The Possessor Mistook the Genre for 20 Years

38 – Someone Touched the Saintess’s Butt.

The deeper they went into the Great Forest, the closer they got to the World Tree, the stronger the ominous feeling became.

Moreover, as the sky grew darker, it even felt eerie.

Eventually, when it became difficult to see ahead,

Snap-.

Franz snapped his fingers.

A small ball of light floated up, illuminating the surroundings.

“Magic is really convenient. I should have learned magic too.”

Justia said bluntly.

Franz was shocked as if he had been hit on the back of the head.

Come to think of it, isn’t that true?

In the world of swords and magic often seen in subcultures, the only thing the saintess uses is divine power.

And that was the same for Justia.

He had never seen her use any power other than divine power until now.

But that doesn’t mean she can’t use both divine power and mana at the same time.

The holy knights wielded both aura and divine power simultaneously, unleashing overwhelming strength.

After all, divine power stemmed from their faith, while mana was drawn from their mana core, so it was natural for them to use both at the same time.

‘A saintess who infinitely recovers with divine power while wielding magic and a sword…?’

Frankly, it seemed like she could even defeat the Demon King in a one-on-one duel.

Well, if the world were well-balanced, that wouldn’t happen.

Anyway.

“If it’s about emitting light, you can do it too, right?”

“Me? I can’t use magic.”

“But when you perform miracles, you shine brightly with golden light, don’t you?”

When Eustia used the power of the saintess, she shone with a brilliant light.

Not in the sense of external beauty, but literally shone.

Like a living light bulb, like a living lighthouse.

“Of course, I do emit light… but you weren’t serious about that, were you?”

“It was a joke. The atmosphere is just so dark.”

“Haa-, really, you’re not a child… huh?!”

Eustia, who had been speaking disdainfully, suddenly screamed.

Something seemed off about the atmosphere, as if something was about to happen.

Franz hurriedly approached Eustia, and Hera followed suit.

“What happened?”

“Eustia, are you okay?”

“Someone… someone touched my butt…!”

Eustia, with a tearful expression, was covering her butt with both hands.

So.

It wasn’t that her butt was stabbed with a spear, nor that an arrow suddenly flew at her.

It was simply that someone touched her butt?

‘Something’s strange.’

Franz felt puzzled but began to scan the surroundings with mana.

Just in case someone really had touched her butt and fled.

But no matter how tightly he spread the net, nothing suspicious appeared.

In other words, it was highly likely that this was Eustia’s misunderstanding.

The surroundings were dark enough for it to be possible.

At that moment, Hera discovered something.

“I think it’s because of this.”

A broad leaf was sticking out exactly at the height of Justia’s hip.

It seemed she had missed it and mistaken it for something else.

After all, what kind of enemy would touch only the hip and run away?

Not even a subway groper would do that.

“Something really did touch me…?”

Justia said, feeling wronged.

How embarrassing it must have been to mistake a leaf for a human hand and cause a commotion.

Understanding her feelings, they decided to let it go.

“Alright, I get it. Shall we move on?”

“Really…! Why would I lie about this?!”

Justia’s emotions went beyond feeling wronged to feeling indignant.

‘Is something really going on?’

If it was just stubbornness out of embarrassment, she wouldn’t react so strongly, so even knowing it wasn’t true, they couldn’t help but doubt once more.

It was then.

“Franz, something’s strange.”

Hera said, looking around suspiciously.

Franz, reacting to her, also began to carefully observe their surroundings.

And then they realized.

Justia was mistaken, but at the same time, she wasn’t.

‘The tree is moving…?’

Literally, the branches, leaves, and roots were moving.

What had touched Justia’s hip was not a person but the tree itself.

No wonder nothing showed up on the mana detection.

No one would suspect a tree of moving in the first place.

Whoosh-.

A wind blew through the eerie atmosphere.

The combination of the dark night and the moving tree made it feel truly bizarre.

Swallowed hard out of fear.

“I-I’m a bit scared…”

Eustia approached Franz and gently grabbed the hem of his clothes.

Even though she was used to the blood-splattered battlefield, this was something she wasn’t accustomed to.

“Hera, what do you think?”

Franz’s gaze turned to Hera.

In fact, the reason they didn’t teleport to the World Tree and chose to walk was because Hera wanted to check the state of the Great Forest.

But given the situation, further inspection was meaningless.

“Indeed. It seems best to go straight to the World Tree.”

Hera nodded with a bleak look in her eyes.

For the elves who guarded the World Tree and the Great Forest, this was nothing short of a disaster.

As Franz snapped his fingers, light flickered and the three of them vanished.

The place where they had been was now left with a desolate atmosphere as the light disappeared.

Whoosh-.

The wind blew, making a sound like a scream that echoed through the Great Forest.

* * * * *

The three who had disappeared reappeared right in front of the World Tree, at the elves’ dwelling.

As the light flickered and they appeared, the elves around them raised their weapons.

“Wh-Who are you!”

“Ludwin, it’s me.”

“H-Hera…!”

As Hera pulled back her hood and revealed her face, a sense of relief and joy spread among the elves who had been full of vigilance.

And at the same time, the weapons that had been raised returned to their places, easing the tense atmosphere.

“It seems something happened while I was away.”

“Well, you see…!”

While Hera was conversing with the elves, Franz was looking around.

‘It’s worse here.’

Perhaps because it was closer to the World Tree, the state of the Great Forest was definitely more severe than the outer parts.

The trees were not only withered but had lost all their leaves and were bare, with some already broken and fallen to the ground.

If one were to look at the Great Forest from the sky, it would probably look like a bald spot.

The center where the World Tree stood was completely empty.

“Franz, is this where the elves live…?”

Worried that the elves might hear, Justia whispered softly.

“That’s right.”

“It didn’t used to be like this, did it…?”

“Yeah, it used to be a bit prettier. But now it seems like there’s a big problem.”

Franz’s gaze slowly turned towards the World Tree.

The World Tree had changed a lot.

The branches were twisted and grotesque, and thick, blood-red liquid was flowing down the trunk as if it were blood.

The last time he saw it, it felt grand and ancient, but now it seemed to be a symbol of ominousness.

And most importantly, the sticky and unpleasant energy felt from it was definitely the work of a cult.

Given the current situation, there are probably two choices.

One is that an external cultist has done something to the World Tree.

And the other, which he didn’t want to think about, was the possibility of an enemy within.

‘Please, not the latter.’

If there was a cultist among the elves and they did this?

The result would be obvious without even seeing it.

Hera would be greatly shocked, and she wouldn’t be able to trust humans or elves.

Then, naturally, the world would take one step closer to destruction.

Just imagining a translucent display appearing in front of his eyes made his head throb.

While Franz was worrying about this.

“Brother, it’s me!”

Someone suddenly hugged Franz’s leg.

Franz’s gaze naturally turned downward, and there was a familiar face.

It was the young elf he had rescued from the bald pig’s mansion with Hera not long ago.

“Yeah, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while! Are you here to kidnap me?! Am I going to be a slave again…?”

The elf, who introduced herself as Nana, spoke without a filter again and was immediately stopped by someone’s hand.

The elf who stopped Nana’s mischief bowed his head and apologized.

“I’m sorry… My sister is still young and immature….”

“Well, it’s okay.”

It’s understandable since you’re young.

…though, it was a bit harsh to say.

In the end, Nana was dragged away somewhere by the elves, and during that time, Hera, who had finished her conversation with the elves, approached.

But why?

Hera’s expression, as seen through Franz’s eyes, was truly dark.

As if she was about to collapse at any moment.

“I’ve heard the detailed story from my kin…”

Hera’s voice was deeply subdued.

Anxiety.

For some reason, it felt like another bad ending was about to happen.

And, as expected.

A foreboding feeling never missed its mark.

＜Warning!＞

＜You are on the verge of a bad ending! Your choices greatly affect the fate of the world!＞

“I’m really sorry… It’s something our kin did…”

Hera bowed her head in apology.

So, there really was an enemy within.

Franz’s hand slowly rose to his forehead.