In the depths of Mist Forest, in the nest of the Dark Night Elves, inside a low, animal-hide tent.

There sat an old Priest, his eyes covered with a black cloth, cross-legged among a group of Dark Night Elves, chanting incomprehensible spells.

The ornaments hanging on his robe, like wind chimes, made a tinkling sound as he moved slightly, the strange melody seemingly accompanying his spell.

It was then that he suddenly raised his head, directing his obscured vision toward the direction of the human stronghold. He twitched his nose as if smelling an unpleasant odor, his sparse eyebrows gradually twisting into a knotted rope.

After a long while,

the Priest said in a hoarse voice,

"It is Chaos..."

Chaos!

At the instant the word was heard, there was a stir among the Dark Night Elves in the tent, with a variety of expressions on their faces; some shocked, some fearful, and some expressionless.

The short-lived humans might have forgotten its terror, but they could never forget that all-consuming power.

After a long silence, the Priest in the center of the tent continued with a bitter voice,

"The order of the labyrinth has been missing for too long... the outer gods in the void eventually set their sights on us."

"This time it's 'Nuoville' the Deceitful Fog... It is made up of thousands of twisted faces and endless nightmares, each face within the smoky form whispering the essence of nightmares itself. Its form cannot be described in words, and anyone who sees it will inevitably fall into it...including me."

At this point, a pale hue crossed the Priest's face, even the remaining blood color showing deep fear.

"I cannot peer into it for long, the ritual has already begun... I can only see so much."

After these final words, the Priest said no more.

The Dark Night Elves sitting in the tent exchanged uncertain glances, whispering quietly.

"Why here?!"

"Aren't the first three levels of the labyrinth more chaotic than us?"

"I've said it before... we should never have kept those humans."

"What could we do then? Kill them and then attract more to come and kill us?"

"This is our last sanctuary...we can't lose this last forest too!"

Listening to his people's conversation, the young Clan Leader stayed silent, merely gazing at the withered wooden staff on his knee.

The dry appearance was like a dead snake, yet surprisingly, it slowly opened its mouth.

"Edmond...tell me, who is his Angel Envoy, who is the Madman."

Edmond was the name of the Priest.

Upon hearing the voice from the withered staff, the blindfolded Priest displayed a bitter and even desperate expression.

"Every one of them..."

"Everyone in that town is."

The tent fell silent.

There was no sound for a long while.

After who knows how long, the withered staff let out a decaying sigh.

"...we can only kill them all."

The quickest way to eradicate a conspiracy is to destroy the very soil in which the conspiracy thrives.

It knew this was extreme.

But it was nearly the only way that didn't draw more attention while solving the problem swiftly.

The only trouble was that this might lead to new problems.

Humans might not remember the old grievances with Chaos, but they would certainly remember a freshly inflicted wound.

Sadly, it couldn't even be certain whether this too was a part of the Deceitful Fog's plan.

Perhaps even its current decision was part of that so-called plan...

Just then, the tent's door curtain was slightly pulled aside, and a Dark Night Elf wearing a cloak knelt next to the Clan Leader on one knee.

"...the Demon King is not coming this way, but is heading toward the human stronghold instead."

Upon hearing this, all the Dark Night Elves in the tent showed surprised expressions.

Including the previously expressionless Clan Leader.

And even the blindfolded Priest.

Clearly, the action of that lord was unexpected to all of them.

"The Demon King?"

"To the human stronghold?!"

"Has he gone mad?"

A whispering buzz of discussions filled the tent.

Listening to such conversations, the Scout stayed silent for a moment then continued in a lowered voice,

"He altered his appearance, and perhaps the humans don't know what he looks like..."

Unlike the Dark Night Elves, who recognize each other mainly by scent, humans rely mostly on appearance.

At least from the reaction of that adventurer, those humans did not recognize him as the Demon King.

After a pause, she continued.

"And I think, he must have his reasons for doing this."

The remained silent Clan Leader nodded after a long consideration, and quietly commanded,

"Helen, you and Sherry keep watching, report back to me immediately with any new information."

"Yes."

The cloaked Scout nodded slightly and disappeared at the entrance of the tent.

After giving the orders, the young Clan Leader gripped the withered wooden staff and slowly stood up from the ground.

Seeing the Clan Leader rise, the surrounding Dark Night Elves also did the same, standing up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you all heard, Chaos is infiltrating our homeland."

"If we do nothing, this place will become the next Dimension Desert, a new epicenter."

"We have unresolved grievances with the Surface World, but no matter what, we cannot lose this forest."

"If it really comes to the point where we must take action, we must make a decision."

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