Game of the World Tree

Sensing the overwhelming pressure around him, Azazel’s flame-imbued body wavered slightly.

“This is…a Celestial Domain!”

A trace of astonishment flickered within his eyes.

However, when Azazel realized that the source of this Domain actually came from the grotesque-looking roots before him, his astonishment quickly turned into shock:

“The World Tree!?”

In the entire realm of Seigües, only the World Tree could possess roots of such vast scale, capable enough of penetrating even to such deep regions underground.

Henceforth…

Whilst feeling the potent lifeforce contained in those roots and sensing the ever-strengthening divine power within the surrounding area, as well as the omnipresent aura of life and nature infused within that divine power…

Even someone as dull as Azazel finally understood who this existence he had encountered was.

This is without a doubt, the power of the World Tree!

Upon realizing who he was actually facing, Azazel didn’t hesitate and he immediately decided to escape.

Are you kidding me?

He had only just awakened and barely regained the strength of a meager divine power.

As such, facing a great ancient being of this magnitude at this moment would entirely be asinine and tantamount to courting death!

Back when the gods had sealed him in the past, the most crucial step was actually performed by this very entity!

Therefore, there was no doubt in his mind that the World Tree, which was naturally skilled in performing sealing magic, could imprison him once more right at this very moment!

However, at the same time, a hint of doubt arose within Azazel’s mind.

Wasn’t it said that during his time of imprisonment, the World Tree was attacked by the heavenly gods and eventually fell under their siege?

If he remembered correctly, this news had actually come from the Pantheon itself, so it couldn’t have been false.

So… what’s the deal with the current situation?

The World Tree actually did not fell like the news had proclaimed?

Azazel felt a bit confused.

But soon, he noticed some strange things about this ‘World Tree’ he was currently facing.

For one thing, its power seemed to have been greatly weakened, and if he were to make an rough estimate, its current strength was not even at the level of intermediate divine power.

No…something about it is not adding up!

He had encountered the World Tree in the past and personally witnessed how powerful it was. So from his understanding of its strength, this great entity would have been more than capable of handling all of them on its own and would not have needed the help of the Goddess of Death to deal with them back when they clashed in the upper layers of the underground.

Hence, it’s very likely that the World Tree, like him, has only just recently awakened as well!

Realizing this, Azazel’s eyes considerably brightened.

However, despite discovering that the World Tree was not as powerful as it was beforehand, Azazel still had no intention of directly competing against it.

This was the World Tree!

Even in its weakened state, it was still far stronger than he was!

His only option would be to escape!

Run!

As long as the World Tree’s strength is not at its peak, there is still a chance he can get out of here!

In an instant, Azazel transformed his body into molten lava and blended with the abundant magma in the surroundings of the third underground layer to slip away.

Alas, the World Tree moved even quicker.

A vast surge of divine power erupted from its coiled roots, which instantly enveloped the fleeing Azazel.

With his escape being intercepted, the seventh demon lord was horrified to find that his Corrupted Sea of Fire Domain was utterly crushed by the World Tree in an instant…

This was the difference between their respective Celestial Domains.

As an evil god, although Azazel had tried his best to reach the bottom layer of the underground to be in close proximity to the abyss, his domain would always be suppressed and incomplete as long as he did not enter the area that was fully eroded by the power of the Abyss.

The World Tree, however, seemed to be different.

Back when Azazel was last sealed, he noticed that the World Tree seemed to have a strong resistance to the corruption of the Abyss.

Not only that, but the closer they reach the bottom of the underground, the stronger the power of the World Tree actually becomes.

This is because the Provenance of Seigües is also hidden deep underground.

So, in a sense, the World Tree, which is rooted deep in the realm of Seigües, bears some resemblance to the Seven Demon Lords that have merged with the Provenance of Hell, since just like them, the closer the World Tree is to the Provenance of Seigües, the more powerful it becomes!

No good!

Must escape!

I have to escape at all cost!

Otherwise, I’ll be sealed again!

With a furious roar, Azazel decisively detonated his own divine power in an attempt to disrupt the other party’s Celestial Domain.

However, it seemed the World Tree had anticipated this action of his.

The very instance Azazel detonated his divine power, the surrounding space suddenly distorted, and he was horrified to find himself trapped in an alternate sealed dimension…

This was the alternate space Evé used to hide her true form.

At this moment, she repurposed it to imprisoned Azazel.

From the very beginning, Evé had never intended to capture Azazel using the power of her Celestial Domain alone.

Instead, her real plan was to use her domain to suppress him just long enough to transfer him into this alternate dimension!

After all… even demigod Volker almost managed to escape her Celestial Domain in a desperate attempt. With Azazel being a true mythical being, Evé wasn’t willing to gamble on whether he possessed a similar escape method in his arsenal.

Nonetheless, now that Azazel was sealed here, any chance of him escaping would be nearly impossible.

This alternate space was entirely filled with Evé’s own divine power, and once anyone was trapped inside, the only way out was to either kill Evé or wait for the spatial portal to open; otherwise, escape was practically impossible.

And since Evé had regained her strength to the level of meager divine power, she didn’t believe that a recently awakened and suppressed evil god could do anything to her.

To put it bluntly, the method she employed was like sealing both herself and her opponent together, which a method far more crude but way easier to execute than a typical sealing spell.

Azazel also figured this out rather quickly, as it was evident from his expression, which had turned grim.

He attempted to teleport himself out, but under the suppression of the other party’s domain, all his efforts inevitably failed…

He then tried to use his divine power to forcefully break through the confined space, but it didn’t have any slightest effect…

“Yggdrasill! It was like this thousands of years ago, and it’s still like this now! Do you really enjoy sealing me so much?! Even to the extent of sealing yourself along with me?”

Azazel roared in frustration.

However, Evé had completely ignored him.

Sealing herself as well?

—No.

She was simply creating an opportunity.

The World Tree’s roots suddenly began to wriggle, and a couple of seconds later, they brought back another figure from the ground.

It was the shadow dragon, Darkness, who was tightly bound by numerous vines, whilst his face displayed a mixture of confusion and terror.

At that moment, Darkness, this unfortunate fellow, had his power suppressed all the way down to the golden-rank.

After being imprisoned within Eve’s Celestial domain, he was entirely cut off from his connection with his master, Hödur.

And the very moment Azazel laid eyes upon the unfortunate dragon, he soon witnessed a horrifying scene—

The thick roots of the World Tree seemed to come to life on their own as they rapidly grew like tentacles, writhing and extending toward Darkness, who was sealed by the artifact, Withering Heart…

Then, in a manner akin to burrowing into soil, these numerous roots pierced through Darkness’s body as if they were part of the natural order, merging with him in a sort of grotesque embrace.

Amidst the shadow dragon’s agonizing roars, Azazel horrifyingly saw the power contained within Darkness being rapidly drained by the World Tree’s roots.

In just a matter of seconds, the unfortunate shadow dragon was reduced to a mere withered husk of his former self as his entire being crumbled before turning into ashes.

As Azazel witnessed the horrific scene unfold, terror washed over his face, only to give way to a growing sense of bewilderment.

The World Tree… is actually devouring Darkness’s power?

W-Who exactly is the evil god here?

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