Chapter 378

Chapter 378

Zeon was sitting on a large tree branch.

It was the largest tree in the Black Forest.

If someone said this tree had been nothing more than a tiny sprout just a few days ago, no one would believe it.

Zeon accepted it only because he had seen and experienced it himself. If he had only heard it in words, even he would not have believed it.

“Wahaha!”

“Try and catch me.”

“Hehe!”

Children were running around beneath the tree.

Human and Dark Elf children were playing together in one group.

The children ran between the trees and laughed brightly. Perhaps the children’s laughter had infected the adults too, because everyone working wore warm smiles.

Only ten days had passed since Yuri was born.

In that short time, if one could call it short, the forest had almost regained its old appearance.

Before that astonishing miracle, humans and Dark Elves became one.

The human Awakened guarded the outskirts of the forest, and in the meantime, the Dark Elves cared for the trees.

Thanks to the powder Yuri had scattered, they accelerated the growth of the rapidly growing trees.

If they grew just a little more, they would be able to make houses from the trees, just as they had in Kurayan.

Because of that, every Dark Elf was working hard to grow their own house.

Briel was also among the Dark Elves.

A bright smile hung on Briel’s face as she touched the soil with her sleeves rolled up.

Even though her entire body was dirtied with soil, she did not care.

Because it was not the stuffy sand she had grown sick of stepping on all this time.

It was black soil full of life force.

At the sensation of touching pitch-black soil for the first time in their lives, not only Briel but even the Dark Elves could not come to their senses.

Josephine, who had become Briel’s friend, picked up a handful of soil and said,

“Look at this! Briel. A sprout is growing here too.”

“It really is!”

Briel’s eyes went round.

Even from the soil held in Josephine’s hand, an unknown grass was shyly revealing itself.

Josephine smiled brightly and said,

“See? Now the whole forest will be covered in grass like this.”

“Yeah! It’ll be so beautiful.”

Briel closed her eyes for a moment and pictured the forest covered in green grass.

A green island existing alone in the middle of the desert.

Its small size was a little regrettable, but the denser the forest became, the more its territory would gradually expand.

As its scale grew like that, she imagined happily that someday the entire Earth might regain its greenery again.

Josephine carefully set the soil down on the ground so the sprout she had been holding would not be damaged, then took Briel’s hand.

“Why?”

“Let’s go! There’s a child I’ve marked as your tree.”

“Really?”

“I told you, didn’t I? That I’d raise a tree for you. I already got the adults’ permission too. Hurry, let’s go.”

“Mm!”

Briel followed Josephine with a delighted expression.

From atop the tree, Zeon watched Briel and Josephine disappear into the far side of the forest hand in hand.

At that moment, Levin, in Ghost Transformation, landed beside Zeon.

“She looks like she’s dying of happiness. At this rate, she might say she won’t go home.”

“If that’s Briel’s decision, we should respect it.”

“Wouldn’t you be sad if that happened?”

“What do you think?”

“I’d be sad, but if it’s for Briel’s sake, I’d have to accept it.”

“I feel the same. To elves, a forest is the source of life. They say they’re a race that originally couldn’t live apart from forests, so if Briel wants that, we should let her.”

The two men wore similar smiles.

They sincerely wished for Briel to become happy. If she was happy here, they were willing to let Briel stay.

As if suddenly remembering something, Zeon asked,

“Right, what about the monsters?”

“That’s the strange thing. They’ve all disappeared.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know if it’s because of Gaia, but I don’t see any griffins or wyverns.”

Whenever Levin had time, he flew through the sky and scouted. But strangely, all the flying monsters had disappeared after that day.

The monsters that had gone mad because they could not devour the spirit vanished the moment the spirit was actually born.

Whether that was because of Yuri, or because of Gaia beside it, he could not know.

At that moment, Levin suddenly frowned.

“L-look at that. Ugh, it’s sickening to watch......”

His gaze was directed at Gaia and Yuri.

The two were swimming through the sky stuck close together, as if they were making love.

―Beeep!

Gaia’s happy cry rang through the sky.

Each time, the Dark Elves tending the trees lifted their heads and looked at Gaia.

The faces of the Dark Elves looking at Gaia were full of smiles.

As if enjoying their gazes, Gaia spun its streamlined body once in the air. Yuri quickly followed and spun together with it.

“At this rate, they might really end up having a child.”

“I know.”

“No! Gaia is still young.”

“If we put it that way, Yuri is even more impossible. It’s only been a few days since she was born.”

“That’s true too. Anyway, that means it can’t happen, right?”

“Who knows? The lives of spirits are different from ours.”

Zeon looked at Gaia with a smile.

At that moment, Floa climbed up the tree where Zeon and Levin were sitting.

“So this is where you were. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

“For us? Why?”

“I think it’s about time we discussed how to protect this forest.”

Floa’s face looked noticeably gaunt.

That was only natural, since for the past several days, she had been discussing how to protect this forest with Go Du-won and the elderly Dark Elves.

If one compared it to a person, the forest was now in infancy.

Depending on how it passed through this period, it could become lush, or it could be ruined again.

The other Dark Elves were simply excited at the thought that they had regained a forest, but she had no choice but to worry about how they could effectively protect the forest from the outside.

Zeon asked her with a puzzled expression.

“What is there to discuss with me? You can just do whatever was decided in the meeting......”

“That’s because we need your help.”

“My help?”

“We’re planning to set up a great barrier until the forest becomes complete. The forest still needs protection.”

The conclusion reached after long discussion was to set up a great barrier around the forest.

“A great barrier? Are you saying a barrier that can hide this entire forest exists?”

“Fortunately, one of the adults in the village inherited the method for setting up a great barrier. In our old village, it was impossible because we had neither the materials nor a spirit, but he said it should be possible here.”

“That’s a relief.”

Zeon looked genuinely relieved.

The future of Earth would change depending on how this place was preserved and tended.

If the existence of this forest became known, there would not be just one or two beings who would covet it.

Neo Seoul, Scavengers, other elves, and countless nonhuman races.

All of them would surely want this abundant forest.

The moment the forest was exposed to the outside, all of them would flock here to seize it.

To protect the forest from them, a great barrier was essential.

Zeon asked,

“You said I’m needed to set up the great barrier?”

“Mm! He said we absolutely need your help.”

“If it’s something I can do, of course I’ll help. Let’s go.”

Zeon rose from the tree branch.

“Thank you! I will never forget this favor.”

“That’s enough. I’m not doing this to receive thanks. I’m doing it because it’s absolutely necessary for everyone’s survival, so you don’t need to be so grateful.”

“Even so, the fact that you’re our benefactor doesn’t change.”

“Come on......”

At Floa’s stubbornness, Zeon could only laugh helplessly.

---

The place Floa brought Zeon was the clearing at the center of the village.

In the past, it had simply been an empty, bleak place, but now trees and grass had grown around it, giving it a fair amount of charm.

Dozens of rocks large enough for people to sit on were placed in the clearing.

They were rocks from the corpse of the Rock Crocodile that had attacked the Black Forest.

Since rocks were also valuable materials, the people did not throw them away and instead placed them throughout the forest like this.

“Welcome, Lord Zeon!”

“Lord Zeon!”

When Zeon appeared with Floa, everyone gathered there rose from their seats and welcomed him.

At their center was Go Du-won.

The human Awakened and Dark Elves had united firmly around Go Du-won, the Village Chief.

Go Du-won, who had felt awkward at first, seemed to have adapted now, and was coordinating the opinions of both sides well.

“Welcome.”

“I heard you decided to protect the village with a great barrier?”

“It was everyone’s decision. We decided to protect it until the forest and village gain self-sufficiency. If I followed my heart, I’d open the village and accept many people, but everyone says it’s too early.”

“I think that’s better too. If you open it carelessly, there’s no telling what kind of beings may enter this place. Until you gain enough strength to protect the forest and village, you should cut yourselves off from the outside.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Go Du-won had also agonized over it a great deal.

Whether it was right not to open this forest, and whether it was a selfish decision made only for their own sake.

Because of that, he had not slept properly for several days. But hearing Zeon’s answer like this made him feel a little relieved.

At that moment, an elderly Dark Elf approached Zeon.

His face was full of wrinkles, making it impossible to tell how long he had lived. Even so, his eyes were clear and deep, without the slightest trace of cloudiness.

The Dark Elf suddenly knelt on one knee and paid respects to Zeon.

“Teriuden of the Dark Elf race greets the benefactor of the forest.”

“You don’t need to do this.”

“No. Lord Zeon, you are the benefactor of us Dark Elves. Our clan living in this forest will never forget your grace.”

At Teriuden’s firm attitude, Zeon could not hide his troubled expression. Being treated with excessive courtesy like this made him feel as if hives would break out all over his body. But since an elderly elf was paying respects this politely, he could not simply refuse.

In the end, Zeon had no choice but to wait until Teriuden’s greeting ended.

Fortunately, Teriuden soon rose.

“I apologize if this old man’s actions made you uncomfortable, Lord Zeon. But as the eldest member of the clan, I could not help but pay my respects.”

“Please don’t do this again.”

“I understand.”

“I heard you know about the great barrier?”

“Yes! Our village in Kurayan also had a great barrier cast around it. I participated in that work. After reviewing the matter with everyone, I concluded that a great barrier can be cast here as well. However, it is impossible with my strength alone. The help of everyone here and of Lord Zeon is absolutely necessary.”

“My help?”

“We must alter the terrain surrounding the village so that it is suitable for setting up the great barrier. It would be good if there were sand mountains in the four directions around the village, east, west, south, and north.”

“Mountains......”

Only then did Zeon understand why Teriuden had sought him out.

The area around the Black Forest was practically flat.

Because of that, it was not suitable for defending against monsters.

“How high do they need to be?”

“They do not have to be very high. About one hundred meters should be enough to bury the sacred objects.”

“Sacred objects?”

“They are treasures of our clan that we have carefully preserved since Kurayan. These sacred objects will become the foundation of the great barrier through their mutual interaction. Of course, several other tasks must be done as well, but they are not things Lord Zeon needs to concern himself with. Lord Zeon only needs to make the sand mountains where the sacred objects will be installed.”

They were sacred objects that had been carefully preserved since Kurayan.

They were treasures so precious that they had not used them even in the village occupied by orcs.

The fact that they would use such sacred objects meant the Dark Elves were also staking their lives on this place.

Zeon confirmed,

“One hundred meters is enough?”

“Yes! That will be sufficient.”

“Understood. Let’s start right away.”

“Right now?”

“If you’re going to set it up anyway, isn’t the sooner the better?”

Since he had rested fully for the past few days, Zeon’s condition was at its peak.

Zeon immediately left the village and used his control.

Whoooosh!

Wind blew in.

It was a storm mixed with sand.

The sandstorm grew fiercer as time passed.

Zeon’s figure was hidden by the sandstorm and could not be seen.

The sandstorm cleverly veered around the village.

After the sandstorm, which had raged without pause for two hours, vanished, four tall mountains had appeared around the Black Forest.