Ludger brought out every artifact he had.
Ater Nocturnus muttered a small complaint about his chest feeling empty, but Ludger ignored it.
Ventmin, fused with the World Tree, had become a monster.
Every artifact he could use had to be used.
“Ha. Sure. I don’t know where you got those artifacts from, but do you think you can do anything to me with just artifacts?”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
Ludger moved two artifacts as a demonstration.
The two artifacts, resonating with his mana, took the form of spears.
The ornate spears shot toward Ventmin with a slight delay between them, following Ludger’s command.
Ventmin snorted as he saw them coming and raised barriers of tree roots.
Massive roots, each thicker than five meters, burst through the cradle’s floor and tangled together.
The wall they formed carried the oppressive weight of a mountain.
They weren’t ordinary trees, but the roots of the World Tree itself.
No matter how powerful an artifact might be, it could never pierce this.
Ventmin calculated as much with cold logic.
Ludger, too, agreed that her judgment wasn’t wrong.
‘Unless these aren’t ordinary artifacts.’
Swaeek!
The first spear struck the wall of tangled roots.
The difference in size was so vast that it looked like a toothpick stuck into the body of a giant.
What could that one spear possibly do?
But the result was nothing like what Ventmin expected.
Uuuuuuung!
The spear embedded in the roots began to vibrate violently, glowing brighter and brighter.
The mana within the spear burst past its limit, rampaging as its limiter was released.
Artifact Serial Numbering 412.
Commonly known as [Stinger].
A throwing spear artifact designed to hunt cryptids. Once thrown, it automatically returned to the user.
It ignored air resistance with wind mana and even auto-tracked enemies.
But the Stinger modified by Seridan had abandoned everything for one single function.
Explosion.
───!!!
The roar ripped apart the air as blinding light illuminated the entire cradle.
Not an ordinary explosion, but a forced mana stone overload detonated inside.
A mana explosion.
Even the roots of the World Tree couldn’t escape unscathed from such force.
Roots tore apart, fragments scattering everywhere.
A gaping hole was blown open in the center of the barrier.
Through that gap, the second spear flew at Ventmin.
“What is this...?!”
Even as she reeled at the sight, Ventmin didn’t neglect her defense.
Wooden tendrils rose and wrapped her body in a dome.
First came tightly woven small branches, followed by layers of thick roots reinforcing them like armor.
It resembled a turtle withdrawing into its shell.
And then the second Stinger struck.
Impact.
Followed seamlessly by a massive explosion.
A shockwave tore through the surroundings.
Beast-formed Hans stood in front of Sedina, shielding her body from the blast.
[My word. Even witnessing it, the power is unbelievable.]
Hans trembled at the destructive force of the artifact’s explosion.
Normally, artifacts carried multiple functions and could be repaired after repeated use.
But Seridan’s modifications stripped all of that away for the sake of one thing only—destruction.
All the artifact’s power, stability, and reusability had been sealed off.
What remained could hardly be called an artifact anymore.
Yes.
It was the most expensive bullet in the world.
And Ludger was the strongest gun, able to fire as many of those bullets as he pleased.
The turtle-shell barrier shattered into pieces.
Ventmin, hidden inside, did not emerge unscathed.
Half her face was scorched by heat, and one side of her upper body was completely blown away.
“Khk.”
Her wounded flesh regenerated quickly, like a tree sprouting anew.
But her mind was shaken.
To use artifacts like that? Not multiple times, but just once before discarding them?
Ventmin wasn’t well-versed in human affairs, but she wasn’t ignorant either.
She had a vague idea of the worth and value of human artifacts.
The artifact that just wounded her was worth at least the price of a house.
And yet Ludger used it like a disposable tool.
“Did I not say? I possess weapons to fight against legions.”
From high above, looking down at her, Ludger’s words made Ventmin grind her teeth.
So it wasn’t mere bluff.
Now she understood why he was so confident.
“I see. So that’s how it is?”
But it wasn’t enough to break her will.
She was unsettled, but that was all.
Ludger wasn’t without weakness.
Just keeping himself afloat in the air with so many artifacts must consume immense concentration.
That meant his mobility was effectively limited.
Of course, even so, he could rain death from above like an angel.
But she had the World Tree—the mother of all life.
“Die!”
Roots erupted from the ground, shooting upward through the gaping air in the cradle.
Every one of them aimed at Ludger.
Artifacts were dangerous, but without Ludger they were just empty shells.
As expected, Ludger didn’t back away or evade.
Good.
Ventmin thought to herself.
Once she caught him, she would squeeze him to death slowly, in pain.
But that thought vanished when she saw the magic Ludger invoked.
Metallic cubes began floating around him.
“...Lesley?”
The sight made Ventmin recall an old report.
First Order Lesley.
The unique magic he wielded was these metal cubes.
But Lesley was dead.
How could Ludger—?
Clang! Clang!
The steel cubes gathered, forming a single shape.
A sharp, streamlined body with a pointed beak of metal.
Wings spread wide, blade-like and powerful.
It resembled the golden bird Lesley had once unleashed in Kasarr Basin.
A creation half between a fighter jet and a bird, now carrying Ludger on its back.
But he wasn’t done yet.
Ludger placed his palm on its back.
The shadows cloaking his body seeped into the golden bird, merging within.
Artifacts too sank into its shadow.
The steel bird, infused with shadow, transformed into a massive raven.
Kiiieeeek!
Its beak, shrouded in black, opened in a monstrous cry.
Metal magic and magical beast fused into one.
Fusion Magic.
[Steel Raven]
Ater Nocturnus let out a scream of joy, relishing its new body, and glared fiercely at Ventmin.
“How...?”
How was John Doe wielding Lesley’s magic?
That question melted away like ice under the sun at the sight that followed.
The Steel Raven carried Ludger with incredible agility, dodging all the roots.
The roots flailed helplessly, grasping empty air.
Every time the Steel Raven swept past, artifacts were dropped, detonating in blazing bursts.
Roots shattered apart, and Ventmin gasped.
He combined the firepower to harm even the World Tree’s roots with free aerial maneuverability?
Even when she lashed out with more roots, the Steel Raven mocked her, slipping easily past.
Instead, the roots she sent were shredded by exploding artifacts.
She had never imagined John Doe was hiding such power. Ventmin bit her lips.
Her once-soft lips had hardened like bark.
She realized her body’s sensations were dulling.
A side effect of fusing with the World Tree.
Because of it, she had not crossed the final “line” until now.
But seeing Ludger’s power, she had no choice but to steel herself.
“Yes. For the greater cause, I must also be prepared to give everything.”
Her expression seemed both detached and strangely relieved.
From above, Ludger felt something off.
‘I don’t know what she’s planning, but...’
He would take advantage of this opening and wipe her out at once.
If she tried to regenerate through the roots, he would blast the whole area apart.
The Steel Raven swerved, then dove straight down at Ventmin.
Ludger released ten artifacts.
Each took on its unique form, gleaming with mana.
The Steel Raven swooped low over Ventmin’s head, dropping them.
He meant to erase her and everything around her in one strike.
But Ventmin’s body began to change.
Her hands and arms—at least her elven shape—swelled grotesquely.
Her ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ lower half rooted into the ground, and her figure grew enormous like a statue.
Her body expanded like a tree in sudden growth, intercepting the falling artifacts.
But they didn’t explode.
The artifacts that had seemed ready to burst suddenly went still, their glow fading.
‘What?’
Ludger frowned.
“Did she absorb the mana?”
With the World Tree’s life-stealing power, it wasn’t impossible.
But if she could have done that, she wouldn’t have been taking damage until now.
No, she must have twisted something.
It was tied to the grotesque form she now bore, having abandoned even her own shape.
‘She’s drawing on even more of the World Tree’s power.’
Ventmin, who had maintained her self despite fusion, was gone.
Now the balance leaned heavily toward the World Tree.
“John Doe!!!”
Her furious roar shook the air.
From the twisted tree-shape, Ventmin’s face jutted out, glaring at Ludger.
Ziiiiing.
Golden light gathered around her.
When the number surpassed a hundred, the orbs shot upward as arrows of light, aimed at the Steel Raven.
Seeing the golden arrows streak like fireworks, Ludger instantly veered aside.
The Steel Raven twisted, and the arrows grazed past.
At the same time, Ludger dropped overloaded artifacts above her.
But Ventmin’s tendrils were faster, seizing them before they could detonate.
Drained of mana, the artifacts crumbled into dust.
Ventmin, swollen with absorbed power, unleashed even more golden arrows.
‘She’s absorbing my strength and hurling it back at me.’
Ludger clicked his tongue, thinking furiously.
Ventmin looked up, lips curled, as the Steel Raven circled far away.
She felt his intent to kill her.
But she wanted the same—she wanted to kill him.
‘But what is this feeling?’
A strange sensation welled up.
Hunger.
Why? A craving echoed deep in her soul, demanding to be sated at once.
‘Food.’
Normally she had followed the vegetarian diet of elves, their delicacies.
But now, such thoughts were gone.
‘There’s so much... around me.’
With her senses merged with the World Tree, Ventmin could feel the life across the inner citadel and beyond.
And the only emotion it stirred was one thing.
They looked delicious.
The instant that thought rooted in her mind, the World Tree began to change.
Its massive leaves shook violently.
Swaaaaaa.
The sound of countless leaves thrashing was enough to tear apart the heat of battle.
Soldiers outside the citadel who couldn’t even approach, those barricaded inside, and the ordinary elves who had fled outside the royal city—
All of them saw it.
The World Tree howling.