The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 307: Tree of Abyss (1)

A colossal tree that swallowed the Colosseo Academy whole. Its immense size and height were beyond imagination, to the extent that it could be seen even from a city far away from the administrative district of Venetior.

The roots surrounding it protruded like teeth, climbing the walls of the academy, resembling a giant monster with its mouth wide open at a 180-degree angle, lying down.

And at the center of those roots was a hole so large it seemed to lead straight to hell.

“What is this!? What have you done to my son!”

“My daughter! Return my daughter!”

Even the mighty warriors were standing with a defeated expression, Cervantes Donquixote and Roderick Usher, couldn’t make the roots budge despite attacking with all their might. Moreover, the hole deeply pierced at the center left them utterly clueless.

A hole of unknown depth and identity. And a colossal tree that protruded out of the hole.

Not a single person knew the identity of this giant plant that had swallowed all the students of the Colosseo Academy… Well, except for one.

“This is the Abyss Tree, isn’t it?”

Camus. She said, looking at the sinister roots in front of her.

“Camus, sister. Do you know something?”

Osiris, who was standing beside her, asked. He seemed a bit more agitated than usual.

“My ‘four siblings’ were taken in front of me. If you know something, please help.”

Upon his plea, Cervantes and Roderick also joined Osiris closely.

“My son! My son was taken too! Oh, heavens! How could this happen!”

“My daughter! I must save my daughter! W-what in the world is that thing!”

Then, Camus waved her hand as if she were annoyed.

“It’s not like I’ll help just because you’re in a hurry. But, now that I think about it, I’m annoyed. Why wasn’t I taken? Is it because I haven’t registered as a student yet? Ah, I should have accepted the bracelet they offered me when I enrolled.”

While others were in distress or arguing, Camus remained unfazed.

At that moment,

“If you know something, I would appreciate your cooperation… miss.”

An awkward honorific was heard.

When Camus turned her head, she saw a quite familiar face.

Banshee Morg. Vice Principal of the Colosseo Academy. Acting Headmaster.

His cold demeanor instantly made Camus straighten up.

Snake Morg’s younger brother, Banshee Morg. His appearance, voice, and intonation reminded Camus of her late master in many ways.

“Well… I don’t know much either.”

As the stubborn and independent Camus willingly complied with the request, Professor Banshee breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

Without knowing why she suddenly became cooperative.

Anyway, Camus’s words were quite astonishing.

“This plant first appeared in historical records under the name ‘Abyss Tree’ in the perspective of the empire’s magical history, right?”

Banshee expressed doubt, and Camus dismissed it lightly.

“It has been recorded under a variety of names depending on the time and place, including ‘Inverted Chaos’, ‘Burrowing Tower’, ‘Passage to the Hell’, and ‘Reverse Babel’.”

Then, she recalled the face of her first love, Vikir, who brought her one sapling of the Ghost tree and a few ancient books of unknown origin.

“This tree appears in the legends of a shamanic tribe that has long rooted itself in the red and black mountain ranges. According to records, it has the characteristic of growing in reverse, extending its roots above ground and sprouting shoots underground, seemingly growing downward.”

At that statement, everyone’s mouths fell halfway open.

Typical trees extend their roots underground and branches above ground, growing upward. But this tree seems to do the opposite, with roots rising above ground and branches extending underground, growing downward to touch the “abyss” as its name suggests!

Camus continued her explanation.

“At first glance, it may seem just the size of a small city, but its interior is different. It has the property of overlapping and distorting multiple spaces, making it almost impossible to accurately measure the area inside the tree. It’s truly a magical tree.”

Compared to the Ghost tree, it might be an insignificant magical tree, but if it has grown to this size, it’s still threatening enough.

They couldn’t even imagine what hardships the children trapped in the depths of the tree might be enduring.

Then, Cervantes asked,

“Okay, fine, but how do we get through this damn tree and rescue the kids from inside?”

“If that were possible, I would have done it already, sir.”

“What?”

Camus clicked her tongue.

“It’s impossible to intervene from the outside. Only penetrating from the inside is possible.”

“Where is such a thing?”

“It’s here. It’s not just any plant; it’s a tree that originally grows in hell. Moreover, I heard it’s quite a rare species even in hell.”

In the end, it meant that doing anything from the outside was completely impossible.

…Bang!

Professor Banshee, with a realization, struck the root of the Abyss tree next to him with his fist.

“Damn it! It’s my fault. If only I had been a little more careful… If only I had doubted a little more… I wouldn’t have let my students fall into such a situation…”

There was nothing suspicious: not Winston’s bracelet, not the maintenance of magic stones, not the reforestation project, not the parent observation classes, not the unconditional tolerance towards Professor Sadi… Nothing escaped scrutiny. Despite knowing all this, Professor Banshee felt an even deeper sense of responsibility for not being able to prevent it.

Parents and professors alike were deeply despairing and crying out in front of the Abyss Tree. But there was one person, the only one, who remained indifferent.

“Why you guys worried?”

She seemed the only one who couldn’t understand the wailing crowd.

“He probably went in of his own accord. He must’ve had his reasons.”

Her words filled everyone’s eyes with confusion. Those who had stopped crying now crowded around Camus, questioning her as if grasping at straws.

“What do you mean? Reasons? Went in his own accord? Who on earth?”

To which Camus nonchalantly, almost matter-of-factly, replied,

“Who else but my fiancé?”

Vikir woke up in a black room.

The black room. That was the only way to describe the space.

This empty space seemed to serve as storage for something, but now it was faithfully performing its role of confining Vikir.

It felt like being inside a giant seed in its shell.

“…Just as I thought.”

Although Vikir had never experienced this space firsthand, he knew indirectly through the memoirs and recollections of the academy’s former heroes who had experienced it before.

The Babel Tower extending underground.

This is the result of Amdusias’ final ability: Child Hunter.

‘Normally, he’s only supposed to take the first few, but…… in this case, he’s just taken all the ‘children’.’

Alone in the narrow space, Vikir pondered.

This was the underground tower created by Amdusias. As one descended further into the depths, one encountered bizarre ecosystems, traps, and various prehistoric beings.

A mixture of different world’s cosmologies. That was the true nature of this unpleasant tower.

Vikir closed his eyes and recalled the internal structure of the Abyss Tree as described in the memoirs of the academy’s heroes.

“Long ago, trapped and enslaved ancient civilizations, undead lost in ruins, demons wandering in the void, tribes armed with golems and warlocks… Along with worlds of deserts, seas, volcanoes, and snowy landscapes coexisting on different levels.”

In this space where countless dimensions overlapped or distorted, common sense and laws didn’t apply.

“It must have been difficult to crush all the budding heroes of the academy, so he probably intended to confine them all inside here.”

Indeed, in the past, when the Abyss Tree appeared at the Colosseo Academy, many young heroes almost met a tragic end.

If one died or decided to stay inside this tower, they would immediately become nutrients for the demons. However, if even one person survived and left the tower, those who died or retired would all be resurrected.

In his previous life, even though Amdusias himself had created this tower and believed that no one would survive and leave, a single extraordinary figure from beyond the norm managed to escape the tower, thwarting the demons’ plans.

In fact, Vikir could have prevented the appearance of this tower altogether, knowing the future, but…

“There’s a reason I didn’t.”

As Vikir pondered various thoughts in his mind.

– Ting!

A strange sound echoed in the darkness.

Not through the ears, but directly resonating in the mind.

Gradually, something suddenly appeared before him.

It was a mass of flesh with distorted facial features, oozing flesh and organs, and grotesquely withered wings flapping.

[Hello? I am ‘Fairy,’ the caretaker of the tower.]

Vikir nodded at the grotesque flesh mass that claimed to be a fairy.

“…It’s because of this.”

The creature spoke in a disturbing tone and accent, accompanied by unpleasant flapping sounds.

[You’re the first one to arrive at the bottom floor]

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