Whispers echoed as Rey, Kara, and Esme trailed behind Gratiana who led them.

The rest of the Elves had dispersed, as ordered by their Big Sis. As a result, they playfully went around the Community to see their friends or have fun.

Were they worried about their Elder? Yes.

However, more than that emotion, the excitement they felt was an overriding force for them. They wanted to hate their experiences with the sisters they had in the Community.

The Dungeon Experience, their new perspective on Nature and the kind of person the man who just entered the city was.

All of this, along with their child-like personalities, made them almost forget Gratiana and her fate, as they trailed off, leaving Rey and his allies to be her only escorts.

Or rather, she was theirs.

**************

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

The High Elder's shriek nearly caused all the Esteemed Elders to wince, despite being used to how hysterical she could be at times.

Usually, they would internally caution her to display more decorum and composure, but none of those thoughts were in their mind at the moment. Right now, all the members of the Esteemed Council couldn't help but agree with the words and actions of the High Elder.

All of them were wondering the same thing.

Gratiana La Shanagari, one of the most committed of all the Elves in the Community, had done the one thing that no other rebel had ever managed to do.

"How dare you bring humans to this sacred place? To our haven? To the bastion of Nature?!"

Gratiana stood silent, her hands behind her back as her head was bowed. This reminded her of when she was still a Young One and almost gave in to her lust for killing; nearly ripping apart the body of her prey.

She had gotten an earful from an Esteemed Elder at the time, but compared to that this felt a lot worse.

More than anyone, Gratiana understood the severity of her actions.

The Elven Community was a sacred place, filled with the sacred people of Naturethe Elves. The same way Elves couldn't taint themselves by interacting with other races, the Elves couldn't allow themselves to be tainted by letting the other races interact with them.

For the entirety of their civilization, despite very few Elves breaking the first ruletraveling to the world of the tainted beingsno one had ever managed to break the second.

Yet she did that!

She brought people who would be considered taintedif not abominableto the very heart of their dwelling place.

"Shame on you, Gratiana! Shame on you!" The High Elder spat in anger, sadness, and downright disappointment.

The other Esteemed Elders stared at Gratiana with similar emotions, though the intensity of the respective kinds of feelings differed depending on the Elder.

One of the Elders, however, was an exception.

Other than the shock on her face, there wasn't any other emotion that she displayed.

"H-High Elder, why don't we let Gratiana explain herself? She isn't one to act in such a manner." After recoiling from the shock, Aurora finally spoke up in defense of her sister.

Her gleaming eyes begged for mercy, but most of the Esteemed Elders scoffed at her words.

"Wasn't that the same way you were also not one to act in such a manner, yet you brought disgrace to the Esteemed Council by leading the Youngs under your charge astray as you journeyed to the Human World."

"This again?" Aurora sighed, almost in exhaustion. The people in this room never missed any opportunity they had to remind her of her actions.

"Yes! That again! Do you not realize that it could be because of your reckless actions that an upstanding Elder like Gratiana ended up committing such an abomination.

"Let's hear her out first before making that assumption." Aurora spoke back with a tinge of annoyance, and everyone in the room picked up on it very quickly.

With tension high in the room, and the visitors tucked away in an empty abode right outside the hall of the Elders, the Elves present couldn't help but sigh.

The High Elder's eyes were moist with tears as she shook her head.

"Have mercy on these ones, O' Oracle of Nature.'

***********

[Meanwhile]

"O' Nature thou calleth me to thine embrace"

A group of Elves were huddled together, amidst the devastation that surrounded them. They all held hands tightly, their eyes closed as their quivering lips moved.

"... Save us from tribulation that test our devotion, deliver us into the hands of purity"

Their long ears twitched, picking up the loud explosions that rang in several directions. Despite sitting in one of the massive craters, generated by one of such explosions, they paid the whole thing no mind.

There was no reason to care any longer.

Their bodies were already rottingpoisoned by the tainted poison of Miasma. The surplus Mana within them had grown corrupt, and there remained no hope for them.

All they could do now was pray with the last of their remaining strength, before their bodies become completely paralyzed.

Giant flying creatures danced in the sky, raining purplish energies upon the landcreating a bare, infertile surface on the very grounds that once bustled with life.

All of this was thanks to the entity that floated abovefar above the flying abominations that did not tire or rest, but constantly rained down destruction and death from their place in the sky.

The figure that watched all of this from a distance wore a dark suit, his arms folded as his dark hair swayed with the wind. His azure eyes watched the utter desolation of the Elves; seeing as they died, cursed him with their dying breaths, and then prayed before they breathed their last.

Even the current Elves who prayed had just finished cursing him before engaging in deep prayer, having the image of Nature in their minds as they devoted their hearts to the call of Nature.

They had fulfilled their duties as Elves, and it was now time for their glorious rewards.

"... To be one with Nature, and"

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~

Before their prayers could be completed, a destructive blast from above descended upon them, utterly consuming them in its power.

In a mere instant, they were all deadwith not even their bodies left behind.