The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

“Ha, look at this bastard.”

The man’s thin eyebrows twitched.

The glare in his eyes was unmistakable—pure killing intent.

‘So he’s not just some street thug.’

Even intimidation was a skill.

That kind of pressure only came from real experience—probably from killing.

Whether it was slaughtering innocents or fighting equals remained to be seen.

“Don’t know where the hell you crawled out from, but quit acting tough. I’ll kill you.”

“P-please calm down. He just doesn’t understand the situation yet…”

“Shut it!”

The man shot up from his seat, voice going cold.

“Get on your knees. Apologize, and I’ll let you off with just one eye.”

I smirked, lips curling to the side.

“Your tongue’s too long. Planning to fight me with words?”

“You little shit!”

“Guess you’re used to that cheap intimidation working, huh? With that smashed-up face, I bet kids piss themselves when you bark.”

“P-please! Both of you, stop it!”

The woman trembled as she cried out.

But empty words weren’t enough to calm the tension.

With tempers this hot, her feeble attempt at mediation was nothing but fuel.

Meanwhile, the robed man remained silent.

I decided to ignore him entirely.

“I’ll kill you! I swear I’ll kill you!”

“Stop talking and do it.”

“Die!!”

His patience snapped.

He kicked the table over, sending glasses and plates crashing toward me.

“D-don’t!!”

But none of it touched me.

Not because of my vines—I hadn’t even moved.

I glanced aside.

The woman’s hand was raised, a light staff in her grip.

“…Magic?”

Clear waves of mana rippled against my skin.

A transparent barrier spread out before me, blocking every shard and shock.

‘Not bad.’

Her spellwork was solid—structured and fast.

Not the work of a self-taught amateur.

‘Strange. A mage of this caliber doesn’t usually end up running with the Brotherhood.’

If she had such a solid foundation, all the more so.

“You too, drop the spell unless you want to die!”

“Remove it.”

Both the man and I spoke at once.

The look on her face was priceless—stunned that even I rejected her help.

“Y-you’ll die like this! We need to get along!”

“You think strangers thrown together are going to hold hands and sing?”

Did she think we lived in a flower field?

Even with Hella, things had been rough at first.

People who lived in the shadows were bound to clash.

“And besides, this is necessary.”

“Huh?”

“If we’re going to work together, someone has to take charge. Any organization needs a leader to run smoothly. You didn’t know that?”

Hierarchy mattered.

Even if it meant fighting to establish it.

“I-I don’t care anymore…”

Finally, she gave up, retreating to the corner.

The robed man had already stepped aside, so now it was just us.

“Big talk for a piece of trash. Hierarchy, huh?”

My words had clearly gotten under his skin—his eyes were bloodshot.

“Last warning. Kneel, and I’ll give you a painless death.”

“Scared already?”

“…I’ll rip that arrogant mouth of yours to shreds!”

His rage boiled over. His sleeve tore open—

Krrrk!

A sharp metallic whine screeched as a gleam of steel burst from his arm.

‘A chainsaw?’

Jagged teeth spun, buzzing with a roar that made the air itself vibrate.

‘So that’s his trick.’

A man rebuilt with machinery.

In this world of magi-tech, prosthetics weren’t rare—but this went beyond arms and legs.

“Still don’t get the situation, do you?”

The woman gasped, covering her mouth with silent horror.

My heartbeat stayed calm.

Vrrrnnnn!

“Wh-what the hell?! Why won’t it—?!”

The saw never reached me.

It spun helplessly in midair, his arm frozen.

Shock spread across his face as he realized.

“You didn’t even notice?”

A vine, sprouting from beneath my ankle, had already coiled around him.

Even without the mage’s barrier, this fight was over.

That he never sensed it—proof of his limits.

“D-damn it!”

He thrashed, face red with fury.

But the World Tree’s vines weren’t so easily shaken off.

With my affinity for nature stronger than ever, they had both strength and elasticity.

Realizing it was useless, he changed tactics, spitting out a scream.

“C-coward! You bastard!”

“…Coward?”

“Yeah, you piece of shit! Using some freak power like that—fight me fair and square!”

I nearly burst out laughing.

‘Is this guy insane?’

He thought a chainsaw arm was fair, but vines weren’t?

No trace of shame on his face.

“Fine. Let’s do it your way.”

“Now that’s more like it. A real man.”

His voice trembled with joy.

But even as he gloated, I kept walking toward him.

And when the vines didn’t release him, his expression twisted.

“W-what are you doing? Let me go first!”

“Why should I?”

I asked with genuine curiosity.

Why would I release a man who just tried to kill me?

“They say the cure for madness is a good beating.”

He hadn’t been bluffing—he really intended to kill me.

If I left him now, he’d only hold a grudge.

If we were to work together, I had to break him first.

Drive the hierarchy into his bones.

“Grit your teeth.”

“W-wait—!”

My fist sank cleanly into his pale face.

What followed was a one-sided beating.

By the time the woman tried to stop me, saying it was enough, I finally withdrew my fist.

“Ughhh…”

I let the vine loosen, and he collapsed to the floor.

A wreck, but still breathing.

Didn’t even pass out. Tough bastard.

“…?”

I went to recall the vine—

But before I could, it moved on its own, swaying before his mangled arm.

Right before the World Tree itself.

“Why?”

「The World Tree is pouting.」

Now that I looked closer, its leaves hung limp and sulky.

I checked the vine I hadn’t recalled.

‘Did the saw nick it?’

Sure enough, faint grooves marred the surface.

Rough cuts—rusted teeth had scraped it before jamming.

‘So he wasn’t all bluff.’

A wound on the World Tree’s vine.

Not truly dangerous, but still—good thing I shut him down fast.

‘It’s still just a sapling. Even with higher affinity, it isn’t invulnerable.’

Its leaves were delicate, its vines thin.

If it grew into a full tree, maybe then—but right now, it was closer to a flower or weed than a tree.

‘It needs to grow. For me as much as for itself.’

Because against stronger machines, those vines might really be severed.

The power of money over ability—gear trumped skill.

In this city’s underworld, flooded with shadowy capital, men like him were bound to exist.

I had to be careful.

“Ughhh…”

The man suddenly twitched.

His eyes, staring up at me, were drenched in fear—

But not empty. A flicker of defiance still burned.

‘Even now?’

Born a rebel, through and through.

“Khak!”

I kicked him, pouring the World Tree’s resentment into the blow.

「The World Tree delivers punishment for its wound.」

It must’ve hurt.

The vines lashed his back, slamming him down.

That finished it.

He’d clung to consciousness, but now his eyes rolled back.

“D-did you kill him?”

“He’s faking.”

The woman asked with a tremor, but I waved it off, sitting in a proper chair.

I’d avoided the vitals. It was just shock piling up.

“Anyone else here feel like they need… straightening out?”

The woman averted her gaze. The robed man wasn’t worth a glance.

With the room settled, I finally started the meeting.

“Let’s start with introductions. We can’t work together if we don’t even know names. I’m Allen. Freelancer.”

“L-Lailla. I’m a mage.”

“Right. Mage.”

When I looked at her directly, Lailla flinched and hunched her shoulders.

“You from the Tower?”

“Nooo.”

“No?”

“Well, um… self-taught? Kind of.”

Self-taught is self-taught—what did “kind of” mean?

I motioned for her to explain.

“At first, I studied from books at home. Then I met a mage by chance, and he taught me sometimes.”

“You built your skills from what you learned as a kid?”

“No, he still comes once a month.”

“I see. And his school?”

“I don’t know. He just teaches me spells and leaves…”

Lailla glanced at me nervously.

She wasn’t sly enough to be hiding anything.

‘Unusual.’

Mages rarely took pupils, let alone taught others without profit.

She was taught by a rare breed.

“What spells can you use?”

“Um… barrier, pressure, grasping hand…”

“That’s enough.”

I raised a hand to stop her.

‘Juggernaut school, maybe.’

They focused on practicality over flash. The cradle of common spells, especially strong in magitech.

If she was Juggernaut-trained, that eccentric teacher made sense.

That school often mingled with corporations, their tradition being more flexible.

It wouldn’t be strange for a maverick to show up.

“The guy on the floor—he said his name’s Collad. Used to be a gangster, but says he’s clean now…”

Lailla filled in for the unconscious man.

Timid as she was, she spoke well.

Then I turned to the robed one.

“And you?”

Surely he wouldn’t stay silent even about his name.

After a long pause, a voice finally rasped out.

“…RW─21E0.”

“What?”

“Call me Number 21.”

His voice sounded like it passed through a cheap modulator.

The name too—it wasn’t a name, more like a serial code.

Suspicious, but whatever.

“What can you do?”

“My combat ability is minimal. I am designed for information gathering.”

“Got it.”

I gathered what I’d learned.

Oddly enough, it made for a balanced team.

If they’d been nothing but trash, I’d have done it solo.

But maybe they were worth keeping.

‘No need to ask why they took this job.’

I was curious, but it didn’t matter.

I wouldn’t explain my own reasons, either.

‘We’re not here to get close. Unlike Hella.’

These weren’t allies—just partners until the job was done.

“Our target’s the Brotherhood’s 85th branch boss. I heard there was already a plan.”

They’d been hired before me.

If a date was set, then they weren’t charging in blind.

If their plan worked, I’d follow it. If not, I’d rework it.

Lailla tilted her head.

“There was… a plan?”

“You were just going to storm their base?”

“….”

The way she looked away said it all.

A mage good at spells but clueless about the world—classic.

‘Collad won’t have a plan either.’

That left the robed one.

Specialized in information gathering—Number 21.

A faint red gleam flickered from within his hood.

“I have information.”

“Information?”

“The 85th branch’s main business is drug distribution. Next week, the boss himself is scheduled to oversee a deal.”

And at that, the strategy was already forming in my head.

(End of Chapter)