Chapter 185

Chapter 185: The Nightmare of the World Tree

Chapter 185. The Nightmare of the World Tree

Ferda remembered the way Erica had looked at them with disgust.
Why Erica showed such hostility toward the elves, why she had subtly engaged in a battle of wills when speaking with the Great Chief.
They had once been close.
Close enough to have been engaged.
— So that High Elf coveted Iorga’s magic, huh? Seeing someone like you, it’s not surprising at all.
— Fool! It’s the complete opposite!
Cyprus shouted, boiling with malice.
— Do you know what tyranny that water called knowledge and reason committed? It trapped my fiancée and killed her! That guy… even though she gave everything! Iorga treated her no differently than a mere mortal!
Cyprus is an enemy.
There is nothing more foolish than believing the words of an enemy.
But precisely because he hates Ferda, he could feel it even more clearly.
This man is speaking nothing but the truth right now.
While Ferda remained unable to say a word, Cyprus smiled maliciously.
— Do you think your woman will be different? In the end, you will be cast aside like an old shoe. She will suspect you on a whim and wander around looking for a just cause to slit your throat!
The moment he heard those words, Ferda was possessed by something.
It was like a demon, making its way through the cracks of his heart and approaching.
The difference was that this demon had already taken up residence in Ferda’s body.
“She is mocking your fiancée. Are you going to just take it?”
Ferda responded by raising his hand.
For him, who could not even chant a spell, all that remained was his miserable body.
If he thrust a beam of mana into his forehead, that guy would also end up as a piece of meat.
That was all he had to do.
— Ferda-ssi!
Ferda’s breath hitched.
That voice at that moment was a voice that should not be heard.
And it was a voice that should not see him like this.
Regaining his senses, he turned his head toward where the sound came from.
Barely visible red hair.
Two pairs of horns and golden eyes.
It was Valdrova.
But with a single blink, that form dispersed like a mirage.
In the place where Valdrova had been just moments ago stood a High Elf, Rize.
— Regent Ferda-nim…
He warned with concern.
— If you kill Elder-nim, it will truly become irreversible.
He had already crossed the line more than enough with a severed arm, so what did killing matter?
Even so, there was a clear difference between death and an injury.
“If I kill this guy, will I be able to return feeling refreshed?”
His body answered the question he threw at himself.
The Shadow Circle kept spinning.
One thing was certain: if he had done it, it would have been something he would regret.
Ferda lowered his hand.
— Pull yourself together, Elder. At this rate, everyone will die because of your mistake.
— Damned short-lived race…!
Ferda walked past his back.
After that, Rize also moved hesitantly behind him.
— If you go behind me… you should give up the idea of ever returning here.
Rize’s body shuddered.
No one had truly loved him, but this was the home where he had lived his entire life.
Leaving that home could not be easy.
Rize closed his eyes tightly.
And leaped onto his shoulder.
Soon, along with a wave of mana, the harsh sound of a waterfall was heard.
Shortly after, the form of the woman Cyprus knew appeared before his eyes.
— Well, well?
Erica covered her mouth with her hand.
In contrast to such an action, the corners of her eyes curved like crescent moons.
— Does it seem that Elder-nim was defeated by a foolish short-lived race?
— …
Without giving him time for excuses, leaving only those words, Erica disappeared quietly.
He desperately suppressed the urge to explode with rage.
Elven soldiers entered behind her.
— Elder-nim!
The elven soldiers stopped their pursuit and checked the condition of the Elder, Cyprus.
Seeing that frenzy magic had been cast on his mind, they hastily drew release runes.
Since it was low-circle magic, it was easily undone.
— You need physical recovery. Please rest—.
— Get lost!
Cyprus, armed with several protection runes, shouted with a flushed face.
— Absolutely do not let the intruders leave this place! If they try to escape, you may kill them!
The Elder ran out with the elven soldiers.
The soldiers who had been pursuing first were standing, unable to leave.
— What are you doing!? Why are you standing stupidly here!?
Cyprus could not contain himself and yelled.
— T-that is…
The elite pursuit squad spoke in expressionless voices like newly enlisted recruits.
The moment he saw what the pursuit team was looking at, he knew it could not be helped.
What was blocking their path was nothing other than three spiritual bodies.
— No one passes this point!
— You’ll have to go over us!
— That’s right, that’s right!
Adorable size and still childlike voices.
Such childish behavior would be nothing more than ridiculous.
But in their eyes, it was different.
Although their builds were far from filling this long corridor, not a single one dared to take a step forward.
Not even the High Elf Elder could treat them carelessly.
— It would be better if you stepped aside. Spirits.
— We won’t move!
— Rize, don’t be mean.
— What did Rize do to you?
— That man is trying to let the enemy of the World Tree escape.
— Are you saying that Rize is a bad elf?
— That’s right.
The three spiritual bodies looked at each other’s faces.
Then they began to laugh, clutching their bellies.
— No way that’s true.
— It doesn’t exist!
— Rize is good.
— He greets us every day.
— The bad elves are you.
— Are you saying we are evil?
— That’s right, that’s right!
— You cast Rize aside.
— Even when there were things he hated, he always endured.
— But nobody became his friend.
— Every day, he had no friends!
— That’s why!
The three spiritual bodies intertwined with each other.
At that moment, something surprising happened.
The wind picked up, and the outer bark of the World Tree began to gather toward the center of that storm.
Their bodies swelled larger and larger until they finally took the form of a colossal giant.
A body glowing green with two menacing eyes.
The elite elven soldiers not only stopped, but drew back.
An overwhelming pressure that not even soldiers trained to suppress the survival instinct and charge toward death could defy.
It could not be helped.
That form was the nightmare of the elves.
Where did the cute voices go? A monster living in the abyss spoke in a wet voice.
— Rize is going to make new friends.

Rize and Ferda boarded, and the flying carriage began to move.
It flew smoothly into the sky, but Erica maintained her tension, looking toward the World Tree.
— Compared to the ferocity with which they resisted, they let him go with terrible ease.
— It couldn’t be helped.
At Rize’s words, Erica turned her gaze.
— Why are you so sure?
— Because the spirits blocked them.
— Spirits, you say?
— Yes, children like friends who lived inside the World Tree.
There are not many beings that can enter inside the World Tree.
That was no exception for spirits crossing dimensions.
Given that high affinity is a trait of elves, there are many spirits flitting around the World Tree, but the interior is different.
“Could it be…?”
— Rize, Rize!
Three spiritual bodies pushing their way toward the celestial carriage.
— You guys…!
Rize said with an astonished face, looking at those spirits.
— Why are you here?
— Because Rize left!
— Right, right!
— And there is something you left behind!
— Something I left behind?
The cute spirit opened a small dimensional door and took something out from inside.
It was a beautifully arranged bouquet.
— Ah!
Rize had asked the spirits to make a bouquet a long time ago.
They had rushed all the way here to fulfill that promise.
Rize smiled faintly and said.
— It’s okay, you can go back now.
— We’re not going back?
— Huh? Why?
The spirits snuggled directly into Rize’s arms.
— It would be boring without Rize!
— And we are friends!
— Rize’s friend!
— Friend of the friendless Rize!
That pure shout made his face turn red again.
The purity created by those adorable little bodies makes people smile, but Erica was quite different.
— Um… Secretary Rize?
— Yes?
— Those spirits surrounding you right now… aren’t they the ones called the Nightmare of the World Tree?
The Nightmare of the World Tree.
Spirits inhabiting inside the World Tree, possessors of its mana, whom the elves had attempted to subjugate several times, but could never eliminate.
They grew feeding on the World Tree as nutrients, their size and power becoming so immense that they became existences with a power too great to be separated from the World Tree.
— There is such a nickname. They are a bit excessively mischievous, but they aren’t bad kids.
— …Mischievous?
They had tormented the elves endlessly every night, and if touched, returned the pain dozens of times worse; using the word ‘mischievous’ for those pranksters.
The High Elves, who thoroughly exclude external things for the sake of purity, had declared they had no choice but to coexist; one of the few troublesome existences.
— We never bully first.
— The ones who told us to leave every day and hurt us were the elves!
— The room is suuuper big, but they say it’s all theirs!
— And they didn’t speak kindly like Rize.
— That’s why you didn’t have friends!
— Ugh, that story is unrelated, so please…
Rize’s face turned bright red, and the spirits giggled kkkk.
They are definitely doing nothing but adorable things compared to their notorious reputation.
Rize patted his face and handed the bouquet to Ferda.
— A-anyway, this is the bouquet I was going to give to Ferda-nim!
Grass withers upon being plucked, but the fresh flowers still seemed to breathe with life.
A subtle floral fragrance blended with the energy of spiritual mana, and upon holding it, a refreshing sensation seeped through.
Rize then rummaged through his bag.
— And these are from Father… but wait, I can’t give you everything…
Rize had categorized the pages by fold marks and handed four sheets of paper to Ferda.
— Father said to show this to Ferda Regent-nim first.
— To me?
— Yes. He said to listen to the stories he couldn’t tell, and left those words.
Erica glanced at the pile of papers and said.
— Ferda-nim, you read that, and I will go look for what I need to receive.
— T-that is…
— Why? Do you want me to read it first and show it to you?
— …Y-yes…
Erica glared at Rize.
The pressure as a Dragon Spawn that had swept the elves away like water was different from before.
— Don’t glare at Rize!
— Bad dragon!
The spirits stepped in front of Rize.
Since they had something to believe in, she could not treat them lightly.
In the end, Erica leaned back against the backrest, and Ferda read the letter slowly.
— To Ferda Regent-nim.
First, I apologize in advance for what will happen from now on.
You will surely be pursued by the elves, and things will happen that will cause problems in our relationship.
This is not Ferda Regent-nim’s fault, but solely mine.
However, please understand that I cannot explain this matter.
It is something that had to be done for the Serdes Continent, and for us elves.
— We, the High Elves, have a long-cherished desire.
It is what we call the ‘Seed of the Mother’.
In human language it is different, but you probably know what this means.
The Seed of the Mother.
Hearing it for the first time today, Ferda could infer what it was.
Magic differs in form and name, but all approach closer to the Source the higher the circle is.
The Seed of the Mother is that very Source.
It is nothing other than 9th Circle magic, Desire.
“The Great Chief knows that I reached Desire.”
Is that why she was surprised?
Ferda turned to the next page.
— We elves spent hundreds of years enjoying joy for that Seed.
Because joy is what makes this land abundant and turns us into better beings.
But over the last several hundred years, the steps toward obtaining the Seed of the Mother have slowed down.
It was natural.
Because it was trying to reach the Divine Realm, beyond the Mother.
But they did not think the reason for the stagnation was natural.
That is why they coveted the path Regent Ferda walked and his knowledge.
What they could not let go of in the end was greed.
Greed was the Original Sin that not even long-lived elves could rid themselves of.
— Although it stemmed from my foolishness, I have no regrets because I was able to see the end.
Regent Ferda, you know what outcome the end of Ferda, who lived solely on anger and hatred, led to.
— Although the driving force differs, the nature is the same, so I coincidentally learned that the path we walk is exactly the same as yours.
They forgot the reason why they must endure, the reason why they must grieve and mourn death, and focused only on joy.
Impatience finally blurred even what they knew clearly, and only the pleasure of wrong methods was eating away at them.
Only then did they realize.
That the interior of the World Tree had already been taken over by someone’s plan.
— The World Tree… was taken… by someone?
— Taken? What does that mean?
— I don’t know. There is only the statement that someone has already taken it.
— That cannot be… No one can look into the heart of the Mother without the authority of the Great Chief-nim…
Erica and Rize showed the same reaction.
Ferda finished reading the letter.
— Someone is trying to take all the land and things of the Mother as their own without permission.
I realized, but this old man’s condition is already precarious, so I cannot eradicate them.
If I inform the two of you of this matter, it will be difficult to escape this place.
Your safety is my priority.
When you escaped without knowing the reason, the Tower Master-nim surely would have protested fiercely, so please excuse this fact on my behalf.
— He asks me to convey that he is sorry for not warning you in advance.
— That old man… if he had warned me in advance, there would have been more I could have done to help…
Erica showed a very disappointed reaction.
Is this what they call love-hate?
Ferda turned to the next page.
— The idle chatter was long. From now on, I will give advice that will serve as a signpost for the path Regent Ferda must walk.
The cause of that incident was finally mentioned.
The following content was as follows.
— To state the conclusion first, the answer you seek is in the East.
Right now, that place called the Devil’s Land.
There resides the answer that the Demon King could not have.