As soon as I explained that the Demon Tree was beneath us, the Sword Emperor’s collar fluttered.
She was ready to draw her sword and cleave the ground apart.
"Sword Emperor."
The Sword Emperor turned to abruptly.
"What, are you trying to stop ?"
"No, just endure as long as you can. Don’t attack, just take the hits."
Even with this one-sided command, the Sword Emperor nodded calmly.
"Simple and straightforward, I like it. I’ll trust you."
’She trusts more than I expected.’
Goooooooo—
The Sword Emperor drew her sword and infused it with mana, slamming it down towards the ground.
Kwaaaarrrrrrrrrrr—!!!!
The earth shattered in an instant, sending shockwaves through the heavens and the earth.
’...Is the Sword Emperor not affected by the mana absorption?’
No, that’s not it.
She’s just able to withstand the absorption to this extent.
I could understand why Lina had spoken so highly of her.
’But, because of that, I didn’t get proper training from her...?’
She just locked in a dark place and starved .
I let it slide because Alice’s situation was urgent, but I would need to address this after this mission.
Yoo-ri, with her blank expression, suddenly turned her head.
"...But, isn’t that a bad idea? Isn’t her granddaughter captured? What if she gets swept up and hurt?"
"... ."
Honestly, I didn’t have an answer.
I could only offer this explanation:
"But the Demon Tree has a habit of storing humans, so she should be fine."
"Are you expecting protection from a demon?"
Well, even so... She must have a sturdy body from growing up in this place.
"Disciple. So, what do you need to do?"
At that mont, Master turned to and asked.
I looked at Master for a mont, then opened the tattoo of the pocket dinsion.
Flap—
And took out a pure white uniform.
"Guardian Jade of the Verdant Grove"
[ Swordsman ], [ Female ], [ Ice Attribute ]
An item with wearing restrictions.
This was originally ant for Alice.
’The real owner was right next to .’
It was originally intended for Alice, but I didn’t feel any regret giving it to Master.
After all, Baek Seol-hee was my master.
It made more sense to give it to soone who had taught , cared for , and saved my life, rather than to Alice, whom I had only t briefly.
"Master, here."
"... Disciple? What is this...!"
Master was taken aback by my sudden offer.
"It’s a gift."
"... A gift."
Master alternated her gaze between and the clothes, biting her lip.
Then, she composed herself and spoke seriously.
"I’m sorry, disciple. I can’t accept your gift. I’ve wronged you too much..."
I already knew why Master felt guilty, as the Sword Emperor had explained it to when she pulled out of the pit.
’Don’t worry about it. It’s not dangerous anymore.’
Now that I could see the path of life and death, it was no longer a threat.
But I knew that these words wouldn’t ease Master’s mind, and I had sothing else planned to address this.
"Master, you saved my life. Please accept it."
"... But I taught you a sword that I shouldn’t have..."
"We can talk about that later. Please take it, it’s necessary for our plan."
"... For the plan?"
"Yes."
.
.
.
Excluding Baek Seol-hee,
The three of us—, Lee Yoo-ri, and Kang Do-hee—
Descended into the huge cavity that the Sword Emperor had created in the underground of Mountain.
"...Was there a place like this?"
Lee Yoo-ri looked around, and her voice echoed.
"I feel my strength draining away."
Kang Do-hee spoke in a stiff voice.
I was familiar with this sensation too.
I had already experienced it.
Fortunately, we were still connected to the outside, otherwise, we would have been completely drained of our strength like in the pit.
Bang! Kwaang! Bang! Kwaang!
A huge vibration sounded from a distance, and dust fell from the ceiling.
"Grandma—!"
"Malsook—!"
Alice and the Sword Emperor desperately called out to each other.
’It’s the Demon Tree’s characteristic to deliberately leave so consciousness and pit them against each other... As expected.’
Soon, the Demon Tree revealed itself.
"Hiss."
"Hmm..."
Even Lee Yoo-ri and Kang Do-hee, who had fought various monsters, couldn’t help but swallow their saliva at the repulsive sight.
"Khhhhhhhhhhh—"
The twisted and bumpy shape,
It was unclear if those reddish branches should be considered branches or blood vessels, as they stretched out like tentacles.
At the ends of the thorny branches, human heads hung like fruits, their faces twisted in a macabre smile, their lips pulled up to their ears, all staring at one spot.
"This is fun. So much fun..."
Yes, one of the bosses that appears in the final Chapter.
A Demon Legion Commander, the Demon Tree.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
In front of the Demon Tree, Alice was swinging her sword while shedding tears, exchanging attacks with the Sword Emperor.
No, it wasn’t an exchange of attacks.
"Ha, Grandma, my body... It’s not listening to ! What do I do... I don’t want to attack you..."
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
Alice, controlled by the Demon Tree, swung her sword one-sidedly,
and the Sword Emperor took the hits.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
The Demon Tree swung its branches one-sidedly,
and the Sword Emperor took the hits.
Her body rolled helplessly in the cavity.
If the Sword Emperor so much as glanced at the Demon Tree or
tried to block the attacks, Alice, with bluish veins popping out all over her body, would let out a painful gasp.
"Cough!"
"Malsook—!"
The Sword Emperor could only bite her lip and take the attacks helplessly.
Gradually, the Sword Emperor’s uniform was soaked in bright red blood.
It was exactly as I had expected.
My party mbers and I watched the scene quietly, taking it all in.
"Pay attention. Those are the kinds of enemies we’ll have to face later."
At that mont, Lee Yoo-ri shuddered and turned to .
"Jin Yuhua... Can’t we really do sothing?"
I shook my head at her question.
"No."
No matter what, this was a boss that appeared in the final Chapter.
If we confronted it head-on, all of us could end up as hostages, as it could drain our mana and stamina with just its aura.
Only soone of the Sword Emperor’s caliber could match it in a direct fight...
"Indeed, in our current state, it would be difficult... But if our bodies were normal..."
Kang Do-hee spoke in a cold, detached voice.
’What...? If our bodies were normal?’
Could it be possible to face a final Chapter boss head-on if our bodies were normal?
As I wondered about Kang Do-hee’s reaction, my gaze shifted to the Demon Tree.
"Hmm?"
Soon, I couldn’t help but voice my confusion.
The tree branches flying violently towards us, the mana spewing out...
The sharp aura...
I tilted my head to the side, perplexed.
’Is it really doable?’
Of course, it didn’t an we could capture it without a scratch.
I ran a simulation in my head.
If our Utopia party was at full strength and.
If we took asures to defend against the Demon Tree’s mana absorption, just like in the original ga...
’...It does seem doable...’
Could it be that the Demon Tree was weakened because this wasn’t the final Chapter?
I pondered, but that didn’t seem to be the case either.
The way it stretched its branches towards the Sword Emperor was exactly as I rembered from the ga.
"....."
Sothing was off.
A cognitive dissonance was building in my head.
Why was I feeling that a boss from the final Chapter seed manageable at this point?
I rembered the unfairness and countless retries I had experienced with that firewood bastard in the ga.
’Co to think of it, the Shin family episode with Shin Do-hwa was also much easier than expected...’
Originally, we should have faced Shin Do-hwa along with the Shin Family Royal Guards.
But I had taken on the Shin Family Royal Guards alone to acquire them all at once.
When facing the mid-boss, Shasha Fong’s father, I had also fought alone.
Now that I could see the path of life and death, it seed like a crazy thing to have done.
’It’s like I soloed an episode boss.’
In the original ga, episode bosses were supposed to be taken down by a squad of six.
In a world without gachas, had all that training to keep up with the ga been in vain?
Had I,
and our Utopia party, truly beco stronger?
"Jin Yuhua."
Lee Yoo-ri grabbed my hand, breaking out of my thoughts.
"Huh?"
"Don’t we have sothing we should be doing?"
"... Ah, right."
I nodded reluctantly.
Yes, now wasn’t the ti for such thoughts.
"Here, I’ll distribute these high-grade magic stones among you. Place them everywhere to prevent those branches from touching your bodies. The Demon Tree detects its enemies mainly through its branches, so its vision is quite narrow otherwise."
I handed out the high-grade magic stones I had brought to Lee Yoo-ri and Kang Do-hee.
As I did so, I kept my eyes on the Demon Tree, thinking to myself.
’...Once we get back, I need to test sothing.’
Our party’s level in the Velvets world had likely increased.
It was necessary to verify our progress.
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
Support the Translation! 🌐✨
20 Advanced Chapters are currently available in Patreon, make sure to visit and support our team.
patreon/Immortal_author
sko-fi/immortalauthor
sdiscord.gg/KscfBegBPT
Reviews
All reviews (0)