Chapter 175: In Vain
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 175: In Vain
Forced to take the World Tree's virginity, Yohan swallowed hard at the immense life force he could feel coursing through his body. With this much power, it wouldn't matter how many Parasitic Woods there were.
‘It really deserves to be called the World Tree.’
If it could grant this much life force just by giving up its virginity, he couldn't even begin to imagine how much it possessed itself.
And yet, despite having all that power, the one thing it couldn't get rid of was the Parasitic Woods. From his experience fighting them, each one wasn't particularly strong—the problem was their sheer, uncountable numbers.
Just like they say that for every cockroach you see, there are a hundred more hiding, for every one Parasitic Wood, there were dozens more nearby. And around those dozens were thousands, and around those thousands were hundreds of thousands…
‘Shouldn't it be called the Parasite Tree instead of the World Tree at this point?’
The number of Parasitic Woods had long since surpassed the mass of the World Tree itself. It wouldn't be strange to call it the mother of parasites.
Well, that must be why the World Tree had called him for help.
The solution was simple. He could just call his teacher or the other witches. They were powerhouses who could render numbers meaningless.
‘But I can't use that method, thanks to that bitch Hekaterina.’
If the best option was unavailable, he had to take the next best. Yohan gripped the wooden sword the World Tree had made for him and descended from its branches.
The moment he landed, countless Parasitic Woods rushed toward him. Everywhere he looked, they were there.
The world was one part scenery, nine parts Parasitic Wood.
It was an adversity that seemed impossible to face alone.
But.
“Hoo—”
He took a deep breath. The life force filling his body began to convert into magic power. The life force and magic power that now saturated his entire being granted him a strength that easily transcended human limits.
In his hand was a wooden sword made from a branch of the World Tree, a material that conducted magic better than anything else.
With these two powers combined, Yohan was confident he was the strongest, at least among humans.
“Come at me.”
You damn parasites.
—In the next instant, the entire sky was blotted out by Parasitic Woods.
I was done for.
Yohan groaned as he looked at the Parasitic Woods draining him dry, his limbs bound. He wanted to break free right now. The problem was, he couldn't.
“Ah, ahh—. There’s nothing left…”
Despite his protests, the Parasitic Woods continued milking him as if they couldn't care less. This was happening even after he had absorbed the World Tree's life force. Thinking he might actually die, Yohan began composing his last words in his head.
Teacher, I'm sorry. Please find a better disciple in your next life.
[Screech, skreee— skreeeeech—]
A sound like a scream echoed from among the Parasitic Woods draining him. Yohan cautiously opened his eyes and realized Hekaterina was standing before him, a peculiar expression on her face.
“What are you doing?”
“...Hekaterina.”
Only then did Yohan realize that all the Parasitic Woods had collapsed. He shot to his feet and threw a punch at Hekaterina.
Apparently not expecting a sudden fist to the face, Hekaterina took the hit squarely and clutched her cheek.
“Wh-what are you doing!?”
“You fucking bitch! What the hell do you think you're doing!?”
Yohan began to unleash all the frustration he had been holding back. Why did you push me off the cliff? I almost died because of you!
Only after he had hurled every curse he could think of did Hekaterina scowl, as if to say she’d had no choice.
“You think I wanted to do that on my own? It was Evangeline's idea, because you were so pathetic you couldn't even get it up!”
“...My teacher?”
“Yeah! You son of a bitch! I came all this way to save you and you hit me? You're hopeless. Maybe a few more days here will…”
Hekaterina spoke as if she was genuinely about to abandon him and leave. Yohan grabbed her leg, stopping her.
“—Wait! Don't go! I was wrong! I'm sorry!”
“Shut up, are you going to let go or not?”
As he clung to Hekaterina, who was really trying to leave, the Parasitic Woods she had driven away began to approach again, one by one.
Seeing them, Hekaterina seemed to realize she couldn't just leave him. She sighed and shook Yohan off with a flick.
“So I just need to clean these things up?”
“No, you just have to take me back to the cabin…”
“Is that all?”
Saying that was easier, Hekaterina grabbed the nape of Yohan's neck. Then she shot into the air. The Parasitic Woods stared intently at the departing Yohan.
Like dogs who’d lost their quarry, the Parasitic Woods stared after Yohan before turning to look at each other and nodding.
[Urgghhhh….]
They began to move in the direction Yohan had flown, drawn by the life force emanating from his body. For some reason, the Parasitic Woods couldn't distinguish between the World Tree and Yohan.
Once the parasites that had clung to its body like pests were all gone, chasing after Yohan, the World Tree cautiously emerged. Oblivious to the change in atmosphere, it began to dispose of the few remaining Parasitic Woods on its body.
Compared to before, their numbers were small enough that it could handle them on its own.
—Just as planned.
Having passed all the Parasitic Woods onto Yohan, the World Tree chuckled softly and began to replace its old, withered branches with new ones.
It had no particular interest in what might become of the tens of millions of Parasitic Woods now heading for Yohan.
“Yohaaan—!”
“Teacher!”
Arriving at the cabin, Yohan saw his teacher welcoming him with tears in her eyes, and his own eyes began to well up. He had been slightly hurt to hear that the witches had conspired to send him there, but the reason made sense once he heard it.
‘Me? Unable to get hard?’
He hadn't even realized it. If the witches, who slept with him every day, said so, it must have been true. That meant the situation must have been quite serious.
He had been pushed so far to his limits that he didn't even know if he could get an erection. Of course, that was no longer a concern.
‘Because I received life from the World Tree…’
He’d lost a little while being milked by the Parasitic Woods, but he could still feel the abundant life force the World Tree had given him coursing through his entire body.
With this much life force, he could, to put it bluntly, cum all day long and his dick wouldn't go soft. In fact, it had stayed rigidly erect even as the Parasitic Woods were draining him to the brink of death.
Evangeline gently stroked Yohan's member, and as if realizing this fact, a sly smile spread across her face. After being apart for a few days, it was only natural that she'd be hungry for it.
But there was something else he had to do first.
“Teacher, I have a favor to ask.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“The other witches, too. I need your help with something.”
“Just say the word!”
“Then…”
Yohan got straight to the point. He asked them to go with him to the World Tree. He needed them to help him talk to it.
“Talk?”
“Yes, talk.”
“...Talk about what?”
Seeing Evangeline tilt her head in confusion, Yohan recalled what the World Tree had said. It claimed to know how he could return to Earth, but he couldn't say that out loud.
It wasn't that he particularly wanted to go back, but he was worried Evangeline and the other witches might misunderstand.
So, Yohan decided to lie.
“It said the World Tree knows everything. There are a few things I'm curious about… so I was hoping you could help me talk to it.”
“Hmm… Why do you need us for that?”
“Ah, well… it said that if I have questions, I have to offer my body. That it would tell me one thing I want to know for every time I let it fuck me…”
Hearing Yohan's lie, the witches fell silent. But it was only for a moment. Soon, their eyes lit up as they stared at him.
“—Yohan.”
“Yes?”
“That tree. Where is it?”
“Ah, Hekaterina should know…”
“Let's go.”
Evangeline's eyes burned with an intensity that suggested she was about to incinerate the World Tree on the spot. Intimidated by her fervor, Yohan couldn't give a more detailed answer, but they didn't seem to care as they immediately left the cabin.
The moment they stepped outside, they saw something filling the sky, flying toward them from the far distance.
It was a swarm of Parasitic Woods, like a plague of locusts, devastating everything in its path as it advanced.
‘Why are those things flying?’
Watching the airborne Parasitic Woods, Yohan let out a hollow laugh. What the hell is that now? How can trees fly?
Amazingly, the Parasitic Woods had minimized their weight to ride the wind, flying all the way to Yohan's location.
“What the hell is that now.”
It was a swarm that could have wiped out a major nation, but the witches here weren't particularly concerned.
If anything, they seemed pleased to have some sandbags to warm up on. Each of them began to draw up their magic power.
“Don't get in the way.”
Snap!
With a flick of a finger, the Parasitic Woods that had tormented Yohan so relentlessly vanished in an instant.
Watching this, Yohan felt as if all the suffering he had just endured had been utterly in vain.