Chapter 189: Greinif (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 189: Greinif (5)
[You have come, Star Eater.]
A voice resonated deeply within Alon’s head.
He quickly scanned his surroundings, but all he saw was Rim watching him with a strange look in her eyes. He realized the voice was audible only to him.
[Reach the depths of the roots. There, you will find what you seek.]
“Wait—”
The voice vanished after delivering its simple message. Alon had instinctively opened his mouth to speak, but it was too late.
“What is it?” Rim asked.
Alon lowered the hand he had unconsciously raised.
“...Nothing.”
“We’re moving forward.”
“Do we have further to go?”
“This is just the entrance. We’re heading to the outpost.”
Rim moved ahead as if no more words were needed. Alon followed, ruminating on the voice.
Who was that?
At first, he thought it was the entity that had guided him beneath the roots, but this was different.
The voice was clear. Unlike the voice of those eyes that tell me nothing, this was distinctly a man’s voice.
It was a sharp contrast to the previous, indistinguishable voice. While Alon pondered behind a stoic expression...
“We’ve arrived.”
“...Oh.”
Rim announced their arrival, and Alon let out a soft exclamation.
Deep within the dark abyss stood a base shaped like a castle. It wasn't particularly large, but in this vast darkness, the small castle emitted a faint glow like a firefly. The atmosphere was ethereal. After staring blankly at the sight for a moment, Alon followed Rim inside.
This is better.
Unlike the pitch-black abyss of the roots where nothing could be seen, the interior of the castle, though dim, allowed for clear visibility. As Alon calmly surveyed the area...
“Huh? Rim, why are you down here? It’s not time for the shift change yet.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s Rim! ...Wait, a Black Leaf is with her?”
Three elves walked out from the interior—two men and one woman.
“...A human?”
The moment they spotted Alon, their bright expressions vanished, and their hands moved to their weapons.
“Stop. This is a direct order from the Queen.”
“...The Queen?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“It’s regarding that matter. You haven't heard the details, but you should have a general idea. Isn't that right?”
At Rim’s intervention, they seemed to recall something. Their expressions shifted to an ‘Ah, that?’ look, and they moved their hands away from their weapons. However, the wariness on their faces remained.
...They feel the same as Rim.
As Alon observed them, a tall elf holding a sword spoke.
“I’m Egal.”
Then, an elf with a large build—unusual for their race—carrying a massive double-edged axe, and a petite elf with twin daggers at their waist introduced themselves in turn.
“Bian.”
“I'm Ramu.”
“...Alon.”
The introductions were blunt. Alon looked at the three elves for a moment before Rim spoke again.
“So, is there anything else you want to do here?”
Her voice reminded him of his original destination.
“What do I need to do to go deeper than this?”
“...You intend to go deeper than this place?”
“Yes.”
At Alon’s confirmation, Rim’s expression grew even colder.
“Do you even know what lies in the depths of these roots?”
“What is there?”
“The ‘Ash Powder’ is down there,” Bian answered instead.
Alon turned to him. “Ash Powder?”
“Yes. To put it simply, think of them as monsters that inhabit the area beneath the roots.”
“...Are they strong?”
“Not particularly. We can handle dozens of them on our own.”
Bian spoke the plain truth.
“Then—”
“However, in the depths you mentioned, there is an ‘Ash Scatterer’.”
“...An Ash Scatterer?”
“The gatekeeper of the roots that endlessly creates Ash Powder. That thing is...”
Unlike before, Bian’s expression twisted.
“We cannot kill it. That’s why we’re struggling like this.”
“...Is it that powerful?”
“Yes. But that isn't the only problem.”
“What do you mean?”
It was Rim who answered Alon’s question. She added with a cold gaze, “You cannot use mana in the depths where the Ash Scatterer resides.”
“...I can't use mana?”
“Yes. The further down the roots you go, the more impossible it becomes to use mana. That is why even Lady Philde, who has one foot in the 9th Tier, cannot eliminate the things down there.”
Alon grasped the situation from Rim’s explanation.
To obtain the method of using Status, I have to kill the Ash Scatterer and go inside a place where even mana doesn't work.
“...”
Alon fell into thought. Unlike before, when he had information, he had zero useful intel on this ‘Ash Scatterer.’ This meant the probability of danger was much higher than usual. Furthermore, being unable to use mana made it even more perilous.
Yet, even considering all that...
“I would like you to take me to the depths.”
It was worth the risk.
“Of course, you don't have to come with me. Just show me the way, and I'll go down alone.”
Thinking of his emergency devices, Alon decided to go by himself.
“Sorry, but we have no intention of letting you reach the depths in the first—”
Ramu stepped forward as if to protest, but Rim blocked him.
“Wait.”
“What is it?”
“The Queen said to grant this man whatever he wishes.”
“...Are you serious?”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
“No, but no matter how I think about it, going under the roots is just too—”
“Ramu. It is the Queen’s command.”
The Queen’s command. Ramu’s lips twitched as if he wanted to argue, but...
“...Fine.”
He eventually backed down.
“Then let’s move immediately.”
They left the castle once more and began walking through the dark abyss, heading toward the depths of the roots.
* * *
How long had they been walking since leaving the castle?
Alon moved his feet blankly, his senses dulled by the surrounding abyss. Just as his legs were beginning to feel numb...
“...!”
Suddenly, light poured in as if the view had opened up. Alon instinctively squinted at the sudden stimulus.
“This is the middle layer of the roots,” Rim announced dryly.
Alon took in the scenery. The middle layer was entirely different from the upper section.
It’s bright.
Unlike the top layer, which was a dark abyss, the middle layer was bright enough to see far into the distance. Massive, intertwined roots formed a chaotic network of paths. Alon realized the path he was treading was also one of these countless roots, but it didn't feel particularly strange. The roots were so large it felt like walking in the middle of an eight-lane highway.
While Alon marveled internally...
“We will continue downward.”
He followed Rim further down.
* * *
As they descended further with Alon...
...Why are we doing something so dangerous just because of this human’s words?
Rim, walking in front, let out a small, annoyed sigh. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't understand the Queen’s order. To her eyes, the human behind her didn't seem like a Primordial Elf or anything of the sort.
Of course, there was circumstantial evidence. He possessed an item belonging to a Primordial Elf and had been verified by Philde, the Archmage of the elves. But conversely, aside from that...
What ‘proof’ was there that this man was a Primordial Elf?
Furthermore, there were points that contradicted Lady Philde’s words. She had said the Primordial Elf was reincarnated through a contract with something and couldn't come to the World Tree because of that strange thing behind him.
But look at him now.
He had come to Greinif, bringing along that creepy thing that might harm the World Tree. He was even heading toward the depths of the roots. In other words, he was acting completely differently from Lady Philde’s predictions.
And yet, the Queen acted as if she had seen definitive proof. That was what worried Rim. She feared the Queen—who still couldn't let go of her dead brother—wanted to believe this man was the Primordial Elf by clinging to the slightest possibility.
As she failed to hide her dissatisfied expression...
“...Rim.”
Bian’s voice suddenly reached her.
“What is it, Bian?”
“Something is strange.”
“...What?”
“We should have encountered the Ash Powder by now.”
Rim finally looked around and frowned. Indeed, as Bian said, something was off. The Ash Powder constantly crawled up the roots, and hundreds of them usually camped out in this middle layer to prevent elves from descending.
In other words, they should have been here.
But we’ve almost reached the bottom, and there’s no Ash Powder...?
Not a single specimen of the Ash Powder, which should have been common wherever they looked, was in sight. Rim instinctively tensed up. She knew that the absence of Ash Powder was not a good sign.
After a moment of thought, Rim called out to Bian.
“Bian.”
“Speak.”
“Wasn't there an abnormal phenomenon recently?”
“A month or two ago, a massive swarm of Ash Powder poured out. That was it.”
“And after that?”
“There weren't any particular signs, but this is definitely—”
“...An abnormal phenomenon.”
An abnormal phenomenon. This term referred to times when the behavioral patterns of the Ash Powder suddenly changed. It wasn't a frequent occurrence, but whenever it happened, something extremely dangerous followed.
“We had to come down eventually anyway,” Rim muttered softly.
Abnormal phenomena needed to be discovered as quickly as possible so that measures could be taken, such as preparing for the aftermath or solving the immediate problem. Rim’s face grew more serious, and her steps toward the depths became more cautious.
Eventually...
“From here on is the depths of the roots.”
They arrived at a place where all the tangled roots converged, forming a massive hole in the center.
“How do we get down?”
The hole was similar to the upper layer in that its interior was hard to see. Rim silently pointed to a circular staircase that led down along the wall of the massive hole. The group began to walk down the stairs once more.
And just as Alon began to think his feet might be blistered from the walking...
Rim realized they had finally reached the depths of the roots, and at the same time...
“—”
She froze in place. It wasn't just her. Egal, Bian, and even Ramu, who had followed her, all froze with faces full of horror.
Filling their vision—
■■■■—
Was an incredible number of Ash Powder monsters.
“Ha—”
Rim instinctively gasped. They clearly had the forms of humans or beastkin, but ashen powder drifted from all over their bodies. Their skin flickered with red embers whenever they moved, like the ground of an active volcano where lava seethed quietly beneath. Every element confirmed they were undoubtedly Ash Powder.
Rim tried to count them.
Hundreds? No, too few.
Thousands? Still too few.
Then—
Tens of thousands.
Rim grit her teeth. The future that was about to unfold was clear as day. It wasn't a matter of whether mana could be used or not. The moment they all swarmed up the roots, Pagade would inevitably collapse in a futile manner. Their numbers were that overwhelming.
Just as she bit her lip in despair...
—■■■■■■■■!!!
One of the Ash Powder monsters, which had been silent until a moment ago, shrieked at Alon’s group for invading their territory.
■■■■■■■■—!!!!
As if in resonance, the other Ash Powder monsters began to shriek madly. Soon, the Ash Powder began to swirl and shoot toward Alon’s group.
“Run—!”
Rim shouted urgently and immediately began to sprint back up the circular stairs.
However...
“We can't!”
“What?!”
“They’re above us too...!!!”
At Ramu’s following cry, she looked up.
“...!!”
She saw it. On the stairs above, which had been empty just moments ago, the Ash Powder monsters were beginning to descend. It was as if they had been waiting for the group to reach the depths.
It was incredibly strange. They had been dealing with the Ash Powder for over hundreds of years, but never once had the monsters acted as if they possessed intelligence.
Before she could even contemplate the inexplicable situation, despair clouded the elves' faces. None of them were weak; they were members of ‘Pagade.’ But even for Pagade...
“T-this is...”
There was no hope of surviving through this impossible number of Ash Powder monsters.
In that moment, as they were all being colored by resignation following their despair...
“Everyone, get against the wall.”
“!”
A voice rang out. A voice so calm it was entirely out of place in this dire situation. When Rim turned her head, Marquis Palatio was there.
Even as the grotesque sounds of the Ash Powder filled the space and their lives could end at any moment, he simply looked at them with emotionless eyes.
“You might get swept away.”
“Don't be a fool...! I told you...! Mana doesn't move here, so magic can't—”
The Marquis indifferently scanned the Ash Powder closing in from above and below. Rim shouted urgently, reminding him that he was a mage—essentially someone with their hands and feet tied.
“O Ally, manifest.”
The moment Alon’s calmly recited voice echoed...
The elves saw it.
Beneath the roots of the World Tree,
CRUNCH! RUMBLE!
Crushing countless Ash Powder monsters as it appeared—
■■■■■■■■■■■■—!
The manifestation of the Receiver, Basiliora.