“Kaah!”
Did they really expect a wrist crossbow to shoot three arrows in rapid succession, especially one with relatively low power, and break through a shield?
Tuberose clutched her neck, where the arrows were embedded, and started to mumble, but I had no plans to wait patiently for her to finish.
I swiftly swung the Unicorn Dagger that had slipped free as the shield shattered.
“Hyup!”
“AAAH!”
Tuberose, whose eyes had been deeply cut, closed her golden-green eyes and began to weep blood. Only then did the frozen onlookers regain their movement.
With an arrow lodged in her neck and the power in her eyes extinguished, she looked helpless… but I still had to make a definite statement.
“Ugh!”
Just in case, I didn’t stop there—I severed her tendons.
Creak.
“Ahhh! You! How dare you, mere human!!”
“Ha! Racist elves are the norm, after all! Yum!”
Ever heard of the phrase ‘royal road’? It basically refers to a standard storyline that everyone knows how it’ll progress but still enjoys seeing it unfold.
An excellent example would be Tuberose, rolling around on the floor before my eyes.
Elves, who are so enamored with their own race that they look down on others, are practically a stereotype.
During the time when we lost the World Tree in Pangrave, elf-kind was never that overtly racist… but seeing one like this is quite satisfying. The process of her getting hit by arrows went exactly as I predicted, multiplying my satisfaction.
Isn’t it always exhilarating when things in the world fall into place just as you desire?
I tossed a few low-grade potions toward Lemon and Apple, who were staring blankly behind me.
“Catch.”
“Huh? This is….”
“Surely you weren’t expecting me to let you die, Jonah!”
“We can’t die if we want to find where Eve is!”
I shrugged my shoulders and flashed a smirk.
“So, don’t die, just keep watching carefully. Just don’t die, okay?”
“As expected of Jonah, you had it all planned!”
“I’ll keep you alive, so don’t worry!”
Lemon and Apple, catching on to what I said, grinned wickedly, while the Tuberose, gasping for breath, contorted her face. But that was none of my concern.
With the sudden incapacitation of the ringleader, a hush fell over the battlefield. Receiving all eyes upon me, I leisurely arranged my clothing.
I lifted the collar, rolled up my sleeves for ease of movement, and somewhat loosened my tie.
Imagine dressing up nicely according to the dress code only for this to happen.
Sighing dramatically, I spread my arms wide in a showy manner.
“By any chance, is anyone here working with Tuberose aside from the One Who Devours the Twilight?”
“No, nobody! I don’t know what mother was thinking, but at least for me and the others, it’s definitely not the case!”
Rosemary, tears of frustration and sadness intermingling, rebutted vehemently. Others among the elves nodded in agreement with her.
I nodded with a satisfied expression at their response.
“Then we need proof.”
“Huh?”
“What are you doing? Now that you can move, hurry up and fight!”
Even now, with the blazing wings of flame sprouting from my back, I turned to Tania, grinning as I continued.
“Just buy me some time. That’s all I need. I’ll trust in your innocence.”
“….”
Tania frowned slightly and commanded the One Who Devours the Twilight.
“… The collaborator is dead. Now we have nothing to worry about. All means are permitted. Take down any obstacles here and retrieve the power of the World Tree. Everything is for the Goddess.”
“““For the Goddess!”””
With a fervent shout full of fanaticism, a shift occurred in the long-stagnant battlefield.
The freed elves, especially Rosemary leading the charge in the offensive, were a welcome sight.
But the change in the One Who Devours the Twilight was something bizarre altogether.
The already-dead heretic emitted a grayish aura and rose once more as an undead.
The critically injured ones swallowed red potions, embraced each other, and fused together into one.
Taking off their human forms, they all charged toward me in unison.
Lydia and Benny were each holding back a mentor-type foe.
That meant Rosemary and those relying on some good items had to guard me. Being no proper combatant, I wouldn’t last long.
But that would be sufficient.
“Hah.”
I let out a light breath and fumbled with the Goddess Statue in my pocket.
Though it emitted a faint Divine Power, it wouldn’t serve as a decent sanctuary. After all, I had already exhausted all my strength catching the Minotaur today.
Plus, everyone was gunning for me, leaving me unable to even use my most potent skill, the remaining concealment.
But I still had one last trick up my sleeve.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment and concentrated. Expanding my senses wide enough to envelop the entire banquet hall. The happenings within felt as clear as day.
Entrusting myself to the omnipotent feeling created by this extension of perception, I poured all the remaining Divine Power into Basilieus.
While the power of the World Tree wouldn’t bring about qualitative growth since it was already dead… simply increasing its magnitude should be feasible.
Snap.
All the trees that I had planted to decorate this banquet hall like a forest responded to my will, extending their branches and roots.
Basilieus possessed the power to promote all kinds of growth, particularly of plants.
However, I had some level of control over their form and nature during this process.
Countless trees twisted around each other, becoming thick and sharp thorns. And then.
Whoosh!
A sizable mass, almost too grotesque to still be called human, was impaled and pinned to the ground by the thorns.
The undead charging over, unaware of their pain, became entangled in small vines extending from the giant thorns, unable to move a single finger.
Of course, I couldn’t take down all the mentor-level heretics. There were just too many, and I wasn’t experienced in using my powers this way.
However, that was enough to allow the elves, who had started to falter, to regain their momentum.
“The World Tree has descended into battle…”
“I thought such a thing could only be seen in history.”
“No, we are now at the very center of that history!”
Was it perhaps due to the overwhelming power of the World Tree that we altered the tide of battle? There seemed to be no need to worry about that side anymore.
Now, the only thing left was to assist Lydia and Benny in dealing with the mentor-level foes.
“Benny, how much longer can you hold on?”
“Honestly, I’m struggling. If only Shadow were in one piece…”
“Okay, just hang tight.”
This time, I needed a bit more focus. I held my breath for a moment and sank completely into my inner consciousness.
Looking deep within, I stared into the soul nestled even deeper than my heart.
The most radiant power among the abilities currently active was the one united with the soul. I focused all of Basilieus’s power to a single point.
Not on the trees around me, not on my body, but aimed at the Crown of Thorns resting upon my head.
Would it work? It was an incantation of a sort, but since this was, after all, a tree, I hoped it would be possible based on that vague intuition.
Fortunately, I was correct.
Crack—
The sound was far louder than when I manipulated all the trees in the banquet hall, reminiscent of a gigantic sacred tree collapsing, a far more menacing sensation.
At the same time, the crown I wore began to grow, enveloping my entire body.
What was completed was a figure strikingly similar to the Guardian of the First Floor, the King of Thorns.
Because this was an extension of my power, it wasn’t merely a wooden armor. If I had to describe it, it was akin to a powered suit reinforcing and protecting my entire body.
“That form…”
Benny’s jaw dropped, but I waved my hand dismissively towards her.
“Focus on the battle. When the time is right, please counterattack immediately.”
With my face now covered by a helmet made of thorns, my voice resonated ominously. Satisfied by the strange intimidation, I stomped the ground.
Boom!
The ground sank and the scenery accelerated in an instant.
Not that my leg strength had improved or my agility had leveled up; I simply manipulated the Thorn Armor with Basilieus’s power to move even stronger.
Within just a few steps, I rushed onto the battlefield, arriving at the clash between Lydia, Shadow, and the armored mentor.
Shadow, ablaze with the Phoenix’s fire, couldn’t regenerate properly, trapping itself in combat, while Lydia was struggling to fight back in order to protect Shadow.
In that moment, I suddenly jumped in and embraced Shadow.
-Grrrr?!
Shadow, well aware that the flames clinging to her body were dangerous, tried to flinch away. But.
“It’s okay.”
Though my armor looked wooden, it wasn’t real wood; it was part of my power.
In other words, it couldn’t easily be burned, and even if it were, I could replenish it as much as needed.
“So, give it all to me.”
I scratched away the flames affixed to Shadow’s shapeless body with thorns.
As the burning flesh fell away, Shadow regained her original form. At the same time, my body ignited fiercely, clad in the Thorn Armor.
Fwoosh!
The flames of the Phoenix, passed from Shadow to me, wouldn’t extinguish until Tania died or until this heavy armor was removed.
Thus, my objective was set.
While my whole being was ablaze, I charged towards the armored mentor that Lydia was restraining alone.
Like pulling back a bowstring, I drew my clenched fist back in preparation. And then.
“Fire Punch!”
My flaming fist swung towards the heretic mentor.
