Somewhere else, Hissy felt something strange in her body, as if something had disappeared for no reason. But she had no idea what it was or why.

A sense of unease grew in her heart without any clear cause. She tried to tell Risa, but the woman was sound asleep.

Then she tried to wake Leon, but the alcohol in his head had left him completely unconscious.

Hissy didn't know what to do. She was certain the anxiety in her heart had something to do with Ethan. Yet she had no idea what was happening to her master.

She could only hope Ethan was safe and unhurt. Hissy didn't want anything bad to happen to him, no matter what.

Ethan himself lay helpless on the ground, blood pooling beneath his body. His condition was growing worse by the minute.

Not long after, a group of people arrived at the ruined village, now reduced to rubble. They were shocked, for the last time they had come, the village had been perfectly fine.

The most noticeable thing was the giant banyan tree—it was gone, shattered to pieces, leaving only fragments of its trunk behind.

"Who defeated that eternal monster?" asked one of the men.

"I don't know. But it seems someone strong enough finally freed our village from that eternal tree's grasp," replied a woman.

As they inspected what was left of their former village, one of their friends suddenly shouted, calling them over.

He had found a man lying on the ground, his stomach pierced clean through by a thick piece of wood.

"Come here! Someone's hurt—he's dying!" yelled the man.

The others ran toward him and were shocked to see a pale man lying in the dirt, a deep wound in his abdomen.

One of the women was skilled in nature healing magic and also knew basic body examination methods. She knelt beside Ethan and checked his pulse.

It was still there, but weak—very weak.

"He's badly injured," she said.

"Can you heal him?" asked one of the men.

"With nature healing magic, I can. But it'll drain a lot of my natural energy," she admitted.

"Then what should we do?" asked the other man.

"Go back to the village. Bring Thera and Liora here to help me," she instructed.

Her friend nodded and ran off toward their main village, leaving only her and the other man behind.

"What should I do?" he asked.

The woman sat cross-legged in front of Ethan's unconscious body. To heal him, she had no choice but to use all her power.

"I'll heal him. When I say it's safe, pull the wood out of his stomach," she ordered firmly.

"Alright. I'll wait for your signal."

She formed hand signs, summoning green runes beneath her feet to boost her ability.

A bright green light glowed around her as vines emerged from the magic rune, reaching out toward Ethan.

Slowly, the vines wrapped around his body, releasing fine plant dust that entered his skin through his pores.

Because his condition was so severe, the woman had to stay focused and control her MP carefully—she couldn't afford to run out before the healing was done.

Her companion watched closely, ready to pull the wood out when she gave the signal. It had to be removed for Ethan's wound to close and heal completely.

An hour later, the man who went to the village returned with two women, Thera and Ilora. They saw Elara sitting cross-legged, chanting a nature healing spell over an injured stranger.

"Why are you helping him? What happened to the immortal tree monster?" asked Thera.

"I believe he's the one who defeated it and freed our village," answered Elara.

"Him? Alone? Even our tribe chief couldn't do that. Just how strong is he?" Ilora asked.

"You can ask later. I need your help now."

Thera and Ilora exchanged glances, then nodded. They knew what to do. Both sat behind Elara, activating their own nature healing spells and channeling their energy into her.

Green vines extended from their magic runes, wrapping around Elara's hands to supply her with MP.

With their help, Elara was able to fully heal Ethan. Slowly, his face regained color, the bleeding stopped, and the wounds across his body—except for the one in his stomach—began to close.

"It's time. Pull it out," said Elara.

"In three… two… one!" she commanded.

The man yanked the wood out from Ethan's stomach. The wound opened again, bleeding heavily, but Elara was ready.

She summoned two crystal spirits—one of water and one of earth—to speed up the healing and strengthen Ethan's body.

The crystals floated above him, radiating steady waves of energy.

Two hours passed. Ethan's organs began to reconstruct, flesh and skin closing seamlessly. Exhausted, Elara had done what seemed impossible—Ethan was fully healed, not even a scar left behind.

"It's done," said Elara, stopping her spell.

Thera and Ilora moved forward to help her stand. Her face was pale, her body weak.

"I'm fine, just tired," she said softly.

Ilora nodded, glancing toward Ethan, who still hadn't woken up despite being healed.

"Why isn't he awake?"

"He fainted. We should take him to the village," Elara said weakly.

"What? But he's an outsider. Bringing him in would be dangerous," the man protested.

"He defeated the eternal tree monster—our enemy! We owe him at least that much," Elara reasoned.

They exchanged looks. None of them could deny it. There was no doubt this stranger was the one who had slain the monster.

"Fine. We'll bring him. But whether he can stay or not, that's up to the tribe chief," said the man. Elara nodded.

The two men lifted Ethan and carried him. They left the ruined village, heading toward their main settlement, even though it was quite far.

Still, it was better than leaving him there to be attacked by wandering forest beasts.

An hour later, they reached the gates of the Telmarian Tribe—a tribe that valued harmony between nature and humankind and worshiped the Goddess of Nature, Thalmera.

When Elara and her group arrived, the guards immediately stopped them after noticing the man without antlers—an outsider.

"Bringing an outsider is a serious crime. You all know that, don't you?" one guard shouted.

"Yes, but he saved our village. The Eternal Tree Monster was killed by him," explained the man.

"No one can kill that monster, not even an outsider," said the other guard.

"Then go there yourselves and see the truth," the man replied.

The guards refused. Their job was to protect the gate, not investigate. Besides, they didn't believe any outsider could defeat that monster when even their chief couldn't.

"I'll go speak to the Chief. He'll listen to me," said Elara.

Her friends nodded and let her go convince him. Ethan still lay unconscious outside the gate, waiting for the Chief's decision—whether he would be allowed to rest inside or not.

"Do you think Elara can convince the Chief?" asked Thera.

"Maybe. But she'll need proof," the man answered, turning back.

"The only way to prove it is to take them to the old village. Only then will they see what really happened there."

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