Chapter 569: The Sin of Cinders and the God of Stitched Skin - 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 569: The Sin of Cinders and the God of Stitched Skin - 4
For a nation that had already fallen, Manguo was a country where the people’s hearts were content. This might have been because Manguo was a good country, but another reason was likely that this land was an incredibly difficult place to live.
It was a distant land, isolated beyond the Enger Plains. Deep within the endless jungle that stretched across the southeastern part of the continent stood the World Tree. The King of Trees, the pillar that supported the world, the first creation of Mother Earth. The blessed Maidenhair Tree stood tall, a rival to the Metasequoia of the continent's northwest.
In this isolated jungle, in a primordial land where help and contact were difficult, Muhu had built a nation. She gathered all the tribes of the land, spread her influence, and established a brilliant civilization that none could hope to imitate.
But as they say, nothing good lasts forever. The civilization, once so beautiful and radiant, withered as quickly as it had appeared, along with the World Tree that had stood its ground for eons.
Why did the World Tree burn and fall? How did Manguo perish? Why did Muhu never return? In this land, cut off by trees as tall as castle walls, no clear truth was ever passed down.
But one thing remained certain: on the very spot where the World Tree had burned and fallen, a new tree had sprouted, devouring the ashes of the old.
The cursed World Tree, known as the Tree of Corruption.
And the being who ruled that Tree of Corruption was…
“A bad omen?”
Rasch finally recognized the primordial druid from the legends, Nevida of the deer antlers, and was struck with horror. Before he could act on his confusion, Callis hugged him tightly from behind.
“Rasch! Stop!”
“What?”
“You have to stay still. Don’t get noticed! Stand like you’re part of the background, and don’t catch her eye!”
Callis held onto him desperately. Reading the fear in her trembling hands, Rasch followed her lead and shut his mouth.
This was a monster who had turned the Sacrificial Vessel into a tree in an instant. Even Rasch, an undying, couldn’t guarantee his survival. For now, he held his breath as Callis had instructed.
In a situation where help is hard to come by, a being infinitely more dangerous than the Sacrificial Vessel shows up. What is she thinking?
I tried to read Nevida’s thoughts, but all I felt was a placid emotion, similar to that of an inorganic object. I could read the thoughts currently surfacing in her mind, but reading the person that was Nevida remained difficult.
It wasn’t so much that she had a resistance to mind-reading… but more likely that, just like Tyr’s shadow, the current Nevida was also something beyond human.
If I want to know what she’s thinking, I’ll have to ask. But will she even answer?
“Excuse me, Miss Nevida? I have a question.”
“Ask what you will, my King.”
“What is this ‘preparation’ you mentioned? I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“It is a preparation to reclaim your power, Your Majesty.”
Fortunately, Nevida’s loyalty to me seemed genuine to some extent. She bowed her head deeply and answered my question faithfully.
“You are the one true King of Humans, the Herald and Agent of all mankind. It is only right that you yourself should reign over this world.”
Nevida’s gaze flickered to one side. For a moment, a being made of light appeared far in the distance of her vision. Before I could make out its shape, Nevida averted her eyes and continued.
“But because of the harlot’s curse, you lost your power and vanished. While the throne was empty, false kings have dared to call themselves king and claim this world as their own. In the face of this deplorable situation, I have been preparing for the restoration of your power.”
Power? For me? She’s going to give it back? Hey, that sounds pretty good. I was about to ask if she was serious, but I paused, lost in thought.
“Uh, so, I get my power back, and then I use that power to drive out all the other kings?”
“Once you have reclaimed your power, Your Majesty, all will flow according to your will. What problem could there be? That is how humanity was meant to be. Do as you please.”
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t tempted, but the only stories that were truly good for me were the ones I told myself. If someone else offered to look out for my interests, it was a scam.
What should I do? As I pondered, Nevida slowly rose and spoke to me.
“My King. I shall guide you to that place. Follow me, and reign once more as the king of this world.”
“That sounds like a really great story, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea. I need to think about it a little more.”
“I shall serve you with all my heart.”
Ah, right! Nevida had no intention of considering my will! Her plan was to just take me there and make me reclaim my power!
Well, if I can’t avoid it, maybe accepting this ‘power’ wouldn’t be so bad…
[I am where faith resides. Thus, I have descended here.]
“Agh! My eyes!”
A light flashed. It was so sudden I couldn’t even close my eyes. When my vision returned, the figure of a girl had appeared, as if she had been there all along.
Mayel, the Saintess of the Sky, who had led us this far. After a long silence in response to the Regressor’s questions, she had finally revealed herself. Nevida looked at the halo of light as if she had been expecting it.
“After I have disposed of all the harlot’s children, that is.”
The image of Mayel, the Saintess of the Sky, stared at nothing. It was as if neither Nevida nor I were in her line of sight. Her gaze fixed on empty space, she murmured blankly.
[Shei. I still hope you will make a different choice. It’s not too late, even now. But, if you will not.]
Mayel gently extended a hand. From beneath her flowing robes, a slender arm, seemingly too frail to even lift a spoon, reached toward Nevida.
It was hard to feel any threat from such a slow, delicate gesture. It would have been so even if she were a real person, but coming from a hazy afterimage made of light, it seemed as ephemeral as if it would soon disappear.
[Until you awaken, I will dream the same dream for you.]
But the moment Mayel finished speaking.
Space distorted.
Nevida and a ten-meter radius around her. All of creation warped and flowed into that spot. Wind, water, earth, broken bushes and branches. Loud noises and frantic insects. Even light itself. Everything was compressed, seeking to crush the existence known as Nevida.
I couldn’t even intuitively grasp what kind of power it was. It was as if the world itself was trying to reject Nevida. A bizarre attack for which I couldn’t even imagine a method of resistance.
It was a torrent of power that would have killed me more than ten times over. And in its midst… Nevida resisted all of creation and slowly moved her body.
She pushed away the wind that crushed her body, endured the deafening roar that shook her, and withstood the pressure with both feet planted on the ground. Not even all of creation could break her, who had endured for eons. Nevida stood firm like a great tree and stared at Mayel.
“How arrogant, you harlot. Did you think you could tread upon this land without even bringing your own body?”
The aftershock alone seemed capable of killing several people, yet Nevida didn’t flinch under all that pressure. No, her body was adapting to the changing environment. Her form, which had been trembling slightly, soon regained its stability.
Instead of answering, Mayel looked to the sky and recited.
[O light. O sun. O Father in the sky who watches over all creation. Look upon this place.]
And the sky tore apart.
There was no way to describe it. The dense forest that had blocked the sky was instantly set ablaze. Through the leaves turning to ash in mid-air, a cluster of incandescent light shot down like a spear.
For a moment, the world was washed in white. All the myriad colors that had filled this lush forest vanished, burned away until the world was divided into nothing but black and white.
[There is no place the light cannot reach. And I, too, am here with the light.]
It was light. It was as if all the scorching rays of the sun in a midsummer sky had been gathered and poured down at once. That light was power itself. Blades of grass ignited in the air, and the ground instantly became parched. It was different from heat; the torrent of pure power made space itself boil.
In the overwhelming luminescence, the world lost its color, divided into only light and shadow. Momentarily blinded, I couldn’t bear it and turned my back to the light.
“Augh! What is this?!”
I knew the Sky God originated from the heavens, but what kind of power was this?!
The mere presence of the light was enough to set the air on fire and stir up a storm. I had just been blinded. Though my regeneration restored my sight, the aftershock alone was this powerful! And right now, Nevida’s body was being disintegrated by the light!
I hadn’t even realized it, but my body was already a good distance away. The two of them weren’t paying me any mind, yet I had been pushed back by their presence alone.
This was the power of the Saintess of the Sky? The scattered light reflecting off the ground was enough to blind me? I couldn’t even tell what had become of Nevida. The space of light blocked my view. All I could do was turn my body and face away from the light.
“Hughes!”
Just then, the Regressor leaped in, riding the light. She was panting, as if just entering was a struggle, and she quickly grabbed me.
“Hughes, run! We have to use this chance while Mayel has her attention to escape from Nevida! If you don’t want to become the King of Sins!”
“What? Run? It looks like we’re winning, though?”
“On the Enger Plains, maybe, but it’s difficult in this domain! Nevida can’t be defeated just by taking away her future! Hurry! There’s no time—!”
The Regressor’s expression hardened as she swung Chun-aeng. The wooden vines that had been slithering toward us were cut down in a shower of splinters.
“The Tree of Genesis? She has the leeway to pay attention to us?”
“No? Those are just normal vines.”
“…Tch!”
The Regressor focused her Qi into her eyes and brought out the third color of her Seven Colored Eyes: Azure Eyes. Piercing through the halo of light with her deep blue eyes that saw through depth, the Regressor flinched at the sight of life squirming beyond the forest.
The trees were growing. At a visible speed.
That wasn’t the power of a druid. A druid’s power rapidly exhausted a tree’s life force to sprout branches and leaves. While visually impressive, it was limited by its use of the life force of the trees and the earth. No matter how skilled a druid, they couldn’t create a tree from a single leaf.
But what was happening before my eyes was pure growth. The light, which seemed capable of incinerating the world, was being absorbed by the leaves, which were gradually growing. They drew in air and water, gathered and absorbed the light, and formed their own bodies.
“I’ll break through!”
The Regressor drew both Chun-aeng and Jizan. Using Jizan as a scabbard, she crammed Chun-aeng inside and drew it in a single motion. The compressed space, imbued with Qi, drew a single line.
“Aerith Blade Supreme! Horizon Sunder!”
A crack formed in the pure white light. The slash, which cleaved even light itself, split space. The iaido strike, which momentarily severed even the flowing wind, split the forest in two, top and bottom. Hundreds of trees, revealing their few growth rings, fell simultaneously, and a path opened between the vegetation collapsing to the left and right.
“Hurry! Before the green barrier is complete…!”
The Regressor, about to dash forward, stopped and twisted her body. A sharp thorn shot up from the space she had been about to enter a second ago. The sharply grown branch was as keen as a spearhead, looking like it could easily tear through human skin.
A look of despair flashed across the Regressor’s face.
“Is it… already too late…?”
The space the Regressor had carved out with her slash was once again being overgrown with grass and trees, as if to trap everything inside, allowing nothing to escape.