episode_0019

What is an evil spirit.

It is the god believed in by the Evil Spirit Church, the greatest idol, and also myself now.

Evil spirit, Damien.

I had thoughts of coming down to the ground with a specific purpose in mind, but whether this was a plan or whether the plan was distorted, I don’t know, but I possessed that body.

Come to think of it, I didn’t even know what that purpose was, let alone any way to achieve it precisely.

“I didn’t need to accomplish it from the start.”

Whatever purpose he originally had, whatever reasons he had, those were not things I needed to concern myself with.

It was enough for me to watch my apostles, my believers, and the executives of the Evil Spirit Church live while doing what they wanted.

“Yeah, this should do it.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Chess.

It turned out better than expected.

Roughly starting with ten soldiers, if you first break the enemy’s formation, you’re good.

Within an hour, you can find scattered resources and strengthen yourself, or invest solely in soldier training for an hour.

In reality, an hour here might be equivalent to a day in this world.

Anyway, it was quite enjoyable.

[Adele is massacring!]

[War hero, [Alist] has died.]

[Demon Lord, [Afharht] has died.]

[Hero, [Crimel] has died.]

Of course, the balance seems off.

I invested everything I had gained in soldiers, but Adele just monopolized and grew stronger.

With each swing from Adele, heroes die, demon lords die, heroes die.

What the heck. Terrifying.

“Adele, you’ve gotten much stronger.”

“Being an evil spirit was tough!”

Yeah, it only took less than 30 minutes to clean up everything, but for someone with overwhelming power like you, 30 minutes would have been quite a significant battle time.

Yeah, yeah, this is how it should be.

“You did well.”

I only heard it, experiencing it firsthand is different.

I didn’t know it would be this fun.

All those countless hours spent idly lying on the couch, just daydreaming and sleeping, felt like such a waste.

Lost half of my life.

“This is more fun than I thought. Wouldn’t it be fun to practice combat with this? There’s no limit on the maximum number of players, right?”

“Hmm… I remember there isn’t.”

If there were, I could remove it.

“Great! I’ll ask Abel officially if we can train with this.”

Certainly, using a strangely realistic and practical combat style, one could experience actual combat and strategy, making it a very good training system.

Of course, seeing the game made in this way, it seemed like it was designed to be used in that manner.

I realized the strangely realistic yet direct participation in combat.

“So, the evil spirit doesn’t have anything else to do now, right? Let’s go for a walk then!”

Adele seemed to enjoy walking quite a bit since our first walk together.

I never expected Adele to suggest going for a walk first.

There’s nothing to do here in the Evil Spirit Church except lying around.

There’s no work to give to the gods, and when I tried to clean alone before, they strictly warned me not to touch cleaning with the hands of a god.

Seriously, as a pastime, as a hobby, since there’s nothing else to do, and even that is not allowed, there’s nothing else to do besides walking.

It was fortunate that Adele agreed to go for a walk together.

“Then where should we go today? Oh, how about going to see the World Tree? If we’re with a demon, we might pass through right away, don’t you think? Even if others don’t know, it seems like the demon alone would let us pass right through.”

Come to think of it, I’ve always wanted to see the corrupted World Tree myself.

I might have hidden abilities too, or even if that’s not the case, seeing the corrupted World Tree was one scene I really wanted to witness.

How can one not be curious about the sight of the World Tree, which loves peace, purification, and love, being tainted black?

“Then let’s go see it once.”

At lightning speed, I could reach the forest where the World Tree was on her body.

…But truth be told, it wasn’t that far.

After Mari declared that she would offer the World Tree to me at the Demon Church, the real World Tree was not in a distant continent where it originally resided but had been moved to the front yard of the Demon Church.

It was too close for the World Tree to stubbornly refuse, making it impossible, but still somewhat close. About the distance of three mountains.

“You’ve come all the way here yourself, Demon Lord.”

Mari said with a bright smile.

Whenever Mari smiles, it makes me uneasy.

Maybe because that smile is present in everything she has done so far.

“I wonder why the Demon Lord has come all the way here. It must be because of the World Tree, right? Please follow me.”

As if she knew everything, Mari slowly led us to where the World Tree was.

“I’ve never seen the World Tree before; I’ve never shown it to anyone.”

“So?”

The reason Mari doesn’t show the World Tree well might be because she’s a High Elf.

Even though she may have corrupted the World Tree and killed many elves, she cannot completely resist the instincts of a High Elf.

Of course, this is just a speculative thought.

“My mother is resting here. Please only let the Demon Lord see her.”

“Huh? What about me? I want to see her too.”

“I’m sorry, Adel, but my mother is absorbing life right now. Unless you are a god, approaching her will cost you your lifespan.”

Was that the reason?

It seemed quite selfless.

“In that case, I’ll go see her and wait for you both.”

Absorbing life.

What does that mean?

Did the World Tree change from spreading life everywhere to absorbing it due to corruption?

Or did it need vitality after moving from its longtime foundation to a new place?

Whatever the reason, the answer lies beyond this door.

“You are the World Tree.”

Occasionally, I could see the World Tree when looking at Mari.

However, it was much darker than when I used to sit at home watching TV.

“Nice to meet you, child.”

Not knowing what to say to the World Tree, I tried saying “child” as I would to others.

The World Tree shivered and scattered its leaves.

…Is it shedding?

“Yes, you seem glad to see me too.”

There seemed to be a rather sad reason, but I tried to package it up nicely.

If it’s corrupted, then yes. If it’s under an unsolvable curse, it could be possible.

“Child, you’ve been through a lot. Some things were probably unbearable for you… In the end, you also had a hard time.”

I said as I touched the World Tree.

Stressful, they say.

Oh my.

“You can rely on me whenever you feel overwhelmed. You are my child too, after all.”

I can provide counseling freely.

In fact, I spend quite a bit of time in my room down here, so anyone who comes seeking help would be welcome.

No, if the World Tree comes, my room might be too small.

“I’m counting on you to take care of Mari.”

Yes, just make sure she doesn’t do anything strange with her power.

Casually allowing the High Elf to be favored and granting power recklessly can lead everyone to perish in an instant.

You are also the mother of that child, a presence protecting that child, so I think you should understand enough.

“Rest easy.”

Alright.

The World Tree didn’t suddenly go into overdrive, I didn’t suddenly become human, and tentacle-like roots didn’t strike me out of nowhere on the ground.

So at least my ego is gone, or I’m left alone, one of the two.

Fortunately, the World Tree is the one who corrupted me. It doesn’t seem to think like that.

Thank goodness.

[If you desire something, please come anytime. I will be waiting here.]

Like a beautiful singing voice carried by the wind,

I smiled slightly at the World Tree and walked out the door.

“My mother asked me to pass this on.”

Marie also showed respect, perhaps because she was in front of the World Tree.

World Tree, you were more remarkable than I thought.

“This is… a seed.”

“My mother said to place this in the demon lord’s room as a potted plant.”

Since the main body cannot come directly, are they sending a messenger spirit?

In that case, my capabilities have increased.

Now, watering the World Tree’s seed during work hours should be included.

“Thank you, Marie.”

“Please come back anytime. For the demon lord, this place is always open.”

She smiled broadly, and I walked outside with Adel.

“…I couldn’t see the World Tree in the end…”

“Let’s see it together next time if we can.”

The day faded away.

“It seems even the demon lord may not know all the truths. Perhaps closing their eyes to the truth?”

Marie said as she touched the World Tree.

The World Tree, already fallen, devoid of ego, withered and devoid of vitality, just able to receive what is given, becoming nothing but a mother.

She smiled broadly while looking at the World Tree she had created.

“Perhaps fortunately, following the times when the mother was well, maybe none of my words have been exposed yet. Isn’t that right?”

Marie laughed heartily while caressing the World Tree.

The day ended beautifully.