Chapter 246: Enlightenment (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 246: Enlightenment (3)
[Now, how is it?]
The remnants of the World Tree plummeted toward the earth.
Massive debris fell with a screeching roar.
Fluttering leaves adorned the ashen land.
Small fragments scattered across the world like sleet.
Hope was being shattered right before their eyes.
That stark spectacle presented the Allied Forces with an inescapable despair, as if they were standing at the edge of a precipice.
Despair spread like a rampant plague.
But that was only the beginning.
[Ah, come to think of it, you asked one more question.]
The sharp mouths lining Baarma’s body erupted in mockery.
As if finding the situation amusing, Baarma stood beside the shattered World Tree—
[You said you were curious how I could appear before the World Tree right now? The answer is simple. It is because there is a traitor among you.]
—and with a smirk, he threw out another truth they didn't want to know.
“A—a traitor?”
“There’s a traitor among us—?”
At those words, the morale of the Allied Forces wavered violently once more.
Tens of thousands of pairs of eyes turned toward one another in suspicion.
The already fractured morale of the Alliance cracked even further.
And that rift began to widen in an instant.
As if they had been waiting for this very moment, a figure stepped away from the Allied Forces and joined Baarma’s camp.
“This can’t be—”
“...Hah.”
“This is insane—”
Surang and Ashir let out hollow, incredulous laughs.
Groans erupted from the mouths of the Allied soldiers.
The person who appeared in Baarma’s camp was none other than—
“Kalandra...!!”
It was the King of the Elves, Kalandra.
“Why would you betray us—!”
His face, which had always been filled with dignity and goodwill, was now brimming with a malice they had never seen before.
He was the very image of a demon, a sneer plastered across his lips just like Baarma’s.
When the enraged Surang shouted, Kalandra gave a thin smirk and looked down at Surang—no, at the entire Allied Forces.
“Betrayal? To call it betrayal—your choice of words is strange.”
Kalandra chuckled.
“I was never part of the Allied Forces to begin with.”
“...Then, don't tell me the World Tree being attacked at the exact moment Lady Yongrin sacrificed herself was also—”
Kalandra did not answer Surang’s question.
Instead, with a twist of his lips, he turned around and prostrated himself toward Baarma.
“Great Baarma! I trust you have been well!”
His voice was thunderous.
The King’s betrayal was the final blow, a confirmation of their doom.
Deep hostility, a sense of betrayal, and despair filled the eyes of the elves.
Yet, as if to flaunt his treachery, Kalandra spoke even louder.
“I am here to receive the blessing for successfully carrying out the task assigned by your servant!”
[Heh—]
Baarma, wearing an inscrutable smile, stepped toward Kalandra and looked down at him.
[So, you have completed all your tasks?]
“Indeed! For your sake, I have constantly relayed information about the Allied Forces and provided a secret path to the World Tree.”
Kalandra listed the evidence of his betrayal without a shred of shame.
At his words, the fates of everyone present diverged.
The believers of Baarma smiled wider and wider.
The Allied Forces felt only betrayal and despair.
Among them, the most violent reaction came from—
“A—ah—”
It was Magrina.
It could only be her.
As if she couldn't believe the situation, her despair-soaked eyes went wide.
Her speechless lips trembled uncontrollably.
“Therefore—”
On one side, there was ecstasy.
“For me, who has completed all tasks for your sake, please grant me what was promised! O Great Baarma!”
On the other side, despair reached its absolute peak.
And when all the talking was done, Baarma, who had been watching the scene, spoke.
[Heh, yes—so I did. I promised you eternal life as a reward for completing those tasks. I remember.]
“That is correct!”
Kalandra cried out in joy at Baarma’s affirmation.
However.
[But you did not complete all the tasks.]
“...Pardon?”
At the following words, Kalandra’s face went blank for a moment.
He looked as though he didn't understand what was being said.
But Baarma continued to sneer.
[Surely that wasn't the only thing I commanded you to do?]
“...T-that is.”
[Have you forgotten my final task? The task to prepare a vessel to celebrate the birth of that person—the Black Thing.]
“B-Baarma! As I said, I intended to offer a High Elf’s body—my daughter’s body! I tried everything to corrupt her spirit as you commanded, to make it fit for the Great Ones—but that—”
Kalandra’s voice shook violently.
At his words, low gasps escaped from the elves—
“....”
Only then did Alon realize that all the puzzle pieces had fallen into place.
Why the elves had harbored such irrational feelings toward Magrina.
Why she had to endure such horrific treatment despite being the King’s daughter.
It was all because of this.
[Yes, I am aware of your efforts. You contacted the Apostle and intentionally led your daughter to be captured by our tribe, didn't you?]
“Yes, yes! Though a minor problem arose, I did my best—”
Kalandra pleaded with his hideous face, begging for his efforts to be recognized.
Baarma, looking down at him, wore a rare, serious expression.
And then.
[Yes. I fully understand your efforts.]
“Thank you—!”
[However—]
CRUNCH—!!
Without hesitation, Baarma crushed Kalandra’s body underfoot.
With a sickening sound, dark red blood soaked the ashen earth.
Beneath the red feet of the smirking Baarma—
[In the end, that means you failed.]
Kalandra was crushed and vanished in an instant.
* * *
Alon had an intuition.
The situation was the worst it could be.
No, it was beyond the worst.
“....”
He had experienced something similar when breaking through Baarma’s fierce front lines.
But without a doubt, the current situation was several times worse than then.
The enemy had so much that they lacked.
The morale of the Allied Forces was at its nadir.
The sound of weapons being dropped could be heard here and there.
Alon asked himself:
Could he turn the tide of this battle with the power he had shown before?
Internally, he shook his head.
Though it looked similar on the surface, there were too many fundamental differences between then and now.
No matter how much he boosted morale, there seemed to be no way to deal with the overwhelming number of believers.
Even if they somehow managed to handle all those believers, Baarma was still there.
Baarma, whose mere presence made Alon’s entire body tingle with a chilling dread.
In other words, at this moment, there was virtually no way to reverse the situation.
Yes, if things remained as they were.
“Whew—”
Alon let out a sigh and looked around.
A frowning Penia was already arranging her mana to deploy magic at a moment’s notice.
Line, her face grim as she stared at Baarma, was preparing to summon Pluto to this spot without being noticed.
But this battle could not be changed by the efforts of those two alone.
To overturn the situation itself, a much greater element was needed.
“....”
Alon once again toyed with the object in his pocket.
The moment Baarma shattered the World Tree before the eyes of the Allied Forces, a small realization had flashed through his mind.
It wasn't so much an enlightenment as it was a connection point.
A connection point linking the advice he had received through Dowon and the information and interpretations Penia had shared after reading the book.
Alon realized it as he watched the World Tree break.
However, he couldn't be sure if it was truly the right choice.
Perhaps it was just a ridiculous delusion.
A foolish, futile gesture.
But.
Grip.
Even so, he had to do it.
“....”
Alon began to walk forward.
Passing the refugees staring ahead with eyes full of despair.
Passing the soldiers who had dropped their weapons in futility.
Passing the commanders who glared forward to avoid succumbing to fear, even as their limbs trembled.
Passing the kings filled with betrayal and despair.
Passing everyone—
Forward.
And so, standing before the entire Allied Forces, Alon consumed most of the mana remaining in his mana hole.
“Do not be afraid.”
He spoke.
It wasn't a shout.
It wasn't a cry.
It wasn't a roar.
It was simply a calm voice, devoid of any emotion, carried by mana to reach the Allied Forces.
At that, all eyes gathered on him at once.
With just that one utterance, a third of his mana vanished.
But it didn't matter.
It was worth that much.
Alon pulled out the object he had been touching and looked at it.
It was a seed, like a small fruit.
When he had headed to the roots of the World Tree.
After dealing with the Mother of Greed, he had received it from the depths of the World Tree.
The Seed of the World Tree.
“Simply have faith.”
Once again.
After conveying his words to the Allied Forces by allocating another third of his mana, Alon dropped the seed beneath the remnants of the shattered World Tree and donned a divinity.
However, that divinity—
WHOOSH—!!!
It was not the divinity of Kalanon he had used until now, but the divinity of the ‘Primordial Elf’ that he had first become able to use when he went beneath the World Tree.
Immediately, Alon’s surroundings began to transform.
On the ashen earth, bright green sprouts began to emerge.
Verdure began to rise.
[Fourthly, the Divinity of Green Life is regeneration—.]
At the same time, Dowon’s advice came to mind.
“For then, I shall bring you victory.”
Alon’s final bit of mana echoed out.
Along with his intent, the divinity was sucked into the seed—
Pop.
The World Tree germinated.
The World Tree, having gone through the process of germination in an instant, began to grow at an incredible speed.
From seed to sprout.
From sprout to branch.
From branch to tree.
From tree to giant tree.
From giant tree to—
[!!]
—the World Tree.
Having seized and wrapped itself in all the green divinity Alon possessed, the World Tree surged upward at a terrifying speed, quickly surpassing Baarma’s height.
Because of this, the divinity of the ‘Primordial Elf’ that Alon held—unlike the divinity of Kalanon—completely vanished as if it had never existed from the start.
The green planet within his body lost its light and disappeared.
But even though he felt this clearly, Alon didn't care.
The ashen sky was covered by green leaves.
Hope was granted to the eyes of the Allied Forces, which had been filled only with despair.
The Awe thus created—
Once again, it converged upon a single man.
[!]
Seeing this, Baarma instinctively reached out to stop the growth of the World Tree.
But—
“Pluto, Limited Release.”
Unfortunately for Baarma, his movements were momentarily halted by a massive mechanical hand that fell from the sky.
He tried to brush aside the giant’s fist rushing toward him, but his actions could not follow through as intended.
The reason was—
[-!]
Because of a girl who appeared out of nowhere.
The girl, standing before Baarma with her snow-white hair flowing down to her waist—
CRACK—!!!!
She began to emit a deep purple mana, as intense as her enchantingly glowing, wrath-filled purple eyes.
She completely shattered the ground around her and lunged at Baarma.
As the small girl’s kick slammed into Baarma’s heart, inside Alon’s body—
In the place where the green planet had vanished, a pure white planet took its place.
The newly settled planet grew in size in the blink of an eye.
As Alon reached out and grabbed it without hesitation—
[O you who have glimpsed a fragment. I shall grant you a Law.]
A voice echoed in his ears.
He couldn't identify its source, yet it was a familiar voice.
But rather than worrying about the voice, Alon opened his lips without hesitation.
The Law meant solely for him, which he had been thinking about from the moment he heard the advice until now.
And.
[It is permitted.]
The moment the final sentence was heard, Alon opened his eyes.
The scene before him was no different, yet something had clearly changed.
The World Tree had bloomed perfectly.
A vivid hope was etched into the eyes of the soldiers.
Even so, the number of enemies to be defeated had not decreased or changed.
However.
Alon smiled.
A deep smile was drawn on his lips, which had remained expressionless for so long.
And then.
“Defying Heaven.”
In the ashen sky, stars began to rise.