The Damn Family Is Back Again

385. Project Yggdrasil (25)

Unbelievable.

An impossible feat.

There’s no information whatsoever!

How could anyone convey everything with just a single word, a single signal, without saying a thing?

In the first place, even noticing the seed of creation had sprouted so early would be no easy task.

They’d be too busy trying to stop those things, let alone notice the sprouting seed.

Yet, how could they possibly suspect there was no commander?

Furthermore, what were the chances of connecting the commander’s absence here to the deduction that their forces are insufficient?

To think of targeting the defenseless World Tree… to even realize where the World Tree was, and when it had secretly taken root within…

It was an impossibility.

It was, without a doubt, an impossible thing.

How could something like this be realistically possible?

All they’d done was exchange signals, and nothing more.

Even that, without a single detailed explanation, merely the sending of a signal.

To discern the desired outcome and realize it without a sliver of error?

-I told you. Lovers understand each other perfectly, don’t they?

Belian cursed inwardly.

‘Shit. How could… how could that be possible!’

Because they’re lovers?

How on earth could a worthless emotion possibly…?

Without a single piece of concrete information. Without leading to any calculations. What kind of variable could be created by exchanging a lump of unnecessary feelings!

-Clang!

It was a theory that could absolutely not be proven.

A result that should never have come to pass.

It should have been denied with an inequality sign long ago.

Absolutely, absolutely, it must never be realized—

-Swoosh!

A stream of blood erupts from Karsein’s strike.

“…Huh.”

It was an unreasonable act.

Foolishly, an act that might allow an even greater assault.

But this was a stalling tactic.

A barricade, erected to keep her from reaching that woman.

Even if it invited a larger wound, anything to steal a little more time.

“Son of a b*tch…! That kind of…!”

One who lived solely by reason and cold calculation could never understand.

*

After spitting a mouthful of blood, Belian’s strength waned to a desperate low.

– *Fsssh!*

The blows landed true now.

Skin scraped raw, flesh swollen. Crimson abrasions gave way to livid bruises, and scarlet blood flowed from rents in torn skin.

But… even so, it was not so easily done.

“You b*stard!”

*Tsut!*

His thigh was slashed.

One leg of his trousers darkened, heavy with blood.

“Kuh…!”

Indeed, it was not easy.

The opponent was unlike the riffraff he’d faced before.

Even diminished, the power of one born with such innate talent was not easily overcome.

The situation itself rarely offered an advantage, and bridging this vast gap with mere skill and experience was impossible.

What’s worse.

“You lot, you wretched things think you can block my path?! Don’t be absurd. Don’t cling to life, just die already!”

The fact that they were coming at this more fiercely.

That was what made them such a difficult opponent.

Belian, who had been controlling their power as if leisurely toying with me, had shifted their attitude a full 180 degrees.

Because there was no time. And so, in order to stop me quickly at all costs and head for the place where Yggdrasil resided, they began to exert their full power.

-KUGWaaaNG!!

The sincere attack of one blessed with talent was undeniably devastating.

Seeing the gouged earth and the obliterated surroundings, I swallowed hard.

‘If I took even one hit from that…instant death.’

But I learned something concrete from this.

“…Ha. Look at this. What were they aiming for, the tendon?”

Belian touched their left arm, looking uncomfortable.

Yes. A great change had occurred.

The rate of regeneration, precisely.

The regeneration rate, now markedly slower, had completely stripped Belian of their immortality.

While regeneration was still occurring, Yggdrasil’s power had weakened, and the regeneration speed was not what it used to be.

Exploiting that opening wouldn’t be difficult.

“Hmph!”

“Where do you think you’re aiming…! Ugh?”

I leap to the right, baiting the attack from her left arm.

Good. With that unwieldy left arm, the power of Yggdrasil gone, and not yet adapted to the loss… it won’t be easy.

“Damn…! You rat b*stard…!”

Once more.

This time, it landed true.

But this time, she didn’t absorb the blow. I managed to wrest a one-sided advantage and break away.

“How dare a wretch like you defile my noble body…!”

Belian falters.

With wounds in two places, the regeneration has slowed.

“It’ll heal eventually, regardless. Even weakened as I am…! Ugh?!”

No. Even that regeneration rate diminishes further.

– *Ting!*

▶The power of the Second Orb suppresses Yggdrasil!◀

▶Belian Theresia’s power weakens!◀

■Enemy Entity Information

[Belian Theresia]

▶Lv. 599◀

▶HP 60%◀

▶MP 60%◀

[ World Tree Trunk Skill Unlocked! Belian’s mana regeneration has been drastically reduced! ]

…

…

“Cough!”

Belian spat out another handful of blood.

The fact that the power of Yggdrasil had weakened due to the treasures siphoned away by Karn Vagrand and Rosel Vagrand manifested itself in two bitter ways.

A fissure begins to open.

A precipitous drop in mana regeneration. Belian’s body was thrown into turmoil.

Barely managing to dedicate her reserves to healing wounds, her mana had deviated so drastically from its original standard that the chasm widened with terrifying speed.

Karsein would not let this opening pass.

“Keuk?!”

The corners of her mouth, which had been curled in a mocking grin, plummeted.

Her twitching facial muscles were now solely preoccupied with clamping her jaw shut.

The face that scorned weakness and met force with greater force was now beautifully contorted in agony.

Who was desperate now?

Who held the advantage?

The scales were tilting.

-Ting!

▶The Power of the Third Jewel Suppresses Yggdrasil!◀

▶Belian Theresia’s Power Weakens!◀

■Enemy Entity Information

[ Belian Theresia ]

▶Lv. 399◀

▶HP 40%◀

▶MP 40%◀

[ World Tree Root Skill has been Unsealed! Belian’s Maximum Mana and Mana Efficiency have been severely reduced! ]

…

…

“Kuh-heok!”

With the passage of time, Belian was but more and more buffeted.

Timed with the regular signal emanating from the Oath Orbs, effective strikes began to land, ceaselessly.

-Ting!

▶The Power of the Fourth Orb Suppresses Yggdrasil!◀

▶Belian Theresia’s power wanes!◀

■Enemy Entity Information

[ Belian Theresia ]

▶Lv. 199◀

▶HP 20%◀

▶MP 20%◀

[ World Tree Leaf Skill has been Unsealed! Belian’s Health Regeneration and Defense have been severely reduced! ]

…

…

Eventually, as time dragged on, only a single treasure remained.

-Thud.

Velian collapsed at last.

The victory, decided.

“…Damn, he…!”

He kept lifting his head, as though he loathed the gaze looking down upon him.

Understandable, surely.

This monster, who had perhaps never before allowed even a single defeat, this creature who should have reigned upon the throne of a true emperor, had never looked up at anyone.

Always looking down.

Ever smiling, hand grasping victory.

Drunk on satisfaction, seeing only the sight of the defeated looking up at him.

That was this man’s life.

The life of one who, despite possessing everything, remained unsatisfied.

A genius’s values, engulfed by a ceaseless boredom despite all he possessed, endlessly ambitious and striving for even greater heights, solely for his own satisfaction.

Seeing Velian, so devoid of emotion, so obsessed with irrefutable truths and facts, a sudden thought came to me.

Perhaps.

Had I strayed only a little, I too could have become like this man.

‘…Is this really the time for such thoughts?’

– *Ting!*

▶HP Below 20%!◀

▶Sustained Damage Lingers. HP is Depleting, Compounded by Status Ailments!◀

▶Unless Rest is Taken Immediately, Risk of Stun Status and Peril!◀

The power he’d overestimated allowed no leeway, rendering it uncontrollable.

Before his inherent talents could even bloom, he was relentlessly driven, his equilibrium shattered.

Constantly pressured, denied the chance to gauge his current strength and factor it into calculations.

Thanks to that, his own body was a wreck.

Exhaustion was mutual, a consequence of his reckless charge. Though the Yggdrasil’s power had waned, Belian’s inherent skill remained a force to be reckoned with.

‘Still, I must move.’

Five treasures in total to seal the Yggdrasil’s power.

Four were already active, meaning its potency hadn’t completely vanished.

When the power of the final treasure activated, stripping Belian of all strength, *then* he had to sever that neck.

Fortunately, the opponent was completely retired.

He, on the other hand, retained at least *some* capacity to move.

The finishing blow wouldn’t be difficult.

“Hss…!”

Karsein laboriously pulled himself to his feet.

– *Ssk.*

“Kch. Heh heh heh…!”

A sword pressed against his throat, Velian abruptly burst into laughter.

“You think this is the end?”

“…What?”

“You couldn’t be more wrong. My plans won’t be undone by such ridiculous, nonsensical drivel!”

-Cr-rack!

Something shattered in Velian’s hand.

And then, without warning, the ground began to tremble.

-Kugugugugu!

“Damn it!”

This was no time for distractions.

God only knew what other schemes remained lurking in that head.

‘Damn. Dealing with it after the orb activates will be a pain, but…!’

Now. He had to kill him now.

“Kek. Too late, you moron.”

-Fssszzzt.

He knew the moment the blade pierced.

This wasn’t the sensation of flesh being torn.

It felt more like stabbing a lump of charcoal.

“Indeed. This is my first, and will be my last defeat. You’ve certainly ruined my plans. But, even so, you won’t be the victor here. You stepped forward like this all because of Harnier, didn’t you?”

“…No way!”

– *Ting!*

▶WARNING!◀

▶WARNING!◀

▶WARNING!◀

“Even if my plan fails! I’ll be sure to drag that wench down with me!! *Kha-ha-ha!*”

*Pssssssssh.*

The human form had utterly transformed into charcoal.

Without the Five Treasures activating, Belian had completely vanished.

However.

▶A BAD ENDING FLAG HAS APPEARED!◀

▶Belian, having shattered the Yggdrasil Core, has transferred all her power to another.◀

▶Someone who was bound has been released by the power of Yggdrasil!◀

▶Harnier is in danger!◀

▶You must swiftly return to the Grand Duchy of Vagrand and protect her!◀

Not yet, it wasn’t over.

– *Ta-dat!*

The entire body was a wreck.

The flesh was on the very precipice of shattering.

In such a state, it would be no surprise to collapse at any moment.

Even so, one had to run.

“Ji-eun-ah…!”

To save her.

*

“Hah… hah…”

Beneath the colossal magic circle.

Harnier gasped for breath, activating the fourth Treasure.

The leaf, once studded with chilling eyes, drooped listlessly. Soon, the eyes all closed, their power utterly spent, crumbling into ash.

Activating the Treasure demanded a complex magic circle.

Befitting its arduous conditions, it drained not only mana, but also demanded long hours, intense concentration, and every ounce of stamina and mental fortitude. Exhaustion was only natural.

Especially, considering she had activated four Treasures in a row, each of which should have been consumed one per day, without rest.

But, in that state, Harnier drew out the final Treasure.

“Now, just one…! Once this is finished…!”

There was someone waiting, his neck craned, for her decision.

Someone she desperately hoped would remain unharmed.

Someone who had stayed here, to save her, someone she loved to the point of madness.

For that person, she couldn’t rest for even a moment.

“Concentrate…!”

The final magic circle began to unfurl.

Just then.

Someone began to hammer fiercely on the door.

– *Kwang! Kwang!*

It wasn’t a mere knocking, not even close.

More like kicking, a ferocity threatening to splinter the door to kindling.

– *Kwang!*

Soon, the door would yield, shattered to pieces.

“Ho-ho. I stayed my hand, figuring my grand design would inevitably come to fruition, but now I see. Why else would Lady Bellian gift me with the power of the World Tree? Such a little rat had burrowed in.”

“You…!”

“Heh. Long time no see? Little Miss.”

Harnier ground her teeth as she beheld the one who had stormed through the ruined doorway.

And for good reason. This man was the architect of her family’s ruin.

A slayer of kin.

It was Akserus Pelskrim.

“Don’t call me ‘Little Miss’, you son of a b*tch!”

“Kkhahaha! It’s so…nostalgic to hear that spiteful little voice. Crushing your family truly was a delight, you know.”

“…”

Her teeth clenched with a crack.

But, she couldn’t afford to act rashly.

*‘No. If the spell activating the relic is disrupted here…’*

That would be the end.

The relic that suppressed the power of Yggdrasil would be ruined.

“Tch!”

“Don’t be absurd, *Agassi*.”

Aksherus deflected the magic arrow with a flick of his wrist.

“You’re concentrating there, wasting most of your mana. You think I’ll fall to something so trivial? Heh!”

“…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll personally remove *it* with my own hands. When Karsein returns, shouldn’t I prepare a…gift, to bring him joy?”

-Thud, thud.

“I won’t kill you, no. But the face of a man beholding his lover, limb from limb, is a sight worth witnessing. Heh! Ah, and how he will wail! That I truly anticipate! I truly do!”

Aksherus, radiating a fierce energy, trudged closer.

She launched spells to halt his advance, time and again, but none took hold.

However.

-Snap!

“Ugh?!”

Something, flung from the side, struck true this time, sending him sprawling.

‘Who? Who offered aid?’

A silhouette, faintly visible through the swirling smoke.

It possessed a strange familiarity.

Harnie narrowed her eyes, struggling to discern the silhouette’s owner, then breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized her.

“Dare you harm my son’s woman? Even if soil enters my eyes, I will not abide such a sight.”

The mistress of the Vagrand Duchy, risen from her sickbed.

Because it was Isabella who owned that silhouette.