50 Chapter 46: The Only Creature That Refuses to be What He Is

As I fell to my doom, the wind whipped my body into a spiral until I finally crashed onto the solid ground.

For a moment, I lost consciousness, but my vision returned to normal within a few seconds. As my hearing and the rest of my senses cleared up, I inhaled a breath of fresh air.

Marigold and Sakimi had landed beside me, and they also recovered from the fall as if an enchanted touch had healed their wounds.

My pegasus had disappeared, though, probably because I had stopped supplying it with mana.

Marigold, Sakimi, and I had landed on an island that was covered in a massive field of flowers. There was a calm beach behind us and a tall iron fence up ahead, blocking off the center of the garden, where rows of apple trees grew.

Suddenly, someone wailed behind me.

"Take that!" Sakimi said.

The lightning strike from earlier had burned her gag, allowing her to speak again. She had grabbed one of Marigold's scattered arrows and used it like a knife.

Marigold had been caught off guard, and the arrow plunged straight into her side. Then, in annoyance, she kicked Sakimi aside and pulled out the arrow. Immediately, Marigold's health returned to full.

Since Sakimi didn't have her staff, she recited an incantation, "Flaming destruction expels my rage! Fireball!"

The projectile went flying into Marigold, but it did no damage.

"What? Flaming destruction expels my rage! Fireball!"

Once again, the spell didn't even give a single burn.

"We're in the Garden of Avalon," I said. "In this place, there's no death, evil, sickness, injury, nor destruction. Even if you cast a spell, you won't be able to hurt anybody."

"Damn you, Hierophant! I'll rip your limbs to pieces and devour your heart!"

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah. If you say so."

At that, I trudged toward the fence, finally arriving in front of a set of gates guarded by two stone knights. They were each carrying a polearm.

When we neared the guards, they abruptly shifted and placed their weapons across the gate to form an X.

If I remember correctly, I would have to offer up all of my possessions to gain passage.

I went to the left statue and placed all of my Szerath next to the base. It was over 300,000 in total.

"If you two have any money, you need to offer it up to the statue," I said to the others.

Marigold placed a few pouches, but Sakimi didn't have any.

Next, I went to the right statue and placed all my gear next to it, including my armor, my weapons, and everything else in my inventory.

Marigold followed suit. Once again, Sakimi didn't place anything there since she didn't have any armor or anything in her pockets.

"What's the point of this?" Sakimi asked.

"To get enter the inner garden, one must shed all worldly possessions," I said.

If you fought against Arboria and lost, you wouldn't die, but you wouldn't be able to get any of your stuff back. On the other hand, if you successfully defeated her, you could retrieve everything.

"All this offering sounds like some cultist crap," remarked Sakimi.

I ignored the girl and stood right in front of the gate. We should have been allowed to enter after offering up our possessions, but nothing was happening.

The two statues spoke simultaneously, asking, "Hierophant, what do you seek?"

I furrowed my eyebrows.

A question? I didn't expect this.

What is it that I seek?

Obviously, I sought to return Sakimi to a human, but were the statues looking for something else? Maybe they mean to ask about my end goal or my purpose in life. No. I shouldn't overthink it.

"To save Sakimi," I answered.

Then, statues said, "Where do you seek it?"

"From the first spirit."

"Hierophant, where are you headed?"

"To the inner garden."

They became silent, and their polearms remained blocking the gate.

"What?" I said. "Did I not answer correctly?"

"Allow me to try," Marigold said.

I stood aside as she walked up to the gates.

The statues asked, "Exalted One, what do you seek."

"True wisdom."

The weapons moved up.

Great! She was making progress.

"Exalted One, where do you seek it?"

"Only within myself."

The weapons moved up again.

"Exalted One, where are you headed?"

"To end the Demon King."

The polearms came back down, blocking the gates once again.

"I must have answered the last one wrong," Marigold said.

Sakimi giggled. "You guys are idiots."

"Do you wanna try?" I asked.

"Nah. I'm good. It's amusing enough to see you all fail."

"Fine," I sighed. Then, I turned to Marigold and said, "Let me go again. Third time's the charm."

"Alright."

The statues asked me, "Hierophant, what do you seek?"

"Peace of mind."

The weapons didn't budge.

"Hierophant, where do you seek it?"

"From escape."

Still, the weapons didn't move.

"Hierophant, where are you headed?"

"To the end of this absurd paradox world."

Then, the statues asked a fourth question, "Who is your enemy?"

I answered without hesitation.

"Myself."

Immediately, the polearms shot straight up, and the gates swung inward, allowing us passage into the inner garden.

"Well done," Marigold said.

"I only tried to be as honest as possible."

Marigold and I crossed to the other side, but one of the statues nearly flatted Sakimi. She only avoided it because she had stepped backward in the nick of time.

"Sakimi," I said. "Did you forget to offer up all your possessions?"

"I keep telling you that my name is Beatrice!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm asking if you forgot to offer everything to the statues."

"Possibly."

"Set it aside so you can go in."

"And why should I listen to you?" she asked.

"Oh, I see what's going on here," I said.

"What're you talking about?"

"You're scared, aren't you?"

"I'm not scared! I don't even know what I should be afraid of!"

"Stop playing dumb," I said. "You're obviously afraid of Arboria. Is she too powerful for you to handle?"

"No! I'm the most powerful mage in this world!"

"I dunno. I'm pretty sure Arboria is way more powerful than you."

Sakimi shook her head. "I'm the strongest!"

"Arboria even has tasty humans that live in her garden, and she eats them to grow stronger every day," I said.

"Tasty humans?"

"That's right."

"And she's hogging them all to herself?"

I shrugged. "I guess so."

"I will kill her and prove that I'm the strongest! Then, I will have a feast!"

Sakimi took a black plush bunny with golden eyes, and she placed it next to the statue on the right. Then, she dropped a few Szerath coins on the left.

I couldn't believe she was about to waltz into the inner garden even though she still had that stuff on her.

"It's that easy?" Marigold asked.

"Yup," I replied. "She's just a prideful little girl at heart."

And I once swore to protect that same prideful little girl. Back when I left Rivenvalius, I was too much of a coward to face her parents again, but I would make it up to them this time. Unlike Ayame, I could still bring back Sakimi.

I may have failed, but at least I'm not a failure.

Once Sakimi crossed into the inner garden, I asked her, "What was that bunny?"

"I don't know. I think I used to have it when I was a human, but it seemed pretty useless."

"You didn't look like you wanted to let go of your stuff. Was the bunny important to you at all?"

"Important? No way! You humans place stupid sentimental value on stuff. We demons only care about the practical!"

"If you say so."

"Anyway," Sakimi said. "Where is this Arboria! I don't even smell any other humans here!"

"Just up ahead," I said.

As we followed the path, the gates closed behind us, locking tight. The road led through an apple orchard, and Arboria should be in the center.

"Does Arboria truly eat humans?" Marigold whispered in my ear.

I kept my voice low, saying, "No. It was a lie."

"Ah. Makes sense."

"What are you two whispering about?" Sakimi asked.

"Nothing," I said.

"By saying 'nothing,' you're implying that you were talking about something important!"

"If you really want to know, Sakimi, we were placing bets on whether or not you could win in a fight against Arboria."

"It's Beatrice! And you both better have betted on me!"

"But if we both betted on you, then neither of us could win anything from the other one," Marigold pointed out.

"Gah! Curse humans and their logic!"

Suddenly, Sakimi tripped and accidentally kicked a spherical object.

"Stupid apple!" she exclaimed.

Then, her stomach rumbled.

"Hmph. I prefer human flesh, but it looks like I'll have to settle for one of these for now."

Sakimi picked an apple from a nearby tree, but I stopped her before she could take a bite.

"Don't eat it!"

"Why? I can eat whatever I want!"

"You'll be cursed!"

"Is that so?"

Sakimi's stomach rumbled again. Just as she placed the fruit in her mouth, I knocked it aside.

"Hey! I'm gonna kill you, you stupid human!"

"I told you not to eat it!"

Sakimi punched me, and then she rammed me with her horns, puncturing my torso.

Even though my health instantly healed back to one-hundred percent, the attack had spilled blood onto the ground.

"Goddammit, Sakimi! You've done it now!"

Getting injured outside the inner garden was fine, but that would be a death sentence here.

"You dare spill blood in my immaculate sanctuary?" a woman's voice boomed.

Gusts of wind blew around us, carrying clouds of pink petals. The air then knocked us all off our feet, depositing us in the garden's center.

It was a massive clearing with a white quartz floor, and an olive tree stood center, not too large nor too small.

Once Marigold, Sakimi, and I hit the ground, the tree turned in our direction, and its bark shifted into a four-legged creature resembling a tortoise. The branches and leaves remained standing on its back, almost like an umbrella.

"What do you outsiders seek from me? Make it quick, for my patience has run dry!"

"I seek your tears," I said.

"Ah, you're one of those disgusting creatures who came come for a fight. Very well."

The olive tree on the tortoise's back withered and dropped all its petals on the ground.

"I am the Earth Mother, Arboria, the one who presides over all of nature. Tremble before Casoh's First Creation!"