The flora blocking their way suddenly receded, stretching downward to reveal a clear Nature Path. The trail carved a route even deeper into the mountain’s heart.
At the sight, Ren and Ragna broke into a sprint as if they had rehearsed the move.
"You’re on fire today, Ren!"
"Hardly! It was just a lucky break!"
"Hmph. If you say so!"
The Nature Path consisted of nothing but flimsy materials—thick boughs, broad leaves, and tangled ivy. The footing was spongy and imprecise; a quick glance down revealed the entire structure swaying like a rickety suspension bridge.
The two ignored the instability, pushing their legs to the limit.
The ground beneath them was in constant flux. This was partly due to the force of their sprint, but also because the monsters that had conjured the path were shifting the vines and ivy, drawn toward the mana released by the exploding Wind Crystal. Flying monsters shrieked in confusion at the sudden environmental shift.
Ren stayed at the vanguard, his Mithril Magic Sword slicing through wild overgrowth that hadn't been touched by the Lord’s natural magic.
...There are definitely too many of them!
The branches and leaves belonged to primordial plants that had grown untouched by civilization. They possessed a stubbornness distinct from the Lord’s Nature Magic. Ren felt his tension rise as he pushed forward.
"Ren! We’re almost at Windea’s inner sanctum!"
"I know! Just one more push!"
The Nature Path vanished halfway through, replaced by the Nature Walls the Lord had erected everywhere. Branches and ivy lashed out, seeking to eliminate the intruders.
"Sorry, but your prize is back that way!"
Ragna hurled another Wind Crystal behind them. The same chains materialized to shatter the second crystal, and the plants ahead reacted instantly to the new mana source. Most of the vegetation stretched and slithered toward the explosion at their rear. Even the plants conjured by Nature Magic abruptly changed course.
Intricate branches and thick, woven mats of vines and ivy—all of them far sturdier than ordinary flora—swept past Ren and Ragna in a chaotic blurred mass.
"What incredible force!"
"Ragna-san! Are you alright!?"
"This is nothing! Though... hah, it reminds me of a voyage I took across a certain sea!"
It was a memory from Ragna’s long travels. A school of fish-like monsters had once swarmed the deck of his ship. They had leapt from the waves like bullets, flying in staggering numbers to prey on the humans on deck. He remembered it as a bizarre experience—a headwind made of projectiles.
The current situation was strikingly similar.
If they were struck by any of these moving branches or vines, the sheer momentum would have shredded their skin. However, they navigated the cross-fire with fluid grace, evading the foliage before it could touch their clothes. They had planned this carefully; direct combat would only lead to a battle of attrition they couldn't afford.
This world, sandwiched between jagged rock and living emerald, felt almost like a dream—one that was about to end.
...Almost there!
They were seconds away from clearing the path. Or so Ren thought.
"————"
Just as a smile began to touch Ren’s lips, a tremor shook the earth, accompanied by a sound that seemed to rattle space itself. The Lord who had created this domain should have been distracted by the mana from the second Wind Crystal, yet...
Ren skidded to a halt. Ragna stopped a second later, and the two stood back-to-back. By now, the projectile-like plants had been fully drawn toward the mana of the shattered crystal. Only the Lord remained as an obstacle.
"I see," Ragna sighed.
They were a mere few hundred meils from their goal, yet the way forward—as well as the path they had just traversed—was now completely sealed by a dense, living lattice of vegetation. It was an undeniable act of interference through Nature Magic.
"Our plan was seen through."
"So it seems... but it’s odd. We’re standing right here, yet I would have thought the Wind Crystals would be a much more tempting meal."
"I agree. But facts are facts."
"...Yeah. I know."
Ren understood that the Lord would be relentless in its pursuit of intruders. However, the Wind Crystals were meant to circumvent its wrath, just as the Wind Orb was the key to obtaining the Ring of the Water Goddess. The Lord’s reaction had defied Ren's expectations.
"...I don't know why this is happening, but we can't hide from reality."
"Precisely."
It felt like being trapped inside a giant, spherical world. The two tiny humans stood on an unstable foothold. Then, appearing from the depths below, a beautiful monster leaped across the crags. It landed on a platform of thick branches near them, its pale-blue fur glowing with a soft light.
It resembled a stag, though its majestic physique and lustrous coat marked it as something far more divine. Its branched antlers spanned three meils, and its sleek, powerful body was every bit as imposing as its crown. As it struck the stone with a foreleg, a pulse of wind dyed in emerald mana rippled outward like a wave.
"————"
The monster spoke in a tongue no human could decipher: the Blue Deer of the Ancient Land. It had ruled this portion of Windea for centuries as its Sovereign. It was not a malicious creature; rather, it was revered as a guardian deity. It maintained the balance of Windea’s ecosystem and rarely appeared before humans.
However, it showed no mercy to those who trespassed. It had crushed countless foes with its mastery of Nature Magic. That initial stomp had been a final warning—a command to depart at once.
"My apologies, but we have business ahead," Ragna said.
Since words were useless, combat was the only way forward. The Bag Traveler acted first, extending his hand and summoning chains in mid-air to bind the creature’s antlers.
"————!"
The chains were instantly severed by an invisible force and dissolved into nothingness. Ragna gave a wry, frustrated smile at the creature's speed.
"It seems this isn't an opponent I can handle with one hand tied behind my back."
"I'll take care of it," Ren said.
"Very well. But remember—killing it would devastate the local ecosystem. I need you to repel it, nothing more."
"The only other option is retreating, and that's not happening."
The Blue Deer of the Ancient Land kicked off its bough and leaped. When it landed its massive weight onto the flimsy path where the humans stood, the structure buckled and swayed more violently than ever. The Sovereign immediately lowered its head, aiming its antlers at them. The wind mana surging through its crown was so dense that the air around its antlers seemed to warp and blur.
Without a word, Ren stepped in front of Ragna.
"We’ll push deeper while keeping our distance."
"Can you manage that?"
"I’ll make it work. Once we find what we came for, we’re leaving."
"Fair enough. So I'm leaving everything to you?"
"Of course—that’s why I’m here!"
Ren lunged forward, and the Sovereign met his charge. If those massive antlers struck a boy of his size, the result would be catastrophic, but Ren was no ordinary boy. The Strong Sword User who had reached the heights of a Sword Saint felt no fear. He kept his eyes locked on the beast. Ignoring the heaving ground, they closed the distance in heartbeats.
Ren caught the stag’s massive antlers with his Great Tree Magic Sword.
"————!?"
The monster’s eyes widened in shock.
"Ragna-san! Now!"
"Got it!"
The sheer weight of Ren’s Strong Sword technique rattled the beast to its core, leaving its body momentarily dazed. A gap opened in the living wall behind the stag as it staggered. Taking advantage of the opening, Ragna slipped past the creature's massive flank. The Sovereign cast a sharp, piercing glare at him, but—
"I’m the one you're fighting!"
Ren's killing intent forced the creature’s focus back onto him.
From above, below, left, and right—Nature Magic converged on him from every possible angle. Ren took a single, deep breath.
Instead of fighting the magic, he decided to use it. Abandoning his original footing, he leaped into the air, using the conjured ivy and vines as a makeshift staircase to lure the Sovereign away. The deer followed, repositioning its antlers. This time, the mana gathered there transformed into a razor-sharp gale. Space itself seemed to distort and ripple around the antlers as the mana reached a critical concentration. The wind began to act like a vacuum, pulling nearby objects toward the crown.
...That might be trouble!
With a dry smile, Ren dispelled his Great Tree Magic Sword and summoned his Mithril Magic Sword. He knew a direct hit from that wind would be devastating.
Suddenly, an emerald flash erupted. The Sovereign surged forward, leaving a trail of light in its wake as it closed in on Ren. He braced himself against the gale that threatened to throw him into the abyss.
"Sorry... we’ll be out of your hair soon!"
Before the green flash could consume him, Ren swung the Mithril Magic Sword in a wide horizontal arc.
It was his anti-magic art: Star-Cleaver.
The localized gale and the emerald light were instantly reduced to harmless mana. With the Nature Magic dispelled, the Sovereign was left with only its physical momentum. The conjured plants vanished, leaving Ren without a foothold in mid-air.
Even so, he didn't panic. He was never truly at a disadvantage.
The Sovereign snorted, its breath hot as it thrust its antlers forward with newfound malice. Even against a charge faster than the wind, Ren met the antlers with his Mithril Magic Sword, locking them in a struggle of pure strength.
He flooded his hands with the dense power of his Strong Sword arts.
"!?"
Ren looked the startled Sovereign right in the eyes. With a sudden burst of strength, he shoved the beast aside, redirecting its charge and forcing it to bypass him.
Gravity took hold, and the Sovereign fell toward the depths, but it quickly conjured new footholds with its magic and glared back up at Ren. This time, its eyes were glowing like radiant green jewels.
"Ren! Get over here!"
Ren landed back on a stable ledge and broke into a run, catching up to Ragna in seconds. The Sovereign’s cry echoed behind them, but Ren didn't look back. As they neared their objective, Ren felt a strange resonance—it was as if the Water Magic Sword within his heart was trying to speak to him.
Nature Magic continued to snap at their heels, but Ren systematically neutralized it with Star-Cleaver, carving their way forward.