The Devil Who Grants Wishes

148 – Gaia (4)

‘What the hell is this– Ugh!’

In the head of the elf desperately trying to figure out the current situation, it was only then that he remembered where he was and what he was doing.

In order to alleviate the guilt in their hearts and to avoid Gaia’s punishment, during a large-scale whipping ceremony, a vine suddenly protruded from the ground, and everyone was quickly dragged away without even having time to scream. Me too.

And when I came to my senses, it was a black space with nothing except for that green light here.

That is, the vine…

“I’m sorry…! I, my people don’t know Gaia-sama’s heart…!”

That it is Gaia’s authority.

The old elf who quickly realized that fact bowed his head straight to Gaia.

There is no time for more careful luxury. The fact that they were punished as vines was a very good indication of the danger the elves were in right now.

I don’t know why, but Gaia was angry.

If you’re angry, as a mortal, of course you have to bang your head and constantly beg for mercy—

[You are doing in vain.]

“Yes…?”

[This is not a punishment. Also, in the first place, I am not the vessel to punish you guys.]

However, Gaia poured out remarks that were completely different from the elf’s expectations.

According to the Elf’s guess, Gaia would have softened her heart or become more angry in her own way, but Gaia didn’t express any emotion and just answered insipidly.

No, can this be considered insipid?

“Hee, hee…”

Clearly, Gaia has no feelings whatsoever. Just looking at the elf, but the elf feels goosebumps from Gaia’s gaze.

There is literally no emotion in that gaze. A personal grudge or something like that.

Even so, the elf had no choice but to be frightened when he saw Gaia.

Gaia’s gaze was exactly the same as the gaze farmers make when looking at their crops and livestock.

Crops and livestock are raised with great care, but that’s all.

The farmer looks at the crops and livestock with loving eyes, not because they are really lovely, but because he knows that the death of the crops and livestock will benefit him.

“Sah, save me… save me…”

Realizing this fact, the elf desperately begs for mercy from Gaia, trembling all over to avoid being harvested.

But, of course, this is a futile effort.

No matter how much the rooster wants to live, no matter how much it screams and struggles, there is no farmer in the world who gives up on slaughtering a rooster just because of that.

Gaia obviously has no personal grudge against the elves.

In other words, no matter how much the elf tries to change Gaia’s heart, all the elf’s efforts are meaningless because in the first place Gaia is not acting out of resentment but as a cause.

[I’m sorry. That is your destiny.]

“Please, please… please…”

[The biggest reason living things exist as living things is to leave offspring to spread the species, so I will properly store your essence and spread it again when the world is restored later. Rest assured that your species will not go extinct.]

It is Gaia’s own consolation, but the more the elf hears it, the more he becomes aware of the future that will come upon him and begins to tremble with fear.

Gaia, who has always acted with mercy, has not abandoned her mercy even now.

In order to preserve life, in order to break through the limits of life that unnecessarily bind the world, and to spread more and more life around the world, they are doing this kind of merciful act.

“Ooh, we elves… distant descendants of Gaia-sama…”

[That strange legend. Wrong.]

“Yes…?”

[Elf is just a vessel to contain the numerous creatures of the vast world, not my descendants. In the first place, aren’t you even real elves?]

The old elf can’t understand Gaia’s words.

Aren’t you a true elf? what kind of weird sound is that?

If we, who have been living in the Great Forest until now, are not elves, and we who have high mana sensitivity and long ears, which are our identity, are not elves, then who the hell is an elf?

Pass

However, the old elf’s question remains unresolved.

The old elf’s ego, which constantly wondered what Gaia’s remark meant, disappeared as if it were sleeping.

The old elf’s soul is turned into powder and absorbed into Gaia’s space, and Gaia looks at her missing family member with a confused expression.

[…for the greater good.]

Gaia repeats what her friend, Noah, always said as a habit.

Even though it was a friend’s words, it was so repulsive to say that you could do anything for the cause. To kill another life for life, isn’t it too hard for Gaia, the god of life, to accept?

But… I had no choice but to accept it in the end.

Gaia retrieves a piece of the ark, a vessel that can hold life in the essence of an old elf, and sends it to the place where the pieces of the ark are gathered.

[Ah, Pteranoia. It’s been a while. As expected, the magic that is used with blood is definitely effective.]

Looking at the essence of the ancient life contained in the piece of the ark, Gaia feels nostalgia for the memories of the past.

Of course, this act is just a ploy to divert one’s eyes from the terrible deed he is currently committing.

**********

On the other hand, after sending Aren to Irene, the warrior party came straight to the World Tree without any obstacles.

Of course, as much as I had seen, I walked with extreme caution on the ground, but there was no resistance to coming this far.

“Is this… the world tree?”

“It’s smaller than I thought?”

“I was thinking of an incredibly huge tree…”

And Lucia, Iris, and Celestine, who saw the World Tree right in front of them, were the first to react with disappointment.

Of course, it’s huge, but that’s it. It’s about twice as tall as the other trees in the Great Forest, but it’s not so huge that it deserves the name of the World Tree.

Even the location where the World Tree is planted is in a depression-like terrain, so the top of the World Tree is at the same height as the tops of other trees in the Great Forest, making it difficult to properly feel the size of the World Tree.

“What, what are you reacting like that!? Look!! Look at the circumference so big that 10 other old trees can fit in it and the extremely pure mana!!”

Naturally, Lena screamed in a fit of fuss at the trio’s sluggish reaction.

Certainly, as Lena said, the height might be a bit high, but the circumference was certainly large, and the mana contained in the tree was also at a very high level. If the magicians of Eilyuje saw this, it was to the point of begging for even one branch, no, even one fallen leaf.

But… it’s true that it’s a little insignificant, right? is not it?

“Uh, uh…”

Everyone’s expressions subtly changed to see if I was the only one who had such thoughts, and Lena distorted her face with a look of resentment as if she had read her thoughts.

That’s right… According to Belial, it’s just a huge tree, but it’s definitely an elf, so the emotions contained in the World Tree are quite heavy.

“Hmm…”

Of course, only Lena has such feelings, but Irene, the same elf, is showing a positive reaction when she sees the World Tree.

It seems to be because the world tree did not even exist until Irene came out of the great forest.

Above all, according to Belial, the world tree is a tree that grew with Gaia’s body as fertilizer. If so, from Irene’s point of view, the world tree can be seen as a wicked tree that steals the precious nutrients of the gods.

“Gaia!! Can you hear me?! I’m here to find help!!”

In any case, she stood in front of the World Tree, where Gaia was certain to be asleep, and shouted like that.

The other personnel are watching the floor, wary of the vines that appeared in the village that might attack us.

“Gaia!!! Tsk…”

But no matter how much I scream, Gaia doesn’t appear.

All you hear is the creepy sound caused by the blowing wind shaking the branches of the World Tree.

“Lena, do you know how to get under the world tree?”

“Oh, no… I’m fine…”

“Then I guess I’ll have no choice but to dig around ignorantly. Stay away for a while.”

If you follow the original game Noah’s setting, Gaia can no longer endure with her physical body after the war, so she abandons her body and recuperates somewhere in the world. And according to Belial’s words, the location is under this World Tree.

In other words, this world tree can be seen as a tombstone representing the tomb where Gaia’s body rests.

It’s a bit strange to say that it’s a grave even though it’s not dead.

If there is no soul in the body, it is a corpse.

Read from noble mtl dot com

Kwaaa!

‘Well, if it can’t be helped–‘

“…what?”

After confirming that everyone has stepped back, they immediately start digging a tunnel through magic, and soon something very strange is caught beyond the tunnel.

there’s nothing.

There is literally nothing where the soil should be visible.

Only black space is visible. A dark space that does not reflect any light.

what else is this