The Silver Purifier
"Fine, then let's give myself a bit more credit."
The round table chamber where five archangels had gathered.
Michael, their leader and the Guild Master of the Angel Guild, gave a slight bow of his head.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to block the assault and take the championship."
"We simply needed each other. If anything, I should be the one expressing gratitude."
I had needed the name of the Angel Guild, and the Angel Guild had needed the strength to protect itself. It had only been possible because our interests aligned so neatly.
Michael shook his head.
"No. It wouldn't have mattered to you, Lady Lily, whether you joined us or any other guild. But without you, we would have collapsed, no question."
Sword God and Tu-hyeol-gong, along with the Empire's countless legions of soldiers.
Rankers had certainly grown stronger across the board, but even the Angel Guild could not have held out against enemies of that caliber swarming in all at once.
"Hmm… if that's how you see it…"
The reason I had wanted the Angel Guild's name wasn't just to enter the Siege Warfare. The biggest reason was that they alone could hold the Empire back, even if only for a moment.
A group capable of stemming the Empire's dispersed forces and withstanding its pressure even after the war ended. The Angel Guild was the only one that fit the bill.
That said, the fact that they'd managed to go beyond merely holding out and actually win the whole thing was partly thanks to me tearing the Empire apart at every turn.
"Fine, then let's give myself a bit more credit."
"Yes? Yes, of course. It was all thanks to you, Lady Lily."
"That's our Queen Lily for you! I knew I could count on you!!"
"Unnie, please…"
Still as energetic as ever, I see.
Uriel brushed past Raguel's attempt to rein her in like water off a duck's back, then went "Ah!" and scooted right up beside me.
"By the way, you're actually a king now?"
"I am. Though there's someone better suited for the role."
The Elbrit Principality probably wouldn't change much from before. The former Duke of Ronhadia had merely been demoted to Marquis — his position itself hadn't changed.
'Of course, if I decide to stir things up, that could change a little.'
When I said it so offhandedly, Uriel's eyes lit up and sparkled.
"Whoa… Hey! Michael!"
"What."
"I wanna be a king too!"
"You lunatic."
"Why not!"
"Then go overthrow a royal house somewhere, Uriel."
Sandalphon chuckled as he wound his curly hair around a finger, while Uriel spoke in an excited voice, as if imagining something delightful.
"No, seriously, think about it. We've been defending the Eden Federation like crazy. Ah, sorry. We've guarded them all this time, so shouldn't we get some kind of impressive title now?"
"Don't you have a peerage already?"
"That's just ceremonial. And our territory isn't all that big. Besides, among players, aren't you the first person to become an actual king, Lady Lily?"
"Hm? There are no player kings?"
I had been enjoying their banter when I tilted my head in confusion. I distinctly remembered spotting a few of them while skimming through documents earlier.
Uriel turned her head as well and answered.
"Most of them are just affiliated with existing kingdoms, and the ones with the biggest territories are Sword God and Lady Leo, but neither of them is a king."
"That's right. Most players belong to established kingdoms, and you're the first to strike out independently with territory and power of that scale, Lady Lily."
So they said.
"So! Are you gonna give me a kingdom or not?!"
"Leave the Federation, seize a royal house, and that might happen."
"Ah! Something other than that."
"Then there's no way. Wake up."
"Tch…"
"Anyway, Lady Lily."
"Yes?"
"I've been thinking. We owe you a reward, and I couldn't decide what to give."
The head of the Angel Guild, now the undisputed Rank 1 guild that no one could dare touch. Michael had deliberated long and hard.
She wasn't in the same guild, but she had fought on their side brilliantly, and they needed to maintain good relations going forward. They were now hostile with the Empire, after all — and the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
It was far better to stay close to Lily.
"Now that you've founded a principality, money, territory, or titles are probably meaningless. And most items would be of little use to someone with your specs."
And so.
Thud.
"I'd like to give you this."
"Oh…?"
What Michael placed on the round table was a silver sword.
A long blade, with a crimson jewel set into the hilt. The most striking feature of this meticulously crafted weapon was its name.
"The Silver Purifier. One of the great Masterpieces in my possession. A Mythic Grade weapon I obtained back in my quest-clearing prime."
"A work of Drak's, then."
The third Masterpiece of Drak, the legendary blacksmith of Talikal.
And I had been gathering the Masterpieces one by one.
Vlack, though, who held the Black Destroyer, showed no intention whatsoever of selling. The same went for the other rankers who had claimed Masterpieces of their own.
I didn't even know who held some of them, but from their perspective, a Mythic Grade piece of equipment was an absolutely priceless thing.
I accepted the weapon without a word of refusal.
"Thank you."
"What a relief. It seems to your liking."
"Yes. I like it quite a lot."
He was right — now that I had a principality of my own, money no longer mattered all that much.
Certainly, one could ask: couldn't you just buy a weapon with money? But rankers do not sell Mythic Grade gear for coin.
In a way, it was obvious.
'I'm already earning plenty. Why on earth would I sell?'
Rankers were wealthy people already raking in fortunes in the hundreds of millions, and they treasured the world of DeoEn more than reality itself, pouring their focus into it. No one would sell a Mythic Grade item — won through luck and grueling effort — just to make a bit of pocket change.
Shing.
When I drew the Silver Purifier from the scabbard Michael passed over along with it, my reflection gleamed back at me from the blade.
"…The Silver Purifier, huh."
Somehow, I had a feeling 'that child' would hate this weapon.
"The Silver Purifier's power lies, exactly as its name suggests, in 'purification.' Against anything wicked — the undead, and according to its previous wielder, 'vampires' — it deals more devastating damage than any other weapon."
"You've encountered a vampire?"
"In a dungeon. It was stronger than expected and gave us quite a hard time, but once I obtained this through a quest, dealing with it became trivial."
"Hmm… I see."
I probably wouldn't ever have occasion to use this, though.
A 'vampire' could never be my enemy.
"Do you happen to know the whereabouts of the other Masterpieces? Ah — apart from the Black Destroyer that Vlack holds, of course."
"The whereabouts… The Yellow one you took from the Grim Reaper. Hmm… 'That person' should be holding one…"
"That person?"
Michael furrowed his brow as if dredging up an old memory, then turned to Gabriel, who sat beside him.
"Gabriel. Where is that person right now?"
"There's no reason to speak casually to me at the mom—"
"Sis. Where are they."
"Hmph."
Gabriel put on a benevolent smile.
"You mean the one burdened with a terrible Penalty. The person who gained tremendous power — and in exchange, found themselves bound to a single place. They cannot be reached now."
"Why not?"
"Because the place where they reside is… special."
Gabriel gently lowered her snow-white hand onto the round table.
White light swirled around the table's surface, and moments later, it projected a blue vista as if conjuring a hologram.
A blue sky, and beneath it, a colossal tree rooted deep into the earth.
"The World Tree. The largest tree ever to take root upon the land — and a will unto itself."
The World Tree Elomandia.
"And that person is at its very heart."
"…The World Tree?"
"Has it opened up yet?"
"There's been no word yet. Though there are some signs. I've heard on more than a few occasions that the races living under the World Tree's protection have been sensing something changing."
To Raguel's question, Gabriel answered in a soft, measured tone.
I sank briefly into thought.
"The World Tree… the World Tree, huh…"
'Didn't it already burn down once?'
Had it regrown or something?
"Then it might open up before long. Should we go take a look?"
"Not a bad idea. But we'd need leaf passes to get in."
"We could just stay near it. Even the root region alone has an insane amount of experience and loot. Might even come from quests."
"Ah! Lady Lily!"
"…Yes?"
"You're close with Lady Leo, aren't you?"
Uriel asked. I nodded.
"We are."
"Then Lady Lily could get inside the World Tree. The Savior of the World Tree is Lady Leo, after all."
"Huh. She might have a few leaf passes, then."
"Could you spare us some too?"
"And you'd pay for them? Those are consumables that sell for damn near demi-Mythic prices."
"Cheapskate."
While Uriel and Sandalphon traded their little comedy routine, I turned back to Gabriel with another question.
"So the person holding that Masterpiece is inside the World Tree?"
"That's correct. Though receiving it from them may be… rather difficult…"
Gabriel said this with a shake of her head.
I had no illusions of collecting a Mythic Grade item easily, but there was something about her answer that felt like she was driving the impossibility home — hammering it in beyond all doubt.
"Is there a special reason?"
"…Because that necklace is the very source of the curse."
The Multicolored Successor.
Drak's greatest and most brilliant Masterpiece — the necklace that draws power from the Mythic Era itself.