The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

「Domain Declaration.」

A brilliant halo of light emanated from my entire body and spread to the surroundings. Along the path the spirits passed, vegetation spread and Mother Nature sprouted. Vines grew on the collapsed building, and bouquets of flowers bloomed on the stone path. The illusion of a huge tree rose straight up in the center of the central square. It was a huge illusion, enough to cover the entire spacious square.

「The surrounding area is transformed into the domain of the World Tree.」

As the World Tree grew into a sacred tree, the domain also underwent a change. What was originally just a simple deployment of the World Tree’s garden had expanded to cover the entire central square. That entire vast area was a land where my influence reached.

The illusion of the World Tree that appeared in the center of the domain had almost achieved materialization. The divinity flowing from the entire body of the World Tree with each breath was so majestic that it naturally called for awe and submission.

“Domain.”

But the opponent was the Mad House and the dolls she controlled. The monsters, who did not have the hearts of humans, lightly dismissed the pressure of divinity.

“Is that all?”

It was a voice that even felt a sense of disappointment.

“You can’t maintain a domain forever.”

A domain was a means of a final blow, and the burden on the user was great. The way I had used the domain so far was a barrage of mass, attacking by gathering vegetation together. It was the wrath of Mother Nature that an individual could not handle.

On the other hand, Mirei was an individual, but also a group. It was not impossible for her, who handled elite dolls that were each a knight, to block it. It was the same even if the battle was dragged out into a long one.

In fact, it was even more disadvantageous. Since the dolls were weapons that did not feel fatigue, the consumption of my stamina to maintain the domain would be even greater.

“I don’t plan on dragging it out that long.”

Unlike her expectations, the domain I used this time was not a one-hit-kill gamble. On the contrary, it was closer to a customized strategy to deal with Mirei.

Numerous cotyledons grew within the domain. The stems thickened, and the plants that grew by extending their branches soon took on a shape similar to a human. And a small divinity fell from the huge illusion of the World Tree and settled on them.

“What are you doing…”

Mirei’s eyes widened. The wooden blocks in the shape of a human were moving. Each and every movement was as natural as the dolls Mirei controlled.

“Dolls…? No, the way you handle them is different from me.”

The wooden dolls that had fallen from the World Tree checked Mirei’s dolls one-on-one.

“This way, we won’t be short on numbers either.”

‘Green Will.’ It was a skill that granted a self to a plant. In itself, it was just a skill to the extent of using plants as an auxiliary tool in my battles, but within a domain, even this was possible.

The domain of the World Tree, which enhanced the abilities of a druid, and the divinity of the World Tree, which controlled Mother Nature, had transformed each and every one of them into a combat force comparable to a knight.

Although it was not the worldview of FP, there was a tree-human monster called a Trent. It was a scene that would not have been out of place if they were called that.

“Now that the number of dolls is matched, shall we settle things between us?”

The Trents and Mirei’s dolls clashed. If the strength of the dolls was that they did not get tired, the advantage of the Trents was that they were immortal.

They continuously absorbed power from the domain of the World Tree and restored their bodies, so they were not pushed back at all against the knights. All that was left was her and me.

As I stomped my foot, the stems of the World Tree raced through the ground like a snake. Mirei’s own combat ability was weak, but the abilities she possessed were strong. She was bound to be vulnerable in direct combat.

Now that the dolls protecting her were neutralized, it was an easy job to cook her.

But the last bastion still remained. The king of Brahms. As he swung his sword horizontally, the ground split in front of Mirei’s feet. The sap that burst from the cut stems was like blood.

‘As expected, a Trent can’t handle the king.’

The king is a knight of a skill that is not inferior even when compared to the ten lords of Brahms. At least a martial artist who had reached the state of a domain.

Like the other dolls, a Trent could not block him.

“One won’t be enough.”

But that didn’t mean that the unfavorable situation for Mirei had been reversed. The only doll that could protect Mirei now was one. With that, only defense was possible.

And no matter how hard a shield is, it is bound to break if it is constantly hit.

The king’s skin, which had been swept away by the explosion of the bomb seed, was burned.

The king’s flesh, which had been hit by the end of the tentacle that was as hard and round as a hammer, was gouged out and fell off.

The seeds that were sprayed like a claymore hit his entire body, so it was a one-sided trampling. A doll does not get tired, but its injuries do not heal.

Although it was impossible to make a knight who had reached a domain combat-incapable in an instant, as the attacks were continuously inflicted, his speed gradually slowed down, and his hands and feet became messy.

“……”

Mirei, who had realized that there was no answer at this rate, waved her hands passionately. Her ten fingers danced in the empty air, each performing a different unique movement, as if dancing on a keyboard.

And then, the king’s doll ran with the momentum of a single sword.

The fact that it was like a single sword was not a metaphor. Every time the king ran, the ground split, and the obstacles that blocked his front were torn to shreds. It was a technique of emitting aura from the entire body and cutting without swinging the sword.

As much as the aura was emitted without being refined, the consumption of mana was enormous. But it was a rush to create a single opportunity to make a decisive move.

He did not think about the future. And at the end of the mana grinding, the king’s doll broke through all the obstacles and reached my vicinity. The doll, which had gained momentum, swung its sword at me.

It was certainly fast, but compared to the momentum that was reminiscent of a tank, it was a light blow that was so weak that it was disappointing. To the extent that I could dodge it even after seeing it.

In the first place, it was not an attack aimed at me. The king held his blade straight up to the sky and uttered an inorganic voice.

“Domain Declaration.”

A single blade connected the sky and the earth. It was as if a single sword was standing in front of me, not a person. A huge sword that reached from the ground to the sky.

Could a person’s presence become this huge? Overwhelmed by the grandeur, the strength in my body drained, and it was hard to even lift a finger. An irresistible blow.

As huge as it was, the blade fell slowly, but with a pressure that crushed my entire body.

「The divinity of the World Tree repels the domain that exists in the same place.」

And when the king’s sword, which had become so huge that it seemed to reach the sky, reached me. The blade lost its huge size and was blocked by the double barrier of the guardian totem and the lignification.

“You shouldn’t make a decisive move at any time.”

A technique that uses a domain is the final means to finish off the opponent. As much as its power, the risk when it was broken was great. It meant that it was not a technique that could be used by throwing it around to find a way out.

It was because it was Mirei, not the king, who had used the domain. If it had been the king of Brahms himself, he would not have wasted his domain in this way.

The fact that she could use even the domain of another person made into a doll was certainly a great ability, but her understanding was inevitably lacking.

Thanks to that, I was able to neutralize the king’s doll without dragging it out any longer. Of course, as long as the domain did not work on me, it was close to a checkmate even if the king was not a doll.

The king’s doll, which had been pierced like a skewer, stopped moving. Finally, the last bastion that had been protecting Mirei was also broken. A path was cleared between the two of us.

Mirei clenched the hem of her clothes and bit her lower lip with her front teeth. For her, who had almost no change in expression, like the dolls she controlled, it was an extreme expression of emotion.

I grinned and said.

“It seems like the end is in sight, doesn’t it?”

The vegetation within the domain gathered into one point according to my will. A mass that was slowly but surely increasing. I couldn’t use all my power because I was creating Trents, but it was enough to cut the life of Mirei, who had lost all her dolls.

“……No, not yet.”

Mirei placed one hand on her chest and the other on her head. A frown, as if she really didn’t want to do it. But since she had no choice, her hesitation was short.

An explosive amount of mana boiled from her two hands. A thread of mana, thinner than a hair, dug into her heart and brain. That thin thread of mana was the source of her ability to control the dolls.

That’s why she was a coordinator. The ability to connect the brain and heart with a thread of mana and make them into obedient dolls. And the target of the ability was not just others.

‘The last doll a puppeteer can handle is himself.’

Mirei handles the human body. Her own body was no exception. On the contrary, the puppeteer’s body transforms into the best doll he can imagine.

Since it was a procedure performed on her own most familiar body, the dollification was over in the blink of an eye. A sound like a cheap wooden doll came from Mirei’s dollified joints.

The dollification procedure was irreversible once performed. Since it was her own ability, she would not lose her life, but the damage would by no means be light. It meant that she was that cornered.

That’s why I could feel it. This was the last exchange.

I shot the wrath of Mother Nature at Mirei. A speed that left a long afterimage like the tail of a comet. The atmosphere, which was torn apart by the enormous mass, let out a scream-like noise, and the shockwave that burst out shook even my internal organs.

In the face of the formidable attack, Mirei stood blankly. Had she not been able to calculate it when she actually faced it? It was not so.

Her small body swelled like a balloon. She grew taller, and hard muscles attached to her forearms and legs. A forced physical adjustment possible because she had transformed her own body into a doll.

It was a body with the perfection she had imagined.

Mirei ran forward with her arms crossed in front of her chest. As if she were trying to pierce the wrath of Mother Nature with her body. And the power of imagination is not bound by physical limits.

Her body did not show a single step back as it collided head-on with the wrath of Mother Nature. On the contrary, she showed the spirit of advancing step by step.

“Ugh.”

Of course, she couldn’t be fine even after that. Her skin was torn, her muscles were ruptured, and her entire body was covered in blood. Even in the midst of the roar, Mirei’s groan was clearly heard.

But she endured. She broke through the wrath of Mother Nature and ran towards me.

I did not panic and pulled the trigger. She was not a member of the Mad House for nothing. It was impossible to be careless just because she had been pushed to the limit.

Blood splattered with each and every bullet. Although the blood splattered, making it look spectacular, it was not a fatal blow. I had emptied several magazines in an instant, but Mirei’s steps did not stop.

After a while, her huge figure reached me.

It was a fist bigger than a person’s head. The muscles, which had even revealed the tendons under the skin when she clenched her fist, were seen to be firmly compressed. An overwhelming toughness that had even withstood the wrath of Mother Nature.

Even if she was seriously injured, it was easy to make one person into a pulp. Whether it was me, who had used various abilities within the domain, or her, who had turned her own body into a doll.

We were both so tired that we couldn’t tell who was superior.

The impact of the fist was so great that the earth and sand rose high enough to reach the clouds. In order to make me into a doll, she should not have damaged the corpse too much. But she didn’t even have the luxury of being considerate, and it was a sight of her using all her strength without holding back.

“……!”

And my body, which Mirei had slammed her fist into, scattered like smoke. An illusion through the fraudulent wolf. She tried desperately to find me, but I had acted first.

Her body, which had been weakened enough to be injured by bullets while withstanding the wrath of Mother 's body. The aura emitted by synchronizing with the Guardian Hawk pierced her heart.

“……Heuk.”

With a thin groan, Mirei’s body shrank like a deflated balloon and returned to its original form. The knights who had been fighting the Trents stopped moving like puppets with their strings cut and fell.

And soon, the puppeteer’s last doll shared their fate.

(End of Chapter)