"And from inside it… he came."
Elisira's words hung in the air, heavy and slow, as if even she didn't dare to continue her sentence. A few seconds of silence stretched between them, a silence that was neither empty nor calm, but full of something that had not yet been said.
The princess's face was overtaken by fear. Just talking about that monster, just thinking about the things she had read or heard about it, made her body tremble.
Daniel, without taking his gaze off Elisira's face, waited. There was no hurry in his posture, no pressure to hear the rest. But this unpressured silence forced Elisira to continue.
She took a deep breath. As if she was pulling something from a distant place, from the depth of a memory she didn't want to touch again.
"His body… looked like a human." She paused. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if searching for the right word.
"But no… not like us. Much more compact. As if his muscles were built more than necessary… like something designed for battle, not for life."
Her gaze left Daniel for a moment and fixed on an unknown point in the darkness of the forest, as if she could see his image before her eyes.
"His skin was dark… not just dark, not ordinary dark, as if it was made of corruption itself." Then, her voice lowered a bit.
"But his head… was the head of a bull."
Daniel showed no reaction, but his gaze deepened.
"But not an ordinary bull. His horns… were like a deer's. Long, branched, twisted… as if each of them was a path in itself. And his eyes… he had no eyes…"
A heavy silence fell between them. The distant sound of the wind wound through the branches, but even it seemed afraid to break this space.
"He wasn't just a monster." Elisira said quietly.
And then, she looked directly at Daniel.
"He was a living disaster."
"And he wasn't alone… behind him… was an army. Hundreds of thousands… maybe more. Beasts of corruption, every shape you can think of."
She was silent for a few seconds, then said a sentence that seemed even she herself didn't fully believe.
"Two continents… fell in just a few years."
There was no war, no prolonged resistance. Just… annihilation. This feeling was evident from her tone, even without her saying it directly.
Daniel remained silent. But this silence was not the silence of shock.
His mind was moving. This level of threat was different from what he had seen so far.
'A threat on the level of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?' He thought to himself.
It's not that such a threat doesn't exist in his world, but fortunately, a threat that might be on such a level was trapped in a dungeon.
But now he remembered again that that dungeon was not going to act as a prison forever, and sooner or later it would break and it could escape.
If a Horseman of the Apocalypse, a creature that even demigods couldn't defeat, were to be free in the world… maybe continents would really fall one after another.
But on his face, none of these thoughts could be seen.
"This Divine Prophet…" After a few moments, without continuing on the same path, he changed the subject.
He could see in this girl's eyes that she had reached the limit of her ability to talk about that living disaster. If he applied more pressure, she might get up and leave this place.
He didn't want to scare away such a good source of information.
So he shifted the conversation to something that would allow him to talk about the possible final boss, as well as a topic this girl seemed more interested in discussing.
Elisira blinked a few times, as if surprised by the sudden change of subject.
"How exactly does she work?"
"She… is a woman. She lives in the temple of the gods. They say she is in direct contact with the gods. Whatever she says… is accepted as divine will."
"Repeated explanations over and over. Is that all you know about that woman? You don't know anything else?" Daniel sighed.
He had heard these same sentences many times and was really tired of them.
Was there no other information about that woman?
Elisira gave a bitter smile and didn't explain. There really isn't much information about the Divine Prophet because she rarely appears and is heavily guarded.
And very few people have ever spoken directly with her.
"Anyway, if she speaks with the gods, then why doesn't she ask them to save this world? Or give guidance that could help you?" The question was simple.
But its effect was not.
Elisira fell silent.
Her gaze remained fixed for a few moments, then slowly lowered. As if for the first time she was thinking about something she had always just accepted.
A few seconds passed.
"I don't know. But surely there is a reason and a greater good in it. Maybe even now they have told the Divine Prophet the way to save the world." And finally, she said very quietly.
She had no justification. No ready answer. But her faith was stronger than to be broken so easily.
Daniel looked at her for a few moments, then simply changed the subject.
"About this tree…" His gaze went to the dark, massive trunk behind him.
"Is there a book or something?"
"I'm not sure… but…" Elisira blinked a few times, as if pulled out of the heaviness of the previous discussion.
She thought for a bit.
"There's probably something in the imperial library. This tree… is older than the empire itself."
Her gaze fell on the tree.
"It has always attracted attention because of its shape. It's unlikely that no one has researched it."
"If you find me a book about it, I'll answer three of your questions." Daniel then said with a smile.
For the first time, he had offered something. Elisira stared at him for a few moments, and then her eyes sparkled.
This was the best thing she could hear, and joy immediately filled her entire being.
"…Seriously?" But doubt quickly replaced the joy.
Daniel didn't say anything, just his gaze remained steady.
"Okay." Elisira nodded without hesitation and then quickly stood up.
She wasn't sure this man would keep his word, but at this moment she had no other choice. She had answered all his questions and put in all this effort.
She didn't want to be left without answers to her questions. If bringing a book is necessary, no problem.
'But why do I feel like I'm being taken advantage and he is using me?' She frowned for a moment.
Though the frown quickly faded. She didn't think that was the case.
After all, such a handsome man wouldn't take advantage of others… right?
"It might take a while." She picked up her shawl and put it over her head, and the moment the fabric settled on her hair, her presence began to fade.
A few seconds later, she had completely disappeared, leaving no trace behind.
Daniel closed his eyes and only opened them again when he was sure the girl was far away.
But when he opened them, they had completely changed.
Cold and indifferent, empty of any sign of the humanity from moments before.
"You two can come out." And then, without even looking around, he said quietly.