Riri... You’re Truly Powerful, Aren’t You?
'That Luan was part of Hylen's group?' No, wait—was Luan not even human to begin with? I never dreamed he was a half-elf. 'If that's the case, couldn't I save Luan this time?' I mean, keep him from dying.
As I stood there blankly, lost in thought, Hylen tilted his head, looking puzzled. "World Tree? Are you alright?"
'Oh, yeah. I'm fine.' I rustled my branches, shaking off the thoughts. '...I'll think about it later.' If Luan is somewhere in this forest, he’ll eventually come to the village. It won't be too late to think about it then.
'More importantly, Hylen. Can you tell me more about how to produce the fruit?'
Hylen nodded and began to speak. "Ah, yes. I mentioned that the Honey-Ring tribe is necessary, didn't I?"
'Mm-hmm.'
"To bear fruit, exactly three things are required." He began counting them off on his fingers. "First, the World Tree's flowers. The pollen must be sufficiently ripe."
I checked my flower buds. They were fully bloomed, pink blossoms. But since Riri said the pollen was still scarce, I had to wait longer.
Hylen folded down another finger. "Second is the power of us elves."
Just as I thought. As Lin said, elven power is required. Hylen continued his explanation. "When the World Tree's flowers are in full bloom, they emit elemental and divine power. We act as a bridge, ensuring those two forces harmonize."
'Ah... so that was your role.'
"And the third is precisely this." Hylen shifted his gaze. At the end of his line of sight was Riri.
"It is Lady Riri."
At those words, Riri’s eyes went wide. "Riri is needed?"
Hylen smiled gently and nodded. "Yes. Only the Queen of the Honey-Ring tribe can handle the nectar and pollen of the World Tree's flowers. At the same time, she can generate pollen... while we soothe the flowers, Lady Riri can insert the pollen she creates."
'She creates pollen?'
Hylen nodded. "Yes. The pollen of a Honey-Ring Queen holds the greatest energy. Sometimes, among the stronger Queens, they even condense that pollen and fire it as a wide-area attack."
Oh, that’s fascinating. Hylen added, "Ah, I believe most Queens learn to discharge pollen during their first growth phase."
The first growth phase, huh... I asked Hylen, 'The first growth phase is still a long way off, right?'
He nodded in response. "I suppose so...? I don't know exactly when it happens, but... I believe the first growth phase unlocks around the age of ten."
Ten years old...? Does that mean I have to wait ten years? That’s too long. Well, the lifespan of a World Tree is long, so ten years is short, but still...
Just as I was thinking this, troubled, Riri laughed and answered, "Riri can do it all!"
The child flapped her wings and shouted, "Riri can make pollen!"
I chuckled at the sight of her. It seems Riri has a greedy desire to be good at everything. I stroked the child’s hair and said, 'That's right. Riri can do it~'
The child giggled and rubbed her head against my branch. 'Alright, let's just wait for now.' Since the flowers haven't even opened yet.
Thud-thud-thud! Thud!
Luan was running like a madman. Without even the luxury of looking back, he ran like crazy. At the same time—
Kugugugugu—!
The ground shook. As the trees swayed, the sound of footsteps poured out from deep within the forest. Just by the sound, he could tell. It wasn't just one or two. It wasn't even just ten.
Kugugugugu—!
There were nearly hundreds of them. Luan gritted his teeth at the swarm of monsters rushing toward them. When he saw them running without a shred of sanity, Luan realized it instantly. This wasn't something that happened naturally. It made no sense for monsters poisoned by demonic energy to all be running in the same direction at once.
Luan muttered under his breath, 'It must be the work of that demon.'
Kalderan. It was certain that the demon had caused this.
"Eek!"
Lillia, who was running beside him, tripped over a tree root and stumbled. Luan reflexively grabbed her arm to steady her. "Are you alright!"
"I'm fine!"
Even so, the two didn't stop and kept running. Kugugugugu—! But the sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer. The moment Luan checked behind him, he saw massive figures between the trees.
Dozens of Triple-Headed Ogres. A pack of Horned Foxes with blood-red, bloodshot eyes. Giant Iron-Clad Boars covered in demonic energy. On top of that, even Trolls and Dire Wolves. All kinds of magical beasts and monsters were bunched together, charging at once.
'This won't work.' Luan thought quickly.
"Lady Lillia."
"Yes?"
"You must... get out of here." He continued speaking while running. "You said you had a teleportation scroll, right?"
Lillia pulled the scroll from her bosom and answered, "Yes."
"Use it right now."
At Luan's words, Lillia asked, slightly flustered, "Then what about you, Luan?"
Luan paused for a moment. "I am fine."
"What do you mean you're fine! If you stay like this...!"
"I have comrades who are scattered," Luan said in a low voice. "I cannot... escape alone." He smiled faintly. "So please, go first."
Lillia closed her mouth. Seeing that look in his eyes, she knew she couldn't persuade him any further. Because those were eyes that had already made a decision.
"Understood." Lillia grabbed the scroll and continued, "...Then please, be careful."
Instead of an answer, Luan smiled faintly. Watching that as her last sight, Lillia tore the scroll.
Flash—!
Light erupted, and her figure vanished. At the same time, Luan increased his running speed. The howling from behind was getting closer.
"Kuaaaa—!"
"Grrrrr—!"
Luan ran, looking only ahead. His legs were losing strength, but he couldn't stop. 'Where should I go?' He didn't even have the luxury of worrying about the direction. Just wherever his legs led him. Into the forest. Deeper inside.
The wind rustled. 'It's a nice afternoon.' Riri was sitting on a branch, eating nectar and patting her belly. "Mama. Riri is full."
'Did you eat well?'
"Yeah!"
Riri smiled brightly, her cheeks flushed red. Watching the child, I rustled my leaves. Yes, keep growing like that. I was thinking that when Riri suddenly stopped. She even put down the nectar she was eating.
"...Mama."
Her voice was a little different. Unlike the bright voice from just a moment ago, it was a low, cautious sound.
'Hm? What's wrong, Riri?'
"Smells bad."
'Smells bad?' I tilted my head. But that was the moment.
"Kkuring!"
"Kkurorong!"
"Kkuriiiring—!"
The Honey-Ring tribe members playing on the branches all raised their wings at once. The buzzing sound turned lower and sharper than usual. The Honey-Ring tribe members who were building their homes also stopped working and began looking in the same direction. One direction. Deep into the forest.
Riri gripped my branch tightly and stared that way. The child's eyes were different from usual. Her bright, round eyes had narrowed into sharp, thin slits. It wasn't just the Honey-Ring tribe. Khan’s face was also frozen cold.
'Looks like something's there?'
I slowly extended my roots. Along the border of the sanctuary. And—
'Oh, oh.'
I felt it. Outside the boundary, the ground began to shake. The vibrations traveled through my roots. Dozens. No. Hundreds of footsteps. A massive number was rushing toward this place.
Khan walked over quickly and said in a low voice, "Master." He looked toward the forest. His expression was stiff. "Something is coming."
'Yes, I felt it too.'
A sudden monster wave. Judging by the tremors, they were right on top of us. 'If this many... rush in all at once, what happens?'
Inside the village, there were the Totori. There were young goblins. There were elves. And there was Riri. Even with the sanctuary, I wasn't sure if I could block all of them.
'Khan.'
"Yes."
'Prepare for battle right now.'
At my words, Khan nodded and turned back, shouting, "Elite Goblins! Prepare for battle!"
"Kieeee!"
"Kieek!"
The elite goblins began to move in perfect order. Lin also flew over, her eyes shining. -I'm ready too!
Jini also placed his hands on the ground and said, -Me too..!
At the same time, the Honey-Ring tribe began to form a formation in unison. They gathered in a circle centered around the tree. "Kkuring!" "Kkurorong!"
At that moment, the trees inside the forest swayed, and someone popped out. A man with light sky-blue hair, pitch-black eyes, and a beautiful appearance... 'Huh? Luan?' No. Why is Luan coming out of there?
The moment I thought that, a massive number of monsters began to pour out from behind him. All of them looked poisoned by demonic energy.
'Luan isn't the important thing right now.'
Let's solve this situation first. I've grown quite a bit, so if I invest everything, I might be able to block it. Just as I was thinking that and about to attack, Riri quietly looked up at me.
"Mama. Riri likes it here."
The child smiled bashfully and slowly flew up. "Riri will protect Mama and this place too."
'Riri?'
Then the child stopped in front of me. With the Honey-Ring tribe forming a formation behind her, Riri slowly extended both hands forward. Golden light began to gather in her small palms.
Wooooong—!
At first, it was small, the size of a fist, but it grew larger and larger. Eventually, it became bigger than Riri, reaching a diameter of a good 5 meters. It was clearly an immense amount of energy. Seeing that, Hylen gasped.
"..That is! Pollen...!"
What? Didn't you say she could create pollen during the first growth phase? I looked at Riri with a surprised expression. And at the same time, the golden light shot forward from her hands. Directly toward the monsters.
Kugugugugwang—!!
A massive impact sound. The golden pollen shot into the air. There was nothing left in the space where that pollen had passed. Not only the monsters, but the trees and plants as well. Nothing remained. With just a single blow, hundreds of monsters were simply blown away.
Luan, who had barely survived, stared at the empty space behind him with his mouth agape. I was just as surprised.
'Nearly half of them disappeared?'
No. Half? What am I saying, two-thirds are gone, aren't they?
Riri turned around and giggled. "Mama! Did Riri do well?"
I couldn't say a word. Wow... 'Riri... you're truly powerful, aren't you?'
As expected. S-rank was on a different level.