Chapter 402: False Evil (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 402: False Evil (2)
I spent too much time persuading that con artist in a relatively “humane” way.
Honestly, when half of the World Tree’s barrier vanished, I thought things had truly gone south, but fortunately, it didn’t seem to be the absolute worst-case scenario I had envisioned.
My main body, which I thought had been rendered combat-inept because of the elves, was in better shape than expected, and no one in the group was actually injured.
As for Nidhogg appearing at least five years earlier than scheduled, or that elf fellow—who had died in the 1st timeline because he couldn’t handle the World Tree’s power—surviving and absorbing its strength… well, those weren’t even surprising variables anymore.
As the massive dragon roared, seven giant snakes crawled out from beneath the earth.
Even in original lore, Nidhogg is a dragon said to devour the roots of the World Tree alongside seven great serpents.
Aside from Nidhogg himself, they aren’t that threatening, but dealing with all of them would be a nuisance…
[You can handle at least one of those seven, right?]
To lighten the kids’ burden, I decided to put Ban Gi-san to work.
[Hmm? Yes, I shall do so.]
[Let me give you a piece of information to get you motivated: their fangs are venomous and they ruin the soil. The ground rots from the toxicity, and the surrounding plants wither and die.]
[I will eradicate every single one of those damn pests…!]
…With that, Ban Gi-san could probably handle two on his own. The rest would be dealt with by our kids and the elves—provided the latter didn’t want to die.
[Titania, I want you to return that boy over there to his original form.]
[Yes! Teacher!]
[I believe I told you not to call me that.]
[Ah, right! Yes! Boss!]
…That’s also not great, but I suppose it’s better than “Teacher.”
“W-What do you intend to do?”
I turned my gaze toward the voice that had suddenly cut in. There stood the Chairperson, her eyes sparkling.
I had only intended to buy some time until my main body regained its senses, but since she was looking at me with such high expectations, it was a bit burdensome to answer.
[That should be obvious…]
My mind felt the pressure, yet my mouth moved naturally.
[I shall judge the true form of that great serpent and the hypocrite… with evil.]
…And fortunately, it seemed to suit her tastes, as the Chairperson’s ears began to twitch up and down.
Well, I’m glad you like it.
However, I don’t actually plan on fighting to the death in this form.
In the first place, I only blocked that breath by reinforcing the shield the Chairperson had poured her soul into making. Just using Multiple Reinforcement a few times was already starting to wear me out.
Fortunately, the artifacts listened to me, allowing me to manifest the Black Shadow, and thanks to the ‘Fairy Queen’s Blessing’ buff from Titania, I looked quite impressive—but that was it.
To be honest, my current state would only rank around the middle of S-rank.
I mean, sure, that’s not exactly “weak,” but it’s not enough to go toe-to-toe with a monster crawled straight out of myth.
“…I was startled by your sudden intervention, but the level of power I sense isn’t that extraordinary. It’s an ominous energy, but it won’t be enough to stop that being.”
[Revealing one’s hand honestly before the fight even begins is something only third-rate hacks do.]
Now then, shall we buy some time until the main body fully recovers?
The moment I spread the black wings of the Black Shadow and took flight, tree roots stained purple erupted from the ground.
…I’m using Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils too, so I can see right through tricks like this.
Since he’d obtained even a fraction of the World Tree’s power, manipulating the surrounding flora wouldn’t be difficult.
The giant dragon’s expression seemed to crumple, as if displeased that its move had been read.
* * *
Leilan Claudia tried her best to move, but she truly had no strength left in her body.
She was already near her limit; perhaps she should consider it a small price to pay for blocking the dragon’s strike.
No, I wasn’t the one who blocked it.
In truth, her attack had merely bought time. The one who ultimately blocked the strike was that masked villain.
…This might not be the right time for such thoughts, but could she really call him a villain?
He always claimed to be an antagonist and killed without hesitation if someone got in his way, but she couldn’t recall him ever actually obstructing them.
No, rather, whenever things became dangerous, he always appeared to help. It was as if he were staining his own hands on their behalf…
The current situation was the same.
Cathy and A-ram were handling three of the snakes Nidhogg had summoned. The rest of the party took on two, the green-masked man—presumably Ban Gi-san—took one, and the last one was being held back by the Uni… no, the Bicorns and some of the elves who had regained their senses.
With Cadet Kang So-hyun in an unstable state, if the masked man hadn’t intervened, they might not have been able to stop even those snakes, let alone Nidhogg.
[Is this all? The name ‘Evil Dragon’ is put to shame.]
“You’ve grown careless…!”
[Hmm? And who might that be?]
“Ugh…!?”
He easily evaded all of the Evil Dragon’s attacks, and when Lucas approached stealthily, he dodged the strike with ease before pinning him down and stepping on him. It was as if he were trying to demonstrate an overwhelming gap in capability.
[Hmph.]
The moment he spread his wings and soared, a massive sphere of iron flew through the air and slammed the Evil Dragon into the ground.
Since Cadet Kang So-hyun was also actively attacking Nidhogg using artifacts alongside the masked man, the tide of battle wasn’t bad.
In fact, one could even say it was going very well.
“This can’t be…! This shouldn’t be happening…! I am a dragon who has obtained the power of a god…! There is no way I could be bested by mere humans and lowly creatures…!”
[You should watch your phrasing. You’re a dragon who has obtained a tiny fraction of a god’s power. And from the looks of it, you aren’t exactly sane, either.]
Not sane? Nidhogg? It certainly felt like he was rampaging too much on instinct, but even so, he shouldn’t be easy to deal with…?
Just as she began to think they might actually win this more easily than expected, given how smoothly the fight was going…
A familiar energy began to gather around Nidhogg, whose eyes suddenly flashed.
“A-Ah…?”
It was the power of the World Tree.
The energy of life, often called natural energy, flowed out, and the giant venomous dragon greedily devoured the life force overflowing around it.
In an instant, the dragon’s presence became gargantuan. It roared, and the Bicorns and elves, who had been holding their ground, collapsed in an instant, trembling with terror.
[…This might be a bit problematic.]
The situation had turned desperate in a heartbeat—enough for those words to escape the mouth of the masked man, who had been composed until now.
* * *
“…This? Is it flowing out from the channel I used to siphon power from the barrier? It seems Lord Nidhogg has weakened the World Tree more than I thought…!”
…Weakened?
I wondered what kind of nonsense that was, but for now, I didn’t care about that stupid elf’s delusions.
The important thing was that the insane Evil Dragon had devoured the World Tree’s power and completely recovered its strength.
I thought I could manage somehow, but the balance had crumbled in an instant.
It looked like it would take a bit more time for my main body to fully snap out of it.
Strangely, however, Nidhogg didn’t attack us. Instead, its massive body took to the air and began flying toward the center of the forest.
Yes, toward the location of the World Tree.
…Like a child who had tasted sweets for the first time and lost their mind, it seemed more interested in the World Tree’s power than in fighting us.
To be honest, I’d been a bit skeptical even while seeing it with my own eyes.
But this was actually for the best.
“The World Tree…!”
“Ugh…! Focus on this side for now, Cathy…!”
Everyone else seemed panicked by this farce, but to me, it looked like the perfect opportunity to clearly define this incident.
In the 1st timeline, when this happened, I had felt a secret sympathy even as I uprooted the World Tree.
I had thought it was an incident where an elf went mad trying to become the World Tree and failed, and an evil dragon ended up devouring almost all of the tree’s power.
From my perspective, the World Tree was close to being a victim.
But now that I was facing the event in person, the truth reflected in my Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils was quite different from what I remembered.
I wanted to confirm it for sure.
Nidhogg broke through the World Tree’s barrier far too easily, latched onto the tree, and sank its fangs in.
The elven deity, who did ‘not’ offer even a shred of resistance, ‘pretended’ to be helpless as its energy was drained. As the venomous dragon devoured the World Tree’s essence, it grew even larger and more powerful.
To anyone watching, it was nothing short of a tragedy—a sight of pure despair.
Yes.
Everyone except me—who was seeing the full sequence of events clearly through my Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils—surely thought so.
What exactly are you thinking, World Tree?
Why are you trying to commit suicide by putting on such a garbage farce?
I can’t read the thoughts of beings at my level or higher, but right now, the World Tree was intentionally weakening its own power and handing it over to Nidhogg.
Actually, even the word “handing over” was funny.
Because the one controlling Nidhogg right now was the World Tree.
The connection between Nidhogg and the World Tree was one of absolute subjugation.
In other words, this entire incident was a self-staged play by the World Tree.
I wondered if that even made sense, or if my eyes were malfunctioning, but there was no way.
In fact, it had been strange from the start.
Compared to the 1st timeline, the progression of the story was far too fast.
At first, I thought it was a difference caused by the Chairperson being alive, or a butterfly effect from me changing the future, but it was still too weird.
To begin with, the current World Tree wasn’t yet weak enough to have its power stolen so easily. Furthermore, if Nidhogg had been in his right mind, he should have been poisoned the moment he bit the World Tree, putting him in a much more serious condition.
So, it made no sense unless this was a performance where the tree was giving its pet exactly as much power as it wanted to give.
Did it notice my gaze?
Nidhogg—no, the poor dragon being controlled by the World Tree—opened its massive maw and aimed it toward me.
…It’s even attacking because it noticed my suspicion, huh?
[I’ve seen enough.]
I didn’t think I’d have to uproot the World Tree in this timeline, but if this is how it’s going to be, the story changes.
A breath, combining vast natural energy with the dragon’s venomous aura, coalesced in the dragon’s maw. It was fired toward me, triggering an explosive shockwave.
[You’d better be prepared.]
If there isn’t a justifiable reason for this, I’ll uproot you and turn you into firewood this time too.
* * *
Despair erupted from atop the largest tree in the world.
They had to stop it somehow, but now that the giant snakes had also been reinforced by Nidhogg’s power, no one had any room to breathe.
The approaching despair grew larger and larger, driving the heroes toward the edge of a cliff.
“I…”
And so, Chairperson Leilan moved.
Telling herself she had to stop it, she whipped her unmoving body and finally managed to stand.
Then, she took a staggering step forward.
There was no way she could accomplish anything with such a weak gait, looking as if she might collapse at any moment, yet she reached out her hand to fulfill her responsibility as a hero.
[You’re in the way. Don’t do anything stupid.]
But as if to say her desperate steps were meaningless, a man grabbed her and pulled her back down.
“What…!”
[Do you think desperate will actually changes anything? Do you think a path will open just because you challenge something hopeless? How foolish. That is the delusion of those who have never truly squeezed out every last drop of their strength.]
A pure white demon mask and a jet-black suit.
[Think clearly about what is actually possible for you. Otherwise, there was no point in me leaving you lot alive.]
The man who scolded them at every turn and claimed to be evil soared toward the despair, as calm as ever.
He was small.
Infinitely small compared to the despair he faced, the man reached out his arm.
What appeared above his outstretched hand was a brilliant darkness that devoured all surrounding mana.
As if refusing to allow even a single flicker of light, the darkness that swallowed everything clashed with the despair.
Immediately after the collision, it was the darkness that was pushed back.
[Impressive, indeed. Quite the power.]
Despite that, the body of the masked man, who did not let go of the shadows held in his hand, began to turn faint.
“…Eh?”
Conversely, as if growing larger by consuming his fading form, the darkness began to push back the despair.
Was he using every last bit of his strength?
[It’s impressive… but that’s as far as it goes.]
His legs had already completely vanished, and his upper body was incredibly faint, yet no hesitation could be seen in him.
[For such great power, your malice is crude. Something like this changes nothing.]
The swirling darkness eventually became infinitely vast, swallowing the despair whole.
[Therefore, I shall judge you.]
With those final words, the despair vanished, and a masterless mask fell from the sky to the ground.
The once pure white mask was now stained black by venom and darkness.
The sound of it hitting the floor seemed exceptionally loud.