52 – The Burning World Tree
The precise name of the Demon Realm was Crowla.
In the Demon Realm, purple swamps boiled instead of rivers, and the land was made of black ash devoid of divine power instead of soil.
Looking down from the sky, the black land appeared streaked with purple water.
Lucion didn’t know where the Demon Citadel was.
While trying to pinpoint the central part of the Demon Realm that resembled the Demon Citadel, his expression became tense, and mana leaked out. He almost withdrew his hand from the magical view due to dizziness, but he endured it with mental strength.
“It’s better to see it all at once.”
Attempting again would waste mana. Gathering mana again would be a waste of time.
“But seeing the Demon King directly is dangerous.”
Lucion cautiously explored the Demon Citadel, excluding areas with strong purple light. There couldn’t be a Demon Citadel in the swamps.
Dark places within even darker places.
Especially, he found a vast black soil area with an even wider plain.
However, there were no living beings or massive structures in such places.
“Is it like a desert?”
The ecology of the Demon Realm seemed not significantly different from that of humans, as evidenced by the scarcity of structures in both swamps and deserts.
After examining several locations in a hilly area with a suitable flow in the swamp, Lucion discovered colossal structures.
Some resembled castles, while others were larger than castles, resembling trees. To confirm if they were Treants, he zoomed in a bit more, only to find a different appearance – trees standing upside down.
There were four castle-like structures in total. While there were dozens of trees, there was one tree as massive as the combined size of all four castle structures.
Lucion furrowed his brow.
“No way.”
Lucion began to focus more on the side of the trees.
The four castle structures were likely the Demon Lords’ castles, and the massive tree had a high probability of being the residence of the Demon King.
Lucion expanded the view to the western part of the Demon Realm.
It was the place where the massive tree stood upside down.
However, he didn’t approach too closely.
“I shouldn’t directly see the Demon King.”
Getting caught spying… Lucion couldn’t predict how the Demon King would react. The act of reconnaissance inevitably marked him as a dangerous entity.
Lucion knew that someone else could instantly detect him too. The ability to sense the Demon King was more advanced, undoubtedly. It was better to be cautious.
“It’s better to be careful.”
Mercenaries sensed the presence of life, even without ‘awareness.’ The principle behind it was reading the humidity in the wind. When living beings were present, even if they couldn’t feel it themselves, their breath would become dense.
Magicians always maintained mana defensive barriers. They realized when someone entered by detecting the mana coming in.
Priests could know the moment they became the target.
“Even demons could instantly know if you stared at them.”
So, let’s absolutely avoid directly staring at them.
So decided, he scrutinized the tree more closely.
Theron exclaimed, “This is…”
An upside-down tree.
Lucion also knew its name.
“World Tree… right!”
The largest tree in the Demon Realm was a desiccated World Tree, its leaves all fallen. It burned with a violet flame, resembling a silent, wrathful entity.
#
The World Tree is a tree in myths.
While Treants, often seen in vast forests, were considered a type of World Tree, they fundamentally differed.
Treants were created when spirits settled in giant trees.
However, the World Tree was a tree born when a spirit transformed into a tree by itself. The process of creation was distinct.
Immaterial spirits.
Spirits, free souls, chose to create a physical form, deciding to stay on the land forever, driven by unrequited love for a creature—whether it be a deity, a snail, a hero. Spirits became World Trees, rooting in the ground, creating a sanctuary for heroes.
In the western part of the continent, there were many myths about the World Tree.
A holy sword buried in the embrace of the World Tree, for instance.
Or the heart of a destructive deity impaled on the top of the World Tree.
These stories had their origin in such beings.
“I never knew it actually existed…!”
The tree standing upside down.
It’s undoubtedly the World Tree.
The tree, with black bark burning in violet flames, was eerie enough to be said to be the dwelling place of the Demon King.
Lucion descended in altitude so that he could view a specific tree head-on as part of the World Tree.
And then, it happened.
Blink!
A black sphere formed at the top of the World Tree, eerily wriggling as it split in half, revealing an iris between the divided sections.
Then, as if meeting eyes with Lucion, it shifted its gaze.
Right before locking eyes with the telescopic vision.
Snap!
Lucion completely severed the mana.
“Magic is easy to trace.”
A secure way to escape tracking magic was simply to collapse the line Lucion had forcibly maintained. Then, the line, thin and long like shattered glass, would spread in all directions in an instant. Mana would scatter.
Since it was already a faint line, its trace would become unfindable in just a few seconds.
Even an exceptional wizard couldn’t trace back tracking magic.
Or so it should have been.
Lucion realized that the mana line he had collapsed was still alive. It’s just that he wasn’t the one in control.
“Darn it.”
Magic could be stolen from its wielder.
However, stealing collapsing magic was a rare occurrence.
“No, magic has indeed vanished.”
Just at a rate of dispersal rather than annihilation. The pace at which the line indicating the collapse should have spread was faster, overlaid with the magic of the World Tree.
The line connected seamlessly to the dark mage tower. Dominating even the Thousand-Mile Artifact, the eyes that had quickly scanned this side of the room were now tinged red.
Lucion laid his hands on the Thousand-Mile Artifact.
Crack!
He forcefully shattered it.
#
Silence pervaded the room for a while.
Tiron managed to open his mouth and then spoke with a trembling voice.
“Do they… consider us enemies?”
From the possibility of the World Tree deeming them as foes to considering all scenarios, various thoughts crossed his mind. Every mage goes through such reasoning.
“It seems like the room has been inspected. The chance of them having seen our faces…”
Lucion tilted his head.
“As a precaution against possible tracking, I’ve set up perception interference barriers.”
Even if they attempted to trace and observe this side’s situation, all they would see was a white light. Similar to the defense barrier of the Azure Tower but even more potent.
If one tried to pierce through with divine power, they would need even stronger divine power or more potent magic.
No matter how formidable the World Tree is, it wouldn’t be able to exert influence from the opposite side of the continent.
“I didn’t know the World Tree was awake.”
He thought it would have more dormant periods like Tritan. If it were awake, its eyes should always be open, yet there were no eye-like features when he first saw the World Tree.
Tiron inquired.
“Is it really okay…?”
Lucion nodded his head.
Just like the World Tree, Lucion instantly added another layer of holiness to the magical power of the World Tree, completely erasing the magic. It is impossible to trace back the holiness. Lucion immediately dispersed the holiness.
The World Tree might be able to determine the direction and distance of where Choenrian was used. However, the exact location couldn’t be confirmed.
“I completely erased all the traceable methods with holiness.”
“I see… But I still need to report to Matapju.”
Once again, Lucion shook his head.
“I’m sure you’ve already heard.”
“What?”
Lucion raised his right hand, which was bleeding, and pointed to Tiron’s side.
“Over there, they’re here.”
Darahan had been watching everything from the beginning, under his cloak artifact that he had developed.
Even though the Matap people were in the same space as Darahan, they couldn’t figure out where Darahan was. The reason was Darahan’s transparent cloak, a well-known secret.
“Quite impressive.”
Darahan took off his cloak and revealed himself.
An old man, taller than Tiron by two heads, glowed with his eyes.
“Are you a wizard? A knight? A clergyman?”
While Lucion was contemplating his answer, Darahan spoke first.
“No, before that. What were you trying to see? Or were you trying to steal the Demon King?”
Lucion raised his injured hand and enveloped it in light. The healing began on its own.
Showing oneself as a cleric.
“The demons have appeared this far, haven’t they?”
“Yes.”
“I thought it might be the Demon King’s scheme, so I searched for places where the Demon King might be. But it seems…”
Darahan nodded.
“Yes, it seems like we need to hurry.”
At a glance, the influence of the demon realm was vast.
If one were to think that the land filled with demons was as extensive as the entire Osland, it was a perilous situation where humanity’s extinction should be suspected immediately.
“It seems I need to have a more in-depth conversation with you.”
Darahan briefly glanced at the broken celestial map and gestured to Tyrone. Tyrone nodded and quickly left the room.
Darahan muttered as he headed towards the elevator.
“Follow me.”