Chapter 404: The End of the False Villain
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 404: The End of the False Villain
The Masked Man, having retracted the shadow that swallowed the dragon, did not hesitate for a single moment as he severed the legs of the fleeing Lucas.
“Aaaagh…?!”
However, he had merely stopped the man from escaping; he didn’t seem to have the slightest interest in him. His gaze was fixed elsewhere entirely.
First, he looked toward those who had been battling the giant snakes summoned by Nidhogg.
Since Nidhogg had fallen and lost his power, the snakes were already neutralized or dead. The Masked Man nodded and began to scan the rest of us, one by one.
After watching us slowly for a long time, the first thing he said was quite unexpected.
[I thought it would be crude, but it is better than I expected. The damage is not great, and you defended well.]
The message was simple, but since it was close to a compliment, it felt strange.
While we were dealing with the dragon’s summons, he had taken care of the strongest enemy himself, so I couldn’t exactly take the praise at face value. Still, receiving a compliment from the man who always pushed them to become stronger felt odd.
[What is it? You are remarkably unresponsive. Are you worried I will not return this boy’s body?]
Perhaps misinterpreting the silence, he began to say something that could not be ignored.
[Do not worry. I intend to return it properly. If my goal had been to steal the body in the first place, I would not have needed to take such a cumbersome approach.]
“What…?”
Kang Ha-ni and several other cadets reacted with anger at his statement, but the professors quickly held them back. Seeing this, the Masked Man spoke again.
[Hmph, it seems you have become capable of responding to provocation with some measure of reason. It is not a perfect passing grade, but it is not bad. I shall consider it a qualifying score.]
…Was it just our imagination, or did he seem a little pleased?
[Well, regardless of what you think, my position is exactly as I stated. It seemed you were struggling against the World Tree’s barrier and the fairy’s trickery, so I merely stepped in to help. Do you truly believe that Kang So-hyun, in his regressed state, could have defeated the dragon without me?]
“…That is.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but it was certain that it wouldn’t have been this easy.
[It will be troublesome if you settle for a mere qualifying score. Do not forget the reason I help you. One day, you must become the greatest wall that stands in our way. And then, wither away for the sake of our proof.]
It was the same thing he always said when he faced us, but perhaps because he currently wore So-hyun’s face, it didn’t sound as desolate as before.
As if he were finished, he turned around and directed his gaze elsewhere.
[Right, then. We still have things to discuss.]
The center of the forest.
The Masked Man’s eyes glowed red as he stared at the towering giant, the World Tree.
[I hope for your sake that you have a reason I can accept. World Tree.]
A clear hostility emanated from him, and I thought for a moment that a battle to protect the World Tree might be about to begin.
* * *
As I was running my mouth, wondering how on earth to clean up this mess, a voice suddenly echoed in my head.
— The Mother of the Forest is calling for you…
— Um, what’s the use of calling you by a title now? I’ll just do it myself. Would you please accept my invitation?
It was the voice of the World Tree, the same one I had heard in my dreams.
However, unlike before, her voice was no longer lacking in confidence.
[Right, we still have things to discuss.]
As I spread my wings of shadow and approached the World Tree, I could no longer feel that dreadful barrier.
And the moment I reached the deepest part and stood before the World Tree…
“Hello?”
[…I cannot say I am doing well.]
The landscape of the forest, which should have been in ruins after Nidhogg’s appearance, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, in a surreal scene featuring a beautiful flower garden and a table, a woman as beautiful as the flowers was enjoying tea.
…With a face that looked somewhat like the Chairperson.
“Are you going to keep wearing that mask?”
[Is there a problem?]
“There’s no problem, really. I’m just worried that it might become part of your ‘Myth.’”
She poured tea… no, green juice into a cup and held it out to me with a smile.
[…A Myth.]
“Yes, a Myth. It is the source of vast power that allows one to be called a god, the driving force that makes gods into gods, and the coercive force that binds them. In a slightly different way, it is also called Faith.”
The World Tree took a sip of her own green juice and smiled brightly.
[A coercive force?]
“Yes, a coercive force. To use my story as an example, I am the mother of all elves from the Otherworld, and I play a role like the lungs of the world, purifying it. As long as I exist, almost all the miasma around me is purified, and as long as I exist, my surroundings are always overflowing with life.”
That was true.
That is what a World Tree is.
Regardless of the reality, the perception that she is such a being is widespread throughout the world.
“And because the children who are my followers believe it to be so, and because they have the ‘desire’ for me to remain that way, I am able to wield such ‘miracles.’”
[…What?]
That was strange.
If she put it that way, it sounded as if she had become such a god because the elves wished for it.
“Yes, that’s right. Gods are influenced by their followers more than you might think. Of course, there is an essence that never changes, but the parts outside of that essence are always easily altered.”
As she spoke, she slowly lifted her skirt.
“I thought you might be a little flustered, but perhaps you’re used to women? You’re very calm.”
[Just get to the point.]
Honestly, I was a little flustered. I only held it in because I thought there was a reason.
And as expected, there was a reason for her actions.
The skin on her legs was dyed purple, as if rotting, and was emitting miasma.
“It wasn’t like this in the past, but these days, when people think of a World Tree, this has become an indispensable element. Falling into corruption or becoming weakened by a parasite.”
…That was true.
Not just in this world, but in other creative works as well, the setting of a World Tree being corrupted or dying due to a parasite was easy to find. In fact, it was now rarer to find a work featuring a World Tree where that didn’t happen.
“My Myth has been distorted, and if things continue like this, I will become a ‘Corrupted World Tree’ or a ‘Distorted World Tree’ and suffer indefinitely. If I change, the elves will be influenced by me and become increasingly arrogant and violent.”
The core framework of being a ‘race that loves nature’ wouldn’t change, but it meant that more and more elves would look down on other races and develop increasingly savage temperaments.
I recalled the image of the elves I had personally exterminated in the future.
Those bastards who were steeped in racial supremacy and contempt for the weak, no different from demons.
“I didn’t want to see things turn out like that. Honestly, I didn’t have the confidence to keep enduring this pain, either. So, I made a move.”
[…Instead of resisting the corruption, you accelerated your own fall?]
“Yes. Ironically, unlike my original world, my power in this world is stronger than Nidhogg’s—or rather, Nidhogg’s status has become very weak. Perhaps because the image of a wicked evil dragon has been replaced by game monsters or things to be hunted, he became a pitiful creature barely clinging to life by parasitizing my roots.”
[Quite a grand spectacle for a suicide. So, is that all? It is still not enough to convince me.]
“Of course not. If this were the end, I could have just let Nidhogg consume me alone. Why would I have dragged in the elves and even you?”
The World Tree said with a bright smile.
“Even if I die, a new World Tree will be born unless my story reaches a ‘perfect conclusion.’ Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like I could reach that perfect end even if I gave my power to the weakened Nidhogg.”
[You’re surprisingly concerned about such things, considering the pain you must be in.]
“It seems that no matter how corrupted I become, I’m not the type to just dump my work on a new World Tree and run away.”
[Is that also because a World Tree is that kind of god?]
“I’d like to think it’s just my original personality, but perhaps that’s it?”
The way she giggled made it hard to believe she was the culprit behind this whole incident.
“Originally, you see, I wanted to divide my power between Lucas and Leilan, and have Leilan defeat Lucas. Then my story would naturally come to an end, and afterward, the elves would unite to defeat Nidhogg, and Leilan would write a new Myth as the new ‘World Tree.’”
[Are you saying that is no longer the case?]
“Yes. I didn’t expect you to be this strong. I called you as insurance… in case the elves couldn’t defeat Nidhogg, or if I completely lost my mind in the middle of it, to prevent the elves from causing an even bigger disaster.”
[And?]
“Setting aside the fact that you arrived much faster than I expected, I even used the power of the barrier to turn you into a child so my plan wouldn’t be disrupted. I never imagined you would do this well even in that state. To think you’d take care of both Lucas and Nidhogg.”
I knew it. Even for the World Tree’s domain, the power felt too excessive to be just a fairy’s prank. The World Tree had intervened.
[Why are you telling me all this?]
“You’ve already guessed it, haven’t you?”
[And if I still want to hear it directly from your mouth?]
“How mischievous.”
Watching her giggle as if she were having the time of her life, I wondered for a moment if my guess was wrong. Unfortunately, the words that came out of her mouth were exactly what I expected…
“When someone who has the power to kill me perfectly, who maintains his sense of self, and who can transfer my power intact to the new World Tree is right in front of me, how could I not ask?”
She bowed her head toward me.
“Please kill me and bring my Myth to an end.”
[Why should I?]
“It might be a bit of a nuisance to the world, but if you refuse, I’ll have to find another way before I go completely mad.”
[That is quite the threat.]
Now, what was the right answer?
To be honest, I didn’t particularly like this woman called the World Tree.
I thought there was some room for extenuating circumstances, but at the same time, she also looked like someone trying to escape responsibility without looking for other ways.
But despite that, was it because of her face that resembled the Chairperson that I found her hard to ignore?
Or was it because of her sincerity, which was reflected in my Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, perhaps because she had weakened?
Maybe I just wanted to make some sort of atonement for what I had done in the past.
…No, maybe if the situation had been the same in the past, she might have even wanted to thank me for killing her and all the elves.
“Ah, how kind of you.”
As I reached out and squeezed the World Tree’s white neck, I felt a texture firmer than I expected in my grip.
Is it because she’s a tree?
“Leilan won’t be able to digest my power all at once, so it would be best if you could divide it and give it to her slowly over several sessions.”
[Do you not think I will simply devour your power for myself?]
As I used Energy Drain, the World Tree’s power began to flow in through the hand gripping her neck.
“No. Just as I made this choice as the god known as the World Tree, you are not the kind of god who would make such a choice.”
Her smiling face, so full of certainty, was annoying. I considered just swallowing her whole, but I stopped because I felt like she would just laugh and say that wasn’t bad either.
“I’m not in a position to ask for favors, but I’d like you to use my power to revitalize the forest a bit more. Leilan won’t be able to handle a god’s power right away.”
[I shall consider it.]
“It’s fine to scold the elven children, but I’d like you to spare them from extermination. Once I am gone, the children will slowly return to their original gentle nature. And once Leilan can fully take the place of the World Tree, they will come to resemble her.”
[…Come to think of it, does becoming the World Tree mean becoming rooted in this spot like a tree?]
“Of course not. I am called the World Tree because I am a god who was a tree from birth. I can take a human form if I put my mind to it. Strictly speaking, Leilan will simply become an elf who possesses the power of the World Tree and can perform its role.”
[I see. That is a relief.]
Her beautifully glowing light-green hair bleached white, and her supple skin cracked like bark.
It was different from human aging, but perhaps this was the death of a World Tree.
“Do not be sad. There is no need for pity. This is what I wanted.”
[Who said anything about pity? I will not forget the things you have done. I am merely dismantling a bomb because it is dangerous.]
Before I knew it, the surrounding scenery had returned to normal, and what I was strangling was no longer a woman, but a giant tree.
The leaves, which had been green despite the winter, withered and scattered as if autumn had suddenly arrived, and the giant tree that had been full of life was cracking and dying.
— And if possible, I’d like you to help Leilan with her Myth, so she doesn’t end up like me.
Were those last words an auditory hallucination, or the World Tree’s final remark?
[I would have done so even if you had not asked.]
And when the giant tree known as the World Tree had completely withered away…
The divinity of what had been the World Tree was swirling in my hand.