EP.304 Nature Shall Reject You
'Nebida. That crazy bitch! You should be busy sowing seeds somewhere else, so why did you come here! Your entrance timing is still a long way off!'
Contrary to the inner screaming, the regressor, shoulders tensed to the limit, answered brazenly.
"I thought there'd be a druid among the lords of creation, but she was beyond imagination. A druid with a horn on her head without even transforming—only one comes to mind. Am I right?"
Pretending not to know while knowing. Pretending to have just learned today. The regressor spoke as if probing even with the Absolute before them. That regressor, what audacity.
Even with her identity revealed, Nebida had no particular concern. Rather, Nebida was more interested in the regressor's identity.
"Having brought down the Bottomless Abyss and obtained the Demon God, you burned every seed and root planted in the Military Nation all at once... When I heard the news, I thought you were a harlot created with deliberate intent."
"What? Harlot?"
"You don't seem like a harlot. I apologize for my mistake of once mistaking you for one."
'Ah, right. That crazy bitch called the Saintess a harlot, didn't she? Suddenly calling me a harlot, and every time I tried to obtain the Demon God's relic, she kept interfering... If not for the mask...'
The regressor barely suppressed the urge to touch her own face. Using the fear flowing from deep within as nourishment, she stepped forward even more shamelessly.
"Even if you apologize, I won't go easy on you. You villain!"
"However, two Demon Gods, or perhaps more... How curious... Even the filthiest harlot wouldn't monopolize this much power..."
"You talk too much!"
'How about it, curious? Strange? Abrupt? Then you should be careful, right? Because you don't know how sharp my thorns can be!'
Her bluffing is on par with mine or even greater. I read the opponent's thoughts and foster misunderstandings to the line of not offending them, but the regressor, even in a deeply disadvantageous situation, bets her life and pushes back with innate defiance.
That's neither recklessness nor folly. It's a survival method discovered by someone whose only way out lies ahead after dying multiple times. The regressor tensed up as if ready to bolt at any moment. Pushing forward Cheon-aeng and Ji-jan for all to see.
"Draw your sword. I don't want to fight bare-handed!"
'See! Cheon-aeng and Ji-jan. Even if you might dismiss Cheon-aeng alone, how about this? It's Ji-jan! With Ji-jan, it's hard for even you to ignore it, right? You should be tense, right? You won't be able to easily take out that damn tree branch either, will you?'
...Meanwhile, the inner thoughts are like a sucker who just bluffed nonsense.
Well, even as a bluff, the cards the regressor showed were sufficiently threatening. Cheon-aeng crackled as if responding to the regressor's emotions. Ji-jan was calm, but its weight continued to grow. The regressor holding two Demon Gods certainly looked like an Absolute of the generation.
...However, the opponent was...
"Though a bird's eyes may be keen, their depth is shallow; one must not believe everything that chatters upon your shoulder. The song is beautiful, but it shall be as light as its feathers."
Nebida hummed in rhythm. It's a druid's song. The body naturally relaxes to the sound of nature that has existed since ancient times.
But the regressor tensed up even more. Power flooded into the hands gripping Cheon-aeng and Ji-jan.
'Tch! Here it comes! Stay focused, Shay! If you lose it... you die!'
Nebida extended her left hand. A small tree branch, who knows when it had been there, had sprouted through the floor at a convenient position to grasp. Nebida broke the branch and took it, then walked toward the regressor using it as a staff.
One step, two steps. Having acknowledged the presence of the two Demon Gods, she reached a distance of three steps without any sign of fear.
'Now!'
At that moment, the regressor brought down her twin swords.
An attack launched almost simultaneously with the movement. Two lines, one dark and one bright, fell right before the approaching Nebida's nose. One parts the wind, the other crushes the earth.
Against the two Demon Gods displaying their overwhelming presence, Nebida simply tilted the tree branch she held.
The branch's twig end caught Cheon-aeng. Without even touching, the leaves were torn. The root end blocked Ji-jan's trajectory, but the thickness and weight were incomparable.
It was a recklessly impossible attempt, like trying to stop a storm and an earthquake with straw.
However.
"-Little World Tree. Bloom."
Trees that form a forest even storms dare not trifle with, and roots that reach deep hold even the earth firm.
From the ordinary-looking wooden staff—a branch so featureless you'd believe it was just picked up from the back hill—roots and branches silently extended. Vines full of small roots gripped Ji-jan, and sprouted leaves embraced Cheon-aeng.
There wasn't even a sound of collision. The leaves that had bloomed without notice embraced the space, and the long-draped roots gripped the earth. Because of that, Cheon-aeng and Ji-jan were locked in a standoff with a single tree branch for a moment.
"Earth Mother Goddess and Sky God... Hehe. It's more than sufficient. Power far too presumptuous for a single human to wield."
Seeds spread and sprouts shot up behind Nebida's feet. The echo rang through the trees that had already grown to waist height. Nebida's presence, which had only been faintly felt, now filled the entire space.
With both swords caught by a single tree, the regressor gritted her teeth.
"Why you—!"
To swing, one must first move backward. The regressor recalled Ji-jan. The sword without inertia tore out the roots with its weight and created distance. The regressor tried to step back for a moment.
At that moment, the regressor felt a sharp pain on the top of her foot.
"Ugh!"
Nebida's foot, extended at the timing of Ji-jan's withdrawal, was stepping on the regressor's foot. Beneath the fiercely pressing foot, vines formed knots.
Nebida, who had approached right to her face, whispered with a sneer.
"You don't want to fight bare-handed? How laughable. Since when did you put a price on fighting?"
"Urgh!"
'It won't come loose...! The vine knot...!'
Feet touching each other's distance. From here, the battle took on a completely different aspect.
Nebida's fist headed toward the regressor's face. Before the regressor could even perceive it, the qi meridian engraved in her body moved first.
Heavenly Reflection.
The strongest defensive qi meridian the regressor had found at the end of her regressions proved its worth. She narrowly dodged the lightning-strike fist by a paper-thin margin. At the same time, she swung Ji-jan for a counterattack...
However, it was only an attempt.
Tap.
Nebida's left foot pressed against Ji-jan's handle. Ji-jan could not extend. Nebida, having nullified the regressor's intent, spread her other hand. The hand transformed into a bizarre form.
Once, humans envied beasts. In the age when tools and techniques were shallow, humans directly utilized beast weapons like hides and claws, and revered them to gain their strength and abilities.
Druids are sorcerers who follow such ancient faith. Heretics who make animals their faith and obtain their power.
Among them, Nebida, the primordial druid, embodies the power of the most powerful beast.
Beast, White Crane.
Nebida's hand changed form. From a human hand with five evenly extended fingers and blunt nails, it transformed into a bird's claw with four toes spread wide. The grip of a bird of prey, said to crush even rocks, extended instantly.
'Fast...! Cheon-aeng!'
Grab. Blood splattered. The strike, freed from human structure, was so fast that even Heavenly Reflection couldn't completely evade it.
Instead, thanks to pushing her body itself with Cheon-aeng's compressed space, she barely managed to avoid having her shoulder torn off entirely. Though large claws gouged out a handful of flesh.
Nebida was slightly impressed by the regressor's response.
"Not bad. This is clearly not something borrowed from an unexperienced future... but karma built up through countless experiences yourself. Are you truly unrelated to the Seonghwang-cheong?"
"Tch...! Stop showing off!"
Instead of answering, the regressor drove Ji-jan into the ground.
"Ji-gon Style, Ground Leveling!"
Rumble. Ji-jan, having burrowed into the concrete floor, became a rake and fiercely scraped the earth. The regressor violently pulled the embedded Ji-jan.
Even now, tree roots were spreading beneath Nebida's feet. The roots of the Little World Tree, which had been cautiously expanding its territory underground, received the judgment of Ji-jan, the original owner of the earth.
The tree roots caught on Ji-jan were dragged out all at once. The painstakingly extended roots and vines snapped strand by strand, and the earth itself heaved as if caught in a net.
The land after Ground Leveling was now little different from bare dirt. Severed vines scattered on the ground, and the tilted tree tried to stretch its branches straight even now. The Military Nation's headquarters, once a concrete ground, had now changed into land lush with earth and trees.
This is true earth-shaking awe. Just from two people fighting, the terrain changed. Thanks to that, I had to roll on the ground to survive.
Nebida could have pressed harder, yet she stopped her attack. The regressor, about to clutch her injured shoulder, instead exposed it even more. To appeal that such a mere wound didn't even count as an injury.
"Planting seeds? You were up to something amusing, weren't you? But how about it? As long as Ji-jan exists, this land won't go as you please!"
'Hah, hah. Thank goodness for Ji-jan. If left alone without keeping her in check, she'd turn the surroundings into a forest...! If she uses wood magic with trees as a medium in an environment favorable to herself, there's no answer...!'
Clearly, if the fight continued like this, Nebida would win. Both the regressor and Nebida knew that fact. However, due to the regressor's bluffing... or perhaps due to the skill revealed during the fight, a dilemma arose in Nebida's mind.
'...Let's see. If I win by fighting, there's much to gain. But if the battle drags on, what I'll lose is also clear. Then...?'
Thoughts leading to action are fast. But compared to that, judgment is as slow as a crawling turtle.
Metaphorically speaking, it looked like doing round-trip jumps with fast legs. Not because of stupidity, but perhaps because there are too many criteria for establishing value.
Maybe this is a way out. I just shouted.
"Alright, Shay! Just stall for a little more time! If you fight long enough, you might win!"
"What stall for time? I'll settle this right here and now!"
'You idiot! If you fight long, you lose! Bluffing to make her retreat is the best option! Don't just talk, help out quickly!'
Talking is helping. A way out just appeared. Just like the regressor, I shouted with full bravado.
"There's someone here to help! Lia! Provide support!"
"Hmph. Fine! Like I need such petty help!"
'Musketeer? She looked like she collapsed earlier, but she came to? Then call her quickly! Even one more hand is needed!'
No, she hasn't come to. Her stamina is exhausted, she probably can't move a single finger.
But there's a different effect. Making Nebida recall the possibility of sniping or support. The primordial druid wouldn't fear sniping or anything...
What Nebida is wary of isn't sniping, but Maximilian's death.
'Hmm. If she's dead that's one thing, but if she's still alive, I must save her. I should reward the grace of finding my Lord. Even if I now attend to the Lord's physical body... the Lord's true return is at that very moment when all people cry out and call.'
Nebida finished her long deliberation. Sliding backward, she smoothed her clothes and bowed.
"This humble one, Nebida. I shall now withdraw. I shall await the day we meet again."
"You think I'd let you escape! Thousand Sword Qi, Dragon Slaying Slash!"
'She doesn't seem rushed? I'll use just enough force, so if you're going to leave, leave quickly!'
Cheon-aeng, filled with wind, extended long. Naturally, the carelessly swung Thousand Sword Qi was blocked by the branches and leaves sprouted by the Little World Tree. Having used it knowingly, the regressor wasn't too disappointed.
"To commemorate our brief reunion, I wish to show you a small feat."
However, Nebida's next action would have been quite disappointing.
Nebida grabbed her own horn and twisted it. Contrary to its sturdy appearance, her horn broke off easily as if it had been meant for that purpose from the start. While attached to her head it was clearly a horn, but once in her hand, it looked like a small sapling that had been grown only partway.
"O tree of the ancestor that birthed and raised all things. Among the countless branches that spread, the surviving sprout calls upon its root."
Nebida dropped the sapling to the ground. Tap—the sapling that touched the concrete floor... seeped into this land just like that.
Seeing that sight, the regressor's body flinched as if ready to spring out.
'No, no. Must not react! If I show I recognize it, she'll suspect how I know about [that]! But why use [that] here of all places?'
...Probably, to show me.
The Demon God.
"Realize, beasts. The origin from which you derived."
After Nebida's spell ended.
The Chimera bean sacks for military rations existing in the Military Nation's headquarters all heaved at once. If a quartermaster had been nearby, they would have tilted their head in confusion.