Episode 42
Every time his shoulders swayed, the surrounding branches rubbed against each other, giving off a gloomy atmosphere.
"Haha, ha, hahaha!"
As if to prove that the Master, combined with the branches of the World Tree, was gradually detaching from humans, the loud laughter was like thunder.
After laughing for a long time, the master slowly lowered his head and said to me, "The world is gone."
"Will you stop it? Me?"
A considerable sense of displeasure was conveyed through his frowning face.
"When I asked him to come on, he looked at me very funnyly."
Master stretched out his hand towards me. A grip that grabs little by little.
"Suck...!"
Pain is familiar. Because I have suffered many times that others have suffered in a way that is difficult for others to go through.
"Wow, wow...!"
However, the pain of thin branches being embedded in my whole body and moving through each internal organ was unbearable. At the same time, the pain on his soul was added, and he couldn't hold back his screams.
"Disciple, disciple. Incompetent disciple. What will stop me? All you can do is hang there and scream."
The thought of dying came to my mind, but I couldn't. The thorns on my body were healing my body almost at the same time as the wound was being healed.
-It's quite fun to see you suffer, but it's getting boring.
It can't go on like this. Master seemed to want my mind to collapse completely.
"Bing, Ling...!"
He screamed. Perhaps, I simply thought so.
Kie-eh-!
Fortunately, Bing Ling reacted. A hail the size of a fist fell on a wide space.
"Hmm?"
The impact it had was minimal. It was just a few thin branches broken. On the contrary, there was a small interest in the face of the master who defended himself by piling up thick branches.
However, it was not meaningless. Thanks to the teacher's attention, the pain went away.
-As you know, the situation is hopeless. The power of the soul contract is absolute. Even if you use necromancy, you can't damage him.
Even if the demon king's soul descends directly on my body, the demon king cannot defeat the master. He is subordinate to me. If he tries to harm his master, my soul will inevitably suffer as well.
"What is that? I can't believe I can exert that kind of power with my soul body. It has something quite strange."
-Kie, kieek!
The same is true for the Bing Spirit who is now running away from his master's branch.
"If I hadn't found the branches of the divine tree, I might have used it as a research topic for a while."
It's a shame because the initial attack didn't do much damage, but if it had been a threat to the Master, my soul would have been irreparably fatally wounded.
-Still, let me tell you a few things that I am glad to have. One is...
As the Demon King's words continued, a low-pitched voice echoed here and there.
"Spirit."
"It's a spirit. It's not a sculpture."
"I'm sure."
The hum was not short. However, it didn't feel intrusive at all, but rather made me feel a sense of harmony as if I were listening to a single piece of music.
-That we are not the only ones here.
The smell of flowers wafted from somewhere.
"The author deals with the complete spirit."
"Should I preserve it?"
"Judgment is on hold. First of all, separate from the marauders."
Dozens of arrows flying in an instant. The arrows with mighty mana pierced through the branches that were relentlessly connected to me.
"Elf? What are you doing with all the time you keep watching?"
"Marauders. Leave the tree and step back."
"Leave the tree and step back."
The branches that were supporting it broke and his body rolled on the ground. It was a fairly rough skill exercise, but it didn't seem to harbor any animosity towards me.
- Tree searchers. Among the elves, they are especially insane, ghosts who chase the traces of the dead World Tree. The purpose is... It's not much different from your teacher.
I struggled to get up from my seat and pulled out the branches stuck in my body.
Things that had been embedded in the internal organs until a while ago were made possible thanks to the fact that the master's nerves were drawn to the possession spirit to some extent.
Even so, it was not okay. The muscles of my whole body were injured, and I didn't even dare to pull out a few of them.
"Stupid bastards. Marauders? Look! I'm one with this now! I...!"
A voice like an old tree splitting burst out as if it were resonating with the world.
-It is your God!
Huge vibrations. The earth cracked, and thousands of roots rose from beneath it.
Each thickness was incomparably thicker than the one that was embedded in me, about the thickness of an adult's forearm, but it was the same only that it was cracked, twisted, and faded.
It was like a snake's shed, like a witch's hair, and like a long intestine. It was so bizarre that just seeing it made me feel crazy.
"Dryad."
"Dryad."
"Dryad."
Dozens of voices resonated and called out one name.
Similarly, the ground cracked and nearly hundreds of roots surged up. The branches, which were as thick as a human trunk, soon came together to form the shape of a huge tree.
"Dare ..."
The enraged master and the tree giant collided. Each time, a powerful shock wave echoed through the ground and air.
The master was completely distracted by that. I felt that there was enough time. There are two remaining problems.
"Seeing a warrior's party or a battle right in front of you. Ha, it's really ridiculous."
At that moment, I heard a voice right next to me that seemed to have heard it from somewhere.
"What about that...?"
The head was barely raised. What caught my faint vision was the face of a woman who looked quite nervous.
"Tsk.
When he vaguely remembered that the voice had been heard at first glance during the fight with the mages of the Red Demon Tower before he lost consciousness, the woman took out a glass bottle from inside her robe and threw it at her.
The glass bottle that I couldn't take rolled on the floor. The woman saw this and shouted nervously.
"Do you know how much potion that is?"
“… Potion?"
I've heard of it. The crystallization of alchemy to restore the body. It was said that the elixir, which is said to bring the dead back to life, is also a type of potion.
Its effect is not comparable to that of a priest's order, but the price is dozens of times what must be consecrated to the Church. It was a luxury item that only wealthy people carried.
"Why is that?"
"You're that guy, right? Champion of the Veliv Estate. I went to the royal capital to make a fuss."
“….”
"The reaction is correct. My name is Melissa. I have something to tell you. Of course, before that..."
The woman's gaze turned to the teacher.
"I have to survive here."
The unconcealable tension felt in the voice. The woman quickly lifted the lid of the potion and held it out to me.
"Drink quickly. I'll help you pull out the stuck in your body. If you don't hurry, you may not be able to escape."
"No. I have no intention of running away."
"What?"
"I'm going to stop the Master here."
The woman let out a blank laugh as if she was speechless and shouted.
"You're talking about the same thing as me right now, right?"
When I swallowed the potion, my body quickly regained its vitality.
I don't have an attack method that has the power to pierce my master's tree. The magic I know is just the basics, and even the aura that I barely smoke is just an imitation.
'Anything else?'
The demon king said that there were a few things that he was fortunate about.
One of them. I wasn't the only one here. The elves stopped the Master and helped an unknown woman recover.
Fortunately, that alone could not stop the master.
-Of course, I'm awake.
I remembered the memories of the royal capital that are still vivid.
I was able to deal with a group of cults that I could never resist by using the demon king's soul for necromancy.
But that method was not available now.
-Kie-e....
Just like the Bing Ling who ran away without causing much damage to his master, the Demon King cannot harm his master as long as he is subordinate to me.
If I tried to force myself to do that, both my soul and the Demon King's soul would be destroyed.
-It's a stupid idea. You don't think I just don't know about the soul contract, do you?
'Then what is it?'
-There is a way to bypass the contract.
The Demon King said as if it was not a big deal.
-As I have said many times, the power of the soul contract is absolute. Normally, just thinking about Gus will ruin your soul and kill you.
'I know. What is that....'
-Isn't it strange? You are still alive.
I felt a shock as if I had been hit in the head for a moment. That's because the Master cares about me...
-Because your soul is different from when you signed the contract with that idiot.
It was not.
-It's because I've grown up. Since the essence did not change, I couldn't completely break away from the contract, but I was able to reduce the impact to some extent. Of course, this is not enough to kill your master.
The Demon King said that and let out a sound that seemed to suppress his laughter for a moment.
-Focus on the spirit. Do you see it?
'What the hell, that...?'
I saw something shiny. A small, black fragment that is about to fade away. Soul fragments that he had seen in the Veliv Estate were scattering in all directions whenever the Master and the Tree Giant collided.
-You remember the top of the golden star, right?
The Demon King said in a voice full of laughter.
Of course I remember. His end, and what the Demon King said at that time. They said that valuable treasures have magical powers, and they are dangerous to those who do not deserve them.
-It is certainly a great thing for a human being to use a branch that has sealed its power to that extent, but it is so ruined that you don't even notice how the result comes back to you.
‘…!’
The Master's soul is broken. Then, the ugly appearance, the incomprehensible words and actions... I understood that the teacher had changed like that.
-Absorb that.
"What is that...?"
It was nonsense.
It is the soul of the teacher. The idea of absorbing it is ridiculous, and even if I did, there was no way I would be safe after that.
-What do you mean by that? The Master's soul is scattered like pieces. It will disappear over time. As a disciple, shouldn't we take care of that?
The uncontrollable laughter chased through my head.
I felt nauseous. I felt a sense of rejection that I had never felt when absorbing the souls of others.
-After that, the homogeneity of the soul can be weakened a little, but... That's not the important thing right now. That's just the story.
However, he endured and deployed his magic circle.
"What, this is...! Deploying magic circles with only magical power? And this speed and precision..."
I heard a bewildered voice next to me, but I ignored it.
The magic circle emitted light, and silver-gray chains sprouted through the scattered soul fragments.
The chain wriggled back in front of me. A pierced black soul shard.
He took a breath for a moment and held a small piece in his mouth.
-You, is this visible? … It's a shame to rot in such a small town. Would you like to go to the magic tower together?
In an instant, my vision changed completely and the voice echoed in my head.
A green forest, a bleeding beast, a woman with a kind smile. But it was only for a short time.
In the blink of an eye, the original scene was back to normal.
"This is...."
-How's that. Do you feel that the restrictions have been eased? Of course, it's still a long way off. Hurry up. Even if you absorb all of that, it's close.
I reached for the next piece as if enchanted.
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