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Chapter 188 - Sanctuary of the Elves. Elfo Sagrado (1)

It was an extremely peculiar thing.

The space that had transformed outside was small.

At most, it was the size of a small park.

But what lay before him was an incredibly vast plain.

It felt as if the space itself had been compressed.

Ketal stood dazed, staring at the scenery unfolding before him.

A colossal golden tree, tall enough to touch the sky and as thick as a mountain.

A village was formed around the World Tree.

It wasn\'t in the form of a typical village.

It was a village attached to the trunk of the towering World Tree.

There were several houses made by weaving giant leaves among the branches.

Various buildings extended high up along the trunk of the World Tree.

It was a village that ascended upwards.

There were gaps between the trunks for ascending and descending.

And flowers blooming in full around the World Tree.

The smell of nature was so intense that it stung his nose.

This was the sacred ground of the elves. Elfo Sagrado.

It was a landscape that seemed to materialize a fantasy.

“Oh, oh….”

His body trembled with emotion.

It felt like he might cry.

The queen smiled and walked forward.

“Let\'s go.”

“Yes….”

Ketal barely managed to compose himself.

They walked towards the World Tree.

A massive wall surrounded the World Tree, seemingly for its protection.

There was an elf guarding the entrance.

“Hm? Aren\'t you the queen of the Blossom Petal Tribe? Why have you brought the children to the sacred ground?”

The elf asked with a startled face.

The queen spoke with a grave expression.

“We were attacked by dark magicians.”

The queen explained the situation.

The village was attacked by dark magicians, and many elves were killed.

The children here were survivors.

The elf was horrified upon hearing the circumstances.

“Th-that can\'t be….”

“May we stay in the sacred ground until the dark magicians leave?”

“O-of course. Those damn dark magicians… please, come in.”

The elf gritted his teeth and let the children into the sacred ground.

The children cautiously entered the wall.

“Thank you.”

“No need. We\'ll hear the details later. Then, who… who is he?”

The elf looked at Ketal with curious eyes.

Ketal smiled.

“Nice to meet you.”

“…Is he someone the queen invited to the sacred ground?”

Each queen of the tribes is given one or two red gems.

They are invitations to bring a trustworthy person from another race to the sacred ground. The elf on guard thought the queen had invited Ketal.

The queen shook her head.

“It wasn\'t me. He was invited by another elf.”

“What?”

Ketal stepped forward.

The elf instinctively stepped back.

“I was invited to the sacred ground by Marsilia Hasianne Calusia, queen of the brown-leaf tribe.”

“…Marsilia?”

The elf was visibly startled by the unexpected name.

Ketal continued.

“And High Elf Arkamis also invited me.”

“Ar-Arkamis?”

The elf\'s pupils widened.

He looked at Ketal with a very startled face.

Ketal spoke calmly.

“May I enter your sacred ground?”

* * *

Ketal sat in a chair in an interrogation room near the wall.

He looked around the reception room with a pleased expression.

Although it was made by cutting down trees, it didn\'t have the artificial feeling of human architecture.

It felt as if it was made by weaving the natural form of the trees.

It was like seeing a unique modern building, which was interesting.

Ketal took a teacup with a joyful face.

“Oh. This is quite a good tea.”

Ketal exclaimed after taking a sip.

The aroma and taste were excellent.

It was a quality he had never experienced, even with the genetically improved teas on Earth.

“…These tea leaves are grown in the sacred ground. It’s a precious tea permitted only to the elves.”

“Drinking something like this feels great.”

Ketal smiled brightly.

The elf sitting in front of him looked at Ketal with a peculiar expression.

“My name is Ketal. What is yours?”

“…I am Ash, captain of the guard protecting the sacred ground of Elfo Sagrado.”

“Ash. Nice to meet you.”

The elf on guard was visibly flustered upon hearing Ketal’s introduction.

After stammering for a moment, he soon called his captain.

The captain saw Ketal and led him to the reception room, leading to the current situation.

“…You say you received a gem from Marsilia.”

“Yes. Are they doing well? They had settled in a rather dangerous place.”

“There are no problems. We’ve been in contact recently.”

"Ah, that\'s a relief."

He was a bit worried because it was near the snowfield, but fortunately, there didn\'t seem to be any problems.

Ketal looked relieved, and Ash looked at Ketal even more strangely.

Ash, who had been watching Ketal for a while, opened his mouth.

"So you know Arkamis as well. I heard from her that you are in a mentor-mentee relationship. Is that correct?"

"Oh. You know about that. It seems you talk to Arkamis often."

"She sometimes grabs me to vent whenever she’s stressed. Among those vents, there were stories about a peculiar human. You must be that human."

Ash looked at Ketal with a very peculiar expression.

It was as if he couldn\'t understand.

"Is that so? So you are the human that Arkamis mentioned... You have quite a unique taste."

"Taste?"

"No. Never mind."

Ash shook his head.

He thought as he observed Ketal.

\'...He doesn\'t look particularly strong.\'

Ash was the captain of the guard protecting the sacred ground.

He was exceptionally skilled.

He possessed strength at a superhuman level.

But from his perspective, Ketal\'s strength didn\'t seem that impressive.

No matter how he looked, he could only see third-rate mystical power.

\'But Arkamis said this human was very strong.\'

A High Elf would never lie.

Ash scrutinized Ketal more closely.

\'...I do feel a strange sense of intimidation.\'

It was an aura like that of a predator, not a human.

Ash, being strong himself, could ignore it, but most weaker elves would be terrified and lose their rationality.

Third-rate mystical power.

And an intimidating aura like that of a predator.

He was a very peculiar human.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing."

Ash, who had been silently observing Ketal, quickly came to his senses at Ketal\'s words and spoke.

"First of all, I want to thank you for helping the elf tribe. You are fully qualified to enter the sacred ground."

He had the red gem given only to queens, and he was invited by the noble High Elf.

There was no reason or justification to refuse.

However, not everyone invited could enter the sacred ground of the elves.

From ancient times, few were invited by the elves to the sacred ground, and only a very few of those were granted the right to touch the World Tree.

"You must pass a test."

"A test."

Ketal muttered with an intrigued expression.

Marsilia had told him that he would have to pass a divine test in the sacred ground, so he had expected this.

"What kind of test is it?"

"This is our sacred ground."

The elves\' sacred ground had existed since before the birth of the elf race.

It was a place akin to their origin, and it had remained unchanged from those times to the present.

It had to maintain its purity.

If the World Tree in the sacred ground were to be tainted, the elf race itself could be in danger.

They were sensitive to the entry of those tainted from the outside.

Whether it was their nature, power, or essence, none of it could be twisted.

Purity had to be maintained.

"What exactly does purity mean?"

"Exactly as it sounds. Your power must be accumulated in a natural way, not through alien methods, and your soul must not be tainted. The same goes for your body. Your character must also be upright."

"That’s strict."

"It’s natural since this is our sacred ground. The purity of your existence must be proven to enter."

"How do I prove it?"

"It’s simple."

Ash showed him a prepared pot.

In the center of the pot, a seed was planted.

"This seed is a test seed given to us by the spirit god. Drop one drop of your blood on this seed. If your essence is tainted, a rotten plant will sprout. If you are pure, an ordinary flower will bloom."

"Oh, is that how it works."

Ketal looked intrigued.

Ash was slightly surprised by his attitude.

Normally, one might feel reluctant about being forcefully tested for purity by outsiders, but this barbarian simply looked delighted.

"…I’ll provide a tool to draw your blood."

"No need. It probably won\'t work anyway. I’ll do it myself."

"Hm? If you insist."

Ash was puzzled but did not press further.

Ketal lightly pressed the tip of his finger with his nail.

Blood soon flowed out as the skin was pressed.

"Is one drop enough?"

"It is."

One drop of blood from Ketal fell onto the seed.

And the change happened immediately.

Ketal looked at the pot with fascination.

"A flower has bloomed. I wonder how it works."

With just a drop of blood, a flower had bloomed from the seed in an instant.

Ketal looked at the flower with a curious expression.

Ash frowned.

"…A white flower."

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, it’s not that."

Rather, it was more puzzling because there was nothing wrong.

Ketal had only been told that either a withered flower or an ordinary flower would bloom, but there were actually more detailed distinctions.

The color of the flower was one such indicator.

Depending on the color change, one could determine the degree of purity of the subject.

And a white flower was the highest grade, which made it even more surprising.

‘...Why is it a white flower?’

A white flower indicated the highest level of purity.

For such a flower to bloom, the essence, nature, power, and even the very blood had to be pure.

This type of flower usually bloomed for special races like High Elves.

For humans, whose blood is mixed in various ways, it was impossible for a white flower to bloom.

Yet, the flower that had bloomed in the pot was a perfectly clean white.

‘What is this?’

Ash was slightly perplexed.

But even more astonishing things began to happen.

Ketal, looking at the pot, tilted his head.

"It seems the flower is continuing to grow."

"...What?"

Ash, regaining his composure, looked at the pot.

Just as Ketal said, the flower was slowly growing.

Its size increased, and the stem continued to lengthen.

"Is this normal?"

"No. When a flower blooms, that\'s where it stops. Even if it grows, it usually stops after a slight growth."

As soon as those words left his mouth, the flower\'s growth accelerated.

The petals swelled, multiple flowers began to bloom, and the stem stretched further and further.

In no time, it started reaching the ceiling.

"This, this is!"

Ash, panicking, pulled out a dagger.

He swung it, intending to cut the stem with wind wrapped around the blade.

Slash.

"Ouch!"

But instead, Ash was repelled.

Quickly regaining his balance, his face was filled with shock.

"No!"

The flower\'s role was merely to determine the subject\'s purity.

It was supposed to be an ordinary flower.

Yet, it had repelled his blade.

This was an impossible situation.

Meanwhile, the flower continued to grow, now filling the room and even starting to spill out the window.

"It seems this isn\'t a normal situation."

Ketal wielded his axe.

The black axe swung down, cutting the stem.

Slice.

The stem, which had repelled Ash\'s dagger, was easily cut by Ketal’s axe.

The flower fell, squirmed for a moment, then lay still.

Ash, in a daze, looked at Ketal with wide eyes.

Then he cautiously asked,

"...Are you perhaps not human, but a dragon?"