Liu Shu, who had been watching all this time, felt half relieved, half guilty. Aurek and the rest had been people who had fought by her side, and she had even tried to prevent them from entering. Of course, she didn't speak with them personally and only told the Explorer Association Leader to try to dissuade them.
Still, it seemed that they had become quite confident after reaching Level 200 and wanted to gain more achievements, which pushed them to recklessly challenge Aionthra's dungeon.
Looking at it objectively, their group had the strength to defeat Aionthra if they took things slowly. After all, no matter how strong Aionthra was, the big
A Level 200 person with some talent didn't only have a strong offense, but their defense became several times stronger, their
In short, Aurek's group had a good chance, but they rushed too much.
For the rest of the process, Liu Shu felt things skip by quite quickly. The group, despite making a great effort, gradually decreased in size.
Due to the new time-influenced quest, searching for materials and the remaining two echoes was hard. Moreover, because of the monster waves back at home, they could only complete a few missions that stretched the 30-day limit by a few days.
The fights were tiring, and constant marching left them with barely any time to rest. So, their numbers slowly dwindled.
Aurek and Kaelen resisted as worthy Level 200 powerhouses, but the waves were becoming too harsh to resist. The knights, also dying off slowly with each wave, made the defense harsher.
With great tactics, though, they managed to resist and even defeated another echo, making it so that the World Tree City had three World Tree Guardians.
By then, though, their group had been reduced to around 15 people. Physical fatigue was real, but the mental erosion of constantly needing to rush from one place to another gnawed at them.
In the end, while fighting the fourth and last echo, Aionthra managed to kill their last remaining two healers. With their death, the light in Aurek's eyes dimmed. So, he made a desperate attempt.
Aurek and the group returned to the city, and when they entered, the Willow World Tree's voice reached them. "You've returned, brave warriors… I am very sorry for the loss of your two companions."
Aurek glanced at the large and beautiful World Tree, and then, he pulled his bow. "Sorry, this is the last thing I have in mind."
The Willow World Tree was shocked. "W-What are you doing, Hero?"
His theory was… what if they just failed the mission? Couldn't they just be thrown out of the Dungeon Instance? After all, this place was not reality, and the reason they were pushing was to make sure that the deaths of their companions were not in vain.
Only, with the death of the last two healers, continuing felt like taking a loan to quench part of your major debt. Like trying to gamble for that last win with the last bits of their former wealth.
So, he decided. "I will kill the World Tree."
The rest of the group nodded, knowing that they had little chance to pass the missions. The army days were only 20; even after earning a cumulative of three months, the waves were strong enough to make them feel pressured, and the number of knights left was half.
What was worse was that they had yet to even see the Mirror Cathedral, where the BOSS Monster was supposed to stay.
So, with all of that in mind, Aurek's fingers, even as the Golden Armored Knights tried to rush in his direction, released the arrow. The over one thousand meter tall World Tree was struck, and with its Level 50 defenses, the arrow's damage was devastating.
The World Tree glanced at them with incomprehension, her voice echoing with both sadness and a touch of betrayal. "W-Why…? Why have you struck me down?"
Her core had been destroyed, so the murmurs were those of a dying World Tree. A fading consciousness.
Aurek spoke with a dim look. "Sorry… I have no other choice."
Sadly, the
[Detected the death of the Willow World Tree.]
[You've failed to defend the Willow World Tree.]
[The Echo Crystal Monsters' strength is surging.]
[The Ascension Echo Eternal Arbiter's strength is surging.]
[The World Plane is collapsing under Aionthra's growing strength.]
Aionthra, sitting in her chair, felt heer strength soar. Her attributes all gained a whole major
When it did, Aionthra felt as if something in her mind, a strange fog, cleared. Opening her violet eyes, Aionthra followed the script of the
BOOM!
Her Aether Mana, now strong enough to even suppress someone with several times her stats, covered everything with her boundless power.
A single step, and Aionthra appeared in the city. Aurek and the others looked over and saw the 100-meter-tall empress standing tall even among the towering buildings.
Aionthra looked down at them, her amethyst-colored eyes and jade green hair gleaming under the light of the collapsing world.
Those characteristics, so reminiscent of Liu Shu, left Aurek and the remaining survivors baffled. Aionthra spoke calmly. "So, you've chosen the easy way out."
Aurek, looking at the collapsing world around them, asked. "Are you… Aionthra?"
Aionthra nodded faintly, her elegant yet incredibly tall figure glancing at the collapsed World Tree. "I've been looking at your group… When you entered, I thought you'd had a chance to defeat me. It's a shame…" Aionthra sighed. "It's a shame that, with no information, you rushed too much instead of obediently completing the Main Quest."
Aurek, feeling the absolutely ridiculous threat coming from Aionthra, laughed hollowly twice. "You say that, but even your echoes managed to kill our colleagues. Looking at you now… weren't we doomed either way?"
He was honestly feeling empty. The 100-meter-tall empress standing not too far away was far too strong. Even as a Level 199, Aurek held no illusions that he could beat her. As for his Level 190+ companions, they had long fallen to their knees, trembling in either fear or despair.
Aionthra shook her head, sighing. "You were not… Well. You will die together with this world, sadly."
"...Why can't we leave?"
"Because I exist," Aionthra spoke simply. Looking at them, she spoke with a calm voice. "As long as I exist, nothing with less rank than myself can manipulate this world that's mine. Currently, you would have needed an SSS Rank Dungeon Escape scroll if you wanted to escape."
Aurek blanked out and then laughed in sheer disbelief. "I didn't even know there was such a Rank…"
"Fear not," Aionthra spoke. "Your souls will be taken in by Mother and enter the cycle of reincarnation. As you've given your all, your next lives will be filled with a strong
"Mother?"
Aionthra smiled. "Tianlian Liu Shu, the Heavenly Willow. She who created me, I who was born from her source. My dearest Mother."
Aurek didn't even know how to react. He just sat down with a sigh and closed her eyes. "If it is possible… make it painless."
"It is. Thank you for your service, General Aurek, General Kaelen, Grand Aethermancer Lysera…"
She spoke their names one by one, even those of the already deceased. And finally…
"...Now, rest.
A silent ripple, and then, nothing. The world around Aionthra dissolved like dream bubbles encountering reality.
Aurek and the rest received a single message before darkness took them.
[You've been affected by
[You are connected to the current Dimension.]
[Resistance failed.]
[You've received fatal damage.]
[Your soul is being absorbed into the
[You've died.]
***
Aionthra closed her eyes and opened them, finding herself sitting on her throne once more. As she pondered, roots pierced the Dungeon walls and gently coiled around her body once more. Feeling their surface hugging her body, Aionthra felt her entire body relax as her mind became at peace.
"Welcome back, Mother."
Liu Shu's voice, one she had not heard in months, reached her. "Well done, love. You've done admirably."
Aionthra, feeling Liu Shu's concern and desire to cheer her up in those words, felt her entire heart melt with affection. She leaned on the roots by her face with a languid squint. "Thank you, Mother. How much time has passed outside?"
"Not much, about four hours."
Aionthra nodded. "So, in my instance, time flows more or less at one hour per month."
Liu Shu pondered and nodded. "Yes, that seems to be the case."
Once she heard this, though, it made Liu Shu feel incredibly tight in her core. '...How long did I take before contacting Aionthra?'
Thinking back, it was years… 'Years for me… so how long was that for Aionthra…?'
A surge of guilt tightly gripped her heart, and her roots tightened a touch more, but never enough to make Aionthra feel constricted or painful. Aionthra, feeling the sudden gentle tightness, showed a puzzled look. "Is there something wrong, Mother?"
Liu Shu spoke softly. "Nothing… Just thinking of how much I love you."
Aionthra's violet eyes flashed with happiness. "I love you too, Mother."
Looking at Aionthra, Liu Shu felt a surge of selfishness. 'I don't want her to be defeated.'
She said "defeated" to avoid the stronger word that made her feel unwell all over. So, her focus faintly shifted into thinking how to increase the
'It won't be soon that another group challenges her because of Aurek's and Kaelen's death. So, I can rest easy for a while.'
Thinking like that, Liu Shu relaxed her nerves and spoke with Aionthra for a long time. Aionthra was naturally happy to speak with Liu Shu and answered with a smile, sharing what she thought about the tactics she showed and such.
Aurek's group had given Aionthra a better idea of how much freedom she had during the entire Dungeon Raid. It was surprisingly more than expected. She couldn't move personally, but her gaze covered the entire Instance. Her orders could also go everywhere.
'While the Willow World Tree's army won't be defeated before the time shown, I can guide my army to crush those spots that give more time rewards quickly.'
Unless the timeframe reached zero, the Willow World Tree's army would receive boosts to the point that even if Aionthra herself participated, the army would miraculously resist until those 30 days passed.
Perhaps someone managed to break through, or they would discover a spell perfectly suited but with some kind of failure condition, etc.
"In summary… I can't target what is under a
"That's great, baby!" Liu Shu, while feeling a bit guilty for future challengers, was happy to hear Aionthra's words.