The three elves stood at the entrance looking at Mark and the six women surrounding him.

"Let’s get to the point. What did you want to talk about?" said Mark, looking at them with a half-smile on his face.

The silence stretched for several seconds until finally the armored elf spoke.

"...What did you do to emit the magical signature from seven days ago?" he asked in a direct tone, looking Mark in the eyes.

"I have no idea what you’re talking about," responded Mark in a carefree tone.

The armored elf clenched his jaw at the response.

"Don’t play dumb with me," he said, taking half a step forward with visible irritation in his voice. "You know perfectly well what I’m talking about."

"..."

"Everyone on the continent detected that colossal magical signature," continued the elf with a frown. "From the southern tip to the frozen north. It was like lighting a candle in complete darkness, impossible to ignore."

"It was probably the guy we killed when we got here," responded Mark, trying to divert their focus.

The armored elf stared at him, and after a moment let out a sigh and crossed his arms.

"We already know you were responsible..." revealed the elf.

Mark raised an eyebrow.

"Our druid confirmed it after your little confrontation a moment ago," continued the elf, gesturing to the wooden-staff elf with his head. "The residual energy from the magical signature left in this village matches yours."

Mark looked at the staff elf, who nodded once without saying anything.

"If you already know it was me..." said Mark, leaning slightly back in his chair, "what do you plan to do about it?"

The question fell upon the room and all of Mark’s subordinates prepared to quickly dispose of the elves in front of them.

The armored elf noticed the movements of all of them immediately.

"We’re not stupid," he said, raising his hands open to face level. "We know perfectly well the overwhelming difference in power between us."

The elf paused.

"Our druid also was able to sense the power level of each person in this room before we entered the house," he continued, looking calmly at Mark. "And believe me, what happened before was just a mistake. Attacking you was never our objective."

"Then what is?" asked Mark seriously.

The armored elf lowered his hand and took a breath before speaking.

"Our mission was given directly by the queen herself," he said in a tone that had shifted from the initial hostility to something more akin to duty. "Our orders were to find the origin of the magical signature that was detected seven days ago."

"And then what?" asked Mark with an eyebrow raised.

"Invite the one responsible to a meeting with her..."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes... she wishes to speak with you," affirmed the elf.

"And why do you think we’ll go to her willingly?" asked Ely from Mark’s right side in a tone that didn’t hide her distrust.

The armored elf looked at Ely and then looked back at Mark.

"I know what you are, and I need your help" said the elf, looking directly into Mark’s eyes. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

After those words, the room fell into complete silence.

Neither Mark nor any of those present moved for a long minute.

"What did you just say?" said Mark finally, his face completely serious.

"What you heard," responded the elf without looking away. "I don’t know exactly why my queen would need the help of humans marked with the essence of death, but those were her exact words."

The elf paused.

"She said you would know what that means and that would be enough to convince you to come with us."

Mark fell completely silent, staring at the elf as those words echoed inside his head. Because if the elven queen knew what he was, that meant she knew he was a reincarnate.

Mark closed his eyes and sank into his thoughts.

"...Alright, we’ll go with you," responded Mark, opening his eyes and looking at the three elves in front of him.

Upon hearing his response, his subordinates’ reaction was instantaneous.

"Master?!" said Ely, turning to him with her eyes wide open. "Why do you accept just like that?!"

"This is clearly a trap!" added Aria, standing up from her chair. "They attacked us less than an hour ago and now you want to go with them!"

"My lord, please think carefully," said Alice in a tone that tried to be measured but revealed her concern. "You’re still not fully recovered and venturing into elven territory in your current state is—"

"It’s not a trap," interrupted the wooden-staff elf, speaking for the first time since they entered the house.

Everyone turned their heads toward him.

"Our queen even ordered us that if necessary," the druid paused as if what he was about to say cost him, "we were to beg them on our knees to convince them to come..."

The silence that followed was long until Rose broke it.

"Why would the elven council go so far?" she asked with her eyes narrowed.

This time it was the bow elf who answered. Until that moment she had remained silent, observing, but upon hearing Rose’s question, she took a step forward.

"We don’t come in the name of the council," she said in a firm and clear voice. "The situation is extremely complex and we were sent in secret by the queen."

Rose frowned.

"In secret?" she asked, clearly skeptical. "Since when does the queen send missions behind her own council’s back?"

"We’re not authorized to give more details here..." responded the bow elf, briefly glancing toward the window. "But I can tell you that we need to leave as soon as possible."

"Why the hurry?" asked Mark with a frown.

"Because we weren’t the only ones sent to find the origin of the magical signature," she explained with a certain tone of concern. "The council also sent their own elite groups, and if they find us here before we leave, things are going to get very complicated."

"Are the council and the queen not on the same side?" asked Mark, raising an eyebrow.

The bow elf and the armored elf exchanged a brief glance.

"It’s complicated" was all she said.

"...Alright," said Mark as he stood up from his chair. "Give us a moment to prepare."

The armored elf nodded.

"We appreciate it," he said with a small bow of his head that seemed to cost him some pride. "But please, try not to take too long."

"We won’t."

With that said, the three elves took a step back and left the house one by one, closing the door behind them.