The leaves of the Parent Tree rustled with each other as if the wind had blown. The fruits bestowed by the Parent Tree, granted only to the most accomplished fairy, thudded heavily to the ground.

However, that alone wasn’t enough. Chrys once again gazed along the area near the roots that Sol Noctis had shown her in the illusion. The surrounding area, already hit by flames, was twitching and writhing as the tree branches covered it.

Found it.

She gathered magical energy in her hand once again.

“Uht…!”

After a brief pause, she shot another fireball at the spot she had seen in the dream.

The fireball, exploding from her fingertips, hit the exact location she had unconsciously targeted earlier. As soon as the flames touched the roots, they quickly spread to the beautiful manifestation of the Parent Tree.

“Aaackkk!”

The manifestation that was approaching, like a predatory creature, couldn’t overcome the flames and fell to its knees.

The tree roots turned to ashes in an instant.

Seeing the black mass of magic exposed underneath, Chrys covered her mouth, feeling nauseated and almost on the verge of vomiting. The Parent Tree of the spirit realm had lost its high healing and vitality due to the ancient war. It couldn’t recover quickly from wounds.

“Hah, hoohk…”

‘What did I just do?’

Her heart raced as if in disbelief.

By nature, Chrys, who lacked magical power, couldn’t perform magic of this magnitude. Moreover, it was unthinkable that the Parent Tree would burn like this just because Twilight used fire magic a couple of times.

She felt the sensation of Sol Noctis’s magic, which had entered her body, draining out again. It seemed that the magic she had just cast was possible only because of the magic she had received from Sol Noctis the previous night.

Despite the persistent nausea, she forced herself to stand up.

Tuk. Roll.

Along with a dull rolling sound, something touched her foot.

It was one of the fruits that the Parent Tree had dropped as it glowed. Chrys quickly picked up the fruits that were lying around her as she stood up. Though not small in size, she could only manage to grab two. But it would be unfair not to grab them!

Without looking back, she got up and ran.

[ This, this snotty brat…! ]

A wrathful declaration from the Parent Tree echoed from behind.

‘No wonder the fairies dislike it!’

If it talked in such a stimulating mindset, it was no wonder the fairies cursed at it for being senile.

[ Come here! Don’t come this way! You, you, are you going to destroy the world in the end! Are you going to be a disaster in the end…! ]

While fleeing, Chrys heard the Parent Tree screaming in pain. She wanted to hear more about what was being said, but she thought that if she stayed close, she might get caught, and who knew what she might suffer.

‘It makes no sense that it’s the sacred tree the fairies worship!’

Underneath the burning flames, what was revealed wasn’t tree roots but rather a bizarre, unsettling mass of magic. Something that seemed alien, not belonging to this world.

However, she was more concerned with another fact.

‘Am I a disaster?’

It seemed as if the Lord of the Divine Realm had pleased her all this time to prevent a disaster from happening.

‘…Am I going to destroy the world?’

The Parent Tree’s attitude was clear.

Since she entered the spirit realm, a rift appeared, and the Parent Tree stated that she was the cause of the rifts and would later become the cause of the catastrophic Great Rift that would destroy the world.

❖

First, she got her wings and quickly exited the sacred tree’s sanctuary, but she soon grew exhausted. After catching her breath at a reasonable distance, Chrys covered her mouth several times, struggling against the urge to vomit.

“Hoh, huu….”

Even though she had only used magic a few times and flown, her physical condition was far from normal.

“Uhh… I’m dizzy.”

Moreover, her vision was blurry.

‘To live with such a crazy parent tree as god? Are they crazy?’

Rather than harboring prejudices as a divine being from the Divine Realm, this spirit realm did not seem normal.

If it were the Divine Realm, as soon as a rift appeared, the Lord would rush in and resolve it. However, the parent tree of the spirit realm did not appear on the spot, and while the fairies were flustered by a serious matter, it just kept spouting strange words to her.

They should pull that thing out. What were they doing, enduring unfairness just because that thing was considered powerful?

As she barely managed to suppress the urge to vomit, someone hurriedly approached.

“Twilight!”

“Hello, Twilight.”

Two fairies with a kind demeanor looked at her, their expressions showing great joy.

Sol Noctis’ younger siblings, Astell and Metius.

“Phew….”

For some reason, a sigh escaped her. The heartbeat that had been pounding like crazy until a moment ago finally calmed down upon seeing their faces. It felt similar to the sense of relief when seeing familiar things among unfamiliar ones.

While pondering over that strangeness, they quickly initiated the conversation.

“We didn’t expect to meet you again in a place like this!”

“Have you finished your duties in the spirit realm?”

Metius warmly smiled, expressing his delight in meeting her, while Astel greeted her more formally. It seemed like they were genuinely happy to see her, seeing from their flushed cheeks.

However, Chrys couldn’t shake off the memory of what the Parent Tree originally intended to do with them.

“Where are you going now? Didn’t you say you were heading out for a mission this morning?”

“Oh, as I told you before, our mission location changed. It’s quite common for us at the grassroots level.”

“But you left early in the morning. Has it changed again?”

As Chrys raised her eyebrows and asked, they scratched their heads awkwardly, like twins.

“Oh, well… You see… I don’t know if you’re aware, but in the spirit realm, missions are directly linked to achievements. Since the rift opened within the spirit realm is an unusual occurrence, the mission is relatively easy, making it easy to boost achievements…”

Just hearing those words, she could roughly grasp what had happened.

In the spirit realm, where an irrational meritocracy prevailed, there was no reason for them to be treated differently from Sol Noctis.

“So, you’re saying that your mission site changed like nothing because you were pushed around by those who are eager to boost their achievements?”

“Like, like nothing…”

“If you’re treated like that, why keep working here? It’s better to leave.”

Astell’s face turned bright red. Either she was holding back laughter from the moment the talk about ‘value’ started, or she was suppressing a smile. It seemed like she took the last comment as a joke.

“Oh, oohh, it seems that Twilight has a sense of humor.”

“It’s not a joke. I would rather leave than accept such treatment.”

“I understand what you’re saying. However, Twilight, with our abilities, even living like this is the best treatment we can get. It’s embarrassing, but originally, if it weren’t for Brother Sol, we wouldn’t be able to live like this in the center of the spirit realm. Normally, the spirit realm doesn’t go through significant changes.”

“Yes, that’s right. So, there’s not much we can do. We’re thankful for Brother Sol and Twilight.”

“What’s all this about suddenly? Why would you thank me?”

“We heard that Twilight was a great help to Brother.”

“Did Sol Noctis tell you such things?”

Chrys now had a better understanding of why they were so favorable toward her. Sol Noctis’s escape from being the dry branch and living in the divine realm happened in his youth. He must have shared with his younger siblings many stories about his time in the divine realm.

She, however, did not part with Sol Noctis on good terms, and it was clear that he didn’t say it.

‘That foolish guy… If it were me, I would have written a whole book just with curses.’

Should she let them go like this?

__