Just when Enya thought she had gotten away from the smell of burning wood and combustion, the air here, too, smelled of the same. In the week since leaving the dungeon, she had become accustomed to unique smells. From pleasant ones like flowers to grilled skewers, to ones almost as bad as decaying flesh, like the smell of smoke and burnt sap.

Ted.E and Enya made their way over to the others, while Nakrin, Josier, and now Pell, faced the last remaining foes. The forest groaned as the two Twisted Ents continued to cause a rampage. Or perhaps… just Ent. Apparently, the two giant demonic trees could hug one another and become an even bigger, stronger tree.

Enya's focus, however, was on the others. She finally caught up to them.

"A-are you guys alright?"

Risha sat slumped against a burnt tree. Her claymore lying uselessly beside her. She looked exhausted; her face was covered in sweat and a few bruises. Manny was the only one standing of the three, and aside from some tiredness, he looked mostly fine. That was until Enya spotted the dark red marks around his legs and stomach through the ripped portion of his shirt. It looked like he had been squeezed tightly by something. But he still stood, though his body trembled slightly.

"I… I'm okay. Just… tired," Risha said, offering a small smile. There was a hint of something more behind the words she said. Filled with a sort of self-pitying answer.

"I'll survive," Manny muttered through clenched teeth. His injuries looked superficial, but it was apparent he was in pain. He straightened up with a slight wince. "I still have some energy left, but everything… everything aches a lot."

Enya nodded, before shifting her eyes over to Berry, who was lying on the ground. Her arms were spread out, and her chest heaved up and down. Her clothes were shredded and torn, and her body was covered in dirt, sweat, and even blood. Enya didn't miss the inordinate amount near her lips.

Enya's chest tightened.

Berry, the bubbly girl who was a bit too positive and clingy for Enya to get used too—was now lying on the ground, heavily injured. The image just didn't suit her. She should have been standing, thumbs-up and all, moving around with activity.

"I-Is Berry okay?" Enya asked, not to her, but to the others.

"G-good…" Berry managed to respond, cutting off Manny before he was about to speak.

Enya glanced over to Manny specifically this time. "What happened to her?"

He shook his head. "You know about her class, right? She's a berserker. Makes her reckless. Doesn't care about pain. But… that doesn't mean injuries don't happen. She pushes herself way too hard without realizing it."

Berry glanced up at Enya, forcing herself to smile weakly. Her voice came out hoarse and raspy. "I'm... fine. Don't worry."

But Enya did worry. Berry looked anything but fine.

Carefully, Enya slid off Ted.E, landing softly next to Berry. She kneeled close, reaching out gently. "You don't look fine at all..."

Berry gave a soft chuckle, that quickly turned into a cough, shaking her head. "You should see... the other guy." She gestured vaguely toward the large piles of blackened, charred wood that was the other Ents Nakrin had burned.

Enya frowned, but she didn't push the matter. She knew Berry was tough—stubbornly so—but right now, the girl needed rest and recovery, not more fighting.

"Just stay here for now," Enya said softly, glancing at Risha and Manny as well. "The three of them should be able to kill that mean thing soon. We should get out of the way."

Berry sighed, shoulders slumping. "Not like... I have much choice right now." Slowly, Berry forced herself to get up. Manny came up and assisted her from the right, while Enya helped from the left, though their height difference didn't exactly make it easy.

All four of them began to move away from the battle, careful not to get caught in the growing chaos.

Enya glanced back briefly, raising one finger toward the massive Twisted Ent. "Go help them, Ted.E."

At her command, the skeletal boarbear turned and began barreling straight toward the enormous tree monster. Considering how Berry and Manny hadn't been able to defeat it—and how heavily injured they were—Enya doubted her new summon could accomplish much. Still, at least she felt like she was helping.

Just in case, she quickly summoned Numbskull as well.

The towering skeleton appeared at their side, immediately turning its empty sockets toward the fight, but it remained beside them as an undying protector. Its sudden appearance made Risha jump in surprise.

"A-ah…" Risha stammered nervously, clutching her chest. "Warn us next time if… you're about to summon something."

Enya chuckled wryly. "Sorry."

A system notification alerted within her mind.

System Notification: Pell has harvested Soul-Energy. Soul-Energy Harvested: 2

Enya smiled, before it turned to a frown.

"Why is the Soul-Energy so… low?" she muttered.

Pell sliced through a moderately sized wooden tendril that was slithering its way toward a bush. His scythe was sharp, but it wasn't some legendary artifact. It required the full, intense strength of his Soul-Forged bones, an invisible, searing pale energy radiating across them, to cut cleanly through the wood.

A notification ping rang out in his mind.

You have harvested Soul-Energy. Soul-Energy Harvested: 2

He noticed a slight disturbance in his scythe; it was brief, but he swore he saw light being absorbed into it. It was the same phenomenon he saw when he was ambushed by those adventurers back in the city.

I wonder where those assholes are now. Hopefully they're in prison, he thought.

He shook off the distraction and continued his sprint, circling around the edge of the Twisted Ent. For now, the monster's full attention was fixed on Josier and Nakrin. The draconid brute unleashed a flurry of powerful strikes, knocking aside every large limb the monstrous tree swung at him. Josier fought alongside, nimbly slicing away any smaller tendrils that tried to spread outward.

Josier noticed him. "We have to keep the smaller roots away from spreading to the forest!"

Pell heard the call, though he didn't need to be told that. He already knew what to do. His job was simple: handle any of the spreading corrupted wood that Josier missed or couldn't get to.

Pell spotted another tendril creeping across the ground several meters ahead, snaking quietly away from the Ent's gnarled, log-like feet. He ran toward it, extending his arm in preparation. As he reached it, he gripped his scythe tightly in both hands and swung it sharply downward. The blade cut through—but again— he found it required a considerable amount of effort, even against something so thin.

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A sudden roar erupted from the Ent, shaking the ground. Pell quickly glanced past the monster's thick leg just in time to see Nakrin leap directly onto the twin-headed monstrosity's torso. The massive creature staggered backward, unbalanced by the attack.

Immediately, Pell dashed backward, quickly putting distance between himself and the demonic Ent. He had no intention of accidentally getting crushed beneath its massive limbs.

The monster's branches creaked violently under the sudden shift of weight. Ahead of it, a fierce, blinding light erupted. It had to be Nakrin's flames. Pell ran around, and squinted through the glare, briefly spotting Nakrin's form ignite fully, scales blazing like molten metal before his leap.

With a roar, the Twisted Ent slammed its massive arms against its chest, precisely where Nakrin clung. The impact shook the entire forest, sending shockwaves through the earth and startling another wave of panicked wildlife into frantic flight.

In this chaos, more tendrils erupted from the creature's body, slithering outward rapidly, as if desperate to ensure survival through sheer expansion.

Pell didn't waste time.

He lunged forward, sprinting after the nearest cluster of creeping roots. His scythe flashed repeatedly, slicing sharply through wood and bark, sending small bursts of absorbed Soul-Energy flickering into the blade. Each swing became heavier, each tendril tougher—but he forced himself to keep going.

"Damn, why the hell is this thing so strong?" he muttered. The strain he felt was evident in how much his bones struggled to press forward. Fortunately, he was an undead now, and things like exhaustion weren't applicable to him. But, putting this much pressure on his body would continually weaken him.

Suddenly, a large, aggressive tendril shot out from the monster's body, aiming straight toward him. Pell barely saw it in time. Luckily, his spectre cloak was still active. The tendril struck with a crushing force—but it hit only empty air, tearing through the spot Pell had occupied just a second ago. An illusion, a fleeting after-image of shadow and mist.

The ground cracked loudly behind Pell as he dodged, dirt and debris spraying outward. His bones rattled slightly at the near-miss, but he stayed on his feet.

Behind him, Nakrin's roar erupted louder than before—fierce and defiant.

Flames surged high, twisting and coiling around Nakrin's body in a searing spiral. His figure became obscured in a blazing inferno, a living pillar of fire building and intensifying. It climbed upward, hotter and brighter, until it pierced through the tree canopy and rose like a beacon into the sky, illuminating the battlefield below in flickering reds and golds.

Nakrin's voice carried clearly through the roaring blaze. "Burn!"

The pillar of flame erupted outward, scorching every inch of bark and corrupted wood surrounding it. The Ent screamed—a shrill, deafening wail—as fire consumed it relentlessly. Massive limbs flailed in panic, desperately trying to shake off Nakrin and his all-consuming flames.

Pell instinctively shielded his face, staggering backward as a sudden wave of heat surged through the forest. He blinked his soul-flames rapidly, watching in stunned silence as the enormous monster writhed and burned.

It descended into a rampaging state, thrashing and stumbling violently.

From the corner of his vision, Pell noticed two familiar forms joining the battle now. One was the skeletal boarbear Enya had just raised, charging ahead. The other was Numbskull, the giant brute of a skeleton she'd always had in her arsenal. Briefly, he wondered where Kidirge was—then remembered the undead knight wasn't officially Enya's summon. He still belonged to the dungeon core.

The skeletal boarbear barreled forward, slamming heavily into the ent's legs, gouging at its bark with sharp, bony tusks. Meanwhile, Numbskull lumbered slowly toward the towering creature, delivering slow, powerful strikes that were more like slams than punches. Unfortunately, due to his sluggish movements, the ent's wooden tentacles shot out, quickly wrapping around his limbs and restricting further attacks. Pell could hear bones crunching under the crushing pressure. He winced involuntarily.

But that brief lapse in focus cost him.

A rogue, lashing appendage suddenly whipped straight toward his side. Pell's skull jerked toward it, trying desperately to swing his scythe into position—but he was far too slow.

He braced for impact, about to curse aloud, when—

The limb vanished.

No—not vanished. It passed right through him, harmlessly. Though, he did feel a tug from behind. Pell immediately dashed backward on pure instinct, bewildered.

What the hell had just happened? Then he remembered.

"Oh, right," he muttered. "This cloak also makes me intangible for a minute."

The Cloak of the Dead Spectres: loot he'd obtained from that accursed dungeon. A valuable, Gold-tier item at A+ rank, no less. He knew it dealt in shadows and illusions, making him faster and harder to track—but he'd completely forgotten about its temporary intangibility effect.

Luckily, the item seemed durable, too. The Twisted Ent's attack just now phased through him, but the wooden appendage still struck his cloak. It seemed that even though he himself became intangible, the cloak, did not.

He smirked, still—relieved that he was still nigh-invulnerable with this item on. That was until the cloak's shadows quickly faded, the illusions around him dissolving. The minute was up, and his other charge had already been spent earlier, back against Zerus, to conjure an illusion.

"Tch. Just my luck."

At that moment, Pell noticed Josier moving away—not retreating exactly, but shifting his priorities.

The forest was still burning fiercely around them. And as he glanced back toward Nakrin, Pell saw the draconid's all-consuming inferno rapidly devouring the Twisted Ent. The monstrous tree wailed louder than ever, fully engulfed in crimson flames roaring up toward the sky. Thankfully, Pell couldn't feel heat, or he'd certainly have been drenched in sweat by now.

Josier, clearly recognizing the urgency, was rushing to contain the spreading fire. Pell tightened his grip on the scythe, forcing himself back into action as he moved to assist however he could.

He turned sharply and sprinted toward the trees, his cloak's protective illusions now gone, leaving him vulnerable. He was considerably weaker—far more fragile without the cloak's temporary invulnerability or weightlessness and agility. One careless misstep now could send him flying into a scattering of bone fragments.

I'm not even sure the kid can re-summon me, Pell thought grimly. That damned dungeon core linked my soul before; it pulled me back each time I died. But now... I'm no longer connected. Dying... might really be the end for me this time, unless she knows something I don't.

He shook the thoughts away harshly, forcing his attention back to the task at hand.

Pell reached the closest burning tree, quickly patting out the smaller fires spreading along its branches. His bones rattled slightly under the intense heat, but he pressed forward, ignoring the unsettling sensation. Using his scythe, he swiftly hacked off branches already engulfed in flame, letting them fall harmlessly onto patches of dirt to smother them.

Ahead, Josier moved swiftly through the smoke, doing his best to contain the blaze from spreading further. He didn't exactly have any skills that were useful in putting out the fires, but he had durability, and speed. Just enough of it, to help.

Another branch cracked loudly above Pell, sending flaming embers raining down onto his cloak. He stepped back immediately, brushing sparks off his already-tattered garments and muttering a curse under his breath. He glanced back toward Nakrin.

The draconid was practically finished with his part of the battle. The Twisted Ent was now fully engulfed in intense, relentless flames. It writhed in agony, rapidly burning down to smoldering ashes. Now all that remained was extinguishing the surrounding forest fires.

Nearby, the skeletal boarbear had managed to escape unharmed, clear of both the flames and the Twisted Ent's attacks. Numbskull, however, had taken considerable damage; his ribcage was shattered from being constricted, though somehow he still stood upright.

Both summons remained motionless, gazing blankly at the burning tree before them.

"Hey, you two!" Pell shouted, annoyed. "Help put out these fires! I can't do all the work here!"

The two undead summons briefly glanced at each other before following his command. They moved toward other nearby burning trees.

Numbskull proved somewhat effective, tearing off branches and literally punching out small flames. Ted.E was considerably less useful. It repeatedly slammed its thick skull against burning trees, using its tusks in a clumsy attempt to knock entire trunks down.

Pell let out a noise somewhere between a grunt and an exhausted sigh.

Nearly twenty minutes passed as the Twisted Ent finally succumbed to its fiery demise. With everyone's combined efforts, the remaining fires gradually died out. Manny was particularly helpful, using controlled gusts of wind from a safe distance. As long as he kept still, his injuries from being constricted earlier didn't hinder him much.

Enya and Risha stayed back, watching over Berry, who was clearly the most injured of their group. Her berserker skill was powerful but dangerously reckless. It robbed her of reason, turning her into a raging beast driven solely by violence.

When the last embers finally faded, everyone regrouped near the clearing's edge. Soft words exchanged between the group, checking if everyone was alright.

Berry, Manny, and Risha soon turned their attention to Enya, asking quietly what had happened with the demon who had kidnapped her. Enya, though, seemed too shaken to speak clearly about it. Pell couldn't exactly blame her. After everything she had done, Zerus's mysterious master had simply determined the demon girl unnecessary and detonated her—either through a spell or some hidden artifact.

None of them had expected something that ruthless.

Josier stepped in quietly, informing the group that the demon had been dealt with, but caution was still essential. Someone was clearly controlling Zerus against her will. He offered an apology for dragging Henry's children and Risha into what should've been city guard business, acknowledging they'd all become entangled in a fight against this mysterious Pin figure.

Hopefully, nothing more would happen.

But Pell knew better. For him and Enya, at least, things were different. Whoever was pulling the strings behind all of this—they knew exactly who Enya was.

Pell hadn't forgotten the name Zerus mentioned either.

Lia Empyria.

It was the same name recognized on the dress Enya wore. The connection was troubling, but he decided against mentioning it right now. Everyone had been through enough. He'd bring it up later, privately, when they were rested and safe.

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