Chapter 260

Was he unwilling to respond? Or was he not in a state to answer? No reply came from Forest's soul, which had already become an insignificant ice flower.

[You may not answer, but I need to know.] Sillad reached out and grabbed the ice flower with a fearsome expression.

[Even if I have to squeeze it out of your soul.]

Whoosh— A frosty wind blew from Sillad's mouth.

[King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost, uses Skill: 'Ice Flower Ilusion'.]

Ice Flower Ilusion.

Sillad's spirit magic that showed Suho the image of Cha Hae-In in the Tomb of Berserk Dragons. That chilling wind now wrapped around Forest's ice flower like a rope. And then, a system message appeared before Suho.

Ding!

[Calling forth the traces left on the spiritual body.]

[Do you accept?] 

[Y/N]

'What's this?' Sillad's firm voice reached Suho as he looked at the message.

[Accept it quickly. This insignificant guy, despite his appearance, was quite strong among the high elves who competed with me for the position of Monarch. The fact that he ended up like this is no trivial matter.]

'Traces left on the spiritual body… Are you trying to peek into his memories?'

[Yes. Even though I'm dead, I can still exert this much power against the elves I once ruled.]

Frost.

An aura emanating from Sillad, the dignity of someone who was once a Monarch of a dimension, was overwhelming. Seeing that dignified appearance, Suho's gaze naturally shifted to his side. He and Sillad weren't the only ones in this world. The successor personally chosen by him, Sirka, was also dragged here alongside Suho.

Whoosh—

Sirka was trapped in transparent ice, her eyes closed peacefully in this chaotic storm. It was as if the flow of time for her had frozen along with the ice.

[Don't worry. I temporarily froze her, so she'll be safe for a while.]

The target of this storm of spirits wasn't Suho, but Sirka. It was their alternative after failing to take over his body, but from the spirits' perspective, Sirka would be a much more suitable vessel than Suho. She was an elf, the same race as the high elves who were their original hosts, and her bloodline was even directly descended from the previous Monarch, Sillad.

[Sirka can't handle this quantity of spirits yet. The moment the ice breaks, She will be devoured by them. Accept it quickly.] Sillad urged Suho. The answer was already obvious.

'Accept.' As Suho nodded, a mirage-like illusion bloomed from the ice flower that Sillad was holding.

Whoosh—!

'…Huh?' Suho regained consciousness in a beautiful forest, no longer tormented by the storm. The air was fresh with the scent of grass and flowers, and the Ice Flower Illusion had painted a new scene. Elves frolicked peacefully amongst the trees and beautiful wooden houses, adding to the idyllic illusion. And the last thing that appeared was a giant tree standing tall in the middle of the forest. Suho muttered as he looked at it,

'Elvenwood?'

[Yes, this is the Elvenwood where I used to live.] Sillad's face suddenly appeared in the air, accompanied by a chilling blizzard that swirled around Suho. He looked around the forest with a nostalgic expression and muttered,

[Originally, 'Elvenwood' was the name of that tree you see in the middle. And we elves were nomads who lived around it.] Suho tilted his head. There was a contradiction in those words.

'Lived around the tree? If you're nomads, shouldn't you be moving around?'

[We move around. After the land becomes barren.]

'Becomes barren? What do you mean?'

[Watch. It will begin soon.]

Whoosh—

A chilly wind blew through the forest as Sillad finished speaking. Time seemed to accelerate, and the seasons passed rapidly before his eyes - spring, summer, autumn, winter. The once beautiful forest became desolate; the vibrant leaves withered and fell, leaving bare branches behind. The elves' clothing grew thicker as the temperature dropped, reflecting the harshness of the changing environment.

Whoosh—

What remained was a 'bitter cold.' But even then, there was still something that hadn't changed from the beginning… It was 'Elvenwood.'

[Elvenwood is a spirit tree that provides the optimal environment for elves to live in. Near it, the strength of the spirits increases, and so does the power of elves' spirit magic.]

But nothing in the world was eternal. There was no such thing as an inexhaustible power.

[Elvenwood absorbs all the nutrients around it. And when they are depleted…]

Whoosh—!

[It consumes the elves as nutrients.]

Gasp!

A scream rang out. Elvenwood, which was becoming gaunt due to lack of nutrients, suddenly extended its roots and began to attack the elves. Suho frowned.

'It's a friend to the elves when the land is fertile, but when nutrients are scarce, it consumes the elves as emergency food?'

[Emergency food… That's an appropriate expression.] Sillad muttered bitterly.

[Yes, that's right. I don't want to admit it, but we elves might have been raised as nutrients to be consumed by Elvenwood from the beginning.]

The elves were dying tragically before his eyes. With Elvenwood's sharp roots piercing their bodies, they were withering away, having all their nutrients stolen.

[Even the spirits don't help us in these moments. Spirits are friends of the elves? Heh. Those who spout such nonsense are one of two things.] Sillad's eyes flashed with anger.

[Either young elves who have never experienced this, or…]

'The spirits themselves.'

[Yes.]

Rustle. The corpses of the elves who withered and died from having their nutrients stolen were getting up again before Suho's eyes. Like zombies.

[The spirits target the lifeless, nutrient-depleted bodies of the elves that have been consumed by Elvenwood. Due to our close relationship, the corpses have a strong affinity for them.]

To use spirit magic, one needed a high affinity for spirits. Conversely, this meant that a corpse of such an individual was the perfect vessel for spirits. And…

[??]

Suho saw. Just like with Forest, question marks appeared on the name tags above the elf zombies.

'Now I understand.' He finally realized. Perhaps those question marks meant that the system couldn't identify them. They had already become something that was neither elf nor spirit. And even at this moment, others were competing to enter those shells, pushing aside the spirits that had already settled in.

'Since their essence is constantly changing, they can't be named.'

[Name. Come to think of it, you humans seem to call us ice elves 'white ghosts'.] Sillad stroked his chin and muttered at Suho's words,

[In that sense, it would be appropriate to call those guys 'corrupted ghosts'.]

Ding!

[??] → [Corrupted Ghost]

At Sillad's words, the question marks that were their names changed to 'Corrupted Ghost'. But what did it matter what they were called? Names didn't matter. What was more important was the purpose of those 'Corrupted Ghosts.'

Graaaa—!

The zombie elves, taken over by the spirits, moved sluggishly and began to slaughter all living creatures they could see outside the withered forest. And they dragged the corpses back to Elvenwood.

'Are they bringing nutrients for the Elvenwood themselves?'

[Yes. It's the so-called symbiosis. A relationship where they use each other for their own benefit. In fact, we elves are the same. Look at that.]

'…!'

Come to think of it, not all the elves were annihilated and turned into Corrupted Ghosts. Where Sillad pointed, those who survived by avoiding Elvenwood's rampage were desperately escaping. And Suho spotted 'Forest' among those survivors, running away in a panic. Since this illusion itself was a mirage that came from his memories, the scene of Forest escaping among the elves scattering and running away wasn't why Suho was surprised. All the surviving elves running away in a panic, had 'fruits' in their arms.

'Those fruits, don't tell me?'

[…Yes. They're the fruits of Elvenwood. More precisely, they're 'seeds.']

'Are they trying to grow Elvenwood again after all this?'

[That's why I said it's symbiosis.] Sillad was also looking at Forest's back with a bitter expression.

[No matter what, elves need Elvenwood to survive. The same goes for the spirits. At least until all the nutrients in the area are depleted, Elvenwood and the spirits pretend to be 'friends of the elves.']

'…'

Forest, who managed to escape Elvenwood's rampage, arrived at a new land. He found the most fertile ground, dug into it, and planted the fruit. As he performed spirit magic there, a new Elvenwood sprouted. That shoot quickly absorbed the fertile nutrients growing rapidly, and a new elf village was born around it. Suho nodded.

'So that's why they're nomads.'

[Yes. To grow Elvenwood, they have to constantly wander in search of fertile land.]

Meanwhile, time passed quickly in the illusion. The new home they obtained after much hardship quickly withered again. And the same situation repeated. Elvenwood attacked the elves. Corrupted Ghosts were born. And Forest once more escaped with a fruit in his hand, searching for a new land. And once again, he planted Elvenwood in fertile land. While watching this whole series of events, Suho suddenly became curious.

'But Sillad, why can't I see you?'

This whole illusion was Forest's memory. And Forest said he once lived and competed with Sillad. But why couldn't he see Sillad among all these survivors?

[You're asking why you can't see me among the survivors? It's only natural.] Sillad's lips curled up at Suho's question. That expression was clear confidence.

[Because I didn't run away.]

'What?' Sillad answered proudly,

[I am the only high elf who didn't run away from the rampaging Elvenwood. That is why I, Sillad, am called King of the Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost.]

Whoosh—

A gust of icy wind blew just in time.

[Friends with the spirits?] Sillad scoffed and grinned, revealing his teeth.

[The one who rules the spirits, that is the Monarch.]