A Lucky Day (4)
Agentress stared at her own body. Her hands and feet trembled roughly. She desperately tried to exert force to move them. But it was as if they were frozen solid—she couldn't budge an inch.
"Lady Agentress...?"
It wasn't just her. Her kin, all of them, were frozen in place, unable to move. Even the elf who had been drawing her bowstring.
What in the world is that?
Agentress's gaze turned toward High El. At first, she thought it was a spirit king. For only the kings among you spirits could dare stand in my way. But it was puzzling. Why would a spirit king concern itself with the affairs of the continent?
Fortunately, the misconception didn't last long.
—"I, High El, command by the order of my lord."
...Her lord?
The title of king wasn't given lightly. It was for those who truly reigned supreme. And judging by the aura emanating from this spirit—one that might even surpass the spirit kings...
Did she truly have a lord she served?
There can't be such a being on the continent.
No, there couldn't be. But the judgment she'd forced herself to make was proven wrong once again. Agentress's pupils dilated.
—"By the hierarchy of blessings, halt."
Hierarchy of blessings...?
No magic, no natural spirit power could ever bind their bodies like this. It was certain. Just as the spirit said, this was the power of their foolish mother, the World Tree.
"Urururu."
A foul stench wafted in. The Seven Deadly Sins, the Gluttony demon, rolled its eyes with curiosity. It dared to wave its hands right in front of her face.
"Whoa, you guys are really frozen solid, huh? I figured our high-and-mighty guests wouldn't just obey a simple 'stop' command..."
It smirked wickedly.
"Whatever it is, you've been caught. A weakness."
To mock me, an elf, like this. If she could, she'd abandon the meal, the deal, immortality itself—just to sever that thing's neck. But she couldn't move.
"Who are you?"
That was all she could manage, barely stringing the words together toward High El. Yet the killing intent packed into those few syllables was utterly ferocious. Even Gluttony had to marvel at it.
"Whoa, at this rate, who even knows who's the real demon here."
But it was a fragment of Hoyeol. Though High El's form was small, it showed no sign of intimidation. Its posture was impeccably upright, its expression unwaveringly resolute.
High El answered.
"My lord has not permitted questions."
"?"
"You lack the qualification to ask."
To be precise, it countered.
"How dare you..."
Agentress's killing intent surged even fiercer. It was enough to make even the cackling Gluttony wary. Yet all that returned was High El's ever-noble voice.
"Elf, why have you faced Gluttony?"
"!!"
That question made not just Agentress, but Gluttony flinch as well. Their gazes fixed on High El, who had only just appeared from thin air moments ago. To discern not only the matter of the meal but Gluttony's true identity at a glance...
"Tch. I may have lived long, but I'm no celebrity."
High El's extraordinariness put even Gluttony on guard. But what concerned them most was the existence of a lord served by such an absurd spirit.
Where is it?
Agentress sharpened her senses. Surely, this "lord" was watching everything. An elf's senses, keen enough to detect even the dwarves high in the sky. She strained them to the utmost.
But...
Nothing.
Only the ever-present demonic eyes floating in the sky. No other presences.
High El spoke softly.
"My lord has not permitted stray thoughts either."
The moment the words fell, the distractions vanished.
"Answer my lord's question."
Her mouth opened of its own accord.
"...To reclaim immortality."
Humiliation. If she could, she'd sever her own tongue for uttering such words. Utter shame. But it allowed her certainty.
"Then you have chased vanity."
"...?"
"For the World Tree's blessing you crave is held by my lord."
So that's it. That so-called lord was the one who stole their mother's blessing.
Agentress made her decision in that instant. Now that she knew the blessing's whereabouts, she no longer needed demonic power.
I just need to find that bastard somehow.
She didn't know how it had hidden until now. But it had to be somewhere on the Arcana continent. She could endure combing every inch of it.
However.
"Hold on, interfering with a deal is a different story."
Gluttony, who had been watching silently. It wasn't one of the Seven Deadly Sins for nothing—Gluttony itself. Victory was within reach. And now one spirit ruined everything?
"Regrettably, esteemed guests."
Gluttony's eyes turned to the elves.
"Unauthorized menu items are slated for disposal."
So don't get clever—just watch obediently. Gluttony approached High El, stench billowing. Its maw split open grotesquely. Gluttony's true form began emerging from beneath the human skin.
"Looks like that 'hierarchy' rule doesn't apply to me."
World Tree? I and my kin never had such a mother.
"...?"
But Gluttony couldn't approach High El. Someone blocked its path.
It was Urs, who had been observing the situation.
Clank—
Urs raised his iron arm. Gluttony halted.
A human?
But the aura it exuded transcended humanity. Could this one be a transcendent like Shegwin? Agentress flinched too.
...Did I miss it?
When she'd sharpened her senses, Urs had definitely been within range. Yet she'd overlooked it. Meaning the man had deliberately suppressed his presence. A deliberate intrusion with purpose.
Elf, Gluttony, transcendent. The moment they finally faced one another...
Urs spoke.
"Elf, spirit—anyone will do."
Agentress was convinced once more by his following words.
"Kindly reveal the World Tree's location to me."
She'd have to slaughter them all.
Peering into the Demon Eye Telescope.
It had devolved into utter chaos, just as I'd feared.
I could control the elves with Blessing Hierarchy, but Gluttony and Urs? No way to handle them.
Still, it was a relief.
Good work, Diend.
The empire army led by the emperor had successfully rescued Polstar's residents and turned toward Antonium. At least one of Gluttony's plans was thwarted.
Man, they were really going all out, petty as it was.
If you're gonna live up to your names, at least sprout wings or something.
In that sense, High El was doing great. Rivaling even Grandfell. Thanks to High El stepping in without a thought for the aftermath, even I—content to just watch—could grasp the situation.
For starters, the elves were resolute.
"Do you crave a meaningless life without pride?"
Immortality? I'd gladly return it if I could. No, even compared to a lifetime haunted by my dark history—which is nightmare fuel—that depraved act for eternal life? What's the point?
I hadn't planned to say this, but...
No wonder your mother...
No, the World Tree.
It didn't seem like the blessing was stolen. They were so vile, even violent Elcidoir felt tame by comparison. How utterly rotten were they, temperament and all?
Urs was as obsessive as ever too.
The World Tree was its goal?
He'd seemed disinterested while the elves and Gluttony talked. But the moment High El appeared and the World Tree came up, Urs jumped in.
That damn elixir obsession.
The mother of all things, the World Tree. The energy within could be considered the ultimate elixir. No one had dared devour it root and stem.
But Urs? Different story. From the chronicles alone, his madness for elixirs could chew the World Tree to bits without issue.
This is tangled beyond belief.
None seemed inclined to back down easily, each for their own reasons. A head-on clash was inevitable at this rate. That would spell a major incident. Rift creation wouldn't be far off.
I peered into the telescope.
A touch of luck graces your hand.
Temporarily proficient in telescope operation.
Effect duration increased.
...Giving medicine after poison? Anyway, the massively boosted luck helped.
The telescope's duration could've ended by the time the empire army reached Polstar. Fortunately, its eyes were still sharp and alert.
Yeah, if you have any conscience left, don't close 'em, telescope.
That battlefield is too much for High El alone.
With me, maybe. But High El wasn't battle-hardened. Thriving in that three-way melee? Impossible.
At best, if it cleverly exploited Blessing Hierarchy...
High El, the spitting image of Grandfell. Like me, Lee Hoyeol, it wouldn't bend rules with tricks.
Stuck watching, then.
"Unpromised meetings are best handled all at once for efficiency."
...Even in this mess, words flow smoothly. Damn, have to accept the rift variable. I brainstorm strategies at 4x speed. Telepathy to Marcelo right now...
Rumble—!
"...?"
That's right. Until then, I'd overlooked it. Forgotten, if only briefly.
That the system never lies. And through that system...
The massively boosted luck's effect.
Kurururung—!
Thunder rained down upon the Arcana continent. Soon, the continent's sky began to split. More precisely, tear open. From that dimensional rift, something enormous writhed. Then fully revealed itself.
A dragon.
...
The dragon's roar echoed across the continent. It halted even Urs and Gluttony, poised to tear each other's throats out.
"Hmmm."
The ancient dragon, Yunak Seus, surveyed the desolated Arcana continent. Then fixed its massive pupils on the elves. Precisely on Agentress.
Yunak Seus spoke.
"Agentress."
Mother.
"My foolish sibling."
I understand why you withdrew the blessing from them.
Yunak Seus rebuked like thunder.
"Have you still not grasped Mother's will?!"
Dragons, rulers of all creation. Exposed directly to dragon roars without Mother's blessing. Her body trembled with chills. But it freed her from that damned hierarchy.
Agentress cracked her neck and replied.
"Silence, Yunak Seus. Lizard spawn."
...
So the elf leader was Agentress... and that Agentress was the dragon Yunak Seus's sibling?
An unexpected birth secret? Hold on, what does that make the family tree?!
World Tree. Dragon. Elf. And... me and High El?
In that moment, I considered a possibility.
...Does the hierarchy work on dragons too?
Not certain. Even as siblings, dragons might not have received the World Tree's blessing. Elcidoir had said it was exclusive to elves. Moreover.
No, that's not the point right now.
As the youngest in the World Tree family tree, I just wanted to plead: Big bro, rein them in somehow! Me, Lee Hoyeol. With three sisters, I thought I was a pro at persuasion. But Yunak Seus roared in greater fury.
"If you cannot comprehend, I shall rebuke you until you do."
It rose inevitably.
The full emergence message. Not here to stop them—just to fight. No wonder they say sisters are tougher than brothers.
No choice now.
Let's try it, High El. See if Blessing Hierarchy works on Yunak Seus too!
...
High El stood on the bridge of Yunak Seus's nose and spoke.
"By the hierarchy of blessings, I command."
"...?"
"Calm yourself, Yunak Seus."
"...!"
And the thunder quieted.