While the mortals seemed to no longer be taking orders, it was inevitable that someone would come and check. So, I stopped covering Sylrin's eyes, and we fled to another spot to continue watching.

The mortals most likely were being difficult because their commander was not present, yet I couldn't help noticing that, while the elves looked pristine, the mortals were all bedraggled with dark bags under their eyes.

Don't tell me they'd been moving constantly without any rest?

I didn't know how a mortal's endurance was compared to elves, but it was clear the pressure from the journey was taking a toll on them. Their temperaments already seemed to clash.

The group's dynamic was so different from before and seeing this, I chuckled wickedly.

How amusing would it be for the elf girl when the commander and the survivor wandered in without any creature, while also being heavily injured?

Not only would she be upset, but the injured would add another burden. Maybe next time, they would think twice before trying to capture an unwilling monster.

Although…from the way Sylrin looked at her, perhaps he would be more than willing to be her mount. Even after scolding him, he was still fixated on her.

In the end, since the mortals weren't responding to her orders, the green haired archer got up from his crouched position to check out the noise.

Moving swiftly, his footsteps were silent, like those of a cat, as he quickly converged on our last hiding spot where he noticed the broken branch.

There were clear signs of a struggle on the ground, but there was no trail leading from there since we both took the aerial route.

The archer scowled uncomfortably, before letting loose two arrows up into the trees canopy.

To my surprise, several branches snapped, their leaves rustling as a dark, winged creature fell down to the ground.

Woah! Where did that come from? Was it above us the whole time?

I wondered how strong the archer was, to wield such a huge bow with scary accuracy!

He then walked over to take out his arrow from the dead beast before, carrying its carcass back to the group where it was set aside. The elf girl seemed to smile and nod at him before the group resumed their discussion.

What scary fellows.

And Sylrin should have known better than to crush on their leader, however nerdy she looked with all her scrolls. She was clearly bad news!

But as I looked at him, his actions suddenly began to make sense.

He mostly targeted the mortals of the party who did not agree with her. And again, I wondered just how long he had been observing the group to understand their internal strife.

Perhaps, that skull in his cave had done something bad to the elf.

Was this why he refused to leave? Because he was afraid the elf was in danger?

This fool!

It was very much in line with his [Saviour] title, but somehow it made me annoyed, because I was positive she was the one who ordered his capture.

He may like her, but couldn't he pick his targets wisely?

The elves were packing up their items, preparing to head into the misty valley. It seemed they weren't waiting for the return of the mortal commander, which was wise, because the burnt soldier with him would be more of a hindrance than support.

Unfortunately, I couldn't take Sylrin and fly away from there, because I still had to finish the quest which meant I had to confront at least one of them.

Still, if we attacked from different directions, we could conquer them easily.

I noticed most of the maps and items on their table went into the gemstone rings on their fingers. One of them had to have the journal, I just wasn't sure yet who it was, because all the elves had rings.

But by logic, I decided to target the one most likely to have it which was the elf girl. It was fairly easy to see she was their leader judging by their actions.

And aside from her magic, the thing I was most worried about was the archer and his high accuracy arrows.

If one of us were to distract him while the other wrestled the ring from her, the task would be easy to accomplish, but...

Would Sylrin cooperate with me?

From the way he was staring at her, he wasn't really paying attention to my tactical breakdown.

I grabbed him by the horn, forcing him to pay attention and then instructed him to grab her when an opportunity appeared. Preferably, after the archer was lured away.

Sylrin nodded excitedly and I sighed. It was improper of me to make use of his attraction to the elf, but for my mission to succeed it had to be done.

We sinisterly watched the group leave the wreckage of the altar and descend into the misty valley below. But just before they entered, they put on hooded dark robes and put out all their fires to move in complete darkness.

That probably helped them blend into the dark.

But no sooner did the elves sink below the thick mist, Sylrin began to grow anxious as he was unable to see them anymore. He then rose up from the branch, flying towards them and I ordered him to slow down, before surging ahead of him.

I had to make sure they left no traps left behind, so I scanned around where their tents once were, examining the brickwork of the stone ground and also the ancient overgrown walls that had to be at least several decades old, if not centuries.

There was nothing left behind, so I focused instead on the thick mist spanning across the valley for miles. It hung over the air, perfectly aligned with the ground of the forest like a dense cloud you could touch.

It even swirled to touch my scales as I neared it and like a murky pool I couldn't see anything below it because the mist was so thick, it overshadowed everything that followed.

I knew there was a chasm just below it because of [Heat Sense], so I did not stray further into it in case I fell. Instead, I sniffed at it to see if [Detox] would react, just to make sure it wasn't poison.

As I examining the surrounding, Sylrin nudged me with his tail, impatient and anxious.

It was nice to explore a new section of the Upper Stratum I hadn't seen before, but I had to be cautious. Who knew what kind of creatures it was infested with?

But when [Detox] failed to react, I decided to stop being paranoid.

Sylrin nudged me again, and this time I hissed at him. Why was he so impatient?

Fine. The mist was safe anyway so it was time to go after his stupid crush.

And the dumb lizard better not cry to me when his heart gets broken!

I dipped my body halfway into the mist and already the temperature felt cooler like air conditioning.

After enduring the heat of Sylrin's cave, it felt especially good on my scales, and we dropped further until it fully enveloped us.

Once inside, the scenery was completely different.

The ground stopped shortly after the mist covering, revealing a valley that was more like a steep cliff. The walls were covered in many layers of uneven rock and peering over the edge, I was blasted by cold winds.

There was no vegetation to be seen and the air became heavier the further in we went. And I began to feel lightheaded just by looking down, but there was nothing to indicate the air was poisonous.

The feeling reminded me so much of the Middle Stratum, which made me think the ether levels here were unusually high.

The chasm was indeed deep and dark, much darker than the usual forest, almost like we had gone past the pale mist, and stepped into pitch black instead.

For coldblooded monsters like Sylrin and I, the darkness wasn't a problem, but I wondered how the hunting party was faring.

I saw them huddled together much further ahead, each moving as quietly as possible, but the elf girl was flanked on all sides by alert soldiers and elves as they walked along a thin pathway carved into the jagged wall.

They would have benefited greatly from some light, but they were moving cautiously, with every step taken carefully, and they had to unless they wanted to fall into the endless darkness of the chasm below.

I couldn't see the bottom because below every layer of wall was a lining of jutting rocks, like a blunt blade had been used to split the land, in an effort that took several attempts.

And my mood was getting more and more sour because grabbing her just became more difficult.

Regardless, we followed the group, descending into the black mist while maintaining a safe detection range, all the while cursing Sensei a thousand times in my head for turning me into a kidnapper.