Chapter 290: Chapter 288

Whoosh—

As the Apostle of Paradise fled, the dimensional gap he tore closed on its own. Beru, confirming the complete disappearance of his presence, narrowed his eyes.

[He must be alive somewhere. The fact that despite knowing me he is still breathing means he's a tenacious one who cherishes his existence.]

The apostles of Itarim that Beru faced in outer space had various forms and abilities. This was because Itarim wasn't just one being, but many. Since the outer gods that the apostles served were all different, the abilities of the creatures they created were also diverse. Therefore, whenever a new outer god arrived late and joined the battlefield, the nature of the war changed,

And from Sung Jinwoo's perspective, who had to block them all, it was practically like endlessly facing a giant allied force with constantly increasing numbers. But although he called them an allied force, there was actually an invisible conflict between the Itarim. They only joined forces temporarily because their goals aligned; they weren't true allies. They were briefly united as one team in the face of the powerful enemy Sung Jinwoo, but their original purpose for invading this universe was 'monopolization.' Even if they somehow defeated the Shadow Monarch's mighty army and succeeded in occupying this universe, their war wouldn't end...

In that case, the victorious outer gods would compete with each other to monopolize the vast, masterless magic power remaining in this world. In the process, this universe, and the dimension surrounding Earth, would be torn into thousands of pieces and forever wander the dimensional gaps.

[...That's why they're good at scheming behind each other's backs even during battle. It's basic for them to send the forces of other outer gods to the front lines first and keep their own troops back to preserve them. They use all sorts of methods to stab each other in the back.]

In short, Beru's explanation described a three-way battle. No, perhaps it was more like a battle of dozens, if not hundreds. One of the reasons why Sung Jinwoo could hold his ground against the endless allied forces without retreating was because of this factor working in his favor.

"Thanks for the explanation, but can you tell me all that later?" The situation before Suho wasn't leisurely enough for him to calmly listen to Beru's lengthy explanation.

Graaaaa—!

KIAAAAAAAAAAA—!

Even though the Apostle of Paradise fled, the battle wasn't over yet. The apostle's burning, melting body was scattered throughout the city as fertilizer, accelerating Alfheim's rampage. This also had a significant impact on the Spirits of Frost, who were being overwhelmed by Sirka.

Graaaaaaaaaaa—!

The enraged Spirits of Frost grew as if to freeze the whole world, and for the first time, they repelled Sirka's hammer. And that wasn't all.

[Using Skill: 'Breath of Destruction'.]

BOOM—!

The Breath of Destruction that Suho unleashed pierced a large hole in the giant Spirit of Frost's body. Rather than burning, it melted. Like cotton candy in water. It was truly the ultimate counter. But surprisingly, that large hole was quickly restored.

Whoosh—!

The surrounding blizzard instantly flew in and filled the wound. The Spirits of Frost weren't magical beasts, but the season itself. In the end, to completely defeat them, he had to burn down the entire winter that had struck this city, this instance dungeon.

"Come out, everyone!"

Whoosh—

[Using Skill: 'Monarch's Domain'.]

Black shadows spread from Suho's feet, covering the entire city, And the Shadow Army, blazing with black-red flames, rose in unison.

"All forces, charge!"

[Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!]

At Suho's command, thousands of shadow soldiers roared and charged forward. The once splendid city of villains began to burn. But their target wasn't the Spirits of Frost.

"Those are for Sirka to devour."

Suho and the Shadow Army aimed for something else... Alfheim.

"We're taking that tree."

He had found the mastermind and uncovered the city's secret, so there was no need to hold back anymore.

Whoosh—!

SWOOSH—!

From underground to the sky, Thousands of hideous branches and roots attacked from all directions. Alfheim, struck by winter, was a nightmare for the elves. But at this moment, That nightmare was reversed. Befalling the tree.

[Follow me!]

[That tree is ours!]

[Uproot it, cut off its branches!]

Fwoosh—!

Black-red flames blazed from the shadow soldiers' bodies, covering the entire city. They charged towards Alfheim in the blazing flames.

Rumble—

The ground shook with their footsteps, and the city melted from the flames they breathed.

Crack—!

Alfheim's roots were pulled out and cut down one by one by the shadow soldiers' attacks. A sea of fire unfolded on the cold winter. It was then.

[My liege! Look over there! Alfheim's roots are covering the entire city!]

Beru pointed at the walls surrounding the town .

[It seems like it used the corpses of all the dead villains as nutrients!]

As Beru said, Alfheim's roots were now covering the entire city like a spider web, and those roots were sucking out all the nutrients from within the walls.

Crack— Crackle—!

Every time the shadow soldiers cut off a root, the corpses of devoured villains poured out from within. They looked like withered bellflowers.

"It really was a flowerpot." Suho frowned.

It was no exaggeration to say that this city itself was a giant flowerpot for growing Alfheim. Looking again, it seemed certain that the Apostle of Paradise was better at this kind of manipulation than actual combat.

Whirl—

On the other side, Sirka was engaged in a bloody battle with the Spirits of Frost.

Crash—!

Her giant ice hammer cut through the blizzard and crushed them.

[How dare you... us...!]

"Shut up and submit!"

Whoosh—!

With each blow, the spirits' bodies shattered and then reassembled.

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, clenches his fists.]

He could practically hear Sillad's cheers. The fertilizer scattered by the Apostle of Paradise made the Spirits of Frost go berserk, but the tide had already turned. Sirka had already completely dominated four spirits, and now only one remained.

"That side will be over soon." Suho muttered.

Most of Alfheim's roots were cut off, and Sirka devoured the Spirits of Frost. All that remained was...

"Haaa!"

Crack—!

The moment the last root caught in Suho's strong grip was torn off,

Rumble—!

Alfheim's trunk fell and split the city in half. A shockwave that shook the heavens and earth struck. But even in that moment, Alfheim attempted one last struggle. Seeing that, Hasul, who had approached Suho, shouted with a tense expression,

"This is bad! Alfheim is attempting the 'last harvest'!"

"Last harvest?"

Hasul, who was a Reaper, knew the nature of Alfheim better than anyone. First of all, one of her most important missions when infiltrating this city under the orders of Association President Woo Jinchul was to learn about the characteristics of the tree.

Whoosh—!

New rootlets sprouted from the trunk of Alfheim, which had all its tentacles torn off and burned, and began to take root in the ground. They started to absorb all the surrounding nutrients at an incredible speed. The corpses of the elves hunted by the villains were buried in this land, And as all those accumulated nutrients were concentrated in one place...

"Ah." Suho also saw the result.

The 'last fruit' was sprouting from Alfheim.

"Is it trying to give birth to another spirit?"

"Yes! The final Enforcer! If that is born, we'll all...!"

Crack—!

Before Hasul could even finish her sentence, Sirka's hand was faster. She grabbed that last fruit and crushed it without hesitation.

"Don't waste time being born. You're the only one left anyway."

"...!"

Looking back, the blizzard had subsided. Instead, there were five giant Ice Golems standing behind Sirka. She had finally succeeded in dominating all the Spirits of Frost. And the moment she crushed the last fruit that Alfheim created with all its might,

BOOM—!

"...!"

What erupted from within wasn't a Spirit of Frost, but a scream. A terrifying scream, beyond the range of human hearing, exploded in all directions. At that moment...

Ding!

[An urgent quest has arrived.]

"Huh?" Suho let out a hollow laugh at the sudden quest window.

[Urgent Quest: Defeat the enemy!]

[Beings with murderous intent towards the 'player' have surrounded the area.]

[Defeat them all and secure safety.]

[Number of enemies to defeat: 2,918]

[Number of enemies defeated: 0]

What was with this number? It meant that nearly 3,000 enemies were surrounding him. Without emitting any presence.

"...Ah, was it because of the leaves?"

As the blizzard subsided, winter lifted, and the land returned to autumn. The snow-covered field melted under the flames of destruction, and the red and yellow leaves buried beneath also burned. But even as they turned to ash, those leaves became smoke and covered the sky, still bestowing the effect of 'perception impairment' on this land. Of course, it was only a temporary effect and would soon disappear, but the problem was that there were those who flocked here after hearing Alfheim's scream in the meantime.

Grining, Suho looked around and couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. On the burning walls, There were 3,000 'high elves' standing, aiming their bows downwards. And they were high elves whose skin was hardened with bark, their erosion complete.

"Sillad, were high elves always this common?"

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, clicks his tongue.]

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, explains that they are half-baked high elves forcibly evolved by the contaminated Elvenwood.]

Those were also the Apostle's of Paradise doing.

'Just how many flowerpots did he create on this land?'

"..."

Meanwhile, Hasul, surrounded by the overwhelming killing intent emitted by the high elves, gripped the scythe of harvest with a determined look. With her other hand, she grabbed the round strawberry cake Suho gave her and took a big bite. Even if this was where she died today, wouldn't it be okay to at least have a bite of strawberry cake before going?

But Suho, called out to Arsha as if this was a good thing, "Arsha."

[Yes. You called?]

Buzz—

Countless bees flew up from under Suho's shadow as she answered. They gathered in the air, forming Arsha's face adorned with a respectful expression. Hasul flinched at the sight but took another bite of the cake. She seemed determined to stuff her cheeks, no matter what happened.

Suho ordered Arsha, "This is good timing, right? Spread the bees to backtrack their traces. And..."

[I'll locate all the Elvenwoods at the end of those traces.]

They understood each other perfectly. With that answer, Arsha dispersed into countless bees again and flew towards the sky.

"And those guys."

The Instance Dungeon was already broken because of the Apostle of Paradise. But those high elves were all experience points, weren't they? Suho grinned, revealing his teeth.

"I was wondering how to find them all, this is perfect. Don't miss a single one."

[Yes!]

Suho's Shadow Army erupted with energy and sprang towards the 3,000 high elves. And in Sirka's body, who was facing all those enemies... A change was occurring.

Whoosh—!

A chill began to emanate from her entire body.