CHAPTER 141
Chapter 141: A Single Streak of the Sword
Jinwoo walked forward, pushing through the bushes. Behind him followed Ipril, whose gaze was fixed slightly diagonally ahead of Jinwoo.
There, a Black Root was wriggling, guiding Jinwoo somewhere.
'Mother World Tree...'
Was that small root truly Mother World Tree? No, there was no room for doubt. Her instincts as an Elf were screaming at her to prostrate herself before that root. To be embraced by it and find peace.
Even if it was tainted by Erosion, it was her Mother.
Then it was only right to follow.
"You say it's the Royal Palace this way? How long will it take?"
Wriggle wriggle.
"Hmm... It takes quite a while. Should we speed up a bit?"
The root nodded as if it understood and increased its speed slightly. Jinwoo's pace also quickened; he kicked off the ground strongly, yet he didn't break a single blade of grass. The clumsy elven footwork he had learned in the past was now indistinguishable from that of a real Elf.
While admiring his gait, Ipril watched Jinwoo communicating with Mother World Tree.
Even though she considered it blasphemy, she couldn't help but ask. She abruptly opened her mouth.
"Master."
"What?"
"Are you, perhaps... a Proxy of Mother World Tree?"
"Proxy?"
What was she talking about? Jinwoo looked back with a puzzled expression.
"If it's a Proxy, you already have one. Your Queen."
There was already Permu, the Queen of Delphinia and the Priestess of the World Tree, so asking if he was the Proxy was a strange question, wasn't it?
"Of course, the Priestess is there, but... The Priestess does not come out of the Royal Palace. And right now, the palace is completely isolated."
"So you thought there might be another Proxy?"
"Yes. The two of you look, well, very intimate."
Ipril looked at Jinwoo's wrist. The Black Root was wrapped around it, showing off their closeness. In a way, it even looked like it was jealous of Ipril and keeping her in check.
"It's time for sunset."
Jinwoo suddenly looked at the sky and spoke. It still looked bright, but it was time. Since sunset in the forest happened very quickly, it would be completely dark in about 20 minutes.
For Jinwoo or Ipril, moving at night wasn't an issue. They weren't the type to be taken down by wild beasts, nor did they have poor night vision. However, resting periodically was necessary. You never knew what might happen.
"I will pitch the tent."
"I'll prepare dinner."
The conversation paused as they focused on their respective tasks. A tent large enough for not just two, but five people to sprawl out in was set up, and Jinwoo made a soup packed with meat.
Even Elves didn't abstain from meat, so it was fine. Especially now, she couldn't absorb mana and nutrients from the surrounding atmosphere through her skin.
Elves absorbed most of their nutrients that way, with meals being merely supplementary. But she couldn't just accept someone else's mana either.
Mana that had adapted to another person's body caused a rejection reaction in a different body. Therefore, to transfer mana to another, processing it cleanly was important, but that process resulted in a loss of at least 60%.
Because of this, the only way for her to replenish nutrients right now was through food. She didn't really want to think about what would happen if even that ran out.
"Thank you for the meal."
Ipril bowed politely and lifted her bowl. Food that was like a lifeline. Jinwoo also lifted his bowl, took a sip, and ate a spoonful of meat. It was cooked so tenderly that it tore with just a light pressure from his teeth. The sharp scent of black pepper was impressive.
Beside him, the root licked Jinwoo's calf as if it were a puppy. Jinwoo took out a plant nutrient ampoule he had received from Chartia in the past and fed it to the tip of the root. It was meant for garden care, but the root snatched it up and gulped it down eagerly.
Ipril watched this scene with restless eyes. She didn't know whether she should feel it was blasphemous, be surprised, or what emotion was the correct one to have.
"I have a bit of a connection with the World Tree. It's growing in my yard, too."
It was a long connection in many ways. He couldn't explain it all, but he told her the parts he could. Even the fact that he had gone up to the Spirit Realm and looked for the World Tree's main body.
"The Spirit Realm? Do you mean the 6th Floor?"
"Yeah."
"My goodness..."
Ipril's attitude becoming a bit more polite wasn't just his imagination. She had always been respectful, calling him Master, but now she was practically worshipping him.
She had only just reached the level of the 5th Floor, yet her Master was already exploring the 6th.
"The 6th Floor... I've only heard of it in legends. It's my first time meeting someone who actually enters and exits it."
Even here, the 6th Floor was a legendary place. As Rona had said in the past, the Spirit Realm where spirits lived. To the ordinary Elves living in this world, the Spirit Realm had the impression of a paradise where divine hermits resided.
"It's not that big of a deal. Though the mana is rich."
"Is that so?"
"Even the fruit you pick and eat while passing by is on the level of a small elixir."
Ipril listened with admiration. Since she gave good reactions, it was easy to talk. As he unraveled interesting stories about the Spirit Realm, the night passed quickly.
After spending the night, the two continued to move. Following the guidance of the Black Root towards the Royal Palace of Delphinia.
Enemies wielding Black Flames popped out several times along the way, but there was no damage at all. Not only Jinwoo, but Ipril had also become much stronger than before. It seemed her preparations to enter the 5th Floor weren't a lie.
'She's definitely at the level of barely scraping into S-class.'
She wasn't at the level of experienced S-classes like Lin Shenlin or Reinhardt whom he had met briefly recently, but she was at the level of a newly ascended S-class Hunter. She could defeat a Black Knight even if she fought alone.
Compared to Rona, she was still a step below, but the fact that she used a bow was good. It filled the gap in Jinwoo's lack of ranged attack ability.
"Is the Royal Palace still far... Huh?"
"What is it?"
Still a long way to the palace. But something was caught in Jinwoo's senses.
There were a lot of Black Flames, and furthermore, a Blue Flame he knew very well was in that spot.
All the village Elves had taken refuge in a cave near the village. Since it was a small village, the number was only around fifty, but the cave wasn't large, so it was terribly cramped.
Only a single Elf was guarding the entrance. Against the swarming werewolves with black fur.
Rona's face was like a ghost (demon). Extreme anger had transcended the level of what one could accept, achieving a cold composure instead.
As she cut down the enemy in front of her, her mind was recalling something else. Her childhood. The time her family burned and disappeared. The enemies that had attacked her family.
'It's the same.'
It was the same. They were exactly the same as these bastards attacking now. The color, the shape, the smell. Even the air of this moment, thick with death and despair.
'I have to protect them. This time, I will!'
The Elves in the cave behind her weren't her family. They weren't people of her clan. They were Elves of a tiny village she was briefly staying at while passing by.
But she had to protect them. What she couldn't protect when she was young. Furthermore, if she could crush the enemy, kill the foe, and complete her revenge...
Kuh-heung!
"Aaaah!"
However, she was outnumbered. There were at least thirty enemies. On the other hand, she had to pay considerable attention just to deal with one.
They were clearly stronger than the bastards who attacked her clan in the past. The boss-level monsters from back then were scattered here like pawns. Just barely managing to take them down one-on-one left her far too shorthanded.
"Ah..."
Blood splattered. While she beheaded one, two rushed in from both sides and clawed her flank. She jumped back to dodge, but couldn't completely avoid the claws of the one on the left.
'I can't let injuries pile up!'
They were minor wounds for now, but if this continued, she wouldn't last. If she didn't stop the bleeding immediately, blood would flow out and drain her stamina rapidly. She immediately took out Nectar and applied it to the wound to stop the bleeding. Since she applied it in a hurry, the wound didn't heal cleanly, but the bleeding stopped.
'Was it like this back then too?'
She suddenly remembered. When she was young, when she had lost her eyes to the attack of those bastards and was just waiting for death.
There was someone who saved her. Someone who put Nectar in her injured eyes, held her small body and ran to hide her in a cave, and defeated the swarming enemies just like the current her.
She didn't see the face. Back then, she was just trembling inside the cave, and even then, she couldn't see anything because her eyes were injured. If that person from back then were here, could they have swept away all these enemies too?
'I don't know. Because the bastards now are stronger than back then.'
She didn't know how strong that person was either. Because she hadn't seen them fight. She only knew they fought with a sword by examining the traces on the remaining carcasses, but she didn't know the extent of their strength.
Even while thinking that, her heart strangely longed for it. If that person could be here, fighting back-to-back with her. Then, perhaps they could have overcome this crisis too.
Maybe it was just a vain imagination to comfort herself in this difficult moment. Because... at this rate, it was certain that both she and her compatriots behind her would die.
'Run away... there's no way I can.'
If she pulled herself out alone, she might be able to. It would be impossible to face dozens of wolves, but escape might be possible.
But she couldn't do that. The option of running away leaving the compatriots behind didn't exist for her. If she did that, she would lose her sword.
'I have lived my whole life upright. Picturing that person's back.'
Imagining the back of the savior she hadn't seen—couldn't see—she had swung her sword her entire life. It was no exaggeration to say her sword was made of that heart.
But if she ran away here, her sword would crumble. So she couldn't run. She had to defend this spot to the end.
But.
'It's overwhelming.'
The end was in sight. Both her stamina and mana were almost at rock bottom. Yet, she was holding on because her will remained. Her body and mental power had reached their limits, but her soul was still enduring.
She swung her sword in a trance. A sword swung not by hand, but by soul. The sword felt heavier than usual. No, lighter. Her body definitely felt heavy, but somehow it was light.
Chwak!
One. Another one. And another one.
She successfully cut them down. She didn't know how she could do this with a sword that had almost no mana. Her soul was trying to ascend to a new sky right at this moment.
But it wasn't enough. Even in this limit situation, she took down ten more, but now it was impossible. Her eyes were closing. Her trembling feet stumbled on their own, and her balance collapsed.
What she saw as she fell was the pack of wolves rushing in, aiming for her.
And...
A single streak of a sword cutting through that pack.