The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

“A great cause, I’ve heard enough of that nonsense from McDonald.”

Including the fact that it was nothing more than an individual’s greed, dressed up in a fancy guise.

“To rebuild the fundamentally flawed system of the city. Grand words. But aren’t you guys also born in this city? From what I see, you guys also reek of this city. It means you’re rotten to the core.”

A cynical remark. Who could definitively judge whether his logic was right, or my logic that denied it was right? In the first place, I had no intention of discerning right from wrong. I wanted a conversation with him.

‘Is he not falling for the provocation this time?’

But he remained silent. His expression also showed no change. He had certainly become more cautious.

Then how about this.

“McDonald was a pathetic fellow. When I interrogated the spirit summoned by necromancy, he spilled even the intimate secrets I hadn’t asked for. In the end, it was a paltry cause that would collapse under pain. If the executive was like that, would you be any different?”

Could he maintain his composure even at the miserable end of his comrade?

‘Thugs, gangs, terrorist organizations. They’re just called by different names, but they’re all the same.’

They disregard the harm to others but go crazy over the suffering of their own people. They package it as loyalty, but in the eyes of an outsider, it just looks like a contradiction. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⸺fire.net

“He does not know.”

But Jordan did not waver. It didn’t seem like an act. The madness hidden beneath his red pupils was still quietly burning. So hot that if you stared at it, you felt like you would be sucked in.

“Our great cause does not lie in the correction of this rotten city.”

“Is that so? I’m quite curious as to what it is.”

“The reform of the city is only the beginning.”

Jordan shifted his gaze far away.

“Outside the city. The end of this world.”

Beyond the buildings, under the clouds, at the end of the sunset horizon. The place his focus was directed to was a distant land that human eyes could not reach.

“We intend to uncover the secrets that the city government is hiding and reveal them to everyone.”

I also knew where he was referring to. The extremity of the continent that the city had not pioneered. It was an unexplored land filled with darkness even on the game’s map.

“The city government is hiding information about the unexplored lands?”

“That is correct.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

It was a place that even the users who enjoyed the game had not figured out. No matter how much this world had become a reality, it was hard to believe that the city government had grasped it. Nevertheless, I couldn’t readily deny it.

‘…It’s not impossible.’

The history book found in the Mage Tower Master’s room. The mural drawn in the ruins. There were certainly traces that hinted at the identity of the continent’s extremity.

“There is someone who taught us this.”

“They must have been very willing to tell such top-secret information to a terrorist organization. And you believed it? Either you’re a fool, or…”

There are people who would believe it if you pointed at a deer and called it a horse. It’s not that they believe because they are fools. It’s because the other party has the authority to make them believe.

“……It must have been said by someone you had no choice but to believe.”

I was sure because it was something I had already guessed.

“A megacorp?”

“……”

Jordan’s silence was close to an affirmation.

‘If it’s a megacorp, they wouldn’t have made it up.’

Their authority is comparable to the city government. The information that the city government had grasped, a megacorp could also know. Even if they weren’t as well-versed, they would at least have a superficial understanding.

“What is there?”

I was also very interested in the extremity of the continent. It was only natural, as even with the information I had encountered so far, it was presumed to be related to the World Tree in some way. If I could uncover even a fragment of it here… it would be enough to repay all the hardships I had gone through in the process of this request.

“Join our great cause. Then I will tell you all the truths I know.”

“I have no interest in the power struggle between the city government and you guys.”

But I had no intention of ending the conversation that had finally started by flatly refusing.

“If you spill what you know first, I’ll consider it positively. You acted as if you were hiding a great secret, but if it turns out to be nothing special, my loss would be too great.”

“Once you hear it, you can no longer turn back. We are the flow of the times, so the city government will not be able to go against it.”

It was a ridiculous thing to say for the leader of an organization whose headquarters was being smashed by the Public Security Bureau. On the other hand, the fact that he was so confident in the midst of that meant.

‘Is he confident that he can rebuild even if it collapses?’

It would mean that the current organization called Al-Raid was just a replaceable part. A megacorp’s resources wouldn’t be infinite. Raising a terrorist organization to the point where it could stand against the city government again would be a great burden. Nevertheless, Jordan was confident in his comeback and had escaped with only his own body.

‘It must mean that the megacorp backing him is genuinely aiming for the overthrow of the city government.’

Jordan and the megacorp had made a deal that wouldn’t be overturned, trading what each other wanted. I was clearly aware through the storyline of this game that their scheme would achieve some success.

“Choose, contractor. Just by reaching this place, you have the qualification to participate in our great cause. This is my last offer, so do not miss the opportunity.”

That’s why there was no way I would be seduced by his offer.

“It’s hard to hold back my laughter, listening to a mere hunting dog talk so arrogantly about a great cause and the transformation of the times.”

Al-Raid doesn’t even achieve its first goal of overthrowing this city’s system.

“It doesn’t matter what plan you have. Even its success or failure is meaningless. You are nothing more than a criminal who will ultimately be swayed by the greed of a megacorp.”

“……”

Even if the terrorism succeeded, all it would do is increase the influence of corporations in the city. Even if I joined him, well. As long as I couldn’t take the lead in the relationship, nothing would change. Al-Raid was fundamentally a hunting dog raised by a corporation. This was a fact that would never change. The ideals and great cause he was shouting about were already no different from a corporation’s leash.

“……You seem to be very interested in the end of this continent. Was I mistaken?”

“Being interested and getting on a sinking ship are two different things.”

“Kh-heh-heh! You had no interest in my offer from the beginning, contractor.”

I took out my gun from its holster and checked the bullets.

“Is this something to be angry about? You talked a lot to buy time. It was a good deal, so let’s both be satisfied.”

“Why do you think so? The headquarters of our organization is burning, and I am being chased by the Public Security Bureau.”

“Even if a contractor is just a cumbersome obstacle, the weight of a Public Security Bureau security officer is different.”

I stared at the place where Hazel would be waiting. I could feel Jordan momentarily tensing his body.

“If you were looking for the security officer’s location, you should have just asked honestly. It’s not like I couldn’t have told you.”

“I already know that you are not someone to be trusted.”

“I’m saying I could have given you that much as a parting gift for your journey to the afterlife.”

The extremity of the continent that the city had not pioneered. Although he had brought up a very interesting topic, my goal would not change. I had found a clue, so I could just think about it later.

Jordan frowned and readjusted his posture.

“If you have no interest in our great cause and have even seen through my intentions, why didn’t you attack right away?”

“So that you wouldn’t run away and would decide to fight back desperately.”

Jordan probably hadn’t predicted this attack either. In the first place, it was an operation that wouldn’t have been possible without me. And he was a big shot who would ultimately shake off the city government’s pursuit and continue his terrorism.

“If you find a rat, you should crush it on the spot, right? It’s troublesome to play hide-and-seek again.”

There was more than enough reason to buy time. To erase the option of running away from him.

“It seems you’re ready to fight now, do you need more time?”

“……You will regret this, contractor.”

“That won’t happen.”

I had never felt regret while carrying out a request so far. Today would be no different.

***

Bang!

The battle began with a gunshot. It was a bullet fired not by me, but by the opponent. I saw the trajectory of the bullet flying towards me, and.

Kagagak!

I intercepted it. The bullets that collided in mid-air were ground, twisted, and ricocheted, embedding themselves in the ground.

Jordan clicked his tongue.

“Indeed, a feat that only a Public Security Bureau security officer could perform.”

“It is a feat, but it’s not a safe trick like a circus act.”

“Kuk!”

The bullets I had fired were two. Another bullet hit Jordan’s thumb, which was holding the gun. As the pistol he was holding flew away, I activated the power of the spirits.

Shwiririk!

The thorn bush that grew from the bullet entangled his hand. His palm was pierced by a fingernail-sized thorn, and blood splattered.

「Synchronization in progress!」

I took advantage of the moment he flinched in pain and leaped forward. His blue pupils, glowing with concentrated mana, followed my movements. Unlike the swift movement of his gaze, his body was sluggish. He was not a vanguard type who fought by training his body. I didn’t know what preparations he had made to deal with a security officer, but I would finish it before he could bring it out.

I swung the blade of aura extending from my hand-sword towards his arm.

Pzzt!

A bright blue mana light burst out, obscuring my vision. A sensation of tearing through a steel plate blocked the advance of my hand-sword. It was a shield protecting a mage.

Starting the battle with a gunshot was a deception to cover the ensuing barrage of magic. The resourcefulness of the terrorist organization leader who had made a fool of even the city government was revealed even in this light exchange of wits.

‘I’ll pierce through it like this.’

I had experienced a mage’s self-protection measures from McDonald. The shield of an ordinary mage cannot block an aura concentrated on a single point.

The moment the aura that had torn through the magic and advanced cut his skin.

Hwarreuk!

The air heated up. Flames burned the thorn bush. As sparks flew from the dried-up stem, a hot gust of wind swept through the area. I clicked my tongue at the heat of the flames sweeping across the front and stepped back.

「The World Tree whimpers and puts out the fire on its leaves.」

The flames wrapped around his hand and cauterized the wound pierced by the thorn bush. The bullet embedded in his skin melted into molten metal and dripped onto the floor.

“A fire-attribute mage… or not.”

His skin turned inside out, and a fire port popped out, spewing fire. He had a flamethrower implanted in his right arm.

“A modified human, you’ve borrowed the technology of a megacorp.”

The technology of implanting weapons and storing them in the body is not common even in this city. It was a technology of a different lineage from the clumsy machine men who simply implanted metal parts into their bodies. It was something that could only be done by receiving surgery from a professional technician at an astronomical cost. As far as I knew, the authority in that field of technology was Nano-Vyer Company. Their nano-medical devices were the pinnacle of such technology.

“A mage who is a modified human.”

Was this the source of Jordan Crank’s individual capability, which had shaken off the pursuit of the city government? It was a secret that would have led to a disastrous failure if I had faced him with the perception of him being just a mage.

It was surprising. Not in a good way.

“You’ve pulled a ridiculous trick. Have you no pride?”

A mage’s magic is a law that is manifested through the human body. This is because the feeling of it passing through one’s own body is important in the process of creating a path for mana to flow. Even if a technology was developed where a machine could blend with the body without side effects, the psychological rejection of it not being one’s own could not be erased. This disturbed the sensitive senses that were an important talent for a mage’s magic manifestation.

He had committed a taboo. Not a taboo that was feared, but a taboo that was ridiculed as foolish. Now that he had undergone physical modification, his magical achievements were as good as stopped.

“This too is the flow of the times.”

“You seem to think you can excuse everything with that one phrase. It’s perfect for a mental victory.”

“Your disregard will only last for now.”

Cheolkeok!

His right hand had at some point turned over, exposing the flamethrower. The heated nozzle was preheated and ready to spew flames at any moment.

Hwaaaak!

A huge flame, several times the size of a person, spewed out from the nozzle. The floor sizzled just from the flames brushing against it, and any object in its path turned into a handful of ash. Even its speed was not slow. If the surroundings had been a sealed space with walls, I would have been in trouble.

I kicked off the ground and jumped up. I was confident I could dodge any attack coming straight at me.

Hwirik!

“!”

But Jordan’s response to this was beyond common sense. The flame, which had been rushing forward like a bison, suddenly whipped like a whip and chased after me, who had jumped into the air.

The flames rushed before my eyes. My vision distorted due to the heat that felt like it would cook my flesh.

Teong! Kudangtang!

I used the whip-like stem as a support and jumped up once more in the air. It wasn't a planned movement but an improvisation, so it wasn't a perfect counter. I didn't have the leisure to adjust my direction and fell to the ground as if crashing.

As I absorbed the impact with my shoulder and bounced up, I saw Jordan's face with a crookedly raised corner of his mouth.

"Do you think this is the end!"

Hwarreureuk!

The flame changed direction again, rotated in the air, and then rushed across the ground. I couldn't escape just by running away.

Kkudeudeuk!

I used the World Tree's reproduction ability to grow a tree. In the blink of an eye, a tree over ten meters tall grew. Plants are weak to fire. It wasn't an ability I had used to serve as a temporary shield.

Chwaak!

When I pierced a hole in the stem, sap poured out like water from a broken dam.

Terminalia. A subtropical plant that stores water during the rainy season.

Chiiiik!

The flame, which had been rushing in like a hungry beast, was blocked in front of it and subsided. It would have been impossible with ordinary sap, but the water stored in the Terminalia was the essence of the unwithering spring. The power of Mother Nature, which had turned District 16 into a swamp, easily blocked the flames.

“……I see what kind of ability it is.”

A brief lull. In a situation where we were both surprised by each other's responses, I analyzed his technique.

“Did you grant a specific magic to the machine stored in your body and control it directly to aim for a synergistic effect? I admit it. It was a fresh idea.”

The secret of how the flame spewed from the flamethrower moved as if it had a will was there. Come to think of it, it wasn't a particularly new technology.

Magical engineering. It was its aggressive application.

(End of Chapter)