The Volcano Erupts
The moment I came back to my senses, I was standing there with my hand pressed against the World Tree's core, just like before. I had no idea how much time had passed, but everyone was rushing toward me with worried expressions on their faces.
"Shinwoo! Are you hurt? You look even stupider than usual!"
"Young master. Your face looks even more idiotic than normal, it seems."
"Husband! If you're in pain, you have to tell me right away!"
If I'd heard any of this earlier, I would've smacked them all in the head. But right now, the relief of having escaped the World Tree's mental world wrapped around my body like a warm blanket. Tears welled up in my eyes as I smiled faintly and muttered,
"I'm back to normal... Everything's back to the way it should be..."
"S-Shinwoo? Are you okay?"
"Thank goodness... I... I won..."
"......Young master? What on earth happened..."
"It's nothing. No problems at all. You can keep insulting me if you want."
"Uwaaaaaaaaah! Husband's broken! This has never happened before!!!"
[Who are you! Give us back our idiot right now!]
Elsia finally burst into tears. Hye-ji was scanning the area with a worried look, clearly searching for the nearest mental hospital, while Jung Ayeon simply let out a heavy sigh with a complicated expression.
When everyone suddenly reacted like this, I felt a strange surge of anger.
"It's me, you bastards."
"Ah! Shinwoo's finally back to his senses!"
"As expected, the young master has to look like an idiot to feel right!"
"Husband's suddenly fixed!"
[This body was worried too, you know.]
"You motherfucking bastards!"
Despite my rage, my hand was still pressed against the World Tree's core. From that position, I condensed mana into my palm and unleashed the Cheonma Repulsor.
- BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!
"Huh?! Husband?!"
「Aaaaaargh!! You son of a bitch!!!」
The World Tree screamed through telepathy. Elsia approached me with a genuinely shocked expression—one I rarely saw on her. Both Hye-ji and Jung Ayeon couldn't hide their surprise either.
"Husband! Why did you suddenly attack the World Tree... You've never done anything like this before..."
"Young master? Why are you attacking the World Tree!"
"This fucking bastard deserves it. He needs to get hit more."
Hye-ji grabbed my arm tightly, stared me dead in the eyes, and growled,
"Shinwoo! Why the hell are you blowing up the World Tree all of a sudden!"
"I told you. This bastard can die for all I care."
"You're hogging all the fun? I'm disappointed."
"That's why I made this hole—so you could stuff in as much explosive as you want."
"I knew I could trust you from the start!!!"
「Aaaaaaaaaaagh!!!!! Lady Hye-ji! Please stop!!!」
As soon as Hye-ji got serious, the World Tree began screaming in agony. I'd already punched a hole in its core with the Cheonma Repulsor, and now Hye-ji was blasting it wider with explosives. Green sap poured endlessly from the wound.
Watching the scene, Hye-ji and I shared our thoughts.
"Koi-tsu www look at this slut leaking all over from her hole www"
"5252 www she's cumming so hard! This totally disqualifies her as a World Tree www"
"Koi-tsu www this bitch is a total female wwwwww"
「You fucking bastards, stop it!!!」
The World Tree tried to resist in its own way, but it was useless against a fully prepared Hye-ji. Branches, vines, weird fragrances—Hye-ji burned them all in spectacular fashion.
Watching this, Jung Ayeon suddenly grabbed Hye-ji's shoulder.
"Lady Hye-ji?"
"What? If you get in my way, I'll kill you."
"This maiden would also like one. Thinking about what happened earlier suddenly makes me furious."
"I'll give you two!"
"I'm truly grateful!"
While Hye-ji and Jung Ayeon gleefully continued blasting the World Tree's core, I grabbed Elsia's arm and pulled her into a corner. When she gave me a helpless look, I whispered quietly,
"Elsia, I need you to be honest with me."
"Yes! Husband!"
I took a deep breath and told her what I needed to know.
"Did you know the World Tree was trying to use you as breeding stock?"
"......Yes. I was somewhat aware."
"Was it the same before the regression?"
"......"
"Tell me."
"......How did you figure it out?"
Elsia had wiped every trace of a smile from her face. Her eyes had lost their focus as she stared at me. It was an expression I'd never seen on her before. Those eyes were as deep as an abyss, darker than the void itself.
For a moment my heart wavered and I considered stopping, but I'd already started. I couldn't back out now.
"I'll tell you about that later."
"......You promise?"
"Yeah, I promise."
I squeezed the anxious Elsia's hand tightly and looked into her eyes. Her hand had been trembling slightly, but the moment I held it, the shaking began to subside. At the same time, focus slowly returned to her gaze. With a slightly gloomy expression, she spoke.
"It's just as you said, husband. The World Tree only ever treated me as a tool for breeding."
"I see."
"Ah! Please don't misunderstand. I killed the elves and ran away before they could do anything horrible to me."
"Good job. They were going to die of old age anyway."
[Thank goodness. That was a very important plot point in the novel!]
'Of course!'
At that level, it's fine, right? My inner unicorn? Absolutely, Master.
Just then, Hye-ji walked over to me.
"Hye-ji, what happened all of a sudden?"
"This bastard stopped reacting, so it got boring."
"......Already?"
"It got so lame I wanted to die."
Hye-ji answered indifferently with a blank stare. Then I suddenly remembered Jung Ayeon and asked,
"What about Jung Ayeon?"
"She threw a couple Molotovs over there and apparently found it pretty fun, so she's been chucking them nonstop."
"Really?"
We headed over to Jung Ayeon. She hadn't even noticed us approaching. With an unusually excited face, she was happily hurling Molotov cocktails everywhere. At that exact moment, she was striking a pose with another one in hand, preparing to throw it.
"Take this! This is this maiden's secret technique—!"
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"......Young master?"
The instant Jung Ayeon saw us, she froze mid-throw, still holding the pose.
"H-how long have you been watching?"
"I asked what you're doing."
"W-well, I was just practicing some martial arts..."
"Martial arts? Let me guess what kind."
Jung Ayeon clutched the Molotov tightly and lowered her head in embarrassment. Fire arts, huh... Of course it's that one.
"The Volcano Sect's secret technique, Fire Punch. Am I right?"
"Shut up!!!!!!!!!!"
"Then what technique were you about to show us?"
Jung Ayeon avoided my gaze and muttered quietly,
"......It's the Nine Flames Embryonic Wolf Fang of the Shanxi Nine Families."
"Dude, you crazy bitch! You're gonna get reported the second someone sees that!"
[And it's from a relatively recent chapter too.]
'You shameless bastard.'
I smacked Jung Ayeon hard on the head. She clutched her skull and protested angrily,
"This maiden also wants to use proper martial arts!"
"You can already use martial arts with a Remington and an M60. Aren't you being too greedy?"
"What the fuck is that supposed to be, Ten Thousand Fire Rain or Hundred Step Divine Fist?!"
Jung Ayeon stomped her feet in frustration. Then Piece asked me,
[We're on the same platform. Isn't it fine to borrow a few techniques?]
'We'll get reported and taken down without a trace.'
And the comments will be full of shit like 'Koi-tsu www here to drop a report and some pocket money www'.
[Koi-tsu www this novel's spicy beef soup is delicious www]
'You fucking bitch.'
Jung Ayeon slumped her shoulders and threw the rest of the Molotovs. She still couldn't let go of her obsession with fire arts.
At that moment, Elsia grabbed my sleeve and pressed close.
"Um...... husband?"
She was fidgeting, twisting her hands together. Her gaze darted everywhere, and she couldn't bring herself to look at me directly, so she kept her head down. Then she peeked up slightly and spoke in a voice so quiet I could barely hear it even though I was right next to her.
"Aren't you going to ask more? Like what I did before the regression?"
"Not if you don't want to. You look like it'd be hard to talk about, so you don't have to."
"......Okay. Thank you."
Elsia's stiff expression softened, and she gave a faint smile. Then she suddenly lowered her head and muttered,
"I see. As expected, it's you, husband. Both back then and now."
"Elsia?"
"It's nothing! Thank you!"
"Yeah. You've been through a lot."
I couldn't quite catch what she said. But since she was smiling brightly this time, I figured it was fine and didn't press any further.
Right on cue, Hye-ji dragged Jung Ayeon back over.
"Shinwoo, how's it look?"
Hye-ji put her hands on her hips and thrust her head forward as if demanding praise for the current scene. I looked around and realized the situation was worse than I'd thought. Of course, I meant the World Tree's situation.
The World Tree's core had already lost its color and was pulsing faintly, as if it could stop at any moment. The walls, floor, and ceiling—no trace of the tree's original color remained anywhere. Instead, the entire cavern was filled with burning red flames and the black ash left behind after everything had burned away.
[You've really done it now...]
'A heartwarming bonfire.'
But trees become firewood and warm people. Seeing this made our hearts feel a little warmer too, so maybe the World Tree had fulfilled its purpose as kindling after all. It probably wouldn't answer us anymore, but it would live on in our hearts.
I patted Hye-ji's head and said,
"Good job, Hye-ji. It looks much better now."
"Heheheheheh."
"Let's head down. We need to bolt the second this thing dies."
"Okay!"
We quickly descended the stairs we'd climbed earlier, got into the elevator, and pressed the button to go down. After a short wait, just before the doors opened on the lower floor, Elsia spoke to me in a worried tone.
"Husband, be careful. They're probably waiting for us."
"Don't worry."
The moment we stepped out of the elevator, someone shouted loudly.
"Surround them all!!!"
"""""Yes!!!"""""
It was the elf warriors. They began encircling us in an instant.