Chapter 188
Chapter: 188
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 188
>Chapter Title: Repentance Tree (5)
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>An emergency meeting was hastily convened.
While the knights kept the demonic tree's roots in check, Seongjin huddled with Masain, Bruno the captain, Orden, and Knight Ilma to discuss strategies for taking down the demonic tree.
“You didn’t mention anything like that earlier, Your Highness.”
“You just learned this in the middle of battle? How on earth...”
When Seongjin brought up the growth core, Orden and Knight Ilma couldn’t hide their suspicion as they asked.
Well, that was the normal reaction.
The people in the imperial palace who just went along with whatever Seongjin said like “Ah, I see” were the weird ones.
“His Highness Morres has the ability to instantly discern the weaknesses of evils. That’s precisely why the monster subjugation unit insisted on bringing him along.”
Masain stated it confidently, but the bewilderment didn’t leave the two men’s faces.
It was only natural. Even if you told these two battle-hardened veterans that “the prince can spot the weaknesses of evils at a glance,” they weren’t going to buy it.
“I’m also concerned about the tree’s canopy. Isn’t it strange how the demonic energy is particularly thick at the very top? That must be the center where the demonic energy is generated—the demonic tree’s most vital part.”
Even Bruno the captain, a former Decaron Knight, chimed in from the side, and only then did the two reluctantly nod in agreement.
“Knight Masain. What about your aura burst? Could it reach that high?”
Seongjin asked, gazing up at the tree that now appeared nearly thirty meters tall.
“If I aim well, it could reach. Of course, the vibrations would weaken considerably by then, so it wouldn’t pack much punch. However...”
Masain explained that there were too many obstacles in the way.
The odds of an aura burst fired from the ground dodging all those randomly flying branches were practically zero.
“What if you fire it multiple times?”
“I could manage a few shots, but it’s not a technique I can unleash in rapid succession that quickly. I haven’t mastered it fully yet, and it requires time to layer the sword cries. By then, even more branches would sprout.”
Seongjin considered alternating with Knight Ilma, but aura burst was a technique popular in the imperial palace. Knight Ilma made a troubled face, saying it couldn’t be learned overnight.
“The Wolf Knight Order has knights skilled with bows. But even infusing arrows with aura, piercing through all those branches in one go would be impossible.”
“As expected, the best option is to get as close to the top as possible and cut it down.”
Masain concluded, furrowing his brow.
“But we couldn’t pull off a feat like Your Highness. Knight Ilma and I tried several times, but...”
“I see.”
Seongjin replied and turned back to the tree.
‘Climbing up and cutting it myself is still the surest way.’
But opportunities were limited. He’d already pushed too hard circulating aura wildly on his first climb.
He could probably try once more, but if he reached the top and failed to sever the branches again, it’d all be for nothing.
If only he could see what the Demon King was seeing directly.
‘...Huh? Wait a minute.’
Seongjin blinked as a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
He was definitely lending his senses of smell and taste to the Demon King. But was this sensory sharing truly one-way?
When the Demon King first tried connecting taste, hadn’t something strange briefly appeared in Seongjin’s vision?
‘Hey, Demon King!’
[Yeah?]
‘Can you connect vision with me, by any chance?’
[What?]
‘Like when we share during meals—couldn’t you share your vision so I see what you see?’
The Demon King stammered in confusion before responding.
[...Hold on, Yi Seongjin. It’s sudden, but I don’t think that’s possible.]
‘Why not?’
[Humans can’t experience a demon’s senses without full possession. The sensory dominance is too clear-cut. Plus, this is a special case right now. I have no body, so there’s nothing to share senses from.]
‘Then what are you seeing?’
[Strictly speaking, it’s not “seeing.” It’s just things detectable in soul form. You’ll understand once you die and become a soul too. It’s called the “spirit eye,” something living humans lack.]
‘Hmm.’
Seongjin understood the Demon King’s explanation.
But then, what were those mirage-like things he’d seen before?
[Probably just a side effect from accidentally stimulating your senses. A temporary sensory mix-up, maybe?]
The Demon King brushed it off, but oddly, Seongjin had a strange conviction that it wasn’t mere confusion.
Even if just a glimpse, it felt like he’d seen something closer to the essence of things.
‘If it’s impossible for him, could I try forcing it from my side?’
It somehow felt possible...
Seongjin closed his mouth and desperately tried to vividly recall that fleeting sensation.
The faint lines carried on the wind, the green haze shimmering over shaking grass. The yellow and blue shadows overlapping people.
[Whoa, Yi Seongjin, what are you...]
The Demon King sounded flustered, but Seongjin focused even harder, sinking deeper into his inner self. Then, as if by magic, the memory resurfaced vividly.
The teacup glowing blue, the blue steam rising from it. The pink haze emanating from the cooled ground.
And the priests and holy knights emitting an especially brilliant white light, their shadows bright.
Seongjin didn’t realize it, but a faint red glow was now flickering in the center of his pupils.
[Yi Seongjin?! What did you just do?]
Amid the Demon King’s shock, Seongjin slowly raised his head and looked around.
A completely new sight unfolded before him, filled with a dazzling array of colors unlike anything before.
Beyond the knights’ bright blue torches, the pitch-black night sky was shrouded in a subtle red glow.
Even the seemingly empty air held a faint luminescence.
Only the demonic energy enveloping the demonic tree writhed as an ominous black devoid of any color.
Seongjin observed the tree closely while maintaining this state.
Curiously, at the center of the trunk, faint shadowy figures resembling human shapes were huddled together.
Though invisible from outside, there was clearly an empty space lower in the tree with living people still inside. Of course, their lights were fading as if they were about to die.
A cluster of yellow light extended from them, tracing the trunk in a long line up to the top.
And at the center of the tree where the light line ended, in the heart of the black demonic energy.
A round mass of light pulsed brightly. That must be the growth core the Demon King mentioned.
[No way! How is this possible? A human without spirit eyes stealing a demon’s spirit vision so easily?]
The Demon King practically panicked.
But there was no time for a serious discussion with him about this state. His eyes already stung fiercely, and a severe headache was building from the back of his head.
‘I can’t maintain this long.’
Judging so, Seongjin abruptly declared to the group.
“I’ll climb up again this time.”
“Pardon?”
“Your Highness! What do you...!”
Masain, about to shout in alarm, froze mid-sentence.
He saw a familiar light in the prince’s eyes as he stared at the tree, entranced.
Silver-gray pupils emitting an eerie glow like light sources in the dark night. And the ominous red pupils occasionally flickering within.
“No time for a long explanation. But if I go up now, I can definitely cut it down. So help me get up there fast.”
The group stared at Seongjin, momentarily speechless at his confident words.
The young prince was wrapped in an aura subtly different from usual. Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, none dared voice objections as the prince naturally commanded them.
“Knight Masain. Hit the tree with an aura burst first. Your attack is incredibly powerful, so it should minimize the demonic tree’s movements for a while.”
“......”
Masain didn’t reply immediately, but meeting his trembling eyes, Seongjin was certain. If he insisted, Masain wouldn’t refuse.
“Knight Ilma. Once the tree stops from the aura burst, can you launch me as high as possible? I want to conserve aura early on.”
“...Yes, Your Highness.”
Knight Ilma hesitated but reluctantly agreed.
Normally, the prince’s safety should come first above all, but somehow, it felt like this was the only way to fell the demonic tree.
“Big Brother. Captain. You two support from below with the Wolf Knight Order. Use arrows if sword aura can’t reach. But once I’m past the midpoint, the tree’s attacks will serve as footholds, so no need for cover fire beyond that.”
“Understood.”
Orden nodded curtly.
Glancing at Bruno the captain, who watched with meaningful eyes, Seongjin turned toward the demonic tree.
“Alright, let’s begin.”
His legs felt heavy as he stepped forward. His overworked shoulders and arms tingled with a mild numbness.
Above all, his whole body throbbed from the considerable impact of the earlier fall.
Yet.
Despite all these adverse conditions, Seongjin strangely felt more confident about climbing than before.
New paths invisible until now and possibilities he hadn’t even imagined lay wide open before his eyes.
Kuaaaang!
The intense explosion from a full-power aura burst.
The demonic tree shuddered violently as if electrocuted from the massive blast at its base, then stopped its branches with a creaking grind.
“Now, Your Highness! Knight Ilma!”
At Knight Masain’s shout, Knight Ilma grabbed Seongjin and leaped onto the demonic tree.
Whoosh, thud!
A solid ninth-layer aura user nearing Decaron Knight level.
The difference in power was undeniable; even carrying Seongjin, she vaulted far higher than he could alone.
They smoothly broke through the lower part of the tree.
But just past the one-third mark, her charge faltered for the first time.
The tree’s movements hadn’t fully recovered, but the accumulating demonic energy had thickened into a dense fog around them.
Seongjin glanced up and ordered her.
“Go back now, Knight Ilma.”
“Pardon? Your Highness! But...”
“I’ll be fine, so don’t worry.”
“......”
Knight Ilma hesitated briefly but set Seongjin down on a branch and nodded.
For some reason, she found it strangely hard to refuse the prince’s orders lately.
“Then, Your Highness! Good luck!”
Knight Ilma shouted and leaped down, not forgetting to snap a thick branch on the way.
Kieee! Kieek!
The demonic tree began writhing again, awakened by the shock. But Seongjin stamped his feet a couple times, then calmly eyed the clear path ahead.
Yes. Paths.
The randomly sprouting branches, the whip-like swings from all directions.
The possibilities within countless movements wove and unraveled as distinct glowing lines.
Blinking his now-burning eyes a few times, Seongjin dashed along the path without hesitation.
Pew! Shiiik!
Occasional arrows whizzed past, slamming into attacking branches. The branches recoiled but lunged again, seemingly altering predictions.
But Seongjin’s eyes tracked every arrow trajectory and outcome without missing a beat.
Stepping where a branch seemed to appear like an illusion, a new one sprouted to fill the spot perfectly.
Leaping at a slightly off path from the incoming branch, cover arrows struck to adjust it.
In his trance following the path, Seongjin couldn’t tell if he was predicting it or deciding it.
“...How is that movement even possible?”
The knights firing arrows from below stared at the prince in awe, forgetting their task.
His first climb had been impressive enough. But this was beyond astonishing—eerie.
Clinging to wildly thrashing branches, he’d soar or drop, only for new ones to fly in and push him higher, higher.
He was like a breeze naturally flowing along the tree.
In an instant, the prince gained altitude and set foot on the demonic tree’s growing summit.
[Yi Seongjin! No more! You’re pushing too hard!]
Snapping out of his trance at the Demon King’s desperate cry, Seongjin came to.
‘Huh?’
[Do you realize? You’re acting weird! Your eyes are breaking down!]
‘Oh...’
Only then did Seongjin feel the warm liquid trickling down his cheek.
‘No wonder my vision’s gotten blurry.’
He’d thought it was the thickening demonic energy, but his eyes themselves were failing.
Worse, his head wasn’t right. The pain had turned scorching, as if nerves at the back of his skull were being set ablaze.
‘But it’s almost over!’
Seongjin kept his final focus, raising his sword to the glowing orb ahead.
Thump, thump, thump!
The demonic tree’s growth core pulsed light.
Sensing danger, its demonic energy surged fiercer.
Whoosh!
But an immobile target fell from its stem all too easily with one light slash, soaring into the air.
Fsssh.
The core lost its light instantly, crumbling to pieces.
Kiiii......
The branches, now coreless, twitched and shriveled, dropping limply to the ground.
Suddenly, his footing vanished, and his body floated.
‘Oh right! Damn it!’
He’d focused only on severing it and forgotten escape. Without its attacks, there’d be no footholds.
In that empty void.
He tried turning his blurry vision downward, but his overtaxed nerves snapped shut like a switch.
Closing his blood-weeping eyes, Seongjin plummeted helplessly from the dizzying thirty-meter height.