“What the hell is this?!” Irina said. “Hang in there, old friend!”
The leaves of the Tree of Life had withered, and almost the whole trunk had turned black. Black smoke was coming out of the trunk, and it smelled like death.
Irina was sitting cross-legged under the tree, pale from excessive use of magic.
A twig reached down and patted weakly on her back as if telling her to leave.
“No.” Irina shook her head adamantly. “If I leave you behind and let you die, elves will be abandoned by the God of Life. I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen. Before Mother comes out of seclusion, it’s up to me to protect you and the Wind Forest.”
The tree creaked and groaned as if weeping.
…
Borg stood outside Irina’s cave. The black lines on his face looked even more hideous in the moonlight. There was a black mass of mist around him, constantly changing shapes, as if alive. “Soon! Soon! Tonight, I’ll make the Norland Continent bow down before my might!”
…
“No!” Helena screamed in the starry cave as she looked up at the stars which were dimming quickly as if they were hidden by clouds.
She looked grave as a big crystal ball appeared in her hand. It was shining a bright purple-golden.
“We’re doomed! This is even worse than the last war among species!”
She went white, staring in the direction where the Tree of Life was, her trembling voice echoing in the cave.
…
Black clouds appeared out of nowhere, and started gathering above the Wind Forest.
Elven elders looked up, their faces unusually grave. They could sense danger in the air, but they had no clue what was going on. One thing they knew for sure, though, and that was that something really bad was about to happen.
…
“Make me your servant, Lord of Death!” Borg shouted with his hands up above his head. “Give me your power, and I’ll give you this world!”
With a crash of thunder, a black flash of lightning shot down from the black clouds towards the Tree of Life.
“Don’t you dare touch it!” Irina shouted. A white light flew up and met the black lightning. Boom!
However, more flashes of lightning rained down, too many to count.
The Tree of Life suddenly shone a bright green as countless branches reached up and formed a thick, tightly knit shield over Irina.
Black lightning bolts struck the shield ceaselessly, snapping and charring one branch after another. Black lines had covered its whole trunk, and were now climbing along the branches as though they were alive.
The green light around the tree faded, but the shield that held above Irina remained steadfast. It did not give in at all.
Tears welled in Irina’s eyes as she watched pieces of wood fall from the sky. She stood there, magic staff clutched in her hand, but it had stopped shining.
“Come on! Come on! The world is mine!”
The trembling Borg’s eyes had turned red like a devil’s. The black mist condensed into the form of a hideous devil behind him as it looked at him covetously.
…
They must be out of their mind thinking they can touch my gold mine! As a system, I’ll kill you all!
A string of text floated across Mag’s mind, but due to the small text, it didn’t earn his notice.
Suddenly, rain came down in torrents and pierced the black clouds like countless arrows.
The black clouds vanished into thin air in a matter of seconds as though they had met their nemesis.
The thick, dark clouds vanished in a blink of an eye.
“What?!” Borg looked up, flabbergasted.
However, the black figure behind him let out a sharp, horrified cry.
When the raindrops hit Borg, it was like water splashing into boiling oil. It was a loud splatter.
Borg looked up as he let out a painful roar. The black lines that covered his face seemed to be sliced off from his skin by a blade. The pain drove him crazy.
As for the figure behind him, it kept changing forms amidst the rain’s cleansing. However, it failed to avoid the rain. Like a figure made of mud, it kept reducing in size thanks to the rain until it completely dissipated.
…
“This is?” Irina looked up in surprise. The black lightning that struck at the shield vanished suddenly before turning into a downpour.
When the raindrops hit the Tree of Life, the black lines on the appeared to meet their nemesis. They were instantly obliterated. The trunk followed. The aura of death that she and the Tree of Life had been desperately fending off recently had vanished rapidly.
The Tree of Life’s yellowed colors restored to their healthy green under the rain’s nourishment. The broken branches were reborn. The almost bald tree grew out new sprouts as a light green glow illuminated the cave. The branches rustled gently, revealing their vitality.
“Did the God of Life save us?”
Irina was as surprised as she was relieved.
The branches swayed happily as green light enveloped the feeble Irina.
As if on cue, the rain stopped as suddenly as it had started.
Borg kneeled on the ground, drenched in blood. “Why?” he shouted up. “Why?! I was so close… My plan almost succeeded!”
“Compared to my plans, your invasion of the world counts for sh*t.”
A line of text floated across Mag’s mind.
“What are you on about, System?” Mag frowned and asked when he saw the ant-sized string of text flash across his mind.
