The Possessor Mistook the Genre for 20 Years

41 – The Slave Wanted to Embrace the Master.

Sometimes, when playing a game, the protagonist just watches the boss’s appearance for dramatic effect.

Even though there are plenty of opportunities to strike in the meantime.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing.

But.

That’s only possible because it’s a game.

If a boss were slowly crawling out of a well in real life, who would just stand by and watch?

You’d pick up a nearby rock, or kick it down with your foot.

Of course, there would be people who criticize it as cowardly and unfair.

But so what.

Being fair doesn’t give you an extra life.

In the end, the conclusion is this.

Now is the perfect time to attack.

Before that Gruen or whatever completely emerges from the World Tree, you have to strike.

Crack-.

The tree trunk split open, and Gruen’s upper body popped out.

Franz immediately tried to use his magic,

‘Is Hera okay?’

That thought made him hesitate for a moment.

It would be troublesome if he became a villain for killing Gruen recklessly.

But on second thought, it was a meaningless worry.

Whether he died now or later, Gruen was destined to die anyway.

Snap-.

As Franz snapped his fingers, a magic circle was drawn in front of Gruen.

“This, this is…”

Just as Gruen was about to say something upon discovering the magic circle, his head separated from his body.

Thud-.

The head that fell to the floor rolled and stopped at Hera’s feet.

“…Ugh.”

Hera turned her head away, grimacing in pain.

Even though she had done this, until recently, they had lived like family.

So it seemed that some of that affection still remained.

So, is this the end of it…?

All the flowers were burned, there was no need to worry about the roots and stems, and the mastermind of the incident, Gruen, was killed.

All that was left was for Justia to purify the World Tree.

Just as Franz was thinking this and trying to relax.

Creak-.

Gruen’s body, whose head had fallen off, began to move again.

It seemed that he had no intention of ending things easily.

And at the same time,

“Hera, you really joined hands with humans.”

A voice came from Gruen’s head, which had fallen at Hera’s feet.

Hera was startled, and Franz immediately blew up the head with magic.

He never thought the headless body would move, let alone the severed head would speak.

It was no joke, it was as shocking as a ghost suddenly appearing in a horror movie.

Only, magic came out before a scream.

Just as Franz was calming his startled heart.

From Gruen’s neck, the cleanly severed stump began to bubble with red liquid, and soon a head grew back.

Franz frowned at the bizarre scene.

Dropping the head and it growing back, isn’t that a bit much?

Why do you have multiple lives?

It was an absurd situation, but he couldn’t just stand by.

Does a farmer give up farming because weeds grow?

If his body regenerated, he would just destroy it every time it regenerated, like pulling out weeds.

Snap-.

As Franz snapped his fingers, a magic circle appeared, and Gruen’s body exploded simultaneously.

But the guy regenerated as if nothing had happened.

“You did that….”

Snap-.

Just as he was about to say something, Franz snapped his fingers again.

His body exploded, scattering flesh and red liquid everywhere.

“You….”

Snap-.

Snapping his fingers,

Snap-.

Snapping again, and again, and again.

Gruen couldn’t even say a word as he disappeared the moment he regenerated.

While Franz endlessly repeated the boss’s appearance cutscene, Eustia was kneeling and fervently reciting a prayer.

Franz, still snapping his fingers, spoke to Eustia.

“Eustia, how much longer do you think?”

“I think we’re just about one-fifth done.”

“Got it.”

So, we just need to go four times longer than we’ve come so far.

It’s not too difficult, but I’m worried my fingerprints might wear out.

Of course, I can use magic without a trigger.

After all, magic is used with mana, not fingers.

But since I’ve been doing it this way all along, if I suddenly stop, it will have a psychological impact, and eventually, the power of the magic will decrease.

So, well, I have no choice but to keep doing it.

It was a moment of regret for having watched Fullmetal Alchemist in the past.

Snapping fingers and seeing fire whoosh- looked cool, but actually doing it is quite inconvenient.

Snap-.

Franz snapped his fingers while sitting, lying down, and even yawning.

There were moments when he suspected another flower might bloom, but as time passed and it didn’t happen, he decided not to worry about it anymore.

By the way.

Suddenly, he felt a bit sorry for Gruen.

Because he couldn’t die even if he wanted to.

On the other hand, it’s impressive to see that he still hasn’t given up.

Come to think of it, I think I’ve heard similar stories from clergymen.

They said they tortured them until just before death and then healed them with divine power.

Then most cultists would lose their minds and give up the information.

How much time had passed like that?

Even the appearance of the World Tree began to change gradually.

The split trunks began to regain their original form, and the amount of red liquid flowing down decreased.

In contrast, sweat was pouring down Justia’s body like a waterfall.

It was only natural, considering she was continuously using divine power.

Then, at some moment.

The moment when it regenerated and the moment when Franz used magic were out of sync.

It seemed that the World Tree’s recovery had slowed its regeneration.

“Stop, stop it…!”

It cried out desperately, but Franz didn’t even pretend to hear and snapped his fingers.

A magic circle was drawn, and its body exploded.

One could feel pity for the villain, but there should be no forgiveness.

That must be why Hera, with a sad expression, said nothing.

Meanwhile, Justia, who had been praying continuously, paused for a moment and drank the elixir beside her.

She must have been quite exhausted, as she drank about a liter in an instant.

Still, seeing her expression improve after drinking, it seemed to help.

She resumed her prayers, and how much time had passed since then?

The ominous aura that had enveloped the World Tree disappeared, replaced by a sacred aura.

The split trunks had fully regained their original form, and the red liquid was no longer visible.

New buds began to sprout on the branches that had lost all their leaves.

And the one that seemed to regenerate forever no longer regenerated.

However, the place where it had been remained a scar.

“Hoo-ah!”

Justia let out a short exclamation and collapsed backward.

It was only natural, considering it had been hours of prayer.

Franz looked down at her and spoke.

“Would you like an elixir?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s all over anyway.”

“Yeah, you really did a great job.”

It was at that moment when Franz and Justia were having their conversation.

Hera, who had been gazing at the World Tree with a face full of emotion, bowed her head towards them.

“Thank you both. Really, thank you so much.”

Tears flowed from her eyes and fell to the ground.

“Well, it’s good that it turned out well.”

“Yeah, it’s a relief.”

Justia answered with her eyes closed, as if enjoying the gentle breeze, while Franz scratched his head awkwardly, not used to receiving gratitude.

‘It’s finally over.’

Franz’s gaze turned to the World Tree.

The World Tree was glowing softly in blue, not the ominous red.

Its appearance was so mysterious that it was awe-inspiring.

“Franz….”

At the sudden sound of Hera’s voice, Franz, who had been looking at the World Tree, turned his head.

For some reason, Hera had come closer.

Her green eyes reflected only him.

She took another step closer to Franz.

And at the moment when she reached out her arms towards his waist.

“Wait.”

Franz grabbed Hera’s shoulders and pushed her away.

‘Something’s detected.’

He sensed an alien mana around them.

Franz immediately expanded the range of his mana detection and found the alien mana.

It was a human.

The person was running towards the outskirts of the Great Forest.

Even in the dark night, the person’s movements were unhesitant, indicating they were not an ordinary individual.

“Wait a moment.”

“Fr, Franz?”

“Is there another problem…?”

Hera and Justia showed their bewilderment, but there was no time to explain everything.

Franz immediately snapped his fingers and used teleportation, blocking the path ahead of the figure.

“Damn…!”

A voice came from the darkness.

Soon, moonlight shone through the trees, and the figure’s silhouette became faintly visible.

The pattern on the figure’s clothes was that of a cult.

It seemed that the figure was somehow related to this incident.