Chapters from here on are mtl.
Although he had somehow persuaded the group to move, Seongjin could not hide his embarrassment as he walked..
Thinking about it again, it wasn't a very smooth incitement, and the statement that we wouldn't do anything dangerous was also a lie that would soon be discovered..
Isn't the reason he decided to follow the Wolf Knights in the first place because he thought it would be most efficient to take the lead since he was fine even when exposed to demonic energy?.
It was probably the same for the demon lord, so he scolded Seongjin in various ways throughout the trip..
[Who doesn't depend on? When your subordinate went over earlier, you were shocked and started looking for your father..]
Uh, okay. There was that too.
'…No, but at the time, I really thought I killed Sir Calmen.!'
Seongjin scratched his cheek, recalling the strange sensation he felt earlier. Strangely, at that time, I had a strong feeling that Lord Calmen was going to die at any moment..
I was clearly thinking that the amount of impact had been carefully controlled, but it was a bit scary to suddenly roll your eyes and move on from an insignificant blow..
'Still, it doesn't change the fact that we do what we can on our own..'
Seongjin thought as he habitually stroked the characteristic metal grooves on the nutcracker..
You can't save people who are dying like Seonghwang, but.
At least Seongjin was confident that he could fight the enemy in front of him until he died. He could save his father a bit of work just by doing it on his own..
And that guy is now in the [gap]? Then, even if you come out, you will still get severe motion sickness, so I tell you not to worry about this place and just get some rest..
Then the devil bastard sighed as the earth fell..
[Ugh. Doesn't your father become more anxious because you act like that every time? What do you mean, fighting until death??]
'Oh, it's noisy!'
Seongjin and his group quickly arrived at their destination..
There wasn't much to look for. No matter how small it is, a huge tree that appears to be at least 15 meters tall has already covered the entire campsite where the upper part was and is spreading its thick roots in all directions..
Kyaaa!
Wow!!
The screaming sound that I thought was the scream of something was actually the noise made by living, wriggling tree branches rubbing against each other..
Above all, that strong magic energy.
The black energy emitted from the tree was so thick that the pitch-black haze was clearly visible even under the dark night sky..
"where are all the top people...."
The group first looked to see if there were any survivors, but were soon horrified to realize that the things hanging and shaking from the tree were not fruits but shriveled corpses..
"Wow!"
Several young knights were disgusted..
It has to be that way. At that grotesque sight, even Sir Ilma, who was quite experienced in subjugating demonic beasts, was momentarily appalled..
It was ironic that Prince Mores, the youngest of the group, was the one who maintained the calmest attitude..
'How can someone who grew up in the imperial palace be so calm??'
Even Sir Martha has a frown on his face..
Looking at the gray eyes that showed no signs of agitation, Sir Ilma was quite impressed..
'As a superior, is he really trying not to show that he has lost his composure? As expected, he is very different from the rumors.!'
Of course, contrary to her illusion, Seongjin was busy looking for Dasha among the corpses..
'…First of all, I don't think there are any of these..'
Seongjin quickly scanned the area around the tree and was relieved to see that there was no body that looked like Dasha among them..
and.
'There is another survivor..'
It seems like everyone was so preoccupied with that strange tree that they didn't notice it. Far away on a hill, an ordinary person who had no Auror training was hiding and watching..
Seongjin strengthened his eyesight with aura and saw his appearance with his own eyes..
'Giacomo Milo.'
Did he survive alone? In this situation, you didn't manage to summon the devil you had contracted with..
Should I call this cautious or timid?.
In order to find out what happened, we'll have to catch that guy and kill him, but the priority will be to do something about the tree that's growing so well in front of us..
"Anyone who knows anything about that demon race??"
In response to Seongjin's question, everyone in the group focuses their attention on Sir Sharon and Sir Valerie..
"To be honest, I've never seen anything like that, not even in 'Apocalypse Now.' It looks exactly like a plant, but I doubt it's a devil species.."
Sir Valerie answered with a perplexed look on her face..
"Of course, there is no doubt that that terrible energy is the devil's energy.."
At that time, Sir Sharon looked into space with blank eyes and started muttering..
"…Tree of the Demon World... . A weapon hidden by the remnants of Penance... . Essence of Asceticism...."
At first glance, it seems closer to being driven crazy by a terrible sight rather than explaining the tree..
While the group was paying attention to her with worried eyes, Director Bruno secretly pursed his lips at Seongjin..
'Channeling with Arenja.'
aha. You're requesting data from the server..
And after a while, Sir Sharon regained focus in her eyes and opened her mouth..
"… after. Since history, there have been two sighting reports of that tree. Of these, it is said that only one subjugation record remains.."
Sir Sharon explained quickly in her characteristic thin voice..
The official name of the tree is [Magyesu]].
However, because both times the trees were released into Delcross were the actions of the Church of Penitence, the name [Penitent Tree] is added in the records..
According to the classification standards of the Orthodox Church, in principle, it corresponds to type 4 of other devil species, but the rules of engagement are said to be similar to type 1 devil species. Although it is slow, it moves similar to type 1..
"At that time, His Majesty the 5th Holy Emperor, 18 Holy Knights, 20 Royal Guard Knights, and 16 Battle Priests participated, and it is said that they fought in a Granius type 1 defense formation. It reacts sensitively even to weak divine power, so if it is properly blessed, even ordinary knights can...."
It was then.
The tree that was just writhing in place suddenly started moving towards Seongjin and his group..
Even though the distance was quite wide, the tree, which gradually grew in size, reached a distance where it could detect the group..
nettle liquid!
Seongjin raised his hand to the nutcracker as he saw the thick tree branch flying from the front. The intention was to wait for it to reach the front and cut it down at once, but.
hiss!
The golden sword that was pulled out from the side first swung wide, shooting out a long trail of moonlight. It was Lord Masain..
'…Aura explosion?'
The faint lingering moon violently split the flying branches and reached the tree trunk..
and.
Kuaang!
It causes a very strong explosion, shaking the entire tree trunk strongly. A strong wind blew around the campsite..
Hehehe-
The impact was so strong that the part of the corpse that was hanging fell helplessly to the floor and broke apart with a crunching sound..
The tree suddenly stopped moving and made an unpleasant grinding sound, as if it had been electrocuted..
"...!"
The entire group looks at him with wide eyes, and Masain, who has overpowered the ship with a strong preemptive attack, asks with a determined look on his face as if he has decided on something..
"…Do you hold it like this, my dear??"
"...."
Seongjin blinked his eyes..
This gentleman, perhaps because it was impossible to control Seongjin, had now decided to take the initiative himself..
Seongjin nodded, thinking that this was truly his attitude.
"okay. Sir Masain."
Compared to the previous record that Sir Sharon mentioned, the current power seemed to be completely insufficient..
Seongjin and Masain. 15 members of the Wolf Knights including Orden, leader Bruno and 3 resident knights. And two holy knights from the monster task force..
But still.
'…Somehow I feel like I can do it.'
Seongjin looked around at the group with such a strong premonition..
Even when I was on Earth, in the early days of the Gate incident, it was common to encounter monsters I had never seen before. And every time, Seongjin's sense was always accurate..
When they felt like they had to retreat, they suffered damage that was close to total annihilation, and when they decided that something could be done, many survived even at the end of the struggle..
And in this case.
'Maybe without much damage...!'
Has Seongjin's confidence been conveyed?.
Orden stared at him for a moment, then turned his head and gave instructions to Sir Ilma..
"heartbreak. We cannot carry out the divine design with our full power now. But the fact that there are no other records means that there may be numerous separate solutions.."
"Yes, Archduke. First, let's search for him by hitting and running.."
Lord Ilma answered like that and shouted to all of the Wolf Knights..
"Everyone spread out and surround him! Everyone, think about dealing with the Glatzer Troll! This demon may be huge, but he's definitely not faster than that damn ice monster!"
As familiar instructions are given, anxiety disappears in an instant..
Even so, the eyes of the knights, highly exalted by Masaine's aura explosion, sparkled with faint excitement..
"The trick to blocking demon energy is also the same as its coldness! It's not harmful as long as it doesn't touch the body, so hold on and block it with your aura as much as possible.!"
Then Sir Valerie waved from behind..
"Now, if you're anxious, I'll bless you one more time, so come over here.!"
Then the knights laughed and scattered in all directions..
"The Inquisitor is also very talkative.."
"…yes? What is it?"
"So, who are you telling me to scare??"
"Uh oh?"
"They must have made fun of me because I was a coward who couldn't take a single step without a blessing! This should be seen as a challenge to the Wolf Knights.?"
"…no?"
Slowly coming out of shock, the drivers dodged and cut down tree trunks that began to squirm, and even showed the leisure to make lame jokes..
Even so, the thing that stood out was the Ilma Sutra..
Unlike the knights who step back and cut down branches step by step to avoid being hit by demonic energy, she fearlessly ran close to the tree trunk, creating a sword screen wide enough to cover half of her body..
Of course, there was nothing to lightly trim the tree trunks that flew in from time to time. and.
whirring!
She easily rode over the huge root flying in front of her on her back as if performing a trick, and used the momentum to cut a large cut right into the center of the tree trunk..
Powok!
From the deep wound, black magic energy pours out like blood..
Sir Ilma, who quickly backed away from the explosive eruption of demonic energy, kicked a knight who had lost his balance on the violently shaking ground and sent him flying far away. At the same time, he cuts off the branches chasing him..
Wow.
Seongjin was impressed as he brandished the nutcracker..
'Lord Ilma. I've gotten to the point where I'm fighting while taking care of my junior knights.?'
Orden Sigismund's performance also stood out..
The beautiful movement of a sword that swings, bends at a strange angle, and extends forward. Seongjin recognized that movement right away..
A variation of the Banajas 3 formula that Sisley once admired and imitated. And the power was just as the kid said..
Took bang!
A thick tree root, almost as thick as the pillars of the Bastian Church, exploded at once, scattering hundreds and thousands of tree fragments..
Seongjin suddenly had the thought that one day he would like to see with his own eyes the scene where the Wolf Knights take on the Glacher Troll..
"Don't be blindsided, sir! The magic is getting stronger."
Wow!
Masaan warned after cutting down two flying branches at once..
As the saying goes, just cutting down trees wasn't the end. The tree, which had wounds here and there, began to wriggle and ooze even stronger magical energy than before..
Tweet!
Meanwhile, new branches growing from below filled the wounds more tightly and made an unpleasant friction sound..
'…There will be no end like this?'
Seongjin thought as he took a step back with Masain..
The tree seemed to have stopped rapidly expanding its territory, but it was still growing little by little by adding new branches..
On the other hand, the movement of the knights was increasingly restricted. The more trees were cut down, the more polluted the air became with the released demonic energy..
'Besides, this place will become more and more tiring. If you don't think of another way before that....'
At that time, the devil called Seongjin..
[Seongjin Lee.]
'huh?'
[I remember once hearing that in order to get rid of the ever-growing Demon Tree, you have to completely separate its source, the growth core..]
…what?
Seongjin asked, rolling to the side to avoid the branch falling from above..
'Is that a similar concept to the monster's core??'
[Well, it might be similar in function..]
Quaaaang! A tree branch that barely passed Seongjin returns to its trunk, clawing deeply on the dirt floor..
Seongjin asked as he got up and ran backwards..
'But why are you telling me that important thing now??'
[I wasn't sure because I had only heard about it through hearsay! I've never actually seen the Demon Tree before.!]
The Demon King protested as if it were unfair..
[So, just in case, I took a close look at the entire Demon Tree. I was wondering if growth nuclei could be seen..]
So, what I mean by talking about it now is.
'You found the core.?'
[Yeah, probably. Inside the tree, I see a part where the magic energy is particularly fluctuating and shining brightly..]
'so where is it?'
Then the devil hesitated for a moment and answered..
[At the top of the magic tree....]
'uh....'
Seongjin looked blank for a moment, looking up at the distant tree of the Demon World, which was now well over 20 meters away..
No, how on earth do you get up there??
'…I'm sure?'
[I can't be sure. But no matter how much I look, there's nothing special about the other places, so it's probably right there..]
Okay.
Seongjin let out a low groan, but there was no time to think about it any more. Meanwhile, the height of the tree was soaring upward in real time.!
'Let's try something first!'
nettle-
Just then, a branch as thick as a log flew in front of him, and Seongjin concentrated his concentration as he gathered the aura in his legs..
And before Sir Masain could cut it down.
Paang!
I jumped off the ground and jumped up to the highest point on the branch..
"…lowering!"
Leaving Masain's cry of astonishment behind,.
Crash!
Seongjin began to run without hesitation over the branches overflowing with black magic energy..