Vol. 3, Chapter 42: Raiding the [Demonic Tree] (First Phase)

The [Demonic Tree], the core of the [World Devourer Woods], it is a large tree sitting at the center of Faefolk territory. Standing at fifty meters tall and its trunk fifteen meters in width at its thickest, the Tree could easily be spotted even from high up in the air, sitting solitarily in a wide clearing.

"All hands, prepare for combat!"

At my command, all troops spring into action. [Frost Ward], [Greater Protection Boost], [Greater Power Boost], and [Greater Magic Boost], the princess and I begin apply these buffs to all the soldiers on board, with a [Holy Ward] and [Holy Weapon] from Michaela to finish it off. At the same time, one by one, [Dispel] is cast upon the cargos of supplies we brought aboard. While these supplies are meant to sustain us on our return trip, there also serve the function of weighing the ship down, thereby allowing us to lower its altitude at a gradual pace.

"Open up the rear!"

Once all is ready, I shout out the command, prompting troops to turn the cranks controlling the drawbridge-like door covering the rear. This is where we'll be deploying from.

A blast of gale floods in as soon as the entrance begins to lower, and as the torrent of air hits me, I become deafened by the sound of the roaring winds, winds so great that if it weren't for the [Air Ward] within the ship's interior, we would have been blown away. I turn to my side and I see Toto saying something to me, but I can't quite hear her. As the ship continues to drop in altitude, the winds eventually calmed down and my sense of hearing returned.

"My liege, we should be reaching the right altitude for jumping in ten... nine... eight..."

Beside me, Michaela starts counting down, and once she hits one, I give out my command.

"Mission start!"

Row by row, the soldiers starts jumping with hand joined together. Each row is comprised of five soldiers that are to act as a single unit, and so the joining of hands isn't merely used to help alleviate the fear of jumping, but to also ensure the unit remains together as they land.

Finally, for the ones furthest in the back, it is our turn. From the right, Toto grasps my hand, and to the left, I grasp the princess'. With our hands linked to one another, surprisingly, I'm not as terrified as I should be, either that, or I have simply gotten used to the fear of being so high up by riding on this airship made of magical duct tapes and dreams.

"Ready, set, go!"

In sync, we push ourselves off the edge, and as we go forth, a view of the endless sky joining with the vast earth greets us. Within this scenery, with me caught in between the heaven and earth, I feel an overwhelming sense of freedom, as if nothing is binding me. Of course, I'm terrified of the fact that I'm falling from such a great height, but for just a bit, I think I can understand how some can enjoy sky jumping. That being said, now's not the time to appreciate the view.

"Toto, begin Phase One!"

Toto nods in response and points her staff towards the ground, towards the forest surrounding the [Demonic Tree].

"[Fire Ball]!"

A ball of crimson red shoots off form the tip of Toto's staff, streaking across the air before crashing into the trees and erupts into a torrent of red hot blaze. Following suit, the casters of the other units send forth their own flaming orbs, creating a rain of fire upon the trees below, scorching and burning the woods surrounding the [Demonic Tree].

The fires, of course, aren't just for show. They serve to cut the [Demonic Tree] off from the rest of the forest, from the [Demonic] beasts and fairies under its command. While the fairies may use water and frost magic in an attempt to douse the fire, it should take some time for them to deal with the flames strengthened by [Greater Magic Boost].

Gently, even with the blazing scenery of carnage surrounding us, we land upon the clearing around the [Demonic Tree]. As we touch ground, [Dispel] is cast on us, allowing us to regain our weight. I have to say, I feel much more relaxed with my weight back. It felt as if I'm in some weird limbo to have most of my weight absent. All in all, it's good to have my feet pressing against the ground again. In the sky, I spot the airship gradually crashing into the burning woods nearby. It should be fine, however, since the supplies we left within should have [Frost Ward] applied to them. They'll be retrieved once the battle is over.

At the moment, the platoon has been scattered across the clearing, mostly due to the wind. We have anticipated this, which is why we formed units of five when performing the landing. No matter, everyone should know what to do. The plan given is simple and clear.

"Toto, being Phase Two!"

"Okay."

Holding her staff up high, Toto is surrounded by specks of crimson light, dancing about her. The spell takes a few seconds to cast, but it is the most powerful spell in the Sorcerer's arsenal. That's right, it's the highest tier [Heat] damage spell, [Meteor].

Before long, the sky turns red and a great ball of fire descends from above, hurling towards the [Demonic Tree] at terrifying speed. At the same time, around the base of the Tree, magical lights flash brilliantly and the [Demonic Tree] is instantly shrouded in a white glow. With my [Insight] skill, I can tell that it's a [Frost Ward]. As for the casters, at the base of the Tree, I spot a pair of fairies and a trio of elves, their skins grey and eyes red. Just as the Holy Beast has priestesses serving her, I suppose these must be the priests and priestesses for the [Demonic Tree].

Pulled by gravity and driven my magic, the [Meteor] crashes into the Tree, or so it seems. However, just as it was about to make contact, the guardians of the [Demonic Tree] had managed to put up a [Mana Wall] preventing a direct hit. The [Meteor] was our biggest spell and it consumes a great amount of Mp. Worst of all, the only ones here that can use it is Toto, and by my estimate, she has about five or four of them left. Every hit matters and yet we blew it on our first strike. But, this was well within expectations.

From another direction, a [Fire Ball] crashes into the Tree, blossoming into a scarlet blaze. I knew that each Keeper have servants and guardians by their side, it was something explained to me by the Holy Beast, and I also knew that their numbers are usually few. While I did not expect that there would be five of them around the Tree, it did not do anything to affect my plan. There's another reason which I have done nothing to prevent the scattering of our troops, and that is because I wanted it to happen. Having landed all around the [Demonic Tree], our platoon may strike from any direction, meaning that the five guardians here will have to split their attention between all directions. While five is a number a tad bit higher than what I was anticipating, I doubt they'll be able to hold off every one of our attacks coming from everywhere simultaneously.

That being said, there is, however, a problem. The [Frost Ward] placed upon the tree, while it does not nullify the damage completely, it greatly mitigates the damage that could be done by the [Fire Balls]. We're going to have to get rid of it somehow, and to do so, we'll have to deal with the guardians.

"Toto, switch to Plan B!"

With a nod, Toto shoots a [Fire Ball] into the air, acting as the signal to advance to the next phase of the plan.

With the signal fired, we begin to move in closer to the tree, and hopefully so will the rest of the platoon. At the moment, our unit consists of Toto, the princess, Merida, me, and a Knight whose name I didn't quite catch when he first introduced himself to me. As we move forward, Merida and the Knight took vanguard at the front, the princess and I following suite for support, and Toto remaining at the rear, protected as our main fire power.

Suddenly, a pulse of verdant light burst forth from the Tree, prompting us to halt our advance as we observe the situation with caution.

"That light..."

It is something very familiar to me. Even without [Insight], I know what it is.

"It's the light of healing magic."

I hear the princess whisper, almost as if she's finishing my sentence.

I've heard from the Holy Beast, that the [Demonic Tree] possesses powerful life magic. However, the question remains, why healing magic? It's not as if the [Demonic Tree] has been badly damaged as of yet. So why does it find the need to use it? Is it to heal the forest that we set on fire? But there's no point in doing that before the fire is put out, and as far as I can see, the fire is still raging strong.

"Aurelius!"

A cry from Toto prompts me to turn towards her, only for me to finally realize what the Tree's magic was for. Before me, I find Toto entangled within the blades and stems of overgrowing grasses and weeds, all the while realizing too late that it was happening not only to Toto, but to all of us. The grass that we were trampling on, the weeds that we paid no mind to, as of right now have become our biggest threat, entangling us within their leafy grasp even as they continue their seemingly endless growth, consuming us, submerging us in a sea of rapidly multiplying foliage. This must be the doing of the [Demonic Tree], its healing magic had made these plants grow wildly, and I think it might have even mutated them to some extent. Healing magic, the power to manipulate life, never did I realize how terrifying a thing it is till this point.

In half panic, I turn towards Michaela who is floating high up in mid air, watching the battle from above as she provides support.

"Michaela! Why isn't [Holy Ward] working!?"

With everything within this forest being [Corrupted], the grasses beneath us should be no different. So why? Why isn't [Holy Ward] reacting? As I wonder this, I receive my answer as Michaela's voice echoes in my mind.

"The [Wards] only react when you are being attacked. These plants are not attacking you, they are merely growing, albeit aggressively."

In other words, so long as they're not doing any damage, the [Ward] would not react? Well, I suppose if it's not so, anything that touches may set off the [Ward]. Still, at this rate, we won't be able to reach the Tree, we won't be able to take out the Tree's guardians, and we won't be able to destroy the Tree before reinforcements arrive, and once that happens, everything is lost. We have gambled everything on this operation, now that we're so close, now that the Tree is right in front of us, when we're just one step away, we can't fail. We can't afford to, we can't!

"Aurelius, I'll burn through the grass with magic."

"Hold it right there Toto, you can't waste your Mp on this. We can't afford to have you waste your spells on anything other than the damn Tree."

That said, what am I going to do? With the massive amounts of leaves and stalks coiling around me, I can't really move. I can't reach the [contracts] in my grimoire and I can't even draw my blade to hack away at the grass.

With the passing of each idle moment, the more we are trapped. Time is of the essence and as I struggle against the foliage to reach my shortsword tucked away at my back, I am tempted to have Toto just burn it all away.

Should I really let her do it? However, if I allow it, we might not have enough firepower to deal with the Tree. We can't afford that, we have gambled everything on defeating it.

"Aurelius, we can't wait any longer. You have to let me burn them."

"You can't, save it for the Tree!"

But, then what? If we can't break free, all that is left is defeat and death, and that would be the end of everything. At least if I allow her to break us free, we might still have a chance. Damn it! Is there no other way?

Desperately, my eyes dart about, trying to find a solution in my surroundings, hoping to spot anything that may be of use. And then, my eyes land upon Merida and spot something very strange. What is so strange? Well, the fact that she is free and untangled by any grass or weed.

With the black shortsword taken from the Warrior Champion in one hand and her own steel sword in another, Merida rips asunder the foliage coiling around us and setting them ablaze with azure flames from the [Holy Weapon] enchantment. The flames then spread, burning the grasses and weed growing in our surroundings, keeping them from reaching us.

"Merida, how did you break free!?"

"How? I merely stepped into the 'shadows'. I believe Sir Six is capable of this technique as well, is he not?"

Stepped in to 'shadows'? Is she talking about [Shadow Step]? But that skill wasn't supposed to allow the user to phase through objects. It only allows them to be invulnerable when attacked. Then again, thinking about it now, wouldn't that be the same as being intangible? In which case, it should not be all that illogical for the user to be able to pass through solid objects.

"I am afraid I have never seen him walk through objects before. Not to mention that such a thing is not common for our world."

"It's not very common in this world either, but we can save that for another time, can't we?"

"Yes, we'll do that."

I turn to check on the others, making sure they're all in good condition before pressing forward with Merida and the Knight leading as they hack away at the foliage to make a path setting them ablaze with holy flames as we steadily proceed.

"My liege!"

"I got it!"

At Michaela's warning, I stretch my arm forward.

"[Mana Wall]!"

Before Merida and the Knight, a [Mana Wall] forms, just in time for a barrage of arrows to slam into. The skill, it was called [Million Rain], I think. It looks like the flames have aroused the guardians' attention, and with the other units presumably trapped by the aggressively growing foliage, they can afford to focus their attention towards us and only us.

As I hold up the [Mana Wall], barrage after barrage of arrows continue to rain down upon me one after another, and once the arrows stop, magic starts raining down in their stead. The five guardians, they must be rotating with one another, taking turns to attack as the other's skill goes into cooldown all the while pacing their attacks in such a way that by the time the rotation is complete, their skills would be ready once more and the barrage may begin anew without missing a beat.

"At this rate, we won't be able to advance. Merida, can you go and free the other units?"

"It will be done."

But before she leaves, she turns towards the princess.

"And princess, do take care while I'm gone."

"You too Merida, do come back to me as soon as you can."

"I'll try."

With that, Merida disappeared into a dark mist. At the same time, another pulse of magical light bursts forth from the [Demonic Tree], filling the surrounding foliage with life and causing them to grow and multiply with even more ferocity than before, forming a wall of leaves and stems so thick that they smother the holy flames. With great urgency, the Knight, the princess, and Toto, strike at the foliage with their own weapons, the Knight with his sword, the princess with her dagger, and Toto with her staff, all trying desperately to hold the wall of green at bay. However, with the rate that they're growing, the holy flames appear to not be enough to keep them at bay, and even while the mass of foliage closes in, a new problem arises.

"Princess, my [Mana Wall] isn't going to hold. You'll have to switch with me."

"Ri- right now!?"

Out of breath from frantically swinging her dagger, the princess turns towards me with a troubled expression. Still I have no time to baby her, she's either going to do this or we'll all be dead in a second. Besides, she's the one who wanted to come in the first place.

"On my mark..."

"Wait, at least let me catch my brea-"

"Now!"

Almost seamlessly, as I let down my shattering [Mana Wall] the princess puts up a new one. After all that complaining, it seems like she could pull it off when push comes to shove.

"I said to let me catch my breath!"

"Tell that to our enemies!"

After switching place with the princess, I draw my shortsword and begin whacking at the growing grasses. These things are relentless thanks to the Tree's healing magic. Would we even be able to last at this rate? In that case, maybe I should summon Fredericka? But while she's tough and is capable of rapid attacks, her summoning cost is too high and her mobility would be terrible in such a terrain as her legs would easily get tangled up by the foliage. I don't really want to call her out while we're still so far from the Tree. Not to mention, if I summon her now, I might not have enough MP later. Then again, if I don't summon her, there might not be a later.

Damn it! If only there's a more cost efficient way to do this. There's must be something I can do, from all the things I've learned of this world up till now, there must be something I can use. There must be something in my memories that I can use. God damn it all! Why can't I recall anything useful? What's the point of being young again when my memory is just as bad?

With the frustration of feeling trapped and the intensity of the situation, I can't help but reach up to my hair and start pulling. The stress is just that bad. Still, at the cost of losing few strands of hair, the pain brings me clarity, and with said pain and clarity, I now see what I need to do. That it, I know exactly what I can do, something that can't be done in Elysium Online but can easily be done here.

With this, I see a way out.

***

End of Chapter 42