23 Chapter 23 - Hunting (2/2)
”Mortals, leave this forest forever if you wish to save your friend's life- hey, stop that!”
Enraged, Kenji had already activated his [Blessing - Fire] while Violet was summoning her crystal knight with a thirst for murder in her eyes.
”I'll let her go, just get lost alright?” Cackled the tree and rubbing two of its roots together like a villain preparing a cunning scheme.
”So you can shift the forest around us, get us lost, wait until we starve and then attack? I think not,” Kenji said, charging forward with his burning blade. At his side rode the crystal knight, it's lance quickly crashing into the tree's side.
”Then die fool!” the corrupt spirit tree roared, shedding a hundred crimson leaves that became sharp as knives and heavy as stone. Slashing the crystal knight to pieces, they came for Kenji next- saved just in time by a silver bubble. Above the entombed Tenko had appeared her summoned moon, the corrupt spirit tree peering up at it confused.
While the leaves were being deflected, for now, Kenji charged and slashed at the spirit tree's base. The tree howled and thrashed its spine covered roots to rip free swathes of flesh and blood. Thrown back, Kenji rolled across the dirt as roots erupted around him.
”Oh shit-” Kenji stabbed at a root, the rest pulling back as the tree screamed again and the fire from its wounds began to smoulder. Huge crystals thrust from the ground to gash into base, more crawling up the spirit trees side to slash at the vines that held Tenko.
Tumbling free, Tenko the giant wolf roared and charged. Her claws slashed through the tree like paper, her jaws ripping free vine, thorn and bark with similar ease.
”You are a blight upon MY forest, die mortals, DIE!” the corrupt spirit tree roared.
With the corrupt spirit tree focusing its leaves on warding off Tenko, he never saw Kenji watching closely.
The Tree, like any other boss, fought in a stiff attack pattern.
Slash, slash, monologue, leaves. It was always the same, and so Kenji waited until the second slash of roots before he charged. Morphing into a rat, Kenji could weave his way through the torrent of waiving roots unnoticed, before launching and transforming back to the boy knight mid-air.
”I will use you as fertilizer for my roots as- what?” The corrupt spirit tree was stunned as Kenji suddenly appeared and plunged his flaming sword into its eye. Piercing deep, Kenji managed to hit an integral organ of some sort causing the whole ree to wheeze and fall limp, it's many scarlet leaves falling free like a strange rain.
”We did it!” Violet cheered, holding a gash at her side closed.
”Let me see that, [Heal],” Kenji sealed the wound closed, then using one on himself and the third on Tenko's mouth that had been torn by eating thorns. ”We'll need to do that again tomorrow to fully heal the wounds, luckily no one was hurt too badly.”
”Ok! Because my mouth still hurts,” Tenko grumbled as she picked at a thorn still stuck between her fangs. Violet started wisely pulling free the larger pieces of devil root while Kenji approached the dead corrupt spirit tree's face. Behind he found some blue crystals buried into the wood and pried free the mean face too since it looked kinda weird and thought someone might buy it.
”I almost forgot!” Tenko yelled, leaping back to the tree and aiming for the golden apple.
”Tenko no! That's probably worth a lot of - damn it!”
Tenko snapped her jaws closed around the apple and ate it on one big gulp. For a brief moment, her fur was turned bright gold, before fading away back into her usual white. Landing back down, she seemed a bit bigger in her wolf form, and her moon eyes had temporarily gone gold.
”Eeeeh,” Tenko said, eyes shifting left then right.
”What is it Tenko?”
”Tenko has levelled up. But...Tenko doesn't know which to choose. Should Tenko evolve to be more flighty, or more supportive of the pack?”
”Fighty for sure. We need you to be the frontline fighter and-”
”SUPPORT THE PACK!” Tenko roared, and her moon summon appeared again. Then it shifted to silver, the normal silver bubble around Kenji and Violet instead snapping into their limbs and increasing their movement speed and agility.
”Ok, this is pretty cool,” Kenji said as he danced around, each step moving far further and with greater precision than was normal. Violet laughed as she met him halfway, the pair dancing with blazingly fast movements and the dexterity of professional dancers.
”We should go soon, I think there might be other monsters out here today,” Kenji said. ”But before that, I have one last thing to do. ” Kenji peered up at the dead spirit tree, and wondered if it would count as something to fill his replication slot.