Forest of Eternal Vitality.

On the Sacred Origin, this forest stood out among many other mysterious places.

Its trees were not very tall, but what mattered in this forest being known as a mysterious place was that each tree had a small chance of producing a fruit capable of increasing longevity.

A resource highly coveted by all the inhabitants of the Sacred Origin.

Luckily for this Forest of Eternal Vitality, the race of heroes kept this place protected.

Or so it was in the past...

Woosh!

Woosh!

Woosh!

Between the branches of these trees, a group of a hundred cloaked figures were running in a hurry, as if they were running away from something.

Normally, in the Forest of Eternal Vitality, it was very common to hear the wind caressing the green leaves or the sound of the birds and various animals that made their homes in this forest.

Now, there was only an unnatural silence, as if someone or something had cut off the sound of this forest.

One of the hooded figures was in the middle of jumping into another tree.

But...

Bang!

A giant semi-transparent claw appeared out of nowhere and crushed the head of this hooded figure!

"Damn!"

One of them shouted in rage at the death of his partner. To speak in this place, he was passively using his element in his voice.

"There is no choice but to fight! This Abyssal Clone definitely doesn't want to let us go."

Another member of this group said with a strong aura, and with his left hand, he removed the hooded cloak he was wearing.

"Try to use your elements to cover your ears. The enemy has a great mastery of the sound element!"

With his right hand, he unsheathed a golden sword on his hip.

This figure was a gray-haired old man with a long beard, who wore white and gold metallic armor with a symbol on his chest of a golden maiden kneeling in prayer as she was bathed in golden light.

The others also removed their hooded cloaks, revealing armor similar to the old man's. On their chests, they all wore the same symbol.

In this group, both women and men had in their hands different types of weapons.

The man who shouted first had in his hands a large sword, which he unhesitatingly swung in the direction the semi-transparent claw came from.

Slash!

With a large amount of water forming a small blade-shaped tsunami, hundreds of trees were cut in half.

But after searching carefully, he found no trace of the Abyssal Clone that was cutting off all sound in this forest.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, dozens of claws appeared out of nowhere, again, exploding the heads of a dozen armored figures.

The bearded old man, with a frown, yelled.

"The squires protect the Saintess! The knights activate the Blessed Light's formation as quickly as possible!"

"The rest try to find the location of the enemy!"

"Yes!"

Everyone responded instantly.

The squires, who were the ones with golden shields, formed a circle with their shields pointing outwards, protecting a young girl who had a matchless appearance in the center of the defensive formation.

This young woman had golden hair, silver and white armor, and a white sword with colored jewels on the handle of it.

These squires had solemn gazes as they looked around, ready for any surprise attack.

The young woman in the center was Lanaery at the age of nineteen. She had a nervous expression, but at the same time, her eyes shone with courage and confidence.

Even though at this age she didn't have much experience fighting these invading creatures. As a Saintess, her duty was to keep an eye out for any wounded so she could heal them instantly.

Unfortunately, she was barely in the hero realm. Which made her useless against the Emperor-rank Abyssal Clone that was hiding in the shadows.

Boom!

Suddenly, an extremely powerful sound wave spread throughout the forest. The knights who were caught by surprise exploded in a cloud of blood without having the time to resist this sound wave!

In the sky, a giant knight of light suddenly appeared. This knight of light was created using the Blessed Light formation.

In the surroundings, the knights tasked with using this formation were enveloped in golden light that shot beams of light at the giant knight of light in the sky.

Slash!

With a massive double-edged sword made of light. This knight of light cut in a specific direction.

Bang!

A tree hundreds of kilometers away was destroyed by the light knight's attack. Which caused a tentacled figure to appear, covering itself with a sound barrier.

In just a few seconds, half of the knights present had died!

Slash!

Slash!

The knight of light and the bearded old man began to use their swords to attack with all kinds of dazzling attacks.

With agile movements, the Abyssal Clone moved throughout the forest like a ghost. Every time it got the chance, it released sound claws that killed more knights.

Lanaery, who was protected by the squires, frowned with concern.

Until now, she hadn't been able to use her divine abilities to heal her allies because they died too fast!

Bang!

Suddenly, the head of one of the squires exploded, covering Lanaery and the other squires in golden blood and chunks of flesh.

"How did it get here so fast!?"

"Quick! Activate your light shields!"

One of the squires screamed out in disbelief as the Abyssal Clone suddenly appeared hundreds of meters from them. This should be impossible, considering that a second ago, it was dodging the light knight and bearded old man's attacks.

The shields of the squires began to shine with a strong white light. Forming a white barrier around them.

"It moves by means of sound!"

"Everyone! Prioritize protecting the Saintess. She is the only one capable of ending this war. She cannot die here!"

The knight with the great sword from the beginning appeared in the middle of the Abyssal Clone and the squires.

Slash!

A giant blade of water tried to attack the Abyssal Clone, but the Abyssal Clone suddenly disappeared and unexpectedly appeared behind the man with the great sword.

"Attacking this Evil Emperor with such weak attacks, your death is well deserved."

"W-what...?"

The man looked at his chest being stabbed by one of the Abyssal Clone's tentacles.

Knowing that he was going to die, he immediately made his hero heart burst!

Boom!

His body exploded into a ball of water that instantly shattered dozens of the Abyssal Clone's tentacles.

"Ahh!"

"Wretched race of heroes. They always find a way to hurt me."

"But they still always die first!

"Gruaaaa!"

This Abyssal Clone screamed, releasing a powerful sound wave that spread throughout the Forest of Eternal Vitality.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

One after another, the knights burst into clouds of blood!

The barrier of white light around her and the squires instantly exploded as if it were made of paper.

Lanaery, who could react quickly enough, unfolded a light barrier that covered her body, preventing her from being affected by the horrible sound wave. Sadly, she didn't have enough time to protect the squires and knights in the distance.

In the end, they all died...

"Master Sylgard!"

Lanaery called out someone's name in panic. She looked with fear and concern around her. She finally saw the bearded old man with his ears bleeding.

Which caused her to sigh in relief. But at the same time, she looked with concern at the condition of her master.

Lanaery confirmed that the only ones left alive were the bearded old man and her. This bearded old man was actually Lanaery's master. His name was Sylgard!

"Losing the last soldiers of the light... What a violent and atrocious war."

Wooosh!

Sylgard said quietly. With his golden sword, he disappeared, and in an instant, arrived at the Abyssal Clone's side.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

His sword released slashes of divine light nonstop. The Abyssal Clone that was caught off guard suffered some serious damage but continued to attack with its sound claws, trying to kill Sylgard.

"Lanaery! My precious disciple, this seems to be the end of our journey. But I am happy to have raised you all those years."

Slash!

Bang!

Sylgard suddenly began to speak while exchanging attacks with the Abyssal Clone.

"No!"

"I am going to help you!"

Lanaery, not wanting to see her master die, tried to get closer and participate in the battle.

But...

"Don't come here! This Abyssal Clone is too powerful for you. You'll just die and get in my way if you come."

"Just listen to this old man's last words so that he can die in peace..."

Her delicate white eyes were awash with tears.

She decided to listen to her master since she was not stupid enough to have a meaningless death, considering everyone's sacrifice for her to live.

The battle between the two was getting more and more violent. The Abyssal Clone was using various sound abilities that were doing quite a bit of damage to Sylgard.

Not far behind, Sylgard was also using various light abilities with his sword. The battle between the two was very close, not knowing who could be the winner.

"From the day I started training you, I knew you had exceptional talent, and time confirmed it as even the Church of Light recognized you as the most talented Saintess that ever existed."

"I know if you have enough time to keep growing, you can take down that bastard Azther."

"I'm sure you'll make it."

The Abyssal Clone, who had suffered all sorts of serious injuries, heard what Sylgard said and angrily said, "Shut up! You're dreaming if you think such a weak girl is going to be able to take on my lord Azther!"

Instantly, the Abyssal Clone disappeared and, with its tentacles, began to attack Lanaery's barrier when it reappeared.

Although Sylgard didn't hear anything the Abyssal Clone said, seeing how it tried to kill Lanaery, he became enraged and, as a beam of light, used his sword to cut the tentacles that were hitting Lanaery's barrier.

Slash!

"As long as I'm alive, don't even dream of approaching my disciple!"

"Ah!"

"Bastard!" The Abyssal Clone cursed with extreme hatred as all of its tentacles were severed.

Slash!

Sylgard wasted no time.

He stabbed into the Abyssal Clone's body and with his body carried it away from Lanaery.

"Let go of my body, you damned old man!"

The Abyssal Clone tried to break free, but since it no longer had tentacles, it could only use its sound abilities. But no matter how much it attacked, Sylgard continued to hold on without letting go of his sword.

Looking at Lanaery with great affection and fondness, Sylgard said between the Abyssal Clone's attacks.

"Disciple, go to the sanctuary of light and get the sword called Heaven's Light, then go to the Mountain of the End Deity and talk to an old acquaintance. He will tell you what to do to get a treasure that will end this war."

Suddenly, as he was speaking, a blinding golden light covered his body.

"...That's all. You really made this old man proud."

"Goodbye, from the other side. I will continue to see you."

Boom!

With the Abyssal Clone screaming and with its eyes full of fear. Sylgard exploded into a massive ball of golden light that shattered everything hundreds of meters away.

Fortunately, Sylgard had thought of this and had moved far enough away from Lanaery to prevent her from being injured by the explosion.

"Grandfather! Noooo!"

Lanaery cried out, her voice filled with helplessness and infinite sadness. Right now, she hated herself so much for being so weak.

If she was stronger, none of this would have happened!

She did not believe that her most precious being had just died because of her incompetence. To her Sylgard was not only her master, he was also her only family, her beloved grandfather.

"...Hahaha, that stupid old man wasn't even able to kill me by exploding his body. How embarrassing."

Lanaery, who had her pretty eyes vacant as if she really had suffered great emotional damage, looked at the direction this voice came from.

She saw that the Abyssal Clone's head had still survived and was trying to regenerate its body.

Her eyes, which were empty as if she didn't want to live anymore, began to darken, creating a killing intent so great that her aura began to emit a sense of madness and slaughter.

"Huh?"

The Abyssal Clone, who was laughing, suddenly heard footsteps.

It looked in the direction of these footsteps and was surprised to see that Lanaery was already at its side, watching it silently.

"Oh? I thought you died in the explosion. That would have been really fun to watch, haha-"

"!?"

The Abyssal Clone, not noticing Lanaery's slightest movement, was surprised to see that she was stabbing its head with her sword.

"Y-you-!"

Before it could continue speaking, from Lanaery's body, a beautiful divine light spread to her sword.

Turning the Abyssal Clone's head into points of light that were absorbed into her body.

Lanaery, who still had her intense killing intent, walked slowly, and in a few minutes, she created hundreds of tombstones with the wood of this destroyed forest.

On each tombstone was the name of each knight and squire who died in battle.

On the largest and most beautiful headstone was Sylgard's name.

Lanaery closed her eyes and did not move for several hours.

Finally, she slowly opened her eyes and began to walk.

With each step she took, her killing aura and the killing intent in her eyes increased madly.

In the distance, her figure disappeared.

-------------------

Her beautiful eyelashes gently trembled, indicating that she was waking up.

Lanaery, opening her eyes gently. She stared dazedly at the white wall in front of her.

Sigh...

She sighed, trying to forget the dream she just had. A dream that reproduced one of the memories that she usually did not touch.

Which was normal, considering that moment was really tragic.

Furthermore, it was at that time that she almost lost her head by killing all the Abyssal Clones and Dark Heroes that she encountered on the different battlefields.

Simply killing without stopping at all times.