The secret elven society, the "Crimson Warden," the Saintess’ personal militant force of the Goddess Church, the "Zion Knights," and the "Mages of the Tower," led by Yustaf's disciple, Xenia, had all come together to form a coalition to defeat the dark elf Satanael, who had fallen into the night’s servitude.

“This is the language of the ancient Draconia Empire. It’s not perfect, but I can make out some of the meaning.”

One of the mages dispatched from the Mage Tower to support the coalition began deciphering an ancient document handed to her by Cypris.

“The southern region of the Empire… guarded by a protector… a single moonlit lake… that’s where the Blueflower is.”

“Ugh… why did the ancients have to leave such cryptic messages instead of writing things plainly?”

As the mage translated the contents of the document, Cypris and the rest of the coalition sighed in frustration. The content of this valuable document, which they had barely stolen from the enemy, was so vague that they didn’t know where to begin their search.

“The lands of the Draconia Empire largely coincide with the current Borus Empire’s territory, so we know it’s definitely in the southern region.”

Everyone listened intently as the mage continued to share her thoughts.

“A moonlit lake… it’s difficult to guess what specific place that refers to, but what’s important is the mention of a protector.”

“A protector?”

“Yes, given that the Blueflower is a mythical plant, it’s almost certain that a protector is guarding it.”

Much like how dragons’ lairs were guarded by draconic warriors while the dragon slept, true treasures always had a protector.

A classic example was the phoenix.

The legendary fruit of life, which was said to be capable of resurrecting the dead, was nearly impossible to find, and even if one did locate it, that was just the beginning—one still had to face the phoenix that guarded it.

However, this also meant that if one could find the phoenix, they would certainly find the fruit of life.

The mage proposed that the coalition should focus on locating the protector first.

“It’s impossible to search the entire southern region. So, how about we investigate whether anyone has sighted beings that could be considered protectors?”

“Indeed, a wise suggestion, human.”

“Please, call me Xenia, not ‘human.’”

“Very well, Xenia. I look forward to working with you.”

Cypris extended his hand, and Xenia, the red-haired girl—now more of a young woman—also reached out to shake his hand. This handshake between the representatives of the Crimson Warden and the Mage Tower helped break the awkward atmosphere in the newly formed coalition.

However,

“Stop wasting time with this nonsense and tell me where those bastards are hiding.”

“What did you just say?”

“Did I stutter, World Tree whore?”

The hostile words from the man instantly chilled the coalition’s atmosphere, which had only just started to loosen up.

“Watch your mouth, you fanatical orphan.”

“Looks like we’ll have to cut off those fancy ears of yours to teach you a lesson.”

Clang!

Before anyone could react, the man drew his sword with his right hand and a mace with his left, standing up with a menacing expression.

“Let’s not escalate this. Did the Saintess instruct you to act like this?”

“…Tch.”

At the mention of the Saintess’ name, the man, like all those who valued her orders above their own lives, reluctantly sat down, closing his eyes.

The man was none other than Alexander, the leader of the Zion Knights.

 

“I didn’t expect them to be so reckless.”

Xenia recalled Alexander, who had caused a commotion earlier during the meeting in the tent.

The leader of the Zion Knights, a militant group directly under the Saintess of the Goddess Church, not only had a hostile attitude toward elves but also toward her.

‘Heretics chasing a false truth. I eagerly await the day you overstep your bounds.’

Though Xenia had been trained and educated by Yustaf before joining the coalition, she hadn’t expected such overt hostility.

“The Zion Knights are an extremist faction within the Goddess Church.”

Cypris explained the Zion Knights to Xenia.

“If the Gaia Paladins represent the bright side of the Goddess Church, then the Zion Knights handle its darker aspects.”

Whenever the Goddess Church needed to publicly display force, it was the Gaia Paladins who stepped forward. They were the embodiment of what most people thought of when imagining noble clergy: righteous and virtuous.

The Zion Knights, on the other hand, were the opposite.

They were a militant group that followed only the orders of the Saintess, executing enemies of the church with an unyielding fervor.

Their fanaticism when fighting their enemies was so intense that they had earned the derogatory nickname “hellhounds.”

“Considering the tense relationship between elves and the Goddess Church, and the fact that you mages recently went to war with them, it’s no wonder they see us as enemies.”

The Zion Knights despised the elves for worshiping the World Tree, considering it a gift from the Mother Goddess, instead of acknowledging the Saintess as the Daughter of the Goddess.

Elves, in turn, mocked the Zion Knights, calling them “fanatical orphans,” refusing to recognize their Saintess as a divine figure.

“But we’ll just have to tolerate some level of conflict since their skill is undeniable.”

Richard nodded in agreement, and Xenia also recognized their impressive abilities.

• Never fight the Zion Knights, Xenia.

Her master, Yustaf, had warned her in no uncertain terms never to engage with them.

“Well then, let’s begin by attacking one of the enemy’s strongholds in the southern region. With any luck, we might uncover more information there.”

 

“Boy, do you happen to know where the ruins of an old castle are around here?”

“Yes! But the adults always tell us not to go there… they say a terrible beast lives there and eats people.”

Alexander patted the boy’s head gently, impressed by his concern that sharing the location might put others in danger.

“You don’t need to worry. We’re here to hunt down that beast.”

“Really?”

“Of course! Look, we even have this scary sword.”

As Alexander shook the sword at his waist playfully, the boy’s eyes grew wide with excitement, and he eagerly began explaining where the castle ruins were located.

“You must be very strong if you’re going to that scary place….”

“Do you also want to hunt monsters one day?”

“No. I just wish I were strong enough to stop Randall, the bully from next door, from bothering me.”

The boy’s voice was full of regret as he spoke, and Alexander knelt down, taking the boy’s hand in his.

“Little one, using violence against people isn’t a sign of true strength.”

“…Then what is?”

“True strength is only used to protect others.”

With that, Alexander stood and began walking in the direction the boy had indicated, followed by dozens of warriors.

“Good luck, mister! Defeat the monsters and come back safely!!!”

The boy’s voice echoed behind him, and Alexander’s lips curled into a small smile.

“I should’ve told him that we also fight against heretics and those corrupted by evil forces.”

Alexander muttered, a little wistfully.

 

“You wretched creatures! Today I’ll kill you all and offer your corpses to Lord Satanael!”

Clang!

Xeroth, one of Satanael’s twelve generals who had been hiding in the ruins, was now locked in combat with the coalition forces that had launched a surprise attack.

“You’re stronger than I expected.”

“Kuhahaha!!! Of course! Now you realize who you’ve dared to challenge?”

Xeroth, with his claws and fangs that could slice through steel, had been terrorizing the coalition forces, but standing in his way now was none other than Alexander.

“I’ll assist you!”

Richard, who had just finished cutting down a dark elf with his greatsword, moved toward Alexander.

Crack!

“Gah! You madman!”

Without waiting for a response, Alexander bit into Xeroth’s neck.

Squelch!

Xeroth retaliated by stabbing his claws into Alexander’s side.

“I am the blade that carries out the will of the Mother. I shall move as commanded and cut as I am bid.”

Ignoring the injury to his side, Alexander raised both hands in prayer, embracing Xeroth as his sword pierced through Xeroth’s back and out through Alexander’s own abdomen.

“Hurk! What… what are you doing?!”

“There’s no escape for you now, vermin of the night.”

Xeroth was too stunned to comprehend that a human was willing to stab himself just to pin him down.

And in that brief moment of confusion,

“Arghhh!”

Alexander’s hands began to glow as he gripped Xeroth’s face, squeezing tightly.

“You’ll never find rest in the Mother’s arms, but I will pray for you.”

—Amen.

With Alexander’s final words, Xeroth’s long, seemingly eternal life came to an end.

“Retreat!”

Seeing their leader fall, the dark elves lost their will to fight and attempted to flee.

“Fire Wall!”

The mages combined their strength to erect a wall of flames, blocking the dark elves’ escape.

“We have no choice but to kill them all if we want to survive!”

With no way out, the dark elves fought desperately, throwing themselves at the coalition forces. Their relentless attacks were overwhelming, and some of the coalition’s less experienced fighters were quickly driven into a defensive position.

“I’ll handle this.”

“What? It’s too dangerous! The enemy is too close to our own troops!”

“Don’t worry. This is what I specialize in.”

Xenia closed her eyes for a moment, focusing, and flames began to radiate from her body in multiple streams. The fire darted forward, targeting only the dark elves with precision.

“Aaagh!”

No matter how extraordinary their regenerative abilities were, the dark elves couldn’t withstand the searing pain. Thus, the first battle of the coalition came to an end.

 

“As expected of Commander Alexander!”

“Did you see it? When the commander took down their leader, even those elven freaks and the mages were left speechless.”

“They didn’t call him the strongest commander for nothing!”

The coalition’s morale was soaring after finishing their first battle with minimal casualties.

The Zion Knights, in particular, were elated, as their commander Alexander had delivered the most significant blow.

“Commander is just like that guy from the comic.”

“Huh? You mean Van Helsing?”

“You’ve seen it too, right? Doesn’t he look just like Father Eriksen from Van Helsing?”

The knights thought their commander bore a striking resemblance to Father Eriksen from the popular comic Van Helsing—not just in appearance but also in his dual-wielding fighting style and intense battle tactics.

“Now that you mention it, doesn’t Van Helsing seem pretty similar to what we’re doing now?”

“So it wasn’t just me who thought that.”

Van Helsing, a comic about a secret society hunting vampires, had a plot that bore an eerie resemblance to the situation they now found themselves in with the coalition.

Of course, the organization in the comic was mostly made up of humans, whereas the coalition included the elven Crimson Warden. There were differences, but the similarity was hard to ignore.

And it wasn’t just the Zion Knights who were thinking along these lines.