It’s an old memory.
“Advisor! Come here!”
The day I first served that person.
“I told you to come here! Look, I made a flower bloom!”
That person was radiant, more so than all the life existing in this world, and I felt a greatness beyond any existence.
‘Master.’
Even if it was a young child with the mind of seven or eight.
The one called the sage decided to wholeheartedly serve that person.
“What can I do for you, Master?”
“Hehe. Look at this! Isn’t it pretty?”
In front of the Master, small flower buds were growing.
Truly beautiful, multicolored flowers.
Flowers that could only bloom by the master, not found in this world.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Right? Other adults say they’re pretty on the outside, but they actually hesitate. They’re so beautiful!”
Puffing her cheeks, the Master exclaimed.
The sage laughed heartily, agreeing while truly finding it strange, but deep down, he understood why.
Flowers born from the very essence of life itself.
Those flowers were a symbol of birth, but at the same time, they were an existence that should not be.
Life born solely by the Master’s hand, without any water, sunlight, or nutrients.
Since it casually denied the rooted laws of this world, it instinctively invoked fear.
‘What if it was not a flower, but a living being? No, a person?’
Can the Master grow a person casually?
“…..”
“But I’m glad there’s a sage! Because the sage doesn’t have a bad face!”
“Of course, it’s my duty.”
“Just doing your duty?”
“Hahaha! Of course, it’s sincere.”
Though a child, the Master could occasionally be eerily perceptive.
After that day, I stayed by the Master’s side for six years, yet sometimes she still showed a completely new side.
The Master stretched out her hand.
The sage naturally took it and felt as if something formless was being passed to him.
Suddenly, it felt like something was wrong with his heart, and upon looking at his chest, a green dragon emblem was engraved.
“What is this?”
“It’s a special mark!”
“A mark… you say?”
“Because you’re the best sage! I won’t give it to any other adult.”
Hehe.
“……”
An utterly incomprehensible person.
Yet because of that, I resolved to serve even more.
Kneeling on one knee, the Master looked down on me, arms crossed as if familiar with the gesture.
“I, Hyunwon. As the advisor of ‘Life’, will surely repay the bestowed power without any shortcomings.”
“Good, good.”
“I will definitely protect the Master.”
I failed to protect.
■
The Dragon of Life swallowed me.
I tried to resist by pulling up the power of the earth, but this was the Spring of Life.
The energy of ‘Life’ overwhelmingly surpassed that of ‘Earth’, and I was swept away in the tide.
The energy was overwhelmingly abundant and was swept away by the waves.
[????]
[What is this?]
[It’s a Water Dragon!!]
[Huh?]
[Lily is going?]
[That’s definitely a dragon!]
[OMG]
Swoosh!!
Swoosh!!
“Rougher than I expected…”
If the power of the earth I possess is a strong stream, then that green Water Dragon’s power of life is the sea.
At least if we’re not fighting outside the spring, there’s no way to block the Water Dragon’s attacks with straightforward methods.
As I entered the dragon’s body, thick currents of water attempted to suppress me.
Due to its nature as the power of life, its lethality was almost non-existent, but it was enough to faint a person.
‘Are they not trying to kill me?’
Maybe, as the Sage said, they could be on a different side from the one who sent the book.
“Huuh…”
Creaking…
I twist the hammer.
The remaining aura in my body pools in one place and is released at my will.
‘Explosion Source.’
Rumble!!!
“…!”
A huge hole opens in the center of the massive dragon, which had layers upon layers of the power of life, creating a passage leading outside.
It was such a big shock that the frenzied dragon momentarily halted its movements.
‘Roar of Acceleration, Unyielding Rock.’
Crackle…
After using the Explosion Source, I absorbed the aura scattered in the air and immediately enhanced my body.
Originally, powers like this aren’t absorbed this way.
You absorb the earth or nature’s ‘Power of the Earth,’ then ‘refine’ that power into the form of aura for use.
If you absorb and use such unstable powers, the circles or the dantian in your body could overload and leave you incapacitated.
‘But I can do it.’
My body was originally one that contains the holy.
‘Merely’ this level of power can’t burden my body.
“…This truly is monstrous.”
I strike the Sage, who was a distance away, at a tremendous speed.
The Sage was instantly separated and sent flying, and I landed to absorb the little power of the earth I had left before leaping up again.
Boom!!!
From where I was, ‘another’ Water Dragon rose.
I heard words coming from the Sage’s helpless face as he flew away.
“How did you notice?”
“You were a keeper of ‘Life’, so there’s no way you’d die from just this. Even if your body were torn into a thousand pieces, you’d probably be fine, right?”
“…Step back. I said this matter will be dealt with in silence.”
“I just can’t help but be curious. I need to know.”
“You will regret it.”
The Spring of Life stirs.
From one Water Dragon to two, from two to four, from four to eight…
“…Huh?”
How many of these are there, anyway?
“Hey?”
[Lol]
[Wow, there are so many dragons.]
[Let’s just kill them.]
[What’s with the slippery fish?]
[Lily is fighting fiercely after a long time, haha.]
[Lily, why are you being pushed so much?]
[Wow.]
[She fights well without the Holy power.]
[Info: Lily is fighting while using only about 95% of her power.]
“You really have grown a lot of dragons.”
“Not my concern.”
Dozens of dragons rushed at me.
■
“…It’s over.”
The sage, who was handling dozens of dragons, turned his head.
This wasn’t the time to use the strength I had.
It was the power left for my master, and I thought there would soon be a time to use it.
‘As I move, those guys will move too. Since they came from Extreme Defense, the first to move would surely be the ‘Earth’, right?’
Earth was like a friend to Life.
Of course, the relationship between the ‘Masters’ wasn’t that good, but in terms of ‘attributes’, calling them friends wouldn’t be wrong.
Earth is akin to Life.
“…As expected, it’s better to keep some memories wiped.”
That woman would definitely try to get involved in my matters.
She was already being tossed around by someone from Extreme Defense and seemed to be restless, unable to move herself.
She may know more than just the book, but leaving such variables makes it difficult to respond later.
“It’s a plan I’ve been waiting for a long time, so I need to be more certain…?”
Thud thud thud…!
The dragons, which had been still in the air, began to move.
It wasn’t the sage who was moving.
Since receiving the power from the Child of Life, only the sage and the original owner could move the dragons.
And right now, the dragons were not moving at the sage’s command.
“W-What…?!”
The dragons were being sucked into one place.
Dozens of dragons with immense pressure and weight transformed into the form of primordial ‘power,’ seeping into the hammer, and from the gaps, eerie blue eyes shone.
“Heavy Artillery Dragon.”
A massive old tree grew up.
■
The World Tree and Anima share considerable similarities.
Both possess powers related to life, and while the World Tree doesn’t resurrect, it provides nourishment for all living beings to thrive under its domain.
If used properly, resurrection like Anima might also be possible.
That… that means…
If the World Tree can emulate Anima’s powers, the reverse must also be possible.
I had various conversations regarding Anima and the ‘World Tree’, and accepted my suggestion to reshape the Heavy Artillery technique into the power of the ‘World Tree’.
“……”
It was an immensely strong pressure, one so firm I couldn’t even lift a finger.
With my current state of not using the Holy power, it was an overwhelming force I could never escape from, but…
‘Absorb.’
Boom!!
Dozens of dragons were crushed all at once and absorbed into me.
The absorbed life energy began to fill me beyond the hammer, and the unrefined powers rampaged wildly but were soon suppressed.
Even if there were no problems, the absorption was unexpectedly strong. Thinking back, I had been recognized by the World Tree as the “Child of the World Tree.”
Moreover, having contained the life energy of the past Anima, it would surely absorb even better.
The sage’s eyes widened in shock, as if they might tear.
“It’s too early to be surprised.”
“Heavy Artillery Dragon.”
As I struck down with the power of life, a gigantic tree sprouted right from the center of the spring.
It didn’t exactly pierce the sky… but it grew tall enough to be considered a mock World Tree.
Of course, even being a suitable size, it seemed to be at least 3 to 400 meters tall.
[????]
[What’s that?]
[What’s the World Tree?]
[World Tree Summoning Technique!]
[What kind of technique is this, LOL]
[Look at the sage’s mouth hanging open.]
“What… what have you done?!”
“It’s much larger than when used as a holy artifact. After all, it grew right in the heart of the source of life…”
“What… how rude!”
Kwai-zzzz-zzzz!!
A Green Dragon burst out from the sage’s staff and struck the mock World Tree.
With an ominous sound, the World Tree began to crack.
But it was useless.
Wooow…!
“…Regeneration?”
“Have you forgotten where you are?”
This place is a space where Anima’s remnants became a spring.
And the Heavy Artillery Dragon is maintained by absorbing the “life” power around it as a tree-shaped “holy artifact.”
In other words, all attacks within the mock World Tree’s domain primarily absorb from the “spring” to defend.
“Further attacks are meaningless. If you do, you will only end up worse off.”
“You… demon! Are you even human?!”
“…I think there’s some misunderstanding.”
I wasn’t looking to fight anyone who hadn’t pulled tricks on me; I just wanted to understand how this situation was unfolding.
After all, the Heavy Artillery Dragon would eventually return to nature on its own, and the power I used would also return intact.
‘Since Anima is close to Sugarado.’
I observed the situation again.
The sage trying to resurrect their dead master, and me, holding onto the last thread of life for that master.
“Hmm.”
Now that I look at it, this picture seems a bit odd…
[LOLOLOLOL]
[Lily, you demon!]
[Ah, LOL, invincible]
[You villain! Let go of Master right now!]
[Lily’s bad]
[If Lily is secretly happy not being called an angel, then that’s a major upvote, LOL]
[LOLOLOLOL]
[It’s fine]
[It’s fine, it’s fine]
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