The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 587

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 587   Evil God Suppression Battle End

“Alright then, let’s go, Your Majesty the Demon King.”

“Make sure to deliver me safely, Knight Commander.”

I issued instructions to the Demon King as he stepped forward and started running ahead of me, following the lead of my father.

“You only get one chance. Don’t mess it up.”

“And you, don’t mess up and make me go out of control by misadjusting.”

As we approached within a few hundred meters, my father called out to me, and I replied in a light tone.

Seemingly satisfied with my response, my father jumped ahead with full force, leaving us behind, and as he landed, he poised his sword.

The sword poised by my father emitted a brilliant light, even visible from behind. The radiance surpassed that of the hero’s holy sword from earlier by far.

Gradually, that radiance increased, reaching up towards the heavens.

“――《Divine Sword》”

The light that extended enough to pierce through the heavens transformed from ‘light’ to ‘sword’ with my father’s murmur.

And then――the sky split. Not just the sky. The evil god, the earth, everything was slashed into pieces together.

However, even so, the evil god wouldn’t fall.

Certainly, it was cut. It was glaringly obvious that it was much more damaged compared to the wounds it had before.

But still, it wouldn’t die.

It’s not like my father held back. After all, he had said it wouldn’t matter if he killed it if he could.

So, this was the result of my father’s full-force attack.

But, that should be enough.

The trunk of the evil god… had a large scar from the Divine Sword being swung down, and behind it, there was still the form of a normal plant that hadn’t been distorted by curses.

In other words, while the surface seemed completely taken over by the evil god, as Flora had said, the divine tree hadn’t completely died yet.

If that’s the case, it’s possible. If I touch the main body of the divine tree as deep as I can and activate the skill, I can revive the divine tree.

But the moment I thought that, countless puppets emerged from the wounds made by the Divine Sword, as if to block my path.

All of them had different faces, wearing various clothes like ordinary citizens’ attire, maid uniforms, armor, and so on.

These were probably originally people… people who were assimilated. But who they were, I couldn’t tell.

However, among them, there was one thing I could clearly recognize: the face of the one at the very back.

“…I wondered where you had gone, and here you are, looking quite pathetic. Even as your son, it’s pitiful to see.”

Someone who would abandon his own son to save himself, someone who would abandon everything and flee when things got dangerous, wouldn’t die so easily. That’s what I thought, but I never expected you to be this despicable. I never imagined we would meet again like this.

“But, this is the end.”

Avoiding the puppet reaching out towards me, sometimes cutting them down, sometimes using them as stepping stones, I continued to move forward.

Moving forward without being caught, about halfway through the swarm of puppets, he started moving.

“A… Aaa… Aaaaa… M, suko…yo…”

“…”

The former king, who had previously looked like a mere wooden puppet, gained color and appeared just like a real human.

And then… my father reached out towards me.

“What… You recognize your own son, you?”

Surprised that he recognized me as ‘me,’ I momentarily stopped moving.

Because of that, I was grabbed by a puppet and assimilated.

Realizing that I would also be caught if I stayed like this, I immediately let go of the sword, and continued forward.

Without the sword, my clothes torn and tattered from being grabbed, I still couldn’t be stopped by the puppet, and I continued to push forward.

Pushing forward and forward, finally reaching the puppet that looked like my father.

The moment I saw his face, for a brief moment, the words of the hero crossed my mind. Am I going to kill my father?

“But――”

Yes. But, still.

Certainly, this guy is supposed to be my father. Even in this state, he recognizes me, so perhaps there’s some kind of connection or bond felt between us. That could certainly be possible because of the connection through blood.

There is a connection between me and him. Let’s admit that. But that’s all there is to it. Just because we share blood doesn’t make him my ‘parent.’ Isn’t that right?

“If you’re going to try to stop me, at least try calling your son’s name. Well, you probably don’t even know my name, do you?”

Who would recognize someone as a parent if they don’t even bother to call out their child’s name to stop them?

Moreover, for me, parents are my mother and father. Not you.

“――《Fertilizer Generation》”

Whether he’s a king, a father, or an evil god, it doesn’t matter.

I grabbed ‘it’ by the head and activated the skill.

“What… a fool…”

What’s foolish about it? Did you think I would go easy on you just because you’re my father? If anything, it only fueled my determination. Determination or rather, the will to kill?

“Become the fertilizer of the earth.”

By serving a purpose for the planet, perhaps this disgrace can be somewhat redeemed.

Falling apart and losing its form, it continued to reach out towards me until the end. But I crushed its hand underfoot and moved forward.

And finally, I reached out into the depths of the evil god, into the part of the divine tree—

“Growth.”

I poured all the uses I had left into this skill, channeling power from my fingertips into the part I touched.

The change was gradual. Nothing happened immediately after I used the skill, and even after several seconds, there was no change.

Because of that, I feared I had failed. But just as the puppets began to swarm towards me, leaving me immobilized from overuse of the skill, the change occurred.

From the depths of where I touched, light leaked out, emanating from what seemed to be the center of the divine tree, and in an instant, that light enveloped the world.

Dazzled, I involuntarily closed my eyes. When I reopened them, expecting the puppets that were closing in on me to disappear, not only had they vanished, but the cursed plants writhing around them had also disappeared.

“What? …Huh!”

Confirming the disappearance of the cursed plants, I tried to swiftly turn around to check the state of the divine tree, but immediately after, the trees I had been using as footholds disappeared, sending me hurtling into the air.

However, just when I thought I would be slammed into the ground, it seemed my body inexplicably floated in midair, preventing any further descent.

While floating in midair, I couldn’t help but wonder how I ended up in this situation, but I had a pretty good idea of what happened.

Turning towards that idea, I found myself facing a majestic tree emitting a divine light.

Surely, this must be what prevented my fall—the “Ancestor’s Tree” or perhaps the “Divine Tree.”

Although it looked like a tree at first glance, it clearly had a different appearance from ordinary plants. Rather, if anything, it resembled a mineral more than a plant.

The Divine Tree appeared to be made of gemstones, but it had a transparency that surpassed even gemstones, lacking the inorganic feel of minerals. It must be some form of energy being.

It seemed to be about two sizes smaller than the form it had when it was possessed by the evil god, but it was still plenty large.

“I’ve always wanted to see a Divine Tree since I first heard about its existence… It’s beautiful.”

In front of this presence exuding such divine radiance, strangely, those words escaped my lips.

It’s hard to describe, but there was a sense of familiarity and comfort. Like a mother, or perhaps a grandmother? It’s different from the reassuring feeling of being at home, but it’s a kind of tranquility.

“――”

“Ah, the voice of the divine tree, hmm? Don’t worry about it. It’s just me being troubled if you leave it be.”

Was it because I spoke aloud? The Divine Tree seemed to address me.

Although it “spoke,” its words weren’t heard as a voice but rather felt as if its intentions reached directly into my mind, similar to how I heard the emotions of the plants a while back.

I can understand its intentions more clearly than I could back then, but the sensation is somewhat similar.

“――”

“A wish? No, I don’t need any new powers or anything. If I had to say, I’d just want this curse or evil god completely eradicated this time.”

Even if the Divine tree talk about making a wish as a reward for helping, it’s not like we helped with the intention of being rewarded; we just wanted to defeat the evil god because leaving it alone would put us in danger. Heck, I was ready to fight with the intention of killing the Divine Tree if I had to.

So, even if we talk about it as a token of gratitude…

“――”

“Huh? …What? Qualification for the Divine Tree? What’s that supposed to mean? Even if you give me that, it’s meaningless, and honestly, I don’t need it.”

When I hesitated to make a wish, the Divine tree started talking about giving me the qualification to become a new Divine Tree, but is this guy sane?

“――”

“Well, sure, I can create new species of plants, but just because of that, you’re saying I’m the next Divine Tree? What the hell? I’m a human, not a plant, not even an elf!”

The Divine Tree is an entity that creates new species of plants. That’s why me, who can create my desired plants, have the qualification to become the Divine Tree! They said something like that, but I’m a human, you know? To become the next Divine Tree… I don’t want to become a plant.

Usually, that kind of thing is left to the elves. They’re more suited for it since they have plant spirits mixed in with them; they’re more qualified than me.

“――”

“What!? Hey, did I say you could talk?! Don’t mess around! Hey! Don’t just end the conversation and ignore me!”

I complained, and the Divine tree had the nerve to tell me I was being annoying.

Despite me complaining about it, there was no response. This Divine Tree seriously seems to have no intention of answering anymore.

“…Damn it. What am I supposed to do with this?”

Muttering curses, the form of the Divine Tree gradually faded away, and my body slowly descended to the ground.

By the time I landed on the ground, the figure of the Divine Tree had completely disappeared, and in its place, or rather, in front of me, a fist-sized seed emitting a faint green glow appeared.

So, does this mean… I’m supposed to nurture it? Give me a break.

“Huh? ――!”

As I pondered what to do with the seed, I suddenly felt a sense of intimidation from behind and instinctively bent down.

However, the source of that intimidation changed its trajectory and flew towards me even after I dodged it once.

And not only that, it changed its trajectory again and collided with my face before I could dodge it.

“Guoh!?”

There’s no pain. No poison or curse. Rather, I feel an overwhelming surge of power.

But, this power feels very familiar. In fact, it’s the same power I felt from the entity I was just speaking with moments ago, so there’s no mistaking it.

So, this must be the power of the Divine Tree. Even though I said I didn’t want it, it seems like it’s forcefully thrust upon me. And it even tried to ensure I couldn’t avoid it by ambushing me from behind.

…Seriously, what a joke.

“…I’m not becoming a Divine Tree, that’s for sure.”

…Ah, you bastard. I didn’t negotiate for additional power.

Or rather, isn’t targeting my head again a bit too much?