to spew out of their mouths, burning the paths they traveled.

Grimacing slightly as she felt more of her energy drain out, she let another silver arrow loose, managing to kill one chimera and injure the other. Unfortunately, the flames had begun to strengthen, blocking her view of her targets.

One managed to attack the mages on the top of the wall. If not for Sojung casting a protective barrier, they would have been incinerated. However, with Sojung focusing her attention on protecting her fellow mages, the barrier protecting the entire realm weakened and soon enough, the furies invaded from the skies, heading straight inside.

“They’re heading towards the fairies!” Sinb reported, shooting down as many furies as she could while the mages held off the enemies attacking near the walls. Yuna was quick to order all flying shapeshifters to intercept the furies while Sojung worked on reestablishing the barrier. Everything was complete chaos. With the realm’s defenses down, it seemed that the enemy saw it as an opportunity to press harder, not giving any of them a chance to rest.

The flames the chimera had spewed out was making it harder for them to fight the creature.

“Dammit this fire!”

“Then just douse it in water.”

As if on cue, a huge wave came out of nowhere and flooded the area, completely washing out the centaurs and the remaining chimeras, as well as extinguish the flames that gave them trouble for a while. Alarmed, the people present looked around for the source of help and saw the naiads, river nymphs, appearing and clearing the area quicker than they could have.

Sinb could only gape in amazement as she watched the furies get taken down one by one by tree roots suddenly sprouting from the ground and wrapping itself around each fury’s leg, slamming them down to the ground without mercy.

The nymphs and the fairies have always been the most peaceful lot amongst all the regions in their realm, so it was a rare sight to actually see them engaged in a fight. For Sinb, who watched the whole scene before her eyes, it was more like a performance than a fight aimed purely for destruction.

And not only the oreads and the dryads but also the naiads, who rarely strayed from any source of water, came to join them. Naiads were more of healers, but they were a welcome help, nevertheless.

“If you keep your mouth open for too long, I fear a fury may find its way in.” an amused voice spoke from beside her. Sinb almost felt herself freeze upon hearing it, her mind having conflicted feelings in hearing such voice. A part of her wanted it to be who she thinks it is, another thinks it was merely false hope. However, when the owner of the voice finally made herself visible and stood before her eyes, Sinb felt relief envelop her entire being. A feeling of elation overwhelmed any other thought that was going through her mind and all she could think of was the person before her. That she is real, she is there and her eyes were not playing with her.

“Yerin…” Sinb breathed, taking a step closer, “For real?”

Yerin just smiled in amusement, reaching forward to close Sinb’s gaping mouth. She didn’t say anything in reply, but her touch was all Sinb needed to know that she wasn't hallucinating.

Without warning, she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the nymph in a tight hug, not even caring if Yerin would throw her over her shoulder like she usually did. What mattered was that Yerin was there, with her, and she swears to all the deities in the universe that she won’t let Yerin out of her grasp for as long as she lived.

And given the lifespan of an elf and the half-immortality of a nymph, it was going to be a particularly long promise, but she doesn’t mind.

Sinb was once more surprised when the nymph reciprocated the hug, feeling Yerin’s arms wrap around her and her face buried in the crook of her neck. Though caught off-guard, she readily accepted the gesture, feeling just as happy and relieved and all other mixture of feelings that she was having a hard time to decipher.

Pulling away, albeit reluctantly, Sinb noticed the tears flowing down the nymph’s cheeks. She felt like crying too, but she held it in, opting to just smile and hold Yerin’s face in her hands, wiping the tears gently with her thumbs. The act of tenderness wasn’t ignored as Yerin smiled wider, her eyes turning into beautiful crescents that gave Sinb a brief flashback to the first time they met, the first time she saw the exact same smile, and also the first time she fell for the nymph.

Letting out a shaky breath as she tried to hold her tears in, she leaned forward, closing her eyes and gently rested her forehead against Yerin’s.

“I missed you…”

It was merely days without seeing each other, but it felt like a century of having been forced apart.

“I know.” Yerin whispered in return at Sinb’s confession, “I’m sorry for worrying you…”

“Idiot.” Sinb pulled away, looking deep into Yerin’s eyes and keeping her arms loosely wrapped around the woman’s waist, “Didn’t we already talk about this?”

“You only need to accept my apology, unless you wish for me to continue apologizing in the coming days.” Yerin retaliated, not one to be beat and with a shrug, Sinb let her win, just for today.

“I didn’t even realize we’ve been fighting for that long.” Sinb remarked, looking around her and seeing the enemy numbers beginning to dwindle from the efforts of the nymphs and the rest of the regions.

“Your energy reserves are as low as your self-esteem when it comes to me Sinb.” Yerin remarked, her eyes beginning to glow green, “You should have kept track.”

Sinb soon felt her energy slowly being restored, as one of the perks of being a forest nymph made her able to remove a person’s exhaustion and allowed her to heal wounds as herbs do for injuries. Soon enough, she felt good as new but before thanking Yerin for it, she wanted to comment on the words she spoke earlier.

“Did you just diss me right now, Yerin?”

“I have no idea what a diss is, therefore, I deny the accusation.”

“My self-esteem is just fine! Especially with you!” Sinb pouted.

The elf was taken by surprise when Yerin suddenly leaned forward so quickly, she wasn’t able to react in time. Before she knew it, Yerin’s burning gaze was on her, a teasing smile on her lips, and only a few centimeters existing between their faces.

Sinb unconsciously took a step back, flustered.

“It doesn’t seem that way to me.” Yerin remarked.

“Uh, lovebirds, I know you miss each other and all and I hate to interrupt, but we need help? Like right now?”

The both of them turned to see Sojung busy casting a spell over the next wave of enemies that has arrived, the mages alongside her keeping them back as much as they could.

“It would definitely sound like the Queen if she’s gathered enough forces to wear all of you down like this.” Yerin remarked, helping Sojung out as she raised a hand and tree roots sprouted from the ground, forming a huge barricade that pushed the enemies back, “Exactly why I kept my people out of the fight for the moment. I apologize that you had to deal with the problems with your current numbers especially since this is a fight I should be fighting alone.”

“Hey, the Queen coming after our home.” Sinb remarked, approaching as well, “It became our problem when she went that far.”

“That’s right~ that’s right~” Eunha suddenly arrived, perching herself on the nymph’s shoulder and hugging the woman’s cheeks with her arms spread out, “Yerin! I missed you!”

“The feeling is mutual, Eunha.” Yerin smiled, “Are you okay?”

“There are a lot of us who are out of energy, but we should manage to get everyone in tip top shape soon. Meanwhile, I’m here to provide help.” Eunha grinned as she spoke, “Furies are coming.”

“And?”

“They hate light.” Eunha grinned as her hands began to glow, forming small balls of light in her palms and letting them float towards the sky one by one and slowly lighting up the dark expanse right above them. They watched as Furies tried to get closer, but shied away from the brightness each ball of light was emitting.

Eunha nodded in satisfaction, dusting her hands off.

“You’re welcome.” the fairy told the group in a playfully smug manner, earning small laughs from the others.

“On a serious note, I doubt that will be the end of it.” Sojung told the others, “So we’ll need another approach.”

“Their pattern’s going to continue until we tire ourselves out.” Sinb agreed, “And that Queen’s not going to be appearing anytime soon as long as we’re here fighting back.”

“I’m more curious why she let it drag on for so long.” Sojung remarked, “She sent Yerin away for a reason, so why take that long until she comes back?”

“She was expecting you to use everyone available.” Yerin answered, "If I allowed the nymphs to fight, all of you would be exhausted by this time since you have no sure count of the numbers against us. She is adding stronger monsters little by little, making you think that she is exhausting her forces as well and thus making you think that the fight will end soon. It’s then that she will strike with all she has while you are defenseless and even if I arrive, I would not be able to fight against those forces.

“What we need to do is also take her by surprise.” Yerin continued to say.

“Surprise huh… Since you’re here I have an idea.” Sojung told her, “With all the creatures she’s sent after us, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has the giants and cyclopes within her ranks.”

Yuna frowned at that bit of information. Stepping away for a while, the others watched as she shifted into a larger dog form, her eyes blazing gold that she closed as she concentrated.

'Yep, those are giants alright, but no cyclopes.' Yuna informed them, 'I don’t think they agreed to join the Queen.'

She shifted back, “I also smelled some more chimeras and griffins.”

“Gotta get the archers ready for that one.” Sinb remarked, “But the chimeras and giants are going to be a problem.”

“That’s where you come in Yerin.” Sojung turned to the nymph, “Can you do it?”

“If it’s to reduce their numbers and draw out the Queen then yes.” Yerin nodded, “What do you need me to do?”

Atop the wall overlooking the north side where the elves were along with Sinb and Yerin, said nymph looked out the distance towards the area in the forest where Yuna said the giants were.

Another wave of monsters arrived, this time comprised of echidna with ghouls amongst them, making the archers busy in dealing with the threat.

“What did Sojung ask you to do?” Sinb asked while shooting an approaching echidna.

“Ask the forest for help.” Yerin replied, her eyes beginning to glow an eerie green. Sinb could feel the ground shaking as Yerin poured more power into whatever it was she was planning to do. She could already tell, even without knowing, that the nymph was not to be interrupted no matter what and so she stopped staring, though she would prefer to do that, and focused on keeping the enemies from disturbing the nymph.

She glanced at Yerin for one more time before sensing something was off. Her eyes focused on the group of elves supposedly dealing with the incoming enemy. Their bows were drawn, aimed at the enemies attacking, but one in particular...

What is that elf doing…?

Sinb stared, confused, looking towards the direction he was aiming but failed to see any enemy that he was supposedly pointing his bow at.

What are you doing?

Where are you aiming, idiot.

She continued watching as the elf pulled the string and let the arrow fly. It was only then she realized who the target was.

It was aimed at Yerin.

Wait... an enemy...? But Sojung said she cleared the traitors out. So why…? Did someone manage to slip through?

Everything was suddenly going in slow motion, with Yerin not even aware of the harm that was about to befall her. Sinb felt her movements turn sluggish as she hurriedly loaded an arrow and fired right at the arrow aimed towards the nymph in an attempt to intercept it. But she had reacted too late, she only managed to graze the arrow’s tail.

She missed.

I missed…

The arrow was already a mere inch away from piercing its target.

No.

Less than an inch.

Stop…

A centimeter left.

STOP!

“Yerin!!”

😬