“Kiiiiiek—!”

The Beast shrieked, drawn to the overwhelming life force emanating from Stale's burning flesh. In this moment, he was the most appetizing presence in the area—even more so than the World Tree sprouting just behind him.

It wasn’t that Stale’s life force surpassed the World Tree’s—physically or supernaturally, that was impossible. The sheer difference in the capacity to hold life force was astronomical. But the World Tree was, after all, a giant, immobile tree, and it wasn’t going anywhere. Stale, on the other hand, was alive, unpredictable, and could try to escape at any moment. It was as though the World Tree was an endless source of fruit, while Stale was an exotic, rare animal whose taste promised a unique experience.

“Come on, then.”

The Beast charged at Stale with blinding speed, an attack that would have seemed impossible for Flower’s body just moments ago.

But it didn’t matter. No matter how fast it was, nothing could outrun light.

“Hup—!”

Having spent his life fleeing from light, Stale effortlessly dodged the Beast’s attack. His body, now bolstered with unlimited life force granted by the scientist, was in exceptional condition. This gift enabled him to transcend his natural limits, constantly healing his sunburned skin under the merciless daylight.

Using that nearly boundless vitality, Stale lunged forward. Like a beam of light, he grabbed the Beast and tumbled to the ground with it. The force was so intense that even he struggled to control it.

Tumbling together like lovers—or pro wrestlers locked in a desperate grapple—they rolled across the ground, until Stale found himself on top of Flower. A flash of memory blurred his vision for a second, recalling a moment from just days prior.

The Beast seized on this brief opening. Holding his arms firmly, the Beast maneuvered in a way that made Stale chuckle inwardly. Based on his limited knowledge, it seemed like a poor attempt at an armbar, especially given her legs were positioned behind his back, which made such a move impossible.

But the Beast had something far more dangerous in mind. The arms it held disintegrated into dust, and the corrosive effect crept up toward his shoulders. Panicking, Stale abandoned his advantageous position, desperately pulling away from her.

“Hah… hah…!?”

As he created some distance, the strange power that had climbed up his shoulder dissipated. Only then did he realize what the Beast had done.

The Beast was now using Flower’s power as if it were its own. That power—its ability to nullify anything artificial.

Of course, Stale had never seen Flower use her powers this way. At best, she had disintegrated weapons aimed at her, like swords or guns. This was shocking and disturbing all at once.

‘The only reason it didn’t destroy me completely is likely because of my enhanced regeneration… If my regeneration hadn’t grown to an absurd level, I might’ve died just by looking at her…’

As a descendant of vampires, Stale’s weakened bloodline granted him abilities far beyond any human—enhanced physicality, regeneration, and other miscellaneous powers.

And now, his original powers seemed to have returned to their prime. He was confident he could heal from any injury, even if his body were pulverized. The fact that she could nearly destroy his body was unsettling. Anyone else wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Grrrr…”

While Stale was stunned by the Beast’s display of power, the Beast seemed equally surprised that its abilities hadn’t worked on him. It began to eye him warily.

Both stunned by each other’s powers, it was the Beast that moved first, realizing it needed to strike first to overpower him.

It seemed unwilling to let Stale go, whether to kill him or drive him out. Perhaps it feared losing the World Tree—a prize it intended to keep for itself.

Whatever the reason, Stale welcomed it. He needed to buy as much time as possible.

‘Are you watching? You’d better be… Please, hurry…’

Stale silently prayed that the scientist watching the battle would devise a way to counter the Beast.

Producing a specialized tool for a specific target typically took time, so he hadn’t bothered asking if it was possible. It wasn’t relevant now.

What mattered was whether he could hold out against this creature until then. Regeneration didn’t mean immunity to pain, and the agony of his arms and shoulders disintegrating into dust was indescribable.

“Kiiiiiek!”

The Beast charged at him again, as if it couldn’t afford to wait.

Stale sighed, then threw himself back into the fray.

“We’ve got it.”

“I’ve more or less figured it out as well.”

Using all available observation equipment, Auxilion and I analyzed the Beast. It didn’t take long for the veil around its nature to lift under the combined scrutiny of science and magic.

Once we pooled our findings, we created a weapon capable of neutralizing the Beast. It was surprisingly fast work. With Auxilion’s help, I even managed to create something I’d previously hesitated to make due to concerns about collateral damage.

“It appears the creature’s primary form exists in the spiritual realm rather than the material one. This allows us to—”

“Oh, really? Magic’s truly overpowered.”

“I think you’re the one who’s overpowered, managing to make this without magic…”

Thanks to Auxilion’s magical expertise, we quickly created an eco-friendly weapon that could cause substantial harm to beings like the Beast while leaving the physical world largely unscathed.

With preparations complete, I checked on the bait. Stale, battered and nearly torn apart, was still holding his ground against Flower.

Satisfied with our setup, I adjusted the microphone to contact him.

“Mr. Stale? We’re ready now, so step aside.”

[…Too late. I almost died, you know.] “Then you should’ve just died. Did you think we were just relaxing over here?” [No, that’s not what I meant… Forget it. I was wrong.]

Through the satellite feed, I saw Stale shoving Flower away and retreating swiftly. Reluctant to lose him after expending so much energy, Flower started to pursue him, but the weapon we’d created reached her first through a spatial shift.

Flower stumbled mid-stride, falling to the ground. She attempted to rise several times, only to collapse again.

The reason was simple. A black hole, invisible to the naked eye and effective only on spiritual entities like the Beast, had coiled itself within the World Tree.

“It worked.”

“Did it? Incredible. Honestly, even while casting the spell, I wasn’t entirely sure it would…”

Auxilion gave me a sidelong glance, her expression conveying an unspoken question. She seemed to wonder whether this eco-friendly weapon, which I claimed would avoid damaging the material world, might have been capable of swallowing an entire planet if not for her adjustments.

It was a look you’d give a tyrant or a conqueror. Instead of denying it, I shrugged nonchalantly.

“If it weren’t for your help, Auxilion, I couldn’t have made this. Your magic was instrumental.”

“…Is that so. Very well. I’ll trust you.”

“Not joking—genuinely true.”

A moment later, the Beast was entirely sucked into the black hole. Flower’s body collapsed, completely drained. Relieved, I let out a sigh.

Now, even if someone invoked the Beast or fulfilled whatever conditions triggered it, it would remain trapped in the black hole indefinitely. Nothing could reach it, no information could escape, not even light.

“The World Tree’s nearly fully grown.”

“Yes—it’s magnificent.”

“What powers does it have?”

I looked up at the towering World Tree, now visible even from space. For something of this size, physical and magical reinforcements were required. Surely it had some purpose beyond mere size.

I expected something impressive, so I turned to Auxilion with anticipation.

“It has no powers. It’s merely a symbol of conquest.”

“…Excuse me?”

“When we elves conquer a race or a nation, we plant a World Tree to remind them of our dominance—so they’ll always remember us.”

I looked at her, bewildered.

So, according to her, the World Tree was…

“Just a very large tree.”

…What kind of sociopathic race is this?