Chapter 889 – Invading Guys

000

Cleon heard a story from a woman who seemed to be the incarnation of a divine tree, asking him to lend her power.

When he naturally glanced back at Herti, the incarnation of the divine tree smiled slightly and made an expression as if asking for reassurance.

[I know your concerns. Don’t worry. It is she, the mistress of the ‘Dark Dragon Company’, that I wish to borrow her power from.]

＂──.＂

Hearing that story, Cleon held his breath for a moment, then sighed loudly as if he was relieved.

＂Haaa… What is that?…＂

Herty couldn’t help but tilt her head and express her doubts, as if Cleon’s reaction and the words of the incarnation of the divine tree were a bit strange.

“From the beginning, I only had the identity of being the owner of Dark Dragon Company, so what else is there?”

＂… That’s not everything about Herty?＂

Cleon answered that way to evade it a little, but Herti kept quiet for a moment after hearing the answer, and then—

＂Hot!?＂

After thinking about it for a while, Herti spoke as if she understood what Cleon meant, and then she held Cleon’s hand and spoke.

“Now that I think about it, in addition to being a member of the Dark Dragon Company, I also had an identity as Cleon’s wife… Could it be that there was also a story about love saving Asteris?”

“W-what are you talking about? Calm down, Herti…”

It was Cleon who couldn’t help but be embarrassed by Herti’s reaction.

＂Hey-ong.＂

When Bahamut’s grumpy cries were heard from beneath his feet, as if telling him to stop acting like a foolish couple, the incarnation of the divine tree covered his mouth and smiled slightly upon seeing the two people.

[In the name of the divine tree, the guardian of Asteris and all life living on it, I will not do anything to tear the relationship between the two people. Cleon.]

＂…! Did you hear Cleon? Our relationship has been recognized by Shinmok!”

When Herty said she was happy to hear those words, Cleon couldn’t help but reply awkwardly, ‘I see, that’s right’.

But, of course, it was important to hear such happy words, but more important than that was that Shinmok needed help.

“I feel like the story keeps leaking out, so I’d like you to tell me the details first. What’s going on? I wonder if Shinmok has personally asked us for help. Also, what should we do?”

Cleon, who is used to receiving requests as an adventurer, asks that question.

There is no request as annoying as a request without a clear purpose.

＂If it was a matter related to the purification of the spirit vein, I thought it could be solved with just the power of Kuon and Tokoyo. ＂

[… Of course, the two are working very hard to demonstrate their power as shrine maidens. Since the era of sister shamans ended and only one great shaman existed, there has not been a shaman who has drawn this level of connection with me.]

She said that the fact that she was able to appear as an incarnation was possible because of the two great shrine maidens, Kuon and Tokoyo.

The expression on her face as she spoke like that was a benevolent one, like that of a mother praising her proud children.

[Under normal circumstances, the two people’s consciousness alone would have succeeded in purifying the spiritual veins and allowing flowers to bloom in my body. But… Unfortunately, there are still those who disturb the peace of Asteris.]

However, Shinmok’s expression gradually turned sad.

“Are you talking about an exiled sect or a returnee?”

When Cleon asked that question, she shook her head.

[Clearly, they are also people who are trying to bring about great change in this world. In the process, it threatened the peace of Asteris and caused suffering for the people of this country. But no. There is something that is even older than that, and its influence on the spiritual vein is becoming more severe as the days go by.]

＂What on earth?＂

Herti looked surprised, as if she had not known until now that such a thing existed in Asteris.

But the incarnation of the divine tree opens its eyes and looks at Herti.

Even Hertie, who was blind, could tell that she was being looked at.

[Herti, and Cleon. This is something you both know very well.]

＂…＂

Both Cleon and Hertida know it well.

What on earth is it?

[That’s right, adamantite.]

＂Adaman-＂

＂Tight?!＂

It was natural for the two people to react strongly to the words that came out of Shinmok’s mouth.

When I turned around after being hit hard on the back of my head, it felt similar to when I kicked her in the butt and fell into the water.

Adamantite is one of the rarest metals on the continent, and thanks to that metal, the Eastern countries were able to win the battle against foreign powers and protect their people from ghosts and nobles.

For Eastern countries, adamantite was an inseparable and precious entity.

Cleon, who had seen Gaius in the past, was also well aware of that.

She can be said to be the guardian dragon of the Eastern Country. Why is the metal she entrusted to the people of this land interfering with the purification of the spiritual veins of the Eastern Country?

When the adamantite and the contamination of the spirit vein were not properly connected in the head, the divine tree opened its mouth once again as if to explain it to the two people step by step.

[The two people probably know this because they have personally entered an adamantite mine. Even though we mine and mine again, the adamantite mines are not decreasing. No, on the contrary, it is increasing.]

At those words, Herty tilted his head.

＂Increasing…?＂

Certainly, it is an adamantite mine that has been mined for hundreds of years, but it does not look like its reserves will ever end.

However, I just thought that the number of people mining is limited, and as mining technology develops, the scope that can be explored increases, so the amount that can be confirmed appears to be increasing.

This is because hundreds of years were not enough for minerals to form in nature.

“… Adamantite is not a naturally occurring mineral?”

In response to Cleon’s question, the incarnation of the divine tree nods its head.

[Adamantite is a metal that was developed in the original world and has existed to this day. It is a mass of small particles of metal that cannot be seen with the human eye. The characteristic of this metal is that it can self-reproduce by reacting to a specific force and consuming it.]

＂─Is it magical power?＂

Is that why the responsiveness to magical power is so good?

I was able to understand that the explosion by injecting magic power was also caused by the mass and volume increasing explosively by consuming magic power.

And then, Cleon looked down at his sword.

Slash soaks in blood and becomes huge.

Is it true that she is made of an alloy of adamantite and rusty iron, and her food that replaces her magical power is ‘blood’?

＂But the tradition says… It becomes safe if you go through a special processing method…”

Herti answered in a slightly embarrassed voice.

That’s right, mining, processing, and distributing adamantite were all the work of the Dark Dragon Company.

If there was a problem with such metal, it was natural to feel that Herty herself was responsible.

[That is also true. Although there are limitations, it uses a method that limits adamantite’s ability to self-proliferate.]

Since Gaius also knew this, did he also pass on the method of processing adamantite to the people of the Eastern countries?

It would have been nice to hear an answer from her, but unfortunately, she no longer exists in this world.

“For a moment. … You said the amount of adamantite in the mines was increasing, right? Absorbing magical energy from nature means…”

[Yes. Adamantite is absorbing a greater amount of magical power from the spirit vein as each day passes. It is trying to absorb, multiply, and absorb magical power commensurate with the increased amount. And, as they increasingly want high-quality magic power, they are extending ore veins toward the underground of Asteris.]

When the uppermost pair of arms on her shoulders moved, an illusion of both above and below ground appeared, as if Asteris and the surrounding terrain were cut from the side.

Previously, in the place where Herti had guided him, he could see the adamantite extending behind the wall, which Cleon could not confirm, and slowly extending its magical arms towards Asteris through the underground. 〈 Br〉

No, they didn’t just stop at breaking through the ground; some of them were already entangled in the thick roots that supported the underground of Asteris.

It was natural that it was the root of the sacred tree, which meant that the sacred tree was already being gradually encroached upon by adamantite.

“Even if you try to purify the spirit vein through the sacred tree, there is a reason why it doesn’t work properly, this is…”

[When the Earth Dragon still existed on this earth, she was able to use her powers to control the proliferation of adamantite. Her vagina was, to her, a place where she could move like her own fingers. She planned to deliver adamantite to the people of the Eastern countries, have them mine the adamantite, and repeat this process until one day all the adamantite in the mine is depleted.]

She herself suppresses the rate at which adamantite proliferates, and in the meantime, mines the metal for humans to stabilize it.

However, if a large amount of adamantite was suddenly provided, there was a possibility that the balance of the human world would be disrupted due to the strong power of adamantite, so it was necessary to control the amount.

It must have been a plan that required careful control and a mind-numbingly long period of time.

Of course, there was the problem that the plan couldn’t happen without him as the axis, but Gaios is a dragon.

For a being who easily lives for over a thousand years, the issue of ‘time’ in planning would not be that important.

However, due to various coincidences and causes and effects, the plan was destroyed by a stone thrown from a completely unrelated place.

“… Indeed. If the proliferation of this adamantite is not stopped, purification cannot be completed even with the power of the shamans.”

[Yes. Moreover, if the adamantites already attached to the roots start there and eat my entire body… I will turn into a tree made of metal.]

Hertie swallowed her saliva and carefully questioned her at the words of her divine will.

＂It’s something I don’t want to even imagine… But if that happens, what will happen to Asteris…?”

[Starting with me, who has been completely turned into metal, they will try to absorb all of Asteris as part of themselves. It will absorb all living things, including humans, plants, and animals. People will remain alive and connected to the ground, slowly turning into metal from the tips of their feet.]

A nightmare-like scene unfolds in my mind.

“… We must absolutely stop it.”

Such things should not be made a reality.

Herti seemed to think so, and she tightly clenched her fist and held onto Cleon’s hand.

＂Hey-ong.＂

Bahamut also seems to have the same thought and cries as if in resonance with his master’s will.

“Of course. But-“

Cleon agreed that the proliferation of adamantite should be prevented, but pointed out that there was one persistent question.

＂Why did you place a barrier in this main temple? It also prevents intrusion from outside…”

The opponent is still deep underground.

Even if their proliferation began, looking at the speed, a day or two would not be enough to reach this point.

[One more thing. There are properties of adamantite that I need to explain to you.]

＂One more thing?＂

Self-proliferation using magic power alone has quite annoying characteristics, but does it have more power than that?

Cleon waited for her words, feeling an uneasy premonition.

[Adamantite, as I mentioned earlier, is a collection of metal particles smaller than recognizable particles. And once they form a colony, they begin to acquire a will of their own. Originally, it is a weak ego… But through external stimulation, a certain ego can be built.]

＂Is something like that possible with metal…?＂

How absurd is this? A metal called adamantite…

Cleon was thinking so, but suddenly came to his senses and looked down at the sword, Slash, hanging on his waist.

If you think about it, she is not a magic sword or a holy sword, but is just a famous sword that uses rare metal.

Nevertheless, I thought that there was something strange about him having special powers and talking to me with his voice.

It’s just that I adapted to that ideal much faster than I thought, so I didn’t care anymore.

The reason for such adaptation may have been the fact that there were so many non-human beings around me who spoke.

[However, the formation of the ego is truly impossible without special stimulation. It has been that way until now, and it will continue to be that way in the future. … If only there had not been a strong shock to the spiritual vein.]

What flashed through Cleon’s mind at her words, of course, was Vajra, the gigantic sky fortress they had crashed.

For Vajra’s takeoff, it could not maintain altitude with its own power source, so it had to wait for the time when the spirit vein was activated and powerfully released magical energy like the Five Elements Emperor.

In other words, Vajra’s takeoff gave strong stimulation to the spirit vein, and because of that shock, the ego appeared in the adamantite vein connected to the spirit vein.

[The newly awakened ego moves faithfully to its primitive instincts. The same instinct as a single-celled animal, to enrich one’s own belly and increase the number of one’s kind. And since Kuon and Tokoyo were connected to me, there was a possibility that they would be exposed to the hungry voice of adamantite eroding through their roots.]

＂Did you protect the two people from those…＂

If there had not been that barrier, there was a possibility that the minds of Kuon and Tokoyo would have been connected to a colony of adamantites, similar to the minds of a swarm of locusts, and cause great harm to the souls of both Kuon and Tokoyo.

[Because these two people are precious people of this land who I must protect.]

In response to the divine tree’s voice, Cleon nods her head.

And while holding Herti’s ring and another ring, the dragon ring, on her ring finger, she spoke to the divine tree.

“… Okay. “I will try my best to resolve this situation.”

[I believed you would answer that way. And I’m sorry. Originally, you would not have had any responsibility yourself.]

The Will of the Divine Tree – When she, like the land god of this land, bowed her head directly towards Cleon, Cleon shook her head horizontally in the opposite direction.

＂It’s for everyone’s safety, but… I’m Gaius’ sensitizer. “She must take responsibility for what she didn’t finish.”

Even though he never met her in person when she was alive, Cleon believes that it is his duty to receive the jewel of her ring from her.

Maybe- the reason I feel that way is because of the magical power tied to this ring.

Nevertheless, it was something that had to be done to protect Kuon and Tokoyo.

“Of course, I will join you. Because you said you needed me as the mistress of the Dark Dragon Company.”

If Herti answers like that without hesitation, the divine tree’s will nods.

[Herti, thank you too. However, rather than expressing my gratitude, it would make more sense to offer them the compensation I can prepare.]

In response to the divine tree’s words of will, Cleon and Herti were momentarily speechless and unable to respond.

Of course, it was against the rules of both merchants and adventurers to work without pay.

[Herti, I promise you that I will remove the curse remaining on your body. If the adamantite is removed and the power of purification is restored, Kuon and Tokoyo will be able to throw off the shackles that weigh heavily on their bodies.]

Perhaps, it refers to invisible eyes?

Herty felt her heart pounding and racing at her words.

If I can really do that – I might be able to see Cleon with my own eyes.

And the sacred tree turns its head to Cleon.

Then, out of the six arms, he opened the palm of his lower right arm.

Above it – something resembling a small shining fruit was visible.

This too was an illusion created by magic.

But what mattered was not whether it was an illusion or real.

Cleon knew the ‘fruit’.

Because I’ve seen it in real life only once before.

＂… That.＂

[Yes. I thought you would know.]

What the sacred tree showed to Cleon was one of the two items that Adam was thought to be desperately searching for.

It was the ‘fruit of life’.