episode_0049

“No way!! Like this.”

Zap~

Zyaaaz!!!

Zyaaaaa!!!!!-

The scream of the tentacles echoed.

The separated tentacles once again became Shaela’s demonstration of power and disintegrated.

It seemed to be its main ability to separate and increase entities, but it was no different from being sealed.

“Again!”

Swish.

I grasped the stem sword.

Since fists didn’t seem to work, I had created the stem sword based on Shaela’s advice to practice with a sword from the beginning.

Quite blunt, but sharper than a fist, making it easier to cast spells.

“These damn bastards!!! What did I do wrong to deserve this!!!”

Squelch!!

Shoosh!!!-

Just then, the enraged tentacle twisted all its arms sharply into drills and fired.

Immediately towards him-

“Mu-chan. Behind.”

I swiftly turned around and swung the wind sword, colliding with the drill attack of the teleporting tentacle.

Chyaak!!

Kkagagagak!!!!!-

Naturally, I should have been pushed back by a normal attack, but using magic changed the story.

I spread the sword’s aura like a shield and imagined my body accelerating forward. This kind of imagination was not very effective, but with a huge amount of nutrients and mana from the main body, it was not impossible.

Kkagak……

Hwi-yu~

Managed to somehow withstand the attacks of the ruler that could pierce through anything.

“Kiyaaa!!! Kill him!!!!”

Zap!!

Just when the attack seemed to stop, the tentacled creature shot up into the sky this time.

Shoosh!

Hoo-wooosh!!-

The tentacle arms spread in all directions.

The arms endlessly extended, reaching out in all directions over all nearby trees. In an instant, our entire field of view was covered by the tentacle arms, as if we had entered the body of the tentacle.

“Daring to mock me. I will kill you!!!!”

At the same time, energy began to swirl and gather at various points in all directions.

The formation Floren mentioned is visible.

In other words, those complex formations are magic circles.

“Hmm… It seems too much for you to handle.”

Shaela calmly evaluated from the side.

Certainly, that tentacled creature is weaker than Cardephion, but undoubtedly a powerful ruler.

Dealing with a doppelganger is naturally difficult.

If it weren’t for my domain, it would have ended long ago.

Then….

“I can stop it.”

I have to use the power of the main body.

‘Be stronger than anything in the world. Rise with sturdy land, let the wind surge with impact.’

Shwoosh!!!

Kugugugu!!!

Giant stems sprouted from the ground, surrounding and protecting Shaela.

The stems were coated as the earth rose again, imbued with properties to release impact when covered by a windbreaker.

Main body’s stems.

Collaboration of wind and earth magic.

Nourished by the massive main body.

It is the shield of my maximum capacity that I can unfold now.

“Now stop dying!!!!”

Paaaah!!-

Tentacles emitted dull black rays from all directions. Much stronger and more numerous than the ray attacks of slave hunters.

Hook!!

Immediately reached out.

I am currently a Dryad. Grew wooden stems from my hand in all directions, anchored them to the barrier by merging with inner stems.

The shock felt simultaneously.

Kwaaaaah!!!-

Kugwagwagwaah!!!

“Ugh……”

Indeed, not to be underestimated.

Despite drawing on the power of the main body, it is an attack fueled by the master’s full strength.

Feeling the surroundings darken, and though it didn’t touch me, it feels like my flesh is burning.

Kuguguguk!!!….

Paaah!!!-

However, endured.

The ray did not pierce the barrier.

The barrier had almost lost its form, but it managed to block the attacks of the dominator.

“Hah… You… You blocked this too? Unbelievable!!!! Who do you think you are to torment me like this!!!!”

Various movements could be felt from all directions.

I released the stem shield and looked around, but I couldn’t see the outside situation as I was engulfed by the elongated tentacles in my avatar form.

But this is my domain.

Squelch!!

Shrrrk!!!-

In the main body’s view, the enraged tentacle creature split itself apart and scattered.

I wondered what kind of attack it was, but to my surprise, the separated tentacles fled in all directions, repeatedly splitting into 4, then 8, duplicating themselves.

“Huh?….”

I was slightly taken aback.

Could it be that the dominator was trying to escape….

The tentacles that surrounded me were not for attacking, but rather, they were meant for escaping from the beginning.

But I understand.

I would have run away too.

It must have been frustrating to be mocked and attacked as if it were a child’s play. Moreover, even if they tried to deal with me, the presence of Shaela with immeasurable power next to me must have felt like a great pressure.

But the outcome remains the same.

“Tsk. Daring to run away?”

Shaela’s displeased voice.

A sense of great danger was felt in the sky at the same time.

And sure enough, a light cluster from Shaela’s magic pierced through the mist and struck the ground.

Zap!!

Kwakwakwak!!!!!

Kwaaaaa!!!!-

“It’s not just a simple light.

It’s a powerful beam.

Surprisingly, each beam carried a similar energy to the black beams that the tentacles had shot at me.

Those dozens of sky beams simultaneously swallowed up all the separated tentacles.

Pssss-

“Kyaahhh!!!!!”

The tentacles disappeared one by one.

At the same time, only one tentacle emitted a black aura and blocked the attack.

Hwiyyyuuuu~

The beams disappeared afterwards.

“Damn it, because of that little bitch!! Just wait!! When I come back, I’ll tear that worthless body to shreds!!!”

Shwak!!

Thud!, Thwack!! Thwaatt!!!!

The remaining tentacle bent its many legs in anger and leaped against the side of a tree, moving in a zigzag pattern.

Faster than expected.

It seemed determined to escape by any means…

Thud.

Thud….

“How dare that…”

I blurted out words that shouldn’t have been said.

Whoosh!!!!-

Shaela vanished from her side with a strong gust of wind. And astonishingly, she reappeared in front of the path where the main body of the tentacles was moving.

What the…

When did she get there?

“What!?”

It’s too late to realize.

Shaela clenched a golden fist similar to the one she used to defeat the Cardepyon last time.

A sensation of her surrounding everything.

“Die!! You filthy bastard!!!!”

Kwaaang!!!

Kwaaaah!!!-

Kwakwakwakwak!!!!

“Kyakkaaahhh!!!!!!”

The giant fleshy body slammed into the ground.

Koohoooww!!!-

Followed by a heavy shockwave.

After that, the tentacle’s voice was no longer heard.

Cardepyon managed to hold on, but the tentacle creature was knocked out cold. It wasn’t even a physical type to begin with, so there was no way out.

In the end, is this how it ends again?

“Hoo~ It was a rotten one. The separation was just a pathetic ability to mimic the main body. The lizard last time was much better.”

Shaela casually brushed her hand.

Then she looked back at me.

“Right?”

She demanded an answer.

“…Yes.”

“Do you also think I’m beautiful?”

​

It’s a creepy question.

I shouldn’t make a mistake even as a joke.

I immediately agreed.

“Right.”

Chuckling.

“Yeah~ This tentacle guy is weird. Come on, hurry up and come pick it up.”

Did my mood improve again?

I pointed to the tentacle to eat.

I’m fine with that.

Avoiding the tentacles that lost their strength and fell, I approached Shaela. Then I asked about the attack he used.

“What was that beam attack just now?”

“It’s nothing. It’s the punishment of the goddess.”

“Punishment?”

“Exactly. When you use magic, it shows good effects on wind and earth, right? I, on the other hand, handle qualities like light well. Oh, of course, I can also handle wind, earth, fire, and lightning to some extent.”

“I see… ”

While nodding my head, I couldn’t quite understand.

It wasn’t just about handling it well, but it was hard to see how high a level was needed to manipulate a beam of light like that.

That’s not magic.

It’s an ability he developed.

He created and honed his skills into one ability.

That was the power of a god.

I was just imitating.

When will I be able to do that too…

It was a hollow victory.

There wasn’t much tension.

The most dangerous monster with the domination qualification became a training dummy for Shaela and me, and the Elf & Human Alliance easily dealt with the subordinate tentacles.

The result is good enough.

Without thinking further, I swallowed the tentacle, cut off its air supply, and returned to the village.

“No one has died!!”

The subordinates celebrated a great victory.

Originally, the problem was the tentacle dominator Swallios, and the subordinates were only slightly stronger than the mist forest monsters.

Moreover, this was my territory, so the main body of the Elven followers of the goddess could move their main stems to rescue any dangerous individuals at any time.

It was a natural result.

Of course, there were a few injured.

In those cases, I shared fruit to heal them.

The power to heal is strong in the realm of life, so I easily healed most injuries.

Because of this, everyone’s morale greatly increased.

“Haha. It was nothing special.”

“I felt stronger after this incident.”

“The Elves had our backs, so I wasn’t worried.”

“Thank you, humans, if you hadn’t helped, I would have been in big trouble.”

“Compared to the grace of the goddess, we can defeat any monsters no matter how many come!”

The village was bustling.

They talked happily about camaraderie in fighting together and rejoiced in their victory.

［You all did well.］

In the end, Shaela appeared in the sky, radiating light from her whole body and put on a performance. Everyone cheered and congratulated each other.

“The goddess is with us!!”

“The goddess will protect us!!”

Such praises were heard quite a lot.

Perhaps the faith of the villagers will be even stronger after this incident.

A special day like this cannot be overlooked.

Today is a happy day.

No one died.

Everyone grew together and became closer.

A special time to share this joy is needed.

“Bolkan. Get some drinks.”

“What!?”

So I unlocked the underground alcohol.

Since Bolkan had stocked up on alcohol in the underground warehouse, there was no problem with the party.

“Is this the nectar of the goddess!!”

“Nectar… It’s the alcohol made by the goddess. Since she provided it for everyone, let’s enjoy it together!!”

“Oh… I didn’t know such alcohol existed in the world.”

“This is the first time I’ve had such a satisfying drink in my life.”

“Kya~ Even when I was on the verge of being discarded, I feel happier here.”

“It was a good decision to move here to find the goddess. The humans are all so nice too.”

Humans and elves alike praised without reservation and drank their fill of alcohol.

The alcohol was plentiful.

If there wasn’t enough, they could simply make more.

Magical lanterns were installed throughout, ensuring they could enjoy themselves until late into the night.

As the alcohol flowed, conversations became more abundant.

The stories began with tales of valor in today’s battle, smoothly transitioning to discussions about the tower and past events, growing closer with each passing moment.

Gradually, it was becoming everyone’s village.

With this, even those who had previously felt awkward were now able to easily socialize.

It was a battle that yielded more than expected.

Shayla’s control over humans increased, I gained valuable insights, the village’s identity became more defined, the bond between elves and humans grew stronger, and humans felt a greater sense of belonging to the village.

A village to protect.

A village being protected.

Though only a word apart, the latter instilled a stronger sense of belonging and purpose.

If we continue to grow like this, it won’t be long before a proper legion is formed.

There is no need to worry.

It will grow on its own.

The rest can be left to Shayla, the elven priestess, and Floren, and I will focus on my own tasks.

And now, my task is…

Absorbing the ruler.

It’s time to extract the new life essence.