The night refused to end.
Rain battered the roof of the inn like a relentless drum, the sound echoing through the hollow wooden halls. Every gust of wind made the building creak and groan as if it were alive and struggling to remain standing.
Outside, Denjiyon Town slept beneath a curtain of rain and darkness.
Inside—
None of them slept.
Kaito sat near the broken window sharpening his blade.
Scrape… scrape… scrape.
The whetstone slid across the metal slowly and rhythmically.
Each movement sparked a dull glint of steel in the lantern light.
Akhiro sat at the old wooden table surrounded by talisman scrolls. He rewrote faded symbols with careful precision, his brush moving slowly across the damp paper.
A faint smell of ink filled the room.
Adryn stood silently near the door.
He had not moved for nearly twenty minutes.
His eyes remained fixed outside.
The Holy Tree towered above the town square like a silent god.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
For a single moment the entire valley turned white.
That was when Adryn noticed it.
The roots.
They were moving.
Not violently.
Not fast.
But slowly shifting across the ground like enormous worms beneath the mud.
Rainwater flowed through the streets and gathered around the roots.
Instead of washing away—
It disappeared.
Absorbed.
The bark of the tree pulsed faintly as if something beneath it were breathing.
Adryn finally spoke.
"…The roots are spreading."
The scraping sound stopped.
Kaito looked up.
"What?"
Akhiro walked toward the doorway beside Adryn.
They both stared at the massive tree.
Another flash of lightning illuminated the valley.
The roots had moved again.
Crawling further along the streets.
Akhiro whispered quietly.
"It's feeding."
Kaito leaned back in his chair.
"So the storm is basically giving that thing infinite energy."
Adryn didn't answer.
Something about the tree disturbed him.
The feeling in the air felt wrong.
Too heavy.
Too ancient.
This wasn't just a devil feeding on nature.
It felt like the valley itself was slowly waking up.
Hours passed.
The rain weakened slightly, though the clouds remained thick and oppressive above the mountains.
The lantern inside the inn burned low.
Akhiro finished preparing the final talisman and placed it beside the others.
Twelve seals in total.
Each one designed to disrupt spiritual energy.
Kaito stretched his arms lazily.
"That enough to kill it?"
Akhiro shook his head.
"No."
Kaito grinned.
"Perfect."
Adryn turned away from the doorway.
"We move before sunrise."
Akhiro blinked.
"Why?"
"If the storm stops," Adryn replied calmly, "the devil might behave differently."
Kaito stood instantly.
"Good enough reason for me."
He slung his blade over his shoulder.
"Let's go wake the swamp monster."
Morning never fully arrived.
The sky only changed from black to dark gray.
The rain continued falling in thin, cold sheets as they stepped outside the inn.
The town looked worse in daylight.
Mud covered everything.
Several houses leaned dangerously to one side.
Broken carts lay half-buried in flooded streets.
But what disturbed them the most—
Was the silence.
No birds.
No insects.
No animals.
Not even stray dogs.
It was as if every living creature had abandoned the valley.
Or been consumed by it.
Akhiro stopped near the town plaza.
"I want to check something."
Kaito groaned loudly.
"More studying?"
Akhiro ignored him and walked toward the Holy Tree.
Up close, the tree looked far more disturbing.
The bark twisted unnaturally, layered like hardened flesh.
Large cracks ran along the trunk.
From those cracks—
A dark liquid slowly seeped out.
Thick.
Black.
Sticky.
Kaito frowned.
"That's not tree sap."
Akhiro placed his hand carefully against the bark.
The surface felt warm.
Too warm.
Like touching skin.
Then—
Thump.
Akhiro froze.
"…Did you hear that?"
Kaito tilted his head.
"Hear what?"
Adryn stepped closer.
The three of them stood silently beside the massive trunk.
Then it happened again.
Thump.
A deep sound echoed from inside the tree.
Slow.
Heavy.
Like a gigantic heartbeat.
Akhiro slowly stepped back.
"…Something is inside the tree."
Kaito looked upward.
"You mean besides the monster in the forest?"
Akhiro pointed toward the roots spreading beneath the town.
"What if the tree isn't feeding the devil?"
Adryn looked at him.
Akhiro finished quietly.
"What if the tree is growing it?"
A long silence followed.
The wind moved through the empty plaza.
The old carnival banners fluttered weakly above them.
Then—
Something cracked.
CRACK.
All three turned instantly.
A house near the edge of the square split open.
The wooden floor shattered upward.
Mud exploded into the air.
Then something burst from beneath the ground.
A massive root tore through the building like a spear.
The structure collapsed instantly.
Kaito jumped back.
"What the hell—"
Another tremor shook the street.
BOOM.
More roots erupted from the earth.
One slammed into the ground just meters away.
Mud and broken stone scattered everywhere.
Akhiro's eyes widened.
"It's not just the tree."
Adryn understood immediately.
"The entire town is connected to it."
Roots continued bursting through the ground across the plaza.
Like enormous veins rising to the surface.
Kaito dashed backward as another root slammed into the road where he had been standing.
"This whole place is alive!"
Akhiro quickly slammed several talismans onto the ground.
"Barrier Formation!"
Golden light spread across the muddy street.
The nearest roots slowed as if struggling against invisible chains.
But the ground continued trembling.
From the forest beyond the town—
A deep sound echoed again.
Not footsteps.
Not breathing.
Something worse.
Something heavy moving through the trees.
Kaito slowly grinned.
"…Looks like it heard us."
Adryn turned toward the forest.
The trees began snapping apart.
Branches broke like twigs.
The earth shook violently as something enormous forced its way through the woods.
Then—
The Essence Devil emerged.
But it was no longer the same creature they fought the night before.
It had grown.
Its body now towered above the rooftops.
Mud, roots, and black water twisted together into a grotesque mass.
Its limbs stretched longer.
Thicker.
More unstable.
The hollow space where its face should have been now leaked streams of thick black liquid that poured endlessly into the mud.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
The creature roared.
The sound shook the entire valley.
Akhiro whispered under his breath.
"…It's evolving."
Kaito lifted his blade slowly.
Rain dripped from the edge of the steel.
His grin widened.
"Good."
He glanced toward Adryn and Akhiro.
"Round two."
Adryn stepped forward into the rain.
The devil's enormous body shifted violently as if the roots inside it were constantly rearranging.
The ground beneath the town trembled again.
And beneath their feet—
The roots continued spreading.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
Adryn clenched his fists.
Something about this devil felt deeply wrong.
This wasn't just a monster created by fear.
It felt like the valley itself had been growing this thing for years.
Feeding it.
Nurturing it.
Preparing it.
And now—
The three of them had stepped directly into its heart...