I headed outside with Citry, Resonance Stone in hand.
For the record, Eva stayed behind to watch the house because it was too dangerous. I would've liked to stay behind too, but I had no grounds to complain. It would be terrible if Eva got hurt coming along.
"Thousand Transformations! What's going on!? Multiple major incidents in a row inside the Imperial Capital — this isn't normal!"
"Oh well… even if you say that to me, I—"
"Don't play dumb! I've already done my homework — you've got a sister enrolled at Zebuldia Mage Academy, don't you!?"
"I mean, yeah, she is… but to blame me just for that—"
Franz's voice bellowed ceaselessly through the Resonance Stone, already convinced that every bit of this trouble was my fault.
Sure, I was unlucky and only Level 8, but piling every last problem onto me was a bit much.
Besides, there were two other Level 8s in this capital — what on earth were they doing?
"What the hell is that!? You've got to have some idea, right!?"
"Jeez… don't assume I know everything. ……It's, um, probably the 'Black World Tree.'"
"!? You— you— you— you— you— you— you—!!"
Far in the distance, something enormous and black squirmed against the sky, and unending screams rose from the main streets. The fact that it was visible from here meant it had to be several hundred meters tall. Easily bigger than a dragon.
How had something like that infiltrated the capital? Weren't they on high alert because of the curse prophecy or whatever?
And even if I went there, what could I do? The only thing I was useful for was delivering Citry, wasn't it? Did I even need to be here?
"Look at the size…! This is definitely an A-rank threat, Klye!!"
Wow, she looked thrilled.
Citry clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes sparkling, and gripped my hand tighter. I couldn't escape now.
Alright, calm down. Calm down, Klye Andrich. That thing was enormous — the capital's finest would surely gang up and beat it to a pulp. Probably.
Whether physical attacks could do anything was highly doubtful, but if it really was the 'Black World Tree,' then being a tree, it should naturally be weak to fire. Burn it, burn it.
"If my assessment is correct… it's weak to fire. The Wand's — Abyssal Flame Annihilation's power is what we need."
"…Fine. We're requesting cooperation from our end. You get to the scene immediately! The Academy is one of the Empire's pillars — if it falls, we're in serious trouble!"
With those grim words, the Resonance Stone's connection cut off. Seriously, before asking me, shouldn't they have contacted that old woman first…? It was a Mage Academy. Pretty sure that place was her old stomping ground.
As I scowled down at the Resonance Stone in my hand, Citry blinked and spoke.
"Um, Klye. Forgive me for overstepping — but if the contents of the Curse Compilation Chart are true, that tree absorbs magic power, so attacking it with magic would be inadvisable, wouldn't it?"
"Ah… well, that's… not an entirely unreasonable way to think about it. I-I'm sure it'll be fine."
I had literally just checked the book, and it had already slipped my mind. This was exactly why I was hopeless.
But even if it absorbed magic power, it was still just a tree. With that old woman's firepower, surely something could be done?
And even if it couldn't — she was Level 8, so she'd manage somehow. Better than me, at least.
Lucia was very likely caught up in this, but my sister was far stronger than I was, and the Mage Academy had to have plenty of allies. I might as well take my time getting there.
§ People fled through the streets in a panic. The commotion had ballooned far beyond what I'd imagined.
Warning sirens that screamed of the end of days wailed through the air. As I pressed forward, I realized I had seriously underestimated the enormity of the Black World Tree.
The dispatched law-enforcement knights were shouting, guiding evacuations. I wouldn't mind being evacuated too, thanks.
"Wow, wow, huge!"
Citry hopped along excitedly, offering a rather restrained assessment that made her seem considerably lower in intellect. Are you not afraid of anything, girl?
Kirukilu was at my side, so the fleeing crowds gave us a wide berth, creating a pocket of empty space around us. On a sudden whim, I said to Citry, who was walking beside me: "………Hey, I just thought of this — isn't walking toward a road that everyone's fleeing from incredibly hard-boiled?"
"Yes! Klye, you're amazing! Kyaa!"
……I wanted to scream too. Not a scream of happy embarrassment — a genuine one. I felt like throwing up for the first time in ages.
Just then, a knight bearing a massive shield approached despite Kirukilu's imposing presence and called out in a booming voice: "You two, this area is dangerous! Can't you see that thing!? Flee!"
I wanted to.
"There's no problem. We've come to deal with it. You've heard of the Level 8 Thousand Transformations, haven't you?"
……I wanted to flee.
Citry's words made the kind knight's expression stiffen, and he withdrew.
It seemed that Level 8 Hunters, who usually enjoyed special treatment, were expected to risk their lives more than the knights in times of crisis.
Walking along a path I'd once taken with Lucia, the school buildings came into view.
I'd never seen a real World Tree, but it appeared that Zebuldia Mage Academy was in the midst of an unprecedented crisis.
The Academy occupied a vast campus — partly to accommodate large-scale magical examinations. A massive main building modeled after a castle, and six towers housing the research labs of the Academy's professor-grade faculty.
Now, enormous jet-black ivy coiled around all of them.
The tree… was moving. Did trees do that? What were the people who created this thing thinking?
Humans tumbled through the air like garbage, thrashed about by the ivy whipping at high speed.
Hundreds of Mages had probably gathered from the Academy, launching attack spells from every direction, but the World Tree showed no sign of stopping.
Having calmed down a bit during the walk, Citry studied the World Tree intently and remarked: "The Phantom of that kind of plant appeared in the White Marble Garden, didn't it?"
"Hmph… I don't remember."
Unfortunately, I'd been unconscious at the time!
Still, wasn't that thing unstoppable?
Fortunately, the Mage Academy had a barrier in place. Damage hadn't yet spilled outside, but at that size, it was only a matter of time.
Then, without warning, the sky darkened, and a tornado laced with chunks of ice erupted in the center of the courtyard. A large-scale attack spell.
"That's Lucia's Hailstorm."
The tornado swelled to enormous size in moments and slammed into the Black World Tree, which had latched onto one of the towers.
A deafening roar of wind. A tremendous grinding sound, like something hard being carved away, shook the air. Mages who had been crouching on the ground braced desperately to avoid being blown away by the shockwave.
The World Tree, struck by the high-level attack spell, had large chunks carved from its body — and then it grew larger. It wasn't an illusion.
"!? It's — it's growing!?"
The enormous gash sealed itself, bulging outward. Even from a distance, it was obvious the main body was swelling.
So the tree hadn't started out at that size from the beginning. What was that… let me think —.
"………Ah, Lucia, you idiot. Watering a plant…"
Fire. Fire was the answer. A plant's weakness was fire, surely. Though, Lucia was best at water magic, after all.
The ivy was coiled around one of the research towers. Despite taking countless attacks, the tree stubbornly kept directing its assault at that specific tower.
Crushed by innumerable vines, the tower creaked and groaned. Apparently, the World Tree was dead set on demolishing someone's research lab. Was something inside?
Then, at that moment, the dark clouds were torn apart, and a massive fireball rained down from the sky.
"How did things get to this point!?"
That hoarse voice sent a chill down my spine. The fire-happy old woman. The fire-happy old woman had arrived as backup!
Cloaked in a inferno, the Abyssal Flame Annihilation appeared. Behind her trailed numerous Mages bearing the Wand's insignia. Looking more closely, Kruse and the others were among them for some reason.
One of the most powerful Mage Clans in the Imperial Capital. The Wand's members strode onto the grounds without hesitation and raised their staffs in unison, unleashing their spells. Flames, light, and wind hammered into the World Tree beneath the darkened sky.
Needless to say, leading the charge was the cackling old woman herself.
The Black World Tree was a hundred times more terrifying… I was going to have nightmares tonight.
"Fuhahahahahahaha! Burn! Burn! Return to ash!"
Oh no, she was actually going to return it to ash.
I reflexively ducked behind a building's shadow. The fireballs rained down like meteors. I couldn't comprehend why that old woman had learned such a dangerous spell in the first place.
Even from hundreds of meters away, the heat-laden wind reached me.
But it was a relief. The old woman, who was terrifying beyond belief as an enemy, was equally reassuring as an ally. Now that abhorrent tree would be reduced to ash— "Klye, isn't that tree getting bigger?"
"………"
I rubbed my eyes. Citry was right — amid the raging crimson flames, the Black World Tree was anything but turning to ash. Instead, its vines were gradually thickening.
The Abyssal Flame Annihilation, noticing the anomaly, grinned ferociously.
"This — this is—"
The downpour of flames intensified, but the tree wasn't even flinching. I was already close enough to being incinerated, and I was quite a distance away—.
This no longer made sense. Unbelievable — there actually existed something in this world that could withstand the old woman's magic without turning to ash.
"Um… could this be… photosynthesis?"
"Photosynthesis… I see… P-photosynthesis?"
Plants needed light, water, and a warm climate to grow well. Of course — a World Tree was no ordinary opponent.
……The Abyssal Flame Annihilation's attacks hadn't left a single scratch. How could that tree possibly be defeated?
Its trunk, stretched to its limit, now reached toward the heavens. If you climbed it, it seemed like you could touch the sky. Come to think of it, I'd heard that a real World Tree was tall enough to reach the heavens.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuu! You lying human! You lied to me again, did you! This is absolutely NOT weak to fire, did you!!"
Kruse was shouting something slanderous again. It was photosynthesis… the tree had simply photosynthesized. The firepower just wasn't enough, surely. If they tried harder, they could take it down!
Cheering quietly from the shadows, I watched as the Abyssal Flame Annihilation let out a roar.
"Calm down, Kruse! We might not have enough power. Ritual magic — here we go!"
……She had done whatever she wanted and still wasn't satisfied, this old woman. Fire might not be its weakness! Take a page from Kruse's book!
The Wand's members scattered swiftly. Ritual magic, in simple terms, was a powerful spell activated through the cooperation of multiple casters.
If the Abyssal Flame Annihilation — whose individual power rivaled an entire army — used it, there was no telling what kind of destructive force it would produce.
If things went wrong, the entire Academy could be blown away.
"She's completely lost her head… that one. I believe she once said she couldn't stand it when she saw something she couldn't burn."
"I see… now I understand why she hates me."
Someday, that old woman was going to break through the Barrier Ring, and that honestly terrified me. Had she mellowed with age or not — make up your mind!
The old woman's laughter echoed through the air. Lucia's Hailstorm extinguished the flames that had spread to the main building. Lightning flashed in the dark clouds as the World Tree surged upward. A massive crack split one of the towers.
I had no idea how the main building was still standing.
A colossal magic circle surfaced on the ground that the scattered Wand's Mages had surrounded. Perhaps sensing real danger at last, the World Tree's vines — which had been squeezing the tower — writhed and surged toward the circle all at once.
And then, just as the old woman raised her staff for a wide, sweeping strike — the World Tree's growth halted abruptly.
The tree squirmed, and from the tip of its vines, a single purple flower bloomed. The vines that had been moving to crush the magic circle froze midair, showing no further intention of moving.
Huh… World Trees bloomed flowers. That wasn't in the encyclopedia.
Citry, visibly excited, leaped and hugged me.
"Th-that! Could it be — is she going to give that to me!? Klye! I could make an incredible potion with that!"
"………Disintegrate into nothingness! Netherworld Flame Slayer Blade!"
"Ah—"
The staff descended without hesitation. Countless blades of fire shot from the magic circle and pierced the World Tree, erupting into violent conflagration.
The violet flames engulfed the entire tree in an instant, and the World Tree — which had withstood every attack thrown at it until now — was reduced to ash in a single heartbeat.