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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 219
“I am Leon Cascadia of House Cascadia.”
“T-That’s not what I’m asking.”
The man pressed his fingers against his furrowed brow.
“I may be wary of humans, but that doesn’t mean I’m ignorant about them. You... You seem to possess a power far beyond what a young human should ever wield.”
“I get that a lot. For now, would you grab my arm?”
“Your arm?”
“The Demon Tree will be hiding deep within. So we’re going to provoke it deliberately.”
“Didn’t you just say not to touch it?”
“If I do it alone, I won’t be able to trace it. So, from this point on, don’t stray from my side.”
His eyes widened as he grasped the meaning of my words.
[Fireball]
A tiny sphere of flame ignited at my fingertips.
On the surface of the red orb, great flares of fire rippled smoothly and slowly like solar flares.
It may look small, but the phenomenon it caused was far from minor.
[Ignite.]
Fssshhhhh...
The fireball flew through the air—no explosion followed.
Instead, it scorched everything it touched as if vaporizing it.
—Screeeeeeeeech!!!!
“Gah! What kind of heat is this...!”
“Stay sharp. Like I said before, if you can’t suppress your impulses properly, you’ll just keep getting swept away.”
Carnivorous plants catch insects by exploiting their instincts.
They lure the prey in with an enticing scent, draw them inside, then close up and consume them.
Then, with a flash of light, the spatial coordinates around us warped.
We were transferred into the demon’s hunting zone.
In an instant, the scenery changed, and we found ourselves in a deep, unknown cave.
Thanks to the slight flow of mana I created to resist the distortion field’s random teleportation, we were able to stay together and not get scattered.
But this was not the same calm, empty space as before.
“Urgh... What is this...”
There was no smell, yet I felt nauseous.
All around the cave, a purplish mucus pulsed as if it were a beating heart.
And in the distorted depths of the cave, there was a bright field of flowers.
At the center of that field stood a single tree so beautiful it was breathtaking just to look at.
I thought it would just throw us into a random space again, but it seems the Demon Tree needs a lot of nutrients.
Looks like it’s already preparing to feast.
“How could such a holy-looking tree exist in a place so filthy and vile...?”
I instinctively grabbed the head of the Romila family, who was drawn toward the tree.
Typical elf—obsessed with forests.
I scanned the surroundings, trying to understand the situation.
The Demon Tree was just as I remembered it.
But the mucus around it was unfamiliar—things I had never seen before.
However, one thing was clear:
The tentacle-like structures spread throughout the cave were connected to the tree, feeding it a massive amount of energy.
Fortunately, the mucus itself didn’t seem to have any defensive capabilities.
I held back the Romila patriarch, who was moving toward the tree as if possessed.
“Snap out of it. Did you forget what I said?”
“Khugh!!”
“Can you fight?”
“...Absolutely.”
“Do you see those tentacles?”
“Yes. If we cut those off, will that be enough?”
“We don’t need any more variables. Cut off every tentacle in this cave. Can you do that?”
“If those things dared to harm the Mother Forest and make the World Tree suffer... I would gladly give my life.”
He readied an arrow and pulled his bowstring taut.
Zzzzzt...
I retrieved my spirit sword from subspace and advanced toward the Demon Tree.
“While I’m fighting the tree, you focus on cutting all those tentacles.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes.”
Spinning the spirit sword Elekstra once, I took my stance and amplified the aura circulating within me.
Then I charged toward the Demon Tree.
It looked like a harmless, unmoving, beautiful tree on the surface.
But I’ve been fooled before.
Despite its appearance, that thing is a monster capable of swallowing dozens of sword masters if the conditions are right.
The moment I stepped onto the flower field at its base—
With a creaking sound, the tree’s trunk began to twist around.
At the same time, its hidden back was revealed.
“What the—!?”
The Romila patriarch gasped in horror.
It was understandable.
From the front, it was a pristine, beautiful white tree.
But the back—
Jet black.
Hideously twisted.
And its surface was covered with countless unidentified faces.
Faces that seemed to be screaming in agony, trapped inside and struggling to escape.
One side appeared endlessly beautiful—but the other was a grotesque horror that made your skin crawl.
And that is the Demon Tree’s true form.
Just looking at it is enough to inflict a dreadful mental curse—but I’m somewhat resistant, and the patriarch of Romila, thanks to the mental protection spell I cast, wouldn’t die from it either.
Shrrrkkkk!!!
Then, the tree’s decaying, rotten branches began to move.
Like living whips, they surged in from all directions—but they didn’t strike me.
Instead, they began to coil around the surroundings.
“Even with those disgusting parasites, its core instinct hasn’t changed, huh.”
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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I shouted as I looked at the branches encircling us in a massive ring, like a prison made by a colossal plant.
“Lord Romila!!”
Startled, he looked my way while he was cutting down the tentacles with arrows and daggers.
“You!!”
“Don’t think about anything else. Just focus on cutting all of that down. Understand?”
I saw his eyes waver.
“If you fail, all the elves will die.”
The most troublesome trait of the demon tree—
is that it defies spatial constraints.
It’s a creature that lures its prey and then teleports them through space.
There's no way it wouldn’t have spatial abilities of its own.
However, the spatial teleportation the demon tree uses is slightly different.
It’s not magic—more like an inherent supernatural ability.
Something closer to a divine power, though not quite.
Ambiguous, but undeniably powerful.
At least one thing was now clear.
The cultists had been handling the demon tree, so I thought they were definitely involved.
But now... it seems like that might not be the case.
Sssssssss……
In an instant, the space shifted—what appeared before me was nothing short of a vision of hell.
Endless rivers of lava stretched far and wide.
Between them stood sparse, jagged stone pillars.
Streams of magma dripped down from cracks in the ceiling made of solid rock.
This place… it exists, yet doesn’t.
It's essentially a camouflage for the creature.
Its extreme environment is like digestive fluid.
Right now, the only thing Lord Romila can probably see is a sphere tightly wrapped in tree branches.
From this place, interference with the outside is impossible, and vice versa.
That’s why I left the purple tentacles to Lord Romila.
Lifting my gaze, I saw the tree placed on a massive disk-like stone floor atop a great pillar.
The only difference now was the bizarre purple tentacles extending through tiny rifts near the tree, injecting something into it.
Whatever the mechanism, it seemed to continue receiving power even after the space shifted.
Grotesque, screaming faces sprouted from its surface—all turning to stare at me with eerie grins.
At the same time, flower buds imbued with a rainbow of light began to bloom along its body.
They might look harmless now, but once they fully bloom—it’s over.
The tree's elongated branch lunged at me, letting out a silent, mocking laugh.
Though it moved like a whip, breaking the sound barrier with ease, it was still a branch.
Yet calling it “just a branch” would be a mistake—it was unnaturally hard and sharp.
Even Swordmasters had trouble cutting through those branches with aura blades.
And now, dozens of those branches were attacking relentlessly. Truly dangerous.
But while I might be an unknown opponent to it, this thing is a foe I’ve faced more times than I can count.
Whirr!!!
In an instant, branches wrapped around my body, and others aimed to slice off my head.
So far, the purple tentacles haven’t caused any unexpected effects.
“Really now… The World Tree, the Demon Tree, and even Fallen Flowers...”
I chuckled softly.
The Demon Tree may look like just some bizarre plant, but it was undeniably a far more dangerous enemy than it appeared.
But to me, it was nothing more than a familiar adversary.
[Warning. The Demon Tree is an extremely dangerous entity. Full preparation is advised.]
“Still just a damn tree.”
[According to records, you have died at the hands of the Demon Tree a total of 78,323,212 times……]
“Which also means I’m just that familiar with it. Forget how many times I died—do you know how many times I’ve chopped it to pieces?”
The system didn’t respond to that.
What was certain was this: I’ve torn that thing apart more times than I’ve been killed by it.
“That purple tentacle bothers me a bit. But if it doesn’t do anything weird, I’ll take it down fast.”
Even among the same species, the exact behavior can differ, and I knew better than to be careless.
Still, knowing the limits of the species and having prior knowledge of its tactics gave me a huge advantage.
So many tree-related incidents lately…
If I’d known, I would’ve brought Falling Blossom with me too.
* * *
Boom!!! Boom!
With explosive roars, the tree branches stretched across the lava field, ceaselessly lunging at Leon.
But Leon weaved through the air like a flash of lightning, dodging at incredible speed.
Naturally, with so many long branches flailing about, their paths tangled at some point.
Leon never missed those moments of hesitation in its attacks.
Crack!!
In an instant, his sword, now infused with dark energy, pierced through.
“Let’s see if this works.”
Sssssssssssssss!!!!
With a chilling aura, the searing heat of the surroundings froze in an instant.
Behind Leon, a dark-robed figure emerged—Death itself, wielding a massive scythe.
[Thanatos]
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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