Chapter 220 – The World Tree’s Seed
“deia, what do you think?”
The Elder aid her staff at Arthur with a heavy expression.
Natasha frowned.
“Is there even anything to think about? We just do as he says.”
“But isn't it dangerous?”
“The one who should be worried about danger isn’t us. It’s him.”
Natasha shifted her gaze toward Arthur and slowly closed her eyes.
***
At the core of the Millennium Tree’s roots.
Gereflam, who had been waiting by the green barrier, responded to the call and firmly grasped Reto’s spiritual form in both hands.
Unlike the small, spherical form of Reto, Gereflam’s spirit took on a human-like shape.
Now, standing before the barrier, Gereflam aid Reto directly at it.
They were waiting for the signal.
“I don’t know anymore. You’re the one who wanted to do this.”
Arthur clenched his teeth, visibly tense.
At this point, the only thing Natasha could do for him was help end the pain quickly.
“Gereflam!”
At the signal—
Gereflam charged forward, pressing Reto’s spiritual core against the barrier.
Gggggrrrrrrk!!
The barrier caved inward, and the entire Millennium Tree shuddered violently.
A warning.
A response from the tree against the threat.
“KUAAAAAAAHHHH!”
At the sa ti, Arthur’s scream tore through the air.
He had begged them beforehand to prevent him from pulling away, knowing that the pain might force him to retreat on instinct.
That was why Gereflam was holding Reto in place and pushing him forward.
“TAH!”
The mont Reto and Gereflam broke through the barrier—
Elder deia’s staff flashed.
She cast ritual spells to dull Arthur’s pain perception.
The spells were poured onto him with full force, and as the pain subsided slightly, Arthur’s screams grew fainter.
He gasped for breath, his disheveled hair damp with sweat, groaning in agony—
But the spells were working.
A brief mont of silence.
No one dared to let their guard down.
The tree’s resistance only grew stronger over ti—
It felt like the entire world was trembling.
“J-Just a little more…!”
Natasha could feel it.
The barrier was starting to collapse—
That’s when Arthur’s head suddenly snapped upward, and his bloodshot eyes glared at the sky.
His pupils were completely red.
“F-Fuck… AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!”
His scream of agony erupted once more.
The Millennium Tree was now fighting back in earnest.
The barrier pushed against Reto with full force, while Reto struggled to break through—
It had beco a battle of strength.
Natasha’s expression twisted in horror.
“This crazy bastard…”
A curse escaped her lips.
Through Gereflam, she could feel Reto’s emotions.
Despite seeing Arthur’s severe reaction, despite watching deia sweat as she tried to alleviate the pain,
The suffering must have been unimaginable.
And yet—
‘Is he… laughing?’
Even while burrowing into the barrier, enduring soul-wrenching pain,
Reto was laughing.
It was as if he was shouting for more.
A chilling sense of fear crept up Natasha’s spine.
“Hurry! Hurry…!”
As Arthur’s screams dragged on, Lily squeezed her eyes shut, her face full of distress.
Desperately, she clutched the tree’s trunk with both hands.
“No, no! Just a little more…!”
The divine na was so close—
Yet still concealed in darkness.
The barrier of mist clouding the letters was thinning,
But…
Could Arthur endure until the end?
And then—
“RETTOOOOO! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!”
Arthur roared.
In that instant—
The black mist was forcibly blown away.
And between the parted darkness, the revealed na shone through.
Lily’s eyes widened in shock.
“STOP! STOP IMDIATELY!”
deia shouted in a panic.
Arthur was bleeding from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
His condition was critical.
Without sparing a glance at Lily, who stood frozen, both witches rushed toward Arthur and poured recovery spells onto him.
While they tended to Arthur—
“…Ah…”
Lily, who had been standing in a daze, suddenly gasped and staggered backward.
She yanked her hands away from the tree’s trunk, her fingers trembling uncontrollably.
Her face had turned pale as she muttered under her breath.
“…Why does the Millennium Tree have this divine na…?”
[Millennium Tree – The World Tree’s Seed (Wish)]
She had seen the divine na.
And she was completely stunned.
***
“He’s not dead… right?”
“If it were anyone else, they’d have died instantly from wounds like these.”
“But he’s still alive.”
“He’s ridiculously tough. He won’t die from just this.”
“You trusted Arthur too much.”
“He is trustworthy. The problem was his opponent this ti.”
Natasha recalled the light that had burst from the roots just before the barrier tore apart.
“What was that light at the end?”
Even Reto, who had been ruthlessly attacking, and Gereflam, who had been supporting him—
Both were completely overwheld by it.
Arthur had taken the full force of that backlash.
His entire body was dyed crimson, as if every vein had burst at once.
Had he been any other human,
He would have already died from blood loss.
“…His color is returning.”
“It looks like his heart is functioning properly again. Reto must have stabilized.”
The Ring of Recovery, which Arthur had ntioned before, was glowing faintly, aiding in his regeneration.
The ruptured veins across his body were visibly closing up.
Natasha clicked her tongue and looked down at the ground beneath them.
Beneath them—
Lay the hidden secret of the Millennium Tree.
But had they really uncovered it?
“…I want to grab this damn tree by the throat and demand answers. What the hell is it hiding?”
“The Millennium Tree accepted the Grand Ritual of its own will. It must have a reason for blocking us.”
“There won’t be a second attempt, will there?”
deia glanced at Arthur before replying.
“…We’ll see once he wakes up.”
“I’d rather not get murdered by my own disciple.”
“…And what about Lily?”
deia, spotting Lily, montarily paused before narrowing her eyes.
Then, unexpectedly, she let out a chuckle.
“Why are you suddenly laughing? That’s creepy.”
“I just realized… I won’t be killed by my own disciple.”
“…What?”
Following deia’s gaze, Natasha turned her head—
And there stood Lily.
Natasha hesitated, narrowing her eyes.
Lily’s expression was serious.
“I’ve never seen that face before.”
“Yeah, a serious Lily? That shouldn’t even exist.”
The two witches exchanged glances before nodding to each other.
“Looks like she really did see sothing.”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
Their eyes drifted down to the unconscious Arthur.
His gamble hadn’t entirely failed.
***
deia’s Hut.
As consciousness returned and I slowly opened my eyes—
Two witches lunged at .
deia and Natasha.
The two most terrifying witches in the forest.
“UAAAGH!”
“Why the scream? Don’t tell my face is that terrifying?”
“It’s probably the face of soone who beats people up.”
“Looks like you haven’t been hit enough yet.”
Despite her words, Natasha’s eyes were filled with relief.
She must have been genuinely worried about my condition.
deia examined my body with her staff—
And her reaction was one of surprise.
I had seen this sa expression on Natasha’s face before—
When she first witnessed my insane regeneration during sparring.
“You healed completely in just one day? You’ve already stepped beyond the realm of normal humans.”
“…How about the divine na?”
“Lily saw the Millennium Tree’s divine na.”
“…Really?”
A wave of relief washed over .
That damn tree had been playing mind gas, teasing us by almost revealing its na but never fully doing so.
If we had failed, we probably would’ve had to try again.
And there was no way I wanted to experience that kind of pain twice.
The mont I heard we had succeeded—
I couldn’t help but smile.
“So, what is the divine na of the Millennium Tree?”
“…Why are you asking us?”
The two witches tilted their heads at .
Revealing a divine na carelessly would result in a penalty—
A curse.
To avoid that curse, they needed a sacrifice to take the burden.
That sacrifice?
Reto, obviously.
A mont later, Lily was called over.
She hesitated as she approached, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at .
Cute.
Her every emotion was written all over her face.
I could never bring myself to dislike her.
“…Are you okay?”
“I didn’t die, at least.”
“You looked like you were in so much pain.”
“If you really feel bad, you could reduce the number of lunchboxes.”
“…It’s at 47 tiers now, but I’ll let you have it at 45. Stay strong.”
As she patted my head, I realized—
She might worry about , but there was no way she was giving up her lunchboxes.
Well, good thing I had prepared an insurance policy.
But before that—
“Can I receive the divine na of the Millennium Tree?”
“Of course!”
To receive the information, a lifespan had to be sacrificed.
Normally, even a single transfer would shave years off soone’s life—
But since Reto was immortal, the price was basically nothing.
“…Reto, will you be fine?”
[Let take a quick nap first.]
…For him, taking on a divine curse was apparently a form of rest.
When I asked him about his battle with the Millennium Tree,
He casually remarked—
"That was the spiciest pain I’ve felt in a while."
Spicy?
But he had been laughing like a maniac the whole ti?
What a complete freak.
“…Lily, while we’re at it, show my divine na, Karl’s, and Lochter’s too.”
“All at once?”
“Yes. All at once.”
[…Give a mont.]
What mont?
Just hurry up and take the curse already, you undead bastard.
***
That Night – The Witches’ Feast.
The Witch’s Forest suddenly erupted into a party.
A rare occurrence.
The witches, unused to such events, flocked to the gathering spot in confusion.
The kitchen was already buzzing with activity, witches moving about preparing food.
By order of the Elder, every witch had to contribute to the feast.
“…A lunchbox party? Who the hell suggested this?”
“Whatever, it’s been so long since we had a party. Let’s just enjoy it!”
“…But why are we making three lunchboxes per person? Does anyone know?”
At the center of the forest, a massive bonfire was set up.
The witches, amazed at the sight of a bonfire feast, gathered in excitent, each clutching their lunchboxes.
But before they could enter, I stood at the gate—
Collecting the lunchboxes one by one.
The entry fee to the bonfire party?
A lunchbox.
So witches grumbled in protest—
They had poured effort into making their lunchboxes extra special, expecting to eat them themselves.
“…Why are you taking two of them?”
“Two of the three will be used for the feast.”
“The feast?”
“Yes. Everyone will be sharing the food together.”
Hearing that, the witches reluctantly placed their carefully crafted lunchboxes onto the tables.
With a wide grin, I sent them off.
Of the two collected lunchboxes—
One was given to Karl.
The other?
I set it aside, creating a massive buffet-style feast for all the witches to enjoy.
Karl, anwhile, happily stuffed his face, humming in contentnt.
Honestly, it was no surprise that he had gone bald.
And as for the remaining lunchboxes—
I stacked them behind like a brick wall.
Lily, seeing the towering pile, gasped in astonishnt.
“…How many are there?”
"1,287."
“…This is INSANE.”
“Right? But when are we hitting 200 tiers?”
Lily had ditched my handmade 45-tier lunchbox in favor of the 200-tier feast the witches had made.
The sheer quantity must have overwheld her.
As I watched the growing crowd of witches approaching—
I smirked and waved them in.
“I am the true Kim Seon-dal.”
The mont the remaining 72 lunchboxes were delivered—
My greatest scam had succeeded.
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