Aah....
Elsia snapped her fingers, and white thorn vines materialized, wrapping tightly around every elf and binding them in place. Combined with the sky-blue butterflies already restraining their bodies, the bindings became far stronger than before. Arms. Legs. Torso. Head. Even their mouths. The only part of the elves still free to move was their pupils. Everything else was denied.
The elves, now completely cocooned, looked far more panicked than they had moments earlier. The red numbers hovering above the regressor elves' heads naturally ticked upward. Sharit was among those whose numbers had increased by one.
With only his mouth left uncovered, Sharit let out a scream that sounded like it would tear his throat apart.
"What the hell is that?! What are these vines supposed to be?!"
"How should I know? I don't really understand it myself!"
Elsia smiled brightly and snapped her fingers again. White thorn vines appeared once more, tangling together to form something new.
"Hup!"
It was a chair. Or rather, it would be more accurate to call it a throne.
Elsia sat upon the white throne, crossed her legs, and smiled faintly before speaking in a gentle tone.
"Watch closely with both eyes. This time, things will be quite different, won't they?"
"Krrgh!!! You filthy half-breed!!!!"
"I didn't expect it to change this much either."
Only Sharit's hollow cries echoed through the space.
In the distant past, the progenitor elves all possessed a single common ability. Yet while the ability itself was the same, the results differed greatly. Some manifested a pond with floating leaves in an empty space. Others created red stumps in places where plants could not grow. The variety was immense, including the manifestation of specific creatures, and above all, these manifestations were permanent. It was an ability bordering on the domain of creation.
Among them were elves who manifested sky-blue butterflies and elves who manifested white thorn vines. Realizing that what each could manifest differed, the elves began to distinguish themselves accordingly. This distinction became a boundary separating the elves into groups, which grew until they formed tribes.
Their descendants inherited similar abilities, but as generations passed and bloodlines mixed, the number of elves capable of only temporary manifestations increased. Of course, this issue could be resolved by thickening the concentration of elven blood, so it was never a major problem.
Then, through an unforeseen accident, nearly all elves possessing the ability were wiped out. With their lineage severed in an instant, the elves walked the path of decline, believing they could never reclaim their glorious past. Yet by pure coincidence, fragments of that past had taken root in the blood of one elf—an existence everyone had dismissed as a worthless half-breed.
A high elf of the Sky Butterfly Tribe. A half-elf of the White Thorn Vine Tribe. And Elsia, born between the two. A mixed-blood elf who chose to save herself and step toward a new future. She had chosen an uncertain future over a predetermined one. Small in stature, yet stronger than anyone. As if paying tribute to that grand decision, the glory of the past sleeping within Elsia's blood began to shine, little by little.
Meanwhile, Demian, who had been confronting Hye-ji, could not hide his considerable surprise. It was due to a situation he had never anticipated. However, realizing that his unbound self was his only hope, he challenged the goddess before him.
"You're persistent."
"Whether I can win or not isn't the issue!"
Demian gripped his half-broken axe tightly.
"No matter what happens, I have to crush you right here and now—!!!!"
— Zzzzzzzt!!!!
But Demian's words never continued. Countless stun guns Hye-ji had manifested struck him. In the end, Demian collapsed, on the verge of losing consciousness while leaking urine where he stood. Staring at Hye-ji with bewildered eyes, he stammered.
"H-how could this body..."
"Polymer alloy seems to conduct electricity well."
"That doesn't make any sense..."
With those words, Demian lost consciousness. Even Thor couldn't withstand that electric attack, so it was stranger that he had held out at all. I nudged the unconscious Demian with my foot and muttered.
"You crazy bitch, stop dragging in touching lines from other works."
The lines will be revised soon, I suppose.
'Revised? Suddenly getting lewd.'
You crazy bastard!!!
Hye-ji and I headed toward where Elsia was seated. Elsia snapped her fingers once more and manifested two additional thrones beside the one she occupied. We each took our seats and leisurely observed the situation. Then Hye-ji spoke to me.
"Shinwoo, it looks like the World Tree is completely finished."
"Really?"
There was a way to check life or death in times like this.
"Did we get it?"
Uuuugh...
"Oh, it's still alive!"
Hye-ji extended her hand, and another bunker buster and white phosphorus round flew toward the World Tree. Struck by each weapon, the World Tree fell silent once more. Just then, Ayeon arrived leading a herd of animals, so Elsia manifested one more throne for her. The animals had swept up all the important items from Elsia's house. It made sense—they were all struggling to move while carrying heavy loads.
Spotting me, the bear suggested a drink, so we shared a glass of vodka together.
"Krrroooar!"
"Bottoms up!!!"
"Give me one too!!"
"Me too!"
"This lady would also like just one glass."
We all used O2 as a side dish and enjoyed a pleasant drinking session. Once the brief entertainment ended and I told the animal herd to wait near the gate, they headed that way while growling at the surrounding elves. When they asked if they could bite me just once, I firmly replied.
"Bite me once? Did I teach you to be like that?"
Whining and tucking their tails, the animals trudged toward the gate. I stopped them and spoke decisively.
"If you're going to bite, do it properly! Twice per person!"
The animals cheered and began rampaging everywhere. We watched the scene with satisfied smiles before returning to our thrones. Ayeon, seated on her throne, immediately asked Hye-ji.
"Lady Hye-ji, have we finished it?"
Aaaagh!
"Oh! It really came back to life."
"One more time!"
Another set of bunker buster and white phosphorus round was rocket-delivered to the World Tree. As silence returned, it was Elsia's turn.
"Did we finish it?"
Please stop, you damn bastards!
"Open wide!"
The previous situation repeated itself. Soon the World Tree screamed as if squeezing out its life.
Do you people have no sense of decency?!
"Decency?"
I had learned one thing from Ian Percus.
"Ah, you mean the perforation line."
That's not it!!!!!!!!
"Shut up."
Democracy was delivered to the World Tree once more.
How long are you going to keep repeating this?!
"Until we win!!!!"
"Shinwoo, in times like this it's until it burns."
"Ah, right. I got the novel mixed up."
Demon bastards...
Witnessing the scene, Sharit shed tears of blood and screamed.
"What exactly do you think the World Tree is to you people!!!"
"Well."
We exchanged glances and shared our opinions.
"Just a big tree."
"Just A Big Tree."
"A large piece of firewood?"
"You're all wrong."
At that moment, Hye-ji shook her head and spoke.
"It's going to be ashes."
"It can't be!!!!!"
"It can!!!!"
Wow, that's actually really cool.At least try to match even half of Hye-ji's level.
Every loaded bunker buster and white phosphorus round painted the sky. This time, they weren't aimed solely at the World Tree. The target was the entire Great Forest. Countless weapons swept across the Great Forest in an instant. The entire forest was engulfed in explosions, and flames consumed everything without leaving a trace.
While watching the Great Forest burn brightly, Elsia clapped her hands and spoke.
"We're getting hungry. Let's have some snacks!"
At those words, a wolf from the animal herd came forward and handed over a bag of marshmallows. As we were about to stuff marshmallows into our mouths, a good idea suddenly occurred to me.
"Hye-ji, start a fire here."
"Here? With the elves around?"
"Bullets don't hurt if you graze them. Fire won't burn if you start it gently either."
"Is it really okay to do it here?"
Hye-ji asked back with a suddenly tense expression. To ease her tension, I spoke another magic word.
"Are you scared?"
Hye-ji's eyes gleamed as she grinned menacingly. Looking again, it seemed she hadn't been tense out of fear the elves would burn, but from excitement at the prospect of burning them.
"I'm happy! Just give the order, Captain! Right now!"
"Permission granted. Burn it."
Hye-ji manifested incendiary grenades and set fire to every visible spot. By pure coincidence, the elves didn't catch fire, but the heat made them all let out pained groans. With flames raging everywhere, it almost looked as if the elves were grotesquely dancing. Ah, so this place is a club. There are even drug addicts, and the lights are blazing.
'From today, this is the Burning World Tree Club. "Burning Tree."'
...This body knows nothing of clubs with "burning" in the name. Nothing at all.
We roasted marshmallows over the roaring flames. Elsia popped a perfectly toasted marshmallow into her mouth and immediately began to tear up.
"It's delicious!"
"Aah, this is what we call [delicious]."
...Isn't this from a different work?
'Once everything here burns down, the elves will all become nomadic elves. Don't worry.'
"This is a snack you couldn't even dream of at the Martial Artists Guild! I'm glad I came!"
"Shinwoo, shall we wrap this up soon?"
"Sounds good. Hit it with one big shot."
Hye-ji concentrated briefly before manifesting another set of bunker buster and white phosphorus round from earlier. Naturally, the target was the World Tree. Hye-ji fired a concentrated barrage at it.
— KABOOOOOOOM!!!!
"Oh, the concentrated strike landed."
Kyaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!
The World Tree, which had barely maintained its form, began to completely collapse after being moved by Hye-ji the chef's final omakase. As expected, once you taste it, the flavor is so intense and powerful it knocks you down on the spot. The taste of national pride.
Eventually, in the place where the World Tree had stood, flames as massive as the World Tree itself blazed brightly. Yes. It was a sunset. Though it wasn't time for the sun to set, those flames illuminated us as brightly as a sunset. Watching the scene, we all linked arms as if by agreement.
"Look at that! What a magnificent sunset!"
"Aah, it truly is beautiful."
"The colors are so beautiful!"
Everyone seemed to have an explosion of sentimentality, and tears began to well up in their eyes. Swallowing my own rising emotions, I quietly offered my impression.
"Yeah....March..."
We remained soaked in the afterglow, quietly gazing at the sight. The remaining elves also seemed deeply moved, shedding streams of tears from their eyes. Seeing them even shed tears of blood, they must have been truly moved. You guys. You were moved, weren't you? Born as a World Tree, ended as firewood. It was the grand finale of just a big tree.
You crazy bastards...