The Future of Possibility
A razor-sharp green blade of mana split the core clean down the middle.
The sword body split apart into two useless halves and clattered across the floor.
The core had been dealt with far more easily than expected, and Asuka and Aisha let a little of their tension drain as they touched down.
Aisha swallowed hard and shouted.
"Did we get it?!"
"Ah."
I turned to look at Aisha. To actually cast the revive incantation with your own mouth.
"You don't just say that."
"Oh. Right?"
Aisha clapped a hand over her mouth with a strangled gasp, but it was already too late.
Between the seams of the sundered sword-body, violet demon mana gathered, coalescing into a single mass. That mass swiftly took the shape of a demon, purple horns sprouting from its head and devil wings unfurling from its back.
The aura itself was lower-rank.
But it had opened its unique authority, which meant it was hardly something to dismiss. And above all, if it devoured the World Tree and made it outside...
It might even give Hwangyeolgong a run for his money.
"What?! Did it seriously come back because I said the revive spell?"
"Yep."
"No way. Bro!!!"
Aisha was having a full meltdown, but Asuka, who had leapt in behind her, smacked her across the head.
"Focus. That thing looks seriously strong."
"You little brat..."
"Like I care."
Asuka nonchalantly poured even more Life Mana into her blade — but I could see it.
"......"
Squeeze...
She was trembling.
Face to face with a demon, an enemy of truly monstrous proportions.
"That part was a joke. Its revival was a given."
There had been two cores. One of them was the sword body — and since the shell had died, the demon sealed inside naturally burst out.
That said, from the demon's perspective, it was far better to gather as much power as possible before emerging, so this situation was really a stroke of bad luck for Berd.
"How dare you... interfere with my grand design!"
Kraka-BOOM!
Roots of absurd size went berserk. Each was comparable to the ones before, but there were far more of them this time — seven in total.
Asuka immediately put her weight into a strike and sheared one away.
Ska-gak...
The cutting itself wasn't much different from before. But—
"Ugh!"
Having barely severed a single root, Asuka was driven back by the sheer force of it. The roots, now hardened with far denser demon mana than before, lashed out furiously. Worse still, the Life Mana Asuka wielded was a pure crystallization — and with every attack she landed, a portion of it was siphoned away.
Her cuts and its healing happened in the same instant.
"Hey! This isn't gonna work! It just keeps absorbing everything!"
"That's exactly why I'm waiting for an opening."
KWA-BOOOOM!!!
I was handling two roots — I detonated both on the spot, then flew to Asuka's side and blasted away one more.
Blunt Technique: Light Dragon
Keeyung...
KWAAAAAANG!!!
A sonic boom erupted where the hammer came down on the root. The signature art of the Dragon Lord, Charlrodo the Light Dragon — the absolute pinnacle of blunt technique, an explosion of light itself.
BOOM! BOOM! KWAAAAAAAAANG!!!
The sonic booms detonated in rapid succession, and the wreckage ceased to exist the very moment it gained the will to resist.
The sight of it bursting apart was truly spectacular.
"......"
"Are you all right?"
"Y-yes..."
Contrary to her usual personality, Asuka cautiously edged backward. Was she scared?
I wish she'd have a little more confidence.
Asuka's attack power was a genuine asset in this situation — and to land her strikes at exactly the right moments, her confidence mattered a great deal too.
But there was no time for a pep talk, so I flew out once more and detonated another. Aisha was handling one, which left exactly one remaining.
"......You."
Massive roots coiled around the winged demon like serpents, shielding their master. I was certain of it now.
Its condition isn't normal.
Its very existence was the 'Sealing Sword' — a liberation of this kind was never permitted. The only reason it had attained a temporary 'release' was that the sword body had done something foolish, draping it with the dungeon system, the World Tree, and even a user's identity all at once. If it failed to escape, the odds were extremely high that it would simply be sealed back into the blade.
Kaga-gagak...!
Hammer met sword. Berd gritted its teeth and blocked my hammer with its blade, and I answered by pouring in even greater force, driving it back step by step. The aftershocks of our clash hurled everything nearby into the air or melted it away into demon mana and divinity.
"Ungh...!"
"Kgh!"
Aisha, still fighting her root, was finally caught in the blast wave and forced to fall back. She was shouting her apologies, but she had nothing to apologize for. It was far better than fighting recklessly and getting swallowed whole. The most terrifying thing on any battlefield isn't a powerful enemy — it's a useless ally.
Asuka finished clearing the last of her roots, and together with Aisha, drew well back.
At last, a proper stage had been set.
"Then..."
Huook...
KWAAAAAAAAAANG!!!
"...!!!"
The balance of the contest tipped toward me in a single instant. The ground caved deep under the overwhelming force, and the space where Berd and I stood collapsed inward. The roots lunged to strike me, but it was useless. Divinity beyond any limit was already swirling around me, and mere roots — not even its true body — could never touch me.
Besides, Berd had already burned through a considerable reserve of mana cutting down and regenerating its roots again and again. Nothing was left in its tank.
Cracks spread across the sword, splitting wider and wider. If the blade shattered, the demon was finished.
There was only one thing that concerned me: Berd's 'unique authority'. A being that had mastered its unique authority would surely possess a 'magic' all its own. It had ravaged the World Tree through erosion and corruption all this time, but those were abilities every demon held by default. Beyond them, it had to have some signature magic it could turn against me.
At last, my hammer shattered the sword completely.
"...My eternal gratitude."
Vwoooong!
"...that a thing like you should dare to behold the future of 'Possibility'."
Hundreds of magic circles flared to life and carried Berd and me away, somewhere unknown.
"Hehe... Huh? Those students from the tribe?"
Leo, who had been playing gleefully in the Nymph village, abandoned the beaming nymphs and came scampering out to greet her visitors.
Yul of the Hercason Tribe, wearing a grave expression, and Myul, not quite grave but serious all the same. Yul spoke to Leo.
"Lady Lily sent word. If three days pass and there's still no contact from her, she asked us to get her out of there in her stead."
"Ehh. Don't wanna~"
Leo was already hopelessly hooked. Three days? She had no idea how much of it had passed, but life in the Nymph village really did have a powerful addictive pull. She wanted to play here for the rest of her life.
Leo puffed out her cheeks and shook her head.
"Just lemme play a little longer. Tell her I said that, pleeease."
"I'm afraid we have no time. Nymph! The situation has turned dire. Have you not seen the messages?"
"Messages?"
At Myul's strange half-formal speech, Leo tilted her head and opened the message window she'd kept shut this whole time.
...Well, there sure are a lot.
"What is all this, and what's it about?"
"Lady Lily is in danger. Sword God unsealed his sword, and a demon emerged. The demon fought Lady Lily, kidnapped her, and vanished."
"That was one day ago."
"......Huh?"
What did she just say?
"...Judging by what we've heard, this place appears to be in danger as well. I shall take extraordinary measures."
"Eh? What do you— mmph!"
"Drink it. It's bitter, but down it goes."
"Merci beaucoup~!"
"You're quite welcome."
Yul tipped a tea formulated to dispel Penalties straight into Leo's mouth. Leo looked utterly miserable through the whole ordeal, but Yul carried out the request exactly as instructed.
"Uuurgh..."
"Are you back with us?"
"...Bitterrrr."
Clarity returned to Leo's eyes.
"......So that's what happened."
"The situation has grown rather urgent. Rankers nearby are diving in the moment they qualify, but with Sword God defeated and Lady Lily abducted, you're the only one left, Lord Leo."
The Black World Tree was a World Boss — but if it ever got out, it was a being that could break DeoEn itself. For rankers who wanted a healing life, some pleasant hunting, and a bit of adventure, it was hardly a welcome guest. And the defeat of the two most powerful high rankers was more than enough to stoke their competitive pride.
If I'm being precise, it's closer to greed.
Contributing even a sliver to a World Boss clear paid out handsomely. Even if they couldn't take it down themselves, just getting their name onto the kill log was a win.
Leo nodded gravely and rose to her feet. Whoosh! Her hair shifted to a vivid, sunny green, and her green eyes flashed with unmistakable resolve.
"I'll go."
"...How adorable."
"Adorable, indeed."
"...I'm being serious here?!"
Not that she looked the least bit resolute, of course.
The stream had cut out.
Whether that was DeoEn's arrangement or one of Berd's tricks, I couldn't say — but it was almost certainly the former. Berd had seized a fragment of the System, but not enough for it to reach all the way into reality.
"In a way, that's a relief."
If people had watched this, they might have taken quite the shock.
A future in which the Black World Tree devoured the continent.
Berd, having finally escaped into the world, had swallowed the World Tree whole. And it hadn't stopped there — it devoured the entire continent and every living thing upon it. Across the land, roots spewed mana in volumes that each rivaled a lower-rank demon, writhing wildly, while countless lifeforms hung entangled in them, drained of vitality and mana alike.
Squelch...!
The center of a root split open, and Berd stepped lightly through. It now radiated demon mana at a level climbing from mid-rank toward high-rank, and its voice rolled out across the entire continent.
"What do you think? Isn't it beautiful?"
"What is?"
"My kingdom, of course."
Shaaaah!
The roots stirred, revealing all those they had consumed. Famous races of every lineage, and dragons of colossal size. Imperial figures like the Spirit God Duke and Hwangyeolgong. Even users — Sword God, Leo, Yena. Every last one of them was bound in the roots, reduced to puppets with hollow, vacant eyes.
"And this? Does this please you?"
Last of all, me — the version of me 'crudely' made.
"I see."
I nodded.
Though of course — none of this was real.
This place was a mental world.