Chapter 73 - Demigod's Rebirth

Shadow's POV

All at once, chaos breaks out. Once the light fades and I'm able to get to my feet again, I see Millibelle thrashing around on the floor. I-Is it too late? No- it has to be something else, I can still sense her. It's the Malice itself, enacting one final spasm in an attempt to avoid its fate.

It seems to have control of the most Degraded limbs, using them to swing at the shell-shocked Vir'ava. If one of those swings connect, perhaps even just a grazing blow, the Vir'ava will be torn apart from the force.

I sprint towards them, as each swing the Malice takes makes Millibelle's body inch closer towards the Vir'ava, who seems too shocked to move out of the way. I call upon the Draugr. If nothing else, they're disposable meat-shields, and I realize I need one of their Skills.

Just as the Malice-laden arm is about to sever Vir'avas head from her body, I manage to knock her out of the way, taking the full brunt of the impact. My small and light body is sent flying into a wall. The world spins as I try to get back up.

"Leave! Now!" I Command the Vir'ava. Taking a hesitant step backwards, the effect of the Spell fully kicks in, and she turns around and flees.

My body is giving out on me. The abuse I put it through when making the Divine Spring without recovering my MP enough... It's really coming back to bite me in the ass, huh. Already, I can feel my features lose definition as my body starts to break down into sludge.

A Draugr emerges from the cave wall, having used its Ethereal Phase to get here quickly. Just in time, it throws itself at the Degraded arm aiming to deal the finishing blow to me. A deep gash is made in the cave wall just inches from my face.

In retaliation, the Draugr is dealt with swiftly. Its body is squashed into a fine puree by an overhead swing, but its sacrifice will not be in wain.

Focusing all my willpower, I force my body to move even as every part of me cries out in pain. I swell in size, becoming large enough to leverage my weight against Her. My goal is to somehow shove her into the Divine Spring. A tight grip is kept on the Degraded arm, to keep it from getting loose and finishing me off.

The Malice resists, and I can feel it try to leap hosts, to also infect my body. One meter, two meters... I slowly make headway.

Just then, the arm I had managed to restrain previously slips out of my grasp. Time seems to slow down as I watch it descend upon my neck.

"Millibelle! Wake UP!"

My view goes black as the HP of the Body Double is reduced to zero.

As Witnessed by the Divine

The Elder Oak was, at one point, just another Elder Oak. One of countless specimens of its species that grew across the World. Like all plants, it was ostensibly alive, but lacked a Soul. Therefore, it had no will of its own.

That changed once the Monarch, Millibelle, made her home beneath its roots. The influx of Magic in the area, and the closeness to its source started to slowly change the very nature of this Elder Oak.

Once the World Event happened, and the Lair became a fully fledged Domain, with the Elder Oak still at the center, that nature changed again. Growing beyond the normal limits of its species, it very much became something more than just a tree.

Now, with the final addition of a Divine Spring amidst its roots, the final piece was in place for a grand happening.

*Starting World Event: Demigod Rebirth: Plant*

Long ago, there were special Souls. Born from Soul-less, yet living, entities coming into close contact with Magic and the Divine, they were born with powers that, although they were lesser than that of the True Divine, could overpower even the Elder Dragons.

Demigods. Five of them were born, each associated with an Element that had no Divine of their own: Heat, Cold, Lightning, Plant and ??????.

This knowledge now flooded the mind of the newly reborn Demigod of Plant.

Sensing the presence of ??????, it looks around in fear, looking for the source. Below it...

This time will be different.

Millibelle's POV

Everything hurts. Why? Why me? Why this pain?

.̷̹̙̲̔.̵̟͇̜̊̓͂.̷̨͓͙͋̈́̾ ̸̧͓̀S̸̨̺͂i̷̡͐̾s̷͚̺̊ţ̵͓͇̇͗͝ë̷̢͈́̓̈́r̷͍̅͌ ̶͖̔̀͌.̶͎̪̼̈́̋.̷̣͓̈́̑͋.̷͍̚ ̶̳͇̲̆

I can't take it anymore.

.̵̘͚̲̇͝.̴̳̑̅.̸̨͔̐̒́ ̵̩̋̿Ş̸̞̇̆͋t̸̪̣̆̋̀ͅä̵͉͚̼́̔ý̸̖̏͜ ̵̩̝̝̓̕ẘ̸̠̼i̷̛̻͈̍̎t̸̜̝̎̓̋ḫ̶̛̭̊͘ ̶̼̄͆̈́ͅm̸̢̛̱̄e̴̼̪̓̋̕!̴̢̓́̚ ̵̢̰̐.̵̣́̅.̷̠͎̳͘.̸͍͆̌̈́͜ ̴͓̈́̈

Wait...

Before me, a light appears. Within it, a familiar person stands. My body is too weak to move, and I can no longer feel the limbs I regrew during the fight with the Hero. Still, I struggle against the movements I feel them perform, to keep them from harming the figure before me.

"M-mom?" Tears are welling up. They sting my dry eyes and create channels in the grime that cover my body.

.̸̙̐͠͠.̶̩̌͋͝.̵͖̻̇ ̸͉͗̃Ņ̶̢̝̅͑̌o̴̢̠̓!̶͛ͅ ̴̫͈̜͌̆̈P̴̠̖̣̎l̴̖͚͇͆ĕ̴̛̜ạ̵̯̅͝s̶̖̥͐͐̈́ͅe̷̥͎̖̓̀!̶̲̥̺̆͑ ̶̱̿̒̀W̸̰͓̲̄͝ȩ̴̳̽͘'̶̣̗̍͐ṛ̵͚̎͗͋ë̷̛̱̤͙́ ̸̛͚̓̿ŝ̷̝̣̪ō̴̩̯ ̵̛̞̒ͅc̴̞̍̒͘l̶̡̀o̶͋̔̿ͅs̵̥͍̪͆̒͝e̷͇̥͌!̵͖͌ ̴̲̀͋̊.̷͓̲͆̽̋ͅ.̴̢̠̮͂.̷̥̊͂̈́ͅ

"There, there, honey, relax. You shouldn't be up and about. Here, let me help you." Talking in my mothers voice... looking like her, even smelling like her... The hallucination, it has to be one, reaches out to caress my cheek. I don't resist. After all, I miss her so...

The touch feels warm against my oddly cold body, and I feel the warmth spread from where she touched me. Moving me into an embrace, a bright light blinds me before I once again fall into slumber, though this one feels safe, warm, like home.

As witnessed by the Divine

Delpha stares with horror at the scene before her. One monster Servant, and Shadow have been killed, and now something has calmed and encased the one responsible for the deaths within an odd cocoon woven out of roots.

Behind gaps in the roots a green liquid can be seen. Within it floats Millibelle, plumes of dark, smoky somethings rapidly rising from her body, not unlike an underwater volcano (had Delpha ever witnessed one such wonder of nature). The tainted liquid is deposited into the newly formed Divine Spring, the sacred waters within it hissing and sputtering as the two liquids meet.

In front of the cocoon stands what at first glance might look like a normal human woman, though one wouldn't need Delphas finely tuned perception of the Divine to tell that this is no mere humanoid.

"You're-" Delpha begins to speak hesitantly, before startling as the woman notices her and turns to face her.

"I am... Yggdrasil." The woman doesn't move her lips, and the voice seems to come from all around the cave. "I believe that is the name the Great Monarch has given my physical form." Yggdrasil looks up at the cave roof, where just beyond a layer of rocks and soil is the base of the trunk of the giant Elder Oak that marks the center of the Domain.

"I-Is Millibelle?" Too frazzled to make complete sentences, Delpha manages to stammer out something she hopes would make sense to this 'Yggdrasil'.

"She should be fine, at least physically, once the treatment is complete. I hope you don't mind, but I'm taking this time to infuse her with my sap. It should increase her resistance to ??????. I'd hate for her to survive this encounter just to be afflicted again."

Delpha's mind reels at the mention of ??????. It's as if the World itself denies its existence. It feels filthy, that word.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I forgot that mentioning... that... makes others very uncomfortable. I believe you refer to it as Malice instead? Pardon, it's been so long since I last lived." Yggdrasil bows in apology.

"So- it's true then. You're really the Demigod of Plant?" Samantha appears from behind, having finally managed to elbow her way past the throng of monsters blocking the exit to the cave. Her eyes are narrowed, Delpha's uncertain if it's suspicion or anger.

"I am. Please, call me Yggdrasil, for it is the name given to me by the Great Monarch." Yggdrasil once again bows deeply. She overall gives off a very submissive aura, as if she really doesn't like to flaunt the nature of her being.

"So, can you tell us what's going on?" Samantha asks, her tone demanding, almost accusing.

"The Divine Spring was completed by the Great Monarch. The... Malice within her then went wild, sensing its end was nearing. The Monarch's Shadow saved the Vir'ava, before an Undead saved the Shadow." Yggdrasil seems oblivious to the near hostile demeanor of Samantha, happily explaining the sequence of events that led up to this point.

"So, to save us all, you sealed Millibelle in that thing?" Samantha crosses her arms and tilts her head. Delpha knows from experience that she only does that when she's postulating a (to her) false statement in order to judge the other's reaction.

Yggdrasil falters just for a moment, the smile on her face stiffening just a little. "I did it to save myself from once again being brought to ruin by ??????. Saving the life of the Great Monarch, to me, is an added benefit." Her tone, once sweet, now carries a sour undertone, and she intentionally uses the word she knows others hate.

Delpha gives Samantha a worried look. Her adopted grandma might be used to getting her way by acting like this, but now it's threatening to upset someone very powerful. Samantha sighs. "Very well. I suppose it's much the same with Demigods as it is with monsters. Humanoids just can't understand them sometimes. I'm sorry for my behavior."

Yggdrasil's smile refreshes, once again sweet and polite. "Now, it will be a while before the Monarch is cured, so I suppose in the meanwhile we could... clean up a bit." She looks somberly over to the puddle of viscera that used to be a Draugr and the pile of slime that used to be Shadow's Body Double.

"Then afterwards, perhaps you can fill me in on what's happened in the World since the last time I lived." She smiles.