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Davey couldn’t shake off the feeling. The only way for him to discover the actual truth was to see it for himself. Luckily, he had a friendly oddball elf right beside him. He quickly asked, “The corruption is much worse than I thought. Am I missing something?”

“What do you wish to know?”

Davey answered Yuria quietly, “From what I know, the presence of High Elves should be enough to purify the forest.”

“Oh my, you know that as well.”

“I also know that your surname ‘Helishana’ means the priest of the elves.”

This was the reason why Davey didn’t think of Yuria Helishana and Jack as family even though they had the same surname; for elves, their surname did not mean family, but it referred to their current rank or title. There was a reason why forests were formed around High Elves, because it would be difficult to control all elves just by bloodline.

Yuria just sighed when she heard Davey talk about this. She had seemingly given up on being shocked anymore.

“I…” Yuria slowly lowered her head and murmured bitterly. “My powers to purify a forest have been sealed because of the World Tree’s punishment.”

Listening to Yuria in silence, Davey touched the tree that was breaking down. This was the origin of the forest’s corruption. This huge tree was in the middle of the forest far away from the elves’ village. Eerie bits of skin were stuck on the tree’s surface like a tumor, and they were beating like a heart.

As Davey released his spirit power on the strangely distorted tree, a spirit that looked like a little boy appeared on the surface. He looked terrible with bloody tears falling from his eyes. He was far from beautiful and pure, looking only like a corrupt spirit.

[It hurts… It hurts… Save me…]

Davey put his finger on the spirit’s cheek as he heard his cries. He asked, “Does it hurt a lot?”

[A… human? A human can see us?]

“Yeah. Can you take the suffering?”

[It hurts… It hurts… It hurts so much… But it’s okay.]

Usually, nature spirits should have gathered near Davey and chattered like innocent children. However, the spirits here just moaned in pain, like they didn’t have the energy to talk.

“How long has it been like this?”

“Not too long. We were able to heal naturally since the corruption wasn’t too bad, but…”

“The speed of the corruption became unexpectedly fast?”

“Yes.”

As suspected, someone had tampered with the corruption. It could be either one of the elves or an outsider. Normally, the corruption should be purified on its own since Yuria was present, but her powers to purify had been sealed from the World Tree’s punishment.

“They say stagnant water is bound to rot.”

The Divine Tree that should be protecting the spirits was just watching them get corrupted and die in pain. It was unbelievable. Noticing this, Davey asked, “Is the World Tree still in the west?”

“Are you an elf? How do you know all that?” Yuria widened her eyes in surprise.

“Is it?”

“Yes, it is; the shrine of the Divine Tree is in the west. It used to be filled with greenery and peace, but…”

“If you get the chance to speak to them, tell them that I will cut the World Tree down if I see them.”

‘How dare this lunatic tree do this shit in someone’s land?’

“The tree should be prepared to be cut down if it has messed with someone else’s land.”

Coincidentally, Davey also had a chainsaw, which was a good method of communicating what he meant and logging.

A Divine Tree that had lost its purpose had no value. The fact that it had sealed an elf’s power and drove a forest to this condition because of its own desires was already enough evidence that the World Tree had abandoned its duty.

Of course, the elves would be forever turned against Davey, but they weren’t his residents or the kingdom’s citizens. All Davey was trying to do was develop the territory in various directions by incorporating other kinds, such as dwarves, elves, orcs, or beastfolk without discrimination. He wasn’t a philanthropist trying to protect a completely different kind.

“Chuckle… Chuckle… You are ruthless, boss.”

“Do you think I’m joking?”

“Still, don’t you think it’s ridiculous to cut down the World Tree? The World Tree is huge and with a very wide trunk, an old trunk, that can’t be dented even with a Swordmaster’s [Aura Blade],” Yuria explained with a bitter chuckle.

“Am I bad?”

“I guess, in a way.

Objectively, Yuria could be seen as bad since she was putting hundreds of elves in danger because of her personal desires as a leader. It was clear that the forest had become like this because she couldn’t purify the forest, since her powers had been sealed from going against the World Tree.

“I rejected the marriage arrangement the World Tree chose, and that is why I received the punishment of the Divine Tree. The effects of the punishment are seen in my forest, and it has come to this because I couldn’t purify the corruption during its early stages.”

Yuria was full of guilt. She thought that the forest wouldn’t be in such a painful state if she had just obeyed.

“This is my last try. If it fails, I am going to send everyone back to the Divine Tree. That is better than dying.”

“What about you?”

“My sanctuary is here. If the forest really does become corrupt to a point beyond repair, I will burn my soul and purify this entire forest according to the primordial promise,” Yuria told Davey. She would definitely be able to stop the corruption, but it didn’t change the fact that she and the spirits would all disappear.

‘A High Elf who was punished by the World Tree because she refused an arranged marriage…’

It was very wrong.

“Can I ask why you refused?”

“The saint of the Divine Tree… I couldn’t give that man everything.”

It seemed like something had happened. Maybe the infamous love triangle…

“He tricked my sister, corrupting her and banishing her from nature’s arms. I haven’t seen my sister since. I…” Yuria revealed a rare look of anger and injustice, but the darkness on her face disappeared right away.

—You should be sorry for suspecting something like a love triangle.

‘Hm.’

“I cannot forgive him.”

—An arranged marriage with a man who destroyed her family… It’s more ridiculous than a fiction novel.

“It’s the World Tree’s fault for sealing your perfectly normal powers, not you. You weren’t even the one who made the forest like this, right?”

Corruption was like a disease of the forest; if elves resided in the forest, spirits would follow, and the power of nature would grow stronger. It was similar to how a sick human would get diagnosed with leukemia if there were overwhelming white blood cells.

Corruption could happen anytime and anywhere. That was why the High Elves of each forest assumed the role of the leader and purified it. The people who tried to force Yuria, the perfectly normal leader of this forest, into an arranged marriage and sealed her powers when she refused were in the wrong. Yuria was more of a victim here.

‘The victim-blaming culture should really disappear.’

This situation where the perpetrator was being treated well and the victim was hiding away… It was a story that Davey had heard before. The cause of this was obvious: a conflict of power between the elves. That reason could also explain why another High Elf wasn’t coming here even though they knew about the state of the forest. The elves that were near the Divine Tree probably wanted to hang Yuria out to dry until she waved the white flag herself.

Unlike the stumpy dwarves, these picky pointy ears were all hiding something even though they acted all benevolent. These old elves had isolated themselves from the world and were as rotten as the water at the bottom of a well.

* * *

“Elder Condae, what are we going to do?”

“That’s right. Lady Yuria Helishana was born with a great gift among the High Elves. Like her older sister, she has the gift and affinity to bond with the highest-ranking spirit that hasn’t appeared in hundreds of years.”

Elder Condae sighed after the two elders spoke. He muttered, “Of course. It’s that affinity that dragged this corruption on for twenty years when it should have dried up the forest instantly.”

“Then, we must do something! Lady Yuria is trying to summon a supreme spirit! She is also using that greedy human’s power to do it!”

“But her spirit affinity is real. It is a long shot… But if it’s Lady Yuria, there is a chance of succ…”

Listening to the elders shout in anger, Elder Condae smiled creepily. He said, “Don’t worry. If she really does succeed, then we just have to advance the corruption even more. The rebound will be stronger if the desperate attempt that she planned was to fail.”

“Then….”

“Then, we will step up. We will kill the human who knows about elves and pressure Yuria Helishana to return to the Divine Tree. Isn’t that the perfect scenario?”

The two other elders slowly nodded in agreement.

“But…I heard that the human is pretty strong. If he is just as Lady Yuria described, there is a chance we may be defeated before we can do anything.”

“Right. That is why we need some sort of trap.”

Elder Condae pulled out a small marble. “This is a Sealing Marble with the powers of an ancient spirit.”

“Oh my… Such a sacred treasure…”

“Usually, it is to amplify a spirit mage’s power, but it can also suppress other powers. From what I hear, he seems to be a pretty advanced Master…”

Elder Condae mumbled and smiled creepily. “Even if he is a Master, how could a human take the attacks of an Ancient Guard, the elves’ great power, with his mana and holy power sealed?”

Elder Condae chuckled satisfyingly.

“However, it seems like that human has pretty high spirit affinity as well. If Lady Yuria is asking for his help…”

“Ahem, do you think a newbie will be able to summon a spirit just with high spirit affinity alone? Did you forget that the only way to bond with high-ranking spirits is to start with low-rank spirits and slowly work your way up?” Elder Condae scoffed.

The other elders nodded. “Y—You’re right.”

“Remember that nothing changes. All we must do is bring Yuria to the saint of the Divine Tree.” Elder Condae’s eyes shone dangerously as he said, “Rather formally. We can’t have someone stand in the way of that process.”