Volume 4, Chapter 44 – The Black-Flamed Monsters That Shouldn’t Exist

Translator Note

wow.. long chapy again, can you rate this novel on Novelupdates to motivate me? :3

pls~

just kidding ehe, tho i’ll be grateful if you do

“You little…”

Realizing she had been thoroughly teased by Mizuki, Fia, who had just been considering the possibilities, became angry with embarrassment. Mizuki’s gesture of sticking out her tongue and pulling down her eyelid, in particular, infuriated her. She shot up from the soft mat, lunged at Mizuki, and reached out to pinch her face.

Mizuki subconsciously leaned back to avoid her, but halfway through, she suddenly remembered the cake she had placed beside her. Worried about crushing it, she propped herself up with her hands, her body coming to an abrupt halt. And then, her face fell into Fia’s hands, her cheeks changing shape as they were squeezed.

Almost instantly, Mizuki winced in pain, her shoulders hunching together.

“Ow, ow, ow…”

“Hmph. That’s what you get for pushing your luck.”

After a brief lesson, Fia let go—mostly because the sweet, milky scent from Mizuki was too close for comfort, and because with Mizuki leaning back, her own lunging posture felt very awkward. With just a slight downward glance, she could see the tempting cleavage beneath Mizuki’s loose shrine maiden’s robes. Although Mizuki had a child-like physique, she was not completely undeveloped. The gentle curves of her nascent figure were quite alluring from a different perspective.

Of course, only Fia felt this; Mizuki was completely unaware.

Maintaining the posture of a victor, Fia sat up straight again, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Now can you tell me how to enter the Holy Tree?”

“Hiss… Little Fia, you really show no mercy. One second you’re calling me ‘Mother Mizuki,’ and the next you’re abusing me like this. What an unfilial daughter.”

“It’s your own fault for teasing me.”

Fia stole a glance at Mizuki, who was holding her face, her eyes red.

She looked a little pitiful. Maybe I had been too rough?

The moment she thought that she might not have controlled her strength, Fia’s heart tensed. But to show guilt now, after just being the victor, would feel like admitting defeat. So she only chose to scoot closer to Mizuki and reach out to caress her reddened cheeks.

“Are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine as long as little Fia rubs it for me.”

Although tears were still welling up in her eyes, Mizuki didn’t back down.

To still be able to joke meant she was fine. Fia withdrew her hand with a light snort.

“Take care of it yourself. As a maiden, you should know some pain-relief magic. Now, hurry up and tell me how to get into the Holy Tree. I have important business to attend to later.”

“Important business?”

“It’s nothing. Just pretend you misheard.”

Fia waved her hand, changing the subject.

It was a good thing there was no third person here. Otherwise, she would have had to consider murder or kidnapping. The so-called ‘important business’ was not a secret that could be spoken of at this time.

“Is that so?”

Mizuki blinked in confusion, then her eyes darted as if she had understood something, and she discreetly changed the subject.

“The way to enter the Holy Tree is to touch its roots or trunk, and then pray to Lord Elf God in your heart. As long as your heart is sincere enough, you will be summoned into it. But before you enter, you have to decide whether you want to go to the treasury, the forbidden library, or the altar. Otherwise, you’ll disappear for a moment and then be sent back.”

“You don’t need a door? Are there no guards? Wouldn’t that lead to theft? For example, someone who was supposed to go to the treasury could sneak into the forbidden library and steal books.”

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“You need to be qualified to even get here to steal anything. Besides, even if you successfully steal something, you still have to get past the Royal Castle’s guards. The reason no one followed you, Fia, is because you are the crown princess. Other nobles who want to enter the Holy Tree need to be accompanied by three or more soldiers of the same rank. As for me, it’s because I’m only at the Second Rank and pose no threat, and I’m also the Holy Tree’s maiden recognized by His Majesty, so it’s fine.”

I see.

Fia nodded lightly.

Indeed, judging by the guards she had seen on the way, an ordinary person would have no way of getting here. With several Sixth-Rank magic-casters guarding the gate, it would be strange if anyone could break in.

However, Fia had another question. She pointed to the Holy Tree beside her and said.

“Then what if an ill-intentioned person flies over from the other side of the Abyss?”

The Holy Tree grew on a cliff. Although it was separated from the lifeless land on the other side by an abyss several kilometers long, any magic-caster with [Flight] could easily fly across that distance. The [Citadel of Silence] only covered the Royal Castle, not the area under the Holy Tree.

Fia’s question clearly stumped Mizuki. Her brow furrowed, and she looked troubled.

“Well… I don’t know either. But no one has ever flown over from the Abyss. Maybe there are magic barriers set up there, or something dangerous. In the end, it doesn’t matter even if they do fly over. Not everyone can enter the Holy Tree, and it’s not something that can be easily destroyed. If it’s a person with malicious intent, even if they offer a prayer to Lord Elf God, they won’t be able to enter.”

That was too idealistic. As a tree, how could it possibly know if a person had malicious intent and deny them entry? It was hard to understand.

“By the way, you mentioned earlier that you saw something similar to the Holy Tree in a dream, Fia. What was it?”

“I don’t know either,” Fia said, shrugging helplessly. “But that thing gave me a very bad feeling, like a demon that bewitches people. It said things like it hoped to get my help, and that if I helped it, it would give me everything I wanted. Oh, and from the voice, it was a woman, and it looked like a slender starfish.”

As she finished speaking, Fia quietly observed Mizuki’s expression, trying to get a clue about this strange dream from her. However, Mizuki just looked blank.

“A strange dream… but dreams themselves are strange things. Maybe little Fia is just too sensitive.”

Quickly pushing the incomprehensible matter to the back of her mind, Mizuki first took out a small glass bottle of magic potion from her bamboo basket and drank it, then picked up the cake she had set aside earlier.

This action left Fia momentarily speechless.

“Was that a mana recovery potion just now?”

“Yes. His Majesty said to use this when my mana is low. After drinking it, the mana that would have taken several hours to recover can be restored in a few minutes. He also said that when I run out, I can just ask the people in the palace for more, as much as I want.”

Mizuki’s casual tone had already told Fia that she had no idea of the value of magic potions.

Her Father had really spared no expense. No, it couldn’t be called sparing no expense. The lowest-grade mana recovery potions were nothing to the royal family. Since Mizuki might be able to contact the Elf God, it didn’t matter how many of the ‘one gold coin a bottle’ of lowest grade magic potions she drank. It was better for her not to say anything to remind her.

If she were to let Mizuki know that she was living a life of drinking gold coins like water, she might, out of a sense of frugality, reduce the number of times she used them, which would slow down the progress of restoring the Holy Tree Dance.

At this thought, Fia stood up and brushed the grass clippings off her formal dress.

“Then I should be heading to the forbidden library. You can enjoy your breakfast, Mizuki.”

“I can go with you. By the way, if you want to get out of the Holy Tree, you just have to silently pray to Lord Elf God in your heart. Don’t worry if you can’t get out. If you get trapped inside, Fia, I’ll come in and save you.”

Mizuki patted her chest and guaranteed, like a prince saving a princess.

Fia couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m not so weak as to need you to save me, Mizuki.”

“What’s the matter? To be trapped in a dark little room, crying and calling for Mother Mizuki, and then for me to suddenly appear, isn’t that cool?”

“That’s a story that happens to three-year-olds. I’m not a child anymore.”

Fia smiled and gave Mizuki a light wave, then left the ground with [Flight], circling the Holy Tree.

Before entering, she wanted to see its full view first.

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She first circled to the side facing the dead land, then pulled back, until she was above the Abyss. However, this distance was still too close. Even if she looked up, she couldn’t see the top because of the branches. She had no choice but to pull back further, retreating at an extremely fast speed.

In the process, she didn’t forget to glance at the Abyss below her. With the brilliant light of the Holy Tree for illumination, the visibility was extremely high. Fia could see a distance of a thousand meters down, like a cross-section in a book, and could clearly see the thick tendrils of the tree extending down along the cliff.

Like any tree, the root system of the Holy Tree was incredibly developed, extending to a distance that even surpassed the limits of her vision. The vertical roots extended all the way down to the clouds that covered the Abyss, while the horizontal ones stretched from this side of the Abyss all the way to the other.

Fia had no way of knowing how far the root system extended, but she roughly guessed that it was at least several tens or even hundreds of kilometers. After all, she could see the sight of the Holy Tree towering into the clouds back in Byrne City. With such a height, the underground part would only be longer than the part above ground.

Wait, come to think of it, is it possible that the roots of the Holy Tree have already taken root in the primordial continent?

A question mark appeared above Fia’s head.

After all, no one knew how high the World Tree Continent protruded from the primordial continent. If those roots had already reached it, then according to the saying that the primordial continent was full of chaos, perhaps this was the reason for the Holy Tree’s withering. Its roots were being corroded by chaos.

Fia’s expression became delicate. This conclusion sounded a bit fantastical, but without seeing it with her own eyes, there was still a slight possibility. Even the gods and the Darkborn could not withstand the endless chaos, let alone the Holy Tree.

If what she had seen in her dream was really the consciousness of the Holy Tree, then its hope that she would help it, could it be referring to her cutting off the roots that connected it to the primordial continent, to stop the corrosion of chaos?

As for why it said only she could help it, it was probably because it had seen her strength and thought that she would be fine even if she went deep into the Abyss?

But if that were the case, shouldn’t the Holy Tree have told Yelido about this long ago—no, it should have told the Elf King at that time, as soon as its leaves began to fall, so that he could have dealt with it at the very beginning, instead of coming to her now when its leaves were almost all gone.

Incomprehensible.

“Hah.”

Fia let out a light breath.

In the end, this was just her guess. Perhaps the reality was not like this at all. Thinking from another angle, if the Holy Tree really had the ability to grant all wishes, then why did it still need her help? Couldn’t it just save itself? That didn’t make any sense.

“I should go down into the Abyss and have a look after Claire returns… although it was a baseless dream, the withering of the Holy Tree should be dealt with.”

To go alone to a place that even the gods could not withstand was not a wise move. With Claire by her side, if anything happened, it would be convenient to have backup.

As for why she had to solve the problem of the Holy Tree’s withering, that was a question that didn’t even need to be asked. She had accepted the identity of the elf princess, so she naturally had to be responsible for her people. Besides, without the Holy Tree, the basis for elves to allow same-sex marriage would completely disappear, which was not conducive to her being with Claire. To achieve same-sex procreation, both the Holy Tree and the mana surge were indispensable.

“Still can’t see anything…”

It wasn’t until she was almost at the edge of the dead land that Fia hovered in the air. At this point, most of the Holy Tree’s trunk was reflected on her retina. She observed it carefully for a long time, even using [See Through], but she couldn’t find any traces that it might have a consciousness.

Perhaps it was because she had been dealing with too many things these past few days, making her tired, which was why she had had a strange dream—she was overthinking it.

“I hope so.”

Muttering to herself, Fia stopped observing the Holy Tree and flew straight for it.

In just a few breaths, Fia had returned to the front of the Holy Tree. She landed on the ground, reached out and touched the roots, which were taller than her, and, as Mizuki had taught her, closed her eyes and offered a prayer to the Elf God in her heart.

And then, she encountered a problem.

How could she pray sincerely?

Fia knew what praying meant, and she had seen people praying to the Goddess of Life in the Milcandis Holy Kingdom. But she herself had never had the experience of praying to a god. In the Human Alliance, gods and God were proven to be nonexistent. Although everyone in this world said there were gods, and one could even use special faith magic by believing in them, Fia had never seen a god, nor had she enjoyed their blessings, so she still held doubts about their existence.

Since she held doubts about them, it was impossible for her to have a sincere heart towards them. And without a sincere heart, she would not be allowed to enter the Holy Tree.

Fia was in a dead end for a moment.

How had the former elf princess entered the Holy Tree? No, more importantly, she might really have to ask Mizuki for help, to pull her into the Holy Tree.

Just as Fia was thinking this, a strange feeling suddenly rose in her heart.

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She felt a warm touch from her hand, the temperature from the bark of the Holy Tree. Not only that, but the tree also sent a feeling like goodwill, as if the elements of the entire world were rotating around her, and the tree was inviting her to enter.

But even if it invited her, she couldn’t have a sincere heart towards a god.

That being said, Fia still tried to pray in her heart. She imagined the believers she had seen in the Milcandis Holy Kingdom and then recited in her mind.

“Let me in.”

Vmmm—

A golden ripple spread out from where Fia’s right hand was touching the Holy Tree, and a humming sound like a tuning fork also sounded.

And at that moment, Fia felt a mana pulling at her arm. But because this mana was too weak compared to her, it couldn’t do anything to her. She had no choice but to connect her own mana with that mana, and then, a feeling of floating came from under her feet, a feeling similar to activating [Teleport] that swept over her whole body.

In less than a second, Fia’s vision instantly darkened, and a dim, vast hall opened up before her.

As she had just been in front of the brilliantly golden Holy Tree, suddenly arriving in a dim hall, Fia couldn’t help but feel a series of afterimages before her eyes.

[Illuminate].

The dim hall quickly turned to daylight, and the scene inside was revealed to her one by one.

“This is… the altar? It’s actually in a man-made style.”

Just as Fia said, this was a huge room over twenty meters high and ridiculously wide. The most conspicuous thing was the altar-like stone platform protruding from the floor in the center of the room. The surrounding walls were covered with arcane runes and elf characters that emitted a faint green light. Fia was certain that if the faint green light were changed to dark red, and torches were placed around the altar, this place would definitely be reminiscent of a cult.

“Was I teleported by the Holy Tree? But I didn’t even think of coming to the altar.”

Fia frowned.

Mizuki had said that one had to think of the place they wanted to go first, and then they could be successfully brought in. She clearly hadn’t set a destination, yet she had been brought to the altar by the Holy Tree.

Fia thought for a moment and came to a conclusion.

Perhaps the Holy Tree did have a certain degree of intelligence. It had reacted to her arrival and guided her to the altar. As for why it did so, it was possible that there was something here that needed her to solve or understand. Of course, it was also possible that the tree itself had been set with some kind of fixed program, so that as long as she arrived, she would be brought to the altar. However, Fia was more inclined to believe it was the former. The goodwill she had felt earlier did not feel like a cold program at all.

After all, this was a world of magic. It wouldn’t be surprising for a tree to have intelligence. Come to think of it, even creatures like treants and flower fairies existed on the World Tree Continent. For a life form like the Holy Tree, with its enormous size and mana, to have low-level intelligence was not strange at all. In fact, it was incredible that it hadn’t evolved to have high-level intelligence.

To be cautious, Fia scanned her surroundings with [See Through]. There was only one sloping downward passage in the room where the altar was located. Besides that, there were no noteworthy facilities. She took a quick look at the elf language on the walls and found that it was a very old version, vastly different from the one used today, to the point of being unrecognizable.

She could only follow the passage down.

With a sense of vigilance in her heart, Fia entered the corridor, which was over five meters wide and high, with [Flight].

…

It was unknown how much time had passed.

If not for her innate, extremely accurate sense of time, Fia would have surely been lost in this seemingly endless, ever-sloping downward corridor.

An entire hour had passed since she had entered the corridor. The air was so foul that an ordinary person could not survive here. Although she could survive without breathing, the discomfort brought on by the strong sense of suffocation was unavoidable. In addition, the increasingly obvious ominous premonition and the chill that crept up her skin made her want to use a firestorm in the corridor to drive away the unpleasant feeling—a normal person would have long since turned back and fled in this gloomy, terrifying, and claustrophobic environment.

“Is it still not the end?”

Although her forward speed was very slow, on the surface, she must have walked several kilometers, yet this corridor still had no end in sight. The only thing worth mentioning was that the walls had more signs of corrosion than before, but they also looked like the kind of mold that would grow in a long-unventilated, dark, and damp room.

If there was still no result after advancing for a while longer, she should try to go back. She couldn’t let Mizuki outside worry too much. What she saw, the other elves could also see. As long as she asked someone, she could know the purpose of this corridor without having to explore it herself.

Fia patiently continued forward.

Another ten minutes passed.

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Except for the mottled marks on the walls being more obvious than before, there was nothing else different. Fia had no choice but to stop her flight and let out a light breath.

She should go back.

Although continuing forward might lead to some discovery, who knew how long it would take? At this time, “that piece of news” was about to arrive. She had to be prepared.

However, before she could turn around, an extremely faint sound of something flapping its wings suddenly echoed in the space. The sound was not obvious. It was neither the flapping of a bird’s wings, nor the buzzing of a dragonfly or a cicada’s wings. If she had to describe it, it was more like a large swarm of butterflies flying towards her. Although butterflies should be silent in flight, she just felt that this low, inaudible sound was like that of butterflies.

And then, what she had been thinking of appeared in her vision.

A large swarm of black butterflies was swarming towards her. Strangely, these butterflies were dragging a black flame behind them like an afterburner. They even made a sizzling sound when they hit the walls.

Monsters? An illusion trap?

Fia immediately scanned them with [See Through]. The result showed that these butterflies were indeed Second-Rank monsters with physical bodies. Already prepared to attack, Fia immediately aimed the palm of her hand forward. In an instant, an orange-red flame that filled the entire corridor erupted.

[Firestorm].

Considering that these butterflies were burning with something that looked like fire and might have a high resistance to it, Fia added a [Mental Shock] and blocked the entire corridor with [Bee Shield Force Field] to prevent any from escaping.

A moment later, the flames gradually dissipated, and the scene in the corridor reappeared before her.

—There was nothing.

The black butterflies from just now were as if they had never appeared. There were no corpses or magic cores in the corridor, not even any ashes. Only the scorched walls and ceiling indicated that a battle had taken place here.

Fia’s brow furrowed slightly.

The lack of corpses could be explained by them being burned to a crisp by the flames, but for there not to be even any magic cores was too strange. Even the lowest-grade magic core had a hardness comparable to mithril, not something that could be melted by a [Firestorm] of that level. For a moment, Fia couldn’t help but feel that something was amiss.

Although these butterflies could be explained as specially raised monsters to fend off intruders, this corridor led directly to the altar, and there were not even any doors to isolate it along the way. It was too strange, not to mention that the monsters themselves were very strange.

However, the black-flamed butterflies did not give Fia time to think. Soon, a second wave of them swarmed towards her again. This time, their flight speed was faster than before, and their numbers were much greater.

[Mental Shock].

A strong air shockwave pushed down the corridor. But after it passed over the butterflies, they did not fall or explode, but continued their death charge towards her as if nothing had happened.

It seemed they were creatures without intelligence.

Once again, Fia used [Firestorm].

When the flames dissipated, everything was the same as before. The black-flamed butterflies in the corridor had disappeared, leaving not even a magic core behind.

Strange.

There should be more than just those two waves of butterflies inside.

Then what about this?

Fia raised her right hand, and a crackling sound of arcing electricity instantly erupted in her palm. A blue-purple thunder spear quickly extended in her hand. Then, without waiting for the third wave of butterflies to appear, she set the angle of the spear—to fly all the way to the end of the sloping downward corridor—and then threw it with all her might.

Tzzz!

Countless electric arcs gathered in her right hand. Like a thunderclap across the sky, an intense flash of light filled the air with a scorched smell.

Without waiting for the result, Fia took a step forward.

She had to see what was in here today, no matter what.