Chapter 332: 332
“Great!”
Little Chick jumped .
“We did it!”
Flapping its little wings, it chirped joyfully .
Marcel Ghionea failed to understand the situation for a short while, but it didn’t take long for him to realize the change .
The tentacles crisscrossing in the air stopped altogether .
And soon .
Guoooooo—
They exploded like fireworks when the Yggdrasil Roar burst out!
“Ah!”
Having thought that he had failed, an exclamation of joy escaped Marcel Ghionea’s mouth . However, it was too soon to be surprised .
Woo—! Wooooo—!
The Nests that had their tentacles annihilated screamed . At the same time, they began to wriggle crazily . Like a balloon being pumped with air, they repeatedly expanded out and shriveled back down .
Eventually, at the moment their surfaces became tense and bloated—
Ssssshk!
Marcel Ghionea clearly caught sight of a grey, discolored arm coming out of one Nest .
The branches that shot up to the sky shook as if to break at any moment . As they shook more fiercely, the number of fireflies coming out increased . And so, as the fluttering sparks of light touched the grey figure, it began to regain its original color .
Eventually, when the black aura of death completely dissipated, a bright red color surfaced on the figure, and a fiery blaze suddenly ignited on the Nest .
Crackle!
After instantly being enveloped in flames, the Nest’s cries became even more sorrowful .
However, this wasn’t the only Nest that was showing a change .
One Nest suddenly shrunk as if it was being compressed by air, and another Nest was being torn to shreds by blades of wind .
The end result for all the Nests was death by violence .
As the husk of the dead tree cracked and scattered away, the five Nests couldn’t stand the pressure and exploded . At the same time, figures emanating a large presence rose up from each Nest .
Just by standing up, they dyed the surrounding air in their colors— clay-brown, water-blue, dark-red, jade-green, and sky-blue .
The surviving Spirits erupted into a cheer .
[Whooooo!]
[The Spirit Kings!]
Marcel Ghionea finally recovered his senses and looked around the surroundings . He couldn’t find Little Chick . It wasn’t until he turned back to the front that he saw Little Chick flying forward a little ways ahead .
Splash . Marcel Ghionea caught up to it and threw himself into the lake .
“Hey . ”
Pushing the paddling Little Chick forward, he asked .
“What happened? Why did the World Tree suddenly disappear?”
“It didn’t . ”
Little Chick quickly replied .
“It was granted a new life . Since it took care of the urgent matter at hand, it’s trying to throw away its dead body and be reborn in a clean, new body . That will be much better for it in the long run . ”
“But just now—”
“Fool . Do you think the World Tree is an idiot? If it became a seed leaf right away, the Nests would have devoured it immediately . ”
Little Chick continued curtly .
“I told you . We had a chance because the World Tree remained even with a contaminated body . When we delivered the new seed to it, it regained control of its body and used the power of the sedges to blow up the Nests . Having five sedges was really a divine fortune . ”
“Then…”
“Ah, so annoying! Just see for yourself!”
Marcel Ghionea stared ahead at Little Chick’s scolding .
The wastewater-filled lake had been purified before he noticed . Water that was as clear and transparent as a mirror flowed in the lake, shining brightly .
Although the water was deep, he could see to the depths like the palm of his hand using the Thousand-Mile Eyes .
It was just as Little Chick said . The seed had put down its roots where the World Tree stood . Now, it had already sprouted . Despite being tiny, the seed leaf opened, and it quickly grew in size .
By the time Marcel Ghionea reached the center of the lake, it was already on the brink of becoming a sapling .
The World Tree’s seed would need thousands of years to grow to adulthood without the help of the sedges or the nutrients left behind by the previous World Tree .
So taking this into account, the new World Tree was growing at an astonishing speed . The five Aphrisos’ Sedges were displaying their prowess .
“It’s been a while . Have you all been well?”
Little Chick spoke up as soon as it reached the center of the lake . The Spirit Kings that were blankly floating in the air looked down .
[You’re…]
A fiery titan, whose body was made of flames, slowly lowered his head . After gazing at Little Chick intently, it said .
[I see… I was wondering what happened… So it was you, Arcus Spirit…]
[L-Lord Rainbow Spirit!]
A water-colored Spirit resembling a mermaid acted familiar .
[You’ve come to save us—!]
“Shut up!”
However, Little Chick flew into a rage .
“Goddamn idiots, total buffoons! Is it that hard to forgive the Cave Fairies? You insisted on being obstinate even in such a situation?”
[That’s…]
“That’s? That’s what? Do you see what happened to this world because of your worthless stubbornness? Why don’t you take a good look around!?”
The Spirit Kings fell silent at Little Chick’s reproach .
“…Hey . ”
Marcel Ghionea nudged Little Chick . Although he didn’t know what it was talking about, he knew now wasn’t the time to be arguing .
“Chet . ”
Little Chick clicked its tongue before clearing its throat . Then, it cut straight to the chase .
“You should know that this situation isn’t over, right?”
Hearing this, the five Spirit Kings all turned to one direction . It was the same direction where Marcel Ghionea had come from . They must have felt Twisted Kindness’ boundless power as they shivered slightly .
Little Chick snorted .
“Whatever . Hand over your powers . ”
[…Our powers? Ah, you mean—]
“You should know since you faced those monsters . I don’t know how long they’ll last . I won’t repeat myself again . Hand them over . ”
[We want to, but…]
The Fire Spirit King, Ifrit, trailed off .
[Unfortunately, it isn’t possible at the moment . ]
“What? Why?”
[As you probably know, we were stuck inside the Nests for a long time, providing them with nutrients . Although we recovered a little thanks to the World Tree supplying us with power at the last moment, we still only have a fraction of our full strength . As it stands, it won’t matter even if we give you our powers . ]
“Can’t you retrieve them?”
Little Chick asked as it pointed at the remnants of the Nests floating on the lake .
[No . Those energies have been contaminated beyond recovery . ]
Ifrit shook its large head .
[The World Tree didn’t purify them . ]
“Then just purify them now!”
[This is the will and the judgment of the World Tree . Although we could if we really wanted to, that would put too much pressure on the World Tree that just evolved into a young tree . ]
Little Chick grunted .
The inside of the World Tree had been empty when the five Nests were eating away at it . Since it couldn’t purify the contaminated energy, it would have had to fill the gap using more of the energy from the seed and the sedges .
However, the World Tree did not do so .
Once it blew up the Nests, it immediately stopped and entered the cycle of rebirth . It must have judged that using any more of the energy would not allow its new body to reach adulthood .
Considering the situation at Tigol Fortress, this decision wasn’t so hard to understand .
[Wait just a moment . I don’t know how you managed to obtain so many sedges, but there isn’t one, but five of them . One hour— no, thirty minutes should be enough . With the World Tree growing, we will also recover our powers and give you the amount you want . ]
Ifrit was not wrong . But the important thing was that Seol Jihu’s group might not last another thirty minutes .
Every second of every minute was pivotal in this situation . Waiting thirty minutes was impossible .
“Damn it! If only I had more power!!”
Little Chick bellowed in rage before flying out . It swam to the remnants of the Nests, then looked around quickly .
“Here it is . ”
Soon, it discovered the black nucleus of the Nest and dug its head toward it . And what ensued made Marcel Ghionea drop his jaw in shock .
Peck, peck, peck! Little Chick began to peck at the nucleus at a frightening speed . Unless he was seeing things, Little Chick was eating the nucleus .
[Ah, right, he could do that as well . ]
As Marcel Ghionea was about to shout if it had gone mad, a voice flowing with the wind halted his thought .
Soon, a sharp wind blew . The remaining four nuclei floated up from the remnants of the Nests . After the wind cut them into small, bite-sized pieces, they were gently delivered to Little Chick .
A Spirit resembling a translucent, green Fairy slowly lowered her hand .
It was the Wind Spirit King, Sylphid .
She looked at the dazedly blinking Marcel Ghionea and smiled .
[I know what you are worried about, but there’s no need to be alarmed . ]
“It’s fine to eat those?”
[Of course! Arcus-nim is an extraordinarily special Spirit, born under the blessing of the Goddess of Chastity . ]
“A special Spirit?”
[I would have to go describe what happened back then to give a proper explanation . Unfortunately, we don’t have the time . ]
[Simply put, Arcus-nim was born with the duty to annihilate evil . ]
[He was born solely for that purpose, and all of his Authorities and abilities are designed to facilitate that purpose . ]
[That is to say, devouring objects tainted by evil is also a part of his duty . To Arcus-nim, evil is only prey for him to feed on . He can use any source of evil as nutrients for growth . ]
Marcel Ghionea swallowed hard . He thought Little Chick was simply an ill-tempered Spirit Beast, but it turned out to be much more incredible . He could tell just by the way the Spirit Kings treated it .
That said, he didn’t care much about such things . Marcel Ghionea stared at Little Chick impatiently . The only reason he did not urge it was because he could tell Little Chick was rushing to eat .
‘Hurry, hurry…!’
How much time went by?
“Burrrp—”
Little Chick let out a loud burp .
Marcel Ghionea opened his mouth at last .
“Are you finished?”
“Mm, this is acceptable . ”
Little Chick nodded . Perhaps because of its bloated stomach, it looked bigger than before .
That wasn’t all . Its golden-yellow hair had turned half-transparent, almost like the Spirits floating around him .
“Wait, you…”
“What’s there to be surprised about? I’m a Spirit too . ”
Little Chick snorted .
“I won’t last long in this form, but it should be enough . Anyway, let’s hurry on out of here . ”
“…Damn it, just what’s going on?”
“I’ll explain later . I rushed to eat, so there’s still a lot I haven’t fully digested . I need to concentrate on digesting it, so don’t talk to me . ”
With that, Little Chick closed its eyes . Marcel Ghionea shook his head, then picked Little Chick up .
[Let me give you a hand . ]
When Sylphid waved her hand, the Archer of Steel floated up and left the lake in an instant . At the same time, a gust of wind enveloped his body, and he felt himself become lighter . Though he couldn’t be sure, it was likely an ability that increased his speed .
[Please, do your best to hold on . We will join you as soon as we recover our energy . ]
Ifrit’s voice flew in from behind his back, but Marcel Ghionea did not answer . The moment he stepped onto the land, he had started running at full speed .
Soon, Marcel Ghionea left the premise of the lake and turned into a small dot .
*
“Oi, Magician . ”
At Kazuki’s call, a young man being treated by Maria’s healing spell turned his gaze .
“…It’s Philip Muller . ”
“Whatever . Can you lend me a hand?”
“What?”
Philip Muller narrowed his eyes at the sudden request . In truth, it was very easy to see that he was in a sorry state .
There was one simple reason . It was because he used Manifestation .
Even for an Executor, summoning a god to their body was too taxing . Paying a huge price was only natural . This was the reason Philip Muller did not play an active role since the arrival of Twisted Kindness .
“It’s about that Unicorn . ”
Kazuki lowered his voice .
“It has a weakness . ”
“Weakness?”
“Yes . We might be able to hold it down . ”
Philip Muller’s eyes lit up . Preventing Raging Temperance from helping Twisted Kindness . If this was truly possible, they would be able to slow down the increasing pressure on the expedition team’s throat .
“How?”
“It’s simple . ”
Kazuki aimed his bow at the hazy creatures and continued .
“We just have to get rid of those Nightshades . ”
Philip Muller furrowed his brows . Just as he was about to ask what this was about—
"Prrrrr!"
The Unicorn dropped its head toward Chohong .
Kazuki urgently shouted .
“Hurry!”
Philip Muller clenched his teeth and chanted a spell . Although he was still full of questions, this was a situation where actions were needed more than words . Moreover, he wasn’t so stupid to be asking for an explanation when every second was of utmost importance .
Next, Kazuki fired his arrow, and a magic circle arose from the thick book Philip Muller was holding in his hand .
“?”
The Unicorn halted its charge . It was because a consecutive flurry of arrows and magic spells instantly swallowed the haze around it .
"What—"
The Nightshades were easy opponents from the beginning . Although Kazuki and Philip Muller were tired, they were more than capable of fighting such weak creatures .
The haze instantly dimmed and returned to Raging Temperance’s body .
Kazuki did not miss the Unicorn’s body stiffening for a split second .
"Tsk!"
The Unicorn clicked its tongue and released the Nightshades again .
But it was the same this time . As several spells and arrows flew over, the haze went back where it came from .
As a result, the rearing Unicorn stopped and stiffened once again . Its raised forelegs dropped to the ground idly .
Philip Muller glanced at Kazuki . Although he was preparing spells as Kazuki requested, he was asking whether this was ultimately meaningful .
Attacking the Nightshades was clearly distracting the Unicorn for a moment, but with the haze being absorbed into the Unicorn’s body and re-released, Philip Muller couldn’t help but think it was meaningless .
On the contrary, Kazuki was convinced . It was because the Unicorn turned back at them with a look of disbelief .
“It’s as I thought . ”
Kazuki nodded as he nocked another arrow .
“I get why the Parasite Queen forced Raging Temperance to stay cooped up in this world . ”
“What?”
“You see, I’ve been wondering ever since our first battle . The Nightshades, I mean . The reason they’re sucked into Raging Temperance without dying . ”
“… . ”
“Of course, that alone isn’t too strange . After all, they’re the remnants of a divinity . ”
Kazuki spoke quickly as he watched the Unicorn intently .
“But that isn’t the only strange thing . Have you noticed?”
“Noticed what?”
“Raging Temperance…”
Click . Kazuki finished preparing another arrow and continued .
“He always releases Nightshades before using his divinity . ”
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