For an elf, it cannot be considered long.
But that memory will not fade. In fact, I believe that even at the end of my long life, I will never forget everything that happened during those days.
And the few short days I spent with him seemed even briefer.
I have known the tale of the Hero and the Demon King since I was young… Because my great-grandmother was one of the companions of the Second Hero.
After she parted ways with the Hero, she established our Kingdom of Elves within the Sea of Trees.
She is that giant tree standing by the lake, forever watching over the world—Aitixila.
That is the name of the tree she became, and it is also the surname the Royal Family has inherited to this day.
Under the shelter of her great power, the Sea of Trees remains evergreen… Her lush branches shield the Royal Court and the city, isolating them from all the turbulence of the outside world.
Because before she transformed into the giant tree, my great-grandmother conveyed her last will to the Royal Court—unless invaded and forced to fight back, the Sea of Trees was not to be drawn into war.
This was the condition for her to leave the blessing of “Evergreen” permanently within the Sea of Trees.
But there was one exception… She said that if one day the true Hero came personally to seek aid, then the Sea of Trees would no longer be bound by this restriction and could freely choose whether to assist him.
Thus, outside the Sea of Trees, the war between the Demon Realm and the Human Realm continued for over a thousand years.
The Third Hero and Fourth Hero, summoned in succession, challenged different Demon Kings, while great and small nations rose and fell during that time.
The Sea of Trees remained aloof.
Those two summoned Heroes never seemed to expect help from the Sea of Trees or the Elves, and the empires of the continent, having witnessed centuries of neutrality, never attempted to seek our aid.
So the Sea of Trees remained peaceful… And as a member of the Royal Family, I believed this peace would continue forever—until that day arrived.
That day, my father took me and a group of Guard Knights on a journey—we were to inspect the towns in the northern Ancient Forest Domain.
The sunlight filtering through the shade fell warmly upon us, and the forest stream murmured as it flowed by… Everything was so calm and peaceful.
The knights were spread out around us for vigilance.
My father told me this was to guard against any Magical Beasts that might appear in the forest…
But how could Magical Beasts appear in such a tranquil, warm place?
And even if a High-rank Magical Beast appeared, one or two Guard Knights could easily handle it.
At the time, I even mocked my father for making a big deal out of nothing… Even now, I deeply regret that.
When the knights scattered for reconnaissance lost contact, my father immediately became alert.
He ordered everyone to gather together… But then the demons charged out.
They emerged from the bushes and shadows… Though each individual was not particularly strong, their numbers were unnaturally large.
The Guard Knights immediately erected barriers with their spells to withstand the demons’ assault.
But those spells suddenly vanished.
They tried to cast again, but the newly erected barriers couldn’t hold for even a second.
“Spirit Demons…!” My father’s roar carried a hint of terror… For behind the tide of surging demons, he spotted several pale-skinned High Demons with blood-red eyes.
Those nine demons had pointed ears like ours—it is said that Elves and the Seven Major Races of the Demon Realm belonged to the same ancient lineage, but when the Human and Demon Realms split, their leaders grew estranged and parted ways.
Father told me to fall back. He drew his sword and stood in front of me, ordering the formation to tighten and protect me.
Deprived of their spells, the Guard Knights had to resist the demons’ fangs and claws with their bodies alone.
They cut down demon bodies with their swords while firing arrows at the Spirit Demons that were clearly controlling the magic barriers…
But arrows without enchantment could not penetrate the Spirit Demons’ barriers.
“Your Majesty… Please take the Princess and retreat. We will buy you time to escape.” My knight Waletidina was drenched in blood…
Two of her comrades had already fallen from exhaustion. Supporting a slain companion, she swung her sword to drive back the demons before her.
I was dazed by the sight of blood, the roaring of demons, and the cries and screams of the knights… I had never imagined I would experience such a thing.
Seeing me unable to move, Father had to carry me and retreat deeper into the forest.
The demons were tireless, relentless, and fearless, and they seemed endless.
I saw behind him, the knights fall one by one… It wasn’t because they were weak, but because their enemies—the demons—were tireless, relentless, fearless, and inexhaustible.
Among my knights, Waletidina was second only to Iyue in strength.
So even after her comrades fell, she remained in place to hold back the demons.
I wanted Father to help her… But I saw the Spirit Demons’ fireballs explode behind her, sending up a cloud of dust, and her figure vanished.
Father was nearly thrown by the blast, but he quickly steadied himself and continued fleeing with me.
There were too many demons. Without the knights to slow them, they caught up in no time.
I became Father’s burden. Because I was too terrified to move, he could only shield me and could not swing his sword.
The demons that climbed along the trees crawled onto him, biting his body and tearing at his flesh…
Finally, he told me I had to run alone from there. He set me down, then tore off the small demons clinging to his shoulders and waist.
He swung his sword to kill them and buy me time… But I still sat dumbly on the ground, unable to move.
Father’s life ebbed away before my eyes.
He was still standing, but clearly lacked the strength to swing his sword.
The demons still surrounded us… Even though the corpses of their kind had piled up in a circle, they fearlessly pounced on Father again.
Just then, he appeared.
He was a young human. His movements were as fast as lightning, and his charge into the battlefield was like a meteor.
The mere shockwave of his charge shattered the demons in his path.
After joining the fight, he tried to use spells… Then, like the knights, he found they wouldn’t work.
So he stood in front of me and Father, drew his sword.
His swordsmanship was truly exquisite… Even compared to Waletidina, it was not inferior.
But he faced the same situation as Waletidina—there were too many enemies.
The endless tide of demons’ fangs could pierce the iron armor of Guard Knights, and of course, could easily tear through his simple leather armor.
But then something astonishing happened… I saw horrifying wounds appear on his body, but they healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The demons exhausted their lives without being able to bring him down.
And when the Spirit Demons saw this, they retreated with shocked expressions.
Then they withdrew. He told us that he was the current Hero.
And this was only a brief respite… Those Spirit Demons were direct subordinates of the Demon Spirit Duke, and these seemingly endless demons were their familiars.
They had only temporarily retreated to recover their magic power; they would soon return in force.
He wanted to flee with both Father and me, but together we cast healing magic on Father… Yet even with our full efforts, we could not reverse his fading life.
So Father, with his last breath, placed my hand in his hand and entrusted me to him.
I heard him swear an oath to protect me… to stay by my side.
He buried Father, then carried me on his back and fled to Fenglin City.
The Demon Spirit Duke’s subordinates indeed caught up again, and as he protected me, he kept getting wounded and healing… Many times the injuries were enough to kill him, yet he always smiled, comforting me who was anxious, terrified, and despairing.
“It’s okay. I’m here. I’ll protect you.” He looked to be only about sixteen years old… For me, who had lived for centuries, he was exceptionally young and green.
When he comforted me, he couldn’t even hide the deep frown caused by his pain.
I also saw a certain fear lurking in his eyes… He was afraid.
But he wasn’t afraid of his own pain; he was afraid that I would get hurt, that I would die, that he would fail to fulfill the promise he made to my father.
Yet he endured such pain and fear, fighting continuously to protect me, constantly comforting me to dispel my panic…
Even though all I could do from his back was cast some insignificant healing spells.
That journey saved me.
The Hero… The Hero…
That was when I understood the meaning of that title.
Not the unreachable phantom from stories and legends, but a true, vivid life that personally rescued me from death and despair.
I lay on his back, feeling the warmth of his blood, seeing his exhaustion, pain, and fear… Yet he still moved forward unwaveringly.
My soul trembled… And I understood why my great-grandmother left that last will—he was undoubtedly a hero worthy of the name “Hero,” and the Sea of Trees was right to do so.
Then an impulse arose in my heart.
I wanted to soothe his pain, I wanted to smile at him the way he smiled at me, I wanted him to stay by my side forever, to always look at me—I wanted everything of his… And for that, I was willing to give him everything of mine.
This is the last document.
With the increasing cooperation with humans in recent years, the affairs of the Royal Court have stretched late into every night.
After handing it to the responsible official, I rushed impatiently toward his—no, her—bedchamber.
My beloved hero… I will never let you leave me again.