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Chapter 69
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Deep impulse.
Burning desire.
Uncontrollable instinct.
It was a craving that no mere human’s mental strength could handle.
As her vision, led by this desire, locked onto the Distortion, she caught sight of him.
Daehyeop Kim.
A man who brought legends to life—a hero of the kind one would find only in ancient tales.
He had thwarted the schemes of the Salvation Church and stopped an Ancient Necromancer.
He was the person who had saved her, someone who once had to live only because she couldn’t die.
Even now, the Witch of Sorrow’s lament.
The relentless killing intent of the Ancient Necromancer’s grudge.
Both continued to claw at Raven’s heart.
But for the sake of the one who had shown her the value of life
and comforted her with his warm words,
she could never succumb.
With determined resolve, Raven silenced the whispers of destruction.
Having regained control of her body, Raven belatedly surveyed the situation.
The Distortion, separated from its host, the World Tree,
had already been driven through a portal by Celestia, who had reunited with the World Tree, and Daehyeop Kim.
“Are you okay? You seemed to be in so much pain.”
“…Yes.”
I think I’m okay.
Yet Raven couldn’t bring herself to utter the rest aloud.
She was forced to confront the truth she had been avoiding.
A being far removed from ordinary humanity.
The Object of Destruction.
Realizing her true nature again shook her to the core.
Even so, Raven’s determination remained unbroken.
But while it didn’t falter, it still lay exposed on a trial’s precipice.
This crisis had been overcome somehow, but
could she prevail the next time?
Raven wasn’t sure.
“I guess that counts as proof…”
At Daehyeop Kim’s murmured words, Raven looked up at the distant sky.
Proof.
They had triumphantly defeated the Twisted World Tree.
And had driven out the Distortion, the root of all evil.
The Object of Destruction had made a significant contribution to taking down another Object of Destruction.
That fact alone was proof enough.
Yet, Raven couldn’t fully rejoice in that truth.
Was this truly okay?
Even standing beside a man destined to become a great hero.
Was this really okay?
A small seed of doubt sprouted in her heart.
Even Raven herself didn’t know when that seed would bloom.
At that moment, she sensed someone’s presence nearby.
“Daehyeop~”
“…?”
A familiar, sweet voice, brimming with charm, came from nearby.
Snatch—!
Before anyone realized it, Celestia, having undone her Spiritization, had descended to the ground and threw her arms around Daehyeop Kim with all her might.
“Thank you for helping me! Really!”
“Uh, um… well…”
While Daehyeop Kim looked flustered, Celestia gazed at him with honeyed eyes.
Her coquettish voice and playful tone were laced with clear intent: “I will win this man over.”
Snap!
A powerful emotion blossomed within Raven’s heart.
The jealousy of a legitimate companion toward her romantic rival.
Sensing the rising tension, Daehyeop Kim hurriedly spoke.
“Celestia? So, um, is the World Tree alright?”
“Ah, well…”
Celestia clasped her hands and opened her palms.
There lay a young fairy, exuding a mystical aura.
Branches stretched out from the fairy’s head,
and tiny leaves sprouted at their tips.
The fairy seemed to be asleep, with her eyes closed.
“This is my mother.”
“This is the World Tree?”
Curious, Daehyeop Kim cautiously poked the young fairy’s soft cheeks with his finger.
“She’s soft.”
“Is that your preference?”
“…What kind of preference is that even supposed to be?”
Caught off guard by the sudden remark, Daehyeop Kim quickly stepped back from the World Tree.
Placing the World Tree on her head, Celestia approached Daehyeop Kim.
As she was about to link arms with him…
“R-Raven?”
“…”
Overcome with jealousy, Raven yanked Daehyeop Kim’s arm away.
Celestia was the newcomer.
And when a newcomer tries to oust an embedded presence,
no embedded presence would simply stand by and let it happen.
Raven blatantly expressed her hostility toward Celestia.
“Hmm… am I being envied right now?”
“Yes, you’re quite perceptive. So, back off.”
“And if I refuse?”
A brief exchange passed between the two women.
Soon after, the Witch of Sorrow emerged into the world.
No, to be precise, it was the Witch of Jealousy.
However, her opponent was Celestia.
A half-elf spirit hybrid.
A mage who had risen to the ranks of a Great Mage.
Neither would yield in the slightest.
Raising their respective auras, they sought to gain the upper hand.
Thankfully (or perhaps not), the conflict remained a mere war of wills—for now.
But the moment they clashed, Elderheim would undoubtedly be reduced to ashes.
“That’s enough, both of you.”
Finally, Daehyeop Kim, having observed the situation, stepped in to mediate.
Not wanting to lose his favor, both women quickly withdrew their auras.
“My mother wanted to express her gratitude. She said she’s truly thankful for saving her.”
“I just did what needed to be done.”
“But it’s not something just anyone could do.”
Seizing the opportunity, Celestia took hold of his other arm.
Snatch—!
“My mother says she’d like to give her one and only daughter as a reward…”
The young fairy trembled.
Anyone could tell it was a spur-of-the-moment lie.
Yet, no one called Celestia out on it.
No one except one person.
“Let go. Now. Auntie.”
“…What?”
You just struck a nerve, didn’t you?
The smirk on Raven’s face seemed to say as much.
Raven didn’t stop there; she hit another nerve.
“You’re an auntie. A thousand-year-old auntie.”
“You…!”
A fierce gust of wind swirled around them.
To cause such a storm with sheer willpower alone…
It was truly astonishing, though not good news for Daehyeop Kim.
Thus began Raven and Celestia’s second catfight.
While the first had been WWE, the second was UFC.
The clash of the witch’s magic and the Great Mage’s spells reshaped the surrounding terrain in real time.
Watching the rare spectacle, Daehyeop Kim let out a deep sigh.
“We’re screwed…”
Daehyeop Kim instinctively knew that life in Akare wouldn’t be smooth sailing from now on.
***
Elderheim Aftermath.
This was the main story that automatically progressed after clearing the Twisted World Tree Raid.
In this process, Celestia took on the temporary role of the World Tree’s proxy.
Although she was called a temporary successor, not much had changed from before.
The only notable change was the young fairy, a fragment of the World Tree, now traveling with Celestia.
As a result, Celestia joined the player’s journey.
Could the World Tree’s proxy really afford to do that? It raised some doubts.
But since the World Tree’s main body remained firmly rooted in Elderheim,
and the elves, who had fallen into darkness as Dark Elves due to the Distortion, had returned to their original forms.
The misunderstandings and conflicts caused by over a thousand years of silence.
Celestia became the mediator between the World Tree and the elves.
She unraveled the longstanding knots between the Creator and the created beings.
“This also became an opportunity for the elves to change their perspective.”
The near-brainwashing-like education that had been passed down in elven society for ages.
That the created beings must unconditionally serve their Creator.
The very existence of Celestia became the decisive factor in shattering this perception among the elves.
“By the way, I didn’t expect you to break the final pattern all by yourself in that situation.”
The reason a large company party could reach the pinnacle and sustain itself.
While each member was hardworking and talented,
it was only possible because someone like Daehyeop Kim was the party’s leader.
What Daehyeop Kim showed this time was so shocking that one couldn’t help but think that.
“He also has an oddly high understanding of martial arts.”
Having experienced PvP firsthand, Daehyeop Kim was undoubtedly skilled.
At first, I thought he was an unpolished gem.
But Daehyeop Kim’s combat style was almost fully realized.
Was this the learning speed of a modern human?
It was such unbelievable talent that it raised questions.
Wait, talent?
Why did I assume it was talent?
What if it wasn’t talent?
What if his abnormal growth rate
wasn’t growth at all?
What if he was simply revealing his original skills?
Could it be…
Was Daehyeop Kim someone like me?
“If he ended up in a martial arts world, became a Heavenly Demon, and then returned to Earth, it would explain a lot…”
“That’s just delusion.”
“…Is it?”
Before I knew it, Aka-chan appeared beside me, munching on a macaron.
Does she like macarons that much? She only ever eats macarons for dessert.
Recently, that fairy-themed dessert brand has been trending.
While I was lost in thoughts about desserts,
a question popped into my mind.
“How can you be so sure that Daehyeop Kim isn’t a returnee, Aka-chan?”
Aka-chan’s authority is limited to otherworldly matters.
On the other hand, Daehyeop Kim is clearly an Earthling.
Records about Earthlings are beyond Aka-chan’s jurisdiction.
It was a rather sharp deduction.
While I silently praised myself,
Aka-chan looked at me with a pitiful expression.
“Why… Why are you looking at me like that?”
I felt so self-conscious that I started stammering.
Aka-chan picked up another macaron,
stared at me, and let out a sigh.
“…Sigh.”
Munch, munch—
After taking a bite of the macaron and swallowing it, Aka-chan spoke softly.
“Earth-chan said so. Daehyeop Kim is purely an Earthling.”
“What? You could’ve just told me if you asked!”
This is unfair.
I felt like a fool.
She’s really good at making people feel embarrassed.
Though, I doubt she said it with that intention.
I trust my Aka-chan.
Currently, Aka-chan and I were in the real world.
Since the Twisted World Tree Raid’s first clear was achieved yesterday.
It’s vacation time!
…Not really, but I decided to enjoy a short break.
I had handled most of my pending work.
And there was still some time left before the next Corrupted Spirit King Raid.
I logged into Akagal on my smartphone as always.
“There’s so much to catch up on.”
Each page of concept posts displays 50 entries.
Four more pages had been added since the last one I read.
In other words, there were around 200 posts to go through.
Monitoring was also part of a director’s duties (not really).
With the mindset of tackling additional work, I began meticulously reading the posts.
[Akashic Records Gallery]
Among the 200 recent concept posts, over 150 were related to the Twisted World Tree.
Celestia and Raven’s catfight.
Details about Celestia’s specs as she joined the journey.
There were various topics.
But the most significant portion was about me.
Specifically, about Aurora within the Akare worldview.
Speculations about the static interference in Aurora’s illusion during the Hall of Heroes.
The first location players encounter in the game, the Hall of Heroes.
Countless theories and speculations were flying around.
“Ugh…”
This was honestly troublesome.
The static interference in Aurora’s illusion?
That was just a MacGuffin to create urgency in the situation.
To elaborate, it was simply a result of insufficient mana.
I left the interference effect because it looked good.
But it drew far more attention than I expected.
And the Hall of Heroes.
During the early development of Akare, when deciding on a job selection area,
I couldn’t find any preexisting locations that I liked.
So, I created the space myself.
And the Aurora statue in the centre of the hall?
That was something Aka-chan insisted on at the time. I couldn’t refuse.
In short, the Hall of Heroes had no inherent meaning within the lore.
But with so many speculations swirling among the players,
I now had to assign meaning to something that originally had none.
Otherwise, I’d be accused of being lazy.
Where could I find a good idea?
As I browsed through Akagal with such thoughts in mind…
“The Levilly Republic has opened?”
The first PvP content region in Akare.
A land where orcs and beastfolk coexist (through conflict).
The Levilly Republic had finally revealed itself to the world.
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