Ch.1005Back to the Surface

The verdant land burns and the green sky shatters into pieces.

The World Tree’s realm created with divine power, her own paradise, was collapsing as it lost its core.

– RUMBLE…!

A crumbling world. Every element that composed this space scattered like broken ashes.

Into the endless darkness beyond, into the infinite universe called the heavens.

Below the splitting, falling earth was the universe, and above the shattering, dispersing sky was also the universe.

A sight like darkness devouring the world. I became part of it, thrown into the middle of the universe.

Just like when I was advancing toward the World Tree’s paradise.

…Wait, if I don’t make it back in time, will I literally become lost in space?

Come to think of it, that might actually happen…?

Cold sweat ran down involuntarily.

Let me think. I was able to reach the heavens because I followed the path the World Tree had opened, right?

And now that World Tree is breaking apart after losing its divine core… it will completely disappear soon.

If that happens… hmm… the pathway between heaven and earth that the World Tree fixed in place with its own power… would naturally disappear too.

Damn, this is no time to be sightseeing the universe…!

I hurriedly looked down below my feet.

To check the green Milky Way that had split into countless branches like a tree, the signpost pointing to the direction I had flown from.

– RUMBLE…

That signpost was breaking apart rapidly.

Like the World Tree’s realm, it was engulfed in golden flames, crumbling quickly from its extremities.

I instinctively realized that the moment it completely collapsed, the passage to the ground would close as well.

I descended along the remaining green river of light, using all my remaining strength.

Like a star falling toward the earth.

To the ground.

—-

After rushing against the rapidly collapsing green river and throwing myself through the crack in the middle of the universe, I was finally able to return to the ground.

Honestly, it was extremely close. Just a little later and I would have truly become lost in space.

Wait, is that place actually space?

The scenery certainly gave that impression, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t the space above the atmosphere but rather some kind of different dimension.

Just because the landscapes are similar, we can’t treat two spaces with completely different access methods as the same place…

…Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore?

I won’t be going there again anyway. At least not before I die.

[You’ve returned. It took longer than expected. You’ve consumed quite a bit of power too.]

Perhaps because my demigod state was released upon returning to the ground, Hersella, who had been silent in the heavens, spoke to me again.

‘What, you’re awake?’

[Though my voice couldn’t reach you, I’ve been awake for some time already. It was quite an impressive sight.]

I thought she had fallen completely asleep like when I exhausted all my Karma of Murder, but judging by her speech, her consciousness had apparently remained intact.

Maybe because I forcibly drew out the power of Karma of Murder to manifest Leviathan.

‘Wasn’t it cool? The sword of fire that burns the world. Honestly, it’s a weapon that perfectly matches your taste, isn’t it?’

[No matter. What use is a weapon that isn’t mine? More importantly, look ahead. That tree, is it alright to leave it like that?]

Hersella chuckled and pointed at the World Tree with her karma tentacle. The great tree that seemed to have evolved from wood attribute to fire attribute.

– CRACKLE…!

Like a giant torch blazing brightly to illuminate the darkness, the World Tree’s corpse burned, turning to ash from the top and scattering. Thanks to it, the surroundings were as bright as day.

It was also terribly hot, though I didn’t mind much.

‘That? It’s too late to salvage anything. There’s no point in taking the burning husk anyway.’

So what could I do?

The invaluable body of a god was turning into ash-filled wind, vanishing futilely, and all I could do was quietly watch—

[No, that’s not what I meant… that blonde man and the red-haired madwoman. Aren’t they down there right now?]

‘Ah.’

I let out a groan.

That’s right. If the entire tree is burning so vigorously, the fire must have spread to the roots… and near those roots right now… would be Demian and his group.

This is bad.

A drop of cold sweat ran down. If I wasn’t careful, I might end up roasting Demian, Ophelia, and Perne with my own hands.

[They say you boil the hunting dog when the hunt is over, but disposing of them right after killing the fairy god? What a cruel tyrant. Such a frighteningly cold-blooded act.]

‘Is this the time for jokes?!’

I frowned with anxiety and impatience.

I needed to get down quickly, but there was no way to increase my falling speed. I didn’t have enough Karma of Murder recovered to emit karma flames.

All I could do was surrender to the momentum of the fall while bracing for the impact of the collision.

– WHOOSH!

And so, after falling for quite some time like a wedge cutting through the air, just as my feet were about to crash into the desertified ground like a comet—

“Finally made it out—”

“Huh?!”

“What?!”

Right below my feet, a familiar-faced blonde young man suddenly popped out, and—

– THUD!

He was hammered back into the ground by my feet.

Like a nail driven deep into a wooden board by a hammer, both powerfully and brutally.

“Urgh…”

Demian, who survived thanks to a defensive miracle, groaned like a zombie with a cracked skull before dropping his head. He had fainted.

The impact of receiving someone falling from a height measured in kilometers with his head.

If the barrier of holy light hadn’t reflexively spread, wouldn’t his skull have been smashed like a watermelon?

The necklace of St. George containing the defensive miracle had saved his life once again.

“Demian?! What in the world… oh.”

Ophelia, who caught Demian as he fell below ground level, looked up in surprise.

“Haschal, you!”

Then, as soon as her eyes met mine, her expression contorted.

Judging by her face and clothes covered in soot, she must have had quite a struggle climbing up to escape the fire.

Her clothes were even half-burned.

She seemed like she wanted to confront me about it, but…

“Hurry up. You’ll catch fire if you stay there.”

I quickly changed the subject and extended my hand to her. Meaning she should grab it and come up rather than waste time arguing.

“Sigh… I should just keep quiet. Of all people to get involved with…”

Ophelia looked up at me with an expression that suggested she had much to say but was holding back, and took my outstretched hand.

“Isn’t that your fault? You approached me first, right? Saying you had a favor to ask.”

The Claire assassination matter, was it?

She had approached me first with the intention of using me, so regretting it now was just a calamity she brought upon herself, a case of reaping what she sowed.

“Argh…! If only I could…!”

Having no rebuttal, Ophelia gritted her teeth while trembling with her clenched fist.

Yet with her skilled levitation magic, she floated the unconscious Demian and exhausted Perne into the air, then grabbed my hand and came up to the ground.

“That fire, you did it, right? We almost died!”

As soon as she reached the ground, Ophelia let go of my hand and pointed at the World Tree that had become a burning log, shouting.

Her tone was closer to questioning whether it was dangerous rather than genuine anger.

Perhaps because her clothes were half-burned but she hadn’t suffered any major burns, her reaction was milder than I expected—I thought she would be furious.

That’s a relief.

“Sorry, sorry. That was the only way. I didn’t know the flames would spread so quickly.”

I offered a casual apology to appease her, then asked what exactly had happened down there.

“Well… never mind. Let’s talk while we move. If we stay here, we might get hit by stray sparks.”

Ophelia pointed east. The direction we had flown from. Toward the battlefield where the Holy Army and the fairy army would be engaged in fierce combat.

“Yes, that’s a good idea. I’ll carry this one, so try to wake him up.”

I agreed with her opinion and carried the completely exhausted Perne on my back, leaving the unconscious Demian to Ophelia.

Not telling her to carry him, but to try waking him up with magic.

A few seconds later.

“Ugh… my head…”

Demian, who had been sprawled out, clutched the crown of his head and got up.

Seeing that he didn’t utter the typical phrase of people who faint after being hit on the head—”Where am I? Who am I?”—he seemed to be fine.

“You’re up? Then let’s move. There’s nothing more to see by staying here.”

I led the group out of the desertified forest and headed east. To return to the main force of the Holy Army led by Lacy and Agnes.

Because everyone was tired and couldn’t summon Kudsedra, our pace was slower than expected and took quite some time.

Thanks to that, I got to hear in great detail what Demian and Ophelia had experienced underground.