87
087 ― Not So Peaceful
His soul shook, and the Dark Elf King staggered. He covered his mouth and stumbled backward, retching in agony.
"Mo... Mother..."
He called out in a pitiful voice, but no one answered. The black roots clung tightly to Jin-woo and showed no intention of letting go.
The distance between him and Jin-woo wasn't close, but it wasn't far either. Yet that distance now seemed so vast that even walking for hundreds of years wouldn't be enough to reach him.
'Words...'
Now even words were beginning to fail him. It wasn't just because of his soul's trembling.
The emptiness that came from a great being's departure. The terror that came from darkness-like solitude left him unable to properly open his mouth.
How could he have foreseen such a future? He had thought he received more of Mother's favor than anyone else.
If a day came when he no longer received that favor, he had thought he would become blinded by intense jealousy and kill that person.
But when it actually happened, no jealousy or murderous intent arose.
Before the emptiness he now felt, emotions like jealousy or murderous intent were far too vibrant.
"You there. Weren't you called the Dark Elf King?"
"...!"
The being who had caused this emptiness looked at him. While receiving the World Tree Mother's blessing entirely upon himself.
It was a sight that seemed to blind him, but unable to turn his head away, he looked at his opponent with a trembling body.
"First, could you please clear away those Ogres over there?"
Words of command to the defeated. Though they hadn't even fought, the man had no strength left to resist.
"They've already retreat... Retreated."
Jin-woo looked at Rona. Having stopped her soul's trembling, she had already regained her normal condition.
Even so, she was still so flustered that she forgot to breathe, but at least she knew what needed to be done now.
The white light that formed in her hands brought information from outside.
"It's true. The Ogres have withdrawn, and the lord is working hard on the cleanup."
Jin-woo looked at the man again. Now that the urgent matter was resolved, the most important task remained.
When he opened his hand, the black roots wrapped around his arm played about on his palm.
"About this Erosion, don't tell me you're the culprit?"
"Culprit...?"
"Are you saying you didn't cause this Erosion?"
Normally, he would have thrown only ambiguous answers while enjoying the opponent's reaction. But having lost all will and energy, even the act of lying was burdensome for him now.
"N-no... I didn't."
He changed what kept trying to come out as respectful speech with his last remaining stubbornness. At least he was aware that his opponent was human.
The more he did so, the more miserable he became.
Meanwhile, Jin-woo didn't doubt his answer. More precisely, he had expected as much.
"Right, that's what I thought."
"...?"
The man looked puzzled, but Jin-woo had no intention of explaining.
'He doesn't have black flames like the Lords, and he doesn't seem to properly handle Erosion either. There's no way he could erode the World Tree.'
It was simple when you thought about it. The World Tree was a giant tree of the Spirit Realm and, judging by its position within the Gate, was an existence equal to the Lords.
To erode such a being, one would need to be able to handle Erosion at least at Lord level.
The Dark Elf King wasn't even close to being a Lord, and he didn't even possess black flames to begin with. The only black flames in this place belonged to the World Tree's roots.
'Can I kill him?'
Jin-woo closed his eyes and asked the black roots. That question was conveyed through the glass orb to the God of Moonlit Forest, delivering her will.
[The God of Moonlit Forest hesitates.]
There were no words saying not to kill him. But there was no answer saying to kill him either. It meant she was pondering.
To ponder in this situation could be seen as leaving the choice to him.
Jin-woo raised his sword.
"Are you going to kill me?"
"Try resisting if you're going to."
"I am..."
The Dark Elf King hesitated.
He had no attachment to this life. It was a life he could sacrifice at any time for Mother World Tree.
So if he were to be killed by an apostle who received that World Tree's favor, wouldn't that also be one kind of ending? That's what he thought.
"I've been attacked by Dark Elves in Gates before. There was also an attack on Belen Village recently. Do you usually go around attacking places like that?"
"Because that is the path for Mother World Tree."
"Collecting souls to offer to the World Tree?"
"Of course."
Jin-woo asked. Whether that was really keeping you alive, to the World Tree herself.
[The God of Moonlit Forest denies it. A Spirit Realm soul's fate cannot be changed by merely hundreds or thousands of lower world souls.]
Of course. Erosion wasn't such a simple phenomenon that it could be solved that way. If it were, he wouldn't have to struggle like this, would he?
'...Huh? Struggle?'
A thought that had passed by casually stuck in his mind like a small thorn. Had he really struggled that much just because Erosion wasn't simple?
Of course, there had been a few dangerous moments, but the thought that just passed seemed to contain many deeper years than that.
Anyway, now it was the guy in front of him.
"You might not believe it, but she says it's not helping the World Tree. She's telling you to stop that stuff because it's not helpful."
"What...?"
The King was surprised, and in that moment of surprise, Jin-woo plunged his sword into his chest.
Normally, he would have pierced through the flames instantly, but this time he had simply stabbed the chest normally instead of the flames.
And there, the World Tree's energy flowing from the glass orb was implanted.
'You can place one or two restrictions, right? Tell him to stop going around stabbing places under the excuse of offering souls to you. It'd be good if you could add not to attack me either.'
[The God of Moonlit Forest nods.]
The World Tree's energy that flowed in through Jin-woo's sword gripped the Dark Elf King's heart.
Bound by strong chains, it pulsed along with the heart, engraving the World Tree's will—no, Jin-woo's will—there.
If he defied it, it would stop beating that instant and squeeze the heart until it burst.
"Ah, ahh..."
However, even while the restriction was being placed, the King looked utterly moved.
The emptiness was being filled. The unstable being who had been like a motherless newborn chick became somewhat normal with just the small amount of energy that entered for the restriction.
"Thank you, thank you. Thank you for bestowing even a little of Mother's touch."
Jin-woo frowned at the sight of him crying and thanking the one placing restrictions on him. It felt like watching someone who had lost their mind, which wasn't particularly pleasant. What an unpleasant guy.
"If you understand, then get going. The restriction won't be lifted just because you get far away, so don't think about running."
"How could a child, in filial duty, reject Mother's touch! Until the day this life ends..."
"Get lost."
"Yes."
It would actually look better if he spoke informally, like at first. When he waved his hand to chase him away, the Dark Elf King put on his hood and disappeared into the shadows.
So he had this kind of technique too... He went around dressed like a priest, but the technique itself was exactly like that of an assassin like Kurenai Masato.
'Well then.'
Rona remained, looking like she had many questions but not daring to ask. And with all the Ogres either dead or withdrawn, the Elves were also returning to the territory.
"Let's get out before we're discovered. We don't need to infiltrate the palace anymore, but we won't be able to talk comfortably within the territory."
After roughly convincing Rona, all that remained was to ask the World Tree about the situation in the 3rd floor.
***
Ionia Ellea. The guardian protecting this forest and the head of the Ellea family.
Having dealt with the sudden Ogre attack, she remained in the forest to assess the damage.
Though it had been a short battle, quite a few Elves were seriously injured. She used nectar generously on them for first aid, then sent them all to the territory.
Not only that, but the forest had been destroyed too. Though trees grew very quickly thanks to Mother World Tree's blessing, it still seemed like restoration would take quite some time.
'Just what bastard did something like this...!'
Ionia was furious. The Ogres' behavior was clearly unnatural.
Despite being a species that didn't normally act in groups, they had attacked in a horde, and they had displayed far more powerful strength than existing Ogres.
It was a phenomenon that absolutely couldn't have occurred without someone's malice.
Who was it? Rival families they'd had friction with recently, those who were political opposition, or beings who held grudges large and small against the main family.
Unfortunately, there were countless suspects. So many that it was difficult to narrow it down to one.
Just as her head began to ache, the answer appeared before her all too easily. The Dark Elf King suddenly emerged through the shadows.
"You bastard...!?"
The appearance was so sudden that even Ionia was startled. However, she, too, was a family head who had ruled for many years. She immediately pulled herself together and swung her sword.
Whoosh—
However, her sword merely passed through the man's body like a ghost.
"Tch, an illusion."
The real body must be elsewhere. No matter how much she swung her sword at an illusion, it would be useless.
Watching Ionia guard her surroundings with her sword raised, the Dark Elf King spoke.
"I didn't come to fight. I came to convey Mother World Tree's will according to that person's command."
"...!"
She wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, but once he had mentioned Mother World Tree's name, she couldn't do so.
While it was true that Dark Elves had been in conflict with them for a long time, they were certainly also part of the Elf clan that served the World Tree.
He wouldn't spout nonsense while invoking that name.
"Hasn't the Ellea family also hunted humans and Dwarves quite a bit?"
"...Wasn't that a small thing we could do for Mother World Tree, who was withering?"
"That person said such acts don't help at all, not even a little, so stop them immediately."
Ionia frowned and gripped her sword even tighter.
"Who is this 'that person'? For you, a king, to use such extreme honorifics."
"I met them in your territory. An apostle who receives Mother World Tree's complete favor."
"An apostle!? Who?"
"Ah, I didn't get their name. Come to think of it, I didn't introduce myself either..."
"Forget the useless talk and just say who it is! Don't tell me Her Majesty came out of the tower?"
"No. A black-haired human."
Ionia's expression turned cold. Unable to bear it any longer, she swung her sword. Like before, the sword just passed through, but it didn't stop there.
Her Magi scattered the King's Magi, erasing the illusion like smoke.
"You've fallen, Black King. I thought you were suspicious, but I believed your love for Mother World Tree was the same as ours. Was that my misjudgment?"
"What are you talking about?"
Even while scattering like smoke, he asked. Ionia's answer to that question was concise.
"The one who receives Mother World Tree's greatest favor is Her Majesty. If an apostle exists, it could be no one except Her Majesty. Much less a human."
Snorting, Ionia saw off the disappearing illusion. The illusion seemed uninterested, yet also as if he had expected this, and closed his mouth.
"You're still the same, you people."
Leaving only those words, he disappeared.
***
For about half a day after that, they just traveled.
Since there was no longer any need to go to the palace, they had no particular destination. In any case, with the sole purpose of getting away from the Ellea territory where the incident had occurred, they spent half a day traveling.
Only after feeling they had gotten sufficiently far did Jin-woo and Rona settle by a suitable stream.
They pitched their usual tent on the pebbly riverbank and caught fish. Being with Rona like this suddenly reminded him of old times.
"You brought me the net and fish I had left behind."
"When we first met? That did happen."
"At first I thought you were playing with prey you'd caught."
"That's too much. I followed as quietly as possible so you wouldn't be startled and secretly left them while you were sleeping."
That quiet and sneaky part was actually more terrifying... Let's not mention that.
To Rona, he explained that the reason the World Tree followed him was because of what happened in the 3rd floor.
That he had close to 200 million contribution points with the God of Moonlit Forest, and that's why he received such favor.
She had been surprised to learn that the God of Moonlit Forest's true identity was the World Tree, but she was also surprised when he said 200 million contribution points.
—200 million... You don't receive favor because you have 200 million contribution points, but rather accumulated 200 million contribution points because you received favor, right?
That's what she had said in shock, and it was surprisingly insightful.
But the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, was always difficult. After he deflected it appropriately, she seemed to understand somehow.
Of course, she probably wasn't completely convinced.
'For now.'
It was time to achieve the purpose for which he had come to this world. The reason the 3rd Realm was closed. If someone had closed it, then who was that someone? And what was the current situation in the Third Realm?
[The God of Moonlit Forest requests. The protection of temples and sacred objects.]
...It seemed things weren't so peaceful after all.