How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 280

Chapter 280: Rift of the Spirit Realm (2)

Beneath the World Tree.

The place I arrived at with Lily was riddled with small holes.

They were holes ford from the trembling of the entire ground, ranging from ones the size of fox dens to those large enough for several people to enter at once.

According to Lily, they were rifts created by the rapid expansion of the World Tree’s roots.

“A rift? Is this the rift you ntioned earlier?”

“No, we have to go further inside.”

“There’s space inside the rift?”

“Yeah. It’s big.”

“Who’s inside right now?”

“Grandma, Cordy, Natasha.”

It seed all the Dortas had entered the rift.

But why did they go in?

They weren’t the kind of people to care about so crack in the ground.

[The energy of the World Tree is pouring out strongly from the rift.]

“What do you sense?”

[It resembles spiritual power, but it’s denser and heavier. It’s not energy of this world.]

Reto explained why the Dortas reacted.

The World Tree’s energy.

I had already heard from Fenry that the energy of the World Tree did not belong to this world.

The Spirit Realm.

It seed that a rift related to the Spirit Realm existed inside the hole.

“Tunnels are the worst, damn it.”

“If you don’t like it, just guard the entrance.”

“What, you think I’m so guard dog now? This involves the World Tree. There’s no way its shadow can sit this one out.”

As Fenry rolled her shoulders and looked at like, “What are you waiting for?”, I turned to glance back.

That was because the person we were waiting for hadn’t arrived yet.

Soon after, a man approached swiftly.

He was drenched in sweat, probably rushing straight from training.

Lochter Felice.

I had called him before coming here.

After stopping, Lochter caught his breath and looked at .

“An ergency call? What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain as we move. Let’s go.”

With Lochter now joined, I stepped toward the hole Lily had pointed out.

The World Tree was a mysterious existence I still didn’t fully understand, and this special space the witches had found was sothing I was hearing about for the first ti.

It was safest to bring along as many strong allies as possible to prepare for any variables.

The group now numbered five.

Lily, Fenry, Karl, Lochter, and .

“Woof!”

No, there was one more.

Of course, I had no intention of bringing Keros.

Soone needed to guard the entrance of the rift.

“You guard this place.”

“Woof!”

His eyes clearly scread, “No way!”, but Keros, that’s exactly what’s not happening.

I had prepared for this.

As I dropped a hunk of pork the size of my thigh onto the ground, Keros’s barking stopped abruptly.

The at was soaked in Sacred Power.

He licked it once, then sat firmly in front of the hole with eyes saying, “You can trust .”

Lily looked on with envy.

“I want to eat that too…”

“I’ll make you so when we get back.”

“Promise!”

Beaming brightly, she cheerfully ran into the hole.

Fenry, puffing on her pipe, let out a snort as she watched.

“Hah, are we on a picnic or sothing?”

“Different approaches for different personalities.”

“The witch and the mutt are settled, huh. What about ?”

“What, do you want gold coins laid out for you?”

“Not a bad idea.”

A little later, we entered the largest hole among the rifts and were quickly swallowed by the darkness.

A thick sll of soil filled the air.

It felt like walking through a mountain during rainfall—cool and refreshing air.

But the visibility was poor.

A pitch-black space where even shadows couldn’t be seen.

Fenry’s sharp voice rang out.

“Light!”

“Let’s just go? It’s not like we can’t find our way in the dark.”

“I hate going without light, got it? Hurry up and make so light.”

Fenry’s grumbling didn’t last long, as soft orbs of light floated around us.

They drifted through the air, brightly illuminating the surroundings. It seed Lily had used a spell.

The glowing orbs wriggled at Lily’s gestures and began to guide the way.

We followed their lead and moved quickly.

Before long, a breathtaking sight opened up ahead.

Even though the orbs disappeared, the area remained bright.

“There it is!!”

Lily shouted, pointing toward a dazzling light, and we shielded our eyes as we crossed into the bright space.

As our eyes adjusted and our vision gradually returned, a new scene unfolded before us.

It was a clearing, surrounded on all sides by tree bark.

It was wider than expected—about 100 ters in radius.

“Don’t tell we’re inside the World Tree?”

The surroundings were similar to when I had once entered the inside of the Millennium Tree.

A place within the bark.

However, there was a distinct difference that everyone could feel.

Vhuung!!!

An overwhelming energy flowed from the center of the clearing.

It seed to be the World Tree’s energy.

“The space looks distorted.”

Karl narrowed his eyes and pointed to the center.

As he said, the center of the clearing shimred like a heat haze.

It didn’t feel like the space itself was twisted, but rather that the overflowing energy was distorting it.

And near the center, three witches sat at a distance, slumped on the ground.

“Grandma! I brought everyone!”

Lily cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, but Elder deia, Cordy, and Natasha didn’t respond.

As if frozen in ti, they sat still about ten ters away.

Lily’s eyes widened.

She must’ve sensed that sothing was wrong.

Watching their lack of reaction, I asked her,

“What did the Elder say?”

“She said not to go in, just to bring people.”

“And then?”

“Oh! She also said, if anything went wrong, to pull her out first.”

“Tsk. You left out the most important part, little witch.”

“...”

“Leave it to . Fishing’s my specialty.”

Karl gauged the distance and stretched his arm forward. His hand darkened as he summoned his Spectral Form, attempting to reel in Elder deia.

But as the Spectral Form wrapped around deia—

“…Huh??”

Karl’s head snapped back, and he was suddenly pulled forward.

“Hey, hey! What the hell?!”

Karl scread as he tried to pull back his Spectral Form.

But the Spectral Form, which had always obeyed his will, was now moving on its own.

As the Spectral Form began dragging Karl toward the center, Lochter quickly reached for his collar—

But,

?!

Unlike Karl, Lochter was bounced back by an invisible barrier.

He quickly regained his stance and swung his dual blades fiercely, but they only cut through air.

The wall blocking him clearly existed, yet it couldn’t be cut.

“What the hell is this?”

A phenonon he had never experienced before.

Lochter frowned as he stared at Karl from behind the unseen wall.

At that mont, Fenry moved.

She touched the wall, then cloaked herself in shadow.

In that instant, she passed through.

“…This thing.”

The mont she stepped in, her shadows began to disperse as if trying to flee.

She couldn’t control them. Fenry’s eyes turned pitch black.

As soon as she received aid from the shadow sprite Vanli, her shadows began to respond, albeit briefly.

Fenry clenched her teeth.

An intense pressure.

She couldn’t stay long.

Now she understood why the witches had collapsed in front of the core.

She quickly reached forward.

Seeing this, Karl reached out with a face full of emotion.

“H-Hurry, help !”

“You, get lost, idiot!”

“Ugh!”

Fenry shoved Karl’s face aside, grabbed Elder deia by the collar, and sank into the shadows.

Karl, dazed, rolled on the ground and ended up stuck flat like gum.

He tried to move, but couldn’t budge.

The pressure was suffocating.

“W-What the hell is this?!”

He was conscious, but his body wouldn’t respond.

At that mont, a distorted voice reached him.

“Hey, stay focused.”

“…Huh?”

Turning toward the voice, he saw Natasha looking at him with a twisted expression.

She wasn’t unconscious?

Biting her lip, Natasha clenched her fists.

A massive Spectral Form surrounding her was pressing down on her.

Gereflam’s Spectral Form.

Natasha was currently in a power struggle against her own Spectral Form.

She spoke.

“Yours is just a stray ghost. Don’t let it control you.”

“S-Stray ghost?! My Spectral Form is incredible, you know—ugh!”

Monts later, sothing inside Karl stirred.

The black Spectral Form climbed up through his body.

Then, it began wrapping around his entire form.

Karl could feel its presence rapidly expanding within his consciousness.

He tried to control it, but couldn’t.

It felt like the Spectral Form was growing explosively.

Its presence beca so overwhelming, it felt like it would consu Karl’s consciousness.

“W-Wait a sec…!?”

Then, with a popping sound, it felt like his head burst. His eyes rolled back, turning completely white.

He had lost consciousness.

It all happened in an instant.

Natasha let out a dry laugh.

For soone nearing 5-Star level to be devoured by a stray ghost—What a pathetic fool.

I scanned the surroundings to assess the situation.

Karl had fallen in the core, and Fenry had brought back deia.

While she checked on deia, I checked on Lochter.

He still couldn’t pass through the barrier.

‘Lochter can’t pass, but Fenry and Karl could? The witches too.’

Then what about ?

I reached out past Lochter.

The mont my hand grazed the air, my fingers trembled.

The air was so heavy, I could barely move them.

A crushing invisible force.

“…Is it a Spectral Form?”

It seed only those capable of handling special beings could pass through the wall.

Lochter was the only one here without such a connection.

As I stepped back, Elder deia ca to her senses.

She didn’t seem to have any major injuries.

Fenry helped her up and urgently asked,

“What happened?”

“The seed husk.”

“The seed husk??”

“The husk left behind after the World Tree’s seed sprouted opened a rift to the Spirit Realm.”

deia staggered as she pointed to the center of the clearing.

There was a massive split green husk.

What I thought was bark turned out to be the World Tree’s seed husk.

“Thankfully, the rift is still narrow—barely visible to the naked eye. So before it widens, we need to destroy or retrieve the seed husk.”

A fierce, swirling energy radiated around it.

A rift linked to the Spirit Realm existed near the husk.

“Just retrieve the husk?”

When I asked casually, the Elder looked a bit flustered.

She felt I was underestimating the danger.

Before responding, she looked at Fenry.

Since Fenry had moved within the rift earlier, it seed possible she could retrieve the husk.

Fenry shook her head and bit down on her pipe.

As it glowed, her depleted mana began to replenish.

“I can’t go in again. I spent all my mana to survive the first ti. If I go back in, it won’t be that dies—it’ll be my spirit.”

“…I see.”

“Just explain the rift to Arthur. If it’s him, he’ll find a way.”

Following Fenry’s advice, the Elder turned to and continued.

“This rift touches the Spirit Realm. Without the help of a spirit or Spectral Form, you can’t approach it. The problem is, the Spirit Realm’s energy here is…”

“…Overwhelming, aning the Spectral Forms’ dominance increases greatly.”

That was why the witches collapsed under pressure, and Karl was overwheld by his Spectral Form.

The mont one crosses the rift’s wall, their Spectral Form surpasses the master’s control.

It could cost you your body.

“Is there any way to handle it?”

“Leave it to .”

I nodded and stood before the invisible wall.

Just as I was about to step forward, Natasha shouted a warning.

“You must not cross over!”

She knew exactly how terrifying my Spectral Form was.

Unlike Gereflam that was pressing her down, mine could dispel its presence with re existence.

If I crossed the rift, I would definitely be devoured by my own Spectral Form.

That would be the end.

There was no way to suppress my Spectral Form once it entered the Spirit Realm’s rift.

To her warning, I whispered quietly,

“Can I go?”

[Secure the 'World Tree’s seed husk' at all costs.]

“Will it help you achieve your 'perfect death'?”

[Maybe.]

Nodding, I stepped into the Rift of the Spirit Realm.