Was that... a werewolf?
He was about average height, wearing simple clothes sewn from coarse cloth.
On his dog-like head, his fur was a mix of black, white, and gray, and his ears were alertly perked.
A pair of ice-blue eyes shone exceptionally bright in the dim light, showing a clear sense of... confusion?
He was carrying a fairly large wooden basin with an old cloth draped over the rim, walking out of the courtyard gate.
It looked like he was planning to empty the contents of the basin.
He didn't seem fully awake yet, swaying slightly as he walked.
Only when he reached the ditch beside the yard did he groggily raise his head.
His ice-blue dog eyes happened to lock onto three stationary figures on the street staring right at him.
The air fell silent for a moment.
The werewolf blinked.
He looked down at the basin.
He looked up again at the three strangers.
Then he looked down at the basin once more.
Suddenly, as if finally registering what was happening, he let out a soft “oww!”
His hands shook, almost dropping the wooden basin.
Across from him,
Lin Gui stared with a strange expression at the other's furry dog head.
Wasn't this... a husky?
Had a husky gained sentience?
He coughed, preparing to say hello.
And then ask where Avalon's administration office was.
He had a white-haired half-demon elf with him who wanted to move into Avalon and become one of its residents.
But with a whoosh,
the other used both hands and feet, scrambling and crawling back into the yard.
The wooden basin hit the ground with a loud clatter.
Lin Gui and the other two watched in dumbfounded silence as he ran toward the central Demon King Pillar like a dog.
A few seconds later,
a loud, sharp wolf howl echoed from the direction of Avalon's center!
“Awooo—!!! Enemy attack—!!!”
The howl was incredibly piercing, instantly shattering the silence of the early morning.
The next second,
the entire small city became like a disturbed beehive.
One dark window after another lit up!
The once-silent streets quickly filled with the sounds of chaotic footsteps, doors slamming open, and shouting.
“What's going on?!”
“Where? Where's the enemy?!”
“Grab your weapons! Quick!”
“The City Lord isn't here, so we will protect Avalon!”
The peace was completely shattered.
Figures poured out of their houses onto the dirt-and-stone road.
Most of them were disheveled, some even wearing only nightgowns.
They held all sorts of “weapons” in their hands.
Hoes, pitchforks, wood-chopping axes, and even rolling pins.
Their faces bore the confusion of having just woken up, along with obvious tension.
Before long, the husky werewolf returned, leading a dozen or so people.
They rushed aggressively around the corner of the street.
He extended a furry paw, pointing straight at Lin Gui's group of three.
“Th-They're the ones! They're strangers!!”
“I remember the scents of all 3,732 residents of Avalon perfectly!”
“The three of them are definitely not residents, they're outsiders!”
The residents he brought with him immediately halted, forming a loose semi-circle.
The “weapons” in their hands all pointed in unison at Lin Gui and the others.
Their eyes were filled with vigilance, anxiety, and even a hint of... fierceness?
Theia instinctively took half a step back upon seeing this confrontation.
She hesitated, turning her head to look at Lin Gui, and whispered:
“Um... should we run?”
“The residents of Avalon don't seem very welcoming...”
“Run? Run where? Didn't we come all this way specifically for Avalon?”
Unlike the nervous Theia, Lin Gui's expression was relaxed, even carrying a hint of curiosity.
After all, the composition of the residents surrounding them was highly diverse.
There were humans, beastkin, goblins, and even a Night Elf.
And also...
His gaze swept over the residents holding farming tools as weapons, and pointing in a certain direction, he whispered to Theia:
“Theia, look at them.”
Theia looked in the direction he indicated.
Instantly, she froze.
Those few people...
In the dim morning light, their eyes faintly glowed a dark red.
Demon markings were clearly visible on the sides of their necks, arms, or cheeks.
Those were very typical, unmistakable half-demon traits.
A burly half-demon beastkin with curved ram horns on his head.
A pale half-demon human youth with dark red pupils.
And a long-eared half-demon elf!!
Incredible!
There was actually a half-demon elf!
Theia's emerald eyes widened, filled with a mixture of shock, excitement, and disbelief.
Her gaze locked onto the half-demon elf, burning with an intensity that almost scorched the air.
Her lips parted slightly, and her chest heaved as if she were struggling to breathe.
It was as if she had spotted a long-lost relative.
Her raw, near-hysterical reaction was so intense
that the residents who had been aggressively surrounding Lin Gui's trio instinctively followed her gaze...
and all turned to look at a cowering figure in the corner of the crowd.
It was a petite female Forest Elf.
She had slightly messy, soft green hair,
and a pair of timid, dark red eyes.
At this moment, she was trying her best to hide behind the broad back of the ram-horned half-demon beastkin,
showing only half of her pale face
and eyes filled with confusion and... fear.
She looked at Theia, who was trembling with excitement, completely bewildered.
In fact, because of Theia's “intimidating” gaze, she shrank back even further.
“W-Winnie?”
A human auntie holding a hoe nudged the green-haired Forest Elf's shoulder and whispered.
“Do you... know this white-haired girl?”
The other residents also cast curious glances.
The green-haired Forest Elf, called Winnie, hurriedly shook her head, her green hair swaying with the movement.
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, laced with obvious nervousness.
“N-No... I've never seen her before.”
She stole a glance at Theia to confirm, then quickly lowered her head again.
Her fingers unconsciously twirled the hem of her clothes.
“I r-really don't know her.”
I'm just a despised half-demon elf.
How could I possibly know such a grand existence as a Moonlight Royal?
Winnie muttered quietly to herself, hanging her head even lower.
Winnie had only taken one look at Theia's silver hair, which shone brightly even in the morning light, to be absolutely sure.
That was definitely a trait of the elven royalty, the Moonlight Clan.
Only Moonlight Elves possessed such pure, flawless silver hair...
Uh, wait.
Didn't the Windrunner Clan also have silver hair?
Winnie's thoughts were a bit muddled.
But seeing Winnie clearly state she did not know Theia,
the surrounding residents' suspicion instantly transformed into more direct hostility.
“She doesn't know her? Then what's with this girl?”
“Trying to play friendly? There's definitely something fishy!”
“They must be spies sent by outsiders to destroy Avalon!”
“Yes, spies! Spies sent by those demons who want to destroy Avalon!”
Several residents holding pitchforks and hoes took a step forward.
They crossed their weapons, blocking the space between Theia and Winnie.
The sharp wooden shafts and iron tips almost touched Theia's chest.
“Back off! Don't come any closer!”
Seeing this, Theia grew even more anxious.
Ignoring the farm tools nearly pressed against her,
she suddenly reached out—not to push the weapons away, but to touch the edge of her own cheek.
She pinched with her fingertips and pulled!
A mask as thin as a cicada's wing was peeled off.
The effect of the 【Mask of a Thousand Illusions】 was lifted.
In an instant, that breathtakingly beautiful face, which had been concealed by magic all this time,
was revealed without reservation before the morning light and everyone's eyes.
Her long silvery-white hair flowed like moonlight, her skin was as white as snow, and her pointed ears stood erect.
But the most eye-catching feature was her eyes.
Now that the disguise was gone, they were no longer emerald green.
Instead, they were as vibrant as rubies, with chilling vertical slits, shining with a demonic luster...
Crimson eyes.
“Hiss—”
A clear chorus of gasps echoed around them.
All the residents stared in utter astonishment.
Even Winnie, who had been hiding behind the beastkin,
couldn't help but lift her face, her red eyes staring blankly at Theia's eyes.
That crimson color... she was all too familiar with it.
Because of it, she had been abandoned by her mother, despised by her clan, driven out of the forest, and left to wait for death alone in the wilderness.
But... how could these eyes, despised by countless elves, appear on a noble royal!
“I am not of the Moonlight Royalty!”
Theia's voice rose with emotion, ringing exceptionally clear in the quiet street.
She pointed to her own eyes, then pointed urgently toward Winnie.
“I am a Windrunner! Just like her.”
“I am also a half-demon elf!”
“I am not your enemy!”
Theia looked around and spoke softly to everyone.
“I, too... came here following the nursery rhymes of Avalon.”
“I only hope to find a place here... a place that can accept me.”
Rate on N.U.
