Chapter 77
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Chapter 77
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Never Provoke the Comrades (7)
The cooldown still had about 40 minutes left.
That meant I had to dodge the attacks from that corrupted World Tree for 40 minutes straight without using Time Stop. The corrupted root missed me by a paper-thin margin and slammed into the innocent ground.
The earth shook like there was an earthquake, accompanied by a sound like something melting away. I turned my head and saw the surface dissolved by the vicious poison. Damn, let me correct that.
For the next 40 minutes—no, precisely an hour—I had to evade instant-death attacks without Time Stop. Sure, after that it'd recharge, but still.
This was going to drive me insane. Utterly mad, like I'd turn into bean paste. Spouting nonsense that didn't even make sense to me, I barely dodged the incoming strikes from the corrupted World Tree.
The attacks themselves were straightforward, so dodging wasn't too tough. The problem was the sheer terror every single time I evaded one. Of course I'd be scared shitless—one hit and I'd drop dead.
But running away wasn't an option here. Cluna had already begun her ritual behind me. Once started, it couldn't be stopped, leaving her completely defenseless in the meantime.
If I bolted now, the attacks would naturally shift to the next biggest threat: Cluna. Even she couldn't tank a hit like that while defenseless.
In the worst case, instant death. And that would be game over. I had zero confidence in properly leading the Royal Knights without her. Which meant I had to hold out no matter what.
Boom!!!
Another instant-death strike plunged right beside me. What would happen if it hit? Would my bones even survive? Nah, everything would melt away, bones included. The agony of flesh and muscle dissolving...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Fuck!!!!"
I was too frantic to even yell for her to hold on. The onslaught suddenly intensified, making evasion a nightmare. I barely slipped through.
By rolling across the dirt, no less. No room for stylish dodges. I stole a glance at Cluna. Her eyes were still shut, fully focused on her spell.
Which meant she couldn't spare a thought for whatever I did. No more holding back, then. Time to unleash the ultimate secret art of the Open Faction. Behold the might of Naryeotagon.
"Hup! Haat! Hut!!"
Rolling along the ground in sync with my breathing technique, the cold soil actually felt kinda nice. If only those World Tree roots weren't crashing down right next to me.
I tuned out the sizzling as the ground burned away. I considered keeping up the rolling, but scrapped the idea when my back slammed into a jagged rock.
Pain far worse than expected exploded in my back. I dry-heaved as I struggled to my feet. And right where I'd have been if I'd kept rolling, a root erupted moments later.
"...Whew."
If I'd continued, I'd probably be World Tree special kebab by now. The thought made bile rise in my throat. But I couldn't afford to freeze.
More roots were gunning for me right that instant. I scowled. Was it really limited to roots? Nah, there had to be other moves.
And right on cue, I finally spotted it: branches lashing out toward me. That's when it hit me—the World Tree hadn't been at full strength until now.
It had burned too much energy battling Cluna, leaving only roots as its arsenal. But now the branches had regenerated. Meaning the real onslaught was just beginning.
"I'm screwed."
If roots whipped like lashes, the branches stabbed like razor-sharp spears. Probably venomous too, though it didn't seem that potent.
Likely because they were freshly regrown. Which implied the roots carried poison the World Tree had been stockpiling for ages. That much toxin built up here?
Demons' handiwork? The thought flickered, but I dismissed it as nonsense. If demons were behind this, they'd have meddled ages ago.
Yet they were still sitting back, watching the elf forest from afar. No direct involvement. So something else was at play.
"Guh?!"
A branch shot toward me like a dagger. Way too fast—I couldn't react in time. I only registered it when it pierced my shoulder.
Blood sprayed everywhere. I hurriedly applied the hemostasis technique Captain Yuren taught me, but blood kept gushing, soaking the bandage I'd wrapped around the wound crimson.
The bleeding wouldn't stop. World Tree branch effect? Or the poison in it? Either way, nonstop hemorrhaging like this was deadly. I'd bleed out.
"Damn it."
I cinched the wound as tight as possible to stem the flow. Circulation went numb, but better that than exsanguination.
About 10 minutes left now. But maybe from all the blood loss, my head was spinning. Still, I'd held out this long. Just 10 more minutes and the cooldown would finish.
That's when it hit me—an ill omen. Why was the World Tree fixated on me? The real threat here was Cluna, not some scrub like me.
What if this was all a feint?
The thought propelled me to whip my head around instinctively. There was Cluna, far off in the distance. And the area around her had gone eerily quiet for a while now.
Yeah.
The World Tree had been pretending to target me, all to lure me away. Ensuring that if it went for Cluna, I couldn't intervene. And now, it was making its move.
A root plummeting straight toward her head.
I gritted my teeth.
No choice now.
Time Acceleration
Time flows faster around the user.
The truth about the World Tree had come to light centuries ago. Learned from one of the grand elders of old, who passed down the guardian's sacred duty: to protect the World Tree and offer it sacrifices.
The grand elders sacrificed their own bodies. The World Tree accepts offerings only from elves. Was it faintly recalling its ancient memories as nature incarnate?
Or mocking its own devotees? Even now, the answer eluded her. But one thing was clear: no more sacrifices could be tolerated. She'd argued as much before.
Regrettably, her pleas fell on deaf ears. Without the World Tree, maintaining the forest would be impossible, they claimed. Better to offer elves nearing the end of their natural spans, enriching the woods in turn.
[It's not dying. It's merging with the World Tree to safeguard the forest.]
If she'd known the guardian's role meant that, she'd never have accepted it. Despair gripped her in the face of harsh reality, yet Cluna refused to yield. She would utterly destroy the World Tree.
That singular purpose remained.
Without her adventures alongside the inaugural Hero, she might have shared the other elves' mindset. But Cluna had journeyed far and wide.
Even if none of her comrades remained at her side. The enlightenment, knowledge, and experience gained as an adventurer endured. And that adventurer's wisdom whispered plainly:
If something demands sacrifice to attain, it might as well not exist from the start. That conviction became a cornerstone of her resolve to eradicate the World Tree.
Did the elves truly need the World Tree to survive?
No.
The forest could thrive under elven stewardship alone. Tradition was all that bound them now, a noose around their necks.
Problems might arise without it, of course. But would they keep offering sacrifices indefinitely? The cycle had even accelerated lately.
Grand elders dwindled to a precious few. Elders, desperate to survive, began designating guardians as tribute. Better, then, to annihilate it here and now.
Truth be told, she hadn't believed it possible.
Especially after losing her family. Worn down by endless wars with demons. She'd even wished her daughter, at least, might live on. A subconscious surrender, perhaps.
At last, Cluna opened her eyes. Before her stood a man effortlessly slicing through the World Tree root bearing down on her. The one who'd given her hope, shown her the path forward.
Was it her imagination, seeing the silhouette of the first Hero in his back?
No, surely not mere fancy.
Even afterward, the captain shielded her effortlessly from the onslaught. Now it was her turn. The spell she'd honed for centuries, solely for this day.
Giant Woodcutter.
⟨ Giant Woodcutter ⟩
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