Chapter 75: Why’s everyone gotten so damn stubborn lately?!
Strike—!
Baaam—!!
"Eugh?!"
Eiros felt pain shoot through his entire body. His left leg, hit by that earlier poison, had gone completely numb for a few seconds. Those precious few seconds were exactly when the root slammed into him.
His body, wrapped in pain, got hurled around like a ragdoll, crashing into the roots surrounding the entire area, sealing off any chance of escape.
"Ugh...!"
Eiros felt blood seeping from his lips, but seeing another attack coming his way forced him to drag himself back up and roll to the side.
Bam—!
The root smashed into the exact spot where he’d been standing. Then, with that root rising back up, more of them came surging toward him, fully intent on tearing him apart.
Eiros drew a breath, trying to steady his ragged breathing. But he was genuinely struggling, given how badly the rhythm of this fight had turned against him.
Craaack—!!
Boom!
He raised his sword, and seeing a root closing in, he slashed at it. The impact was tremendous, black blood spraying out, but it wasn’t nearly deep enough to even faze the root—if anything, the attack kept pushing forward, forcing Eiros’s own blade closer and closer toward his own chest.
He clenched his jaw, breaking off the clash and retreating several steps back. But of course, more roots were already waiting.
Eiros watched them. One dropped, right as Eiros dodged aside, slamming into the ground beside him. Just like before, he immediately dodged the next one and climbed up onto that root, running along it.
More attacks kept coming.
A root appeared across from him, striking out in a curving slash. Eiros ducked his head, spotting the others, and immediately leapt, driving his sword into one of the roots passing right above him.
Spurt—!!
Blood sprayed out and the root lifted, carrying Eiros higher into the air, leaving him hanging suspended. His face was covered in black blood, his body just as filthy, coated in dust, while several parts of him were wounded and scraped raw, blood seeping out nonstop.
Watching his foothold slip further away, Eiros used his sword. He drove it in deep, and since more roots were coming, he couldn’t afford to just hang there.
So, he used his sword as a foothold, then leapt, climbing onto that root.
His sword vanished, shattering into fragments of red lightning before reappearing back in his hand.
Craaack!
With red lightning still crackling around him, Eiros finally managed to catch his breath. The pain in his thigh slowly faded, along with the rest of his body. Meaning, the injuries he’d taken had finally reached the threshold needed to trigger his ability.
Instead of weakening, Eiros filled with strength. Of course, it wouldn’t be enough on its own, but it was still better than nothing.
Whoosh—!!
Whoa!
Eiros dodged another root. He had no idea how Bell was faring, but given Eiros himself was still holding on, surely a Luminous fighter like Bell would be doing just fine, right?
Biting down on his own lip, Eiros looked up at the tree itself. It was massive in size, but he could make out something at its very top—a dark, spinning crystal.
’Is that the core?’
He didn’t question it any further. Since things had already gone this far, he decided to try for it. He finally launched himself forward, following the root that also carried him even higher toward the canopy above.
Eiros pulled off a fair number of maneuvers. He might’ve been overwhelmed, but thanks to White Swan’s free-spirited, remarkably calm personality, he used that advantage to keep himself steady.
Boom—!! Bam! Bam! Bam!!
More explosions rang out far below, letting Eiros know Bell was doing fine.
Ignoring that, Eiros refocused. His body got sliced by one of the passing roots, but the pain was so blunted that Eiros didn’t even notice the White Swan face he was wearing had gotten scratched.
Before he could even realize it, the further he pushed forward, the more cuts appeared, tearing through his clothes.
Eiros’s mind held only one thought—reach the location of that crystal and destroy it.
He didn’t even notice how incredibly high up he’d climbed by now. High enough that he could see the surrounding landscape stretch out in every direction.
Eiros found a foothold, reaching the trunk of the tree and driving his sword in. Then, spotting a root rising up beneath him, he watched it for a moment, pulled his sword free, and let himself fall freely downward.
The next instant, he met that root. Twisting his body, finding the right position, he used the root as a springboard and launched himself back upward.
His hair whipped wildly in the wind. At the same moment, he finally heard a thunderous shout.
"Hey! You dumb swan! What are you doing up there?!! We’re getting out of here!"
Down below, Bell yelled with everything she had. Her voice came out hoarse and awkward, making it clear she wasn’t exactly the type to shout like that. Still, Eiros ignored the sound, glancing at Bell for a moment before turning his gaze back to the crystal.
His body kept leaping, again and again. The distance between him and that crystal finally started closing, close enough that a smile Eiros never expected crossed his own face.
But it wasn’t over yet. The leaves scattered across the tree slowly began to loosen and fall—not all of them, but a considerable number.
Eiros drew his sword, ready to slash away any leaves that came at him. But—
’The leaves aren’t floating?’
Instead of drifting down gently, carried by the wind, the leaves fell as though they carried a terrifying weight, as heavy as iron, freezing Eiros in place up there.
He clicked his tongue.
Craaack—!
His sword swung out, colliding with one of the leaves. And sure enough, his blade slammed straight into something as hard and sharp as solid metal, sending sparks trailing through the air.
Well, the problem now was, there were still an enormous number of those leaves left.
"Ah."
A thin smile crossed Eiros’s face, dripping with cold sweat. Meanwhile, behind him, the roots had risen up and were chasing him down.
Eiros tried his best to fend off every incoming attack, dodging every root. But in the end, doing that perfectly was genuinely impossible.
"...!"
Boom!!
One of the roots slammed into his body. He got launched even higher up, and then one of those leaves struck his waist, embedding itself there and tearing through it.
Eiros bit down on his lip, his body spinning for a moment, raising his sword. Then, he took on another attack. But once again, he genuinely couldn’t fend off everything.
Attack after attack tore through him in midair. Then, by the time Eiros noticed, he found his body riddled with wounds. Several leaves had torn into him, one of them mangling his shoulder and another his leg.
His bones had also cracked in several places. Blood kept seeping out nonstop, and even though he was numb to the pain for now, that numbness was far from absolute.
The pain still came through clearly, especially that familiar cold sensation, the one he always felt whenever death drew near.
His gaze stayed locked on the crystal, and a cynical, faintly amused smile crossed Eiros’s face once more.
’Right... what exactly am I even doing?’
Clearly... whatever he’d been thinking earlier, this wasn’t like him at all, acting this recklessly.
Down below, Bell kept dodging. Unlike Eiros, the woman looked perfectly fine, if a bit exhausted.
Watching Eiros fall, her long chain shot out instantly, catching his body.
Once the chain wrapped around Eiros and pulled him in close, Bell clicked her tongue.
"Why’s everyone gotten so damn stubborn lately?!"
She leapt impossibly high, spinning her body and rolling to dodge an incoming attack. After that, she looked down at her own hand, where she held an artifact she’d seized from the woman earlier.
A teleportation artifact, capable of getting them out of here. Shaped like a bracelet, with a single crystal light glowing on its surface, Bell didn’t waste a second.
She immediately began channeling her Soul Essence into it.
***