Volume 4, Chapter 90 – The Collapsing Tree

Abruptly, the maiden’s body began to glow with an unprecedented, incandescent white light.

“By Lord Elf God above, in the name of the Radiant Maiden—urgh!”

Before the maiden could finish her chant, Fia ended her life with a single strike from Laevateinn. The incandescent light just now had felt scorching even to her; it was perhaps a magic that could have harmed her to some extent.

“Lord Elf God will grant me a new life… and you… will face heavenly retribution… retribution…”

The incandescent light dimmed. The maiden’s body and the golden light barrier that had enveloped the hall slowly faded away. Finally, everything returned to calm. Only the moonlight, flowing in through the gap in the laboratory, moved slowly.

Putting away Laevateinn, Fia let out a light breath and turned around. Besides Anastasia’s group, who already knew her strength, the expressions of the remaining Yelido, Yulisha, and the others were quite a sight. Yelido, in particular, hesitated for a long time before he finally reacted.

“Dofi… is she… dead?”

“Mhm, she has completely disappeared.” Because Yelido still had a look of disbelief, Fia had no choice but to add helplessly, “I said from the beginning that my strength became greater after I lost my memory. Did you still not believe me?”

‘No, I knew you had become stronger, but I didn’t expect you to be this strong.’ Yelido was in turmoil. That maiden was likely on the same level as him, yet Fia had obliterated her in just a few moments. He hadn’t even understood how she had done it.

However, Fia did not dwell on this. She needed to find an excuse to leave. She looked back at the full moon visible through the gap in the ceiling, then her gaze swept over Anastasia’s group.

“I still have some things to do. For now…”

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—

Before she could finish, the earth suddenly and without any warning began to shake violently. It was as if they were standing on the back of a giant turtle that was slowly rising. A low rumbling sound, along with the tragic cries and wails of the guards in the distance, entered their ears. Everything in their vision began to shake, and people had to grab onto something nearby to stay steady.

“Eek!”

“Your Highness Liti, hold on to me!”

“Lady Maiden!”

The voices of Anastasia and Erin Slate sounded one after another. With their help, everyone rose from the ground. The unstable ground and the dust-shaking ceiling gave off an extremely unsafe impression. Yelido, almost without thinking, shouted.

“Everyone, get out of here! Go outside!”

“Yes!”

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Everyone went out into the sky together. Just as they had felt in the palace, the entire land was as noisy as if it were boiling. It wasn’t just the earthquake-like up and down shaking, but also the bewildered cries of the Imperial Guard and the maids. Almost everywhere was in chaos, with figures running about. In some places, one could even see cracks in the earth. And further away, Blossom, below the Royal Castle, was in an even greater state of chaos. Some houses had already collapsed, and the angry roars of the people echoed through the streets.

Fia frowned.

Had Clark broken his promise and used the Seed of Hope in the Royal Castle? But to prevent this from happening, she had specifically had Claire escort him. Even if he had the guts, there was no way Claire would have let him use it.

“Look, look at the Holy Tree!”

Liti’s cry of alarm made everyone look towards the giant tree on the edge of the cliff. And then, everyone’s pupils constricted in unison.

The Holy Tree, which had been covered with tender shoots, was now withering at an astonishing speed. Cracks were rapidly spreading up its translucent golden trunk from the bottom. The tree itself, in particular, was slowly being pushed upwards, as if something was pushing it up from below, continuously emitting a terrifyingly huge cracking sound that made one’s blood run cold.

And with the tree at the center, the cracks in the earth spread out in all directions. The wall at the back gate of the Royal Castle had even collapsed under the huge change in the terrain. Countless huge rocks were rolling down from the cliff where the tree stood into the Abyss.

The cause of the earthquake was clear at a glance.

The Holy Tree was uprooting itself.

Its roots had long since spread throughout all of Blossom. For such a massive volume to be uprooted, the entire city would be destroyed.

“What on earth is happening…” Even Yelido was stunned by this scene. He widened his eyes, a clear look of fear in them. However, as the monarch of a country, he quickly regained his composure, his expression becoming incomparably grave. “Erin Slate, go and have the Imperial Guard evacuate the people! Yulisha, Liti, Mizuki, you go with her! Dofi and Anastasia, go and find Veronica and Kalsey! After you’ve taken them to a safe place, come and find me!”

“Yes!”

“You take care as well.”

Erin Slate and Yulisha nodded one after another and quickly led their group away from his side. Fia, on the other hand, hesitated for a moment.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the Holy Tree. I am the second king of Silvar. The tree cannot be destroyed in my generation. After you’ve found Veronica, go and gather all the magic-casters of the Fourth Rank and above from the Elf Towers!”

Yelido’s tone was unquestionable, his eyes clearly filled with a look of suicidal determination. Even if he was the king with the blessing of the Holy Tree and the foremost strength in Silvar, in the face of an existence of this scale, he was helpless. It was almost impossible for him to change the situation of the tree uprooting itself. But as the king, at this time, besides him, no one could take his place.

“…I understand. Let’s go, Anastasia.”

“Yes!”

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With a moment of contemplation in her eyes, Fia nodded in agreement. Then, the two of them rushed off in two completely opposite directions.

The Holy Tree would not actively attack people, and her Father was the Elf King who was blessed by it. Therefore, compared to this side, the situation on Claire’s side was more urgent. Without knowing what was happening to the tree, and without being sure that it could be saved, it was more important to ensure the lives of those she cared about first.

As for Yelido possibly encountering Clark at the Holy Tree, now was not the time to deal with these things. The mutated tree would most likely, due to the loss of its foundation, end up smashing into the urban area of Blossom, or its uprooted giant tendrils would plow through the entire city. Either of these two situations would cause tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of casualties. If it really developed to that point, she would only have one choice.

—Use a forbidden spell to burn or blow up the Holy Tree.

As Anastasia could not use magic after leaving the range of the palace, Fia and her landed on the ground. Fia took her hand.

“Anastasia, you go and protect Veronica. I’m going to find Claire. The anomaly of the Holy Tree might be related to her side.”

An Eighth-Rank Darkborn was no small matter. And Clark had also mentioned that he had heard the word “The Sovereign” from Helian. The Sovereign and Absolute Evil were Darkborn whose strength was comparable to that of the gods. For something like the Holy Tree to change, it was hard not to associate it with them.

Without asking any more questions, Anastasia just squeezed Fia’s hand, her azure eyes filled with seriousness.

“Please be careful, Your Highness.”

“Mhm. You should be careful too.”

Without any further delay, the two of them quickly separated in the snowy night. Then, Fia, hiding herself with [Cloud Moon of the Illusory Sea], just like Yelido, rushed straight for the Holy Tree.

◇

A land of crimson.

A land devoid of grass, flowing with a dead silence and a faint musty smell. Although there was heavy snow in the direction of Blossom, this place, adjacent to it, was still bare rock and dead soil. The rusty sky and the equally crimson earth made one feel incredibly oppressed.

Normally, no one could move in a place so lacking in mana, but at this moment, two figures were speeding across the land.

A young woman with silver hair and a dark-colored dress, and a man with choppy blue hair and sharp eyes.

Claire’s illusion magic could not bring Clark with her to sneak past people’s eyes and brazenly enter the Royal Castle. So the two of them had taken a detour, first going to the desolate land on the other side of the Abyss, and then from its edge, heading straight for its heart, the position directly opposite the Holy Tree. In this way, after he activated the Seed of Hope, he could leave the desolate land at the fastest speed and go to the base of the Holy Tree on the other side, so that the guards who came to check on the anomaly would catch him red-handed.

After speeding for a while longer, Clark slowly came to a stop.

“Miss Claire, let’s do it here. Any closer and I’m afraid it will affect the Holy Tree.”

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“Mhm.”

Unlike the sweat-drenched and struggling Clark, Claire seemed exceptionally relaxed. Although the desolate land would constantly strip away the mana of those in it, the speed of the stripping was not so great that she could not stay for long.

As for Clark, if not for her applying enhancement magic to him all the way, and the large number of high-grade magic potions Fia had given him before they had set out, he would have long since been unable to move due to mana exhaustion.

“Hah…” Finally having a chance to catch his breath, Clark let out a long breath. He bent over, his hands on his knees, and gave a wry smile. “Although I had long thought you might be very strong, Miss Claire, I didn’t expect you to be this strong. You not only didn’t use any magic potions along the way, but your speed didn’t even slow down. Compared to you, it’s as if I haven’t trained at all these years.”

“It’s just a bit of talent, that’s all. It’s nothing compared to Mr. Clark, who has achieved actual results through hard work.” Claire placed a hand on her chest and smiled gently.

Clark straightened up and waved his hands repeatedly with a frown.

“Talent is also a part of strength. The enemy won’t care if your strength comes from hard work or if your talent is better than others. He only cares if you can defeat him. Besides, even a person with the best talent who doesn’t work hard is just wasting it and won’t achieve anything. You are too humble, Miss Claire—can you reveal your rank?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what rank I am either.”

“Is that so.”

In response to her answer, Clark just shrugged. He and she were not acquaintances. Although rank was not an unspeakable secret, it was not something that others should answer just because one casually asked. There were many people in this world who believed that by always hiding their rank, they could gain a great advantage when they encountered an enemy.

He sighed and took out a black, eye-shaped sphere, the size of a palm, from his bosom.

“Her Highness is probably getting impatient. Let’s get to the point. I’ve tried this thing before. After injecting mana into it, I need Helian’s side to agree before I can create an abyss. You had better stay far away from me, Miss Claire, and find a place to hide. If she finds you by my side, the princess’s plan to draw her out will fail.”

“Mhm. I will use illusion magic to hide myself.”

As she spoke, Claire placed her hand on the two longswords at her waist, and then, her body, as if it had melted into the air, gradually disappeared before his eyes. Even if he were to rub his eyes and use detection magic, he could not find the slightest anomaly.

Such terrifying strength.

Clark sighed internally. Just to stand on this dead land was already taking all his effort, yet this human named Claire could use magic freely. As fellow humans, the difference in their talent was truly terrifyingly large. She was probably already a peak Eighth-Rank powerhouse. No wonder she could defeat Yelido and become the consort of that incomparably wise Eldest Princess.

If he had also had this kind of strength, would he not have ended up in this state today? At least he would have been able to defeat Yelido and take Veronica back—no, to regret these things was futile, just looking for trouble.

Clark shook his head, banishing the miscellaneous thoughts from his mind. He took out another bottle of high-grade magic potion from his pocket and drank it. Then, he held the palm-sized black eyeball with both hands and raised it above his head.

“Let’s begin.”

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A torrent of mana poured into the eyeball.

The next second.

Clang!

He had just injected the mana when a strong threat of death permeated his entire body. He subconsciously threw away the black eyeball and threw himself forward to the ground. At the same time, a dazzling flash of fire, accompanied by the sharp sound of clashing metal, appeared above his head.

And then, a female demon with flapping dragon wings and a tail behind her appeared not far above him. She was first stunned, then her brow furrowed tightly, and she scanned her surroundings with wary eyes.

“Hmph. Not bad strength. Who is it?”

“Oh my, you chose to appear on my side? You Darkborn who tried to assassinate little Fia, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Along with Helian, Claire, in her demonic form with two horns on her head and her body flowing with a mysterious silver glow, also slowly appeared from the void. Although she still had that gentle smile, one could not feel the slightest intimacy in it. Her elegant figure, which would normally only make one feel noble and holy, was now like a demon lord, exuding a cold and world-weary aura that was chilling.

“To have fallen into my hands, you have no possibility of escape.”

“Who are you?”

“Claire.”

“A name I haven’t heard of.”

Helian narrowed her eyes. Even with her knowledge, she had never seen a demon without wings like Claire, not to mention that she had been following Clark from a distance since he had set out, and had not seen anyone with him in the process. The faint sense of danger that emanated from Claire made a hint of unease rise in her heart. She could feel that this woman might be no weaker than her.

“Get out of my way. I don’t want to fight with a fellow demon. If you are not a subordinate of Absolute Evil, then we have no need to fight.”

“You seem to have misunderstood something. All of this was a trap set for you. You are the prey, and I am the hunter.”

A coldness appeared in her deep, jade-green eyes. Claire pointed her blue longsword at Helian.

“—[Instant Death]!”

Translator Note

?!?!?!?!? wth