Chapter 394
Episode 394 – The Illusory Branch
“Mm…?”
Arthur groaned and opened his eyes.
It was a room bathed in warm sunlight.
A bed that carried the scent of fragrant wood.
As he sat on the edge of the bed and looked around the room, it seemed to be Elder Medeia’s residence.
“When did I get here…?”
The moment he carried the unconscious Elton out of the World Tree, the fusion state was released.
Since he couldn’t recall anything afterward, his consciousness must have blacked out.
The shock of being forcibly separated from the fusion state had been far more severe than expected.
[Third Mental Barrier]
The moment the barrier regeneration ended, Reto’s consciousness had been forcefully torn away, and Arthur lost consciousness with a splitting headache.
“Reto?”
[...]
There was no response to his call.
Arthur let out a quiet groan.
The fusion state was powerful.
A transcendent condition in which physical limits vanished, with endless regenerative ability and the combat sense of an immortal.
It was essentially a trump card that could shift the tide of a major battle.
However, the trade-off came with considerable risk.
The possibility of losing consciousness at a critical moment.
He hadn’t expected the mental barrier to be hindered by the fusion state.
Still—
“It’s a power I can’t be without.”
Without the barrier, Arthur’s mind would be devoured by Reto’s overwhelming presence.
It was a matter of difference in rank. Though he had questions about why the barrier regenerated, it was probably a mechanism designed to protect Arthur’s identity.
“It’s the ability that’s been protecting me since the possession.”
As he turned his head, he saw Elton lying on a bed in the corner. Upon closer inspection, he was breathing steadily in peaceful sleep.
Arthur tried shaking him just in case, but Elton didn’t wake.
It seemed he still needed time.
Arthur silently watched Elton and recalled his appearance from that moment.
His whole body was wrapped in flames.
It had been fire summoned by Elton himself.
Even within the destructive flames of the Flame Demon Melkor, he remained unscathed—that image was still vivid in Arthur’s mind.
“It must be a newly awakened power.”
Given Elton’s divine attribute was fire, it seemed he had achieved an evolution in that element upon reaching five stars.
Arthur was curious about the exact nature of the ability.
“I’ll either ask him later or have Lily check his divine spirit.”
In any case, it was thanks to Elton that they overcame the crisis.
Now, it was time to deal with the aftermath.
Having organized his thoughts, Arthur stepped out of the room.
“You’re already awake?”
“Oh, you were in the residence?”
“I was waiting like a mouse, wondering when you’d wake up.”
The witch with a wrinkled, crinkling smile.
As he stepped out, Elder Medeia was sitting at a small table, sipping tea.
“Did I lose consciousness?”
“You collapsed the moment you came out of the entrance. Dorneth carried you here.”
“Sir Dorneth did?”
“Well, there were some circumstances.”
Medeia emptied her cup as she slowly explained what had happened outside. The more she spoke, the grimmer Arthur’s expression became.
A massive earthquake and abnormal changes in the World Tree.
It seemed to have occurred during their confrontation with the Flame Demon.
That clash must have greatly affected the World Tree as well.
“So that’s what the Shadow King was holding back?”
Closing the gate and destroying it.
That had been the main goal of the operation. But the moment he tried to destroy the gate after closing it, the Shadow King had intervened.
Recalling that event, Arthur clicked his tongue.
At that time, the Shadow King had passed along new information.
—If you want to see the truth with your own eyes, come find me.
The truth of the World Tree.
It seemed he needed to confirm that first.
“How much time has passed?”
“About half a day? Not much. The sun hasn’t set yet.”
Looking out the window, Arthur saw the sun just beginning to sink.
“Samuel stopped by a little while ago. He looked very troubled when he saw you unconscious.”
“I’ll need to send him a message.”
Arthur gave a bitter smile and asked Medeia to deliver it.
Samuel was likely agonizing over whether to maintain the space portal.
From what he’d heard, one or two days at most was the limit—he needed to hurry.
If they decided to shut it down, it would be a huge problem.
Medeia closed her eyes briefly and recited a spell. When she opened them, she smiled.
“It’s delivered.”
“...Can I trust that?”
“Elder Cordy is a witch loved by the forest. Her ears are open everywhere. I just passed the message to her.”
Since it came from the elder, it was probably true.
Along with the message to Samuel, she also summoned the other companions.
Dorneth, Sharbadin, Nella—key figures all received messages.
The time: this evening.
The location: Here.
“Oh dear, it’s no time to leisurely drink tea. I should prepare a meal.”
“No, we have somewhere to go.”
“You and I?”
Arthur nodded and looked out the window.
Beneath the reddening sky, the World Tree stood grand and imposing.
The place Arthur brought Medeia to was in front of the World Tree.
As she briefly looked up at the towering tree, she turned to Arthur.
“Is there a reason you came here again?”
“There’s something I need to check.”
“If you mean the rift, I’ve already checked.”
The red vortex had shrunk back to the size of a fist.
The massive gate connected to the spirit realm.
It seemed that after the gate closed, the vortex returned to its original form.
“But it wasn’t destroyed, was it?”
Recalling that, Arthur pointed upward.
“Today, it’s not beneath the World Tree. It’s above.”
“Above…?”
Medeia looked up.
A massive tree trunk shot upward like a vertical bridge.
And beyond it, countless leaves blocked out the sky.
Even though the foliage had covered the forest during the day, the canopy of the World Tree was still enough to hide the sky, now dyed red by the setting sun.
“Have you ever been up there?”
“Never. Since Fenry began protecting the World Tree, the upper area has been a restricted zone.”
“Well, we’ll be seeing it today.”
“The spirits won’t allow it. They only obey Fenry’s orders…”
“I’m not sure Fenry’s superior would agree with that.”
“...Superior?”
Arthur stepped up to the World Tree and placed his hand on its vast trunk.
Despite the rough surface, a warmth could be felt.
Then, from the long shadow, a familiar presence emerged.
It was the spirit, Banri.
With a sulky expression, much like the scammed Fenry, Banri looked up at Arthur, prompting Medeia to sigh knowingly.
Arthur smiled and pointed upward with his finger.
“We’re going up. That’s okay, right?”
[...]
“We need to check it. Ask Shery.”
Shery von Haus.
The moment Arthur mentioned the Shadow King’s name, Banri let out a long sigh and melted back into the shadows.
Moments later—
Sssssss—
A large circular shadow spread beneath Arthur and Medeia’s feet, and like a rising pillar, it shot upward swiftly.
Riding the shadow, the two soared into the air.
Medeia held onto her wide-brimmed hat as she watched the ground fall away.
In no time, they had climbed to a dizzying height.
The shadow surged upward, and her hat flapped in the fierce wind.
Then, Arthur’s voice came from beside her.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“What is?”
Arthur brushed aside his windblown brown hair and smiled.
“Take this chance to really look. At the forest you’ve protected your whole life.”
As Arthur pointed forward, Medeia turned her gaze.
A vast open landscape.
The setting sun stretched across the horizon, bathing the world in warm red light.
And then—
“Ah…!”
Below the World Tree,
The vast Ordor Forest was spread out.
A forest transformed by various races, witches, and humans—Medeia watched it, spellbound.
“It’s a beautiful view.”
“...Hard to believe I’m only seeing it now. It feels too precious to keep to myself.”
“Later, try casually mentioning it to Fenry. If you offer one gold coin as an entrance fee, he might give you a tour with a smile.”
The two of them quietly gazed down at the transformed Ordor Forest from atop the World Tree.
Amid the cool breeze, they briefly forgot their worries.
Thud—
The silence was broken by the shadow.
Atop the tree, countless branches spread out in all directions.
And on those branches, a sea of leaves.
The shadow carrying them moved like it knew the way, guiding them somewhere.
“Where are we going?”
“Medeia, do you believe this World Tree is real?”
“...What are you saying?”
Medeia’s expression stiffened. What Arthur said touched on a highly sensitive subject in this place.
But Arthur didn’t hesitate to face the truth.
“The World Tree before us is an illusion born of the witches’ sacrificial ritual, WISH, and the presence of the Shadow King. In other words, it’s the World Tree, but also something other than the World Tree.”
“I brought you here to face that truth. There’s nothing to gain by informing the other witches.”
“What are you talking abou—”
Medeia’s question was cut off as the shadow suddenly stopped.
Banri had brought them to the point where the World Tree’s branches extended outward—the very heart of the World Tree.
Inside, Arthur found what he was looking for.
A red branch.
Its leaves were tinged red at the tips.
This was what the Shadow King had spoken of.
“The World Tree is an illusory being born from countless wishes. Witches’ wishes, and even the wishes of absolute beings.”
“Absolute beings…?”
“The Shadow King. Shery von Haus.”
The Shadow King’s wish was to materialize into the present world.
And this was the shared wish of all absolute beings in the spirit realm who longed to manifest in the living world.
The Shadow King used the World Tree’s existence to achieve that materialization. But something else was born during that process.
That very thing was the red branch before them.
Arthur snapped off the red branch. The moment he touched it, a deep crimson hue flashed and clouded his vision.
“Mm…”
As he held the branch, his vision turned red like mist.
It was a sensation he’d felt during fusion.
A red space he’d encountered in the rift closest to the spirit realm.
That space now unfolded before him like a mirage.
Then—
—Be careful.
“Guh!”
With a resonant warning, Arthur hastily threw the branch aside.
That familiar voice—it was the Shadow King, Shery.
The moment he grabbed the branch, a strange sensation surged through his body. Sensing the danger, she had urgently warned him.
“Is this the ‘Illusory Branch’ the Shadow King spoke of?”
Arthur recalled how the Shadow King had blocked the gate and left him with a warning.
[You can close the gate, but you cannot erase it.]
It had been sudden, but the Shadow King must have realized this during the closing process.
[The gate and the World Tree are deeply connected. If the gate is destroyed, the World Tree will disappear too. The wish that sustains the illusory tree includes the gate itself.]
The World Tree, a miraculous tree enabling the materialization of absolute beings.
The rare red branches among them could be used as tools to connect the spirit realm and the living world.
Medeia let out a groan as she looked around.
Only a few red branches grew at the core of the World Tree.
“If this information leaks out, it would be catastrophic. I’ll need to consult Fenry.”
“Unfortunately, it’s already too late.”
“Too late?”
In response to her question, Arthur gave a bitter smile.
The first Illusory Branch that grew with the birth of the World Tree—
—Modin took that branch.
The Star of Demtor.
The Master of the Ivory Tower, Modin, had secretly broken off the branch during the war and brought it to Demtor.