Dark Elf (4)
As I drew closer to the World Tree, something bizarre came into view.
What in the world was that? A pitch-black figure sat right at the heart of the World Tree. On closer inspection it was an elf whose skin had been stained a muddy brown, half-fused into the trunk and steadily corroding the World Tree with magi.
So that was her plan—to become one with the World Tree itself? Had she gone completely mad over the thing? Since she couldn’t become the priestess, she was going to turn herself into the World Tree instead?
Not a terrible idea, I supposed. But becoming that useless lump of a World Tree was just a roundabout way of saying she intended to die. Before that, of course, she meant to pull off a little terrorism.
It was early to be certain, but honestly that was the only way it looked to me. Her scheme had already failed. A cornered rat only has so many moves left.
“Huh? What’s that supposed to be? A Dark Elf?”
“Looks like it.”
Before I knew it, Elf King Isis had sauntered over with a thoroughly annoyed scowl. His face was exactly how I felt right now. I had gone to the trouble of rounding up every last one of those bastards, and now this was what I got? They couldn’t even stop a single Dark Elf and let her end up like that?
“You’re here, you slimy mage.”
“What the hell is going on? A Dark Elf, here of all places.”
I’d had a bad feeling, and sure enough, this was where she had been all along. Completely different from what I had come looking for.
“This is all your fault.”
“Excuse me? What kind of bullshit is that? How is that bitch my fault?”
That ugly thing had nothing to do with me. I didn’t even know the dark, blotchy creature. From the face it looked like that Dark Elf Piel, but what connection did that stupid-looking girl have with me?
“I beat her with my fists until she turned out like this.”
Oh. The Elf King himself had punched her? That part was well done. Looking at the state of her, though, he had just been toying with her. Classy taste. If you’re going to hit someone, you should at least pick your target carefully. When you beat someone, you beat them until their strength is completely gone. Nothing’s more fun than thrashing a guy who’s already spent. This pointy-eared idiot still had a lot to learn from me.
I let out a long sigh and looked at Isis. This guy always half-assedly learned things from me.
“Are you a complete moron? If you’re going to hit someone, hit them properly. You half-assed it, and now this Piel or whatever the hell her name is is throwing a tantrum like this. So what’s the plan?”
We had to stop her if we wanted to save the World Tree. Honestly, the fact that he wasn’t already stopping her suggested there was no clean solution.
“I never expected her to have this much power.”
Power, huh. So she was that strong? Or maybe being a former priestess candidate had left a bigger mark than expected. In that case, what about Shariel? If Shariel helped right now, couldn’t they push the Dark Elf out?
“Where’s Shariel?”
“She’s over there, still doing everything she can to protect the World Tree.”
In the direction Isis pointed, Shariel was pouring out light near the roots of the World Tree. So that was it. That was why the World Tree was still holding on. Even so, the steady rain of falling leaves made it clear she was losing ground.
“Definitely different from that Ella girl.”
This Shariel kid seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. She was carefully metering out just enough mana to keep the World Tree from being completely corrupted, pushing the magi back a little at a time, then gathering natural mana again to recharge. Rinse and repeat. Definitely better than that bow-wielding idiot. How the hell did a sister like this come from that older sister?
“So what are you going to do? We need to rip that thing out, don’t we?”
“It’s hard. She dug herself in with full intent. We can’t pull her free, and if we kill her the World Tree itself will be in danger.”
So Piel was completely one with the World Tree now. I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but once it did, there was only one real answer left.
“Then what? We take down the World Tree?”
The World Tree was the spiritual pillar of the elves, sure, but when things got this bad, World Tree or not, you had to cut it down. Better that than becoming Dark Elves.
“If the World Tree dies, the Great Forest is finished.”
“Isn’t it about time you people stood on your own without the World Tree? Or are you saying we should just leave it to rot like this?”
The moment the World Tree fell, the elves would follow the same path. What greedy fools.
“Telling elves to cut down the World Tree is the same as telling humans who worship the Goddess to curse her name.”
“Ah. So it’s like that. No other way at all?”
“If every elf poured their mana into Shariel, they might push Piel out. But the seed of discord would still be planted in the World Tree. And Piel could always flee deeper inside it.”
“Wait a second, Lady Olivia. Doesn’t that mean the real problem isn’t Piel herself, but the magi?”
“Exactly.”
Celia was right. The magi was what mattered. The moment Piel had slammed her body into the World Tree, she herself had become irrelevant. Isis gave a small nod at our exchange.
“That’s right. The problem is that Piel is circulating the World Tree’s vast mana into magi at an insane speed. She’s already one body with the tree. Shariel is holding on well, but the World Tree will fall eventually. I’m gathering the elves right now.”
“What if every last scrap of corrupted magi—including Piel—vanished from the World Tree right this second?”
“The mana the World Tree originally held has already turned into magi. If you strip even that away, the World Tree would be fine… but recovering its mana would take ages.”
So in the end, all we needed was to suck out the magi—from that bitch and from the parts of the World Tree she had already corrupted. Simple logic. If we couldn’t kill Piel separately, we just drained every drop of her magi. The solution was that straightforward.
“Hmm. Easy enough.”
“What?”
“We just pull every bit of magi out of that bitch and the World Tree and dump it somewhere else, right?”
“And who’s going to pull the magi out? The New World Group? Those bastards are the ones trying to corrupt the World Tree in the first place. It’s not like there’s some other demon ready to absorb it for us.”
True. Absorbing magi was hard even for a normal mage. A skilled one would still have to be ready to die trying. And this was the World Tree’s magi. It went beyond suicide—it was flat-out impossible to achieve the goal. To absorb something like this you’d need at least Four Heavenly Kings level.
Then again, I was the one who had beaten a Four Heavenly King. Maybe I could do it. This would be a challenge—an achievement for the existence called Olivia to absorb even the magi of the World Tree. The thought was starting to excite me. Other people would call it a sacrifice. I already had a body ready to take that magi in.
“For a pointy-eared bastard who’s not even human, you sure talk big.”
“You—”
“Whoa. Lady Olivia, that look is completely new.”
Celia’s and Isis’s faces stiffened for a moment. Yeah. Right now I was in my demon form. Living like this still felt a little repulsive, but there was no choice. I was going to cycle the magi circuits I had been swallowing with mana and take in that overwhelming power.
“I mean I’ll just absorb it myself.”
“Ha. You really are something else. I almost thought the Demon King had already dragged you into corruption.”
Isis shook his head with a look of pure disbelief. What did he take me for? I wasn’t foolish enough to be swayed by something that wasn’t even a living creature. I was already a half-demon who had swallowed a fragment of the Demon King. The word “corruption” didn’t fit me. For an ordinary human it might be a life-changing crisis. For me it was just another piece of material.
The reason this pointy-eared bastard kept hanging around me was probably because he was worried I might have become a pawn of the Demon King.
“I like new knowledge and new experiments. Whether I end up human, demon, or elf in the process doesn’t matter to me.”
“So that’s how you can live perfectly fine even looking like that.”
“For now, just make sure no one can see me.”
I moved closer to the base of the World Tree with Isis and Celia. The moment I laid my hand on the bark, I felt it clearly—vast magi and the natural mana Shariel was pouring in were slamming into each other inside the tree. The problem was how much of that mana was being swallowed by the magi.
—Whatever you do, it’s too late! I will become one with the World Tree and it will fall into corruption! The noble history of the elves ends today!
“No. Not yet.”
A deep, grinding roar filled the air. I began drawing the magi out of the World Tree with everything I had through my right hand.
—Wh-what? The magi is being drained? How is this even—
“Simple logic. I’m just sucking out everything you’ve got inside you.”
—What is this… No, who are you?
“Me? I’m the one who just ruined your little plan.”
—How… How can a person do this… Impossible! Kyaaaaaaaaaah!
It was probably pretty painful. She could still endure it for now, but having your magi absorbed by me was basically the same as having your life force ripped out. Pitiful and pathetic. Even her trump card, her last resort, her secret weapon for screwing over the elves—everything had been shut down by me.
Honestly kind of sad.
“I could just reverse the flow and pour magi back into you until the World Tree explodes, but absorbing it like this seems better.”
The grinding roar grew louder. An enormous volume of magi began pouring out of the World Tree, making unearthly sounds as it was sucked into my hand.
“Lady Olivia, are you all right?”
“I’m managing. Absorbing the magi in the World Tree isn’t hard.”
Stupid Piel was clinging to the power with everything she had so it wouldn’t be stolen, which actually let me control the amount I took in. If the World Tree’s magi had slammed into me all at once, I might have been the one in danger. For now I just kept receiving it. If a flood came, I would immediately overlay it with mana and cycle it. Mana fusion was always convenient in situations like this.
“I see. Looking at the state of Piel right now, I can tell.”
—No! This can’t be happening! It can’t!
“Self-destruct won’t work either. You won’t have enough magi or mana left to blow yourself up. You’re just going to lose without being able to do a single thing.”
—Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
A massive shockwave tore through the air. As the power finally left her, Piel began to peel away from the World Tree. All the magi she had been desperately holding onto flooded into my body at once.
So this was the magi of the World Tree. My arm was getting pretty stiff. When it had been Pector, Noel had been there to help me endure. Maybe absorbing the World Tree’s magi had been a bad idea after all. Even if the World Tree was incredible, this should have felt like squeezing out a festering wound. I never imagined there would be this much. I could finally tell just how dead set that crazy bitch Piel had been.