Chapter 358: A Spirit's Descent

The body of Vena lost its colors, and her leaves withered. Her pale green skin looked now ashen grey as if there was no life remaining in her. Yet, Arthur could see that she was surrounded by many flowers as if the druids built her a memorial.

'Didn't you all agree to send her to her death?'

Arthur shook his head as he looked at Vena. To his surprise, the old druid wasn't dead yet, but she was very close to being. He turned toward Merlin, who was bound to know this.

"Tell me, My Voice of Conscience," Arthur whispered to Rosa beside him in Alvan Language. "What do you think about this?"

"About what?"

"Should I save this woman? She wanted to risk the life of her people just to avoid her death. I can save her, but I don't want to." Arthur said. "The druids seem to like her, but I do not."

"It has nothing to do with you," Rosa replied with a frown. "And don't we all try to survive, despite how much it hurts our morals?"

Arthur suddenly the time he used the Bestial Order on Dia. He never wanted to enslave someone against their will, but he did it to survive. That's what he told himself to sleep at night.

He did something against his morals and continued to do so in this world, just to survive. Yet here he was, judging Vena as if he was a perfect human himself.

Vena would never risk the lives of her followers if given a chance, but what choice did she have? Was it easy to die nobly for her people?

"Thank you, My Voice of Conscience," Arthur said with a grin as he walked toward the dying Vena, who was breathing it last. "Old pathetic druid," Her lips parted in response. "I'll save you if you promise to allow Merlin to lead."

"Seika?" Merlin asked with surprise. "Can you truly save her?"

"Shut up. I know you brought me here for that sole reason." Arthur said with an amused smile. "You tried to generate my sympathy for this druid, so I'll play along."

"... Thank you, Seika," Merlin said with an embarrassed but grateful face. Arthur waved his hand and turned to Vena, who was trying to answer.

"I... refuse..."

Arthur couldn't say he expected this. Merlin walked forward with the same sentiment as he crouched beside the old druid.

"Lady Vena, please, accept. The Seika will help you if you agree to his demands."

"Trai...tor..." Vena whispered with a stubbornness that amused Arthur greatly. Being faced with the choice of dying or bowing down, this druid chose to die? What exactly happened to her?

"If you think that I'm going to help you out of pity, then you are wrong," Arthur said coldly. "You will die, and it wouldn't matter if you lead or not." 

The druid was silent as if she was welcoming death already. Arthur walked closer to her and grabbed her by the throat, pulling her up.

"Answer me." He said as he injected enough mana of creation into her to make her talk. Her eyes parted, and she looked at him with a cloudy expression.

"These... children... can't live... without me..."

"So, you would rather just die than see them perish?" Arthur asked with a frown. "You are still as selfish as I thought you are. You can live with them without being their leader."

"I don't trust you," Vena said as her eyes cleared. Hearing her words, Arthur gritted his teeth and injected the mana of creation into her body. Her withering body bloomed, and the leaves increased as the druid came back to life.

"What are you..." Vena muttered with a surprised expression.

"I won't let you die until I make you regret your ways. I'll prove that Merlin was the better fit to be a leader. If you don't like it, you can leave this place and scram."

"You will regret this, Seika," Vena said as she looked at her hands, regaining their previous color. "This was a foolish choice."

"I know that I should have let you die," Arthur grinned and turned to the rest of the druids. "But these fools still want you to live despite your actions."

"Kindness is a foolish attitude," Vena said as she turned to the druids.

"What, are you the Voice of Selfishness?" Arthur turned toward Rosa with a grin. "What does it feel like to save a selfish person?"

Being faced with his question, the blacksmith apprentice didn't say anything and simply looked at Arthur with a complex gaze. Finally, she turned away and walked back.

"Why are you interested in her?" Gala walked closer to him and asked. "You even saved the druid you hated."

"Rude," Vena said as she stood up.

"Well, this druid can be killed anytime," Arthur said as he watched the departing woman. "But I'm choosing the right thing to do."

Vena looked at him with an uncomfortable expression, but Merlin and the rest came forward and bowed to her.

"Are you sure that it's the right thing to do? You know the world doesn't care about morals." Gala said as she looked at the scene of the druids gathering around their elder.

"I know that I might be doing the wrong thing, but I'll do it anyway," Arthur said as he saw Merlin and Vena stare at each other. "This is what I chose."

"I see now," Gala grinned at him. "You wanted Rosa to stay next to you because she has what you lost. The belief the world is a better place than it proves itself, even if it's not."

"You're getting too philosophical." Arthur didn't answer but didn't deny. "Maybe it won't be as bad as we imagine it to be."

"Lady Vena," Merlin gave his elder a complex gaze. "I know that you don't agree to work with humans, but the era of oppression is long gone. We can create something together with the Seika."

"You have his backing, so what is there to say?" Vena said and turned to leave. "I'll be here when you come back crying."

The old druid disappeared into the forest under the complicated gazes of her people. Merlin sighed and turned toward Arthur, nodding with a grateful expression.

"Thank you, Seika."

"Show me that gratefulness through your work," Arthur said as he turned toward the giant tree in the middle of the druid's land. "Let's go and meet Rega."

Merlin nodded and led the way toward the giant tree. Unlike before, the scent of death disappeared from the forest. They walked toward The Protector of the druids, and Arthur could feel the familiar feeling of Rega.

Without waiting for the druids, Arthur walked to the tree and placed his hand on it. He closed his hand as he felt the resonance from Rega's seed.

'Here I am,'

It spoke quietly in his mind. Arthur smiled, as the connection he shared with the spirit wasn't something he could explain. Instead, it was something that transcended his understanding: a deep comfort of a thousand-years friendship.

"Come here, Rega," Arthur muttered, and light exploded from the tree, washing over the land. Like a radiating star, the place his hand touched was bursting with light. The spot of green light began growing, covering the whole tree.

"A miracle..." Merlin muttered as his knee began to bend. Arthur shot him a glare which stopped his actions. The druid coughed and stood up as the tree started growing larger.

Arthur stared up at the tree, which began to grow larger than it already was. If it was fifty meters before, it grew ten times that amount in the span of a few seconds. However, his mana didn't decrease.

"A spirit's descent." Gala stood beside him as the light blinded everything. Arthur turned to see her face's features disappearing under the light. "Seika, this only happens if someone summons his spirit. I can feel that you aren't a spirit master, so this is illogical."

"What are you trying to say?" Arthur asked, hearing his voice growing distant.

"You are..." Gala's lips moved as her face disappeared in the light. "... not a part of this world. Right?"

***

When the tree stopped growing, Rosa looked up at it with a terrified face. In the span of a few moments, the Seika made the tree grow by more than ten folds of its original size.

'It was gigantic, to begin with,' Rosa thought to herself as she craned her neck to see the top of the tree. It touched the clouds. 'This is madness. No, this is the work of gods.'

She couldn't comprehend how a human can create such an object. Moreover, it was even bigger than Mother Rega, renowned as the largest tree in the kingdom, if not the continent.

'I did hear about the Seika suggestion. He wants to build a city with this tree in the center of it?' Rosa turned to look at the man in question, who was standing on top of a root. 'I want to see him succeed.'