Taboo Online

As the corruption knot reached the edge of the housing, Luke ripped the spear free and struck again. The remaining cables snapped, and the black crystal shattered between them.

The cutting machine stopped.

Its teeth slowed against the anchor until each individual blade became visible. Golden mana continued leaking from the wound, but the shriek of metal against living wood finally faded.

Luke stared at the motionless machine. "That worked."

A heavy clunk sounded beneath the platform, and Lauren straightened sharply.

"Luke, get out of there!"

A second generator activated below the terrace. Power surged through cables hidden beneath the upper machinery, tightening the branded chains and driving the cutting arm back to full speed before Luke could reach the bridge.

"They built a backup relay."

The blade accelerated, and the remaining silver bark began to split.

Aelira shouted an order in Elven. The rootkeepers pulled their hands from the terrace, causing the living bridge to withdraw toward the overlook.

Luke ran as the maintenance platform shook hard enough to throw him sideways. He planted his spear, caught himself against the railing, and pushed off just before the metal frame tilted beneath his feet.

The bridge had already retreated several yards, leaving an open gap between him and safety. With enough mana left for one desperate movement, Luke activated Quickstep.

The platform disappeared beneath him. He crossed the open distance and struck the retreating roots at an awkward angle, landing hard on one knee as a system message appeared.

[Mana depleted.]

Warmth drained from his body. Luke grabbed one of the woven roots before he could slide from the bridge, but the sudden strain tore through his left shoulder and spread fresh blood across his sleeve.

The rootkeepers pulled the path toward the overlook. Lauren caught Luke beneath his uninjured arm as soon as he reached the railing, while Aelira grabbed the back of his armor and hauled him over the edge.

He landed beside them just as the fourth anchor gave way.

The crack that followed was deeper than the grinding machinery. It traveled through the terrace, the surrounding trees, and every living root beneath Lethariel.

Aelira recoiled when the enormous silver anchor bent around the final strip of bark and tore free from the Heartroot. Golden mana erupted from the severed end and swallowed the cutting platform, throwing several corrupted creatures from the terrace.

The branded chains snapped tight and dragged the severed root toward the machinery below.

For a moment, the entire village glowed.

Then the western side of Lethariel went dark.

Living bridges stopped moving in the middle of evacuations. A defensive wall near the lower terrace collapsed and scattered pale branches across the paths beneath it. Several homes lost the green light running through their trunks, leaving only fire and smoke inside the hollow wood.

Rootkeepers cried out across the village. Some collapsed where they stood, while others clutched their heads and reached blindly for connections that were no longer there. A scream rose from somewhere below, followed by another.

With both palms against the overlook, Lauren followed the dying connection. The severed anchor had carried hundreds of smaller paths into the western district. Some ended inside empty homes, while others still held living presences that were disappearing from the Heartroot one by one.

An elderly elf stopped beside a burning house when the root beneath it went dark. Nearby, a wounded defender reached toward a branch that had carried him since childhood, but the wood remained still beneath his hand.

Lauren pulled away from the railing with a sharp breath.

Aelira kept staring at the darkened western district. Whatever Lauren had seen, the Queen had felt enough of it through the Heartroot.

Luke forced himself upright. "We stopped one machine."

"They had another," Aelira said.

"We’ll break that one too."

"There are three anchors left."

"Then they haven’t won yet."

Grief and anger burned together in Aelira’s emerald eyes, but she did not tell him he was wrong.

Before either of them could say more, translucent windows opened across Luke and Lauren’s vision.

[Quest Updated]

[The Last Village of the Elves]

[Four of seven Heartroot anchors have been severed.]

[The remaining defenders are insufficient to prevent catastrophic failure.]

[Emergency reinforcement option unlocked.]

Luke read the next message twice.

[Four eligible awakened players are currently available for emergency reinforcement.]

[Would you like to issue a reinforcement request?]

"Other candidates," he said.

"I see it."

Aelira’s attention moved between them. "What has your system offered now?"

"Four more people from our world," Luke explained. "They’re connected to Powerforge through the same Bureau facility."

"The Bureau can send soldiers here?"

"No. The people outside won’t even know this request exists." Lauren turned her blindfold toward the burning western district. "Powerforge found four other candidates who are already connected to this world."

"Heroes?" Aelira asked.

"People trying to become heroes."

"That is not the same thing."

"No," Luke said. "It isn’t."

He remembered the awakening candidates gathered inside the underground facility. Some had been nervous, while others talked about their new abilities, future hero agencies, and everything they expected to become.

None of them had known that a real village was burning inside Powerforge. They had not seen wounded elves carried through collapsing streets or watched the Heartroot lose its connection to everyone bound to a severed root.

"They may not understand what they’re accepting," Luke said.

"Neither did you," Aelira replied.

Lauren rested one hand against the railing. "They will still be given a choice."

"And if they come?"

Aelira’s voice remained cold, though she waited for Luke’s answer instead of rejecting the idea.

Fewer than twenty elves still held the final circle, and several were already helping the rootkeepers injured by the fourth anchor’s death.

"Then we judge them by what they do after they arrive."

Aelira considered his answer before giving a short nod. "Send the request."

Lauren selected the confirmation.

[Emergency reinforcement request issued.]

[Searching for available transit points.]

[Nearest functioning transit point located.]

[Warden’s Forge]

The name caught Luke’s attention. "That’s the Forge we were looking for."

"It must be beneath the extraction site," Lauren said. "The machinery is drawing power from the same direction."

New messages appeared.

[Quest escalation permits one-way emergency transit through the nearest Warden’s Forge.]

[Warning: The selected Warden’s Forge is under hostile control.]

[Emergency arrival point is contested.]

[Return transit will remain unavailable until the hostile seal is removed.]