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‘Is this all because of what I made…?’

It was hard to believe, but at this moment, it felt more realistic than the idea that a villain or some random variable suddenly controlled Flower’s mind. I couldn’t always just blame others to win mentally whenever something went wrong.

Statistically speaking, there were more instances where my own actions snowballed back on me than when others intervened and caused chaos. Call it the butterfly effect. I never imagined that the thing I made back then, which seemed to have no visible results and was completely forgotten, would come back as a snowball…

“Dr. Eight? What’s wrong?”

“Ah— no, that’s…”

In the meantime, Aushilion, being a seasoned elf, seemed to quickly grasp my condition. When she noticed the hint of anxiety in me, she pressed on, wanting to know what was going on.

Having been caught out in the open, I told her my suspicions. Essentially, Flower’s state could potentially be a result of my research.

“Hm… could it be? Since you made it, you must also know how to resolve it, right?”

“Honestly speaking— I’m not sure. I had some guesses about what the outcome would be, but I’ve never actually seen the result…”

Predicting the performance of something I had never seen was incredibly tedious, but I recalled the specs I had expected before making it and started to speak.

“Non-dimensional ghosts… in other words, the Beast is something I created based on the things I encountered in this world. Devils, outsiders, guardians of alternate dimensions, and so on…”

“……What did you encounter?”

“Devils, outsiders, and….”

“No, no, no—”

Aushilion waved her hands in an exaggerated manner, chuckling awkwardly.

“Devils and outsiders… where could such things exist in this world?”

“Ah… are you not aware?”

Oh dear— could it be that she really doesn’t know…

I could see how that might be the case. Ever since I fell into this world, I’ve had quite a turbulent life. Of course, Aushilion’s age and her experience far exceed mine—possibly hundreds of times over.

But really, no matter how long a medieval peasant might live, they wouldn’t have seen or experienced more than a young person in modern society. The amount of time doesn’t guarantee the quality of experience.

“Anyway, since I wove together their characteristics, let’s think this through—”

If someone believes in them, they come into existence.

Even if someone does not believe, they exist on their own.

They appear when certain rules are broken.

The characteristics of the devil, the outsider, and the guardian are intertwined. In other words, just doubting that they exist allows them to be born, and once born, they sustain themselves even without belief. They manifest through certain triggers regardless of observation.

Not knowing what that trigger might be and having to deal with a Beast that Flower has already witnessed makes it hard to know how to eliminate it. Not to mention, all of this could just be my guess.

“Well, this is my conjecture. It could potentially be a much worse monster, or not.”

“……Wait. So right now, just by being recognized, they are born. And once they are born, they don’t just disappear. Even if no one knows of their existence, they appear if certain conditions are met. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“What on earth did you create…?”

Aushilion looked at me with an expression of despair. However, I shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. After all, such entities are not unheard of back on Earth. It’s quite common for elementary students to follow along with YouTube videos at home and have something occasionally appear…

In a fantasy world where dragons, elves, and world trees exist, you’d think something like this would be familiar. Yet it seems that it’s not really the case.

“Well, it’s not definitive; it’s just something that might be the case. But if it’s such a monster, I’m already worried about how to deal with it.”

“……That sounds like you might have some method to take it down.”

“It’s just a job hazard. A trait specific to scientists.”

Whenever there’s research, scientists always anticipate the worst-case scenarios that could arise from it. If they can’t prevent those scenarios, they tend to flag it as dangerous right off the bat.

Naturally, I was aware of the risks involved in my research. I hadn’t validated it, but I thought that somehow I could solve it, so I just brushed it off.

“So, what’s the problem then?”

“……It’s all just a guess, and the reality could be different.”

One of the materials I used to create the Beast was Chaos. What they call dark energy. In other words, no matter how well I created it, an uncontrollable variable will eventually appear.

Depending on how much that variable impacted the creation of the Beast, whether positively or negatively, no matter how hard I prepared, it could all end up being futile.

“So, what can we do?”

“For the worst-case scenario— that is, even if the Beast has become an undying existence, it shouldn’t matter.”

I recalled some of the eco-friendly weapons I used frequently back on Earth. They were weapons I certainly couldn’t pull out in this world, but it might be worth considering limited use in case of emergencies.

I really didn’t want to use them, but that wasn’t my intention…

“—I will prepare thoroughly.”

It can’t be helped.

Even if federal agents come looking for me, they would give this some consideration.

*

Whoosh—!

The world tree, which began to explosively grow, engulfing the Eternal Tree, whipped its roots and trunk around as if announcing its birth to the world. The tip of the world tree’s body easily surpassed supersonic speed, just as a whip wielded by a mere human might reach the speed of sound.

As the supersonic tree trunk whipped fiercely through the air, people screamed at the unexpected natural disaster.

“What, what is that—!”

“A crazy tree! A crazy tree is coming!”

“Run away!”

Just a few grams of lead can easily become a deadly weapon simply by breaking the sound barrier. So what would happen if this immense wooden body, thousands of times the size of a bullet and tens of thousands of times its weight, danced at supersonic speeds?

People were too busy covering their ears from the noise generated by that wooden trunk. Massive noises erupted in succession, loud enough to cause permanent damage to their hearing. Even in the middle of a war, it wouldn’t be this loud.

“You, you! You there! What are you doing! Are you insane?!”

“……?”

As everyone fled from the world tree, a woman with green hair approached it boldly. A man, upon seeing this, dashed over and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.

“Run away quickly! Do you want to die!? Even brushing against that will kill you!”

“…….”

“Come quickly—”

“Grrroooowl—!”

But in the next moment. At the moment the man yanked her wrist painfully, the Beast immediately howled and tore him apart.

It was impossible for a newly born beast to understand human morals. A creature that simply moved according to its instincts. After tearing apart the one who tormented it, the Beast curiously stared at the blood on its arm, licking it like a cat licking a child’s face.

Lick lick. After cleaning the blood off its arm, the Beast turned its head back toward the world tree, as if that’s where the most captivating life force lay.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Grrr—?”

“Having Flower’s body and acting so reckless, I won’t allow that.”

The Beast tilted its head as it looked at the wrapped figure blocking its path— a guy covered head to toe in bandages. It was undoubtedly the very same guy it had just torn to shreds moments ago. The lingering scent on him gave it away.

What was baffling was that despite having left him in pieces, he had returned in one piece, and despite having suffered such injuries, he dared to approach her again.

“Grrr…?”

“Oh, looks like you remember me.”

“Grrrk—!”

But that was all.

Despite having returned after sustaining significant injuries and his daring approach failing to pique her interest, she didn’t seem to care much.

Nourishment-less curiosity could not outweigh the Beast’s yearning for the vibrant life force of the world tree. Even a cat playing with a mouse would prioritize the fragrant fish piled before it over its plaything.

Ignoring the bandaged thug, the Beast turned its back.

“I knew this would happen. Beasts.”

However, even that predictable behavior was met with—

The bandaged thug, Steil, immediately unwrapped the bandages around his whole body.

Soon, the hot sunlight and the ultraviolet rays within began to heat his flesh. Sizzle—! The sound and smell of cooking flesh filled the air.

Normally, such actions would be restrained not only due to pain but also due to possible consequences. But Steil was different now.

Promised boundless vitality and absolution for his loved one from the scientist.

“With this body, I shall burn myself and stand in your way.”

A single flame blazed forth, standing against the Beast.

Even the predicted pain, which would be worse than death.

That did not obstruct his path.