Chapter 451

Krrrr!

Zeon frowned as a faint vibration trembled beneath his feet.

It was a sensation he felt every day since arriving in El Harun.

It came from the volcanic activity of the nearby Pankrena.

“Hmph. The people living here don’t seem the least bit bothered.”

Surely, they felt the same tremors, but the people walking outside the window wore calm expressions.

They had grown too used to it to feel any sense of danger.

Besides, the residents of El Harun were all preoccupied with rebuilding the ruins of Uronka.

That was the area the Black Queen had devastated.

Uronka was completely destroyed, there was nothing left of its former shape.

It had been a catastrophe that almost wiped out all of El Harun.

The other races had thrown themselves into restoration, trying to bury the traces of disaster.

The Giants and Beastkin carried materials, the Giant Dwarves erected buildings with their thick arms,

the Shadow clan strengthened El Harun’s barrier, and the Elves patrolled the area to guard against possible attacks from monsters.

Each race carried out its assigned task.

Meanwhile, Zeon remained under semi-confinement in his quarters.

He was forbidden from going outside, and sharp eyes watched him from every direction.

For someone who had saved El Harun, their treatment was shockingly cold.

If it had been someone with a weaker mind, they would have already broken under such treatment.

But Zeon’s mental strength was not fragile enough to shatter over something like this.

He actually found the solitude enjoyable.

Eyes closed, lost in thought, Zeon replayed his battle with the Black Queen.

Physical combat was important, but so was mental imagery.

He pieced together countless combinations of skills in his mind,

imagining which sequence could unleash the greatest power.

Then he would test those imagined combinations in reality,

and whenever he found a flaw, he would adjust and refine them.

That was one of the secrets behind Zeon’s overwhelming strength.

Thud, thud!

Just as Zeon opened his eyes after finishing his image training, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

“How have you been?”

A giant, five meters tall, entered through the door.

He filled the large room with his sheer presence. His name was Krudu,

leader of the Giants and chairman of the Council.

Krudu looked down at Zeon.

A five-meter body wrapped in armor-like muscles.

The kind of man who could rip apart an ordinary beast with raw strength alone.

Krudu spoke.

“You look well.”

“I got plenty of rest, thanks to the break.”

“That’s good to hear. I thought you might be brooding over being left alone.”

“Was that what you were hoping for?”

“Well now. What do you think?”

“I’d rather not believe a man of your stature has such a petty heart.”

“Hm.”

Krudu frowned slightly at Zeon’s reply.

The man spoke freely, even before him, the leader of the Giants. It was irritating.

If Zeon hadn’t played a decisive role in defeating the Black Queen,

if he weren’t the Sand Mage, Krudu would never have let it slide.

For a Giant like Krudu, pride was something beyond compromise.

But the man before him was Zeon,

a powerful being, not to be underestimated,

and an Awakened one with a rare and extraordinary gift: the power of sand.

He wasn’t someone Krudu could strike just because he felt offended.

Suppressing his irritation, Krudu forced a calm expression.

“You must be tired of being shut in. Come with me for a while.”

“Where to?”

“There’s someone who wishes to see you.”

“Must be quite someone, if you came yourself.”

Krudu was the chairman of El Harun’s highest ruling body, the Council.

In other words, he was the highest authority in El Harun.

So for someone of his rank to personally come as a messenger meant the one requesting Zeon’s presence was of great importance.

Krudu frowned.

“Be especially careful before this person. They are not someone you can treat lightly.”

“I know my manners. No need to worry.”

“Tch.”

Krudu clicked his tongue, clearly displeased with Zeon’s tone. But he said nothing more.

He knew well enough,

how discourteous El Harun had been toward Zeon.

The man had saved their city,

yet they locked him away and acted as if he didn’t exist.

Even if Zeon protested, they had no excuse.

Krudu led Zeon to the district where the World Tree stood, the domain of the Elves.

As soon as they entered, Zeon felt sharp, hostile gazes on him.

Elves watched him from all around, their eyes burning with resentment.

It was only natural, many of them had seen their leader, Hera, utterly humiliated by Zeon.

Zeon smiled faintly.

“Their stares are so heated it’s almost flattering.”

“You can still joke? You’ve turned every Elf into your enemy.”

“Not just the Elves. The Giants, the Beastkin, everyone looks ready to kill me.”

Though it was the Elves’ territory, other races could be seen here and there,

Beastkin, Giants, and more.

Every one of them glared at Zeon with thinly veiled hostility.

Despite the fact that he had saved them from the Black Queen,

they all carried deep resentment toward him.

Krudu spoke, as if it were nothing.

“It’s because your power feels so foreign to them.”

“Foreign?”

“The power to command sand. None of us have ever seen such a thing, it’s natural to fear it.”

“Perhaps.”

Zeon nodded slightly.

Human or nonhuman, it was all the same.

Beings instinctively feared the unknown.

To those in El Harun, Zeon was a being from beyond, a mystery.

And that same man had defeated the very monster they all feared, the Black Queen.

It was only natural that they feared him too.

The sharp gazes followed him the entire way,

as though all of El Harun stood against him.

And this was with Krudu beside him.

Had he come alone, someone might have attacked him already.

That was how tense the atmosphere on the streets was.

As Zeon drew closer to the World Tree, the hostility only grew stronger.

The World Tree was the very heart of El Harun.

Because the city existed thanks to the branch brought from Kurayan,

the people couldn’t help but dislike the sight of Zeon approaching it.

Zeon looked up.

The massive branches of the World Tree blanketed the sky.

Its height alone reached a hundred meters,

and its branches spread out for several kilometers.

It was truly awe-inspiring.

There was no tree like this left in the current age.

Even Zeon had never seen one so immense.

“Amazing.”

“Impressive, isn’t it? Yet compared to the true World Tree that once stood in Kurayan, this is nothing.”

“You’re saying the real one was even larger? Hard to believe.”

“It was the very tree that sustained the world of Kurayan. Of course it was thousands of times greater.”

“I see.”

“We’re lucky even this much survived.”

Krudu closed his eyes briefly.

When Kurayan perished, the World Tree perished with it.

It was a miracle they managed to bring even a single branch across to Earth.

Without it, creating El Harun would have been impossible.

Thump.

At that moment, Zeon felt a strong resistance.

An invisible barrier blocked his path.

Krudu spoke.

“The World Tree’s barrier. It protects itself. Only those with its permission can enter. Wait here. I’ll go seek its leave.”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”

“What?”

“I think it’s already granted it.”

Zeon extended his hand forward.

The resistance he had just felt vanished completely.

Krudu’s face froze in disbelief.

“Impossible.”

“Why?”

“Even I needed years before the World Tree allowed me through.”

At first, the tree had no barrier.

It began creating one decades later, once it grew to its current size.

Since then, only those acknowledged by the World Tree could approach it.

Even Krudu had waited days before finally being allowed inside.

He had assumed it would take Zeon far longer.

But somehow, the World Tree had opened its domain to Zeon instantly.

It defied all reason.

What kind of being is he, that the World Tree opens its door to him?

Krudu stared at Zeon, confusion clouding his face.

Zeon was already walking into the World Tree’s domain,

as if being accepted by it were the most natural thing in the world.

The moment he entered, the air changed.

A cool, refreshing energy enveloped his body,

and faint whispers brushed against his ears.

It was the voice of the World Tree.

But no one in this world knew what those whispers meant.

Not even the Elves who lived closest to it,

nor those granted entry to its domain, none of them could understand.

There was only one exception: Del Roa.

Krudu spoke.

“Del Roa awaits you inside.”

“You’re not coming with me?”

“My permission ends here.”

“Understood. I’ll go alone.”

Zeon nodded and walked toward the tree.

Krudu stood silently, watching his back.

Even then, the World Tree’s whispers continued endlessly around Zeon.

But he couldn’t understand their meaning.

Would Brielle have understood?

Thinking of her absence with faint regret, Zeon walked deeper in.

When he reached the great base of the World Tree,

a voice devoid of emotion echoed through the air.

“You’ve come, Sand Mage.”

Zeon searched for the owner of the voice, but saw no one.

Then the voice spoke again.

“Look ahead, Sand Mage.”

Puzzled, Zeon looked straight ahead.

There was nothing there but the enormous base of the tree, no shadow of any person.

He focused his sight, peering at the trunk.

Then he saw it, an Elf’s form carved into the wood,

as if someone had sculpted it directly onto the World Tree’s surface.

“Was that you speaking?”

“Yes. My name is Del Roa.”

The figure etched into the tree spoke.

Only then did Zeon realize it wasn’t a sculpture,

it was a real Elf.

“You… fused with the World Tree? Del Roa?”

“You have a keen eye. You’re right.”

“…”

“You look as though you can’t believe it.”

The Elf’s carved face smiled faintly, amused.

And Zeon knew then that it was true.

“Fused with the World Tree… That’s… shocking.”

“I’m sure it is.”

“So that’s why you didn’t take part in the battle against the Black Queen.”

“More precisely, I couldn’t. As you see, I can no longer move.”

“Why go this far?”

“It was the only way to protect the World Tree and El Harun.”

“What, if you hadn’t done this, the World Tree would have died?”

“Yes. This World Tree wasn’t born from a proper seed. It lacks everything. Without me merged into it, it cannot survive.”

“That’s insane. To merge with the World Tree…”

“Do not insult my sacrifice. Without it, do you think the World Tree or El Harun would still exist? This was the only way, to keep alive those who came from Kurayan.”

Del Roa’s voice echoed throughout the World Tree’s domain.

Zeon thought the sound was deafeningly loud.