“……”
When I opened my eyes again, what I saw was the cozy corridor of the Royal Palace. The same place, the same condition as before I was dragged to the Divine Realm.
With the mark on my chest appearing, it was a bit magical that the clothes that had disappeared were back to normal.
Just to be sure, I subtly tugged at my shirt to check, and indeed, there was a gigantic mark firmly in place.
Looking at it made me feel like my whole body was filled with authority. No, it felt like my body itself had become the power of time.
“Ugh, that’s uncomfortable.”
It’s not just a bad feeling; a sticky, disgusting emotion rises in my chest.
Who should I tell this to, I wonder?
How many people can actually accept this? Just yesterday, I was the one shouting to overcome the calamities together.
If I suddenly revealed that it was actually a calamity, how much confusion would arise?
‘For now, starting with Kurika…’
The only silver lining was that Kurika was there. Just before being dragged to the Divine Realm, we shared the suspicion that there might actually be three divine calamities.
It was a bit shocking that I was one of them.
“Huh…”
Honestly, I felt like all the energy was drained from my body. I thought I could see the end now that I had returned to the land of Dragonkin, but it turned out that it was far from over.
Just as I was trying to calm down and think about the future again…
Boom!
“Waaah!”
“Stop! I said stop!”
A noisy voice came from outside the window. At first, I thought there were loud people even within the palace, but as I listened, I recognized the voices.
“Eris and Adriana?”
Looking through the window in the corridor, I saw them running around a giant tree in the vast garden of the palace, yelling at each other.
Even the knights guarding the palace were rushing to intervene, but the tree showed no signs of stopping.
I immediately recognized that it was Eris’s sapling of Yggdrasil.
I had no idea why it was rampaging, but I figured I’d just observe the situation for a bit.
Hahaha!
“……”
An all-too-familiar spine-chilling deep laughter. It reminded me of the rattling Skull Mask and that equally spine-chilling man.
What a refreshing feeling!
I could see Kurika rushing down the end of the corridor in a panic. His eyes widened like he’d just seen the sapling of Yggdrasil growing out of control.
“C-could it be…”
He asked, mouth agape. I never thought I’d see Kurika make such an expression in my lifetime, but I was probably wearing the same face.
“Sharcarl?”
We both called the name simultaneously and hurriedly rushed toward the garden. Those who spotted us wore expressions that seemed to plead for a solution to this mess.
“D-D-Daniel…!”
Eris, half-sobbing, was desperately trying to cast magic to halt the growth of Yggdrasil, but it was completely ineffective.
“What the hell happened?!”
Just a moment ago, the plant was nothing more than a small sprout; how did it burst out of the pot and start devouring the entire garden right after I briefly visited the Divine Realm?
And it was echoing Sharcarl’s hair-raising voice.
Adriana, who had returned from the Forest of the Demon Realm, began to explain hesitantly.
She said the sapling of Yggdrasil suddenly absorbed Sharcarl’s staff she had brought, hence the transformation.
If not for the fact that they managed to barely bring it over from the palace corridor to the garden, it would have probably grown there instead.
“And after that… well, this is the situation. By the look of it, it seems it’s really going to grow to the size of Yggdrasil.”
If that happens, this wouldn’t just be an accident.
A gigantic tree capable of crushing the entire palace in the middle of the capital?
The humans would surely heat up their heads proclaiming that the elves had declared war.
Since they were preparing to thwart the calamity, they might just attack immediately.
“C-c-calm down a bit!”
Knowing that, Eris must have been losing it and yelling like this.
“Well, it doesn’t seem to be Sharcarl.”
“Yeah, right.”
Perhaps the remnants of Sharcarl’s consciousness mixed into the staff changed the character of the sapling of Yggdrasil.
Hahaha! Is there no strong one? Is there no stronger existence?
“Wow, I already have a headache.”
I complained as the annoying voice brought on a migraine.
For now, stopping it from getting any bigger was the priority.
Would it even listen if I talked?
I charged forward and touched the roots of Yggdrasil.
It was risky because growing roots could potentially bury me as I approached, but…
Thump!
Its growth suddenly halted.
“Whoa, whoa! It’s stopped!”
“Use this chance to rescue people! There are those caught up among the people in the garden!”
As if they had been waiting, the knights immediately began to move, rescuing those swept up in the growth of Yggdrasil.
I raised my head to observe Yggdrasil.
‘Not at all difficult.’
It was surprising but, true enough, not difficult at all.
When I halted Shakallim, I had felt a headache and the sensation that all the strength in my body was being drained away.
Yet, even while stopping this gigantic tree, I felt no strain at all.
Though I should have seen it as a good thing, the stabbing sensation in my chest was hard to bear.
“D-Daniel?”
“Remarkable.”
Eris and Kurika followed behind me. They realized that I had stopped the time of Yggdrasil and were surprised, but…
A strange suspicion started to swirl in Kurika’s eyes.
I thought, of course, Kurika wouldn’t be able to hide it, but looking at Eris reminded me of the past.
When Eris first saw me at the festival in Aios Academy while blocking Apviel, she said I was someone who had received the power of Helios, but it was Ares.
[But, she can’t possibly have mistaken that?]
At that time, I felt a strange sense of disappointment alongside bittersweet emotions.
But upon reflection, she had not mistaken anything at all.
It wasn’t the mark of Helios but the mark given by the Goddess of Time, and though it was different, I did have a mark.
Just when I thought it was an opportunity to share about the mark with the two of them, a voice echoed in my head harshly.
Release me!
The rough voice of the sapling of Yggdrasil resounded fiercely in my mind.
“Hmm?”
I clearly thought I had stopped time.
Looking at the sapling, which wore a perplexed expression, it shouted once more.
Do you think you can trap this body with such trifles? Release me!
“What’s this guy’s deal?”
How is it that he can speak while I halted time?
*
In the desolate land of the Dwarves, the scent of fire permeated the air.
The dwarves, whose sole reason for being born seemed to be hammering and brewing beer, typically dedicated their livelihoods to smithing or casting.
Among them, the title given to the seven most skilled artisans was Maester.
They were known as the seven heaviest hammers, receiving the respect, admiration, envy, and jealousy from all dwarves.
One of those glorious Maesters, Volpete, was still today inspecting the white-blade sealed dagger in various places.
Clank.
Entering his workshop, a black-haired girl appeared.
Hahyun, the head of the Ren family, donned two swords on her waist, looking vexed as she asked.
“When is this going to end? You said you’d give it to me in a week. It’s already been two weeks. Should I call Hotshim Uncle again?”
At the mention of Hotshim, Volpete, who had initially donned a shameless expression, frowned slightly.
Then he retorted back defiantly.
“You brat, I won’t be done until the research is over. Asking for such a dagger is already a burden as it is because of Hotshim, and now you want to rush me?”
“The world is ending, you know? If you don’t give it to me.”
“If I can’t research this properly, it’s almost as if my world has already ended.”
We were speaking different languages.
Is this how artisans are?
Hahyun, who couldn’t even count how many times they had this conversation, sighed and crossed her arms, but…
“Hahyun! They’re coming again!”
A blonde girl barged in through the door, Tana.
She, a close friend of Eve, had also come to the Dwarven land with Hahyun, but unlike her usual neat attire, she wore weapons like daggers and one-handed swords all over.
“Oh! You came at the right time! Take a look at this design!”
Upon Tana’s entrance, Volpete greeted her with a bright smile, quite unlike his reaction to Hahyun. He held Tana’s aesthetic sense in high regard and often received help with appearances like this.
“Hah…”
Hahyun sighed and shook her head.
Tana awkwardly smiled and entered to listen to Volpete’s words, while Hahyun passed by Tana and stepped outside.
Volpete’s house stood on a cliff, a truly unique and precarious place.
Considering the need to defend the house, Hahyun thought positively as she gauged the number of dwarves approaching from below.
“Looks like about thirty today.”
Sighing, Hahyun drew her sword and started charging at them.
