Chapter 185 - Nightmare of the World Tree

Ferda recalled the way Erica had loathed them.

Why Erica had shown such hostility toward the elves, and why she had quietly engaged in a battle of nerves when speaking with the Great Chieftain.

They had once been close.

Close enough to have been engaged at one time.

"That high elf must have coveted Iorga's magic. Seeing someone like you, it isn't surprising."

"You fool! It was the exact opposite!"

Cypress shouted spitefully.

"Do you know what tyranny that water of knowledge and reason committed? She lured her own fiancé into a trap and killed him! Even though he... gave her everything! Iorga treated him no differently than a mere mortal!"

Cypress was an enemy.

There was nothing more foolish than believing an enemy's words.

However, because of the man's hatred toward him, Ferda could sense it all the more clearly.

This man was only speaking the truth right now.

When Ferda remained silent, Cypress let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"Do you think that woman of yours will be any different? In the end, you'll be thrown away like an old shoe too. She will capriciously doubt you and wander about looking for an excuse to slit your throat!"

The moment he heard those words, Ferda was engulfed by something.

It approached, digging into the gaps in his mind like a demon.

If there was one difference, it was that this demon had already taken root inside Ferda's body.

-He's mocking your fiancée. Are you going to just stand there?

In response, Ferda raised his hand.

With him unable to even chant a spell, all that remained of him was his wretched body.

If a Mana Bolt were driven between his brows, he too was destined to become a lump of meat.

He just needed to make it so.

"Mr. Ferda!"

Ferda's breath stopped.

That voice was one that should not be heard right now.

And it was a voice belonging to someone who should not see him like this.

Regaining his senses, he turned his head toward the direction of the sound.

Faintly visible crimson hair.

Two pairs of horns and golden eyes.

It was Valdrova.

But with a single blink, that image scattered like a mirage.

In the spot where Valdrova had been just a moment ago stood the high elf, Rize.

"Regent Ferda..."

She warned him with concern.

"If you kill the Elder, it truly will become irreversible."

Having already crossed the line completely by blowing off one of his arms, what did it matter if he died?

Even so, there was a clear difference between death and injury.

'If I kill this man, will I be able to return with a clear conscience?'

His body answered the question he posed to himself.

The Shadow Circle continued to spin.

One thing was certain: had he done it, it was something he would have regretted.

Ferda lowered his hand.

"Keep your wits about you, Elder. One wrong move, and everyone will die because of your mistake."

"You damn short-lived race...!"

Ferda walked past him.

Following that, Rize also moved timidly, trailing behind him.

"If you follow behind him... you must abandon any thought of ever returning here."

Rize's body faltered.

Though no one here had ever truly liked her, this was the home where she had lived her entire life.

Leaving that home could not possibly be easy.

Rize squeezed her eyes shut.

And then she threw herself past his shoulder.

Soon, a wave of magic power was accompanied by the sound of a rushing waterfall.

A moment later, the figure of a woman Cypress knew appeared before his eyes.

"Oh my?"

Erica covered her mouth with her hand.

Despite such a gesture, the corners of her eyes curved up like half-moons.

"It seems the Elder has been defeated by a foolish short-lived race?"

"..."

Leaving no time for any excuses, Erica leisurely disappeared, leaving only those words behind.

He forced himself to hold back the fury that felt like it would burst into an illness.

The elven soldiers followed behind her and entered.

"Elder!"

The elven soldiers stopped their pursuit and checked on the condition of the Elder, Cypress.

Seeing that a frenzy magic was placed on his mind, they hastily drew a dispelling rune.

Because it was a low-tier magic, it was easily undone.

"We must restore your body. Please, calm down—."

"Move!"

Armed with various runes of protection, Cypress shouted with a face flushed bright red.

"Do not let the intruders leave this place under any circumstances! If they attempt to escape, you have permission to kill them!"

The Elder also ran off alongside the elven soldiers.

The soldiers who had been leading the pursuit were lingering around, unable to advance.

"What are you doing!? Why are you loitering around here like fools!?"

Unable to hold back, Cypress roared.

"T-That is..."

The elite pursuit squad let out dazed voices, like newly enlisted recruits.

The moment he saw what the pursuit squad was looking at, he understood why they had no choice.

Blocking their path were none other than three spirits.

-You caaan't pass through here!

-You'll have to get past us!

-Yeah, yeah!

An adorable size and voices that still held baby fat.

Their childish behavior would normally seem utterly laughable.

However, from their perspective, it was different.

Despite their small statures being vastly inadequate to fill this long corridor, no one dared to take a step forward.

Even the high elf Elder couldn't treat them carelessly.

"It would be best if you moved aside, spirits."

-We woooon't move!

-Don't bully Rize.

-What did Rize ever do wrong to you?

"She is attempting to help the enemies of the World Tree escape."

-Are you saying Rize is a bad elf?

"I am."

The three spirits looked at each other's faces.

Then, they started to laugh, clutching their bellies.

-No way.

-No waaaay!

-Rize is nice.

-She greets us every day.

-The bad elves are you guys.

"Are you saying we are evil?"

-That's right, that's right!

-You outcaaast Rize.

-She always held it in even when things happened that she hated.

-But no one would be her friend.

-She never eveeer had a frieeend!

-Exactly!

The three spirits intertwined with each other.

At that moment, something astonishing happened.

A wind kicked up, and the outer bark of the World Tree began to clump together in the center of the storm.

The body swelled increasingly until it eventually took the shape of a massive giant.

A body glowing green with two menacing eyes.

Unable to just stand still, the elite elven soldiers backed away.

An overwhelming presence that even soldiers trained to suppress their survival instincts and march toward death could not defy.

They had no choice.

Because that figure was the nightmare of the elves.

Gone were the adorable voices; a monster living in the abyss spoke with a damp, heavy voice.

-Rize is going to make new friends.

Rize and Ferda climbed aboard, and the sky carriage began to move.

Though they flew smoothly toward the sky, Erica did not let go of her tension, looking down at the World Tree.

"They let us go quite easily compared to how fiercely they resisted."

"They had no choice but to."

At Rize's words, Erica turned her gaze.

"Why are you so certain about that?"

"Because the spirits blocked them for us."

"The spirits, you say?"

"Yes, they're like my friends who lived inside the World Tree."

There were not that many creatures that could enter and exit the World Tree.

That was no exception even for spirits who crossed dimensions.

Because having a high affinity was a characteristic of the elves, there were plenty of spirits hovering around the World Tree, but inside was a different story.

'Could it be...?'

-Rize, Rize!

Three spirits phased right into the sky carriage.

"You guys...!"

Rize looked at the spirits with a startled face and said.

"Why are you here?"

-Because Rize left!

-That's right, that's right!

-And you left something behind!

"Left something behind?"

The adorable spirit opened a small dimensional door and pulled something out from inside.

It was a beautifully arranged bouquet of flowers.

"Ah!"

Rize had previously asked the spirits to make her a bouquet.

They had rushed all the way here to keep that promise.

Rize smiled softly and said.

"It's okay to go back now."

-We aren't going back, though?

"Huh? Why not?"

The spirits snuggled snugly into Rize's embrace.

-We think we'll be bored without Rize!

-And we're friends!

-Rize's frieeends!

-The friends of friendless Rize!

Their innocent shout made her face blush once again.

While the innocence produced by those adorable bodies would make most people smile, Erica's reaction was quite different.

"Excuse me... Scribe Rize?"

"Yes?"

"Those spirits surrounding you right now... could they perhaps be the children called the Nightmare of the World Tree?"

The Nightmare of the World Tree.

Spirits that resided deep within the World Tree, harboring its mana, which the elves had attempted to subjugate numerous times but could never root out.

They had grown using the World Tree as their nourishment, and their size and power became so immensely strong that they became beings possessing a mighty power inseparable from the World Tree itself.

"They do have that nickname. They are a bit overly mischievous, but they still aren't bad kids."

"... Mischievous?"

To use the word 'mischievous' for those brats who endlessly tormented the elves at night and repaid any provocation with tens of times more suffering.

They were among the very few headaches that even the high elves—who strictly excluded all outside elements for the sake of purity—had declared they had no choice but to coexist with.

-We never tormented them first.

-It was the elves who hurt us, always telling us to get out!

-Their room is sooo huge, but they said it was all theirs!

-And they didn't talk kindly like Rize does.

-That's probably why they had no frieeends!

"Ugh, that has nothing to do with it, so please..."

Rize's face flushed beet red, and the spirits giggled.

Compared to their notoriety, they were certainly only acting in an adorable and cute manner right now.

Rize patted her own cheeks and handed the bouquet to Ferda.

"A-Anyway, here is the bouquet I meant to give you, Mr. Ferda!"

Plucked plants were bound to wither, yet the fresh flowers still seemed to be alive and breathing.

With a subtle floral scent and the mana aura of the spirits infused within them, just holding the bouquet made a refreshing feeling seep in as well.

Rize then immediately rummaged through her bag.

"And these are things my father gave me to pass on... Wait a moment, I'm not supposed to give all of them to you..."

Rize sorted the pages by their folded creases and handed four sheets of paper to Ferda.

"He asked me to show this to Regent Ferda first."

"To me?"

"Yes. He asked you to listen to the things he couldn't say, and left it at that."

Erica glanced over at the stack of papers and said.

"Mr. Ferda can read that, and I should receive what I'm supposed to get."

"Uh, about that..."

"Why? Did he say to only show me after he reads this first?"

"... Yeees..."

Erica glared at Rize.

As a dragon spawn who had just swept away the elves with water a moment ago, the pressure she exuded was different from before.

-Don't glare at Rize!

-Bad dragon!

The spirits stood in front of Rize to block her.

Because she had something reliable backing her up, Erica couldn't easily mess with her either.

In the end, Erica threw herself back against the seatrest, and Ferda slowly read the letter.

-To Regent Ferda.

First, I offer my apologies in advance for what is going to happen.

You will surely be chased by the elves, and events will occur that will cause a rift in our relationship.

This situation is not your fault, Regent Ferda; it has happened solely due to my own mistakes.

However, please understand that I cannot explain these matters publicly.

It was something I had to do for the Serdes Continent, and for our elves.

-We high elves have one long-cherished wish.

It is what we call the 'Mother's Seed'.

It goes by a different name in the human language, but you likely know what this means.

Mother's Seed.

Though he had heard it for the first time today, Ferda could deduce what it was.

Magic, though varying in form and name, universally draws closer to the source as it ascends to higher tiers.

The Mother's Seed was exactly that source.

It was none other than the 9th-tier magic: wish.

'The Great Chieftain knows that I reached the wish.'

Was that why he had been so surprised?

Ferda turned to the next page.

-We elves have spent centuries enjoying joy for the sake of that seed.

Because joy is what enriches this land and propels us forward to become better beings.

However, over the last few centuries, our steps toward obtaining the Mother's Seed had slowed.

It was only natural.

Because we were attempting to reach a divine realm higher than the Mother.

But I did not consider the reason for our sluggish progress to be natural.

That is why, Regent Ferda, I coveted the path you had walked and the knowledge you possessed.

What he had been unable to let go of was, in the end, greed.

Greed was an original sin that even long-lived elves could not shake off.

-Though it stemmed from my own foolishness, I have no regrets, for I was able to see its end.

Regent Ferda, you know what result that end led to.

The end for Ferda, who had lived solely on anger and hatred, had led to nothing but emptiness.

-Although our driving forces are different, their nature is the same, so I realized by coincidence that the path we are walking is the exact same path as yours.

We forgot the reasons why we must endure, why we must mourn and grieve over death, and focused solely on joy.

Our impatience eventually clouded even what we clearly knew, and the sheer pleasure derived from misguided methods was eating away at us.

Only then did I finally realize.

The fact that the inside of the World Tree had already been seized by someone's machinations.

"The World Tree has been... seized by someone?"

"Seized? What does that mean?"

"I don't know. It only says that someone has already seized it."

"That's impossible... No one should be able to look into the Mother's Heart without the Great Chieftain's authority..."

Erica and Rize showed the same reaction.

Ferda continued reading the letter.

-Someone is attempting to take all that belongs to the earth and the Mother as their own without permission.

Even though I have realized this, this old man's condition is already poor, so I cannot weed them out.

If I were to inform the two of you about this, it would become difficult for you to escape this place.

To me, the safety of you two is the priority.

When she escaped without knowing the reason, the Tower Master must have protested fiercely, so I ask that you apologize to her on my behalf regarding this matter.

"He says to tell you he's sorry for not letting you know in advance."

"That old man... If he had told me beforehand, it's something I could have helped him with..."

Erica showed a deeply disappointed reaction.

Was this what they called a love-hate relationship?

Ferda turned to the next page.

-I have rambled on too long. From here on, I will offer advice that will serve as a milestone for the path you must walk, Regent Ferda.

The cause that had triggered all that trouble was finally mentioned.

The following contents read as such:

-To state the conclusion first, the answer you seek lies in the east.

That place which is now called the Land of Demons.

The answer that the Demon King could not grasp lies there.