Chapter 75

Chapter 75. Feeding Frenzy

'The Dragon of Catastrophe lives up to its name.'

I stared blankly down at Angragon.

The vile, viscous demonic energy that had been pouring from the World Tree's branch had vanished in an instant.

No -- it hadn't vanished. It had been stored wholesale inside the creature's belly.

Burrrrp.

Angragon let out a satisfied belch, as if its stomach were full.

Its frame had grown a touch larger.

Where before it had been roughly puppy-sized, it now looked like a sturdy medium-sized dog.

The color of its scales had deepened too, and they seemed harder.

DING!

[Vassal 'Angragon' has digested a vast quantity of demonic energy.]

[Growth accelerated!]

['Angragon' has exited the infant stage and entered the toddler stage.]

The toddler stage.

The explanation that followed was quite detailed.

[The toddler stage is a period in which autonomy forms and rules and social norms are learned.]

[A critical developmental phase in which imagination and play abilities increase, based on attachment with the owner.]

[Vassal's intelligence dramatically increases.]

[Vassal's level rises to 50!]

"......"

For a moment, I was lost for words.

My jaw refused to close.

"Level 50?"

I rubbed my eyes, thinking I'd misread.

But the number stubbornly pointed at 50.

Absurd.

In the Tower's ecosystem, Level 50 meant combat power on par with or exceeding a high-grade monster.

And this creature had only just entered the 'toddler stage.'

Still a baby that hadn't fully shed its infant form.

'What the hell is its level going to be as an adult?'

I couldn't even imagine.

Hundreds? Perhaps more.

This was the moment I felt in my bones that the title 'primordial calamity' was no exaggeration.

KYAAAH!

Angragon wagged its tail happily and rubbed its body against my leg.

Just like a puppy begging for more food.

I let out a hollow laugh and stroked the beast's hardened skull.

This creature was a walking jackpot if ever there was one.

It had solved a thorny problem this easily, growing itself in the process.

'Now then.'

I turned my gaze back to the table.

There sat a single branch -- pale, smooth, and stripped clean of all demonic energy.

I examined it closely, and the relevant information surfaced.

DING!

[Purified World Tree Branch]

[Description: A pure World Tree branch from which all demonic energy and grudges have been completely removed. Plant it in the soil of your territory and continuously infuse Divine Power to take root and grow.]

"Perfect."

I picked up the purified branch.

All I had to do now was plant it in the deepest, most fertile soil of my territory.

A lifeline to save the divine maidens, and the absolute icon that would transform Floor 55 into Asgard's mightiest fortress.

All preparations were complete.

I left the sealed chamber with Angragon.

To put down new roots of life in my domain.

***

Floor 387 of the Tower.

Upon a throne at the peak of a mountain battered by endless storms.

Heimdal sat at an angle, swirling his Nectar chalice, gazing down below.

A faint smile hung on his lips.

'He should be struggling quite a bit by now.'

Rag.

That impudent Apostle God had taken the World Tree branch and gone back.

He'd talked big about making it work, but Heimdal could see the outcome clearly.

'He's bound to fail.'

The demonic energy and grudges dwelling within a World Tree defy imagination.

The curdled dregs of countless worlds' destruction.

Only Supreme Tier gods in all of Asgard could fully purify them.

Granted, there were a handful of exceptional high-ranking gods who possessed near-miraculous Divine Power.

But those were truly the rarest of the rare.

For lesser and mid-tier gods, this was effectively an impossible task.

'Irregular as Rag may be.'

Even if he wielded a Principality's blade, even if he harbored something connected to Force Majeure.

Purifying that overwhelming demonic energy wasn't a matter of sheer strength -- it was a matter of Caliber.

"Let him taste the bitterness of failure."

Heimdal murmured quietly.

What he wanted wasn't a miracle.

He'd never harbored any far-fetched hope that Rag would actually grow the World Tree.

His true intent lay elsewhere.

'Feel the limits carved into your very bones.'

Until now, the lad had been winning too easily, too perfectly.

His arrogance was sky-high.

Heimdal liked that arrogance, yes, but to grow into a true powerhouse, Rag needed to hit a wall.

He needed to taste a frustration he absolutely couldn't overcome, then learn to kneel once more and ask for help.

'So that it becomes the fuel to grow faster, fiercer.'

A trial imposed by Heimdal.

Of course, even if Rag came back, Heimdal couldn't directly help.

Even if he purified the demonic energy himself, a World Tree wouldn't take root in a territory whose owner's Caliber didn't match.

In the end, his plan was to make Rag give up.

'He'll burn the whole branch with his Principality blade, then come stomping back up here fuming.'

Heimdal chuckled to himself.

Just imagining Rag's scrunched-up, frustrated face was already entertaining.

That was when it happened.

DING!

The air across all of Asgard vibrated faintly.

"......?"

Heimdal froze mid-sip.

An enormous golden message window blazed to life in the sky.

[An Unprecedented miracle has occurred!]

[A 'World Tree' has sprouted in Rag's territory on Floor 55 of the Tower.]

[A cradle of life has been established.]

[Floor 55's Mana density rises dramatically.]

[Rag's achievement is once again recorded in the Hall of the Gods!]

"......"

SHATTER.

The golden chalice slipped from Heimdal's hand and burst into pieces on the floor.

Sweet Nectar spilled across the frozen marble.

But Heimdal didn't even register it.

He simply stared -- blankly, vacantly -- at the message window hovering in the air.

His eyes shook violently.

"This......"

His lips trembled.

"What in the absolute......"

Words failed him.

Once again, common sense had been ground to dust.

By Rag.

***

It was pandemonium of shock and disbelief.

All of Asgard was turned on its head.

"The Banquet was barely days ago!"

"How is this possible?! A World Tree?!"

The gods' astonishment spread like a tidal wave.

It had been mere days since the Banquet, where Rag had beaten dozens of Apostle Gods bloody.

They'd barely finished reeling from that overwhelming display of martial might.

And now it wasn't might -- it was a miracle.

"Heimdal must have helped!"

Someone shouted, but scoffs and rebuttals swiftly followed.

"Don't be an idiot. Even with Heimdal's help, a World Tree can't sprout in someone else's territory if the Caliber doesn't match! It won't even take root!"

"And how did he purify that insane demonic energy in such a short time?!"

There was no explanation.

The grudges within weren't something a lesser god could handle.

A horrific mass of filth that even Supreme Tier gods would balk at.

And he'd purified it flawlessly and coaxed it into life.

"What manner of creature is he......"

As of now, Rag had become an existence no one could casually touch.

The shield of being Heimdal's Apostle God.

The overwhelming martial prowess of wielding a Principality's blade.

And now an S-grade territory housing a World Tree.

He wore only the shell of a lesser god.

In truth, he was already encroaching upon the upper echelon's domain.

"......"

Supreme Tier gods of other factions quietly licked their lips.

The leaders of the Biological Lineage. The rulers of the Material Lineage.

To their eyes, Rag was no longer merely Heimdal's chess piece.

'A tempting hand to hold.'

A timber too great to keep under Heimdal's shade.

Several of them began to move in secret.

To coax and recruit Rag into their own faction by any means necessary -- or at least to win him over and keep him close.

Toward the once-quiet Floor 55, Asgard's power brokers were reaching out with greedy hands.

***

I stood with arms crossed, looking down at the earth behind the golden temple.

WOOOONG.......

A sacred pulse.

A small sapling, radiating blue light, growing from the center of the soil.

The sprouted World Tree.

I'd simply planted the purified branch in the ground and poured in a bit of Nectar, and it had grown on its own.

'It grows fast.'

Within days of planting, it had already shot past my height.

Blue leaves pulsed with vitality, exponentially raising Floor 55's Mana density.

But.

"Quite the appetite."

I clicked my tongue.

The rapid growth was welcome, but it was vacuuming up Nectar at an equally voracious rate.

Every drop I poured into the soil was absorbed instantly.

'Well, that's fine.'

I had thirty Fragments of the Broken Golden Rule from Episode 4.

Converted to Nectar, that was thirty million.

There was absolutely no reason to worry about feeding one tree.

The real issue lay elsewhere.

'Maintenance.'

No matter how much Nectar I had, I couldn't spend all day standing beside this tree with a watering can.

I needed to be out there hunting gods and fortifying my position for the next Episode.

I turned my head and looked at the girls kneeling in a row behind me.

The divine maidens I'd brought from the Banquet.

They still gazed up at me with eyes caught between fear and resignation.

"I'm entrusting the care of this World Tree to you."

Silence fell.

The divine maidens exchanged baffled glances.

"You said you'd been raised all your lives eating World Tree leaves. That your bodies can't survive without its energy."

I jerked my chin toward the growing World Tree.

"Now you can live. Tend this tree and raise it well. Pick the leaves, collect the dew -- survive however you see fit."

"......"

"And furthermore."

I pointed to the ancient warriors standing squarely before them -- the Four Barbarian Brothers.

"Turan and the Barbarians -- I command you."

"By your command, my lord!"

"Take charge of training these children. Rebuild them from the basics. Bodies raised on World Tree energy should be brimming with potential."

At my order, the divine maidens' eyes went wide as saucers.

"Learn to wield a weapon and to channel Mana."

I spoke coldly to the divine maidens.

"Prove your worth to me."

"......"

"Throw away the weak past of being nothing but offerings at the gods' Banquet. I have absolutely no intention of using you as playthings in my territory, so set your minds at ease and sharpen yourselves."

In that instant.

The divine maidens' eyes shook violently.

They would live.

With a World Tree here, they could survive.

They wouldn't be reduced to playthings.

They wouldn't burn to death.

Instead, they'd been given a sword and the chance to build the strength to protect themselves.

In this mad world of Asgard, for girls who bore the fate of mortals, it was a 'freedom' and a 'salvation' they'd never dared even imagine.

"Ah......"

Hot tears rolled down several maidens' cheeks.

"Thank you...... O great master......"

They pressed their heads to the floor and wept.

These were not the tears of despair and resignation.

They were tears of resolve -- a vow to survive, to stake their lives and prove their worth to this master.

I nodded evenly and headed for the sealed chamber.

The foundation of my territory was laid.

My fighting power was growing ever more solid.

And then, perhaps three days later.

"Master."

Seria knocked and entered.

Her face was a mix of difficulty and wariness.

"What is it?"

"Well......"

Seria set a bundle of parchment scrolls on the table.

Dozens of them, each adorned with lavish gold leaf and Mana seals.

"Requests for audiences with you are pouring in."

She continued, looking troubled.

"From lesser and mid-tier gods, of course, but...... even high-ranking gods of other factions have formally requested to meet with you, Master."

I couldn't help but smirk.

Of course.

After drawing this much attention, it'd be stranger if the flies didn't swarm.

"Will you see any of them?"

Seria asked carefully.

I leaned back in my chair.

Their aims were obvious.

They wanted to win me over by whatever means.

A promising prospect.

A lesser god who'd advanced an Archangel to Principality and even taken root with a World Tree.

Who, on top of all that, enjoyed Heimdal's favor.

But that wouldn't be all.

A rapidly shifting landscape.

To navigate these rapids, a 'variable' like me was indispensable.

I rifled through every letter.

Then fixed my gaze on one and spoke slowly.

"Tell the High-ranking God 'Reinhardt' that I'll meet him."

"R-Reinhardt? That would be...... the god known as the 'Dragon Emperor.' The one who commands one of Asgard's most powerful legions, the Dragon Legion......"

"I know."

Could anyone know 'Reinhardt' better than I did?

The most dangerous among the high-ranking gods.

A massive obstacle if I ever clashed with him.

The monster who had slaughtered the most members of the Final Strike Force.

But precisely because of that.

'I need to meet him.'

I had to probe his intentions.

***

Sitting across from Reinhardt, I thought.

'Heavy.'

It felt as if I'd be crushed.

His presence was exactly the same as it had been, then and now.

But I couldn't let myself be cowed.

I asked calmly.

"What brings you to me?"

Reinhardt answered.

"Join the 'Celestial Assembly,' Rag."