episode_0047

The [Garden], which had been dark with only moonlight, now glittered like day in the light of the massive torch at its center. Had the animals come out thinking the sun had come to play? As soon as they saw the fire, they froze for a moment like Ellicia, then quickly scattered, fleeing the falling embers from the tree.

But Ellicia slowly approached the World Tree. She could still feel the human’s magic, the one who had caused this calamity, within it. A strong desire to demand why he had done such a thing swelled within her, but simultaneously, a resolve to simply eliminate him also bloomed.

‘I trusted him…’

A bond with the human race, the first she had created. Moreover, the first person she had truly trusted, aside from the World Tree’s children. As if burning that trust brightly, Ellicia’s pupils only held the image of her mother’s husk, embraced by human-made flames, falling to the ground with cracking sounds.

Did it not know what its master had just done? Or had it also been complicit in this plan? Ellicia stared at the wolf still sitting there, her eyes devoid of emotion. At first, it too looked at her with surprised eyes, just like her, but its expression soon shifted to one of indifference, merely staring blankly at the burning mother as if it were firewood.

“…”

She didn’t even have the strength to scream. The old her would have been screaming at that colossal being and peppering it with dozens of arrows by now, but her current target was not it.

Ah, wasn’t that where the World Tree’s entrance was? The gate that connected the [Garden] and the World Tree, though made of wood, had been best described as dazzling, was now almost completely destroyed by a beam of light. Was merely damaging her mother in this way not enough for the human inside?

It wasn’t hot. Had her rage surpassed the heat? Thud, thud, her feet carried her into the World Tree. Several embers fell onto her clothes, but Ellicia paid them no mind.

What first caught her eye were hideous, truly hideous, animal forms. Animals resembling chimeras, with twisted heads still making clacking sounds as they ground their sharp teeth, their bodies abnormally large, and their tails unnaturally long. Had her mother been enraged by this fire? All the exhibits in that hall were made of wood.

Thud, thud, her feet headed towards the World Tree’s throne. He would be there. Since he had approached the throne to heal it before.

“To think I apologized to such a thing…”

As the memory of apologizing when his first attempt failed, thinking he was healing her, resurfaced in her mind, she unconsciously mumbled. What else could it be but an apology for helping the arsonist when she should have set him on fire?

Ah, finally, she saw its face. Had the throne’s position been moved? Only after walking for a long time did she finally see a human figure. A person kneeling towards the throne, infusing something with magic.

Ellicia said nothing. She simply strung an arrow onto her bowstring and shot it. With the greatest strength and magic she could muster.

Clang!

But perhaps this much didn’t affect the arsonist at all. Her full power was negated far too easily.

“Ah, Ellicia. You’ve come so quickly, you must be quite surprised, eh?”

“Shut up.”

“Just a moment…”

“I said shut up.”

One by one, the arrows in her quiver were strung onto the bowstring and aimed at Ray. But each time, the arrows bounced off in various directions as if striking a wall.

“…”

Her hand was thrashing through the air. Even though all her arrows were gone, her brain was dominated by the single idea that the madman before her had to die.

“Ellicia, calm down for a moment…”

“Would *you* calm down if you were me? Is this your ‘healing’? Burning everything down?”

“Ellicia…”

“I told you to shut up.”

“Could you perhaps look at your clothes?”

What’s with talking about clothes in a situation like this? Her clothes must have surely burned completely from the falling embers. As she grasped her clothes with a hand that should have been covered in ash, Ellicia’s eyes began to widen. Why weren’t they burning? And now that she thought about it, why was this fire only burning her mother?

“Normally, it wouldn’t even be visible, you know. Since you’re so sensitive to magic, such a misunderstanding can occur.”

He approached the small, burning golem between them. His hand somehow went into the brightly burning firewood, but he showed her only an expressionless face, as if feeling no pain.

“It’s simply magic appearing as fire. For ordinary humans, it’s impossible for magic to take on such a shape.”

He pointed to the World Tree’s entrance with his finger and spoke. “Didn’t you feel it when you came? That this fire isn’t hot at all.”

“Then…why did you do this…”

“There’s a group called the Demonic Cult. Among their many research projects, one was to control the World Tree.”

He stood up and continued speaking. “They realized they couldn’t perfectly control the World Tree and found another method. That was to cover it with something like an [outer layer] to manipulate it like a puppet.”

“That’s…possible…?”

“Well, as far as I know, even the noble beings who watch from the heavens are gentlemen who conduct research and experiments without hesitation, so I believe it’s entirely possible.”

He said, looking at the World Tree whose flames were finally weakening. “But that’s not what’s important, is it? Congratulations. Mother has been healed. This fire was merely used to burn off Mother’s [outer layer].”

***

It was over. Ah, could the journey to obtain a single mandragora really be this difficult? Behind me, Hwaryun, having exhausted its power, was turning to ash and disappearing, while only Ellicia in front of me was still staring at me with a blank face, as if processing my words.

“Cough…”

Was it because I had handled too much of #$%%? My body no longer had any strength.

“!”

Still, had she understood the explanation? As soon as Ellicia saw me collapse, she rushed over and supported me.

“It’s over now… The elves will return to their village, and I will leave this place.”

Thud, thud. Was it because she was supporting my body? The sound of footsteps echoed out of sync within the World Tree. Supported by Ellicia like that, I looked at the World Tree, now vivid after its [outer layer] had completely burned away.

Luminous magic. Magic, which could be expressed in that single phrase, was steadily blossoming. Was the World Tree rejoicing at its return? That magic began to gather somewhere.

“Hey, Ellicia.”

Only then could I tell her the reason I had come here. How long had this taken? Finally, I could escape from that Empress.

“Perhaps a mandrago….”

Blue text. The blue text I had been waiting for so eagerly appeared before me. But it was not the friendly companion who usually spoke to me. Each character was different from what I usually saw. The crackling text, as if the resolution was broken, was still clear, as if it had to convey something.

[Warning! Warning!] [One o’clock has not passed yet!] [You have cleared the quest too quickly!] [Difficulty is adjusted.] [The World Tree is enraged!] [The World Tree contacts someone!]

Ah. The magic.

The moment that luminous magic gathered at the very top of the World Tree, a colossal beam of light surged upwards, as if it would pierce the heavens.

“Ray, what is this…?”

I couldn’t answer her question. What was this phenomenon? A phenomenon I had never seen in the game. [The World Tree is enraged]? [Contacts someone]? What was all this?

At that moment, everything in the [Garden] fell silent. The flow of magic, the movement of the wind, even the act of breathing. We made no noise whatsoever.

Only then did a phrase I had seen in the game subtly come to mind.

[Because a great god planted me for humanity and banished her!]

And I knew well who this great god was. Did she not want to be explained to by humans? The moment the World Tree’s magic reached the sky, a being appeared on the World Tree’s throne.

With a small ear of wheat tucked behind her ear and dressed in attire one might see in ancient Greece. Her stark white skin was like ice, and her yellow hair resembled the magnificent sight of a wheat field spread out on harvest day.

Yellow eyes. Those eyes, reddish-yellow like a setting sun, were now, staring at me as if to kill me.

“[Demeter]…”

A name that should not have been uttered right now escaped my lips.