## Chapter 1153 – Confrontation

A peculiar conjecture.

I felt a strange sensation as I once again gazed up at the far reaches of the sky.

Beyond the fragments of shattered gods.

In a place exceedingly high and distant.

Hanging in the remote expanse of that blue sky were countless rifts in dimensions.

The World Tree was gesturing wildly at the sky, telling me to look there, but there was no way I could make anything out. It was like trying to point out the 52nd ant from the left in a massive line of ants; even if I pointed it out, there was no way Copson next to me could identify that specific one.

It was even more hopeless than that.

Anyway, that rift that was supposedly up there.

“…”

Could that damn thing possibly be the rift I crossed over from?

“Are these kinds of rifts appearing frequently these days?”
“Yes. Many. Rifts. Are. Continuously. Appearing.”

Rifts that have appeared recently.

And the Lich is frantically tearing open dimensional rifts in a place beyond the World Tree’s influence.

I don’t know what his purpose is, but it certainly seems like he’s doing it.

No lie, could it really be that I came to this world because of the rifts that bastard Lich tore open? It was an extremely far-fetched idea, but when I thought about it, the pieces seemed to fit.

Me, coming here because of the Lich’s mayhem.

Killing a Valkyrie, obtaining the power of a demigod, coming here, and then confirming the cause… I couldn’t say for sure that it was the truth, but it was quite the ironic tale.

“World Tree, so you’re certain that external beings are crossing over into this land using those open rifts?”
“That is. Correct.”
“Then where do the beings that cross over through those rifts go?”

The dimensional rifts seemed to be located beyond the celestial realm. If any being were to cross over through a rift, wouldn’t they just fall into that celestial space?

—Swish.

The World Tree shook its head at my words.

“Those. Are merely. There. To show. You.”
“Ah.”

They were just there to show me.

The World Tree’s ability, perhaps.

“The exact locations. Of those. Corresponding to the ground. Are unknown. However, what is certain. Is that they are open. And beings are crossing over.”
“I understand.”

It was only certain that rifts were open.

“The purpose. Of that being. Who is causing. The dimensional cataclysm. Is unknown. Of course. It may not only be. That specific being. But other factors. That caused the dimensional cataclysm. There is likely. More than one reason.”

He stutters a lot when he talks.

“Yes.”

But I roughly understood.

First of all.

It seemed certain that the Lich was the one who had opened most of those dimensional rifts.

But not 100% of them.

Dimensions aren’t always stable, and there’s a chance that they could accidentally open due to some random person doing something. And there could also be something like a natural disaster.

“However. About 80%. Of the rifts. Were created. In a similar way.”

So, the Lich was responsible for 80% of them.

“What about the remaining 20%?”
“Those that were created. Not recently. But long ago.”

So, at least the rifts that had appeared recently were definitely the Lich’s doing.

“…”

My mind calmed down.

I was becoming increasingly convinced that I had come to this world because of that bastard Lich.

If so.

Was my coming here a pure coincidence? Did I happen to drift in because of the rifts that were being opened haphazardly?

It was possible.

But.

“Damn it.”

I recalled an old memory that I hadn’t been thinking about at all recently. It was a memory about language. The more I thought about it, the more amazed I was, but I was able to freely use the language of this world.

There’s… something.

I don’t know what the Lich’s purpose is in opening dimensional rifts, but it seems clear that he’s opening them because there’s definitely something.

The things that flow in from those opened dimensions.

They can all be said to be beings from another world.

“Ah.”

Could it be because he needs to communicate…?

Did he do something sneaky while opening the dimensional rifts? Even if he summoned beings from another world, it would be useless if he couldn’t communicate with them. So, if he took some measures to make communication possible?

Could the Lich really do something like that?

“This is…”

It’s too far-fetched of an idea.

I might be overthinking it.

However, it seemed plausible that the Lich’s goal was to summon some being from another world. In the process, various monsters might have accidentally crossed over, and I might have come here.

Yeah.

I guess I can think of it that way.

I’ll be sure to ask that bastard Lich when I catch him and kill him.

“Anyway, World Tree, that being is opening dimensional rifts, and that’s a problem, right? If things like that keep happening, unknown things will keep crossing over from another world.”
“That is. Correct.”

The World Tree nodded at my words.

It must be something that even the gods are worried about.
Especially in such a fragmented state.

“As I said before, I will stop it.”

It’s something I have to do anyway.

I will never forgive the Lich for ruining this land where I, my women, and my children will live. Unpaid service, huh? Well, it might feel that way, but this is something I have to do.

If I don’t stop it, who will? And if I turn a blind eye, I’ll be the one who ends up bleeding.

What the hell, I’ll just take care of it all.

Because all I have to do is kill the Lich.

Of course, there’s nothing I, who possesses the power of the Heavenly Demon, can’t do.

Still.

“But, you know.”

There has to be something in it for me.

Rewards are important.

“The reason you’re expecting that from me right now is because I have a similar power to you and those fragmented gods over there, isn’t it?”

The World Tree stared at me intently.

“…That is. Correct.”

It answered.

“From the moment. You entered. The divine realm. I knew. You possessed that power. Therefore, I expect it.”
“Yes.”

Killing that Valkyrie has snowballed quite a bit.

“But my power is still a bit weak. It can’t be said to be complete. It’s just a small fragment. So, I’d like to receive some compensation.”

I proposed a fair deal to the World Tree here.

It’s expecting something from me.

In other words, this is something only I know.

I don’t know why, but the fact that the World Tree didn’t tell the elves about this important fact means that there must be some kind of restriction. And the fact that I’m the only one who has met all the conditions to lift that restriction is proof.

So, there’s no problem with making a deal.

“I will. Give you. Sap.”
“Sap, you say?”

World Tree sap…?

Damn.

That sounds really good.

“Just the name sounds good.”

I’ve hit the jackpot with this.
Yeah, if I get World Tree sap as a down payment.

“Isn’t there any other help you can give me?”
“I cannot. Tell you. The location. Of the being who is opening the rifts. In a place beyond my influence.”
“I know.”

Even the World Tree doesn’t know the Lich’s location.

“However. A way. To strengthen. That power.”
“Power?”

The power of a god?

“West. What you call. The dwarves’ god. There is a fragment. There.”
“Oh!”
“Southwest. What you call. That great desert. There is a fragment. That has fallen. There are. Active. Fragments.”
“Oh, oh!”

Could this be!

“If you. Absorb those.”

Fragments of gods…!
It’s telling me the locations of those!
Means to strengthen my power!

“You will be able. To strengthen. Your power.”
“Ohhh!!!”

Damn it, this was the most welcome news I’d heard!!! A chance to strengthen this demigod-like power! Yeah! If I’m going to do something so big, you should at least give me this much of a clue!!!

How heroic!

“Small fragments. That descended. To the ground. And were destroyed. They have escaped. From the heavens. But they still have power. Recover those. And then. You will be able. To strengthen your power.”
“I understand!!!”

If I just do that…!

“Ah.”

But.

“I don’t know the locations.”
“Even I. Do not know. The details. But I will be able. To give you. Assistance.”

Good.

It’s going to help me with the locations.

“Now. There is no time.”
“What! No time!”

We’ve been talking for quite a while!
Let’s ask a few more important things before we go!

“This is just a guess.”

But the World Tree continued.

“That being. While opening. The dimensional rifts. Seems to be. Looking for something.”
“…”
“It may be.”

I listened to it for now.
The World Tree’s words are very important.

“A god, perhaps.”

A god.

“The Lich is looking for a god?”

Opening dimensional rifts while looking for a god?

“…”

The World Tree closed its eyes, adding that it was just a guess. Does that mean the time is up? If so, one last thing.

“World Tree, I’m really just curious about this.”
“…”
“The World Tree, including Verde, Izermaert, and Ezath floating in the sky over there.”

I’ve always been curious about this.

“What are they all? Why do they give power to humans, and why are they up there? And where did they come from?”

The Prince of the Titans.

That bastard said that humans used to be their slave race, and they built an empire. But they were cursed by the gods and went to ruin, eventually handing over hegemony to humans.

That’s what he said.

But I remember him saying something ominous about humans summoning gods from another dimension at that time. It was a very suspicious statement.

Very meaningful.

And what about the elves?
What is the history of the elves, who live longer than humans?

“What I can tell you. Is limited.”
“Ah.”
“But if you increase. That power.”

So, it’s that after all.

“You will find out.”

I see.

—Swish.

In an instant, my consciousness faded, and I was engulfed in a sensation of falling somewhere. The sky receded, and the forest scenery disappeared. I felt a sense of floating, like someone falling into an endless hole.

* * *

“Rehu?”

When I opened my eyes, I was inside the World Tree’s gap.

The scenery I saw before entering the mental world.
Now I have returned to the real world from there.

“I’ve returned.”

I quickly moved my body to quickly check if there were any abnormalities. Since this is the first time I’ve had such an experience, there may be some problems. After unfolding the Wilderness Blood Jade Palm, which requires simple combat movements and delicate control, I stretch and check the mana and power in my body to identify any abnormalities.

—Everything’s fine.

Nothing had changed.

It’s the same as when I came here.
There’s no problem with my body.

This trip to the world of the gods was nothing. As expected, such a place was nothing to this Heavenly Demon Hero Kim Kat. Ordinary people would not be able to accept reality and would go crazy if they went to such a space. However, I, with my great mental strength, properly took in everything in that place and witnessed the truth.

“…”

Anyway, I don’t know how much time has passed.

There’s no light coming in from anywhere, so I can’t gauge the time outside. The time I spent talking to the World Tree seemed to be less than an hour.

“From now on.”

I’ll be a little busy.

“Yeah.”

Even when I came to Elven Forest, I never dreamed that I would see such things. An audience with the World Tree. I didn’t even think it would be such a big deal.

I found out some amazing things.

It’s highly likely that I’m the only human who knows this.

Who else would know this?
And who else has witnessed the celestial space?

Even Cardia, who is revered as a saint, did not know what state the Verde God was in. The same would be true of the Pope. In other words, these are things that only I know right now.

“The gods are shattered, huh.”

Damn.

Can I even tell Cardia about this?

Honestly, I can tell all my women. There’s no reason not to share something like this, and there’s no way they wouldn’t be able to handle the truth.

But Cardia is a bit different, isn’t she?

Cardia is the saint of the Brass Celestial Angels.

To Cardia… of course, the Verde God is not dead. It’s in a state of being shattered along with the gods of the religions that humans believe in and floating in the celestial space, but even if they’re messed up, they’re not dead.

Verde is still giving divine power to the paladins right now.

They are clearly alive and exerting influence.

I don’t know why they’re trying to give power to humans even in that state.

Anyway, it’s not a very pleasant story that the god Cardia has believed in all her life is in that shape.

“Hmm.”