Anger

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Luctoria, illuminated by the rising morning sun, couldn't help but gasp.

The sight that lay ahead, after pushing through the thick leaves of the jewel-like trees of the Spirit Forest, deeper and deeper...

It was...

A completely ravaged wasteland.

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The grasses and flowers, which must have been beautifully shining... were all torn and withered.

The trees were broken and scattered, lying fallen and tumbled.

The ground was gouged here and there, riddled with holes.

Wood chips of some kind, discolored a dark black, were scattered everywhere.

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...A tremendous battle had taken place here.

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Last night... Luctoria, who was inside the Spirit Forest, had heard the fierce sounds of battle that had likely continued to echo from this place.

She had also seen the giant silhouette that suddenly appeared, illuminated by the starlight and the trees of the Spirit Forest.

That's why she immediately understood the fact.

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Paki, paki, paki...

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Breaking the small, withered twigs underfoot, Luctoria walked through the wasteland, her heart dazed.

Such great destruction... what kind of being could have caused it?

The more she thought about it... the more terrifying it was.

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But.

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"Aha."

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A smile appeared on her face.

Because it was also amusing.

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Because now, there are no spirits in this forest.

Luctoria, who had been advancing through the forest with her heart burning with murderous intent and hatred, had in the end only encountered a single, despicable weasel.

She had not met any other spirits.

Which means, probably.

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The spirits... had fought against the being that caused this great destruction... and were all wiped out?

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Such a speculation was easy to make.

Of course, it was only speculation, but...

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Still, in any case.

At the very least, those abominable magical lifeforms who live in this forest... acting like superior beings, are dead.

That was a certain fact.

It was frustrating, but Luctoria, who despite having abilities beyond her years was still within the frame of a "human," had been able to walk this deep into the forest.

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"Ahahahaha, hahahahahaha!!"

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What... what must their deaths have been like!

What a miserable end did those arrogant spirits meet!

Just imagining it made Luctoria so happy!

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"Hahaha, hahaha... hahahahahaha."

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She was happy... she was happy, but.

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"Don't screw with me... DON'T SCREW WITH MEEEEEEEE!!!"

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It was empty... and it enraged her.

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She had plunged into the forest out of desperation, and in the end, she had only hunted a single, despicable weasel.

Just... one.

Luctoria's life had been ruined.

So, in the same way, she wouldn't be satisfied unless she ruined the spirits as well!

Even now, such thoughts swirled in her heart.

And yet.

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Looking around, there wasn't a single one of those infuriating spirits in sight!

They went and got themselves wiped out!

Before Luctoria could even lay a finger on them!

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"............!"

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Luctoria gnashed her teeth in anger, making a grinding sound.

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On top of that.

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To be honest, Luctoria had been desperate.

She intended to lay down her life to strike a blow against the spirits.

That was her intention.

And yet.

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What she found in the depths of the forest, which she thought was a dead end... was her own life, which would continue from now on.

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Happily, she had failed to die.

Without achieving the battle results she had wished for.

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Happy, angry, sad, empty...

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"Ah, ahhh..."

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The jumble of unnameable emotions that overflowed from Luctoria's chest turned into tears and streamed down her cheeks.

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(I need to calm down a little. Sort out my feelings.)

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However, Luctoria was, according to that despicable weasel, a 'hero's vessel'.

She wiped away her tears with her fist, took a deep breath, and immediately calmed her mind.

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She stopped her feet.

She looked up at the brightening sky and took a breath.

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Quietly... quietly.

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And that's why.

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<<<...Hey!>>>

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She picked up such a voice.

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It was a 【Telepathy】 so faint and small that she would not have been able to hear it if she had been walking.

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Luctoria was surprised and looked for the source of the voice.

And she found it surprisingly quickly.

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It was.

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A small lump... on a dark black, discolored piece of wood.

No, of course, it was not just a lump.

On that lump was a shriveled and withered human face, which must have once been beautiful.

And... it was a face Luctoria recognized.

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<<<Hey, has my voice finally reached you, human!>>>

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That human-faced wood chip, while Luctoria's eyes were wide open, continued to send her 【Telepathy】 with a voice that was still small... but did not hide even a speck of arrogance.

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<<<You can hear me, can't you!? Hurry up and come closer... I am a god! The former Forest Spirit King... the World Tree Odokato Se Kokoririon!>>>

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◇　◇　◇

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Kokoririon was alive!

Felled by Emi, he had lost almost all his power... but, however.

He is now a plant... and a World Tree at that.

Just before he lost consciousness, he sealed his own ego into one of the wood chips.

With a mechanism to awaken after some time had passed.

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And now, at this time, it had awakened.

It had been a gamble, playing dead, but Kokoririon had won the bet.

That evil existence... Emi, didn't seem to be nearby.

She had been splendidly fooled by his feigned death.

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However, the problem was that the amount of magical power remaining in this wood chip was small.

If this continued, sooner or later, his magical power would be exhausted and he would truly perish.

What should he do, Kokoririon was pondering, when... he found her.

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The figure of a girl with golden hair and blue eyes shining in the morning sun, clad in shabby clothes and covered in wounds.

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Why is this girl in such a place?

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Kokoririon didn't care about that.

His magical power was on the verge of exhaustion.

He was desperate.

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<<<I am a god! The former Forest Spirit King... the World Tree Odokato Se Kokoririon!>>>

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To the girl who approached with a surprised expression on her face, Kokoririon announced his name with great dignity.

He is a super-superior being to humans.

To show weakness was unthinkable.

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"............My, what... I have been rude, Your Majesty the Spirit King. My name is Luctoria."

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Then the girl, despite her shabby, prisoner-like appearance, smiled like a noble lady and bowed gracefully.

Kokoririon was slightly impressed by her befitting behavior and was satisfied that the discipline he had imposed on the people of Hyupuet had borne fruit.

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<<<I will now give you an order! Consider it an honor... carry me immediately to the crystal that lies nearby!>>>

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And Kokoririon, maintaining his demeanor as a super-superior being, ordered the girl named Luctoria to do so.

The crystal was, of course, the one in which Mishtille was sealed.

It had been taken into the body of Kokoririon, who had become the World Tree... but it was a foreign object and had not fused with his body.

Therefore, when the greater part of his body collapsed... it had merely been ejected into the outside world, and was unharmed.

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Kokoririon... was planning to supplement his lacking magical power with Mishtille's soul.

To become one with his beloved child is a happiness for a spirit, and Mishtille, being a soul reincarnated by the Spirit God Pirisuyu, possessed a great deal of magical power.

The predation... of Mishtille's soul was a means for Kokoririon to obtain both happiness and magical power at the same time, a single stone to kill two birds.

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However.

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"I am afraid, Your Majesty the Spirit King... I cannot do that."

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Luctoria said such a thing.

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"I am a lowly being, stained with sin, so to touch your revered self is, very, very..."

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And.

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<<<Sin!?>>>

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Kokoririon cried out in a panic.

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<<<Such a thing is of no consequence! I forgive you! I forgive your sin! So carry me to the crystal, quickly!>>>

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"You forgive me...? My, is that truly so?"

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Hearing those words, Luctoria... raised her voice happily!

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<<<Yes, that's right! So...>>>

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"Your Majesty..."

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Kokoririon, however.

Hearing Luctoria's next words—

was left speechless.

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"Your Majesty is saying that you forgive me, Luctoria, who shamelessly 'pretended' to be your beloved child, is that right?"

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Kokoririon gasped—*hyu*.*hyu*.*hyu*.*hyu*.*hyu*.

Luctoria was smiling.

Like a high-ranking noble lady, gracefully, but—

Without expressing any emotion whatsoever.

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"At Your Majesty's kind words, I am so moved my heart feels like it will burst."

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It was only here that Kokoririon finally realized who this girl called Luctoria was.

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"However."

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This one is the "villain".

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"Even if Your Majesty kindly says so, a sin is a sin."

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The "target of condemnation".

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"For me to touch your revered self is..."

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For Kokoririon to become a hero.

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"Unforgivable."

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This was the "role" he had forced upon the girl.

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"So... JUST GO AHEAD AND DIE IN A DITCH, YOU OLD FOOL!!!"

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The next moment!

Just as Luctoria suddenly threw off her lady-like mask and screamed!

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<<<UGYOBOOOOOOOOOOOH!?>>>

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The withered wood chip that housed Kokoririon... was suddenly enveloped in bright red flames and burst into flames!

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<<<H-Hot!! Hot, hot, hot!! I'm burning!! I'm going to burn to a cindeeeeeeer!?>>>

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The flames, using even Kokoririon's little remaining magical power as fuel, burned fiercely, and were clearly flames created by magical power.

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"Oh my..."

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Without an incantation, flames burst into existence as if by magic.

In other words, Luctoria, triggered by the explosive heightening of her emotions... had awakened to a flame ability, or magic, at this very moment.

Instinctively sensing that, Luctoria took her eyes off the burning Kokoririon, lit a flame on her fingertip to confirm her power, and.

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"Aha... ahahahahahaha!"

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Baring her teeth, she laughed ferociously!

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<<<Ah, ah... ahhhhh...>>>

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On the other hand, Kokoririon.

While tormented by the heat and suffering from magical power depletion.

He struggled to survive somehow.

But it was no use.

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<<<Ah, ah... Mishtille... my, beloved...>>>

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He rolled his eyeballs, and in his distorted vision... he somehow managed to catch the crystal, shining in the morning sun.

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<<<I wanted... to become... one...>>>

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He muttered something... some lingering regret, but.

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In the blink of an eye, he became a black cinder... and even that was blown away by the wind and scattered somewhere.

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"Gross."

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Luctoria dismissed Kokoririon's feelings with a single word, then moved her gaze and narrowed her eyes.

What was there... was a crystal, illuminated by the golden light that the sun delivered through the gaps in the trees.

Actually, it had already been cracking in various places, big and small, and making *pekipeki* sounds, but at this point.

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Pakin!

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With a loud sound, it shattered.

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Inside that crystal was a silver-haired girl with features very similar to Luctoria's... Mishtille.

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Even after the crystal shattered and, for some reason, sizzled and disappeared into smoke, Mishtille lay there without moving for a while, but.

Finally... after a few dozen seconds had passed.

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"Ugh... nnn...?"

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With a small groan.

She slowly opened her blue eyes.