54 - Chapter 51: 51[Crisis Detection]
Cradled in her embrace, feeling her warmth, her gentle touch, and her comforting voice,
those blissful moments quickly drew to a close.
The fleeting happiness, which felt like a single moment,
vanished as the World Tree's heavy voice resonated.
"Then, I'll give you one last chance."
It was a sweet, devilish whisper that was impossible to refuse.
"Submit to me and let's Corrupt the Goddess together. Then you can feel this happiness forever."
"Forever?"
"That's right. And I'll give you the chance to fuck the Corrupted Goddess."
Fucking the Goddess? I'd never even conceived of such a vulgar thought.
It was sacrilegious to even dare imagine it.
"Well, setting that aside, if you refuse this offer..."
Her voice instantly turned cold.
And her eyes narrowed into slits, looking down at me, still held in her arms.
A gasp.
At her cold, sharp gaze, my whole body cowered in her embrace.
"If you refuse this time too..."
Her voice, sharp as a chilling blade,
made me tremble, overwhelmed by her gaze and words.
"You'll become my toy forever, unable to die, living a miserable, hellish life."
I choked.
"I've given you a taste. This is your last chance."
"I'm giving you the choice: embrace this sweetness or endure hell."
This choice means living the rest of my life in hell?
And I'd have to give up this sweet moment too?
"But..."
"Are you still hesitating?"
"I cannot betray the Goddess."
Yes, hell might await me,
but how could I betray the Goddess?
Trembling all over, I answered her,
and awaited the consequences of my decision.
However, the World Tree whispered with an unexpectedly sweet voice.
"I'm not simply telling you to betray her."
"Huh?"
"It's about Corrupting the Goddess so that both she and all of us can be happy."
"Then that wouldn't be a betrayal, would it?"
"Then it's not a betrayal, is it? It's an act for the Goddess."
She was opening a path for me to rationalize it myself.
Could it be?
Maybe so.
This might not be a betrayal.
Yes, this isn't a betrayal...
As I thought this, I found myself rationalizing it.
But I've tried hard enough, haven't I?
Haven't I really endured as much as I could?
Yes, the Goddess must know how much I've suffered,
so won't she forgive me?
But even so, for me, the Hero, to betray the Goddess—does that even make sense?
No, but still, after all this...
In my mind, I was secretly racking my brain, searching for a loophole to escape this situation.
Still, how could I... the Goddess?
A fierce internal conflict was taking root in my heart.
Before, it would have been a non-issue,
but now, I wandered, clinging to my crumbling resolve.
Ah, the Goddess... What should I do?
Cynthia, who was guarding Yuria outside, received another magical communication from Ella.
"Hey, what is Yuria doing?"
"Huh? Why? Did something happen to Yuria?"
"Damn it, I can't even connect with Yuria right now. And even though I've blocked it, strange sensations keep breaking through."
"What do you mean?"
"It looks like he's getting fucked by someone again?"
"That can't be! Yuria went to meet the World Tree?"
"What? The World Tree?"
"Yeah."
"Wait, the World Tree? So he's getting fucked by the World Tree right now?"
"What do you mean? No!
The World Tree isn't like that! Don't insult the World Tree!"
"But..."
Ella seemed to be thinking something, then spoke.
"I'll warp over there, so meet me at Old Tree Square."
"What?"
At the same time, the communication was cut off.
"Haa, she just says what she wants and then..."
I'm uneasy about leaving my post,
but it should be fine if I go and come back quickly, right?
Thinking that, I headed to the Square.
At the meeting place, an unexpected figure awaited.
"What? Lily, how are you here?"
"There's no time to explain right now. Yuria is in danger. Where is he? Guide me quickly!"
"What? I-I understand for now."
I was flustered by the sudden, unexpected arrival, but Yuria's safety was the top priority.
And I needed to get back to my post quickly.
Fortunately, when I returned, there were no signs that anyone had touched Yuria.
"So, it's here."
Suddenly, Lily began taking out various tools and setting them up.
"H-hold on a second! This is a sacred Sanctuary! Those tools..."
"I'm sorry, Cynthia. I know this is truly rude, but please bear with me for a moment."
To Lily, who bowed her head and pleaded, Cynthia reluctantly gave her permission.
"Haa, alright. Fine, just this once, okay?"
"Thank you."
She connected various pieces of equipment to the surrounding branches and then activated them.
"Ah, can you hear me well?"
Ella's voice was heard from there.
"Yes, I can hear you well. The setup is complete. I think we can activate it right away."
As Ella activated the unknown device she had prepared, a screen appeared before their eyes.
On it, the World Tree and Yuria began to appear, intertwined.
As the screen became clearer, it showed the World Tree unilaterally raping the unconscious Yuria.
Seeing that, Cynthia...
"What is this...? Surely the World Tree isn't... No, that can't be."
The World Tree she had believed in for hundreds of years,
the one she considered the Mother of the Earth—
that World Tree was unilaterally raping Yuria until he fainted? No, raping an unconscious person?
She couldn't believe it.
Thus, Cynthia's pillar of faith and mental support was shaken to its roots.
Leaving Cynthia in that state, Lily exchanged communications with Ella.
"So what should we do? Can we get in there?"
"Just a moment, I'm analyzing."
Within that short time, utilizing the artifacts embedded there, Ella miraculously found a way.
"There is a way to get in, but it's easiest and fastest for Cynthia to go in."
Lily looked back at Cynthia, but Cynthia had already reached the stage of denying reality.
Approaching her, she spoke in a heavy voice.
"Cynthia, face reality. Otherwise, we'll lose Yuria."
"No, that's not..."
Lily's words weren't wrong,
but accepting this was tantamount to denying everything she had believed in until now.
How could she just... so easily?
"No, I can't."
"Cynthia!"
Slap!
Lily slapped Cynthia's cheek, trying to snap her out of it.
"If you give up here, Yuria will die, you hear?"
"If it were that easy!
Lily, the Goddess you served is raping Yuria! Can you oppose the Goddess?"
At those words, Lily was momentarily speechless.
Then, after a moment of quiet thought,
"It might be difficult, I don't know, but I will save Yuria in the end."
"Fine, then. I guess that's all the affection you have for Yuria."
"No, that's not it, but..."
"Let me be clear: if you don't abandon everything here and help Yuria, you'll lose even the Yuria you still have."
"Besides, does that look like a normal World Tree to you? It's already too late to hesitate, snap out of it!"
She was right.
No matter how she looked, it wasn't the Mother of the Earth, the Mother of all life, that she knew.
"Al-alright... I'll go in and check."
And so, Cynthia entered the World Tree's domain.
When Cynthia entered the World Tree's domain and opened her eyes, all she saw was a faded world.
"Is this it?"
The first thing that caught her eye was a gray, glowing mass.
What is this?
"Wait a second, that's..."
Suddenly, Ella's voice echoed in her ear.
"Whoa, you scared me! What? Communication is possible here?"
"Of course. That's why I told you to go in."
"So what is this?"
"This is probably the power of the System."
"The System?"
"Yes, remember the Curse the Demon King placed on Yuria?"
"Yeah."
"That Curse was cast by borrowing the power of the System."
"Then this is..."
"Can you absorb that power?"
"What? This?"
"Yes. Anyway, to confront the World Tree, your current power isn't enough. It's suspicious that something like this is here now, but there's no other way."
I sighed. "Alright, I'll try."
She embraced the gray energy.
Since elves have long embraced and utilized the energy of nature,
she absorbed the energy just as she would nature's.
She gasped, "This is the end."
The Essence of the World Tree,
even the Darkness of the Demon God within it.
She grunted, "This is strange."
Darkness spread throughout her body.
Into an Elf,
a creature of purity created by the World Tree,
the Darkness of the Demon God was injected.
Gasping, she struggled.
Her skin gradually darkened.
The elves' unique white and beautiful skin gradually darkened,
as if darkness were encroaching upon her entire being.
Her pupils also turned cloudy,
and even the pure thoughts that sustained her were Corrupted by darkness.
Thus, the world's first Dark Elf was born.
"Hey, Cynthia, Cynthia? Are you okay?"
"......"
"Hey, say something! Hey, Lily, Cynthia's acting strange right now, you should go in too..."
"Don't worry, I'm normal."
Ella sighed in relief. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm great. Power is overflowing from my entire body."
[You have absorbed the Essence of the World Tree.]
Ah, so this is the System window? So this is what Yuria saw.
With this, I've taken a step closer to Yuria.
"Cynthia, it's fine to be lost in thought, but Yuria is in danger right now."
"Alright, I'll move."
In Cynthia's mind, it felt as if this space was her own.
She clearly felt where Yuria was and where she needed to go.
And she even felt that if she wished, she could move in an instant.
As she resolved to move to Yuria's location, the space around Yuria drew closer.
And she saw Yuria, his small body tightly embraced in the World Tree's arms.
"Yuria!"
"Cynthia?"
Seeing that sight, something stirred within her heart.
A very unpleasant, disgusting, and irritating emotion swirled, unsettling her.
Emotions that hadn't existed before,
emotions an Elf couldn't possess—
such emotions wriggled and emerged within Cynthia's heart.