Chapter 203
The two groups of elves in Domen, who had been in a standoff, were in a state of lull once Keter invited the two humans to the upper floors.
Binah, a short-haired middle-aged female elf, shouted in shock, “How are you here?!”
Ozenta, her father, the former Binah who had gone missing one day, had appeared before her in an unbecoming state.
“Keke, it’s been a while, daughter,” Ozenta said.
“You were... in Domen? But why?”
“Kekeke! I spent my life eating sweet fruit, so I suppose I had to become manure once I became old.”
As the father and daughter were talking, a pair of other elves was also confronting one another. They were Radix, the grey elf, and Irura, the Sefirah of Hod.
“Radix! What were you thinking, coming in here?!”
“Hah, did you want me locked up in Qetseb forever, blasted Hod?”
“I told you, I’d return once the mission was over!”
“Yeah, the mission to capture Kang-San.”
“Is he... so precious to you that you’d willingly set foot in here?”
“Not really. We were comrades once, but weren’t that close.”
“Then why?!”
Radix stared with deeply sunken eyes at the dazzling blond Irura with golden eyes and said, “I was forced to use my precious holiday to come here, so I can’t afford to leave empty-handed. GM would be disappointed.”
“What do you—”
“Enough. I don’t want to talk to you any longer. I can already smell the excruciating stench.” Radix looked around Domen as Irura remained silent, and continued, “My father, mother, and my sister... my precious family have all died here. Come to think of it, I suppose this is the first time I’m visiting to pay my respects, though there aren’t any graves.”
“Radix... I—”
“Don’t even think about making excuses. It doesn’t change the fact that House Hod massacred my family!” Radix’s green eyes flashed red, reflecting the dark red light seeping from Domen’s ceiling. “And the one who sucked the nutrients sapped from them is you, Hod (Glory)!”
Irura hesitated momentarily and remarked, “True glory no longer exists in Sefirot. I am... Irura.”
“Have you grown fond of wordplay in the time I haven’t seen you?”
“I... I didn’t know either! By the time I found out, it was already too late. I created Viridis as repentance! To accumulate accomplishments and become independent from...” Irura suddenly stopped and bit his lip.
He realized from Radix’s stiff expression that Radix wouldn’t accept anything he said. He was reaping what he had sown.
I see... We can never return to our relationship when we were little, Irura thought as he looked up at Domen’s ceiling, at the intertwined World Tree’s roots resembling disgusting blood vessels.
***
“Sefirot will make a statement supporting Underground,” Keter said.
“Thank you very much,” Seong-Hwi responded.
“I will also announce at the Sēmen that Underground is a legitimate confederation of races, joined for the purpose of eradicating the Chaos, their primary and only enemy.”
Kang-San clenched his fists and thought, It’s set! With approval from both Sefirot and the Fifth Lord, Underground’s legitimacy is all but guaranteed.
It would be troublesome if those set on slandering Underground claimed that the confederation had been built to overthrow the established system; they may as well be planning it right now. It would be even worse if the slandering forces were those with significant influence.
But if Sefirot and Keter were to vouch for us directly, we would be free from all slander!
The trials and tribulations that the new Underground would have to overcome would be drastically reduced, allowing them to settle into the established system to grow their strength. Kang-San felt like just those two conditions were enough compensation for the recent hardships he had faced.
However, Seong-Hwi continued holding the Scale of Balance, believing Keter’s promises were a given. The scale slightly tilted to the left, but it was far from horizontal.
Keter remained silent momentarily, realizing what Seong-Hwi was thinking, and said, “Tell me your demands this time.”
Seong-Hwi took a moment to organize his thoughts and said, “Please grant independence to the elves whom we have freed in Domen.”
Keter remained silent.
“They are merely rebels who must be driven out to you. Promise us a non-aggression that will last ten years, and send any elves of Sefirot who wish to join them our way.”
“Hah! A mere insect dares to declare that it will nibble away at a tree,” Keter mumbled exasperatedly.
They knew the humans’ intention. The humans planned to take away the scrawny criminals and use them to lure the other elves of Sefirot and expand their forces.
A cute ploy, but not good enough, Keter said inwardly as they smiled.
Elves valued the World Tree far more than freedom. After all, descendant elves could not be born without the World Tree. Independence sounded enticing, but it was half-baked; they would inevitably go extinct over time. Freedom came with responsibility; the elves of Sefirot knew that very well, so once they left, they would never return.
They will be an eyesore for a decade, but nothing I can’t tolerate.
Keter came to a decision and said, “Very well. I promise to release and grant them independence. I promise non-aggression for ten years, unless they attack first, and will not stop any elf who wishes to join them.”
“Thank you very much.”
The Scale of Balance tilted to the left a little more with Keter’s definitive answer.
“It’s not horizontal,” said Keter as they stared at the Scale of Balance, which was still tilted to the right, and shifted their gaze to Seong-Hwi.
This is it! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly, sensing the time had finally come.
He said, “This is my final demand. Please give me the Fruit.”
Hundreds of thousands of branches sprouted like needles as soon as Seong-Hwi finished his sentence.
Kang-San immediately stuck close to Seong-Hwi’s back as he unsheathed the Dual Dragon Swords and shouted, “Remember your promise, Keter! Your caliber will fall if you attack us!”
Gruuu!
Hiss!
The Black Tortoise on Kang-San’s shoulder emitted enough mana to gigantify at any moment if it came to it. A deathly silence filled Cherec. Seong-Hwi did not even dare to swallow his saliva; he could only wonder whether his gamble had paid off or not.
Then, the branches sprouting from the walls slowly withdrew. Keter quelled their blazing fury and brooded. “Ozenta... You and your loose mouth.” They looked straight into Seong-Hwi’s black eyes and remarked, “You dare covet the Fruit? How tremendously impudent and disrespectful of you.”
“We humans value give and take. You will suppress the seeds of war that will last for years through this negotiation. How many men do you think you’ll save?” Seong-Hwi licked his lips and continued, “If you believe that is worth less than the Fruit, then our negotiation ends here. I might as well take this fragment to the Sixth Fiend.”
He sensed Kang-San flinching behind him. Even Seong-Hwi immediately regretted his last sentence after saying it. The Sixth Fiend was the leader of Necrophilia and the direct superior of Gula of Cadaver, who had developed an amicable relationship with humans. Seong-Hwi’s final sentence was no different from threatening Keter.
“Keke... Kahahahaha! AHAHAHAHA!” Keter laughed thunderously, the corners of their wrinkly lips ripping toward their ears, then suddenly stopped. They said dryly, “Ignorance breeds courage. Do you know what the Fruit is?”
“Is it not the power that the World Tree has absorbed until now?” Seong-Hwi asked.
“It is. The extract of the nutrients sapped from the hundreds of millions of lives that the World Tree’s roots have touched. A mere human could never digest it.”
Keter raised their hands to the sky, and a golden branch grew downward from the ceiling. A golden fruit the size of a fist dangled from it.
So, that’s the Fruit! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly, his eyes filled with desire and aspiration. That’s exactly what I need!
“Not even I can digest it, which is why I am keeping it stored, but you are saying you can? Someone like you, not even one of the Ten Lords and Fiends, much less a human of common caliber?” Keter mocked.
Kang-San expressed from behind Seong-Hwi, “Hmm... Not even Keter can digest it? Shit... Let’s give up on that, Seong-Hwi. It’s better to be hungry than have your stomach explode from being too full.”
“I will not. Even a well-fed ghost has a better complexion than a malnourished one,” Seong-Hwi said.
“Don’t be so stubborn. That’s a poison—perhaps the strongest poison in the Mirror World!”
However, Seong-Hwi could no longer hear Kang-San.
He thought, Creo, the God of Heaven, used that somehow. I’m sure there is a way! The Wings of Evolution can do it!
It had not been just a reckless decision. He calculated that the Wings of Evolution could also absorb the Fruit, just like how they absorbed genes. The problem lay in quantity; if it were too large to digest, Seong-Hwi would be ripped open from the inside. However, there was no such thing as a reward without a risk, and that was especially the case in the Mirror World.
I won’t catch up by taking one step at a time. I will fly up in a flash and grasp my destiny!
Seong-Hwi had no intention of giving up on the Fruit; he was certain such an opportunity would never come again.
“Kekekek! Very well. You may have the Fruit on one condition. Eat it right now. After all, I must retrieve it from your corpse,” Keter said as they picked the Fruit off the golden branch and threw it at Seong-Hwi.
The Fruit slowly floated and landed on the left plate of the Scale of Balance. At last, the scale was perfectly horizontal.
“Very well,” Seong-Hwi said as he grabbed the Fruit.
“Cheon Seong-Hwi!” Kang-San shouted.
The Fruit was bumpy like a blackberry. Upon a closer look, each bump was a despairing face.
[Fruit of the World Tree
Description: A defect of the World Tree. It is a concentration of unprecedented power.]
Its description was simple, and like the Earthquake Stone Fragment, it was unranked, possibly meaning its potential couldn’t be judged. Seong-Hwi’s heart beat rapidly, alarm bells endlessly rang inside his head, and voices screamed at him that it was dangerous and that he would undoubtedly die. He swallowed his saliva.
“Kekek! What’s wrong? Are you giving up?” Keter asked mockingly.
“Seong-Hwi! Put that down! Let’s ask for something else. Know your place!” Kang-San dissuaded.
Seeds of doubt also bloomed in Seong-Hwi’s mind. He thought, Am I doing something I shouldn’t be? Getting stronger the orthodox way might be the fastest path. What if I die? It would be the stupidest death ever.
As doubt and anxiety took over his mind, his Destiny Force moved on its own, spreading to every part of his body and making him tremble. Once the Destiny Force filled his heart, a premonition and certainty that something good would happen, and hope for the future, bloomed. It was an epiphany.
It’s okay. You’ll succeed, no matter what. You have already succeeded so many times.
He got a feeling of deja vu, as if he had experienced something like this before and had overcome it. It was not logical in the slightest, but he had a vague sense that everything would be okay.
“I will eat it now,” Seong-Hwi said.
Like what he had done with the Destiny Stone in his past life, he swallowed the Fruit of the World Tree in one gulp, shoving it into his throat.
“Ahahaahaaaaa...”
“Cheon Seoonngg-Hwwwiii...”
It sounded like Keter’s laughs and Kang-San’s shouts were coming from afar.
What... happened? Seong-Hwi wondered.
He heard a screeching, high-pitched sound, saw a flash of light, then everything went dark.
[Applying Debuff: Death.]
[Star Power: Grace Period has...]
***
To be or not to be, that is the question.
Shakespeare, Hamlet
***
“How does tteokbokki for dinner sound?”
“I’m down!”
“Spicy, right?”
“What are you talking about? Chatteok[1] is the way to go!”
Seong-Hwi regained his senses as he stared at the group of high school girls walking past him.
“What... in the...” he mumbled as he looked around.
He was in a giant library. The countless shelved books looked like bar graphs, and the floor was filled with hardwood tables and chairs. He knew where this was.
“The National Library of Korea?”
He had once studied in this library in Seocho District, back when his dream had been to become a librarian here.
Is this a lucid dream?
Ever since Bulgasal hatched, he had not had lucid dreams for a while.
He walked around the library blankly, thinking, What happened? I ate the Fruit of the World Tree, and... Am I dead? Is this the afterlife?
He felt a sense of familiarity and leisure as he walked through the narrow space between bookshelves. The atmosphere was nothing like the Mirror World, where he had desperately competed to climb to the top. He had missed the smell of old books, the calm white noise, and the resulting peace of mind. It was so nice that he almost wished to forget all his painful memories and return to his former life of managing libraries.
Just then, a voice expressing indifference, yet filled with curiosity, asked, “Are you sure about that?”
Seong-Hwi turned around and saw someone sitting at a window seat in the corner of the library, his favorite spot in the past, reading a book. The man had silky black hair, was abnormally pale, and had a black left eye and green right eye. Most of all, the curved horns sprouting from his temples gave it away that he was not human.
“You’re...” Seong-Hwi’s eyes widened. On the table where the man sat was the Fruit of the World Tree, shining with a golden light. He shouted, “Curiositas!”
Why is the Second Fiend in my dream?! he wondered.
Curiositas closed the book and stared at Seong-Hwi with a faint smile. “It has been a while, Cheon Seong-Hwi.”
1. Chatteok (짜떡) is the rice cake used in tteokbokki combined with chapaghetti, a Korean ramyeon brand. ☜