The Lord of the Forest Cannot Be Killed
The Lord of the Forest was a being that could neither be killed nor sealed. If that was the case, then the answer was to make it kin.
There was no guarantee it would work, but he had nothing to lose by trying, and he judged the odds were real enough. Even the celestials of the Moderate Faction had managed to control the Lord of the Forest. Just because it could not be sealed, did that mean taking it as kin was impossible?
"You would have me make that monster my kin? I refuse."
"Why not?"
"I do not handle the unsightly. I will not abide the sight of a wretch like that becoming my kin."
"What are you, a gourmet? If I tell you to do it, do it."
"When I refuse, I refuse. To begin with, I fail to see why I ought to listen to you at all."
"Why you ought to listen? Step back into the Sealing Orb. You'll find out."
"......"
Had the threat landed? Marcus clamped his mouth shut and sank into thought for a long while.
"Hurry up."
At the prodding, he forced the words out with difficulty.
"To make it my kin, I must sink my fangs into its neck."
"And?"
"Could you do such a thing? The mere thought of that filthy creature touching my body turns my stomach......"
"It's not as filthy as you think. Instead of blood it leaks this sticky purple fluid, and the smell is awful, but touching it doesn't seem to melt your skin or anything."
"......You are trying to persuade me, are you?"
"This isn't persuasion. You have to make that thing your kin. If you don't, you'll spend the rest of your life suffering inside the Sealing Orb."
"A moment. Taking one as kin cannot be done free of cost."
"What's the cost?"
"The more powerful the being I claim as kin, the longer I must sleep. Yet inside that orb of yours, I cannot sink into a comfortable slumber. No—even falling asleep is a hardship."
"Ah. So you want me to let you sleep in peace?"
"Yes. And you must keep that promise without fail. If you do not, then even should I die upon this spot, or spend eternity imprisoned in the Sealing Orb, I will not make that thing my kin."
Marcus's resolve looked immovable—a flat refusal to cooperate unless his conditions were met. Rating that attitude rather highly, Yujun smiled and nodded.
"Fine. I'll do it the way you said."
"A soul contract."
"You want a soul contract on top of that?"
"Yes. Frankly, I cannot bring myself to trust your word."
"Fair enough. Hmm."
Yujun performed no special rite. He simply bound the soul contract on exactly the terms Marcus had demanded.
"Hn......? You truly mean to do it just like this?"
"You asked me to."
"Most refreshing."
Having sealed the soul contract with Marcus, Yujun wore a thin, sly smile. The sight of it unsettled Marcus enough that he spoke.
"Surely you do not intend to break the soul contract? Unless you wish your very soul to vanish, you would be wise to refrain."
"If I break it, shouldn't you be happier?"
"......Y-yes. Then break it."
"Cut the crap and get moving."
Marcus shuffled toward the Lord of the Forest, every step a protest.
If this doesn't work, I'll have no choice but to just put it to sleep.
If he failed both to kill the Lord of the Forest and to make it kin, and the matter ended with lulling it into slumber, the Moderate Faction celestials would only come back to wake it again. After that, the odds of things turning ugly for the Hardline Faction were high.
As for me, once I get the items from Sertiphs, I'm done.
In truth, no outcome would cost him anything. Even so, a job taken up ought to be seen through to the end. There might yet come a day when he collected further rewards from Sertiphs, that walking treasury of items.
Against whatever might happen, Yujun took up a position near Marcus and the Lord of the Forest and waited. Marcus looked as though he truly, desperately did not want the creature as kin; his face was screwed into every shade of disgust.
I wouldn't want to either.
Even Yujun, watching from the side, felt his brow knit. The Lord of the Forest was hideous enough to turn the stomach. Looks alone might have been bearable, but the stench was so foul he had no idea how anyone was meant to endure it, and so he kept more distance than strictly necessary while the work of making kin went on.
Marcus stretched his mouth wide. Two sharp fangs punched into the nape of the Lord of the Forest. The neck was so short that Yujun half-doubted it was a neck at all, but it was the neck, more or less.
"Done?"
"Yes. But it will take some time. We must wait until my blood takes root in its heart."
"That was fast. Aren't you getting this a little too easily?"
"The more kin I gain, the more my power wanes, bit by bit. And my kin already number more than ten—exceedingly powerful ones, at that. Well? It no longer looks quite so appealing, does it?"
"Looks pretty good to me......"
"Would you become my kin as well?"
"Are you insane?"
"Frail creature. Fulfill your promise at once."
"Going to sleep now?"
"Yes. I am exceedingly weary......"
"Get in the orb."
"......What? You mean to break your promise?"
"No? You asked me to let you sleep in comfort. That's what the soul contract says, isn't it?"
"However I look at it, that is no comfortable place...... Deciding the standard to suit yourself is itself a breach of the soul contract. Are you saying you care nothing if your soul is torn to shreds?"
"What I'm saying is that I'll make the inside of the Sealing Orb into a comfortable environment."
"Is that even possible?"
"Yeah."
"......"
Marcus worked his mouth, visibly at a loss. Yujun let out a short laugh.
"Sleep was just an excuse anyway. You were planning to run—find somewhere safe and hidden and sleep there, weren't you?"
"......No."
"No? Then you won't mind going into the Sealing Orb. I'll erase the pain completely. I can adjust it that much."
"......"
"Why so quiet?"
"Die!"
Marcus had been secretly loosening a mist of blood, and now he detonated the droplets that had gathered in the empty air. They burst directly in front of Yujun's nose.
KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!
A tremendous blast swallowed the surrounding forest. It was Marcus's hidden trump card, loosed in faith that his immortal body would carry him through.
But—
THWACK!
Yujun caught the nape of Marcus's neck in one hand, just as the vampire finished regenerating and tried to bolt.
"Kuhk—!"
The crushing force choked the breath out of him, and Marcus's face twisted in agony.
"......W-wait......!"
"I was trying to make this as convenient for you as I could, and you throw that away?"
Yujun's mouth was smiling. His eyes were ice.
Despair washed over Marcus, and his body went slack. The grip on his nape had been too tight; he had blacked out. Yujun had no intention of waiting for him to come around on his own. He slapped Marcus across the face with everything he had. The man was immortal, after all. Hitting him hard was not going to kill him.
SMACK!
He struck without a shred of mercy.
"Kuheok!"
The instant Marcus woke, Yujun stuffed him into the Sealing Orb.
Because of the soul contract, he could not increase the pain. Even so, being locked away somewhere could hardly be called a favorable situation for Marcus.
Not that I've broken the contract, either.
For Marcus, it was the worst possible outcome. Yujun, on the other hand, had skimmed off the cream and walked away with nothing but profit.
Let's see what's become of the Lord of the Forest.
To command his kin, Marcus needed to be close at hand, but the Lord of the Forest had lost consciousness, collapsed, and showed no sign of waking.
It's not just pretending to be out, is it?
He drew out the swords he had duplicated through Sword Unity, pulling them free of the Lord of the Forest's body. Purple fluid sprayed, and a foul stench rose with it. Yujun's face crumpled.
Yeah. I can see why Marcus wanted nothing to do with it.
The Lord of the Forest was not a thing one wanted to approach. Its form supposedly changed every time it woke from sleep—enough to make him wonder whether he ought to just put it back under for now.
There were two problems. Where to keep the Lord of the Forest, and whether, even as Marcus's kin, it could ignore the Moderate Faction celestials' control.
I can't haul it around with me. There's no room in the Sealing Orb, either.
He didn't particularly want to bring the thing along anyway.
Whether it listens to the Moderate Faction or not—time will tell.
Yujun hid the Lord of the Forest deep beneath the earth. It would do no good for the creature to catch anyone's eye, whether a celestial of the Hardline Faction or one from the Moderate side.
The job was more or less settled. He had pulled Dokgo Minsu and Kim Yohan out of danger, and the Lord of the Forest was subdued. Unless the Moderate Faction celestials tried some scheme, it would not wake for a while. All that remained was collecting his reward from Sertiphs.
Just in case, maybe I should set a barrier before I go.
He had never made a formal study of barriers, but mastering Ancient Magic had left him with knowledge of his own. With the skill ranked as high as EX++, his understanding of barriers was considerable—high enough that almost no one could match it. More than that, the quality of the mana that mattered most in a barrier was exceptional, so destroying one of his would be no simple thing. Unraveling it was another matter.
This should do.
He drew a barrier-reinforcement stele from his inventory and drove it into the ground. The barrier's range was wide; pinpointing where the Lord of the Forest lay buried would not be easy.
Yujun returned to the others. With the Lord of the Forest unconscious and the forest's thrashing vines gone still, the party was resting at ease, talking among themselves.
Feels like I'm the only one doing any work.
Of course, he had volunteered for it.
"You're back?"
Manuela was the first to greet him. Yujun smiled and nodded.
"That lightning magic earlier—that was you, wasn't it?"
"You could see it from here?"
"How could we miss it? It was that loud."
Sword Unity joined with Chain Lightning. Even by Yujun's standards, the result had been deeply satisfying.
If I used Weapon Earthquake together with Sword Unity, that would be monstrous too......
This time his opponents had been celestials, so he had gone with Chain Lightning, but the next chance he got, he wanted to test Earthquake as well.
"Let's get out of here."
"It would seem your business is concluded."
"Yes. Where is Sertiphs?"
Yujun asked Atradeon.
"He ought to be in the midst of a strategy meeting just now."
"Does that even mean anything? I don't think you've ever once gotten ahead of the enemy."
"That the Hardline Faction is losing ground to the Moderates is a fact known to all. They surpass us even in a battle of wits. They have Ukria."
"So you've been fighting a war you can't win."
"Not wholly without hope. No—the advantage is tilting our way. Thanks to you."
"I still can't be certain. Ukria seems an even greater figure than I thought."
"Because she controlled the Lord of the Forest?"
"Yes."
"In truth, even we did not foresee that she would go so far. From ancient times, that thing in the forest has been known only as a being too troublesome to put down, and so none ever thought to make use of it. A handful of attempts long ago ended in regret, which only made the reluctance deeper."
"And Ukria went and did it."
"Proof that she is a genius past all reason. A great inventor, besides. Might I ask how your plans stand from here?"
"Shouldn't you be hearing the Hardline Faction's plans rather than mine? As for me, I'm skipping the rest. I'm going to collect my reward."
The time had come to claim the three items Sertiphs had promised.