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#226. The Last Forest (8)
Ray, who had released his sensory synchronization, slowly opened his eyes and looked around.
Fireflies floating in the sky.
Children who are fast asleep.
The interior was completely quiet, as if the commotion outside was insignificant.
“Yeah.”
I picked up the child, who was groaning as if he was having a nightmare, and held him in my arms.
Soon the tossing and turning stopped and my breathing returned to normal.
Saegun─ Saegun─
Ray looked down at the child in his arms who was holding him tightly.
… the small warmth pressed against my body felt good.
Ray, who had been standing still in a dazed state for some reason, came to his senses and counted the number of children.
‘One, two, three… there are too many.’
He changed positions, placed one child on each side, and then floated the rest of the children up with his mind.
Children, taking various poses in the air, followed Ray out of the room.
Knock—knock—knock—
The labyrinth was complex, but finding the path wasn’t that difficult.
This was because the structure had not changed at all compared to the time of entry.
There were vines everywhere, but they didn’t seem to be blocking the path.
To be exact.
The entire labyrinth was frozen, not functioning, like a machine that had lost its power.
The World Tree must be busy right now, concentrating its attention elsewhere.
To put out fires by making rain fall on the entire forest, and to spread vines to subdue homunculi.
Ray had released his sensory synchronization in order to respect the will of the World Tree.
─From now on, without any help, just me.
It was an idea that was passed down word for word.
It seemed almost like an act of atonement for his silence thus far.
‘He must have been really worried inside. Even though he said firmly on the outside that he trusted the children and wouldn’t help them in any way.’
This was something that could be seen from the fact that as soon as you entered the labyrinth, you were guided to the room where the children were.
How far did it move like that?
As I bent down and stepped out of the round hole, my vision suddenly brightened.
The light is gradually fading.
The scenery unfolded before my eyes.
Swaaa …
A clear rain was wetting all around.
Homunculi were seen lying fallen and tied to vines all over the village.
And right in front.
“The human boy has returned…!”
“Children… the missing children…!
Surprised-faced elves surrounded the area.
Red, orange, yellow, green… … .
Colorful emotions sparkled in the moist scenery.
“Raphi!”
“Stella…!”
The parents came running, hugged their children tightly, and stroked their heads with a carefree gesture.
Ray handed the child he was holding to the woman who approached him hesitantly.
“Ah… ahhh… thank you. Really, really… thank you.”
The tears my parents shed mixed with the rain and flowed down my cheeks.
… I know that the emotional range of elves is much smaller than that of humans.
I wonder if that fact doesn’t apply in front of children.
As I was lost in thought for a moment, Gantt approached me and asked.
“…Is the silence over?”
With the question, all eyes in the room were fixed on Ray.
In the deep silence, Ray looked around the crowd and nodded quietly.
“The World Tree…!”
“Finally silence…!”
A shiver ran through the elves.
It was something I had expected, but when it became reality, the feeling I got was different.
Gant asked, his lips quivering with a blank expression for a while.
“Who the hell are you?”
“… … .”
Ray was silent.
I knew it wasn’t a question asking for my name, age, or anything like that.
[Soul recognition complete. Welcome to your second visit, user number 1.]
The guidance sound heard when visiting Ignis’ Cube in Sector 37.
[The soul feels somehow familiar.]
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[I remembered. It was you.]
The first and last thoughts of the world tree.
And the doctor who has been acting as if he knows this.
Even the boy who had lost his wit could not help but have doubts about the clues that kept overlapping.
Why do I lack emotions?
Are you sure you were born in sector 50?
Why are you looking at Mana with your eyes?
I… who the hell am I?
Swaaa …
Although cold raindrops fell on my head, my thoughts, once heated, showed no signs of cooling down easily.
Tail-wagging doubts and confusion.
A conclusion that is not easily reached.
But one thing was clear.
“I am.”
The boy’s voice filled the space, pushing away the sound of the heavy rain.
“I’m a rainbow seeker.”
“Rainbow, what father said was right.”
The question came from the village entrance.
Everyone who turned their heads could see a brown-haired woman with a face distorted with sadness.
“Elf…?”
“Was there an elf like that in the village?”
Ray spoke as he stepped forward towards the elves who had not yet grasped the situation.
“I thought you had completely run away.”
“No way… Where would a mother leave her child behind?”
Upss, with a wet voice, spread his arms.
The feeling of obsession that shone through her bowl was still vivid.
“You said you were looking for a rainbow. Now, come here and hold me in your arms. I can help you. Just leave everything to me and relax.”
“Don’t move from there. I’ll attack you the moment you take even one step.”
Ray spat coldly and checked his condition.
My heart felt hot.
Conversation with the World Tree.
Use of green gems.
As if the two experiences had given him some kind of enlightenment, the point of mana drawing the fourth ring was slowly returning to normal speed after accelerating once.
I had a feeling that the 4th circle was not far away.
‘But right now, it’s only 3 circles. And the enemy in front of you is 4 circles.’
If we face off, can I win?
This one’s mental power was greatly depleted from operating the green jewel.
The elves are not much different from the homunculi in their battles.
On the other hand, Upseth, who had never been on a battlefield before, would have been in full force.
Moreover, I have no idea what kind of magic other than the charm type is used.
… is disadvantageous in many ways.
I continued the conversation while remaining alert to buy time to recover my mental strength.
“Can you help me find the rainbow?”
Upseth’s face brightened as Ray showed interest.
“Yes, I can help you. I know where the Rainbow Fragments are. Of course, it’s not exactly accurate, but I can guarantee you that it will help you a lot.”
“But you said it with your own mouth. You said you were ordered by the Doctor to eliminate me. As far as I know, you can’t disobey the Doctor’s orders.”
Did I hit the nail on the head?
Ups*x, with his mouth tightly shut, looked at me blankly for a while before speaking.
“A little bit of rebellion… isn’t hard. If your love for you is greater than your respect for your father. You’ll feel pain that won’t let you scream… but if you think about my child, if you think about my child, you can endure that much.”
“I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with me.”
“Well… you are a very special child. Your father was right.”
Ray asked back.
“I guess the doctor talked a lot about me?”
“He said that I had to stop you. Even if it meant stopping all the orders I was carrying out. And that’s what he said. At first, I recognized your existence and thought that it would never happen, but as I watched, I became convinced.”
“What else?”
“… He said that you are the one who can achieve anything in the world if you put your mind to it. He said that compared to the power you possess, the test subjects he researches are nothing more than child’s play.”
Ups*x, who had put a period on the long sentence, spread his arms even wider.
“Is this the answer? Come here quickly and warm this mother’s cold arms.”
I still need more time to recover.
“I─.”
As I was thinking like that and trying to continue the conversation.
widely.
Ray felt something touch the palm of his hand facing backwards.
Smooth feel.
A crystal of pure mana.
Veronica approached cautiously and was handing over a jewel.
“Lacria is also inside….”
There was a thick tension in the stiff, whispering voice.
Visibility blurred by raindrops.
Mana rippling in the air.
Additionally, Ups*x seemed oblivious to the situation, perhaps because he was so focused on the conversation.
───.
The yellow jewel was sucked into my hand, drawing ripples of calm mana.
The boy parted his lips.
“I am not your child.”
At the same time, vines sprouted at the foot of the upswing, and a loud noise was heard.
Kwarrung──!
My vision flashed.
The boy with electricity wrapped around his body appeared far away.
There was nothing left where the woman had stood.
‘… I missed it. The rift in space split open as my vision flickered.’
It didn’t seem like it specialized in space magic, so maybe it escaped using some kind of special magical tool.
Ray reached out to the vines.
After syncing with the World Tree and my senses and looking around, I was able to conclude that Ups*x had completely left the forest.
I opened my closed eyes.
Somehow I had a feeling that I would be meeting Upscess again soon.
“… … ?”
A notebook was left in the spot where UpAccess had disappeared.
As I bent down and lifted it, I could see a small snake dangling from its mouth, holding a notebook in its mouth.
About the length of a palm.
It was a yellow-scaled Lakhria.
“You came out to attack first? You must have exhausted all your energy fighting the homunculi.”
A stray attack seemed to have bitten the notebook in Upss’s pocket.
It was a great harvest as it may have information about the doctor.
“good job.”
“… … .”
“I have to see what’s inside.”
“… … .”
“Now let go of this.”
“… … .”
“This is not edible.”
Even though I waved my notebook in the air, the brave Larkria did not fall.
“Sometimes your instincts kick in in strange places. I respect your pride as a snake, but not now.”
Woof!
Ray rolled the yellow mana from the jewel into a ball and threw it far away.
Lacria, who had dropped her notebook and fallen to the ground, slowly chased after Managu.
Shaak─!
The rice-grain-sized fangs revealed in the gaping mouth were extremely threatening.
Ray opened his notebook as he watched Lacria walk away.
Palak─
The boy’s emotions surged as he turned the pages.
This is… … .
*
Gwendel regained consciousness and was in pain.
“I remember everything… what I did to the children… what I felt… ahhh…”
“It’s okay. It wasn’t a mistake you made on your own will, was it?”
The elves of the village, including Gant, did not accuse Gwendel of any crime.
Instead, he patted her and comforted her.
Greene explained as she walked around the village with Ray.
“There is no individual fault in the last forest. There is only the fault of the group as a whole, for not recognizing it and failing to prevent it.”
Ray asked back.
“No matter what mistake I make?”
“For example?”
“Or killing another elf.”
“Well… it’s unlikely that something like that would happen given the nature of an elf, but unless it was an intentional act with malicious intent, I’d be forgiven.”
“Or destroying the forest.”
“That’s the same.”
“Like stealing beef jerky.”
“I can never forgive you.”
Grinne glared warily at the elves who were restoring the village.
Then he calmed down and said.
“Anyway… I feel a little sorry. I didn’t know that my mother was so worried about me. To the point where she would come out of the forest shelter every day and look out into the wilderness.”
“A child is still a child, no matter how much he grows up.”
“Well, you speak in a very childish way. You sound like an old man who has come to terms with life. Are you really 16 years old?”
“well.”
Ray shrugged and looked at the surrounding trees.
The green vegetation looked pristine, as if no fire had broken out.
Perhaps because of the clear rain, it seemed like she was more lively than before.
Greene said, reading the gaze.
“The life force of the forest is strong. No matter how much it is trampled, broken, or bent, it gets back up again.”
“Yes, it seems so. But is this the only forest in the world?”
“Well, actually, I’m not sure about that.”
“The name is The Last Forest.”
“Just by looking at the name, it seems likely that this is the last remaining forest.”
“Don’t you know the exact origin of the name?”
Grinne nodded.
“We don’t know all the history either.”
“I heard there was an archive.”
“Yes. It’s in the World Tree’s Labyrinth. But it’s not just one or two places. There are probably over 30, but the elves have only discovered 8. The Labyrinth, whose structure changes according to the World Tree’s will, is always an unknown area. Some say that all the history of the past is recorded in one storage room, and some say that relics with incredible power are stored in another room, and… .”
It was then that an elf came running out of breath and shouted.
“The World Tree’s Labyrinth…! The structure has completely changed…! Paths that were never there before have been revealed…!”