Sometimes You Must Believe
There are things you have to believe in, even when belief is impossible.
Black tree roots surged upward as if they would pierce the heavens themselves.
Elomandia, the World Tree — burned away by the demonkin long ago, reborn, and living through thousands of years since.
To handle her colossal body efficiently, Elomandia had created the spirits, beings to serve and aid her.
The spirits were her children, part of the World Tree itself, and no matter what happened, they would always place the World Tree above all else.
—Until the calamity came.
A portion of Elomandia's flesh slipped beyond her control entirely and turned black.
The blackened World Tree seized every living thing that dwelled upon her body, coiling around them without mercy.
The Black World Tree's purpose was reclamation.
The fruits of the World Tree's blessing upon this land — the Life Mana.
With every mouthful of Life Mana it absorbed, the Black World Tree grew stronger, and its influence, once confined to a mere fraction of her body, crept steadily toward the core.
Until it devoured the World Tree whole.
Run!
It's a monster!!
Everyone, over here! This building is safe...
KWAAA-BOOM!
A section of root, larger than the building itself, crushed it flat.
Everyone inside was absorbed on the spot, shriveling into husks, while those who had been about to seek shelter within collapsed to the ground and trembled.
It was the end.
The end of this world had arrived.
"W-World Tree..."
The people of the World Tree.
From the moment a life first touched the ground, through every breath of its existence, until it was laid to rest in the earth again — the World Tree presided over it all.
The land, the air, the resources, the mana she bestowed. All of it was her grace, her mercy.
To them, the World Tree was parent and god alike.
They had believed, unwavering, that no hardship could ever reach them — that she would protect them from anything.
And yet.
"Please... save us..."
If the one trying to kill you is the World Tree herself —
then who, in all creation, do you pray to for salvation?
A massive root plummeted down toward the elf sitting frozen in despair.
The elf quietly closed her eyes.
Closed.
Closed...
"...Huh?"
She was not dead.
Not crushed, not coiled and drained into a withered mummy.
Before the elf lay —
"The Savior..."
a black root, torn apart by brilliant white light, rolling on the ground.
"There are quite a lot of targets. I'll have to put some muscle into this if we want to intercept them all."
Above the Academy, at the very birthplace of the Black World Tree, I spread my wings of light and wreathed myself in divinity.
The corrupted World Tree had two cores.
Six great roots of lower World Boss grade.
Thirty-nine intermediate roots of level-80-boss or higher.
As for the rest, the countless minor tendrils...
I'll just blow them all away.
The wings of light swelled even larger.
Profound divinity draped itself over the hand gripping my spear, and dozens of spears trembled around me, aching to leap loose at any instant.
This technique was built for warfare against many. The technique that slaughtered more of the demonkin than any other — this is the one.
Though I shouldn't use it too often.
TSURURURURUNG...!
"Rain of Spears."
KWAGAGAGAGAGA!!!
It draws too much attention.
The dozens of spears left my side in an instant, splitting apart as they tore through the air.
The split spears flew, then split again.
And at last, after countless divisions, the sky...
— a rain of tens of thousands of spears fell.
A torrent of white divinity, filling the pitch-black night sky from horizon to horizon, swept over the black roots.
The Rain of Spears intercepted the tree roots and only the tree roots, never the fleeing lives below.
Only after a full storm of light had passed did I fold my wings and steady my divinity.
Still holding up just fine.
"The intermediate roots and minor roots are all cleared."
Now I just had to cut down the big ones.
"I have to block it. Whatever it takes."
So that whatever that lunatic is doing never gets outside.
[The Episode is shifting rapidly!]
[Ep.10 — The End of the World Tree is now in progress.]
[Danger! A World Boss-grade entity (Higher) has revealed itself.]
[If this Episode is not cleared by means of 'Annihilation' or an equivalent form, the World Boss 'Black World Tree - Berd' will appear within the world.]
This dungeon was no longer a question of who would become the Child of the World Tree.
If that thing got outside, the World Tree could never recover.
Recovery would mean waiting another few thousand years.
And in the meantime, the spirits would lose their parent a second time.
...Twice is too many.
Orboni had already lost everything, thousands of years ago.
She had only just finally settled into her place as an elder — I couldn't drag those nightmare memories back out of her now.
Nightmares like that, one of them is plenty. I'll carry that weight myself.
I twisted the White Savior in my grip and looked at the woman beside me.
A short elf with platinum-blonde hair.
"You're ready, right?"
"...Right. And that thing over there — that's supposed to be you?"
The Asuka bound to the tree, not the Asuka defeated by Ene.
It was I who had awakened her, I who had healed her body and soul with my own power.
The Asuka bound to the tree would have been far more useful, all things considered, but I couldn't pull her out right away.
I nodded gravely.
"That's impossible..."
"There are things you have to believe in, even when belief is impossible."
Even when it's truly hard to accept.
Even when you'd rather die than believe it — there are moments you must believe anyway.
That is how evil is driven out.
"Just think of it as being used. Even if the future you gets tied up and worked over, it still counts as being used."
"......"
"Unfortunately, on my own, I'd be hard-pressed to finish this situation."
Out there, maybe — but my current self could only produce about sixty percent of my outside strength.
Meanwhile, the Sword God had grown to a state beyond any comparison with his outside self.
No — calling that thing the 'Sword God' anymore was a stretch.
That's the mark of the Fallen.
Demonic energy that devours the outer self and the inner self alike.
The Fallen who acquire that power may hold together at first, but as time passes, they inevitably lose themselves.
He'd been protected all this while by the system's power, but having claimed a fragment of the dungeon system and fused with the World Tree...
He might already be beyond saving.
It was right to treat that thing as nothing but a demonkin now.
And to hunt demonkin, every card on the table must be played.
"You take the great roots. I'll destroy the cores."
"...Fine. I don't believe you, though."
FWAAAAAAAH!!
"Honestly, looking at that thing makes me want to vomit."
Asuka, scattering emerald radiance, shot toward the black roots.
Even from this distance, I could feel roots being cleaved apart in a single stroke.
"...Turns out the rumors weren't hype."
There was a reason Orboni had searched for Asuka so desperately.
It was almost impossible to believe this was the same woman who had once perished together with Ene.
CRAAANG!
A silver blade came for my throat.
I planted the White Savior upright in an instant and stopped the torrent of sword strikes dead.
Screeech.
The silver-haired woman drew her sword back and brought it down in a smooth vertical cut.
Sharp, precise — but there was no killing intent behind it.
Something about it reeked of hesitation.
"Ugh!"
I batted it aside with ease, and the silver sword went rolling across the ground.
Before she knew it, my spearhead was leveled at her throat, and she ground her teeth together.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"...What am I doing? What have you done?"
"Excuse me?"
Hnngh.
Aisha, the Sword Star of starlight, scrubbed at her swollen red eyes with her arm and glared at me.
What is going on with her?
"There's no way Oppa would do something like that! What kind of trick did you pull on him?!"
"...I did nothing at all. In fact, I'd like to ask the same question. What exactly possessed you to do something so unbelievably stupid?"
It was stupid.
She had gone and broken the very sword that 'sealed' the demonkin.
Handing over the World Tree — a walking mountain of resources, no less — as the price.
Any person with a functioning mind would never have done it. But the Sword God had.
And that was how this absurdity had come to be.
"Don't talk nonsense! The Sword God Oppa I know fights fair and square! He would never—"
EEP!
Aisha sucked in a breath and stumbled backward.
A spear of pure white light had grazed past her cheek.
The spear flew on and struck a black root dead center behind her.
KEEEEEEEEEEE!!
The root exploded with a horrible shriek, and blood ran down Aisha's cheek, which had gone pale with horror.
Having reclaimed the White Savior, I looked down at her, cold as ice.
"Aisha."
"U-uh. Yes?"
"I don't have time. I need to destroy that thing as fast as I possibly can."
Tap.
"So if you're not going to help, run. I won't stop you."
Whuum.
A spearhead came to rest against Aisha's neck.
"But if you keep getting in my way... well. You know how this ends."
"......"
"Then."
I shot straight up into the air.
"W-wait a second!"
"...Are you trying to die?"
"N-no! I'll help you!"
Help me? Not the Sword God?
When I asked the question with a face full of disbelief, she shook her head frantically.
"Something has to be wrong. Either Oppa made a mistake — or that elf used some kind of trick on him! Either way, I'll stop it, even if I have to cut Oppa down to do it!"
"...And you won't pull that attack of yours at the crucial moment, right?"
"I won't!"
"......."
"Hmm..."
I raised my spear.
The choice did not take long.