During the brief moment when Honeysuckle and Earning had their conversation, the guild members continued their precarious battle with the leader of Inferno.

The moment Honeysuckle left was the perfect timing to escape, but Earning was in shock and missed the opportunity. Papillion began to watch them again.

While the guild members were sweating profusely and struggling in battle, the leader of Inferno seemed to be toying with them as if playing a game. He slowly increased his power, drying them out with an attitude of ‘Can you withstand this too?’

The guild members had already used all the dryads they could to graft. However, each time they endured, a stronger attack came, and they could tell that if he had been serious from the start, it would have been impossible to prolong things like this.

I thought it would be nice if I could open a graft with our Elder and sprinkle some cool rain, but since I had just used it, the rapport wasn’t high enough. I wondered if I had wasted my ultimate move too regrettably.

I still had no dryad other than Elder that I could use for grafting. I was also curious whether I couldn’t use grafting with other dryads yet. Aren’t my rapport levels with other dryads high enough?

“Even if you just removed that ear ornament, the fight would already be over.”

Earning said to me, who was watching the guild members holding their ground with supportive eyes.

“Why?”

“That guy’s power is so strong he can’t control the fire himself. That’s why he’s wearing that control device.”

“Whoa…”

Sealing his power because it’s too strong? Isn’t he more like a demon king than a boss? Is the final enemy I need to defeat in this game not fire, but that demon king?

“So if you have any remaining trump cards, it’d be best to use them now.”

“Trump card? I’ve already thrown everything I have.”

I used the graft with Elder, and I don’t know how to declare a domain to summon artifacts. From the way Earning looked at Mesquite while speaking, it seemed like she thought I might be able to use grafting with Mesquite.

If I unleashed a graft with our special-grade Mesquite, wouldn’t I see some truly amazing skills? But while she’s highly loyal to me, I haven’t felt any rapport for grafting with her.

“Is that so? Then soon everyone here will burn to death. That guy has lost interest. He was momentarily intrigued that you could withstand his attacks, but that’s over now. Look over there.”

I followed Earning’s gaze and nearly fainted. A sun had risen above the ground. It was so bright that staring too long would blind you, and the surrounding heat had already dried everything out—it was a miracle we weren’t dead. Is that really a person?

Are we really all going to die here? Was that demon lord an impossible boss from the start? At least with fire-type boss monsters, you can figure out a gimmick and counter it, but how are we supposed to deal with that?

The only hope left was the nearly depleted share of Papillion’s stakes. But even though his share was down to a single digit, it hadn’t reached 0%. Judging by how fast the number was dropping, it seemed like something would burst out of that sun first.

Isn’t there something I can do? Isn’t there anything I can do to help the guild members? Please.

“This is the end. If I’d known it would come to this, I would have spent my last moments with Scarecrow.”

“Don’t talk like you’re making a final will!”

“I’m the one who killed her.”

“What?”

Her sudden confession left me dazed.

“To be precise, I’m the one who caused her death. When I sent the wagon loaded with poisonous herbs from the 16th Terrarium, my mistake was using the power of my Radanifer to take out the escorts and steal the herbs. My flower was a unique-grade plant that, despite being a plant, could spread highly volatile seeds and explode them to kill enemies with fire. But they say fire begets fire. Eventually, while the blessing of the World Tree’s branch was weakened, all the fires positioned around rushed in. They devoured even the defeated Dryads and grew uncontrollably. My Radanifer flower was a dangerous unique-grade that became extremely hazardous when swallowed. So I tried to lure the fire away from me… and self-destruct. My flower also had a cursed ability to burn itself to death.”

A unique-grade Dryad that could spread seeds to cause explosions… I recalled the technique that had troubled us during the fire wagon boss battle with Siedling. The seeds raining down from the wagon—an area-of-effect skill that burned on contact and ignited flames where they landed. And Blue Mallow said the fire wagon had swallowed a unique-grade Dryad.

“But I got swallowed before I could self-destruct. I couldn’t buy enough time to escape. To make matters worse, the fire grew stronger, spreading flames everywhere and calling more fires. Those gathered and attacked the 28th Terrarium.”

“Jae! Summon the Viburnum!”

At Mesquite’s sudden shout, I reflexively summoned the Viburnum from the artifact. As soon as he emerged from the artifact, he raised his broad greatsword and immediately prepared for battle.

“If the situation gets serious, get under the Viburnum’s protection. He’s a fire-resistant tree that endures heat better, and as long as the power of his flower language remains, he cannot die. So if it’s just you, Jae, he can take the heat for you.”

“That tree…”

Like when the Viburnum, understanding Mesquite’s words, trapped a massive fire in the cave, it summoned trees to wrap around me and then embraced me. Earning, recognizing the Viburnum, wept tears streaming down. I was so startled by the sight that I couldn’t say a word.

“Scarecrow knew everything. I don’t know when it started, but she already knew about me… everything about what I did. But she said it was her fault for not properly recognizing the person under her command, and she would take full responsibility, telling me to leave. When she was about to unleash her final graft, staking her dryad and her life… I said I would stay too. But she didn’t allow it. She said we should never see each other again. To stay far away from the terrarium and from herself. To forget and never recall all the bonds and memories made here. She said that was the harshest punishment she could give me.”

Earning stood up from her seat, tears streaming down.

“She’s right. That’s truly a cruel and harsh punishment. It’s the most fitting great punishment for what I’ve done. How could I forget Crow? How could I leave behind her death, the most precious thing to me, without being able to do anything?”

“The other dryads, except for Viburnum, should go back to being artifacts! Even a desert field dryad would struggle to withstand a fire that size!”

Elder looked at Mesquite and shouted as if seeking agreement.

“Is that crazy bastard trying to blow up the entire terrarium?”

“What the hell are we supposed to do…!”

Iris and Zephyr screamed in shock as they watched the sun above ground growing larger and larger. The two, who had been fighting nearby, were already covered in burns, large and small.

Please… let me do something. If only I had the power to protect everyone. If only I could use such incredible power, as Scarecrow did to protect the 28th terrarium.

That was the moment. A golden light spread everywhere, and everything vanished. I was alone, with nothing on a vast, undulating sea of golden energy. But it felt incredibly warm and cozy. Where did everyone go?

“A golden light… why can’t I see anyone?”

“Golden light? It’s the energy of the artifact! It means you’re ready to use the domain declaration.”

You’re telling me I suddenly awakened the domain declaration skill in this situation? If this is the only power I can use.

There was clearly no one, but Mesquite’s voice came from right nearby.

“Think of the field you feel is the most cozy and safe within the artifact. The best field to bestow upon your dryads.”

Following Mesquite’s instructions, I thought of a field. Which field feels the most cozy? The best field to safely protect my dryad…?

I thought I understood. Why I had awakened the power of territory declaration at this moment. There was only one field where I felt the safest. The best field for my dryads, which only I could summon.

As I recalled that place, the surging golden sea transformed into the form I remembered. A tremendous earthquake erupted all around.

“What’s this all of a sudden…?”

Diamond fountains burst forth from every direction. The half-collapsed buildings were gone, replaced by neat stone floors pushing away the pitch-black ash that had covered the ground. White branches wrapped in golden light rose from the earth, filling the surroundings with an abundant aura of blessing.

The armor of our dryads, touched by the diamond fountain, began to be completely healed.

The fountain’s streams and size, as if fueled by my response, were vast enough to quickly cool all the heat, thanks to the World Tree branches that had greedily absorbed the diamonds. The exhausted dryads exuded a vibrant energy toward the unbearable heat.

The 28th terrarium connected to my artifact was fully manifested here as a field. Even the branches of the World Tree from the 28th terrarium sprouted everywhere, just as grass grows or tropical rainforests appear depending on the type of native field.

A field that not only benefits from the abundant blessings of the World Tree in the terrarium but also empowers my terrarium’s exclusive guild members.

“To you, the blessing of all things being born and all things beginning….”

Overcoming the heat that burns everything and extinguishes life, the land of blessing spread out.