The Elven Race yearns for freedom and peace.
But these two things, no matter where you are, are not easily attained.
Many times, to pursue these ephemeral ideals, the price paid can be immense.
So immense, it becomes unbearable.
So immense, one may lose everything.
Under the moonlight, Winnie gazed at the distant mountains and forests.
Clearly, they only needed to move forward a few hundred more meters to leave the range of Lianzai’s influence.
Even if Kebo had set traps here, they could still rely on the complex terrain ahead to escape.
It was impossible for the enemy to lay traps everywhere in such a short time.
But…
All of this was an illusion, a fantasy.
Freedom was right before their eyes, seemingly within reach.
Yet they paid with their lives and still failed to obtain it.
Winnie felt the cold blade against her neck…
She looked at the male elves whose mouths were stuffed with cloth, their eyes pleading for her to run.
A wave of despair welled up inside her, and Winnie understood what it meant to lose hope.
But before she could act, Jenfenny had already rushed forward, eyes blazing red.
“Jenfenny! No! Come back!”
Karo Mama shouted with the last of her strength.
But the wounds on her body were not enough to hold back the furious Jenfenny.
Seeing that some male elves had survived, only to become prisoners once more, Jenfenny was overtaken by hatred and anger, losing all reason, driven by the desperate urge to save others.
She swung her enchanted longsword and charged, but Kebo easily kicked her in the stomach, sending her rolling to the ground.
“Tie her up!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Restoration Army soldiers swiftly pulled out thick ropes and bound Jenfenny. Even as she was pinned to the ground, she tried to bite anyone she could.
Her crazed appearance was less like an elf and more like a wild beast.
Kebo walked over and struck her down with a club, showing no mercy.
Then, under the sorrowful and desperate gazes of Winnie and Karo Mama, Jenfenny was carried away and disappeared behind the Restoration Army.
“Now that the troublesome one is gone, Winnie Kanasha, will you come over yourself, or do I have to bind you too?”
Kebo leisurely drew an iron sword and pressed it against a male elf’s shoulder.
The male elf stared at death, even throwing himself toward the sword’s edge.
Kebo kicked him hard, grabbed his hair, and glared at Winnie.
“Winnie Kanasha!”
“Do you want your kin to die for you!?”
“Do you want to be a sinner? Drop the dagger and surrender now!”
“Kebo!”
Endless hatred and rage caused Winnie’s fingers to bleed.
She pressed the short blade closer to her neck, understanding that giving up on suicide and surrendering meant a fate a thousand times worse than death.
But in the next moment, Winnie could no longer think about what would become of her.
She saw Kebo sneer and, without hesitation, slit the elf’s throat.
Warm blood sprayed out, igniting the fury of Winnie and Karo Mama, yet extinguishing their will to resist.
“Captured elves and an Empire Princess killed—truly a night of double fortune.”
Kebo’s longsword fell upon another elf nearby.
“The night is long, and I’m quite interested in playing with you here…”
“But my patience is limited, Winnie Kanasha.”
“I’ll count to three. If you don’t drop the dagger and surrender, he dies.”
Kebo smiled, watching Winnie Kanasha’s expression in the light of the burning forest.
Pain, hatred, anger, helplessness, guilt, regret, and finally resignation…
“One!”
“Two~!”
“Stop!”
Winnie lowered her hands, the dagger falling to the ground.
“I surrender!”
“Do as you will.”
“Winnie!”
Karo Mama wailed in sorrow nearby, powerless to help.
“I caused this… I brought you all to this Imperial Capital, chasing the Water of the Sacred Tree…”
At her words, Winnie gave a sorrowful smile.
“Don’t say that, Karo Mama. This is our fate. Whatever choices we make, we must bear the consequences.”
Opposite them, Kebo led his men forward.
Winnie closed her eyes in resignation.
Though she made her choice, her heart was far from calm.
She understood what awaited her and how dark the future would be.
To remain calm, to accept it as nothing—was impossible.
For a woman, this was a punishment worse than death.
But…
What else could she do?
The Elf King God had given them a revelation: following the Restoration Army to attack the Imperial Princess was a path to destruction.
In the end, these Restoration Army would sell them as valuable goods and strip them of everything.
But even now, despite not joining, the enemy would not let them go!
So why, in the Elf King God’s revelation, was none of this mentioned?
Was Jenfenny not strong enough?
Or had the Elf King God abandoned them?
Covered in blood, weak to the core, Winnie managed a bleak smile.
A bitter, absurd hatred welled up in her heart.
Why were they treated like this?
Why must Winnie Kanasha accept such a dark fate!?
If the Elf King God would not help them, then…
Anyone was fine!
Someone, save her…
Even if it was a demon…
No future could be darker than the one awaiting her now.
“Haha! A wise person knows to submit! Winnie Kanasha, you’ll be glad you made this choice.”
Kebo stood before Winnie, the victor.
“I’ll let you savor what it means to be a woman. Even if the commander forbids me to touch you… can’t I just pay?”
“After all, it’s all about selling—why not sell you to me?”
“If it’s a matter of money, we brothers can pool enough to buy you.”
“Then everyone can enjoy you together. Winnie Kanasha, believe me, you’ll love that feeling!”
His sinister words and approaching hands filled with evil.
Winnie Kanasha’s body trembled as she kept her eyes shut.
Beside her, Karo Mama was bound, her anguished cries fading.
Now, Winnie too was a lamb for slaughter, a plaything for others’ pleasure.
“Oh? Is that so? Then how about I pay as well?”
“After all, this woman… I, too, the Imperial Princess, quite fancy.”
A demon answered her.
Winnie Kanasha’s eyes shot open.
Before she could react, a cherry-pink light slashed before her.
Even Kebo was stunned.
He stared blankly at his severed right hand.
The cut was clean, blood spraying past Winnie Kanasha’s arm.
“Eh!?”
He tilted his head in confusion.
The events unfolding in an instant were so bizarre that Kebo could hardly believe his eyes.
His hand…
Why!?
“Ahhh! My hand! My hand!”
Agony struck the next moment. Kebo staggered back, clutching his severed arm and howling in terror, his face twisted in pain.
A breathtaking figure with silver hair descended from the sky, accompanied by a goddess even more beautiful than any ordinary elf.
Red hair fluttered.
At that moment, her face emerged from Winnie’s memories.
The demon had truly answered her.