Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

---Present---

“So Karina simply plugged them with the tree and the demons that got out were swallowed?” Seth summed up what happened after Leana explained to him what hell gates were. If he was honest, he didn't care what they were at the moment.

Hearing the situation was stable for now, he had the great urge to just end the conversation and continue with his initial plan to return straight to his bed . he wanted to hang up on Leana with a short sentence and then rush down to the embassy, pass by the guards and-

No, there was an even easier way. Since Chrona and their defenses were mostly disassembled, the Tower Ego could now act the same way in the direction of Delta, as it could to every other place in its range. he could simply contact Minas Mar and directly port to his bed- But he controlled this intrusive thought this time.

Could he really fall asleep knowing that the others were going to somehow manage? Sure. he was tired as hell. There was no doubt he would lose consciousness the moment his body touched the mattress. However, he also knew that he would feel bad about acting like this once he woke up.

“I will be at the embassy in a moment. Let's talk over everything slowly,” the blacksmith finally said after a moment of hesitation. Right, he could just drink another stamina potion and-

“No,” the echo of two determined voices came from the orb. Neither of them was Leana. he could feel a warm feeling in his chest, hearing their voices, but what did they mean?

“You are definitely tired! You have been working for days.” Mina insisted and it felt like she was saying this more to Leana than to him.

“Right! You spent days at the workshop. Leana can deal with the situation for now!” Fin supported Mina's statement vehemently.

“You got this. Then I will return to my quarters and get some rest. Let's deal with everything else tomorrow.” he said relieved.

~Let's land and go home.~ he said to Puffles. A little confused about him suddenly wanted to land, the Nightmare Centipede complied and landed in the city below. Once Seth was on the ground, Puffles entered the pet space. It seemed that the Ivicer was also interested in some rest.

“Tower, to my quarters!” he called out to the tower ego. As the acknowledged Tower master, Seth could actually communicate with the tower from everywhere within the tower's range of influence.

~As you command, Tower Master~ the ego answered and, with a blip, Seth appeared in the Tower Master's quarters, where the defenders of his sleep were already waiting for him. Reuniting with his loved ones, Seth slept the sleep of the righteous.

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...

“See. I told you they would manage just fine~” Al'Zalsar, the spicy sorceress gloated. In tow, she had the mutilated body of the legendary swordsman, kept afloat with her magic. Sousuke could only groan in pain as an answer, as his eyes were rolling wildly.

Had he lost his mind because of the situation, or had she hit him too hard? Either way, she could understand both. Even the legendary, dragon-slaying Sorceress felt threatened by the Guardian Tree. She couldn't help but muse about ways of how she would be able to defeat the floral fear-incarnate.

The tree had even managed to plug gates leading to the demon dimensions of the abyss. With some time, she might have also been able to close them, but she had the vague premonition, that the tree didn't stop at blocking those gateways.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But it wasn't just the tree that surprised her. Al had not been informed what Seth had been up to, so it came as a surprise when there were suddenly four more legends. To think Minas Mar actually ended up facing ten legends, only to not just come out victorious, but also increase the number of legends on their side by six. It was remarkable.

Just the cultivator interfering here and there ruined her mood a little. Getting involved to catch and apprehend two legends, she could have done the same, but where was the fun in that? People had to grow on their own. How was Minas Mar supposed to grow, if they didn't overcome dangers themselves?

The spicy mage decided that she would have a serious word or two with Master Mountain. She couldn't allow him to pamper Seth and the others. For a moment she halted, looking back at the man she brought to the border of death.

This didn't count. She just intended to make things fair. however, what was she supposed to do with this guy? It seemed like a shame to just kill a captured legend. She suddenly thought of a very important question.

Since Minas Mar had not actually killed all the legends that attacked them, what exactly did they do to the prisoners?

...

---Below the Tree---

It was a dark and kinda damp room, filled with roots that covered walls, floor, and ceiling. It used to be a quite modern and clean-looking room as it was originally used to how the automatic machines of one of the granaries. It was technically a high-tech garage.

Now, the room ended at the trunk of the Guardian Tree and the plant had completely claimed this and every adjacent room. Mary and Leana entered exactly this room from a door opposite the trunk. Both women had come at Karina's invitation, but they stopped shocked by the sight inside.

Pinned to the rough trunk of the giant tree were four figures. Their extremely pale faces were all that was truly visible, as the rest of their bodies were below the bark, so deep, they could just barely see their contours. One of them didn't have the contour of a body.

The first three the two recognized were the legends they and the Guardian tree managed to capture during the earlier battle. Jarvan, Demus, and Vermar. Their status had given away their names. The one, without a body, was actually the charred head of an orc.

“That's Uz'Roc. Ceres gave him to me, after the lich went crazy inside the bird's stomach,” Karina, who had suddenly appeared behind them said happily. Leana and Mary both jumped at the dryad's sudden entrance.

“How are they doing? No sign of resistance ?” Leana asked concerned. She was not too convinced of this solution. Just keeping living legends in their basement seemed like a hazard, a catastrophe waiting to happen. If they managed to get out...

“Don't worry they are held in a cast of core wood, where they are constantly sucked dry of mana, life force, and stamina. Their output is actually quite good, enough to maintain trees past the hell gates. They are barely kept alive like this, so there is no way they can get out on their own.” Karina explained in a friendly manner when she saw Leana's concerned expression.

“Growing past the hell gates?” Mary asked surprised. They had left the defense on that front to Karina since the dryad had said she would take care of it and had proven reliable. But expanding on the other side?

“I fortified the gates on their side with a sapling each, but some are constantly taking damage because of the environment. Things worked fine when the demonic beasts kept rushing at the gates, but they stopped attacking, so I had to supply the saplings with power from this side. ” Karina said with her bright smile.

Mary had seen the environment past most of the gates, which were deserts of fire and magma. It made sense that a tree wouldn't survive long in such an environment even if it was an offshoot of the Guardian Tree.

“So you are saying it would be best to keep them here as an energy source?” Leana caught the hint. They had not yet decided what to do with the legends, or the prisoners of war they caught, but the general opinion was to sell them for ransom.

“Yes, it would be for the best to keep them here,” the dryad nodded.

“Well, we can only make the final decision tomorrow, when Seth and the others are back here. But I guess I will support your proposition. Although I still don't like the idea of keeping enemy legends captive...” Leana ultimately agreed, looking at the figures, held alive by the tree.

A little shudder ran down her spine, imagining suffering this kind of fate.