Ch.126126. Alfheim

In a world where gods exist, it’s still the lords who rule. The lords respect the gods, and the religious orders that follow the gods don’t challenge the lords’ authority. They’ve coexisted through mutual cooperation.

But such words don’t apply in Lornaroc.

In this gloomy, filthy city, the influence of kings and nobles doesn’t reach. For decades, Lornaroc has been ruled by four religious orders instead of a king.

Chaos, Death, Deception, and Pleasure. Four orders simultaneously rejected by the rest of the world, yet each rivaling major religious orders in scale. Lornaroc is a city where criminals and vagrants gather, and those who arrive in this land typically join the Order of Deception.

Unlike the other three with their strict baptismal requirements, the Order of Deception embraces everyone. Thanks to this, they have the largest membership in Lornaroc, though no one considers them the greatest.

The Order of Deception still hasn’t produced a single saint or apostle.

“Really, this is too much. Dragging me along without any explanation. I’ll have you know I’m quite busy! Do you have any idea how much spiritual energy I absorb in Lornaroc daily? Missing even one day causes considerable losses… Plus, I need to manage the children at my establishment.”

A woman’s whining voice echoed through the dark cavern. The Apostle of the Abyss, Shaharon, turned around with an expressionless face. Though no light penetrated the underground, the woman’s face was clearly visible. She approached, grumbling with a sullen expression.

“To begin with, it wasn’t me who received the oracle but you two. Why do I have to come along?”

“Haven’t we already finished discussing this? It’s to collect the debt I previously granted you.”

“Still, you could at least explain the circumstances. If I’m to help, I should know what’s going on. Well… I don’t necessarily need to know everything.”

The woman grabbed Shaharon’s arm, letting out a coquettish nasal sound.

“After everything is over, if you let me just taste your spiritual energy… I won’t say another word. I’m not even asking for the full experience. Just a tiny bit, just enough to warm up. If you promise me that, I’ll do my best to follow your orders from now on. What do you say?”

“There’s no time for such frivolous games, Lydia.”

Shaharon brushed off the woman’s hand with a stern face. The Apostle of Pleasure from the Order of Pleasure—Lydia pouted and clicked her tongue.

“You’re so devoid of desire. If you just fell into my arms, you could experience the ultimate pleasure you’d never experience in your lifetime. Other men cling to my skirts and loiter around the order just to catch a glimpse of me, so why are all the men I actually want invariably impotent?”

“They’re enticed because they don’t know your true nature. And I am not impotent.”

Shaharon stared at Lydia with pitch-black eyes.

That seductress changes her appearance at will. Not just her face, but physical characteristics, age, even her voice. She freely transforms every component that makes up a person.

The appearance she crafts perfectly mimics the preferences of her target. That alone is enough to make most men lust after Lydia, though disciplined ascetics can resist her charm. What’s truly dangerous is her blessing of aphrodisia. This blessing, subtly spread, interferes with the target’s mind without their awareness, making them Lydia’s prisoner.

In the red-light district operated by the Order of Pleasure, deep within, hundreds of men are isolated, voluntarily offering their spiritual energy solely for Lydia. Entranced by her, they lose their judgment, unaware anything is wrong. They live as wrecks, perpetually steeped in pleasure, leading lives worse than livestock.

Even now, Lydia is trying to seduce Shaharon with her coquettish behavior. Though she hasn’t yet manifested her blessing of aphrodisia, if he shows any weakness, she’ll immediately reveal her true colors.

‘It can’t be helped.’

An untrustworthy ally is dangerous. Knowing this, Shaharon still recruited Lydia. To successfully complete his future plans, the more powerful allies, the better.

“So, what about Albheim? How are we getting there?”

“We’ll use the Black Lotus.”

In response to Lydia’s question, Shaharon raised his hand. The darkness spread across the ground gathered in one place, forming a viscous pool.

“Even with the Black Lotus, you can’t cross such a vast distance in one go, right? I know your mastery of spatial movement is the best among the apostles. But Albheim is at least a three-month journey from Lornaroc, isn’t it?”

“Do you think I would have called you without any preparation? Lord Pandemius has lent his power. We won’t arrive immediately, but the journey time can be reduced by more than half.”

After failing to bring Rex from Lindveil as ordered, Pandemius had remained silent for a long time. However, the saint said that Pandemius was actually satisfied with the result. Shaharon didn’t understand the god’s intentions. He didn’t dare try to fathom them.

One month before the Imperial Princess’s coming-of-age ceremony, a new oracle descended.

Go to Albheim. Fate is inevitable, and the boy I desire will come to that forest. An opportunity will surely arise, so observe the situation and guide him to the order at the appropriate moment.

Again, Shaharon didn’t understand the oracle’s meaning, and didn’t dare to fathom it. When an order comes, he simply carries it out.

The Order of Death had received an oracle as well. Just as Shaharon hadn’t revealed the contents of his oracle, neither had the Order of Death. What mattered was that their purposes aligned.

“Absian.”

Shaharon turned his head to look at Absian. The Apostle of Nothingness from the Order of Death. His dull silver hair swayed gently. With his eyes covered by a red cloth, Absian silently moved forward.

Though Shaharon wasn’t particularly friendly either, Absian was far more extreme. Whether he was practicing a vow of silence or not, Shaharon had never seen Absian speak from the moment they first met until now. Communication wasn’t entirely impossible. Though he never answered, Absian readily followed Shaharon’s words.

For Shaharon, Absian, who never spoke a word, was far more preferable to Lydia, who surreptitiously coveted his spiritual energy.

“Now, Lydia. You should enter as well.”

“I got it! I’ll go, alright? I’m coming along, but don’t expect too much from me. My abilities are specialized in areas other than combat. I’m not completely useless in a fight, but if another apostle shows up, I won’t be much help.”

Lydia grumbled as she dipped her foot into the pool.

“Fighting the Apostle of Life inside the Great Forest would be suicide.”

“That’s not for you to worry about.”

Shaharon replied indifferently as he lowered his raised hand. Whoosh! The darkness that had risen in the pool surged like a fountain, then swallowed the three bodies.

***

The sky is dark.

It was as if a vast curtain had been spread across the heavens. Though not completely dark like night, the densely packed leaves blocked the sun’s light. The light that filtered through the thin gaps couldn’t illuminate the forest.

The tops of the giant trees, which must have been growing for hundreds, no, thousands of years, weren’t visible. Even tilting one’s head all the way back, one couldn’t see the summit of the trees. And there were countless such trees.

Though sunlight was blocked, warmth remained. Unlike ordinary forests, Albheim is a forest that has received the blessing of the God of Life. Even in winter, snow doesn’t fall in the forest, and it always maintains an environment suitable for life to germinate.

A week had passed since they set out for Albheim. As the carriage advanced, the trees gradually grew larger, and the view was tinged with green.

“From here, we must proceed on foot.”

After traveling for quite some time, at a certain point, Silvaren instructed the group to disembark from the carriage.

“When will we arrive at Albheim?”

In response to Rex’s question, Silvaren, who was walking ahead, answered in a brusque tone.

“A foolish question. We have already entered Albheim.”

Unlike other countries, Albheim consists of a vast forest. Naturally, there are no border lines demarcating national boundaries. This forest itself is literally Albheim’s territory.

‘We’ve entered?’

Rex looked around with a puzzled face. He couldn’t immediately comprehend the statement. If this was inside Albheim, shouldn’t there be sentries or patrols guarding against outsiders? So far, the group hadn’t encountered any elves except for the delegation.

“To begin with, those without permission cannot infiltrate Albheim. If one lacks qualification, they’ll wander around the forest’s entrance and naturally find themselves outside. Direction is meaningless in Albheim.”

Silvaren narrowed his brow and glared at the group.

“The same applies to you. If you wander around outside the permitted areas at your own discretion, you’ll become lost. Albheim shows no mercy to those who ignore warnings, so you might wander the forest for a long time and starve to death. Even if fortune smiles upon you and you meet another elf, you’ll receive appropriate punishment for breaking the rules.”

“Ha ha, we are well aware that we are unwelcome guests to you. Having visited as representatives of His Imperial Majesty, how could we commit such discourtesy? Of course, others will also observe proper etiquette. The situation Lord Silvaren is concerned about will not arise. Nevertheless, we will heed your warning.”

Alvar nodded readily and smiled. Silvaren frowned but didn’t say anything more. He closed his mouth and moved his legs again.

‘Albheim.’

Rex took a light breath. The scent of moisture-laden vegetation gave a refreshing feeling to his lungs.

‘King Elturas. The Apostle of Regeneration.’

He hadn’t been idle during the past week in the carriage. Until Ellin’s recommendation led to the decision to go to Albheim, Rex knew nothing about the place.

So he asked. Though this was Charlotte’s first visit to Albheim as well, she knew what kind of place it was. An apostle stands at the center of the continent, and in such a position, one’s knowledge naturally broadens even without seeking it.

Alvar’s occasional explanations were also very helpful.

From ancient times, Albheim has been ruled by a single king: Elturas. A high elf of the direct lineage of life, he was already the king of Albheim during the Great War hundreds of years ago. As a high elf who lives for an almost eternal time, his exact age is unknown.

Elturas is both the king of all elves and the priest who serves closest to Elisia, the Goddess of Life, who is the mother of all elves. All affairs of Albheim are decided through Elturas, and elves never resist his commands.

For the elven race, Elturas’s authority is incomparably more absolute than that of the human emperor.

Even Ellin’s current return was directly ordered by Elturas.

Elturas is the elf who has existed and reigned the longest among all elves, but being the longest-lived doesn’t mean he has reached the highest state.

Elandir.

He is the only apostle of elven birth currently in Albheim. Known as the Apostle of Regeneration, Elandir is King Elturas’s eldest son and also Ellin’s older brother. Like other elves, he doesn’t leave the Great Forest and hasn’t shown any activity for hundreds of years.

Elandir has also survived since the Great War era. Though genealogically he’s her older brother, there’s an age difference of over hundreds of years between him and Ellin, who was born relatively recently.

‘…How old is Lady Ellin?’

Rex looked at Ellin with curious eyes. Due to the desperate opposition from Silvaren and the elves of the delegation, he hadn’t been able to converse much with Ellin on the way here. Even now, elves were surrounding Ellin in a circle.

‘Lady Charlotte called Lady Ellin a child, so she must be younger than Lady Charlotte…’

Rex doesn’t know Charlotte’s age either. He had been curious and tried to ask a few times, but each time, Charlotte had glared at him and clenched her fist. She had already reached the level of an apostle when she taught young Berger, so she must be over a hundred years old.

Smack!

Suddenly, a burning sensation struck his buttocks. Rex exhaled sharply and looked to the side. Charlotte was glaring at him with narrowed eyes.

“…What is it?”

“Somehow your gaze looked sinister, and before I knew it, my hand moved on its own.”

Rex rubbed his buttocks with an incredulous expression.

“No, what are you…”

Just as he was about to retort with indignation, the delegation stopped walking. Rex sighed and turned his head.

“We’ve arrived.”

Silvaren turned around and murmured.

“The area we’re about to enter is Albheim’s residential zone. As I warned earlier, don’t act rashly.”

Rex tilted his head with a puzzled face. Arrived? There’s nothing around. Just trees standing in rows. Ignoring his reaction, Silvaren lifted his foot from the ground.

And when his foot touched the ground again.

The world changed.

“…This is.”

Bright light illuminated the view. Above the sky, leaves still hung like a ceiling, yet warm sunlight shone down. No. It’s not sunlight.

The trees themselves are emitting light.

“Spatial movement?”

“Rather than spatial movement, it would be more accurate to say we’ve entered a barrier spread throughout the forest.”

Charlotte said in a calm voice. Rex opened his eyes wide and turned his head around.

Things that weren’t visible before. Things that were hidden now reveal themselves. Taller and thicker trees are everywhere. Trees with numerous holes. From inside, presences on high alert could be felt. Silvaren’s words about this being a residential area flashed through his mind.

And beyond the vastly spread trees.

In the center of the forest stands a giant tree, distinct from the others, growing alone. A truly overwhelming size that defies perspective… Rex stared at it blankly. The roof covering the sky was made of branches and leaves extending from that tree.

No. Is it right to call this merely a “tree”?

He knew instinctively, without anyone telling him.

The Divine Tree.

The World Tree.

“I thought you might not return right away, but it seems things have gone better than expected.”

A voice was heard from afar. The elves of the delegation, including Silvaren, quickly knelt down. Step. The distance was clearly quite far. Yet the voice was heard as clearly as if spoken right in front of them.

“Father said to bring Ellin, not to bring other humans along. What is the meaning of this?”

A silver-haired elf said as he landed on the ground.