I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 463: The Cycle of Life and Death (2)

Chapter 463: The Cycle of Life and Death (2)

"What is that?"

Darish couldn't hide his bewilderment at the spectacle of roots bursting out from the inner fortress.

Could it be that the druids had joined forces to use something in preparation for the gate being breached?

However, Darish's instincts were screaming that this wasn't the case.

Despite appearances, he was the head of House Radix, responsible for the capital's defense.

Even if he lacked practical experience, he wasn't so naive as to mistake this for druid magic.

'Ventmin Lifrey. What exactly have you done?'

The soldiers were equally perplexed.

Having confirmed that the gate was destroyed, they tried to maintain momentum and push inward but when roots suddenly emerged and undulated like octopus tentacles, they were at a loss for what to do.

"What are you all doing! Just push forward! They're just tree roots! Just cut them down!"

At the front commander's shout, the soldiers approached the tree roots with their weapons raised.

Darish felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort and vague fear at the sight.

Something inside him, his elven senses, was screaming that this shouldn't be allowed to continue.

"Everyone fall back!"

Though he shouted urgently, the roots moved faster than his order.

-Swoosh.

A living root moved like a whip and wrapped around an elven soldier's body.

The captured elf tried desperately to break free, but there was no escaping from the sturdy root.

"S-someone help me get this off...Aaaaagh!"

The elf caught by the root tried to call for help from his comrades but ended up screaming.

Then his body slowly began to shrivel up like a mummy.

"W-what is that thing?"

The other soldiers who witnessed this scene up close froze where they stood.

In the end, the captured soldier had all his life force and bodily fluids drained, becoming a mummy and collapsing lifelessly.

The root, not satisfied with claiming one life, extended its demonic grasp toward the next victim.

"D-don't come near!"

The targeted soldier instinctively swung his sword at the root.

-Clang!

But when the sword made contact with the root, it broke with a harsh metallic sound, leaving only a slight scratch.

"Aaaaagh!"

Soon the elf was caught by the root and met the same end as the elf who died moments before.

Similar situations began occurring simultaneously in several places.

"Aaaagh! F-fall back!"

"Don't retreat! What are you doing! They're just trees!"

"Th-these aren't normal roots! Even the spirits are avoiding them!"

Confusion spread through the battle line, and the roots exploited these gaps.

Each time a massive root swung, dozens of soldiers were sent flying.

The roots burst through the ground from the gate as if they had been waiting, making sacrifices of nearby elves.

Shouts and screams echoing from all directions while elves were meeting horrific ends as all their energy was drained.

The battlefield transformed into a scene from hell in an instant.

"What, what in the world is this?"

Darish stepped backward at the surreal sight.

* * *

"Aaaaaaagh!"

With the Three Noble Houses' soldiers thrown into chaos by the suddenly appearing roots, the neutral faction couldn't remain safe either.

One soldier was lifted high into the air after being caught by a massive root.

The soldier screamed.

No matter how brave a soldier might be, they had all clearly seen what happened to their comrades who were caught by these roots moments ago.

An end that left them shriveled up like mummies.

For elves, there could be no death crueler.

It stimulated a primal fear in the elven race, making even well-trained soldiers scream like children.

-Slash!

At that moment, Ambella leaped up and cut down the tree root.

While the sturdy roots barely showed scratches from ordinary attacks, they were helplessly severed by Ambella's greatsword.

"Everyone fall back!"

At Ambella's command, the elven soldier who had fallen to the ground hurriedly got up and retreated.

The roots that had lost their prey swayed as if in disappointment.

Ambella frowned at the sight.

"Ventmin Lifrey. You've finally gone and done it."

The sight of roots bursting out from all over the once-beautiful Serendel Castle and writhing like heat waves created an otherworldly grotesqueness.

Ambella recalled the feeling when her sword cut through the root.

It was disgustingly hard and even she, who had confidence in being able to cut anything, was surprised by the resistance she felt at the sword's edge.

Other elves probably couldn't even properly respond.

Moreover, the way it drained life force while holding its victims was unbelievable even after seeing it.

"Lady Ambella. That is..."

Vierano was equally shocked by this situation.

Ambella, who had pulled back the front line, spat on the ground.

"Yes. Those are the World Tree's roots."

"The World Tree? I can't believe it even after seeing it. How can the World Tree, the cradle of life, drain life force?"

"Life isn't just about birth. The same goes for death. Sprouting, growing, and finally meeting twilight before returning to the soil. That entire process is life."

The source of life ultimately lay in circulation.

Everyone thinks of the World Tree as a divine tree that helps birth new life but that was only half true.

The World Tree's true power lay in its ability to grant 'death', the eternal rest in the ecosystem.

In fact, Ambella had only heard about this.

She had barely found traces of it in ancient books passed down through the house heads.

After all, how could such a radiant, sacred tree possibly bring death?

"Then, does that mean there's no proper way to deal with this?"

"If we send in mediocre fighters, they'll all just become nutrients for those roots."

Ambella glared at the inner fortress and World Tree with her one remaining eye.

"All we can do is wait for those who went ahead to do well."

* * *

"Ahaha. Yes. This is exactly it."

Ventmin sensed everything happening in the inner fortress beyond what was visible, with all five senses.

Wherever the World Tree's roots reached was her domain.

She saw what the World Tree saw, felt what the World Tree felt.

"But it's not enough yet. Still not enough."

The power she had drawn forth by becoming one with the World Tree wasn't even 5%.

Ventmin had given up being an elf and fused with part of the World Tree.

Normally, an ordinary elf would have had their ego collapse at this point and found eternal rest as part of the World Tree but Ventmin didn't thanks to her superior bloodline, will to use any means to achieve her goals, and data accumulated through experiments until now.

The fact that she could maintain her sanity like this was only possible because she had used countless corpses as stepping stones until now.

Ventmin's beautiful appearance gradually withered like an old tree.

As her elven form disappeared, she felt herself growing stronger.

At the same time, she also felt that this power still had limits.

Ventmin's gaze turned to Sedina.

What she desired had not yet fallen into her hands.

The key held by House Plante that could fully connect to the World Tree.

"Tell me. Where is the key your mother passed to you?"

"What are you talking about...?"

"Still planning to deny it? Ella Plante. You have the World Tree's core code 'Central Dogma' that that woman took when she fled."

Sedina couldn't understand Ventmin's words.

What was this Central Dogma?

At least Sedina had no memory of inheriting anything from her deceased mother.

Ventmin wasn't unaware of Sedina's reaction.

Does she really not know, or is she pretending not to know?

Ventmin didn't particularly care about that.

"Well, fine. If I kill you and dissect your corpse, I should be able to find whatever is hidden inside."

Ventmin gave orders to the wood zombies.

The wood zombies approached Sedina slowly with their shells crackling grotesquely.

At that moment, a storm of magical power swept through the wood zombies.

The zombies shattered and scattered like wooden pieces, being pushed in all directions.

Ventmin frowned.

"John Doe, you plan to struggle in this situation?"

Rudger collected the magical power that had swept through with unbelievable control and replied.

"Are there idiots who would just watch in this situation?"

"At least I could send you off painlessly out of consideration for an old colleague."

Ventmin truly believed that was possible.

After all, she was now something that had transcended the limits of living beings.

-Slash.

At that moment, a white line was drawn, and Ventmin's head was severed.

It was Alex's surprise attack, who had been concealing his presence in this situation.

However, Ventmin's fallen head smiled mockingly at Alex.

"I told you. I won't die from something like that anymore."

The fallen head was absorbed into the cradle and disappeared, and a new head regenerated on the headless body.

"What will you do with just sword strikes like that?"

"...Wow. I never thought I'd end up fighting such a monster in my life."

Alex smiled wryly and sneered at Ventmin.

"If a sword doesn't work, how about turning you to dust with greater energy?"

"What?"

Before Ventmin could ask what that meant, a massive magical cannon consumed her body.

The magical cannon fired in a straight line, piercing through one wall of the cradle and extending far outside.

Even the soldiers who had pulled back from the front line saw the streak of blue light that had pierced through the inner fortress.

Only blackened traces remained where the light had swept through.

Ventmin, who had been standing there moments ago, had turned to dust and disappeared.

Hans, who had been playing dead, got up and approached Rudger.

"Interesting."

Then Ventmin's voice echoed throughout the entire cradle.

"The idea of completely turning me to dust wasn't bad. But that only works when I'm normal."

In the center of the cradle, roots twisted together like rope to take Ventmin's form.

"Now, no matter what you do, you can't kill me."

[This is driving me crazy.]

Hans' voice trembled at the sight of Ventmin, who remained unharmed even after the ultimate surprise attack.

"Then we'll just have to keep killing until you die."

That was what Alex said as he swung his sword, having already approached right next to Ventmin.

Ventmin remained still even as she saw the sword flying toward her neck.

Rather, she wore an arrogant smile as if saying 'try if you can.'

-Clang!

Sparks flew as Alex's sword was deflected.

Alex's sword didn't reach Ventmin's neck because someone intervened and blocked it before it could.

"Hey. You followed all the way here?"

Bereborn, Ventmin's loyal subordinate and the strongest warrior of the Shadewardens.

The gray-haired elf ignored Alex's sarcasm and bowed his head to Ventmin.

"I apologize. Due to my lack of ability, I dared to burden you too much, my lady."

"It's fine. This was bound to happen someday."

Ventmin wasn't particularly concerned about becoming like this.

It would be a lie to say she had no regrets but what she had gained far outweighed what she had lost.

This feeling of omnipotence was one such thing.

"As much as I'd like to savor this feeling a bit longer, unfortunately time doesn't permit it. Bereborn?"

"Yes, my lady. Please command me."

"Take care of that annoying fly. You can do it properly this time, right?"

"...I receive your command."

Bereborn stared at Alex.

Alex looked at Bereborn and let out a hollow laugh, then took out an ampule containing red liquid from a pouch hidden under his cloak.

"Right. I need to settle things properly with you."

Alex swung the ampule against his chest, shattering it.

The red liquid inside turned to red powder upon exposure to air and dispersed.

Eventually, the red powder was absorbed into Alex's body, healing all his wounds.

"This is why it's good to get support from rich people. Getting recovery potions that heal instantly without drinking them."

Alex cracked his neck left and right once before turning to look at Rudger.

"Leader. I'll handle that one."

"Go ahead."

With Rudger's permission, Alex disappeared from his spot.

Then Bereborn also disappeared, following after him.

They had moved the battlefield for their one-on-one fight.

Hans tensed up.

With Alex gone now, there was no one left in this party to guard the front line and fight.

"Hans. Don't be nervous."

[B-brother.]

"Just do what you can do."

Hans nodded heavily at Rudger's words.

Ventmin, who had been quietly watching this scene, spoke.

"Looks like you don't understand the situation."

Following her gesture, wood zombies rose again from the floor of the cradle.

"You have no choice. Just quietly follow my orders."

-Crack.

The roots that made up the cradle separated and pointed their sharp ends toward Rudger and Hans.

"Look at this sight. I am now an army."

This entire cradle had become one living being that opposed them all.

"How do you plan to fight an army with just three people?"

"How do we plan to fight?"

Rudger took out an artifact from inside his cloak.

The black sword with attached magic stones was specially made for knights to use.

The sword, enhanced with Seridan's modifications, crumbled to dust with an intense light as the magic stone overloaded according to Rudger's will.

Eventually, massive magical power gathered in both of Rudger's hands, drawing complex magical formulas.

The surging massive power shot up toward the ceiling.

A large hole opened in the air of the cradle, showing the sky outside and the World Tree.

Rudger floated up into the air and looked down at Ventmin from outside the cradle.

"If you're an army."

The shadow cloak surrounding Rudger's body spread wide like a crow's wings.

The artifacts stored in the shadows emerged one by one and circled around Rudger.

‘Ha. Just artifacts?’

Ventmin tried to mock that sight but her arrogance didn't last long.

The number of artifacts kept increasing with no sign of stopping.

'Just how many...?'

When that number exceeded hundreds and approached thousands Ventmin's expression was no longer composed.

Rudger declared to Ventmin.

"I possess weapons that can fight that army."

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