CH 156

Chapter 156

I opened my eyes slowly. The blinding vision gradually darkened and I felt a cool chill all over my body.

“This is…?”

I was still out of the barrier. The roots of the World Tree were flowing down the ground like snakes beneath its base, shining white.

But Benny and Hugo were nowhere to be seen. I blinked blankly and hurriedly touched the nape of my neck.

A drop of blood that had pooled on the tip of my chin dripped down. It was too little for a sliced head.

The wound had completely healed. It seemed that my body had regenerated at will because I could not cut my head off at once.

I raised my eyebrows and thought back on what had just happened.

“Princess. Princess…”

Benny shook my body in panic like never before. His eyes, seen through damp silver hair, were clearly wet.

“Don’t do this. Please.”

The next moment a branch of the World Tree took me away from him. It sounded crazy, but I remembered it clearly.

I looked up at the World Tree. The tall tree was emitting a divine light even as it was being cut down.

After kidnapping me, the tree was silent. I pondered and turned my head.

‘This is not the time for this.’

There was no time for concern now, whatever strange things had happened. My determination has not been shaken even now.

“…I have to cut my neck.”

I murmured in the wilderness.

Benny’s grand plan was to control the entire empire with black magic.

I was not in a position to persuade him, and even if he was hated by me, he seemed to push ahead with his purpose.

‘If I cut off Benny’s head, I might be able to stop it, but…’

I bit my lips hard.

‘I can’t do that.’

The first reason was my heart that could not harm Benny, and the second reason was the suspicion that he might be the Demon King.

“The end.”

I remembered words that only appeared in fairy tales.

The first creature created by the Demon God, the ‘Demon King’. He was the one who brought the end of the world in any fairy tale.

And, based on his progress so far, the person who deserved the name of the Demon King more than anyone else was Benny.

‘Will Benny really have the same ending as demons?’

If you kill a demon, it would become an evil spirit, but if you kill the demon king, it might not be the case, a bigger disaster might come.

Still, I couldn’t risk Alan’s life.

“That’s why I have to disappear.”

It was the best way; to get rid of the reason why Benny wanted to bring the world to an end.

‘Alan.’

I walked aimlessly, thinking of the man I loved the most.

My mind, which was so chaotic that my stomach turned upside down, gradually became clearer.

I struggled to survive all my life, but now I was seeking a way to die.

At the time when I was killing the screams in my heart that I wanted to live.

“Baby.”

A clear voice caught my ankle.

“…Huh?”

I looked up suddenly. There was nobody around. But again, the voice came out vividly.

“Shh, it’s me.”

A voice of unknown origin became familiar. I looked around carefully.

“…Your Majesty the Emperor?”

The voice laughed softly, as if I had answered correctly.

“Baby, do you intend to face death?”

Igdrasil looked into my heart at once.

I didn’t know what she was thinking, but somehow she seemed to disturb me again.

I put my foot on a nearby hill and was on guard, but a ray of light came out like a snake and grabbed my ankle.

“Ack!”

My body turned backwards.

The ray of light bent like a flexible branch, holding my body firmly.

A faint image of a woman could be seen in the distance. It was a clone of Emperor Igdrasil.

“Don’t panic. I brought you here because I have something to offer you.”

Igdrasil placed her index finger on her lips. Her calm voice was just as I remembered it.

Without releasing a frown on my face, I poked around as if attacking.

“Did you force Benny to betray me in this way?”

“Force?”

Igdrasil’s clone tilted her head.

“We just made a small agreement. Instead of having the evil spirit boy guide you to the trap I prepared, I decided not to catch you two even if both of you went out of the barrier.”

The reason Benny betrayed the rebels was trivial, but understandable.

As always, he acted for me.

“…….”

“I thought he was only going to run away with you, but now I see he’s going to destroy the world altogether.”

I didn’t like it. Not only the emperor, but all the conditions surrounding me.

I lowered my eyes and focused.

‘The power of Her Majesty the Emperor is strong, but… it’s white magic, anyway.’

If more evil spirits than she could handle invaded, the barriers of the World Tree would be helplessly broken.

Basically, it was because of the superiority black magic had over white magic.

Which was why as a demon, I would be able to break her magic more easily.

The black magic that slowly rose from my fingertips covered the ray of light that bound me.

It worked. The emperor’s magical power gradually became thinner and broke.

I pulled out of the magic cord and brushed off my torn clothes.

Igdrasil said as if quite surprised.

“Well done, my dear.”

“Do not disturb me.”

I turned my right hand into a demon and glared at Igdrasil.

It would be good. Taking her as a friend to the afterworld would be perfect as a final gift to Alan.

While I thought the assassination had completely failed, the emperor walked over with her own feet. But there couldn’t be such a windfall.

“I am trying to prevent the end.”

I hid my thoughts and mumbled. Then, the gray hair of the emperor grew a little closer.

“Do you believe that all this despair will end if you disappear?”

“It’s just… There’s no other way.”

“I am not trying to insult your choice.”

Igdrasil whispered kindly.

“If you’re going to risk your life anyway, I just hope it’s in a little more useful way.”

“…What do you mean?”

My eyes narrowed. I couldn’t understand Igdrasil’s attitude.

It was strange. I couldn’t believe she was talking to me peacefully even though the empire she had supported all her life was collapsing.

“…In the first place, why are you here instead of stopping the war?”

I flinched, wary.

“Are you actually hoping that the empire will be completely destroyed?”

“What? haha.”

The emperor’s white shadow shook as if bursting into laughter.

“Am I going to destroy the empire? I can’t do anything so irresponsible even if the strength used to support this land for thousands of years are a waste.”

“Then why…”

“My life is over.”

Igdrasil turned my hunch into certainty.

“I grew old after living a meaningless life. Even if I die, I need someone to support this land.”

It was a meaningful response. The emperor seemed convinced that she had someone to take her place.

‘No way.’

The shining figure smiled softly.

“A World Tree created by black magic… It must be a spectacular sight, but it is a pity that I cannot see it with these two eyes.”

I was sure enough.

The emperor already knew that demons could become fake World Trees.

“But I don’t want the Crown Prince to become the World Tree.”

Now that I see it, it seemed that she has been aware of Garou’s plan itself for a long time.

I frowned.

“…Why?”

Becoming a Black World Tree was something that only demons can do.

And for that important task, the heir to the throne, Garou, was the most suitable.

‘If it was the intention of passing the throne to a new World Tree from the beginning, there would have been no need to wage war…’

Igdrasil shook her head as if she knew what I was thinking.

“Because a world tree made with black magic can never become an emperor like me.”

“…How do you know that?”

“Did the Crown Prince tell you exactly what the process of becoming a World Tree is like?”

I sighed and shook my head.

Igdrasil continued speaking lightly.

“To become a World Tree, you must unleash your black magic power to the limit. Usually you injure yourself to be awakened, but in this case, that’s not enough.”

Igdrasil paused for a moment and lowered her voice.

“The black magic that a demon with great potential emits at the moment of death. That should be it.”

“That means…”

“The Crown Prince will become an evil spirit that mimics the World Tree.”

It was a shocking story.

“He will become an evil spirit that imitates the World Tree and support the earth forever, but he will never be able to live with emotions like he does now.”

“…Does Garou even know this?”

In response to my question, Igdrasil shrugged as if it was without a doubt.

“There’s no way he doesn’t know.”

“Then why…”

“So, even if he isn’t confident, hasn’t he found a family that will manage the empire?”

The figure, which got closer, waved an arm towards me once. At that moment, the words Garou had said flashed through my mind.

“Take it all, Lilietta.”

He smiled, saying that I should take all, not half of the empire.

At the time, I thought it was just a bad joke, but now I see that he wasn’t lying.

“If the rebellion succeeds, no one will be surprised if the duke becomes the emperor.”

“…….”

“It’s not going to happen. I’m sorry, but I can’t believe the duke would make a good emperor. He only cares about his people.”

Igdrasil sighed softly.

“This chaotic empire can only be settled when the Crown Prince is alive.”

Igdrasil’s clone came closer to me. It was much bigger than when I looked at it from afar.

“So I propose. If you’re going to die anyway…”

The emperor reached out to me. A soft smile crept onto her lips.

“Why don’t you be the hero who saves the empire?”

I knew right away what that meant.

The emperor was begging me to become a new world tree.

I couldn’t shake my head.

Disappearing without anyone knowing, and becoming the rock of a new world in which the families will live.

It was the same for everyone— if you weighed two problems that didn’t weigh the same, there would be only one answer.