The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 224

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 224. The Path the Heart Walks First
There was only one way to sever the connection between Mongma and Rielin.
It stemmed from Rielin’s ability, which I had briefly grasped through the predator’s instinct.
◆Dream Distribution
: The user can design and create the [Dream World] according to their will, connecting and sharing it. Through this process, the user can form [Collective Unconsciousness] and expand the [environment, laws, influence] within the created dream world into reality.
An ability of Rielin’s that I hadn’t fully understood in my past life.
It seemed Rielin could communicate with nature itself through this ability.
And through this ability, she had summoned Mongma.
Therefore, Mongma and Rielin.
It wasn’t about severing their connection.
Rielin and Sylvandir Forest.
‘I need to sever the connection with nature.’
But as the saying goes, Sylvandir Forest was nature itself.
The anti-mana I possessed was nowhere near sufficient.
In the first place, I had exhausted all of it severing the connection with Mongma.
Then there was only one method left.
“Sylvandir Forest must be destroyed.”
By doing so, I would forcibly awaken her from the dream she was having.
Then naturally, the connection with Mongma would be severed as well.
But the land where the Elves lived would also disappear.
“W-what did you just say?!”
“Destroy Sylvandir Forest?”
“That’s absolutely impossible!!”
The Elves recoiled in shock and protest.
I answered briefly.
“That is the only way to save Rielin—no, the Forest Keeper.”
“What are you talking about!”
“To save the Forest Keeper, we must destroy Sylvandir Forest!”
The Elves could not easily accept this.
Losing a land they had inhabited for hundreds, thousands of years meant exactly that.
Persuasion seemed necessary.
But I had neither the time nor the luxury for it.
Above all, it was a problem for later.
I spoke of destroying the forest as if it were simple.
‘But I have no clear way to destroy the forest.’
To annihilate Sylvandir Forest, I would need at least enough power to exterminate an entire ecosystem.
An anti-mana pair annihilation reaction?
I could conceive of it, but executing it was difficult.
In the first place, I had already exhausted all my anti-mana severing the connection with Mongma.
So there was truly only one method left.
There was no time for hesitation.
Even now, Mongma was strengthening her bond with Rielin.
I had to end this before the connection solidified completely.
“Iliana!!”
I cried out—
“Buy me time! Please, buy me time!!”
Iliana rushed forward without delay.
* * *
Adrian’s words about destroying Sylvandir Forest.
Iliana was equally shocked.
But she did not doubt him.
She held an unwavering conviction that Adrian would never act without reason.
If Adrian said it must be done, then it must be done.
Iliana charged forward without hesitation.
The Elves, on the other hand…
remained motionless.
They despaired at the revelation that the Forest Warden had fallen.
Yet they could not bring themselves to aid Adrian’s plan to obliterate Sylvandir Forest entirely.
In the end, Iliana had to fight alone.
The saving grace was that she had deciphered the laws of this manipulated reality to some degree.
Thus, she could wield a measure of magic.
Iliana drew forth her mana.
In that instant.
Mongma whispered one final word.
“Vanish.”
And the mana Iliana had so carefully gathered dissipated without a trace.
Iliana cried out in shock.
“Word of Command…!!”
An ability called the pinnacle of sorcery.
Its mechanism was to twist the laws of this world with a single utterance.
Burst if commanded to burst.
Stop if commanded to stop.
Vanish if commanded to vanish.
A manipulation of reality that required no ’cause’—only the result manifested.
It was an absurd power.
Yet in a sense, the incantations of mages were also words of command.
A mage’s incantation was a form of ‘dialogue’ with the world.
A sorcerer’s word of command, by contrast, was merely a method of forcibly etching orders into existence.
Of course, the word of command was naturally far more potent and perilous—
“Burst.”
Kwaaaaaang!
Whoosh! Crack!
I barely evaded the successive blinks.
Iliana swallowed hard, her throat tight.
Magic alone could not contend with this.
Word-forging left no openings.
The moment the words left her lips—sometimes without even speaking—the result manifested, allowing no window for her to draw upon her mana.
Thus she was denied any chance to gather her power.
Ssssssshhhhh!
Precisely as such.
The darkness coiling around Mongma transformed into spears.
As Mongma gestured, they erupted forth in unison.
Iliana’s eyes widened as she moved her lips.
“Omnis Consummatio—devour all.”
Kwaaaaaack!
A wave of azure light materialized in the void.
The spears of darkness that touched that radiance scattered like their forms were shattering.
Mongma’s eyes widened as she cried out.
“How are you wielding Rune Magic?!”
Mongma recognized it instantly.
Rune Magic.
A method of magic that communed directly with the world through the ancient language of Runes, thereby recreating magic.
It required no incantation like conventional magic, yet produced results as instantaneous as word-forging.
This was because each rune character bore the laws of the world inscribed within it.
However, the activation conditions were exacting.
Moreover, only simplistic magic could be employed.
‘Lacking in many respects, but…!’
Rune Magic was her only recourse.
It was the sole method to counter Mongma’s word-forging.
Iliana moved her lips once more.
“Piar Volla—ignite.”
A fireball materialized in the air.
Unfortunately, multi-casting proved difficult.
Not only was she still unfamiliar with Rune Magic, but performing multiple calculations within a manipulated law was nearly impossible.
However, casting a single spell repeatedly was entirely feasible.
She merely needed to execute the already-computed formula again and again.
Whoosh, whoosh! Whoooosh!!
Hundreds of fireballs materialized in the void.
And with Iliana’s gesture, they launched forth in unison.
Mongma gritted her teeth and cried out.
“Block it!”
A black barrier materialized.
“Shadow Bane—tear the darkness asunder.”
The black barrier shredded.
But Mongma’s incantations poured forth relentlessly.
“Vanish! Burst! Cease!!”
Space itself wailed as hundreds of fireballs detonated simultaneously.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The words spilling from her lips accelerated with each utterance.
Growing more devastating with every breath.
Iliana’s eyes widened as her lips moved frantically.
“Scaen Dra—shatter—”
“Be crushed!!”
“Ugh…!”
A tremendous suppressive force sealed Iliana’s mouth shut.
An overwhelming pressure bearing down upon my entire body.
Crack! Snap!!
My joints buckled under the strain.
I should have exercised more if I’d known this would happen.
Though it wouldn’t have made any difference even if I had.
“Aaaahhhhh!!”
This pressure was simply beyond human endurance.
…Adrian was the anomaly here.
An absolute, incomprehensible anomaly.
Blood streamed from my nose.
Every blood vessel in my eyes had ruptured.
Yet Iliana clenched her teeth and held her vision steady.
Crack—!
My mind tore apart, consciousness burning away.
I couldn’t… endure any longer.
“Die!”
Mongma shrieked as if possessed by malice itself.
Darkness from all directions descended like razor-sharp claws upon Iliana, when—
Shiiing—!!
Someone intercepted the attack before her.
As if projecting the very spirit of nature itself—serene and without malice—
‘Silmarien…?’
She stood against Mongma, wreathed in golden radiance.
* * *
Lumis, a small fox with golden fur and a spirit of light, enveloped Silmarien in luminous brilliance.
“Silmarien, move!!”
Mongma shouted with a face twisted in fury.
“Those creatures are humans who seek to destroy Sylvandir Forest!”
Yet Silmarien did not step aside.
She stood firm, shielding Iliana and Adrian.
Mongma bared her teeth and drew forth the darkness.
“Are you saying it’s acceptable for Sylvandir Forest to vanish!!”
With each of Mongma’s steps, shadows stretched long across the ground.
The surrounding light was gradually drained away.
Still, Silmarien did not retreat.
Together with Lumis, she held back the darkness to the very end.
“To be honest…!”
A resonant clash echoed out.
“I’m not certain if this is right… or if I can truly be sure.”
Another clash, then another in rapid succession.
“But you see, even if this isn’t the answer…, I think it will be fine.”
“You’re saying it’s acceptable for Sylvandir Forest to disappear!!”
Mongma cried out sharply.
“This is the land of us Elves! It is the home we have breathed in for centuries, our sanctuary!”
“I know…!”
“If we lose this place, we can no longer be Elves! Like a tree stripped of its roots, we will surely wither and fall!!”
“Perhaps that’s true…!”
“Then why-!!”
“Forest Warden. I told you before.”
A thunderous impact, then another in succession.
“The human world…! I was so curious about it that I ventured beyond the forest.”
The world beyond the forest was tragic.
Greed and wrath. Betrayal and despair.
Humans harmed one another, trampled each other, and deceived as they lived.
“Just as you warned, it was terrifying.”
I could understand firsthand why our Elven ancestors had to turn away from humans.
“But I also saw something.”
People who embraced one another despite everything.
People who lifted up those who had fallen.
People who extended their hands without asking for anything in return.
“Even within the ways we Elves believed to be wrong, there were those who found reasons to keep living until the very end.”
“What does that even—!”
“That’s why I want to believe too.”
My gaze met Mongma’s without wavering.
“That this choice, even if it differs from the path we Elves have walked, is undoubtedly worth taking!”
“It is a path our ancestors have already walked!”
In the past, the Elves believed they could live alongside humans.
But all that returned was betrayal.
“Do you truly not understand that your actions now are foolishly repeating the mistakes of history?!”
And so it is foolish.
Stupid and senseless.
But.
“That is the way of the Elves!”
Even if it seems foolish, even if it appears senseless.
A pure heart that refuses to break faith.
“We Elves have always lived this way!”
Thus.
Neither perfect nor magnificent in form.
The Elves who yet live on.
“Perhaps Silmarien is foolish as you say, Forest Warden! Perhaps senseless! Perhaps I will surely come to regret this action!”
But.
Just as humans often discover treasures in shops they stumbled into by mistake.
“Nature sometimes causes us Elves to lose our way so that we might find the path it wishes to show us!”
Therefore.
“A forest that can only be protected if the Forest Warden dies…!!”
Such a ground of sorrow.
Such a ground of pain.
Such a Sylvandir Forest!!
“Let it all crumble to ruin!!!”
Spaaaaaaaash!!
A golden radiance burst forth from Lumis’s body in an explosive surge.
Beams of light tore through the void, driving back the encroaching darkness and scattering in all directions, bathing the entire forest in golden luminescence in an instant.
“You foolish wretch!!”
Mongma shrieked with fury.
Black mist erupted, and dozens of shadows rose into being.
But then.
Pababababak!
Dozens of arrows pierced through the shadows.
The Forest Wardens and the Elves.
“Silmarien speaks the truth!”
“We have always walked the path our hearts desired.”
“Above all, if a forest can only be protected through the Forest Warden’s death, through someone’s sacrifice…!”
“Then it is no longer our home!”
All of them stood with arrows nocked upon their bowstrings, aimed at Mongma.
Mongma shrieked in rage.
“I…! Do you have any idea what I’ve sacrificed to protect this forest!!”
When the rains came, I redirected the water channels through the night to prevent floods.
When drought struck, I carried water until I collapsed from exhaustion.
I drove out intruders, healed wounded animals, and painstakingly bound and straightened every broken branch.
“I’ve poured every drop of my blood and breath into this forest!!!”
Mongma….
No—Rielin had cried out.
And Silmarien answered.
“I know! I know how much you’ve sacrificed for this forest, Forest Warden!”
“Then why—!”
“But embracing every life doesn’t mean you’re saving the forest!”
Transplanting rotting trees to other soil won’t help.
Binding broken flower stems to reeds won’t help.
Collecting dew and dropping it on already-withered leaves won’t help.
The forest’s life will not be revived.
“Letting go of what must be released—it may seem cruel, but it’s absolutely necessary!!”
That’s why nature destroys itself.
Water swallows fire before it spreads too far.
Earth holds back water before it floods too much.
Trees absorb the earth’s nutrients before the land grows too vast.
Fire melts steel before trees exhaust the earth’s nourishment.
Steel cuts down trees before fire consumes all the wood.
Nature is not only mutual salvation.
Mutual destruction is also the way of nature.
The forest—nature itself—thrives by killing and saving one another in harmony.
“Everything that fails now has its reason! You can’t become Sylvandir Forest by ignoring those reasons and stubbornly insisting on protection!”
“Spare me your hollow words, Silmarien!!”
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!!
“This place is a sacred ground soaked in our ancestors’ roots! It is the foundation where our Elves’ breath and blood dwell, a sanctuary woven by hundreds and thousands of years!!”
“Ugh…!”
“How dare you—you who don’t understand that weight! How dare you and your kind!! Presume to—presume to!!”
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!!
“Speak of this forest’s fate!!”
Darkness exploded outward.
It tore through the earth and ripped the tree trunks, spreading in all directions.
Yet Silmarien and the Elves did not retreat.
“Sylvandir Forest is…! Certainly our past and our present.”
But.
“It may not be our future!!”
“Silence!!”
“Don’t look back—keep your eyes forward, Forest Warden!!”
“Unnecessary! I’ll slaughter every last one of them here!!!”
Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!
Darkness, unleashed from its shackles, erupted and swelled like a tidal wave of black, crashing down in a violent deluge.
Krrrrrruuuuummmmble…!!
Space itself trembled and convulsed.
As parched earth cracks beneath a merciless drought.
The entire space fractured with a sickening crunch—!
Fissures like a spider’s web carved themselves across every direction.
And thus.
The Demonic Realm opens. The Abyss bleeds through.
The worlds of Hell and The Abyss overlap and exist here as one.
A violet sky. A lime-green moon.
And ashen earth.
The phenomenal world transforms.
All things in existence shift and change.
The myriad forms of creation invert.
The laws of the phenomenal world shake, and the reality perceived by the five senses reverses.
The existence of The Surface fades away.
The color of the sky vanishes.
Shadows take on form and rise.
All manner of malevolent spirits materialize, their eyes gleaming with terrible hunger.
Kyaaaaaahhhhh—!!
A dizzying, inhuman shriek tore through the air.
From the draping landscape of The Surface, emotions of joy and ecstasy erupted.
Murderous intent, sorrow, despair, madness.
Chaos, malice, frustration, terror.
Every negative emotion that composes the world.
Things from beyond the phenomenal realm.
The denizens of Hell, clumped together, roil and surge.
“Spirits born from the end of decline! Now the gate that shall lead to annihilation has opened…!!”
And thus death is forced upon all existence.
As death is coerced upon every living, breathing creature—.
The hearts of the Elves died first.
…It is immense.
Far too immense.
That is… an Evil beyond any possible resistance.
Not the sort of thing that could be overcome.
The hearts of the Elves, their will, their very lives were gnawed away, dying slowly.
“It’s… it’s over…”
“That thing is utterly….”
And so countless Elves faced the nightmare and fell to their knees.
Silmarien, who had been radiating light alongside Lumis, as well.
Iliana, who had been gritting her teeth and drawing forth her mana, too.
“Ugh…!”
“Ah, aahhh…!”
In the end, they could not overcome that endless nightmare and fell to their knees.
However.
There was one person who did not.
“Uuuaaaaaaaaaaa─!!”
…At least, in this battle alone.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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