I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 472: The Strongest Druid (1)

Chapter 472: The Strongest Druid (1)

Returning to reality, Sedina finally faced the current situation.

Not only had Rudger saved her, but she was now in his arms.

Although it was reality, it felt like it could be a dream.

"Teacher..."

However, before she could say anything more, the World Tree shook violently.

The World Tree trembled with a rumbling sound and countless leaves fell to the ground.

Sedina could feel the emotions overflowing from the World Tree.

The World Tree was grieving over losing Plante's bloodline that it had just recovered.

Rudger jumped out of the World Tree while supporting Sedina and Ambella.

From that height of over hundreds of meters, the surrounding landscape was clearly visible.

The completely collapsed Serendel Castle and the World Tree's roots writhing everywhere.

Sedina held her breath at the sight of the battlefield filled with death and screams.

Everything around the once beautiful World Tree had changed while she was briefly unconscious.

The shocking scene was so overwhelming that she couldn't even feel the impact of jumping from such a height.

"Hold on tight."

-Screech!

The steel monster bird flew in from afar and carried Rudger, Sedina, and Ambella on its back.

Rudger immediately bestowed the Aether Nocturnus he was wearing onto the monster bird.

The Steel Raven, having received a new body once again, moved to support their companions fighting on the ground while rippling with shadows.

Vierano, who had been struggling while surrounded by wood zombies, was delighted to see Sedina.

"You succeeded!"

Luther, who had been fighting alongside Vierano, also smiled faintly at the news of the operation's success.

The wood zombies that had been charging in like a flood until just now seemed to have slowed down, thanks to Rudger.

The Steel Raven landed on the ground, sweeping away the surrounding wood zombies with its wings.

In the brief gap that opened up Rudger immediately took out an artifact to replenish his magical power and handed a recovery potion to Ambella.

"Ugh. This hurts like hell."

Ambella took the ampoule Rudger handed her and injected it into her shoulder.

While it didn't regrow her severed arm, it was enough to stop the bleeding and ease the pain.

"Lady Ambella!"

Vierano turned pale at the sight of Ambella's missing arm.

"Don't make a fuss. It's nothing."

"But still..."

"If you think of it as the price for saving that child, it was rather cheap."

Ambella gazed at Sedina.

Sedina was also looking at Ambella Burke.

At first, she had only noticed Rudger, but Ambella had also been there where the throne was.

That wound must have been inflicted while trying to save her along with Rudger.

"Looking at you like this, your eyes are exactly alike."

"Who...are you?"

Sedina felt a strange feeling while looking at Ambella.

Not just her tone that seemed to know her, but above all, the warm gaze directed at her felt somehow familiar.

Ambella smirked at Sedina's bold question.

"...Just someone who knew your mother."

"My mother..."

Sedina wanted to ask Ambella what kind of person her mother was and why she had tried so hard to save her.

That's when Luther interrupted.

"Sorry to interrupt the happy reunion, but we don't have time for this right now."

Luther was right.

While they had succeeded in rescuing Sedina, the World Tree was still rampaging.

Though its power seemed somewhat diminished compared to before, the situation was still practically a natural disaster.

Moreover, what was more concerning was Ventmin’s reaction.

Having lost Sedina, Ventmin was furiously angry at the sharp decrease in the World Tree's output that she could control.

"You, you little rats!"

Ventmin, who had become a wooden statue over 10 meters tall, contorted her wooden face.

The debris on her skin crumbled and fell like powder.

Power was leaking out as if there was a hole in the absolute authority she had finally grasped.

They were beings she could have crushed like insects if she wanted to but it was Ventmin herself who had been obviously defeated.

Anger and shame rose and the target of those arrows became Bellaruna, who played a decisive role in interfering with her.

"I should have killed you the moment I first saw you!"

She had been arrogant and careless.

Ventmin acknowledged her mistake and intended to kill Bellaruna this time for sure.

Bellaruna's face turned pale as she faced that killing intent.

Ventmin stretched her hand toward Bellaruna.

The wooden fingertips split open and wooden spears shot toward Bellaruna.

It was an attack that Bellaruna, who excelled at hacking the World Tree but had unremarkable physical abilities, couldn't dodge.

However, she wasn't the only one present.

Alex, who dropped from mid-air, knocked away all the incoming wooden spears with his sword.

Though his wrist stung each time he deflected them since they weren't ordinary spears but ones imbued with the World Tree's power, Alex didn't show much reaction.

"You..."

Ventmin’s eyes widened upon seeing Alex, then she immediately bit her lip.

"Right. Bereborn..."

The fact that Alex was alive meant that her most loyal sword had died.

Meanwhile, Alex supported Bellaruna and retreated to where Rudger was.

"Alex. So you're alive."

"Of course. Am I someone who'd go down easily?"

"I-I'm alive too."

Hans, who had also survived, joined them as Alex, Rudger, and Bellaruna reunited.

Alex's eyes met with Luther.

Luther simply nodded slightly in greeting.

They decided not to ask why the other was here or what they were doing because at this moment, they were comrades watching each other's backs.

"So. Now that we've rescued who we needed to rescue and everyone's gathered, what's the plan?"

Luther asked Rudger for his opinion.

They had successfully accomplished their top priority of rescuing Sedina.

Of course, there had been many sacrifices to call it a success.

But if they hadn't rescued her, there would have been even greater sacrifices.

"It seems right to withdraw right away."

Without Sedina, the World Tree cannot use its original power.

Though it's raging madly now, it should gradually calm down as time passes.

Rudger agreed with that point.

There was no need to take unnecessary risks; they just needed to withdraw but the one who opposed that was none other than Sedina.

"No."

Everyone's gaze turned to her.

There was no need to ask why, as Sedina's bloodline was closer to the World Tree than anyone else's.

They naturally assumed she must have a good reason.

"If we withdraw now, the World Tree can never return to how it was before."

"Can never return to how it was before?"

"Yes. Right now, the World Tree's power has been forcibly awakened by Ventmin Lifrey. She's using the lives of our kin to plant malicious code, corrupting and destroying parts of the World Tree."

Being none other than Plante's bloodline, Sedina could feel it.

The World Tree was in pain now, and that's why it wanted Sedina, the only child who could heal it.

If they withdrew now, the World Tree would never recover from its wounds.

If that happened, the Forest of Fame blessed by the World Tree would gradually wither, and the homeland of the elves would inevitably face destruction.

Ambella's expression turned cold as she understood those words.

However, Luther thought differently.

"Whether the World Tree is wounded or not, that's not my concern. I just need to reduce any elements that could threaten the Empire."

To Luther, whether the World Tree withered and died was a completely separate matter.

Even if it fell, it would be the elves who fell, not the Empire.

If anything, from the Empire's perspective, the fall of the potentially threatening Elf Kingdom would be welcome news.

"This isn't something to dismiss so simply!"

Sedina stared at Luther.

Even facing a man several times her size, Sedina didn't back down.

Rudger was reminded of when he first met Sedina.

The child who used to stutter, couldn't make eye contact, and would be happy just from being spoken to a little.

She had become a completely different person now.

"The World Tree governs the power of all life. The withering of such a World Tree means, in effect, it will impact all of nature."

"What does that matter?"

"It matters. Do you think the influence of the Forest of Life is limited to just the forest? When the World Tree withers, all nearby lands will be affected. Even the Empire's breadbasket region won't be safe."

"Hmph."

Sedina's expression was too serious to be mere exaggeration.

Luther clicked his tongue.

If the World Tree's influence was that strong, they couldn't simply ignore it either.

Moreover, there was still one remaining concern for them: the existence of Ventmin Lifrey, the source of all this trouble.

Everyone stared at Ventmin Lifrey.

Although she was vicious and cruel, the death of Bereborn, who had stayed by her side for hundreds of years, seemed quite shocking as she remained still but she was like a volcano about to erupt and everyone instinctively felt it.

"Survival of the fittest is nature's law."

Ventmin, who had become a giant wooden statue, stretched her hand toward the ground.

Following her gesture, a seedling burst through the ground and soon became a tree.

"The strong eat and the weak are eaten. That's something that cannot be denied no matter how much you try."

The tree twisted grotesquely and took on human form.

From the well-carved features to the luxurious clothing worn on the body, it was the wood zombie of Bereborn, who had died by Alex's hand.

"So I tried to eat. Because if you don't eat, you get eaten - that's the law of the world. So I ate and ate again."

Ventmin gazed at the wood zombie Bereborn with complicated eyes.

This was not Bereborn, it was merely a fake newly created based on his data stored in the World Tree.

"Still, somewhere in a corner of my mind, I understood. That I couldn't stay in this position forever. That like everything I've done until now, I too would face the fate of being eaten like prey."

Ventmin turned her head with a creaking sound and looked up at the World Tree.

Though it had unified with her, the World Tree, having lost Plante, was once again settling its power like sediment.

When she was almost there.

When there was little left until the World Tree fully awakened.

She had failed.

"But now that this moment has come, I don't feel the emptiness and anger I worried about."

She had lost even her subordinate and failed to awaken the World Tree.

And still, her enemies didn't seem to have any intention of leaving her alone.

She, who had always reigned from above, had now descended to the position of the weak.

The moment she stood at that eye level, she could understand the emotion that prey faces before its fate.

Fear? Terror?

There was none of that.

There was only one emotion that arose.

"Survive."

Struggle with all your might, with all your power.

Like a frog being eaten by a snake.

Like a rabbit being caught by a fox.

Like a deer being chased by wolves.

Even in that fleeting moment, never cease the survival struggle toward life because that too is nature's law.

"Come, those who seek to eat me. I too shall respond to you with all my might."

Rudger frowned at Ventmin’s resolute voice.

He had rather hoped she would go mad and rampage randomly in anger but as expected of an elf who had lived long, Ventmin was not to be taken lightly.

She was far more dangerous now than just moments ago when she was drawing most of the World Tree's power but Rudger wasn't alone.

"Leader. What are we going to do?"

"We fight."

Rudger said while adjusting his clothes.

"Because we can't withdraw now."

"But will it be okay? That tree lady, her eyes haven't just flipped - they've done a full rotation and returned to their original position?"

Though she had lost some power, Ventmin unified with the World Tree was still not an opponent to be underestimated.

Considering that she would endlessly regenerate no matter how many times they killed her, she was essentially unkillable by physical means.

But that didn't mean there was no way.

"I can do it."

Sedina stepped forward with a determined face.

Ventmin silently stared at the small Sedina.

Sedina didn't back down and glared back at Ventmin.

"I'll separate the World Tree from that woman. Then we can deal with her."

"How long will it take?"

Rudger immediately asked about the time without any formalities.

He didn't ask rhetorical questions like whether it was possible or if she could do it because he believed she could do it.

"Since this is essentially my first time accessing the World Tree, I can't give a definite answer. But if there's something helpful..."

Sedina's gaze turned to the pond beyond Ventmin.

The pond where the World Tree's sap, which allowed the deepest possible connection to the World Tree, was collected.

If she could just get there, the possibility was certainly open.

"My goodness. We went through all that trouble to get you out of the World Tree, and now we have to send you back in."

Ambella muttered as if dumbfounded at hearing those words but there was no sense of resignation or irritation.

Rather, Ambella was even internally pleased at Sedina's bold appearance.

'Ah. Of course she had to give birth to a daughter exactly like herself...'

Ella Plante's image overlapped with Sedina's appearance.

The back view of her that she had to watch leave in the past because of her own weakness.

So this time, she wouldn't let her go alone.

Ambella gripped her sword with her remaining hand.

"Is anyone planning to back out? If so, raise your hand now."

No one answered that question.

Ambella nodded with satisfaction and said.

"Good. Then let's go."