Up until the moment they headed deep into the forest, there wasn't a trace of tension in that human's expression.
An almost pitiful-looking smile that carried no hint of majesty whatsoever. Even before a fight against overwhelmingly powerful opponents, there was absolutely no tension in his stride.
If there was one difference from when Selen had first met him, it was probably that he wasn't equipped with "Comfortable Vacation." He may have judged it too dangerous to challenge the Treasure Hall with that Treasure Weapon active—but on the other hand, the fact that he was behaving almost exactly as usual even without that weapon was, for Selen, nothing short of astonishing.
It was only because she'd seen Tino's despairing expression when taken along previously that this strangeness became so apparent.
"You weak human… As always, you have way too little tension, for a human. And what do you think Tino is? He should drive the carpet himself!"
Hmm, we did need a carpet driver… Alright, Tino. You're the one! And the expression Tino wore upon receiving that casual nomination was, even to Selen of another race, one that inspired pity.
Rietz and Citry were talking with dissatisfied expressions.
"…Hey, Cit. Hasn't Krai been using Tino a bit too much lately?"
"…Hmm… Maybe she's entering the finishing stages. Well, it's probably better for Tino if Krai uses him rather than us—"
"Sigh… Could she at least be a bit more considerate before we challenge a Level 10 Treasure Hall?"
Lucia pressed her hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
This operation was extremely dangerous. Citry had devised the plan after considering every possible scenario based on limited information, but there was no changing the fact that it was riddled with uncertainties.
Clearing a temple-type Treasure Hall was said to be almost unprecedented even in the human world, and weakening a Treasure Hall using Mana Material agitation devices had no track record either. Their fighting force was limited, their information gathering and calculations were far from perfect, and luck would certainly play a role. It was precisely because the situation was so dire that the decision to go ahead had been made. If they hadn't been so pressed for time, the proposal would surely have been rejected—it was that level of a plan.
The number of attackers was completely unknown. They'd assembled as much fighting force as possible, but even so, the forces held by the Source Temple would dwarf Selen's group. On top of that, this time they had to split their already limited forces to protect the eight agitation devices.
—But the difficulty of what Thousand Transformations was attempting dwarfed even their own.
Based on their investigation, the north and south sides of the Source Temple were roughly equivalent in terms of ley line thickness, number, and terrain. In other words, in simple terms, that human was planning to single-handedly handle the Phantoms that Selen's entire group was barely managing to resist. Of course, the number of attacking Phantoms would differ depending on the number of devices being installed, but even so, it would be no ordinary number.
"…Is that human really going to be alright?"
"Hmph… I considered him to be alright, which is why everyone accepted Thousand Transformations' proposal. Besides, Selen, you're still underestimating that man. Regardless of his personality—if you knew his achievements, his power, you'd understand that worrying is pointless."
Lapis spoke in an emotionless, matter-of-fact tone. It was precisely because of that detachment that his words carried the ring of truth.
"If anything, we're the ones who need to give it our all. We're not Level 8, after all."
Selen's group had two of Yggdrasil's guardian spirits assigned to them—the highest tier. No matter how high-level the Hunters were, she didn't think they were outmatched in terms of fighting power. And yet, it still wasn't enough?
Meeting Lapis's gaze, the members of Star's Holy Thunder began chanting spells.
With Yuden's arrival, the shattered earth writhed and took humanoid shapes. Grasses and trees growing nearby uprooted themselves as though reluctantly lifting heavy bodies and began moving, while spring water rose unnaturally to form beast-like shapes.
A technique for creating soldiers from natural materials. Lapis shrugged and said: "If the enemy has an army, we answer with an army. I can't give them precise instructions and their combat strength is low, but we're short on numbers regardless. I wouldn't normally use this, but they should serve as walls at least."
"That's… actually a pretty good idea."
Troops generated by magic were fundamentally weak. Against the Phantoms of the Source Temple, they'd be like tissue paper, and creating them consumed mana, making them inefficient—but for buying time, they certainly weren't bad.
She looked at Mires floating beside her. Then, borrowing that power, Selen cast her technique.
She felt the flow of power connect. The vast power surging from Mires was converted into phenomena through her magical formula.
Mires's power was the mirror opposite of Finis's.
Finis, the end. Mires, the beginning. If Finis governed depletion, then Mires governed creation. Setting aside combat applications, its power was in no way inferior to Finis's.
The vibration that shook the earth was incomparable to when Yuden had appeared. As though crawling up from underground, soldiers of earth were being generated.
"This is Mires's creation. Mires nurtures grass and trees, raises the earth, and manipulates water."
Their numbers were incomparable to what Star's Holy Thunder had produced.
No matter how weak, an army this large would make even Phantoms think twice. If soldiers were destroyed, she could simply create more.
"I may not be able to do it perfectly, but if I increase the density, I could restrict the movement of the Source Temple's Phantoms. I could even create cages."
"Complete freedom of operation and shaping, and to generate this many in an instant—as expected of Yggdrasil's guardian spirit."
"Breaking through Mires when she's focused entirely on defense is no easy task. You can't stop Finis's depletion, but—in that sense, it was fortunate Finis returned before this operation."
If Ruin had attacked during this operation with Finis in tow, things would have turned ugly.
There was still one more guardian spirit of Yggdrasil, also missing. That one was even less suited to offense than Mires. Even if it had sided with the enemy like Finis, it wouldn't have been a major problem.
"Hmph… Don't forget. Our lives take priority. I understand you want to get your comrades back, but if you get bogged down and we're done for, it won't be pretty."
"If only we could stop their movement with lightning like normal creatures, that'd be great."
"…Thank you."
The members of Star's Holy Thunder were all powerful Mages, but how long they could hold off the Phantoms of a Level 10 Treasure Hall was anyone's guess. She had no intention of telling them to risk their lives.
All they could do was trust in the plan and give it their best.
Ruin, with Finis nearby, gazed intently toward the World Tree.
"Once the attack here settles down, I'll head over there immediately. I plan to move as conspicuously as possible."
Ruin's power, already among Yggdrasil's finest Mages, had been honed to a razor's edge in this moment. With Finis under his command and the ability to control that power freely, there likely wasn't a Phantom out there that could defeat the current Ruin.
They could win. They had to win. No matter what kind of army the enemy threw at them—.
As though reading Selen's unease, Citry raised her voice encouragingly.
"We'll win. If we fail this, I won't be able to face Krai."
"Right. It's rare to get a chance to fight Phantoms from a Level 10 Treasure Hall, and it's a shame we're not with Krai, but let's enjoy it."
"…Ever since joining the Mourning Specter, it's been nothing but this. I'm a Thief, you know…"
"Since Elisa joined, the frequency has gone down. Well, it's also because my brother doesn't operate with us as much anymore."
"Mm-hm."
Lucia let out a long sigh and shrugged, and Anthem nodded vigorously.
§ Parting ways with the rest, and accompanied by the army created with Mires's power, Selen safely reached her assigned location.
Mana Material enhanced all living things. The area around the World Tree, where ley lines naturally converged, was surrounded by abundant nature.
It was the heart of a forest lined with ancient trees—though none as old as the World Tree itself. At first glance it looked no different from the surrounding forest, but looking at the ground beneath her feet, the flow of Mana Material beneath the surface was noticeably denser than the surrounding area.
One of the points where external ley lines converged. Thin ley lines carrying Mana Material from outside joined here, forming thicker ley lines that connected to the World Tree.
Even with Mires's power, severing the ley lines was impossible, but if she could cut off the ley lines here, the force flowing into the World Tree would diminish, and disrupting the Mana Material flow would weaken the Source Temple as well.
She looked at the Mana Material agitation device Citry had prepared, now carried by the soldiers.
It stood two meters tall and one meter wide. The bizarre glass construction caught the sunlight filtering through the trees and glittered brilliantly.
As always, the device looked hideously unsettling to Selen's eyes, and compared to the torrent of Mana Material flowing through the earth, it seemed far too fragile to entrust with the fate of the world.
She had the earthen soldiers set down the device and surrounded it with more of them.
The soldiers created using Mires's power numbered in the hundreds. They could be easily reconstructed even when shattered and could freely change shape—an army in the truest sense. They couldn't perform precise movements, but charging at the enemy was well within their capability.
All that remained was to set the magic stone on schedule, activate the device, and hold the line until it took effect.
Having finished her task, she checked the clock Citry had given her.
There was almost no time left before the operation began. Only now did the tension make breathing difficult.
Selen, princess of Yggdrasil, had experienced almost no large-scale battles.
She had used Adler's mirror power to observe the Phantoms standing within the Source Temple's barrier. Would they come charging the moment the device was activated? How many of them would move to stop her?
Mires's power was great, but her opponents were Yggdrasil warriors more experienced than herself—not one of whom had returned alive. How long could she fight? Could she avoid making a fool of herself as a princess? She wasn't very confident.
But precisely because of those doubts, that human had given her "Comfortable Vacation."
She steeled her resolve, closed her eyes, sharpened her spirit, prayed for the operation's success, and looked up at the World Tree.
Perhaps Mires shared her feelings, quietly watching the World Tree—their "hometown," now consumed by the Source Temple and twisted into something abhorrent.
"It should be about time…"
For now, the forest was peaceful. The earthen soldiers were controlled by Mires's magic. They were, so to speak, Mires's arms, eyes, and ears. She would know immediately if any magical beasts or Phantoms approached.
She'd signal if anything happened, so presumably the other teams hadn't been attacked yet either.
Please, let nothing happen.
Selen steeled herself, then embedded the crimson gemstone she'd received from Citry into the device.
—Click. A small sound.
The sensation that returned to her fingers was surprisingly light.
Mana flowed from the magic stone into the spiraling glass tubes, and without a sound, the device trembled.
"This—this is—"
Her heart pounded fiercely. The sound that escaped her lips trembled without intent.
The device had activated, but nothing in the scenery changed. No earthquakes, no sounds, no flashes of light. For someone without Selen's eyes, understanding its workings would likely be difficult.
"Mana Material agitation device"—what a fitting name.
It was performing actions that were truly worthy of the term "agitation."
The device quietly agitated the Mana Material drawn up from the earth along the spiraling glass tubes.
Unlike underground Mana Material that flowed in one direction like river water, the Mana Material released from the top of the device dispersed vigorously in all directions. It was like a gushing spring.
The dispersed Mana Material spread omnidirectionally like ripples expanding outward, but upon closer inspection, she could see the ripples were being stretched and deformed in the direction the glass tube's opening faced.
In Citry's plan, the idea was to connect the Mana Material torrents agitated and dispersed by each device to create new Mana Material flows—but.
This was difficult. Selen could still see Mana Material, so she was fine, but for anyone who couldn't see it, there was no way to even verify whether the device was functioning properly.
This was probably a use that deviated from the device's original purpose.
To warp the flow of ley lines and weaken the Treasure Hall using this device's mechanism required meticulous calculations. Checking again, she confirmed that the device was specialized for dispersing Mana Material and retaining it in place. In that case, the device's true strength should have been in reinforcing Treasure Halls—but it certainly wasn't impossible to use it for weakening either.
She didn't understand the device's mechanism, but whoever had devised it was either a genius or insane. Perhaps both. The people of Yggdrasil possessed technology to utilize the power of existing ley lines, but they had never conceived of trying to manipulate the ley lines themselves.
The Mana Material flowing along the ley lines toward the World Tree had been largely drawn up by the device's power and had indeed diminished. If the other teams had activated their devices correctly and could cut off the Mana Material flowing in from the south, the Mana Material entering the Source Temple should be reduced by half.
The Treasure Hall should already be registering the anomaly. The Phantoms would certainly begin searching for the cause and detect Selen's group's unnatural movements—she checked the functioning device while searching for traces of the Phantoms.
At that moment, Mires, hovering nearby, conveyed information in a sound like the chime of a bell.
"…Seven beast-type units—a vanguard squad, perhaps?"
The breakdown was five wolves and two of the lizard-type Elisa and the others had encountered before. They made no footfalls, but Mires's eyes couldn't be fooled. The wind, the earth, the trees and grass—everything was Mires.
Right now, Selen and Mires were connected by an invisible bond. Her expanded senses relayed the Phantoms' approach.
No sound, no presence, at considerable speed. If this had been a surprise attack, she might have been taken out in a single blow before even noticing. No matter how powerful a Mage, being attacked before casting a spell left them helpless.
But Selen had no openings now. She didn't have much combat experience, but that didn't matter.
The forest was on the side of Selen Yggdrasil Frestel.
Selen gripped her beloved staff tightly and let out a quiet voice.
"…Mires."
No command was necessary. Selen and Mires were connected through an invisible link. For Selen now, casting magic was as natural as breathing.
The earth beneath her feet rose, lifting her even higher than the surrounding great trees. The earthen soldiers turned in unison toward the direction of the approaching Phantoms.
She looked down. Mana Material dispersing from the device. She'd raised her position too high—the Phantoms were hidden beneath the canopy of leaves and branches. But conversely, from a distance, Selen would be extremely conspicuous right now.
The number of Phantoms wasn't infinite. The more she drew to herself, the easier it would be for the other teams.
Receiving Mires's report, she furrowed her brow.
"Fifteen additional units, all beast-type. They're looking down on us."
That they'd sent beast-type units was fortunate. None of the missing Yggdrasil warriors were beasts.
There was no need for restraint. She'd crush them all at once.
The beasts' speed slowed. They possessed high intelligence. They intended to surround and attack all at once.
She had no reason to wait for that. Selen struck her staff against the ground and screamed, blowing away her own timidity.
"Go!!"
The earth trembled—truly.
The hundreds of earthen soldiers that had been standing at the ready charged toward the Phantoms in unison.
The Phantoms reacted to the sudden counterattack without so much as a scream. They abandoned concealing their presence, shook off the earthen soldiers clinging to them while shattering them, and kicked off the ground.
Their hard outer skin shrugged off the earthen soldiers' attacks, and each strike sent the soldiers scattering with ease.
Everything was as expected. Each one was a soldier with no real power.
No—to be precise, they weren't even soldiers.
They had limbs and heads, but no vital points. What controlled them was Mires. For Mires, who commanded the earth, these soldiers were nothing but clumps of earth, and a mass charge was simply an earth wave.
New earthen soldiers were generated. Generation speed increased. The soil from destroyed soldiers was recycled to make new ones. The ground beneath the charging beasts was turned to mud. Before they could even be flung aside, the beasts were buried in earth.
The Phantoms began to twist and thrash. It was too late for them to realize the danger now.
"Return to the earth."
Crunch—a sickening sound that made one want to cover their ears. Multiple Phantoms' reactions vanished in an instant. She'd manipulated the covering earth to compress and crush them entirely. They were quite tough with high vitality, but if that was the case, she'd simply crush them until they died.
Several lizard-type Phantoms that had broken free of their restraints by force leaped toward Selen.
She'd turned the ground to mud—impressive jumping. While she was admiring that, the Phantoms all opened their jaws simultaneously.
"!?"
Light gathered inside their mouths and was unleashed toward Selen in an instant. But the attack never reached her.
A thick wall of earth rose from the ground and caught the light. The wall was heated to a deep crimson and the surrounding temperature spiked, but it wasn't pierced through. Instead, the wall was toppled onto the Phantoms, crushing them.
Their reactions grew weaker by the moment, and finally disappeared entirely.
Silence returned to the surroundings. The first battle had taken only about five minutes.
She planted her staff and steadied her ragged breathing. Without realizing it, sweat had appeared on her forehead, and she wiped it away.
No problems. But there was no joy in the victory.
The fact that they'd been able to resist Mires's power even for a moment meant they were formidable. The other members had more combat experience than Selen, but against that many, they wouldn't hold out long. A third wave could come at any time.
The status of the device— She checked the ley lines and for a moment, Selen was at a loss for words.
"…The dispersed Mana Material… is returning to its original flow?"
The device was still functioning properly. But the Mana Material torrent that had been greatly disrupted and spread sideways by the device was being drawn back into the original ley lines a short distance away.
Looking at it from above made it clear. It was like branching water streams converging again downstream—in this case, the amount of force flowing into the Treasure Hall wouldn't change at all.
Had the Phantoms done something? No… that wasn't it.
Hurriedly raising her vantage point even higher, she looked toward where the neighboring team had activated their device. They had the same result.
The device had successfully drawn up and dispersed the Mana Material. But it hadn't gone far enough to create new flows.
—The dispersion, the device's capacity, was insufficient.
For the Mana Material to create new flows ignoring the existing ley lines, the Mana Material disrupted by all the devices needed to connect with each other.
Mana Material had a tendency to gather where the power was stronger. That was why living things could absorb Mana Material, why the currently disrupted Mana Material was returning to the original ley lines, and why synchronized activation of all devices was necessary in Citry's plan.
"A calculation error… The devices aren't large enough…? No, this was a plan with too many unknowns to begin with."
The operation had failed. No matter how well they defended, it was pointless.
She'd known there was a possibility of failure. But this was the worst case.
She had to inform the others quickly, or they'd keep fighting powerful enemies for nothing.
Mires was reporting an approaching swarm of Phantoms from the distance. But she couldn't afford to deal with them.
She lowered the raised ground beneath her feet. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself.
The approach hadn't been wrong. With slightly more powerful devices, it would surely work.
At that moment, a sharp crack rang out.
Her mind on the verge of overloading, she somehow turned her gaze toward the sound.
The Mana Material agitation device, still operating. A small crack had appeared in its glass portion.
The crack spread rapidly before Selen's eyes, and then—.
"What!? Why!?!"
The Mana Material agitation device shattered into pieces, and the magic stone embedded as its power source clattered to the ground.
Worst case. Above the situation she'd already considered the worst, there was something worse. No one had told her the device could break. She didn't know what to do.
Frozen by the overwhelming cascade of events beyond her capacity, Selen saw a red light shoot into the sky.
It was the signal to recover the device and retreat. Selen steeled her trembling body and somehow began the withdrawal operation.