Book Eater

Chapter 331: Dmitra (2)

There was less than an hour left before Nídh?ggur’s attack. Theo and three high elves were preparing for a clean operation to borrow the power of a god to face Nídh?ggur. As far as the material world was concerned, Nídh?ggur was an uninvited intruder. Meanwhile, the gods were a part of the material world and a guardian. The problem was that there was no god to ask for help.

“... I-Is this really okay?” Ellenoa made an embarrassed expression while wearing thin cloth, a dress for ceremonial occasions or special rituals.

Theo’s head briefly went blank. There were laurel leaves in her hair, and the fabric, which had been made with the elven weaving technique, wrapped smoothly around Ellenoa’s slim body. Even setting aside sexual attraction, Ellenoa was a rare beauty.

“Beautiful.”

Ellenoa was caught off guard. “Huh...? T-Thank you.”

“Ah! N-No, it looks good. Cough.”

She had already heard everything. Both of them were aware of the serious situation and avoided each other’s eyes for a moment.

Ellenoa had heard a few words on the way here, but she couldn’t help doubting Theo’s plan. “Theo, is this really possible? I didn’t think that Mitra could return to being a god again.”

“Haha, my explanation was a little bit brief,” Theo acknowledged it with a bitter smile.

If Ellenoa was asking this, then the other high elves were likely to be confused about whether this was a good idea.

Honestly, I also think it is a bit absurd. I didn’t have time to explain and skipped many things.

Theo’s plan was to return Mitra’s divinity and prevent Nídh?ggur’s attack. Elves were far more knowledgeable than magicians when it came to elementals. If it hadn’t been for Theo’s accomplishments in the past, they would’ve dismissed his plan as nonsense on the spot.

However, Theo was confident in his own way.

He had once succeeded in doing so inside his own body and now had a deeper understanding of the concept of gods. It would be possible if he used all the resources of Elvenheim.

“Making gods from nothing would be impossible, even for transcendents. However, filling in the gaps isn’t that difficult. I can just barely do it with my capabilities, so we’d definitely succeed with your help.”

There were three elements that established the existence of a god: prestige; power; and authority. Those with that trinity were recognized as a god. Prestige was the symbol of a god, the presence of divinity. Power was the proof of a god, i.e. if people had faith in the god. Authority meant the presence of worship. In the ancient days, a god was born when the name of an existence became known and worshiped. They sought to love and take care of mortals, filling in the parts that were missing.

It isn’t easy when I think about it.

Where could one obtain divinity in an age when all gods had disappeared? What types of means could be used to collect believers in a world that was not religious, apart from the Lairon church?

In that sense, Theo was fortunate. The ancient elementals themselves were fragments of the gods and had divinity from the start. When Theo established the temple of four elements in his body, he had brought back Mitra’s divinity for a moment.

The third piece of the trinity was the hardest to fulfill. They needed followers who truly believed in the god. It used to be that hundreds of humans were sufficient, but not now. Now, at least tens of thousands of believers were needed. Furthermore, Theo was a magician, not a priest. He might deify Mitra, but it wasn’t enough to make her a god. He had forgotten about it until he encountered this situation.

Ellenoa understood what he said and nodded. “Aha, then we are in charge of Mitra’s authority. The mother of a great land. We will pray for Dmitra, who is related to the parent tree.”

“Ah, but she can’t become Mother Earth. The three divinities of the sky, sea, and earth... This isn’t an exact calculation, but it would require an authority thirty times the size of Elvenheim.”

Ellenoa was amazed. “Th-thirty times...! It is great, Mitra.”

[Hoi?]

Mitra cocked her head as she heard her name before laughing and clinging to a vine covered wall. Despite her mystical powers, she was just like a mountain girl.

[Yes, Mitra is amazing! Always like this!]

Theo smiled fondly. “Yes, now it is time to become more amazing.”

[Hoing!]

Theo opened his arms, and Mitra jumped into them. She was like a cicada clinging to a tree. As he carried Mitra on his back, Theo and Ellenoa walked side by side. Every time they took a step, the light got closer. This was a spot on the branch of the world tree where the tribes gathered when there were important matters.

Step.

There were three steps left when Ellenoa’s pace slowed. She hadn’t even been in this forest for ten years. Theo wondered if this was too much of a burden, but Ellenoa was a high elf with a sense of nobility. Additionally, the power of the elemental rulers was essential to Theo’s plan.

Ellenoa seemed embarrassed about her involuntary pause. “Ah...”

Her palm wasn’t firm like that of a magician. She placed her hand on top of Theo’s rough palm. Suddenly, the trembling of her body stopped.

“Let’s go, Ellenoa.” His steady voice calmed her.

“Yes, Theo.”

The two people walked into the blinding white light together.

***

There was a forest. It was easy to mistake it for Elvenheim, but there were a few other species besides the elves. There were the ents who lived with and protected the ecosystem, as well as the dryads. The lizardmen from the swamps and the beast clan were also in attendance.

“Everyone, thank you for gathering,” Ellenoa’s voice didn’t tremble at all despite there being thousands of people before her. Her clear voice calmed down the area, and everyone, regardless of species, concentrated on her words. The high elves, dressed in the ceremonial clothing and boasting a mystical atmosphere, were the pride of the forest.

“I think that everyone knows the threat that we and this forest face. The evil dragon from the myths, he looks down from the sky and wants to burn our world tree.”

Ellenoa was calm despite her angry words. However, her calm created a bigger ripple. The people listening silently were overwhelmed with enough anger to forget their fear. It was proof they were assimilating Ellenoa’s feelings.

“We have tried to guard this forest, but we are helpless.”

The only thing the inhabitants of the forest could do was either run, die, or pray before the evil dragon that possessed transcendent power.

Her voice was filled with powerlessness and remorse as Ellenoa continued, “We thought we anticipated the future, but we were ignorant.”

The high elves, who could summon the elemental rulers, were arrogant and thought they could defend the forest with their own strength. In the past, they had thought they could defeat all disasters and misfortunes. It was a stupid wisdom. That’s right.

She mourned in front of everyone, “Therefore, I prayed to the parent tree.”

From here on out, Theo had written the script.

“I didn’t know where to go and how to overcome this difficulty, causing me to pray to the parent tree.”

As Ellenoa continued in a sad voice, she called Nohengrin under the ground. She reduced the power and presence of the summoning as much as possible so the others wouldn’t notice. Once she told him the purpose of this summoning, Nohengrin was very enthusiastic.

“Then I received the answer!”

It was true that they had gotten permission from the world tree. However, the consciousness of the world tree hadn’t grown yet, so it couldn’t use that power freely. Fortunately, the world tree responded positively to Mitra’s mana, so Theo’s plan would work.

As those present started to respond to Ellenoa’s speech, Ellenoa and Theo thought almost simultaneously,

Now!

At the same time, a large stone pillar appeared in the middle of the empty space before Ellenoa.

Kukukukukung…

No, it was an egg, rather than a stone pillar. The pillar in front of Ellenoa had an oval shape. It seemed like it had soared up at her call. Ellenoa stroked the surface of the smooth stone egg and finished the play.

“The parent tree called a god.”

The crowd stirred at the word ‘god’, while Ellenoa continued without losing her flow.

“After the Age of Mythology, few deities remained in this world. Mother Earth, the beginning of the world tree Yggdrasil and the name of the great goddess!”

The rock egg was split in half.

“Dmitra!” Ellenoa raised her voice as much as possible.

Unfortunately for her, it didn’t matter. The crowd in front of the world tree was already captivated by the girl who emerged from the rock egg.

She had wheat-colored hair that went down to her waist, two eyes that shone with a mysterious light, and ocher skin. Butterflies danced in the air around her, while the gnomes, famous for their invisible appearance, showed up. Just after that, the smiling girl held out her hands to the ground, and branches started to sprout from the world tree.

The dry skin peeled off, and green buds grew to flower all at once. It was a spectacular sight that could be called The Blooming of A Hundred Flowers. The inhabitants of the forest saw the flowers blooming under their feet and realized this wasn’t a mere gimmick.

“I-It is a real god...!”

Theo’s partnership with the world tree was only brief, but there was no need to worry anymore. No matter what era they were in, people reacted in the same way to miracles. They would feel honored, fearful, and either reject or challenge it. The inhabitants of the forest worshiped the world tree, so there was only one choice.

“D-Dmitra! The earth goddess!”

“Please save us, Dmitra!”

“We believe in you!”

They kneeled and prostrated themselves. No one forced them to do so, but the beast clan laid down their pride and bowed before the great being. The ents and dryads had followed Mitra’s orders before she even revealed her identity, so now they were still completely submissive.

[Hoong?]

Then something strange happened. Mitra, who was still a preteen, started to grow further. Her slender limbs elongated, and her flat body started to develop curves. Mitra’s innocent eyes filled with mischief, while her wheat-colored hair grew longer.

[Hihihi! A lot bigger?]

Mitra now seemed to be somewhere between sixteen and eighteen. When she suddenly turned bigger in an instant, she laughed while touching her arms.

... No, it isn’t just her body. Her divinity also grew.

Theo was filled with admiration as he watched. Her constantly rising power purified the odors and poisons of the undead from the bloody battle a while ago, causing the flowers and grass to flourish despite Nídh?ggur’s dark sky. This was the power of Dmitra, the goddess of plants.

[Theo!]

Theo was surprised by the sudden call and answered stupidly, “Y-Yes?”

Mitra giggled and said playfully.

[Thanks for raising me!]

Theo’s lips twitched. “... Are you a cat or a dog?”

[Hihihi! Then can I call you ‘Father’?]

“Eek.” Theo paled at the thought of being called a father when he wasn’t even married.

Meanwhile, Mitra turned to Ellenoa.

[Hung! Theo is a father to Mitra! Then, Ellenoa is Mother! How about it?]

“Huh?!”

“What?”

Theo and Ellenoa were shocked by Mitra’s words and avoided each other’s eyes. Mitra shook her head with a chuckle. She had grown mischievous, and somehow developed the ability to catch them off guard. She looked between Theo and Ellenoa before clapping.

[Ah, both of you are too shy. I need to use a lot of effort to make it progress quickly.]

But she then pointed at the sky as she shouted at the distant Nídh?ggur.

[So, you! That black thing over there! Get lost!]

A sullen voice was heard from the sky in response.

- Cheeky little girl.

There was a white light. The ward that Hraesvelgr had made cracked and disappeared without a trace as a dragon with huge horns descended through the crack in the blackened sky. It was a transcendent that was the embodiment of fear.

The evil dragon, Nídh?ggur, and Earth Goddess, Dmitra met for the first time.