Disciple Of The Three Kings [EN]: Chapter 422

“You’ve come…”

A parched voice, unfocused pupils.

“…have you?”

Rarak, the elven chieftain and a pure-blooded high elf, was dying.

Her body, so withered she could barely hold herself up, was turning black.

“Mother—!”

Her breath grew ever fainter.

This was.

“A predetermined end, it seems.”

It was a predetermined end.

Lee Ro-woon went and sat beside Rarak.

“I… waited.”

Rarak was in a state where she could pass away at any moment.

Her internal organs were failing, and her already aged body showed no signs of life.

That she was still breathing was due to her connection to her immense power and her will.

“Thank you. Great one.”

To meet Lee Ro-woon again and express her gratitude.

“Thank you…”

Also.

“Please, will you… lead our clan?”

To ask Lee Ro-woon for a favor.

“You’re asking me to become your Elk?”

What Rarak had asked was for him to purify the Elk and become their new god.

Rarak’s closing eyes seemed to speak of her wish.

However.

“That’s impossible.”

Lee Ro-woon said in a firm voice.

Lee Ro-woon had realized something while facing Yggdrasil and the Elk.

“I can become a Cron.”

He could become an invader and destroyer.

“But I can’t become an Elk.”

He could not become their god.

He could become the master of the world.

“The moment I become an Elk, I’ll be bound to the world.”

He could not become a guardian of the world.

The Elk was a special being to them.

It was a being that had to be connected to them and become the World Tree itself, granting them continuous life.

Lee Ro-woon, who had many things to do, could not do that, and moreover.

“I have no intention of doing so.”

He had no intention or reason to do so.

“……”

Rarak nodded.

It seemed she had expected it.

“It’s unfortunate…”

Rarak’s voice faded.

“It seems our fate ends here.”

Rarak seemed certain of the elves’ extinction.

As she said, the elves who had lost their Elk would not be able to propagate their species any further and would continue to wither away.

“……”

Rarak was dying.

Not because of the dark elves, the so-called fallen ones, but because of the war with the World Tree.

To prevent the elves connected to Yggdrasil from being affected by Yggdrasil’s complete corruption.

Squirm, squirm.

The black spots on Rarak’s body were spreading more and more.

It was the price she paid for bearing all the corruption.

From now on, her remaining time would be even shorter.

“Even so, please…”

Rarak said.

“Take care of the children…”

Sreuk.

Her eyes closed completely.

And with that, Rarak’s rough breathing, which had been hissing, also subsided.

Guung.

It felt as if the world was enveloped in silence.

The chieftain who had lived for thousands, perhaps more, of years, protecting the elves.

The one who had devoted her entire life to protecting the clan that barely remained after that long time.

“Mother—!”

“Mother…!”

It was the moment when not only Ramang but practically all the elves’ mother had passed away.

“Huuheoeoeong!”

“No! No…!”

The elves were wailing.

The Red Plum Blossom Unit and Qing In-woo could only watch the scene silently.

Clench.

Ramang and Balak clenched their fists until they were about to break.

It was then.

“……!”

Lee Ro-woon lifted Rarak’s body with both hands.

Rarak had passed away, but even at this moment, her corruption was progressing.

“If this continues, she’ll be resurrected corrupted.”

As Lee Ro-woon said, if Rarak was left as she was, she would be born as a corrupted being and would become a threat as great as the Elk.

Originally, her fate was to return to nature with death, but now she was destined to be resurrected from death and destroy everything she had protected.

“Huuheoheong…”

The elves were crying.

To prevent that, the only way was to burn and purify her body at this moment.

However.

“If there is no new Elk, this place will end its fate as a gate.”

Lee Ro-woon’s thoughts were different.

“But if there is a new World Tree and Elk.”

This place would.

‘Become a dungeon.’

That was what Lee Ro-woon was thinking.

“But… it’s impossible.”

Ramang said to Lee Ro-woon.

“Not just anyone can become an Elk.”

A chosen being, and one who has embodied nature itself for a long time.

Also.

“Without a World Tree, an Elk cannot be born.”

An Elk could only be born if there was a World Tree.

Neither the former nor the latter was satisfied.

Therefore, an Elk could not be born, and the elves would slowly come to an end…

“I can solve both conditions, though?”

“What do you…”

Lee Ro-woon walked out, stepping forward.

The elves followed him.

And lastly, the Red Plum Blossom Unit, who did not even know what was going on, was led to follow along.

The place they arrived at was the remains of Yggdrasil, which had collapsed, burned, and was now just ashes.

“Many things will change.”

Lee Ro-woon said, standing there.

“Maybe we’ll fail.”

Lee Ro-woon said, looking at Ramang while holding Rarak.

“Now, the choice is up to you.”

The elves’ gazes turned to Ramang.

“Now that Rarak is gone, you are the new leader to lead the elves.”

Ramang was not flustered.

It was something that was expected, and she just closed her eyes as if lost in thought.

She realized that the choice at this moment would determine the fate of the elves.

And that it was the first and greatest choice she had to make.

And the answer to that was.

“I will.”

It was acceptance.

“It’s not just a matter of throwing it away. It’s because I believe that you will lead our elves on the right path.”

He had refused the position of Elk, but.

“You are our Elk.”

The god that Rarak had acknowledged was Lee Ro-woon.

“Then it’s decided.”

Lee Ro-woon did not hesitate for long.

If he did not even attempt this, the elves would become extinct unless he became the Elk.

Then.

Sreuk.

It would be right to give them even a faint chance.

It was decided.

He laid down Rarak’s body, and the place he laid her down was right in front of the remains of Yggdrasil.

“You will become the new World Tree.”

Lee Ro-woon’s eyes began to turn golden.

Woong!

A huge wave spread out.

“Kuh!”

“Keheok!”

The elves and the Red Plum Blossom Unit were shocked and stepped back from the huge wave of power.

“That crazy monster bastard…”

Qing In-woo, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth and was shocked at that moment.

Click.

It was as if some switch had been pressed.

In the following moment.

[Error, error…]

Red-colored windows began to appear before Lee Ro-woon’s eyes.

It was the system he had seen in a long time.

[It is not a fragment of the world.]

[……]

Lee Ro-woon just listened silently to it repeating the same words.

[The core of the world has collapsed.]

Finally, a new system window began to appear.

[Do you want to restore the core of the world?]

The window that appeared with it was no longer red but blue.

[The material for restoring the core of the world is contaminated.]

[Do you want to proceed as is?]

What he had thought was correct.

The moment the World Trees, which were the core of this world, became corrupted, this world lost its value as a world and became a gate.

But the moment that core was reconstructed and pieced together, this world, which had not completely collapsed.

‘Will become the original world again.’

A dungeon.

It would be connected to Earth in that form.

And this was the first step.

“Proceed.”

It was the moment Lee Ro-woon’s words ended.

Kwaaaaaang!

A pillar of light poured down from the high sky.

“Crazy…”

* * *

Every day was different.

[Thirty days remain until the World Tree, Igrak, grows.]

The number that started at fifty was already thirty.

Kukukuku!

Even at this moment, it was growing rapidly and stretching high into the sky.

The World Tree, it had finally revealed its form and begun to grow.

But it was different from before.

Unlike Yggdrasil, which was a bright blue-green World Tree, the color of the newly born Igrak was a deep gray.

This was the price Rarak, who had become the seed of the World Tree, had already paid for being corrupted.

The World Tree had to be made with contaminated materials.

There was no other way.

That day, all the elves fell asleep.

-What are you doing?

The Red Plum Blossom Unit laid the sleeping elves down in one place, and the wait began.

They opened their eyes six days later.

The first to open their eyes were Ramang and Balak.

They opened their eyes and immediately came to Lee Ro-woon.

-……We greet you.

They thanked Lee Ro-woon with tears in their eyes.

They were connected to the new World Tree, Igrak.

They were granted the lacking life force, and their minds were connected to Igrak.

And they.

-……We greet you, Cron.

Called Lee Ro-woon Cron.

The Elk was the god of the elves.

Cron was the invader who invaded them.

But now, all of that was reversed.

Cron was no longer an invader.

Lee Ro-woon was an invader, but he had saved them and taken them in.

Now their god was.

-We greet you, Cron.

Cron, Lee Ro-woon.

Also, their appearance was different from before.

Their skin color, which had remained pure white among the corrupted, had turned gray.

They had taken on a new appearance befitting the corrupted World Tree and the new god.

But that did not mean they were corrupted.

-It’s new.

They had lost their color, and their magic structure had changed, but they were elves with their own ego and will.

Dark elves.

They, who had only been called the fallen ones, had become a new race in this world.

[Twenty-nine days remain until the completion of Asgard.]

They had become residents of the world that would be named Asgard.

Other residents also began to wake up as the days passed.

What was strange was that the order in which they woke up was that they were more strongly connected to Igrak.

They naturally waited for others to wake up and were building a new village in Igrak.

-What are you doing?

The Red Plum Blossom Unit also joined in and helped them build their village.

Fortunately, the amount of supplies that Hwasan had brought into the gate for the SS-class gate raid was considerable, and that supply was sufficient for building the dark elves’ new village.

More elves woke up.

One by one, they continued to build the village in silence, as if mourning Rarak.

[Twenty days remain until Igrak grows.]

All the elves had already awakened as dark elves.

The change occurred when twenty days remained until Igrak’s complete growth.

On the branches of Igrak, which was absorbing all the corrupted energy and swelling in size…

“Fruit! Fruit is growing!”

Finally, the first fruit had appeared.