Chapter 218
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 218
Chapter Title: The Demon Tree's Lair
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Vast wings unfurled with mighty flaps as Varil took to the skies, an immense surge of high-pressure energy condensing in his maw.
At the same moment, the World Tree's barrier shattered completely, unable to hold, and the ultra-giant slime golem's ocular breath blasted toward the World Tree.
Of course, that breath never reached its target.
The Shadow Dragon Varil rose with overwhelming presence, unleashing a beam-like breath from his jaws that collided with the golem's. Somehow, it twisted the trajectory of the enemy's attack.
Particles of light or flames—either way, their collision warping paths was an anomalous phenomenon.
Sure, the clash scattered dozens, hundreds of light fragments trailing fire in all directions, but the key was that the beams' paths had been deflected.
Varil's true form was a mighty being.
But as an undead scaled to my current level, it couldn't unleash its full power.
Not that it mattered.
The Shadow Dragon's greatest strength lay in being a spectral undead.
Free from the penalties of flesh.
Varil's body, soaring in an instant, ballooned even larger, slamming into the slime golem. It tore into the beast with jaws and claws, tumbling off into the distant forest.
Sssskkk!
Naturally, the slime golem's body corroded and oxidized everything it touched, like a slime.
Even as a spectral form, Varil's physical manifestation—imbued with raw power—began crumbling and melting away rapidly. But it didn't matter.
The undead's advantage was immortality.
Varil's disintegrating body regenerated its vital parts, fueled by my necromantic mana, and unleashed its power once more.
The two tangled in a frenzy, devolving into a dogfight—but too cataclysmic to call it mere brawling, the shockwaves rippled outward.
The outcome of their clash, flung far into the woods and mauling each other, wasn't hard to predict.
Starting with Varil's rampage, Muyoung scattered his presence like a flash, darting in to target only the largest twisted beasts, ripping out their throats.
The elves stared at me with bewildered eyes.
The undead's arrival was good news for them, but elves despised necromancy.
I took a short breath, then pulsed my aura outward as a wave.
The sudden ripple made the elves flinch, their gazes snapping to me.
"Are you all just gonna space out? Can't you see the enemies swarming? You want the city and World Tree wiped out?"
Osellon reacted first.
"Guards, nock your arrows!"
The flustered elves lined up along the barrier, drawing their bowstrings in unison.
Faint lights began charging at the arrowheads, and the elves' arrow volley commenced.
The horde, stalled by the undead, was swept away under the elven barrage.
But the numbers pushing past them were beyond imagination.
Where the hell did they get that many?
I glanced at the Romila family head nearby.
"Lord Romila."
"...Human."
"Do you know the way?"
He fell silent for a long moment before nodding.
"Yes."
"Lead on. The longer we delay, the worse the damage."
"And what do you plan to do?"
"As I said. Cut down the source."
After brief hesitation, he moved first.
He'd been the elf most opposed to me doing anything when I arrived here, but he seemed the only one who knew the location I'd mentioned. No choice.
I cast Fly to lift into the air, carrying the Romila family head with me.
"Urk?!"
"Which way? Ground route'll take too long."
"East! East!"
Boooom!!!
I accelerated like ripping off speed limits, soaring in the direction he indicated.
As if to block my approach, a massive swarm of twisted wyverns erupted from the dark forest depths.
"Elves managed to live with those things crawling around?"
"They were once gentle creatures beyond measure. Animals that communed with us elves..."
The beasts flew at us en masse, but what greeted them was thousands of Magic Missiles I'd conjured in midair.
Full Barrage Launch
Thousands of Magic Missiles rain down like a bullet storm.
The Magic Missiles poured like a hail of bullets, shooting down the horde in unison.
The Romila family head stared at me blankly.
"What in the..."
"Still east?"
"No, down. This area."
As he said, the landscape matched the terrain memory the World Tree had shown me.
Heavily corrupted, but intact.
"One of three spots—a 33.33% chance—and we hit it first try."
Good things were good.
I landed lightly on the ground, spotting the natural cave entrance.
"Let's go in."
He wouldn't be much help, but the interior paths looked complex enough.
Our brief encounter—and not exactly friendly—meant we hadn't delved deep into each other.
I didn't even know his name.
He looked early to mid-twenties, but elves aged gracefully, and as head of the high elven Romila house, he had to be old.
"Is that monster really here?"
"Yes. The revolting stench is wafting out, even if it's hiding."
He sniffed, baffled.
"This natural cave was a spirit beast nest. Countless spirit beasts hatched here, making it their home. But now... nothing."
"If a 2~3 meter cockroach invaded your home, even the owner would freak and flee."
It wouldn't have escalated this far with just the Demon Tree.
The path inward was eerily silent.
My footsteps echoed loudest.
No traces, no resistance—it almost felt like the wrong place. But the deeper we went, the more certain I became.
The Demon Tree was here.
Time to tell him.
"You should head back now."
"What?"
"It's dangerous ahead. Wait outside."
"Ridiculous. For the World Tree, I'd gladly give my life."
He wouldn't listen.
"Mind if I ask something?"
In the heavy silence, I questioned him as he scanned warily.
"What?"
"You weren't hostile to me at first. Now you're cooperating."
He averted his gaze, dodging.
Long pause, then he spoke slowly.
"Humans have always deceived us."
"Can't deny that. World's full of all sorts."
I didn't pry into his past beef with humans.
"One thing to make clear."
"What?"
"Once this is settled, can you save the World Tree?"
"It's already being healed. But with the Demon Tree holding on, removing it will let it recover naturally."
He frowned slightly.
"But where exactly is that monster?"
"Still don't trust me?"
"An ancestor of House Romila trusted a human once and suffered betrayal. How could we easily trust outsiders?"
Elves now mingled somewhat with humans, but history showed they'd been isolationist extremists.
Rumors said it stemmed from betrayed elves who'd trusted humans.
Seemed true.
"No comment on the past. But heed this."
"What?"
"Stay sharp. If emotions carry you away from me, I can't protect you."
At those words, the walls split, grotesque corpse golems crawling out from the fissures.
Just looking evoked primal hostility.
I'd seen it before.
Like deep-sea anglerfish luring prey with light.
These corpse golems induced utter loathing and enmity.
The giant ones' emergence made the Romila family head's eyes bulge, body trembling.
-Kieeeaaak!!!
Harrowing wails echoed.
Their gaping maws revealed grotesque multitudes of teeth, eyes gleaming between.
Elf faces in agony sculpted across their bodies, as if desperately poking heads out to escape.
Imbued with ultimate terror, pain, screams—they writhed and screeched, compelling even the untrained to charge in rage.
It meant little to me, my mental fortitude transcending mortals, but not for him.
"How... dare it... dare defile the forest's children!!!"
If he attacked here, the trap would spring, sucking us into another dimension.
I planned to turn it against them, but...
If he went rogue, it'd derail my plan entirely.
I drew my silver sword from my robes, grabbed his shoulder as he lunged, forcing him down.
"Let go!! That damned monster dares!! Our forest children!! My kin!!"
"Snap out of it, old man."
He heaved ragged breaths, resisting like a madman.
The taunt effect was stronger than expected.
He was trolling past my warnings, but rationally, he was holding better than anticipated.
"Huff... huff... What the hell is this..."
"The Demon Tree does this when hunting."
"Using them to lure us in?"
"Yeah, something like. Stirs up intense hostility to make you touch them."
"And if you do...?"
Still gripped by the taunt, he clutched his arm to restrain himself.
"The Demon Tree emits a spatial distortion field. Everything in range gets teleported to a set space."
"..."
"So don't stray beyond my protection range."
He gave me a complex look.
Not hard to understand.
To him, I was just a young human.
Despite the undead, high-speed flight, and feats shattering norms.
"You... what exactly are you?"