Wain took the flower as the temple trembled. Debris from the walls tumbled to the ground. The temple could copse at any moment.


    "Let''s get out of here!" Wain shouted.


    "Yes!"


    They ran out of the temple at thest moment, the supports failed, and the temple became a pile of rubble.


    "We got the spear and the strange flower, those aren''t bad rewards, but what do we do next?" Ern asked, "Honestly, I want something unusual for myself too. Do all the Spirits with red wings hide out in temples like this?"


    "I don''t think so. Most likely, the Forgotten Forest has a core or something like that. Surely that''s where all the most valuable things are located." s muttered.


    Booooooooom.


    Suddenly there was an explosion somewhere.


    "What''s going on?" s turned around.


    Smoke was billowing in the distance on a huge ind as if from a massive fire.


    "Looks like someone''s alreadye here. We were the first, but our time is up." Wain said seriously, "Now more people are going to show up here every hour."


    "No, no, no." Ern shook his head, "I don''t like that. All the treasures of the Forgotten Forest should be ours! At least most of it! They came too soon. Have I wasted so much money on the map for nothing?!"


    "What do you suggest?" Erza asked.


    "We should kill them all! It doesn''t matter who came here, just deal with them, that''s all. Let''s go!" Ern eximed as he jumped off the ind.


    "Well... Maybe he''s right." Wain muttered, "s, help us, with your wind, we can easily cover this distance."


    "Of course." s nodded calmly.


    s swung his spear as he created a stream of wind. It was slightly different. The wind took on a faint red hue and seemed to get a little stiffer.


    "Let''s go." Wain said.


    "Yes."


    They picked up Ern and headed for the ind.


    ...


    "Are those Elves?" Wain asked.


    p "Not just them. Looks like s was right. It''s actually going to be crowded here. These Ashens came here for treasure just like us." Ern muttered.</anda>


    A small group of Elves in white and green armor fought on the ind against a squad of Ashens. The Elves were far outnumbered, yet they did not retreat, on the contrary, they were gradually winning as if each of them could easily deal with several enemies.


    "It''s them..." s muttered.


    "Are you familiar with these Elves?"


    "No, not personally, to be exact." s shook his head, "They are a group from White Clover, one of the two Royal Families. They got here a lot faster than I expected, though I shouldn''t have expected any less from them."


    "The Royal Family..." Ern muttered as he smiled, "I want to fight them. I wonder how strong they are."


    "These are your favorites? You wanted White Clover''s help getting the Royal Spirit?" Wain stared at s.


    "Yes. However, I''m not going to be on their side. I became a nomad because I didn''t like the methods of either Royal Family, White Clover is just the lesser of two evils. They are not as radical as Purple Carnation and sometimes actually act to improve the lives of Elves. If you want to fight them, I can help you. This is the Forgotten Forest, the outside world''s rules don''t work here." s said seriously.


    "Well said, but I think we should wait a little longer." Wain muttered, "There are too few of them. They''re probably just scouts. I want to see what happens when the otherse."


    The elves fought the Ashens, in just a few minutes, they had thempletely overwhelmed and cornered.


    "Don''t you know this ce belongs to us?" One of the Elves said, "You havee here for nothing. Only death awaits you here."


    "Stop! You don''t have to do that! We will not disturb you. Just spare us!" Ashens eximed.


    "Good." The elf nodded as he raised his hand, "Kill them."


    "Yes!"


    The elves attacked simultaneously. They created magic circles, and energy beams pierced Ashens.


    "Great. Now we can begin." The elf pulled a scroll from his bag.


    "You don''t think they''re radical?" Wain raised his eyebrows, "That was pretty harsh. Elf rulers aren''t really the nicest people."


    "Toughness is sometimes necessary. You know that better than most." s pronounced, "However, they''re actually tougher than usual."


    "Hey, can we attack already?" Ern resented, "Apparently, they''re going to call on the others. We can''t let that happen."


    "Wait. We can''t act rashly. I doubt the Royal Family wille here at once, more likely a squad or a few."


    The elf opened the scroll as it glowed brightly.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Space trembled, and a beam of light burst from the scroll. It warped space and opened a huge portal through which dozens of people could easily pass.


    After a while, a detachment of twenty men entered the Forgotten Forest. They all looked like nobles of the highest level, their gaze confident and unwavering. At the front walked a tall guy with long white hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. He wore a light white-green armor with a clover pattern on his chest.


    "Mr. Elmar!" The elves eximed as he bowed.


    "Well done. You''ve done faster than we expected." Elmar nodded, "Now we can prepare for the arrival of the others. We begin immediately."


    "Yes!"


    There was only enough energy from the scroll to make a small portal that closed rather quickly. Something more serious was needed to create a solid passageway.


    The elves began to draw a huge magical circle on the ground. They did this carefully so as not to make any mistakes. They ced scrolls in certain ces, and gradually the density of energy in that ce increased several times over.


    "Mr. Elmar, everything is almost ready. All we have to do is wait a few minutes, and we will open the portal when the energy is sufficient." The elf reported.


    "Excellent. We must seize the territories as quickly as possible before Purple Carnation arrives. They''re always nothing but trouble." Elmar muttered.


    "Hmm? Why is it so hot in here?" Elmar said in a thoughtful manner.


    "Master!" The elves eximed as he pointed upward.


    Elmar turned as his eyes went wide.


    A man in a gray robe and long eerie wings rushed toward them. Yellow mes of chaos enveloped his arms.