Chapter 450 Retrieving Power

"By the way......"

"If this ability has never been used before, how did you find out about it, Irus?"

At the question, Irus chuckled.

"Hmph~! Because I’m the World Tree Saintess, that’s why."

"As the only one who can communicate with the World Tree, I don’t just sit around daydreaming beneath its branches. I talk to it—and through those conversations, I’ve learned countless secrets. So much so that......"

"I might even know more than the gods themselves."

"Ah, but my predecessor probably knew all this too. So that was a bit of an overstatement. Just pretend you didn’t hear it."

Irus’s predecessor......

That would be the previous World Tree Saintess—the current Goddess of Life, Helim, wouldn’t it?

"......"

Hulim Heyerar stared at Irus, her eyes scanning her from head to toe.

"What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Irus——"

"Will you become a goddess someday?"

BOOM——!

A towering pillar of white light suddenly erupted on the distant horizon.

People across the continent looked up once more.

Those who didn’t know the truth thought it was just another miraculous spectacle. But those in the know instantly recognized what it signified.

Irus shot to her feet, her gaze fixed on the distant pillar of light.

"How could this be......"

She murmured, her voice barely audible.

"It’s started early."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM......

Five identical pillars of light rose in succession from all corners of the continent.

They stood tall like six colossal pillars holding up the heavens, visible to every soul across the land.

......

......

In a forest in the southern region of the Indam Federation.

"This is the place."

A petite figure shrouded in a black robe arrived at the ruins nestled in the heart of the forest.

She stepped inside, making her way to a stone-paved plaza in the deepest chamber.

At the center of the plaza stood a statue of a man clutching a sword. Its features were obscured by tangled vines, rendering it unrecognizable.

"Alice" stared at the statue, her voice cold as ice.

"Hmph. You’ve always been such an eyesore. Begone!"

She raised her right hand, and a surge of mana coalesced in her palm.

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BOOM——!

The statue shattered into dust in an instant.

Beneath it, a pitch-black passage was revealed.

"Is it down there?"

She glanced at the passage, then vanished into it in the blink of an eye......

Some time later.

"Alice" reached the end of the passage.

What awaited her was a small underground shrine.

"Hahaha! At long last—the moment has come!"

Feeling the familiar power emanating from the shrine, she rushed forward, her face contorted with excitement.

"Return to me, my pow——"

THUD——!

"......er."

She slammed into a barrier and slowly slid down to the ground.

After seven or eight seconds passed.

"Alice" stumbled to her feet, her head spinning.

She rubbed her reddening forehead, then hopped up and down in a rage.

"You bastard, Sword Hero!"

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

A jet-black orb of magic materialized in each of her palms.

"Stop meddling even after you’re dead!"

She hurled the dark orbs at the barrier with all her might.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two deafening explosions echoed through the shrine.

The barrier remained utterly unscathed.

"What?!"

"Alice" gaped in disbelief.

"How can it be this strong?!"

"It should have weakened after all this time!"

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.

She slowly lifted her hands.

Staring at her slender, delicate fingers, she fell silent.

"Could it be...... that I’m too weak?"

BOOM——!

In the next instant, she launched a frantic assault on the barrier.

"Damn it! I refuse to believe this—!"

"I’ve come all this way! I won’t be stopped here by you, you bastard Sword Hero! You bastard! You bastard! You bastard......"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM......

Her attacks rained down on the barrier relentlessly.

At the very same moment.

Above ground.

A young man arrived outside the ruins, a bloodstained longsword dragging behind him. Fresh blood trickled from the wounds on his body.

But he paid them no heed, his eyes fixed intently on the ruins before him.

"Alice......"

As he whispered that name, his weary eyes blazed with renewed resolve.

He lifted his heavy legs once more and stepped into the ruins.

Shortly after he entered.

A rustling sound echoed through the surrounding woods.

Shadowy figures darted out from the trees......

Time passed, though no one could say how long.

BOOM——!

A ring of green light sliced across the sky and earth.

Then, a colossal pillar of green light, stretching from the heavens to the depths of the earth, descended upon the continent.

At that moment, the mana of the entire world trembled. Virtually every corner of the land was affected.

Even the underground shrine was no exception.

"Hmm? What’s going on?"

"Alice" looked around in surprise. Trapped underground, she had no idea what was happening in the outside world. But she instantly realized an opportunity had presented itself.

"I don’t know what’s happening, but this is my chance—!"

CRASH!

She pinpointed the barrier’s weak spot and forced her way through.

"Hahaha! You can’t stop me now!"

"Alice" cackled triumphantly as she breached the barrier.

Then she lowered her gaze to the shrine’s completely transparent floor, beneath which a mass of darkness was sealed.

She raised her hands high, power surging within her.

"Return to me—my power——!!!"

BOOM——!

A devastating blow slammed into the floor.

CRACK!

A sharp sound rang out.

The transparent floor shattered.

The mass of pitch-black energy sealed beneath it drifted free.

"Oh——! My power! My power is back—!"

Feeling the immense power surging into her body, "Alice" let out a joyous scream.

BOOM!

She released a pulse of dark energy that rippled outward.

The previously indestructible barrier shattered into pieces in an instant.

Then she raised one hand and pointed it at the ceiling above her head.

BOOM——!!!

With a single strike, her overwhelming power blasted a hole clean through the ground above.

The plaza above ground.

BOOM!

A column of black light shot into the sky. The center of the plaza vanished, replaced by an unfathomably deep pit.

Before long.

A figure rose from the pit.

She hovered in mid-air.

Black energy continued to pour into her body from the depths of the pit, while the surrounding mana swirled toward her like a storm.

At that moment.

CRASH——!

A section of the wall suddenly collapsed.

A young man burst into the plaza.

"Hmm?"

"Alice" turned her head, her brow furrowing in annoyance.

"It’s you again...... I’ll admit—among all the humans I’ve encountered, you’re one of the most persistent."

CLANG!

The young man pointed his bloodstained sword at her.

"Give me back...... Alice."

"Heh. Dream on——"

SWISH!

A blade of flaming sword qi sliced through the air, grazing "Alice"’s cheek.

"......"

She stared into Arthur’s unwavering eyes.

"Alice"’s gaze turned icy. She raised her right hand and pointed it at Arthur.

"Insolence!"

But before she could launch her attack.

"Urk——!"

She doubled over in pain, clutching her left eye.

"Damn it!"

She roared in fury.

"You won’t be able to act smug for much longer! The moment my power is fully restored, your consciousness will cease to exist!"

"And besides—do you really think this boy will be safe if I hold back? Since you care so much about him, I’ll make you watch him die right before your eyes!"

As soon as the words left her mouth.

"ROAR!"

"ROAR......"

The sound of countless monsters echoed from all around.