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[Let’s play.]

“Aaaaaaaaack!!!” With a scream, the man widened his eyes at the piece of paper that was flying across the darkness. He was still out of breath, but he immediately jumped up and ran.

This was a familiar road to him, but the overwhelming darkness made the entire surroundings very unfamiliar.

The man was determined that his opponent was determined to kill him, but his opponent had only done trivial things to him up until this point.

When the man stopped running from exhaustion, pieces of paper would fly across the darkness one after another. Each piece of paper had somewhat creepy messages, causing goosebumps to rise on the man’s skin.

[Hide and seek.]

At first, the man had the confidence that he could hide. The elves of the Divine Tree’s Sacred Land governed this land, but he didn’t think that that was important. His life was the most important thing to him. Then, he saw the most terrifying and creepy smile.

It was the smile of the monster who was playing with him. Due to that…

“Haa… Haa…” The man gasped, collapsing from exhaustion and a lack of stamina. All he could do was fall to the ground in a heap. His eyes were dazed. He was suffering from such severe injuries that he had to struggle to gather the power to stand back up and run again.

Now, even if another piece of paper flew in, the man did not have the possibility of running again.

Whoosh…

Not long after, a new piece of paper flew in. The message was not written in the language of humans but in the language of the elves.

[Found you.]

Whoosh!

And another one flew in.

[This is fun.]

Whoosh!

And another.

[This is so fun.]

The Saint of the Divine Tree widened his eyes when he saw something slowly creeping out from the depths of the surrounding darkness. He read the final message on the piece of paper that had flown in while he was leaning against a tree trunk.

Shiii— Shiii— Shiii—

Through the darkness suddenly came the sound of someone dragging their feet through some kind of sticky tar.

“Don’t… Don’t come… Don’t come here!!!”

The Divine Tree’s Saint did not know what kind of monster his opponent was, but he knew that it was coming toward him. His spirit soon plunged into a fierce and overwhelming panic because of that. His breathing became ragged, his eyes turned red and bloodshot, and he convulsed on the spot.

The overwhelming fear of the monster closing in on him somehow gave the man strength, because he managed to forcefully push himself a few steps back. Unfortunately, the tree behind him was strong and sturdy. He could hardly move much from where he had originally been.

“Don’t come here…” The man cried loudly, with his spirit close to collapsing from the terror.

The monster approaching him from the depths of the darkness suddenly stopped and promptly disappeared.

“…” The man held his breath as his eyes started to roll back. He was seemingly close to going crazy and losing consciousness. His mouth hung wide open soundlessly. It was as if he had forgotten how to breathe and had already died.

Whiiiiiiirr… Plop…

Suddenly, something flew from the place where the silhouette had disappeared.

[I’ve caught you?]

“…” The man’s face turned even paler than before.

[Let’s play… Hide and seek…]

As another piece of paper flew in, the man suddenly felt a strange sensation sweeping across the top of his head. He widened his eyes and turned to look.

All the man saw was hair in a bright and vivid color. The hair was extremely long, and could possibly wrap all around the man if it had been straightened out.

“Sob… Ahihi! Ahihihihihihihihihihihi!!!”

The man’s pupils started to repeatedly contract and dilate. Then, as if he was possessed, his head lifted by itself and his strange laughter came to an abrupt stop. His eyes became the widest they had ever been since everything started.

“…”

The last thing that the Divine Tree’s Saint had seen was a girl hanging upside down from the branches of the tree above him. She had been looking down at him with an eerie smile on her face as she had made strange movements with her head.

***

The current generation’s Yggdrasil… Well, to be more specific, it was ‘Al’, the previous generation’s Yggdrasil.

AI embraced Emilia tightly as if this had been her long-cherished dream before waving her arm lightly and gracefully. Following her will, a crack appeared in the space before them. It emitted a beautiful green light.

“Oho…”

[Please follow me.]

Davey followed the smiling woman to a place that could enrapture anyone. It was a forest so beautiful that even the Elves’ Forest paled in comparison. This was where the source root of the World Tree was located, a two-dimensional space that only existed within the World Tree itself.

Inside the space was a huge altar, which seemed to have been carved and sculpted by a transcendental will. Below the altar was a small waterfall gushing clear and sparkling spring water. The water was so clear that it shone a blue light on the lake below. As for the lake, it was filled with mysterious and beautiful schools of fish that Davey had never seen before in his life. There were also birds sporting well-trimmed and glossy feathers perched on top of tree branches while singing their own melodies.

Al, who led Davey inside the space, smiled softly as she looked at her surroundings in silence. Then, she walked forward leisurely and plucked a golden fruit from one of the branches. She tossed it over to Davey.

[Take one.]

Davey could immediately smell the golden fruit’s sweet fragrance. Looking at the fruit, which somewhat resembled a golden apple, he said, “So…this is the World Tree’s Fruit.”

[That’s right. But I cannot guarantee that it will work properly. It has lost half of its power and efficacy because of someone.]

AI had handed over to Davey no ordinary fruit. After all, it was said that the World Tree’s Fruit was the most difficult ingredient to acquire in alchemy, and this fruit was also called Yggdrasil’s Fruit.

The problem was that, after Davey’s terrorizing attack on the World Tree, the power within the fruit had been considerably reduced. Of course, even if that was the case, the World Tree’s Fruit was still difficult to obtain. A person could only get it if the World Tree’s Will permitted it.

“Goodness. What a precious thing, huh? This will be a good ingredient to have.”

[You punk, you have quite a greedy heart.]

World Tree Al clicked her tongue at Davey as she walked towards her beautifully carved chair. Her loose and soft clothing landed beautifully on the chair’s crevices.

[It’s originally very difficult to get that out of this World Tree’s space. Alright, let’s settle the most pressing problems that we have first.]

“Are you aware of the current situation and the circumstances that you’re in?”

[Aren’t you looking down on me too much? I am a transcendental soul that has lived for a long time. My soul has already left this place, so why do you think I’ve reappeared in this place?]

Davey fell silent, because it was true that this was a very unusual situation.

[First of all, tell me what you want.]

“The full right to rule this entire place. Are you willing to hand over the rights to control the life and death of the elves to me?”

[Impossible. Ask for something else. I have my own conditions and bottom line. They are the children of this forest, so the right to rule this place and the preservation of our culture is still mine.]

“You’re quite shameless.”

World Tree laughed as she raised her thin and white arms.

Vwoooong—

Then, what seemed to be an amber bead appeared in the palm of her hands.

[If you promise me that, then I will give you this.]

“What’s that?” Davey asked while using Perserque’s authority to appraise the item in AI’s hands.

[Jewel.]

—…

Davey gained no additional information despite having used Perserque’s authority. All he got was an unidentified explanation.

—This can’t be happening…

Perserque’s authority, a power that could even reveal and turn a transcendental soul’s memories upside down, did not work. This was the only time it had failed to work so far.

[In all honesty, I don’t know much about this thing.]

“And you’re putting it out as a bargaining chip in this negotiation?”

[That’s right. This might be of great help to you someday.]

Davey narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He was very clear that the World Tree in front of him had mentioned handing something over to him, but… Unless AI was a fool, she would never try to give away something so important so easily.

“You’re trying to rob me, huh?”

[Do not speak of words that you do not mean. You wouldn’t have touched the elves if they hadn’t bothered you. Please show mercy. Let them keep their lives and their culture.]

“That’s not profitable for me.” Davey stood up and approached AI. With a calm voice, he continued, “Your previous World Tree had persecuted my territory and my people, and had threatened the lives of myself and those who stand below me.”

Davey, now standing in front of AI, said, “It was also that woman who had brought forward a large army and struck a preemptive attack. She had even played a bag of nasty tricks while I was making my way here.”

Then, he grabbed the World Tree Al by the collar. Almost growling, he went on to say, “And you’re telling me that you want me to save the elves’ lives and treat this as a simple argument? Do you think I’d willingly throw away the lives of my people and those who have fought and died for this unidentified jewel, huh?”

Baaaang!!!

World Tree Al frowned when Davey punched a hole through the smooth trunk of the tree behind her.

“S… Stop!!!”

Emilia freaked out. She immediately jumped up to try and stop Davey, but Al stopped her.

[That’s right. That’s very understandable. It would be very disappointing if you have simply forgotten those who had come forward and sacrificed their lives for you.]

Then, Al threw that amber-colored jewel in her hands to Davey.

[Take it. It’s something that I should have given to you anyway.]

“Hmm…” Davey hummed as he toyed with the jewel. He could tell that it did not have much power within it, but he was absolutely clueless as to what it was. He muttered, “Let’s scratch its surface a bit later and analyze its compounds.”

[I don’t recommend that. From what I can see, that item will be of great help to you in the future. There’s no harm in having it in your possession.]

Davey stayed silent, not answering AI.

AI had already died by God’s will. Yet, upon coming back and being reborn, she had quickly handed Davey the item…

—As expected, this is the item that God’s Will wanted to give to you.

However, Davey still could not get rid of the ugly feeling that something was getting shoved into his hands.

[The relationship between you and the inhabitants of this place will not mend for a very long time, but there’s going to be a bloodbath if we don’t quickly wash the sour taste off of our mouths.]

“Provide me with those fruits periodically. Not this sort of half-assed fruit, but a proper one.”

Davey believed that he had to ask for this much for the entire war to have been worth it.

World Tree AI started to look very exhausted by Davey’s request.

[Do you know how hard it is for me to make a single fruit like that?]

“Think of it as your karma and retribution.”

[That leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Fine, I’ll agree to that. But what are you going to use it for?]

“I’ll use it later. One more thing… I will guarantee that the lives, culture, and the rights of the elves will remain with you. However…”

The elves had already fought a war and lost, so they had to be prepared to lose a lot.

“You have to give me full authority with regard to the relationship between the forest and the outside world.”

World Tree AI studied Davey closely, as if trying to figure out what he was thinking. It would not be strange for her to become furious and make a fuss.

Yet, both Emilia and the World Tree AI remained silent.

“The elves have revealed their existence to the world, so many nations and empires will reach out to you. I have to make sure that I have full authority over all of the diplomatic ties that you will form.”

‘Just you wait, I will make sure to suck you dry and show you that you’ve picked the wrong bone to pick.’

[That’s a very dangerous proposal.]

“I won’t compromise. If you don’t like it then…”

[Cough… Fine. You will have it.]

They felt that the proposal was unfair, and they had to be upset, but what could they do? They were fully aware that, in this situation, it was already a blessing that Davey wouldn’t be taking any more lives.

[What if I choose to go against you?]

“No one is stopping you from doing that, but you should know that I don’t really like elves.”

[There’s nothing I can do. The negotiations are completed.]

Since there was nothing more for them to discuss, Davey rose from his seat and turned around.

[Dark clouds are looming over us. The prophecies that the previous generation’s Yggdrasil had made were unstable but some of them are still very accurate to this day.]

“Demon Lord Perserque will not be resurrected. And even if she gets resurrected, the future that you are thinking of will not come true.”

[No. Demon Lord Perserque is not the problem here.]

With a glint in her eyes, World Tree Al continued to speak calmly.

[You have to think why a goddess like Goddess Freyja is tolerating and even making deals with a being like you.]

“Give me details, then.”

[It’s not an issue that I can discuss. However, you…]

Al smiled before revealing some surprising information.

[You must have seen creatures from another world in this place, right? But, is it really just a coincidence?]

“…”

[I haven’t seen a lot of things yet, but a huge change has already started. It is already beyond what the Goddess can control. It means that you will have an obligation to deal with the sufferings and problems that would be a result of that.]

“Bullshit.”

[I’m different from the World Tree that you’ve killed. I am willing to hold hands and work with you for the future, no, to protect the lives of my children.]

“Your elves will protest, though.”

The thought of the World Tree holding hands and working together with Davey, an existence who all of the elves currently hated, was a very funny one. Even if they were zealots and fanatics of the World Tree, they would still protest.

[Why do you think it was me, someone who’s friendly with the humans, who has awakened instead of a new World Tree’s Will? You might want to think about that point again.]

Davey’s conversation with World Tree Al ended there.