Ch.1001Ascension

“The bark-like exterior is merely like armor. It’s like a wall to maintain the spell formula inside without damage.”

Ophelia began explaining what she saw and interpreted as she stared intently at the World Tree with her magical eye.

“The effect of the spell formula is… spatial fixation? No, it’s much more advanced… I see. This is existence fixation. It’s fixing its own existence with power that adds something vast to mana.”

First, I learned that the World Tree was exerting its power of fixation to the extreme, anchoring its own existence to this earth.

In other words, the moment that fixation spell disappeared, it could no longer remain on earth.

“So, do we need to break through the exterior and destroy the spell formula inside?”

“That would be difficult. The exterior is included within the range of the fixation spell. If you could destroy that exterior, it would be the same as having already broken the spell.”

Ophelia rejected Demian’s strategy.

She explained that to destroy the World Tree’s exterior would require power that could nullify even divine abilities—in other words, divine power or god-slaying power.

Even with such power, that wouldn’t solve all the problems.

When powers of equal rank clash, the difference in output determines the winner.

To break the World Tree’s existence fixation spell, having techniques that interfere with space along with divine or god-slaying power wouldn’t be enough.

Even if one launched an attack of that caliber, if the power contained within wasn’t enough to exceed the World Tree’s output, it would ultimately be nullified by the difference in power.

As expected, to kill it, we had to target and destroy the divine core as originally planned.

Besides, even if we destroyed the fixation spell, that wouldn’t kill it but merely banish it from earth.

“The branches and roots are organs that combine arms, legs, and mouths in human terms. They absorb or spread souls, nutrients, and mana through these organs.”

Ophelia continued her explanation.

“And the framework inside that huge trunk is… ugh.”

Ophelia frowned as if her eyes hurt and staggered slightly.

Whether directly looking at the World Tree was causing massive strain on her magical eye, her multi-colored eyeballs were bloodshot.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“…This much is no problem. More importantly, the explanation comes first, so don’t interrupt.”

Ophelia clicked her tongue, straightened her posture, and answered while pressing her eyes firmly.

“That framework is an immense power itself. Like arteries and veins, it circulates power. And the location of the organ that could be called the center of that circulation is…”

Her finger pointed toward the ground.

“Down there, in the middle of the roots buried in the ground.”

And then she pointed to the air.

“…And up there.”

“Up there?”

I looked up in the direction Ophelia was pointing.

The end of the trunk that rose like a tower with no visible end, like a pillar supporting the sky. The uppermost part of the World Tree, hidden as if swallowed by dark clouds.

Ophelia explained that if there was an organ that could be called a core in the World Tree, it would be there.

At the very top and the very bottom, probably divided in half.

“Certainly… that’s a reasonable guess.”

The speculation that there were two divine cores seemed absurd at first glance, but considering the characteristics of the World Tree, it made sense.

It was a unique being that had extended its body, which should originally dwell in the heavens, down to earth, fixing its existence across both heaven and earth.

It probably divided its divine core in two to shamelessly straddle both realms.

Like adulterers who keep a separate phone for affairs, carrying two phones even after marriage.

“…So we need to climb up there?”

Demian muttered, craning his neck to look up at the dark clouds.

The clouds were at such a dizzying height that even Demian, who had acquired both flight and teleportation abilities, seemed overwhelmed at the thought of climbing that high.

“No, the opposite. You don’t go up, you go down. Down there.”

I shook my head and pointed at the ground, saying that where they needed to go wasn’t the top of the World Tree, but rather the deepest part underground.

Contrary to Demian’s concerns, I never intended to suggest that Demian’s group climb the World Tree.

It would be meaningless anyway. If my guess was correct, the inside of those dark clouds would be connected to the heavens.

The heavens are where gods reside.

Unless it was a soul permitted by the gods, it didn’t seem likely that mere earthly creatures could set foot in there at will.

Unlike me, who had awakened divine status albeit imperfectly, Ophelia and Perneisia were just ordinary humans and fairies.

Demian was also impossible.

He had gained minimal divinity by defeating the void creature, the Starlight Whale, but obtaining divinity and awakening it are completely different matters.

For Demian to attain demigod status, unlike me, he would have to go through the orthodox process like Varnir. The process of perfecting his body and filling it with vast divinity to bloom.

That’s still a distant story for now.

So, climbing toward the top of the World Tree was my role alone. The rest would be best served by going underground to destroy the half of the divine core that should be there.

“Yes, that sounds good. There might still be sacrifices offered to the World Tree down there.”

Perneisia muttered as if making a resolution. Come to think of it, most of her old comrades were sacrificed to the World Tree.

Though she wasn’t getting her hopes up too much, her desire for them to be alive was subtly evident.

Well… honestly, I think if the forest has turned into a desert, they probably became corpses long ago… but that’s not something I should say out loud.

“Yeah, that might be the case.”

So I vaguely affirmed her expectation.

This is how merciful a goddess I am. If it were Hersella, she would have sneered and told her to prepare urns for the ashes.

—-

Thus, the divine core destruction operation was decided.

Demian’s group dug through the desertified land and plunged deep underground, while I climbed the trunk of the World Tree, heading toward the heavens.

[ Wouldn’t it be better to use Karma Flame? ]

Perhaps finding it strange that I chose climbing over flying, Hersella asked why I wasn’t using Karma Flame.

‘It’s too high. I can’t waste energy just to increase speed in a situation where I don’t know what might happen.’

I answered as I continued to leap vertically like a flea, climbing steadily upward.

I kicked off from small gaps between the trunk, soared upward, dug my fingers into another gap high above to cling to it, and then leaped again.

A series of jumps made possible by transcendent strength, dynamic vision, and balance. After about a dozen such leaps, the ground was already dizzyingly far below.

And then.

【 Do̸n̵’̶t̸ ̵c̸o̵m̸e̷ ̶a̸n̵y̸ ̵c̸l̵o̵s̵e̸r̵!̸ 】

With someone’s voice, presumably the World Tree’s, the tree god’s counterattack and resistance began.

– Krrrrrr…!

With a thunderous roar like lightning in a storm, the World Tree’s exterior cracked open, revealing gaps. From inside, countless flashes burst forth like a raging torrent.

Whip-like branches lashing like a dragon’s tail. Countless leaf blades sprouting at their tips.

Each leaf, as large as a person, was as hard as black iron, and their edges carried a sharpness that could cut even dragon scales.

Hundreds, thousands of them.

“Ha.”

I let out a hollow laugh, released my grip on the trunk, and deployed Karma Flame. The situation was beyond what I could handle while clinging to the tree trunk.

Is this what a monster with a thousand hands wielding a thousand divine swords would be like?

The wave of slashes rushing in like a tsunami was fierce and dangerous enough to slice even a dragon upon contact.

But…

“For a god, you’re not as good as that Varnir!”

Unfortunately for it, I was no dragon.

“Are you not used to fighting? It’s just vast in scale but clumsy in execution!”

With attacks like this that only stupidly increased output and range, it couldn’t bring down the Star Goddess.

“Kyaaaah-!”

I increased the output of Karma Flame to fly faster, and wielding Durandal in both hands, I swung it relentlessly, imbuing it with the power of spatial cutting.

Blue-silver arcs crossed and overlapped to form a dense curtain.

A curtain of spatial cutting. This curtain of destruction, forming not a line but a plane, repelled and erased everything it touched as I soared vertically like a meteor in reverse.

“Can’t you see? Your end drawing ever closer!”

【 C̸r̵e̸a̸t̵u̵r̵e̸ ̵w̸i̵t̸h̸ ̵a̸ ̵s̸t̵a̸r̸ ̵d̵w̸e̸l̵l̵i̵n̵g̸ ̵w̵i̵t̵h̵i̵n̸.̸ ̵T̸e̸r̵r̵i̵b̵l̵e̸ ̵a̸n̵d̸ ̵v̵i̵c̵i̵o̵u̵s̸ ̵g̵o̵d̸ ̵o̵f̸ ̵t̵h̵e̸ ̵o̵u̵t̵e̵r̸ ̵r̵e̵a̵l̵m̵!̸ 】

The World Tree shouted in anger.

In the voice of a god that only I could hear.

【 I̸ ̵r̵e̵s̵e̵n̵t̸ ̵y̵o̵u̸ ̵f̵o̵r̸ ̵h̵a̵r̵m̵i̵n̵g̸ ̵m̵y̸ ̵c̵o̵m̵p̵a̵n̵i̵o̵n̸.̸ ̵I̸ ̵h̵a̵t̵e̸ ̵y̵o̵u̸ ̵f̵o̵r̸ ̵t̵r̵y̵i̵n̵g̸ ̵t̵o̸ ̵d̵e̵s̵t̵r̵o̵y̸ ̵m̵y̸ ̵c̵h̵i̵l̵d̵r̵e̵n̸!̸ ̵I̸ ̵d̵e̵s̵p̵i̵s̵e̸ ̵y̵o̵u̸r̸ ̵n̵a̵r̵r̵o̵w̵-̵m̵i̵n̵d̵e̵d̵n̵e̵s̵s̸,̸ ̵y̵o̵u̵r̸ ̵a̵r̵r̵o̵g̵a̵n̵c̵e̸,̸ ̵y̵o̵u̵r̸ ̵b̵o̵t̵t̵o̵m̵l̵e̵s̵s̸ ̵v̵i̵c̵i̵o̵u̵s̵n̵e̵s̵s̸!̸ 】

So talkative.

“Do as you please!”

I continued to ascend, letting the World Tree’s condemnation go in one ear and out the other.

I avoided what I couldn’t block, cut what I could cut, and burned what I could burn.

Covered in countless debris, I simply kept moving forward endlessly.

Upward to the sky.

Into the clouds where lightning raged.

Beyond them.

—-

At some point, an impact like hitting an iceberg at full speed struck my entire body.

With a roar like thousands of glass panes shattering simultaneously, the world turned as cold as a winter snowfield.

Sound disappeared, air disappeared, and endless darkness covered everything before my eyes. Like being thrown into the middle of space.

I sensed it.

No, I realized it.

This place was no longer the earth where I had been dwelling.

The heavens had welcomed the star.