Chapter 131

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The earthquake, which lasted only a few minutes at the most, messed up the mountains to the point where the area had to be re-mapped.

“… no way."

Han Soo-Young, who looked down at the scene, muttered in a low voice as if in disbelief.

The ground was split as deep as a desert canyon, and what appeared to be tree roots were viciously revealed in places in its cross-section.

Shaking its roots underground, intentionally causing earthquakes and widespread damage to the region, was the best struggle he could put up.

In fact, he has now gone silent, not even showing his face.

He was spending his time recovering the enormous power he had just depleted.

"Wait a minute."

As soon as we came down to the ground, Han Soo-Young immediately put her hands on the ground.

After a while, she pointed somewhere in shock.

“Ji, Ji-Hyuk! Over there, Ye-Seul!”

As soon as I heard that, I immediately began to dig where she was pointing.

Soon after, we were able to rescue Jin Ye-Seul, who was lying unconscious under a large tree.

"Ug… .”

Jin Ye-Seul, who immediately came to her senses, coughed a little as she looked at us.

“I was a little off guard… I didn't expect a tree to pop up all of a sudden."

While she was muttering in excuse, I checked her condition, her body was stained with dirt and dust, but there didn't seem to be any visible injury.

“Pathetic.”

Jin Ye-Seul spoke ill of herself and clicked her tongue.

As I approached to support her, Jin-Ye Seul, who was sticking out her arms like a child, tilted her head.

“Ji-Hyuk, what's wrong with your eyes?”

“I'm the same as you.”

“…… .”

Jin Ye-Seul didn't say anything.

She made a rare weak sound as I grabbed her arms that she was slowly trying to withdraw and carefully lifted her up.

"Ouch."

“What, where does it hurt?"

“M, my ankle is a little… .”

“Where?”

I carefully removed her shoes, revealing her feet that were surprisingly small compared to her height.

As I touched her seemingly swollen ankle, Jin Ye-Seul's eyes twitched.

“Can I have a look?”

Han Soo-Young, who was kneeling with me next to her, carefully placed her hand on Jin Ye-Seul's ankle.

It's broken, she muttered softly, and light began to leak from her hand.

Meanwhile, I was looking for a piece of wood that could be used as a splint.

“Sorry, both of you. I'm ashamed of myself.”

“What do you mean ashamed?”

I answered, putting a splint on Jin Ye-Seul's ankle.

When I showed my back to her, who was more depressed than necessary for some reason, I could sense that she was bewildered for a while.

After a while, however, Jin Ye-Seul crawled up to me.

"Excuse me… .”

Along with her words, I carried her on my back and thought she was lighter than I had expected.

As I stood up lightly carrying her on my back, I could hear an exhilarating breath from behind.

“Let's hurry up and find the others, too.”

“… yes."

Han Soo-Young, who stared at us for a moment dissatisfied, immediately put her hands on the ground.

But soon she shook her head and said to me.

"No. The surroundings are too messed up, and those root-like things are making it difficult to detect, so I think it will be difficult to find more.”

“Others will probably be fine.”

Jin Ye-Seul, who was on my back, replied to Han Soo-Young's words.

“Suddenly the roots popped out of the middle and we were all scattered apart. But unlike me, they all had others next to them, so they're probably alive and well somehow."

“That's a relief then… .”

While they were talking, I sensed my surroundings through the World Trees scattered here and there.

Indeed, as Han Soo-Young said, perhaps because of Svengali's roots, his energy was spread thinly around the area, so much so that I could not even confirm who was in the vicinity.

Only one person.

With the exception of only Lee Ye-Eun.

"This way."

We headed straight to the place where I could feel her energy.

After a while, we found Lee Ye-Eun protected by a golem made of mud and rocks.

“Ji-Hyuk?! Thank God, you're safe!"

When she found me, she shouted like that, and as she tried to get up, she fell down.

She also seemed to have injured her leg.

"Are you okay?"

“Yes, I’m fine… .”

Lee Ye-Eun nodded and alternately looked at Jin Ye-Seul, who was on my back, and Han Soo-Young.

She bowed her head carefully, as if she had immediately grasped the situation from their attire and appearance.

“… I'm ashamed of myself. I can't believe I made you go through all this mess after bringing you as a valuable guest. As the World Tree clan and its next head, I deeply apologize.”

Han Soo-Young looked perplexed for a moment, as if she didn't think she would apologize so politely.

Then she quickly approached her, waving her hand as if saying, I'm fine.

“Oh, well. Don't do that. Who would have expected such a terrible thing to happen? But more importantly, your leg is injured, right? Wait a minute… .”

Han Soo-Young said so and placed her hand on Lee Ye-Eun's injured leg.

As far as I know, Han Soo-Young was originally far from healing-type magic, but somehow she seems to be able to use it quite well.

As evidence of that, Lee Ye-Eun touched her own leg with surprised eyes, as if her condition had immediately improved.

"Thank you."

Lee Ye-Eun, who thanked Han Soo-Young, immediately looked at me.

“So, what on earth are you going to do?”

She turned her head and looked at the huge old tree.

“We have to do something about that. If what happened earlier continues over and over again... .”

She shut her mouth as if she didn't want to think.

Han Soo-Young also looked at the old tree, which was Svengali, with a dark expression.

“I have an idea.”

After saying that, I carefully put Jin Ye-Seul on the ground.

And instead of explaining to Han Soo-Young and Lee Ye-Eun, who were looking at me as if asking, Really? I took out a branch of the World Tree and transformed it into a bow.

Surprised, Lee Ye-Eun immediately looked at the two of them, but they seemed calm, as they already knew.

“I can’t be sure, but I think it’s well worth a try at least once.”

* * *

“… All right, then shall we begin?”

With the words, Lee Ye-Eun, who put her hands on my back, began to chant prayers in a small voice.

Jin Ye-Seul was sitting in front of me, putting her hands politely on my chest, to be precise, toward my heart.

“But isn’t there something strange about this picture?”

"Shh."

At the giggling Jin Ye-Seul's words, I shook my head as if saying, don't do it.

And when I pointed to Ye-Eun, who was concentrating with my chin, she immediately shut her mouth as if she understood.

Again the energy of the spirits began to move.

The arrow, made by weaving my and Lee Ye-Eun's World Tree together, endured the explosive energy without difficulty.

“Ugh… .”

And Jin Ye-Seul, who was providing mana to maintain it, took a small breath.

Although she had no talent for magic, she was originally a child of a prestigious wizard family.

The mana stored inside her was never a small amount.

“I’m ready… !”

After much waiting, Han Soo-young finally shouted that, breaking out in a cold sweat.

It was she who took the important and difficult role of finding the spirit's faint energy and guiding the arrow.

But for some reason, it didn't occur to me in the slightest that she would fail.

“Shoot!”

I immediately released the string at her words.

Suuuuuuh!

The force of the arrow was so strong that the finger that held the string was torn and blood was splattered in the air.

It was to the point that I was momentarily pressed by the force and staggered backward.

However, Lee Ye-Eun, who quickly noticed, supported me with her own body, almost clinging to me.

“Heup!”

Jin Ye-Seul also grabbed me by the collar and pulled me so that I wouldn't fall.

When the three of us were staggering just by the force of the arrow that was shot, Han Soo-Young guided it towards the gap in Svengali without going against the force of the arrow.

"Done… .”

With that murmur, she flopped down on the spot with a sign of exhaustion.

After a while, something seemed to flash and shine in the middle of the giant tree of Svengali.

Immediately afterward, a hurricane swept over us with an unbelievably loud noise that was caused by the shooting arrow.

The giant tree swayed so loudly that it could be seen from a distance and fell.

It roared, cracked, and shattered here and there.

Finally, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief as I watched a new tree grow as if it were a parasite in the middle of the giant tree.

It was a success.

"Thank God… .”

Han Soo-Young muttered like that.

She wasn't the only one who poured out all of her power.

Lee Ye-Eun and Jin Ye-Seul also seemed to have relaxed only after seeing the scene, and sat down.

I wanted to do the same, but I still had things to do.

“I’ll go first.”

"What? wh, where?”

Surprised by my words, Han Soo-Young suddenly struggled and reached out her hand.

It was as if she was trying to grab me to keep me from going.

“I'm sure there are others who are trying to take him down. I need to go and help a little.”

"Ug… .”

Han Soo-Young, who heard my words, looked down at the ground with an expression of disapproval for some reason.

Then, as if about to say something, she opened her mouth and immediately shut her mouth with a sigh.

“… yes."

Please be careful.

Han Soo-Young nodded helplessly, saying so.

I immediately sprinted towards Svengali with full force.

“…… .”

The current situation was too urgent to notice that Jin Ye-Seul was also staring at my back, along with Han Soo-Young.

* * *

Svengali's attack was thoroughly possible only with the power of the World Tree.

It was he who assimilated with the branches of the World Tree that he had planted on his own body and became a giant tree.

This gave him a hard outer skin, a weighty body, and the power of the World Tree, but he was unaware of the fact that he had also acquired a great weakness.

The World Tree is thoroughly subordinated to the purer World Tree.

It may be more relatable to think that it has the same system as the upper and lower class. 

It was also an extension of the reason why I was always able to gain an advantage over the members of the Thorns Cross Society who had the power of the World Tree by expedient means of baptism.

And now, of course, the existence with the purest power of ther World Tree was Lee Ye-Eun.

There would be a gap that couldn't be filled with her, but I, who shared characteristics and power with each other, would also have considerable purity.

The arrow of the World Tree made by pouring out all the power of us two, plus the layers of blessings the spirits, was shot at the guy's body.

There was no way the guy would be safe.

In fact, as I got closer and closer, his body disintegrated more and more, while the branches of the World Tree, which had grown parasitically next to him, became more and more vigorous.

In addition, the pure white sword aura that I had seen before, and the sound of punching with all might, could also be heard from afar.

It seemed that Nam Hyun-Hwa and Ahn Joo-Hyuk, as well as others, had begun to help.

"Hey."

“……?”

I tapped without stopping my steps, and Mandragora pushed his face out.

“Do you know where he is by any chance?"

“…… .”

Hearing my words, the guy pointed his roots towards one side without showing much thought.

Not long after I turned to where he was pointing, I could find something crawling on the ground in the corner of my field of vision.

“Uh, uuu… It can't end like this... .”

It was none other than Svengali in the form of a bird.

He looked completely different from the first time I saw him, like he was going to shatter at any moment.

He was barely crawling on the ground with his half-cut wings as if they were hands, but then as if he had noticed us, he turned his head.

"Ah. thi, this... !!!”

"I told you, I'm really going to kill you myself."

With those words, I pulled out Nidhogg's fang.

I squeezed out all the last remaining mana and wove it with the branches of the World Tree.

And I put it on the string and aimed it at him.

Svengali, realizing that there was no use in running away, just stayed there glaring at me.

“…… .”

Perhaps it was hard to watch, Mandragora went into my pocket and disappeared.

I could understand how a guy like that would feel.

“Is there anything you want to say?”

“Can there be such a thing? Now, no matter what I say, it would seem like a loser's struggle.”

Unlike Margo, Svengali had a rather calm appearance.

He groaned and vomited something thick, a mixture of green and gray.

“Knowing this, I would like to say a few words.”

He shuddered as he said this.

“You know that, right? We are not much different. No, you and I are the same. We really are a lot alike… .”

I didn't need to listen anymore.

I let go of the string and the arrow pierced deep into the middle of his forehead.

* * *

Svengali could hear the sound of the wings of insects cutting through the still air.

No, it wasn't the sound of insects, it was the sound of an arrow flying toward his head.

The moment the arrow pierced the middle of his forehead, he could ironically feel the energy of Margo, whom he hated the most.

It was as he thought.

He wondered if Ariman would help, but he knew better than anyone that it would never happen.

He could see and feel many things.

It was a strange floating feeling and at the same time the feeling of his own body being thrust into the ground.

What in the world was going on?

Everything is really unreal, he thought, a feeling he couldn't feel even during the hundreds of summers and winters.

Before everything darkened, he saw the giant tree that had been him earlier dance in the wind like a pile of ashes left on fire.

What kind of creature would eat and grow again on a plant that had grown on that pile of ashes?

But one thing was certain: he would never see it again.

And strangely enough, with the thought that it was the most painful, Svengali also became a pile of ashes.

It was the second death of Seven Evil after Margo.

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