Book Eater

Chapter 333: Dmitra (4)

- Kuaaack!?

Nídh?ggur’s scream rang out across the sky. It was difficult for a body with a time limit to cope with the shock of Abraxas being used with 8th Circle magic power and the dragon heart. The explosion from the repulsion of two forces caused the dimension to shake. Once the light from the big explosion subsided…

“... Pfft!” Theo laughed reflexively.

He could see Nídh?ggur’s face through the rapidly shrinking crack. The powerful explosion had injured Nídh?ggur’s massive head. His scales, which couldn’t be damaged by aura blades, were shattered and bleeding, and one of his eyes had been pushed back into its socket. It was like a super huge battle hammer had slammed onto the top of his head.

- Y-You! Mortal man from this lesser world!

The mythical dragon was covered with blood and was utterly enraged. Although only one of Nídh?ggur’s red eyes could be seen, Theo felt the space around him freeze. However, Theo realized that the pressure was much weaker than earlier, and he nodded casually.

“Don’t growl in my face. Your pride won’t come back through these actions.”

- What nonsense are you talking about?

“Think about it. It might be okay if you lost to Hraesvelgr. But being hit by a mortal… Oh, right. I had forgotten,” Theo muttered in a voice loud enough to be heard by Nídh?ggur. His mouth twisted into a smirk. “You have no friends? This is a good thing.”

In the end, the last of Nídh?ggur’s patience was broken.

- Kuaaaaaah!

Theo covered his ears to block the fearsome roar, but he didn’t back away. He didn’t look scared or intimidated. The crack in the dimensional world was almost closed. No matter how powerful Nídh?ggur was, he was in another dimension and couldn’t do anything unless someone summoned him again.

Nídh?ggur’s eyes were filled with anger, madness, and hate as he stared at Theo.

- Taunting this body! Someday I will catch you and chew on yo-!

The dimensional crack closed, cutting Nídh?ggur off. The evil dragon had been sent off in a disgraced manner. However, Theo kept looking up at the sky.

“Ah!”

He finally saw light piercing through the darkness covering the sky. The sky was blue, and the warm sunlight flooded their eyes like it had been there from the beginning. The elves and the other species who called Elvenheim home felt a strange chill as they looked up at the sky. The darkness that had been covering the sky disappeared, and everything was as it should be.

“O... Over? Can we relax?”

“Alive... We’re alive!”

“Ohh, incarnation of the world tree!”

Joy and disbelief mixed together as the crowd became raucously happy. The confusion needed to be calmed down. Theo delivered instructions to the one whom he thought was the most suitable to handle them, the chief contributor to this incident.

[H-Hoing? Me?]

Dmitra made a sound, and the people stopped talking and paid attention to her. She was the incarnation of the world tree who had faced the evil dragon and protected the forest! Naturally, awe filled the eyes of the Elvenheim residents. There were even those who didn’t dare look at her and kept their eyes on the ground. The area became silent in a flash.

[... Ha, hahaha...]

Dmitra seemed embarrassed by their attitudes. She scratched the back of her head before raising her right fist up into the air. It was difficult for her to speak, but she spoke concisely,

[Nídh?ggur is gone!]

As soon as she pointed to the sky with her fist, the people raised their fists with her.

[We won for everyone who lives in this forest!]

The large crowd cheered.

Waaaaaaaah!

They were overflowing with joy. The furry bears carrying dryads on their shoulders swayed, while the rabbits riding on ents were dancing. The elves sighed with relief and relaxed, and the rest of the crowd followed their example. They had struggled against the undead, and the evil dragon, Nídh?ggur, had descended on them. This was a memory they would never forget.

Sigh, it is over.

This time, it was a really big incident. Theo stood behind Dmitra and locked eyes with Ellenoa, who was waiting for him with a gentle expression. Then he saw tears fall from her eyes.

“E-Ellenoa?”

“... We did it,” Ellenoa spoke in a small voice before taking a few steps and hugging Theo.

Was it due to the difference in physique between the two people? It was clearly Ellenoa who was hugging him.

Ellenoa spoke to the embarrassed Theo in her arms, “I was worried.”

Theo stammered, I-I’m sorry.”

“Do you really know? I was worried a lot.”

Theo smiled wryly as her fists pounded weakly on his chest. “... Yes.”

Finally, more tears fell down her cheek, and Theo couldn’t help wiping them away with his index finger. Her green eyes looked up at him like she was drunk.

“Ah...”

He wasn’t dumb and knew the meaning of those eyes. Her face tilted and got closer. However, the moment the eyes of Ellenoa and Theo got closer…

“Hmm?”

“Ah.”

Both of them felt a blatant gaze. When they found the source of the gaze, Theo and Ellenoa stiffened.

[Why did you stop? I don’t mind.]

Dmitra chuckled, resting her chin on her hands as she openly stared at the two. She smiled mischievously.

The innocent Ellenoa’s intentions were exposed, and she fled with a red face. “P-Please don’t look!”

Theo hastily called, “Ellenoa!”

Dmitra laughed at the sight.

[Hihihi! Indeed, Mother Ellenoa is naive.]

“Mitra, you are a troublemaker...”

Theo stopped speaking when he felt a sense of incongruity. Then he looked Dmitra up and down, and immediately realized why he sensed something was off.

“Mitra, why is your body smaller?”

That’s right. Dmitra had shrunk. Dmitra was surprised when Theo pointed it out, and her eyes widened.

[Hoing! Theo is right. I’ve only gotten ten centimeters shorter.]

Theo rolled his eyes. “Isn’t a decrease of ten centimeters a big change? Don’t talk about that. Tell me why you are smaller.”

[Understood. Mitra is a good daughter, hihihi.]

Dmitra chuckled before gently touching a tree trunk that was slightly darkened.

[The tree is becoming weaker.]

“What?”

[It used a lot of power to make me into this state and then sucked up a lot of poison. It didn’t reach the roots, but it lost a considerable amount of health.]

As Dmitra touched the world tree with sad eyes, Theo quickly diagnosed the problem. Despite not being a god, he could use Dmitra’s senses and had a magician’s knowledge to rely on.

Theo quickly realized the state of the world tree. “Shit, this isn’t good.”

It was a situation he hadn’t expected, but he quickly realized what had happened. This wouldn’t have happened if the world tree was a fully grown world tree. The problem was that Elvenheim’s world tree was immature, and there was no new Arv to help its growth. In such an environment, it had helped summon Hraesvelgr, turned Mitra into a god, and blocked Nídh?ggur’s attack... It would be strange if there were no problems.

“Your power has already returned to the world tree?”

[Yes.]

“But it is still in this state...”

Dmitra, who had become Mitra again, nodded gloomily. The fact that there was no difference meant that the world tree had consumed a large amount of power. Theo’s face stiffened as he saw the leaves of the world tree. The leaves, which had always been green, were now slightly yellow, and the branches, which should be as hard as steel, were now easily broken.

“... It looks like there is one more thing to solve.”

The worst was over. The presence of the world tree was as large as life for the inhabitants of this forest, but this was a minor challenge compared to Nídh?ggur. A world tree that had yet to grow up needed to stockpile vitality for its growth. If it failed to compensate for this, it would die in some years, maybe decades. From this point on, it was a matter that needed to be discussed with the real leaders of the great forest, the high elves.

“Well, it should be okay for a few days.”

Fortunately, this problem wasn’t something that needed to be solved in a day or two. Unlike the evil dragon, Nídh?ggur, there were several solutions. There was no need to pour cold water on those who were tired from the hard fight. Theo looked up at the clear blue sky. It was a sight that everyone in the forest could see.

“The clear and blue sky is the best.”

Theo had seen Nastrond behind Nídh?ggur through the gap in the dimension. When the sky and earth were swallowed up by darkness earlier, the screams of those who suffered forever had echoed in his ears. If the evil dragon, Nídh?ggur, had swallowed up the world tree, this material world would’ve turned into the same hell as Nastrond.

That can’t happen.

In the childhood he couldn’t remember well, Theo had once dreamt of being a magician who fought against an evil dragon. He had never thought that dream would become a reality.

“Kuk,” Theo chuckled reminiscently as he stared at the distant sky above the trees.