Chapter 275 – The World Tree Alliance
The Hut Forest had vanished, but the nearby well remained untouched.
As I flung myself into the well’s entrance, the scenery began shifting rapidly due to a spell, and soon enough, I dropped into a cavern.
Spatial transference technique.
“Still can’t get used to that.”
This was the place I’d brought Lochter to once before.
The place where his twin swords, Belin and Reina, had been forged—the Witch’s Forge.
Most of it had collapsed, but this area had remained intact.
However, the atmosphere inside had changed significantly.
The souls of the dead, which once floated through the passageways like lanterns, were gone.
That change came with the disappearance of the Forest of Ghosts, and for a forge that used the spirits of the dead as fuel, it was a serious problem.
After passing the long corridor and entering the wide central chamber, I was greeted by familiar faces.
“You’re here.”
“I’m the last one, aren’t I?”
“Late. That’s a fine. Arthur.”
Elder Medeia, and Fenry, were waiting.
Since we needed a quiet place to discuss important matters, we had designated the Witch’s Forge as a temporary meeting site.
The reason the three of us gathered was to decide what came next.
The representative of the Witches.
The representative of the Hunt.
And Fenry, attending as a representative of other races and Tobaron.
Before we started, Medeia removed her wide-brimmed hat and gave me a slight bow of gratitude.
“Thank you for attending the funeral.”
“It was the least I could do.”
“And you’ve done us a great service. I heard from Lily—you risked your life to save the forest.”
“Anyone would’ve done the same.”
“No one else could have done what you did.”
Medeia smiled faintly.
Had Arthur failed to stop the bomb, this place would have become a land of death.
The birth of the World Tree, the history of the witches—it all would’ve turned to ashes.
Or worse, it could’ve ended even sooner...
Demtor’s secret weapon, the curse puppets, were designed to negate all the advantages of the Forest of Ghosts.
When collected afterward, they numbered in the hundreds.
It was only because Arthur appeared in time and neutralized them that the village was saved.
Otherwise, it would’ve been burned to the ground before anything else happened.
Not once, but twice, she owed him her life.
All the witches acknowledged this, and so, as their representative, she did not hesitate to remove her hat and offer her respects.
An Elder’s gesture was never light.
Arthur Clayton—He had become the Benefactor of the Witches.
The atmosphere was warm.
It was the perfect moment to bring up a heavy topic.
I cleared my throat and spoke.
“Elder, before we begin, there’s something I must say.”
“You mean bringing Lily into the Hunt?”
As expected of her, she had already guessed what I wanted to talk about.
I nodded.
Lily wasn’t just any witch.
She was born with the Great Witch’s Talent, and was the hope of the witches.
Binding someone like that to a divine name in the Hunt must have felt like a loss to the witches.
“I’ve heard the story. It’s likely her fate.”
With both Ortain members gone, there were now vacancies. But Lily could no longer become an Ortain.
The Ortain existed solely for the witches.
As someone bound by divine name and to the Hunt, Lily no longer qualified.
She would now prioritize the Hunt and the man before her above all else.
It was like sending off a beloved daughter in marriage.
Though there was a sense of regret, it also affirmed that the Hunt would be central to the changing world.
Lily Base.
The girl once marked by calamity had cast off that fate and found a new destiny.
“I have a request.”
That’s why she had called this meeting the moment the funeral ended.
She couldn’t wait any longer.
“I’d like to join the Blood Pact.”
“The Blood Pact? You mean Tobaron’s alliance?”
“That’s right.”
The Blood Pact formed by Hunt, Beneta, and the Black Rose, a coalition of humans and other races.
Now that the Forest of Ghosts—once a land of protection—had vanished, they needed a new sanctuary.
And Medeia recognized this alliance as their only viable option.
If they wanted to survive, they had to join.
A witch joining the Blood Pact…
Fenry and I exchanged glances and nodded at the same time.
There was no need for long deliberation.
The Ordor Forest was a major access point into Tobaron.
With the witches aligned, Tobaron’s forces could advance into the forest—making its defense much stronger.
And for Fenry, now that she was bound to the Shadow of the World Tree, she couldn’t be separated from the witches.
The witches and elves were now one.
It was, in essence, already a Blood Pact.
There was no hesitation.
“I agree.”
“Same here.”
“…Was it always this easy? Shouldn’t we ask the Lord of Beneta?”
“No need to ask that dwarf.”
Blood Pact decisions required unanimous consent.
And technically, Dorneth Gader's approval should be necessary.
But with his broad outlook as a ruler, he would certainly see the strategic advantage of having the witches join.
“This benefits everyone. No need to quibble over the details. We wholeheartedly welcome it.”
“Much appreciated.”
“There is a joining fee though…”
“Fenry.”
At my glance, Fenry frowned and turned away grumbling.
“Welcome to the Pact, Elder Medeia.”
At my greeting, Medeia nodded with a slightly dazed expression.
She had been ready to offer much of the witches’ valuable resources to secure membership, but the alliance was accepted without delay.
“While we’re at it, let’s name the alliance.”
“Name it?”
“There are countless pacts in the world. Ours should at least have a name. How did three heads fail to come up with one?”
Three, huh.
Look at this selfish dark elf.
“How about ‘World Tree Alliance’?”
She even said it like it had already been decided.
But it wasn’t a bad name.
World Tree Alliance.
Since everything would now revolve around the World Tree, it was fitting.
“I like it. I agree.”
“Great. From now on, our pact is the World Tree Alliance.”
“What about the Lord of Beneta…?”
“We can ignore him.”
Once again, Dorneth’s opinion wasn’t needed.
The conversation flowed smoothly into other important matters.
“I’d like to discuss Samuel’s situation.”
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him. Weren’t you bringing him?”
“Well, he…”
I had told Samuel to attend before we convened.
He had a long-standing connection with the witches as their errand man, but recently, due to his involvement with Kamel, his position had become ambiguous.
He hadn’t acted directly, but by opening a spatial portal, he had endangered the witches.
“He ran off to Demtor.”
“…What?”
“Elton gave me this before he left the forest.”
I clicked my tongue and pulled out a note Elton had passed to me.
Whether it was shame or fear, once the situation was over, Samuel had secretly called for Elton and fled to Demtor.
Since Elton and some ghosts went with him, we could find his location once he settled.
“Samuel helped Kamel, yes. But he never intended harm to the witches. If he had, he wouldn’t have rushed to bring me here. It was thanks to him we made it in time.”
“Hm…”
As Medeia hesitated, I continued.
“Make him repay the debt. Ask for a silver coin. That coin represents a promise Samuel must keep. If you erase the debt that way and continue the bond, he’ll remain a valuable ally.”
“I will trust your judgment.”
Fortunately, we reached an easy resolution regarding Samuel.
And since I had defended him, I planned to ask him for a silver coin too.
If he had any conscience, he’d give me at least one.
With Samuel’s matter settled, I turned to Fenry.
There was something I needed to hear from her.
The World Tree.
It was something that didn’t exist in the original novel, and she, having been acknowledged as its shadow, had gotten the closest.
There must be knowledge only she possessed.
“If you know anything about the World Tree, please share it.”
“How much?”
“All of it.”
At that, Fenry let out a dry laugh and bit her long-stemmed pipe.
“Greedy much. You think people won’t pay to learn about that divine tree? Don’t you?”
“Wait, you were going to sell it?”
“Am I insane? I’m one with the tree now. Even if I’m money-crazed, I’m not about to sell myself.”
“Then share it only among alliance members.”
“What did you say? Since when is that your call?”
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have bonded with the tree. I’m hurt.”
“Bastard, I had to run like a damn dog chasing Kamel through the end of the Forest of Ghosts.”
“So are you sharing or not?”
Fenry grumbled and knocked the ashes from her pipe.
Even if she wanted to refuse others, she couldn’t reject his request.
Of all people, why did the Blessing of the World Tree have to go to this guy…
The only human acknowledged by the World Tree.
The one person she couldn’t hide its secrets from.
And now he was asking to share those secrets with the alliance heads.
She couldn’t refuse.
Damn it…
She had planned to sell it to Dorneth for a fortune.
Ten million gold. Maybe even a hundred million.
Now that information was flying away for free.
For the first time, she sighed into her pipe.
“The World Tree doesn’t belong to this world.”
The secret of the World Tree she revealed was simple—yet shocking.
“You mean the energy it emits isn’t of this world?”
“Exactly. It’s energy from the spiritual realm.”
“The spiritual realm?”
Medeia furrowed her brows.
As an elder witch with deep knowledge in sorcery, spiritual energy, and souls—even she had never heard the term.
“What exactly is the spiritual realm?”
“Like the Spirit Realm or Demon Realm, it’s a separate dimension.”
“Then is the World Tree from the spiritual realm?”
“No. Think of the World Tree as a bridge between realms.”
I was the one who reacted to that.
A bridge between realms.
Something about those words disturbed me.
“A bridge? Then does that mean the World Tree lets us use energy from the spiritual realm here?”
“More like, we’re being influenced by it. The spiritual realm’s energy is highly compatible with spirits and beings from other dimensions. That’s why the witches grew stronger quickly, and why spirit- and soul-based beings have begun awakening.”
Fenry’s explanation of the World Tree felt strangely familiar.
I remembered something like it in the novel.
A line from Gram Seraphim.
She had once gathered the Stars and said:
[When this gate opens, the world will change drastically. We’ll gain new power and knowledge, and even encounter ancient beings spoken of only in legend.]
And she had called that gate:
The 6-Star Gate.
It was the event that gave the villains the fastest route to six-star power and beyond.