Chapter 613 – The Strongest (1)

At the heart of Pando.

The King of Trees sat on a bench in a park torn asunder, awaiting another version of himself.

– Creak. Groan.

The bark of trees, which had gnawed away at his body, burrowed into his flesh, festering.

His arms and legs were grotesquely misshapen, disproportionate to that of a human.
And a crown, split in two. His visage was indeed fit for the moniker of a demon.

「 I yearn for my child. 」

The King of Trees waited, staring at the shattered fountain for a seemingly endless time.

Even if it took longer, he believed that he would eventually arrive.
Today, two individuals in similar straits had to come to a resolution.

「 I’ll muster all my strength. 」

A king does not flee.
Facing an unavoidable battle, standing on the brink of a precipice, he had his back against the sheer cliff.

The pitiful bravery of a man who had rightfully earned his place as the most heinous slayer.

「 No matter what transpires…. 」

The King reflected on the countless lives he had extinguished on his journey to this point.

He fully grasped the extent of the atrocities he had committed.

I shattered the world for a single, insignificant life.
I crushed many people’s hopes, tore lovers apart, and caused the loss of families.

The King, in his quest to resurrect his family, had committed the same atrocities as the sages and the world tree beings.

“…I am aware.”

Living through countless eons, he tried to turn a blind eye to his profoundly shattered emotions.

He knew that it was wrong.

Yet,

“Even so.”

Even if it meant denying his own rationality, the King longed to hold Shiba in his arms one more time.

– Clang.

Today, time seemed to stretch on unusually long.
Loneliness and desolation overwhelmed him.

Having roamed across all dimensions, murdering his lover, all that remained at the end was the King, alone.

However, he was a monster, incapable of despair over his solitary predicament.
He had no choice but to confront the endless silence by standing firm.

“It’s so silent.”

Engaging in a struggle alone, with nowhere to turn. This, too, was his choice.

He had killed people.
He hadn’t corrected his skewed sense of justice.
He had betrayed love, pushed people away.

The solitary king, who had become a disaster for his deceased child, was here today—

– Thud.

—To face the judgment.

“Are you the first ones to arrive?”

A blond knight and a white-haired warrior had sought him out.

“Jung Si-woo. Sansuyu.”

The King continued his soliloquy.
Directed at the countless hunters who would hear his voice, his former lover, and another version of himself.

This time, he wouldn’t stop midway.
Therefore,

“Hate me, as much as you wish.”

The King’s voice began to crack, akin to the grating sound of a metal plate being scratched.

“…I’ve found it. The Demon of Trials.”

The words had barely left Jung Si-woo’s lips.

In a mere instant, he unsheathed his blade, infusing it with his magic.

“Si-woo!”

Abruptly, Jung Si-woo’s body was hurled harshly to the right. It was Sansuyu’s unexpected intervention.

“Ugh!?”

The moment Si-woo’s gaze swiveled toward Sansuyu, the grating sound of heavy armor being crushed filled his ears.

Piercing, jarring cacophony. Realization dawned, and Jung Si-woo’s head whipped around.

He witnessed a ‘branch,’ shot from the king’s bosom with blinding speed, impaling Sansuyu’s breastplate.

-Splatter!

Blood sprayed forth as twigs erupted from the punctured flesh. As Sansuyu’s armor morphed into a porcupine-like state, Jung Si-woo snapped back to reality, pulling up streams of magic from within.

-Grind!

Teeth gritted. White magical energy sparked along the surface of the greaves worn by Jung Si-woo. Si-woo maneuvered around the park’s central fountain, skillfully evading the branches.

‘Damn, the resemblance is uncanny.’

As if Lee Si-heon’s very flesh had been grafted onto him. Familiarity with his friend’s visage twisted Jung Si-woo’s brow in anger.

【Mistiltein】

He drew the sacred sword; it radiated a luminous light.

Jung Si-woo’s blade expanded, revealing its true form alongside Jinmyeong. The additional magic power exploded forth. For a moment, the entire park was cloaked in radiant light, accelerating all movements.

-Splatter! Splatter!

Five ‘branches’ erupted from the king’s bosom, pursuing Jung Si-woo.

A chase too swift for hunters or civilians to track with their eyes.

《Jin Soul Decapitation》

Jung Si-woo’s legs slid as if buried in the ground, rapidly penetrating the king’s bosom.

Jung Si-woo’s eyes, stained a golden hue, blazed with a radiant light.

《Seed of the White Swan》

He swept away all visible landscapes with a single swipe of his sword. A shockwave of sky-splitting magnitude bore down directly upon the king.

-Splatter.

From the crown of his head, to his forehead, down to his collarbone. The moment Jung Si-woo’s strike pierced the king’s thick armor, cleaving him in two.

Armor sprouted from the king’s skin, sealing the shattered region, absorbing Jung Si-woo’s blow in its entirety.

“…….”

【Armor of the Rusty Tree (Old Tjikko)】

The broken skin adhered together, withstanding the blow.

A pressure distinctly different from before. The king’s eyes, unified with the helmet, gleamed an eerie green.

-Gnash.

The ‘branches,’ terrified by the king, hid behind his back. A surge of various powers erupted from his body, latching onto him. Time flowed strangely, space distorted.

Lee Si-heon, the king who had never surrendered his sanity, stared directly at Jung Si-woo, his lips parting.

White steam erupted through the interstice of his protruding teeth.

“Ugh…”

Day and night were upended. Stars ascended and descended in an endless cycle across a sky blanketed by the celestial plane.

It was as if he were sequestered in an alternate reality. The oppressive force pounding against his body caused Jung Si-woo to forget the very act of breathing.

‘It’s immobile.’

What trickery has been used?

-Kwaaak!

The king’s hand ensnared Jung Si-woo’s neck, hoisting him up. As he prepared to snap the spine without a shred of mercy, Si-woo could not even anticipate the moment his warrior’s power would ignite.

Was it gray? Black? Faint hues swirled within his vision. The crown, bestowed upon the king, resonated with a crimson vibration.

“Uh, kuk!”

It wasn’t that he lacked the strength to resist. If he could just muster his power, even bit by bit, he could withstand the force.

But for some unknown reason, Jung Si-woo was unable to call upon the power of the World Tree.

-Tadak!

In that moment, a blonde woman charged forth, her sword at the ready. The perforated armor of the female knight was sufficient to disrupt both the king and Jung Si-woo.

The instant Jung Si-woo was released from the king’s grip, the explosive power of Cornus surged forth, propelling the king backward.

Bang!!

Her sword grazed the king’s cheek. The king’s fist sought to strike Cornus’ form, but failed.

The luminous yellow energy of the protective charm coiled around Cornus’ ankles. She advanced in swift succession, thrusting her sword into the king’s helmet.

Pat-pat-pat.

Pushed back, and in turn pushing forward. As if subduing the king’s subsequent resistance, Cornus’ swift sword pressured him.

“Cornus, you…”
“Potion!”

Was that a call to heal? Inserting the potion he held into his mouth, Jung Si-woo took a deep breath, shaking off the curse afflicting him.

How Cornus managed to survive was a mystery. Even from the king’s vantage point, it was somewhat startling.

He should have destroyed the heart…. Immortality, it seemed, was a power unattained in any world line.

-Kwajik!

Finally overpowering the king, the tip of Cornus’ sword penetrated the gap in the king’s armor.

In turn, the king’s gargantuan arm, now horn-like, impaled Cornus’ ribs.

Thus began the contest of power.

-Kwaaaaaang!!!

Their individual energies clashed, each striving to claim dominance.

The vibrant yellow and inky black energies absorbed through their respective arms and blades. Cornus’ sclera darkened to black.

Drrrr. Cornus’ sword, clutched in her hand, began to vibrate. The king’s wrist, which was siphoning off Cornus’ energy, gradually decayed.

【 Liberation 】

In that moment, the knight’s armor once again enveloped Cornus’ body. A radiant yellow lake expanded around her, giving rise to a forest of Cornelian cherry trees.

The Knight of the Lake. Her title manifested.

‘Has she… transcended?’

The power to absorb magic was substantial.

He pilfered without end in sight, claiming it as his own.

Judging Cornus’s power, the king released his magic, pushing Cornus’s body away.

-Boom!

“What?!”

Still, Cornus had absorbed enough of the king’s mana. Shortly after, she had taken his magic as her own. She drew a deep breath, releasing an unending aura.

-Flash!

But,

The king extended his hand. The resulting gravity weighed down on Cornus’s body.

“…!”

The ground caved in, the lake quivered. The water that covered the king’s ankles was pushed outward, soon leaving a hole at the lake’s center.

-Thud.

All the injuries on the king’s body vanished. The enormous mana was diminished by merely a few handfuls.

【Gasp!】

Above the sky. The ‘branches’ that fell from the colossal Pando lodged into the king’s body, and the king began absorbing parts of the Pando.

His shattered armor pieced itself back together. The king, donning his helmet, raised his head and exhaled steam once more.

In the face of despair. One must not lose hope. Jung Si-woo mustered his strength, steadying his heart.

Cornus’s power, which was unbearably bothersome, showed no signs of stopping.

-Thump, thump!

An increasing number of national trees. Punitive forces and Knights.

“Warrior Jung Siwoo!”

A priest cried out until his throat felt raw. All kinds of support poured in. Simultaneously, a woman flying through the sky swung her sword at the king.

-Boom!!!

A shock one can’t easily overcome!

She’s an avatar. The king’s brows narrowed.

“I came to subdue you.”

Angelica, the representative of the World Tree of Justice. The Knights Templar, who inherited the divine power, simultaneously ambushed the king.

They pounded the king’s body like a crashing wave, showing no signs of retreat.

Several correcting spells aided them, and a large number of punitive forces pushed him so much that the king was out of Cornus’s sight.

“Angelica.”

Then, the king’s mouth opened.

“You’re living well here, too.”

“What?”

Angelica’s brows furrowed at the ominous and creepy voice.

The king, recalling something, smirked at her.

“Trust yourself that you made the right choice again.”

“…”

-Flicker!

Flames from Angelica’s arms struck the king’s body. However, the act did not consume the king’s life.

-Boom!

Once again, as the king stepped forward, the knights were dispersed by the shockwave.

A force of unknown origin.

An intangible power pulled at Angelica, and her slender neck ended up in the king’s grasp.

Angelica was lifted into the air and slammed back to the ground.

-Thump!

“Eh?! Kahaak!”
“Delegate!!”
“You cur!”

The king’s visage shifts again.

– Thud, thud!

Blood seeps from his hand, pressing down on Angelica.
Blood oozes from the shattered earth. The king’s radiating power is throttling their output.

The king lifts his head.

The bark of a gigantic tree clings to his body, toppling over, and the amassed magical energy converges at one point.

His skin morphs to black. The armor draped over his body is also cloaked in obsidian. An empty echo trails the transformation.

As the entity beyond comprehension lowers his hand, the hunters and knights’ commanders succumb to the gravity that emerged, dropping their weapons and kneeling.

– Thump thump thump thump thump!

A colossal earthquake fractures the earth into multiple splits.

How many could assail him and even manage a scratch?
Only a handful, including Cornus, Angelica, and Jung Si-woo, manage to maintain their sanity and glare back at him.

【 El Árbol del Tule 】 ‘The thickest tree in the world.’

Those who faced this entity were left speechless, their swords clattering to the ground.

“Eh, ughaaagh!”

The charging knight commander buckles under the pressure. The massive vibrations from the surging magical energy drown out all sound.

Perhaps someone is screaming.
Perhaps someone else is bracing for their end?

The spectacle before them instills a sense of powerlessness in the countless national trees.

The might of one who has ascended the throne alone.
An entity, defying comprehension, gazes at a point on the horizon, expressionless.

“……”

The surrounding odds and ends seem disinterested.
The king, who had been staring into the void, opens and then closes his mouth, dropping blackened saliva.

– Boom!

It was then that the demonic energy spiraling to the sky tore through the landscape, crashing down on the king like a bolt of lightning.