Several moments before the Elder Treant completely lost control once more—
the night in Eldwyn Village felt unnaturally quiet.
Even the chirping of crickets sounded faint now, as though the entire village was holding its breath beneath the unease that had lingered since sunset.
The village square, once crowded with anxious residents, had slowly emptied.
Oil lamps still burned along several corners of the road, their flames swaying gently in the cold night wind, but the large gathering that had waited there before was gone.
No more panicked whispers.
No more restless footsteps pacing back and forth.
The village chief had finally forced everyone to return to their homes.
Not because the situation had improved.
Quite the opposite.
Because the night was growing deeper—
and fear was beginning to turn into something far more dangerous.
Panic.
Near the village's main gate—
several adult men still stood guard in shifts, spears and torches in hand. Their eyes remained fixed on the dark road leading toward the forest, hoping to catch sight of someone emerging from the shadows.
But so far—
there was no one.
Near the village well—
Rasa remained standing.
Her hands tightly clutched her shawl, her eyes red from staring toward the gate for so long.
She refused to go home.
She couldn't.
"...There's no way I can sleep..." she whispered softly.
Her voice trembled.
"...What if they come back while I'm inside?"
Rasa slowly lowered her head.
Her eyes remained fixed on the dark village gate, yet her thoughts had wandered far away.
Toward the stories.
Toward the strange rumors that had spread throughout the village over the past two weeks.
At first, they had only been small things.
Strange.
But not enough to be considered dangerous.
Hunters frequently reported seeing large flocks of birds fleeing the forest in unusual numbers. Several evenings ago, the sky had even been covered by countless dark wings flying away from the deep woods.
As though—
something inside the forest had frightened them.
And after that—
the monsters appeared.
Monsters that normally lived deep within the forest had begun appearing near the outer edges. Some herbal gatherers even claimed to have found traces of large creatures not far from their usual gathering routes.
But strangely—
the monsters never attacked.
As long as the villagers wore the village's protective bracelets—
the creatures merely watched from a distance.
Silent.
As though confused.
Or restraining themselves.
Because of that, most villagers dismissed it as merely one of the forest's "strange periods," something said to happen once every few decades.
But now—
Rasa was beginning to feel afraid.
Afraid that all those rumors had been true.
Afraid that the forest itself was becoming something far more dangerous than before.
And now—
Cecilia was in there.
Lilya too.
Even Harlan and the search party had ventured deep into the forest that night.
Her hands began trembling.
Slowly—
Rasa closed her eyes.
She clasped her trembling hands before her chest, fingers tightening against one another as she struggled to suppress the fear threatening to overflow.
"...Goddess Celestia..."
Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
"...please protect my family..."
Her breathing shook.
"...and everyone helping my husband..."
The silent night enveloped the village.
A cold wind drifted through the empty streets.
And then—
"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!"
The roar exploded through the night.
Loud.
Terrifying.
Not like the cry of an ordinary monster—
but something far larger.
Far heavier.
Far older.
The sound shook the entire village. Windows rattled violently, and several torches near the gate were extinguished instantly by the violent gust that followed.
Rasa flinched violently.
Her eyes widened.
"—AH!"
Her knees nearly gave out beneath her before one of the nearby women quickly caught her.
Everyone in the village froze.
Children began crying inside their homes.
Several guards at the gate instinctively raised their spears, faces pale with fear.
Village Chief Cedric, who had been standing near the entrance, immediately turned sharply toward the forest.
"What was that?!" he shouted.
One of the guards swallowed nervously.
"W-we don't know!"
Another man tightened his grip on his torch.
"That wasn't a normal monster..."
Rasa's heart pounded violently.
Too violently.
Her hands clutched at her chest.
And unconsciously—
those names escaped her lips.
"...Cecilia..."
Tears welled in her eyes.
"...Lilya..."
Her breathing trembled.
"...Harlan..."
She stared toward the distant darkness of the forest.
Toward the place where that horrifying roar had come from.
Then, in a trembling voice filled with desperate hope—
she whispered,
"...please come back alive..."
"Monsters!! There are monsters!! A huge group is coming out of the forest toward the village—!!"
The scream echoed from the village's main watchtower.
Immediately afterward, the warning bell rang out.
GONG!!
GONG!!
GONG!!
Its heavy sound shattered the night of Eldwyn without mercy.
The villagers who had just been forced back into their homes immediately panicked again. Doors burst open. Pale faces appeared behind windows. Children cried even louder.
Atop the tower—
the border guard continued ringing the bell while pointing toward the forest with trembling hands.
"They're coming out!! There are too many—!!"
"Seriously?! Why now?!" Cedric shouted in panic.
The village chief quickly stepped closer to the main gate, trying to peer through the darkness beyond the forest.
And then—
he saw them.
Shadows.
Dozens.
Perhaps more.
Red eyes began appearing one after another between the trees.
Monsters.
They were truly leaving the forest.
"That's impossible..." one guard muttered pale-faced.
But amidst the chaos—
an old voice suddenly spoke.
"...everyone."
It was not loud.
Yet it was enough to silence the crowd.
Elder Harald slowly stepped forward, leaning on his old wooden staff.
His white hair swayed softly in the night wind.
Despite his age, his eyes remained calm.
"...do not panic."
Everyone immediately turned toward him.
Even Cedric looked over quickly.
"Elder Harald?!"
The old man gazed toward the village gate for several moments.
Then—
he spoke.
"Our village possesses a special protector that has existed for thousands of years."
His voice was low.
But clear.
"And that protector will fulfill its duty."
Several villagers exchanged confused glances.
But the older elders of the village—
their eyes widened immediately.
As though they had suddenly remembered something nearly forgotten.
Harald slowly turned around.
"Village Chief."
Cedric hurried toward him.
"Yes?"
"Come with me."
The old staff tapped lightly against the ground.
"And gather every girl with a beautiful singing voice."
Cedric froze.
"...beautiful voices?"
His eyes widened slightly.
Then—
as realization struck him—
his breath caught.
"...Don't tell me..."
Harald looked directly at him.
"Yes."
The old man's voice grew far heavier now.
"We will use [Shooting Star]."
Silence.
Several older villagers immediately stiffened.
That legend.
That song.
Eldwyn's final line of defense.
Long ago—
the first Sword Saint had not created only one protection for the village.
She had created two.
The first—
the guardians of the forest.
The Treants who maintained balance and kept the monsters confined to the deep woods.
Only a handful of people even knew the Treants truly existed.
But if that defense ever failed—
if monsters someday escaped the forest—
then the second system would awaken.
Eldwyn's final safeguard.
An ancient song ritual.
And that was why—
every girl in the village had been taught the song since childhood.
Not as entertainment.
But as inheritance.
Though most of the current generation had long treated it as nothing more than an old tradition without meaning.
But tonight—
for the first time in hundreds of years—
that song would be sung again.
Inside the village church—
old candles illuminated the room.
Golden shadows danced softly against the cold stone walls.
Dozens of young girls now stood in a large circle.
They wore simple black-and-white church uniforms, hoods covering part of their hair.
Their young faces were tense.
Afraid.
Yet none of them moved from their places.
At the center of the circle—
Elder Harald stood atop an old wooden platform.
His worn staff remained firmly in his grasp.
Meanwhile, Cedric handed him an ancient sheet of paper.
The parchment looked incredibly old.
Its edges had yellowed with age.
And the writing upon it—
was unreadable to everyone present.
The characters were cramped.
Small.
Uneven.
Like the scribbles of a child.
Yet somehow—
they formed patterns that felt strangely... alive.
That ancient language had been passed down by the first Sword Saint herself.
Harald had once heard its name from the elder before him.
"...Japanese..." he murmured softly.
No one inside the church understood the meaning of the words.
They merely memorized the sounds.
The melody.
The rhythm of the breathing.
Because according to legend—
the song was not merely a song.
It was a key.
Harald slowly raised his staff.
All the girls inhaled together.
Then—
the song began.
Softly.
Gently.
Barely more than a whisper.
"──Hoshi yo... nemuri no naka de..."
Their voices blended together.
Pure.
Clear.
Echoing softly through the ancient stone church.
"──Kagayaki wa... mada kienai..."
The melody gradually rose.
Flowing like the night wind.
Yet at the same time—
the ground beneath the village began trembling.
DUUMM...
Several villagers outside immediately gasped.
The vibration came from near the main gate.
"Th-the ground...!" one guard shouted.
Cracks began spreading across the earth near the village wall.
Slowly.
Deeply.
Meanwhile—
inside the church—
the song continued.
Growing stronger.
More beautiful.
"──Yami wo koete... sora e..."
SUUUUUMMM—
A faint glow began emerging from ancient symbols carved into the inner walls surrounding the village.
Symbols long hidden beneath moss and dismissed as meaningless decorations.
Now—
they were glowing.
One after another.
And when the girls reached the next verse—
the ground before the main gate...
exploded.
"Look!! Something's coming out of the ground!!!"
A little girl's scream pierced through the panic near the gate.
Her trembling finger pointed toward the front of Eldwyn's walls.
Everyone immediately turned.
The cracked earth—
moved.
DUUUMM...!!
A gigantic stone hand burst from beneath the ground, shattering stone and roots apart. Massive fissures spread in every direction, forcing several guards to stumble backward in terror.
Then—
something enormous leapt upward.
BOOOOMM—!!
The ground shook violently as the creature landed directly before the village gate.
Dust exploded into the air.
And when the cloud finally cleared—
everyone froze.
"...A bear?"
The creature resembled a giant teddy bear.
Its body was round and enormous, formed entirely from dark gray stone engraved with faintly glowing magical patterns. Small black eyes sat upon its flat face, while its mouth—
was stitched shut with a massive X-shaped mark.
Its ears were round.
Its body plump.
It almost looked adorable—
if it were not taller than two houses.
Then—
the golem raised both arms toward the sky.
And roared loudly.
"KUMAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
Its voice shook the entire village.
But even more shocking—
the ground exploded again.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
One after another—
six more bear golems emerged from beneath the earth around the village.
Seven in total.
They stood surrounding Eldwyn like ancient guardians awakened from a thousand-year slumber.
The villagers could only stare in disbelief.
"...the legendary golems..."
"...they were real..."
"...the second guardians..."
But from the direction of the forest—
something else appeared.
And this time—
not a single person felt relieved.
More and more red eyes emerged from the darkness between the trees.
Then the monsters stepped out.
Hell Wolves with massive black bodies and glowing crimson fangs.
Goblins wielding crude weapons, their eyes filled with madness.
Gigantic Hell Bears with claws as large as swords.
And—
Hell Kongs.
Massive ape-like monsters with grotesquely swollen black muscles.
They marched from the forest in endless numbers.
Without roars.
Without cries.
Only the heavy sound of footsteps shaking the earth.
And every one of them—
was covered in black aura.