17. Goddess Aria – 03
It’s a bit of a new story, but the Great Forest, where the World Tree is located and is said to be inhabited by elves, is a place quite remote from the world.
The huge barrier built on the basis of the unlimited magical power provided by the World Tree not only blocked the indiscriminate entry of outsiders, but also changed the climate inside the Great Forest to always be mild and favorable for life.
According to the testimonies of people who were lucky enough to visit the Great Forest, from the outside it looks like a huge, dense forest, but inside it is said to be an unprecedented paradise on earth. I have to do it. If spring is maintained all year round, each tree bears delicious fruits, and nothing is lacking, what should we call it if not a paradise?
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Moreover, the inhabitants living in the depths of the paradise are none other than elves. Regardless of age or gender, they have the most beautiful forms under the ground, and are perfect creatures who enjoy a long life incomparable to mere humans.
That’s why everyone tends to talk with their mouths together. If there is a place called heaven on this earth, it must be the Great Forest.
However, the current Great Forest is different. The present great forest was somewhat odious and contained an atmosphere that seemed to reject human steps. Something, a soggy, unpleasant sensation ran through my body.
In the first place, this is the territory of the elves. And the sacred place where the World Tree, said to support the world, is located. As it is a sacred area that does not allow humans to approach easily, it is very natural that the barrier surrounding this place rejects us.
…But the feeling that Bianca and I are feeling now is a little different from that. The senses that surround us are not warnings given to us about a place that humans dare not venture into. Just, without saying anything, there is only the ominous feeling that binds the heart.
A mysterious white light enveloped the entire Great Forest and the World Tree that stretched high into the sky. A gigantic gale that seemed to impede human survival itself was raging everywhere, and the trees that made up the forest were shaking their bodies as if they were uneasy about the birth of something.
The entire forest was overflowing with vitality and magic. Like the one Arya showed me before, a tremendous level of magical power that was so tightly packed that it was possible to visualize it. However, if there is a difference from before, it is only that this time it is a phenomenon that occurs naturally without any magic.
The mana surrounding the Great Forest and the World Tree was so wild and vivid that with every breath, it felt like my lungs were filled with mana instead of oxygen. There is even an illusion that fetuses that breathe by relying on the umbilical cord in the womb may not have felt this sensation.
But that fact is just a trivial matter.
Not the Great Forest, but the upper part of the World Tree that rises endlessly toward the sky. In other words, the distant sky where originally there should have been nothing but clear skies and clouds.
On the other side of the sky, a violent snowstorm was raging that seemed to freeze everything in sight.
No, the expression ‘whispering’ may not have been appropriate. The blizzard was not raging. As if it were trapped in an invisible, transparent sphere, it just constantly hovered above the sky in an elliptical shape.
…It’s something I don’t even want to imagine, but if that blizzard was released from there and raged across the continent, it was obvious what would happen-
“As expected. That blizzard is definitely the harsh and cold blizzard we had to go through in the past. And that blizzard is raging high in the sky, that is.”
“…It must mean that Arya eventually became a ‘witch’. Just like it used to be.”
Bianca’s voice as she spoke to me was very calm. Perhaps, from the beginning, she knew who we would ultimately have to deal with.
“Cain, after coming this far, this is a useless story, but I will give you one last piece of advice. If you’re going to run away, run away from here now. Even if you step back, no one will blame you, and if our predictions are true, taking a step back here without using your hands would never be a wrong answer.”
Saying that, Bianca waved her hand and drew the mana that was flowing around us into her hand. In a way, it looked like smoke, and in some ways it looked like a transparent string, but it contained a vivid vitality that made it disgusting. Realized. No matter how sublime and beautiful something in the world is, if it overflows to the point of excessiveness, it will accompany the viewer with nausea.
“Can you see? This bundle of magic that has become visible enough that even ordinary people who can’t feel it can see it with the naked eye? The reason why this is happening around here is very simple. According to my research through the literature, it was said that the goddesses of the Age of Gods produced magic power just by existing, and transformed the surrounding environment into a different world similar to the heavenly world. You don’t have to explain what this means, do you?”
“…Aria, who has transformed into a goddess, must mean that she has become an absolute being with an amount of magic that can be said to be unlimited.”
Bianca knows it without even having to say it. That the true nature of the ominousness we had been feeling from earlier was nothing other than that we were voluntarily crawling into a place that could be called death.
The amount of magic flowing around here that can be easily seen with the naked eye must be a small amount of magic that is nothing more than residue leaking out to Arya. If so, it was easy to see how much magical power she possessed in her body.
Even the mana that I am currently feeling through my skin is impossible to measure. In terms of the amount of magical energy stored, it is truly exceptional. So I can say for sure. If Bianca could handle that level of mana, the impossible would cease to exist for her.
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Moreover, the one who possesses that much magical power is none other than the goddess Aria. It is said that goddesses can create miracles from nothing, and that they are beings capable of casually manifesting miracles that cannot be reproduced by the science of magic.
In the past, we had a hard time dealing with the ‘Winter Witch’, a half-goddess who had not awakened as a full goddess, but dealing with her with only the two of Bianca and I was literally an act of suicide. It must have been. Especially considering the fact that Kyrie and Ariel may exist by Arya’s side.
…However.
“No, I will go ahead. I can’t come this far and step back. I don’t think I’ll be able to get rid of it unless I hit Arya and Kyrie in the head.”
Trying hard to hide my trembling heart, I rather step towards the deep forest. yes i go forward Didn’t I already promise Iris? When we meet again, the five of us will come back together. However, after coming all the way here, I couldn’t back out and say that I would live alone.
“…Men are really foolish. To risk one’s own life for such an insignificant thing.”
Even as I say that, Bianca obediently follows me. It must be a sign that he will be with me until the end.
Just like that, the very moment we crossed the barrier surrounding the Great Forest and stepped into the depths of the forest-
“…You finally came. Cain…”
In the middle of the Great Forest, right in front of the World Tree.
Arya, who has a mature appearance that is completely different from usual, smiled with joy as she looked up at the sky. I can feel it vividly, his presence. In her previous life, even while dedicating herself to her divinity, she included him and herself in the same causal law, so his presence was easily detectable.
he came Even knowing that this place was clearly a limb, he came to his rescue. Although, now, even though his consideration had turned into something useless, his care for herself was coloring her heart with happiness.
…But at the same time, Arya didn’t have the slightest desire to bring him here. What will happen here from now on is not lacking even if you are careful. At this moment, he was using a lot of mental strength just to control the blizzard that was raging furiously high in the sky, but it would never be that he made the uncontrollable variable reach this point-
“Kyrie.”
When Arya calls out the name of one of the two women standing in front of her in a low voice, she humbly bows her head towards the goddess looking at her.
“It looks like you have a guest. Go out and greet them politely. You are an honored guest, so don’t even think about being rude.”
At Aria’s words, Kirie answered her with a slight smile.
“Are you sure you don’t intend to meet him in person? I guess the purpose of their coming here is none other than you.”
“…That’s a really mean question, Kyrie. You ask me that question when you know better than anyone in the world what it means to get them to this point.”
If their invasion is allowed as it is, there is a possibility that Kyrie will not be able to achieve the ‘wish’ she so longed for and longed for even while awakening Arya as a goddess. That meant that Son, something she had been wanting and hoping for for hundreds of years might disappear like a bubble.
…But, even at this moment, Kirie was smiling. What would happen if they made it this far? What kind of conversation would they have if they and the current Aria were to face each other? I was curious about how this story would end, so I couldn’t stand it.
“I think that ending is okay. I love so much beings who struggle to overcome their own destiny with unreasonable desires.”
…okay. Just like when a helpless man with no powers performed the miracle of cutting down the ‘witch of winter’ one day, when the time was no longer there.
“Even though no one but me can make your wish come true?”
“I think it’s only about that much. If it doesn’t work, wouldn’t there be a way to hide somewhere with him and live together for a thousand years? After all, the two of us are sharing our lives. It doesn’t seem like it’s bad to have children like Ariel did.”
Arya’s eyes turned to Ariel this time at Kirie’s words and actions, shrugging her shoulders. It was an unspoken question whether she would go ahead and block Cain’s path.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not too keen on that either. As a wife, I have never thought of wanting to stand in the way of my husband.”
“…Ariel, do you mean you don’t care if you can’t achieve your wish?”
Ariel nodded her head indifferently to Ariel’s words. And at Ariel’s appearance, Kirie smiled and laughed as if she was having fun.
“You are so bold, Ariel. How dare you refuse the goddess’s request with a single sword. Is it okay for you to act so disrespectfully when you call yourself a priest?”
“The one I serve is not the goddess of winter, but the goddess of spring. Besides, I don’t think you have anything to say to me for refusing her request with a single stroke?”
“Well, how about it?”
Saying that, Kirie grabbed the longbow she had placed beside her and took steps towards somewhere. The direction she was heading was none other than the direction the intruders were heading this way.
“Oh, didn’t you reject my offer? Did you change your mind again?”
“No, on second thought, I don’t think it would be much fun for them to get here smoothly either.”
A chuckle of laughter echoed around, and Kirie twisted her lips upwards.
“Wouldn’t the story be very interesting if the enemy called the Demon King didn’t stand in the way of the warriors who came to rescue the princess?”