Hero or Villain, Both

"What did you do?" I slowly asked Fae who was standing there with a smile on her face.

She didn't answer this question as she kept looking at me with the same smile on her face.

With the way that she looked at me, it was almost as if she was teasing me…

In the end, she said, "What do you think I did?"

I didn't say anything as I looked around me once more.

With how everything seemed frozen in place, it was almost as if time had been frozen. But if time really had been frozen, then that would be too hard to believe since this kind of magic wasn't the kind of magic that could be accessed in a place like this.

That kind of magic was something that could only be accessed by the highest level of magicians.

These were sages that were at the very peak of this world.

It certainly wasn't something that a high elf student of the Verdant Academy could use.

So if that was the case, then it meant that…

"Who are you?"

"Very good, it seems like you're quite sharp." Fae suddenly said with a clap of her hands as if she was praising me.

Only it didn't really seem like she was actually praising me, it almost seemed like she was looking down on me with the way that she said this.

I didn't say anything in response to this as I waited for her to answer my question.

"Well, there's no need to be so tense. I'm not going to hurt you or the others with you." The smile finally disappeared from Fae's face as she calmly said this before turning to look at the boss monster that was also frozen there.

It was hard to believe what she said, but it also wasn't as if there was anything that I could do to her.

She was someone that could use time magic to freeze everyone like this.

Before I could say anything else, she suddenly started moving forward towards the boss monster as if she wasn't afraid of it. From what I could see, it even seemed like she was looking at it as if she was feeling nostalgic.

But after she took a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned around to look at me before waving her hand and saying, "What are you doing? Come on, follow me."

I looked at her with a strange look when I saw her like this, but she looked like this was just a natural thing.

Seeing that I didn't move, she finally said, "If I wanted to hurt you, would I have let you avoid the time magic like this? I promise that I won't do anything to hurt you or this little girl."

As expected, she really was just something that was possessing Fae's body.

As for what she was…I had no idea at all.

However, I could at least tell that she was being serious when she said that she wouldn't do anything to hurt us. But whether that was if she wouldn't hurt us for now or if she wouldn't hurt us completely…I had no idea.

Still, it wasn't as if I would learn anything from standing here…

That was why I followed her in the end.

Seeing that I was finally following, Fae didn't waste any time in walking in the direction of the boss monster again.

As we approached the boss monster, I naturally couldn't help hesitating since there was no telling if her time magic would hold it in place. But in the end, it seemed like her time magic was quite powerful as the boss monster didn't move an inch.

Even when Fae walked over to the boss monster's side and patted it on the leg.

She thought that she was being quiet, but I could actually hear what she said.

"Just wait a bit and I'll put you to rest again."

What she meant by this, I had no idea at all. However, it at least seemed like she knew what this boss monster was.

Perhaps she might even know what was happening with this forest…

After walking past the boss monster, we soon arrived at the place that I recognized.

This was the place that I had been trying to reach the entire time since this was the place that controlled everything that happened in this forest. This was the tomb of the high elf ancestor that created these training grounds.

I couldn't help being cautious when we arrived since I knew that it was this place that was causing everything that was happening, but it didn't seem like Fae cared at all with the way that she walked right up to the temple.

With how she walked around this place, it was almost as if she owned this place.

After arriving at the entrance of the temple, she suddenly turned around and said, "You're probably wondering what we're doing here."

I slowly gave a nod in response when I heard this.

Then she continued by saying, "Well, this place is responsible for all the strange things that have happened in the forest during this time."

After narrowing her eyes while looking at me, she added, "You're also responsible for all of these strange things as well, that's why I brought you with me."

"Huh?" A confused look appeared on my face before I asked, "What do you mean by that? Why am I the one that's responsible for these strange things?"

A smile appeared on Fae's face before she said, "Well simply put, you're too strong."

I couldn't help looking even more confused when she said this.

Only Fae didn't explain what she meant as she turned back around to push open the doors of the temple in front of her.

After pushing those doors open, she waved her hand at me once more before saying, "Come on in. There's a lot that we have to talk about and have to take care of, so let's not waste any time."