The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

“Hmm.”

Claire couldn’t give up on the business expansion in District 17. From the beginning, the political purpose of solidifying her position as heir was greater than the financial gain from the business expansion. And I also had a clear reason to be hostile to the Guardians of the Dawn.

Since they had bowed their heads first and asked for cooperation, it was an unnecessary act to play hard to get and gauge them.

“I want three things.”

I organized my thoughts in a short time and said.

“Go ahead.”

“First, the ownership of the artifact.”

“Do you have a specific item you want? If you could at least give me a rough category, I could select one from the items in our company’s possession. If you want to choose yourself, I will create a list…”

“I’m talking about the original of the holy blood.”

“……”

Milina rubbed her lips and thought for a moment, then nodded her head.

“It’s possible. The completion of the request is more important than the ownership of the artifact. But please acquire it unofficially.”

Claire had once made the decision to destroy the android even though she knew of its existence. She was a person who knew her priorities. The first condition I had set was based on that judgment.

As for the unofficial acquisition… it probably meant that she didn’t want to take any unnecessary responsibility.

“Second, I will have the command and control of this operation. You will support me without complaint according to my plan.”

“That is a reasonable matter.”

“Well? I think there will be opposition. It means you have to persuade them somehow.”

I shared the plan I had drawn in my head with Milina.

“……You’re audacious. Putting aside whether it’s possible or not, there will certainly be opposition in this situation.”

“It would be troublesome if a problem arose like in Poldon’s case last time. I won’t be able to clean up the mess this time.”

“We will not repeat the same mistake twice.”

“You’d better.”

I didn’t think it was an unreasonable demand. With the cautious theory gaining ground, I was the only person Claire could bet on. It would be better for them to take a risk and bet on me rather than letting things fizzle out.

“What is the last demand?”

“Let’s put that on hold for now.”

They say that a deal is clean when there are no loose ends, but that’s a story that holds true in an equal relationship. At present, I was the one in the superior position. I couldn’t miss the perfect timing to put them in my debt.

“I won’t make a demand that is out of common sense. We’re in this for the long haul.”

Since the demands had been delivered, the detailed negotiations were the broker’s job. I finished the conversation and came out.

How to bring down the Guardians of the Dawn. That was the only thing left in my head.

***

A suspicious group was walking down the street. Their attire was not uniform, and their impressions were varied. A boy with a gentle smile, a woman who walked with a swagger, chewing on beef jerky, a man with a meaningful expression wearing a half-mask, and finally, a young man with a mysterious atmosphere that captivated the gaze.

It was a unique group that stood out even in Gellerg City, where there were many people with unique personalities. …In order, it was Elliot, Hella, Waver, and me.

“The stares are so blatant. My face is going to wear out at this rate.”

Hella muttered playfully. I didn’t answer, but I sympathized inwardly. Everyone in the group was a skilled person, so their senses were sensitive, whether innate or acquired. They were also professionally sensitive to the gazes of others.

Although they were hiding it well, pretending not to, I could feel that many gazes were focused on us.

“They’re really crazy. They’ve made a whole neighborhood their own village.”

The skill of taking control of the exclusive District 17 without any trouble was not a coincidence. The Guardians of the Dawn had already established their own territory in this city, apart from District 17.

The passersby, the merchants hawking their wares, the people chatting idly. A tingling tension was felt from all of them. It wasn’t that my professional paranoia had suddenly exploded.

They were all pretending not to, but they were concentrating their attention on us. They were probably all believers.

District 5, 10th Street, that was the administrative classification. A normal neighborhood with nothing special. But it was different when I set foot in it myself. This place was already their land, controlled by the Guardians of the Dawn.

I could feel with my skin that the location of the main headquarters that Sylvester had told me was not wrong.

“If they’re not guys with a lot of guts, they’ll piss their pants. I see why you, Allen, have formed a small group.”

“I’m scared, can’t we go back now?”

“Stop being a baby.”

“I’m not being a baby, I’m serious.”

Waver said in a weak voice.

“There were many who volunteered, so why was I, who was just sitting still, dragged along?”

“That’s your own fault. You told me to tell you if I thought of a favor to ask.”

“This mouth of mine is the problem.”

Hella poked Waver in the side and giggled. It was a dangerous mission. Just crossing the enemy’s main headquarters with such a small number of people was like that. Therefore, the top priority was to select people who were skilled and trustworthy.

So I had called Waver. I had dismissed his reluctance by mentioning the result of the bet. Although Waver usually acted very loosely, he had the sense to distinguish between when to be serious and when not to, so he didn’t get scolded much. That’s why he was following obediently, even while grumbling.

“Quiet.”

I stopped their chatter. The subtle gazes gradually became blatant. It was because a huge building had begun to appear at the end of the road.

A building that was wide and white, with a heterogeneous religious color that was different from the buildings of a typical city. When did they build such a building?

Although the Mad House only used individual talent as a criterion, they had expanded their influence this much in a short time. I wondered if it was worth recruiting them as a subordinate organization.

‘The recruitment of the leader is practically the same as the recruitment of the Guardians of the Dawn.’

The characteristic of such a cult is that the religious leader enjoys absolute power. The will of the leader was the will of the group.

‘In FP, the Guardians of the Dawn, who had no connection with the Mad House, suddenly caught the eye of the Mad House, was it because of that?’

If not…

“Hello, brother.”

The door of the main hall was wide open. But there were few people coming and going. As if they couldn’t dare to set foot in it disrespectfully, many believers were kneeling and praying far from the wide-open door.

As I pushed through them and entered, a believer blocked the way.

“This is a sacred place where the will of the great one resides. Not just anyone can set foot in it.”

I had wondered if he was worried about disrespect, but it was just a place that not just anyone could enter.

“I know the faces of all the missionaries… but it seems none of you brothers are among them.”

His tone was gentle, but his attitude was firm. Basically, they were active in proselytizing. The audacious plan of marching directly to their base was based on that habit of theirs. But it seemed it was difficult to enter the central part without a fight.

The believer who had blocked the entrance was on guard, ready to make a move at any time. Hella rolled her eyes around. It was a response that assumed a battle.

I shook my head. As I gave a look, Elliot stepped forward.

“My name is Elliot.”

“Yes, brother.”

“Can only missionaries enter the main hall?”

“Not necessarily. There are internal standards.”

“Then what about me?”

Elliot moved his mouth. Elliot is a contractor with a high reputation. For them, a missionary was a person suitable for the holy blood. A person who had been given a powerful force as a psychic.

Elliot would be a rare person who could match even a missionary. In fact, since it was an ability that originated from the holy blood, it was not a deception.

“Oh, so the great one has prepared a seed like you even under the persecution of the unbelievers. To think that you have been spreading the sublime will in this land of unbelievers even after we left.”

The believer who had recognized him shed tears and comforted Elliot for his hardships. He acknowledged that he was worthy of entering the main hall, even if he was not a missionary.

“Then these people…?”

“They are brothers and sisters who have been moved by the teachings of the great one. I will prove that they are faithful believers.”

“I’m sorry, but that alone…”

“I was left alone in the land of the unbelievers and lived apart from grace for a long time. As a result, my brothers and sisters did not have a chance to face a miracle. I will have an audience with the leader and receive the holy blood to perform a ritual for them.”

“Hmm.”

Although it was an act that had started with the emotion of resentment, if a concept was old, it was inevitable that it could not be distinguished from the real thing. Elliot looked more faithful than anyone else in this place.

After a brief war of words, the believer finally allowed us to enter.

“No, this really works?”

Hella blinked her wide-open eyes, as if she were dumbfounded. I briefly explained why such a scam had worked.

“They’re crazy.”

“……Well, that’s true. Aish, I don’t know.”

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. I had gotten an inspiration from the case of the missionary Bruno Wilson, whom I had personally defeated. He had maintained an attitude of casting off his grudge if I just accepted the holy blood, even in his messy state.

It was a fanatical confidence that if they just brought them into their fold, they would become faithful believers. The holy blood probably didn’t just have the effect of awakening psychic powers. Perhaps it was a way of being leashed to the owner of the original artifact.

So, if it was a capable outsider, they would welcome them. Besides, this was their main headquarters, so their core forces would be gathered. The scheme was that no matter what our intentions were, if they just dragged us in and made us drink the holy blood, it would be fine.

“Please wait here.”

The believer who had been acting as a guide left, taking only Elliot with him. It seemed it was difficult for us to have an audience with the leader together.

It was fine, it was a success just to have entered the main hall where the leader was without a fight.

The sound of a prayer like a song began to be heard in my ears. It was a building with not very good soundproofing. It was probably right that they hadn’t paid much attention to the soundproofing on purpose. Since it was a religious building, the prayers had to be heard anytime, anywhere.

Thanks to that, we were comfortable.

‘……I can only tell that there are a lot of people.’

A mage accumulates mana, and a warrior accumulates aura. When you handle a transcendent ability, you naturally emit an extraordinary momentum, a prayer. The eye for gauging a master was the ability to sense this atmosphere.

The situation was different for a psychic. Since they handled an innate power, it was difficult to gauge their level, and in the first place, it was a challenge just to distinguish whether they were a psychic or not.

In this situation, it was a constant to expect the worst-case scenario.

‘I can estimate that each and every one of them is a missionary or a psychic below them.’

They say that to capture an enemy, you should aim for the leader first. The main point of the plan I had set up was to deploy a small elite force and capture the leader. In the meantime, the rest of the personnel would launch a large-scale attack so that we could focus only on the battle with the leadership.

Of course, the geographical advantage was on their side. I didn’t know where and how many enemies would pop out, so the burden was great.

Since they were not fools, the reason they had let us in, who looked suspicious, was because they were confident. However, I could roughly estimate the number and location of the personnel by the prayers they were reciting.

The way Hella and Waver were tapping their fingers seemed to be drawing a picture of the situation if a battle were to break out in their heads.

I also didn’t just stand still. The Guardian Hawk was perfect for reconnaissance, but I couldn’t take out a spirit beast here. I secretly stretched out the stem of the World Tree, riding the shadows inside the building.

It wasn’t that I was sharing my vision like with the Guardian Hawk, but I could feel what the structure was like. That was enough. What I was looking for was a route to quickly run to the place where the leader was staying.

“Brothers and sisters.”

Elliot returned after a long time. His face was full of a bright smile.

“I have come to deliver joyous news.”

It was not his usual feigned expression, but a genuine smile that was naturally expressed as his emotions welled up.

“The leader has said that he will personally preside over the ritual.”

The success of his revenge was right in front of him. It was indeed news that would make his emotions well up.

(End of Chapter)