#79 Chapter: The Tin Knight and the Realm of Deep Green (9)
“There once was a father and daughter from a long, long time ago.”
“The father was a scholar with abundant knowledge, held in reverence and respect by many.”
“The daughter, however, was a hideous monster with a terrifying appearance, inciting feelings of disgust and contempt from countless people.”
“Friends urged the father to abandon his daughter, stating that there was no relation between the two of them at all.”
“The father shook his head, arguing that his daughter was not a monster, just a bit different.”
“People could not understand why the father clung so desperately to a creature that was not even his blood.”
“They thought the father had gone mad or that the monster had ensnared him with wicked magic.”
“Some felt there was a grain of truth in the father’s words, but they didn’t dare voice it.”
“A monster was a monster. That is how the heavens decreed it.”
“No matter how wise the father was or how great his character, he was just a sinner for breaking the taboo set by the heavens.”
“The father tried to persuade people using everything he had, but they backed away in fear of receiving the same treatment.”
“The fear and disgust aimed at the daughter gradually began to infect him as well.”
“Pressure from the people only intensified day by day. Looks of respect turned into contemptuous sneers.”
“Eventually, the father had to accept that his daughter could not survive among humans.”
“He began to prepare many things so that his daughter could live on her own.”
“When his once-mighty wealth began to dwindle, preparations finally concluded.”
“The father and daughter fled together to a place where no one would tread.”
“Using tools commissioned from skilled witches, they created a new sanctuary.”
“So that no one could approach. So that no one could harm them.”
“The plan succeeded.”
“The pair attained peace.”
“A peace whose duration was uncertain.”
“…I can finally see the end.”
Dorothea let out a deep sigh.
Cracks were scattered across the lake’s bottom, each at differing depths.
It took a considerable amount of time to sort through the disarray, as the chapters were all jumbled like the first coming after the eighth and the eighth following the fourth.
The only thing left was one particularly large crack at the center of the lake.
With that in mind, Dorothea slowly stepped toward it.
She moved forward, step by step.
At the moment Dorothea’s staff was about to touch the crack—
“Oh dear.”
With an oddly nonchalant voice, Sophia suddenly pushed Dorothea aside.
Just after Dorothea lost her balance and was shoved aside—
Thud.
A jarring sound of flesh and blood piercing echoed.
A green tentacle, springing up from the ground, had left a massive hole right in the center of Sophia’s chest.
Dorothea couldn’t call out Sophia’s name.
The waters of the lake, which had been blocked from reaching Dorothea by air bubbles, rushed toward her as the bubbles burst.
And seizing the moment, a second tentacle lashed out at Dorothea.
Caught off guard as she was suddenly drenched, Dorothea couldn’t react in time.
[‘Tin Knight’ declares that direct attacks are prohibited!]
So, instead of the witch, the Tin Knight responded.
The two tentacles, which had just pierced through Sophia and were now aiming for Dorothea, were ruthlessly severed by the Tin Knight’s sword.
As if that wasn’t enough, he then wrapped a terrifying aura around his steel sword and slammed it down toward the ground.
Swish!
A massive crack opened up in the lake’s bottom.
And from that chasm, green goo seeped out, mixing with the lake’s water like paint.
The Tin Knight seemed momentarily poised to deliver an aftershock, but upon seeing Sophia and Dorothea bobbing around under the water, he sheathed his sword.
He firmly grasped Dorothea with his right arm and Sophia with his left, shouting towards Adel.
[‘Tin Knight’ commands you to hold on tightly!]
“…!”
Adel, bewildered by the sudden shift in circumstances, instinctively followed the Tin Knight’s orders.
She wrapped her arms tightly around the Tin Knight’s neck.
Whoosh!
The Tin Knight’s legs pushed firmly against the ground.
Like sprinting across flat terrain, the Tin Knight dashed along the lake’s bottom.
Magical power surged throughout his entire body.
Taking care not to fling his companions off, the Tin Knight unleashed magical energy behind him, propelling himself forward.
Thump, thump, thump!
[‘Tin Knight’ requests additional magical power!]
With a speed that felt more like being launched than running, there was no time to breathe, let alone keep his eyes open, but Dorothea fulfilled her role.
As Dorothea’s magical energy flowed into the Tin Knight, his speed intensified.
In the blink of an eye, the Tin Knight reached the edge of the lake from its center, leaping up the steep slope leading to land.
Whoosh!
The group shot out of the lake and onto solid ground.
With a heavy thud, the Tin Knight landed and set his companions down.
“Gack, cough!”
“Twit.”
“…Huff.”
Dorothea coughed up water, Adel spat out a magical pebble with a cute sound, and Sophia, lying on the ground, was gasping for breath.
The Tin Knight checked to ensure everyone was safe before preparing to charge back toward the lake, but there was no need.
Rumble, rumble!
The ground was shaking.
No, rather, the entire forest was.
The garden was screaming.
With a tremendous roar, the very bottom of the lake started to rise up, but the amount of overflowed water was minimal.
The reason was simple.
Some ‘thing’ newly revealed was greedily sucking up all the water.
Adel, rubbing her eyes in disbelief, muttered in a daze.
“A tree…?”
Indeed.
It was a massive tree.
However, unlike a typical tree with a brown trunk and green foliage, the one standing before them was nearly entirely green.
Moreover, only a portion of its roots were buried in the ground, while the remaining roots twisted and writhed like snakes.
The tentacle that had pierced Sophia seemed to belong to that tree.
It looked utterly grotesque.
It appeared utterly hideous.
It looked overly threatening.
And, and.
‘So beautiful…’
It was extraordinarily lovely.
Adel stared blankly at the tree.
Her earlier fear lasted only a moment.
The more she gazed, the more ensnared she became by the tree’s beauty.
Just looking at it filled her with wonder and put her mind at ease.
Her tense body relaxed, and the strength drained from her hand, which held her sword.
Adel was not the only one captivated by the beauty; several animals hiding in the forest rushed out, dashing toward the tree.
The tree swung its tentacles, piercing through the animals charging at it and drinking their blood.
The creatures died with expressions of bliss.
On the top of the tree, several red fruits began to grow.
They were bright red, resembling pomegranates.
Even those fruits seemed beautiful; Adel thought.
Wrapped in a cozy and sweet feeling, she walked straight toward the tree.
And then, without hesitation, Dorothea struck her on the back of the head with her staff.
-Smack!!
“Ow!”
Adel crouched down, clutching her head.
The pain made tears well up in her eyes.
Adel protested.
“W-why did you hit me!?”
Dorothea responded incredulously.
“Just eat this already.”
Dorothea held out a small elixir toward Adel.
Adel asked in return.
“You have to tell me what this is first. No, I’ll eat it, thank you!”
Seeing the exchange between Dorothea and the Tin Knight, and observing the Tin Knight preparing his body, Adel threw her questions aside and tossed the medicine into her mouth.
It was better to take it herself than to be roughly ‘administered’ by the Tin Knight.
She had no idea what ingredients were used, but the elixir began to dissolve rapidly upon hitting her tongue.
It wasn’t as strange tasting as she had anticipated.
Actually, the flavor was almost bland, but perhaps due to its oddly refreshing aroma, it felt like something that would be great to take when feeling drowsy.
Dorothea asked.
“Do you still want to go over there?”
After blinking a few times, Adel glanced at the direction Dorothea was indicating— towards the tree.
The colossal monster tree that was there, endlessly devouring anything approaching it, bore those horrific red fruits.
“Ahhh!”
Adel screamed with a different meaning from when she was hit with the staff earlier.
“W-what am I…?”
Adel was in utter confusion.
She couldn’t believe the thoughts she had just had moments ago.
Beautiful? Pretty? That thing?
“It seems to emit a scent with hallucinogenic properties. And shockingly powerful enough for the effects to manifest in just a few seconds.”
Sophia, who had somehow managed to lift herself, explained.
The wound in her chest had somehow healed, it seemed.
Though her clothes still had holes in them.
Looking puzzled, Sophia said.
“Could that tree be the green child? Or one of the devices prepared by a father to protect his daughter?”
“What it is can be questioned later; what’s important is that it doesn’t seem like they intend to let us go!”
Dorothea replied curtly.
Her gaze was directed at the tentacle parts of the tree, which seemed to be particularly focused on her.
When Dorothea pulled out a compass from her pouch, its reaction intensified even more.
Dorothea clicked her tongue softly.
“It must not like things from the Holy Kingdom. I don’t know how it’s related to ‘the heavens’… but we don’t intend to just take it lying down either.”
Perhaps having heard Dorothea’s words.
Or perhaps it was just coincidental timing.
The crimson tree fruits began dropping one by one towards the ground.
Squish, a disgusting sound echoed.
Covered in a mixture of liquid that could be blood or fruit juice, creatures started to emerge from within the fallen fruits.
There was a deer with tentacles sprouting all over its back.
A wolf dripping some kind of plant-like sap from its mouth.
And a snake whose body had turned translucent like a leaf, revealing its insides.
Monsters that seemed to blend animals with plants appeared around the group, exuding murderous intent.
Ten, twenty, thirty.
With every animal that voluntarily succumbed to the tree, the number of ‘fruits’ sprouting on it only increased.
Faced with this overwhelming quantity, Dorothea struck the ground with the tip of her staff.
As the black magic spread through the forest, attempting to call forth the Undead Army—
《────》
An ethereal wave, similar to a singing voice, nullified Dorothea’s magical energy, making it difficult for human ears to perceive.
Dorothea raised her eyebrows.
[‘Tin Knight’ asks what’s going wrong!]
“Necromancy is being interrupted. While I’d expect direct pouring of power right nearby could yield results, remote control like before is out of the question.”
[‘Tin Knight’ states that while he doesn’t mind increasing the stock of sacrificial corpses, he must focus on tackling the boss, leaving the mob cleanup to Adel!]
“Eh? A-alright! I’ll give it a try!”
Although Adel had looked somewhat dazed, once given a clear role, she became enthusiastic as if nothing had happened.
“Then I guess I should do some work too.”
Sophia stepped forward.
A ray of light, like white flames, surrounded her whole body.
As Sophia stretched out her hand, the white flames infested the Tin Knight’s and Adel’s swords.
[‘Tin Knight’ is pleased with the holy attribute enchantment!]
“Phew, I’m glad you like it.”
Though she smiled, Sophia’s complexion was extremely pale.
A burning smell rose sharply from various parts of her body, hinting at an immense recoil.
Additionally, unlike the quickly healed wound from earlier, the current one was recovering sluggishly.
Dorothea frowned.
“…Honestly, why does a vampire focus on holy magic like this.”
“Wouldn’t Dorothea, overflowing with magical power, be significantly stronger if you belonged to a different school?”
“I learned nothing else besides this.”
“I’m not saying I’ve mastered this just because I became a vampire.”
While exchanging simple words, the two remained vigilant of their surroundings.
Adel, too, repeatedly took deep breaths, gripping her sword tightly with both hands.
Once confirming that the three of them had formed their positions—
The Tin Knight assumed a battle stance and shouted.
[‘Tin Knight’ declares a field boss hunt!]
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")
