Crisis at the World Tree
"Baek Do-ha."
"Jesus—you scared the hell out of me."
Do-ha, who had been checking on the construction progress in Paju, nearly jumped out of his skin as Cheon Seol-gyeong shoved his face right up against his.
What the hell was this lunatic doing, sticking his face in like that?
"I need one of those too."
"You need something?"
Cheon Seol-gyeong pointed, and Do-ha turned his head.
He was pointing at Canteas—what was he talking about?
"A smartphone??"
"Yeah."
"Why the hell would you need a smartphone?"
Do-ha's expression twisted into pure disbelief.
A Death Knight should be grateful just to be allowed to live in the house—and now he was whining about a smartphone?
"That lizard over there has a smartphone. Why can't I have one?"
Cheon Seol-gyeong pointed at Yong-yong perched atop Canteas's head.
Canteas was one thing.
But why did that dragon brat have a smartphone?!
"Bee!"
Yong-yong snapped irritably at Cheon Seol-gyeong.
How dare some undead call him a lizard!
"Yong-yong got his because Canteas bought it on a whim. And you're the one who made him—why are you asking me to buy you one?"
"He kept playing with mine, so I bought him a used one."
"You bought yourself a new one and got Yong-yong a used one? Real generous of you."
"Kids smash new stuff anyway!"
"Then why won't you buy me one?! Even a used one is fine—just get me one!"
"What does a Death Knight need a phone for?!"
"I need one too!"
"For crying out loud, shut up, all of you!"
Do-ha finally lost it and shouted.
Why were these lunatics throwing a fit in someone else's house?!
And more than anything—why was Cheon Seol-gyeong so completely lacking in common sense??
He hadn't been like this before. Weirdly childish now.
"Canteas. Get back to your own place. Yong-yong and Cheon Seol-gyeong only follow you here because you're hanging around!"
"We can't go home!"
"Why not?"
"Yong-yong keeps chewing on the curtains and blankets—I think he's teething or something."
"Oh-ho. So it's fine if he chews up our stuff instead?"
A vein bulged on Do-ha's forehead as he raised a fist.
That damn skeleton hadn't been hit in a while, apparently.
"N-no! That's not it—Yong-yong calms down whenever he comes here! He's never chewed anything at your place!"
"Bee..."
Truth was, Yong-yong was just too scared of Do-ha to misbehave.
Then—
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"?"
Someone knocked on the door, and Do-ha headed for the entrance.
If it were his grandfather coming home, he would have entered the passcode.
Creak.
"Emilton. What brings you here?"
Do-ha smiled as he opened the front door.
His friend Emilton had come all the way to the house.
"Do... Do-ha."
"What is it? What's wrong?"
Do-ha's expression hardened at the sound of Emilton's voice.
Her voice was trembling—and more importantly, this was a clone.
A clone arriving instead of the real body meant something had happened.
"A... Alfheim."
"What about it?"
"A noble-rank demon has been summoned to Alfheim."
"What?!"
At Emilton's words, Canteas came bolting out from inside.
How had a demon been summoned to the elves' kingdom??
And a noble-rank demon at that.
"There's more—demons have been summoned in the Forest of Screams on the Western Continent as well."
The Forest of Screams—named for the way the wind through the trees sounded like screams.
Demons had been summoned there too.
"My real body and Dimerof are currently holding the demons off in the Forest of Screams. There are no noble-rank ones, but the numbers are overwhelming. And..."
"And?"
"Demons have appeared in the Central Plains Murim as well."
"...So Je-u can't move."
"Right... Help us."
Emilton let out a sigh.
There were no forces available right now that could help Alfheim.
No—there were troops, but no one who could face a noble-rank demon.
"Everywhere else got regular demons, but Alfheim got a noble-rank... Don't tell me."
"Exactly. They're trying to destroy the World Tree."
At Canteas's words, Emilton nodded.
The World Tree purified not just Alfheim but the entire world of Belhart.
More precisely, rather than fully purifying, it prevented contamination from spreading further.
That was why, decades ago when the demons invaded, the World Tree had kept the corruption from spreading.
"Fortunately, the World Tree is still holding out."
The World Tree was essentially a living being.
When danger approached, it generated a protective barrier around itself.
But if a noble-rank demon committed fully to the attack, it wouldn't last long.
"How are the elves?"
"I don't know. The elf who came to deliver the news barely managed to report the situation before dying."
An elf, already mortally wounded, had gritted his teeth and made it all the way to the Western Continent to report Alfheim's situation.
He spoke his last words and died.
"Which demon appeared?"
"I don't know. He just said 'noble' and died."
"Haa... I'll head over right now."
"Thank you."
"Hmph. Those pointy-eared bastards are going to die in droves."
"That is..."
Emilton tilted her head at Cheon Seol-gyeong muttering beside Canteas.
Wasn't that the Death Knight Canteas used to be building?
But the energy coming off him felt strangely familiar.
"Hey, crazy woman. Long time no see."
"That way of speaking..."
Emilton's eyes flicked to Canteas as she realized who it was.
Had he put the Heavenly Demon's soul into that Death Knight he'd been making all this time??
"Haha, i-it's hot out today."
"You absolute lunatic of a bonehead!"
Emilton clutched her forehead and sighed.
As if the demons weren't headache enough—why resurrect the Heavenly Demon, a being every bit as dangerous as a Demon King?
And he even had a hatchling with him??
"What are you going to do when Je-u finds out about this?!"
"Eh, I've got him under control!"
"Haa..."
"We'll talk about this later. We need to move now—every second counts."
Do-ha cut them off.
There was no time to waste.
"Canteas. Let's go."
"Got it."
Do-ha and Canteas left the house at once.
Whoosh.
Whoosh whoosh.
"Damn it."
Arriving at Alfheim's entrance via teleport, Do-ha cursed at the sight of the dead elves.
Flames rose from the once-beautiful Alfheim, corpses strewn everywhere.
"Why teleport here instead of going deeper inside?"
"Teleportation into Alfheim's interior is impossible."
Canteas shook his head at Cheon Seol-gyeong's question.
Did he think they'd come here by choice?
BOOOOM!
"They're attacking the World Tree, just as expected."
A thunderous roar from the distant World Tree made Do-ha and Canteas turn their heads.
As predicted, the demon was trying to destroy the World Tree by breaking through its barrier.
The silver lining was that the barrier was still holding.
"Canteas. Grab on."
"Got it."
Canteas placed a hand on Do-ha's shoulder, and sparks crackled from his body.
Noeryeongsinbo — Lightning Spirit Step
Flash!
Do-ha activated the technique and crossed hundreds of meters in an instant.
It looked almost like teleportation.
"Ugh... the wind pressure."
The tremendous wind slammed into Canteas's face, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
How did Do-ha keep his eyes open when using this technique?
Flash.
Flash.
Screeech.
"What? Why'd you stop?"
When Do-ha suddenly halted, Canteas peeked out.
They still had farther to go to reach the World Tree—why stop?
"There's someone over there. Not elves—humans."
"Huh? Humans?"
Do-ha pointed at a human bleeding out beneath a tree.
This was Alfheim—how were there humans here?
Had someone come in after hearing the explosions?
They moved closer and hid behind a tree.
"Those bastards... Demon God Cult."
Seeing the robed figures, murderous intent flooded Do-ha's eyes.
Someone was leaning against a tree, bleeding, while the cultists looked down at him with smug grins.
"You... sons of bitches... I'll... tear every last one of you apart."
"Ooh, scary. But don't you need to be alive for that?"
The other cultists behind him burst out laughing.
He'd been wrecked by Belial and was about to die—how exactly was he going to tear them apart?
"I never should have made a deal with you fanatic bastards... cough."
Alteir spat blood, radiating killing intent.
He'd charged Belial and been utterly crushed without landing a single wound.
"For the boss of New Age to be this stupid... tsk tsk. I'll deliver His Holiness the Pope's message."
The cultist crouched to meet Alteir's eye level.
"Listen, Alteir. Thanks to your help, the Cult's future is bright. Without you, we never could have summoned the demons. We'll gladly accept New Age's members as cultists, so close your eyes with honor."
The cultist drew his sword.
"His Holiness has specially granted you his grace... I'll send you off without pain."
"Someday I'll rip out every one of your hearts."
Even in his final moments, Alteir ground his teeth, pouring out killing intent.
Then—
HUMMMMM!
Yeoraesingjang — Tathagata Palm
WHOOOOOOSH!
BOOOOOOM!
Just as the cultist was about to drive his sword into Alteir's heart—
A massive palm descended from the sky and crushed five cultists flat.
Do-ha approached, and Alteir stared at him with wide, startled eyes.
Killing the cultists meant he was an enemy... but—
-Do-ha. You heard that conversation?
-Yeah. So this guy's the boss of New Age.
Meeting the New Age boss like this.
A completely unexpected encounter.
-They'd been fighting the Cult this whole time, but looks like the two of them made a deal.
From what Alteir had just said, the situation was roughly clear.
Why they'd joined hands and what the deal was remained unknown, but the Cult had clearly betrayed New Age.
-Just kill him and go.
Canteas looked at Do-ha.
If they killed the New Age boss here, the New Age organizations on Earth would eventually collapse.
They'd hang on for a while, but an organization without its pillar was doomed to crumble over time.
-Hmm... hold on.
Great Heal
When Do-ha healed Alteir, Canteas's eyes went wide.
Why heal a guy who deserved to die right now??
"Huh? Healing...?"
His body recovered in an instant, and Alteir's eyes went wide with shock.
His severed fingers, left ear, and gouged-out eyeball hadn't regenerated—but every other injury was gone.
"This place is dangerous. Go back."
Sleep
Do-ha cast Sleep magic, and Alteir fell unconscious.
Already exhausted, the moment the spell hit he blacked out completely.
"Why are you keeping this guy alive?"
"I think it's better to leave him alive."
Do-ha stroked his chin, looking at the sleeping Alteir.
Betrayed by the Cult, filled with vengeance.
From the killing intent he'd been pouring out earlier alone, it was clear he wanted to tear the entire Cult to pieces.
If this guy stayed alive, all of New Age would go to all-out war with the Cult.
The two organizations had already been clashing constantly even without this—now they were definitively enemies.
"Pope bastard. Schemed himself into hugging a bomb."
Do-ha smiled.
Serves him right for betraying someone and making a dangerous enemy.
"Canteas. Extract his mana signature."
"Got it."
Canteas placed a hand over Alteir's head and imprinted his mana.
Now they could locate him instantly no matter where he went.
"Kill as many Cult members as you can. I'll kill you after that. Canteas, send this guy back to Earth and come back."
Do-ha smiled and left the spot.