Chapter 326: Being Ignored
Chapter 326: Being Ignored
Nell ordered her magic carpet to go straight to the tree of life, then floated around the enormous huge tree to check it out.
"That's sad, right? The tree of life used to have dense green leaves with a sturdy tree trunk. Also, the dead city over there used to be the capital city of the Fairy Continent." Nell pointed to two main points as she bemoaned fate.
Elysia, Elena, and Vanessa looked at the giant tree once again. The leaves were wilted brown, and the trunk looked a little brittle with age.
The tree of life had been around since the era of 33 Gods and Goddesses, but now it seems as if it would die in a few more years.
Then, the dead city beneath them became the focus of further attention. Crushed tree houses covered with vines, semi-permanent buildings that had fallen into ruins, and there were no signs of life other than plants around the tree of life.
"Hmm, isn't this strange? In this forest, there are no sounds of animals or other living things? Are there any fairy settlements around here?" Elena put her hand on her chin while analyzing the circumstance.
"Erm, about twenty kilometers to the east, there is a small village inhabited by fairies." Nell pointed to the direction where the sun or moon rises.
"Have you ever been to that little village and asked them something about the tree of life?" Elena thought of her head a little.
"Yes, I spent the night in that village and asked the head of the village. Unfortunately, they don't know anything. All they know, the area around the tree of life is a forbidden place since the time of their ancestors. They warned me not to come near." Nell glanced up slightly while remembering what happened two weeks ago.
"I see... Then, where is your big sister's approximate location?" Elena made a plan in mind with Elysia and returned to the main point.
"I estimate that my big sister is somewhere around the tree of life or inside. I can feel her aura which is so subtle and weak, from there. However, there is a high level of magic that is holding us back from approaching. Let's try it once. Action will explain better than just words." Nell looked at the tree of life with longing eyes. She wanted to meet the Goddess who was so kind to her as soon as possible.
Elysia let out a soft sigh. She had just used her sacred vision to look deep into the tree of life. Yet, the results were disappointing.
She could see nothing but a thick mist. High-level magic enveloped several hundred meters around the tree of life like a pillar to the sky.
"We've flown around the tree of life a few times. Let's try to get close and see what happens, Nell." Elysia agreed with Nell's suggestion.
After Elena gave an approving nod, Nell immediately ordered her carpet to bring them closer to the tree of life.
As they passed through the mysterious magic zone, all they saw was the same place and scenery. It was as if they didn't move at all.
"Little one, we're flying straight ahead, right?" Elena felt something was strange, but there was no sign of danger.
"Yes, we are flying forward at a slow speed. Supposedly, we will collide with the tree of life, but the results are odd. Wait a moment." Nell looked right and left. Everything seemed motionless, but she knew they were still flying forward.
A moment later, they came out of the mysterious magic zone, and the tree of life suddenly disappeared from before their eyes.
"Look, the tree of life is behind us. We just pass through it as if it were all an illusion." Nell turned around, and the others followed suit.
"Hmm, indeed, really weird." Elena started thinking for a moment to analyze once again.
"Uhm, Nell... What will happen if we land while inside that mysterious magic zone?" Elysia tried to come up with a solution.
"It's pointless, Elysia. We will only land in the outer area of this mysterious magic zone. Let's try and see the results." After saying that, Nell ordered her carpet to fly to the tree of life.
After they entered the mysterious magic zone, the carpet lowered its altitude and landed on the ground. As said, they only landed in the outer area.
"What, this is really strange. Is there any divine magic manipulating the area around the tree of life? Nell, you've said that the tree of life was once immortal. So, is this the doing of the tree of life, or maybe the Goddess of Life herself?" Elysia felt absurdly surprised. She felt that an external factor was manipulating all of this.
"If you say that, I also feel the tree of life is enveloped by the divine domain, Elysia. I don't know if it's the tree of life doing, but this is not my big sister's domain. Her domain rules space and life. In this mysterious magic zone, there isn't any of my big sister's energy aura composing it." Nell shook her head as she put her carpet into her pocket dimension.
Elysia just let out a subtle sigh. They didn't know what was going on, and they had no way to get closer to the tree of life.
However, that wasn't a sign to just give up. Elysia turned around and faced a pillar-like barrier rising up into the sky.
At that moment, the white cat walked casually towards the tree of life. As if there was an invisible wall, the cat hit the invisible wall and scratched it because of reflex.
"Hmm... It's like there's an invisible wall. We're not allowed to approach by land?" Elysia groped the invisible wall for clues.
"How about we try to destroy this mysterious magic zone. Erm, mysterious domain." Elena clenched her fists and ready to resort to the violence.
"What? Please don't do it! My big sister is in there. What will happen if she gets hurt? She is helpless. The collapsed domain is very dangerous to whoever is in it." Nell flew in front of Elena and spread her arms. She rejected the brute-force solution.
"Master, let's try another, safer solution." Elysia smiled softly. After all, they had come to save someone.
"Very well... Let's think of another way. Air and land routes are no longer an option. Hmm... Maybe, we need permission from the owner of this mysterious domain? Let's try to ask permission from the tree of life. This domain probably belongs to the tree." Elena dropped her fist to her palm in realization.
"Oh! Let's try that." Elysia picked up Vanessa and raised her hand in approval. She also asked Vanessa to do the same.
"Okay, the vote is out. Little one, do it. Get permission from the tree of life or your big sister. Announce that we are here to help." Elena gave an approving nod and smirked at Nell.
"What? What kind of voting is that? Three of you are from the same group. In that case, I will always lose the vote." Nell shook her hands, slightly irritated by the injustice. Even though she didn't really mind doing that.
"Do that or not? It's almost dusk. I won't allow my Ely to spend the night in this suspicious area." Elena folded her arms under her breasts while tapped her foot to the ground.
"Ugh, fine. Let me do that." Nell flew closer to the invisible wall, then took a deep breath and blew it out.
Elysia and Elena walked back a little to distance themselves. They both needed to be on guard, and anything could happen at any time.
"O the tree of life, I'm the Goddess of Blessing came to meet my big sister, the Goddess of Life. Please grant your permission to us." Nell spread her arms as she said that.
One minute, two minutes, and three... There was no response whatsoever. The tree of life gave a silent treatment.
"Ahem." Nell cleared her throat as she felt neglected. She had to come up with a different approach. "Big sister, we have come to help! Please give your permission for us to enter this mysterious domain."
"..." Elysia and Elena were at a loss of words. Nell once again got no response.
"Sigh... That didn't work. We are being ignored." Nell loosened her shoulders with disappointment and flew closer to Elysia.
"Well, then we need to find a place to spend the night. This place makes me nervous and uneasy." Elysia stroked her neck while looking right and left.
"Then, let's visit the nearby small village." Elena declared with a smile.
"Uhm, but there's a problem here." Nell landed on the cat's body and sat there. She looked at Elysia and Elena with a complicated look.
"Problem?" Elysia tilted her head slightly.
"Yes, a little problem. As you know, we are in Fairy Continent. I will be mistaken as a fairy easily, but not for you." Nell turned to Elena, hoping for a solution.
"Hmm, what's the relationship between fairies and humans lately? Will my Ely be attacked as an intruder?" Elena also felt that it would be a problem when considering the animosity between humans and devils.
"The Human Race and Fairy Race are in a truce and will not interfere with each other. Thanks to the distance separating the continents, only a few wars between races have occurred in the last twenty years. But fairies won't look at humans with kindness either." Nell became a little worried.
She actually wanted to propose to spend the night in the safe forest. But, Elena wanted to visit that small village.