Zephyr was worried about the Star Witch’s condition. That massive explosion in the distance could only have co from Ashen Tide—whether he’d detonated himself or used so ultimate technique.
But Zephyr was confident Delilah was fine. That woman was the Star Witch, one of the strongest Awakeners in the world. If she could survive battles against monsters exceeding SSS level, she could certainly survive this explosion.
For now, Zephyr had to focus on his own business.
Before him, in a dark, damp underground chamber, Eldertree stood with his body trembling. His robes were dirty, his white hair disheveled, and his face was full of fear. But strangely, beneath that fear, there was sothing else—a bitter, almost imperceptible smile.
"It seems I’m finished as Eldertree," he said, his voice hoarse but calm. "How did you find out I was the traitor?"
Zephyr didn’t answer, just stared at him with cold eyes. The bow in his hand remained raised, a glowing arrow aid directly at the old man’s chest.
Eldertree continued, "Black Dragon might have been caught. He was a talkative man who couldn’t control himself. But ?" He smiled bitterly. "Actually, I’m a bit offended. How could you think that of ? I’m the most senior Guardian Council mber. I taught all of you so much back then. I guided you when you first joined the Guardian Council."
Zephyr finally spoke. His voice was cold, piercing like his arrows. "That’s what I want to ask you, Alfred. After everything you’ve done, after everything we’ve been through together, how could you betray all of us?"
Eldertree let out a long sigh. His aged eyes grew distant, as if recalling the past—the tis when the Guardian Council was still young, when they together built the foundation of the organization that now stood as humanity’s pillar.
Zephyr pressed on. "Why, Alfred? You know, among all the Guardian Council mbers, you were the one I trusted most. At first, I couldn’t even believe you’d actually betrayed us. I thought maybe there was a mistake. Maybe soone was framing you. But after investigating you secretly, I found so many dark things you’d been hiding. Secret laboratories. Human experints. Connections with the Abyss Syndicate. Everything."
Zephyr stared at Eldertree with piercing intensity.
"Why, Alfred?"
Eldertree smiled sadly. "If you’ve already investigated , then you can probably guess the reason, can’t you?"
"I want to hear it from your own mouth."
Eldertree was silent for a mont. His eyes looked at the floor, then at the wall, then back at Zephyr. Finally, in a soft voice, he said, "It’s because I’m old, Zephyr."
Zephyr frowned.
"I envy all of you who are still young," Eldertree continued. "You, all of you have ti. You have futures. You can watch this world grow and change. But ..."
He raised his wrinkled hand, showing skin that was withered and covered in age spots. "Every day I feel my body weakening. My mory starts to fade. My bones ache. My breath grows shorter. And at the end of all this, there’s only death waiting."
"So that’s your reason for all those experints?" Zephyr’s tone rose. "To extend your lifespan? To gain a few extra years?"
Eldertree chuckled softly. A strange, aningful chuckle. "You think I did all this just to extend my lifespan? Sothing as trivial as that?"
Zephyr stared at him sharply.
"What I want is immortality, Zephyr."
The air around them seed to freeze. Those words echoed in the silent underground chamber, creating a heavy silence.
Zephyr couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
"Immortality?" he repeated, his tone a mix of anger and disappointnt. "Have you lost your mind? You once told that glory was better than living forever. You said a good na would live forever in human mory. You wanted your na rembered as one of humanity’s heroes, rembered eternally like that—that’s what you pursued. That’s what you told ."
Zephyr stepped forward, his eyes growing sharper.
"What possessed you, Alfred? What changed you so much? You used to be the wisest among us. You were the one who always reminded us about the importance of sacrifice, about glory, about leaving a good legacy for the next generation. Now you’re talking about immortality?"
Eldertree stared back. His aged eyes now looked hollow, but deep within, there was a burning fire. A fire Zephyr had never seen before.
"What possessed ?" His voice rose slightly, trembling with emotions long suppressed. "You ask what possessed ? I’m possessed by fear, Zephyr."
"Fear?"
"Fear of death." The words ca out with a tremor he couldn’t hide. "Every night I wake up thinking about it. Every day I feel it approaching. The older I get, the more afraid I beco. What waits at the end? Nothingness. Emptiness. Nothing at all."
Eldertree gripped his own wrinkled hands, clenching them tightly.
"I’m truly afraid, Zephyr. And I refuse to accept it. You’re still young, you don’t know what it’s like. Watching your own body slowly decay. Watching your friends die one by one. Realizing that soon, it’ll be your turn. And after that... nothing. Everything you fought for, everything you built, everything you loved—gone. As if it never existed."
Zephyr listened with an unreadable expression. Then he said, "You’re a coward, Alfred."
Eldertree frowned. "I’m a coward?"
"As a Hunter, you know that every day we have to face death. Every mission, every battle, every monster—we could die at any mont. That’s been the risk of our job from the beginning." Zephyr looked at him with deep disappointnt.
"But you, the oldest among us, who should be the wisest, who should be most prepared to face death—you’re actually the most afraid of it. You’ve hidden behind wise words all this ti, but in your heart, you’re just a coward trembling at the thought of your end."
Eldertree was silent for a mont. His face changed, from calm to sour, from sour to bitter. Then he nodded slowly.
"Maybe what you say is true, Zephyr. Maybe I am a coward. But what’s wrong with fearing death? What’s wrong with wanting to live forever? Everyone fears death. Everyone wants to live forever. Only fools claim they’re not afraid."
"So you’re even willing, for the sake of immortality, to sacrifice so many people and tarnish the glory you built your whole life?" Zephyr sighed. "Do you know how many people have died because of your experints? How many lives you’ve sacrificed for that research? I found your records—over a hundred people, Alfred. A hundred lives lost because you wanted to live forever."
"Regardless, sacrifices must be made." Eldertree shrugged, trying to appear indifferent. "To achieve sothing great, great sacrifices are necessary."
"And after doing all that," Zephyr continued, his tone growing sharper, "you end up dying even sooner, and your na will go down in history as one of the first Guardian Council mbers to betray. A traitor who sold his honor for an eternal life he never obtained. How futile."
Eldertree chuckled hoarsely. A strange chuckle.
"Are you going to kill , Zephyr?"
"Yes." Zephyr’s answer was firm, without hesitation. "I’ll kill you in front of the whole world as a traitor, after I interrogate you. I’ll get all the information about the Abyss Syndicate, about their plans, about everything you know. Then you’ll be tried, sentenced, and your na will serve as an example for all traitors."
"Aren’t you being too cruel to this old man?" Eldertree smiled bitterly. "Aren’t we old friends? I taught you archery back then. I introduced you to the other Guardian Council mbers."
Zephyr ignored him. He raised his bow higher, the glowing arrow fully ford at the string’s tip. His heterochromatic eyes stared sharply, no doubt in them.
"As an old friend," he cut in, "can you surrender peacefully? You can’t beat . You know that."
Eldertree stared at the bow. Then he smiled—a strange smile, too calm for soone about to die.
"You’re very sure of yourself, Zephyr."
Zephyr narrowed his eyes.
"You just said how futile everything I’ve done is?" Eldertree looked at him with an unreadable expression. "You’re wrong, Zephyr. Everything I’ve done isn’t futile."
"What do you an?" Zephyr sensed sothing was wrong. Eldertree’s words, his too-calm deanor—everything felt strange.
"You said my na would go down in human history as a traitor, right?" Eldertree smiled broadly. "Why are you so sure, Zephyr?"
Zephyr tightened his grip on his bow. A bad feeling began creeping into his heart.
"How can you be so sure," Eldertree continued, "when human history—or world history—won’t last that long?"
Zephyr pressed. "What do you an?"
Eldertree laughed.
"I just want to say, this world will soon be destroyed, Zephyr. That’s the truth I discovered. So all that glory—everything we’ve fought for all this ti—in the end, it’s all useless. No one will rember anyone. There will be no history. Only destruction."
Zephyr was stunned. The world would be destroyed? What did that an?
Eldertree continued, his voice growing calr, more peaceful, like soone who had already accepted their fate. "Actually, these past few months I’ve felt restless. I often wondered, should I do it? Is this right? But if you hadn’t investigated and found my betrayal, maybe I wouldn’t have to do this. Maybe I could keep hiding, keep pretending, keep living my life as the honorable Eldertree until the end."
Zephyr caught the strangeness in Eldertree’s words. This old man was too calm. Too peaceful. For soone who claid to fear death, for soone who knew death was right before his eyes, he should be panicking. Should be struggling. Should be begging for rcy.
But he wasn’t.
"What are you planning, Alfred?" Zephyr asked, his voice low and full of suspicion.
Eldertree smiled. A smile that wasn’t warm at all.
"A few years ago," he said softly, his eyes growing distant, looking into the past, "I t soone. Maybe ’soone’ isn’t the right word to describe it. But that person ca from a place you can’t imagine. And then they showed the future."
Zephyr tensed. "Who?"
"They showed this world destroyed." Eldertree stared at Zephyr with strangely glowing eyes. "And then they offered immortality, Zephyr. Offered to make their Apostle."
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