"What did you do to Linmel?"
"I just brought forward the possibility of her reaching her future."
"I didn't think it would be this much, but three minutes. Does that even make sense? It took her three minutes to break through that witch's den. You'd do well not to lose her."
"What I mean is, are there any problems?"
"You wouldn't believe me even if I said there weren't. But there really aren't any, so I have nothing to say."
"The only side effect is that it's a one-time thing, but is that really a problem?"
"... I'll try to believe you."
I ran toward the back of the World Tree, letting the rain fall on me. It was a ridiculously large tree, so even circling it once took quite some time. I activated my Tide Sense beforehand and observed the situation.
I couldn't feel anything.
"By the way. Why are you going?"
"They're fighting over me. I can't just stay out of it."
"No, you should run away first. If it's about relaying the situation to Brimdal, I can do that for you."
"You're going to make the Empire's greatest knight and the worst witch fight here? The two who might become your masters?"
"Yes."
"What's the reason?"
Azrael, who despite his age, lightly kept pace with me with bouncing steps, kept chattering and pestering me with questions. Growing annoyed, I shot back at him.
"Azrael, I understand your goal. You want to use me to make my Master sane again and achieve that 'liberation' of yours, don't you? If so, just leave it alone."
"Hmm, similar, but different."
"What is it, then?"
"I believe that woman Dersia can never return to her senses. She's already crossed a line she can't return from. She cannot liberate us."
"... Why?"
Azrael answered as if it were obvious.
"How many elves do you think I've seen? That one is a lost cause."
"She'll probably return after a few thousand years when she's tired of digging up the world as she pleases. Then I'll receive her memories and send another elf."
"Then I understand even less. Why are you helping me? No, rather, are you interfering? To be honest, I don't know what you're trying to do."
"First, it's to get that woman out of here so this stable doesn't collapse. Second, it's to gather information."
"Pardon?"
Information?
As I ran, I looked at Azrael, and he nodded.
"Usually, when they've accumulated so much that they can no longer remain sane, they become extremely withdrawn and show interest only in the field they are engrossed in."
"What about it?"
"You fool, what is your Master working for?"
"Me. But that's because I'm her disciple, right?"
"That's a bit off the mark..."
Azrael looked at me with a meaningful expression.
"What are you talking about?"
"It means you're a curious one. I will observe you and find out just how you managed to influence Dersia. Then, I'll use that knowledge to raise the next messiah."
For a moment I was at a loss for words, then I snapped back.
"Don't seek your salvation through others."
"Kekeke, it is all for us. Even using you."
So his barrage of questions was to gather data. As soon as the idle talk ended, Dersia and Brimdal came into view. The good thing was, the two of them weren't fighting.
"... Hmm."
Brimdal was holding Dersia's head. Thankfully, what dripped was not blood but sap. As Brimdal grunted, vines were wrapped around his fist.
Roots that moved on their own, not attached to any stem.
"How troublesome."
Crunch!
The moment Brimdal applied a bit of force, it shattered with a crisp sound, like a watermelon breaking.
"If I were to say something like 'Fight me fair and square,' what would you say?"
"I would have to answer, 'Is it the way of a knight to beg for victory from one's opponent?'"
"Yes. You people are like that."
Dersia was sitting on a branch, tens of meters up in the air. Reading a book with an expression no different from usual, she looked perfectly fine. She probably was perfectly fine.
That was the problem.
"... However, I shall be the one to take victory."
"Hmm."
Brimdal threw aside the clump of roots tied to his hand. If the World Tree were truly alive, it would have vomited several times at the sight. Gruesomely crushed and torn roots, leaves, and branches.
Even with the rain pouring down, the rank, grassy scent that filled my nose attested to the brutality of the battle.
"Delusions are free, but you should look at reality."
When Dersia flicked her finger, the plants rose again. They rose again in their gruesomely torn state, as if they were immortal. They didn't just take the form of roots.
Among them were human mannequins that resembled Dersia. They gripped swords. A few of them had stars twinkling in their eyes.
"... This is insane."
Why was Dersia using such a method? She had planted a world inside a human made of plants. Only then did I notice the rain piercing the sky.
Was this what was reviving those plants?
"Reality, you say..."
Watching Brimdal raise his sword with a frown, I thought of another possibility. Why was Dersia controlling roots instead of using her usual magic of killing opponents with that fountain pen? I had dismissed it lightly, thinking, 'Is it because we're near the World Tree, making it more efficient?'
No. It was an experiment. The reason she was deliberately using such means was to obtain even a little more information. It was all for me.
"She's watching. So this is it."
Bang!
Brimdal, who had been watching the approaching plant mages, suddenly broke through in one spot and leaped toward me.
"...!"
Only then did Dersia see that I, who should have been inside the hollow, was outside, and she flinched in surprise.
Too late.
Brimdal hid me behind him, twirled his sword, and aimed it at Dersia.
"You were careless in managing your hostage. Not very terrorist-like."
"What will you do now?"
Dersia, who had been frowning for a moment, closed her book and sighed. Brimdal aimed his sword without moving a muscle. His presence was beyond sharp; it felt as if a wrong breath could get you cut.
"No matter what magic you use, at this distance, I can escape with your disciple..."
"Yes. I suppose there's no helping it. Congratulations on your victory."
"... What?"
Brimdal stared at Dersia with a dumbfounded expression. But she paid him no mind, answering in a light, slow tone as she waved her hand.
"Hostage? What nonsense. My plan was to get you out of the way and then go back to persuade him. If that still didn't work, I would have had to let him go."
"No, what the..."
It wasn't just words. Brimdal tilted his head in extreme confusion as he watched all the plant soldiers collapse. He must have been flabbergasted.
Usually, when a hostage escapes, the fight would move on to a second phase, but she just gave up. He must be thinking, 'Was this something we could have resolved with a conversation?'
Absolutely not.
Leaving the bewildered Brimdal behind, I took a step forward and asked.
"Master. Please wait a moment."
"Jern, is there something more you have to say?"
"There are a few things I'd like to ask. Can you answer them?"
"I thought our discussion ended in the hollow."
"Didn't you just say you were going to try persuading me again after brutally murdering Sir Brimdal?"
"I did not say it in quite that way."
Dersia narrowed her eyes and bent a branch toward us.
"Jern."
"It's alright. Please leave it to me."
"... Hmm."
I stopped Brimdal and spoke with Dersia, who had approached.
"What are you curious about?"
"Have you still not stopped the work of turning innocent elves into mages, then into fallen ones, just to offset my burden to save me?"
"Yes. As I said before, there is no problem with this. I cannot understand why you cannot accept even this."
"Why should I accept it?"
"Do you see this?"
Dersia raised one of the plant mages. In the water-filled knothole that served as its eyes, there was a star, however incomplete.
"Can you make that fall in that state?"
"Of course not. It cannot feel pain, nor can it think, so it cannot be made to fall. It is merely a tool that manifests a programmed spell."
"Then what's the point of this?"
"Does this look human to you?"
"No." "Then there would be no problem in killing it."
The plant mage turned back into a mess of roots. Dersia, who watched this impassively, muttered to me.
"That shaman must have filled your head with useless, false knowledge."
"... False?"
"Hey, you brat. You're not actually believing that crazy bitch, are you?"
"Of course. She is my Master."
I trusted Dersia's truthfulness more than Azrael's. This incident made it as clear as day. If Dersia truly wanted to save me by any means necessary, she would have deceived me about her methods. 'This causes no harm.
No new fallen ones will be created. There is nothing inside the hollow.'
Like that.
Because she knew I would refuse, in order to achieve her goal. But Dersia did not hide a single thing. She explained in great detail her goal, her reasons, and even the means and methods.
She couldn't be compared to the sinister Azrael.
"Ha, this is so unfair I could die. What lies have I told?"
"He would say something like, he failed to destroy this livestock pen."
"That's close enough."
"I apologize, but no. Actually, I am not sorry at all... I truly do not care what happens to the elves."
Dersia narrowed her eyes, looking annoyed.
"To be more honest, I am extremely ashamed. I feel like hiding in a hole, having my disciple see how uncivilized my race is."
"No, it's not that bad—" "Living as they please, and when their karma piles up, they blame not themselves but the passage of time, or say that's just how their race is, shirking all responsibility until they choose to escape by losing all their memories... isn't that a bit much?"
I had so much to say that I couldn't answer. I also agreed. And I almost pointed out that she, Dersia, had also run away.
I almost asked if it was a racial trait. But I figured it was better to just keep my mouth shut, so I said nothing.
"Anyway, among all that useless, false knowledge, there is one thing he must have told you that was true. And that is the collection of memory."
"Collection of memory?"
"Yes. This is why I chose the elves. That being, Azrael, can store the memories of elves."
"In other words, he can extract the painful memories used for the Fall. If he does that, only the fallen one remains."
"... What's the difference? In the end, doesn't that just create a fallen one whose process wasn't painful?"
"It is different. First, the lives these elves lead in the pen have no value."
"It is literally a complete waste."
"Furthermore, the pain during the Fall also does not exist."
"They are but tools made to be used, so why on earth are you telling me not to use them?"
"No, you crazy bitch!"
Azrael, who must have snapped while listening, jumped out, pointing his finger.
"Though the way my race lives may not be admirable, we have done nothing to deserve being used like objects!"
"You have."
Azrael was speechless.
"That is also one of the many ways to persuade you, Jern."
"By your standards, these elves have committed sins that would outrage both heaven and man."
"They are sinners who have forgotten even the anguish that would make them want to die."
"Using them for a greater cause without pain and then sending them on their way... What is the problem?"
"On what basis do you distinguish between that plant human and an elf?"
"Haa..."
I pressed my temples. Once again, there was much to say. However, this time, I could choose the right words among them.
"Master."
"Yes. I am listening."
"I do not want to have 'that could be an option' on the table. I do not want to recognize it as something to be considered."
"I have weighed the options enough."
I met her eyes. I only just realized it, but even the usual Dersia had one thing different about her. There was a little more clarity in her eyes.
"Is that so?"
"Will you give up?"
"I cannot do that."
Dersia slowly shook her head.
"You know me. And I know you. I believe further words are meaningless."
Dersia turned her body and started to leave. This is probably the end. Just because we can talk doesn't mean it will necessarily lead to an exchange of opinions.
Dersia will continue that hellish research. With the goal of saving me.
Therefore.
"Words are meaningless."
I knew a way to make compressing the wind easier. To put it into a space created by water pressure.
Kwaang!
"Hmm."
The Thunder Wind was split in half, belying its name. Dersia didn't lift a finger. Without even looking back, she split my high-class magic with her consciousness alone.
Perhaps she wasn't even conscious of it. However, she seemed to have realized something, as she turned her head with a quizzical expression.
"Thunder Wind... hmm, I see. I had only presented it as a possibility, yet without any guidance... you reached it on your own?"
"Dersia."
I called her by her name.
"Let's take off our ranks and have a go."
"...?"
For the first time, a visible change appeared on her expression.
Dersia looked at me with a baffled expression.
"You want to fight me?"
"Yes."
"Umm..."
Dersia, who was contemplating for a moment, muttered while looking at me.
"Jern, you... weren't this foolish, I thought... Is it because you were trained by a knight... Have you become more belligerent... I wonder."
"I know I can't actually do it. So please, give me a chance."
"A chance."
I borrowed a short sword from Brimdal, who was watching me with interest, and slowly increased the distance between myself and Dersia.
"I have currently reached the 2-Star level."
"I see. Congratulations."
"You are restricted to using only 2-Star magic, and you must not move from that spot."
"You must not use any other magical tools either. If you break these conditions, it's my victory."
"Umm....."
Dersia looked at me with a troubled expression. It would be difficult for her to understand the meaning behind me proposing a fight while piling on conditions favorable to myself.
"Did you injure your head?"
"Dersia. If you win, I will become your faithful disciple from now on."
A strange light flickered in her eyes.
"Explain."
"No Brimdal, no Azrael, no reinforcements. Just you and me. A duel. The conditions are as stated."
I flicked the sword. Water dripped onto the ground, and the blade shone brightly.
"If I lose, I will use others, be they human or elf, as a means for survival without any hesitation. Anything to add?"
"And what if I lose?"
I had already decided on this.
"Allow me to control your memories as I see fit. Using Azrael's ability."
"What."
Azrael, who was standing beside me, was more surprised. Dersia, however, didn't seem that surprised and slowly nodded.
"Control my memories at will and make me a slave... that's the idea, I see."
"Slave is a bit much... I won't go that far. I'll just completely erase all memories related to this matter."
"Hmm. So it is a duel for control over one another."
"Yes. Is it too much to put a 2-Star and a 9-Star on the same scale?"
"No." Dersia cut me off sharply.
As if she didn't want to miss the opportunity.
"When do we start?"
"Since I proposed it, you decide."
Drip.
Suddenly, the rain stopped. Dersia cut off the magic that dominated this area. She gave up her 9-Star magic and confined herself to the small room of 2-Star.
"Now! It's an opening! Go attack, you stupid, tall dwarf knight!"
Azrael immediately shouted something, but Brimdal just crossed his arms and ignored him.
"What are you doing? This is a golden opportunity your disciple created for you! Can't you see?"
"I saw."
"You stupid fool, then why aren't you jumping at it?"
"It seems that elf needs to see this through as well."
"?"
We ignored them too. Holding the sword, I maintained my distance and created a sphere of wind to shoot the Thunder Wind. I knew my limit.
A maximum of three. If I draw the bowstring more than that, my shoulder will collapse. However, its power is sufficient to threaten the body of a 2-Star mage.
Thunder Wind is high-class magic. Even for Dersia, she cannot produce the same destructive power with 2-Star magic.
"We shall begin in ten seconds."
After saying that, Dersia suddenly showed a very satisfied smile.
"Jern. There is no turning back now."
"Yes. I know."
"Therefore, I will give you a chance to surrender. Check behind me with your Tide Sense."
"...?"
I blinked.
After learning the magic-reinforced body, I became able to check the flow of mana with Tide Sense. When a spell manifested, I could see an empty space in the Deep Sea. And I frowned.
"This is cheating."
"I told you. There is no turning back."
Nothing special, just very small wind arrows. Magic closer to the level of 1-Star than 2-Star. However, there were many.
So many that I might mistake the inside of the sea for being parted like the Red Sea. With about two seconds left until the start, I realized once again a fact I already knew.
"You must have been ashamed."
Even if she were restricted to 1-Star. That I could never, ever beat Dersia, not even if I died and came back to life.
"To think you would choose to defeat me in this way."
9.5-Star.
The Empire's greatest mage didn't even need a fan to create a typhoon.