Finally, one-on-one, I pushed Nigpyura down below the tower.
A part of the approaching burnt tower was blocked by another shadow. Charred debris rained down in a pitter-patter.
“Wh-what, what?!”
Lauren pulled her hand from my arm and looked up at the shadow that had intervened. A large person was looking down at me.
“We meet again, Hiroaki!”
This shadow was the Centaur I met at the forest entrance. My blurry vision gradually cleared. That’s right, this person was the chief of the Giant Clan’s village. He threw down the part of the tower he was supporting on his shoulder. The earth-shattering sound that followed told me how heavy it was.
“Phew, that was a close call. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
A large hand reached out towards me. I was grabbed as if I were a doll and placed on a horse’s back. It was harder and more painful than I expected. Philiana was also substantial, but this was like concrete.
Sharin then climbed on as well.
“I-I’m fine, no, thank you.”
Lauren, perhaps not wanting to, ran away at a brisk pace. I never knew Arachnes could run so fast. I clung to the hard fur on the back of the swaying mount to avoid falling. The view was like looking down from the second floor of an apartment building.
Behind us, the tower Nigpyura had built was about to collapse.
“I’m speeding up, hold on tight.”
The burning remnants of the giant tree fell, breaking the surrounding trees. Ash and fragments of wood rained down. And finally, the ground shook violently, covering the entire area in a cloud of dust.
When I opened my eyes slightly at the small stones hitting my face, I saw the tower lying on its side. It was tree roots that had grown unnaturally due to Nigpyura’s power. A new tree was emerging from beneath it, pushing upwards. In the hazy view, it grew strong and sprouted green leaves. As if boasting of the forest’s victory itself.
The wind swept away the swirling dust. Supported by Sharin, I got off the giant’s back.
Right, what about everyone else? Philiana and Cecilia should have been fighting Nigpyura until the end. Looking around, both Philiana and Cecilia had indeed escaped. Well, they weren’t the kind of people I needed to worry about.
“You did it, Arisugawa.”
“Ah, ah, speaking of which, where’s Ryoku?”
The fact that the tree was growing meant he was likely alive. Then, a small figure appeared from a gap in the fallen debris. It was a Puzu tribesman with the lower body of a small deer. He was the father who had guided me to the Spring of Life. And next to him, a child emerged.
“We were saved again.”
Riding on the father’s back, he said, “We were saved again.” Ryoku must have helped him when the tower fell. Looking at the trees that remained, not crushed, I saw many Puzu tribespeople hiding there.
“There are more of you than I expected.”
“Of course, we usually live in hiding.”
The Giants also emerged from the forest, each carrying a large axe. They must have been the ones who cut the roots extending from the Spring of Life. The village chief’s children were also there.
“Thank you, everyone.”
The Giant village chief laughed heartily.
“It’s us who should be thanking you. We don’t usually enter other races’ territories, but with a tree this ridiculously large, we couldn’t just leave it.”
“I felt the voice of the forest. It told us to fight too.”
When the two races stood side-by-side like this, the difference in size made me wonder if it was an optical illusion. Now, what happened to the culprit, Nigpyura? Ryoku dismounted from the Puzu tribesman’s back and walked towards the fallen tree.
There, Nigpyura was crushed by the roots of the fallen tree. His lower body was completely pinned, but he seemed to be barely breathing. His fingertips scraped at the dirt in frustration.
“Guh… Wh-why? Why was it in vain? Was this the destiny the moon and days had set…?”
Everyone gathered for the battle was looking at Ryoku’s back. It was as if they were all waiting for his, the forest’s, decision.
“Ha, why don’t you laugh? How pathetic, this, guh… Haa, why don’t you say something? You were the one who tripped me at the end, weren’t you?”
So that’s why he was the only one who couldn’t escape. He had placed shackles on Ryoku so he couldn’t get away.
“…Hey, why don’t you say something!!”
Nigpyura’s angry roar echoed in the silent forest. The setting sun was about to signal the end.
Ryoku knelt before him and gently touched his cheek with both wings. His posture seemed to pity a lost, lonely soul. All the effort, suffering, and sins he had committed up to that point. He encompassed them all.
The forest sides with no one. It accepts all who come and sends them off, like the changing seasons.
Ryoku stood up and walked away. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like witnessing a solemn ritual.
Thick roots grew from the ground and wrapped around Nigpyura’s neck. Then, with a crunching sound, he stopped moving. The forest’s judgment had been passed. No one raised a voice against this verdict. It was as if the forest had known this moment for fifteen years.
Ryoku approached me without looking back and offered his wings.
Even without words, I understood. No, this was his language. I intertwined my thumb with Ryoku’s thumb and squeezed it tightly.
