The cooldown still has about 40 minutes left.
In other words, I need to avoid those attacks from the polluted World Tree for 40 minutes without using Time Stop. The polluted roots missed by a hair, THWACKING the unfortunate ground.
The ground shook as if there was an earthquake, accompanied by a sizzling sound, like something was melting away. Turning my head, I could see the ground melting from the horrendous poison. Yikes, I need to correct this.
For the next 40 minutes, I must avoid the instant death attack that would send me packing with a single hit. Well, technically it’s an hour, but then Time Stop will be back.
It’s driving me crazy. I feel like I’m going to become a bean paste! Spouting nonsense that even I can’t understand, I barely dodged the approaching attack from the polluted World Tree.
The attack itself was simple, so dodging wasn’t hard. The problem was that every time I dodged, I felt like I was about to lose my mind from fear. Naturally, because taking even one hit would mean instant death.
But I can’t run away in this situation. Kluna has already started behind me. Once she goes in, there’s no coming out, leaving me defenseless in the meantime.
If I ran away now, the next threat would attack Kluna. No matter how good she is, if she gets hit by such an attack while defenseless…
In the worst-case scenario, she could die instantly. And if that happens, it’s the end for everything. I don’t have the confidence to lead the Royal Knights in that state. So, I had to somehow endure.
BANG!!!
Once again, the instant death attack landed right next to me. What happens if I get hit by that? Would there be any bones left? Nah, they’d probably melt away too. The pain from my flesh and muscles melting would be excruciating…
BANG! BANG! BANG!
“Shit!!!!”
So desperate, I couldn’t even shout to save anyone. Suddenly, the attacks intensified. Thanks to that, dodging became incredibly difficult. I barely managed to evade the attacks.
I even had to ROLL on the ground to do so. I didn’t have the luxury to dodge in style. I glanced over to Kluna, who was still focusing on her magic with closed eyes.
That means whatever I do here, she can’t afford to care. So there was no reason to hesitate anymore. It was time to show the deadly moves of Naryatagon.
Huff! Hah! Hah!!
Rolling on the ground with diaphragmatic breathing. The feeling of the cold dirt was surprisingly not that bad. If only that World Tree’s root wasn’t coming down right next to me…
I decided to ignore the crackling sound of the ground being burned away. I thought of rolling around like this forever, but I soon stopped. I ended up hitting a pebble with my back.
A pain beyond imagination struck my back. I nauseated and barely got up. And where I would have been if I had kept rolling, the root suddenly shot up.
“…Ugh.”
If I had kept rolling, I might have ended up as a special kebab from the World Tree by now. Imagining that made me feel sick again. But I can’t just stay still.
It was the roots of the World Tree approaching me now. I frowned. Could it only attack with roots? No, there should be another way.
At that moment, I was finally able to see it. The branches of the World Tree reaching towards me. That’s when I realized. Until now, the World Tree hadn’t been at full strength.
After exhausting itself in battle against Kluna, it had only the roots left to attack. And now, it had just barely recovered that part. In other words, the attacks would increase from now on.
“I’m screwed.”
If the roots whip around like a whip, the branches are coming at me with sharp, spear-like edges. I don’t know for sure, but those branches probably have poison too. However, they don’t seem too potent.
It must be because they were just recently regenerated. That means the poison in those roots is what the World Tree has built up over time. Is such poison present here?
Could this also be the work of the demons? I thought that for a moment, but soon realized how ludicrous that was. If they had been involved, they would have intervened a long time ago.
But the demons have still not intervened in the Elven Forest, and are just standing by. That means, there must be some other reason.
GASP?!
A branch from the World Tree shot at me like a dagger. The speed was too fast for me to react. I only recognized it when the branch stabbed my shoulder.
Blood splattered around. I hurriedly tried to apply the hemostatic method I learned from Commander Yuren, but blood kept gushing out, staining the bandages crimson.
The blood wouldn’t stop. I don’t know if it’s the effect of the branch or the poison within it. But at any rate, if I keep bleeding like this, it’s dangerous. I could die from excessive blood loss.
“Damn it.”
First, I tied the wound as tightly as I could to minimize blood loss. It felt like blood wasn’t circulating, but it was definitely better than dying from blood loss.
Now, there’s about 10 minutes left. But maybe because I’ve bled too much, my mind was dizzy. Still, I had endured quite a bit now. Just 10 more minutes, and the cooldown will finally be over.
While I was thinking that, I suddenly had a bad feeling. Why is the World Tree only targeting me? The biggest threat here isn’t me, but Kluna, right?
What if this is all a diversion?
Once I thought that, I instinctively turned my head. There was Kluna, standing quite a distance from me. And it had been quiet around her for a while.
That’s right.
The World Tree was pretending to attack me, deliberately separating me from her. In the unlikely event it did attack Kluna, I wouldn’t be able to protect her. And now, the World Tree is on the move.
Watching the roots fall above her head,
I clenched my teeth.
I had no choice but to use it now.
Time Acceleration.
*
I learned the true nature of the World Tree hundreds of years ago. From the ancient elf elders, inheriting the mission of a Guardian that states we must protect the World Tree and offer sacrifices.
The elders sacrificed their own bodies. The World Tree does not accept sacrifices from anyone but elves. Is it perhaps remembering a bit of its past when it was once nature itself?
Or is it mocking its followers? I still don’t know the answer. But now I understand. No more sacrifices can be tolerated. That’s what I argued long ago, but sadly, it was not accepted.
Without the World Tree, maintaining this forest would be difficult. They sacrificed elves whose lifespans were nearly gone to enrich the forest.
[It’s not death. It’s becoming one with the World Tree to protect the forest.]
If I knew that was the meaning of being a Guardian, I could never have accepted it. I despaired at the cold reality, but still, Kluna did not give up. She is determined to completely destroy the World Tree.
Only that purpose remains.
If she hadn’t gone on adventures with the first Hero, she might not have thought differently than the other elves. But Kluna has gone on countless adventures.
Although now, she has no comrades left by her side, the realizations and knowledge gained during that time still remain. And the enlightenment gained as an adventurer speaks distinctly.
If there is something that must be obtained through sacrifice, then it is virtually nonexistent to begin with. That thought became one of the decisive reasons she sought to obliterate the World Tree.
Do elves need the World Tree to survive?
No.
The forest can continue its lifeline just with the elves managing it. What has merely remained as tradition until now is just tightening our noose.
Of course, problems might arise when the World Tree disappears. But will we still continue offering sacrifices as we have done until now? Recently, the frequency of sacrifices has dramatically increased.
In the end, the elders have little time left, and the elders have reached a point where they would sacrifice the Guardians for their own survival. So, let’s obliterate the World Tree here instead.
Honestly, I didn’t think it would be possible.
Especially after losing her family and growing tired from the wars against the demons, she often thought that at least her daughter should survive. In a way, she must have unconsciously given up.
Finally, Kluna opened her eyes. She saw a man effortlessly cutting down the roots of the World Tree as they approached her. The person who gave her hope, showed her the path forward.
Is it just her imagination that sees the first Hero in his back?
No, it can’t be just her imagination.
Even after that, the Commander easily protected her from the attacks of the World Tree. So now, it was her turn. The magic she had honed for the sake of today for hundreds of years.
Giant Woodcutter.
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