“Keke! I’d expected it, but... I suppose they wouldn’t leave the door be,” mumbled Ozenta, a bald, old elf with brown eyes and age spots. “Apologies. It appears they changed where the door is.”

“Tsk, I didn’t have my hopes up anyway,” Kang-San replied as he clicked his tongue.

They had arrived at the place where Ozenta believed the door was to escape Domen, but there was no chance that they would still use it when the prisoners knew its location.

“How are we supposed to find a door in this large-ass place?” Kang-San mumbled as he looked around.

All he could see was an endless horizon. Finding a portal that led to Qetseb in this place was like finding a needle in a haystack.

“It would be possible if you had an S-rank search skill,” Ozenta remarked.

“I don’t have such a thing.”

“Then I suppose we’re out of options. Keke! We’ll have to wait until the pursuit party finds us. You may survive, but we won’t,” Ozenta said firmly.

Kang-San stared at him and said, “You’re awfully unconfident for a former World Ranker.”

“Kekeke! World Ranker, huh? I suppose I was, once. Now, I’m worse than the average Ranker.”

“Your stats may have been taken, but don’t you still have your unique caliber?”

“I do, but it’s useless. My unique caliber isn’t combat-focused.” Ozenta shook his head and continued, “We’re a bunch of staggering weaklings whose powers have been sapped away, against a fully geared elite force. The result is obvious. Though it would be a different story if we had Dalet.”

“Dalet?”

“One of the twenty-two superior bloodlines. They have a rather special place among the bloodlines. They manage the portals that allow us to travel between floors.”

“Even if we had them, I don’t see a reason why they would help us,” Kang-San remarked.

Ozenta nodded. “I suppose. You’re stuck in quite the nasty place. You said that you ended up here as you leaped between space itself, correct?”

“I did.”

“That is likely not a coincidence. I am sure it was Keter’s doing. They controlled the World Tree to disrupt your escape. After all, the entire Elvenheim is their territory.”

“What do you mean?” Kang-San asked.

Ozenta’s cheeks trembled as he asked, “Are you curious about why the World Tree ran rampant?”

“Is there a reason?”

Kang-San had not thought deeply about it. He only knew it had run rampant because the Lumber the World Tree quest had said so.

“The World Tree is... Keter,” Ozenta answered.

“What?”

“To be more exact, they’ve fused. Their unique caliber made it possible.” Ozenta looked up at the sky, staring at the spider web-like roots of the World Tree. “Keke! They weren’t satisfied with stealing power by controlling the World Tree. They became the World Tree herself.”

“That means...”

“The World Tree’s rampage is Keter’s rampage. If not, then... they made her rampage.”

The World Tree is Keter? They caused the rampage on purpose? For what? Kang-San wondered as he stared at Ozenta in confusion.

Ozenta continued, “How far have the World Tree’s roots spread? Where do you think all that power she has absorbed goes to?”

“Are you saying... Keter allowed the World Tree to rampage on purpose to gain more power?!” Kang-San shouted in shock, his mouth agape.

That disaster has already destroyed several cities. Is he saying... it was all deliberate?

“Keke! I know this because of a certain project that had been proposed back when I was still one of the Sefirah.” He continued in disgust, “The Fruit Project, involving the collection of unfathomable power by allowing the World Tree to rampage. It was scrapped because it would turn every race into our enemy—no, I thought it had been scrapped.”

Kang-San remained silent. He couldn’t understand, no matter how hard he thought.

“This has gone way out of hand. Why hasn’t the Sēmen taken action? This is a man-made disaster!”

The least the Sēmen could have done was to sanction Sefirot, but instead, they prohibited the Ten Lords and Fiends from participating.

I knew they were beyond comprehension and weren’t trustworthy, but... This is unlike anything that I’ve ever imagined, Kang-San thought.

He said, “Dammit. I have to get out of here as soon as possible. If Keter willingly allowed the World Tree to rampage, they would never negotiate with the Union.”

Seong-Hwi’s plan had been built on a false assumption. The elves had no intention of stopping the World Tree’s rampage.

Kang-San unsheathed the Dual Dragon Swords.

Ozenta asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Whatever the case may be... we’re on the floor where the manure for the tree is, right? In that case, I’m sure we’ll reach Qetseb eventually as we keep climbing.”

“You’re... going to break through the ceiling? Do you think that’s possible?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Kang-San smiled as he was about to activate the item skill, Sword Poem, but sensed something flying rapidly toward him.

He wondered, A sniper?

He swung the Dual Dragon Swords and split the bullet into two. The bullet disintegrated in midair.

“What was that weak-ass bullet?” Kang-San mumbled.

Just then, a sound echoed from midair. It was from Seong-Hwi, flying toward him with the iridescent Wings of Evolution shining on his back, and carrying Radix at his side.

“Lee Kang-San! I found you!” Seong-Hwi shouted.

“Radix? Cheon Seong-Hwi?”

Kang-San’s eyes widened as he thought, Radix should be at Qetseb, and Cheon Seong-Hwi should be in Subterra. How are they here? Forget that, how did they find me?

Then, he noticed something green in Seong-Hwi’s hand.

“A toothbrush?”

Kang-San remembered the toothbrush; he was sure it was the one he had used back at the Fence Hotel.

He said dumbfoundedly, “The hell? Why is he carrying that?”

***

Seong-Hwi and Kang-San exchanged information about the current situation. Kang-San heard about what had occurred in Subterra from Seong-Hwi, and Seong-Hwi heard about what had happened in Elvenheim and the Fruit Project from Kang-San.

“The Fruit Project,” Seong-Hwi mumbled.

“Yeah. We were mistaken from the beginning. If the World Tree’s rampage is deliberate, they won’t need the Earthquake Stone Fragment.”

The elves have no intention of stopping the World Tree’s rampage? That doesn’t make sense. Then why did the elves make a deal with Orbis in my past life? A completely unfair one on their side, no less? Seong-Hwi wondered.

He could instinctively tell there was a piece of the puzzle he was not yet aware of. In his past life, Keter did not show themselves for an entire year since the World Tree War began.

If it wasn’t to suppress the rampage from worsening, then why did they do nothing but watch as their kind was slaughtered?

Seong-Hwi asked Ozenta, “What does the Fruit represent? Does it mean the power absorbed by the World Tree is transferred entirely to Keter?”

Ozenta shook his head. “No, keke. Even Keter wouldn’t survive if they absorbed that unfathomable power in full.”

“Then, what happens to it?”

“They likely saved it so that they could absorb it little by little.”

That’s it! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly, his eyes shining.

Creo, the God of Heaven, had likely received the Fruit in exchange for handing Keter the Earthquake Stone Fragment. The Fruit was the physical form of all the energy absorbed by the World Tree. A few months after obtaining it, Creo declared the reclamation of the eighth zone and began his challenge of the ninth zone. Considering that, Seong-Hwi could imagine just how much power the Fruit held.

Keter wanted the Earthquake Stone Fragment so much that they were willing to hand over such a treasure to Creo! Such a person could never have thought of the World Tree’s rampage so lightly!

As Ozenta mentioned, Keter might have purposefully started the rampage. However, they might also want to stop it because it had run out of control.

“In any case, since even Radix doesn’t know where the exit is, there’s only one way left,” Kang-San remarked.

“I’m sorry,” Radix replied sorrowfully, feeling responsible that a World Ranker like Kang-San had ended up like this.

“Haha, don’t be so down, Radix. I wouldn’t have even been able to infiltrate Elvenheim if it weren’t for you.”

“It probably would’ve been better if we hadn’t come. Sefirot is... as rotten as before,” Radix mumbled as he stared at the scrawny elves whose powers had been sapped by the World Tree.

He thought, Father... Mother... Sister...

He was sure his family had also met their end as their powers continued to be sapped away.

Kang-San looked back up at the ceiling and mumbled, “Right, then. Let’s get started—”

Just then, powerful vibrations shook the entire Domen along with faint noises.

“What’s going on?” Kang-San said as he looked around the shaking Domen.

The vibrations and noises continued unabated. It was as if fireworks were being set off from afar. The elves swayed, trying not to fall.

“Could it be?” Ozenta’s expression stiffened as he continued, “Elvenheim’s barrier is... being attacked by countless enemies!”

Did Wang Chen succeed? Seong-Hwi mumbled inwardly, his eyes widened.

The measure he had set up to pressure Sefirot had activated right on time.

Now, it’s time for them to act.

If the second measure he had set up also went without a hitch, Keter would have no choice but to respond in one way or another.

***

The translucent green barrier around Elvenheim’s outer village was shaking.

“All guards, assemble!”

“Bring more forces from the inner village!”

“Are the Sefirah not here yet?”

“At this rate, the barrier will break!”

Tae-Jin and Tigrinus, who had been observing the situation around the detainment zone, exchanged glances.

“It’s begun,” Tae-Jin remarked.

“Grrr! It’s as Seong-Hwi said,” Tigrinus said.

“You’ve relayed the message to the others, right?”

“Grrr! Of course! Everyone else in the detainment zone has also had it up to here! We’ve all decided to run to the south as one once the Modesty of Yod is deactivated.”

“Good. Now, it’s this little thing’s turn,” Tae-Jin said as he lifted Bulgasal, rubbing its head on the ground as if its trunk was itchy.

Pwoo?

“It’s time to shine, Trunky!”

Pwoo!

Bulgasal raised its caterpillar-like trunk and placed it on the tree vine floor to fulfill its father’s request.

Pwoooooooooo!

Bulgasal shut its eyes tightly and trumpeted strongly as if blowing its nose. Then, the Rust of Ruin, which had been covering its trunk, was transferred to the tree vines. The Rust of Ruin instantly spread like wildfire from the floor to the pillars, walls, the ceiling, and throughout the detainment zone, nullifying the debuff skill infused in the tree vines.

[Deactivating Modesty of Yod.]

“Huuup!” Tae-Jin grunted, feeling his stats returning.

“Grrr! Growl!” Tigrinus roared, feeling the same thing.

[Activating Race Skill: Tiger Slap.]

Tigrinus drew out his Beast Force and slapped the corroded tree wall with his palm enveloped in a yellow aura. The wall was destroyed with one strike, and the entire detainment zone came into view. The houses and tree vines in the surroundings were all corroded, appearing as if they had been painted dark red.

The other detainees also destroyed the houses one after another once they felt the deactivation of Modesty of Yod. Humans, orcs, birdfolk, dragons, demons, and other races walked out of the houses and screamed.

“Ahhhhh! Damn you, elves!”

“Chwik! How dare they try to suck their guests dry?!”

“They dare threaten the almighty dragons?!”

“Kekek! I’d bet they were planning to feed us to the World Tree!”

Tigrinus shouted, “Roar! Head south! Let’s use this chance to escape Elvenheim!”

The superior races, confident in their abilities, were the first to sprint southward, and the others followed suit. In total, the detainees numbered in the thousands. Sefirot’s elves, who had only been focused on the situation outside the barrier, panicked because of the sudden escape.

“The detainment zone prisoners have escaped!”

“Dammit, of all the times!”

“Capture them all!”

Tae-Jin held the exhausted Bulgasal at his side and said to Tigrinus, “We should go too, Tig.”

Pwoo...

Tigrinus turned to Chlor, staring blankly at the World Tree, and said, “Grrr! Don’t hate us for this, Chlor. Sefirot was the one who imprisoned us first.”

Chlor remained silent, simply staring lifelessly at the World Tree, and thought, The Mother Tree is... a parasite.

After hearing the truth about the World Tree from Seong-Hwi, he had come to an answer after long, arduous thought.

“A tree like that... is better off not existing.”

***

“Chwik! Avenge our fallen comrades!”

“Destroy the barrier!”

“Chwik! Massacre those long-eared bastards!”

Orcs drew out their red Battle Force as they smashed their weapons into Elvenheim’s barrier. Behind them were centaurs, endlessly firing arrows infused with skills. They had begun an all-out attack on the barrier.

“Fire! Keep firing!”

“Whinny! We’ll cut you down so that you can never root yourself down again!”

Bodonchar, the large grey orc with tusks reaching his cheekbones, encouraged his subordinates, shouting, “Chwik! This is our chance! We don’t know how long they will cooperate for!”

Chiron, the centaur with his arms crossed, expressed confusion beside Bodonchar and posed, “Hmm... Don’t you think it’s strange, Bodonchar? Why have the forces who were aiming to clear the Kill Insectum quest gathered here?”

“Chwik! What does that matter?! All we need to do is break the barrier!”

“Hmm...”

Chiron remained suspicious as he looked around.

“Break it down!”

“Burn down the World Tree!”

“And bring me the human named Cheon Seong-Hwi!”

That’s the three-headed dragon, Adi Dahak. The leader of Clan Incendio, under Echion’s banner, Chiron thought.

“Ohoho! A human, huh? Humans have an amicable relationship with Necrophilia. I don’t like the fact that they are close to that bitch Gula, but... It doesn’t matter. After all, that human will fall for me!”

That’s Andrealphus, an archdemon of Necrophilia.

“Break this barrier! Bring judgment to the heathen who dared to destroy the God of Heaven’s statue!”

That’s Raziel, a first-grade angel of Orbis.

“Smash! Smash! Smash! Think of this barrier as Old Man Modak’s face!”

And even Ursi of Barbaria...

None of them was to be trifled with. Although Bodonchar and Chiron were also World Rankers, they were near the bottom. They might not survive in a battle against any of them.

“Why are they working together to destroy the barrier when they would normally never associate with one another?” Chiron wondered.

“Chwik! Stop thinking so much, Chiron! I’m sure they’re enticed by the immense rewards that would come with clearing the Lumber the World Tree quest!” Bodonchar remarked.

Chiron thought momentarily and mumbled, “In any case, I suppose we’ll only find out once the barrier is broken.”

“Chwik! That’s the problem! It’s not breaking at all!”

The translucent barrier before them was enduring the combined attack of countless individuals.

[The Barrier of Yesod, Bet, Heth, and Samekh is closing off this space.]

“Dammit! Chwik! How much longer do we have to hit this thing?”

“I’ll say—Hm?”

Chiron suddenly noticed a crack forming on the barrier. He initially thought he had seen wrong, but the crack widened over time. A portion of the barrier suddenly shattered, and a group of various races ran out from the inside.

[The Barrier of Yesod, Bet, Heth, and Samekh is severely damaged.]

“Yeah! We’re finally out!”

“Freedom!”

“The hell? Orcs and centaurs?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but just keep running!”

“Looks like a war’s broken out!”

“Serves you right, fucking elves!”

They were the detainees who had broken the barrier from the inside, where it was the weakest, to escape Elvenheim. The city was clearly visible from the giant hole in the translucent barrier, and so was the colossal tree at its center.

“Chwik! That’s the World Tree! I can’t even imagine how much my caliber will heighten if I destroy it! Chiron!” Bodonchar, his eyes shining with madness, called Chiron, who also put away his suspicions after seeing the sight inside the barrier.

This was a chance they couldn’t afford to let slip away.

“Get on, Bodonchar! I’ll let you ride me, just for today!” Chiron shouted.

“Ahaha! As long as we’re together, we won’t lose to anyone here!” Bodonchar got on Chiron’s back and commanded, “Chwik! Charge! Steal, kill, and burn everything you see!”

Foreign races had invaded Elvenheim.