I don't want to be a heroic spirit

"Your wish, your will, I accept it."

Feeling a little more weight on his shoulders, Nura Rikuo slightly raised the corners of his mouth... because the things he was carrying on his shoulders had become more.

These heavy things are not a burden, but will become his strength, supporting him to move forward and guiding him not to get lost.

As Nura Rikuo moved forward, the branches blocking his way gradually retracted, making way for Nura Rikuo.

This is naturally what Abe Yoshihei did.

Turning his head, Abe Yoshihei silently looked at Nura Rikuo's receding figure. More and more light particles flew out from his body, and his figure gradually became transparent.

"I'll leave it to you... Nura Rikuo."

The last few particles of light flew into the sea of ​​stars and became companions among the countless stars, but Abe Yoshihei's figure had completely disappeared without leaving any trace.

……

"My fantasy tree... is being approached? Who?!"

Abe Haruaki, who was fighting fiercely with Ashiya Michiman, noticed something and was so panicked that he could hardly contain himself. He wanted to go back and get rid of the "pests" that invaded the fantasy tree as soon as possible.

However, Ashiya Doman obviously would not give Abe Haruaki this opportunity.

"The six senses are purified, and the punishment for evil deeds is revealed—hurry up and obey the command!"

The black sun overhead casts darkness, and death and decay begin to erode and spread, as if one is in an endless Dead Sea. The stinking malice is all mixed in the air and penetrates into the lungs with every breath.

On a black day, in a sea of ​​blood, evil spirits wailed and sang the end of the world. The malice surging like a tide turned into a curse that defied life and dragged Abe Haruaki's body into the filthy quagmire.

"Michimit Ashiya——!"

"Mmmmm... Mmmmm! Qingming, aren't you embarrassing me by doing this? Turning your gaze away from me without my permission is too disrespectful to me, isn't it?"

With a smile on his face, Ashiya Doman enjoyed Abe Haruaki's incompetent roar and uttered words full of malice.

"Is this your fault again?"

Abe Haruaki's face darkened as he quickly figured out his opponent's plan. "Sending others into the Imagination Tree, hoping to destroy it in order to weaken me and ruin my ideals?"

"Mmmmm! You've thought of this, which saves me the trouble of explaining. Since you've guessed my thoughts, you should also know that I won't let you in and cause trouble for others. Just stay here with me for a while."

After saying that, Ashiya Doman raised his hand and grabbed hundreds of evil spirits from the air. It was as if an invisible pair of big hands ignored the sharp wails of these evil spirits and kneaded them together, turning them into a spear emitting a terrifying black aura, and then suddenly threw the black spear out.

The bombardment from the Fantasy Tree burst out again. Although it weakened the power of the black spear, it did not completely block it, causing the black spear to hit the trunk of the Fantasy Tree. The black spear suddenly exploded at the moment of collision with the Fantasy Tree. The impact of the explosion shook the Fantasy Tree, and the pervasive dark malice began to erode the Fantasy Tree.

Seeing this scene, Abe Haruaki had no choice but to deal with Ashiya Doman's offensive with all his heart and soul and eliminate the malice that was entangled with the Fantasy Tree.

"Is this your last resort, Ashiya Doman?"

After calming himself down, Abe Haruaki regained his advantage, and the balance of victory began to tilt towards him again. "Think about it carefully. Even if you send some ants to the Imagination Tree, what will happen? Apart from you, no one else can pose a threat to my Imagination Tree! My victory is still unshakable!"

“That’s why I said…”

After blocking another powerful attack from Abe Haruaki, Ashiya Doman, though fatigue appeared on his face, a hideous, beast-like smile spread across his face. "Even after thousands of years... you haven't improved at all! Haruaki--!!"

With the entanglement of Ashiya Doman and the contempt of Abe Haruaki, Nura Rikuo got the opportunity to approach the Illusion Tree.

The giant tree looks like a series of light bands intertwined and extending towards the end of the universe. It is more shocking when viewed from a close distance.

It is like facing the supreme thing, like facing the sacred and noble thing.

The closer you get to it, the more you can feel your own insignificance.

The closer you get to it, the more likely you are to lose your mind due to endless fear.

However, Nura Rikuo did not hesitate at all.

With every step he took, his resolve grew stronger.

Until... a gust of wind suddenly blew in this space.

The source of the wind was the Illusionary Tree. Perhaps it had sensed Nura Rikuo's murderous intent, and the Illusionary Tree, which only had a weak will to survive, began to act driven by instinct.

It shines with scorching light, and the blazing white light almost fills the entire universe.

The starlight accumulated energy, and the artillery fire from the stars crossed the galaxy in the blink of an eye, aiming at Nura Rikuo and falling down with a loud bang.

That was an attack made from compressed pure energy, a saturation bombardment that was enough to blast a large monster like the Tsuchigumo into ashes.

Theoretically speaking, there is no possibility for Nura Rikuo to survive such an attack... This is what the weak instinct of the Illusion Tree deduced.

"You... attacked me."

A ghostly figure shrouded in black smoke suddenly appeared.

Almost one-third of the body was missing, and the remaining parts were all burnt, with only one eye left.

However, despite suffering such terrible injuries, Nura Rikuo stared at the Illusion Tree with his only remaining eye, with a ferocious arc at the corner of his mouth.

"That means... you're afraid of me!"

The Fantasy Tree was trembling, as if it was afraid of Nura Rikuo's approach, and the bombardment from the stars continued to fall.

Facing the falling light cannon, Nura Rikuo's face was stern, and he wrapped the blade of Mimi Kirimaru with demonic energy and slashed out fiercely.

With a flash of the sword, the light cannon was cut off by the sword.

At the same time, Nura Rikuo had already arrived in front of the Illusion Tree, holding the long sword high in his hand.

"Since you are afraid of me, then...there is nothing to be afraid of!"

The next moment, Mimi Kirimaru stabbed into the fantasy tree until the blade was completely inserted, leaving only the handle in Nura Rikuo's hand.

After a moment of silence that was almost dead, the space began to tremble violently.

The wind was howling, making a sharp and piercing roar.

It was like the unwilling and mournful cry of the fantasy tree before its death.

The stars dimmed and shattered, and the universe, which contained profound magic, began to move towards irreversible destruction.

The giant tree that held up the heavens and the earth... collapsed here.

The first person to notice this was naturally Abe Haruaki, who was connected to the Illusion Tree.

Abe Haruaki's doubts about reality and truth kept him silent for a full ten seconds, until the fantasy tree began to collapse before his eyes and the massive energy in his body that surpassed the gods began to dissipate, and then Abe Haruaki fell into panic.

“No no no no no no no… No—!!”

As if his throat was about to be torn apart, Abe Haruaki let out a cry and roar of grief, unable to accept the reality.

"My ideal! My long-cherished wish! My hard work!"

"Asshole! Damn Nura Rikuo! Hateful Ashiya Doman! Unforgivable! You actually damaged my Vision Tree, my path to a perfect world, like this... Don't think it's over!"

Abe Haruaki already knew that it was Nura Rikuo who destroyed the Imagination Tree, because before the Imagination Tree collapsed, the spell that the Shikigami Ashiya Doman had set in Nura Rikuo's body had already taken effect and returned to the crowd, and Abe Haruaki also witnessed this scene.

At this moment, Nura Rikuo, who had suffered the bombardment of the Fantasy Tree, was seriously injured and on the verge of death. The Shikigami Ashiya Doman was using magic to treat him, and they all heard Abe Haruaki's loud declaration.

"That Abe Haruaki...what is he going to do next?"

"I don't know...but I always have a bad feeling."

Oikawa Hirie, Kurodabo, and Aotabo all felt deeply uneasy because of Abe Haruaki's words.

The Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family was also uneasy, but Hanakaiin Hidemoto was...

"What are you worried about? If the sky falls, there's someone taller to hold it up. Just leave your worries to our ancestors. We're all so weak anyway, and even if we panic, we can't do anything. It's better to stay calm and wait for the outcome or the arrangements made by our ancestors."

...he said these words without any tension.

But I have to say that what Hanakaiin Hidemoto said makes a lot of sense. Although it is hurtful, it is an unshakable fact.

Strength is draining away like water from a broken kettle.

The Fantasy Tree gradually became dim after losing its power, and pale and lifeless pieces kept falling off.

No matter how hard Abe Haruaki tried, he could not change or reverse this process.

The collapse of the Fantasy Tree is inevitable.

"Mmmmm... Hahahahaha! What a delightful, miserable state you're in! The end has come! I came into the world just for a day like this! After witnessing your miserable appearance licking your wounds, the first thing I offered you was this mockery and sneer. That's right... Everything I did was just to see you make that expression!!!"

What was even more unbearable for Abe Haruaki than the collapse of his ideals was the arrogant and conceited ridicule from Ashiya Doman, which was like pouring salt into his wounds.

"The collapse of the Fantasy Tree is inevitable! Your ideals and wishes will vanish like a dream, leaving no trace behind! Face this tragic end with regret, remorse, despair, and resentment! Listen to the sneer of this poor monk declaring victory, and die as a loser!!!"

Ashiya Doman never missed any opportunity to mock Abe Haruaki. His words were sharper and more lethal than any magic spell, at least for Abe Haruaki now.

"Yes... My plan to use the power of the Imagination Tree to reshape the world has been shattered."

Abe Haruaki almost bit his teeth off, staring at Ashiya Doman like a wild beast that had lost its mind, and squeezed out words full of resentment from between his teeth.

"That's right... From the very beginning, I shouldn't have used such a merciful method... If that's the case, I shouldn't have been so obsessed with reshaping the world from the beginning. Such naive ideas are truly ridiculous! After gaining the strongest power, I should have directly wiped out everything on this earth and completely exorcised all filth! On this bleached earth, I should have created an utopia according to my ideals, governed and ruled by me!!"

"The destruction of the Illusion Tree is inevitable! Then I understand! I finally understand what I should do... I will devour it all! Everything, everything, everything, everything that caused this Illusion Tree to bloom... Everything! I will consume it all! I will use the remaining power for my own benefit!"

"Not as the authority of the God of Creation, but simply as nourishment. I will devour you completely from the inside out! And then... become the only god walking this earth!"

567

Chapter 567 Thank you for your efforts and sacrifices for my fantasy tree.

The dome, having lost its support, dissolved and fell downwards.

The boundless universe, where the stars shone with glory, was gradually swallowed up and devoured by the deep darkness. The great mystery dissipated like the tide that would eventually recede, and death and nothingness waved their vicious claws to tear apart the light.

"I thought I could finally defeat that guy... but it turns out he still has some tricks up his sleeve?!"

Some people said this, but most others had the same idea, but just didn't say it out loud.

Abe Haruaki said in person that he planned to absorb all the massive energy inside the Imagination Tree before it completely collapsed. If he succeeded, no one could imagine what kind of hell this world would become.

And they also knew that the only one who could stop Abe Haruaki... was Ashiya Doman.

"Mr. Limbo! Stop Abe Haruaki now!"

"too late!"

Abe Haruaki opened his arms as if to embrace the sun, venting his inner emotions with a sinister smile, "Nothing can be stopped now! Since you are unwilling to follow me to heaven, then you will fall into hell with this old world!"

Eat the power within the Imagination Tree... Actually, the opposite is also possible.

Covering the earth with fantasy, eroding reality with fantasy, recreating myths with fantasy... The energy contained in the fantasy tree, which has power comparable to that of the creator god, can never be absorbed by a human being. At least the human body can never withstand this terrifying energy. If it is forcibly swallowed, there is no other outcome except that the body cannot bear it and explodes.

Although Abe Haruaki had been forced to lose his mind, his brain had not been completely burned out by the fire of anger, and it was impossible for him to do such an unrealistic and stupid thing.

So, he planned to do the opposite... Since he couldn't devour the Imagination Tree with his human body, he would let the Imagination Tree devour him instead.

Let the Imagination Tree eat his flesh, and then he will attach his will to the Imagination Tree, and use the Imagination Tree as raw material to create a new container to hold his soul and his will.

Although the Fantasy Tree has the will to survive and refuse to die, that's all it can do. Such a weak and fragile will is no different from that of a newborn baby. How could it possibly resist Abe Haruaki's strong soul that has not faded after thousands of years?

In Abe Haruaki's view, compared with the immature will of the Fantasy Tree, his own soul, which has spanned thousands of years for the long-cherished wish of reshaping the world, is like a raging and violent torrent that can wash away the will of the Fantasy Tree in an instant.

Therefore, Abe Haruaki did not feel the slightest bit of reluctance to part with his own body and his bloodline, even though he had waited for thousands of years for his mother, Yuyuko, to give birth to this new body, and even though he had widely publicized the perfection of this body.

However, the appearance of Ashiya Doman dealt him a severe blow... The body that devoured the two foreign gods, as Ashiya Doman said, was an extraordinary thing that surpassed humans, gods, and beasts, and was incomparable to the body possessed by Abe Haruaki.

Perhaps, it was precisely because of the frustration brought to him by Ashiya Doman that Abe Haruaki decided so resolutely to abandon his physical body and instead seize the container of the Illusion Tree.

"Abandon it! Fall! Yes... it should have been done long ago. This is the most correct way to use it!"

At this moment, Abe Haruaki seemed to have fallen into madness. The top of the fantasy tree pierced through Abe Haruaki's body, and his blood was flowing and absorbed by the fantasy tree. "Yin or Yang, human or monster, it has nothing to do with me now. I am now a true god! The god of this new world! This flesh has long become a burden, no longer worthy of my noble soul and the great aspirations. I will forge this fantasy tree and make it a new container! A container for 'God'! A container belonging to the god Abe Haruaki!"

As if it had obtained some excellent nutrients or supplements, the continuously collapsing fantasy tree frantically tore apart Abe Haruaki's body, devouring Abe Haruaki's flesh and blood and the spiritual power contained therein.

Then, a surprising scene happened...the collapse of the fantasy tree stopped.

The word "stopped" might not be the right word... To be precise, the speed at which the Illusion Tree grew surpassed its speed of collapse.

Abe Haruaki's current body was born after his mother, Yuyuko, had been reincarnated several times and continuously collected the livers of young girls and the fear of humans. As a living being, he has already stood at the pinnacle of this world. In addition, he possesses techniques that can change the orbits of stars and powerful spiritual power. As a result, the nutrition obtained by the Fantasy Tree from devouring Abe Haruaki even exceeds the spiritual power obtained from devouring the earth veins for so long.

The body was torn to pieces, and even the soul and consciousness were sucked into the fantasy tree by a huge tearing force.

And this is exactly what Abe Haruaki wanted...to become one with the Fantasy Tree completely.

My consciousness is sinking... sinking...

This is the deepest place that only consciousness can reach, the ocean of consciousness and soul, which is opposite to the material world.

If light does not exist, then the body does not exist either.

However, Abe Haruaki was able to keep thinking here.

"Is this... the interior of the Imagination Tree?"