Lilith (3)
Lee Bong-Yeol's appearance had completely changed the tide of the battlefield.
Crack, crack-
The entire forest moved according to Lee Bong-Yeol's will, annihilating enemies while simultaneously forming protective walls around people.
And it wasn't just happening nearby.
Literally, the entire forest was moving under his will, dealing with the shadow monsters. Before those creatures, born of the forest's darkness, could even act, roots or tree trunks would shoot out and crush them.
Among the vassals, the only one who could observe all of this in its entirety was Yoo Han-Gil, thanks to his Clairvoyance skill.
"Unbelievable."
Having fought alongside the vassals during the vampire battle, he knew well how powerful they were especially Ha Dong-Geon's party, the strongest of them all.
But this...
"This is... on a whole other level."
Even when all the vassals had joined forces, all they could do was barely hold the line against an endless swarm of enemies. But now, with the appearance of just one person, the entire situation had flipped.
Calling it a "battlefield" felt almost embarrassing now.
Where the vassals were gathered, it was utterly peaceful.
Moreover, across several kilometers, shadow monsters were being wiped out in real time-something that resembled a massacre more than a battle.
Yoo Han-Gil stared at Lee Bong-Yeol as he spoke with Ha Dong-Geon and thought to himself,
"Is this really something one single human can do?"
The vassals' fighting prowess, while incredible, was still within the realm of comprehension.
They were far beyond ordinary humans, but at least they still were human.
It felt possible-plausible—that someone talented enough, with the right abilities, could reach that level.
But what was happening here defied all understanding.
In truth, there was a reason behind this overwhelming power.
While Lee Bong-Yeol's stats had certainly grown alongside the World Tree, the bigger factor was that this forest itself had been created using the World Tree's life force.
To the forest-nurtured by that very essence-Lee Bong-Yeol's appearance was like the return of its original master. Naturally, it obeyed him without question.
It was only logical that he could wield greater power here than in the original world, where asphalt covered the ground and buildings rose instead of trees.
Just then, Kim Da-Jeong spoke to Yoo Han-Gil.
"Mr. Yoo Han-Gil?"
"Huh? Yes?"
"Why are you just standing there, dazed?"
"Oh, well..."
Still unable to take his eyes off Lee Bong-Yeol, Yoo Han-Gil asked her,
"Is he one of the vassals too?"
"Him?"
Kim Da-Jeong followed his gaze to Lee Bong-Yeol and explained.
"He's part of Jaehyun's family. He's his maternal grandfather."
"...Ah."
At that moment, Yoo Han-Gil realized something.
"If he's one of his family..."
Then it made sense—at least a little.
After all, this man had created a safe zone covering an entire city, blocked monsters from invading, restored a peaceful life from before the world fell, and saved tens of thousands of people who were being raised like livestock by vampires.
Considering how Kim Jaehyun had defied logic from the very beginning, it was oddly convincing that his family would be just as extraordinary.
"His whole family must be insanely powerful."
Yoo Han-Gil could only marvel.
Then suddenly—
"Huh?"
He recalled how he had stopped Lee Seong-Min earlier when the latter had tried to save people recklessly.
How he had yelled at him, saying they'd all die if they didn't give up.
"Did Jaehyun see that...?"
Yoo Han-Gil had acted purely out of survival instinct-but among those survivors was one of Kim Jaehyun's own family.
Depending on how it was interpreted, his actions could definitely be seen as problematic.
His heart raced. He felt like he needed to do something.
"If I use my powers, I could help save people faster..."
But-
"Huh?"
Through his Clairvoyance, he realized his powers were no longer needed.
Trees with lumps growing from them were moving on their own, gently opening up and releasing the people trapped inside.
And on top of that—
Wuuuuuung...
The life force emitted from the trees was helping people regain consciousness.
With the forest itself rescuing people directly, Yoo Han-Gil's searching ability was now completely unnecessary.
"At this rate...!"
Just the thought that he might end up on Kim Jaehyun's bad side made him break out in a cold sweat.
'I-I need to do something!'
And then, at a certain moment—
'Huh? That person is...??'
From several hundred meters away, he spotted a familiar face.
Among the survivors being rescued in a chaotic manner, he saw Kim Donghyuk-one of the most outstanding warriors in the war against the vampires, and also Kim Jaehyun's father.
"Hey! Over here! I found Jaehyun-nim's father! I found him!"
[An entity hostile to the Household Absolute has been detected.]
[Eliminating.]
[An entity hostile to the Household Absolute has been detected.] [Eliminating.]
[An entity hostile to the Household Absolute has been detected.] [Eliminating.]
Thud! Thump!
At the same time as the shadow monsters charged into the condensed domain, system messages popped up and the threats were eliminated.
This kind of pointless war of attrition had already been going on for hours.
Not that it was all bad.
[You have hunted Shadow Owl (Lv. 23).]
[You have hunted Shadow Bat (Lv. 17).]
Experience points and reward credits were pouring in continuously.
While the monsters that died upon entering the domain didn't provide bonus XP, the ones being hunted by his grandfather were different.
[You have hunted Shadow Wolf (Lv. 16).]
[You gained experience.]
[You have hunted Shadow Hound (Lv. 26).]
[You gained experience.]
Experience points were flooding in from the numerous monsters his grandfather was taking down.
Even without the reward credits, the sheer amount of bonus experience-five times the usual—was massive.
'Thanks to Grandpa, that side is completely stabilized.'
When only the retainers were around, he had felt a little uneasy, but now there was no need to worry.
His grandfather alone was more than enough to wipe out all the shadow
monsters.
The search for survivors hidden within the cocoons had also sped up significantly.
'Dad joined us too.'
Rescuing his mom and grandmother was now just a matter of time.
'We got lucky.'
Most of the people Grandpa was saving were those who had fallen asleep outside, unaware of what was happening.
It was truly a stroke of fortune.
If the people had been scattered across the entire forest, such a result would've been impossible.
Even for Grandpa, controlling an area with a radius of several kilometers was the limit, and the forest looked tens-no, hundreds of times bigger than that.
But the reason they had been able to find people so quickly was because everyone who had crossed over from their world had ended up in one concentrated spot.
That meant the civilians were all gathered around the area where the retainers currently were.
"If we just keep buying time like this, we really can save everyone."
Of course, that didn't mean there were no problems.
The real issue was whether those in spiritual form could safely return and settle back into their physical bodies in the real world.
If that could be resolved, everything would be okay.
'Still, just breaking them free from having their life force drained is already a huge win.'
It was then-
The endless downpour of shadow monsters finally came to a halt, and she appeared.
He approached the woman—now silent, stern-faced, and stone-cold—and asked politely,
"Have you changed your mind?"
"...You. What are you?"
Unlike a few hours ago, her face was rigid. It seemed she was now fully aware of the seriousness of the situation.
"You must realize that letting time drag on only works against you. All I have to do is save my people and go back."
"Even so, the ones who were invited here will naturally return in time."
"Then I'll just come back and save them again."
"You're going to stir up this mess again?"
"Next time, I plan to stir up something even bigger."
Her expression twisted noticeably.
As a brief silence fell between them-
[You have hunted Shadow Giant (Lv. 39).]
[You have gained a large amount of experience.]
He didn't confirm it with the Eye of the Absolute, but it seemed something massive had fallen to his grandfather's power.
The woman bit down hard on her red lips.
Despite suffering heavy losses, the reason she couldn't give up was evident in the greed burning in her eyes as she looked at him.
So, he offered her some advice.
"Some things give you a stomachache if you eat them wrong. Are you sure you can handle this?"
At the same time-
Vooooom-
He slightly released the domain he had condensed to its limit.
Instantly, it expanded by several meters and swallowed up nearby shadow
monsters.
[An entity hostile to the Household Absolute has been detected.]
[Eliminating.]
The creatures exploded into nothingness, turning into experience and reward credits.
With her face now thoroughly twisted, the woman let out a deep sigh and finally said,
"...What do you want."
She finally seemed ready to talk.
"I said it from the beginning. Release my family and my people right now. If you do that, I won't come back here again."
Her eyes flared with hatred.
"Do you even realize how ridiculous you sound right now? You're just a stray cat who dared to trespass into my domain, and yet you have the nerve to threaten me?"
"You were the one who messed with my people first."
I replied calmly. She ground her teeth in frustration, but eventually backed down.
Not just figuratively-she literally lowered the tail that was sticking out from behind her.
"...Fine. You win."
Vwoom-
At that moment, a transparent light began to radiate from her entire body.
And then-
"My name is Lilith. Mistress of nightmares, usurper of sanctuaries. What's your name?"
When I didn't respond, Lilith scowled and said irritably:
"You're not going to make the contract?"
"Contract?"
"Yes, a contract. Just like you wanted-I'll release all the people, in exchange for a promise that you'll never trespass into my domain again."
It seemed like there was some kind of system in place that ensured mutual trust.
But the terms of the contract bothered me.
"You'll also erase all traces of the invitation. And add a condition that says you won't harm or touch any of my people in any way, as part of not trespassing."
At that moment, I saw one of Lilith's eyebrows twitch slightly.
'As I thought, she was planning something.'
But her reaction actually reassured me a little.
I still didn't know exactly what this contract entailed, but judging by her response, it likely carried a heavy penalty for breach.
If I could just seal the contract properly, she'd never be able to touch us again.
"...Fine. I agree to those terms."
Watching her carefully, I asked:
"So, what do I have to do?"
"...Draw up your power. Then swear it, in your name."
And just as we were about to make the contract, under Lilith's lead-
[The Household Absolute's mind blocks the attack.]
-an ominous message popped up.
"Huh...?"
Lilith looked flustered.
My face twisted in response.
[Skill level has increased.]
'What...?'
Fwoooosh-
The sealed domain burst outward in all directions, expanding rapidly.
And then-
"Kyaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Lilith's pained screams echoed throughout the cavern.
[A hostile divinity toward the Household Absolute has been detected.]
[Absorbing the lesser divinity.]
"Wa-wait...!"
With that strange message, an overwhelming surge of power flooded into me.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]