"Vilora?"
Kurose Akira studied the half-deer girl closely. Beyond her strikingly unusual appearance, he noticed that Vilora was holding a tree branch in her hands—upon it grew seven leaves, each a different color.
At the same time, faint seven-colored stripes could be seen along her deer back, clearly resonating with the effect of [Seven-Colored Radiance].
"Vilora greets the Guildmaster~"
Vilora smiled warmly at him, a sweetness like a spring breeze that carried a gentle warmth straight to the heart.
Akira returned the smile and spoke softly, "Don't be afraid. I'll take you back."
"Mm~"Vilora nodded lightly. Joy sparkled within her beautiful, multicolored eyes.
"Vilora, why did you run into the Forest Birdcage?"At that moment, Azkman frowned and hurriedly asked her.
"I…"
Vilora wanted to explain, but didn't know where to begin. She could only stamp her deer hoof lightly and retreat a few steps.
In truth, she had come to the Forest Birdcage guided by a vague intuition—as though something was calling to her. Coupled with the pursuit of the Stardust Kingdom's army, she had ended up stumbling into this mysterious place by accident.
"What matters most now is getting out of here as soon as possible."Akira swept his gaze around. The interior of the Forest Birdcage truly lived up to its name—it felt like a cage, trapping them inside.
Dense vines surrounded them on all sides, blocking any view of the outside and making it impossible to determine direction.
According to the rules of the Forest Birdcage, entering was easy—but leaving was like wandering a labyrinthine forest, one that would always guide you back to the cage in the end.
"As long as we follow the guidance of the Goddess of Nature, we'll find the exit," Azkman explained. "You should try."
"Got it."
Akira nodded, then released the two strands of the Goddess of Nature's Mark he possessed.
Driven by magic, the two marks transformed into lively, sprite-like wisps of light, floating ahead and pointing the way forward.
"Follow them."
Akira lightly patted Azkman's back, signaling her to move.
Azkman was somewhat puzzled, but she still followed immediately.
She couldn't quite understand why—despite being a member of the Xianfei Guild—she was obediently following this man's orders.
But given the danger of their current situation, she temporarily set aside her doubts and focused on escaping first.
Azkman pushed through the dense vines, emerald leaves obscuring her vision until it felt as though she were swimming through a green ocean.
Akira, too, felt as if he were lost in this verdant world.
Without the Goddess of Nature's Mark guiding them, finding a path forward would have been nearly impossible.
As he thought about this, Akira glanced behind them.
He noticed that wherever Azkman passed, she forcibly opened a passage through the vines—allowing Vilora to follow with ease. Otherwise, with Vilora's fragile strength, she would have struggled to break through the tough vines and might even have been injured by branches.
"Vilora, stay close," Akira reminded her.
"Mm, I'll try my best, Guildmaster~"Vilora nodded, stepping carefully with her deer hooves as she did her utmost to keep up with Azkman.
After what felt like a long time, they finally pushed through the vines and leaves and arrived at an open clearing.
But the moment they reached it, the scene before them caused everyone's expressions to turn grave.
At the center of the clearing stood a tree carved into the shape of a少女—a少女-tree.
It was vividly lifelike. Its arms were raised high, as if holding something aloft, yet its palms were empty, inviting endless imagination.
"Is there an exit here?"Azkman scanned the surroundings in confusion, but found no sign of one.
Akira, however, frowned deeply. He sensed that this was not only an independent space—the flow of time itself felt abnormal here.
Just as he was puzzled by this, Vilora stepped forward toward the少女-shaped tree.
"Is it you? Are you the one speaking?"Vilora asked curiously.
"Hello~""Excuse me…?"
As Vilora spoke to the少女-tree, both Akira and Azkman instinctively focused their attention on her, intrigued by this strange interaction.
"That tree…"
Akira frowned. He couldn't sense any magical fluctuations from it—there wasn't even a trace of life.
Yet Vilora was clearly conversing with it, meaning she was perceiving something he could not.
"Vilora, did you discover something?"Akira walked closer and asked.
"Mm~"Vilora nodded and turned to him. "Guildmaster, she's talking~"
"What did she say?"Akira looked at the少女-tree, utterly confused.
"She said that if we want to leave, we must demonstrate the process of life's birth," Vilora explained.
"The process… of life's birth?"
Akira and Azkman stared at each other in shock.
Perhaps because their minds were a little too impure, Azkman's cheeks instantly flushed red, while Akira gave an awkward laugh.
"How is that even possible? Don't tell me we have to… here…?"Azkman asked, utterly unable to comprehend.
"Yes."Vilora hugged her branch and circled the green tree. "She wants to see it demonstrated—she wants to witness it."
"This…"
Azkman's brows knit together, her gaze heavy as turbulent thoughts surged within her.
As a female warrior of the centaur race… could a mere human even satisfy her?
She had heard other female centaurs mention that humans were comparatively small and delicate—far inferior to centaurs in that regard…
But after Akira's half-dragon transformation, he seemed even more… than a centaur…
Wait!
What was she thinking?!
Those were just things she'd heard—she didn't actually know!
As for Akira, his thoughts went in an entirely different direction:
The process of life's birth should be far more diverse than people imagine, right?
After all… plants are life too.
Just as Akira was deep in thought, Vilora gently raised the branch in her hand.
Behind her, a brilliant rainbow suddenly appeared, radiating dazzling seven-colored light.
The branch in Vilora's hand burst into radiant brilliance. Before their eyes, a tender bud sprouted beneath one leaf.
The bud grew rapidly—becoming a sapling, forming a flower bud, and finally blooming amid the seven-colored radiance!
The gorgeous seven-hued flower left Akira dumbfounded. He could feel the immense energy contained within it, as though it were on the verge of erupting.
And then, just seconds later, the petals withered, giving birth to a crimson-red fruit.
"All done~"
Vilora plucked the fruit and gently placed it into the少女-tree's hands.
The instant the tree touched the fruit, a rich green aura surged forth from within it, spreading in all directions.
The surrounding vines gathered together, forming a doorway, clearly indicating the exit.
"Let's go, Guildmaster~"Vilora smiled at Akira, then lightly stepped toward the vine door.
Akira exchanged a glance with Azkman before following behind.
But at this moment, both of them chose silence. After all they had experienced, their minds had already been… polluted.
At least, Akira's certainly had.
As for Azkman…
She might have been naturally inclined toward such thoughts. The centaur race retained strong primal instincts and a deep admiration for strength.
Even Azkman possessed a yearning for the strong. She had already reached breeding age several months ago—but because she had joined Xu Feiyan's guild at the time, she hadn't actively explored such matters.
Still, those primal instincts remained. If she encountered a suitable, appealing male, it was inevitable that her thoughts would wander.
As for why she reacted this way toward Akira…
It was mainly because the way he killed the green-robed mage earlier had been genuinely cool.
And she found Akira's half-dragon transformation perfectly aligned with her aesthetic. After several encounters, she even felt that their compatibility might be… quite good?
Cough, cough.
Those were just wild thoughts!
She was a member of the Xianfei Guild—how could she possibly fall for the leader of another guild?
What a joke.