The residents of the Shade of the World Tree live in the Shade of the World Tree. Above their heads stands the Tree of Origin, blocking the sun all year round. The residents spend their entire lives catching only fragments of sunlight that seep through the leaves.
Some say the Tree of Origin is not a World Tree. They say no tree bears different fruits on every branch. Moreover, they say fruits that bear beasts are beyond reason.
But to the residents of the World Tree, it was a story that didn't matter. Rice and wheat grow instead of leaves. How blessed is this tree? It even bears meat?
What's good for me is a miracle and a blessing. Reason was never an important subject of contemplation for the residents of the Shade of the World Tree.
However, the blessing disappeared as suddenly as it had come.
"The leaves are falling!"
"The crops haven't been growing well these past few days...!"
Since this had never happened before, the confusion only grew. The World Tree that grew again on the land where it had burned and fallen. The land blessed by it should always be abundant. Yet suddenly leaves were falling and crops began to drop.
The people living beneath it sensed the anomaly before anyone else. Anxiety fueled confusion, and people acted in groups to grasp the situation.
"Our guardian, Anubis! A great problem has occurred with the World Tree! The World Tree is withering!"
The Anub tribe members who happened to arrive were the perfect target for their appeal. The Anub tribe, composed entirely of dog beastmen, was the guardian of all nations and the loyal hound of the Martial Empress, and after losing the World Tree, they had volunteered to guard around it. The Anub tribe members perked their ears and listened to the people's voices.
"Whaaat? The World Tree is withering?"
"Yes! The crown is drying and leaves are falling! Look!"
"It certainly seems so...! It's not the season for this, yet leaves are falling! What an ominous sign!"
The Anub tribe sensed that something was wrong. The King of Humans had also just appeared. There was no way this anomaly and the King of Humans were unrelated.
"The new World Tree should be under the Great Witch's care. Has the Great Witch said anything?"
"There's been no word from above yet!"
"Grrr. I need to go up and see."
The chief of the Anub tribe. Jackal Anub growled as he looked at the trunk of the World Tree towering like a mountain. Though it still looked grand and full of vitality, the countless falling leaves tainted even that grandeur with a sense of desolation.
Jackal Anub steeled his resolve.
"We cannot repeat the sin our ancestors committed in the distant past!"
The Anub tribe failed to protect the World Tree and the Martial Empress. It wasn't because they were lazy or lacked loyalty. Rather, it was because they were too diligent and loyal.
What the Martial Empress Agartha wanted to create were hundreds of thousands of 'cloned' beastmen, and this could pose moral and essential questions to the beastmen tribes loyal to Agartha.
Because of that, the Martial Empress Agartha deliberately kept the beastmen tribes far from the World Tree. As a result, they couldn't even stop the rebellion.
However, such taboos were burned to ashes along with the World Tree, and all that remained was the memory of searching for people in the charred remains. With hearts blackened by fire, the Anub tribe became the Great Witch's hounds, and after the hunt ended, they kept their place waiting for the day the Martial Empress would return.
"And if the King of Humans has truly returned! Finally, we too will have a new master!"
The Great Witch did not bear the duties of the Martial Empress. Instead, she received the blood of the Progenitor. Therefore, the Anub tribe treated the Great Witch as a respected witch, not as a master.
However, if it were the King of Humans, he might rule this land in place of the Martial Empress. If there is a World Tree and a King, all nations would return.
The Anub tribe tried to ascend toward above.
If something hadn't fallen from above their heads.
However high it fell from, the black shadow landed in an instant without giving anyone time to notice. A brief impact shook the roots of the World Tree. But only for a moment; the black shadow rose as if nothing had happened.
To be intact after falling from such a height. A startled Anub tribe member cried out.
"A leopard?"
"Woof. A dog."
Blanca Baskerville, who answered briefly, stood before the Anub tribe members without a single dishevelment. The Anub tribe members, recognizing her identity, let out a little of the tension in their perked ears and tails.
"A black dog. Our kin."
"That's right. Woof. Kin searching for a master to put a leash on each other. Nice to meet you. But..."
Blanca looked over the Anub tribe members with slightly pitying eyes.
"Don't come up. The situation above is quite complicated right now. There's no room to accommodate you as well."
Pity is a feeling of finding someone else's situation sad and unfortunate. It's not something shared between equals. Blanca was finding the Anub tribe members' situation sad and unfortunate.
The Anub tribe members, sensing that attitude, flared up.
"What did you say!"
"Awoooo! Who are you!"
Jackal Anub raised his hand to silence his group. He calmly asked back.
"What's going on? Why is the World Tree shedding leaves?"
"These falling leaves? Awoo, come to think of it, the World Tree is under attack right now."
"Attack? By whom?"
"It's hard to put it clearly, but... this entire world?"
"Grrr. What does that mean?"
"It'll be hard to understand. Woof. But there's such a thing. A sensation like the world is rejecting me. A feeling of certainty that things will never work out as I want."
Being abandoned by the order of the Celestial Gods is like that.
A guard dog family refers to a loyal dog beastmen family that serves a noble family for generations. The Baskervilles were a famous guard dog family that had even served the Emperor. All Baskervilles had their ears and tails cut from childhood, received strict education through whips and leashes, and were reborn as perfect butlers or maids.
However, opinions emerged that the existence of guard dog families was somewhat barbaric, no different from slaves, and that they should be liberated. Some nobles who agreed put on performances about giving them freedom. When the guard dog families, who were essentially driven out, caused trouble, public opinion about guard dog families worsened due to those incidents.
Guard dog families, gradually losing their footing, searched for other families to rely on. Naturally, villains who didn't care about public opinion took in guard dog families.
Doing dirty work like that, they eventually took the blame and fell into ruin. Such an ending comes.
Blanca felt stifled, hoping this feeling would be conveyed.
"Like right now, woof."
"I don't know what you mean, but you're trying to drive us away again."
But the Anub tribe wasn't easy either. The origin of the Baskervilles was none other than the Anub tribe. Compared to the Baskervilles, they might lack skill and knowledge, but their spirit was comparable to anyone's.
"Awoooo! We can't lose the World Tree again. How can we just wait while leaves fall and branches wither! Is that what you say to us who have protected this land!"
Jackal Anub shouted to his tribe members, ignoring Blanca.
"Considering your face and the Archdruid's, out of courtesy I won't take everyone up. But the warriors including myself will go up!"
"Awoo, that kind of variable is hard to accept."
How the Celestial Gods' attack would be carried out was beyond comprehension. A dozen or so strong beastmen reaching the Spirit Lord's layer must not be allowed.
Not only that, bringing in outsiders when it's unknown what will happen to the King of Humans. Even if the Anub tribe was close to being allies, it was burdensome.
Blanca made a decision.
"No."
Muttering, Blanca approached one of the Anub tribe members, grabbed the hem of their clothes, and threw them down toward the roots. The Anub tribe member, flying without understanding what was happening, rolled on the ground yelping.
Fast and powerful. What stood out even more was Blanca's technique, as natural as flowing water. Blanca, who learned hand-to-hand combat as a guard dog family, had reached the realm of mastery in grappling and unorthodox techniques.
Jackal Anub glared at Blanca and growled.
"Grrr. You're going to stop us by force?"
"Just as you have your duties, I have things I must do, woof. I can't let you go."
Jackal Anub's fur bristled. At the same time, other tribe members also distorted their faces, bared their teeth, and slowly surrounded Blanca. Over a hundred black dog beastmen surrounded the single Blanca and sent intense hostility.
"To be blocked by just one of you! We'll break through! We'll go and handle it ourselves!"
"Awoo. It's come to this after all. I'm used to it though."
Blanca grumbled and took out a gauntlet from her pocket. It was a luxurious black gauntlet that matched her black fur and suit. When she put it on her hand, Blanca Baskerville became a beast dyed pitch black from head to toe.
The opponents were over a hundred black dogs. It wouldn't matter if she killed them, but the Great Witch would really hate it. She had to try to keep them alive as much as possible. Blanca, having finished preparing for battle, lowered her stance and complained one last time.
"Awoo. The Great Witch should see this. Where on earth did she go?"
"Nenyap!! Stop right there!!"
At that moment, the Great Witch had spotted Nenyap in the crowd and was chasing after him. Nenyap, who had recognized the Great Witch and fled, seemed like he would be caught but never was. This was despite the Great Witch riding the black panther, the fastest in the jungle.
Only after chasing for quite a while did the Great Witch realize that Nenyap was luring her.
"Trying to lure me...? You've lured me enough...! Show your face!"
The Great Witch bit her finger. The blood of the Elder stretched out long like a thread. The Great Witch activated black magic using her own blood as a medium.
"Spurs of the earth. Dawning of the hooves. Under my protection, may a storm dwell in the flesh."
The flowing blood seeped into the black panther, her familiar. From eyes to heart, the blood qi that scattered in an instant spread throughout the black panther in time with the heartbeat.
The black panther's eyes were dyed red with blood qi. At the same time, its strides became faster and larger. The black panther, running relentlessly even through the dense jungle, instantly surged to right behind Nenyap.
"I told you to stop."
With a cold voice, the black panther pounced on Nenyap's back. It was the moment when large claws were about to press down on Nenyap's shoulder.
"Holy Sword, draw."
Branches of light sprouted from behind Nenyap, who had invoked a small miracle. Pure power stretched out like lightning and swept through the black panther's entire body.
In an instant, the black panther twisted its body in pain. It let out a rough scream and rolled on the ground, and the Great Witch's body, having lost control, was flung off.
Right before crashing, two parrots flew in from somewhere and grabbed the Great Witch's shoulders. The Great Witch, relying on the desperately flapping parrots, slowly descended and looked at the black panther that was still in pain.
"The blood qi...?"
It wasn't actually stabbed. The light only removed the blood qi and black magic. Because the link was momentarily severed and control scattered, the black panther was suffering.
Feeling the control scattering from the black panther's body, the Great Witch muttered.
"You've even learned a strange trick...!"
"It is my faith taking form."
Nenyap slowly approached, putting away the Holy Sword that was like a tree branch. The Great Witch gathered her strength preparing for battle, but Nenyap had no intention of fighting the Great Witch.
"And that faith is not mine alone. The light I wield is the power of faith felt by all humans."
"Faith...?"
"Birth must be blessed, growth must be cheered, and death must be magnificent. Rejecting the trivial birth conceived inside a fruit, denying power gained by sacrificing life, and refusing death consumed like a rag. Such faith itself has become my sword."
A Holy Sword manifests when one's own personal faith touches universal consciousness. The Holy Sword is the power of faith, and also the qualification proving that one is truly a servant of the Celestial Gods.
And faith is something shared with others. Nenyap didn't simply use his newly acquired weapon just to swing it.
"Just as Her Highness the Princess, who was pure, innocent, and overflowing with talent... couldn't accept the sight of violating humans inside the fruits. There are lines that must never be crossed and values that must be protected in this world. My conviction follows those, just as the Princess did."
Nenyap's Holy Sword precisely pierced into the still-confused Great Witch's heart, and took root within it.