Chapter 181. High Chieftain

The staircase that had gently ascended along the World Tree came to a stop.

It had climbed even higher than the altitude they had reached aboard the sky carriage.

Despite being higher than a mountain—where one would expect fierce, icy winds—the air here was calm and pleasantly warm.

Rizera gestured toward the entrance.

At once, the grain of the World Tree rippled as though hundreds of vines had sprung to life, flexing apart to reveal an opening.

A long corridor stretching into the interior welcomed them.

"Follow this corridor, and you'll arrive at the place we call the Mother's Heart. The High Chieftain is waiting for you there."

Rizera clenched both fists in an energetic gesture of encouragement.

"I'll wait here. I hope you have a pleasant conversation!"

As soon as the entrance behind them closed, Ferda voiced the question he had been holding back.

"Are all High Elves that lively?"

Erika shook her head.

"Not a chance. If the rest of them were even half as pleasant as that girl Rizera, they'd be far more likable."

"I see."

"It's like being a beautiful person with two eyes living in a village full of one-eyed people."

While helping Ferda understand, Erika made no effort to hide her dislike for all High Elves.

They walked down the long corridor until they reached the deepest chamber, where the High Chieftain resided.

The heart of the World Tree, where the High Chieftain lived, truly deserved to be called the Mother's Heart.

Even a Magic Tower with thousands of years of history could never hope to imitate the luxury found within the World Tree.

Pure Mana, so dense and brilliant that it illuminated the entire chamber, floated across the ceiling.

And that wasn't all.

Swimming through that blue radiance were countless thin white strands, drifting like threads across the surface of a lake.

Ferda knew exactly what they were.

Any Mage would.

Threads.

When Mana was compressed again and again, it eventually took the form of thread.

They were treasures that couldn't be obtained no matter how much money one possessed.

A single strand was enough to effortlessly inscribe a Fifth-Tier spell.

Gather several strands together into a thicker thread, and it could unleash magic up to the Seventh Tier.

And here...

Hundreds.

No, thousands of them swam across the ceiling as though it were a lake.

Beneath those countless Threads sat an old man in meditation.

A frail elder with snow-white eyebrows hanging low over his face.

Yet despite his appearance, he possessed the control necessary to command those thousands of free-flowing Threads.

"It has been a long time, High Chieftain."

Erika greeted him first.

Her tone was one she often used during verbal sparring.

The High Chieftain gave a slight nod.

"May the blessings of the earth be upon you. So the Child of Water has finally entered Mother's embrace."

"There's nothing surprising about that. There's no reason our two sides have to remain enemies forever."

"You've been requesting a meeting since last winter. I assume you've been quite busy?"

"Not busy. I simply had an irritating matter I wanted to deal with as quickly as possible."

The tension in the room became palpable.

It was obvious how deeply Erika despised the High Elves.

Fortunately, the High Chieftain appeared completely unbothered by her attitude.

Perhaps there was a reason he simply couldn't afford to care.

At that moment, one of the floating Threads drifted past Ferda.

Without thinking, his gaze followed it.

"Magnificent, isn't it?"

The High Chieftain looked at Ferda.

"It is."

Ferda answered reflexively.

If he were asked whether he truly found it magnificent...

He would shake his head.

The instant he saw those Threads, he felt the Shadow Circle begin to rotate.

The reason he had slaughtered the High Elves and burned the World Tree...was because he had coveted those hundreds of Threads.

He had absorbed thousands of them.

With their power, he had killed countless people.

He had killed Valdrova.

They were nothing but painful memories.

Ferda quietly turned his eyes away.

The High Chieftain also decided to move to the main subject.

"Now then... let us discuss why you've come here."

"Very well."

Despite the enormous chamber and its overwhelming abundance of Mana, the room itself was remarkably modest.

Unlike the lairs of dragons or the lavish halls of human nobles, nothing here was adorned with gold.

Everything had been crafted purely from the living wood of the World Tree.

"Your Highness the Regent, if you would..."

Erika looked toward Ferda.

He took the notebook from the case and placed it before the High Chieftain.

"Hmm..."

The High Chieftain let out a quiet groan as he flicked a finger toward it.

Instantly, every Thread floating above them stopped moving.

Under his will, the Threads gathered together, weaving themselves into the shape of a hand.

The white hand gently traced the notebook's cover as though reading Braille.

"This is... Linne's handwriting."

He recognized it from the title alone.

The white hand flipped through the notebook, scanning each page.

As though recalling distant memories, the High Chieftain murmured,

"Linne... yes... since that child survived... that's why you've come here."

"You didn't know she was still alive?"

"When I searched through the minds of the Dark Elves who entered the Land of Demons, I watched every one of them die. I had no reason to doubt that she died as well."

But...

The High Chieftain had been mistaken.

"I overlooked something important. That child possessed the ability to free herself from the chains binding High Elves. Naturally... she would also have been capable of escaping the mental network of the Dark Elves."

The white hand continued turning the pages.

The High Chieftain slowly exhaled.

"So... Linne intends to rise again, stepping over the corpses of the clan that followed her."

Ferda couldn't tell what emotion lay behind those words.

Was it sorrow?

Or was it anger that had remained buried for countless years?

While the old man quietly drifted through memories of the past, the white hand finished reading the final page and closed the notebook.

"I've read everything."

"I can clearly understand... what Linne is trying to accomplish."

Life returned to Erika's face.

The High Chieftain stroked his beard as he gently rocked in his chair.

"May I ask something?"

"Please."

"Did you happen to bring the black liquid mentioned in this journal?"

"Yes. I brought it because I hoped you could examine it."

Erika rolled one of the ampoules across the floor.

The High Chieftain pointed toward it.

A Thread transformed into a hand and picked up the ampoule.

The white hand inserted a finger into the black liquid.

The old man's expression immediately changed.

"...I see."

It was the expression of someone whose lingering doubts had all been resolved.

"Child of Water... forgive my boldness, but what exactly do you intend to do with this information?"

"Obviously, we'll prepare a countermeasure."

Erika answered without hesitation.

"If it's possible to create the Demon Race by reproducing something similar to Godwin's blood, then it should also be possible to create something capable of countering it."

"Naturally."

The High Chieftain hummed thoughtfully.

Realizing he still wasn't convinced, Erika pressed harder.

"It may not have been recorded in the journal, but the Dark Elf named Linne is currently creating new members of the Demon Race."

"That is correct."

"Recently she's even begun deploying clones known as Dopplers to plunge the Cerdes Continent into chaos."

"That is also true."

"She's undoubtedly trying to mass-produce something similar to Godwin's blood. If the Demon Race begins appearing in large numbers..."

Her voice lowered.

"...The tragedy of the Dragon-Demon War will repeat itself."

She stared directly at the High Chieftain.

"And this time... not even the World Tree will escape being consumed by flames."

To the Dragon Spawn, dragons were everything.

Likewise, the World Tree was everything to the High Elves.

Losing it would be no different from losing their lives.

The High Chieftain silently contemplated her warning.

"The Dragon-Demon War is indeed a tragedy that must never be repeated."

They knew better than anyone what suffering that war had brought.

"I have every intention of helping."

"In that case—"

"But..."

"There is one condition."

As he spoke, the High Chieftain shifted his gaze.

His eyes settled firmly upon Ferda.

"I would like to continue this conversation with Regent Ferda alone. Would that be acceptable?"

Erika's eyebrows twitched.

"Absolutely not."

She refused immediately.

Certainly, the notebook belonged to Ferda.

He had every right to decide.

But she—and the descendants of Iorga within the Blue Eye Magic Tower—had devoted themselves to researching the black liquid.

Being excluded now was an insult to her pride.

"I have every right to know. As one who protects this continent... and as a hero of the Dragon-Demon War."

"I understand what it means to bear the title Child of Water."

"But this matter is separate."

The High Chieftain refused to compromise in the slightest.

"In that case..."

Erika chose to bring in a third party.

"Let's allow Regent Ferda to decide."

"What do you think?"

"That is certainly one way."

The High Chieftain slowly raised his hand.

Erika immediately sensed something.

"What are you—"

She reacted instantly.

Too late.

One of the white Threads hovering behind her lightly tapped her back.

Erika vanished from the spot.

"...Though I never actually intended to ask your permission."

He quietly muttered words she could no longer hear.

Now only the two of them remained.

Ferda, who had remained silent the entire time, calmly looked at the High Chieftain.

"You needn't worry. I haven't harmed Lady Erika."

"I already know you merely teleported her outside."

Ferda remained perfectly composed.

Only one question mattered to him.

"So there truly is a reason why the Master of the Blue Eye Magic Tower cannot hear this?"

"Indeed."

"From this point onward... the discussion becomes rather personal."

Ferda frowned slightly.

What could possibly become personal in a discussion about the Demon Race?

"First..."

"Let's discuss this black liquid."

The white hand lifted the ampoule once more.

"The Master of the Blue Eye Magic Tower undoubtedly believed this substance resembled dragon blood."

"Correct."

"But she also realized it wasn't actually dragon blood—merely something similar, yet beyond her understanding. Naturally, she must have concluded it was related to the blood of the High Elves."

"Correct. Is that written in the journal?"

"No."

"I merely deduced that if the Tower Master herself came all the way here, there could be no other explanation."

He was frighteningly accurate.

Or perhaps Erika was simply easier to read than Ferda had expected.

"To answer your question..."

"This black liquid was indeed created using the unique abilities of the High Elves."

"The High Elves possess a special ability?"

"Unlike humans, elves are capable of sharing their thoughts with one another."

"Among High Elves, all of our minds are connected as one."

"I see."

"That mental network does far more than merely share thoughts."

"It interprets every piece of information an elf possesses through the language of the elves."

"To put it more simply..."

"It can retrieve information even the individual themselves doesn't consciously know."

The ability to know everything another person did not even know about themselves.

To a born Mage, it sounded irresistible.

The High Chieftain seemed to read Ferda's thoughts.

"It's not entirely a blessing."

"When everything is shared..."

"One naturally becomes extremely sensitive toward anything that cannot be shared."

"So that's why that elder reacted so aggressively."

"Exactly."

Ferda recalled the elder who had nearly thrown him out at the entrance.

He could understand the reason.

That didn't mean he intended to forgive it.

"Linne used the abilities of the High Elves to obtain information about every race living on the Cerdes Continent."

Now it made sense.

Why there had been a laboratory in the north.

Why so many races had been imprisoned there.

She had analyzed every cell in their bodies in order to develop a substance perfectly suited for combining their information with that of the existing Demon Race.

"So every High Elf can do this?"

Ferda asked carefully.

The High Chieftain shook his head.

"The unified mind is no different from breathing or the beating of one's heart."

"Even I, as the High Chieftain, cannot sever or reconnect it at will."

"So Linne alone could?"

"Yes."

"That is precisely why she was able to betray us and become a Dark Elf."

Had she lacked that ability...

Her intentions would have been exposed immediately.

They would have dealt with her before she could act.

The fact that only Linne possessed such a gift was, at least, one small mercy.

"...Wait."

A disturbing thought suddenly crossed Ferda's mind.

"Then the reason she was able to create something resembling dragon blood..."

"...Was because she connected her mind to Godwin and obtained his information?"

If dragon blood used during the Ascension Ceremony could be recreated...

That implied she had somehow acquired a dragon's information.

Had Linne truly come to understand dragons completely?

"Unfortunately..."

"I don't believe she managed that."

The High Chieftain answered firmly.

"No matter how we compare ourselves among living beings, we are all creations born of the earth."

"But dragons are creations forged directly by the gods."

"To understand them requires the language of the gods."

"No matter how extraordinary the language of the High Elves may be, it remains a language of the earth."

"It can never interpret beings created with the language of the gods."

He reached his conclusion.

"Therefore..."

"This black liquid also originates from a creature born of the earth."

"So..."

"Does that mean the Ascension Ceremony can be performed without an actual dragon?"

"Not for the Dragon Spawn."

"But for creating the Demon Race..."

"Yes."

Not Godwin.

Yet someone whose influence upon the world had once rivaled his.

Only one person came to mind.

"The black liquid before you..."

"...Recreates the mana once possessed by the man known as the Demon King."

The Demon King.

Overshadowed by the overwhelming legend of Godwin, his name had become smaller by comparison.

Yet he had been an infamous monster in his own right.

The reason the Far East had come to be known as the Land of Demons...was entirely because of him.

He could not rival a dragon.

Even so, he had possessed enough strength and power to be called a calamity upon the continent.

"I understand."

Ferda didn't know every detail.

But he finally understood the overall picture.

The High Chieftain had answered every question Erika had come here to solve.

Listening to all of this, however...

Ferda could no longer suppress his curiosity.

"Was there really any reason to tell only me all of this?"

Putting everything together, the black liquid was simply a substance that imitated the Demon King's mana through the mental network unique to the High Elves.

It didn't seem like information that needed to remain secret.

"What I'm about to tell you..."

"...Is something only Regent Ferda should hear."

The High Chieftain slowly raised a long, gnarled finger.

He pointed directly at Ferda.

More precisely...

At the Red Circle beneath his Dantian.

"The Demon King's mana..."

"...Also exists within your body."