Chapter 327 – The Collapse of the Cradle (12)

“What? My brother?”

[Yes. It seems like we need to hurry.]

Upon hearing Lucy’s urgent chirping, Tae-yang tilted his head in confusion.

“That can’t be.”

[…It’s my fault.]

“Tell me everything. Be as detailed as possible.”

[Well, I’m not quite sure. The two trees my master confronted… They possess a kind of power that’s difficult to comprehend… ]

Tae-yang hastily left the room and began running alongside Lucy. Traces of a desperate struggle were evident throughout the corridor.

“Even with you by his side, he was defeated? You’re a high-ranking spirit.”

[It was an environment where magic couldn’t be used. Although I could use it, it would have been too wasteful in that situation. I followed my master’s orders.]

“It must be some sort of ability. Ugh, be more careful next time.”

Tae-yang’s face, filled with a mix of frustration and regret, showed only concern for his brother.

“I believe they’ve prepared it deliberately.”

As Tae-yang’s body drew nearer to the arena, the golden barrier in the distance gradually faded. Two presences could be felt up ahead.

Two individuals approached him, their movements resembling the swaying of trees.

One had bloodied yellow hair, while the other sported an ill-favored, unkempt brown mane.

“What are you two up to?”
“…Just our luck.”

Bell clicked her tongue as soon as she saw Tae-yang. Although she was drenched from the high-quality potion that had been poured all over her body, she had regained consciousness.

[It’s these two.]

“Aha, so you’re the ones who did this?”
“…”

A.B, propping up Bell, slyly raised the corner of his mouth. Tae-yang’s brow furrowed.

“I should be the one laughing, so why are you smirking?”
“No, it’s just that the situation fits so perfectly. I can’t help but be dumbfounded.”

“So even if they’re a mess, I shouldn’t be a mess. Look at them talking back. The bastards who will flee if they get hit by me.”

Faded chunks of magical stones are visible on A.B’s worn-out clothes. A heap of empty magical stones, already drained of all their power, is inside the vest. Taking the pockets into account, it’s quite a lot.

Naturally, the amount of magical stones in Tae-yang’s body was similar. No, in Tae-yang’s case, he must have been hit quite harshly for a national tree, so all the magical stones in his body were shattered, leaving only a few fragments behind.

Tae-yang murmured as he looked at A.B.

“Are you going to fight? I could recover a bit and then do it.”
“No.”

A.B frowned in denial.

“That guy is dangerous. Except for King Mokryeong… he’s probably the most dangerous. I can’t handle him without preparation.”

Look at this guy. A smile forms on the corner of Tae-yang’s mouth as he takes off his outerwear.

“Ah, so you’re going to control it.”

Lucy looks at Tae-yang with a puzzled face.

“Where has this bastard been living? It’s odd. Seems like all the info has been wiped clean.”
“……”
“Ah, damn. Is it Gu-seul, that girl? No, it’s not. Even she wouldn’t know.”

Tae-yang’s eyes turn stark white.
The whites of his eyes switch to black, and one of his pupils fades to an ashen white, as though blinded.

A mocking voice bursts out with a sneer.

“I don’t know about the yellow one, but if we don’t kill this slut here, we’ll be screwed someday. Hey.”
“…A slut? You’re insane.”
“Oh, well. Big brother will have to put in some effort to clean up after you.”

A person who would do anything for their own purposes.
Yet, they’re cunning and calculating in their actions.

Tae-yang has rarely seen this kind of behavior from Gan-woong.
He’s not sure if this guy and the one he knew are the same person.
One thing is certain: this person named A.B has been lurking behind Flower for a very long time.

“What?”
“…?”
“Still, I don’t think big brother will lose.”

[Really?]

Lucy is the first to respond.

“Even without any special powers, I’m quite adept at making predictions. These types of people, in reality, aren’t all that remarkable. When their carefully laid plans crumble, they fall apart within moments.”

Tae-yang moves his body forward.

“…Huh. I think I’ll search first before that. Anyway, that’s the feeling.”
[What kind of feeling is that?]
“I don’t know. It’s always been like that.”

Just as Tae-yang’s body is about to twist unnaturally.

-Whoo!

The flames fired from right beside him engulf his body.
Puck. An explosion that bursts with a sound.
Tae-yang frowns as he sweeps away the dust and smoke with a swing of his arm.

“I knew this would happen.”

A.B vanishes.

Instead, as if to welcome Tae-yang, two or three figures presumed to be national trees approach from a distance.

“Each national tree has its own worth, but I don’t even want to bother with riffraff like them. If I had wanted to pick and eat them, I would’ve done so earlier.”

[…Ancient? Are you truly serious?]
“Is it real or a lie?”
[Er, I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about.]

Taeyang murmured while enveloping his body with the power of trees.

“To become a king, you must endure that much. Come on. Let’s hurry and rescue your brother. Arriving late might result in a beating.”

Why are the king’s servants called servants?
As his body emitted a grotesque sound, he began to reveal himself. The national trees arriving at that spot suddenly froze and stiffened in astonishment.

* * * * * * * *

– Thud.

Stone dust falls beside his head.

This was due to being crushed under countless heaps of stones, their weight impossible to estimate. What’s more, the barrier, once deployed, seemed to last for quite a while, making it difficult to use magic.

“…Hoo.”

He took a breath and adjusted his strength.

His physical condition was fine, except for the difficulty in moving—enough to engage in the previous battle once more.

‘I was determined to crush your skull if you came in again. No, more than that, what kind of powers do you even possess?’

A.B.

He had a rough understanding of the powers held by the members of their group, having conducted some research in Eden.

Even abilities like Saku’s and Soo-yeon’s, which were not public knowledge, were recorded in Eden, albeit abstractly. Among the powers he was aware of, there were none that posed a threat to him.

Eden’s intelligence—A.B.’s abilities had even eluded the eyes of the sage.

‘I thought it was a power of temptation. Judging by the lack of records, it might be an unseen power. Or there could have been two powers from the start.’

Brainwashing and reflexive abilities. It was possible that all opponents who had witnessed these powers had died, and their records were subsequently destroyed.

“Ugh.”

But the problem wasn’t that. The real question was: how could he escape from here?

From the outset, it seemed that A.B and Bell intended to momentarily isolate Marronnier and me from the front lines.

*Thud.*

Blood from my forehead trickled down, landing on Marronnier’s cheek.

“…Why?”

It was too dark to discern Marronnier’s expression. However, thanks to the faint light that slipped through the gaps in the stones, illuminating her blue eyes, I could gaze upon her blurred pupils.

My bloodstained face reflected in her eyes.

Although using my powers caused the wounds to vanish, the spilled blood would not return to where it belonged.

“Why did you save me… Why?… It hurts, why… *sob*.”

I bore the full brunt of the stones.

Had it been Marronnier instead of me, she would have surely perished. There was no other way.

“*Gasp*, *choke*… *sob*.”

Marronnier’s body trembled violently. Her tightly shut eyes, weary from sorrow, continued to shed tears.

‘Her spirit is shattered.’

It was the most heart-wrenching display of tears Marronnier had ever shown.

As she tried to hold back her sobs,
her throat tightened, causing hiccups.
The attempt to suppress her cries only made the situation feel more unjust, uncomfortable, and sorrowful.

“Heugh… Aaaaahhhh…”

The tears that finally erupted after enduring so much were like those of a child.

Since the Forest Guardian selection began, she had been toyed with by a man, brainwashed.
Barely managing to regain her senses while on the brink of succumbing to the brainwashing,

anguish and confusion.

Ultimately, I couldn’t even begin to fathom the depth of her emotions, as she was betrayed even by the friend she had trusted.
And my hands, already bearing the weight of something far too heavy to console anyone.

“It’s okay.”

All I could do was repeat the words I desperately wanted to say.

“It’s okay.”

I felt her ragged breaths.

It was hot and rough, yet remarkably rhythmic. Every so often, my breath would catch. Struggling to regain composure, a sigh tinged with loneliness escaped.

The sobbing persisted for quite some time.

* * * * * *

– Kwaddeuk.

We were only able to venture outside once Tae-yang, who had arrived belatedly after receiving Lucy’s call, cleared away all the debris from the building.

“Big brother.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Did you have a good time?”

Tae-yang inquired with a sly grin. I merely glared at him in response. It wasn’t as if my own appearance was any better. He too seemed a bit disheveled.

“Why do your clothes look like that?”
“We had a little fight. I’m going to rest now.”

It seemed he had encountered someone while on his way here.

Tae-yang laughed awkwardly, his face still flushed with the excitement of the battle.

“Those two guys. They were quite a mess.”
“Really?”
“I couldn’t catch them. Don’t hit me, though. How could I possibly capture them?”

Tae-yang playfully tapped my shoulder. It might be amusing, but the current situation was far from it.

“…”

Marronnier, with red ears, couldn’t bear to look in my direction.

“Brother. Brother.”

Sneaking closer, Tae-yang whispered in my ear.

“Did you lose control and go hunting? Wow! Our king is so… Ugh!”

As I knocked Tae-yang’s nose with the back of my hand, he fell back weakly. It was an overreaction, but he must be tired as well.

“Blanche.”
“…Uh, yeah.”
“Can you still do it?”

I was asking about her mental state. In terms of magical power and physical condition, Blanche was in much better shape than Tae-yang or me.

For a long time, Blanche didn’t answer.

Blanche swept away the tear tracks on her face with an arm coated in lime powder, attempting a smile despite her eyes seeming slightly sore. She spoke to me.

“I will.”

“Alright.”

I responded briefly.

The situation was still urgent.

“Give me a brief update on the front-line situation.”

“Except for one area, we’re dominating the rest. Civilian rescue will be completed within 30 minutes.”

“What about that one area?”

“Near the hotel entrance… it’s where Saku and Soo-yeon are. It seems Plum might be involved as well.”

I had been trapped under a pile of rubble for about 20 minutes. I couldn’t fathom what they had attempted with the front lines during that time.

However, Soo-yeon and Saku were notable figures among the national trees.

“Prajna, Belle, A.B., Plum, Gu-seul.”

“Why them?”

“They are currently the most troublesome among the traitors.”

The abilities of the other national trees were faint, and the blood of the World Tree within them was not particularly concentrated. Their pure power wasn’t particularly strong either.

“I see.”

On the other hand, for us, there’s Saku, Soo-yeon, Cornus, Baobab, and Marronnier. Tae-yang and Aori are comparable as well.

“If there’s a variable, it’s that other national trees might be hiding something, like A.B.”

The number of retreats from the battlefield is the same. We also have more captured talents.

Although rumors say some legions of dungeon monsters and flowers are gathering, we too are receiving support from other national trees and trainees.

There’s only one thing that catches my eye.

“Plum.”

At the very least, I had considered someone who could block Plum’s presence within expected parameters. I also instructed that person not to reveal themselves until Plum appeared.

“Will you merge with them?”
“No.”

There is still one undiscovered individual. The variable of the shaman Prajna is not far behind A.B.

“Hmpf.”

I inhale and check the amount of magical power within me. It’s not just sufficient; it’s overflowing.

‘Strange, as expected.’

Healing power.

The impact of the wind radiation was so forceful that it required several days of treatment.

Perhaps healing Sansuyu unintentionally turned into an extreme grind for experience points. After ten minutes, everything was fine again.

I turned my head and spoke to Blanche.

“Marronnier.”
“…Uh, what?!”
“Get on my back.”

Prajna’s presence had not yet been revealed. However, unlike A.B., I had some knowledge of Prajna’s powers and abilities.

The depth of knowledge in Eden was profound. Marronnier was just the right choice to neutralize Prajna.

“Uh, on your back?”
“Quickly.”

Blanche hesitated for a moment, but then quickly made up her mind. She placed her staff under her arm and wrapped her legs around my waist.

“Hold on tight.”

We were planning to swiftly survey the area around the hotel.

“What about me?” A.B. asked.
“You walk slowly.”
“…Great.”

One step, two steps.

I took a forceful step towards the ground and ascended upwards. A fierce surge of magical energy enveloped my entire body, lifting me high into the sky.

– Whoooooooosh!

The wind blew around me. My view expanded, allowing me to clearly see the situation below.

I hadn’t reached the hotel yet, but it wouldn’t be long before I arrived.

Marronnier clung to my shoulders, gripping them tightly and mustering all her strength to hold on. I could feel her small, sweat-soaked palm pressing against me.

We soared through the wind.

A pleasant northern breeze caused Marronnier’s ribbon to come undone, her long hair billowing in the air above us.