Chapter 329
Chapter 329
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 329
Chapter Title: Champs-Élysées (2)
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It wasn't easy forcing myself into the mold of a genius.
Representing an entire nation was a position only someone strong enough to bear that weight could challenge—and I wasn't that person.
I'd simply outshone everyone else just a little with my brains and become the National Tree.
In truth, I didn't like that.
Wearing the tricolor badge on my chest felt burdensome.
I hated carrying the weight of the nation and competing single-handedly against other countries.
I hated standing in for the people's proxy battles.
I hated having to reveal every detail of my research.
And I hated how my every action became political fodder or ammunition for internet trolls to tear apart.
If only everyone could live a little more gently.
I cried a lot. Barked a lot.
No matter how hard I tried, nothing changed, so I'd half-given up.
Everyone wanted me in this position.
Betraying that would be an unforgivably cruel act.
As long as only I suffered, it was fine.
I'd just quietly hold this post until someone else could take it back.
Like all the other Marroniers in France—like one of the countless statues lining the Champs-Élysées.
It wasn't so bad to remain forever in the people's hearts.
Just keep going like this.
That was the kind of coward I was.
Not anymore.
-Thud!
Snow-white flowers climbed over the steep cliff and up beyond it.
Further—
fly even farther.
If this heart, these eyes, these burning tear rims could all slowly echo out to the distant horizon...
Then it was my turn to step up.
I opened my mouth and spread my magic power.
"Entr'Acte."
The scattered petals seeped into the ground.
The pure, intoxicating fragrance stretched to the farthest ends, and the monsters' bodies began melting away piece by piece.
The space up to where the melody reached slowly fell under my control.
The waves of magic power connected and resonated with the monsters.
Mountain echoes.
The poison of the Thorny Seven-Leaf Tree was seductive yet vicious.
The monsters melted wherever the flowers pointed. Terrified by the incomprehensible sight, they fled in panic.
-Whooo!
But the fleeing monsters suddenly halted.
The curse symbols embedded in their foreheads glowed stronger, and they surged forward again like a wave.
I kept smiling.
Hundreds of wooden spears formed on the ground, menacingly aimed at the monsters' foreheads.
There were things only I could do.
Right now, I could accept the stigma of genius.
[Marronier. If you set your mind to it, you can become the greatest mage wherever you are.]
-Blanche.
That woman's voice—and that man's—echoed in my ears. Strength surged into my tensed neck. My shoulders felt solid.
The hem of my root-woven dress whipped in the wind.
-Boom!
The spears moved, unleashing a sonic boom.
The narrow, slender spears pierced through the oncoming monsters in an instant.
Sixty percent of the actual hotel front line.
The monsters posing the greatest threat to civilian lives—the only entrance allowing them near the hotel.
That pathway now fell under Marronier's control.
[You coward.]
A sudden voice in my head.
[What are you doing right now?]
The best a rookie kid could manage.
[Didn't you say you didn't want to be National Tree?]
That's right.
[Then—]
But my thinking had changed now.
I imagined it. As far as these short arms and tiny hands could reach.
[You're throwing away your name?]
Even if I was just a presumptuous stray cat, wasn't stretching out with all my might far more meaningful?
[......]
Why wouldn't I have a name?
The Sage, Lee Siheon, Sansu-yu.
There were still people calling me Blanche.
It's okay.
It's okay.
I can do this.
No living creature would set foot inside here.
Confidence overflowed from her emerald resonating eyes.
*****
-Boom!
Long claws clashed, sending both women reeling back.
Kududuk. The ground where their feet dug in somehow withstood the massive impact without crumbling like piled files.
"Snap out of it, sis. Please."
"You're the only one who hasn't snapped out of it yet, Saku. There's a limit to being nice, you know?"
"When did this even start?"
With students still evacuating, they couldn't afford to yield ground now.
Saku had no choice but to wring every ounce of fatigue from her body.
"When? Ha. The Yoshino family ends today. My little sis is no idiot pushover, and she still doesn't get it."
"What are you even—"
"It's because of you. If you weren't around, I never would've been pushed out."
"Sis...?"
"Don't call me that! Why'd you become National Tree anyway? You can't do shit. Can't save the country, can't even protect it from terrorists."
Saku's momentum waned.
"Why do I have to lose my spirit and my power because of you? What about the political marriage?"
"......Is that really the problem? I... I'll figure something out, Haku sis."
Haku's eyes narrowed.
"You're disgusting."
She stuck out her tongue, pretending to vomit.
"You kept your mouth shut while I was suffering, flirting with other National Trees like nothing happened. And now—"
"But... I didn't know anything."
"Shut up."
-Boom!
Wind magic engulfed Saku.
Her collar tore, flesh ripped open, blood flowing.
"Ugh...!"
"Don't listen to her, Saku."
"Suyeon...?"
"Right now, all we can do is hold out."
Even as she said it, Suyeon's state was already ragged.
She popped a pill into her mouth and mechanically worked her jaw.
Even top-grade potions lost effectiveness eventually.
Mana stone usage had exceeded limits too.
"Hmmm."
Suyeon's sword-grip hand trembled.
The flawless Plum Blossom sneered as she approached, untouched by wounds.
"Not unleashing it? This is getting boring."
"...Who knows?"
Suyeon forced a smile in response.
"You lot can't do shit without it."
Unleashing their true power would inevitably sweep up nearby students in the aftermath.
National Trees' powers varied. Knowing their own best, the two couldn't fully unleash here.
Suyeon gripped tighter, unifying mind and body.
The white magic at her sword tip turned transparent, drawing in the surrounding space.
A cut-anything ability. Superior to any force for a sword.
Space split along Suyeon's blade as she advanced step by step.
"Even like this, I can kill you."
Absurd claim. Plum Blossom sneered at Suyeon.
"Kill me? Who? Watch your mouth. Even your wrinkly old grandpa couldn't kill me."
"......You'd better choose your words carefully."
To her, Mugung was an untouchable reverse scale.
Suyeon was someone destined to follow him one day—and someone who truly revered him.
"Only White Path can kill me. Only one person! Ha, hahaha!"
Whether something struck her funny, Plum Blossom cackled, extending her hands. Identical pure white magic gathered, exuding ominous energy.
"Ah... dying by his hand would be so nice."
"You're insane."
"Insane? Damn right. Once you've seen him, you can't help but go mad."
Her pupils rolled grotesquely.
Twitching lips and flinching eyes betrayed excitement and madness.
As emotion returned to her blank face, what emerged was inhuman. Too bizarre, too alien to fathom.
Her mind was gone.
Had she truly derailed amid countless murders?
The sight was hard to behold. Suyeon's brow furrowed.
"......"
Plum Blossom looked at Suyeon again.
Now bored. Her rapidly shifting expressions were impossible to adapt to.
Her hand began to move.
"If you're not unleashing—"
But at that moment.
A woman's fist interrupted, smashing into Plum Blossom's face.
-Pow!
Plum Blossom reacted to the surprise attack, raising her arm to block.
The approaching woman opened her fist, grabbed Plum Blossom's arm in a flash, then kicked her solar plexus with her leg.
Thud.
Plum Blossom flew straight back.
Bao, steadying her stance, shook out her fists furiously.
"Phew, finally found you."
With her bobbed black hair tied back and golden eyes glaring down, she extended her fist.
Suyeon stared at Bao in surprise.
"Why."
"...Nothing."
For some reason, speaking formally felt like losing, so Suyeon dropped it.
As if she couldn't care less, Bao kept her eyes warily on Plum Blossom.
Soon, Plum Blossom's form vanished.
All eyes turned to one spot. Bao and Plum Blossom's fists collided.
-Boom!
A brutal exchange with no quarter given. Neither yielded, trading blows fiercely.
Bao's authority, 'Fighting King,' boosted physical prowess with accumulated damage.
Even as she gradually ramped up, Bao never fell behind.
The two National Trees pulled back for a breather, exchanging relaxed smiles.
Less grim resolve, more a frantic clash of momentary strength.
At least for now, they seemed worthy rivals—their faces lit with joy.
Perhaps a crack in Plum Blossom's amusement.
Wiping blood from her split knuckles, she tilted her head and grinned.
"...Not bad."
Someone worth killing.
Plum Blossom's movements shifted drastically.
*****
"One."
A massive monster's head slammed into the dirt, dragging along the ground.
Blood surged up in its wake.
A watching student trembled violently.
"...Uh, th-that..."
"You okay?"
No matter how carefully led or warned, some always slipped out.
Sudden monster appearances could isolate civilian groups when paths were cut.
"No more monsters coming. Just follow that path straight ahead."
"Th-thank you. Really. Truly..."
Grinning awkwardly at the translator's thanks, I was about to step away when I spotted a familiar face among the civilians.
"Why're you here?"
Im Jonghyeon.
El Academy classmate. We got along, but honestly, I didn't pay him much mind.
His ingrained noble spirit meant he barely treated me as human. He didn't like my online popularity either.
"...We were protecting them, and it ended up like this."
A man spoke, and Im Jonghyeon's face twisted.
His 'noble' mindset seemed ironclad; he'd been fighting monsters in this mixed group of students and civilians.
The remaining monsters weren't many, sure.
"Anyway, move fast."
I guided the civilians with a few words, then handed potions to the wounded one by one.
Potions as refined pills, of course.
Couldn't carry unlimited war supplies like potions and mana stones—not like Flower did lately, with shortages anyway.
"Take it. Saw you again."
"......"
I placed a vial-sized potion and pill in front of Im Jonghyeon.
He ground his teeth, clearly humiliated.
"...Didn't lose."
"Yeah, sure."
Injured saving people? Everything's cute right now.
Though that could change in the 2nd or 3rd phase.
I brushed off Im Jonghyeon's words and moved on.
Stragglers like this were plentiful.
And even in the chaos, plenty wanted my head—for fame.
-Boom!
A distant spell engulfed me.
Brief agony like melting in heat, then I read the magic flow and identified it.
"Grab him! If we get that guy..."
"Use artifacts as they come!"
The Flower members I'd been tracking finally jumped out to surround me.
-Tatak, tak, tak!
Sparks flew off my body, skin charred red. Melted flesh reformed.
Sometimes you gotta take a hit to learn.
-Roar!
Flames erupted from my hand, sweeping the area.
A surrounding Flower got swallowed, crumbling to ash.
"...Impossible!"
The distant one tried fleeing late; I cut him off. He drew a dagger, shrieking in horror.
"What the hell are you!?"
Dodging the knife, I grabbed his throat.
No need to talk. Crushed it.
"Not even hu— Kkgh!"
-Crack!
Flesh sprayed, blood splattering me.
Capturing a tiny handful like this stabilized the line easily.
Not a long front anyway—a minor miracle.
Flower cadres or White Path could pull miracles in bigger spots anytime.
"Hup... Hah."
A Flower behind with a crossbow, holding breath.
An arrow I'd prepped in midair slammed into his back.
The terrified guy staring at me died without realizing.
-Thud!
Not the first group assassination attempt.
Do they give a bounty for my head? Fuck, obviously.
Come as many times as you want.
I could gauge my authority's growth now.
This pace? I could pour all night, no issue.
-Zzzt.
Radio crackled from my pocket.
The unexpected victory report curved my lips.
[Your Majesty. We won.]
My Aori got it done too.