#221
Transcendence (1)
Timmer, who had been dashing diligently, finally stopped upon confirming that the pursuing enemy was dead. He laid down on the ground, releasing the companions he had been carrying beneath his arms.
“Ugh! I’m gonna die!”
Everyone was equally exhausted.
The other two sprawled on the ground, managing the surging energy from their injuries.
“That sniper just now, it was definitely Lord Harris, right? I’ve heard a lot about him, but seeing it in person is something else!”
“…Yeah, the energy is the same.”
With just two shots, Harris had obliterated the upper body of the lycanthrope general with his terrifying long-range sniping.
For those at their level, they wouldn’t have recognized the deadly blow until it struck and exploded.
Not just them, but anyone with any sense would probably meet their end without realizing it.
“Already at that level, huh…? Well, thinking back, he was exceptional from the moment I first saw him! Especially that song at the time… I still remember it. I guess we won’t have a chance to make music together anymore?”
“Now he’s a High Elf…”
Timmer nodded regretfully.
When ‘band music’ started trending in the Elven Kingdom, he participated as a drum session player here and there, but it was hard to feel the same thrill as when he first teamed up with Harris.
“More importantly, Miss Shapiron was amazing too! An advanced spirit in such a dangerous moment! I never expected… Huh? Wait, you seem to be in bad shape. Are you okay?”
“…I’m fine, just… overdid it a bit.”
“No, you don’t look fine at all?!”
In reality, it was as he said; she was far from fine.
Thanks to the success of their dangerous challenge, they managed to eliminate the enemy, but the aftereffects hit her like a tidal wave, leaving her unable to lift even a finger.
“Well, I didn’t die, so if I rest a bit, I should recover… ugh, ugh.”
Once again, a bucket of blood poured out like a waterfall.
Her pale face turned corpse-like.
“Let’s move to the rear medical unit. We barely survived, and at this rate, we’ll actually die.”
“My injuries are severe… it’s beyond my healing magic.”
With serious expressions, Timmer and Quri hurriedly prepared to transport Shapiron to the rear.
Just as they were about to move.
SWAAAH—
From the branches of the World Tree hovering over them.
A strangely loud sound of leaves colliding echoed.
“Huh?”
“…?”
To the elves living harmoniously with nature, it must have been a familiar sound, but due to the bizarre resonance contained within, it felt distinctly different from usual.
…No, upon a second thought, it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.
The three people present, along with a few elves from Drasha, were reminded of a moment they had felt somewhere before.
But before they could recall it properly.
~♪
From the sky draped beneath the branches of the World Tree.
A song began to resonate that could reach not only Drasha but perhaps the entirety of the Elven Kingdom and beyond.
There were no lyrics.
Only the melody existed.
Naturally, there were no instruments; the only accompaniment was the naturally produced sounds around.
~♪
Yet, the beautiful celestial melody that began in the sky.
Combined with the sound of the wind, rustling leaves, and the friction of swaying branches— it produced a piece of ‘Nature’s Song’.
“This is… no way.”
“…Yeah.”
There was no need to discuss who the subject of this phenomenon was.
Didn’t they just have a long conversation related to him moments ago?
“…Harris.”
Shapiron, still coughing up blood, murmured his name softly.
From the moment she heard that song, the internal chaos that had been writhing within her began to stabilize remarkably.
‘I had a feeling something was up back then.’
The pure natural force soothing her innermost self as it resonated with the World Tree.
That song leading the phenomenon was already far beyond its former level.
And naturally, Shapiron wasn’t the only one to feel this effect.
“Cough, catch the ones falling back! Don’t let them into our ranks… huh?”
“From the sky, a song…”
“…Ah, I hear the sound of heaven… I was going to confess to her if I returned alive, but dying like this… huh?”
The song reached every corner.
Whether they were in the front lines, the back, in the midst of battle, or injured and retreating, it affected all the elves of the Elven Kingdom… and even the High Elves.
The tide of battle began to sway drastically.
*
The melody of harmony, spreading through the World Tree.
~♪
Perhaps due to borrowing the power of the World Tree in the process, the effect was far superior to when it was merely used.
‘…It’s quite taxing to maintain, though.’
With his eyes closed, Harris placed his hands atop the massive trunk, resonating the sounds emerging from him with the World Tree through “Descendant of the World Tree” and “Natural Harmony.”
It was a method only he could employ due to the abnormally strong connection with the World Tree.
Though the World Tree didn’t intervene actively, it subtly facilitated the process, allowing Harris to work without much difficulty.
‘It’s likely possible because I was born from the branch of the World Tree. …My fusion with nature might have been exceptionally intense because of that.’
Of course, being able to grow stronger quickly because of this was not a bad thing.
He was currently reaping those benefits in full.
The vibrations of sound that began with Harris flowed through the World Tree, amplifying indefinitely and unleashing through countless branches.
Even though it wasn’t a real speaker, there were limits to conveying complete lyrics, so he could only use humming made up solely of melodies…
‘The amplification is far greater than the diminishing effect, so that’s fine.’
Through the energy radiating in all directions, he sensed the situation on the ground.
The “Melody of Harmony” not only strengthened the elves fighting against the lycanthropes and giants but was also remarkably effective in healing the injured.
And in an instant, as Harris’s overwhelming influence turned the tide of the battle, the World Tree rewarded him appropriately.
WHOOSH—
Something began at the branches at his feet, surging through his body and escaping from the crown of his head.
At the same time, the barrier blocking it shattered, and the energy from the outside was drawn into his mind.
A sensation as if the crown of his head and the soles of his feet were linked.
…Then a profound sense of unity filled his body as he felt one with nature, the universe, and the world itself.
“Ha—.”
SWOOSH—
A gust of wind erupted from his breath.
A pure natural phenomenon, devoid of any magical influence, dwelled within each of his movements.
Hans had become an entity transcending death itself, inheriting the long-accumulated ‘Heart of the Undead King’ that consisted of evil deeds.
Heinz II absorbed the blood of the vampires that had persisted for thousands of years, transcending the bloodlines that could be seen as the source of their power.
Harley, in his quest for endless possibilities as a living being, finally transcended the limits of life.
And Harris, after countless mergers with nature, had ended up in a state where he was half fused with nature, transcending phenomena…
‘Ah, this is bad… everything suddenly feels bothersome…’
At the same time, a lethargy of a completely different dimension began to dominate his body.
He had barely crossed the critical point of mental strength that would allow him to force his body to move.
If his main body were intact, there wouldn’t have been a significant issue with moderate mental distribution and additional support, but now he could only endure with resources allocated solely to Harris.
Heinz II: When you think about it, merging with nature is no different than mental contamination. But growing it to the extent of transcending is a natural consequence.
Hubert: A side effect of rapidly growing strong by utilizing that characteristic. True, not every High Elf can grow that way. If that were possible, the World Tree would have already transcended everyone.
Howard: Wait a minute! What about the firewood supply?! I’ve become a body that can’t be satisfied without it! Hey, get a grip! Give me my firewood!
Harley: Hah! I’m off! To the desert! I’ll smash everything! Chief!
Heinrich: Hold on a minute…!
Hannibal Strauss: Tsk, then I’ll…
Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the brain meeting room, but Harris, who was overwhelmed with laziness, focused solely on the reality at hand.
‘Still.’
Nature is endlessly still and simultaneously dynamic.
Grass and trees merely grow in place, and water and wind flow according to reason.
The essence and providence of their existence has always been to simply exist according to defined laws…
‘First, I must deal with those things.’
Feeling the wildness begin to spread through the lethargy filling his body, Harris slowly lifted his bow, Themis.
While resuming the humming that had briefly paused.
RUMBLE—
The natural force swirling around the World Tree began to converge towards him violently.
He steadied himself and set a goal, adjusting his energy to exclude only that enemy.
Nature is not always a gentle and benevolent being.
When angered, it can erase even a civilization from the earth.
That is a natural disaster.
And finally.
The natural disaster forged from Harris’s hands took shape and shot towards a single point like arrows.
*
“GACK GACK! Ah, this is troublesome! Very troublesome! KIKIKI!”
The lycanthrope king, Baukalakas, twisted his face and burst into a bizarre laugh.
Even at this very moment, he felt the connection with his scattered subordinates being cut, one by one.
The most fatal of these was that all the “exile” units, which were the key to this operation, had been annihilated before they could approach the World Tree.
They had undergone special magical treatments to evade the detection of the elves, not to mention long-term personality modifications solely for this mission.
‘The one I sent just in case was the first to die! Cough!’
He had been certain of success until the white giant was summoned; it turned out the elves’ preparedness was more formidable than he and the revolutionary had assessed over the years.
“KHIHIHIHI!”
Yet, even as all he had endeavored for in long years to destroy this Enamel Continent went to waste.
He merely laughed madly.
Even as his kindred perished, even as the additional elven reinforcements began to surround him, and even now…
With his lower body entirely gone, standing on the ground with just his two arms.
RUMBLE—
Once again, a thunderous sound echoed from the direction of the World Tree.
He could recover from most injuries within seconds, yet for some reason the regeneration from that sniper shot was uncharacteristically slow, making it difficult to heal.
Although with that reduced speed, he could still regenerate completely in a minute…
“GACK GACK! They’ve come in waves, indeed!”
However, it didn’t seem like the enemies surrounding him would allow him that leisure.
One High Elf had been critically injured and sent to the rear, while the rest were also quite wounded, but the newly arrived forces were even more formidable.
In the time he wasted unable to recover, the mysterious sniper firing from the World Tree would likely pierce through his body again.
An attack from an equal foe.
‘The revolutionary, he always stumbles over the critical parts! He was so confident that no transcendent being would appear among the elves for at least a few years.’
No matter how he thought about it, he felt he wouldn’t be able to escape this situation.
Had this operation succeeded, he would have not only seen the lycanthrope become a ‘more complete species’ through contracts but also made the bloated pigs live through the despair they had experienced in this peaceful land!
‘How regrettable, how regrettable.’
He had risen from a mere soldier to a knight, and thanks to the revolutionary he met just before death, he had even become a king, so it wasn’t a completely bad ending.
“KIHAHHA! Come on, pigs! Let’s play a little longer!”
But that didn’t mean he was one to die easily.
BOOM!
He slammed the ground with both hands, charging at the enemies surrounding him.
~♪
However, with no lower body and still hearing the mysterious song continuously strengthening the elves, it was only natural that he couldn’t contend against them.
RUMBLE—
“KIHHAHHA!”
Ultimately, the last king of the lycanthropes, consumed by the natural disaster.
Left nothing behind but a single resolution, not even a name or a hide.
