Zich handed his magic box to Walwiss. Then, he pointed his finger in a specific direction.
“The boat is inside. If you go straight that way, you will be able to arrive at the place we started at.”
“This is so sudden that I’m shocked. Is it a really important matter?”
“It’s nothing dangerous, but it’s a very personal matter and something very important to me right now.”
“Hm. Then, I suppose it can’t be helped. I understand. We will return by ourselves. Are you going to join us somewhere later?”
“I’ll probably return right to the battlefield. I don’t think it’ll take me that long, so I can probably join you all to clean up the battlefield of Bellids.”
Wiing! The mana around Zich began to fluctuate. Everyone who had been at ease immediately got into a battle stance, but Zich stopped them.
“She’s probably trying to call me. There’s no need to panic.”
“Ha! Is this perhaps teleportation? She is using such a tremendous amount of mana to teleport you to her. It must be a very important matter, indeed.” Walwiss clicked his tongue and clutched Zich’s hand. “All right, let’s see each other on the battlefield. I don’t know what you are going to do, but have a safe trip.”
Starting from Walwiss, all the other companions said their farewells.
“It’s a pity, but we should have our victory celebrations later. Good luck.”
“See you, Zich!”
“...I hope that you will return safely.”
When everyone said their farewells, the mana around Zich reached its peak, and Zich felt his body float. When he closed his eyes once and opened them again, his surroundings had completely changed. The blue sky, the island below it, and the rushing lake waters had all disappeared and were replaced by the walls with giant cavities. He was inside a magic circle that enveloped him in a faint light. It was probably the teleportation circle that transferred him, and Zich saw the person who brought him to this place in front of him.
“It’s been a while, Zich,” Lyla said. Zich walked toward her. Although Hans, Snoc, Elena, and Lara were standing behind her, he didn’t notice them this time. They all also felt something from Zich’s appearance, and they maintained their silence. Although Snoc tactlessly tried to raise his hand, Elena quickly stopped him and no one showed any more movements.
Zich stood in front of Lyla and witnessed her inhumane beauty from close-up. She was smiling slightly. There was a sense of amusement and triumphant playfulness in her expression.
“I saw what you did through Estellade.” She smiled harder. “Didn’t you tell me before that I should make you fall in love with me? From what I saw, it seems like I’ve succeeded. What do you think?”
Lyla was very happy about the fact that Zich had fallen for her, and she looked up at Zich with her chin slightly angled.
Then, she pressed, “Don’t you have something to tell me?”
Perhaps, she was requesting Zich to tell her he loved her, and this was a small act of revenge for the days when she one-sidedly expressed her affection for him. Yet, instead of responding, Zich simply stared intently at her speechlessly. Lyla was a bit taken aback by Zich’s response which was different from her expectations.
“Huh, what? What is it? Did I do something wrong? Or is it a mis...understanding?” There was no way. She had clearly seen everything while she was inside the system and she heard Zich say he loved her. Yet, Zich’s response was different from what she expected. Was it really all some kind of big misunderstanding? Doubt and embarrassment began to rise inside her when—
squeeze! Zich hugged her tightly. Stunned, Lyla opened her eyes widely, and at that moment, Zich’s lips met hers.
“Umph!” She gasped at the sudden sensation, but soon afterward, Lyla also closed her eyes. Her arms hugged Zich tightly.
“Uh, uh, uh?” Snoc gasped repeatedly in surprise and Nowem bit his ear hard while Elena quickly blocked Snoc’s mouth. Hans and Lara shared a knowing look and turned around. They took Snoc and Elena with them and quietly left the area. Like that, Zich and Lyla’s lips were locked together for a while.
“Haa!” Lyla heaved as soon as she pulled away. Then, she looked up at Zich.
“Did that answer your question?”
“...Not yet. I didn’t hear it directly from you.”
“I love you.”
“...!”
Lyla had said it half-jokingly, without really expecting him to say those words. Considering his personality, she couldn’t imagine Zich whispering 'love' with a serious look on his face. Yet, contrary to her expectations, Zich had directly conveyed his feelings.
Although these were the words she had longed for, now that she was finally hearing them, Lyla began to feel embarrassed and she blushed. Yet, she couldn’t hide the way the edges of her lips turned upwards.
“...You smell.”
“I came here after battling for several days straight. Of course I smell.”
“Still, you smell,” Lyla said but didn’t pull her face away from Zich’s chest. The two only pulled away from each other quite a long time after they had shared their kiss.
“Hmph! Hmph!” Lyla fake-coughed awkwardly. Her face was still all red. It seemed she hadn’t been able to shake off the excitement of her first kiss yet. Her eyes wandered all over the place as if she had difficulty looking at Zich’s face, and she only glanced at him before turning elsewhere again.
“Ahem!” After she cleared her throat for the final time, she finally looked properly at Zich even though her pupils still shook slightly.
“W-We should finish up what we’ve been doing first,” she stuttered.
“I agree.” Zich placed his arms around Lyla’s shoulder and left the space where the magic circle was.
“Do you need me to describe what happened inside the tower?”
“No, it’s fine since I saw everything. Even after I got out of the system, I was able to continue watching through the World Tree’s mana.” Lyla waved her hand slightly, and the World Tree’s mana shook inside the ruin. Since the World Tree possessed so much mana that it could even turn back time, an outstanding mage like her could easily see the information of the person wielding Estellade or Windur like she had done when acting as the Core.
“So, as I thought, you’re the one who sent me power through Windur.”
“To be exact, it was a collaborative effort between the World Tree and me.” The conversation calmed her down, and Lyla’s voice soon became much more tranquil.
“It was surprising when Glen Zenard unexpectedly awakened and sucked in the World Tree’s mana.”
“Honestly, I had no idea that he would overcome the fear of regression.”
“Same. It’s understandable, though. Even Ultel didn’t expect it, and he knew Glen Zenard the best. I thought that the best way to help you in that situation was to also send you the World Tree’s mana.”
“You were completely correct.” In fact, Zich had overwhelmingly crushed Glen Zenard with the World Tree’s mana.
“It’s not as easy as it sounds. The Clowon Empire also had to implement all kinds of methods to use the World Tree.” In order to use the World Tree’s mana, the empire had to divide the tree into five and capture a dragon. Moreover, they also developed a precise and detailed system by using each of the trees together.
Lyla continued, “I could make a magic circle to send you mana from the World Tree, but I also needed the World Tree’s mana for that to work. However, I can’t force the World Tree to help me. Additionally, Glen Zenard was sucking mana from the World Tree during that time.”
“Yet, you still managed to send it.”
“I did it by persuading the World Tree.”
“Persuade?”
“I asked the World Tree to lend me its strength if it really wanted freedom.”
“No wonder. Is that why the World Tree lent me its power?”
“Yeah. It must have been quite a strain for the World Tree to respond to my call since it was still under the remaining constraints of the Brushel System, and Glen Zenard was taking its mana. However, the World Tree still managed to lend us its strength.”
Zich lightly touched the handle of Windur on his back. “I should offer my gratitude.”𝐟𝓇𝘦𝒆we𝒃𝘯𝒐νe𝒍.co𝓂
No matter what anyone said, Zich and his team would have lost without the help of the World Tree.
“That would be nice too, but you don’t have to feel that grateful because the reason why the World Tree regained its freedom in the first place is thanks to you.”
“I guess that’s true too.” In all honesty, liberating the World Tree was quite low on his list of priorities. The reason why Zich had gone around destroying the Brushel System was to fuck Glen Zenard over, rather than to free the World Tree. However, it was also true that the World Tree greatly benefited from Zich’s actions—just like how the World Tree’s desire to be free greatly benefited him too.
“Anyway, I’m satisfied because I’ve achieved all of my goals at the moment, and I’m satisfied with the way I killed Glen Zenard.”
“Like a hero, right?”
“Ah, damn it!” Zich rubbed his arms as if he got goosebumps all over.
“What’s wrong? When you mocked Glen Zenard, you proudly told him you were a hero, right? I thought you felt better about it.”
“No, there’s no way I can feel better about it. I’ll never get used to it for the rest of my life.”
“You say that, but you didn’t look awkward at all. At this rate, you might really become the hero that people see you as.”
“How terrible.” Zich frowned and shook his head. Lyla’s bright laughter rang in the room. While they talked like this, they reached the Brushel’s control device. Hans, Snoc, Elena, and Lara had already all gathered there.
“How have you all been?”
“Sir Zich!”
The party approached Zich. Hans asked, “Sir, did everything go well?”
“Perfectly. All that’s left is to return and wipe out the remaining forces. I’ve used this well.” Zich handed Estellade back to Hans, and Hans politely received it.
“Has it been decided that you’ll keep Tornium?” Zich’s eyes turned to Tornium in Lara’s hand.
“No, I’m just holding it for now.”
“Just keep it. Among the sword users, you’re the only one here who doesn’t have a sword anyway.”
“...Is it okay for it to be decided like that?” Lara was befuddled as she knew Tornium’s performance capabilities very well. If they put Tornium out on the market, Zich would be able to get a huge price for it, and most families would designate it as a family treasure and cherish it. How could Zich give it to her as if he was passing over a stone he picked up on the street?
“Is anyone against it?” Zich asked. No one came forward, so he said, “Then it’s been decided.”
“...” Even though it was extremely beneficial to Lara, she couldn’t help but feel that something was very wrong.
After easily determining Tornium’s ownership like this, Zich turned his head and looked at a hole where an enormous amount of mana was leaking out. “Wait a little bit. There’s one last thing I have to do. When I finish taking care of it, let’s leave this island.”
After leaving the others behind, Zich headed with Lyla to the location of the World Tree.
“That’s the World Tree.”
“It’s your first time seeing it, right?” Its very presence was overwhelming and majestic, and the surrounding lava lake evoked a sense of mystery.
“Will it be over if I free that?”
“Yeah, everything will be over.” It would finally be the end of everything that happened since the Golden Emperor of the Clowon Empire had created the Brushel System.
“Will you be okay?” Zich asked.
“What do you mean?”
“If we free the World tree, the Brushel System will completely disappear. Don’t you have any regrets as the Clowon princess? Regression is not just an ordinary ability either.”
“I’ll be fine,” Lyla said confidently. “First of all, I’m not Serpina, the princess of Clowon. Just like how you’re not Zich Brave, I’m also just Lyla. I don’t want to use an abnormal power like the Brushel System. Most of all...”
Lyla looked at Zich and added, “If I go back in time by using the Brushel System, only I will keep my memories, and all of your memories of me will disappear—your memories of us together, your feelings, and everything else. I don’t want that.”