“…I can’t get in touch.”

The first prince of the Empire frowned as he muttered to himself.

He realized that he had been beautifully deceived by the Black Fangs all this time—those guys’ true identities and all the stuff about the Hero.

Despite having a mountain of information to relay to his father, he was unable to make contact.

It was all due to the peculiar nature of the Demon Realm.

This was continuously hindering communications.

The fact that he, who should be the center of the world, was almost outsmarted by some terrorists—if it hadn’t been for the corpse puppet, he might have been dead—was immensely frustrating.

Being aware of such critical facts and yet unable to convey them was driving the first prince mad.

When thinking logically, if communication from the Demon Realm was difficult, he could just take that Elf girl outside and send a message, right…?

“This seems to not allow any physical approach at all,” Karl reported.

A shadowy barrier surrounded the girl.

Even though she was lying there unconscious, they couldn’t get close.

But that didn’t mean they could just leave her there. Who knew when they might need to escape through that shadow passage or call in more allies? They needed to keep some personnel on duty.

Ultimately, they found themselves trapped in a strange situation—having captured a hostage, but they were the ones tied down.

It was incredibly infuriating, but…

The first prince took a deep breath to collect himself.

‘Regardless, capturing is capturing.’

He had also gathered valuable information; at this point, he had to consider his plan a success.

They were boasting that they could catch the monsters coming to the shrine without even pinpointing the guy’s location.

Well, the guy didn’t come to the shrine, so the plan failed, but trusting the Elf chief’s words one more time turned out to be a good choice.

Moreover, breaking through this barrier was merely a matter of time.

‘I’m glad I planned thoroughly.’

Although there was no way to communicate with the outside from the Demon Realm, he could have sent a message beforehand.

Right before departure, he had requested support.

Talents that would prove useful against the Black Fangs, who were likely to manipulate demons.

In the public eye, he was already referred to as the next Pope.

In other words, Cardinal Dominic.

He’d probably arrive within two days at the latest.

With his power, it would be a piece of cake to dissolve a demon’s barrier. So there was no reason to worry just because things weren’t going smoothly.

After all, it was just two days.

What could possibly happen in those two days?

*

In the office located in the Great Forest.

The sound of gritting teeth echoed in the quiet room.

The source of the noise was none other than the Elf chief.

‘How much more must that damn girl ruin my life before she’s satisfied?!’

When he first received contact from the first prince, he thought it was the golden opportunity he’d been wishing for.

The perfect chance to eliminate that cursed brat, who insulted their race merely by existing, all at once.

But of all things, that girl didn’t come to the shrine this year, as if mocking him.

Of course, the first prince, who had mobilized the army to capture her, was furious.

The chief found himself in a position where he could lose his head at any moment.

Separately from the shrine, the ritual he mentioned earlier was still going on, so he’d been trying to calm the first prince down by saying they’d know the location soon.

But now, he was in this pathetic one-armed situation.

The prince wasn’t satisfied even with that; he firmly warned that if the next piece of information also turned out wrong, he’d truly have his head.

Ultimately, he was no longer looking to progress his career; he was desperately trying to survive.

A failure of this level was unheard of.

But he couldn’t simply defy the first prince.

As he cursed that damned girl yet again, caressing what used to be his right arm, it happened.

With a loud bang, the door burst open.

Someone intruded the chief’s office without even knocking.

Such an absurd situation.

The chief was about to interrogate the Elf who barged in if they had lost their mind.

But before he could, a young Elf stumbled in, anxious.

“Emergency! An intruder… an intruder…”

The severe tone made the chief sweat coldly.

But his response was lukewarm.

“Is this a rookie? What’s with the fuss? No need to report something like that to me. I’ll handle it.”

Whether as alchemy ingredients or slaves, Elves are well-known for their high price tags. So, there are always hunters looking to strike it rich.

But the outcome for any human daring to invade the Great Forest was always predetermined.

Death.

An extremely brutal death.

That was the natural result.

With a lifespan incomparable to humans and their innate talents…

Taking into account the limitation of not being able to leave the World Tree’s vicinity, there was no stronger race than Elves.

The chief believed that by the time the loud one rushed in to report, it would be all over.

“The intruder has taken down twelve guardians alone and is approaching the World Tree!”

That was before he received that shocking news.

The chief turned pale and bolted out of the room.

*

I kept moving forward.

I knew what I had to do and how to achieve it, so there was no reason to hesitate.

“Hey, what are you doing? This area is off-limits! If you don’t stop, I’ll shoot you right now….”

I smashed through the barrier blocking my path.

“Quickly! Get the guardians!”

After all, if it gets wrecked, it can just be fixed. Even if it turns into a hunk of flesh, with my power, I can revert it anytime.

“What on earth do you plan to do to us?”

I had no need to explain myself.

“You lowly human bastard, how much more do you need to take before you’re satisfied?!”

There was no reason to show mercy to those who had touched what was mine and made me lose it.

And I had no desire to show any kindness.

“Monster….”

The final obstacle muttered that before collapsing.

Whether the first guardian or a genius who had stepped into the realm of the Archmage, those notions didn’t matter.

With divine power endlessly surging, I wouldn’t die.

Adding mana to a body that was already abnormal, not even the strongest weapon could harm me.

The stubborn black blade couldn’t even scratch me.

So, I wouldn’t be defeated.

I looked up at my goal, now right in front of me, smeared in blood.

The World Tree.

The tree also known as the source of life.

Its reputation wasn’t unfounded; its overwhelming size was just as impressive.

I stared at it for some time and then turned my head back.

I made eye contact with an old Elf missing an arm who had approached me cautiously for some reason.

He looked flustered for a moment… then opened his mouth.

“Stop! I’m saying this for your own good!”

The old Elf spoke in a serious tone. But there was no way I would stop for that.

I turned my head.

After all, even if he were to attack me, it wouldn’t work; I had no time to waste.

I drew a magic circle in the air.

Of course, I had never really learned magic. I had listened to a couple of hours of lectures from Siel.

No human could rise to the level of an Archmage with only a few hours of tutoring.

But that didn’t particularly matter.

The spell was inscribed in the air.

I gathered mana to distort reality and overlay my intentions… it sounds complicated.

But it was just a standard fireball spell.

What other spell could even be used with the first circle?

However, there was one special aspect of it…

“This… this is…!”

Overload.

Multicasting.

What is referred to as an absurdly self-destructive method.

In other words, I was constructing thousands of spells simultaneously.

Normally, even if one had enough mana, attempting such a feat would overload their brain and cancel the spells, but…

That didn’t apply to me.

If my head exploded, I’d just recover and then manifest the spells, right?

“Stop! Don’t you know what happens to those who recklessly touch the World Tree?!”

The old Elf shouted.

Indeed.

His words weren’t just bluffing. If the sinner who dared to burn the sacred tree received no punishment, wouldn’t that be stranger?

Regardless, I didn’t stop.

Hundreds, thousands of glimmers.

The red light engulfed the world.

With an ear-splitting bang, that massive tree began to lose its shape in an instant.

Upon seeing that, the old one-armed Elf collapsed to the ground in tears.

“Do you even know what you’ve done?! It’s not just us that are doomed! You’ve destroyed your own life too!”

The Elf yelled at me.

But I spoke calmly.

“So, what’s that to me?”

[The stature of the cursed nullifies the World Tree’s curse.]

[The devour buff is activated. All the characteristics of the defeated enemy, the World Tree, are absorbed.]

He wore a perplexed expression.

And understandably so.

I wasn’t screaming my head off while rotting away. He had undoubtedly noticed that I was neither losing vitality nor dying.

I told the Elf chief,

“It seems you’re still not quite understanding the situation…”

From now on, I would effectively become the World Tree.

Whether to save those fools or take their lives would all depend on my whim.

In other words…

“If I can’t save my girl, then you’re all dead.”