Anfey stood where he was and watched the sunset. He had always been patient. He had killed Hotchbini's son and he knew she would want revenge.
He sensed another group of people approaching. This group was even larger than the last group, and Anfey could tell Manstuly was among them.
He still did not move. He was conserving his strength and his power so he could peak when it mattered.
Anfey knew that his plan left no room for failure. He had killed the scouts and Hotchbini's son because he needed Manstuly to appear personally. He believed that Manstuly knew that as well. Bringing guards and soldiers meant that Manstuly was not confident enough to take on Anfey one on one.
Anfey recalled the story of Jerrofick and Ernest. Jerrofick was once the best swordsmaster in the entire world and was called a genius. However, when Ernest challenged him, he resorted to deception and trickery. Before that, Ernest had once spoken highly of Jerrofick. Ernest knew how to work his way up from the bottom. He dueled with people less powerful than he was because he needed the experience. Putting Jerrofick at the end was a gesture of respect.
Even though Jerrofick had won the duel and ruined Ernest's reputation, his own skills began regressing as well. Ernest said that it was because he had lost faith in himself and in his sword.
The sound of the enemies was growing closer. Anfey turned and saw two small dark specks appear on a mountain in the distance. Thanks to the Heart of Nature, his senses were much sharper than any human's. Nothing could escape his detection.
The dark specks were two elves quietly approaching. They were both young and good looking, but one could not guess an elf's age from the elf's appearance. Elves were ageless and almost never changed.
The two elves each wore golden chainmail and held a green longbow. They were very agile and fast. The male elf was standing on the cliff and the female was crouching in the grass. Both of them were staring at Anfey and observing him.
Anfey lifted a brow. Clearly, this was Manstuly's plan. He stretched his body and picked up the axe that was lying on the ground.
It had been centuries since the last chosen one of the Goddess of Nature appeared. During that time, the Heart of Nature was but a relic to the druids. The last chosen one did not say anything about the Heart of Nature in order to protect himself and the Heart of Nature. Because of this, no one knew exactly what the chosen ones were capable of and couldn't prepare for them.
One of the elves pulled out an green, limp arrow and nocked it. As soon as the arrow touched the bow, it straightened. The elf aimed and released the arrow. The arrow ripped through the air, howling as it flew towards Anfey.
The arrow was very fast and very powerful, but still not enough to harm a top level power.
Anfey frowned. The female elf had released an arrow at the same time as her male companion. The arrow she released was invisible and did not make a single noise. The speed was faster than the green arrow, as well. If Anfey did not have the Heart of Nature, he would not have been able to detect the present of the arrow.
Anfey waved his large axe and the invisible arrow crashed into the axe with a loud boom. Anfey frowned as he wavered, then he jumped up and out of the way of the green arrow. He landed then dashed towards the female elf.
Both elves were clearly very good. The male elf was a very good archer, and he was only responsible for covering for the female elf.
Anfey increased his speed. Loose elements were attracted to him and formed a small storm of elements around him. The grass under his feet was flattened by this elemental storm and the elements obscured his figure, preventing the elves from seeing him clearly. He knew that Manstuly had already transformed himself and was heading his way, but he also knew he was faster.
Seeing that they had been discovered, the two elves gave up hiding as well. The female elf stood up in the grass and did not appear to be worried about being discovered. She wasn't just an archer. She was skilled with magic, as well. She pulled her bowstring taut and released a beam of green light.
The green light expanded in the wind and became a large net.
Anfey kept running as if he could not see the net. As soon as he touched the net, the net disappeared into thin air. He did not let that bother him and kept decreasing the distance between himself and the elves. Because of the Heart of Nature, no nature magic could hurt him.
The female elf frowned. An arrow made of sapphire appeared in her hand, and she released it. Anfey frowned and waved his axe, hitting the blue arrow.
The axe slammed into the blue arrow and shattering it. The pieces of the blue arrow regrouped and formed into a large wall of ice. Seeing that Anfey was slowed, another arrow appeared in the female elf's hand and she released the arrow towards him. The arrow flew towards him and turned into a beam of dark light.
The dark light struck the wall of ice and absorbed the ice. However, the female elf could not celebrate her success because she could tell that Anfey had disappeared moments before the arrow hit the ice.
Anfey's figure flashed and reappeared. The female elf jumped back. She knew that she was no match for him and she needed to get away. Her figure wavered and several illusions appeared, all running in different directions.
If Anfey had not had the Heart of Nature, he would not have been able to tell which was the real elf. However, because of the Heart of Nature, he could do things he would not have been able to do otherwise. He easily found the real elf and chased after her.
He raised his axe, striking the elf. The elf screamed and disappeared, but that did not slow him. He quickly caught up to her again and struck her with his axe. She fell to the ground, limp.
"I told you, Manstuly," Anfey whispered. "It's not yet finished."
By the time Manstuly and his men arrived, Anfey was gone and the only things left were the bodies of the two archers.