Chapter 1023: The Divine Tree and the Master.

The Heavenly Demon disappeared.

Suddenly, it was nowhere to be seen. It was right behind me a moment ago, so where did this one go?

‘Gone without a word, again.’

I frowned. After going to the trouble of bringing it here to keep it by my side, to think it would disappear like this.

And right now, of all times?

‘Tsk.’

It was becoming a headache, but judging by its behavior, it probably hadn’t gone far. It always seemed to be lingering around anyway.

‘The problem is that it’s not by my side right now, though.’

Honestly, that’s not much of a problem either.

‘Its presence wouldn’t change anything, would it?’

Due to the current conversation, I just happened to glance at the Heavenly Demon without realizing it. Whether she was there or not wouldn’t make much of a difference.

So, I turned my head and asked the Spirit.

“What does it mean for a soul to have a tree?”

“…….”

At my words, doubt sprouted on the Spirit’s face. Her expression was as if she was looking at me like, ‘Why don’t you even know that?’

“I dare to ask you, Master of Another World… If perhaps you are testing this lowly one…”

“It’s not like that, I’m genuinely curious. I don’t really know your customs.”

“…….”

She suddenly called me Master, so how could I not ask?

Furthermore, she said I contained a tree within my soul. It was something I couldn’t understand.

“…The Sacred Tree that serves as the link to create heaven and earth. Because you contain it, I spoke to you that way.”

“I contain the Sacred Tree?”

Hearing that, I ran my hand over my chest. I contain the Sacred Tree? What does that mean?

‘…No way.’

I frowned and recalled the situation. If I did contain something, I suppose I did contain something.

‘Is she talking about what I got in Ya-wol?’

I did feel energy entering me when I touched the Sacred Tree back then. Could she possibly mean that?

‘Is she thinking I’m the Master because of that?’

If that woman, the Spirit’s, misunderstanding stems from that, then the possibility was sufficient.

However.

Perhaps because I kept acting like I didn’t know, suspicion was also etched onto her face.

Her expression suggested she thought I wasn’t the Master. And if I wasn’t the Master, then what was I? That wariness was also present.

‘Hmm.’

I knew instinctively. If I kept making it obvious I wasn’t, it didn’t seem like a good situation would arise. As if to prove it, the others standing guard behind her were subtly showing hostility.

‘…What should I do.’

If I wanted to, I could wipe them all out. It didn’t seem particularly difficult, though.

‘I still have too much to gain.’

Wasting the woman who seemed to know something by simply getting rid of her felt like a waste.

I lacked information. And I knew there was quite a lot to gain here.

Besides.

‘The Sacred Tree in front of me…’

I raised my head.

It was still daytime, but when I recalled the moon I saw last night.

‘The full moon isn’t far off.’

In a few days, the full moon will rise. And when that happens, the time mother mentioned will arrive.

‘She said to meet on the hill on the day of the full moon.’

The hill she mentioned then must be the Sacred Tree located here in Maryeong-dong.

The small hill created there proved it.

‘So, I’ll have to spend a few days here waiting for the time.’

For that reason alone, there’s no need to stir up trouble unnecessarily.

Having decided that, I immediately spoke to the woman.

“I see… just as I thought.”

As I nodded and spoke, the woman reacted.

“Um-“

“This concludes the test.”

Cutting her off, I said.

“I had something to confirm, so I apologize for testing you unnecessarily.”

“……!”

As I said that with a smirk, the Spirit’s eyes widened.

“So… it was true…!”

Her thoughts were correct. That was her expression. Confirming that, I turned my back.

It was solely in the direction of the Sacred Tree. My back was turned to the woman.

In case my act was discovered, I turned my face away.

“You said your name was Spirit.”

“Yes, Great Being.”

“Yes, just as you said, I am a being from another world.”

“Ah…”

It was a voice filled with emotion. Why was my coming from another place making her so emotional?

I couldn’t understand it, but it was fine as long as I understood it from now on.

“I have a question. Why are you all bound to this place?”

That beings unable to leave Mt. Maryeong were gathered here.

That means it wasn’t that they weren’t leaving of their own free will.

As I spoke as if I knew all that, the Spirit immediately clasped her hands together, bowed, and spoke to me.

“…For generations, we have been the Seoksan clan, protectors of Mt. Maryeong.”

“The Seoksan clan?”

“Yes… It’s where those among the Wolya tribe with particularly potent blood reside.”

“…Hmm.”

Their blood is particularly potent. I accepted that statement.

‘So, they are indeed the Wolya tribe.’

Not just the humanoid race with beast ears and tails.

‘There are also Wolya tribes that look almost like beasts?’

The problem is.

“Then what about you?”

Never mind the others. What was this one called Spirit?

This one, unlike the others, wasn’t much different from the Wolya tribe I knew.

She wore a veil, but judging by appearances, she likely had a human face.

Seeing the fox ears and tail proved she was Wolya, but…

“You’re different from the others.”

According to her explanation, shouldn’t she resemble a beast more?

Hearing that, the Spirit spoke as if she had been waiting.

“…The Seoksan clan, for generations, once every thousand years, a subspecies is born to succeed the shrine maiden’s will.”

“A subspecies?”

“Yes. The Master of Myriad Realms bestows a blessing, sending a subspecies resembling them.”

“…What?”

At those words, I scowled and looked at the Spirit.

‘Resembling the Master?’

That means…

‘Does she mean resembling mother?’

White hair, white ears, and a tail.

Her face is hidden by the veil. Even trying to pierce it with spiritual sense yields the same result. That means the veil itself is close to a treasure.

“I apologize. The reason I do not reveal my face is that I dare not show it carelessly, as I resemble our Master.”

Since she bears the face of the Master of Myriad Realms, she wears a veil.

That was the meaning.

However.

“For what purpose?”

Why would the Master of Myriad Realms have their subspecies born here, calling them a shrine maiden?

The question regarding this still remained.

To that question, the Spirit continued her explanation in a somewhat choked voice.

“…Originally, this place was created by the Master to send and spread their will.”

The Spirit’s gaze swept the surroundings.

“Mt. Maryeong wasn’t like this either; it was a more vibrant and beautiful place.”

It looked like a sufficiently lovely forest, but outside it wasn’t. It was a place composed only of rocks, where no vitality could be felt.

‘So it wasn’t like this originally.’

That it wasn’t just rocks originally?

“However, about two hundred years ago… the Master’s messages stopped coming, and a disaster occurred.”

“A disaster?”

“A being who appeared here calling himself a General… when the Leader appeared, he erased all the vitality of the mountain.”

“…Hmm?”

The Leader appeared and erased the vitality?

“He began capturing all those who originally lived on Mt. Maryeong. For some reason, the mountain gradually lost its vitality. We had to flee.”

“…You fled from the General?”

“Yes… We couldn’t hide from his eyes on this mountain, so regretfully, we had to use the fragment the Master left behind.”

“A fragment?”

The Spirit carefully showed something with her hand. It was a stone fragment with a crimson hue.

“It is a divine object the Master sends to the shrine maiden.”

“…….”

I knew it the moment I saw it.

‘…What is that energy?’

The energy contained in that small fragment was unbelievable.

It contained an immense amount, and it was also foreign.

The level was such that my body reacted immediately upon seeing it.

“Does this mean you created a space using this?”

“That’s correct… This place is our haven, created with the power received from the Master.”

“Why didn’t you think of escaping?”

“…Because we cannot. We cannot leave Mt. Maryeong without the General’s permission…”

“Hmm.”

The Leader began ruling Mt. Maryeong, causing the forest’s vitality to disappear.

He started capturing all the original inhabitants of Mt. Maryeong.

It means they fled from that, created a space with the fragment, and are living in hiding.

Hearing this, a question arose.

“Then why did you make your presence felt only during the day?”

I knew about the issue with this space. The presence that wasn’t felt at night became noticeable during the day.

If they truly wanted to hide from the Leader, they shouldn’t have unnecessarily scattered their presence during the day.

‘There’s no way that bastard Leader couldn’t sense this.’

I’d already experienced his outstanding senses.

If they were people who fled from him, it was obvious he would come charging right at them.

To that question, the Spirit…

“…The General of Mt. Maryeong does not move during the day.”

“What?”

She provided quite useful information.

“He showed no activity during the day when the sun was out. He only started moving at night. Knowing that.”

“So you reveal your presence relatively freely during the day?”

“That’s correct.”

“…If I had to guess the reason, is it to reduce energy consumption?”

“Th-that’s correct.”

When I guessed the reason, the Spirit reacted with surprise.

The energy in that fragment is vast, but it’s ultimately consumable.

So, they had to conserve it to maintain the space even a little longer.

‘It means that during the day, when the Leader isn’t moving or is unconscious, they slightly lower the density of the space.’

That’s why I could only sense their presence during the day.

Having thought that far, I crossed my arms.

I roughly understood. Up to this point, at least.

“Then, lastly.”

I asked the Spirit.

“You said you were waiting for me. How could you have known?”

Calling me a Great Being and all. Your attitude was as if you knew I was coming.

Where did that reaction, as if you knew I’d come, originate from?

That was the most important part to me.

Because that was the case…

‘You’d readily give me this information without hesitation.’

The reason you kept providing information as soon as I acknowledged being the Master of Another World.

That too must have an answer to my question.

As if to prove it, the Spirit spoke to me as if she had been waiting.

“…The Master left behind a message.”

“The Master?”

“Yes. About two hundred years ago, when the Master last left a message… along with an apology for the events to come… they said another Master of Another World would come with the fragment to save us.”

As she spoke, the Spirit clenched the hand that held the fragment into a fist.

“…I believe the time has finally come.”

A voice thick with emotion came from her.

“…Great Being.”

She bowed her head to me as low as she possibly could.

“Please… please, save us.”

The small body of the Spirit, prostrated before me.

“…Hmm.”

Seeing that, I scratched my cheek and said.

“No.”

“Thank y- Huh?”

At my answer, the Spirit lifted her head.

The veil fluttered. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I could tell she was flustered.

So, I smiled and repeated myself.

“I said no.”

“…….”

The Spirit’s body stiffened completely.