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Chapter 54
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Fowler, the Contractor of the Corrupted Spirit King.
As a boss in the story, he wasn’t particularly strong.
His difficulty level was about the same as the Black Phantasmal Rabbit? Just around that.
Besides, by that time, they had already adapted better to virtual reality.
The large company party achieved a swift victory against Fowler, who had revealed his true form.
‘That cutscene should be coming up soon.’
The next cutscene unfolded from Celestia’s perspective.
The overall theme of the cutscene was very simple:
How are Objects of Destruction born?
There was a time when I had thought a lot about this.
The Ancient Necromancer—this guy was naturally suited to be an Object of Destruction.
The World Tree and the Spirit King—both were transcendent beings protecting their respective realms: the otherworld and the spirit realm.
Then, was it a third faction like the Salvation Church that intervened and created them?
That could be true. It was the most likely possibility.
However, the Twisted World Tree and the Corrupted Spirit King—
these two had hidden backstories.
Backstories I hadn’t known at the time and couldn’t have known.
Stories of why the World Tree had to become twisted and why the Spirit King had to fall.
The protagonist of this Elderheim story, Celestia—
she was the very subject of those stories.
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[ Main Story – Records of Distortion and Corruption ]
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Elves, a long-lived race, are not born in the usual way.
When they share the emotion called love before the World Tree,
the World Tree, which receives the emotions of its creations, blooms flowers and bears fruit.
When the fruit fully matures, a new elf is born.
For this reason, the number of elves decreased over time.
All elves were destined to devote themselves to the World Tree from the moment of their birth.
One day, however, an elf who did not devote herself to the World Tree was born.
Celestia.
She was an elf born of the love between an elf and a spirit.
Elves and humans—elves born from their love existed.
Half-elves. They were elves with human emotions mixed in.
But they still inherited the elf trait of blind devotion to the World Tree.
However, elves and spirits—
Celestia, born between the two, was different.
Spirits were conceptual beings embodied from natural elements.
From the moment of their creation, they were designed to serve the Spirit King.
Elves devoted to the World Tree, spirits serving the Spirit King.
Celestia, born between the two, inherited neither trait.
An outcast belonging to neither elves nor spirits.
But Celestia had a special ability:
she could freely communicate with the World Tree and the Spirit King, transcendent beings.
Communicating without constraints with the World Tree was something
even the noblest High Elves could not easily do.
Communicating without constraints with the Spirit King was something
even the highest-ranking spirits could only achieve once or twice.
Celestia, the most extraordinary elf in the world.
To the World Tree, she was like a daughter.
To the Spirit King, she was a precious companion and the only one he could talk to.
One day, however, Celestia was attacked.
Who attacked her?
The Salvation Church? The Objects of Destruction? Humans?
None of them.
The attackers were the elves and the spirits themselves.
Celestia had merely wanted to mend the severe relationship caused by the lack of communication.
But the elves took it as an insult to the World Tree.
And the spirits dismissed it as slander against the Spirit King.
A half-elf, a half-spirit—rejected by both sides.
The baseless claims of the outcast were ignored.
The witch hunt against Celestia, who had brought chaos to Elderheim, began.
Thus, Celestia could no longer remain in Elderheim.
She became a fugitive, forced to erase all traces of herself.
She abandoned the breathing techniques of the forest. No longer did her scent carry the smell of plants.
Her identity as an elf was erased.
She forgot the flow of water. No longer did elemental magic resonate within her.
Her identity as a spirit was erased.
The World Tree and the Spirit King could no longer sense Celestia’s existence.
On the night Celestia left Elderheim,
the High Elf representing all elves stood before the World Tree and recounted the day’s events.
Reporting their achievement of returning a being cloaked in the shell of an elf that had insulted the World Tree back to nature.
The highest-ranking spirit, representing all spirits, reported to the Spirit King.
Reporting their achievement of banishing a being that imitated a spirit that slandered the Spirit King from the spirit realm.
This was the untold backstory of the birth of an Object of Destruction a thousand years ago.
And now, a thousand years later,
the distortion and corruption, which had fallen into a deep slumber by the Hero Aurora,
was reawakening in the present world due to the intervention of the Salvation Church, a force working to summon the God of Destruction.
***
Suzuka felt as though she had been dreaming.
Distortion and corruption. The cutscene had evoked a whirlwind of emotions within Suzuka.
The betrayal felt by the World Tree and the Spirit King toward their creations.
The loss of something precious, guilt, anger, and sorrow.
“To save the elves, we must…”
The gravely wounded Fowler stretched his hand toward the Twisted World Tree.
Did he instinctively know? That the World Tree would not forgive the elves, its creations.
The original sin committed by the elves and spirits in the past.
The elderly elf Heidel, who had asked Fowler not to kill the World Tree.
Did he leave such a request because he knew of this original sin?
“You look like you pity me, Suzuka.”
“…Celestia.”
Standing beside Suzuka without her noticing, Celestia’s gaze was fixed on Fowler.
“What you just saw was a part of my memories. What do you think?”
Though startled by Celestia’s words, Suzuka quickly gathered her composure and answered her question.
“It’s heartbreaking. The elves, the spirits, the World Tree, the Spirit King… and you as well.”
The elves could not understand the true will of the World Tree.
Simple communion was inherently limited in conveying meaning.
The same was true for the spirits.
A lack of communication. This was the origin of all tragedies.
Celestia, who had tried to resolve this issue, also suffered greatly.
“They paid for their sins. They cleared their karma. Isn’t there no reason to feel pity for them?”
“…”
Celestia’s words were reasonable. One hundred percent correct.
Suzuka couldn’t refute her because it was an undeniable reaction.
“I don’t care about my kin. I just want to save my mother and my friend.”
Hehehe-
Celestia’s gaze turned toward Fowler.
Above his collapsed body was the figure of the Corrupted Spirit King.
Letting out an unsettling laugh, he stared at Celestia.
“Eli, just wait a little. I’ll restore everything to the way it was.”
The Corrupted Spirit King showed no response.
He simply stared before vanishing, seemingly losing interest.
“…He’s returned to the Spirit Realm.”
Celestia’s gaze returned to Raven and Suzuka.
“Your goal is the Object of Destruction, isn’t it? I can help you.”
“You can help? What do you mean…”
Suzuka couldn’t finish her sentence.
The suffocating pressure conveyed through the air made her close her mouth instinctively.
Raven, Celestia, and Suzuka all turned to look at the same place.
Where the Twisted World Tree stood.
Dark Elves with glowing red eyes were staring at them.
Was the seal broken because Fowler had fallen?
“I’ll suppress the distortion and corruption just like Hero Aurora did.”
“Uh, excuse me! The Dark Elves are coming this way!”
[ Dark Elf Lv.70 ]
Even with a rough count, there were hundreds of Dark Elves charging at them like beasts hunting their prey.
Celestia, who looked at the sight indifferently, opened a subspace.
A rift appeared in the air, spitting out an unidentified magic scroll before disappearing.
“It’s a Teleportation Scroll. You’d better stay still.”
Unless you want to be caught and eaten alive by those Dark Elves.
At Celestia’s following words, Suzuka, trembling with fear, noticed something in her view.
Fowler, the Elf Guardian, lying collapsed in front of them.
He was still faintly breathing.
“Wait, just a moment!”
Without giving anyone time to stop her, Suzuka leaped out of the Teleportation Magic Circle.
Raven followed Suzuka as she bolted out.
Celestia, staring blankly at the scene, placed her hand on her forehead.
“Why…”
“I don’t know!”
Ignoring Fowler’s question as to why, Suzuka lifted him in a princess carry.
“Suzuka! Lower your head!”
Raven, who had caught up late, hastily chanted dark magic—Dark Spear.
Dark magic could be used by both the Ancient Necromancer and the Witch of Sorrow.
Raven used it through the power of the Witch of Sorrow rather than the Ancient Necromancer.
Being a male prince, Raven wasn’t perfectly compatible with the witch’s power.
However, as if to show that he wasn’t just a vessel created to contain the God of Destruction, he quickly grew proficient with its use.
Under Raven’s cover, Suzuka successfully rescued Fowler.
Just as they barely entered the Teleportation Magic Circle, the teleportation activated immediately.
The location they arrived at was near the entrance of Elderheim.
“You’re out of your mind.”
“Haha…”
As a consequence of her reckless action, Suzuka had to endure a barrage of nagging from Celestia.
She glanced at Raven with pleading eyes, but it had no effect.
***
Once the large company party cleared all the main stories in Elderheim,
the outline of the Twisted World Tree Raid, previously shrouded in rumours, began to take shape.
In this raid, the NPC Celestia would join the battle.
However, she wouldn’t fight alongside them throughout the raid.
Instead, Celestia would appear in specific situations to provide assistance.
The Twisted World Tree Raid—minimum entry level, 80.
The highest-level character currently was Daehyeop Kim’s Martial God at level 66.
The rest of the large company party was at level 65.
The average level of the vanguard party was around 63.
Elderheim’s outskirts and inner areas had numerous hidden dungeons.
Hunting grounds were filled with Dark Elves, the Salvation Church, and Corrupted Spirits.
While everyone was obsessed with reaching level 80,
I logged into my alt character after a long time to prepare for the raid.
It wasn’t that I had already met the minimum entry level for the Twisted World Tree Raid.
What I was attempting was a solo clear of the Elder Lich Raid.
Solo clear—short for soloing a raid.
It’s the act of defeating a boss monster meant to be taken down by a group all on your own.
The problem was that the first gate of the Elder Lich Raid was a massive war.
This gate was designed with the difficulty equivalent to an entire raid party—32 members.
But since I couldn’t form a raid party, I had no choice but to attempt it alone.
No matter how notorious I was as the Saint of Exploits, a cheater,
a crazy person, or even Fera = ??? in the community…
Not everyone who played Akare was active on Akagal.
Wasn’t it strange that I kept failing to recruit party members?
It was a reasonable suspicion.
But there was a sad story behind it.
—“An Inquisitor? What’s that class?”
—“Bro, that’s a trash PvP-only class.”
—“Oh, really? Then… sorry.”
“Ah.”
Why did I choose the Inquisitor class?
Why couldn’t I just play the game normally?
There was no one to blame but myself.
This was the path I chose.
I entered the outpost alone.
Bustling—
As expected of the number one game, the outpost was packed with people.
It felt like school lunch hour, where everyone else moved in groups by class,
while I sat alone in a corner, eating in solitude.
Just as I was about to enter the first gate alone,
“Fera.”
“Who…”
At the sound of a familiar voice, I turned around.
“I’ll help you.”
It was Aka-chan in mage attire, looking at me.
“Aka-chan…!”
So, she was leveling her alt just like me!
Tears of joy almost welled up.
“I have one spot left in my raid party for a damage dealer.”
A warrior with tanned skin and bleached blond hair interrupted between me and Aka-chan.
“If you’re not with anyone, why don’t you join us?”
And just like that, an NTR scene unfolded.
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