110
Chapter 110
"...I can't reach him."
The First Prince of the Empire frowned, muttering to himself.
The fact that he had been completely played for a fool by Black Fang this whole time, their true identity, and the intel regarding the Hero.
He had a mountain of information to relay, yet he couldn't contact his father.
The unique geographical properties of the Demonic Realm.
That was what kept interfering with their communications.
The fact that he, the rightful center of the world, had almost been killed by mere terrorists—and that he would be dead if not for the Corpse Puppet—was infuriating enough.
Knowing such crucial intel but being unable to report it was suffocating. Naturally, the First Prince's face twisted in frustration.
Logically speaking, if communicating with the outside from the Demonic Realm was this difficult, he just needed to drag this Elven woman out of the territory and send the message from there...
"This... seems to completely block physical access."
Karl reported.
A barrier of dark shadows encased the girl.
They could see her lying unconscious inside, yet they couldn't get any closer.
However, they couldn't just leave her here, either. She might try to escape through a Shadow Passage again like before, or worse, summon her allies. They needed to leave behind enough men to handle her.
In the end, they were trapped here. It was a bizarre situation where they had taken a hostage, only to end up tying themselves down.
It was truly an exasperating situation, but...
The First Prince took a deep breath and steadied his mind.
'A capture is still a capture, regardless.'
On top of that, they had gathered incredibly valuable intelligence. At this point, he had to consider the mission a success.
The Chief of the Elves had boasted that even if they couldn't pinpoint the target's location through the ritual, they only needed to catch the monster when it arrived at the Sacred Tomb.
The target never showed up at the Sacred Tomb, so that plan was a failure. Even so, trusting the Elven Chief's words one more time had been the right call.
Besides, breaking this barrier was only a matter of time.
'Thank goodness I planned this out so thoroughly.'
There was no way to contact the outside from inside the Demonic Realm. But if that was the case, sending a message before entering was the obvious workaround.
Right before departing, he had called for backup.
He requested personnel who would be highly effective against Black Fang, who were highly likely wielding Demons.
A man already hailed by the public as the next Pope.
In other words, Cardinal Dominic.
He would likely arrive within two days, at the latest.
With his power, a Demon's Barrier would be shattered in an instant. So there was no need to panic just because things weren't going perfectly.
It was only a two-day wait, after all.
What could possibly go wrong in two days?
*****
An office located within the Great Forest.
The sound of grinding teeth echoed through the usually quiet room.
The source of that sound was none other than the Elven Chief.
'Just how much more of my life does that damn bitch have to ruin before she's satisfied!'
When he first received word from the First Prince, he thought it was the opportunity he had been longing for.
It was the perfect chance to climb the social ladder and simultaneously dispose of that cursed brat whose very existence was an insult to their race.
But as luck would have it, as if to mock him, she hadn't visited the Sacred Tomb once this year.
The First Prince, who had even mobilized an army to capture her, was predictably enraged.
In an instant, the Chief found himself on the verge of losing his head.
He had tried to soothe the First Prince, claiming that the ritual mentioned before was still underway and that her location would be revealed soon, regardless of the Sacred Tomb.
The result was his current state as a one-armed man.
"Beheading you would stop the ritual, but losing an arm wouldn't," the First Prince had said as he sliced off his right arm.
Still not satisfied, the First Prince had left with a chilling warning: if the next piece of intel was wrong, he would truly take his head.
In the end, forget about climbing the ladder; he was now just struggling to stay alive.
It was a failure of the highest order.
Yet, there was no way he could defy the First Prince.
He was cursing that damned woman as usual, stroking the stump where his right arm had once been, when it happened.
Bang! The door flew open.
Someone had barged into the Chief's office without so much as a knock.
The situation was utterly absurd.
The Chief was about to berate the intruder, asking if they had completely lost their mind.
But before he could, the young Elf shouted in a panicked voice.
"Something terrible has happened! An intruder... an intruder..."
The tone was beyond grave.
Cold sweat poured down the messenger's neck.
The Chief's reaction, however, was indifferent.
"Are you new? Why make such a fuss over this? This is hardly something that needs to be reported to me; it'll be handled."
Whether as materials for alchemy or as slaves...
Elves were famous for their high market value, which naturally attracted many Hunters seeking a quick fortune.
But the fate of humans who trespassed into the Great Forest was always the same.
Death.
A gruesome, miserable death.
It was the inevitable result.
With innate talent and lifespans that humans couldn't even fathom...
Aside from the restriction of being tied to the World Tree, no race was more powerful than the Elves.
He assumed the matter had already been settled while this overreacting fool was rushing to report it.
"An intruder has taken down twelve Guardians single-handedly and is approaching the World Tree!"
At least, he did until he heard those words.
The Chief bolted from his seat, his face turning ghostly pale.
*****
I continued to press forward.
I knew what had to be done, and I knew exactly how to do it. There was no reason to hesitate.
"Halt, what do you think you're doing? This area is off-limits. If you don't stop right now, I will shoot to..."
I smashed aside anyone who blocked my path.
"Hurry! Call the Guardians right now!"
Even if they were broken, I could just fix them. Even if they were reduced to lumps of meat, my power could restore them at any time.
"What in the world... are you trying to do to us?"
Therefore, there was absolutely no need to hold back.
"You despicable human bastard! Just how much more do you have to take from us before you're satisfied!"
Not only did I have no reason to show mercy to those who touched what was mine and ultimately made me lose it.
But I also simply had no desire to spare them.
"M-Monster..."
The final obstacle collapsed right after muttering those words.
Whether they were the First Guardian,
Or a genius who had stepped into the realm of the Archmage.
None of that mattered in the slightest.
Divine Power surged endlessly, meaning even if I died, I would not truly die.
With Mana added to a body that was already abnormal to begin with, no weapon could leave a scratch on me.
My sword, devoid of any logic, technique, or enlightenment, did not lose to any Warrior's Sword Aura.
Therefore, I do not lose.
Covered in blood, I looked up at my target, which I had somehow arrived right in front of.
The World Tree.
The tree also known as the root of all life.
Its reputation wasn't for nothing; its sheer size was overwhelmingly massive.
I stared at it for a long time... before eventually turning my head to look behind me.
My eyes met those of an old Elf missing an arm, who had been cautiously approaching me.
He panicked for a moment... before finally opening his mouth.
"Stop. I am saying this for your own sake."
The old Elf spoke in a grave tone. But there was no way I was going to stop because of those words.
I turned my head back around.
Even if he attacked, it wouldn't work on me anyway. I didn't have time to waste.
I traced a Spell Formula in the air.
Of course, I had never properly learned magic. I did take a few hours of lectures from Ciel, though.
No human could reach the realm of the Archmage with just a few hours of lectures.
But that didn't really matter.
The Spell Formula inscribed itself in the air.
Gathering Mana to distort reality and imposing my imagination onto it... Saying it like that makes it sound complicated, but.
I was simply casting an ordinary Fireball spell.
In the first place, how many 1st Circle spells could there even be besides that?
Though, there was one slightly special aspect...
"T-This is..."
Overload.
Multi-casting.
An act hailed as a brilliantly novel way to commit suicide.
In other words, I had simultaneously constructed thousands of Spell Formulas.
Normally, no matter how much Mana someone had, doing something like this would cause their brain to burst from the sudden overload, canceling the spell.
That logic didn't apply to me, however.
If my brain exploded, all I had to do was recover and then manifest the spell.
"S-Stop right there! Do you not know the fate of those who dared to touch the World Tree!"
The old Elf screamed.
He was certainly right about that.
His words weren't just a bluff. If a sinner who burned a sacred tree faced no punishment, that would be far stranger.
Even so, I didn't stop.
Hundreds, then thousands of sparkles.
A crimson light blanketed the world.
Accompanied by a deafening roar, the colossal tree lost its shape in an instant.
Seeing that, the old one-armed Elf collapsed to the ground, shedding tears.
"Do you even realize what you've just done! We aren't the only ones doomed! You've just destroyed your own life with your bare hands!"
The Elf screamed at me.
But I replied with complete indifference.
"So what?"
[The Rank of ■■ nullifies the World Tree's Curse.]
[Gluttony buff has been activated. Absorbing all traits of the defeated enemy, the World Tree.]
The old Elf's face twisted in bewilderment.
He had every right to be.
I wasn't screaming as my body rotted away, and the Elves weren't losing their vitality and dying. He must have finally realized that.
I said to the Elven Chief,
"It seems you still don't quite grasp the situation..."
From this moment on, I was the World Tree.
Whether they lived or had their lives stripped away depended entirely on my will.
In other words...
"If you can't save our child, every single one of you dies."