Chapter 148: The Cold-hearted Elf King

Panic-stricken, Ian pulled Kei into his arms.

The boy’s body was icy cold and felt alarmingly weightless in his grasp. His tiny face was deathly pale, his lips tinted a deep purple. Kei’s chest rose and fell in shallow, weak gasps, as though every single breath required a tremendous, exhausting struggle just to maintain.

With trembling hands, Ian reached out to touch the jade-green leaf resting against Kei’s neck.

The greenish light emanating from within the leaf was flickering erratically. It continuously emitted fragile threads of illumination that wrapped around Kei’s body, desperately striving to anchor his rapidly slipping vitality.

The Tree of Life’s leaf was fiercely protecting Kei, yet its own radiance grew dimmer by the second.

Clutching the boy tightly, Ian forced himself to remain calm and think. He had no clue what had just transpired, nor could he fathom why Kei had suddenly collapsed while eating fish soup.

He only knew he had to rush Kei to the Elven King immediately, the power of nature might just be able to save him.

"Keanu!"

Lifting Kei into his arms, Ian sprinted toward the white deer standing nearby. Keanu lowered its massive body instantly, allowing Ian to lay Kei facedown across its back. Ian scrambled up right behind him, wrapping both arms securely around Kei. With one arm holding the boy’s steadily chilling form tight and the other gripping the deer’s neck, he braced himself.

"Run, Keanu! Back to the Elven Forest!"

The white deer bolted forward at a blinding speed.

Tree trunks blurred into streaking bands of green on either side. The rushing wind whipped against Ian’s face, yet he didn’t dare loosen his grip by even a fraction. Kei lay motionless against his chest, his breathing so faint that Ian had to press his ear right down close just to catch it.

"Hang in there just a little longer, Kei," Ian choked out, his voice cracking. "I’m taking you straight to the Elven King."

He had no way of knowing whether Kei could hear him or not.

Ian simply repeated those words over and over, as though continuously calling out Kei’s name would somehow prevent the boy from slipping away.

The sun gradually dipped beneath the tree canopy. The sky transitioned from gold to deep crimson, before shadows swallowed the forest whole. Not until the final fading light on the horizon extinguished completely did Keanu finally deposit Ian at the borders of the Elven Forest.

Kei had passed out completely.

He lay motionless in Ian’s arms, his chest the only thing still faintly rising and falling. Every fragile, shallow breath left Ian torn between fleeting relief and crushing terror.

The jade-green leaf on Kei’s neck was still glowing. It had carried the boy through this entire arduous journey, clinging stubbornly to that final thread of breath until Ian managed to bring him here.

Kei’s going to be fine, Ian told himself, though his trembling voice held not an ounce of conviction.

He lifted his gaze upward.

Right in the heart of the forest stood a tree so colossal its crown vanished deep into the night sky. Its branches spread outward as though blanketing the entire heavens. A soft, pale green radiance emanated from its massive trunk, serene yet majestic.

This was the Tree of Life.

Ian urged Keanu straight toward the base of the giant tree. The moment his boots hit the earth, he dropped to his knees, cradling Kei against his chest, entirely unbothered by how badly his knees bruised against the ground.

"Elf King!" Ian screamed aloud. "Please, I beg you to save my friend!"

His cries echoed through the silent woods.

For a long, agonizing beat, there was no response.

Ian lowered his head, pressing his hand tighter against Kei’s tiny palm. He refused to accept that he had hauled Kei all the way here only to fail to save him.

"Please... Kei is dying!"

Hot tears welled up and streamed down Ian’s face.

Suddenly, a cascade of emerald light drifted down before him.

Gleaming particles swirled mid-air, weaving together into a tall, slender silhouette. A man stepped forward from out of the halo of light, long, silver-gray hair flowing loosely down his back, his pointed ears twitching slightly beneath his locks.

Eleanor, the Elf King, gazed down at Ian with cold detachment.

His emerald eyes lingered upon Kei’s failing form resting in Ian’s arms, before shifting to the Tree of Life’s leaf resting against the boy’s neck.

"Why on earth have you brought a human into the Elven Forest?" Eleanor questioned, his voice as frigid as midnight frost. "And you even brought him right up to the Tree of Life. Aren’t you afraid a human will contaminate the Mother Tree?"

Ian pulled Kei closer, his entire body trembling.

Eleanor looked down at him, his cold gaze sweeping past the stains of blood soaking the front of the young Elf’s tunic. "You would actually dare plead with me on behalf of a human?"

Ian pressed Kei tightly against his chest, offering no reply.

"Humans are weak, greedy, and so fragile that a mere bout of sickness is enough to steal their lives away." Eleanor frowned slightly. "You were well aware that he does not belong in this forest, yet you went ahead and befriended him anyway. And now you expect me to expend natural forces to save him?"

His gaze locked onto Kei’s ashen complexion. "It is a complete waste."

"That’s not true!" Ian clenched both fists. "Kei isn’t like that."

"Are you attempting to talk back to me?"

"Kei is my friend." Ian’s voice shook, yet he lifted his chin to stare unflinchingly into the Elf King’s eyes. "Please save him. If you don’t, Kei will die."

Eleanor stared down at him coldly. The heavy air pressing down beneath the Tree of Life was so suffocating Ian could barely draw breath. Yet his arms wrapped around Kei never loosened.

Ian lowered his head.

"I beg of you."