Dimensional Energy Processing Facility Control Room.
An emergency was underway.
The Summoner from Earth 1,001 had come.
Riding a Green Dragon.
To cut off their lifeline.
[Controller, what should we do?]
[...Mobilize all dimensional energy and create Creature Guardians.]
[Mm, ah, understood.]
Even if they created Creature Guardians, would that really be enough?
A single nuclear warhead could wipe them all out.
The Controller knew that too.
But what else could he do?
There was no other viable option.
[Has there been a reply from the main base?]
[Yes, just now...]
Oh!
A reply had come.
Had their rescue request been accepted?
[What does it say?]
[...They have cut off the connection between the Dimensional Energy Transmitter and the Receiver.]
What?
[Damn it all!]
The Transmitter in the Dimensional Energy Facility zone, and the Receiver at the main base.
Those two had originally been twins.
Beings that communed and communicated endlessly.
If left alone, it would be dangerous.
If someone traced the Transmitter, the Receiver—that is, the location of the main base—could be exposed.
So they had destroyed the one at the main base that served as the Receiver.
It was tail-cutting, meant to completely erase any trace of the main base’s location.
[Is there nothing about us? About a plan to rescue the control room personnel?]
[Uh, there isn’t.]
On top of that.
[An order has come down to activate the self-destruct device.]
[...]
They had been discarded like dogs.
They were being told to die together.
[Fuck, damn you, you piece-of-shit god!]
A gloomy atmosphere filled the control room.
Was there really no way to survive?
[Can’t we defect too?]
[Defect?]
Defection, huh.
Could they even qualify?
Not a chance.
Would that god bastard just leave them alone?
[If we just tell him everything...]
The moment someone harbored that thought.
[Gaaaaahhhh!]
A control room staff member screamed, trembling violently.
PSSSSSS.
He turned to ash and vanished.
[...]
[...]
[...]
That was how it was.
The price of receiving an immortal body.
If they broke the secrecy contract, if they even thought about breaking it, immediate annihilation.
There was no choice.
Whether they did this or that, they would die.
[Prepare the self-destruct device.]
[...Yes.]
[The moment they arrive here, press it immediately.]
Did they think they were the only ones with bombs?
There was a bomb here too, one just as powerful as a nuke.
Since it had come to this, they would all go together.
***
Outward appearance mattered for people.
Because no one could see what lay inside.
When a beautiful woman looked sad, those watching felt sad too.
Mari was like that.
“...Are you sure you’re the foul-mouthed elf? It doesn’t match at all.”
“When has Mari ever cursed?”
“Hm?”
“It’s not cursing. It’s a reward. She was bestowing a reward upon us.”
“...”
“Haa, how wonderful it would be to hear just one curse from those lips right now.”
“Is that so?”
“Rajix the Dimensional Menial Servant, you should be nervous. The hierarchy might get flipped.”
“...La, later?”
The same went for men.
When a handsome man was sad, it stirred protective instincts.
On the other hand, when an ugly man was sad...
“Ho ho, to think the elves’ Mother Tree looks like that. This old man’s heart aches too.”
Mad Demon wore a sympathetic expression.
Cossack glanced sideways at him.
“Old Man Mad Demon, you should try not to look sad whenever possible.”
“Why is that?”
“Your already ugly face just gets uglier.”
“...This rascal who doesn’t know his place. This old man is at least more handsome than you. To think you were only 15th place in the popularity poll.”
“Hmph! What’s the difference between 14th and 15th?”
“You bastard...”
Juhyeok frowned.
Why were they so noisy?
He was already having trouble concentrating.
Currently, Mari was talking about the World Tree.
But he could not concentrate.
Looking at Mari’s face made it even harder.
So he listened while looking only at the ground.
The World Tree.
To the elves, it was both a god and a mother.
They had flourished as a race under the World Tree’s care.
Also, the World Tree was not a single entity.
Originally it was one tree, but it had divided into many through saplings.
Each elf nest had its own World Tree.
And so it served as a connective link for communication.
It connected elven communities scattered across the continent and allowed them to unite.
To think such a World Tree existed alone in a world without elves.
Mari’s heart was surely being torn apart.
The World Tree’s wretched condition.
Mari gazed at it with eyes glistening with moisture.
Why was the World Tree here?
In a strange world without a single elf.
‘The World Tree definitely wouldn’t be in league with those Black Tower bastards.’
The hint was in the mission.
Destroy the Dimensional Energy Transmitter.
That meant the World Tree was the Transmitter.
It was not just simple transmission.
It had to send dimensional energy across space to a place called the main base.
Who could do such a thing?
‘No one but a god.’
And the World Tree was essentially a god.
“Summoner, let’s finish this quickly. Since it happens to be a tree, it should burn well. This mage will use fire magic...”
“...Seriously!”
Mackenzie had suggested burning it.
Burn the World Tree right in front of an elf?
Had he lost his mind?
“Does Old Man Mae have no empathy? Look at our Mari’s expression. She’s heartbroken because of that poor World Tree.”
The summoned entities jumped in as if they had been waiting.
“Old Man Mackenzie, you didn’t seem like that kind of person, but are you some psychopathic arsonist?”
“HOAAAT!”
“Then again, mages have always been a crazy bunch.”
“People should age gracefully. Geez! Two old geezers among the summoned entities...”
“Who’s the other one?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
“I will kill you someday. Mark my words.”
“O Light! This humble servant also knows from experience what it is like to be burned at the stake. How painful it is. Tie nuclear warheads to Mage Mae immediately and drop him far away.”
“...”
Mackenzie kept his mouth shut like a mute who had eaten honey.
He had been through this more than once or twice before.
At times like this, staying quiet was the best strategy.
Trying to make excuses would only backfire.
“Um, Summoner.”
Mari was now speaking to him quite comfortably.
“Oh my, our Mari, please say whatever you’d like.”
“I would like to speak with the World Tree. Could you grant permission?”
Of course.
They should talk.
But how?
“If I get close and make contact...”
Hmm.
That was not difficult.
“Captain Crackus?”
“Yes, Summoner.”
“Let’s land. Near that World Tree...”
It was then.
SSSSSSSS...
An unidentified energy began to surge.
BZZZZZZZZ...
SHWOOK, SHWOOK, SHWOOK!
Monsters began crawling up from underground.
‘They’re swarming.’
But there was not the slightest threat.
“Airborne Ranger Cossack, commencing descent.”
Starting with Cossack.
“This old man shall go as well.”
“Warrior goes too.”
“O Light!!!”
“This time, for certain.”
The summoned entities jumped off one after another.
The ranged classes also provided support fire.
PZZZZZZT! Accurate magic gunshots.
KWAKWAKWAKWA! Crackus’s breath.
And.
SHWOOOOOK!
KUKUKUKUNG!
Two colossal Gigants that emerged from Rajix’s subspace joined the fray.
They were on a completely different level from before.
Gigants covered with mana circuits developed at the Magical Engineering Workshop and magic formations inscribed at the Enchant Research Lab.
Did they think nuclear warheads were all they had?
This was actually better.
It was about time to warm up anyway.
The space was secured.
Juhyeok came down to the ground with Mari.
“Let’s go! To the World Tree.”
The summoned entities formed an ironclad escort around Juhyeok, slaughtering monsters as they went.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The Gigants carved a path, moving their massive bodies.
After the version upgrade, the Gigants were reliable.
He only had to walk.
Juhyeok also threw his hammer occasionally to dispatch monsters.
Yama’s Judge Mallet.
A weapon touched by the hands of a god.
Its power was one thing, but it had various effects.
Punishing sinners went without saying.
Something he had recently discovered.
When he held this hammer...
JOLT!
He got a certain feeling.
Like when he had faced the Archangel.
Juhyeok turned his head.
A modern structure at the base of that World Tree caught his eye.
Probably the control room.
‘That place is suspicious.’
Was it intuition?
Or an ability to foresee danger?
Anyway.
“Cossack.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Could you get to that control room ahead of us?”
“That building?”
“Yes. I feel like it might be dangerous if we leave it alone.”
“Understood.”
“Jepetto and Diamat, go with him.”
“Yes!”
There were probably administrators or something inside.
They might try something, so he should have them cleaned up in advance.
That side was handled.
They continued advancing toward the World Tree.
***
The staff gathered in the control room.
They all looked similar.
Bald, without eyebrows, bodies without a single hair.
Because their bodies had been made for efficient immortality.
Mass-produced immortal bodies, so to speak.
They did not even have reproductive functions.
What need was there to reproduce when they had obtained immortality?
Though pleasure functions still existed.
But a select few did marry and have children.
A privilege granted only to a very small number of high-ranking officials at the main base.
Because the bodies they received were different.
Why had they been dispatched to this backwater, this dimensional rift?
For promotion.
To obtain a better immortal body.
But now it had all become foam on water.
There was no avoiding annihilation no matter what they did.
This was all because of that Summoner.
That son of a bitch.
A mere inferior human daring to do this!
[Is the self-destruct ready?]
[Yes.]
[Wait just a little. When they come in deeper...]
They would all die together.
This was the end.
They would go together.
It was then.
SWISH.
The presence of people could be felt.
[Huh?]
[What?]
[Huk!]
TSHHT, TSHHT!
Flashes of light blazed inside the control room.
SWISH, SWISH, SWISH!
The chilling sound of blades.
THUD! THUDUDUDUK! THUD, THUD!
Heads fell.
[...What?]
Intruders.
When and how had they gotten in?
[Ac, activate the self-destruct device immediately...]
But.
SNAP!
CRRRRUNCH!
The head of the control room staff member in front of them rotated 360 degrees.
[...Aaahhh.]
SWISH! CRAAACK! PUHK!
The staff died all too easily.
Even with immortal bodies, that only pertained to non-aging.
In other words, they simply did not age; they were extremely vulnerable to external attacks.
They all died.
The only one left was the Controller himself.
He could not move either.
He could not even twitch a finger.
SSS, SSS, SSS.
A man, a demon, and a vampire had appeared at some point.
“Mm, how did our master know? We could have been in big trouble.”
Cossack said while picking up a rolling head and tying a ribbon on it.
“He has precognitive abilities. I noticed when he was running away from the Archangel.”
“Slippery, slippery. He was so good at running away, he could put a wild-caught eel to shame.”
“The genius of escape, the danger-detecting Summoner. Isn’t he the strongest in history? So reassuring.”
“Haa, he’s so sexy.”
“Gal! Shut up!”
Cossack snapped at Diamat’s sigh.
“Now that shut-in alchemist Mari’s seal has been broken, the succubus has been speed-eliminated from the main consort candidates.”
“When did I ever say I wanted to be the main consort? I said concubine.”
“How are you going to get past Veronica Caliber?”
“...Then, third concubine.”
“Stop the nonsense and take over that thing. Let’s wrap up the situation.”
“Fine.”
The great demon Diamat smiled.
The Controller was instantly charmed.
“Darling!”
[Yo, Your Majesty.]
“Those monsters outside are too gross.”
[D, do you mean the Creature Guardians?]
“Yes, those things. Get them out of my sight.”
[Do not worry.]
And so the control room was completely taken over.
***
Monsters continued to spawn endlessly.
But there was no need to worry.
What did numbers matter?
They were being deleted the moment they appeared.
KUWUNG! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The Gigants simply trampled the monsters.
Mad Demon’s Crescent Moon Force Qi.
Bardin in the sky.
Meatshield on the ground.
Veronica Caliber providing support fire.
The new recruits also did their part.
Emperor Kazan and the Sword Demon’s blades flashed, the Saintess’s healing spells rang out, the Dragonian’s physical attacks landed, lightning magic was cast, the shaman planted totems, and the hunter drew his bowstring.
But then?
SRRRRRRR.
The monsters began melting into the ground as if crumbling.
“Oh!”
Their numbers decreased in an instant.
SWISH, SWISH, SWISH...
It seemed Cossack had taken over the control room and done something.
Thanks to that, all obstacles between the World Tree and Mari were cleared.
“Mari?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead.”
Mari approached the World Tree hesitantly.
Here was some background on Mari.
She had been offered as a sacrifice to the ancient dragon Black Dragon by her own kind when she was young.
Because of that, she did not have much experience communicating with the World Tree.
Could she really do it?
Mari cautiously reached out and touched the World Tree.
RUSTLE, RUSTLE, RUSTLE.
The tree’s leaves and branches shook violently, as if trembling like an aspen.
Was it welcoming her?
Probably.
After some time passed.
Mari’s lips slowly parted.
“...She’s grieving. She says she has lived as a slave for many long years. And her twin tree too.”
“Twin?”
“Yes. In a distant other world, she had a sister who received the dimensional energy she sent.”
“Ah!”
His guess had been right.
The World Tree here was connected to the transmission of dimensional energy.
Twins.
Sister World Trees.
One transmitted dimensional energy from here.
The other received dimensional energy at the main base.
Mari had explained it before.
Divided World Trees could communicate with each other.
“Are they still doing it now? With the main base World Tree?”
“No. The connection has been severed.”
Severed?
Then...
“Her sister has been annihilated. That is why she is in pain right now.”
“...”
Those damn Black Tower bastards.
That god must have known too.
That this place would meet the same fate after the Archangel was destroyed.
So this was probably about erasing the traces of what had been done.
The World Tree must have become useless.
Its role as the Dimensional Energy Transmitter and Receiver was gone.
“Who did this to her?”
“Mm, a god. A god did it. The God of Gluttony, who devours everything.”
So the Black Tower’s name was Gluttony?
What a pig.
“Is there no way to learn more precisely? About the god’s identity?”
“She doesn’t know much. Because it has too many attributes. It has divine power, and sometimes it feels like a demon god.”
Was it because of gluttony?
A bastard that devoured all kinds of energy.
“She says not to make contact with the God of Gluttony. She says if you get close, you might be devoured.”
The communion between the World Tree and Mari continued.
He had more questions, but Juhyeok did not interrupt.
Mari had a mournful expression, tears streaming down her face.
Why was she crying?
It pained his heart.
“...The World Tree says she will annihilate herself. She says the meaning of her existence has disappeared.”
“Aah!”
How could that be?
There was an elf here who needed to be looked after.
“Tell her to endure just a little. I will relocate her.”
He wanted to save her.
So she could grow lush and healthy in a good environment.
Was there no way?
He understood why she felt that way.
The World Trees that served as Transmitter and Receiver.
Those two were sisters and hostages to each other.
They must have been separated and threatened.
That if they did not do as they were told, one of them would be killed.
In the end, the sister who served as the Receiver was annihilated.
And now the World Tree here, who had been in charge of transmitting, seemed to want to share her sister’s fate.
“First calm down, and we’ll find a way gradually...”
Right then!
WUUUUUUUUUUUNG!
FWAAAAASH!
The World Tree began to glow.
No, it began to burn.
‘Haa.’
The World Tree was finally erasing her own existence.
CRACK, CRACK, CRACK.
The trunk split, and the leaves burned to ash.
The choice of a god-class being, the World Tree.
This could not be stopped.
“Aaaaah...”
Mari sobbed.
The sight of her Mother Tree vanishing before her eyes.
No one could understand that sorrow.
It was pitiful.
How should he comfort her?
Should he hold her?
In that instant!
THUMP.
Gyeon Dallae nudged him.
Veronica Caliber also nodded.
What?
Was he supposed to hold her?
There was no choice.
Juhyeok embraced the crying Mari.
And patted her shoulder.
Before long, the World Tree’s body had burned completely white.
PSSSSSS.
The ashes scattered in the wind.
But then?
SPARKLE, SPARKLE.
‘...Hm?’
In the spot where the ashes had disappeared, a single glowing branch remained.
‘What’s that?’
This one had not burned.
Mari picked up the short branch with her hand.
“Aah!”
Mari gasped.
“What is that...?”
“It’s a sapling. A divided sapling left behind by the World Tree.”
“Oh!”
So she had not completely passed on.
She had left behind a single sapling.
It was probably for Mari, who would be left alone.
“Let’s take care of it together, the two of us, and raise it well.”
Mari’s face flushed at Juhyeok’s words.
“...Yes.”
Hmm.
It seemed like his meaning had been conveyed wrongly.
Anyway.
Ding!
[Dimensional Energy Transmitter Destroyed 1/1]
One of the two missions was complete.
