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Chapter 52
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Daehyeop Kim and Raven followed Celestia’s guidance and arrived at the boundary of Elderheim.
“It’s a barrier. Once you cross it, you’ll have a unique experience.”
“I’ll go first.”
Raven stepped forward and immediately crouched.
One hand clutched his stomach while the other covered his mouth.
He stood still as if in a panic.
Then, as though regaining composure, he gulped down an antidote.
“Huff… Huff…”
“Are you alright?”
In response to Daehyeop Kim’s question, Raven managed to nod.
“See? Just as I said—a unique experience.”
“I’d rather not have that kind of experience ever again.”
On the other side of the barrier, the two exchanged words before their eyes turned to Daehyeop Kim.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming? Don’t tell me… you’re scared?”
“…I’m coming.”
Provoked by Celestia’s taunt, Daehyeop Kim took a deep breath and crossed the barrier.
[ Debuff ‘Curse of Nature’ has been applied. ]
As soon as a system message appeared before him, his stomach began to churn.
Even when afflicted by a poison debuff, the discomfort only amounted to slight nausea.
But this… it was nauseating enough to make poison seem mild.
[ Debuff ‘Curse of Nature’ has been cured. ]
“Huh. Doesn’t hurt that much, huh?”
“I’m just a bit insensitive to things like this.”
“…You’re dull in other ways too.”
Though Raven mumbled under his breath, Daehyeop Kim pretended not to hear.
“Stop. Identify yourselves.”
The three halted their conversation and were about to step into Elderheim when
an elf appeared, aiming an arrow at them.
“Fowler. It’s me.”
“Stay there. Don’t come any closer.”
The elf, called Fowler, seemed a bit off.
Even for an elf, his complexion was ghastly pale,
and the hand holding the bowstring trembled like someone with a nervous disorder.
” It’s Celestia. Don’t tell me… you’ve forgotten my name too?”
“…I don’t know.”
Fowler’s gaze shifted to Daehyeop Kim and Raven.
“The rule is to immediately kill any humans trespassing in Elderheim, but…”
The hand pulling back the bowstring faltered as Fowler grabbed his head.
“…Elderheim is no longer in a normal state. So, just leave quietly.”
“We’ve come to resolve Elderheim’s issue.”
Daehyeop Kim’s assertion was met with a bitter laugh from Fowler.
“An outsider, and a human at that?”
“Yes. Please believe me.”
Their gazes locked, silence stretching between them.
It was a tense moment.
After a long standoff, Fowler was the one to break the silence.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Thud—
Fowler collapsed to his knees.
“Elderheim has already fallen.”
The words that left his lips were hard to believe.
“Fallen? What do you mean…”
“Follow me.”
Fowler picked himself up and began walking ahead.
Without hesitation, Celestia followed him,
and after exchanging glances, Daehyeop Kim and Raven trailed behind.
They passed houses made of wood and foliage that seemed to be elven dwellings.
At the centre stood the largest of all the trees—the World Tree.
“Look over there.”
Fowler pointed to the World Tree.
Hanging from its branches were countless elves.
But something was different about them.
Their skin had turned a pale black.
“The World Tree has twisted, becoming an Object of Destruction.”
Fowler, the Elf Guardian, turned to face Daehyeop Kim.
“I sealed the corrupted kin and the twisted World Tree with my own hands.”
His eyes brimmed with regret.
“And now, with the time I have left, I ask you this.”
In a hopeless situation where destruction was imminent.
“Outsider, do you have a way to resolve this?”
“…”
Daehyeop Kim had no answer to Fowler’s question.
***
The overarching storyline was inspired by my journey in another world.
This Elderheim scenario was a reconstruction of events I’d personally experienced.
“Upon reaching Elderheim, you encounter the Elf Guardian.”
The Elf Guardian views the player’s party, including Celestia, strictly as outsiders.
Even though Celestia is an elf, Fowler doesn’t remember her.
The reason why the Elf Guardian does not call the World Tree ‘Mother.’
And why Celestia, who called herself a freak and mutant, refers to the World Tree as her mother.
Until the hints are pieced together, no one would realize Celestia’s true identity.
“Just as I didn’t.”
All elves are influenced by the World Tree.
Now that it has become the Twisted World Tree,
it’s only a matter of time before all elves align with its ideology.
Fowler, the Elf Guardian.
He is the last elf resisting the Twisted World Tree’s ideology.
When an elf succumbs to the World Tree’s ideology,
they devolve into Dark Elves—minions of the Object of Destruction.
As Dark Elves, they lose all reason and become monsters.
Unable to kill his monstrous kin, Fowler chose to delay destruction.
That is, by sealing Elderheim.
But the seal was never meant to last long.
Being an elf, Fowler was also under the World Tree’s influence.
Moreover, sealing the Twisted World Tree and thousands of Dark Elves came at a great cost.
His life burned like a flame about to be extinguished, a fleeting final burst of brilliance.
“In the end, a decision must be made.”
Throughout history, Elf Guardians have existed for the sake of their kin.
In any era, what mattered most to them was their people.
Like how a ‘Hero’ represents humanity, or a ‘Demon King’ represents demons.
The Elf Guardian was a symbol representing the entire elven race.
Thus, while they were slightly more immune to the World Tree’s influence,
they could never fully escape it due to their species’ nature,
inevitably leading to their demise.
Does this mean they must accept the destruction as predestined?
No. There was indeed a way to overcome this despair.
Just as the Elf Guardian from a thousand years ago made a choice before me,
this era’s Elf Guardian, Fowler, would also make a decision before the player.
To protect his kin, he would decide to kill their creator—the World Tree.
***
“Celestia is the heir to the World Tree.”
―――
Suddenly?
Ah, spoilers, damn.
What does that even mean?
Seriously?
I completely understand. (I don’t understand at all.)
―――
Currently, Sweet was progressing through the ‘Main Story – Investigation.’
Research to prevent the inevitable fall of Elderheim.
Sweet was in Elderheim’s library,
while Celestia and Raven were investigating near the World Tree.
“If you can’t understand this, how do you even attend history class?”
―――
Looking at the chat window: Korea’s future is bright.
I don’t attend!
What’s history anyway, lol.
Dodged the college entrance exam, so I wouldn’t know.
Why would anyone take it?
Class time is for sleeping.
―――
Sweet pointed to a section about the characteristics of elves.
“Elves generally show a tendency not to stray far from their creator, the World Tree.”
Then, his finger moved to the section below titled ‘Talents of Elves.’
“Elves are inherently attuned to nature to the extent that they can communicate with spirits at birth.
Their main weapons are bows and swords, but most are naturally skilled with bows.”
Celestia.
The one they met at Elderheim’s entrance appeared elf-like in appearance,
but she wielded magic capable of manipulating subspace,
handled artifacts imbued with magitech,
and seemed proficient in alchemical techniques, one of the methods of potion-making.
Moreover, since arriving at Elderheim, she hadn’t used a bow or sword even once.
“So, she’s just an elf on the outside.”
―――
That’s why she called herself a mutant.
This is discrimination.
Hmm…
―――
Though the viewers didn’t seem convinced,
Sweet didn’t give up on persuading them.
“Look carefully. Even the World Tree that appeared a thousand years ago…”
“Sweet, here you are.”
Hearing Raven’s voice from behind, Sweet stopped mid-explanation and turned around.
“What’s up?”
“There’s a problem.”
After spending several long nights together,
the two had grown comfortable enough to drop formalities.
“Some of the Dark Elves have escaped the seal.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
Dark Elves.
According to the records, they were practically monsters.
Corrupted by the ideology of the Twisted World Tree, they had lost their reasoning
and turned into creatures that attacked all living things indiscriminately.
That was the essence of Dark Elves.
“It’s… strange. The Dark Elves who escaped the seal seem to be in their right minds.”
“Then doesn’t that mean the problem is solved?”
Being in their right minds implied they still possessed intelligence and reason.
The fundamental reason Fowler had to seal the Dark Elves was gone.
Shouldn’t this be considered a resolution? That question lingered in Sweet’s mind.
But Raven shook his head and revealed the real issue.
“They’re claiming that Fowler, the Elf Guardian, betrayed the World Tree.”
“…Now that’s an interesting claim.”
Fowler, who chose sealing over killing his corrupted kin,
was being accused of betraying the World Tree by the very Dark Elves he sealed.
Based on the information Sweet gathered in the library,
it was undoubtedly the right choice to side with Fowler.
– As the story progresses, you’ll come to question everything.
The words of Aurora, the Director, from the mid-year update showcase came to mind.
“Ugh… this is giving me a headache.”
Given the situation, relying on the information gathered from the library seemed foolish.
According to the records, when the Dark Elves broke free,
they should have attacked Raven and Celestia nearby.
“Take me to them. I need to see this for myself.”
“Alright.”
Following Raven’s lead, Sweet moved.
At the base of the World Tree, Celestia stood as the focal point between Fowler and the Dark Elves.
“You’re here? Things have gotten messy.”
Celestia greeted Sweet with words that perfectly echoed his sentiments.
Sweet bypassed Celestia and approached the Dark Elves.
“Are you part of the outsider’s group? I am the representative of the Elder Council—”
“Hold on. Let me ask you something first.”
Interrupting the representative Dark Elf, Sweet pointed at Celestia.
“How does she look to you?”
The Dark Elves followed Sweet’s finger to Celestia.
After glancing at her, they quietly responded.
“An outsider. Just like you.”
“Exactly. She’s an outsider, just like me.”
Celestia was wearing traditional elven attire.
Her appearance was unmistakably that of an elf.
Yet Fowler, an elf, and the elder Dark Elves,
did not recognize Celestia as one of their kind.
“So, my first hypothesis was correct…”
“What hypothesis?”
“Never mind.”
“Unbelievable.”
As if her identity being discovered didn’t matter to her,
Celestia playfully exchanged words with Sweet.
“Then, my second question.”
Sweet recalled a passage from the ‘Dark Elf’s Memoir’ he read in the library.
“Do you hear a voice in your head telling you to kill the human before you?”
Before fully succumbing to the ideology of the Twisted World Tree,
a Dark Elf with a sliver of reason left had documented this testimony:
– I keep hearing a voice in my head telling me to kill the kin before me.
“What are you talking about? There’s no reason I’d hear such a voice.”
At that moment, a choice appeared before Sweet.
[ Main Story – Trust ]
[ Main Story – Doubt ]
[ Main Story – Immediate Execution ]
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