The roar did not come from the demon.
It came from the Mother Tree.
A deep and harrowing sound echoed through the forest, as if something gigantic were breaking inside the trunk.
The upper branches began to shake violently.
Then a wave of black mana exploded outward.
The air distorted.
The leaves withered the moment they touched that corrupt energy.
The elves immediately retreated.
Grisela raised her bow.
—"FORM THE RINGS! FIRST LINE ARCHERS! SECOND DRUIDS!"
The elves reacted instantly.
Mana arrows aimed toward the Mother Tree while the druids extended their hands, trying to stabilize the environment with purification magic.
Green circles appeared around the roots.
But they lasted barely a second.
The demonic mana devoured them completely.
The runes went out one after another, consumed before they could even be completed.
—"It's not working!" one of the druids shouted. "The entire environment is contaminated!"
Bragoz let out a deep laugh.
He was still fused to the trunk, buried in the wood like a parasite feeding on something alive.
—You can keep fighting until you're exhausted…
Black sap slowly descended through his body.
—Or surrender.
His smile twisted even further.
—The result will be the same.
Then the bark of the Mother Tree split open.
A gigantic crack ran from top to bottom of the trunk.
The forest trembled.
And something began to emerge from inside.
First were deformed arms.
Then bodies covered in roots.
Corrupted beasts fell from inside the tree as if the corruption had already begun expelling itself.
Mutated creatures hit the ground with roars.
Some still had parts of their bodies trapped in living wood.
Others dragged roots moving beneath their skin.
The elves turned pale.
The Mother Tree was no longer resisting.
It was vomiting corruption.
The roar of the Mother Tree shook the forest.
The first wave emerged from the trunk like a living explosion.
Deformed creatures fell among the roots while corruption spread across the ground like a black tide.
Grisela reacted instantly.
—"NORTH! CONTAIN THE EXIT!"
The elves moved without hesitation.
Mana arrows filled the air and exploded among the first beasts emerging from the trunk.
Several creatures fell pierced.
But others kept advancing over the corpses.
Then the ground began to burn.
The elves stepped back in confusion.
The grass turned black.
The air began to grow heavy.
Emily turned immediately.
She could feel it.
The demonic mana was changing the environment.
Breathing was starting to hurt.
—"SOUTH!" one of the elves shouted. "THE AIR IS COLLAPSING!"
Emily raised both hands.
Light exploded around her body and a bright barrier spread over the camp.
Corrupted mana struck it like dark smoke.
Then a roar tore through the trees.
Something enormous was coming toward them.
Tree trunks exploded one after another.
And the creature appeared.
A gigantic monster broke through the forest line as if the trees were dry branches.
Elizabeth raised her hand instantly.
—"Thunder… now."
Thunder's eyes flashed.
And lightning fell like judgment.
The most dangerous battle had begun.
If they did not cut the bond between Bragoz and the Mother Tree before the corruption reached the heart of the trunk…
Everything would end.
Bragoz tore his body out of the Mother Tree in a single pull.
The bark exploded behind him.
But he was not free.
Black roots were still connected to his back like giant veins.
Corrupt sap pulsed within them.
It entered and left his body like blood pumped directly into a demonic heart.
Each pulse made the forest tremble.
The ground vibrated.
The branches creaked.
Even the air seemed to shake with every heartbeat.
Lusian advanced.
Dark shadows slowly began to wrap around his body.
Black mana coiled around Dainslein, partially covering the blade.
Bragoz opened his arms.
He was smiling.
—So you're the little omega who walks with crying girls.
Emily clenched her fists upon hearing that.
The light around her body trembled for an instant.
But she did not move.
Lusian had ordered her to stay back.
And she knew that distracting him now could kill him.
Lusian did not even slow down.
—You talk too much.
And he disappeared.
The ground exploded beneath his feet.
Bragoz barely managed to raise an arm.
Dainslein collided with the demonic claw.
The impact shook the entire clearing.
A pressure wave tore leaves, earth, and roots around both of them.
Bragoz smiled even wider.
And responded with a direct punch to the chest.
Lusian blocked.
But the impact dragged him several meters across the ground.
Roots broke behind him as he retreated.
Bragoz advanced immediately.
He gave him no time to breathe.
Black claws descended one after another, forcing Lusian to block while the ground exploded beneath each impact.
But Lusian was not trying to defeat him head-on.
He was only keeping him occupied.
Because behind the demon…
Grisela was already moving.
The heroine of nature pressed one hand onto the ground.
Green mana exploded around the corrupted roots.
Elven runes began to spread beneath the Mother Tree while luminous vines slowly coiled around the black connections linking Bragoz to the trunk.
Her breathing was unstable.
The corruption tried to devour her magic the moment it appeared.
But Grisela kept advancing.
—Hurry up —she muttered through her teeth while blocking another strike.
Her arms trembled from the impact.
Bragoz was stronger.
Faster.
And the amount of demonic mana he kept absorbing from the Mother Tree made each clash feel worse than the previous one.
But Lusian was not trying to defeat him head-on.
He only needed to distract him.
Then Bragoz felt it.
His eyes widened violently.
—What are you doing…?
Lusian did not even respond.
He lunged at him again before he could turn around.
Northern Front — Ryndel and the elves
The creatures of the Mother Tree advanced with unnatural synchronization.
They did not run.
They did not roar.
They simply moved forward as if they all shared the same thought.
A six-legged beast covered in living bark smashed into the frontline.
The impact sent three elves flying before they could react.
Ryndel raised his bow.
The Bow of the Last Buds vibrated between his fingers with a faint murmur.
Something was wrong.
The forest no longer responded the same way.
Still, he fired.
Three arrows cut through the air.
The first pierced a joint.
The second shattered the creature's lower jaw.
The third pinned it to the ground.
But the beast kept moving.
The root that followed did not feel like part of the forest.
It moved too fast.
Too aggressively.
Ryndel twisted just in time and cut it with his dagger while retreating.
Black sap splattered onto the ground.
This was not natural.
The forest had never reacted like this before.
—"DO NOT FALL BACK!" he shouted. "THIS IS STILL OUR HOME!"
For an instant, the forest responded.
Vines tightened around several creatures.
Leaves descended like green blades.
But it was weak.
Too weak.
The corrupted roots broke the vines almost immediately.
And Ryndel understood.
The forest was no longer listening to him the same way.
Corruption was taking control.
Beside him, an elf fell pierced by a black spike.
He did not even get to scream.
Another disappeared beneath a mass of living roots.
The line stepped back half a pace.
Then another.
The creatures kept advancing.
Without fear.
Without stopping.
Ryndel clenched his teeth.
He concentrated more mana into the bow.
He tried to force the connection with the forest.
Elven runes glowed around the string.
For a second.
Only a second.
And then they began to fade.
"…it no longer responds…" he murmured.
The creatures kept approaching.
The air smelled of rotten sap and blood.
Ryndel stepped forward again.
Just one step.
"Even if the forest is wounded…" he whispered. "As long as I keep breathing…"
He drew the string once more.
But he never got to release it.
A black root pierced his body from the side.
The world stopped.
His fingers slowly opened.
The Bow of the Last Buds fell to the ground.
Southern Front — Emily
Emily raised both hands.
Divine light exploded around her body and spread across the clearing like a warm wave cutting through corruption.
For an instant, the creatures' advance stopped.
The monsters began moving more slowly.
Their bodies tensed as if the light was weakening the force that kept them alive.
Several beasts retreated with distorted screams.
But the forest reacted immediately.
Demonic mana thickened around the field of light.
It crawled across the ground.
Climbed the trees.
Trying to devour the barrier from all directions.
—"Emily, the field is collapsing!" one of the druids shouted while falling to his knees. "We can't stabilize it!"
The green runes around his hands began to fade one after another.
Emily clenched her teeth.
The pressure on her body increased every second.
—"I know!" she replied. "But if I stop, everyone will die!"
Then the ground opened in front of her.
The creature emerged from the corruption beneath the earth, but before it could reach her, an elf stepped in and blocked the attack with a barrier of green roots.
Behind her, more bodies began to rise from the corruption, crawling out of the black soil as the forest continued to deform.
Corruption gathered in front of Emily.
Black roots twisted over one another.
Dark sap began to harden.
And then it took form.
Emily raised a light barrier just in time.
The impact shook the entire defensive field.
The creature screamed as purification tore through its body.
Parts of its flesh began to dissolve under the light.
But Emily also took the hit.
Her breathing broke.
Blood fell from the corner of her lips.
The light around her body shone even brighter.
Too much.
She was pushing her own limit.
And still, she did not retreat.
Behind her, the druids began to regain stability under divine protection.
It was not enough to win.
But enough to stay alive.
Western Front — Elizabeth and Thunder
The sky split again and again under Thunder's lightning.
Elizabeth remained on the horse's back, holding on as demonic mana tried to seep into her body like invisible poison.
Every spell hurt.
Every barrier consumed more energy than it should.
Thunder reacted before the monsters attacked.
It was not instinct.
It was the bond with Lusian.
A lightning bolt descended from the sky and tore through the battlefield.
Two creatures exploded in electricity.
But others kept advancing through the burned bodies.
Elizabeth raised another barrier.
The defense appeared incomplete.
Cracks began spreading across the magical surface as soon as it took the first impact.
—"I can't hold this much longer…" she murmured while trying to stabilize the spell. "The dark mana is reacting with me…"
Thunder struck the ground with force.
Electricity exploded around them forming a defensive ring.
The creatures retreated for only an instant.
Only one.
Then they charged again.
Lusian's voice echoed through Thunder's bond.
Cold. Direct.
—Hold on. Don't let them reach the core.
Thunder answered with a lightning-charged neigh.
Elizabeth took a deep breath.
Her hands were shaking.
But she raised mana again.
She was not gaining ground.
Only buying time.
Eastern Front — Dayana
Dayana moved through the shadows while the forest reacted to every step she took.
The creatures did not follow her directly, but tried to adapt to her rhythm as if the terrain itself was learning her movement pattern.
Her hands opened in the air and the environment tightened instantly.
Red threads shot from her fingers and pierced the corpses on the ground.
One.
Two.
Three.
The bodies rose again, their joints cracking while the flesh did not return to life, but instead a forced obedience that made them move.
—"Don't destroy them…" she murmured while spinning mid-air and tearing through another creature's throat without stopping. "I need them."
The undead began forming behind her, advancing as a distorted extension of her will, unstable but relentless.
Bragoz stood ahead.
Then the ground reacted.
A living root shot out and grabbed her ankle.
Dayana did not manage to turn in time to free herself.
The world tilted violently as the forest dragged her from the air toward the Mother Tree.
The trunk was alive and black sap flowed down its surface as if the tree were bleeding from within.
When Dayana made contact with it, pain exploded through her entire body and forced her to arch violently.
—"LUSIAN! THIS… BURNS!"
Her skin sparked on contact, not like a normal wound, but like an absolute rejection of her existence.
The Mother Tree did not accept anything within its influence, neither living nor dead nor corrupted.
Dayana hung upside down as the roots held her effortlessly.
She tried to release her red threads again, but every attempt formed and broke before reaching the trunk.
Her breathing cut off as the pressure of the environment increased over her body.
"…I can't get closer…"
Silence spread around her while rage grew inside her.
Two years had passed chasing the same goal and the same name.
Bragoz.
And now the enemy was right there, but the world itself denied her the chance to reach him.
Central Front — Lusian and Grisela vs Bragoz
Lusian bled while standing in the center of the battlefield.
It was not the first time he faced something impossible, but this time every impact was directly felt in his bones.
He blocked another strike and his arm trembled under the pressure.
The impact pushed him back and for a moment he felt his sword slipping from his hands.
Bragoz did not attack with a recognizable pattern, but as something alive that learned with every exchange.
Lusian clenched his teeth.
—Damn it…
His breathing was heavy and his body no longer responded with the same precision.
Still, he remained standing because Grisela was behind him.
Lusian turned slightly and looked at her.
Grisela stood before the Mother Tree without moving, eyes closed, her body wrapped in green mana flowing into the roots as if she were sinking into the forest itself.
It was not just magic, but a direct connection binding her to the environment.
Sweat ran down her face, but she did not move, because she knew that if she broke concentration too early, the bond would collapse completely.
Bragoz noticed it instantly and his smile widened as he kept pressure on the fight.
—Leaving her alone while praying for a miracle?
Lusian stepped forward and blocked another strike that felt like a fracture running through his arm.
—Shut up.
His voice no longer sounded firm, but exhausted.
Grisela still did not move, and time felt slower and heavier with every second.
Lusian clenched his jaw.
—Come on… he whispered to himself. Finish it already…
He was not sure how much longer he could endure this fight.
But he understood one thing clearly: if he fell too soon, Grisela would have no chance to complete the bond with the Mother Tree.
Grisela was connected to the Mother Tree.
Not through magic.
But as if her roots had finally found their place in the world again.
Demonic mana tried to devour her, crawling through the bond like a living infection attempting to break her mind from within and tear her away from the connection.
Grisela clenched her teeth as her body trembled under pressure, but she did not retreat.
But the Tree no longer responded to force.
Something inside it had changed.
Grisela stood trembling before the trunk, green mana fighting to remain stable as corruption pushed her back.
She was losing.
She knew it, a mouthful of blood spilled from her mouth.
Her body arched in pain, but she did not retreat. If she had to die, the Mother Tree would take her gladly.
And then the Mother Tree responded like an ancient consciousness finally recognizing its daughter.
The entire forest reacted.
Roots tightened around corruption and held it back while demonic mana was pushed away by something far greater rejecting it from every corner of the tree.
Bragoz felt it instantly, and for the first time his smile broke.
—What… are you doing?
The Mother Tree was expelling him without pause, without doubt, and with fury.
The roots closed around him and the demonic core was fully exposed inside the trunk.
Lusian fell to his knees, exhausted, barely holding himself up with his sword planted in the ground as his body felt like it no longer belonged to him.
Bragoz stood right in front of him, too close, raising his hand for the final blow.
—In the end… Bragoz murmured. You lose.
Lusian tried to rise, but he had no strength.
Then it happened.
The Mother Tree released everything it had contained and a pulse of pure mana swept through the forest, crashing against corruption like a wave erasing everything in its path.
The demonic mana stopped advancing.
And began to break.
Bragoz tried to resist, but the roots restrained him and dragged him back toward the inside of the Mother Tree as his connection to the corruption fractured again and again.
—No… he murmured, his voice distorting as his body began to fail. This shouldn't…
The purifying pulse struck his core.
His body froze for a moment.
And then it began to disintegrate from within.
Corruption lost form first.
Then his flesh followed.
The roots surrounded him without allowing escape as the Mother Tree both expelled and destroyed him at the same time.
Bragoz's scream echoed through the forest, not as pain, but as the denial of something refusing to accept its end.
His form shattered into dark particles that scattered into the air before fading completely.
Lusian barely managed to lift his gaze.
Bragoz's body had dissolved into nothing.
And silence fell over the battlefield.