Chapter 612 – The Forgotten Tree

“Suyeon! You’re going too fast!” Shiba panted.
“Well, we need to move quickly. Are you suggesting we slow down? That would put you in danger.”
“But… the creatures we’re encountering are getting stronger. We might exhaust ourselves too soon.”

As they prepared for their imminent confrontation with the king, Soo-yeon, from Korea, and Saku, from Japan, were urgently journeying to rescue Shiba, using a location tracker to aid their mission.

“Do you see these coordinates? They’re moving faster with each moment. What do you think this indicates?”
“I’m not sure… Please explain, Suyeon.”
“It signifies a battle. Shiba must be in combat amidst these damned ruins, locked in conflict with those creatures.”

In reality, Shiba’s combat prowess was quite impressive. She was capable of adeptly handling a portion of the Ddeokip team’s missions single-handedly. However, the catastrophe that had unfolded since the day began was of a magnitude that couldn’t be handled with middling abilities. Shiba had ventured not to the front lines where the supply caravan was, but to the very epicenter of the calamity. It was essentially a suicidal endeavor, an act of self-endangerment.

It was only a matter of time before the situation turned disastrous. Saku, reminiscing about Shiba’s vulnerable state, trembled.

“No… this can’t be happening!”
“Have you regained your senses?”
“Shiba! Hang on! I’m coming to save you!”

With magical energy cloaking her, Saku, exhibiting even the tail of the nine-tailed fox, dashed forward.

“Hey! Saku! Conserve your magic as much as you can!”
“But that’s not important now! Suyeon, what’s more important to you, Shiba or the mission?”

It was unjust to ask such a question. From the era of Mugung, it had been their family’s tradition to give one’s best regardless of personal or public matters.

In their current mission to vanquish the devil of tribulation, every ounce of magic and every potion was precious. Soo-yeon sighed, sheathing her bloodied sword.

A thud echoed.

Suddenly, a wave of unknown magical energy surged from Shiba’s direction.

A low, resonant hum filled the air.

“Uh?!”
“Ugh!”

Almost simultaneously, both Soo-yeon and Saku recoiled, clutching their arms.

“Suyeon, what is this…?”
“I’m not sure, but… I have a bad feeling about this.”

They lifted their heads, staring into the heavens.

Beneath the Pando, the king’s grand display of power, a massive magical field was glowing in myriad hues, pushing against the surrounding air.

The low hum resounded again.

Along with it, an explosion of magic power. The sky was filled with an aurora of magical energy flowing like a river. The residue of the ruptured magical field was as sharp as a blade.

The temperature plummeted, becoming as cold as a glacier. Under this pressure, far different from that of the king’s, both Saku and Soo-yeon hardened their expressions.

“Is that Shiba’s direction, Suyeon?”
“It seems so.”

After a moment of silence, they sprang into action.

The instant they recognized the danger, Saku and Soo-yeon charged with their magic towards the source of the disturbance.

When Shiba’s crisis struck, they rushed in without a second thought.

The pressure of magic, so formidable that it blurred the immediate view, only intensified towards its epicenter.

‘Not a demon… A magical essence entirely distinct from the usual targets of subjugation… Who could it be?’

Soo-yeon ventured forward, thoughts spiraling within her. Apprehension of a new calamity emerging, a fervent hope that nothing untoward had happened to Shiba.

Yet,

The sight that greeted them was of Shiba, but in a form entirely unrecognizable.

– Flash!!!

The epicenter of the magical field, the ground gouged out as if struck by a meteorite.

A girl was hovering over the semi-spherical, molten earth. She was garbed in a hood reminiscent of a tree. Her hair, the color of tender green leaves, fluttered about. Her eyes, a striking blue, sparkled, and her ears were unusually elongated where a human’s would be.

An Elf.

The transformation didn’t stop there. Her eyes, a deep blue sphere where the white and black could not be distinguished, were slightly off, as if marked by a white line, a peculiar trait for a living being.

“…Shiba-chan?”

Saku’s query echoed in surprise, but Shiba offered no response.

– Whoosh!

Shiba’s hood was wildly thrashing in the harsh wind. Numerous trees lunged at her but none could reach her, the wind proving too formidable.

The girl extended her delicate, porcelain-white hand towards the sky.

– Swoosh, Whiz!

Suddenly, Shiba’s sword, previously embedded in the ground, sprung up into the sky.

The blade shattered, and something of a bright yellow hue began to swell within the sword.

A colossal magical force converged, forming a sword. A massive blade, easily exceeding five meters. Compared to the girl’s stature, it was easily four times her size. The girl held the sword, which should have weighed hundreds of tons, with remarkable ease.

And then, in a flash-

– Swish!

With the horizon sheared away, all the trees that had previously stood there vanished.

No creature could maintain its stance against the outpour of magical power from the pristine, great sword.

Whether you considered its sanctity or its might, it bore an angelic resemblance. Kim Soo-yeon recalled a holy entity akin to this from some ancient tales.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

If the World Tree’s greatest fear was the resurgence of King Mokryeong, then the individual the king would fear the most had to be this girl.

– Flash!!

Her existence, now forgotten in modern times, her flower name, true name, and honorific all lost to time.

There were tales of her wielding an extraordinarily large sword after she lost everything and was cast down by the king.

One wonders why the king aimed to erase all records of her.

She was the one who had claimed countless victories against the King.

His lieutenants had met their end in defeat to her. The myriad catastrophes that the King birthed were forced to bow before her. Even the eldest sages and the ancient World Trees were constantly wary of her.

-Ugh!

Now, with all records of her erased, other tales about her are passed on as nothing more than numerous conjectures and narratives. It was impossible to discern the truth.

“Do you wish to know? I’m privy to a few tales.”

Mugung passed on several tales to his granddaughter, Soo-yeon. A few of these stories flickered in her mind.

First, that she, shaped like a tree-person, harbored a deep hatred for humans. Second, that she oddly didn’t hide the ‘branches’ sprouting atop her head. Third, that her beauty surpassed any World Tree or tree-person.

The final point, although secondary, was most crucial: had it not been for that World Tree, our society today would have been transformed beyond recognition.

“She was the only one who kept pushing him to the brink.”
“Have you ever seen her, grandfather?”
“Oh, I regret to say, my dear grandchild… I don’t recall… But one thing is for certain… even the King couldn’t conquer her.”

If asked about the reach of King Mokryeong’s influence, one could confidently say it was nearly absolute. After all, even among the existing Five Great World Trees, quite a few had suffered at the hands of the King.

Yet, even such a King could not conquer her, they say.

After driving each other to the brink of death, exhausting their powers to the limit, she swallowed half of the royal crown and plunged into another dimension, leaving only her corpse behind.

“Ah, I see!”

Soo-yeon was fond of the story. The image of her upholding her sense of justice and pushing the King to his limits was awe-inspiring.

She spent countless sleepless nights dreaming of it.

A Valkyrie, swinging her gigantic sword with grace. A symbol of strength, resisting the numerous lieutenants of the King in her youthful form!

“……”

And Soo-yeon could sense a semblance of the entity she dreamed of in Shiba. She didn’t know why, it was just a thought that crossed her mind suddenly.

-Crack!

A wave of sound ripped through the air as Shiba’s sword danced, obliterating the minions of evil with its terrifying power.

-Bang! Crash!

“Shi, Shiba-chan!”

Halfway through, Saku attempted to approach Shiba to stop her, but the curtain of events unfolding kept her at bay.

The only divergence from the tale was that from Shiba’s other arm, black magic was bursting forth. Shiba, however, lovingly harbored this power without using it.

-Screech!

Overwhelming, even without utilization.

As the ‘branches’ and the monsters were finally vanquished, nothing was left in the surroundings.

“……”

Shiba’s body began its gradual descent, her eyelids fluttering closed and then open.

Once more possessing human eyes, Shiba collapsed in place, her entire body seemingly drained of strength. Soo-yeon, having gathered her wits, approached Shiba, Saku at her side.

“Shiba!”
“Are you okay, Shiba-chan?”

Lifting Shiba’s fallen, limp body was surprisingly light. Her wooden hood seemed to have shrunk as well. Something was amiss.

Saku and Soo-yeon took hold of Shiba’s arm. At that moment, Shiba’s head jutted out and slanted from within the hood. Her arms appeared thin, her weight childlike. Even the branch situated atop Shiba’s head seemed to have diminished somewhat.

“…Beep.”

The figure that had fallen was not the adult Shiba, but a five-year-old girl.

“Eh.”

Startled, Saku stared, and Soo-yeon was thrown for a loop. What in the world was happening?

The youthful Shiba, her hands caked with dirt, rubbed her eyes and cried, dirt finding its way into her eyes.

“Beep! Waaaaah!”
“Sh-Shiba-chan?! What should we do, Soo-yeon? Shiba-chan has turned into an incredibly cute little girl!”
“I… I don’t know. What should we do?”
“Papa… Mama!”

Little Shiba. She clung to Saku’s chest, calling out for her parents boisterously. Was there something strange about her pink hair? She buried her face into Saku’s ample bosom and wailed.

“Beep, beep. Waaaaah….”
“Wh-wh-wh-what! Sh-Shiba-chan!”

Instinctive motherly instincts awakened, Saku hugged Shiba tight. It seemed a small smile had taken up residence on Saku’s lips. Soo-yeon, calming her startled heart, evaluated Shiba’s predicament.

“Was it the use of that power that triggered this?”
“If you’re referring to the power… You mean what happened just now?”
“Yes. I believe Shiba may have a secret we’re not aware of.”

A reasonable conjecture. Perhaps the burden of using that power had reverted her to her original age. Shiba had shared that she’d grown unexpectedly from an early age due to consuming nutrient-rich fertilizers.

Maybe, regardless of her actual age, she didn’t realize that using her power would result in such a transformation.

“Waaaaah….”
“There, there, there, there! Shiba-chan, you’re so cute, so cute! Peek-a-boo!”

Saku’s hand gave Shiba a hearty pat. Saku’s excited breath hissed from her nose.

‘What should I do about this?’

First, I need to pull out the walkie-talkie and report the situation. Soo-yeon rummaged for the walkie-talkie, and when she finally found it, she could only furrow her brows.

“…It’s broken.”

And it wasn’t just the walkie-talkie. Despite being designed to resist interference from magical artifacts, all communication devices were shattered. Even the spatial artifacts kept for emergencies were broken.

In the aftermath, two options traversed Soo-yeon’s mind.

First, return to the front lines, entrust Shiba to the stars, then rejoin the demon subjugation effort. However, this could result in different arrival times compared to other national trees.

In a calamity where even the minutest exertion could pivot the outcome, the world’s annihilation could hinge upon a mere few minutes of delay.

“But we simply cannot take Shiba along.”

Saku responded to Soo-yeon’s expressed concerns. Indeed. No matter the circumstances, bringing Shiba was out of the question. Shiba, already in a weakened state, reduced to but a child.

“…There’s one method, but it involves calling upon the spirits.”
“Do any of your spirits have the ability to dismiss a monster or a ‘branch’ with ease?”
“…”

Saku fell silent. Summoning the spirits was far too risky. It was a moment of heightened tension, as both women grappled with the gravity of the situation.

“Beep. Beep?”

Shiba, who had been weeping, abruptly turned towards a certain direction, extending her tiny hand, no bigger than a jingle bell, pointing at something.

“…Daddy… Uncle.”
“Huh? What did you say, Shiba-chan?”
“Papa…! Papa!!”

Had she just said ‘papa’?

“I’m sure I heard correctly, but her father can’t possibly be there. That’s the demon of trials…”
“…”

Saku’s words trailed off. Surely not. It couldn’t be.

Soo-yeon and Saku exchanged glances, then pondered their next move.

“…Let’s bring her.”
“Soo-yeon!”

It was a perilous endeavor, no doubt, but something in Shiba’s response had sparked a glimmer of hope. Shiba might be able to bring about sufficient change on the battlefield.

Every second was of the essence. Soo-yeon, having reached this conclusion, persuaded Saku.