Chapter 271 – Beneath the World Tree
The Hut Forest, long known as a sanctuary for witches, vanished when the Thousand-Year Tree collapsed.
The witches built a temporary dwelling near the World Tree, and Elder deia summoned everyone beneath the shade of a small grove where she resided.
There was much to discuss about the newly born World Tree, but today was not the ti.
“...They still haven’t given up?”
Demtor’s surprise attack.
I passed along the information I received from Arcane to the elder, and she groaned, contorting her face.
Punkin and Oarla.
The Stars not only killed the two Ortain, but were also trying to destroy what little remained of the forest.
Despite the anger, worry ca first.
Now that the ‘Forest of Ghosts’ had vanished, all forests were exposed to magic.
Could we really stop Demtor’s all-out magical assault?
deia looked up at the World Tree.
Its gentle light was warm and mysterious, but in the darkness, its radiance made it an easy target.
Demtor’s ambushes were subtle, but the World Tree, their objective, was completely exposed.
“Not with just us.”
Naturally, her gaze turned to Arthur.
The witch’s friend.
And the only human who could resolve the current situation.
“Can you stop it?”
“If I solve just one issue.”
“One issue?”
Everyone turned their eyes to .
I looked around and spoke.
“Terremor.”
“Terremor?”
Bombs and the sky.
Using the information left by Arcane, I was able to predict Demtor’s attack.
“It's a large-scale mana bomb. They twist a condensed mana core to trigger a powerful explosion. The force is truly terrifying.”
“No way, by sky you an...”
“They’ll drop them from above. The Stars have a convenient ans of aerial transport, don’t they?”
The research force from the Black Tower, completed by Gram, known as the Irregulars.
Just as there were ground-based lizard monsters called Hotaru, in the sky there were Veluga, ridden by the Stars.
Mutant wyverns.
“This is how their ambush is structured.”
I stood a twig on the ground, calling it the World Tree, then slowly began explaining.
I detailed how Demtor’s bombing would unfold, what the Stars would do beforehand, and what we needed to do.
As my explanation continued, people reacted in various ways.
The Hunt mbers, trusting completely, nodded silently. Lily and Natasha, on the other hand, yawned continuously, clearly bored.
The ones watching with interest were Cordy and Fenry.
The most rational individuals here, and the ones most inford about the outside world.
Perhaps that’s why, when I finished explaining, the two let out dry laughs and looked at .
Fenry, puffing on his pipe, asked,
“Do you really think Demtor will act just as you predicted?”
“Ninety percent sure.”
“Ninety? Are you insane? Do you have a spy among the Stars? How can you draw that picture beforehand?”
“I was always with them.”
“Since when were you among the mages?”
“I ant, I always thought from Demtor’s perspective.”
The Demtor in the novel.
The personalities of the Stars, the rules and systems of the Mage Tower Alliance, even their interests.
I knew more about Demtor than anyone else here.
So I understood well.
The way those bound by reason and vested power fight.
“You seem to know the mages better than we do.”
Cordy seed to understand. But she soon sighed and looked at .
“But you still haven’t told us the most important solution. If we can’t stop the bomb from exploding beforehand, then no matter how good our defense is, it’ll all be pointless.”
The issue was Terremor.
If swept up in a large-scale explosion, everything would vanish.
“It’s impossible to stop beforehand.”
Taking the bomb from the Stars before detonation was too difficult.
In the end, the only solution was to dismantle Terremor after it was released—
“But I’ve already failed once.”
Back in Blyer, I had faced Terremor twice. I even attempted to dismantle the one that exploded in the mine. I failed.
“Would it be possible if I tried again?”
My unique trait—an energy that rectifies disorder.
With Sacred Power, I might be able to correct the twisted mana core.
I was definitely different from back then.
Right now, this was the only option.
However—
“If I fail, we all die.”
So I hesitated.
In the worst-case scenario, what would I have to give up?
A heavy silence fell.
No one dared speak first.
Truthfully, there was another option.
To run.
Abandoning the World Tree.
But—
“There will be no retreat.”
Elder deia put her foot down.
“...Elder.”
deia smiled faintly and looked up at the entity before her.
“Lily tells that tree is called the World Tree. It’s a beautiful na.”
“To abandon a being born from the wishes of the dead would be to forsake the mission entrusted to us. So, tell the way.”
For the first ti, deia asked for sothing.
As the air turned heavy, Fenry couldn’t take it anymore and lightly flicked his pipe, then asked,
“None at all?”
“Huh?”
“Seriously? You always co up with so crazy plan for us.”
“Aren’t you overestimating a bit?”
“Tsk, after all you’ve pulled on ?”
Fenry exhaled smoke and looked up at the World Tree.
“I’m against fleeing too. We can’t afford to lose a symbolic figure capable of uniting the scattered elf tribes.”
“Fenry.”
“Whatever you need, I’ll prepare it. Just think of sothing.”
“What if it takes a ridiculous amount of gold?”
Fenry’s mood suddenly turned heavier than the elder’s.
It was a joke to change the mood, but I guess he’s really serious about gold?
I glanced around.
Lochter and Karl, the ghosts—they all nodded at .
Lochter had his new weapon, the ghosts had gained strength.
All were indebted to the witches’ forest.
We would protect the World Tree.
Having decided, I nodded.
I resolved to believe in Sacred Power one more ti.
And if that failed...
As I envisioned the worst, a voice called out.
[I can stop the bomb.]
“Reto?”
[But a condition must be t.]
Retonicalus broke the silence and revealed his resolve.
***
At dawn.
The Witches’ Forest, once known as the Forest of Ghosts, returned to being an ordinary forest.
The only difference was the mysterious tree that rose in its heart.
A soft light that even swallowed moonlight.
At the darkest hour just before dawn, the World Tree shone most beautifully.
And then—
“They’re coming!!!”
A clearly visible target even from afar.
The forest surrounding the World Tree sparkled with brilliant lights.
Wooooooong!
A glow resonated throughout the atmosphere.
Flashes of mana-imbued light gathered ominously and rained down upon the World Tree.
A full-scale magical bombardnt aid solely at destruction by Demtor.
“Terrifying.”
So many.
The darkness lit up like broad daylight for an instant.
Magic cast by hundreds of mages all at once—it was a calamity.
“Fenry!”
“They’re not holding back, even from the start.”
At my signal, Fenry deeply inhaled from his pipe. The elf stone in it glead, and as he spread his arms wide, a long shadow surged forth.
A shadow big enough to cover the World Tree.
But it wasn’t her shadow.
“...Ah!”
The witches let out gasps as they slowly looked up.
[Shadow of the World Tree.]
A massive shadow resembling the World Tree soared into the air, beginning to block the incoming barrage of spells.
Fenry had summoned the Shadow King using the presence of the World Tree.
Kwakwakwakwaang—!!!!!
[......!]
A massive explosion burst above the quivering shadow.
A violent mana storm swept through the forest.
The witches shrieked, curling up to avoid being blown away.
“Cordy!”
“Danger from the upper right!”
Cordy, with her ten thousand ears, quickly analyzed the surroundings.
She caught the gap that the Shadow of the World Tree couldn’t block, and Elder deia filled it with tree sorcery to support Fenry.
As the magical bombardnt was held back by the Shadow King and the elder, new enemies rushed in.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The forests around the World Tree shook violently as massive lizards charged, eyes gleaming.
After magic, now physical assault.
As the Hotaru targeted the World Tree, a giant beast roared and blocked them.
Kraaaah!
The forest’s guardian—Keros.
Under the influence of the World Tree, Keros had grown to twice its previous size.
Even its appearance had changed—its forehead now bore a massive horn, radiating fierce majesty.
Its eyes glowed red—
Fwhooom!!!
—and black flas spewed from its wide-open mouth, incinerating the Hotaru.
The hellhound’s breath.
As the Hotaru faltered, the massive horn pierced and hurled them around.
rcenaries attacked the guardian charging into the mages’ battlefield, and the witches blocked them with their spells.
I clenched the Ring of Blood and assessed the situation.
“It’s about ti they showed up.”
Everything was going according to my predictions.
Magical bombardnt to disorient, Hotaru to distract.
And then—
Kkyeeeeeeek!
“Everyone, get ready!”
Using the opening, the Stars moved to land the final blow.
As the wyverns’ cries rang out, I gritted my teeth and pulled the Ring of Blood.
Five wyverns appeared, riding the wind above the World Tree.
Among them, I had to find the Star holding Terremor.
“Move!”
At my shout, the others sprang into action.
Lily and Karl flanked , while Lochter and Natasha rushed up the World Tree like lightning.
“You miserable worms dare resist!”
Bersen Clarke, the Fla of Terror, moved first.
From midair, his Staff of Ruin flashed, and a spear of black fla struck down like lightning.
Its target—
“Here it cos!”
—was .
The Fla Spear cannot be dodged.
It chases you until you die, burns you until nothing remains.
The only way to stop it is to counter it.
Kwooooom—!
“Guh!”
The Fla Spear was blocked halfway up the World Tree.
A dual blade intercepted it. The flaming black fire engulfed not Lochter’s body, but the twin swords.
“Graaaaah!”
Lochter roared, his twisted form unleashing strength, and the twin blades absorbed the flas, turning crimson.
The black fire faded.
Lochter, having absorbed the impact, widened his eyes and slashed with vicious force.
A counter.
Flash!
The shockwave engulfed Clarke.
While Lochter held off Clarke, a dazzling cross-shaped radiance poured down from above.
Ren’s Radiant Cannon.
I was the target again.
Gram’s influence must have been at play.
They judged the greatest threat.
“How dare you, Ren!”
But Ren’s cannon was deflected by Natasha, who burst forth from between the World Tree’s branches.
Shrouded in Gereflam, she glared up at Ren floating in the air.
“You persist on the wrong path to the very end!”
“Demtor is my holand.”
While Clarke and Ren were stalled by Lochter and Natasha, Modin, Lord of the Ivory Tower, leapt toward the World Tree.
Seeing him, Lily flinched and prepared to act, but I shook my head.
Modin wasn’t the one holding Terremor.
In fact, I already knew who it was.
A wyvern with black scales.
On its back, flying higher than the rest, stood a blonde woman.
Gram Seraphim.
The mont white light flashed from her hand—
“Now!”
Boom!
I gave the signal to Lily and Karl and unleashed a piercing arrow imbued with maximum force.
User Comments
0 comments from readers