Ch-314. **From This Moment On, I Excommunicate You.**
—
At first, when he was repelled—
Raiga felt nothing but resentment and bitterness.
It felt as though the honor he had built over an entire lifetime had been denied.
As though he had fallen short of his master’s final wish and expectations.
In the end, no matter how much he struggled, Raiga was still a slave.
No matter how expensive the clothes he wore,
No matter how nobly he wielded his sword like a knight,
…his birth amounted to nothing more than that of a lowly slave.
The red light emitted by the World Tree.
The measure of honor.
Was there any reason other than that for him to be unable to even accept the very first light?
In other words—
*“A being without even the minimum amount of honor.”*
That was effectively what the World Tree had told Raiga.
And yet…
Raiga had never shirked the Empire’s dirtiest, most thankless work.
He roamed the Abyss, purifying the land.
Then he incorporated that purified land into the Empire, expanding the continent.
To continuously step into the Abyss—where the body is torn apart, shattered, and even the mind is warped—is not something one can do with ordinary courage.
No matter how resilient a being may be, poison inevitably accumulates within the body.
Raiga had continued to enter the Abyss at the cost of his own life for one reason alone.
Honor.
So as not to stain his master’s honor.
To accomplish what no one else could, and thereby become honorable himself!
…And after building such a life—
*“Are you saying that everything I’ve done has nothing to do with honor?”*
Then what, exactly, is honor?
If what he had done was not honorable—
If accomplishing what no one else would or could do was not an honorable act!
*“…I’m sorry, Master.”*
His dream of becoming the Lord of Fang.
His resolve to prove that his master’s sacrifice had not been in vain, to show the world that one’s birth status had nothing to do with honor.
All of it collapsed in an instant.
He had burdened his master, who had trusted him enough to turn his back on Fang and the Empire.
All because of a useless disciple.
Unable to return to Fang’s embrace.
“……”
…But that grief did not last long.
Not because his heart had changed.
But because the situation shifted too abruptly.
There was no time to grieve.
Hyun of Adrium.
His disciple.
Even when the boy stood before the World Tree, Raiga had not expected much.
No matter how great his talent as a martial god, that alone had nothing to do with honor—at least not yet.
Besides, wasn’t Hyun in a similar position to himself?
A vagrant of Adrium, with no clear status.
*“Orange…”*
…Surely that would have been it.
Talent and honor were clearly different things.
And yet—
Hyun was not repelled.
Instead, he was tested for the next qualification of honor.
From red to orange.
From orange to yellow.
Green, blue, indigo.
And finally, the World Tree erupted in seven brilliant colors.
With every stage it advanced, Raiga’s expression grew increasingly strange.
His previously furrowed brow vanished.
The wrinkles smoothed out, his eyes widened, pupils dilating—
“The Great Chieftain of the Azure Druids, Albino, greets the master of great nature—the High Druid.”
Wearing a foolish expression—
…he slowly opened his mouth.
He simply could not believe it.
At the center of it all stood the one receiving praise from both the elders and the Grand Elder alike.
No matter how many times he looked—
It was unmistakably Hyun.
*“H-How… did this… happen…?”*
How could this be?
His disciple—a *High Druid*?
Why did the elders and the Grand Elder bear the forms of the legendary Druids?
Was the reason they wielded the power of nature and lived eternally because they were not human?
But Hyun *was* human.
He was not a Druid like them.
Then, Hyun looked at the Grand Elder and asked,
“Is the test over?”
“……Please forgive our discourtesy, High Druid.”
They had dared to impose the World Tree’s test upon its very master.
What greater discourtesy could there be?
There was no need for him to take a test, no reason for him to prove anything.
He possessed honor and a soul that surpassed even the prophets.
Simply by standing there and having his qualifications confirmed, the World Tree had regained its vitality—and even returned their lost qualifications.
Truly a being worthy of being called a miracle.
“Please, tell us your name.”
“……!”
At this point, Raiga was shocked once more.
This was the first time he had ever seen the Grand Elder ask for someone’s name first.
Not even his own master—nor the masters before him—had experienced such a thing.
Names were something one declared oneself.
And yet the Grand Elder had asked first.
Courteously, with utmost respect.
An attitude Raiga had never seen before.
“Hyun.”
When Hyun answered, Grand Elder Albino hardened his gaze and said,
“Lord Hyun. Please lead us.”
“Let me think about it.”
*I’ll think about it.*
For some reason, it sounded hopeful.
Accepting immediately might appear improper.
After all, how could a High Druid possibly reject them?
Thus, with a smile, Albino asked,
“Thank you. And Lord Hyun—if I may be so bold once more… is that your ‘true’ form?”
“It is.”
“Then… are you truly Raiga’s disciple?”
Setting everything else aside, he simply could not understand.
A being with the most noble soul imaginable—merely Raiga’s disciple?
The disciple of someone who did not even properly understand the word *honor*?
A man who had failed the World Tree’s test twice.
Someone for whom even inheriting the name of Fang would be shameful.
Perhaps he had concealed his identity and wandered here?
Perhaps he had hidden his true form?
With such faint hope, Albino had asked.
“It’s true.”
…Yet Hyun answered without the slightest hesitation.
And for some reason, his tone sounded displeased.
Grand Elder Albino’s expression stiffened slightly.
“High Druid… did I perhaps make a mistake?”
“There’s something I’m curious about.”
“Yes. Please ask anything. I will answer all that I know.”
“Isn’t a master’s honor the disciple’s honor?”
“Th-That is…”
“And isn’t a disciple’s honor also the master’s honor?”
For a moment, Albino was taken aback.
A master’s honor does indeed reflect upon the disciple.
Which means a disciple’s honor should likewise reflect upon the master.
But that only holds true when the gap between them is reasonable.
The difference between Raiga and Hyun was obvious.
So vast that it was unthinkable to bind them together.
Yet that was not the answer Hyun was seeking.
The ease and smile vanished completely from Grand Elder Albino’s face.
“……”
“This is a place that rejected the one I follow. I have no reason to lead you, nor any reason to remain here.”
Turn—
Hyun turned away without hesitation.
At the same time, the eyes of every elder and the Grand Elder widened like lanterns.
*N-No!*
They had to stop him.
Under no circumstances could Hyun be allowed to leave.
Without him, the World Tree would wither again, and they would return to their former state.
And more than that—
The dungeon that had appeared within the World Tree.
There was surely a *path* there.
They knew it instinctively.
That dungeon contained the *answer* they had sought for so long.
“P-Please, wait a moment!”
Grand Elder Albino hurriedly tried to stop Hyun.
But Hyun did not stop.
He exited the hall, left the sanctuary, and showed every sign of leaving forever.
What should they do?
How could they stop those feet?
*“There were great chieftains who called themselves Druids, but never has a true High Druid—recognized as the master of the World Tree—appeared.”*
The great chieftains of the Druids.
When the world was still whole, some of them had proclaimed themselves *High Druids* and attempted to unify all Druids.
But none had ever been acknowledged as the master of the World Tree.
Only one who proves their qualification and manifests the seven-colored rainbow can be recognized as a High Druid—yet in reality, it was an impossible feat.
They were later destroyed by *Destruction*.
Because they were not unified.
Because they had no true lord to follow.
And now—
After countless ages—
He had finally appeared.
And yet they could not let him leave like this.
They could not lose him so emptily, so absurdly.
“……”
Grand Elder Albino looked at Raiga.
In the end, the answer to all of this lay with him.
The man rejected by the sanctuary.
The man whom both the elders and the Grand Elder had denied.
And yet, throughout the long years of coexistence with Fang, they had never once overturned their decisions.
No successor of Fang had ever dared challenge their will.
And now they were to accept someone rejected twice?
“….”
This was not a matter of wounded pride.
It was an issue that shook the very foundation of the sanctuary and honor itself.
The moment they accepted Raiga, they would be admitting that they were wrong.
That every qualification test they had conducted thus far—
That their very role—
Had been mistaken.
“Hyun.”
At that moment—
Raiga spoke.
Step—
Hyun stopped.
Facing Hyun’s back, Raiga said,
“I’m fine.”
*Fine?*
What did he mean by that?
“Live your life.”
Raiga smiled.
As if his thoughts had finally settled.
With eyes that seemed to emanate a manifested presence.
“It’s fine if you’re no longer my disciple. You don’t need to bear the shackles of my name. I bound you to it by force, yet in truth, what did I ever give you?”
At best—
Only a name.
The title of *Raiga of the Fang Knights’ disciple*.
And even that title could not be said to be a good thing.
As things stood, it only held him back.
…Yes.
He did not need Raiga’s name to move forward.
With the talent of a martial god, and with the Grand Elder and Fang at his side, he would soar freely across the firmament even without it.
Better for it not to exist.
Better not to be a disciple.
And yet, knowing all this, Hyun still insisted that Raiga was his master.
…That was enough.
At this moment, Raiga was saved.
Though he himself could not reach it, his disciple had become the master of the sanctuary.
Not merely acknowledged—he stood at the pinnacle.
Seeing the elders and the Grand Elder flustered was satisfaction enough.
“Hyun. From this moment on, I excommuni—”
“W-Wait!”
The one who cut him off in haste—
Was none other than Grand Elder Albino.
Albino was drenched in cold sweat.
*If he’s excommunicated here, he will never return.*
This was the worst possible scenario.
A disciple leaving for the sake of his master.
A master trying to leave for the sake of his disciple.
There could be no more dreadful outcome.
If this continued, the High Druid—Hyun—would never return.
No, it would only breed hostility.
That had to be prevented.
And there was only one way to do so.
“I recognize Raiga as the Lord of Fang. Elders, you all agree, do you not?”
Though phrased as a question, it was effectively a command.
The ten elders hurriedly nodded in unison.
“I-I agree.”
“Yes, yes. Raiga is more than worthy to inherit Fang.”
“Indeed.”
“H-Haha. There’s no one who could oppose that.”
All of them were soaked in cold sweat.
But this was the only way.
Even if internal opposition arose later.
Grand Elder Albino looked back at Raiga and said,
“Raiga. Head of the Fang family.”
“……”
“We permit you to be laid to rest with the blessings of the sanctuary. If you wish, your master—‘Dantalion’—as well.”
An offer impossible to refuse.
Raiga raised his head.
A strange expression. Trembling eyes.
Then he looked at Hyun.
Hyun, baring all his teeth in a radiant smile, said,
“Please do so, Master.”
Ragia getting recognition after such a long time