Chapter 328: The Five Fronts Collapse

The first sign that something had changed was not an explosion.

It was silence.

For a brief moment, the entire Everglades became unnaturally quiet. The flames of the Fire region stopped moving, the water surrounding the ancient city became strangely still, and even the distorted darkness beneath the earth seemed to pause.

Then the five Mirrors reacted.

The Fire Mirror flashed first, followed almost immediately by the Water Mirror. Earth answered next, followed by Darkness, and finally the Light Mirror sent a brilliant pulse across the sky.

Five waves of energy traveled through the World Tree’s roots.

Across the Secret Realm, everything changed at once.

...

Mithra barely had time to raise Dawn Sovereign before a blackened Beast crashed through the burning trees, its claws sweeping toward her with enough force to tear through the vegetation around them. She caught the attack with her blade, but the impact still sent her sliding several meters across the scorched ground.

Before she could regain her footing, Melo’s five tails snapped forward. A pale layer of dream mist spread across the battlefield as another corrupted Beast lunged from the side, forcing Mithra to twist away from its claws.

"Three more behind you," Melo said calmly.

Mithra glanced over her shoulder and immediately saw the Beasts emerging from the flames. She tightened her grip around Dawn Sovereign before looking back at Melo with an amused expression.

"Could you have mentioned that earlier?"

"I assumed you had eyes."

Despite the situation, Mithra smiled. "I do."

She turned back toward the approaching Beasts and stepped forward, golden light gathering around Dawn Sovereign. The creatures charged together, their movements surprisingly coordinated as purple Miasma pulsed through their bodies.

Mithra met the first one head-on.

Her sword cut across its chest, but another Beast immediately attacked from her blind spot. Melo’s tail intercepted the strike, knocking it aside before Mithra could even turn.

The two fought together almost instinctively now. Mithra moved through the gaps created by Melo’s illusions while Melo manipulated the Beasts’ senses, making them attack empty spaces or collide with each other.

But there were too many.

More corrupted Beasts emerged from the burning forest, and Mithra’s expression gradually became more serious.

"That’s more than before."

Melo’s ears lowered as she watched the creatures coming toward them.

"They’re coming from the roots."

Mithra looked down.

The ground beneath them suddenly cracked.

Several enormous roots erupted from the soil, black and purple veins covering their golden surfaces. They twisted through the battlefield, carrying corrupted Miasma toward the Beasts.

Mithra raised Dawn Sovereign, prepared to cut them apart.

Then something strange happened.

One of the roots stopped.

It trembled violently before its purple veins began to fade. The root slowly pulled itself away from the nearest corrupted Beast, leaving the creature suddenly disconnected from the network.

Mithra lowered her sword slightly.

"Melo."

"I saw it."

The corrupted Beast staggered as though it had suddenly lost something. It looked around in confusion before letting out a furious roar.

Another root began withdrawing.

Then another.

Mithra stared at the retreating network, her expression becoming thoughtful.

"The Tree just disconnected them."

Melo watched the roots disappear beneath the ground.

"Then something inside the Tree is changing."

Before Mithra could answer, another pulse passed through the ground.

Every corrupted Beast in the area suddenly screamed.

...

The ancient city was collapsing.

Sun barely kept his footing as an entire stone building tilted above the flooded street. He grabbed Long with both hands and slammed its end against the ground.

[Point Shockwave]

The force shattered the street beneath him and sent a wave of energy into the collapsing structure. The building shifted just enough for Sun to leap away before it crashed into the water.

"You’ve got to be kidding me!"

A massive aquatic Beast suddenly slammed into the ruins.

Sun turned toward it, only to find Jako standing on the creature’s back.

His expression immediately changed.

"You."

Jako looked down at him with the same cold expression.

"You."

For several seconds, neither moved.

Kong stepped beside Sun and cracked his knuckles while the Water Long Serpent Dragon beneath Jako growled.

Sun glanced around at the collapsing city.

"Are we really doing this right now?"

Jako’s eyes moved toward the surrounding ruins.

"The city is collapsing. The Beast beneath me is connected to the roots below it."

Sun looked at the enormous creature.

Then he looked at Jako.

"So we’re fighting that."

"For now."

Sun stared at him for another moment before sighing.

"I can work with that."

Kong roared and charged before either of them could say anything else.

The Water Long Serpent Dragon moved at almost the same moment, striking the corrupted Beast from the opposite side. Kong’s fist smashed into its armored body while Jako’s Beast wrapped around one of its limbs.

Sun took the opening and drove Long into its exposed core.

The three attacks landed together.

The corrupted Beast staggered.

Sun grinned.

"See? We’re not so bad together."

Jako didn’t even look at him.

"Don’t get used to it."

"I was afraid you’d say that."

The Beast roared and sent a wave of corrupted water through the streets. Sun jumped onto a broken building while Kong slammed both hands into the ground to stop himself from being swept away.

Then the entire city shook.

The Water Mirror suddenly illuminated the ruins.

Jako looked toward it, and his expression changed.

"What is that?"

Sun followed his gaze.

The enormous roots surrounding the Mirror were moving.

At first, he thought they were attacking it.

Then he realized they were pulling away.

The roots that had been feeding corruption into the city slowly began retracting into the ground, dragging the purple Miasma with them.

Jako stared.

"That’s impossible."

Sun frowned.

"What’s impossible?"

"Those roots are part of the network."

"So?"

"They shouldn’t be able to disconnect themselves."

Sun watched another corrupted root withdraw from the Mirror.

"Maybe they can."

Jako said nothing.

For the first time, the two of them were looking at the same thing without thinking about fighting each other.

Something inside the World Tree was changing.

...

Athena’s battle with Rokkaku had reached its most violent point.

Heavenpiercer collided with Rokkaku’s weapon, and the resulting shockwave shattered several ancient pillars around them. Athena immediately followed the attack, forcing Rokkaku backward across the stone floor.

"You’ve gotten stronger," Rokkaku said.

"So have you."

"I don’t need your approval."

"I wasn’t giving it."

Rokkaku’s expression darkened as he raised his weapon again.

Before either could attack, the ground beneath them exploded.

A massive root tore through the chamber and erupted between them.

Athena immediately jumped backward while Rokkaku moved in the opposite direction. The enormous root twisted through the chamber, black and purple veins pulsing across its surface.

For a moment, both of them prepared to attack it.

Then Rokkaku noticed where it was moving.

The root was heading toward the Earth Mirror.

His expression changed.

"The Mirror."

Athena looked at him.

"You care about it more than fighting me?"

Rokkaku ignored her and immediately moved toward the Mirror.

Athena expected him to attack.

Instead, he placed himself between the Mirror and the corrupted root.

"Wait."

Athena lowered Heavenpiercer slightly.

"What are you doing?"

"The Mirror cannot be destroyed."

The root slammed toward it.

Rokkaku intercepted the attack.

The impact sent him crashing through an ancient stone wall.

Athena stared at him for a moment before looking toward the root.

Something wasn’t right.

The root wasn’t actually attacking the Mirror.

It was twisting around it, and the purple corruption covering its surface was slowly shrinking.

Athena’s eyes narrowed.

"The corruption..."

Rokkaku pulled himself from the broken wall and stared at the same thing.

The purple veins were being forced backward.

"The Tree is separating it," he said.

Athena slowly lowered her weapon.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Their battle had suddenly become irrelevant.

...

Arthur felt the change before he saw it.

The Darkness beneath the Secret Realm suddenly became colder, and the strange distortions around them grew stronger. The distance between the walls seemed to stretch and contract while the darkness itself moved like something alive.

Star bounced nervously against Arthur’s shoulder.

Vedas tightened his grip around King Maker.

Luna looked around the cavern while Eden remained close to Arthur.

"Something is coming."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed as he stared into the darkness.

"I know."

The darkness ahead began to move.

At first, it looked like a shadow.

Then the creature stepped into view.

Arthur’s expression immediately changed.

The corrupted Beast was enormous, easily several times larger than the creatures they had encountered earlier. Its body appeared to be a twisted combination of several different species, with black scales covering its limbs and thick purple veins pulsing beneath its skin.

But its size wasn’t what caught Arthur’s attention.

The roots behind it were connected directly to its spine.

They disappeared into its body and continued beneath its flesh, carrying the purple Miasma directly into its core.

Luna’s face became pale.

"That..."

The Beast opened its mouth and released a roar that shook the cavern.

Arthur slowly raised Dusk.

"That’s different."

Eden looked toward the roots.

"Very different."

Luna stared at the connection for several seconds before placing a hand against her chest.

"I can feel something."

Arthur looked at her.

"What?"

She swallowed.

"It’s connected much deeper than the others."

Another pulse traveled through the root.

Luna’s eyes widened.

"Arthur."

He stepped closer.

"What is it?"

"This one isn’t connected to the outer network."

She looked toward the Beast, her expression becoming increasingly serious.

"It’s connected directly to the heart."

Arthur’s gaze hardened.

"The World Tree."

Luna nodded.

"If we sever this connection, we might be cutting something much deeper."

Arthur looked at the enormous Beast standing before them.

Then he looked at the roots disappearing into the darkness behind it.

"So this is one of the places where the corruption is anchored."

"Maybe," Luna said. "But if you’re right, this one might be different from the others."

The Beast suddenly charged.

Arthur’s expression changed into a grin.

"There’s only one way to find out."

...

The professors had been watching the Light Mirror when the floor beneath them suddenly cracked.

Leon immediately drew his weapon.

"Everyone move!"

The ground collapsed beneath their feet, forcing the group backward as a massive root tore through the stone floor.

Mephistopheles grabbed Leon and pulled him away from the falling debris while one of the professors raised a barrier around the Light Mirror.

The root slammed against the barrier.

The entire structure shook.

"What is that?" one professor demanded.

Before anyone could answer, another root emerged from beneath the chamber.

Then another.

The professors immediately surrounded the Light Mirror.

"Protect the Mirror!" one of them ordered.

Leon stepped forward.

"Why?"

The professor looked at him.

"Because whatever is beneath us is attacking it."

Leon frowned and studied the roots more carefully.

"No."

Everyone looked toward him.

Leon pointed toward the nearest root.

"Look."

The roots weren’t attacking the Mirror.

They were wrapping around the chamber, and the purple corruption covering their surfaces was slowly retreating.

One professor’s expression changed.

"They’re trying to pull the corruption away."

Leon stared at the Light Mirror.

Then at the roots.

"The World Tree is doing this."

Mephistopheles looked toward the professor.

"So the Tree is fighting the thing inside it."

The professor slowly nodded.

Leon tightened his grip around his weapon.

"Not us."

He looked toward the enormous roots beneath the Mirror.

"It’s fighting Ronin."

The realization was spreading across the Secret Realm.

None of the five groups knew what the others were seeing, yet the same phenomenon was unfolding everywhere.

In the Fire region, corrupted roots were disconnecting from Beasts.

In the Water region, the ancient network was retracting from the Mirror.

In Earth, corruption was being forced away from the stabilization point.

In Light, the roots were isolating infected sections beneath the Mirror.

And in Darkness, Arthur stood before a Beast connected directly to the heart of the World Tree.

The same thing was happening everywhere.

Arthur studied the root behind the Beast while Luna watched the surrounding darkness.

"It isn’t spreading anymore," Arthur said.

Vedas looked toward him.

"What do you mean?"

Arthur pointed toward the root. The purple veins were still present, but they were no longer advancing. Instead, the corruption was slowly being pushed backward, separated from the golden roots beneath it.

"The corruption is being pushed back."

Luna’s eyes widened.

"The World Tree is trying to remove it."

Eden nodded slowly.

"I think so."

Star bounced anxiously against Arthur’s shoulder as another tremor passed through the cavern.

Arthur looked upward, imagining the enormous World Tree hidden above them, its roots stretching across the entire Secret Realm.

It was still alive.

Even with Ronin forcing himself deeper into its heart, it was resisting.

Slowly.

Painfully.

But it was resisting.

A massive pulse traveled through the ground.

Across the five regions, every Mirror responded.

The Fire Mirror blazed through the flames.

The Water Mirror illuminated the ancient city.

The Earth Mirror sent golden light through the ruins.

The Darkness Mirror opened like a black eye beneath the earth.

And the Light Mirror filled the sky with radiant energy.

For one brief moment, the five regions seemed connected by the same golden current.

Luna stared at it.

"It’s resisting him."

Arthur nodded.

"Yeah."

Vedas looked toward the enormous corrupted Beast blocking their path.

"So what do we do now?"

Arthur looked at the roots surrounding them and watched as the golden veins continued pushing against the purple corruption.

The World Tree wasn’t waiting for someone to save it. Even while Ronin forced his way deeper into its heart, the Tree was already fighting back from within.

For the first time since the World Tree awakened, Arthur felt that they were no longer fighting completely against the current. They finally understood what was happening, and more importantly, they understood that the World Tree itself was resisting Ronin.

Arthur tightened his grip around Dusk and looked past the Beast toward the darkness leading deeper into the earth.

His expression gradually changed into the familiar curiosity that appeared whenever he encountered something he couldn’t yet understand.

Then he smiled.

"We help it."

The corrupted Beast roared, shaking the cavern around them.

Arthur stepped forward with Dusk in hand as Vedas moved beside him, Luna preparing herself behind them while Eden and Star followed closely.