Chapter 805: Two Trees (3)
The shade of the tree stretched long across the desolate earth.
The towering giant, so high its top seemed lost in the distance, remained indifferent even to the approaching footsteps of the tiny things below. Even the approach of the pseudo-Origin, coveted by countless Transcendents, seemed to register as no more than a single ant crawling over its roots.
Rumble. The black dragon tore one final deep trench through the ground, then turned her body. Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon leaped down from her pitch-black scales. Liette swung her tail in one broad sweep, as if waving goodbye, then returned to the place where Han Yujin waited.
Seong Hyunjae lifted his head and looked up at the World Tree, Chewang.
“What a splendid shape.”
His gaze was almost that of a man admiring a carefully tended bonsai.
“Almost a shame to cut it down and burn it.”
Seong Hyunjae had a certain fondness for horticulture, enough that he personally cared for his greenhouse. Watering in silence, adjusting the temperature and humidity, pruning the branches. The most fundamental form of domination was, for him, a kind of rest. It did not consume him, but neither was it wholly boring.
“And yet, even this is not a first.”
A World Tree species. A tree like that, weakened enough that calling it a Transcendent felt inadequate, must have crossed his path at some point in the forgotten past. He felt certain of it. After all, he felt none of the thrill that came with facing something entirely new for the first time in his life.
Seong Hyunjae turned his head. The man standing silently came into view.
Song Taewon.
Eclipse, created to stop the pseudo-Origin. He was a completely new existence, and because of that, from the very first moment they met—before Seong Hyunjae had even known what he was—he had no choice but to be drawn to him instinctively. In a reality filled with dungeons and Awakened people, a reality Seong Hyunjae had already grown sick and tired of, Song Taewon had been the only thing that was not boring.
“Still the same, I see.”
Though the way he stayed crouched in place, never changing, was frustrating too. Seong Hyunjae had sensed something inside Song Taewon and had poked at him this way and that, but the man had been as solid as a great boulder. It wasn’t as if Seong Hyunjae could split him open and pull out what was inside, so in the end, he had grown slightly tired of it as well.
After Han Yujin appeared, Song Taewon had changed a little.
“You could let go at least once. This happens to be the world of dreams, doesn’t it? A place like a dungeon, where Mr. Song Taewon cannot harm the weak.”
“As I have already told you.”
Song Taewon answered in a voice faintly threaded with a sigh.
“I am still not certain what you want from me.”
“Take it off. By your own hand.”
Seong Hyunjae sat down on a thick root protruding from the ground as he spoke.
“Whatever is inside, it should be all right now. I admit I alone was not enough. One person cannot play every role.”
Song Taewon was wrapped in self-loathing so tight that it would not have been strange if he strangled himself with his own hands at any moment. To him, Seong Hyunjae had been the reason his existence was permitted. If Song Taewon had been the only S-Rank Awakened person in the world, he would not have endured for long. He would have soon disappeared from it.
But there were other S-Ranks around him. Above all, there was a natural-born S-Rank more powerful and dangerous than anyone else.
Because a wolf lurked beyond the fence, the monster could stand among the flock without tearing out his own sharp teeth and claws. The only one who could deal with Seong Hyunjae, who might be seized by any whim at any time, was Song Taewon. Everyone acknowledged that. Song Taewon himself had found a place to remain within that fact.
Seong Hyunjae had become the meaning of Song Taewon’s life.
However, enduring and keeping himself alive was one thing. Living and taking another step forward was another.
“Mr. Han Yujin is actually quite ordinary. Among ordinary people, I mean.”
In a world without dungeons or Awakened people, Han Yujin would have lived as an ordinarily good man. Sociable, hardworking, decently moral, living a life where he occasionally dreamed of winning the lottery.
“But the moment that ordinary nature stopped discriminating by who stood before him, it became something special. Mr. Han Yujin embraced even the most inhuman beings as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.”
Natural-born S-Ranks, Origin-born beings, possessed relatively little of human nature. Among them, Han Yuhyun was even closer to something nonhuman. Unlike Seong Hyunjae and Liette, who still had some measure of human traits, he was an existence akin to pure flame.
“You could say he is simply unusually affectionate. There have been beings who cared for Origin-born ones before, after all.”
They had apparently appeared a few times in the past among worlds belonging to the Fifth Origin.
“But Mr. Han Yujin recognized the existence of fire. He collided again and again with that alien desire, and still he never let it go from his arms. He accepted that they were different from one another, and despite that, he keeps trying to move forward together. You have seen it too, haven’t you, Mr. Song Taewon?”
Song Taewon nodded faintly. Even now, in this very moment, when the twenty-one-year-old Han Yuhyun had failed to withstand the disparity within himself and collapsed, Han Yujin had not given up. He was even trying to embrace another Han Yuhyun and move forward again.
“And that applies to more than just Han Yuhyun.”
Ruuuumble—
From far away came the sound of flowing water.
“No matter what form Song Taewon takes, Mr. Han Yujin will not give up on him.”
Whatever kind of being he was. Just as Han Yujin had taken Han Yuhyun into his arms, just as he tried to protect Seong Hyunjae, just as he had even accepted Rookie, a Transcendent, Han Yujin would not let go of Song Taewon either.
Rooooar. Water surged in through the channel. It rose high like a wave, then crashed down with a slap.
“…I know.”
Song Taewon, too, had seen it many times. Han Yujin’s affection did not change. It absolutely did not change. It was a solid foundation that would always stand on the same side. When a person had a stable place that would accept them at any time, they did not fear failure, and could move forward more easily, more boldly. That was why Han Yuhyun, who had been curled up inside the frame of humanity, had begun to change. Even when he wavered again and again, even when he was stumbling once more now, it was possible because there was a place that would accept even that wavering. Even if he completely fell apart, Han Yujin would always pull him back into his arms.
Seong Hyunjae was telling Song Taewon that he could do the same. That he should try shaking apart, just once. Even if he collapsed so badly that every last sheep fled from him, at least one ordinary person would remain, liking him in the ordinary way.
Rrrrrrrr—
Roots began moving all around them. The root Seong Hyunjae had been sitting on also writhed toward the stream. Seong Hyunjae stepped down to the ground and looked back at the Puppeteer above the water. The Puppeteer stared back at him. His gaze was emotionless.
“Why are you being so cooperative?”
Seong Hyunjae asked, a faint smile on his face. The Puppeteer twisted up the corner of his mouth.
“You really are older than my kid. You forgot already?”
“What manners, speaking to your father’s friend like that.”
“That Han Yujin brat treated me like an ancestor.”
“I see, Grandfather. I happen to be Han Yujin’s partner. Mr. Han Yujin did once say to me, ‘You’re around my little brother’s age,’ after all.”
“…No matter how I think about it, that Han Yujin brat’s taste is strange.”
The Puppeteer clicked his tongue. Sigma was cute, but that guy was nothing more than an old serpent who had lived far too long. A serpent stubbornly coiled into the crack of a wall, refusing to ascend.
“There is no way you intend to leave Sigma like that. Which means you must have some other plan.”
Seong Hyunjae swept his eyes over the Puppeteer as he said he could not guess what it was. It was suspicious that the Puppeteer had taken no particular action even after Moon Hyunah had convinced Sigma to cooperate by suggesting they could defect to the Gardener if things went wrong. Han Yujin, Moon Hyunah, and the Puppeteer were similar, but their goals were entirely different from one another. Han Yujin and Moon Hyunah had at least made their directions clear, but the Puppeteer had not. He was definitely hiding something else.
“For now, the Gardener’s subordinate has passed to Han Yujin. That gives me no reason not to help. As for the other one being held by the Gardener, Han Yujin will do something about him one way or another.”
“There is no need to hide it that thoroughly. If you are my little brother’s guardian, then to me as well—”
“Hey! Who the hell is your little brother, you bastard?”
The Puppeteer glared, telling him not to say something so disgusting. Seong Hyunjae smiled soundlessly. Just then, Han Yujin’s voice came faintly through the megaphone.
[My little brother, Yuhyun.]
“It has begun.”
In the meantime, the water that had filled the channel had been fully absorbed by the World Tree, leaving it completely dry. Seong Hyunjae turned. As he walked toward the giant tree, Song Taewon approached his side.
“Please extend Seeker’s Chain as far as possible and tie it to my wrist.”
“No, there is no need.”
“Pardon? But even if we possess the same Plunder skill, without a connection, transferring the absorbed power will be impossible.”
“There is someone who will help.”
Song Taewon instinctively looked back. The Puppeteer was floating above the dried waterway. He had agreed to assist, but he did not appear inclined to interfere beyond that.
“Not that side. This side.”
Seong Hyunjae extended one hand into empty air.
“My partner.”
“…What?”
“The Han Yujin who was the Sesung Guild Leader’s partner is entirely within me.”
The hand he had extended into the air turned, pointing toward Seong Hyunjae’s own chest. At what those words meant, Song Taewon’s brow twisted deeply.
“Even if it must be after this matter is over, please return them.”
“You really have changed quite a lot.”
Seong Hyunjae lightly hopped over a thin root as he spoke.
“In the past, would this not have been something you welcomed instead? Forgetting all about a dangerous S-Rank, and letting an F-Rank live as an F-Rank should.”
“…Yes. But not anymore.”
Song Taewon had also once threatened Han Yujin, trying to force him away from danger.
“I will likely still try to guard and protect him. But I have come to feel that protection alone is not always the best answer. Being alive and truly living are clearly different things.”
People said you could do anything as long as you were alive, but sometimes one could also risk their life in order to do something.
“Most importantly, Mr. Han Yujin knows nothing. He senses an inexplicable empty space and feels that something is wrong, does he not? At the very least, I believe Mr. Han Yujin should know, and he should have the opportunity to choose.”
Even if that choice opposed Seong Hyunjae’s, even if they clashed and one side was forcibly made to yield, it was far better than never having had the chance at all.
“Hunter Seong Hyunjae, what you did was clearly wrong.”
“Yes. It was my selfish greed.”
Seong Hyunjae laughed as if amused. Beneath his hand, a golden chain appeared.
“I suppose I wanted to possess it and also leave it behind. It would have been cleaner to devour everything, of course.”
“Hunter Seong Hyunjae!”
“Now then, Mr. Han Yujin.”
The mass of stolen memories moved. The power dwelling within them softly drew out a part of what had accumulated inside Seong Hyunjae. Charr. The chain stretched long.
“Its essence is light.”
The metal links took on a deeper gold.
“Moonlight brought down, gathered and spun upon a wheel of ice.”
An old memory flowed out. The shape of the chain began to blur.
“Then melted and forged beneath the sun.”
One single strand, never wavering under any light, refined and noble. Light spread from Seong Hyunjae’s fingertips. The beam, freed from the shape of a chain, wrapped around the World Tree Chewang and wove broadly back and forth.
“A chain has a limit to its length, but light does not.”
Seong Hyunjae stepped onto the light and leaped upward. Song Taewon hesitated for a moment, then followed after him. Han Yujin’s voice, which had been drifting over from afar, cut off. By now, flames would be rising there.
‘At the very least, we need to pin them down.’
After receiving information about the two World Trees from Rookie, Han Yujin had said that while worrying over Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon.
‘They’re rivals, more or less, so if they think their opponent is easy, they won’t join forces. Even now, they’re keeping a good distance apart. But if they decide we’re a threat, that’ll change. Most importantly, they’re both World Tree species and their traits are similar, so if they connect to each other, Rookie says they’ll become much stronger.’
So until one of them was dealt with, the two trees could not be allowed to draw close to each other. The World Tree wrapped in light faintly shook its branches. It was only simple light, but it seemed to find the light somewhat irritating.
‘Rookie said Chewang itself moves slowly compared to En Duro. In exchange, it has a nest trait.’
The uppermost part of the tree began to crack open. Seong Hyunjae searched for another ability within himself. The layers upon layers of accumulated power swayed violently. But the power of the nurturer wrapped around that unstable pillar.
[You’re going to spend the rest of your life in our world now, so how about you try being a little nicer? And clean up all those old connections of yours while you’re at it.]
[Are you coming again this Lunar New Year too? Don’t you do ancestral rites at your place, Mr. Seong Hyunjae? You are Korean, right?]
[There was a whole handful of your hair piled up in Chirp’s nest. Looks like he sneaks some every time he sits on your head, so be careful. He didn’t pull it out? Then did you pluck it for him yourself?]
At the same time, Han Yujin’s memories chattered on. The power to nurture, filled with affection for Seong Hyunjae, helped him draw out titles and skills.
“Slayer of Ancient Giant Trees.”
From when was this title? An Awakened person who had cut down multiple World Tree species alone. An SSS-Rank title. When facing World Trees and similar species, skill effects doubled. World Tree species’ attack effects halved. A portion of nearby World Tree species’ stats decreased.
“Insignia of Metal.”
An SS-Rank skill that imbued a weapon with the cutting force of the metal attribute, the opposing element of wood. In Seong Hyunjae’s hand appeared one of the weapons Yu Myungwoo had made, an SS-Rank spear. A golden membrane wrapped along the spear, then stretched upward into a long blade. It resembled a huge golden scythe. However, since the golden blade was cutting force itself, it was light and capable of changing shape, unlike an ordinary war scythe.
Rrrrrrrip! Something pitch-black began crawling out from the fully opened top of the World Tree. Chewang’s nest trait. It multiplied and grew the living creatures dwelling in the tree, then summoned them.
– Krrrrrrk!
– Kiiirik!
A giant ant raised its two mandibles. Beyond it came the beating of bee wings. Each and every one was at least S-Rank, monsters approaching SS-Rank. They were two or three times the size of a human, but compared to the World Tree, they were no different from ordinary ants and bees. A pitch-black swarm of ants surged down like a wave. At the same time, a swarm of bees, firing ahead of them, poured venom like rain.
Song Taewon stepped in front of it and spread a thin, broad shield. As expected, black shadow seeped over the transparent shield, another of Yu Myungwoo’s works.
Hissss!
The venom struck the shield and vanished as it mixed with Plunder. The spear in Song Taewon’s other hand instantly pierced the head of the leading bee.
“There is no need for a battle of attrition.”
Seong Hyunjae spat the words out briefly and touched his fingertips to the lines of light spread in every direction.
Crackle. Electricity sparked up.
Light of the Sky-Splitting Thousand, SSS-Rank. Another title from the past was drawn out. Electricity attribute enhancement. Increased skill effects when facing multiple enemies. All stats strengthened according to the number of enemies damaged at once.
Kwarrrrrung!
Electricity surged along the light that had already been spread. The rushing ant swarm collided with the lightning, and the greater their numbers grew, the more powerful the storm of light became.
– Kiiieek!
The swarm of bees was also swept into the light. As the title’s buff stacked on top, the corpses burned black and then burst apart, raining down in pieces. The insects that had crawled out of the nest were swept away in an instant, and Seong Hyunjae stepped onto the line of light, shooting high into the air at once.
Ruuuumble—
Sensing danger, the tree shook. The roots driven into the earth began to pull free, and Seong Hyunjae did not miss it. He swung the spear wide. The golden blade stretched out like a chain and split the nearest root lengthwise. But the root regenerated in an instant.
“As expected, merely cutting it is not enough.”
Even with Han Yujin’s power, it would be difficult to draw out titles and skills beyond this.
[Third branch on the left.]
Then a message came from the Puppeteer. Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon began moving at the same time, and the World Tree also raised its mana for defense.
– A strange aura.
The World Tree Chewang trembled greatly. It had sensed the Slayer of Ancient Giant Trees title being transmitted from the pseudo-Origin. Wind stirred among the dense branches. Each gust became a sharp blade and shot toward the two men racing along the lines of light.
Clang clang clang!
Seong Hyunjae slowed for an instant, and Song Taewon slipped smoothly ahead of him, spreading his shield. It was power that S-Rank stats should not have been able to withstand, but the shadow of Eclipse swallowed all of it. At the same time, Seong Hyunjae stepped onto the shoulder of Song Taewon, who had blocked the attack in front of him, and leaped.
Slice!
The golden blade cut through the branch the Puppeteer had indicated. It was a branch of tremendous thickness and hardness, but it could not withstand the opposing attribute and the power bolstered by overlapping buffs, and it fell away. Just before the branch regenerated, the water absorbed inside it overflowed.
Water filled with the Puppeteer’s mana.
Unlike Park Yerim, he did not use that water to nullify the World Tree’s skills. Instead—
Crackle—
Electricity sparked and seeped in, following the water flowing through the branch.
Kwa-gwa-gwang!
An enormous explosion erupted. The Puppeteer’s mana had assisted Seong Hyunjae’s electrolysis, amplifying its explosive force. Following the veins, the branches burst one after another. Even the section connected to the trunk shattered, and charred fragments scattered in every direction.
The World Tree did not simply sit there and take it. However, each successive attack was blocked by Song Taewon’s shield. No force could pierce the black shadow.
Another water-filled root was cut away, followed by another explosion. Under the chained impacts, the massive tree tilted heavily. A vicious thorn stabbed toward them, and Song Taewon blocked it with a heavy clang, barely managing to hold it back. The World Tree’s attacks could not get through. Meanwhile, it could no longer expel the water already flowing inside it. If it had been pure water, perhaps, but the Puppeteer’s power had touched that sap.
Boom! A branch fell, and leaves poured down in a shower. One enormous leaf grazed past Song Taewon. He heightened his senses as far as they would go and followed Seong Hyunjae’s movements. At this rate, it would not be difficult—
[My planted seed.]
A whisper came.
One black butterfly settled on Song Taewon’s shoulder.
[Why did you absorb no one but your family?]
–TL Notes–
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