World Awakening: The Legendary Player-Chapter 110: Cleanse

The root coiled around Nox’s arm loosened and slid away as Fena’s entire body went rigid, her eyes wide with a shock that completely shattered her composure.

She fell to one knee, her head bowed.

"My apologies, Your Highness."

Nox dropped Lola, who collapsed to the ground coughing and gasping for air while he just stared at the kneeling Elder.

’What the hell just happened? She was about to kill me a second ago, and now she’s kneeling?’

The other dark elves who were watching from a distance started murmuring among themselves, their angry faces now filled with confusion.

"Mother, what are you doing?" Mela ran forward, stopping a few feet away from her kneeling mother.

Fena looked up at Serian, her expression a mix of awe and deep guilt. "The name Feselian... it is the name of the First Speakers, the royal line chosen by the World Tree itself at the dawn of time."

Her voice trembled slightly, and it was loud enough for everyone in the clearing to hear.

"Our ancestors, the first Ashen Elves, made a vow. A blood oath to protect the Feselian line with our lives. A vow we broke when we abandoned Lifewoods during the great war."

Serian looked completely lost. "I... I didn’t know."

’So she’s not just a princess, she’s like their long-lost queen or something.’ He looked from the kneeling Fena to the stunned Serian. ’And they have a blood oath to protect her? This changes things. This could be useful.’

Mela’s jaw dropped, and she quickly dropped to her own knee beside her mother. "My apologies your highness."

Serian was completely overwhelmed by the sudden gesture and took a step back.

"Please, you must stand up. My home is gone, I am not a princess of anything."

Fena looked up, her expression now one of intense, unwavering loyalty, which was a complete one-eighty from her earlier hostility.

"Your home may be gone, Your Highness, but the Feselian bloodline is not, and our ancient oath was to your blood. We abandoned our duty when we did not aid Lifewoods, but we will not fail you again."

She stood and turned to the other elves, her voice carrying across the clearing.

"This is Princess Serian Feselian, last heir of the First Speakers! Our ancestors swore a blood oath to her line, an oath we have ignored for a hundred years, and it is a shame we must now rectify!"

The dark elves exchanged shocked and confused looks, their anger forgotten, while even Jor, clutching his ribs, slowly dropped to one knee with disbelief on his face. Soon, the entire clearing was filled with kneeling elves. freewёbnoνel-com

’This is too much,’ Serian thought, her head spinning. ’I don’t want this responsibility.’

Nox was just looking at all the elves, ’where did they all come from anyways, I am sure we only left the elder here.’

He walked over and nudged her.

"Looks like you have a fan club."

"This is not a joke, Nox, they are looking at me for guidance, but I couldn’t even save my own people."

"It doesn’t matter what you think, it only matters what they think, and right now, they think you’re their queen."

Lola watched from the ground, a cold dread washing over her as the reality of her situation sank in.

’A real princess? I tried to kidnap a real-life, politically important princess? Gorok didn’t tell me this. He’s going to kill me, and if he doesn’t, these crazy elves will.’

Fena approached Serian, her posture now that of a subordinate.

"Your Highness, we must decide what to do with the mercenary, and we must discuss the plan for the Great Root. Your safety is our only concern."

"First, have them stand," Serian requested. "I cannot think like this."

Fena gave the order, and the elves rose, their eyes still full of awe.

"About the prisoner," she began, looking at Lola, "she acted out of grief and was manipulated by Gorok. I will not have her executed."

Mela stepped forward, her hand near her blowgun.

"Your Highness, with respect, she threatened your life. That is a crime that cannot be forgiven."

’She’s too soft,’ Nox thought. ’This kind of mercy is a weakness.’

"She will be kept as a prisoner," Fena decided, her tone final. "She may have information on Gorok’s plans."

’I can’t watch this anymore, this will only come back to bite us in the ass.’

He void stepped and appeared in front of Lola once again.

Everyone knew what he wanted to do.

"Nox, no!" Serian begged, taking a step forward. "We are not murderers! Please, show mercy!"

Fena’s voice was sharp, "Human, stand down. She is our prisoner, not yours to execute."

’They’re both wrong. This is a loose end.’

He ignored them completely and looked down at Lola.

"You are not my boss." He directed that to both the princess and Elder.

He grabbed Lola by the front of her shirt, hauling her to her feet with one arm while her hands were still tied. She struggled, but it was useless.

"You can’t do this!" Lola screamed, her eyes wide with terror. "Gorok will hunt you to the ends of the world!"

’I’m counting on it.’

With no wasted motion, he grabbed her head and squeezed.

There was a sickening, wet crunch as her skull caved in under the pressure of his gauntlets. Her body went limp, and he let her fall to the ground, a crumpled, broken thing.

A system window immediately filled his vision.

[Human (Mercenary) Defeated!]

[EXP Gained: 5,000]

[Warning: Killing a sapient being of your own origin race may have unforeseen consequences.]

’I got EXP from killing a human? Weird. And what consequences?’

Serian stared in horror, her hands covering her mouth. Mela flinched back, while Fena’s face was a mask of cold fury.

But before anyone could react, something else happened.

A faint, shimmering outline of Lola was pulled from her lifeless body. It was a ghostly, translucent figure that looked around in pure terror.

’What the hell is that?’

The soul screamed without a sound and shot across the clearing, flying directly at Nox. He tried to step aside, but it was too fast. It phased right through his chest.

A strange, cold feeling washed over him for a second, then it was gone.

Another series of windows popped up, these ones different, their borders glowing with a faint, golden light.

[Bond Established: Mysterious Divine Egg]

[The hatchling is hungry.]

[The hatchling consumes the soul of Lola.]

[The hatchling’s growth has been stimulated. Incubation has begun.]

He felt a deep warmth spread through his chest, radiating from the spot where the soul had entered. It wasn’t his own power, it felt like a satisfied hum coming from something else, something hidden within him.

’The egg? It eats souls?’

He looked at Serian, who was pale and shaking. He looked at Fena, whose face was no longer angry, but filled with a deep fear of the unholy magic she had just witnessed.

’So, this is a consequence. This is going to be interesting.’

"You killed her. Why, Nox? She was defeated, she was a prisoner." Serian asked, looking visibly angry.

"She was a loose end, and she would have been a problem later."

"You murdered a helpless prisoner on my land, and that magic... what are you?" Fena asked.

’She’s not mad I killed her?’

"I am a solution to your problem."

Serian stepped in front of him, blocking his path, her face full of horrified disappointment. "That’s not an excuse! We are supposed to be better than this! I thought you were better than this!"

’Better? What does being ’better’ get you? A knife in the back.’

"Being ’better’ is what gets people killed. I did what was necessary because she threatened you, so I ended the threat. It’s that simple."

"It is not simple!"

Fena interrupted their argument. "Enough. What is done is done, and the act was monstrous, but her fate is no longer our concern." She looked at the Great Root, then at Nox. "Can you still cleanse the rot?"

"That’s the plan."

He pushed past Serian, who just watched him go. He walked to the massive root and placed both his hands flat against the darkest, most pulsating section of the Rot.

’Void Assimilation.’

"Time to eat."

The Rot reacted instantly. A violent vortex of black, chaotic energy erupted from the Great Root, funneling directly into his hands. The air crackled, and the ground trembled as he began to literally suck the disease out of the ancient tree.

"Nox!" Serian screamed.

"What is he doing?!" Fena yelled, taking an involuntary step back. "He’s absorbing it! He will be consumed by it!"

His body began to shake violently under the sheer volume of power. It was a firehose of corrupted energy flooding into his system, and the pain was immense, but the Will of the Abyss skill held his mind together while his Void-Touched Core greedily devoured the new power.

As he drained the Rot, the Great Root began to heal. The black veins sizzled and faded, revealing healthy brown wood beneath. The oily sap dried up, and a faint, green light began to pulse from within the tree.

The vortex of dark energy finally subsided, the last of it sinking into Nox’s body with a deep hum. He pulled his hands away, breathing heavily, but a savage grin was plastered on his face.

The Great Root was completely healed, and it radiated a newfound vitality.

A series of windows, grander than any before, filled his vision.

[Main Mission Complete: Cleanse the Forest!]

[Rewards Granted!]

[+300,000 EXP!]

[+200 Unallocated Stat Points!]

[Mythical Class-Specific Armor Chest added to inventory!]

[World Seed Fragment added to inventory!]

[New Title Acquired: Warden of the Ashen Glade!]

[Level Up! x5]

[You are now Level 33!]

[All stats increased by 5!]

[You have 215 unallocated stat points!]

’Holy shit. That was intense, I want more, more!’

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