Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint - Ch. 303
I wasn’t hurt.
Instead of piercing me, the branches embraced me warmly.
It was gentle, yet so firm that I didn’t even dare resist.
The sound of rustling leaves and branches colliding was chaotic yet beautiful, like the tune of an instrument that the wind strummed to fill my ears.
“Maximilien, this wager ends with your victory. I believed our beloved King wouldn’t appear until everyone had prayed and cried out for him, but you chose the opposite path and managed to find him.”
Amidst it all, I heard the sound of the tree splitting.
When I looked toward the noise, a knot in the tree, which I hadn’t noticed before, was gradually growing larger.
From the dark, hollow interior of the tree, a dry voice emerged.
“Pardon my actions, but since our King has come before us in person, I am deeply moved and do not know how to express myself.”
Then, a hand reached out from the knot.
A long hand grabbed the edges of the knot and pulled it apart.
Like a large door opening, a figure squeezed out from within.
They say tree spirits live inside knots in trees.
It’s a simplistic belief that if there’s a hole, something must live inside it, which has turned into folklore.
But right now, that legend had turned into reality.
If there were truly tree spirits, they would look exactly like her.
An androgynous face, making it hard to guess her gender.
Her green hair, long enough to touch the ground, was made up of vines that had small leaves growing on them.
The flowing silk robe she wore was also tied with vines, though loose enough that her arms were visible up to the elbows.
She already looked strange enough, but her most distinguishing feature was the antlers growing from her head.
They looked like a deer’s but weren’t from any animal.
They were simply tree branches sprouting from her temples.
I muttered under my breath.
“…A druid?”
There weren’t many druids, but she was one of the most famous and powerful.
She had watched over the history of the world since the very beginning.
The Watcher of History.
The Agent of Nature.
The Most Beautiful Beast.
Nevida, the Primordial Druid.
…And, as I had just realized, the true leader of the Human Regime.
“I am Nevida, The Immortal Beast. I pay my respects to the Human King.”
After adjusting her robe, she knelt before me and bowed her head.
There was a soft thud as her forehead touched the ground.
Um, okay.
I’m just confused.
Anyone would feel the same if someone suddenly emerged from a tree and bowed to them.
And more importantly, she was a transcendent being with absolute power.
As the leader of the Human Regime, she could treat someone like Maximilien as insignificant.
This is strange.
I knew Maximilien called for reinforcements, but to think they would arrive from another country in just a few hours.
Where are my people? Why haven’t they joined me yet?
Shouldn’t they be here already?
Then again, maybe it’s better if they don’t join.
We’ll lose anyway.
A chill ran down my spine.
Nevida was an unbeatable force.
Someone capable of destroying entire nations single-handedly… Stronger even than Tyr.
But the bigger problem was that she clearly had some purpose involving me.
I hid the skewer behind my back and forced a smile.
“Uh, nice to meet you. I’m Hughes, the current Human King. Could you please lift your head?”
At my words, Nevida quickly raised her head.
In her oak-colored eyes, I saw infinite emotion directed at me—admiration, anticipation, longing, and… desire.
If she had no emotions at all, I could start building a connection from scratch, like I did with Tyr.
But looking into her eyes, I realized there was no room for negotiation.
She had a clear reason for seeking out the Human King.
At least the good news is that this ancient monster belongs to the Human Regime that seeks the Human King. She even bowed to me moments ago.
She’s not going to kill or harm me.
Hmm. Should I try to push my luck?
I casually gave her an order.
“I have something to do with Mr. Maximilien. Could you step aside for a moment?”
Nevida responded by bowing her head again.
Startled, I saw her press her face to the ground as her voice reverberated through the air.
“I apologize. I lost a bet to him, and so I must pay the price for him. Please understand.”
Does this mean she won’t let me kill him?
But I’m the Human King!
I tried to assert my authority, speaking in a more regal tone.
“I really am the Human King, you know. You don’t doubt that, do you?”
“I would never dare doubt you, my King.”
“So the Human King is ordering you to move aside.”
“I apologize.”
Nevida just kept apologizing, her head still pressed to the ground.
It was clear she had no intention of obeying my commands.
What is this?
She calls me her King, yet she won’t listen to a word I say?
Why even bother with the formalities if she’s going to disregard them?
Fine.
While she was still bowing, I discreetly grabbed my skewer again.
Maximilien’s Gear of Thought had stopped, and he was on the verge of death, but Nevida was an ancient druid skilled in medicine and healing.
If she took him away, there was no telling what she could do to save him.
He’s on the brink of death anyway.
One strike, all I need is one final blow.
“No need for more words. This is your last chance. Step aside.”
“I apologize.”
Counting silently in my head, I waited for the moment Nevida’s head hit the ground again.
As soon as I heard the thud, I kicked off the ground.
Thud, thud.
The sounds overlapped as I leaped over Nevida’s head, aiming my skewer at Maximilien.
I reached out toward his seemingly lifeless body…
But I wasn’t falling.
Vines and branches had grabbed hold of me.
Trees had sprouted, silently and swiftly, before I even realized it.
By the time I noticed, I was already dangling in mid-air like a fly caught in a spider’s web.
…I read her thoughts and intentions.
But I couldn’t avoid it.
She wasn’t controlling the trees.
She was protecting Maximilien.
And now, the trees were acting on their own to keep me from reaching him.
She was completely different from Maximilien.
He designed mechanisms with gears and carefully controlled every movement, each turn of the gears was deliberate.
In contrast, Nevida merely willed it, and the trees obeyed her will.
Even reading her thoughts wouldn’t help predict what would happen next.
The trees just… did what needed to be done?
What in the world…?
At that moment, Nevida, still bowing, spoke again.
“If you were in your full power, you would not have allowed even this small rebellion of mine, but alas, the curse placed upon you by that wicked wench remains unbroken. The road ahead remains long and arduous.”
Nevida let out a sigh so long, I wondered if she might suffocate.
When she finally finished, she slowly rose to her feet.
As she stood, I noticed the spot where she had been bowing.
Instead of blood, soft green sprouts had sprouted from the ground, forming a plush cushion under her head.
Seriously? Why even bow in the first place if you’re going to cushion yourself like that?
It’s all just a political show, isn’t it?
“This humble servant did not seek you out, my King. The Human King is not to be sought but to be awaited, called upon by the will of the people. However, Maximilien… He challenged me. He succeeded. He achieved his goal. I shall honor his resolve and assist him.”
As Nevida moved, so did the tree holding me.
No, more accurately, the tree holding me shifted to the side.
Its vines pulled tighter, as if ready to swallow me whole.
Wait. At this rate, I’ll end up inside that tree!
I struggled, but the more I did, the more I became tangled in the vines.
This is bad. Nevida originally had no intention of taking me away.
But if she helps Maximilien, who knows what they’ll do to me?
Forget the King of Sin—I might die before any of that!
“Wait! I won’t kill Maximilien, so could you please let me go?”
“I shall escort you, my King. This way.”
“Listen to me!”
“I apologize.”
Damn it. What kind of crazy person is this?!
Desperately, I shouted.
“Somebody, help me!”
At that moment, Nevida noticed something and smiled faintly.
Her eyes caught sight of a meteor streaking across the sky.
From a distance, something fell, surrounded by wind and trailing magic sparks that had yet to burn out.
One second before the impact, Nevida grabbed a nearby branch.
A familiar voice accompanied the sharp blade aimed at her.
“Chun-aeeeeeeng!”
The sky split open.
A flutter of fabric flew in front of me, and a familiar figure dropped like a bolt of lightning.
In the fractured scene, split branches and leaves fell a half-beat later.
With all the vines and branches cut away, my body was finally freed.
As I fell, I saw it clearly.
Nevida’s branches, rising to meet the falling sword, Chun-aeng.
It was the Blade of the Sky, Chun-aeng.
Its edge, sharpened by compressed space, could even cleave through rock.
It should have cut through those simple branches and Nevida’s arm with ease, perhaps even slicing her in two.
But the branches weren’t cut.
Instead of splitting, the point where they touched Chun-aeng sprouted new leaves and twigs.
It was as if they were feeding on Chun-aeng itself.
Even though the first strike had failed, the Regressor smirked confidently.
“Hmph! You blocked that, huh? Well then, how about this!”
Bold words and blind faith in her power.
But she had the strength to back that arrogance.
The Regressor grinned challengingly and swung Chun-aeng again.
The swift, light strikes aimed at Nevida, but she didn’t dodge.
The small branches and leaves blocked every strike on their own.
“Not bad!”
The Regressor shouted with self-assurance as she leaped backward.
Nevida, too, stepped back and scraped her foot across the ground.
The fallen leaves on the ground rose slowly on a gust of wind.
It looked as if the leaves were protecting her with some mysterious power.
Nevida spoke.
“…So you are the one destroying the ‘roots’ with the relic of the Divine. Maximilien mentioned you.”
“Ha! That’s me. So, what are you going to do about it?”
Oh, as expected of the Regressor.
Not even the Primordial Druid makes her flinch.
This must be the true nature of a regressor who fears nothing–
｢Aaaaah! This is bad, this is bad, this is bad! Why, why is that thing already here?! It’s way too early for her to appear! No, we can’t win!｣
Ah, never mind. I guess this is the true nature of a regressor.
I nodded as I saw the dichotomy between her thought and action.