Finished (1)
Chapter 310
Ray’s head throbbed.
The tumult of emotions was so overwhelming that it made reality feel distant and surreal.
He couldn’t quite tell if the wave of feelings crashing over him now was joy at realizing that all his struggles hadn’t been meaningless…
Or anger and frustration because no matter how much he fought, the outcome of a hundred years of war had already been decided.
Ray suppressed the chaotic torrent of emotions roiling within him and steadied his mind. He hadn’t yet fully grasped his opponent’s intentions, so he couldn’t afford to appear weak.
“What is the reason for responding to the enemy’s machinations?”
The physical form created by forcibly blending the powers of different transcendent beings wouldn’t last forever. Once the time when dimensions align in sequence had completely passed, it would reach its limit.
That duration was a hundred years, and the current non-devil forces were more than capable of enduring it.
Even so, Ray doubted whether this gamble set up by the enemy, risking the fate of the world itself, was justified for the elves.
“Could you be hiding some other purpose?”
“There are two reasons. If the south becomes entirely corrupted, it will come dangerously close to Mother’s domain. We can’t predict what variables during the hundred-year war might threaten Mother.”
“…”
“And, humans talk about grand plans spanning centuries, but to us, a hundred years is a short period.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Even if we win the hundred-year war, it’ll be nearly impossible to restore even half of the land that has already been corrupted and transformed into the Demonic Realm. I assure you, El-Lam’s kind… if things continue like this, we’re bound to fail within a thousand years.”
Ramenta’s prediction was entirely wrong.
As long as Luna existed, humanity would push back the expanding Demonic Realm before the alignment of dimensions fully concluded. The Demonic Realm would shrink back to its original boundaries and perhaps even contract further.
But assuming that scenario, Ray still couldn’t fully understand the urgency shown by the World Tree.
Perhaps even transcendent beings couldn’t foresee changes that an entity capable of creating ‘powers’ in the future might bring.
“…”
Regardless, Ramenta insisted that Preches’ resurrection must be stopped at any cost.
Ray agreed internally. He was prepared to expend his remaining life, which wasn’t very long, to achieve this goal.
However, he didn’t show it on the surface just yet.
“How many troops do you plan to send to the Demonic Realm?”
“Aquitas and I will go directly.”
Out of the three remaining Guardians of the World Tree, two were stepping forward. This was essentially staking the ‘future of the world.’
However, outside the World Tree’s domain, only Ramenta could serve as a Lord-class force, with Aquitas being slightly weaker.
Ultimately, they’d need to gather the upper echelon of human combatants and throw them all in to invade the Demonic Realm and reach Preches.
“Do you have sufficient evidence to support what you’ve explained to me? Without it, we can’t do anything.”
“It’s sufficient.”
“You said you roughly located Preches?”
“Yes.”
“Roughly?”
“Roughly.”
“Why don’t we just drop a meteorite there?”
Even without revealing Luna, sharing the data from the celestial map would allow Ramenta to cast Meteo quickly enough.
Moreover, hundreds of mages from the anti-devil factions would assist Ramenta.
“We also have data left behind by Resina…”
“I’ve heard about what Resina ‘left behind.’ But you know the problem.”
Using Meteo to intercept Preches had its issues.
Firstly, Meteo requires extremely precise calculations, making it impossible to deploy inside the Demonic Realm. It might be barely feasible near regions with low contamination levels, like the Forbidden Forest, but aiming it deep into the Demonic Realm could lead to disastrous miscalculations.
However, the real issue lay elsewhere.
“The Demonic Realm has been spatially separated after being eroded by the influence of evil gods for thousands of years.”
Bombarding the spatially separated Demonic Realm from the outside would inflict minimal damage. Most physical forces would simply be deflected.
If such conditions didn’t exist, the Demonic Realm wouldn’t be called the invincible fortress and cradle of devil worshippers.
“Meteo has its limits too.”
The larger the diameter of the meteor, the bigger the ultra-long-range Gate must be. Each slight increase in Gate size exponentially increased mana consumption.
Additionally, the greater the relative speed difference between the meteor and the planet, the higher the probability of the spell failing.
“Even if we could tear through the spatial separation and drop a meteor powerful enough to annihilate Preches…”
Such power would shatter entire continents.
Deploying Meteo to harm the Demonic Realm and pushing forward with the strategy might work, but ultimately, troops would need to enter and strike Preches directly.
Ray mulled over Ramenta’s explanation and asked again.
“Long-term warfare inside the Demonic Realm is absolutely impossible. Rough location data isn’t enough. Can we secure accurate coordinates for Preches?”
“Yes. The most reliable compass pointing towards Preches has appeared.”
“What?”
“El-Lam’s kind. Since you carry a clear residual trace of El-Lam, preparing a tracking magic that targets Preches, who fundamentally shares the same energy, won’t be difficult.”
“So, then…”
“Ray.”
Luna suddenly interjected.
Turning around, Ray saw Luna’s silver eyes brimming with confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
“…”
“You’re going to the Demonic Realm with that body?”
“Luna, let’s hear them out first…”
“Ray…!”
“Luna.”
Ray placed his hand on Luna’s cheek and bit his lips tightly for a moment.
Luna had always respected Ray’s will and choices, and she surely would this time too. However, Ray knew that forcing her to accept this decision would undoubtedly leave scars on her heart.
Thus, despite the guilt and regret welling up inside him, Ray didn’t waver.
“Let me hear the story first.”
“…”
“Just wait a little longer.”
Silently staring into Ray’s silver eyes, Luna emitted strong emotions of anger and resentment.
Forcing himself to ignore those feelings, Ray turned back to Ramenta.
“The preparation time for war is too short.”
To invade the Demonic Realm before Preches’ revival, they had about five months at most. Though most nations, including the Empire, had readied their military forces after observing the activities of devil worshippers, five months was still too brief.
“Gather a ragtag group and charge into the Demonic Realm?”
“Time is short, so I came urging haste, yet you moved leisurely, El-Lam’s kind.”
Ramenta’s mockery left Ray without a proper retort, causing him to chuckle dryly.
“There’s a 90% chance my active advocacy for invading the Demonic Realm will be ignored.”
“We have no choice but to trust you. You’re the only one who experienced the future Mother showed us. Please take responsibility.”
Ramenta handed Ray a vial made of translucent leaves.
Ray tilted the vial, watching the liquid slosh around, and blinked at Ramenta.
“What is it?”
“It’s a liquid collected from filtering Mother’s tears. Since you humans are also born from Mother’s earth, it should work.”
Ramenta added that while its mechanism of action differed, it had effects similar to a potion.
“Use it when your life is in danger or you suffer injuries that could lead to such an outcome.”
“I understand.”
Nodding, Ray uncapped the vial and drank the liquid in one gulp.
Glug glug, Ray emptied the vial in a single breath.
Ramenta watched the scene with a stunned expression before muttering.
“For use in emergencies…”
“Oh, I get it, it’s urgent right now. We just had a big fight with your mother, you know?”
The sky, which had split apart, was slowly repairing itself. Though not visibly broken anymore, Ray’s mortal body had taken a toll producing such results.
As Ray rose to his feet, intending to ask for another vial upon entering the Demonic Realm, he sat back down.
“One more question.”
“…Alright.”
“If we eliminate Preches, will it resolve Resina’s issue as well?”
“…Genesis is a sacred artifact of great significance to us. If it weren’t for Preches, it wouldn’t have been used so wastefully. Yes, removing Preches will free Resina. However, is that liberation for the girl who’s left with nothing but a shell?”
“…”
Ray paused briefly to think.
Ramenta had clearly advised against unnecessary provocation.
There was nothing to gain from antagonizing Ramenta, who was emotionally connected to the World Tree in its state of extreme anger.
Still, Ray eventually said something.
“What are you pretending to worry about now?”
Staring silently at Ray, Ramenta smirked and replied.
“If the time comes, please take good care of our little darling. Unless you intend not to return her, that is.”
*
Ray returned to the base city, Rife.
The imperial delegation waiting in Rife for Ray was surprised by his swift return.
The reinforcements from the royal family had yet to arrive in Rife.
While there might not be direct armed conflict between Alexander, the Margrave of the Empire, and Ray…
They had hoped Ray would return after the reinforcements sent by the royal family to monitor Alexander had arrived, and they had subtly hinted at this to Ray.
But since Ray ignored their advice and returned quickly, it left a bitter taste.
Meanwhile,
Alexander was equally startled upon confirming Ray’s return from afar.
Ray was approaching Rife with a significant number of elves, and their presence exuded formidable power.
No, their aura wasn’t merely “formidable.”
Shockingly, among them was a Lord-class entity.
Given the situation, Alexander couldn’t help but seriously suspect that Ray had brought the elves to overshadow him.
Though it was an absurd assumption, the circumstances led to it.
Then, as soon as Ray entered Rife, he pushed everyone else aside and approached Alexander.
“I have an urgent matter to discuss. Could you block out prying ears?”
“…”
It was a request to deploy the Absolute Domain.
Since it wasn’t a difficult task, Alexander complied with Ray’s request.
While outwardly showing no reaction, Alexander was deeply shocked.
Alexander was already aware of and acknowledged the astonishing achievements and realm Ray had attained despite his young age.
However, even mastering Spatial Blade, it was incredibly difficult for Ray to inflict effective harm on Alexander at close range.
That was the nature of Swordmasters.
Yet, in an instant, Alexander sensed a chilling aura emanating from Ray.
It wasn’t because Ray intentionally emitted killing intent toward Alexander.
Rather, it was the transcendent perception of a Swordmaster that detected the danger posed by the nearby presence.
Alexander found it absurd and smirked faintly.
The chill he had felt earlier couldn’t have been a mistake. So, did Ray deliberately hide his true strength during their first meeting? Did that even make sense?
As Alexander mulled over the shock, Ray began speaking.
“Given the lack of time, I’ll skip political rhetoric. My apologies.”
“…?”
“I am aware that you, Lord Alexander, possess ambitions worthy of your lofty accomplishments and stature.”
“Hmph…”
“But do you also harbor patriotism befitting those accomplishments?”
If not, sending troops into the Demonic Realm would be impossible.
