episode_0048

The dense forest of Elvengard.

In the center, rises the giant divine tree, the World Tree.

From the tunnel beneath the World Tree, a girl’s figure emerges.

Her face hidden behind a white veil.

And just by looking at her long emerald green hair, everyone knew.

The divine maiden of the World Tree.

Mia.

“Divine maiden. What about the prophecy…?”

“…”

The white-haired High Elves who were waiting rushed to the entrance and asked the maiden.

But Mia, the divine maiden, stood still and lowered her head.

Sighs erupted all around.

“Now is the most urgent time for the prophecy! Why is the World Tree so silent!”

“It’s too late now.”

As Mia sighed and took a step forward, the path opened up like the parting of the sea.

And as Mia finally emerged completely from the tunnel and reached the surface.

The sky was tinged with red.

It was not a sunset.

It was the Great Spirit Efreet.

An ethereal form created by the spirit of fire, a massive flame that adorned the sky.

As Mia looked out from a vantage point, she closed her eyes tightly.

It had been 12 hours since the Great Spirit began to manifest its ethereal form.

The now restless ethereal form burned and scorched everything in its path.

An area of the forest, large enough to fill the horizon, had already burned down.

Next was Elvengard, the city where the Elves lived.

And the World Tree.

“What is the evacuation status?”

“The residents have all evacuated from Elvengard. However, whether they can reach the nearest city without any casualties is uncertain.”

It was a desperate situation.

The population of Elvengard alone numbered over a hundred thousand.

Just reaching the nearest city from the isolated Elvengard was already a challenge.

Even if they managed to arrive, there was no mad lord who would accept and accommodate over a hundred thousand refugees.

And the problem only worsened from there.

The World Tree was an immortal sacred tree.

Therefore, even if the tree’s roots burned and disappeared, the World Tree would sprout anew and revive somewhere on the continent.

Until the resurrected World Tree is found, the Elves cannot stop their arduous journey.

Elvengard, the land of the Elves, must be established where the World Tree has grown.

As refugees who have lost their country, they are destined to wander for decades or centuries in search of the sapling of the World Tree.

“I will try to persuade them one last time.”

“Please, divine maiden.”

“Please…”

There was no other choice.

Mia took a deep breath and, fueled by the countless cheers coming from behind, stepped forward.

Approaching slowly towards Elvengard, Mia walked towards the towering pillar of flames.

“Great Spirit!”

|…|

Thud. Thud.

The ethereal form of the Great Spirit, advancing step by step, came to a halt.

Mia placed her hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and exhaled, taking a deep breath.

The fate of the World Tree depends on my words.

The lives of the people of Elvengard and the Elves are at stake.

This pressure weighed heavily on Mia.

Word choice had to be made carefully.

“Do you still have no intention of calming your anger?”

|…|

No response.

As if there was no intention to converse.

Or, as if not even hearing, the Great Spirit stood still without a movement.

“Great Spirit! Let’s resolve this through words…”

|I have given you enough chances|

A thunderous voice that shook the heavens and earth.

Immediately after, the pillar of flames began to move again.

Burning everything it touched, it advanced towards Elvengard.

“Oh…”

Mia’s legs gave out and she collapsed.

The firmness in the Great Spirit’s voice was felt.

Perhaps he would not stop from now on.

It was over.

Everything was over.

“Miss Priestess, please wake up. We need to evacuate quickly.”

“But, what is the point of existence for a priestess without the World Tree…”

“We must find the World Tree again. Without you, we cannot find it. Please, wake up.”

The moment Mia stood up against the elders’ coercion, the ethereal body of Ifrit, which she thought would never stop again, halted once more.

Is this a chance to give her one last opportunity?

With a determined expression on her face, Mia stood up, facing the fiery ethereal body of the Grand Spirit right in front of her.

And there stood a lone figure, defying the blazing ethereal body of the Grand Spirit.

***

“I’ve thought a couple of times that it would be better if it all burned down, but…”

It was the first time the city wanted to destroy everything after the Adventurer’s District.

When all the residents of the city were over a hundred years old at least, any talk of another race would lead to lectures, scolding, and nonsensical ramblings from the senile elders.

Listening to them made one feel like people were slowly going insane, and one might even seriously consider whether the disappearance of the Elven race would not be beneficial to world peace.

“I never thought the day would come when it would actually burn down.”

But as Elvengard was about to be engulfed in flames, seeing people leaving with worried faces in a line, my heart weakened.

“It’s impossible to stop that now.”

If the ethereal body of the Grand Spirit had grown to that extent, a direct confrontation was now impossible.

It wouldn’t even be able to defeat a dragon.

After all, destroying that ethereal body wouldn’t kill the spirit.

Spirits are not living beings but ‘magical entities’.

Unless you destroy the core made of magic, it will endlessly create and resurrect the ethereal body.

The problem is that the core is inside that column of flames.

It’s impossible to attack the core.

And there’s no time to wait until the ethereal body collapses from exhausting all its energy.

“We need to find Cali.”

We have to find and capture Cali, who is controlling Ifrit.

Look.

As evidence that it is under Cali’s control, Ifrit does not respond to the priestess’s questions, even though she gave him a chance…

|I have given you enough chances|

“What?”

What is he saying?

How is he able to speak?

If he was under Cali’s control, he should have lost his ability to speak…

‘No, this is crazy. It was a bluff?’

I thought Ifrit was being controlled by Cali to destroy Elvengard.

But in fact, Cali didn’t even come here.

Ifrit was acting on his own accord?

It’s on.

I thought finding and capturing Cali would solve everything.

But now there is no way to stop that walking sea of fire.

‘No, there is one way.’

A faint possibility comes to mind.

It’s not certain whether it will succeed.

But it’s worth a try.

“Ugh… How do we stop an angry Grand Spirit? Even if a great mage comes rushing in, they won’t be able to handle that!”

“There is a way. But Alicia, I need your help.”

“Me? Me?”

“Let’s go. This could be your chance to become the hero who saved Elvengard.”

“Ah! Wait a minute! You want us to go into that pit of fire? If I’m going to die, I’ll die alone! I haven’t tried so many foods yet!!!”

Whining, Alicia is easily led by the wrist.

But she doesn’t resist, as if she trusts me implicitly, even going so far as to lie down.

“Ugh…”

As we approach quite closely, Ifrit’s ethereal body stops and gazes at us for a moment.

It’s as if he’s looking at a sea of flames made of fire.

As vast and majestic as it is.

It feels like the flames could engulf us at any moment and turn us into white bones.

Sweat pours down like rain.

The body feels hot as if it will combust.

Alicia is already sticking out her tongue, in great agony.

······Maybe it’s because Mijung’s body is naturally low in moisture, she doesn’t seem to be in much pain.

“Well. It’s not working.”

Swish.

I try throwing a stone into the pillar of flames, but due to the intense heat, it just bounces off instead of penetrating inside.

I definitely need Alicia’s help.

“Mijung. You have to throw it well. Understand?”

“······Yes.”

I take off the necklace and hand it to Mijung.

The necklace with a gem emitting a sinister light.

In this operation, Mijung’s role is just as important as Alicia’s.

If we fail, we’ll lose the latest magic stone from Tei.

“This distance should be enough. Alicia, I’m counting on you.”

“Do we have to provoke the wrath of the Great Spirit even more······?”

“Trust me.”

“Ugh!”

She nods her head and sends a determined look.

Alicia furrows her brow, pouts for a moment, then quickly puts the magic stone ring on her index finger.

She extends her hand forward and chants a spell.

“O spirit of the wind, grant me the power to vanquish the invincible······!”

Whoosh!

A deafening blast of wind shoots out, tearing through the eardrums.

The power is thousands of times greater than what Alicia used against the ruffians.

|Oh no!|

The gust of wind hits Ifrit’s ethereal body head-on, piercing through the flames and leaving a large empty space in the center of the flame pillar.

“······Huh!”

Not missing a beat, Mijung grabs the necklace and starts spinning it with her red eyes shining.

Then, she jumps into the air, spinning around one, two times.

Thud······!

She throws the necklace forward, soaring into the empty space.

But the empty space quickly fills up with flames again, returning to its original state.

|Insignificant insects!!!|

“Ugh! It’s even angrier now!”

The flames turn purple and grow larger.

But there’s no need to worry.

As long as the core of the spirit remains intact, it will infinitely resurrect as a magical being.

In other words, if the core is neutralized, the ethereal body of the spirit will also be suppressed.

And the core of the spirit is made up of magic.

Coincidentally, the latest black magic stone made by Tei has an additional effect of absorbing magic.

‘Now, if I activate the effect of the magic stone to absorb magic?’

As the magic stone embedded in the ethereal body emits a sinister light.

|Huh?|

A discordant sound reverberates.

Ifrit’s core is sucked into the necklace without resistance.

Whooosh······!

The ethereal body collapses without its core.

The giant flame pillar loses its form and dissipates.

In an instant, all that remains in front of us is a pile of white ashes as if it had snowed.

As we walk inside, the satisfying sound of footsteps echoes.

I found it.

My necklace.

The metal part is all melted, charred, and twisted, but the black gem remains intact.

“Everything turned out well, didn’t it?”

“What are you even, really······?”

I made an astonishing discovery.

With this gem alone, no matter how powerful the opponent is, as long as they are a magical being, I can capture them all.

In simple terms, it’s like catching all legendary Pokémon with a Master Ball.