End Process (1)

“Fortunately, it seems no additional enemies have popped out.”

Having been caught off guard once, I used the wind and earth spirits to their fullest to search the surroundings. For now, there were no signs of enemies within range.

“Then we’ll continue to advance.”

Arisa, with a bandage wrapped around one arm from a light scratch received in the previous battle, nodded. An elf army, reduced to half its size, accompanies me.

The other half was guarding the city in case of any unforeseen situations. Although our forces were divided, there was almost no interference, perhaps thanks to killing many enemies in the previous battle.

‘It’s getting thicker. This disgusting energy.’

It’s the energy of the end times that seeks to destroy the world. A power that’s the complete opposite of me, who empathizes with the spirits living in this world’s nature, was now being spread just ahead.

“Look over there!”

Finally, its true form was revealed. The massive gate was spreading its murky and gloomy energy in all directions, rotting the land, drying the air, and had long since killed all life living on it.

That blackened, dead area was in such stark contrast to the still fresh surroundings that it couldn’t be hidden.

“It’s them. The dark elves!”

And in front of it, the dark elves who hadn’t died in the last battle were preparing for a desperate resistance. The dark elves, who had already become puppets controlled by that erosion, had lost their reason and were going berserk, immediately charging at us with weapons as soon as they saw us.

“They’re beyond saving. Let’s fight.”

I engaged in battle with the resisting dark elves alongside the elves. Like the one we captured, it was already too late to restore them with my power.

Even though they were going berserk, we already outnumbered them. The dark elves were pierced by the elves’ arrows, cut down by spears and blades, and fell to the ground.

There was no need for me to step in and exert myself. Instead, I planned to use this saved energy to close that terrible hell gate.

“I know that you, High Elf, saved Ellua who was changing due to the curse. But, can you really close that hole too?”

“I’m not certain either. That’s why we have to try.”

Arisa lowered her bow and pointed at the erosion with a tense face. It’s clearly larger and more powerful than the erosion that appeared in the goblin nest.

But I’ve also grown a lot since then. I’ve accepted much more power using the empathy ability that’s grown more than twice as strong after meeting the wind spirits.

Today was the day to reap those results.

“Let’s get to work. Lend me your strength.”

I called out to the spirits and slowly walked towards the erosion site. It was absolutely impossible with my power alone, and the spirits had to pour out all of their power too.

Of course, for the spirits, this was a matter of their own survival, so they wouldn’t refuse my request.

“Everyone, step back!”

The elves, realizing there was nothing more they could do, stepped back tensely and watched what I was doing.

For now, this was something only I could do. With this power I’ve brought from the distant past, I purify this curse, which is likewise a legacy from the distant past.

“Ugh…”

As our powers were opposite, the closer I got, the stronger the repulsive force trying to push me away. Just approaching it required expending energy.

However, this reaction also meant that the power I possessed was clearly lethal to it.

‘Disappear quietly.’

I gritted my teeth and endured the recoil as I stretched my hand towards the black gate. Additionally, the earth spirit shook the ground, and the wind spirits summoned fierce gusts, pouring out their anger.

[…]

‘This is!’

And in that process, I opened my eyes wide and saw a vision-like scene. Not the black darkness I had been seeing until just before, but a completely different world.

“The Earth people ultimately failed to conquer the tower. The tower will collapse… and the end that was being suppressed will finally begin.”

The tower’s guide, looking like a pale mannequin. That thing, which everyone who entered the tower had to see, was standing in front of the collapsing tower that was scattering like a mirage, muttering blankly.

Immediately after, its body shattered, and a massive darkness began to surge out from behind it. Like sewage pouring out of a punctured drain, as if the tower had been sealing them away.

They began to cover the world in an instant. That was all I saw in that fleeting moment. Perhaps they were the magical beasts of the tower that heralded the end of the mythical era.

“Isilia!”

Arisa was grabbing and shaking my body as I regained consciousness. I looked around blankly and smiled slightly at the clean surroundings with nothing there.

“What happened to the erosion?”

“I-It’s gone. You purified it, High Elf!”

When I asked just in case, she pointed to the blackened dead land with a voice suppressing joy. The land remained the same, but the hell gate that had been there was clearly gone.

“I’m fine. I didn’t use up all my power, I just… saw an illusion, I guess.”

I refused Arisa’s support and stood up on my own. The confusion was brief, and the dizziness quickly disappeared. I was just confused about whether the vision I saw was real or my imagination.

“Let’s go back. There’s nothing left around here now.”

“This land seems like it will be hard to revive.”

She looked at the surrounding land with a sad face.

The dead land didn’t come back. When I asked the earth spirit, it said that to revive this land where even the power of spirits couldn’t work, a much stronger authority would be needed.

“No. There might still be hope.”

It was then that one of the elf warriors spoke up. Arisa looked at him with surprised eyes.

“It should be possible with the power of the World Tree.”

“I wondered what nonsense you were talking about. Idiot, it’s been over 3,000 years since the last World Tree disappeared. Bringing up such an old story now… oh.”

Arisa laughed bitterly at his mention of the World Tree, but then she closed her mouth with a look of realization and glanced down at me.

“The World Tree, huh. Let’s hear about it. How the last remaining World Tree came to disappear.”

It was a name I had heard in passing when listening to rumors about elves. I smiled slightly and asked them for an explanation.

“As you probably know, the World Tree has been a guardian deity symbolizing elves along with the High Elves since ancient times. Only the High Elves could care for the World Tree and empathize with its will. But when the High Elves disappeared, the last World Tree eventually faded away without leaving a successor.”

On the way back to the elf city, Arisa told me about the World Tree as I had requested. Like the stories about High Elves, it was actually an ancient history close to legend.

Some elves argued that the power of the World Tree, which could control vast life energy, could stand against the erosion.

“How can you revive something that went extinct 3,000 years ago?”

“W-Well, we’re not sure about that either…”

When I asked out of genuine curiosity, Arisa looked at me as if to say, “Then how did you, who’s 10,000 years old, come back to life?”

Left speechless, I closed my mouth. In fact, I don’t know exactly what happened to me either.

“Anyway, it’s fortunate that we stopped the erosion before it grew larger. If we hadn’t, our kin might have all been killed by those evil enemies, and this entire area could have rotted away.”

Elnar, who had been waiting for us, seemed to have rested a bit as his complexion had returned. Coming out to greet us with a happy heart, Elnar was overjoyed and laughed heartily when I told him we had completely resolved the erosion.

“Dead land and the World Tree.”

Then, hearing the conversation we had been having just before, he stiffened his face. I hadn’t thought of it, but Elnar, being an elder, seemed to know something.

“It’s not certain, but there exists a relic known as the seed of the World Tree among the elves of Deia, which is known as the region where the last World Tree was in the distant past.”

“I-Is that true, Elder?!”

“I’m not certain either. I just heard about it briefly long ago. Until now, I thought it was just a meaningless old relic. After all, there were no High Elves to germinate that seed.”

Elnar shook his head with a serious face to Arisa, who was greatly surprised. It wasn’t something to make a fuss about yet, he meant.

“You think I could do that?”

“I’m not sure. Don’t you know, Isilia?”

I pointed to myself and asked back as the elves looked at me, but they in turn questioned me. I hesitated at that question. I don’t know either.

“W-Well, I need to inform my outside collaborators about what I’ve learned today first. Let’s talk about this again then.”

I shook my head and ended the conversation for now. It was time to inform my collaborators about the news of the erosion.