After our informal meeting at the café, Auxilion and I each returned to our labs to contemplate a way to grow the World Tree.

According to Auxilion, the World Tree grows by absorbing other trees. The stronger the life force of the absorbed tree, the larger and faster the World Tree would grow.

Hence, she had selected the ancient tree as the World Tree’s sacrifice—the largest tree in the world. Normally, one would never dare attempt such a thing, but N City was in no position to care about the fate of its landmark right now.

‘So, the bigger the sacrifice, the better…’

Upon hearing that, I immediately discarded all the herbicides, fungi, and bacteria I’d been developing to consume the tree. There was no point in sabotaging the ancient tree that would serve as the World Tree’s sacrifice. In fact, I needed to do the opposite.

I needed to help the ancient tree grow. How? The answer was simple. My lab was stocked with the fertilizer I’d developed to restore Z City, which had already turned into a desert.

‘I didn’t expect to use it like this…’

I paused briefly, watching the raging ancient tree of N City on TV. Focusing only on making the ancient tree a feast for the World Tree, I’d almost overlooked something critical.

Why was the ancient tree going berserk in the first place? Wasn’t it because Flower was hiding within it, manipulating it to rampage?

Even if we succeeded in planting the World Tree, it would be like delivering it right into Flower’s mouth. In other words, before establishing the World Tree, I’d need to take care of Flower somehow…

“She really is a nuisance until the very end.”

It was a real headache. I needed to think of a way to neutralize Flower without harming the ancient tree that would become the sacrifice.

That, and dealing with a superhuman whose powers rendered modern weapons useless.

I sank into the sofa, deep in thought. No good solution came to mind, but I couldn’t just give up.

Who would pass up a chance to witness the growth of a World Tree, something from a fantasy world born not of science but pure magic?

Vroooom—!

A massive transport helicopter thundered through the sky. Heroes and firefighters, struggling to cut or burn the tree’s roots, looked up at it.

The back of the helicopter opened, releasing a cascade of white powder like artificial snow falling from the sky.

Unlike the herbicides used so far, the roots that came into contact with this powder stopped moving, their attention entirely focused on the falling substance. Observers sighed in relief.

“Finally, a breather…” “They said E City made it? It actually stops the tree from moving?” “The herbicide from our city just turned black on contact.”

As people marveled at E City’s technology, the powder gently blanketed the ancient tree. Remarkably, the ancient tree stopped its movement entirely.

Yet everyone knew this reprieve wouldn’t last long. People quickly moved to cut the roots, clear pathways, and rescue civilians trapped under fallen buildings.

Amid these acts of heroism, several heroes and police officers huddled together, realizing that now was their chance.

“We must send heroes in to infiltrate now.” “But do we even know where the perpetrator is?” “The Association pulled some strings. We pinpointed the perpetrator’s location using a prophet, a future-seer, a diviner, and even some celestial readers… We can do this.”

With that, a few heroes began tunneling toward the ancient tree’s trunk. A superhuman with a blade aura that could slice through anything led the charge, cutting through the ancient tree’s steel-like trunk.

A hero with a minor power of “never losing their way” guided them to the target location provided by the Association, and another with the ability to numb pain kept their fear and discomfort at bay.

Thud…!

“Damn it, already!?” “Crap! Run! If we get trapped here, we’re dead!” “I’m doing my best!”

Just before the heroes could reach their destination, the ancient tree, which had been briefly halted by the powder, sensed the intruders and began reacting.

With an overflow of nutrients, the tree healed the cuts made by the heroes, tightening around them. Alarmed, the heroes sped up, frantically pushing forward.

Thankfully, they soon reached their target: a pitch-black cavern, untouched by any light. It seemed even the ancient tree wouldn’t encroach here, as it had ceased pressing in on them.

“—Found her!” “Don’t move, Flower!”

The heroes, spotting Flower huddled with her arms around her knees in the darkness, raised their weapons and approached the mastermind of this chaos—the S-Class villain.

Faced with the hostile stares of the heroes, Flower merely lifted her head and glared at the flashlights.

“…Could you turn off the light?” “Don’t move—!” “…It’s coming.”

In the next moment, the flashlights, modern technology incarnate, crumbled into dust. Surprised, the heroes scrambled to create new light sources using their superpowers.

A hero who could control light noticed that everyone except Flower and himself had vanished.

“What the…?” “I told you—turn it off!”

Another booming voice echoed, and light disappeared once more. The cavern, once filled with the sound of footsteps, was plunged back into silence and darkness.

Finding peace again, Flower buried her head between her knees and closed her eyes. Ah, it was coming. That horrifying thing…

The ancient tree grew day by day. Just a short while ago, it wasn’t this massive, yet people began to fear the strength of Flower’s powers as they saw how much the tree had grown with her inside it.

But, of course, Flower wasn’t the reason for the ancient tree’s growth. It was all because of the fertilizer I’d provided.

‘It’s about time to harvest, isn’t it?’

Grinning, I looked up at the giant tree, now large enough to touch the sky. Normally, a tree couldn’t grow that big, but in a world of superpowers, the laws of physics seemed to bend.

And if superpowers could bend physics, then magic could do so even more easily. The World Tree might grow so tall it could reach space itself.

Unlike the myth that the Great Wall is visible from orbit, this tree, nourished by the ancient tree, might actually be seen from orbit.

Perhaps in the distant future, astronauts might use the World Tree as a “Planetmark” instead of a mere landmark.

‘And the one who made it… would be me.’

I smiled slightly at the thought of adding such an achievement to my legacy. I doubted anyone in Earth’s history had ever created a planet-sized tree.

As I was savoring this thrill, Auxilion approached with the World Tree seed, ready to proceed.

“What in the world did you do?” “What do you mean by that?” “I didn’t expect the tree to grow this large… How did you make a regular tree grow like that?”

I shrugged, pretending it was nothing.

“Must be the power of superhuman abilities.” “Superpowers?” “Yes. Right now, there’s a superhuman named Flower inside… I believe she’s using her powers to maintain that absurd size. Once she’s gone, the tree won’t be able to sustain itself and will collapse.”

“That won’t do. We need to move quickly.”

Simply planting the World Tree wouldn’t be enough. We’d have to sacrifice the ancient tree and extract Flower from within it simultaneously.

There was someone who could help with this troublesome task: the Bandaged Man, who had once helped me with my fields.

“…You all intend to save her, don’t you?”

“Of course. You heard me, didn’t you? If she’s gone, the tree will collapse.” “Dr. Eight, and this one?” “Ah, this is Stale. He’s supposedly Flower’s lover. He claims he can convince her, so I brought him.”

After introducing the Bandaged Man, I took the World Tree seed from Auxilion. She had initially considered firing it at the ancient tree’s surface using a rocket.

It was an unstable method and could risk damaging the only seed. I knew a more sophisticated way.

“—Alright, let’s begin.”

Vroooom—!

The gate hummed as it vibrated, tearing open space and connecting directly to the heart of the ancient tree.

With all my strength, I hurled the World Tree seed into the void.