"Awake?"
Looking at the vine beast slowly opening its eyes, Taro's first thought was this word.
"I…"
The vine beast's face was blank, its gaze shifting between Beruru and Taro.
"You… are the King of Grass?"
No. Though gods typically had no fixed gender,
the Great Dendro Archon five hundred years ago had a female form.
"What King of Grass~"
Beruru floated to its face and glared suspiciously.
"Hmph, your eyes have gone stupid from sleeping, huh?
How could the one before you be some 'King of Grass'?
How dare you compare anyone to my Wisdom Lord?
Stupid vine beast.
It shouldn't have been sheltered five hundred years ago."
"Uh…"
The vine beast froze, then carefully sensed Beruru's aura.
Long-sleeping memories stirred.
"You are… Prophet Malan?"
"What prophet!"
Beruru shook her head at once.
"You're mistaken. I'm no prophet.
I am Beruru, Wisdom Lord's dependent, the god who governs life and nature!"
The vine beasts were called Malan, but she was not that Malan.
This dumb beast was mistaken again.
Unforgivable. She almost wanted to smack its head with her staff.
"…"
The vine beast grew even more confused.
It had slept for five centuries.
Had the world changed so much?
But suddenly, dread surged in its heart.
If the one who came was not the promised King of Grass,
then what of the mission entrusted to its memories…
"My… my mission…"
"Wait, my state… what's this?"
Before its grief took hold, new shock hit it.
Its retained memories were intact.
And its vitality was stronger than five hundred years ago.
Though traces of Abyssal taint lingered,
its life was no longer in danger.
"Hmph~"
Beruru snorted.
"Thank Wisdom Lord's grace.
You should be grateful—your life was spared."
"…"
The vine beast snapped back, bowing low to Taro.
"Wisdom Lord, forgive my rudeness.
I still have a mission. Please tell me… does Sumeru's King of Grass still live?"
This concerned its homeland's survival,
the fate of countless kin.
Far more important than its own life.
"Beruru, take it aside."
Taro waved his hand.
This matter could be asked of Asanjin in Sumeru later.
"Understood!"
Beruru nodded, summoning vines to hang the vine beast aside.
"…"
The vine beast trembled in fear, tightly bound, mouth gagged, elemental power sealed.
It couldn't move, couldn't speak, dangling helplessly.
It accepted its grim fate, heart sinking into despair.
The others ignored it, turning their eyes to Taro.
"Wait a moment."
Taro said softly.
He leapt up, landing atop the Sky Nail.
Inside the Sky Nail was power—the power of authority.
But dormant, not active.
The Nail itself was unremarkable, just high-quality material.
Its true effect came from the authority sealed within.
An authority equal to the Heavenly Principals.
The Heavenly Principal, Asmoday.
Keeper of Celestia, sustainer of Heavenly Law.
He hadn't seen other Nails,
but this one must be forged by the Principal's hand.
Some once claimed these "Sky Nails" were just ordinary pillars from Celestia.
In a sense, yes.
The strength came not from the pillar, but from the authority within.
Likely all from the Principal herself.
After all, her domain was space.
Mending shattered barriers, suppressing Abyssal invasion—
this fit perfectly.
Whether true or not would require another Nail for comparison.
"Authority of space, hm… a good opponent. Come, play with me."
Taro raised his right hand, finger pointed at the Nail.
A white glow lit his fingertip.
"Low-grade Item Destruction."
Ding.
The Nail remained intact.
But its authority stirred, red light flashing.
The surrounding diamond pillars came alive,
turning into dark-red space blocks lunging at Taro.
"Defenses?"
Taro arched an eyebrow, unflinching.
"Then let's test my new skills."
Root — Radiant Guardian LV.1.
This skill, akin to floating turrets, was an automatic counterattack.
From the Root God class.
White motes gathered at his side.
As the red blocks rushed in,
lances of light formed and fired, intercepting them.
Attack vs defense.
Boom, boom, boom—
The collisions echoed through the depths.
Moments later, silence.
The red space blocks were annihilated.
The Radiant Guardian still hovered, but the Nail's authority fell dormant, drained.
"Click. Tch, can't draw out the Principal?"
Taro shook his head with mild disappointment.
Makes sense.
Even when King Deshret dismantled a Nail to build his Eternal Oasis,
the Principal hadn't shown up.
He had hoped to lure her out, fight, and capture her.
That would test his strength and also let him extort her.
But no.
The Nail had already completed its role of repairing Teyvat's border.
The Principal had no need to watch it.
What remained inside was only to suppress Abyssal power.
Destroying the Nail was possible,
but without its suppression, the Abyss would surge uncontrolled.
Back then, King Deshret's study of Nails and the Abyss
had caused multiple small-scale disasters in the desert.
So that was why?
"Better to leave it, then…"
He dismissed the idea.
The Nail's material was worthless,
its authority incomplete,
more trouble than it was worth.
Keeping it was safer.
(End of Chapter)
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