Chapter 216: The Thing That Devours the Great Tree

◆A Certain Demon ◆

The war between us Demons and humans had stagnated.

Just when we thought we had the advantage, the tables would quickly be turned.

We had been continuing such a battle for a very long time.

Because of that, opinions even among the Demons were divided between the pro-war faction wanting to continue the fight and the retreat faction considering withdrawal.

Of course, I am of the pro-war faction.

However, it is also a fact that we currently lack any effective strategies.

Therefore, we decided to send monsters from our Demon World into the Human World.

The monsters of our world are far more ferocious compared to the monsters of this world.

However, perhaps because of that, many species of monsters from our world were unsuited for survival in the Human World, and we could not have them operate long-term.

If only we could solve this problem, we would be able to send a massive amount of powerful monsters into the human world.

One day, it was discovered that a certain monster inhabiting the depths of the Demon World could survive long-term by ingesting a plant called the World Tree, which only grows in the Human World.

I was overjoyed.

The Human World has World Trees growing all over the place. With this, we can turn the Human World into a world filled with dangerous monsters.

Even if we can’t defeat the human warriors, we can reduce the number of children and non-combatant production individuals.

If that happens, we will be able to reduce the humans’ fighting strength from a long-term perspective.

I immediately sent the monsters, which I named Yggdrasil Eaters, into the Human World.

And just as I was trying to turn a certain forest into a breeding ground for the Yggdrasil Eaters, it appeared.

The White Calamity. That monster, whose origins were completely unknown, attacked and devoured everything without distinguishing between humans, demonkin, or monsters.

Naturally, the Yggdrasil Eaters I had been breeding were also eaten and killed.

Unable to bear having the Yggdrasil Eaters reduced any further, I built an underground shelter and decided to breed them there.

But the real problem started here.

The White Calamity began to devour not just meat, but plants as well.

Of course, those plants included the World Tree.

Its conspicuous giant body became a curse; the World Trees that grew like mountains were devoured by the White Calamity in the blink of an eye.

As a result, the food for the Yggdrasil Eaters, who had never struggled for food until now, visibly dwindled.

The Yggdrasil Eaters can eat meat too, but as expected, what provides them with the most nutrition is the World Tree.

I moved the Yggdrasil Eaters near the sole remaining World Tree in the neighboring lands.

Here, they can be raised on the World Tree’s fallen leaves and peeled bark.

One day, after some more time had passed, the forest was enveloped in fog.

Most likely, the humans erected a barrier in the forest as a countermeasure against the White Calamity.

It would have been fine if it was just that, but the worst-case scenario occurred for me.

Unbelievably, the World Tree suddenly vanished.

This too is likely caused by the humans’ magic.

But because of that, we could no longer use the World Tree as food.

Naturally, the starving Yggdrasil Eaters began wandering the forest in search of food.

And they began to fight amongst themselves over the accidentally found fallen leaves and fruits of the World Tree.

If the Yggdrasil Eaters keep killing each other like this, it defeats the whole purpose.

Therefore, I decided to seal the Yggdrasil Eaters.

And while the seal was in effect, I planned to investigate the whereabouts of the World Tree and undo the humans’ magic.

I built a massive sealing barrier underground and placed the only remaining fragment of the World Tree at its center.

We Demons cannot tell, but it seems the Yggdrasil Eaters can perceive the scent of the World Tree.

The scent of the fruit seems to be the strongest in particular, and they had a tendency to swarm towards World Tree fruits.

It would have been great if they could detect the World Tree hidden by the humans with that sense of smell, but perhaps the humans’ magic is superior, or perhaps the Yggdrasil Eaters’ sense of smell isn’t quite that excellent; it seemed they could not find it.

At any rate, I wait for the Yggdrasil Eaters to gather inside the sealing barrier, lured by the scent of this World Tree fragment.

I have made it so the World Tree fragment cannot be eaten immediately with a protective barrier I created, so it should be safe until all the Yggdrasil Eaters are gathered.

I must protect the Queen individual, the Mother Yggdrasil Eater, at all costs.

The Mother Yggdrasil Eater, raised eating plenty of the World Tree, possesses power far greater than the Yggdrasil Eaters in the Demon World.

A problem has occurred.

All the Yggdrasil Eaters gathered, but because the Mother Yggdrasil Eater went on a rampage seeking the World Tree fragment, part of the barrier was damaged.

With this, I cannot deploy the barrier.

It can’t be helped, so I shall put the Yggdrasil Eaters to sleep before repairing the barrier…

◆

“The record ends here, huh.”

From the record left in the small room, I understood that this Demon was trying to seal the monsters called Yggdrasil Eaters.

“And then he was attacked by a Yggdrasil Eater that hadn’t completely fallen asleep, and didn’t make it into this room in time by just one step, I guess. Though it seems he managed to at least deploy the sealing barrier somehow.”

It seems this place was a monster breeding ranch belonging to a Demon.

But his evil scheme failed, and he met his end by the very monsters he raised.

“So the ones attacking the Village of the Spirit Tree are Yggdrasil Eaters that awakened from the seal. And the Mother Yggdrasil Eater mentioned in the Demon’s records wasn’t here. It must have gone outside in search of the World Tree.”

It was a miss in terms of a direct hit, but thanks to this, I was able to gain various information.

The fact that the disappearance of World Trees from this world was caused by the White Calamity.

And that the Yggdrasil Eaters are targeting the few remaining World Trees.

“…But honestly, it’s not a problem if there are no World Trees.”

To be honest, regularly logging World Trees is a huge pain.

Given that massive size, just cutting it down is a hassle, processing or disposing of the timber afterwards is a hassle, and if you leave the stump, it absorbs nutrients from the roots, reducing the nutrients of the surrounding land…

“But if a species is driven to extinction, the environment changes drastically. In that sense, it’s also a fact that a certain number of World Trees must be preserved…”

But it’s still a pain.

What should I do about it.

While I was worrying about that, the underground shook again.

“Another cave-in!? No, that’s not it!”

I perceive that the sensation of the tremor isn’t a cave-in, but caused by the vibration of something shaking.

“Could this mean… the Mother Yggdrasil Eater has made its move!?”

If so, its destination is!

“The Village of the Spirit Tree is in danger!!”