The giant World Tree.
Atop its branches lay a sanctuary where Elves could thrive. From houses built upon the wood, Dark Elves looked down at us.
Leaving their gazes behind, we arrived at the base of the World Tree’s trunk. Karen placed her hand on one of the roots wrapping around the pillar.
Rumble!
The roots shifted, revealing a path leading inside.
“Come in.”
Karen and Ropenheim led the way, while Artina and I followed behind them.
Inside the World Tree was a corridor. Small Light Spirits illuminated the dark passage.
Peep!
The Light Spirits approached me, spinning in circles to show their affection. I raised a finger and tapped them playfully as we walked.
After walking a fair distance, Karen, who had been chatting with Ropenheim at the front, came to a halt.
“Aren’t you the one in charge?”
“That’s right. My friend Jorge back there is the one in charge.”
Karen turned around and narrowed her eyes at me. She scanned me from head to toe before approaching quickly. Stopping right in front of me, she stared intently at my face.
“You’re saying you have Ropenheim as your subordinate?”
“Not exactly a subordinate. Let’s call me a collaborator instead.”
“It’s the same thing.”
Karen stepped back, crossing her arms with a contemplative expression.
“Let me get this straight. You’re saying you’re the actual leader of this group?”
I gave a light nod.
“I heard you were the one who fixed Ropenheim’s Manahole.”
“To be precise, a friend I brought along fixed it.”
“And appointing that girl as the Saintess?”
“That was done with the Goddess’s help.”
“So, in reality, you haven’t done anything yourself?”
“Does that not also mean none of it would have been possible without me? It’s not like just anyone can make those things happen.”
Karen rolled her tongue over her teeth and smirked.
“You certainly have a lot of confidence.”
“I should at least have this much confidence if I’m going to stand alongside a Great Elder.”
“You snake-like brat.”
Turning away sharply, Karen resumed her stride.
“So, why did you come all the way here?”
“To kill the Demon King.”
“Is that the girl’s opinion?”
“No. It’s the opinion of both Artina and me.”
“From what I can see, your forces are meager. You plan to kill the Demon King with that? No matter how strong you are, it’s impossible. That girl… well, she might be able to trim the Demon King’s fingernails.”
“She is strong. Much stronger than me, in fact. Taking down the Demon King himself won’t be as difficult as you think,” Ropenheim intervened.
Karen looked intrigued by Ropenheim’s words.
“Then why didn’t you go straight for him instead of coming to the Granary Region?”
“To grow the scale of the Subjugation Force that will face the Demon King’s Army.”
“You’ve done something meaningless, then. There isn’t a single human left alive in this area.”
“Speaking of which, do you have any intention of joining hands with us?”
“We don’t fight battles we can’t win. Currently, I don’t see any chance of victory for your Subjugation Force.”
Based on the size of our force alone, it was natural for her to think that.
‘Will persuasion be difficult?’
I wondered how to proceed if I couldn’t convince her as I continued to follow Karen.
Karen fell silent and stopped before a wall blocking our path. She slowly reached out and placed her hand on it.
Rumble!
The wall shifted and vanished. It seemed another root had been blocking the exit, just like before. As the wall disappeared, light flooded in. At the same time, the world beyond the wall came into view.
Wooden buildings were lined up across a vast plain, and a significant number of humans were gathered there.
“Hah!”
“Hah!”
Humans clad in leather armor were being trained by Dark Elves. They weren’t the only ones. Demi-humans with human-like features were among them. All together, they looked to be tens of thousands strong.
‘There are quite a few.’
It was a force comparable to the Subjugation Force I had already gathered. Judging by their aura and breathing, they had been trained properly. They were certainly stronger than the soldiers brought from the Kingdom.
“…These people are.”
“The humans who were in the Granary Region, and the demi-humans who lived nearby.”
“You saved them?”
Karen shrugged at Ropenheim’s question.
“Because I knew you would have done the same.”
“…”
“With this many, wouldn’t you say there’s at least a small chance of victory?”
Seeing Ropenheim’s moved expression, Karen wore a satisfied smile.
“Then…”
“We have to work together. We were always together, weren’t we? Follow me. I’ll share the plan we’re currently considering.”
A sanctuary where the Demonkind could not invade. Inside, the Dark Elves were preparing for a counterattack. The reason they hadn’t stepped forward sooner was that if they left the forest without proper preparation and the Demonkind discovered this place, it would truly be the end.
“It was difficult to contact the capital. The Subordinates of the Demon King were roaming around searching for us.”
“Not at all. We are more than grateful that you looked after the others like this,” Artina said.
“If anything, we’re the grateful ones. We couldn’t move properly because of those subordinates.”
I listened to Karen and Artina while examining the map of the continent. It was a large map laid out on the center table of the war room. Blue and red stones were placed here and there.
“Allies and enemies?”
“Exactly.”
Karen approached and cleared away all the red stones surrounding the forest where the blue stones were placed. One of those red stones was larger than the others. It seemed to represent a Subordinate of the Demon King.
“Thanks to you all, we even caught a subordinate, giving us more room to move. Now we can advance to a wider area through here.”
Karen pointed to a spot slightly away from the forest. It was a place where blue stones were scattered sparsely. Judging by the color, they were allies.
“Who is over there?”
“Beastkin who have been turned into slaves. I heard about them from the Beastmen who joined us here, and I even went to confirm it myself.”
“The number of enemies doesn’t seem that high.”
“That was the case when I last checked. I don’t know the current situation. It’s been a while since I could go there because of the subordinates.”
I stepped back and took a broad look at the map. Blue stones were spread wide around the Dark Elves’ base.
“If all those people join us, how large do you think the force will be?”
“At least three times this scale. More than anything, these are just the ones we’ve confirmed.”
Tap!
Karen pointed to a spot where no stones were placed.
“If we go this way, even more people will lend us their strength.”
“And who is there?”
“Those who fought alongside us to defeat the Demon King in the past. My and Ropenheim’s former comrades.”
“Is it possible they won’t cooperate?”
“They wouldn’t dare refuse Ropenheim. It’ll just be difficult to make them understand how a human with a shattered Manahole is still alive after all this time. Once they understand, they’ll help immediately.”
The issue of troop numbers—our biggest problem—was resolved. However, the time it would take to bring them all to our side was critical.
“We don’t have much time left.”
The Goddess’s Authority remaining in my body was signaling that time was running out.
When this time expired, the Demon King would obtain the power of a god, becoming the Demon God and grasping the world in his palms.
If that happened, everything we had done so far would be for naught. We had to stop the Demon King before then.
I looked at the map, sketching out a plan in my mind for how to move quickly.
Tap!
I pointed to one spot and drew a line straight from there.
“I’ll clear out the Demonkind as I move along this path.”
“You’re going to do that alone?”
“Yes.”
“Even if that were possible, it would take a long time just to travel.”
“I’ll take care of that as well. Just focus on the rescue. We’ll divide into three teams: Artina, Master Ropenheim, and your side.”
Out of everyone in the room, Karen was the only one with a stunned expression. Ropenheim and Artina simply nodded their heads in agreement.
“No, wait. Does this even make sense?”
“If it’s him, it’s possible.”
“Jorge can do it.”
“I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes. I’m not sending my subordinates somewhere without certainty.”
I smirked.
“Just wait a moment. I’ll show you.”
I turned around and cast Teleportation Magic. Since I had memorized the coordinates from the map, traveling was not a major issue.
Flash!
The scenery shifted, and a vast field appeared instead of the forest. It was a place where all sorts of Demonkind roamed aimlessly.
I lightly raised my Mana and converted it into Divine Power. I created dozens of spears and swept through the nearby enemies.
Boom!
Crash!
The spears exploded, blowing the Demonkind apart.
“A human!”
“Kill the human!”
A large number of Demonkind felt the Divine Power and came rushing toward the sound. After handling every single one that approached, I moved toward the location of the Beastkin slaves marked on the map. I found the exact location using detection magic.
The forest had been corrupted by Demonic Power. Inside, I saw the remains of a village where Beastkin once lived, along with many Beastkin corpses. Passing them, I reached the spot where the Demonkind and the surviving Beastkin were.
“Aaaggghhh!”
“Urgh!”
Seeing the Beastkin suffering under Mind Control, I once again used magic to clear out the Demonkind.
Thud!
Thud!
After finishing them off with concise magic to avoid harming the Beastkin, I used Portal Magic to open a path back to the Dark Elves’ forest.
When I stepped through the portal, Karen held a dagger to me.
“What is this!”
“Moving magic?”
I flicked Karen’s dagger away with my finger and cleared a red stone from the map.
“I’ve cleared all the Demonkind in the vicinity, and the enslaved Beastkin are there. I’ll need you to take care of the rest.”
“You crazy bastard! If this door stays open, the Demonkind will come through!”
“I utilized the properties of this forest, so don’t worry. Those with even a hint of Demonic Power cannot see this portal, let alone use it.”
Artina was the first to move, stepping through the portal. Ropenheim followed behind her. Karen bit her lip hard before stepping through the portal herself to verify the situation I had created.
“…This is insane. Is this for real?”
“What are you going to believe if you won’t even believe your own eyes?”
“…Sigh.”
“Our goal is to rescue all the Beastkin within one week.”
“Is it that urgent? Setting everything else aside, how do you even know that?”
“Because I’m on speaking terms with the Goddess?”
“Are you saying you’re a Saint or something?”
“Well, something like that.”
Looking at the still-hesitant Karen, I pointed toward Ropenheim.
“If you can’t trust me, trust Ropenheim.”
“Fine. I suppose that’s right.”
“I’ll go clear the next location. Please focus on dispatching troops to rescue the Beastkin immediately.”
For one week, I pushed the troops relentlessly, incorporating the Beastkin and various other demi-humans into the Subjugation Force.
Furthermore, Ropenheim’s former comrades from the Hero’s Party joined the force as well.
Since they were not human, they were still alive after all this time, and most had become leaders of their respective races.
‘Now, the preparations are complete.’
A massive Subjugation Force occupied the vast plains, with Artina and the former Hero’s Party standing at the front.
They became the hope of the Subjugation Force, leading them toward the final battlefield where the Demon King waited.
“Today, we will change the world with our own hands!”
“Whooooah!”
“Let’s go! To save our world!”
Artina lifted the Shield of the Goddess and bestowed a blessing. With that as the signal, the Subjugation Force marched toward the Demon King’s Army.